AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Shorten reaches out to miners

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 16-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has indicated that Labor may be open to industrial relations reforms that would allow greenfields enterprise agreements to be struck for the life of a resources project rather than having to be renegotiated every 3-4 years. He argues that this would provide greater certainty for workers, unions, employers and global investors. Shorten also intends to hold a national economic summit in early June if Labor wins the federal election; the agenda will include industrial relations, wages, productivity and the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Secret plans for anti-graft body

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 8 : 15-May-19

Former Victorian Court of Appeal judge Stephen Charles says Labor has a detailed plan for its proposed federal anti-corruption commission. Charles says he is a member of a group of retired judges who drafted the plan, which has been accepted by Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus. A spokeswoman for Dreyfus has rejected suggestions that Labor has a "secret plan". Labor has previously stated that it has only developed a series of ‘design principles’ for the anti-corruption watchdog, and it will consult with legal experts if it wins the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Coalition rejects interest rate risk on loan plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 15-May-19

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has downplayed concerns that the Coalition’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme could prompt banks to impose higher interest rates on participants in the scheme. He is confident that banks will want to be involved in the scheme and will not charge higher interest rates, arguing that banks’ exposure will still be restricted to a maximum loan to value ratio of 80 per cent. The New Zealand government introduced a similar scheme in 2003.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, KEYSTART HOME LOANS, NEW ZEALAND. MINISTRY OF HOUSING, HOUSING NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION

Employers fear payroll nightmare

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-May-19

The Fair Work Commission is expected to make a ruling on the minimum wage before the end of May. However, employers’ groups have warned of the potential payroll complications if Labor wins the federal election and pushes ahead with plans to make a new wage submission immediately upon taking office. Any increase in the minimum wage will take effect from 1 July, and Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has expressed concern that employers will not have enough time to apply the new pay rates if Labor seeks to make a new submission to the FWC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU

Wage theft: Labor takes on employers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use a speech in Perth on 15 May to announce that Labor will establish a small claims tribunal for people with unpaid wages if it wins the federal election. The tribunal, which will hear claims of up to $100,000, will be able to make and enforce orders to pay wages and to mediate claims. The tribunal will operate alongside the existing Fair Work Commission. Shorten will also use the speech to criticise the Coalition’s preferences deal with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

The Greens are hoping for a big election. But who are they?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-May-19

Australians head to an important Federal Election this week, with the latest Roy Morgan Polls showing the ALP 51% with a narrow lead over the L-NP 49% on a two-party preferred basis. Support for the Greens was at 11% in the Roy Morgan Poll conducted on May 4/5. The close results from the latest Roy Morgan Polls mean there is a very good chance Australia could once again elect a hung Parliament. The Greens achieved a record high vote of 13.1% in the Senate and 11.8% in the House of Representatives at the 2010 Federal Election. Has the composition of Greens support changed since 2010? Greens supporters are concentrated in the highest socio-economic quintiles with 31% of Greens supporters in the highest socio-economic AB quintile in 2018, unchanged from 2010, and 24% of Greens supporters in the C quintile, also unchanged. Although Greens supporter distribution by socio-economic quintile is largely unchanged from 2010 there are underlying changes in the composition of Greens support. Women now comprise 59% of Greens supporters, up from 54% in 2010, while men now comprise only 41% of Greens supporters, down from 46% at the start of the decade. Meanwhile, an increasing proportion of Greens supporters today are in the younger age groups.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

PM’s test for independents

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly, Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 14-May-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it is "reasonable and fair" to ask independent candidates who they would support if neither the Coalition or Labor secure a majority in the federal election. Former prime minister John Howard has noted there is no guarantee that an independent candidate who wins a seat will support the Liberal Party, while Labor leader Bill Shorten has claimed that Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson would "call the shots" in a minority ­Coalition government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine analyses the boost in support for the ALP a week before the Federal Election

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michele Levine
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-May-19

The ALP campaign launch last week with a message of unity has helped provide a ‘boost’ in ALP support with under a week to go until the Federal Election. The ALP 52% now holds an election winning lead over the L-NP 48% on a two-party preferred basis. In addition Bill Shorten’s good week came as many Australians felt sympathy for Shorten after he described the struggles his mother had endured to undertake her dream of completing a law degree. A front-page headline in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph which sought to attack Shorten for drawing on his mother’s story only served to highlight his mother’s achievements to a wider audience. Shorten also had two successful leadership debates with Prime Minister Scott Morrison including a quick-witted put-down of Morrison as a ‘classic space invader’ during the second leader’s debate and a solid performance in the third, and final, leader’s debate last Wednesday. In calculating the two-party preferred support the Roy Morgan Poll uses respondent’s stated preferences. While Greens supporters strongly preferences the ALP, other parties stated preferences are dividing fairly evenly between the ALP and L-NP and as many as one-in-four electors still haven’t made their mind up. However, most Australians believe the ALP will win the election with many polls for months showing the ALP well ahead of the Government. But will all the polls be proven wrong again like with the US Presidential Election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016? Most people believed Clinton would win and this belief was reflected by most of the American polls at the time.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

ALP regains initiative with a week to go: ALP 52% cf. L-NP 48%

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-May-19

The last face-to-face Roy Morgan Poll before the election shows the ALP regaining the initiative and pulling away from the L-NP with an election winning two-party preferred lead: ALP 52% cf. L-NP 48%. The increase for the ALP came through an increased primary vote at the expense of the Greens, according to the final face-to-face Roy Morgan Poll of the Federal Election, and indicates the chances of Australia electing a hung Parliament this weekend have diminished. Primary Voting Intention: Primary support for the L-NP was unchanged at 38.5% this week but support for the ALP increased by 1.5% to 35.5%. The ALP gained support from the Greens, down 1% to 10%. Support for One Nation was unchanged at 4% and support for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) was unchanged at 3.5%. Support for Independents/Others is down marginally by 0.5% to 8.5%. In a worrying sign for the L-NP Government the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has dropped 6pts to 93 this week with 44.5% of electors (up 3.5%) saying Australia is heading in the ‘wrong direction’ and only 37.5% (down 2.5%) saying Australia is heading in the ‘right direction.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

PM’s late pitch for young voters

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-May-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used the Coalition’s official election campaign launch to announce a First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. The $500m scheme will allow Australians to buy their first home with a deposit of just five per cent rather than 20 per cent, with the government to underwrite the balance via its National Housing Finance & Investment Corporation. Labor responded by announcing that it will match the policy while pressing ahead with its negative gearing reforms. Morrison also committed to providing $4bn worth of federal funding for the East West road link in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL HOUSING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION