BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

New industrial relations laws to simplify bargaining

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 7-Dec-18

Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer says amendments to the Fair Work Act will enable new enterprise bargaining agreements to take effect sooner. The Four Yearly Review and Other Measures Bill will allow the Fair Work Commission to ignore minor technical errors when approving EBAs. Unions had previously seized on such errors to block EBAs that they opposed. The FWC will also no longer be required to review modern awards every four years, a move that had the support of both unions and employers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Shorten allows encryption laws to pass

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Dec-18

The federal government’s encryption laws were passed by the Senate on 6 December, after Labor withdrew proposed amendments to the bill. The legislation will provide security agencies with improved access to encrypted data messages, thereby boosting their attempts to combat terrorism attacks while making it easier to pursue organised crime gangs and paedophiles. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Labor hopes to get the government to agree to adopt its proposed amendments in the 2019 parliamentary year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Labor backs down over encryption laws

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Dec-18

The federal government aims to pass its encryption legislation before parliament rises for the year after reaching a compromise with Labor. The Opposition has reached agreement with the government that only state anti-corruption commissions will not be given new powers to access encrypted data and devices. Labor had also sought to have state police excluded from the legislation, which is intended to target terrorists, paedophiles and organised crime.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Warning over integrity watchdog

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-18

The federal government agreed to support a Labor motion to establish a national integrity commission on 26 November, following a backdown by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Coalition did not oppose the motion after MP Llew O’Brien signalled that he may be prepared to cross the floor. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that as drafted, a crossbench bill to establish an anti-corruption commission could apply to federal public servants, including ABC and SBS journalists.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

New piracy laws plug illegal download loophole

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 19-Oct-18

The federal government will seek to expand the list of websites that can be blocked by ISPs for featuring pirated content such as films and TV shows. The proposed legislation will also enable copyright holders to seek a court order requiring companies such as Google to remove sites that feature pirated content from their search results. The move has been welcomed by industry players such as Foxtel, Free TV Australia and Village Roadshow.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, CREATIVE CONTENT AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTORS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN SCREEN ASSOCIATION LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Dutton slams tech giants over encryption laws

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Oct-18

The federal government continues to face opposition to its proposed digital encryption laws. However, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton argues that the laws are necessary due to the growing use of encryption services by criminals and terrorists, adding that existing laws are inadequate to deal with such technologies. Dutton has also noted that Silicon Valley-based technology companies are among the biggest critics of the proposed laws, despite their poor track record in protecting personal data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Union laws facing Senate stumbling block

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Sep-18

The crossbenchers may determine the fate of the federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill, which will be put to the Senate on 19 September. Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick says the party may support the bill, although this would be conditional on certain amendments. Other independent senators are also still considering their stance on the bill, although Tim Storer has ruled out supporting it. He is particularly concerned about the provisions that allow union officials to be disqualified for misconduct, noting that the sanctions are tougher than those for company directors under the Corporations Act.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Morrison bid to fast track union bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Sep-18

The Federal Government will make a new push for the Senate to pass its Ensuring Integrity Bill, which was shelved earlier in 2018. Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has urged Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to support the bill, stressing that the proposed reforms are needed to protect workers and small businesses. Amongst other things, the bill would allow union officials to be disqualified for repeated breaches of civil law while it would become easier to deregister a union. The bill is supported by employer groups, but the ACTU has called for crossbenchers to vote against it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Foreign spy threat to by-elections

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jun-18

The joint committee on intelligence and security has made 60 recommendations in its report on the Federal Government’s Espionage and Foreign Interference Bill. Attorney-General Christian Porter says the committee should also report immediately on the Foreign Influence and Transparency Scheme Bill. He argues that both bills must be passed by Parliament prior to the five by-elections on 28 July, to ensure that the outcome of the polls is not affected by the actions of foreign agents. He says the threat of foreign interference has increased in recent months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Tough laws to put terror heat on tech titans

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jun-18

The Federal Government has proposed legislation that would require telcos and technology companies to provide law enforcement and intelligence agencies with access to the encrypted data of suspected terrorists and cyber-criminals. Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor notes that at present telcos are not required to co-operate in providing access to such data. He stresses that the legislation – which will also apply to digital companies such as Google and Facebook – will not result in the creation of so-called "backdoor keys" that would allow law enforcement agencies to decrypt such data.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)