AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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.

CORPORATES
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.

CORPORATES
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.

CORPORATES
TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Big business challenge over penalty cuts

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jun-17

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the Fair Work Commission’s decision to phase in lower penalty rates will encourage small businesses to trade on Sundays and create jobs. Public holiday and Sunday penalty rates in sectors such as retailing and hospitality will be reduced over several years, a move that has been welcomed by the Business Council of Australia. However, the Australian Retailers Association argues that the full reduction in Sunday rates should have been made by mid-2018, while United Voice will seek to have the FWC decision overturned by the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Corporate executives set to escape 457 visa changes

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 5-Jun-17

The Australian Government is expected to release a revised list of occupations that are excluded from the 457 visa scheme by the end of June 2017. The CEOs of several listed companies are among those to be affected by the visa reforms, but business groups are confident that the Government will relax the new rules with regard to senior executives. Sectors such as retailing, hospitality, tourism and higher education are also seeking exemptions from the new visa rules.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, NBN CO LIMITED, KORN/FERRY AUSTRALASIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, MERCER CONSULTING GROUP INCORPORATED, WELLS FARGO AND COMPANY, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, 3M CORPORATION, EUROPCAR, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

One Nation seeks Qld deal in media laws

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Jun-17

One Nation may be open to a compromise on the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms. One Nation currently opposes the abolition of the "two-out-of-three" rule, but a spokesman says it would consider the reform if measures are put in place to prevent further concentration of media ownership in Queensland. The minor political party’s support may be crucial to the passage of the media bill, given that Labor and the Greens oppose scrapping the two-out-of-three rule.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL MEDIA, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Offshore bank investors fret over housing: Elliott

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Jun-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott says UK investors with stakes in Australian banks are worried that recent regulatory changes to housing policy in Australia may lead to a market correction. Elliott, who was speaking at a G100 conference in Sydney, also said that comments by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison that Australia’s large banks are "an oligopoly" were unhelpful, noting that there are other sectors in Australia that are just as concentrated as banking.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Media united on job fears

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

Executives from rival Australian media companies joined forces on 30 May to lobby federal politicians to support cross-media ownership reforms. The Australian Labor Party and the Greens were widely criticised for opposing reforms such as abolition of the "two out of three rule". Industry executives used the summit at Parliament House to stress that local content and jobs will be at risk if the existing regime is not changed to enable local media players to compete with digital giants such as Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN

Both sides dig in for battle over top tax rate

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 1-Jun-17

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will reiterate his party’s stance on increasing the Medicare levy in an address to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia summit. Labor wants the income threshold for the 0.5 per cent increase in the levy to be set at $A87,000, rather than being applied to all income-earners. Shorten will also defend Labor’s own increase in the levy in 2013, arguing that there was strong growth in wages at the time, while there had also been a recent increase in the tax-free threshold.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Bank levy slammed as ‘hate tax’

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jun-17

Australia’s banks have conceded that the Federal Goverment’s proposed levy is likely to proceed, but they have expressed concern about the "aggressive" stance of Treasurer Scott Morrison regarding the sector. Financial System Inquiry chair David Murray has described the levy as a "hate tax" which raises the question of whether the Government will target other sectors. Australian Foundation Investment Company MD Ross Barker has also expressed concern about the Government’s stance on the banks, given their importance to the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG