AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Cyber threat to transport, power

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Sep-19

Home Affairs­ Minister Peter Dutton will release a cyber security consultation paper on 6 September. It warns of the growing threat to Australia’s critical infrastructure, including energy, tele­communications and transport networks. The paper will note that industrial plants are also vulnerable to targeted attacks from state-sponsored hackers and cyber criminals. Dutton will also call for greater co-operation between governments and business, warning of the heightened risk since the Coalition released its cyber security strategy in 2016.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, MAERSK, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED

Dragging the chain on wage theft must stop

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Sep-19

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has outlined a range of proposed workplace reform measures in a four-page letter to Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter. Amongst other things, McManus has called for action to combat wage theft, an overhaul of the annual minimum wage review, the winding back of penalty rate cuts and allowing unions to undertake sector-wide enterprise bargaining. Porter has indicated that the government will shortly release discussion papers on issues such as wage underpayments.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Quiet Australians shifted votes because of Shorten, not Morrison

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Sep-19

Research undertaken by the Australian National University shows that 28.5 per cent of electors switched their voting intentions during the federal election campaign. The analysis of voters’ behaviour also shows that 39.6 per cent of electors who had intended to vote for Labor when the election was called in April subsequently voted for the Coalition on 18 May. Likewise, 37.2 per cent of electors who had expressed their intention to vote for the Coalition ended up giving Labor their vote. The research has concluded that the unpopularity of former Labor leader Bill Shorten was a key factor in the election outcome, rather than Labor’s policies or the personal appeal of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Look through soft growth

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Sep-19

There is speculation that the latest national accounts data will show that Australia’s growth slowed to about 1.4 per cent in the year to June. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says GDP data for the June quarter is likely to be particularly weak, given that it was dominated by the federal election and the US-China trade war. He expects economic conditions to improve in the September quarter, citing stimulatory factors such as the Coalition’s income tax cuts and back-to-back interest rate cuts in June and July. Frydenberg stresses that the Australian economy’s fundamentals remain strong.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Cash softens blow for ousted MPs

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Analysis shows that at least 20 politicians who lost their seats at the 18 May federal election are entitled to receive a resettlement allowance. The amount of the lump sum payment varies depending on factors such as how long a politician has been in parliament, and it was designed to provide outgoing MPs and senators who do not have access to parliament’s superannuation scheme with re-skilling and re-employment assistance. Kerryn Phelps, Steve Martin and Sarah Henderson are amongst those who are entitled to receive the allowance, which is expected to cost about $1.3m in total.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Albanese slams diabolical donations crisis

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has criticised the culture of Labor’s New South Wales branch in the wake of the scandal over a $100,000 cash donation from a Chinese property developer. He says there are clearly accountability issues within NSW Labor and has called for a review into how the scandal occurred. However, Albanese has rejected a proposal to relocate NSW Labor’s head office, which is currently close to Sydney’s Chinatown precinct. Meanwhile, there is speculation that suspended NSW Labor secretary Kaila Murnain could potentially face criminal charges over her role in the scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

CEOs to PM: support long-term growth

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Business leaders have put forward suggestions for boosting the Australian economy, amid expectations that upcoming GDP data will show that growth slowed to a 10-year low of 1.4 per cent in the year to June. JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray has emphasised the need for policy initiatives that support long-term economic growth, rather than merely stimulating the economy. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci and Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner agree that further easing monetary policy is unlikely to be sufficient to boost the economy, while Cardo CEO Ian Ball has called for increased investment in transport infrastructure.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Religion bill will make it harder to sack people

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-19

Attorney-General Christian Porter released a draft of the federal government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill on 29 August. Porter says the legislation aims to protect people on the basis of their religion, but does not give them a "licence to discriminate against other people", or to engage in vilifying or harassing speech. Under the proposed legislation, a company with turnover of at least $50 million that sacks someone for expressing a religious view that breaches a condition of their employment will need to show that retaining the employee could cause it "unjustifiable financial hardship”.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Grow business or be swamped: SEEK boss

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Aug-19

SEEK CEO Andrew Bassat­ and Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayak have backed a recent call by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for Australian companies to lift productivity by reinvesting in their business rather than returning capital to shareholders. Bassat says Australian companies will be less competitive internationally if their level of capital investment continues to lag that of their global peers. However, Boral CEO Mike Kane is amongst the business leaders who have rejected Frydenberg’s comments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Electric car transition unstoppable: Labor

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Aug-19

The federal government will contribute $15m to the cost of building 48 electric vehicle charging stations in the eastern states. Meanwhile, shadow energy minister Mark Butler has doubled down on his recent comments regarding Labor’s election policy on electric vehicles, stating that the transition to electric cars is "unstoppable". Butler has maintained that Labor’s target for electric vehicles to account for 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 was ambitious but "very sensible".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ABMARC