AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

NXT considers further media compromise

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-17

The Federal Government requires the support of 10 crossbench senators for its cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in early September. There are indications that the Nick Xenophon Team may be prepared to accept a compromise on its proposed tax break for smaller media companies in return for supporting the reforms. The Australian Labor Party has not changed its stance on opposing the abolition of the "two-out-of-three" rule.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION

APRA probe risks CBA rating

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Phillip Coorey, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Aug-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will establish an independent panel to review the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s governance, culture and accountability. CBA CEO Ian Narev has described the review, which follows a series of scandals at the nation’s largest bank, as a "positive and constructive step". However, ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch have warned that CBA’s credit rating could be downgraded if the review results in any adverse findings. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen maintains that a royal commission into the entire banking sector is needed.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Citizenship turmoil to last months

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 25-Aug-17

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says cabinet ministers Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash should step aside until the High Court rules on their eligibility to be in Parliament. The hearing is not scheduled to begin until 10 October, and Dreyfus argues that any ministerial decisions they make in the interim could be subject to a legal challenge if the court disqualifies them due to dual citizenship. Constitutional lawyers Anne Twomey and George Williams say the court may not necessarily rule in the Government’s favour in the cases of Joyce, Nash and Matt Canavan.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GREAT BRITAIN. HOME OFFICE

Ten’s fate hinges on reform of media law

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 25-Aug-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has ruled that the acquisition of Ten Network by Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon would not result in a substantial lessening of competition. The ACCC took into account factors such as the growing use of streaming video-on-demand services and competition from rival free-to-air networks. However, Murdoch and Gordon cannot acquire Ten without cross-media ownership law reforms, although one option may be for them to each have a low voting stake in Ten but a high economic interest in the network.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, PPB ADVISORY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

Rich pay deal on way to approval

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-17

The Australian Building & Construction Commission’s preliminary assessment of Probuild’s new enterprise agreement has concluded that it complies with the building code. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash and Master Builders Australia have criticised the pay deal, which includes significantly higher penalty rates. Probuild’s in-principle agreement with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union will be submitted for approval by the Fair Work Commission. Cash notes that over 860 enterprise agreements now comply with the building code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, PROBUILD PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD

Wage growth is economy’s Achilles heel, warns Moody’s

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Aug-17

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has maintained its stable outlook for Australia’s triple-A credit rating. However, Moody’s says factors such as low growth in wages and rising household debt – which now comprises 123.1 per cent of GDP – represent key risks to the economy. Meanwhile, Moody’s has forecast that state and federal government debt will increase to 42 per cent of GDP in 2017-18, while the firm has questioned whether the Federal Government will be able to limit growth in expenditure over the Budget forward estimates period.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Tax war moves to smaller companies

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-17

The Australian Government will require up to 6,000 listed and private companies to disclose any "contestable" tax treatments in their financial accounts from fiscal 2019. The new disclosure rules, which were released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, have prompted criticism from tax experts. Paul Drum of CPA Australia says it is the Government’s latest crackdown in a "tax war" on the business sector, adding that the new rules will apply to both small and large companies

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CPA AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD, BDO CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AND ADVISERS

ATO hails tech giants’ $7b sales surge

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Aug-17

Executives from technology companies such as Apple and Google appeared before an inquiry into corporate tax avoidance on 22 August. Apple Australia MD Tony King told the Senate committee that the company has not been penalised following the completion of a five-year audit by the Australian Taxation Office, while IBM, Facebook and Google advised that they are still being audited. Meanwhile, Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan hailed the success of the ATO’s crackdown on tax avoidance by multinationals, noting that it issued $A4bn worth of tax assessments in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
APPLE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT AUSTRALIA

APRA can’t be enforcer and supervisor, NAB says

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 23-Aug-17

Banks have raised concerns about the proposed Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) in submissions to the Federal Government. The role of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority under the new regime is a particular concern for the banking sector, given that it will have powers to fine banks up to $A200m for non-compliance. National Australia Bank has questioned the appropriateness of APRA having the dual roles of supervising and regulating the bank sector, while the ANZ Bank said more clarity is needed regarding the roles of APRA and the Australian Securities & Investments Commission under the BEAR reforms.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

Google ‘misled’ Senate on revenue

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Aug-17

Executives from Google and Facebook appeared before a Senate committee on 22 August. Google’s MD for Australia and New Zealand, Jason Pellegrino, told the inquiry into the future of public-interest journalism that the digital giant boasted gross advertising revenue of $1.1bn in Australia in 2016. Senator Nick Xenophon questioned this figure, citing advertising industry estimates which suggest that Google’s annual revenue was around $A3bn. Meanwhile, Facebook said its gross revenue in Australia was $A326m in 2016.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED