BUSINESS AND POLITICS – 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

Gas exporters on notice to lock in more supplies for Australians

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 28-May-25

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King addressed the Australian Energy Producers conference in Brisbane on Tuesday. Amid growing fears of a looming gas shortage on the east coast, King said that Australians are tired of seeing the nation’s vast gas resources exported while paying high prices themselves. King added that while some Australian LNG producers are "doing the right thing" by ensuring that there is sufficient domestic supply, a lot of work still needs to be done on this issue. She added that the federal government plans to undertake a review of laws and regulations governing the LNG sector, to ensure that they are working as intended.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY PRODUCERS

Stokes slams ALP’s super tax hit

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Original article by Perry Williams, Jared Lynch, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 7-May-25

SGH Limited’s CEO Ryan Stokes has criticised the federal government’s proposal to tax the unrealised capital gains of superannuation funds. Stoke contends that while taxing profits is "entirely reasonable", taxing unrealised capital gains is dangerous and sets a far-reaching and concerning precedent, while it could also distort markets. The tax would initially apply to super accounts with a balance of more than $3m, but Stokes warns that it could potentially be extended to other asset classes. The Greens have advocated lowering the threshold to $2m, while the fact that the tax will not be indexed to inflations means that it will progressively apply to more people.

CORPORATES
SGH LIMITED – ASX SGH, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

National nightmare of teals on a Green pitch

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Original article by Paul Garvey, Perry Williams, Colin Packham, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Feb-25

Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill says it would be bad for households, business and the environment if the Greens or the teals hold the balance of power after the federal election. Beach Energy CEO Brett Woods has expressed similar concerns, warning that a minority government could result in "exorbitant power" being given to a small collection of MPs who are focused solely on their own narrow agenda rather than the good of the nation. He contends that electors should vote for either Labor or the Coalition, as the consequences of giving the Greens or teals greater influence would include higher unemployment and severe energy shortages.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, AUSTRALIAN GREENS