AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Parties gear up for bank-bashing poll

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Original article by Ben Packham, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 5-Feb-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has indicated that the federal government will "act on" all 76 recommendations of the financial services royal commission’s final report. However, the limited number of scheduled parliamentary sittings prior to the election means the government will not have much scope to pursue legislative reforms in its current term in office. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says Labor will embrace all of commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s recommendation, and he has invited the Coalition to open a dialogue with Labor about reforms that can be implemented before the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor mulls NBN write-down trigger

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Original article by John Kehoe, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 4-Feb-19

The Opposition’s communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland says Labor has no plans at this stage to sell the NBN should it win the upcoming federal election. However, she says Labor has not ruled out a write-down of the NBN’s value. Such a strategy would reduce the NBN’s financial targets, which would allow it to reduce broadband wholesale charges to telcos such as Telstra and Optus, which in turn would potentially lead to lower prices for consumers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NBN CO LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, TELSYTE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

No mercy for unethical banks

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

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Bill Shorten have both made an in-principle commitment to implement all of the financial services royal commission’s recommendations. However, Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg say that any regulatory changes arising from the inquiry’s recommendations need to be balanced to prevent a further tightening of access to credit. Federal Parliament’s limited number of sitting days before the election means that both major parties will take their responses to the inquiry to the electorate. The inquiry’s final report will be publicly released after financial markets close on 4 February.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

Labor flags modern rules for the media

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Original article by John Kehoe, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 4-Feb-19

Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says public interest journalism will be a priority for Labor if it wins the 2019 federal election. She adds that Labor will also pursue changes to the media industry’s regulatory framework, arguing that it was designed for the analogue era and is outdated. Rowland adds that Labor would not seek to reverse the federal government’s cross-media ownership reforms, despite having opposed the abolition of the ‘two-out-of-three rule’.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Hayne plan: trust, credit, competition

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Feb-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has indicated that restoring consumers’ trust in banks will be a key focus of the federal government’s response to the final report of the financial services royal commission. He says the government will also aim to ensure that there is competition in the sector and that consumers and businesses continue to have access to credit. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says a Labor government would establish a taskforce to implement the inquiry’s recommendations, claiming that only Labor can restore the public’s trust in financial services providers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Tech experts opt out of My Health system

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Original article by Bo Seo
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 31-Jan-19

Australians must choose whether to opt out of the federal government’s controversial My Health Record system by 31 January. Data security and privacy concerns have prompted a number of people in the technology sector to opt out of the system, including Freelancer CEO and founder Matt Barrie, who says the government has done an "abysmal job" of protecting Australians’ privacy. Cyber security expert Vijay Varadharajan has also chosen to opt out, although Cyber Security Research Centre CEO Rachael Falk has opted in.

CORPORATES
FREELANCER LIMITED – ASX FLN, CYBER SECURITY RESEARCH CENTRE, AIRTREE VENTURES PTY LTD, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE

ALP goads seniors: vote against us

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Original article by Simon Benson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Jan-19

Analysis of tax data shows that Labor’s proposal to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits would affect up to eight per cent of electors in the 10 most marginal federal seats. It is estimated that they would lose an average of $2,700 as a result of the policy. However, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says Labor will press ahead with the policy if it wins the upcoming election. He has also suggested that self-funded retirees should vote against Labor if they are concerned about the policy, prompting Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to accuse him of arrogance.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SMSF ASSOCIATION, LLOG EXPLORATION COMPANY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Green light for black economy taskforce

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 30-Jan-19

The federal government’s Black Economy Taskforce made 80 recommendations in its final report, which was released in October. The government has accepted 30 of these recommendations, while it has agreed in principle to adopt 21 recommendations. Michael Andrew, who chaired the taskforce, says government departments and agencies have commenced the process of implementing the recommendations. The cash economy is estimated to cost about $50 billion a year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Widows, elderly caught by shares crackdown

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 30-Jan-19

Professor Sinclair Davidson has concluded that Labor’s proposal to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits would have the biggest impact on self-managed superannuation funds and self-funded retirees. His analysis also shows that women account for 56 per cent of people who receive cash refunds under the existing scheme, and 68 per cent of them are over the age of 60. In addition, 47 per cent are single or widowed. Labor estimates that its policy would boost government revenue by $55.7bn over 10 years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RMIT UNIVERSITY, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN TAXPAYERS’ ALLIANCE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

PM’s tax-break move a win for small business

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Jan-19

The federal government has extended a tax break for small businesses, in a move which Prime Minister Scott Morrison says will benefit more than three million small businesses with annual turnover of up to $10m. The threshold for the small business instant asset write-off has been increased to $25,000, as part of the government’s strategy to gain the support of small business owners ahead of the election. The government has also committed to creating an additional 1.25 million jobs over five years if it wins the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE