AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Lambie piles pressure on Setka to quit CFMEU

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-19

The federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill is slated to be put before the Senate later in 2019. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has indicated that she may be prepared to vote for the bill if John Setka does not step down as the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. Lambie has raised her concerns about Setka with ACTU president Michele O’Neil. The government has amended the bill in response to concerns raised by Labor, but Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick believes that further changes are needed.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY

PM’s next quiet revolution

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed plans for a major overhaul of the federal public service, which will include a push for cultural and organisational change. Amongst other things, the reforms will result in increased accountability for senior public servants. The sweeping reforms will coincide with the departure of Martin Parkinson, who will retire as secretary of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet in August. Parkinson stresses that he has a good personal and professional relationship with Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Greens, Labor urge Senate to dig deeper into press freedom

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Jul-19

The Senate’s communications committee will hold its own inquiry into the issue of press freedom. The inquiry will have a broader scope than the one that is being undertaken by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security. Labor’s Katy Gallagher says the second inquiry is necessary because unlike the PJCIS, the communications committee is not controlled by the Coalition. The inquiries come in the wake of controversial police raids on the ABC’s Sydney office and the home of a News Corp Australia journalist.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

CFMEU slapped with $65m in penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jul-19

The federal government has released data showing that the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime & ­Energy Union has incurred about $65m worth of legal costs and court fines for breaching workplace laws since 2004. This includes court penalties totalling $28.6m in Victoria, with the bulk of these penalties having been incurred in cases involving controversial state secretary John Setka. The government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill will be put before the lower house on 24 July, and is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and other registered organisations.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Showdown brewing over union ban laws

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Jul-19

ACTU president Michele O’Neill has expressed concern that a key provision of the federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill could be misused. It allows any party with a vested interest to apply to the Federal Court to have a union official disqualified. O’Neill warns that this provision could be exploited in order to remove union officials for relatively minor breaches. Attorney-General Christian Porter has downplayed such concerns, arguing that the bill is consistent with Australia’s international obligations.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

PM to Senate: no deals on drought aid

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government will table its bill for a future drought fund in the Senate on 22 July; it was passed by the House of Representatives in 2018 but was not put to a vote in the Senate. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the bill will not be changed in any form to satisfy the demands of Labor or crossbenchers; he adds that drought funding should be a "no-brainer" and not something on which deals need to be done. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese claims that the government’s proposed legislation would see money taken from the Building Australia Fund.

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

Lib MPs in bid to ditch super boost

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government is facing growing pressure from within its ranks to reconsider an increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent by mid-2025. Andrew Hastie is among seven backbenchers who oppose the increase; he says it would be preferable for people to use this income to pay off their mortgage now rather than have to wait until they retire. Senator Amanda Stoker in turn says wage increases should be a higher priority at present than changes to the superannuation guarantee.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

No surplus sacrifice for dole boost

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government is resisting pressure from welfare groups and unions to increase the Newstart allowance by $75 a week. The Treasury estimates that this would cost $12.5bn over four years and $39bn over a decade, and it would slash the projected Budget surplus for 2019-20. Labor has also called for Newstart to be increased, although it has not nominated a figure. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the government’s priority is getting people off welfare and into the workforce, and notes that Labor has opposed or criticised all of the Coalition’s employment programs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Action on streaming set back until 2022

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Jul-19

A confidential consultation paper has recommended that the federal government delay a decision on whether live streaming is subject to the Broadcasting Act until 2022. The ministerial determination was made in 2000 by former Communications Minister Richard Alston, and it is slated to expire on 1 October 2019. The Department of Communications has advised that extending the so-called Alston determination would give the government more time to consider a broader range of ­reforms for broadcasting and streaming ser­vices, including its response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s report on digital platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Browse project delays trigger lease warning

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 19-Jul-19

The retention lease for the Browse gas field expires in mid-2020, but Woodside Petroleum does not expect to make a final investment decision on the project until the end of that year. Resources Minister Matt Canavan has held meetings with executives from Woodside and Browse partner Shell, and he is said to have sought an update on progress regarding the project. Canavan and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator have previously flagged the potential for the Browse partners to forfeit their leases under ‘use it or lose it’ provisions.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM TITLES ADMINISTRATOR, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS