BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Tide of regulation is still coming in, directors warn

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 23 : 21-Oct-14

A business leaders’ forum has heard that despite recent positive efforts by the Australian Government, the burden of excessive regulation is still increasing. Among the examples cited was the likely tightening of capital requirements for banks after the financial system inquiry hands down its report. It was also noted that many smaller companies are better served by abandoning a sharemarket listing and instead operating in the less restrictive privately-held sector. However others argued that corporate boards must adapt to changing values and expectations to remain relevant in modern society

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FINANCIAL REPORTING COUNCIL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, EVANS AND PECK PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, BEYOND BANK AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY CPS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EQUITY TRUSTEES LIMITED – ASX EQT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. CORPORATIONS AND MARKETS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Infrastructure needed ‘to pick up slack’

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-14

An Australian Institute of Company Directors forum has heard from Kevin McCann, chair of investment banking firm Macquarie Group. He said the national economy was likely to remain subdued, and there was an urgent need for major infrastructure projects by governments to provide a stimulus as capital expenditure in sectors other than energy declines. Such an approach has already been promised by the Federal Government, and will be promoted by it at the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in November 2014

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Telstra NBN deal delayed to 2015

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 15-Oct-14

The Australian Government had expected to finalise a revised deal with Telstra regarding the national broadband network by mid-2014. Telstra CEO David Thodey is hopeful that much of the negotiations can be concluded by Christmas, but concedes that a final deal is unlikely before 2015. The Coalition’s decision to adopt a fibre to the node model has required renegotiation of the original $A11.2bn deal with the Australian Labor Party

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, NBN CO LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Credit card bank licences to go

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Oct-14

The Australian Government has accepted the Reserve Bank’s recommendation to scrap the requirement for companies that issue credit cards to hold a bank licence. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the move will increase competition by attracting new entrants to the credit card market and result in lower fees for consumers and retailers. However, some experts doubt that the reforms will lead to greater competition

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RFI CONSULTING PTY LTD, GE CAPITAL AUSTRALIA, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TYRO PAYMENTS, SQUARE PTY LTD, PAYVISION, AIRPLUS INTERNATIONAL

Leave RET alone, urge fund managers

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Original article by Andrew Main
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

One option recommended by business leader Dick Warburton in his review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) for the Australian Government is to reduce it from 41,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 to between 17,000 and 25,000. However the original RET is being strongly favoured by the Investor Group on Climate Change that represents some $A1trn worth of superannuation fund accounts. The lobbying body, which is chaired by Catholic Super CEO Frank Pegan, has started a public awareness campaign on the issue

CORPORATES
INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CATHOLIC SUPERANNUATION AND RETIREMENT FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Private sector infrastructure push

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 22 : 22-Sep-14

Business supports investment in Australian infrastructure by the private sector. Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev said that bold action was needed on infrastructure. Telstra CEO David Thodey said that asset recycling would benefit Australia. On 21 September 2014, the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors said that more was needed to reach a target of adding two per cent to global economic growth

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, FINANCIAL STABILITY BOARD

Aluminium could win RET exemption

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 18-Sep-14

There is some support for exempting the aluminium industry from the Renewable Energy Target (RET). Australian Labor Party Leader Bill Shorten is sympathetic to the unique position of the industry. Miles George, the CEO of renewable energy company Infigen Energy, conceded that the aluminium industry is a special case. However, all parties have warned that undermining the RET would threaten investment and jobs in the renewable energy sector

CORPORATES
INFIGEN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX IFN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

PM to cut tax burden on employee share schemes

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Sep-14

The Australian Government will soon release its new policy on employee share schemes. The purpose of the changes is to make business start-ups more attractive to prospective employees. The new incentives scheme will be modelled on the Enterprise Management Incentive program in Great Britain, which limits the total number of share options issued by a company to Stg3 million and individual parcels to Stg250,000 per employee

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSBIOTECH LIMITED, POCKETBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LINK MARKET SERVICES LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, INVESTEC AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

AMMA hits out at biased, ‘union affiliated’ Fair Work

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Sep-14

The Australian Mines & Metals Association has raised concerns about the processes used to appoint members of the Fair Work Commission. It claims that 19 of the 27 commissioners that were appointed by the previous Federal Government have links to the Australian Labor Party or unions. This has been rejected by the Opposition’s shadow minister for workplace relations, Brendon O’Connor

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BCA cautions against hasty bank reforms

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 9-Sep-14

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has lodged its submission for the second round of the Federal Government’s new financial system review, conducted by ex-Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO David Murray. The BCA argues against more stringent capital requirements for large banks, as this could have a knock-on effect on all enterprises via higher borrowing costs. The issue of how to handle banks deemed "too big to fail" will also be discussed at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Australia

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED