AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Exploited 7-Eleven workers will not lose their visas

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Dec-15

The Australian Government has advised that foreign workers who were underpaid by 7-Eleven will not have their visas cancelled if they assist with investigations into the scandal. Giri Sivaraman of law firm Maurice Blackburn says this is likely to encourage more exploited workers to come forward. The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association claims that wage exploitation is still occurring.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Cash steps in to quell union penalty rate campaign

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Dec-15

The Productivity Commission is scheduled to release its final report on the industrial relations system on 21 December 2015. Its recommendations are tipped to include reducing Sunday penalty rates for some industries to the same level that apply for working on Saturday. However, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has stressed that the Fair Work Commission will be solely responsible for determining penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, UNITED VOICE, ACTU

Tireless hero for innovation

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 & 36 : 18-Dec-15

Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone has been named the Business Person of the Year for 2015 by "The Australian Financial Review". Livingstone has been a keen advocate for a greater focus on innovation, and she has welcomed the Federal Government’s innovation statement under new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. She also believes that tax reform should be a priority for the Government.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CSIRO

Morrison flags taking IR reform as election issue

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

Changes must be made to the industrial relations (IR) regime to ensure economic growth in Australia. Treasurer Scott Morrison signalled on 16 December 2015 that workplace relations reform could become an election issue. The end of the mining boom makes it necessary to make adjustments in both tax and IR policies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FITCH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

L-NP increases lead over ALP – now 57.5% cf. 42.5%; biggest lead for Coalition since being elected in 2013

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 15-Dec-15

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for Australia’s ruling Liberal-National Coalition on a two-party preferred basis has risen by 1.5 per cent to 57.5 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 5-6 and 12-13 December 2015, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has risen by 1.5 per cent to 48 per cent, but the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has fallen by seven points to 115. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the scale of the Budget blowout in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows that the Turnbull Government faces a challenging 12 months as it attempts to win a mandate in its own right at the 2016 Federal Election whilst also steering the Australian economy through a slowing economy caused by the end of the long-running commodities boom.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Coalition gives up on surplus

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-15

The Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook forecasts that the 2015-16 Budget deficit will blow out to $A37.4bn, compared with expectations of $A35.1bn in May. The deficit will also be higher than expected in the following three fiscal years, while GDP growth forecasts have been reduced for both 2015 and 2016. Meanwhile, the worsening Budget deficit may prompt ratings agencies to review Australia’s triple-A credit rating, although Stephen Walters of JP Morgan says this is unlikely in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Turnbull dodges bullet, Nationals left red-faced

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-Dec-15

Liberal Party of Australia backbencher Ian Macfarlane has signalled that he may quit Parliament after his attempt to defect to the National Party was thwarted. The Liberal National Party of Queensland’s state executive voted 14-12 to prevent him from resigning from the federal Liberal Party to join the National Party. Macfarlane was dropped from the frontbench when Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Pressure on fossil fuels

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Dec-15

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the Australian Government will make changes to its Direct Action policy, after delegates at the United Nations climate summit in Paris secured an agreement to reduce carbon emissions. However, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged the Government to abandon the Direct Action policy. The agreement has set a goal of ensuring that growth in global warming remains significantly below two degrees Celsius.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED NATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, INDIA. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

Budget deficit blown to $38b

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Dec-15

The Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will include a significant reduction in Budget forecasts for the price of iron ore in 2015-16. The downturn in the price of the steel input will contribute to the deficit blowing out to around $A38bn. Meanwhile, government spending will rise to 26.2 per cent of GDP in 2015-16, compared with expectations of just 25.9 per cent in the May 2015 Budget. The Government is also tipped to significantly reduce its projections for longer-term economic growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Quantum computing could be worth billions to Australia

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Original article by Tim Dodd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Dec-15

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants technology to play a bigger role in the Australian economy. He told a Knowledge Society lunch in Sydney on 10 December 2015 that innovative computing technology is particularly important. The Government has provided $A26 million for research on silicon-based quantum computing at the University of New South Wales. Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank gave $A10 million each in additional funding for the project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA