AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Dated media policies need fixing: Labor

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Mar-19

Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland has accused the federal government of adopting a piecemeal approach to media policy, claiming that it lacks a "coherent reform agenda". She adds that Australia’s media policy and industry regulation is a legacy of the analogue era and needs to be updated to take into account the rise of digital platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Kelty warns ALP on wages

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Original article by Troy Bramston, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 15-Mar-19

Labor will use its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s review of the minimum wage to push for an above-inflation increase in 2019. Meanwhile, former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty says any increase in the minimum wage must reflect the economy’s capacity to absorb it. He adds that a rise in the minimum wage must be linked to productivity gains. Kelty also supports Labor’s proposal for a living wage, stating that it would benefit the economy and make enterprise bargaining more effective.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Emissions target will cut wages, ACTU told

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Mar-19

Unions have criticised Energy Minister Angus Taylor after he warned them of the potential impact of Labor’s greenhouse gas policy on wages. Taylor has written to unions claiming that wages could be reduced by $9,000 under Labor’s proposed 45 per cent emissions reduction target. The Electrical Trades Union has accused Taylor of "rank political opportunism" in targeting its members shortly before a federal election. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says taxpayers’ funds should not be used to build new coal-fired power stations. He says this would result in less funding for infrastructure such as roads.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GETUP LIMITED, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

PM declares peace despite ongoing coal push

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-19

National Party MP Barnaby Joyce is still advocating the use of taxpayers’ funds to build new coal-fired power stations in Queensland. However, Joyce has put his leadership ambitions on hold, declaring that Scott Morrison and Michael McCormack will lead the Coalition into the federal election. Joyce has also backed down on his claim that he is the legitimately elected deputy prime minister, describing it as a "misstep". Meanwhile, Morrison has stressed the need for Australia to have reliable and sustainable power that is "technology and resource agnostic".

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine comments on the latest employment data

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Original article by Michele Levine, Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Mar-19

The lack of jobs growth over the last year will be a significant concern for the Federal Government, which is due to seek re-election at a Federal election expected in mid-May. As well as the lack of employment growth over the past year the latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence rating for February of only 105.6 – the lowest since August 2015 – indicates Australia’s businesses are waiting for the political uncertainty to clear in a few months’ time. The consecutive ratings below 110 are the slowest start to a year for Business Confidence since the index began. The latest Australian GDP figures showed the economy growing by only 0.2% in the December 2018 quarter, the slowest rate of growth for over two years since a quarterly contraction of 0.5% in the September 2016 quarter. Given the political uncertainty facing Australia over the next two months, with a New South Wales election later in March before the Federal election expected in mid-May, the prospects for the economy and employment growth in the short-term appear to be limited. However, the Federal Government has a chance to ‘reboot the economy’ with a stimulative Federal Budget due to be delivered on the first Tuesday in April. The Budget is also the Morrison Government’s last chance to save their chances of re-election as the Roy Morgan Poll, and other polls, have consistently shown the ALP heading towards an easy election victory.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Tax cuts key as economy struggles

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Original article by Adam Creighton, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 13-Mar-19

The Commonwealth Bank’s chief economist Michael Blythe says the federal government should use its April 2019 Budget to announce more aggressive tax cuts than previously flagged. His view is backed by AMP’s Shane Oliver, who has called for tax cuts worth $6bn for people on low and middle incomes. Blythe has also disputed claims of a ‘per capita’ recession, arguing that key economic indicators suggest otherwise. He adds that despite lower GDP growth in 2018, real net national disposable income per capita increased by 2.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten hit on fat cat employers

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Original article by Ben Packham, Greg Brown, Jessica Cortis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor could legislative to mandate that the Fair Work Commission must take into account the needs of low-income workers when setting the minimum wage. He argues that the methodology for determining the minimum wage has not changed since the 1980s. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox rejects suggestions that the FWC does not give sufficient weight to the needs of low-paid workers, noting that the last two increases in the minimum wage were well above the inflation rate and average wage movements.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Labor fully committed to Hayne

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Mar-19

Shadow financial services minister Clare O’Neil will use a Committee for Sydney speech on 12 March to reveal that Labor will reject only one recommendation in the Hayne royal commission’s final report if it wins the upcoming federal election. Labor has joined the Coalition in opposing the proposal to shift the cost of mortgage brokers’ fees from lenders to borrowers. Labor has previously only expressed in-principle support for many of Kenneth Hayne’s recommendations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMITTEE FOR SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Coal war: Joyce sparks showdown with Libs

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Mar-19

National Party leader Michael McCormack has downplayed concerns about a potential leadership challenge amid growing tensions within the Coalition regarding energy policy. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has raised the prospect of ending the alliance with the Liberal Party after Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out federal government funding for new coal-fired power stations in Queensland. McCormack has rejected suggestions of a "coal war" within the Coalition.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Morrison snuffs out Nationals’ power push

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Mar-19

The federal government has rejected a bid by six National Party MPs to revive its "big stick" legislation prior to the upcoming election. The bill to force energy companies to divest assets if they fail to reduce electricity price was recently put on hold. The Nationals MPs also want the government to commit to underwriting a new power generation project in regional Queensland before the election. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the April 2019 Budget and flood relief measures for Queensland are his legislative priorities.

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