AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Baird Government drops behind for first time in NSW; Barnett in trouble in Western Australia while Andrews Government still riding high in Victoria despite CFA union dispute

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 11-Oct-16

An SMS Morgan Poll on State voting intention, which was carried out from 30 September to 2 October 2016, has found that support for the L-NP Government in New South Wales has fallen by two per cent to 48.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, while Mike Baird’s rating as "Better Premier" has fallen by 3.5 per cent to 52.5 per cent. In Victoria, support for the ALP Government has risen by one per cent to 56.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, while Daniel Andrews’ rating as "Better Premier" is unchanged at 59 per cent. In Western Australia, support for the L-NP Government has fallen by 1.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent on a two-party preferred basis, and Colin Barnett’s rating as "Better Premier" has fallen by two per cent to 41 per cent just five months before the state election in March 2017.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Foreign debt levels ‘extreme’

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 10-Oct-16

John Chambers, who heads the sovereign ratings committee of Standard & Poor’s, has warned that Australia’s "AAA" credit rating may be at risk. He has expressed concern about the nation’s rising net foreign debt, noting that it is among the worst of the 130 sovereign nations that the firm rates. S&P downgraded Australia’s credit rating outlook to "negative" in July 2016. Rival rating agencies have also previously expressed concern about Australia’s fiscal position.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WORLD BANK, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

No more rate cuts: Morrison

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Oct-16

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison believes that the Reserve Bank of Australia should cease reducing the cash rate, arguing that monetary policy has reached the limit of its effectiveness in stimulating the economy. He says the focus should now shift to fiscal policy. The central bank has reduced the cash rate twice in 2016 but left it on hold at 1.5 per cent in October. Morrison notes that the heads of other central banks have acknowledged the declining effectiveness of monetary policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF ENGLAND, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

New Free TV boss Savill to push for cuts in broadcast licence fees

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Oct-16

Brett Savill, who has succeeded Julie Flynn as CEO of Free TV Australia, says the TV sector is likely to undergo greater change in the next 5-10 years than the switch from analogue to digital. However, he notes that TV is still the only medium than can attract the large audiences that viewed the recent Australian Football League and National Rugby League grand finals. Savill is expected to lobby the Federal Government for a further reduction in broadcasting licence fees, which Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has indicated is under active consideration.

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, BAI COMMUNICATIONS, BROADCAST AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, KORN/FERRY INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Bank culture won’t change overnight: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 6-Oct-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australian banks require more accountability and transparency. He is confident that requiring the "big four" CEOs to front a parliamentary committee at least once a year will facilitate this, although he concedes that it will take some time for the culture within banks to change. The Federal Government also proposes to create a new tribunal for aggrieved customers to seek restitution, which was backed by Commonwealth Bank CEO Ian Narev and ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott when they fronted the committee.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, TIMBERCORP LIMITED

$6bn vocational loan fiasco ends

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Original article by Julie Hare, Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 2 : 5-Oct-16

The Federal Government will introduce a new student loans scheme, amid revelations that the cost of the VET FEE-HELP scheme has blown out to $A6bn since it was launched in 2012. The scheme was exploited by many private vocational education providers, with many charging exorbitant fees for courses that had little prospect of leading to employment. The new Vocational Education and Training Students Loans scheme will impose stricter eligibility criteria for courses, while student loans will be capped.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CORNERSTONE INVESTMENTS

Regulating profits ‘dangerous’

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Original article by James Eyers, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Oct-16

Commonwealth Bank CEO Ian Narev fronted a parliamentary committee on 4 October 2016, where he responded to questions on issues such as profits, interest rates and the bank’s insurance and financial planning scandals. Narev cautioned against any move to regulate the profits of the banking sector, stressing that banks need healthy profits to ensure that they can ride out economic shocks. The CEOs of the other major banks will appear before the committee in coming days. The Australian Labor Party continues to argue the case for a royal commission into the banking sector.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, COMMINSURE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Stop point scoring and plan, says industry

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 4-Oct-16

Bruce Mountain of Carbon Market Economics rejects suggestions that the state-wide power outage in South Australia could have been avoided if its coal-fired power plant had not been decommissioned. Meanwhile, Energy Users Association of Australia chairman Brian Morris has urged both sides of federal politics to co-operate in developing a national energy policy. A similar view has been expressed by Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute.

CORPORATES
CARBON MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI

Jail time for rate riggers

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Oct-16

The Australian Government will implement the Council of Financial Regulators’ recommendations on sanctions for manipulating the bank bill swap rate. The reforms will include a new regulatory regime for administrators of financial benchmarks such as the BBSW, as well as criminal penalties for those found to have manipulated such benchmarks. Westpac, ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank are all under scrutiny for allegedly manipulating the BBSW between 2010 and 2012.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Corruption in daycare costs $1bn

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Original article by Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-16

Australia’s family daycare industry is under scrutiny amid revelations of widespread fraud in the sector. Leaked documents show that 13 family daycare providers have been charged with fraud in the last 10 months, while the Australian Federal Police have seized some $A8m worth of assets. It is estimated that fraudulent conduct in the sector has cost taxpayers around $A1bn in the last two years, and there are concerns that some of this money could have been redirected to terrorist organisations such as Islamic State by their supporters in Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITIES, VICTORIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING