BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Adani-style red tape tops Canberra’s hit-list

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Aug-19

The federal government will announce on 5 August that the Productivity Commission will be asked to examine the approvals process for resource projects. This coincides with the announcement by Ben Morton, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, of his intention to adopt a sector-by-sector approach to abolishing unnecessary regulation. Morton says he expects businesses to pass on any benefits that result from this review to the broader economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Super, insurance chiefs to face MPs

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 26-Jul-19

The CEOs of insurance companies and superannuation funds will be required to appear before federal parliament’s Standing Committee on Economics at least once a year. Bank CEOs have had to front the committee regularly since 2016, and the heads of industry groups such as the Australian Banking Association will now also be asked to do so. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the government’s slow response to implementing the Hayne royal commission’s recommendations, stressing the need to proceed with caution to avoid any unintended consequences.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Energy policy, IR changes urgent

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 26-Jul-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has backed comments by top bureaucrat Martin Parkinson on the nation’s declining productivity rate. Willox says that uncertainty regarding energy and carbon emissions policy has contributed to Australia’s underperformance in terms of productivity growth, and he has urged action on these issues. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has in turn stressed the need for industrial relations reforms in order to lift productivity. Parkinson will shortly retire as the head of the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Browse project delays trigger lease warning

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 19-Jul-19

The retention lease for the Browse gas field expires in mid-2020, but Woodside Petroleum does not expect to make a final investment decision on the project until the end of that year. Resources Minister Matt Canavan has held meetings with executives from Woodside and Browse partner Shell, and he is said to have sought an update on progress regarding the project. Canavan and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator have previously flagged the potential for the Browse partners to forfeit their leases under ‘use it or lose it’ provisions.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM TITLES ADMINISTRATOR, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Bill will scare off vendors: Telstra

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 27 : 19-Jul-19

The federal government’s encryption laws have attracted criticism from a range of sectors, including the technology industry and civil liberties groups. In its submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence & Security, Telstra claimed that the legislation will make international vendors reluctant to share new devices and technology with Australian telcos. Telstra also contends that the legislation has the potential to disrupt network services.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY

Hydro project wins $610m federal loan

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Jul-19

Genex Power will receive a $610m loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for its proposed pumped hydro project in Queensland. NAIF CEO Laurie Walker notes that the project will provide northern Queensland with an additional 250 megawatts of power, with EnergyAustralia in the process of concluding a deal to receive electricity from the project. The concessional loan is the largest allocation made by the $5 billion NAIF to date.

CORPORATES
GENEX POWER LIMITED – ASX GNX, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, J-POWER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY

Labor urged to speed up dud policy review

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Original article by Greg Brown, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-Jul-19

Labor has come under scrutiny for delaying a decision on key policies – including changes to the negative gearing and franking credits regimes – until a review of its 2019 federal election campaign is completed. Property Council of Australia CEO Ken Morrison argues that Labor should ditch these policies, as voters have rejected them at two elections. Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson says the franking credits policy is flawed and inequitable, and was a key factor in Labor’s election defeat.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Target surplus, but keep on spending

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Jul-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says there is scope for the federal government to pursue stimulus measures in addition to its income tax cuts package. He says that although returning the Budget to surplus should remain a priority, there should also be increased government spending in areas that will generate economic growth. Treasury Josh Frydenberg is confident that the economy will be boosted by factors such as the tax cuts, monetary policy easing and the Coalition’s infrastructure spending program.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Lower wholesale power prices a pipe dream

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 9-Jul-19

Energy Users Association of Australia CEO Andrew Richards has questioned whether the federal government can deliver on its promise to reduce wholesale electricity prices to $70 per megawatt-hour by 2021. The wholesale price of electricity is currently around $95 per megawatt hour, and Richards says it is unlikely to fall much below $80. He adds that the federal government’s intervention in the energy market has also "spooked" some investors.

CORPORATES
ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL

Big super ready to fund infrastructure

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Jul-19

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury has argued the case for industry superannuation funds to invest in public infrastructure, saying they are prepared to buy into both new and existing assets. Himbury concedes that there is still some concern about the partial sale of public assets; however, he stresses that unlike some private investors, super funds are focused on long-term returns rather than short-term profits. Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty has proposed the creation of a new government-backed asset class that is focused on infrastructure.

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, ACTU, INFRADEBT PTY LTD