AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Shorten war on business

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 31-Jan-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to establishing a national anti-corruption commission if Labor wins the next federal election. He has also signalled plans to either increase the minimum wage or replace it with a so-called "living wage". Meanwhile, business groups have expressed concern over Shorten’s proposal to rebalance enterprise bargaining laws in favour of workers. Private health insurance companies will also be targeted by Shorten, while he has ruled out supporting the Federal Government’s company tax cuts package.

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

Labor’s Fair Work plan insane

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Jan-18

Australian Mines & Metals Association CEO Steve Knott has criticised the Federal Opposition’s proposal to give Fair Work Commission more power to arbitrate industrial disputes. He argues that the FWC is already dominated by former union officials and Labor supporters, adding that it would be "insanity" to give it more power. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the FWC’s existing powers to intervene are sufficient.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU

Trade pact to deliver GDP boost

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 25-Jan-18

Independent modelling has concluded that Australia stands to gain more from the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership than if the US had agreed to join the trade bloc. The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that Australia’s GDP could potentially grow by more than one per cent by 2030 as a result of the trade deal. The 11 nations participating in the TPP will officially sign off on the deal in March, and it must then be ratified by Federal Parliament.

CORPORATES
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, PETER G PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Trade win after Pacific deal sealed

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Jan-18

Canada has agreed to become a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with the 11-nation regional trade pact expected to be formally signed in March. Australia’s Trade Minister Steve Ciobo says the majority of tariffs currently imposed by TPP member nations will be scrapped under the new trade deal. The future of the TPP has been in doubt since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it, while Canada’s participation has been uncertain.

CORPORATES
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, CANADA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

ALP’s Fair Work Commission power play

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Jan-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has expressed support for the Federal Opposition’s proposal to give the Fair Work Commission more power to arbitrate industrial disputes. Labor’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor says that while the parties to a dispute should always seek to resolve it themselves, an alternative is needed when one party has not acted in good faith. However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has warned against any changes to the Fair Work Act that would give unions more bargaining power.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Budget gets Trump bump

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Tom McIlroy, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jan-18

The Australian Government’s May 2018 Budget may take into account the impact of the Trump administration’s tax reforms when restating its forecasts for global economic growth. The mid-year update in December maintained Treasury’s current forecast of global economic growth of 3.5 per cent in 2018. However, Treasury may respond to the International Monetary Fund’s upgrade of its global growth forecasts by upwardly revising its own guidance.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD

Trump tax cuts lift world economy

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Jan-18

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the global economy will grow by 3.9 per cent in 2018 and at a similar pace in 2019. The global economy grew by 3.7 per cent in 2017. The IMF has also used its latest world economic outlook report to upgrade its forecast for US economic growth in 2018 by 0.4 per cent, to 2.7 per cent, citing the likely impact of the Trump administration’s company tax reforms. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the IMF’s forecasts emphasise the need for Australia’s company tax rate to be reduced to ensure that the nation remains internationally competitive.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

Consultancy spend alarms union, MPs

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Original article by Edmund Tadros, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 22-Jan-18

MPs are concerned about the level of money that federal government departments are spending on consultants and contractors. Almost 5,000 consultants are employed across government agencies, and the Community & Public Sector Union estimates that $A380 million could be saved each year by replacing them with permanent public servants. Accenture and the four major accounting firms are estimated to have made more than $A3 billion over a five-year period from federal government contracts.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. JOINT COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE AGENCY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES

Cut tax to create jobs: CEOs

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Jan-18

Walmart is among the US companies that are increasing their wage rates in response to the Trump administration’s tax reforms. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says Australian now needs to "catch" up to the US with regard to tax reform, noting that Labor’s opposition to the Government’s company tax package means the nation has missed the opportunity to take the lead on tax reform. Meanwhile, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and MYOB CEO Tim Reed are among the business leaders who have emphasised the economic benefits of reducing the corporate tax rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, APPLE INCORPORATED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Dastyari poised for union PR job

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Original article by Andrew Clennell, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Jan-18

Australian Labor Party senator Sam Dastyari has advised that he will formally resign from the upper house in late January, more than a month after announcing his resignation. There is speculation that Dastyari is holding talks about taking up a role at Essential Media Communications, which undertakes public relations campaigns on behalf of many unions in New South Wales. Meanwhile, Labor Leader Bill Shorten has praised the performance of Kristina Keneally – Dastyari’s likely replacement in the Senate – in the recent Bennelong by-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ESSENTIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, UNIONS NSW, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)