Real estate group retreats on ad rate bargaining

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 29-Sep-16

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission recently blocked a proposal by Property Media Group to engage in collective bargaining with REA Group and Domain regarding advertising rates for property listings. Property Media Group, which comprises a consortium of 170 real estate agents, has agreed to withdraw its proposal in response to the ACCC’s draft determination in late August. REA Group CEO Tracey Fellows says the listed group supports the ACCC’s ruling.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, PROPERTY MEDIA GROUP, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Flexible labour laws saved jobs, says RBA

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Sep-16

The Reserve Bank of Australia has released a discussion paper which concludes that labour market reforms such as putting a greater emphasis on enterprise bargaining may have reduced the impact of recent downturns in the economy. The paper’s authors suggest that more flexible workplace laws may have encouraged companies to reduce employees’ working hours in response to weaker economic growth – such as during the global financial crisis – instead of retrenching staff.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY