AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Shorten seats for union support deal

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Original article by Staff reporters
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Dec-17

Unions linked to the Australian Labor Party’s Industrial Left faction are understood to have done a deal with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his ­Centre Unity faction. The deal is said to include increased pre-selection of candidates belonging to the IL faction for seats at upcoming elections, in return for the IL agreeing to support Shorten remaining as Labor leader. Unions belonging to the IL faction include the Maritime Union of Australia, the ­Finance Sector Union and the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES UNION

Boost for conservatives as PM resets his team

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Dec-17

The Federal Government’s new cabinet includes five women, with Employment Minister Michaelia Cash taking on the new super portfolio of jobs and innovation. Dan Tehan will replace Christian Porter as Social Services Minister, while Porter will succeed George Brandis as Attorney-General. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will take over the infrastructure and transport portfolio from Victorian MP Darren Chester, who has been relegated to the backbench after declining the offer of becoming an assistant minister. Meanwhile, backbencher David Littleproud will take on Joyce’s former portfolio of agriculture.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE, AUSTRALIAN CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL SECURITY LEGISLATION MONITOR

Budget to slice $23bn off debt pile

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Dec-17

Australia’s gross debt is now expected to be about $A583bn in 2020-21, which is $A23bn lower than forecast in the Federal Government’s May 2017 Budget. Treasurer Scott Morrison says the revised debt forecast, which will be outlined in the mid-year Budget update on 18 December, will reduce the government’s annual interest bill by $A1bn. He adds that the government will now no longer be reliant on debt to finance recurrent expenditure, and borrowings will only be used for capital expenditure.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Turnbull takes credit for jobs boom

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 15-Dec-17

The Australian workforce has increased by 3.2 per cent in the last year, which is the fastest rate of growth since early 2008. Some 440,000 jobs have been created since September 2016, including 62,000 in November 2017, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull notes that the labour market had not previously grown for 14 months successive months since 1994. He has attributed the strong jobs growth to the Coalition’s policies, although Labor employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor argues that the underemployment rate remains close to its record high.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LATROBE COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Stronger economy to cut size of deficit

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Original article by David Uren, Joe Kelly, John Ross
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Dec-17

The Federal Government’s May 2017 Budget had forecast a total deficit of $A46bn over four years. However, Westpac economists Bill Evans and Andrew Hanlan expect the mid-year budget update to revise this down to $A40bn. Westpac also forecasts a deficit of $A1.5bn in 2019-20, followed by a modest surplus in 2020-21. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has signalled that higher education funding will not be reduced in the budget update, although he has flagged new savings measures after the government’s proposed university funding cuts were rejected by the Senate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, THE GROUP OF EIGHT LIMITED, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Gas price plunge after exporters toe PM’s line

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 13-Dec-17

A new report shows that wholesale gas prices on the east coast have fallen by up to 50 per cent since the Federal Government flagged plans to impose LNG export controls in order to boost domestic gas supplies. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will release the second report on its investigation into the east coast gas market on 13 December. The report notes that rather than a forecast gas shortage of up to 107 petajoules in 2018, there is the potential for a surplus of around 20 petajoules as LNG producers redirect export volumes to the domestic market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Shorten facing split as Dastyari departs

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Original article by Andrew Clennell, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Dec-17

Some members of the Australian Labor Party’s New South Wales right faction have expressed concern that Sam Dastyari was pressured into resigning from the Senate. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has praised Dastyari’s decision to resign in the wake of revelations about his links with China. There is speculation that Dastyari’s seat in the upper house could be filled by Kristina Keneally if she fails to win the upcoming by-election in the seat of Bennelong. United Voice’s Tara Moriarty is also seen as a contender to replace Dastyari.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED VOICE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

IPA advocates income tax power be given to states

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Dec-17

The distribution of goods and services tax revenue between the states and territories continues to attract scrutiny. The Institute of Public Affairs has proposed the adoption of a system of "competitive federalism", whereby the states would be responsible for setting their own GST rate and retaining the revenue. IPA executive director John Roskam suggests that the states and territories could also be allowed to impose their own income taxes, but notes that they baulked at this when the idea was put forward by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Shorten weighs up move on Dastyari

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Original article by Simon Benson, Andrew Clennell, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Dec-17

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is under growing pressure to take action regarding senator Sam Dastyari, who is continuing to attract scrutiny over his links with China. Opinion within Labor’s ranks is divided, with Tony Burke and Anthony Albanese publicly supporting Dastyari, while Catherine King and Linda Burney are among those who believe that he should resign. Former Labor leader Kim Beazley has urged Dastyari to act in the best interests of his party and the nation, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described Shorten’s lack of action on the issue of Dastyari as a scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY. AUSTRALIA-CHINA RELATIONS INSTITUTE

I’ve revived economy: Turnbull

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Dec-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull say he hopes to have all of the states and territories signed up to the national energy guarantee by the middle of 2018. Turnbull also says that 2018 will see his government focus on the economy, including trying to get parliament to approve the rest of its corporate tax reduction program, as well as looking at the possibility of income tax cuts. He expects that there will be more to come concerning the scandal involving Labor’s Sam Dastyari.

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