AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Income tax for states in GST plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Dec-15

Australia’s federal, state and territory treasurers will continue to conduct negotiations over the division of tax revenue from the GST. They agreed at a meeting on 10 December 2015 to consider a proposal by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill. He suggested in November that extra revenue from a rise in the GST could be used to fund tax cuts. The states would also receive 17.5 per cent of income tax revenue, with no restrictions on how they would spend it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Iron ore price plunge to blow $15bn hole in budget

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Dec-15

The Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will need to contend with the sharp decline in the iron ore price since the May 2015 Budget. Revenue projections in the Budget were based on an average iron ore price of $US48 per tonne, but the price of the steel input has since fallen below $US40/tonne. The downturn in the iron ore price could reduce the Budget bottom line by around $A15bn over the next four years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Business pushes PM on IR, tax

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Original article by Ben Potter, Ewin Hannan, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 9-Dec-15

Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone has used the Workplace and Productivity Summit to call on the Federal Government to pursue changes to the industrial relations and tax regimes. However, economist Ross Garnaut told the summit – which has been organised by "The Australian Financial Review" – that there is no need for tax cuts in sectors that face limited competition. GE Australia CEO Geoff Culbert and ACTU secretary Dave Oliver were among the other speakers during the first day of the summit.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, GE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AIRTASKER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

PM pushes risk taking, start-ups

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Dec-15

Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull has unveiled the National Innovation and Science Agenda. He said at the CSIRO Discovery Centre on 7 December 2015 that Australia needs new ways of stimulating the economy, considering that the country could no longer count on the mining boom as the driver of the economy. The Government has proposed 24 measures, including income tax rebates and incentives for business start-ups.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CSIRO, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Turnbull government holds North Sydney after swing

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 7-Dec-15

Liberal Party candidate Trent Zimmerman has won the federal seat of North Sydney, despite a 13 per cent swing against the Australian Government. The by-election on 5 December 2015 followed the retirement of former treasurer Joe Hockey, who had secured 66 per cent of the primary vote in the 2013 federal election. The Australian Labor Party chose not to field a candidate in the by-election.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Turnbull’s bright idea: $1bn to drive innovation

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Original article by Philip Hudson, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 7-Dec-15

A capital gains tax exemption for investors in business start-ups will be included in the Australian Government’s innovation and science statement, which will be launched on 7 December 2015. Meanwhile, a new cabinet committee will be responsible for co-ordinating the government’s expenditure on research and science, while the CSIRO will receive around $A100m in additional funding. The package is also believed to include measures aimed at encouraging more people to study sciences, technology, ­engineering and mathematics.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CSIRO, DATA61, NATIONAL ICT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, OZEMAIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Iron ore extends losing run to five

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Dec-15

The price of benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to the port of Tianjin in China has fallen by 0.7 per cent to $US40.30 per tonne. The price of the steel input has fallen in 35 out of the last 39 trading sessions and Daniel Hynes of the ANZ Bank says it is high likely to fall below $US40/tonne. The Australian Government’s 2015 Budget forecasts were based on an average iron ore price of $US48/tonne, but this is expected to be scaled back to about $US40/tonne in the mid-year Budget update.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, VALE SA, MINE LIFE PTY LTD

Health funds serve wish-lists to Ley

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-Dec-15

Australian private health insurers must lodge submissions on the Federal Government’s review of the sector by 4 December 2015. Health insurers have proposed the introduction of a lifetime discount for people under the age of 30, in order to encourage a greater take-up rate among young people. Insurers are also concerned that the annual cost of medical devices and prostheses is significantly higher than it should be.

CORPORATES
BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Rinehart to Labor: follow Malcolm’s lead and ditch carbon tax

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Age – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-15

The Australian Labor Party’s 2016 federal election platform will include an emissions trading scheme. However, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has urged the Opposition to commit to not introducing a carbon tax, arguing that governments should not be imposing any taxes on companies that reduce their ability to compete internationally. Rinehart has also noted the dearth of major greenfield mining projects in Australia following the start of production at her Roy Hill iron ore project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, POSCHELK DENTAL SURGERIES, MARUBENI CORPORATION, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Nats seek more power over policy

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

Australia’s former industry minister Ian Macfarlane has resigned from the Liberal Party and joined its Coalition partner, the National Party. Scott Buchholz is also considering a switch to the National Party, which will now press the Liberal Party for an additional minister and an increased role in the federal government. Macfarlane says he is keen to take on a ministerial portfolio again but stresses that any appointments must be based on merit. He lost the industry portfolio in a ministerial reshuffle under new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, QUEENSLAND GRAINGROWERS’ ASSOCIATION