AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Industry seeks action on energy

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 24-May-19

Coca-Cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins has urged the Coalition government to target energy reform during its current term of office, while Alumina CEO Mike Ferraro says electricity prices need to fall if the Portland aluminium smelter is to remain viable. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says there needs to be more reward for energy users who reduce their consumption at times when the electricity grid is under stress, while Energy Users Association of Australia head Andrew Richards says the government needs to make the ongoing transition to cleaner energy more efficient.

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Coalition on course to buffer its electoral clout

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 5 : 23-May-19

Liberal candidate Susan Richards had a slim lead in the seat of Macquarie as counting of postal and absentee votes continued on 22 May. Winning the seat from Labor would give the Coalition a total of 78 seats in the lower house. Several other seats remain in doubt, although Labor seems set to win Lilley, Cowan and Hunter, while the Liberal Party is likely to win Bass. The Coalition had 51.2 per cent of the two-party preferred vote on 22 May, compared with 48.8 per cent for Labor.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Treasurer tells banks to lend amid slowdown

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 23-May-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has welcomed the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move to ease mortgage lending restrictions. He says the move will ensure continued access to credit for both households and businesses, and he argues that banks have an "economic and social responsibility" to keep lending. Frydenberg also says the Coalition’s tax and infrastructure policies will be key drivers of economic growth and job creation. Frydenberg met with APRA chairman Wayne Byres and Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe on 22 May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Morrison keeps cabinet big to ensure harmony

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-May-19

Key federal government ministers are set to retain their existing portfolios when Prime Minister Scott Morrison reveals his new cabinet team. They include Josh Frydenberg, Mathias Cormann, Peter Dutton, Marise Payne and Greg Hunt. There is speculation that Arthur Sinodinos, Alan Tudge and Ken Wyatt will be elevated to cabinet, while Mitch Fifield may be dropped from the frontbench. Tim Wilson, Michael Sukkar and Jane Hume are among those who have been suggested as possible candidates for portfolios in the outer ministry. Morrison is expected to make minimal changes to the frontbench.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

It’s Albo v ScoMo as Bowen exits race

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-May-19

Jim Chalmers has emerged as Anthony Albanese’s most likely rival for the Labor leadership, after shadow treasurer Chris Bowen announced that he will not be a contender. Bowen believes that he would have won the caucus ballot, but concedes that he lacked sufficient support to gain the rank-and-file vote. There is now strong support for Albanese within Bowen’s NSW Right faction, while most of the Left faction also supports Albanese. Chalmers is expected to decide whether to make a tilt for the leadership on 23 May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Bruised Bowen wades into ALP battle

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 22-May-19

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen intends to contest the federal Labor leadership, even though many members of his NSW Right faction intend to support Left faction contender Anthony Albanese. Some members of the Right faction argue that Bowen should not contest the leadership as he is too closely linked to the party’s tax policies that were rejected by voters, including its proposal to scrap franking credit refunds. Bowen concedes that this policy was controversial, but he says other factors also cost Labor the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Legislation needed to stop tax office overreach

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 22-May-19

There was bipartisan political support for the proposed independent small business tax tribunal ahead of the 2019 federal election. The lawyer-free tribunal was intended to address the toxic culture at the Australian Taxation Office with regard to its treatment of small businesses, but the ATO’s abuse of small businesses appears to be continuing. The newly re-elected Coalition government must take all necessary action to ensure that there is much-needed cultural change at the ATO.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

Weak Shorten: union calls for party overhaul

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 22-May-19

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official Shane Brunker says the federal election shows that Labor has lost touch with grass-roots supporters. He has accused former Labor leader Bill Shorten of "pandering to inner-city voters" at the expense of the party’s traditional supporter base, and warned that the Queensland government also faces an election defeat in 2020 unless it heeds this message. Labor’s lack of clarity regarding Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine contributed to its poor election performance in regional Queensland.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Coalition secures majority, and may get a buffer

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Victoria Laurie
The Australian – Page: 7 : 22-May-19

The Coalition may extend its majority in the lower house, with Liberal candidates holding slim leads in several seats that remain in doubt. Liberal candidate Gladys Liu was declared the winner in the seat of Chisholm on 21 May, ensuring that the Coalition will have the 76 lower house seats it requires to govern in its own right. The Liberals may also win the seats of Bass and Macquarie, although the Australian Electoral Commission has indicated that Labor is likely to win the seats of Cowan and Lilley.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Promised cuts ‘don’t have to wait for parliament’

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 7 : 22-May-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the proposed increase in the low and middle-income tax offset will be the Coalition’s top priority when parliament resumes. He has conceded that parliament is unlikely to be reconvened before 30 June to allow the tax cuts to be passed before the start of the new financial year. A spokesman for the Australian Taxation Office has advised that the changes to the tax offset can be applied retrospectively if the legislation is passed after 1 July.

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