AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Developers told GST changes out of left field despite talks

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 4-Dec-17

Changes to the goods and services tax treatment of property transactions are due to take effect on 1 July 2018, although they must first be passed by parliament. They are aimed at preventing a practice known as "phoenixing", whereby developers close their business before they have settled their GST obligations, and start up another entity under a different name. The changes are tipped to boost GST collection by $A660 million over four years, but developers are concerned that they will face more red tape and greater compliance costs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEHILY ADVISORY

Dastyari doubt after Shorten sacks him, again

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Dec-17

Bill Shorten says Sam Dastyari will have to work hard to regain the trust of his fellow Labor party colleagues. Shorten’s comments come after Dastyari was forced to resign from a Labor leadership role in federal parliament for the second time in just over a year over his links with Chinese political donor Huang Xiangmo. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for Dastyari to resign from parliament over the issue. Shorten does not believe Dastyari is "unloyal" to Australia, while he denied government claims that Dastyari is a "traitor"

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

Bank probe hits union super

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-Dec-17

The federal government announced on 30 November that it would hold a royal commission into the financial services sector. The royal commission will cost $A75 million and run for 12 months. Its terms of reference are not as broad as the private members’ bill that Nationals Senator Barry O’Sullivan was looking to introduce and which was seen a major factor in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison’s decision to hold a royal commission. The government’s decision to include an examination of union-backed industry superannuation funds as part of the commission’s terms of reference is seen as "payback" to Labor for its part in forcing the government to change its mind on the issue.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JCP INVESTMENT PARTNERS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Marriage bill clears Senate

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Nov-17

The Senate has approved legislation allowing same-sex couple to marry, with the vote 43-12 in favour of the bill. The legislation will now go to the House of Representatives in the week beginning 4 December, when conservatives will be seeking to move amendments to the legislation to allow for religious protection, something they were not able to achieve in the Senate. Labor Senate leader Penny Wong said the bill’s passage was cause for great celebration.

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

Australians losing faith in democracy, report finds

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-Nov-17

Just 28 per cent of Australians trust the federal government to do the right thing by them either most of the time or almost always, compared to 48 per cent in 2009. This is according to the latest findings of the Monash University-Scanlon Foundation Social Cohesion Program, which has gauged Australians’ views on issues such as immigration, discrimination and political trust annually for the past decade. Over a third of respondents stated Australia’s current political system needs either a major revamp or replacing altogether.

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY, SCANLON FOUNDATION, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Malcolm Turnbull under pressure to allow bank probe

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Nov-17

Nationals MP Llew O’Brien has indicated he is prepared to cross the floor of the House of Representatives to support a private members’ bill to establish a commission of inquiry into the banking sector. Nationals MP George Christensen has already indicated he cross the floor to support the bill in the lower house. The bill has been instigated by Nationals senator Barry O’Sullivan, and already has enough support to pass through the upper house. O’Sullivan says the federal government should perhaps take control of the process to get the bill enacted, given the current state of the numbers.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

NXT senator steps down over dual citizenship

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Nov-17

Nick Xenophon Team senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore has become the latest federal politician to become caught up in the dual-citizenship saga. Kakoschke-Moore announced her resignation from the Senate on 22 November, after discovering she had inherited dual UK citizenship through her mother. She asked that the Senate refer her case to the High Court when it resumes sitting in the week beginning 27 November.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Labor wants Bennelong vote to rattle PM

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 20-Nov-17

Labor launched its campaign for the seat of Bennelong on 19 November, with the by-election for the seat to be held on 16 December. The by-election has been prompted by John Alexander’s discovery that he held British nationality. Former New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally, who is running for Labor in Bennelong, urged voters to send a message to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that they are tired of his "awful government". Alexander, who has represented Bennelong since 2010, currently holds it with a margin of 9.7 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA

Citizenship showdown nears for Turnbull

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 14-Nov-17

The dual citizenship crisis is set to dominate the last weeks of federal parliament for the year, after the Coalition and the Opposition agreed that all MPs must provide evidence of their citizenship status by 1 December. The Government believes that at least four Labor MPs may be dual citizens, while Labor in turn has questioned whether an additional five Liberal MPs are eligible to be in parliament. The outcomes of by-elections in the seats of New England and Bennelong in December will determine whether the Government retains its majority in the lower house.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Bernardi’s bid to lift bans on nuclear power

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Original article by Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 6 : 13-Nov-17

Australian Conservatives leader Senator Cory Bernardi will table a bill on 13 November that would remove a ban on nuclear power plants, along with nuclear processing and enrichment. His bill follows on from a call by former prime minister Tony Abbott in October that the construction of nuclear power plants should be allowed. Bernardi notes that Australia has ample uranium supplies, but at the moment is just exporting it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET