AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Gas reservation mooted as energy row heats up

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Perry Williams, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Dec-22

The oil and gas industry has criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he flagged the possibility of adopting a national gas reservation policy. Albanese has praised Western Australia’s gas reservation policy and indicated that replicating this at federal level may be needed as a longer-term solution to rising energy prices than the government’s proposed intervention. NSW and Victoria have advocated a national gas reservation scheme, but APPEA CEO Samantha McCulloch says adequate measures are already in place, such as the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism. She contends that increased regulation will deter investment and adversely affect Australia’s reputation amongst its key trading partners.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Firms war-game the new IR rules

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Nov-22

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has indicated that it will continue to use enterprise agreements rather than shifting to multi-employer bargaining. CFO Anthony Gianotti says Wesfarmers believes that traditional enterprise agreements are the best way of driving real wage growth. Ramsay Health Care’s CFO Martyn Roberts in turn says that negotiating pay rises across rival companies in the same sector may be "quite challenging". Gianotti adds that the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms have not gone far enough in simplifying the industry awards system.

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WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Greens threaten to support Liberal amendment in move that could derail passage of key integrity bill

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

The federal government is still aiming to pass legislation for its National Anti-Corruption Commission before parliament rises for the year. However, it has received a setback after the Liberal Party proposed an amendment which would require the appointments of the NACC commissioner and inspector to be approved by at least three-quarters of the joint parliamentary oversight committee’s members. The Greens have indicated that they may be open to supporting this amendment unless the government agrees to allow the NACC’s parliamentary oversight committee to be chaired by a non-government MP.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Morrison will be censured by parliament – but not by the Coalition

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 29-Nov-22

Federal cabinet has agreed to censure former prime minister Scott Morrison over revelations that he secretly took on five ministerial portfolios. The censure motion is expected to be debated in parliament on Tuesday, although the Coalition will oppose the motion. The Opposition’s manager of business Paul Fletcher has described the censure motion as a "political stunt", arguing that such motions are meant to hold ministers to account rather than being used as a "political payback exercise". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the actions of his immediate predecessor were extraordinary, unprecedented and wrong.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Public hearing test strikes right balance

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

The Greens have confirmed that they will support legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. However, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather and other crossbenchers have urged the federal government to lower the threshold for public hearings of the NACC. As it stands, the NACC bill requires hearings to be held in private unless there are "exceptional circumstances". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the exceptional circumstances test, arguing that it strikes a balance between the benefits of public hearings and the potential negative impacts.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Burke flags more IR exemptions

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says 97.5 per cent of businesses will now be exempt from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill’s single-interest multi-employer bargaining stream. This follows the federal government’s decision to increase the employee threshold for small businesses from 15 to 20, in line with a Senate committee’s recommendation. However, the Opposition has called for the threshold to be increased to 200, while business groups want it to be set at 100 employees. The government’s compromise means that an additional 500,000 businesses will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining. The government is still in negotiations with independent senator David Pocock.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers and businesses

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Original article by Chris F Wright
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 24-Nov-22

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers’ groups. However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining. The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements. The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers. Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

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Firms face $75k cost for bargaining

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Department of Employment & Workplace Relations estimates that it will cost small businesses about $14,638 to engage in multi-employer bargaining. Medium businesses and large companies in turn will face costs of $75,148 and $94,311 respectively, according to the department’s regulatory impact statement. The federal government has based these estimates on an average consultant cost of $175 an hour. However, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar contends that businesses could expect to pay market rates of about $400 an hour. Meanwhile, Hancock Prospecting, has warned that multi-employer bargaining could threaten thousands of mining jobs and billions of dollars in royalty revenue.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Labor in retreat on corruption watchdog warrants

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 5 : 23-Nov-22

The federal government has agreed to some compromises regarding its bill to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission. The government has put forward an amendment which restricts the power to issue surveillance warrants to superior court judges; it had originally proposed that members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal be authorised to approve warrants to bug phones or access encrypted messages. Labor has also agreed to provide increased protections for journalists and their sources. The Senate is slated to vote on the NACC bill next week.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

More exemptions to salvage IR bill

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Senate inquiry into the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill has recommended increasing the threshold for small businesses to be exempted from multi-employer bargaining to 20 employees, compared with 15 under the existing provisions of the bill. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the government is willing to negotiate a higher threshold in order to secure the bill’s passage before parliament rises for the year. However, Burke notes that lifting the threshold too much would undo the central aim of the bill, which is to increase the wages of low-paid workers. Independent senator David Pocock has continued to push for a vote on the multi-employer bargaining provisions of the bill to be delayed until next year.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS