AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Cash fails in bid to have AWU raid subpoenas thrown out

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Dec-17

The Federal Court has ruled that Employment Minister Michaelia Cash must provide the Australian Workers’ Union with access to documents relating to a police raid on its offices in October. The AWU had sought access to communications between Cash’s office and the Registered Organisations Commission, which had authorised the raids as part of its investigation into an AWU donation to activist group GetUp.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Nationals’ split widens amid reshuffle fallout

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 21-Dec-17

The Federal Government’s cabinet reshuffle has prompted disunity within the ranks of the National Party. Some members of the junior Coalition partner are displeased with the decision to drop Nationals MP Darren Chester from the infrastructure portfolio and Liberal-National Party MP Keith Pitt from his role as the assistant trade minister. There has been speculation that Pitt may seek to establish a separate Nationals party room or resign from the party and join the crossbench.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

Australia’s emissions rise 5pc in two years

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Dec-17

Australia will find it hard to meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement, based on the latest figures on greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions have risen five per cent in the last two years, and are currently at 554 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. This is tipped to rise to 570 million tonnes per annum by 2030 if measures such as new emission standards for cars and the federal government’s national energy guarantee are not imposed with suitable rigour. The farming and transport sectors are tipped to contribute the biggest increase in emissions in coming years, while the electricity sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

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