BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

NAB, CBA: We didn’t hike rates for profit

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Oct-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority requested in March that interest-only loans be capped at 30 per cent of all mortgages. National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank executives were asked by federal parliament’s economics committee on 20 October why they lifted rates for existing interest-only loan customers in the wake of APRA’s directive, with the suggestion being that they were motivated by profit. However, this implication was rejected by the bank executives.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Strong backing for energy plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Oct-17

The Australian Energy Regulator will be responsible for ensuring that electricity retailers comply with carbon emission reduction targets under the Federal Government’s National Energy Guarantee. The new energy policy also requires electricity retailers to meet reliability standards. Business leaders are generally supportive of the policy, although the Opposition has some concerns about it, while some state governments are highly critical. Former prime minister Tony Abbott maintains that the energy policy should not include an emissions reduction target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

Goode blasts ‘unfair’ tax on big five banks

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 20 : 17-Oct-17

Diversified United Investments (DUI) chairman Charles Goode says the Federal Government must reconsider its proposed levy on the four major banks and Macquarie Group. He has told the listed investment company’s shareholders that the banks already pay billions of dollars in income tax, and targeting only some companies in a specific sector is unfair and discriminatory. DUI holds $A240m worth of shares in the major banks, while Australian United Investments – which is also chaired by Goode – has a $A315m exposure to the big banks.

CORPORATES
DIVERSIFIED UNITED INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX DUI, AUSTRALIAN UNITED INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AUI, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, IAN POTTER FOUNDATION, FLAGSTAFF PARTNERS PTY LTD, WALLARA ASSET MANAGEMENT, RIVER CAPITAL PTY LTD, SG HISCOCK AND COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI

Senate push for stronger BOOT test

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 5-Oct-17

The Business Council of Australia has supported a Senate committee’s proposal to make changes to the "better off overall test" in the Fair Work Act to ensure that workers’ rights are protected. A BCA spokesman says addressing such deficiencies is necessary in order to enhance the enterprise bargaining system and address the issue of low growth in wages. The Labor-dominated Senate committee recommended some "fine-tuning" of the better off overall test.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Gas controls raise world LNG prices

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-17

The Federal Government has signed a heads of agreement with Origin Energy, Santo and Shell that will avoid the need for it to impose LNG export controls. The LNG producers have committed to supplying sufficient gas to the domestic market to meet expected shortfalls in 2018 and 2019. The agreement also makes provision for any gas that is surplus to their contractual requirements to be offered to the domestic market first. Meanwhile, speculation that Australia’s LNG exports will be curbed has prompted a sharp rise in spot prices in North Asia in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, WOOD MACKENZIE, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Enterprise deals unworkable, bosses warn

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Sep-17

Australian Industry Group CEO lnnes Willox has called for changes to the way the "better-off-overall test" is applied in approving enterprise bargaining agreements. He argues that applying the test equally to all workers at a company has become unworkable in the wake of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to strike down an EBA at Coles in 2016. Willox favours a recommendation of the Productivity Commission that the test be applied to different classes of employees.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT

Media chiefs eagerly await opportunities

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Original article by Max Mason, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 15-Sep-17

The Senate voted 31-27 to pass the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms, prompting praise from industry leaders. Ten Network CEO Paul Anderson has welcomed the replacement of broadcast licence fees with a spectrum fee, noting that it will provide Ten with more money to invest in content. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says the reforms will provide media companies with greater certainty and encourage more investment in local communities.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Watchdog slams AGL on Liddell

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Sep-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission had opposed the sale of Macquarie Generation – which owned the Liddell and Bayswater power stations – to AGL Energy in 2014. ACCC chairman Rod Sims believes that the $A1.5bn deal has contributed to the rising cost of electricity, noting that the competition regulator had warned of this at the time. AGL is under growing scrutiny over its plans to shut down the Liddell power station in 2022. The Federal Government recently set a deadline of 90 days for AGL develop a plan to replace the ageing plant’s output of 1,000 megawatts.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, MACQUARIE GENERATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ALCOA INCORPORATED

PM’s new baseload plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Sep-17

The Federal Government has advised that its energy policy will have a focus on affordable and reliable baseload electric power generation, rather than a clean energy target. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that Australia could meet its 2030 emissions reductions targets while retaining coal as part of the energy mix. He also says AGL Energy’s plan to replace the 1,000 megawatts of baseload generation of its Liddell power station cannot include renewable energy, arguing that they are not baseload. AGL has been given 90 days to develop a plan to replace the ageing power station’s output.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Turnbull’s power deal with AGL

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 12-Sep-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg held talks with AGL Energy CEO Andy Vesey regarding the Liddell coal-fired power station on 11 September. Vesey agreed to a 90-day deadline to develop a plan to replace the ageing power station’s output. He will also put a proposal to the AGL board to sell the power station or keep it open for five years beyond its slated shutdown in 2022. The Australian ­Energy Market Operator has estimated that an extra 1,000 megawatts of electricity generation will be needed to offset the closure of Liddell.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST