AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Smelter offered millions to stay put

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Dec-20

Alcoa’s aluminium smelter at Portland in Victoria will receive $76.8m from the Australian Energy Market Operator for load-shedding during periods of peak demand for electricity. The payments from AEMO’s Reliability & Emergency Reserve Trade scheme will be guaranteed by the federal government. Energy Minister Angus Taylor stresses that the payments do not constitute a subsidy; instead, they will compensate Alcoa for its role in stabilising the electricity grid. The deal will in itself not ensure the future of the smelter, which remains under pressure due to high energy costs.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Refinery rescue deal to safeguard fuel stocks

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Dec-20

The federal government is set to announce a rescue package for the Lytton, Geelong and Altona oil refineries to ensure that they remain operational until mid-2021. The refineries will receive a payment of at least $0.01 per litre for their petrol, diesel and jet fuel production over the six months from 1 January. Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government is finalising a long-term market mechanism for the production payment, which is slated to take effect from 1 July. The future of Australia’s three remaining refineries has come under scrutiny following BP’s recent decision to close its Kwinana plant.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, AMPOL LIMITED – ALD, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIVA ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX VEA, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Canavan calls for retaliatory levy on iron ore to China

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-Dec-20

Former resources minister Matt Canavan contends that the federal government should respond to China’s import bans and punitive tariffs by imposing a levy on iron ore exports. Australia ships nearly 900 million tonnes of iron ore to China each year, and Canavan argues that a levy of just one per cent would raise more than $800m annually; this could be used to compensate companies that have been hit by China’s trade sanctions. Canavan notes that iron ore has not been affected by the trade war, as China cannot quickly and easily source an alternative supply.

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China not playing by trade pact rules

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Original article by Ben Packham, Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 4 : 9-Dec-20

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the federal government is considering "all dispute settlement options" in response to China’s recent move to ban a range of imports from Australia. He has also suggested that the targeted nature of the import bans raises questions about China’s adherence to the free-trade agreement that the two nations signed in 2015. China has yet to explain why it has banned meat exports from Queensland-based abattoir Meramist, although there is speculation that it is in retaliation to the federal government’s Foreign Relations Bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, MERAMIST PTY LTD

COVID travel ban extended, as Australia reaches astonishing virus milestone

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The New Daily – Page: Online : 9-Dec-20

Australians will be prohibited from travelling overseas until at least 17 March. Health Minister Greg Hunt has cited the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis overseas for the decision to extend the ban, which was slated to expire on 17 December. The ban also prevents international cruise ships from entering Australian waters. Meanwhile, the number of active cases across Australia has fallen to 42, with returned travellers in hotel quarantine accounting for all but one of these cases. Victoria has had no active cases for 39 days; however, six returned travellers have been isolated in a special ‘hot’ hotel in Melbourne after showing symptoms of the coronavirus. Another returned traveller has tested negative for COVID-19 after arriving in Melbourne on 7 December.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Nine opposes concession to tech giants

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Original article by Max Mason, Natasha Gillezeau, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Dec-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government’s mandatory news media bargaining code for digital platforms is a "world-first". He has dismissed suggestions that the government has made too many concessions in the final version of the code to gain the support of digital giants such as Google and Facebook. These include adding a ‘two-way value exchange’ clause which reflect the benefits that news publishers receive from having digital platforms direct users to their content. A Nine Entertainment spokesman says this will merely entrench both the monopoly powers of digital companies and the unfair imbalance in media regulation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Labor snubs job-saving IR reboot

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 9-Dec-20

Labor has advised that it will not support a key provision in the federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill. The controversial reform would allow the Fair Work Commission to approve enterprise agreements that do not comply with the ‘better-off-overall test’ in the Fair Work Act. The FWC will be able to take into account factors such as the impact of COVID-19 in approving non-compliant agreements. ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the proposed reform is ‘diabolical’, although it has been welcomed by business groups

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Kelty approves of super-union divorce move

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Dec-20

The federal government’s hopes of getting the unions demerger bill through parliament before it rises for the year have been boosted after Labor signalled that it will not opposed the legislation. Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty has expressed support for the legislation, and he contends that breaking up the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union would be quite easy as it is an ‘amalgamation of divisions’. However, Electrical Trades Union national secretary Allen Hicks says that despite targeting the CFMMEU, the legislation would have ‘unintended consequences’ for the entire union movement, and he has urged Labor to reject it.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

IR reforms could save billions in back pay

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 2-Dec-20

The federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill will be put before parliament before it rises for the year. The bill is expected to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 2 December, along with a proposed legislative response to the Workpac v Rossato case. The Federal Court ruled that casual staff who work "regular and predictable" hours are entitled to benefits such as paid annual leave in addition to a casual loading. The government is believed to be considering reforms that would allow employers to use a casual worker’s 25 per cent loading to help offset any retrospective leave liability.

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FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Labor willing to engage on IR changes: Burke

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 27-Nov-20

Shadow employment minister Tony Burke says Labor is likely to pass the federal government’s industrial relations omnibus bill if the proposed reforms are based on those agreed upon by the Coalition’s working groups. However, Labor will refer the legislation to a Senate committee, which ensure that the bill is not debated and voted upon before Parliament rises for the year. The government has given indications that the reforms will include changes to the Fair Work Act’s ‘better-off-overall-test’, although reinstating the ‘no disadvantage test’ will be on its agenda.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY