BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Hacking risks higher under open banking

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Jan-19

The Australian Banking Association has expressed concern that theft of personal data and email scams will become rife under the federal government’s open banking regime. Open banking is slated to begin on 1 February 2020, with a pilot program to commence in July 2019. The ABA’s submission to the Treasury’s draft report on open banking has called for the terms of reference for the pilot program to include an assessment of the potential privacy risks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ALP locks in shipping fleet

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jan-19

The Maritime Union of Australia’s national secretary Paddy Crumlin says Labor is likely to pursue coastal shipping reforms if it wins the 2019 federal election. He expects Labor to mandate that cargo ships operating between the nation’s ports must be Australian-flagged, with local crews who are subject to Australian conditions of employment. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says that such restrictions would lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers.

CORPORATES
MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Argus warns Shorten on silly class war

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Jan-19

Former BHP chairman Don Argus says Labor leader Bill Shorten could divide the nation if he contests the 2019 election on the basis of class warfare. Argus adds that despite Shorten’s rhetoric, the majority of employers and workers recognise the need to work together. Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney and AustralianSuper chair Heather Ridout are among the other business leaders who have cautioned Shorten against engaging in populist politics.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX SGM, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Shorten attacks BHP, business

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 18-Jan-19

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has attacked BHP for replacing Australian seafarers with foreign crews on ships that transport iron ore from Western Australia to Wollongong. His criticism of BHP came during the launch of his "Queensland Jobs Not Cuts" bus tour on 17 January, with Shorten attacking big business and the wealth-off. Business leaders expressed concern about Shorten’s anti-big business rhetoric, with Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson saying it is important that businesses of all sizes are successful.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Dividends paid early to beat ALP

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Jan-19

Jason Steed of Morgan Stanley expects some listed companies to announce share buybacks and special dividends prior to the federal election, in order to avoid Labor’s proposed changes to the franking credits system. Mirrabooka Investments has already advised that its special dividend will be paid immediately rather than on 1 July, with CEO Mark Freeman attributing the move to uncertainty regarding Labor’s policy. Liberal MP Tim Wilson notes that many companies have told a parliamentary committee that they have changed their investment strategy in anticipation of Labor’s policy.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MIRRABOOKA INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX MIR, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Sunsuper says top-10 approach fair

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 11-Jan-19

Scott Hartley, the CEO of industry superannuation fund Sunsuper, has expressed support for a proposal to restrict default super regime to a list of the 10 best-performing funds. However, he says the new system would need to be gradually phased in to reduce risk. The proposed reform has been criticised by Industry Super Australia CEO Bernie Dean, and Willis Towers Watson Australasia’s former CEO Andrew Boal warns of the potential for "unintended consequences".

CORPORATES
SUNSUPER PTY LTD, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WILLIS TOWERS WATSON, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Greens’ Basin bill bad for climate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Jan-19

The Mineral Council of Australia has warned that a proposed ban on thermal coal production in Queensland’s Galilee Basin would force Asian countries to buy lower-quality coal from developing countries. The MCA argues that this could in turn result in higher global carbon emissions. In addition, it has questioned the constitutional validity of such a ban. The Australian Greens’ bill to ban thermal coal production in the Galilee Basin is also opposed by the Queensland division of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Labor’s wage bargaining plans a risk to exports

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Dec-18

Tom Reid of the Australian Mines & Metals Association has warned that a shift to industry-wide enterprise bargaining could undermine the competitiveness and sustainability of the nation’s resources sector. Labor proposes to restrict industry-wide bargaining to sectors that have low wages, although unions advocate extending it to other sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, Australian Retailers Association CEO Russell Zimmerman says industry-wide bargaining may be a viable alternative to the costly enterprise bargaining process for small retailers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ACTU, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Call for 10pc royalty on offshore gas amid boom

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 22 : 14-Dec-18

The federal government gained $946m in revenue from the petroleum resource rent tax in 2017, according to data from the Australian Taxation Office. However, the McKell Institute estimates that revenue from the PRRT could increase by $2.8bn a year if a 10 per cent royalty were to be imposed on offshore gas projects. The left-wing think tank argues that the PRRT was designed primarily to encourage the development of marginal oil projects and has little relevance to Australia’s booming gas industry.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, McKELL INSTITUTE, CHEVRON CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE TAX INSTITUTE

PM’s big stick to be stuck in Senate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Greg Bright
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Dec-18

The Senate’s standing committee on economics will examine the federal government’s bill to force electricity retailers to divest assets after Labor referred it to the upper house. The lower house debated the bill on 6 December, before parliament rose for the year, but further debate will not be possible until early April as the committee is not slated to report on the bill until 18 March. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has accused the government of trying to push the bill through the lower house with no scrutiny and minimal debate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS