AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Coalition tips Medicare Levy will get over the line

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Aug-17

The Federal Government is optimistic that its proposed 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare levy will be passed by the Senate. The bill will be put before the upper house on 17 August, although a vote is unlikely before September. The increase in the levy is one of 10 bills that were endorsed by the Coalition’s partyroom on 16 August. The Opposition is pushing for the increased levy to be restricted to people whose annual income exceeds $A87,000. The Government hopes to secure the support of crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Xenophon deal on media rules within reach

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Aug-17

The Australian Government is expected to put its media reform bill to the Senate in its current form in order to secure the support of the Nick Xenophon Team. The minor party opposes the Government’s deal with One Nation to impose new obligations on the ABC and SBS, and these amendments are likely to be put on hold due to lack of sufficient support in the upper house. The Government is also said to be assessing the cost of proposals put forward by Senator Nick Xenophon in return for supporting the media reforms.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Hanson deal on media laws

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Darren Davidson, Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 3 : 16-Aug-17

The Federal Government has agreed to a number of concessions to secure One Nation’s support for its cross-media ownership reforms in the Senate. Amongst other things, the ABC and SBS will be required to disclose the salaries of their highest-paid staff, while the ABC Act will be amended to include the requirement that the public broadcaster’s news coverage is "fair and balanced". The support of the Nick Xenophon Team for the media bill will be crucial, given that the Greens have rejected the One Nation reforms.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

CFMEU loss as bench rules code-compliant deal OK

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Aug-17

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that Lendlease Engineering’s enterprise bargaining agreement in New South Wales is valid. The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union had appealed against the FWC’s June 2017 decision to approve the EBA, which complies with the Federal Government’s building code. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has urged the CFMEU to negotiate code-compliant EBAs. Cash also wants union mergers to be subject to a public-interest test.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, UNITED VOICE, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY

Probe for Shorten over AWU’s GetUp! donation

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Aug-17

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has formally referred a union donation to activist group GetUp to the Registered Organisations Commission. The Australian Workers’ Union made the donation of about $A100,000 in 2005, when current Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was the union’s national secretary. A spokesman for Shorten has indicated that the donation had been approved by the AWU’s national executive. However, some members of the national executive at the time say they have no recollection of the donation being formally approved.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Kiwi Joyce puts doubt on majority

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Aug-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is confident that the High Court will rule that National Party leader Barnaby Joyce is eligible to be in Parliament. The Deputy Prime Minister is the latest federal MP to become embroiled in the dual citizenship saga, following revelations that he is be a New Zealand citizen because his father was born there. The Opposition has called for Joyce to stand aside until his status is determined by the High Court, while it has also questioned the legitimacy of the Government. A by-election in Joyce’s seat could result in the loss of the Government’s one-seat majority.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

TV networks face slug for local content fund

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Aug-17

The Australian Government is continuing to hold talks with Senate crossbenchers regarding its cross-media reform bill, which is slated to be debated on 15 August. The Greens remain open to negotiation, and the party has proposed that TV networks should be required to contribute to a "local content fund". This was a key recommendation of the Convergence Review in 2012. The Greens’ Sarah Hanson-Young has also advocated an increase in funding for the ABC and SBS, while One Nation wants their funding to be reduced.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Fifield in legislative limbo with crossbench

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 14-Aug-17

The Federal Government is still holding talks with the Greens and Senate crossbenchers in a bid to secure support for its cross-media ownership reforms. Cory Bernardi, David Leyonhjelm and Derryn Hinch intend to support the bill, although the Government will require the support of another seven crossbenchers. Meanwhile, the Greens have expressed concern about One Nation’s proposal to undertake an expenditure review of the ABC and SBS. The bill is expected to be debated in the upper house in the week beginning 14 August.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Slap for exemptions in Labor ‘tax grab’

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Aug-17

The Federal Opposition has been attacked over its plans to exempt farmers from its proposed crackdown on the taxation of discretionary trusts. Labor has claimed that its proposed changes will raise $A17 billion over 10 years. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the exemption of farmers is warranted on the grounds that their income fluctuates. However, Small Business Minister Michael McCormack says the same argument could be made for small business owners, and Labor is not planning to exempt them from its changes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

PM bid to block super union

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Aug-17

The Fair Work Commission is expected to issue a ruling on the proposed merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia by the end of 2107. However, the Federal Government hopes to block the merger by seeking an amendment to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations Act) that would require the FWC to subject union mergers to a public-interest test. The CFMEU has criticised the move, but representatives of the mining and resources sector have lobbied the Government to block the merger.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES