AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Abbott lines up double-D unions poll

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1& 6 : 13-Jul-15

The Australian Government plans to use the Registered Organisations Commission Bill as one of two potential triggers for a double-dissolution election. Officials of unions and employers’ groups who are found to be corrupt will be subject to the penalties that currently apply to corporate executives. The Government will also reintroduce its bill on the Australian Building & Construction Commission to the Senate when parliament resumes in August 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Shorten warned to stop dodging questions

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jul-15

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten fronted the Royal Commission Into Trade Union Governance & Corruption for a second day on 9 July 2015. Shorten was questioned about Thiess John Holland’s payment of $A300,000 to the Australian Workers’ Union during his tenure as national secretary. He told the commission that he could not recollect discussing the deal, and rejected suggestions that the union had issued fake invoices to the builder in return for the payments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, THIESS JOHN HOLLAND, ACI, HUNTSMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHIQUITA MUSHROOMS PTY LTD

Shorten’s popularity plummets

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jul-15

Support for the federal Australian Labor Party on a two-party preferred basis is steady at 53 per cent in the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll, compared with 47 per cent for the Coalition. However, the approval rating of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has fallen by six points to 35 per cent, while Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s approval rating is down four points at 36 per cent. Meanwhile, 43 per cent of respondents have nominated Shorten as preferred prime minister, ahead of Abbott with 39 per cent.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

PM rejects rural MP concerns over media law reform

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jul-15

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says changes to cross-media ownership laws will only be on the agenda if all media groups support reform. MPs in regional electorates have called for the current laws to be scrapped, amid concerns that regional TV broadcasters will be forced to cut jobs and local news services. Meanwhile, Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood says the competition regulator should closely examine Ten’s proposed equity deal with Foxtel, due to News Corp’s 50 per cent stake in the latter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Abbott bowed to mates: Hartigan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Jul-15

Regional TV broadcasters will use a media campaign to push for the Australian Government to reconsider its decision to shelve cross-media ownership reforms. Prime Media Group chairman John Hartigan has warned that jobs at regional broadcasters and local news services will be at risk if the proposed reforms to do not proceed. He has suggested that Prime Minister Tony Abbott was "kowtowing" to media barons Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes in abandoning the reforms.

CORPORATES
PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NOVA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE

Super tax reversal revealed

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 1-Jul-15

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Federal Government should release four submissions made by the Treasury to Treasurer Joe Hockey on the issue of superannuation tax reform. In late June 2015, Treasury official Ian Beckett sent a letter to the Opposition in response to a Freedom of Information request for details of the submissions. One of the submissions was made on the same day that the Opposition released its own superannuation tax proposals. The Government subsequently took such tax reform off its agenda.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. EXPENDITURE REVIEW COMMITTEE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Prosperity more at risk than politicians admit

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Jun-15

Australia’s economic growth may be headed for a "new normal" of 2.75 per cent or three per cent, according to former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson. Speaking at a leadership forum in Canberra, Parkinson cast doubt on predictions that growth would rebound to its long-term average of 3.5 per cent. Grattan Institute CEO John Daley backed Parkinson, saying the Federal Government was assuming "an awful lot of things" will go right in its rosy predictions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

L-NP vote up 1% as Opposition Leader Bill Shorten under controversy for his role in the AWU ‘affair’ and caught out on a lie – however ALP would still win a Federal Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 29-Jun-15

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis has risen by one per cent to 46.5 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 20-21 and 27-28 June 2015, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has risen by 1.5 per cent to 39 per cent, while the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is unchanged at 98.5 points. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that support for the Australian Labor Party has fallen after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten admitted to lying about his support for former prime minister Julia Gillard just before she was deposed two years ago.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, CLEANEVENT PTY LTD, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ABC TV

Federal tax reform labelled a ploy to force GST increase

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Geoff Winestock
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 25-Jun-15

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry supports a proposal to permit the states to introduce income taxes and set their own tax rates. It is one of the proposed measures outlined in a green paper on federation reform. The paper also proposes shifting responsibility for funding of schools and hospitals to the states. Victorian Premier Tim Pallas argues that this measure is aimed at persuading the states to support an increase in the scope or rate of the GST.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Greens push for probe into finance scandals

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Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 24-Jun-15

The Federal Government and the Opposition will not support the Australian Greens’ motion for a royal commission into misconduct in the financial services industry. Liberal Democratic Party senator David Leyonhjelm and Family First Party senator Bob Day also oppose a royal commission, although independent senator Nick Xenophon and the National Party’s John Williams will support the motion. IOOF is the latest financial group to embroiled by claims of misconduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION