AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Call to cut red tape in bid to hasten projects

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 8-Jun-18

A new report from the Institute of Public Affairs advocates a range of measures aimed at reducing the compliance burden for the business sector. The report’s co-author, Daniel Wild, says the annual cost of red tape is $A176bn and a major overhaul of the regulatory regime is necessary. Amongst other things, the IPA report calls for sweeping changes to the approvals process for major projects and people who want to start their own business.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED

Foreign spy threat to by-elections

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jun-18

The joint committee on intelligence and security has made 60 recommendations in its report on the Federal Government’s Espionage and Foreign Interference Bill. Attorney-General Christian Porter says the committee should also report immediately on the Foreign Influence and Transparency Scheme Bill. He argues that both bills must be passed by Parliament prior to the five by-elections on 28 July, to ensure that the outcome of the polls is not affected by the actions of foreign agents. He says the threat of foreign interference has increased in recent months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

GetUp! accused of strategy switch in support of Labor

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Jun-18

The role of activist group GetUp in Labor’s "Mediscare" campaign during the 2016 federal election is under scrutiny. Liberal MP Ben Morton has questioned why GetUp put healthcare funding at the top of its campaign agenda for the election. He notes that the issue of Medicare ranked eighth in GetUp’s membership survey in 2015, but it suddenly ranked as a high priority in the election year. Morton alleges that GetUp switched its campaign focus in order to complement Labor’s Medicare campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GETUP LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Labor ridiculed for throwing gender bias into tax battle

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Jun-18

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has revealed that the Parliamentary Budget Office has undertaken an analysis of the gender impact of the Federal Government’s income tax cuts package on behalf of the Opposition. Bowen says the modelling shows that men will benefit the most from the third phase of the tax cuts. Treasurer Scott Morrison has responded by arguing that the income tax system is gender-neutral, a view shared by business leader Tony Shepherd. Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell says it is inappropriate to address the gender pay gap via the tax system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, NRMA LIMITED

Burston to vote for full income tax cut package

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 7-Jun-18

The Federal Government still requires the support of eight out of the 10 crossbenchers to pass its income tax cuts package in the Senate. One Nation senator Brian Burston has indicated that he intends to support the entire tax package, despite party leader Pauline Hanson having committed to supporting only the first two stages of the tax package. Labor will also support the first two stages of the package, but Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out legislating the third stage separately.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

MPs warn Facebook over China

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Original article by Simon Benson, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jun-18

Social media giant Facebook is under scrutiny over revelations that its users’ personal data was shared with Chinese technology company Huawei. Labor MP Anthony Byrne has described Facebook’s actions as "completely unacceptable". The deputy chairman of federal parliament’s joint committee on intelligence and security has also raised the possibility that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg could be asked to appear before the committee. Zuckerberg has previously appeared before US and European legislators in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, LENOVO GROUP LIMITED, OPPO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION, TCL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED

PM backs Joyce to recontest New England

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Jun-18

National Party MP Barnaby Joyce intends to be a candidate for the seat of New England at the next federal election. Opinion within the party is divided regarding Joyce’s future, with some colleagues suggesting that he should consider quitting politics in the wake of his relationship with an ex-staffer. However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Nationals’ deputy leader Bridget McKenzie say he should stay in politics. Former Nationals leader John Anderson says he will not seek pre-selection for New England.

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

Tough laws to put terror heat on tech titans

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jun-18

The Federal Government has proposed legislation that would require telcos and technology companies to provide law enforcement and intelligence agencies with access to the encrypted data of suspected terrorists and cyber-criminals. Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor notes that at present telcos are not required to co-operate in providing access to such data. He stresses that the legislation – which will also apply to digital companies such as Google and Facebook – will not result in the creation of so-called "backdoor keys" that would allow law enforcement agencies to decrypt such data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Former US official warns on digital tax

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Original article by Nassim Khadem
The Age – Page: 23 : 5-Jun-18

The federal government is examining ways of taxing the billions in advertising revenue that digital companies Google and Facebook are generating. One option under consideration is a three per cent tax on turnover. Bob Stack, who was previously an official with the US Treasury under the administration of Barack Obama, does not think such a tax is a good idea. He says it could result in double taxation and might spark retaliation from the US government, which could increase taxes on Australian companies.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, DELOITTE LLP, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, APPLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Hanson will have a party of one: Anning

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Jun-18

One Nation senator Peter Georgiou says he voted against the Ensuring Integrity Bill because its public interest test was intended to block a merger between the construction and maritime unions that had already been approved. The bill failed to pass the upper house after dissent among the three One Nation senators prompted the party to vote against it. Meanwhile, former One Nation senator Fraser Anning says he had forecast in late 2017 that Georgiou and senator Brian Burston will leave One Nation within 12 months. Anning has joined Katter’s Australian Party, after sitting as an independent since November.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY