BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

One Nation split boosts union clout

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Jun-18

Further dissent within One Nation has emerged amid allegations concerning the Federal Government’s failure to pass legislation to subject union mergers to a public interest test. One Nation senator Brian Burston claims that his colleague Peter Georgiou opposed the Ensuring Integrity Bill in defiance of Burston and party leader Pauline Hanson. Burston says the latter then agreed to oppose the bill to ensure that the party was not viewed as being divided. A government source has backed Burston’s claim, stating that the government would have had sufficient support for the bill if Georgiou had voted for it.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Split tax cut bill, senators warn PM

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-May-18

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the Federal Government must legislate income tax cuts proposed for 2018-19 separately from future tax relief outlined in the May 2018 Budget. Hanson argues that there could be a recession before all three phases of the seven-year tax cuts package take effect. Centre Alliance also supports splitting the tax cuts bill. Both parties, which have five seats in the Senate, also oppose any move by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to wind back company tax cuts that have already been legislated.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

New whistleblower bill unworkable

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 16-Apr-18

Griffith University’s Professor A.J. Brown has criticised proposed laws that aim to protect whistleblowers. He says a major flaw is that a whistleblower would essentially have to reveal themselves to be the source of information that was leaked to journalists in order to be protected by the legislation. He adds that as presently drafted, such protection would still only apply if they had gone public about an "imminent risk" of danger to public health or safety or to the financial system. Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy has also questioned the merits of the proposed laws.

CORPORATES
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SECURENCY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD

A-G’s swipe at media for opposing spy laws

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Original article by Paul Maley
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Mar-18

Attorney-General Christian Porter has criticised the media and other special-interest groups for opposing the Federal Government’s proposed foreign interference and espionage laws. He noted that the introduction of similar laws in the US generally attracted consideration of whether they were in the national interest. Media companies have expressed concern about the potential implications of the proposed laws on journalists, although ASIO has argued that they should not be exempt.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Union merger test abandoned

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Mar-18

The Federal Government will not seek to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Government has shelved plans to introduce a public interest test for union mergers after failing to secure sufficient support for the bill among crossbenchers. Australian Mines & Metals Association CEO Steve Knott and Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn have expressed disappointment with the decision.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Clerks in warning on spy laws

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Mar-18

Senate clerk Richard Pye and House of Representatives clerk David Elder have warned of the potential impact of proposed foreign interference and espionage laws on parliamentarians. They have used submissions to a joint committee on intelligence and security inquiry to express concern that the legislation could potentially override parliamentary privilege by requiring MPs to disclose details of any meetings they have held with foreign officials. The bill has previously attracted criticism from media companies and business groups.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

New Senate push to kill union merger

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Mar-18

The Federal Government hopes to secure the support of Senate crossbenchers for legislation to block a merger between the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. The Nick Xenophon Team has signalled that it is open to negotiations regarding amendments to the Ensuring Integrity Bill, while the Liberal Democratic Party’s David Leyonhjelm say he is holding talks with the Government. The CFMEU-MUA merger will proceed on 27 March unless the bill is amended.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Journos reject spy risk claim for flawed law

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 26 & 28 : 19-Mar-18

Former Al Jazeera foreign correspondent Peter Greste has expressed concern about the potential impact of the Federal Government’s proposed espionage and foreign interference laws on freedom of speech. Media companies have also raised concerns about the limitations of the proposed laws in a new submission to federal parliament’s intelligence committee, while Law Council of Australia president Morry Bailes says the defence that reporting on an issue is in the public interest should be widened.

CORPORATES
AL JAZEERA, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Media call for spy laws rewrite

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Mar-18

Media companies and the Law Council of Australia have raised further concerns about the Federal Government’s foreign interference laws in new submissions to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence & Security. The media industry argues that the bill is "deeply flawed" and it should be completely redrafted. The Law Council in turn has argued that the definition of some key terms in the draft bill need to be clarified, including "national security" and "news media".

CORPORATES
LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, SKY NEWS, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE LIMITED

New spy laws still not good enough: Dreyfus

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Mar-18

Media companies have warned that journalists could still be jailed under draft amendments to the Federal Government’s proposed espionage laws. The amendments would provide limited legal protection for journalists who receive and report on classified information. The media industry’s joint submission argues that journalists would still be required to defend their actions in court. The Opposition’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says the amendments are flawed and will not be supported by Labor.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED