BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Albo to dump class war and try to charm business

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 6 : 18-Sep-19

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will speak at the Business Council of Australia annual forum at Parliament House on 18 September. It will be his first major speech to big business since he replaced Bill Shorten as Labor leader. His speech will indicate a desire by Albanese to work with big business, and will see him dump Shorten’s anti-corporate rhetoric. Albanese will also defend the right of big business to speak out on social issues, despite recent calls by the federal government for corporate Australia to "stick to its knitting".

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Always independent? Lapping it up with the Libs has Fairfax throwbacks foaming

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Sep-19

Nine Entertainment Company’s newspaper journalists have criticised the media group for hosting a fundraising event for the Liberal Party. They contend that the event has undermined the newspapers’ charters of editorial independence, arguing that ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’, ‘The Age’ and ‘The Australian Financial Review’ had been politically impartial under the ownership of Fairfax Media. Senior federal government ministers and business leaders were amongst those who attended the event, which raised $700,000 for the Liberal Party.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Business cash flow tax would lift investment

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 3-Sep-19

Economist Ross Garnaut has called on the federal government to adopt a business cash flow tax that would incorporate a full deduction for corporate expenditure. He says a full tax write-off for business expenditure provides a significant incentive for investment, and is in line with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s recent call for companies to boost productivity by increasing capital investment in preference to share buybacks and special dividends. Garnaut and former federal Labor minister Craig Emerson have undertaken economic modelling on a possible switch from the traditional profit-based company tax to a tax based on cash flow.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

CEOs to PM: support long-term growth

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Sep-19

Business leaders have put forward suggestions for boosting the Australian economy, amid expectations that upcoming GDP data will show that growth slowed to a 10-year low of 1.4 per cent in the year to June. JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray has emphasised the need for policy initiatives that support long-term economic growth, rather than merely stimulating the economy. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci and Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner agree that further easing monetary policy is unlikely to be sufficient to boost the economy, while Cardo CEO Ian Ball has called for increased investment in transport infrastructure.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Grow business or be swamped: SEEK boss

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Aug-19

SEEK CEO Andrew Bassat­ and Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayak have backed a recent call by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for Australian companies to lift productivity by reinvesting in their business rather than returning capital to shareholders. Bassat says Australian companies will be less competitive internationally if their level of capital investment continues to lag that of their global peers. However, Boral CEO Mike Kane is amongst the business leaders who have rejected Frydenberg’s comments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Proposed tax reforms a betrayal of small business

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 28-Aug-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has stressed the need for incentives for businesses to invest by reducing taxes and red tape. However, the federal government’s actions are in fact contrary to its stated intentions. Amongst other things, the Coalition proposes to make directors personally liable for their company’s GST payments and empower the Australian Taxation Office to freeze GST refunds. Likewise, the government wants to introduce criminal penalties for making cash payments of $10,000 or more to any company that has an Australian Business Number. While these measures have the worthy aim of cracking down on phoenix companies and the cash economy, the government’s approach to their implementation has been a complete disaster and could ensure its loss at the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Treasurer tells CEOs: get positive

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will use a Business Council of Australia speech on 26 August to stress the need for the corporate sector to take action to boost productivity and wages. He will argue that lifting the nation’s average annual rate of productivity growth from about 1.1 per cent at present to 1.5 per cent would boost the economy by $70bn over the next decade and increase real wages by four per cent. Frydenberg will also urge business leaders to increase capital investment, including in new technologies, rather than focusing on returning capital to investors via share buybacks and special dividends.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Skills crisis at critical level: CEOs

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Sascha O’Sullivan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Aug-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has urged the federal government to take action to address the nation’s skilled labour shortage. Willox says the situation is particularly urgent given the number of major infrastructure projects that will be undertaken in coming years. He has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison arguing the need for a national approach to the issue, noting that the number of people undertaking apprenticeship and traineeship programs fell to 259,385 in 2018, compared with 446,000 in 2012.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Home Affairs fights to restrict media

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Original article by Mark Schliebs
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Aug-19

The Department of Home Affairs has used its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into press freedom to argue that the existing rules governing police search warrants are adequate. The Right to Know Coalition recently told the inquiry that the media industry should have the right to challenge warrants that are used to gather evidence against journalists. Home Affairs has contended that there is the potential for material evidence to be destroyed if there is advance notice that a warrant is to be issued. The ABC has rejected this suggestion, arguing that the destruction of ­evidence is a criminal offence under existing laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, AUSTRALIA’S RIGHT TO KNOW COALITION OF MEDIA COMPANIES, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Media coalition seeks right to fight warrants

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 8 : 3-Aug-19

The Right to Know Coalition has used its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into freedom of the press to call for changes to the rules governing the issuance of police warrants. The coalition, which comprises 14 media companies and organisations, argued amongst other things that the media industry should have the right to challenge warrants that are used to gather evidence against journalists, and that all such applications should be put to an independent judge in open court. The inquiry was commissioned in response to the recent media raids.

CORPORATES
RIGHT TO KNOW COALITION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS