AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor rules out $30b tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 9-Apr-19

Labor will not implement the second and third stages of the federal government’s income tax cuts package if it wins the upcoming election. The third stage of the tax cuts is slated to take effect in mid-2024, and would introduce a flat rate of 30 per cent for all people with income of $45,000 to $200,000. The Parliamentary Budget Office’s costings show that the stage three tax cuts would cost about $147.2bn in the first five years. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says high-income earners would benefit the most from the stage three tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Nod for Adani is unlikely before poll

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 8-Apr-19

Adani Mining had hoped that final approvals for its $2 billion Carmichael coal mine would have been finalised prior to Christmas 2018. However, it appears unlikely that approvals will be forthcoming before the federal election. Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price is yet to sign off on a groundwater management plan for the mine, while the Queensland Government is yet to approve a plan for the black-throated finch. The state government must also co-sign the groundwater management plan.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Nurses taxed $2000 more under Labor

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Apr-19

Taxation is set to be a key issue during the upcoming federal election, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating that the Coalition will drive economic growth via lower taxes. Labor in turn has criticised the Coalition’s income tax package, arguing amongst other things that it favours people on high incomes and it will not be fully implemented until 2024. Meanwhile, analysis suggests that the average full-time worker who is earning $100,000 a year in 2024 would be more than $2,000 a year worse off under Labor’s tax policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Violent net video ban faces review

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 25 : 8-Apr-19

Both sides of politics have committed to a parliamentary review of the Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material legislation after the federal election. Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom co-founder Peter Greste warns that although the legislation provides defences for legitimate journalism, it will still require media organisations to defend themselves in court. He adds that cash-strapped newsrooms are now less likely to do so than in the past. The legislation was introduced in response to the live-streaming of the Christchurch mosque shootings on social media.

CORPORATES
ALLIANCE FOR JOURNALISTS’ FREEDOM, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Per capita health spend is falling, says academic

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Apr-19

Analysis of the April 2019 Budget papers by the Centre for the Health Economy shows that the federal government’s per capita spending on healthcare will rise by just 1.5 per cent in 2019-20. This compares with growth of 6.7 per cent in 2016-17. Per capita spending will grow by just 0.4 per cent between 2019-20 and 2022-23 when population growth is taken into account. Centre for the Health Economy director Henry Cutler adds that ending the freeze on Medicare rebates may not result in lower co-payments for visiting a GP.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR THE HEALTH ECONOMY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Minimum wage is living wage by UK standard

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Original article by David A Harvey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 5-Apr-19

The federal government has used its submission to the Fair Work Commission to argue that the minimum wage is now about 61 per cent of the median wage when the earnings of both full-time and part-time employees are taken into account. This is the benchmark used in the UK to determine that country’s living wage. In contrast, the ACTU wants a living wage to be based on the median earnings of full-time workers. The ACTU is seeking a six per cent increase in the minimum wage in 2018 and a further rise of 5.5 per cent in 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREAT BRITAIN. LOW PAY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Tax cuts will cost less because of productivity lift

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 5-Apr-19

John Humphreys of the Centre for Independent Studies says a key measure in the federal government’s April 2019 Budget will have limited net economic benefit. He argues that the proposed increase in the low and middle-income tax offset is unlikely to have much impact on productivity, output or economic growth. His analyses also suggests that the government’s tax cuts package will cost about $122bn over 10 years, compared with Treasury’s forecast of $158bn, as a lower marginal tax rate will encourage people to increase their taxable income.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

EV rollout threat to power grid

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Apr-19

Energy Networks Australia has used a submission to a Senate inquiry to warn that the nation’s electricity grid may not be equipped to cope with the growing use of electric vehicles. The peak energy network body argued that incentives will be necessary to encourage consumers to recharge their electric cars during off-peak periods. Labor recently announced that it will require electric vehicles to account for 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 if it wins the upcoming federal election.

CORPORATES
ENERGY NETWORKS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Fifield demands more efficiency from Aunty

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 5 : 5-Apr-19

The ABC was given a modest funding increase in the April 2019 Budget, to allow the public broadcaster to increase its newsgathering capacity in regional and rural areas. Acting MD David Anderson has welcomed the increased funding for the Enhanced News initiative, but he has criticised the decision to retain a freeze on overall funding for the next three years. He says this will require some difficult decisions regarding staffing and services, but Communications Minister Mitch Fifield argues that the ABC has greater funding certainty than any other Australian media organisation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten outbids on tax, health

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Apr-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has used his Budget reply speech to advise that Labor will not support the second and third stages of the federal government’s income tax package. However, Labor will increase the low- and middle-income tax offset for people earning less than $37,000 year, while it will match the government’s rebate for those earning $48,000 to $90,000. Meanwhile, Labor will increase Medicare funding by $2.3bn over four years, in order to reduce the cost of cancer treatment and to list more cancer drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET