BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Tourism slams departure tax slug

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Sep-16

Treasurer Scott Morrison says reducing the proposed backpacker tax from 32.25 per cent to 19 per cent will enhance Australia’s ability to compete with other countries that are popular with people on working holidays. The Federal Government will also reduce the application fee for working holiday visas in a bid to arrest a decline in such visas in recent years. The Tourism & Transport Forum has welcomed the move to reduce the backpacker tax, but it has criticised a proposed $A5 increase in the departure tax on outbound travellers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM, TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Free-to-air TV bosses strengthen calls for licence fee cuts

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 28-Sep-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget included a 25 per cent reduction in TV broadcasting licence fees. Nine Entertainment Company’s submission to a Senate inquiry into the media reform bill has argued that a further reduction in licence fees should have priority over changes to cross-media ownership rules. The Ten Network noted in its submission that Australia’s broadcasting licence fees are still the highest in the world, while News Corp Australia called for broader media reform and changes to the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Senate urged to pass tax reforms

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 28-Sep-16

The Federal Government’s bill to progressively reduce the company tax rate is being scrutinised by a Senate committee. The Business Council of Australia has used its submission to argue the case for Parliament to pass all of the tax reforms rather than restricting tax cuts to the small business sector. The Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group also favour implementing the tax cuts in full, although the latter concedes that providing tax relief to small businesses would be better than having the entire bill reject by Parliament.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Labor says bank profits are too high

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Sep-16

The profits of Australia’s four major banks will come under scrutiny when their CEOs front a parliamentary committee in early October 2016. Pat Conroy, an Australian Labor Party member of the committee, will seek an explanation for the banks’ high return on equity compared with their international peers. He notes that there has not been an influx of foreign banks despite the local industry’s high level of profitability. Labor and the Greens favour a royal commission into the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Media reform deadline looms

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Sep-16

The Senate inquiry into proposed cross-media ownership reforms is slated to report its findings on 7 November 2016. Media companies have been given until 23 September to update the submissions they made to a previous inquiry prior to the federal election. Meanwhile, the Opposition has signalled that its stance on abolition of the "two-of-three rule" has not changed following the retirement of Stephen Conroy, who supported retaining the regulation. The Australian Labor Party supports scrapping the "reach rule".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Media changes conservative, says global boss

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 19-Sep-16

IPG Mediabrands’ global CEO Henry Tajer argues that the Federal Government’s proposed cross-media ownership reforms do not go far enough. He say the reforms should encourage consolidation in the sector, noting that Australia has too many media companies given the nation’s population. Tajer adds that the reforms should also take into account global companies that already have a presence in Australia – such as Facebook and Google – and ones that will enter the market in coming years.

CORPORATES
IPG MEDIABRANDS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Foreign cap on Qantas needs axing: Joyce

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Sep-16

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the airline is being disadvantaged by ownership restrictions because they prevent it from participating in global consolidation in the sector. He has called on the Federal Government to make changes to the Qantas Sale Act. Peter Harbison, the executive chairman of CAPA-Centre for Aviation, says restrictions on foreign ownership amount to protectionism.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, CAPA – CENTRE FOR AVIATION

Narev seeks spirit of ’91 reform

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 14-Sep-16

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev has used the 25th anniversary of the banking major’s sharemarket float to call for reforms that will promote long-term economic growth. He says the government of the day made the right decision in selling a publicly-owned bank. CBA shares have fallen by more than 10 per cent in recent weeks, with the stock closing at $A69.50 on 13 September 2016. However, investors paid just $A5.40 per share in the 1991 float.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED

Innovation agenda must embrace mining: Costello

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Sep-16

Former treasurer Peter Costello has used a Minerals Council of Australia function to stress that the mining industry has a role in the Federal Government’s "innovation agenda". He argued that the so-called "new economy" needs traditional industries such as mining and agriculture. Costello also criticised a push by Western Australian National Party leader Brendon Grylls to increase the iron ore levy paid by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto from $A0.25 per tonne to $A5.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Miners lash Joyce’s ore comments

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Sep-16

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Brendan Pearson has described a proposed levy on iron ore production in Western Australia as a "bad idea" that will adversely affect both the sector and suppliers. Federal National Party leader Barnaby Joyce has been criticised after saying that he understood the motivations for state counterpart Brendon Grylls in proposing that the iron ore levy paid by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto be increased from $A0.25 per tonne to $A5.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION