BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

Hanson holds out on reform package

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 15-May-17

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has indicated that her party will not support abolition of the "two-out-of-three rule", although it will back the rest of the Federal Government’s proposed media reform package. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is holding negotiations with senate crossbenchers to secure support for the reforms, although the Opposition also intends to vote against scrapping the two-out-of-three rule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Coalition forced to mull ‘broader’ media reform

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Apr-17

The Australian Government will consider more extensive media reforms after failing to secure the Senate’s support for its cross-media ownership bill in the last session of Parliament before the May 2017 Budget. The reforms could include changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports events and a further reduction in broadcasting licence fees. The latter is likely to be reduced over time in order to reduce its impact on the Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT

Sugar the sweetener for One Nation to back media reform

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 27-Mar-17

One Nation will not support cross-media ownership reforms unless the Federal Government agrees to back its push for a national code of conduct for the sugarcane industry. The Senate had been scheduled to debate the media bill in the week beginning 27 March, but One Nation will only support abolition of the "reach rule" and the "two-out-of-three" rule if the Government intervenes in a stand-off between Queensland sugarcane farmers and Wilmar International. The media reform bill requires the support of One Nation and the Nick Xenophon Team.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WILMAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Laws not the only obstacle to mega-mergers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Mar-17

The Australian Government’s cross-media ownership reform bill is slated to be debated by the Senate on 20 Match 2017. However, even if the bill is passed by Parliament, it remains uncertain as to whether the reforms will result in large-scale mergers in the media sector. Aside from the fact that there may not be sufficient support among executives and shareholders for such deals, any mergers would be aimed primarily at competing with Google and Facebook for advertising revenue in the long-term, rather than rival media companies.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Reforms face stiff test from Hanson

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 13-Feb-17

The Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms will require the support of Senate crossbenchers. However, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson is said to be concerned about foreign ownership of Australian media assets, while Nick Xenophon advocates imposing a "super profits" tax on Google and Facebook due to their growing dominance of the online advertising market. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is tipped to introduce the media reform bill in the upper house in mid-February 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Hanson set to scupper ownership laws

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 26 : 30-Jan-17

There is speculation that One Nation will vote against the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in February. One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has declined to comment on her party’s intentions, although the Government is likely to need its support to pass the bill in the Senate. Meanwhile, Senator Nick Xenophon will push for amendments to the bill, as well as the introduction of a "super tax" on digital players Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fifield turns to crossbench support to force media reform over the line

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 12-Jan-17

The Australian Government’s cross-media ownership bill was passed by the lower house in November 2016. However, the support of cross-benchers may be crucial to the Government’s chances of the bill being passed by the Senate. The Australian Labor Party opposes abolition of the "two out of three rule", but the majority of cross-benchers are said to be generally supportive of the bill in its present form. Cross-benchers may seek some compromises in negotiations with the Government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Delay taints PM’s ABCC victory

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 1-Dec-16

The Senate has voted 36-33 in favour of a bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission, but existing enterprise bargaining agreements will not have to comply with the new building code until November 2018. The Federal Government agreed to a two-year transition period in order to secure the support of Senator Derryn Hinch, who says he had concerns about the retrospective nature of the code as originally proposed by the Government. Meanwhile, the Opposition’s employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor says the Australian Labor Party will abolish the ABCC if it wins the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, PROBUILD PTY LTD, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ONE NATION PARTY

Delay taints PM’s ABCC victory

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 1-Dec-16

The Senate has voted 36-33 in favour of a bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission, but existing enterprise bargaining agreements will not have to comply with the new building code until November 2018. The Federal Government agreed to a two-year transition period in order to secure the support of Senator Derryn Hinch, who says he had concerns about the retrospective nature of the code as originally proposed by the Government. Meanwhile, the Opposition’s employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor says the Australian Labor Party will abolish the ABCC if it wins the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, PROBUILD PTY LTD, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ONE NATION PARTY

Turnbull seals ABCC return with water deal

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: Online : 30-Nov-16

The Senate seems set to pass the Federal Government’s bill to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission. Senator Nick Xenophon will support the bill after the Government agreed to meet with state premiers regularly to increase water flows to the Murray-Darling river system. However, the Government has yielded to lobbying by organisations such as the Australian Industry Group and will introduce a two-year transition period for enterprise bargaining agreements to comply with the new building code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, PROBUILD PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, KANE CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES