AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor’s franking policy would cost economy

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Nov-18

Liberal MP Tim Wilson has warned that many retirees would lose up to a third of their income under Labor’s plan to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits. Meanwhile, the Grattan Institute has noted in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry that there would be some cost to the economy if Labor’s policy is implemented. However, the think tank has concluded that the policy may be the best option.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Labor open to backing lower migrant intake

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Nov-18

Deputy Opposition leader Tanya Plibersek has indicated that Labor is prepared to consider the federal government’s proposal to reduce Australia’s overall migrant intake and give the states more input into the issue of immigration. However, she has criticised a proposal by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reduce the annual cap on permanent migrants by up to 30,000. Cities Minister Alan Tudge has conceded that government revenue would be affected by any reduction in the migrant intake.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Labor wants anti-corruption watchdog

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Original article by Oliver Caffrey
News.com.au – Page: Online : 21-Nov-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to support Labor’s push to establish a National Integrity Commission. Labor had flagged plans for a national anti-corruption agency in early 2018, and Shorten says he will seek the support of crossbenchers for the proposal when Parliament resumes in late November. A survey by Roy Morgan in September found strong support for a national anti-corruption watchdog. The SMS Morgan Poll showed that 90% of Australians support establishing a National Crimes Authority to investigate federal government, union and private sector corruption.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Treasury warns on Australia’s debt

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Nov-18

The federal government’s net debt was $342bn at the end of 2017-18, which equates to 18.6 per cent of GDP. Although this is relatively low compared with many nations, Treasury secretary Philip Gaetjens says debt needs to be reduced to ensure that Australia is prepared for potential economic shocks in the future. He notes that Australia’s healthy fiscal position in 2007 helped the economy to ride out the global financial crisis. Gaetjens has also expressed concern about a blowout in global debt in the wake of the GFC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Crossbench chaos to thwart Shorten plans

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Nov-18

Research conducted by the Australia Institute suggests that Labor will not be able to rely on a voting bloc with the Greens to get legislation passed by the Senate if it wins the next election. The Institute predicts that Labor and the Greens will have at best 38 senators between them, which is not enough for a majority. As a result, Labor would be required to enter into negotiations with crossbencher to get legislation passed in the same manner that the Coalition has had to do since 2013.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Independent umpire pays the penalty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Nov-18

Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia CEO Peter Strong says changes to Sunday and public holiday penalty rates do not seem to have led to more jobs or more hours for existing workers. However, he claims that this is due to increases in the minimum wage that have essentially offset the impact of the cuts, rather than because businesses are retaining the savings that have resulted from the cuts. Meanwhile, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says Labor’s proposed bill to prevent the Fair Work Commission from reducing the take-home pay of any worker is "obviously unfair to employers".

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Aussie John warns Labor’s property plan a nuclear bomb

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Nov-18

Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has warned that Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing regime could lead to a recession in Australia. He says that although the "grandfathering" provisions of the Labor reforms would benefit people who are buying their first home, they would cause property prices to fall and result in many existing homeowners having negative equity in their home. Symond supports negative gearing reforms, but he argues that they should primarily target people on high incomes.

CORPORATES
AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE TAX INSTITUTE, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD

Health Minister relents on opt-out

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Original article by Sean Parnell
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Nov-18

The federal government has announced that consumers will now have until the end of January to opt out of the My Health Record system. The opt-out period had been slated to end on 15 November, after having previously been extended by a month. The 10-week extension will enable the government to make amendments to the My Health Record legislation to address concerns about privacy and security. Labor had sought a 12-month extension of the opt-out period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Greens seek to wedge Labor on IR

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Nov-18

Labor has indicated that it would prioritise low-paid workers in any push for industry-wide enterprise bargaining. However, the Greens argue that industry-wide enterprise bargaining should be available to all workers regardless of income or the sector in which they work. The Coalition and business leaders have expressed concern that the ACTU’s proposal for industry-wide enterprise bargaining would see industrial action escalate to the levels of the 1970s.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

ALP’s tax hike would strangle economic growth

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Original article by Adam Creighton, Michael Roche
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Nov-18

Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics expects Labor to win the next federal election, and he warns that the party’s proposed tax and regulatory reforms will result in slower economic growth over the next several years. The economist also expects growth in consumption to slow under a Labor government, while the Australian dollar could also fall sharply. Labor plans to increase taxes by $34bn over two years if it wins the election.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD