AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Federal debt surges past half-a-trillion

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 4 : 14-Jun-17

The Australian Government’s gross debt has increased by $A9bn since early May 2017, to a record $A499bn. It is poised to rise above $A500bn in coming days, and it is projected to top $A663bn in 2020. The Government’s debt ceiling was increased to $A500bn by former treasurer Joe Hockey in 2013, but it was subsequently abolished later in the same year. One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and Liberal Party senator Dean Smith have urged the reintroduction of a formal debt ceiling.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Finkel fires Coalition coal battle

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Jun-17

The Australian Government appears to be struggling to secure backing for the Clean Energy Target (CET) proposed by Professor Alan Finkel. His recommendation involves requiring a certain percentage of electricity to be generated by low emission sources. The more conservative sections of the Liberal Party want "clean coal" to be regarded as a low emission source. However, the Australian Labor Party may not support a CET under these circumstances.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ENERGY NETWORKS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Donations row engulfs Turnbull’s team

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

China-born billionaire Chau Chak Wing has rejected claims that he has links to the Chinese Communist Party. Chau, who has been an Australian citizen for 20 years, has hit out after he was named in a television program about overseas donations to Australian political parties. Chau says he has never tried to seek any gain from donations made by himself or his companies to political parties. He notes that both of Australia’s major parties have solicited donations from him, and it has been revealed that one of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign organisers approached Chau for a donation prior to the 2016 federal election.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Prices to ignite gas export controls

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 32 : 9-Jun-17

Federal Resources Minister Matthew Canavan will brief the gas industry on the draft rules for the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism on 9 June 2017. The draft rules show that the ADGSM will give Canavan and any future resources minister the power to restrict LNG exports if there is a domestic supply shortfall. Macquarie Group has criticised the limited detail in the draft rules, particularly with regard to how the gas price will be determined for the purposes of imposing export controls.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TOTAL SA, PETRONAS GAS BHD, KOREA GAS CORPORATION

Time to fix power shock

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jun-17

Professor Alan Finkel will release his final report on energy reform on 9 June 2017. Finkel is expected to recommend adoption of a Low Emissions Target (LET) scheme as the best way forward for meeting Australia’s energy needs in a low emissions environment, but he will leave the Federal Government to decide what "carbon emission" baseline to use. He will also advise that power companies must give three years’ notice when closing down a power generator, and that storage capacity should be a feature of any "new generation investment".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ACTEWAGL, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

‘Glass walls’ contribute to gender pay gap

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Original article by Stephanie Peatling
The Age – Page: 13 : 8-Jun-17

A report produced by the Senate’s Finance & Public Administration Committee has made a number of recommendations aimed at addressing the gender pay gap. They include amending the Fair Work Act to include the objective of achieving pay equity and developing a national strategy on the issue. Australian Labor Party senator Jenny McAllister says the gender pay gap has narrowed by just one per cent to 16 per cent over the last two decades.

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AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Adani’s end of year wait for loan decision

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Jun-17

Adani aims to finalising funding for the first stage of the $A16.5bn Carmichael coal project in December 2017. Adani still hopes to partially fill a $A3.3bn funding deficit via a concessional loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Resources Minister Matthew Canavan says the NAIF’s board is not expected to make a decision on the loan until the end of the year. Wood Mackenzie estimates that the thermal coal price will need to average $U82 per tonne – compared with $US74 at present – for the first stage of the Carmichael project to achieve a 15 per cent rate of return.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, WOOD MACKENZIE

Activist’s press role a bad call, says ALP

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 8-Jun-17

The Australian Press Council is facing growing scrutiny over the appointment of GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath to its board. Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland says confidence in the APC may be undermined by the appointment of a senior member of the political activist group, and she has stressed the need for the APC to ensure that it avoids any conflicts of interest. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is a former director of Getup.

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AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Clause gives ‘unfettered power’ to alter levy: ABA

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 7-Jun-17

Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Anna Bligh has expressed concern that a clause in the bank levy bill would empower the relevant government minister to change the methodology used to calculate the tax. She has also called for the bill to include a "sunset clause" for the levy. Bob Deutsch of the Tax Institute adds that the bill would enable the Government to adjust the levy via a legislative instrument to ensure that revenue meets its forecasts.

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AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, THE TAX INSTITUTE, BUSINESS COALITION FOR TAX REFORM

Labor baulking at union calls for bosses to be jailed for wage theft

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jun-17

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Tony Sheldon says executives of companies that persistently engage in wage theft should face criminal penalties, which could include jail terms. ACTU secretary Sally Mc­Manus supports increased penalties for wage exploitation, arguing that the current sanctions are not a deterent. However, she does not support jail terms for wage theft, while the Federal Opposition’s workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor says Labor is not convinced of the need for such penalties.

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TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY