BUSHFIRES – AUSTRALIA

News, Murdochs give millions to aid victims

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-20

News Corporation has announced a number of initiatives to assist communities that have been affected by the bushfires. It will donate $5m to bushfire relief programs, while executive chairman Rupert Murdoch will personally donate another $2m. Co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch recently donated $2m to the bushfire relief fund. News Corp Australia will also donate all revenue from metropolitan newspaper sales and advertising on 21 January to the bushfire relief appeal, while Foxtel will donate the proceeds from special advertising packages for its broadcasts of charity sports events and the Fire Fight concert.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Recovery funds to hit budget

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis, Patrick Commins, Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that the Budget bottom line will be impacted by the federal government’s disaster relief measures. However, Morrison has stressed that his priority is to provide bushfire victims with the support they need, now and over the next several years. The government has announced an initial $100m funding package to support farmers, fishers and foresters who have been affected by the bushfires. Details of a $50m funding package for charities and financial counsellors to assist bushfire victims will be announced on 15 January.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Telco, NBN failures during bushfire crisis reveal cracks in regional, rural crisis coverage

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Original article by Jess Davis
The New Daily – Page: Online : 14-Jan-20

Some areas of rural and regional Australia that were impacted during the bushfire crisis lost their mobile and NBN access. Telecommunications analyst Paul Budde says the fires should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ to the government, and that a national emergency telecommunications plan is required. Budde says telecommunications infrastructure needs to be buried underground, and that the old copper network should remain in place. Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher notes that no communications system can completely withstand bushfires.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

‘A significant fight ahead’: Koalas could be listed as endangered in parts of Australia

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Original article by Angus Thompson, Nick Bonyhady
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Jan-20

Scientists believe that the bushfires in northern NSW have destroyed about 30 per cent of the region’s koala habitats. Koalas are already listed as a ‘vulnerable’ species in some parts of Australia, and Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley warns that the species may need to be upgraded to ‘endangered’ in some bushfire-affected areas. Ley has stressed that every effort will be made to ensure that the species survives. Half of the federal government’s $50m bushfire relief package for wildlife will be given to wildlife carers, hospitals and zoos.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Westpac pays bushfire mortgages

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jan-20

Westpac has revealed details of its support package for victims of the nation’s bushfire crisis. Amongst other things, the bank will make mortgage repayments on behalf of customers whose primary residence was lost in the bushfires. This will apply for one year, and payments will be capped at $1,200 per month. Personal customers will also receive interest-free loans to cover the gap between insurance payouts and rebuilding costs, and business customers will be offered low-interest loans. Westpac and its major rivals have also made large donations to bushfire relief appeals.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RED CROSS SOCIETY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Technology is the key to climate policy

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Original article by John Kehoe, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated a slight shift in the federal government’s approach to climate change in the wake of the bushfires crisis. This follows community angst about the apparent link between climate change and the hotter and drier summer weather that contributed to the crisis. The government sees investments in low-emissions technology as the best way to cut carbon emissions and meet its 2030 carbon emissions targets, and it may not need to use Kyoto carryover credits to reach these targets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Forrest calls for $500m recovery fund

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Jan-20

The Minderoo Foundation of Andrew and Nicola Forrest will donate $70m to bushfire relief programs and research into improving Australia’s resilience to bushfires. The Forrests will contribute $10m to a bushfire recovery fund, while another $10m will be used to send Western Australian specialists to assist with the recovery effort. The balance will be invested in a project that will aim to mitigate the impact of future bushfires. Andrew Forrest has also proposed the creation of a $500m global fund for this purpose. He says a number of factors have contributed to the nation’s devastating bushfire season, including climate change and arson.

CORPORATES
MINDEROO FOUNDATION, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Emergency alarms raised ahead of heatwave return

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jan-20

Authorities in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia have issued bushfire emergency warnings for 10 January, amid expectations of extreme weather conditions. The prospect of soaring temperatures and strong winds has prompted the Victorian government to extend its ‘state of emergency’ for an extra two days, with Premier Daniel Andrews stressing that the move is necessary in order to save lives. Residents of some towns in the King Valley were given orders to evacuate late on 9 January. Meanwhile, residents in some areas of South Australia’s Kangaroo Island have been advised to evacuate if it is safe to do so.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. COUNTRY FIRE SERVICE

PM courts states for fire inquiry

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has emphasised that a national inquiry into the bushfire crisis will only go ahead if it has the support of state governments. He has also told Coalition MPs that it could take the form of a royal commission or a judicial inquiry. Meanwhile, some Liberal backbenchers contend that the Coalition will need to revise its climate change policy in the wake of the bushfire disaster. Morrison has defended the government’s record on climate change, stating that carbon emissions have fallen by 50 million tonnes a year on average since the Coalition took office in 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

No tax on disaster payments for fire-stricken Aussies

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Jan-20

The federal government has advised that the one-off Disaster Recovery Allowance for bushfire victims will be exempt from income tax. The government will introduce legislation to this effect when Parliament resumes in early February, and it is expected to be supported by Labor. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says accommodation operators in fire-affected areas have been hard hit by the disaster, and he has urged people to support them by not cancelling their bookings and seeking a refund.

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