AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Record bond deal shows confidence in Australia: PM

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Original article by Sarah Turner, Vesna Poljak, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-Apr-20

The Australian Office of Financial Management has revealed that domestic investors accounted for 68.1 per cent of the federal government’s $13bn bond deal. Banks in turn bought more than 50 per cent of the new bonds, while investment managers accounted for 25 per cent of the issuance. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the strong support for the bond deal demonstrates that investors are confident that Australia will be able to repay its debt.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY. OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

It’s too little, too late: media lament aid deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 16-Apr-20

The federal government has announced a $91m financial relief package for the media sector, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Amongst other things, the government will suspend content quotas for local drama and children’s programs for the rest of the year, while TV and radio networks will collectively receive $41m in tax rebates for spectrum fees. Regional media companies will also receive financial support totalling $50m. However, industry executives had hoped for a further relaxation of cross-media ownership laws and action to force digital companies to pay for content.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, ELLIOTT NEWSPAPER GROUP PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1

IMF jumped the gun with dire forecasts: Frydenberg

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Apr-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has downplayed the International Monetary Fund’s latest economic growth and unemployment forecasts for Australia. He argues that they were made prior to pandemic stimulus measures such as the $130bn JobKeeper scheme. New figures show that more than 838,000 businesses have applied for the wage subsidy to date. The IMF has forecast that the domestic economy will contract by 6.7 per cent in 2020, although Alan Oster of National Australia Bank expects GDP growth to fall by just 4.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Virgin ups ante with threat of administration

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Original article by Lucas Baird, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 15-Apr-20

Shares in Virgin Australia Holdings were placed in a trading halt on 14 April as the embattled carrier continues to seek financial assistance. The federal government is resisting Virgin’s push for taxpayers’ support, prompting Virgin to warn that it may appoint voluntary administrators within a month if it does not receive a bailout. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has emphasised that any government assistance for the aviation sector must be industry-wide. Labor leader Anthony Albanese contends that the government could take an equity stake in Virgin and sell it in the future.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Big tech must pay media: Fletcher

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Original article by David Swan, Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Apr-20

Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has welcomed the recent ruling that Google must negotiate a deal with French news publishers to pay for their content. He adds that the government’s expectation is that digital companies will also agree to pay Australian news publishers for their content. Seven West Media director Ryan Stokes says there must be "proper and fair renumeration" for local news content; he notes that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has increased the importance of such a deal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Virgin CEO in Canberra bailout pitch

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Original article by Robyn Ironside, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Apr-20

The federal government is believed to be considering additional financial support for the nation’s airlines, to ensure that passenger and freight services continue on essential domestic routes. Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah has been lobbying government ministers and Labor frontbenchers to secure support for a proposed $1.4bn loan facility for the struggling carrier. Virgin could opt for a creditor’s scheme of arrangement if government support is not forthcoming; this could result in a debt-for-equity swap, which would have to be approved by shareholders and a court. Labor has backed calls for the government to provide more financial support for Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Crisis cabinet to outlive virus

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Paige Taylor, Joe Kelly, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Apr-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the high level of federal and state co-operation since the national cabinet was established in mid-March. He has flagged the possibility that the national cabinet model could be retained when the coronavirus crisis is over. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has called for the national cabinet to permanently replace the Council of Australian Governments, which typically meets twice a year. The 13th meeting of the national cabinet will be held on 16 April.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Coronavirus JobKeeper package passes Parliament after Labor amendments fail

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Original article by Matthew Doran
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Apr-20

More than 730,000 businesses have registered with the Australian Taxation Office to access the federal government’s wage subsidy scheme. A special sitting of parliament has passed the JobKeeper legislation, with eligible businesses to receive $1,500 per fortnight for each worker they continue to employ during the pandemic. Labor backed the legislation despite failing in its push for the scheme to be expanded to include casual workers who have been with their employer for less than a year and temporary visa holders.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coronavirus data due within weeks to reveal Australia’s path out of health crisis

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Original article by Sophie Scott, Nick Sas
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Apr-20

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy recently said that Australia’s progress on containing the coronavirus will become clearer within a week or so, as people returning from overseas are skewing the infection data at present. Health experts state that more data on the rate of community transmission will be needed before any decisions are made about relaxing the coronavirus restrictions. Health Minister Greg Hunt says the nation will be able to commence lifting the restrictions once the rate of community transmission is under control, although he warns that the restrictions are unlikely to be eased for some time.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

JobKeeper flexibilities give employers power to alter hours, ask staff to take leave

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 8-Apr-20

Labor will support the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy package when parliament reconvenes for a one-off sitting on 8 April. Attorney-General Christian Porter says the temporary changes to the Fair Work Act will allow employers to reduce an employee’s agreed hours of work for six months due to the pandemic. However, he stresses that any such reduction in agreed hours must be reasonable. The changes will also allow employers to request that staff use some of their annual leave entitlements during the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU