AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Bubble call splits politics

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Original article by Sally Patten, Phillip Coorey, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-Jun-15

Prime Minister Tony Abbott does not believe that Australia is experiencing a housing bubble, and has claimed that the Opposition wants house prices to fall. Meanwhile, financial system inquiry chairman David Murray has warned of the economic impact of a residential property market correction in Melbourne and Sydney. He expects the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to pursue additional measures aimed at reining in lending to property investors.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Equities titans say ‘leave dividend imputation alone’

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 3-Jun-15

Balanced Equity Management fund manager Andrew Sisson has urged the Australian Government to retain dividend imputation. He warning that scrapping the regime will result in lower dividend payouts and prompt more companies to shift their tax liabilities offshore. Veteran fund manager Peter Morgan also favours retaining the current system, as do Djerriwarrh Investments and Westpac. Perpetual did not make a submission on the Government’s tax white paper.

CORPORATES
BALANCED EQUITY MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DJERRIWARRH INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX DJW, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, 452 CAPITAL PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, BOND CORPORATION HOLDINGS LIMITED

PM’s inaction makes super ‘vulnerable’

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Original article by Sally Patten, Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-Jun-15

Financial system inquiry chairman David Murray says changes to Australia’s superannuation regime will be necessary in the future. The Federal Government has indicated that super reform is not on its agenda, but Murray says that failure to pursue reforms will ultimately undermine confidence in the super system. The Australian Council of Social Service is among the organisations that have called for a review of the entire retirement incomes system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMITTEE FOR SUSTAINABLE RETIREMENT INCOMES, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘Budget Bounce’ over for the L-NP as ALP regain initiative with Shorten’s call for same-sex marriage

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 1-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 fallen by two per cent to 47 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 23-24 and 30-31 May 2015, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has risen by 0.5 per cent to 41 per cent, while the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has risen by 0.5 points to 100 points. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the only way for the Government to counter the slowing Australian economy is to undertake comprehensive reforms to increase productivity and "free-up" the labour market.

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, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Labor states reject Pyne maths plan

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Original article by Tim Dodd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 1-Jun-15

The Australian Government will press ahead with policies aimed at lifting the number of students who study maths and science until the end of high school. It is estimated that while around 80 per cent of students study maths in year 12, many study maths only at a basic level. There is widespread opposition to a proposal by Education Minister Christopher to require all students to study either maths or science in year 12, including within the Australian Labor Party, state Labor governments and the Business Council of Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Mercer revives independent director debate

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Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 1-Jun-15

A new report from Mercer has called for Australian superannuation funds to have more independent directors. The firm says this trend is gathering pace in many developed countries, which has also been noted by the OECD. The Australian Government is tipped to outline its policy on the issue later in 2015, and Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is believed to favour a requirement for at least 33 per cent of a super fund’s directors to be independent.

CORPORATES
MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, GREAT BRITAIN. FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY

New Greens leader may agree to raise petrol tax

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 29-May-15

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale has indicated that the party is willing to reach a compromise with the Federal Government on issues such as fuel excise and pension reforms. He says the Greens are open to an increase in the fuel excise, provided some of the additional revenue is used to finance public transport projects. Di Natale also says the Greens will support pension reforms if the Government agrees to undertake a previously shelved review of retirement income.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Worst competition ranking in 18 years

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-May-15

The latest IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook rates Australia in 18th position in terms of its global competitiveness. The nation was ranked 17th in 2014, but it has been overtaken by New Zealand, which has moved from 20th place to 17th. Australia has also lost ground in the global rankings on the measures of infrastructure, economic performance, international investment and efficiency of government.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

Abbott hints at conscience vote on gay marriage

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-May-15

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Liberal Party MPs will be granted a conscience vote on the issue of same-sex marriage. Abbott opposes same-sex marriage, but is open to a party-room vote on the issue. This follows a move by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to pursue a private members’ bill on gay marriage. However, Abbott says the Coalition wants to postpone any debate on gay marriage until the next session of Parliament, so it can focus on 2015 Budget policies.

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

Hockey, PM split over tampon tax

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-May-15

Some Coalition MPs have criticised a push by Treasurer Joe Hockey to exempt women’s sanitation products from the GST. Economists have also questioned the proposal, with Saul Eslake of Bank of America Merrill Lynch arguing that the GST should be broadened to include male hygiene products such as condoms rather than exempting tampons. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Kate Carnell has expressed a similar view, saying exempting more items from the GST will add to the compliance burden for businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY