BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Profits easier offshore: O’Neill

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 6-Nov-25

Woodside Energy has forecast that its net cash flow from operations will rise to around $US9bn by 2032, compared with about $US5bn in 2024. CEO Meg O’Neill says this growth will be driven by factors such as the start-up of projects such as Scarborough LNG in Western Australia and Trion oil in Mexico, as well as tighter capital management. O’Neill has also warned that the regulatory burden in Australia is making countries such as the US and Mexico more attractive as investment destinations, which is why Woodside is directing more capital to them.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS

Miners in appeal for a deal

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Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Nov-25

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable agrees with the federal government’s view that proposed changes to environmental laws need to be passed this year. She has urged Labor and the Coalition to reach consensus regarding an overhaul of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to ensure that the changes go ahead as quickly as possible, but with appropriate amendments to allay the concerns of the business sector. There are also fears among business leaders that Labor will capitalise on the Coalition’s in-fighting over a net-zero emissions target to strike a deal with the Greens on changes to the EPBC Act.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Business wants states to handle environmental approvals

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Oct-25

The federal government’s proposed changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act will be put before the lower house on Thursday. The government aims to have the Environmental Protection Reform Bill passed by parliament before it negotiates s separate deals with each state and territory regarding the streamlining of environmental approvals. The Business Council of Australia has called for the states and territories to be given responsibility for assessment and approval rights; CEO Bran Black says this is necessary to lock in faster approvals for housing, critical minerals and infrastructure projects.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Glencore walks away from taxpayer-funded clean energy pivot

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 29-Oct-25

Anglo-Swiss miner Glencore has advised that it will not proceed with a proposed renewable energy and battery hub at its Murrin Murrin nickel mine and refinery in Western Australia. Glencore had received a $35m grant from the federal government’s Powering the Regions Fund to help finance the development of an 849-hectare renewables hub at Murrin Murrin, which currently operates its own gas-fired power station. A spokesman for Glencore says it decided to cancel the onsite hybrid renewable energy project due to a range of macroeconomic and cost factors. Glencore and the government have agreed to mutually terminate the grant.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC

Employers urge Ley to expand IR changes

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Oct-25

Opposition leader Sussan Ley has committed to reviewing the federal government’s multi-employer bargaining laws. However, business groups want the Coalition to consider more extensive industrial relations reforms. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s CEO Andrew McKellar says the Coalition should look at increasing the legal definition of a small business from 15 employees to 25, contending that getting a fair deal for small business should be a priority. The Australian Resources & ­Energy Employer Association’s CEO Steve Knott in turn has identified the abolition of laws expanding union delegate rights, right-of-entry provisions and the Fair Work Commission’s intractable bargaining powers as reforms the Coalition should be pursuing.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY EMPLOYER ASSOCIATION

Slash green tape to hit 2035 target

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Original article by Greg Brown, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-25

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is set to reveal the federal government’s 2035 carbon emissions reduction target in September. A group of Australian companies have joined forces under the Business For 75 banner to lobby the government, calling for an emissions target of at least 75 per cent. The Climate Change Authority is considering a target of 65-75 per cent, but the Business For 75 members contend that a target at the higher end of tis range would increase investment by $20bn a year. Bowen has indicated that the government may adopt a target range for reducing emissions, rather than a specific figure.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Employers pitch Fair Work reform

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 29-Jul-25

The Australian Resources & Energy Employers Association is calling for an end to politically-biased appointments to the Fair Work Commission ahead of the federal government’s productivity roundtable. With both Coalition and Labor governments having been accused of favouring people with employer or union backgrounds, respectively, when making FWC appointments, the AREEA has used its submission to the roundtable to call for them to be made by an independent panel; it would comprise the federal industrial relations minister, the ACTU and employer groups.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY EMPLOYER ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Back to future on carbon with Rio

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Original article by Greg Brown, Noah Yim
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jul-25

Rio Tinto has used its submission to the Productivity Commission’s so-called ‘five pillars’ review to call for Australia to introduce a market-based price on carbon. The resources group contends that this is the most effective way to encourage the private sector to make low-carbon investments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, Rio Tinto has also argued that further government subsidies will be needed, as a carbon price alone will not be enough to reduce heavy industries’ emissions while allowing them to remain globally competitive.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Smelters face risk of closure, Nyrstar warns

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Jul-25

Nyrstar Australia’s CEO Matt Howell says the company’s smelters in South Australia and Tasmania are expected to post losses totalling "several hundred millon" dollars over the next two years. He says a joint state and federal government rescue package is vital to the future of the smelters, and a deal with the governments is expected shortly. Significant capital investment is required for both the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters, while Nyrstar is also looking at the viability of upgrading the plants to process critical minerals. Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute contends that government assistance should only be provided if it is deemed to be in the national interest.

CORPORATES
NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Bosses demand tax reform as a priority

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Jun-25

The Centre for Independent Studies’ chairman Nicholas Moore has welcomed the federal the government’s decision to make productivity a focus of its policy agenda for its second term in office. Business leaders and economists agree that tax reform should be a key priority for the government’s productivity roundtable in August. However, the former Macquarie Group CEO, who is an adviser to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, says tax reform is difficult and it has been an issue for 25 years; Moore adds that issues such as housing and the red-tape burden are likely to take precedence at the roundtable.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG