ELECTIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rate cut to avoid poll date as economy becomes battleground

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 29 : 12-Apr-19

Financial markets have priced in a 25 basis point reduction in official interest rates by October, although the chances of a rate cut during the federal election campaign are seen to be low. Meanwhile, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says historical analysis shows that movements in global sharemarkets tend to have a bigger impact on the local bourse than the outcome of a federal election. However, he notes that Labor’s policies such as income tax and franking credit reforms may weigh on shares and the Australian dollar.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Australian Futures Project launches The Perfect Candidate using Roy Morgan Issues data

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Apr-19

In a first for Australian politics, a digital candidate powered by data insights from real Australians has entered the Federal election race, to shift our national conversation from short-term problems to long-term solutions. Australia is stuck in a cycle of political short-termism and The Perfect Candidate (www.theperfectcandidate.org.au) is an unbiased voice of the people, driven by the most authoritative research ever released on Australians’ concerns. The Perfect Candidate is driven by data not bias and launching their campaign today in Sydney, they aim to empower Australians to hold our politicians to account and to ignite discussion amongst leaders and citizens about our long-term future. Created by the Australian Futures Project, a non-partisan, not-for profit organisation dedicated to ending short-termism in Australia, The Perfect Candidate allows Australians to search and understand key concerns of their local electorate and the whole country. Using data and analysis from Roy Morgan, policy statements on the websites of the political parties and independents and insights from the Australian Futures Project, Australians can compare these concerns to what is being prioritised and talked about by politicians, ultimately holding them to account.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FUTURES PROJECT

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