AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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

Bill will scare off vendors: Telstra

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 27 : 19-Jul-19

The federal government’s encryption laws have attracted criticism from a range of sectors, including the technology industry and civil liberties groups. In its submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security, Telstra claimed that the legislation will make international vendors reluctant to share new devices and technology with Australian telcos. Telstra also contends that the legislation has the potential to disrupt network services.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY

Fed-up Lib MPs ready to call out GetUp’s attacking moves

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 19-Jul-19

Federal parliament’s electoral affairs committee will undertake an inquiry into the conduct of the 18 May election. Liberal backbenchers Nicolle Flint and Kevin Andrews say they plan to make complaints to the committee about the behaviour of left-wing activist group GetUp during the election campaign. A GetUp spokesperson said the group would be happy to appear before the committee, while also rejecting claims that it was not transparent about its financial accounting.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Buyers told to chance the market

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jul-19

The federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is slated to commence on 1 January, and it will initially be restricted to 10,000 borrowers. Housing Minister Michael Sukkar says the government may be open to expanding the scheme if it is popular. He adds that if possible, prospective buyers should step into the housing market now rather than waiting for the scheme to begin, as there are signs that the market is improving. Sukkar is confident that unlike first-home buyers’ grants, the scheme will not have a distortionary impact on the housing market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL HOUSING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Hues of Brazil dictatorship in anti-union bill

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Jul-19

The Ensuring Integrity Bill’s compliance with international conventions to which Australia is a signatory has been called into question. The International Centre for Trade Union Rights claims that the bill breaches international conventions regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining. Amongst other things, the bill is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and to ban union officials. The federal government hopes the bill will be passed by the lower house within weeks.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Dragging the chain on Hayne

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 18-Jul-19

The Coalition began implementing some of the Hayne royal commission’s recommendations prior to the federal election. However, the government has warned that the bulk of the recommendations are unlikely to be implemented before the end of 2019, although Treasury has begun the consultation process and is drafting legislative reforms. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government’s lack of action on Kenneth Hayne’s recommendations will reinforce the view that the Coalition tends to "go soft" on misconduct in the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET