BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

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

CEOs: Senate threat to growth

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Original article by James Thomson, Shaun Drummond, Simon Evans, Jamie Freed, Jessica Gardner, Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Sep-14

Wotif.com CEO Scott Bulme and Cochlear CEO Chris Roberts are among the executives who say the Senate should cease its resistance to the Australian Government’s Budget measures. Business leaders are concerned about the outlook for consumer and business confidence, arguing that it is being undermined by the impasse in the upper house. Many CEOs also believe that the Reserve Bank should not increase official interest rates while business confidence remains weak

CORPORATES
WOTIF.COM HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX WTF, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, MEMBERS EQUITY BANK PTY LTD, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED

Business chiefs push for medical research fund

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Original article by Jemima Whyte, Joanna Heath, Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Aug-14

Some business leaders are publicly supporting the Australian Government’s $A20 billion Medical Research Future Fund. UBS CEO Matthew Grounds, Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder and ASX CEO Elmer Funke Kupper are concerned that the measure will not be passed by the Senate. They said that it will provide social and commercial benefits for Australia, attracting capital and making the health sector more profitable

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MOTORING ENTHUSIAST PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

ASX chief pleads for reform gridlock to end

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Aug-14

Federal Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb recently said the Government was already rolling out measures to boost competitiveness, after a report was issued by the Business Council of Australia (BCA). It had argued the Government should foster certain industries that have a natural edge over others. The study, commissioned from McKinsey & Company, sparked claims the BCA was "picking winners". This has now been rejected by new BCA board member Elmer Funke Kupper, CEO of stock exchange operator ASX

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Shell’s man cans corporate welfare

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 18 : 21-Aug-14

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia on 20 August 2014 heard from Andrew Smith, the chair of Shell Australia. He argued that the industrial relations system needs to be overhauled in order to ensure further productivity gains, which in turn will improve living standards. Smith honoured the victims of previous reforms that had from the 1970s on dismantled the trade tariffs protecting many industries, and also said businesses must not rely on government aid

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED,ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC,WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL,COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

G20 ‘has a duty to get tough on tax dodgers’

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 19-Aug-14

Stephen Martin, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, will issue a paper on 18 August 2014 that calls for the Federal Government to ensure tangible outcomes are achieved when the nation hosts the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit later in the year. A major issue will be action by G20 members to crack down on tax evasion via profit shifting by multinational corporations. Martin warns that diplomatic disputes such as that with Russia over its actions in Ukraine must not detract from the G20 agenda

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSMIN, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE