ELECTIONS – AUSTRALIA

It’s on: PM to call poll today

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Apr-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and asked him to dissolve Parliament. Morrison is expected to announced 18 May as the date of the election. Meanwhile, senior Liberal Party sources believe that the Coalition can still win the election, and they are said to have identified at least eight seats that will be crucial to the outcome of the poll. Labor in turn has identified 12 seats that it will target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

ALP marginals at risk of falling to Libs

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Apr-19

The federal government is widely tipped to lose seats in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia at the upcoming election. This could potentially be offset by winning several seats in New South Wales, or at the very least retaining the same number of seats. Meanwhile, Labor’s internal polling suggests that it would have lost the NSW seats of Dobell and Lindsay if the election had been held on 6 April. Labor must gain seven lower house seats to secure majority government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GETUP LIMITED

Coalition’s Adani split widens

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Apr-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected suggestions that the federal government is holding back on granting final approvals for Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine for political reasons. Some Liberal-National MPs believe that the government is stalling on the issue until after the election to shore up support for the Coalition in inner-city seats where there is strong opposition to the mine. One MP notes that the mine is vital to the Coalition’s prospects of retaining marginal seats in Queensland.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ONE NATION PARTY

Coalition to fast-track post-election tax cuts

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Apr-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the timing of the election will not affect the federal government’s plans to provide tax relief via the low- and middle-income tax offset. He says that if the government wins the election, it will reconvene parliament in June to vote on its tax cuts so they can take effect from the start of the new financial year. A spokesman for the Australian Taxation Office stresses that the tax offset will only be available to taxpayers lodging their 2018-19 tax returns if the legislation is passed by 30 June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Nurses taxed $2000 more under Labor

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Apr-19

Taxation is set to be a key issue during the upcoming federal election, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating that the Coalition will drive economic growth via lower taxes. Labor in turn has criticised the Coalition’s income tax package, arguing amongst other things that it favours people on high incomes and it will not be fully implemented until 2024. Meanwhile, analysis suggests that the average full-time worker who is earning $100,000 a year in 2024 would be more than $2,000 a year worse off under Labor’s tax policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Facebook bans foreign-funded political ads during May election

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 5-Apr-19

Facebook is the latest social media company to advise that it will not accept foreign payments for political advertisements on its platform during the upcoming federal election. Twitter has previously announced such a ban, while Facebook has also banned foreign-funded political advertising in Indonesia during that nation’s presidential election. Meanwhile, Facebook has responded by the issue of fake news by establishing a fact-checking unit in partnership with Agence France-Presse.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PM’s war chest to reach $70bn

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Original article by Simon Benson, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Mar-19

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia estimates that the federal government could post a combined surplus of about $60bn between 2019-20 and 2021-22. CBA adds that the government could have up to $70bn at its disposal for spending initiatives during the upcoming election campaign, including scope for up to $6bn in additional tax cuts. Meanwhile, economists at National Australia Bank have flagged the possibility that the Budget will be returned to surplus in 2018-19, which is a year earlier than the government has forecast.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Mediscare campaign aimed at marginals

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 25-Mar-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has advised that Labor will resume indexation of some Medicare benefits from July if it wins the federal election. Labor imposed the Medicare freeze in 2013, and it has been extended twice by the Coalition government. Shorten has indicated that the health system will be Labor’s top priority at the upcoming poll. He claims that the Liberals’ spending cuts mean that Australians are now paying more than ever to see a GP or a specialist. The Medicare freeze was slated to remain in place until July 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA

Gladys triumph: PM eyes May 11

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Original article by Simon Benson, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Mar-19

The New South Wales government is set to retain office with a majority of up to two seats after gaining 42.7 per cent of the primary vote in the state election on 23 March. Labor’s primary vote was 33 per cent, while the Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party won two seats from the National Party in regional and rural areas. Meanwhile, the federal government is expected to hold an election on 11 May, with a five-week election campaign likely to be announced days after the Budget on 2 April. Sources have indicated that the government will seek to shore up support in regional and rural areas by including a regional ­economic development package in the Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, NATIONAL IRRIGATORS COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine comments on the latest employment data

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Original article by Michele Levine, Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Mar-19

The lack of jobs growth over the last year will be a significant concern for the Federal Government, which is due to seek re-election at a Federal election expected in mid-May. As well as the lack of employment growth over the past year the latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence rating for February of only 105.6 – the lowest since August 2015 – indicates Australia’s businesses are waiting for the political uncertainty to clear in a few months’ time. The consecutive ratings below 110 are the slowest start to a year for Business Confidence since the index began. The latest Australian GDP figures showed the economy growing by only 0.2% in the December 2018 quarter, the slowest rate of growth for over two years since a quarterly contraction of 0.5% in the September 2016 quarter. Given the political uncertainty facing Australia over the next two months, with a New South Wales election later in March before the Federal election expected in mid-May, the prospects for the economy and employment growth in the short-term appear to be limited. However, the Federal Government has a chance to ‘reboot the economy’ with a stimulative Federal Budget due to be delivered on the first Tuesday in April. The Budget is also the Morrison Government’s last chance to save their chances of re-election as the Roy Morgan Poll, and other polls, have consistently shown the ALP heading towards an easy election victory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED