AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

ALP target a business bodyblow

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Elias Visontay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Feb-20

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has criticised Labor’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, describing it as "reckless and irresponsible". Labor leader Anthony Albanese has indicated that the net zero emissions target will be economy-wide, prompting concern among sectors such as agriculture and logistics. Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has warned that achieving this target would require Australia to eliminate most of its cattle herd, which would in turn result in higher costs for consumers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED

Practical focus for fire inquiry

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Rachel Baxendale, David Ross, Sarah Elks, Yoni Bashan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Feb-20

The federal government has released the terms of reference for its bushfires royal commission, which will be headed by former defence force chief Mark Binskin. The six-month inquiry’s focus will be on natural disaster management and improving Australia’s resilience to natural disasters. Labor and the Greens have criticised the government for excluding policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the inquiry’s terms of reference.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor backs net-zero emissions, won’t use Kyoto credits

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Feb-20

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will use a speech on 21 February to commit Labor to a target of net zero carbons emissions by 2050. It will replace Labor’s previous target of reducing emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, which was rejected by voters at the May 2019 election. Albanese will also stress that Labor will not use Kyoto carry-over credits or provide any financial support for the construction of coal-fired power stations.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Fair Work in grip of ALP influence

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 20-Feb-20

The Australian Mines & Metals Association has expressed concern that Labor appointees have dominated the rulings made by the Fair Work Commission in recent years. AMMA says that 94 per cent of cases heard by the full bench of the FWC between 2017 and 2019 were presided over by Labor appointees. AMMA CEO Steve Knott adds that four members of the FWC – all appointed by Labor – heard 87 per cent of the cases during this period. He says AMMA has raised the issue with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Drop car tax, Treasurer told

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Feb-20

Tim Wilson, Craig Kelly and Jason Falinski are among the Liberal MPs who argue that the federal government’s luxury car tax should be abolished, given that it was introduced to protect local car manufacturers. The tax on imported vehicles raised some $675m in 2018-19, and this is expected to rise to $750m by 2022-23. Motor Trades Association of Australia CEO Richard Dudley describes it as an "unconscionable tax" that should have been scrapped when local car manufacturing ceased in 2017.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MOTOR TRADES ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Firms too slack on getting wages right

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 19-Feb-20

The federal government’s crackdown on wage theft could include ‘naming and shaming’ companies that underpay their staff and disqualifying executives from holding board seats. Attorney-General Christian Porter says companies that underpay their employees could face a range of penalties in addition to civil or criminal ones. He has dismissed suggestions that the growing issue of wage underpayments is due to the complexity of the modern awards system.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Nat leader will stay for poll, says Joyce

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Feb-20

National Party leader Michael McCormack has downplayed suggestions that he will step aside before the next federal election. McCormack says he has the full support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and will lead the Nationals into the election. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce also says McCormack will still be leader at the election, adding that he accepts the partyroom’s decision to reject his recent bid for a spill.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Coalition seeks to sidestep high court ruling that Aboriginal non-citizens can’t be deported

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Original article by Paul Karp, Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Feb-20

Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that the federal government may legislate to override the High Court’s majority decision that non-citizens of indigenous descent cannot be deported. Porter says the High Court ruling has implications for the government’s policy of deporting people who are convicted of serious crimes while in Australia on a visa. Legal experts have stated that it is too soon to determine the broader implications of the judgment.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Age Pension for all beats hike in super

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Feb-20

Mercer has used a submission to the federal government’s review of the retirement income system to call for the superannuation guarantee to remain at 9.5 per cent and to abolish means-testing for the age pension. The super guarantee is legislated to be progressively increase to 12 per cent by 2025, and some Coalition MPs have also called for the increase to be scrapped. Michael Littlewood, who helped design New Zealand’s retirement system, says there are major problems with Australia’s retirement system.

CORPORATES
MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD

Tax cuts set to bolster economy

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 11-Feb-20

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that taxpayers received an average tax refund of $967 for the 2018-19 financial year. In total, some $6.1bn was returned to working Australians in the form of tax cuts and refunds, largely to those with annual income of $37,000 to $90,000. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg say the income tax cuts are now flowing through to the economy, which is continuing to grow at a time when many other countries are experiencing negative growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY