AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Number might be up for low-cost online imports

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 24-Jul-15

GST revenue could rise by about $A1.7bn annually within five years after the Council of Australian Governments agreed to reduce the tax-exempt threshold for goods purchased from offshore websites from $A1,000 to just $A20. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Kate Carnell says the move will reduce the unfair advantage that online retailers based overseas enjoy at the expense of local retailers.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, RETAIL COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Australians are evenly divided over Tony Abbott or Bill Shorten as PM – both leaders unpopular

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-15

A special telephone Morgan Poll has found that Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s rating as the "Better PM" has fallen by two per cent to 42 per cent since April 2015. The poll, which was carried out from 20-22 July, also shows that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s rating as the "Better PM" has risen by two per cent to 41 per cent. The proportion of electors who disapprove of Abbott’s handling of his job as Prime Minister has risen by six per cent to 59 per cent. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that 60 per cent of electors now disapprove of Shorten’s handling of his job as Opposition Leader, while the number of electors who approve of his handling of the job has fallen to a record low of 24 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ASIC set for full-scale review

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Jonathan Shapiro, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Jul-15

The Federal Government will complete a "capability review" of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) by the end of 2015. The review will be carried out by an expert panel comprising Karen Chester, Mark Gray and lawyer David Galbally. The financial system inquiry’s recommendations included carrying out regular capability reviews of the nation’s key regulatory agencies. The Government provides ASIC with about $A300m in funding each year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Turnbull calls for TV licence trade-offs

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-Jul-15

The CEOs of Australia’s commercial TV networks pressed their case for a reduction in broadcast licence fees when they met with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 23 July 2015. Turnbull has acknowledged that the networks are facing growing competition from companies such as streaming video providers, but he told the networks that they will need to suggest ways to offset the fall in government revenue if licence fees are reduced.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Abbott supported as Liberal Leader by only 13% and Shorten as ALP Leader by only 12%

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-15

A telephone Morgan Poll has found that 13 per cent of Australian electors prefer Prime Minister Tony Abbott as Liberal Leader, an increase of one per cent. However, Malcolm Turnbull is preferred by 44 per cent of electors (an increase of six per cent). The poll, which was carried out from 20-22 July 2015, also shows that the number of electors who prefer Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as Australian Labor Party Leader has fallen by nine per cent to 12 per cent. In contrast, 26 per cent of electors prefer Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek (up three per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Turnbull set to grill TV executives

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 23-Jul-15

The CEOs of most of Australia’s metropolitan and regional commercial TV networks will meet with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 23 July 2015. They will press their case for a reduction in annual broadcasting licence fees, an issue on which there is rare consensus in the industry. However, Turnbull is tipped to take a tough stance after the networks thwarted the Federal Government’s bid to allow public broadcaster SBS to show more advertisements each hour.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fight builds over $3b GST compo

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Jul-15

The New South Wales Government has proposed lifting the GST rate to 15 per cent, with the extra revenue to be used to finance public health services. Its modelling suggests that annual GST revenue would increase by $A36bn by 2020 with the higher tax rate. Meanwhile, the cost of public health funding is expected to top $A20bn by 2020. When the need to compensate households for the increased GST is taken into account, it is estimated that a further $A2bn to $A3bn in health funding would be needed in addition to the extra GST revenue.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor splits over GST increase

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Jul-15

It is estimated that lifting the GST rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent would increase annual revenue by about $A30bn. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Andrew Barr have indicated that they would consider the reform, with the latter saying his support would be conditional on the payment of sufficient compensation. Victoria and Queensland are the only Australian Labor Party-led state governments that remain firmly opposed to increasing the GST.

CORPORATES
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, TASMANIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Turnbull to talk up fee cuts

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 20-Jul-15

The CEOs of free-to-air TV networks will be able to press their case for a reduction in licence fees when they meet with Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 23 July 2015. The annual licence fee is currently set at 4.5 per cent of each network’s revenue, but they believe that the fee should be reduced or scrapped due to competition from new media players such as streaming video providers. Free TV Australia also argue that Australia’s licence fees are higher than in countries such as the UK.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Hockey bid for election tax cuts

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jul-15

Treasurer Joe Hockey has signalled that tax reform will be on the agenda for the federal election in 2016. He says the current income tax regime discourages people from earning additional money, with so-called bracket creep likely to push people on the average income onto the second-highest tax rate. Hockey has also urged state governments to support GST reform, although former treasurer Peter Costello says the government is unlikely to gain the support of all states.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY