AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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

Extra tax perks to boost R&D

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Original article by Michael Bailey, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Sep-16

The Federal Government wants to encourage large companies to be more technologically innovative. The existing research and development scheme was reviewed by Innovation Australia chairman Bill Ferris, chief scientist Alan Finkel and Treasury Secretary John Fraser, who recommended doubling the value of tax breaks for large companies to a maximum of $A17 million a year. They also proposed an annual cap of $A2 million on cash claims by smaller companies.

CORPORATES
INNOVATION AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, CSIRO

Morrison says lower backpacker tax is competitive

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-Sep-16

Treasurer Scott Morrison has rejected criticism of the tax treatment of non-resident income. Faced with opposition from tourism operators and farmers to the original proposal of a 32.5 per cent backpackers tax rate, the Government has reduced it to 19 per cent. However, at the same time it has proposed raising the passenger departure tax by $A5. Morrison said the new tax will not make Australia less attractive to backpackers than New Zealand, the UK and Canada.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Tourism slams departure tax slug

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Sep-16

Treasurer Scott Morrison says reducing the proposed backpacker tax from 32.25 per cent to 19 per cent will enhance Australia’s ability to compete with other countries that are popular with people on working holidays. The Federal Government will also reduce the application fee for working holiday visas in a bid to arrest a decline in such visas in recent years. The Tourism & Transport Forum has welcomed the move to reduce the backpacker tax, but it has criticised a proposed $A5 increase in the departure tax on outbound travellers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM, TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Free-to-air TV bosses strengthen calls for licence fee cuts

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 28-Sep-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget included a 25 per cent reduction in TV broadcasting licence fees. Nine Entertainment Company’s submission to a Senate inquiry into the media reform bill has argued that a further reduction in licence fees should have priority over changes to cross-media ownership rules. The Ten Network noted in its submission that Australia’s broadcasting licence fees are still the highest in the world, while News Corp Australia called for broader media reform and changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Senate urged to pass tax reforms

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 28-Sep-16

The Federal Government’s bill to progressively reduce the company tax rate is being scrutinised by a Senate committee. The Business Council of Australia has used its submission to argue the case for Parliament to pass all of the tax reforms rather than restricting tax cuts to the small business sector. The Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group also favour implementing the tax cuts in full, although the latter concedes that providing tax relief to small businesses would be better than having the entire bill reject by Parliament.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

TPP to tackle protectionism

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Sep-16

Two federal parliament committees are examining the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. Andrew Hudson of the Export Council of Australia has told the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties that Australia must ratify the trade agreement, as failure to do so would bolster the protectionist movement, which he noted is gaining support in many parts of the world. However, the Electrical Trades Union has argued against ratifying the trade deal.

CORPORATES
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, EXPORT COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON TREATIES, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), FOOD AND BEVERAGE IMPORTERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA

Labor says bank profits are too high

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Sep-16

The profits of Australia’s four major banks will come under scrutiny when their CEOs front a parliamentary committee in early October 2016. Pat Conroy, an Australian Labor Party member of the committee, will seek an explanation for the banks’ high return on equity compared with their international peers. He notes that there has not been an influx of foreign banks despite the local industry’s high level of profitability. Labor and the Greens favour a royal commission into the banking sector.

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