AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Regional TV on verge of market failure

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Jun-20

The federal government may relax the local content requirements for regional TV broadcasters’ multi-channels due to their consistent failure to meet the hours-based quotas. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Communications notes that 12 regional or remote TV stations failed to comply with the Australian content quotas in 2017. This is primarily because regional broadcasters often chose not to carry some of the secondary channels of their metropolitan affiliates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Council brakes slow recovery

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Original article by Rebecca Urban, Damon Johnston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Jun-20

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says local councils should fast-track development applications in order to stimulate economic activity in the post-coronavirus world. He says the state and federal governments are helping to boost the construction sector, and local governments should do so as well. It takes an average of 70 days for development applications to be approved in Victoria – well above the statutory requirement of 60 days – and this had blown out to at least 120 days for some councils prior to the pandemic. The average number of days to approve a development application in New South Wales is 84 days.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Protests cost economy $1bn

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jun-20

The timetable for the further easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions may be pushed back due to the recent Black Lives Matter protests across Australia. The national cabinet meeting on 12 June had been expected to approve the easing of stage two restrictions, but the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee believes that it will take up to 14 days to determine whether the protests have caused a fresh outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the potential for a second wave of infections means that lockdown restrictions must remain in place until medical professionals advise that it is safe to lift them.

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AUSTRALIAN HEALTH PROTECTION PRINCIPAL COMMITTEE, ACTU

Asset write-off extension to aid business

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jun-20

The federal government will extend its $150,000 instant asset write-off scheme for another six months. It will be accessible to companies with annual turnover of less than $500 million, which covers more than 3.5 million businesses employing over 9.7 million people. Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong says the government has done the right thing by the small business sector in extending the scheme.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Tighter test for foreign investors

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Jun-20

The federal government will announce a revamp of Australia’s foreign investment regime on 5 June; the government wants to close what it contends are ‘national security’ gaps in the current rules. One of the changes will see the Foreign Investment Review Board apply a National Security Test to assets defined as a ‘sensitive national security business’; such assets include water, telecommunications and energy. The government intends to legislate the changes in July, with the intention of having them come into effect in January.

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AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

The Government’s HomeBuilder scheme offers $25k for home renovations – but not everyone will qualify

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Original article by Jordan Heyne
abc.net au – Page: Online : 5-Jun-20

People wanting to apply for grants of $25,000 to build a new home or renovate an existing one under the federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme must meet a range of criteria. They income thresholds and limits on the value of homes to be newly built, including the land. Contracts for new homes or renovations must be entered into before the end of 2020, and construction must begin within three months of the contract date. People wanting to use the money for a renovation must spend at least $150,000 of their own funds, and the home being renovated must be worth less than $1.5 million prior to the renovation. Investment properties do not qualify for the scheme.

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Bearish start to IR reform talks

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Jun-20

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter held the first meeting with representatives of the union movement and employers’ groups on 3 June, as part of a collaborative approach to workplace reforms. He said that both groups appreciate the need for change. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott said employers and unions must be prepared to make compromises, while ACTU secretary Sally McManus said unions are open to changing the ‘better off overall test’. Meanwhile, the Treasury warned that it could take 5-7 years for the economy to recover from the pandemic, and that the unemployment rate could be 8-9 per cent by 2021.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS,BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA,ACTU

Universities on brink of ground zero

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Tim Dodd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jun-20

The University of Sydney’s vice-chancellor Michael Spence has warned that the higher education sector’s loss of fee revenue from international students will jeopardise its future research capabilities. Australian National University vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt has expressed similar concerns, noting the economic benefits of university-based research. The nation’s universities are lobbying the federal government for increased funding to offset the loss of revenue due to the pandemic, but Education Minister Dan Tehan says their focus should shift to local students and online learning. Some universities have already laid off employees.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Near $1bn boost for building kicks off targeted stimulus

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jun-20

The federal government is expected to release details of its coronavirus stimulus package for the construction industry on 4 June. It is tipped to include cash grants of between $20,000 and $50,000 for people buying a new home, in order to avert a decline in construction activity towards the end of 2020. The government is also expected to provide cash grants for home renovations. A stimulus package for the arts and entertainment is also said to be on the government’s agenda.

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Plea to save media jobs in the regions

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 30-May-20

Regional media companies such as WIN Corporation and Australian Community Media have lobbied the federal government to further relax cross-media ownership laws. Concerns about the future of the regional media sector have been heightened by News Corp Australia’s decision to axe 36 regional and community newspapers and shift 76 titles to digital-only editions. The move will also result in the loss of hundreds of jobs. Further job cuts in the regional media are possible when the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme ends in September.

CORPORATES
WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS