AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

RBA’s Lowe faces grilling over cheap money

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-19

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe will appear before a parliamentary committee on 9 August. His testimony is likely to attract increased scrutiny after the central bank’s New Zealand counterpart reduced official interest rates by 50 basis points. The House of Representatives’ economics committee is chaired by Liberal MP Tim Wilson. He says the RBA’s dual rate cuts in June and July and how it expects to eventually begin tightening monetary policy when household debt is rising are among the issues that will come under scrutiny.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Home Affairs fights to restrict media

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Original article by Mark Schliebs
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Aug-19

The Department of Home Affairs has used its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom to argue that the existing rules governing police search warrants are adequate. The Right to Know Coalition recently told the inquiry that the media industry should have the right to challenge warrants that are used to gather evidence against journalists. Home Affairs has contended that there is the potential for material evidence to be destroyed if there is advance notice that a warrant is to be issued. The ABC has rejected this suggestion, arguing that the destruction of ­evidence is a criminal offence under existing laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA’S RIGHT TO KNOW COALITION OF MEDIA COMPANIES, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Media coalition seeks right to fight warrants

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 8 : 3-Aug-19

The Right to Know Coalition has used its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into freedom of the press to call for changes to the rules governing the issuance of police warrants. The coalition, which comprises 14 media companies and organisations, argued amongst other things that the media industry should have the right to challenge warrants that are used to gather evidence against journalists, and that all such applications should be put to an independent judge in open court. The inquiry was commissioned in response to the recent media raids.

CORPORATES
RIGHT TO KNOW COALITION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Adani-style red tape tops Canberra’s hit-list

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Aug-19

The federal government will announce on 5 August that the Productivity Commission will be asked to examine the approvals process for resource projects. This coincides with the announcement by Ben Morton, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, of his intention to adopt a sector-by-sector approach to abolishing unnecessary regulation. Morton says he expects businesses to pass on any benefits that result from this review to the broader economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Bring global giants to heel on tax

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 5 : 1-Aug-19

Labor senator and former union official Tony Sheldon says the federal government should follow the example of other nations and ensure that multinational companies pay their "fair share" of tax in Australia. Sheldon also used his maiden speech in parliament to urge the government to take action to ensure that gig economy workers are entitled to superannuation and a fair rate of pay.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FOODORA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DELIVEROO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Back door to access data deliberately left open

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Original article by Mark Schliebs
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Aug-19

The federal government’s Telecommunication Interception and Access Act is under growing scrutiny amid revelations that a wide range of agencies are bypassing it to access Australians’ metadata. The data retention laws authorise 21 government agencies to access metadata without a warrant, but many other agencies are doing so via the Telecommunications Act. The Department of Home Affairs has indicated that this loophole was intentional, and that non-authorised agencies can access metadata on grounds other than law enforcement and national security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY

Negative gearing a $1.5bn turn-off

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Aug-19

Research undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics on behalf of the Property Council of Australia suggests that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would have slashed the nation’s GDP by about $1.5bn. It is also estimated that the policy would have resulted in the loss of 7,800 construction industry jobs and cost the sector around $766m. A separate survey of voters in 16 marginal electorates has found that 34 per cent indicated that Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms were a key reason why they did not vote for the party at the 18 May election.

CORPORATES
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Calls to further limit cash payments

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 31-Jul-19

Business owners who accept large cash payments would face a fine of $25,000 and jail terms of up to two years as part of the federal government’s crackdown on the cash economy. Cash payments will be restricted to $10,000 under the reforms announced in the 2018 Budget. However, KPMG tax partner Grant Wardell-Johnson says the government should consider lowering the threshold over time, suggesting that a limit of $5,000 or even just $2,000 may be appropriate. Tony Greco of the Institute of Public Accountants agrees that reducing the threshold may be justified.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUDIT PLC, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten to soldier on after disappointing poll defeat

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Jul-19

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten has ruled out quitting politics, saying he is committed to holding the federal government to account. Shorten says Labor’s shock election defeat in May was "very disappointing" personally, for the nation and for Labor voters. Shorten, who has had a low profile since stepping down as Labor leader, adds that he does not want to pre-empt the party’s review of its election campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Insurers to be barred from using unfair contracts in new legislation

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-19

Labor is expected to support the Coalition’s proposal to subject insurers to the same rules with regard to unfair contract terms as other financial services providers. The final report of the Hayne royal commission recommended abolishing the exemption, which arose because insurers are regulated by the Insurance Contracts Act. In contrast, rules on unfair contract terms are covered by the ASIC Act. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has also made a number of recommendations for changes to the regulatory regime for insurers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION