AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Senator baulks at Turnbull union bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-17

The future of the Federal Government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill is in doubt after Senator Nick Xenophon warned that union officials could be subjected to higher standards than company directors. The Opposition has expressed similar concerns regarding the bill, which would increase the government’s powers to deregister unions, block union mergers and disqualify union officials. The bill has also been criticised by ACTU secretary Sally McManus, who says it would result in lower growth in wages. Parliament will debate the bill in coming days.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Labor vetoes ASIC chair

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 13-Oct-17

Credit Suisse Australia chairman John O’Sullivan will not seek to become chairman of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. He had been regarded as a leading contender to succeed Greg Medcraft, but he has cited "personal attacks" and insinuations by the Australian Labor Party for his decision to withdraw his candidacy. Labor had alleged that his appointment at ASIC would not be appropriate given his links to the Liberal Party and the so-called "Ute-gate" scandal in 2009. The Government in turn has argued that Medcraft was a former Labor party member and had been appointed by a Labor government without going through a formal selection process.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, OZCAR

PM weighs expanding Direct Action

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 13-Oct-17

Australia is meant to achieve certain carbon emission reduction targets by 2030, but there are concerns that these targets will not be met without an appropriate mechanism in place. The Federal Government appears to have abandoned the Finkel Review’s proposed Clean Energy Target, while the Renewable Energy Target will end in 2020. There are suggestions that the government’s Direct Action scheme could be used as an alternative to the RET, although Australian Energy Council CEO Matthew Warren contends that it would have to be reconfigured in order to be viable.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Scale back Paris emissions commitment, reformers urge

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Oct-17

The Federal Government ruled out withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement in June, but Gary Banks of the Melbourne Institute and former government adviser Fred Hilmer say it should reduce back the nation’s commitment to the agreement. Banks, the former chairman of the Productivity Commission, has expressed concern about the likely economic impact of Australia’s renewable energy target. Banks and Hilmer have also questioned whether there has been adequate analysis and modelling of the Government’s energy policy.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA

State GST backlash a headache for Turnbull

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Oct-17

Western Australia could receive up to $A3.63 billion more in 2017-18 from goods and services tax payments if the Federal Government adopts changes recommended by the Productivity Commission. However, the other states would get less money if changes to the way GST revenue is distributed are adopted, with Queensland set to lose up to $A1.6 billion. Politicians from the states that would be negatively impacted have reacted angrily to the Commission’s recommendations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, TASMANIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Plan for reboot of GST carve-up

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Oct-17

The Productivity Commission’s interim report on its review of the system for distributing goods and services tax revenue will be released on 9 October. The report is said to be broadly supportive of the "horizontal fiscal equalisation" formula for allocating GST revenue but will advocate some changes due to concerns about the current system’s impact on productivity. However, any attempt to change the GST formula is likely to meet with strong opposition from some states. The Commission’s final report will be released in 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, TASMANIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Fifield strikes back at ABC’s Guthrie

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 24 : 9-Oct-17

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has defended the Federal Government’s move to make the ABC disclose the salaries of presenters who are paid more than $A200,000 and to require the public broadcaster to be "fair and balanced". He was responding to a speech by ABC MD Michelle Guthrie, in which she argued that changes to the ABC’s charter were not necessary and were politically motivated. The changes were part of a deal struck with One Nation to secure cross-media ownership reforms in the Senate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Rethink on clean energy target

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Oct-17

There appears to be a growing view within the Federal Government that a clean energy target, as recommended by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, is no longer required. This is because the cost of renewable energy is falling more quickly than previously forecast, with the cost of battery technology expected to fall by more than 70 per cent in the period to 2030. Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is expected to express these sentiments concerning the CET when he gives the keynote address at an energy summit.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM takes on Jones over gas bans

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Oct-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his ministers are increasingly coming to the view that radio broadcaster Alan Jones is engaging in double standards on the question of gas prices. Jones has publicly advocated against onshore gas development in New South Wales for a number of years. Regulators, business and governments are generally of the opinion that allowing onshore gas development in NSW and other states would help to lower gas prices, and the Federal Government sees Jones’s constant attacks on it over gas prices as somewhat hypocritical.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Senate push for stronger BOOT test

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 5-Oct-17

The Business Council of Australia has supported a Senate committee’s proposal to make changes to the "better off overall test" in the Fair Work Act to ensure that workers’ rights are protected. A BCA spokesman says addressing such deficiencies is necessary in order to enhance the enterprise bargaining system and address the issue of low growth in wages. The Labor-dominated Senate committee recommended some "fine-tuning" of the better off overall test.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NICK XENOPHON TEAM