AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor fails to change tax cuts timetable

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Jul-19

The federal government has rejected Labor’s proposed amendments to its income tax package that would have brought forward the second stage of the tax cuts. Labor’s push to exclude the third-stage tax cuts from the package and to accelerate investment in infrastructure was also defeated in the lower house. Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate cut demonstrates the need for more economic stimulus. The Coalition requires the support of four crossbenchers to pass the full tax package in the Senate, and it is confident of doing so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Press freedom probe backed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Jul-19

The parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security will undertake an inquiry into the impact of police and intelligence agencies’ powers on freedom of the press. The inquiry was approved by federal cabinet on 2 July, and follows the recent police raids on the ABC’s offices and the home of a News Corp Australia journalist. Labor proposes to establish a separate inquiry into press freedom and the public’s right to know, while media companies advocate changes to laws affecting freedom of the press rather than a parliamentary inquiry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Government Confidence jumps after L-NP win Election

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jul-19

Roy Morgan’s Government Confidence Rating has increased by 11.5pts to 104.5 following the L-NP’s victory at the Federal Election in mid-May. Interviewing conducted on the weekends of 22-23 and 29-30 June 2019 shows that 43.5% (up 6%) of electors now say that Australia is heading in the ‘right direction’, and 39% (down 5.5%) say Australia is heading in the ‘wrong direction’. The turnaround in Government Confidence since the Federal Election has been driven by strong increases in Government Confidence amongst a number of key demographics, including L-NP supporters and supporters of Independents/Others, electors in Country Areas, electors in Queensland and Western Australia, electors aged 50+ and electors of both genders. However, Government Confidence amongst ALP supporters has fallen 14.5pts to 84 after the party lost an election most Australians expected it to win.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Embrace Pacific power role

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 2-Jul-19

The new US ambassador to Australia, Arthur ­Culvahouse, says there would be no question of the US not coming to Australia’s aid if the latter was being threatened by a foreign power. Culvahouse says Australia has a lot of standing in the Pacific region, while he says he is confident that Prime Minister Scott Morrison will continue to "call out" bad behaviour by China when he sees it. Culvahouse says that while many Australians know that China is its biggest trading partner, not so many realise that the US is by a long way Australia’s biggest and most important economic partner.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Tax cut row blunting attacks, ALP MPs warn

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-19

The federal government will introduce its income tax cuts package to the lower house on 2 July before putting it to the Senate, where the Coalition needs the support of four crossbenchers if it is opposed by Labor and the Greens. Centre Alliance is open to supporting the tax package if the government agrees to measures aimed at addressing the issue of high domestic gas prices, while independent senator Jacqui Lambie may also be open to backing the tax cuts. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says Labor may be willing to support the tax package if the Senate rejects its proposed amendments to the bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Morrison tax assault on Labor arrogance

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expects Labor to pass the federal government’s income tax cuts package in the lower house on 2 July, and he says it would be an act of "belligerent arrogance" for Labor to then block it in the Senate. A senior Labor source has indicated that the party will wait until it knows if the Coalition has the support of crossbenchers before deciding whether to pass the tax package in the Senate. Labor continues to have concerns about the third stage of the tax cuts package, but the Coalition has ruled out splitting the tax bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Dutton puts end to MP eligibility row

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

A spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he formally relinquished his interest in a family trust before nominating for the 18 May federal election. Dutton’s eligibility to be in parliament came under scrutiny in 2018 due to his pecuniary interest in a childcare centre which is owned by his wife and which had received federal government subsidies. The spokeswoman has stressed that two constitutional law experts had previously advised Dutton that he was not in breach of section 44 of the Constitution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, RHT FAMILY TRUST, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Unemployment rate needs to be 4pc to get wages up: Labor

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 28-Jun-19

Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh will use a speech on 28 June to argue the case for Australia’s full employment target to be lowered. The Reserve Bank of Australia has downwardly revised its estimate of full employment from 5.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent over the last few years, but Leigh will suggest that an employment rate of four per cent is "eminently achievable". He will state that this would result in an extra 160,000 Australians being employed. He says that creating jobs is the best way to boost wages growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

Pyne’s defence job breaches code

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alice Workman, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

Former defence minister Christopher Pyne has come under scrutiny over his new role as an adviser to Ernst & Young regarding the defence industry. Labor senator Penny Wong contends that Pyne is in breach of the federal government’s ministerial code of conduct, which continues to apply for 18 months after an MP leaves parliament. Wong and Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick have urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene. Pyne retired from politics at the 18 May election.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Senators demand gas surplus for tax cuts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Jun-19

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick has presented the federal government with a number of policy demands in return for supporting its income tax cuts package. Amongst other things, Patrick wants the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to be strengthened to ensure that the east coast has a surplus of gas. At present, the ADGSM only requires that there is no shortfall of gas in the domestic market. The tax package is scheduled to be debated in the Senate on 4 July.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE