BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

It is time we all acted on the unions’ lawlessness

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Original article by James Pearson
The Australian – Page: 14 : 26-Jul-19

The Ensuring Integrity Bill aims to make registered organisations accountable for their actions in the same way as banks and corporations are held to account for their wrongdoings. The proposed legislation will apply equally to unions and employers’ associations, yet the former oppose it and the latter support it. This raises the question of why unions are reluctant to be held to account. Registered organisations and the individuals who run them enjoy special rights and privileges, and the bill will help to restore public confidence in them.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, BUILDERS’ LABOURERS’ FEDERATION

Transfer of money from workers’ fund theft of wages

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 25-Jul-19

Attorney-General Christian Porter says transferring money from workers’ entitlement funds to unions or employers’ groups is no more acceptable than the underpayment of staff. The federal government’s Workers Benefit Bill aims to crack down on such practices, with Porter citing examples such as the transfer of money from the Protect fund to the Electrical Trades Union. He says this occurred "for no reason". The Protect fund is jointly run by the ETU and the National Electrical Contractors Association.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS’ ASSOCIATION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Lambie piles pressure on Setka to quit CFMEU

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-19

The federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill is slated to be put before the Senate later in 2019. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has indicated that she may be prepared to vote for the bill if John Setka does not step down as the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. Lambie has raised her concerns about Setka with ACTU president Michele O’Neil. The government has amended the bill in response to concerns raised by Labor, but Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick believes that further changes are needed.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY

CFMEU slapped with $65m in penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jul-19

The federal government has released data showing that the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime & ­Energy Union has incurred about $65m worth of legal costs and court fines for breaching workplace laws since 2004. This includes court penalties totalling $28.6m in Victoria, with the bulk of these penalties having been incurred in cases involving controversial state secretary John Setka. The government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill will be put before the lower house on 24 July, and is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and other registered organisations.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Showdown brewing over union ban laws

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Jul-19

ACTU president Michele O’Neill has expressed concern that a key provision of the federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill could be misused. It allows any party with a vested interest to apply to the Federal Court to have a union official disqualified. O’Neill warns that this provision could be exploited in order to remove union officials for relatively minor breaches. Attorney-General Christian Porter has downplayed such concerns, arguing that the bill is consistent with Australia’s international obligations.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

PM to Senate: no deals on drought aid

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government will table its bill for a future drought fund in the Senate on 22 July; it was passed by the House of Representatives in 2018 but was not put to a vote in the Senate. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the bill will not be changed in any form to satisfy the demands of Labor or crossbenchers; he adds that drought funding should be a "no-brainer" and not something on which deals need to be done. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese claims that the government’s proposed legislation would see money taken from the Building Australia Fund.

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

Hues of Brazil dictatorship in anti-union bill

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Jul-19

The Ensuring Integrity Bill’s compliance with international conventions to which Australia is a signatory has been called into question. The International Centre for Trade Union Rights claims that the bill breaches international conventions regarding freedom of association and collective bargaining. Amongst other things, the bill is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and to ban union officials. The federal government hopes the bill will be passed by the lower house within weeks.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADE UNION RIGHTS, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Revamped bill to test ALP on forcing out rogue union bosses

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 17-Jul-19

The House of Representatives is slated to vote on the federal government’s amended Ensuring Integrity Bill within weeks. There have been significant changes to the bill in response to Labor’s concerns about the proposed legislation, but shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke has warned that the amendments are insufficient and are also likely to be opposed by Labor. The bill is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and ban union officials.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Open banking delayed due to data concerns

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Jul-19

The federal government’s open banking regime is slated to begin on 1 February 2020, although this will require the Consumer Data Right bill to be passed by the end of July. Shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones says Labor has some concerns about how customers’ data is used and retained under the new regime, which will need to be addressed if Labor is to support the legislation. Jones has questioned whether there will be sufficient time to pass the bill before parliament rises for the winter break.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

PM wins battle over tax cuts

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Jul-19

Senior federal government sources have indicated that independent senator Jacqui Lambie has agreed to support the Coalition’s full income tax cuts package. Lambie had pushed for the government to waive the $157m public housing debt of her home state of Tasmania in return for backing the tax bill. Fellow independent Cory Bernardi and Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff will also support the full tax package, giving the Coalition sufficient numbers in the Senate to pass it. Labor will decide its stance on the tax package before it is put before the Senate on 4 July.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY