AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

PM switches to plan B on tax reform

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Feb-18

The Senate is set to reject the Federal Government’s corporate tax cuts package after One Nation and the Nick Xenophon Team advised that they will vote against it. The two minor parties have a combined six seats in the Senate, and just three cross-benchers currently support the tax reforms. The lower house passed the company tax cuts bill on 8 February, and Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Government remains committed to getting the tax cuts through the Senate. However, the package’s looming defeat in the upper house will allow the Government to focus on personal income tax cuts in the May 2018 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Laundy’s bid to toughen IR rules

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Feb-18

Workplace Relations Minister Craig Laundy has signalled that the Federal Government may consider amendments to the Fair Work Act aimed at providing greater protection to workers in the enterprise bargaining process. Laundy says there may be a case for strengthening existing provisions of the Act that require workers to be fully informed of the pay and conditions in an enterprise agreement before they vote for it. He has also warned of the potential for huge job losses if a future Labor government were to implements the ACTU’s proposals regarding the minimum wage and workplace laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC

Labor backs changes to protect journalists

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Feb-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to provide greater protection for journalists in its proposed espionage laws. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that journalists will not face prosecution for publishing classified information if they had believed that doing so was in the public interest. The media industry had expressed concern that journalists could face criminal prosecution for receiving classified information.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Use tax cuts to boost wages: ex-BCA boss

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

Former Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd says employees and shareholders of large companies should directly benefit from any reduction in the corporate tax rate via higher wages and increased dividend payouts. Many large companies in the US have announced wage rises in response to the Trump administration’s tax package. However, Treasurer Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten have questioned the merits of a "social contract" in Australia if across-the-board corporate tax cuts are passed by federal parliament.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT

Spy laws: New A-G concedes ground

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Original article by Simon Benson, Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Feb-18

The Federal Government has responded to the media industry’s concerns about its proposed foreign interference laws by agreeing to some safeguards for journalists. Attorney-General Christian Porter has advised that journalists who receive classified information will only face criminal prosecution under certain circumstances, such as if reporting on the information could potentially affect public safety or pose a threat to national security. However, commonwealth officers who leak confidential information will not receive any such exemption.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, ASHURST AUSTRALIA

Do not resuscitate: enterprise bargaining deserves a burial

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Australian – Page: 12 : 6-Feb-18

The enterprise bargaining system is largely defunct in Australia, with the exception of the public sector and a few private companies. The proportion of employees covered by enterprise agreements has been declining since it peaked in 2010, while the proportion of workers covered by industry awards has risen from 15 per cent to around 25 per cent since then. The Federal Government should pursue reforms such as ensuring that enterprise agreements are no longer allowed to continue beyond their expiry date, because it is almost certain that Labor will seek to revive enterprise bargaining if it wins the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED

Lib MP growls over layer of BEAR red tape

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 6-Feb-18

The Greens will seek amendments to the Federal Government’s Banking Executive Accountability Regime in the Senate, after the legislation was passed by the lower house on 5 February. Liberal MP Nicolle Flint opposed the BEAR regime, arguing that it will further increase the compliance burden for the financial sector, noting that it has been subject to a spate of new rules and regulations in recent years. The BEAR regime, which is slated to take effect in July, has the support of the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

New spy laws to hinder legitimate work of media

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Feb-18

Attorney-General Christian Porter has conceded that some changes to proposed foreign interference laws may be needed to alleviate the concerns of the media industry. Robert Todd of law firm Ashurst has warned that the laws as presently drafted could potentially make a wide range of persons criminally liable for dealing with confidential information. He says the proposed laws provide very limited protection for journalists, while there would be almost no protection for other people, including social media users.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Wage growth to pick up

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Original article by Laura Tingle, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Feb-18

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison argues that a proposed across-the-board reduction in the company tax rate will boost wages and job security, noting that US companies have already begun increasing wages in the wake of the Trump administration’s tax reforms. He has called on businesses to promote the benefits of the proposed company tax cuts for the broader economy. Morrison has also indicated that financing personal income tax cuts via an increase in the goods and services tax will not be on the Coalition’s policy agenda for the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

News leaders unite to resist spy laws that could criminalise journalism

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 5-Feb-18

The media industry has expressed concern about the broader implications of the Federal Government’s foreign interference bill on freedom of the press. Paul Whittaker, the editor-in-chief of "The Australian", says journalists could breach the new offence of handling classified information simply by seeking to confirm the validity of a document they have received. "Herald Sun" editor Damon Johnston warns that the legislation could potentially be used by a future government to silence the media, while the ABC’s John Lyons argues that media companies already have sufficient procedures in place for handling confidential information.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET