BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

BCA pushes against same job, same pay law

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 17-May-23

The Business Council of Australia contends that the federal government’s proposed ‘same job, same pay’ laws for labour hire firms are not necessary. The BCA has used its submission to a consultation paper on the reforms to argue that they could have unintended consequences, such as the increased use of casual labour and fewer enterprise agreements. The BCA also says the reforms should be restricted to traditional labour hire firms rather than including in-house ones such as BHP’s Operations Services division. The labour hire changes will be a key part of the government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Rinehart’s dire mining prediction

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-May-23

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart notes that mining capital expenditure is currently about $40bn a year, compared with more than $100bn annually at the peak of the previous mining boom about a decade ago. Rinehart describes the $60bn investment gap as a missed opportunity for Australia. She contends that government policy needs to be more supportive of the resources sector if Australia is to continue to produce future-facing commodities that are needed for the energy transition. Rinehart adds that the remaining mine life of Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill project is about 10 years, but this can be extended if the regulatory regime is more amenable.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Super tax may cost more than it raises

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Mar-23

The SMSF Association will establish a working group of technical experts which will assess the federal government’s proposed changes to super tax concessions. CEO Peter Burgess says the proposed reforms could potentially prove to be as disastrous as the super surcharge regime, which cost more to implement and run than it raised in tax revenue. Burgess adds that the SMSFA is concerned that the proposed changes could have unintended consequences and could affect public confidence in super.

CORPORATES
SMSF ASSOCIATION

Tax the rich to pay for parental leave contributions: HESTA

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Original article by Lucy Dean, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 1-Feb-23

Industry superannuation fund HESTA has used its pre-Budget submission to urge the federal government to cap super fund balances at $5m. CEO Debby Blakey notes that balances of around $5m receive about $70,000 worth of tax concessions annually, which is more than many of HESTA’s members earn in a year. HESTA has also called for the threshold at which high-income earners pay more tax on super to be lowered from $250,000 a year to $180,000; Blakey says this would allow more money to be directed to the Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay scheme. She contends that Australia’s superannuation system has a "persistent gender blind spot" that must be addressed. Some 80 per cent of HESTA’s members are women.

CORPORATES
HEALTH EMPLOYEES’ SUPERANNUATION TRUST AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Albanese plan has dealt a blow to east coast gas supply

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 23-Dec-22

APPEA CEO Samantha McCulloch has warned that the federal government’s intervention in the energy market will deter future investment and affect gas supply on the east coast. She adds that Senex Energy’s decision to put a $1bn expansion of its Surat Basin projects on hold is exactly what the industry warned about when the government moved to impose gas price caps. However, the intervention has been defended by Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who argues that Australian industries would have collapsed in 2023 if Labor had taken no action.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Gas reservation mooted as energy row heats up

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Perry Williams, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Dec-22

The oil and gas industry has criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after he flagged the possibility of adopting a national gas reservation policy. Albanese has praised Western Australia’s gas reservation policy and indicated that replicating this at federal level may be needed as a longer-term solution to rising energy prices than the government’s proposed intervention. NSW and Victoria have advocated a national gas reservation scheme, but APPEA CEO Samantha McCulloch says adequate measures are already in place, such as the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism. She contends that increased regulation will deter investment and adversely affect Australia’s reputation amongst its key trading partners.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Firms war-game the new IR rules

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Nov-22

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has indicated that it will continue to use enterprise agreements rather than shifting to multi-employer bargaining. CFO Anthony Gianotti says Wesfarmers believes that traditional enterprise agreements are the best way of driving real wage growth. Ramsay Health Care’s CFO Martyn Roberts in turn says that negotiating pay rises across rival companies in the same sector may be "quite challenging". Gianotti adds that the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms have not gone far enough in simplifying the industry awards system.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Qantas on IR: flight routes will die

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Original article by Simon Benson, Sarah Ison, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Nov-22

Qantas is the latest company to express concerns about the federal government’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill. The national carrier told the Senate committee that is reviewing the bill that multi-employer bargaining would effectively become industry-wide agreements that would reverse Labor’s economic reforms of the 1980s. Qantas also said the proposed industrial relations reforms would give too much power to trade unions and the Fair Work Commission. Qantas added that the reforms would increase the cost of air travel and reduce demand for flights, which could result in less profitable routes and services being discontinued. Clubs Australia in turn has warned that multi-employer bargaining could force many small clubs to close.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CLUBS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED

Call for energy ministers to agree to gas price cap at 30% of current market offers

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-Oct-22

Federal and state energy minister will meet in Melbourne on Friday, in the wake of the budget forecast of big increases in electricity and gas prices. Energy Users Association of Australia CEO Andrew Richards has called for gas prices to be capped in response to the energy crisis that has been driven by the invasion of Ukraine. He notes that some industrial users are being offered contracts for gas at about $35 per gigajoule. This compares with about $10 per gigajoule just over a year ago, and Richards contends that capping prices at around this level would be "pretty fair and reasonable" for manufacturers and gas producers alike.

CORPORATES
ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Right to strike law risks jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Phillip Coorey, Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Oct-22

The federal government tabled its Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill in parliament on Thursday. A Senate inquiry into the proposed legislation will report on 17 November, after a push by independent senator David Pocock to delay it until February was rejected. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that he is open to making changes to the multi-­employer bargaining provisions of the bill, which will allow unions to undertake industry-wide industrial action for the first time. Business leaders have expressed concern about the proposed reforms; Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says they will result in more strikes and fewer jobs, while Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable warns that expanding multi-employer bargaining will "unleash industrial chaos" on the mining sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA