AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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

Lack of company tax cut biggest gripe

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis, Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 24 : 4-Apr-19

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has reiterated the need for corporate tax cuts in the wake of the April 2019 Budget. She has described Australia’s current two-tiered company tax system as "bizarre", and notes that other nations are reducing their corporate tax rate while Australia’s remains one of the world’s highest. Meanwhile, the Australian Retailers Association’s executive director Russell Zimmerman says consumer spending should receive an immediate boost from the federal government’s proposed increase in the low- and middle-income tax offset.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP

Violent content bill could criminalise journalism

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Apr-19

Legislation targeting social media companies for failing to remove violent content from their platforms is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives on 4 April. It was endorsed by the Senate on 3 April. Media industry executives have expressed concern that the proposed laws could extend beyond social media and impose criminal sanctions on traditional media companies for news reports that are broadcast on TV or on their websites. Attorney-General Christian Porter has stressed that the bill will only apply to video or audio content that is supplied by the perpetrator of a crime or terrorist attack.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, DIGITAL INDUSTRY GROUP, COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Shorten’s magic pudding

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Original article by Simon Benson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Apr-19

Tax relief for Australians with annual income of less than $40,000 will be a key focus for Labor leader Bill Shorten in his Budget reply speech on 4 April. Workers whose income is below this threshold will be offered more generous tax cuts than those outlined in the Budget. Meanwhile, the federal government has announced that the one-off cash payment cash for pensioners, single parents and carers to offset rising energy costs will be extended to Newstart recipients. This will add about $80m to the cost of the Budget measure.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Flatter scales an incentive to work more

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Apr-19

Labor contends that the 10-year tax cuts package outlined in the April 2019 Budget is regressive as it will reduce the tax burden of people on high incomes. The current income tax brackets would be replaced by just three in mid-2024. University of Canberra labour economist Phil Lewis argues that while the tax system would be slightly less progressive under the Coalition’s plan, it would reduce the disincentive to earn more. Sinclair Davidson from the Institute of Public Affairs in turn says that flatter personal income tax rates would reduce bracket creep.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Stunning lost opportunity on innovation

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Apr-19

Former Innovation Science Australia chairman Bill Ferris has criticised the April 2019 Budget’s lack of policy announcements regarding innovation. He describes it as a missed opportunity to address declining investment in innovation by both government and business. Ferris argues that innovation is a key driver of productivity. The federal government will also reduce funding for the R&D tax incentive program by a further $1.35bn over four years. Krish Patel of Element 8 Group warns that government policy is forcing business start-ups to outsource R&D work offshore.

CORPORATES
INNOVATION SCIENCE AUSTRALIA, ELEMENT 8 GROUP, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, CSIRO, GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA