AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Morrison sorry as PM vows action on secrecy

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 17-Aug-22

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has defended his actions in secretly appointing himself to five cabinet portfolios. He believes that the move had been "prudent and responsible", as it would enable him to take charge of key portfolios if the relevant minister became incapacitated due to COVID-19, rather than placing the portfolio in the hands of a junior minister. Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews – who had not been aware that Morrison had seized her portfolio – has called for him to resign from parliament, although Opposition leader Peter Dutton says he should stay on. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Morrison has undermined the Westminster system of government, and has flagged the possibility of legal reforms to prevent such an abuse of power in the future. He adds that other people will need to be held accountable for the scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

RBA deliberately setting up for a recession: ACTU

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Original article by Michael Read, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-22

The ACTU has released a policy paper which argues that full and secure employment should be the top macroeconomic priority for the Jobs and Skills Summit. The report was written by Jim Stanford from the Centre for Future Work; he argues that the Reserve Bank’s "whatever it takes" approach to returning inflation to its target range means it is willing to cause a recession and massive job losses in order to do so. The ACTU wants the summit to consider a fairer and more comprehensive inflation-reducing policy, and greater regulation of labour markets to ensure that real wages growth is in line with productivity.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

FOI documents show Dutton’s ‘captain’s call’ to make senior Liberal head of defence thinktank

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

The former Coalition government appointed Justin Bassi to succeed Peter Jennings as executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute shortly before it called the 21 May election. Bassi was the chief of staff to foreign affairs minister Marise Payne at the time; documents obtained via freedom of information show that former defence minister Peter Dutton selected Bassi for the role even though the ASPI itself preferred one of the other five candidates. The ASPI is partially funded by the Department of Defence, but its charter states that it is independent. Labor had warned Dutton against making a "political captain’s call" regarding the ASPI appointment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Dutton presses button on the nuclear debate

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Aug-22

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the energy crisis has demonstrated the need for more dispatchable power in the electricity grid. He adds that the nation must have an honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy. Dutton has advised that the Coalition will hold an internal party review on the issue of nuclear energy; he says it is mature, proven technology that can provide reliable, emissions-free, base-load electricity. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable has welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to looking at the option of nuclear energy, but Energy Minister Chris Bowen contends that more renewable energy is the solution to rising power prices.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Climate change bill set to pass

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Aug-22

The federal government’s climate bill may be put to a vote in the House of ­Representatives as early as ­Wednesday. The bill to enshrine a 43 per cent per cent emissions reduction target in law is expected to be passed after the Greens and teal independents pushed for amendments that are likely to be accepted by Labor. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has indicated that the Coalition will review its emissions reduction targets ahead of the next election. The Senate is likely to vote on the climate bill in September, with the government requiring the support of the Greens and at least one crossbencher.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘No need’: Minister dumps Senate call for ownership probe

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 27-Jun-22

A Senate committee in 2021 recommended holding a royal commission into media ownership. However, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says the new federal government does not believes that such an inquiry is necessary, although she has stressed the need to closely monitor media concentration to ensure that communities continue to have adequate access to local news content. Rowland adds that issues such as the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts and ensuring that free-to-air channels are prominently displayed on smart TVs are among the government’s priorities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Haines warns crossbench cuts could delay ICAC

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 27-Jun-22

The former Coalition government allocated two advisers and two assistant advisers to crossbench MPs, on top of their four electoral staff. However, the Albanese government is planning to reduce the number of advisers that crossbench MPs get allocated from four to one. Helen Haines, who is the Independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi, has warned that the proposal to reduce the number of advisers that crossbench MPs are allocated could lead to a delay in the passage of legislation to establish a federal anti-corruption commission.

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Warning to NATO on China-Russia pact

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Jun-22

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterparts from South Korea, Japan and India make up a special Indo-Pacific delegation that are attending the NATO summit in Madrid. Albanese says that the summit is being held in the context of democratic nations standing up for Ukraine as it continues to resist Russia’s invasion, while he says China’s ‘no limits’ pact with Russia means that NATO is required to focus on a broader threat than just Russia. A senior NATO official has indicated that it does not view China, like Russia, as an adversary, but as "a challenge" that needs to be constantly managed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION

Plan for over-65s to ease jobs crisis

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Jun-22

Employers’ groups and the Council on the Ageing have expressed support for a proposal to address the skills crisis by allowing older Australians to work additional hours without affecting their pension payments. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar estimates that this could encourage at least 400,000 people over the age of 65 to return to the workforce. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the proposal is among the issues that will be discussed at the national employment summit later in 2022.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL ON THE AGEING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Chalmers seeks more RBA board diversity

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Jun-22

The independent review of the Reserve Bank of Australia is slated to report to the federal government in mid-2023. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the size and composition of the RBA’s board are among the issues that will be considered; he says the government wants the board to be comprised of people representing all parts of Australia and all parts of the economy. The RBA board is currently dominated by people from the business sector, but there have been calls for it to include more economists. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has in turn advocated having a union representative on the board for the first time since the 1990s.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ACTU