AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

New coal power flashpoint for PM

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Aug-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently ruled out government funding for the construction of high-energy, low-emissions coal-fired power plants. However, he has now given indications that such a project could potentially receive a government loan via the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Some Coalition MPs are advocating the continued use of coal as part of Australia’s energy mix, as the Government prepares to decide its stance on a proposed clean energy target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Fix it and get back to economy, says BCA

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-17

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has urged Parliament to resolve the standoff over marriage equality quickly in order to focus on economic policy. Westacott says the Federal Government must agree to a conscience vote if the majority of Australians support legalising same-sex marriage in the postal plebiscite. She has also criticised the "anti-business agenda" of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten regarding tax cuts for smaller companies and the taxation of trusts.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Union deals cut Sunday pay rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-17

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association and United Voice have struck enterprise bargaining agreements with major employers that either abolish Sunday penalty rates or feature rates that are lower than the industry award. The EBAs cover some 410.000 employees of companies such as Bunnings, McDonald’s, KFC, David Jones and Big W. The EBAs of several large hotel chains also do not include Sunday penalty rates. However, all of the EBAs that were analysed by the Department of Employment trade off penalty rates in return for higher base hourly wage rates.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, PRICELINE PTY LTD, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP, SHERATON MIRAGE GOLD COAST HOTEL, LANGHAM HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, PARK ROYAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GRILL’D PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, RACV CLUBS AND RESORTS, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

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