BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

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.

CORPORATES
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

Government jumped gun with Optus attack

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Oct-22

Optus has hired Deloitte to undertake an investigation into its security systems, controls and processes in the wake of its recent data breach, which was the largest in Australian history. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has denied there is any rift between it and the federal government, and that the telco is fully co-operating with all requests for information. A number of federal government ministers have criticised Optus for not already having supplied it with details regarding compromised Medicare and Centrelink data, despite Services Australia having given it until 4 October to provide the information.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. CENTRELINK, AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Gas companies made almost $1m in donations to Labor and Liberals

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Original article by Royce Kurmelovs
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Feb-22

Analysis of the Australian Electoral Commission’s political donation records show that fossil fuel producers and their lobby groups donated a combined $959,115 to the nation’s three largest political parties in 2020-21. The analysis by 350.org shows that the Liberal Party received $506,810 in total, ahead of Labor ($392,354) and the National Party ($59,991). Woodside Petroleum topped the list of donors, contributing a combined $232,250 to the coffers of the Liberal and Labor parties; it was followed by the Minerals Council of Australia, which donated $193,943 in total to the three political parties. The Greens do not accept donations from fossil fuel companies.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, 350.ORG

Forrest defends bid to axe diesel rebate

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 24-Nov-21

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest says the diesel fuel rebate costs taxpayers about $5bn a year at present. He adds that a small number of large mining and energy companies receive the bulk of the rebate, and he has urged the federal government to start phasing it out between 2025 and 2030. However, Forrest says the rebate should only be scrapped for large mining and energy companies, and it should be retained for farmers and other small business than rely upon it. The Mineral Council of Australia is among the critics of Forrest’s push to have the rebate scrapped.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, MINERAL COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA