ELECTIONS – AUSTRALIA

Business Confidence lower in July – down 2.8% to 116.1 during month of political uncertainty

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Aug-16

Roy Morgan Research’s Business Confidence fell 2.8% to 116.1 in July 2016 following the inconclusive Australian Federal Election at the start of July. The fall in Business Confidence comes despite an upward trend on the Australian sharemarket in July – the All Ordinaries closed the end of July at 5,644 (up 6.3% (or 334pts) from June 30, 5310). This was the highest close for exactly a year since July 31, 2015 (5,681). The fall in Business Confidence in July means Business Confidence has dipped just below the 6yr average of 116.7.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Flame out: Labor Left union brawl cost Shorten the election

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 36 : 5-Aug-16

The Australian Labor Party lost one Victorian seat in the 2016 federal election, although it had expected to win at least two. Party insiders downplay the impact that the Country Fire Authority dispute had on Labor’s federal election prospects, although Veterans’ Affairs Minister Dan Tehan says the dispute ensured that the Coalition was returned to office with a one-seat majority rather than the election resulting in a hung parliament. United Firefighters’ Union secretary Peter Marshall does not believe that the CFA dispute had any impact on the election result.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MELBOURNE METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADE, VICTORIAN BUILDING INDUSTRY DISPUTES PANEL, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Hanson hits jackpot with $1.6m handout

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jul-16

More than $A60m in electoral funding has been allocated to political parties and independent candidates that gained more than four per cent of first preferences at the 2016 federal election. The Liberal Party and the Australian Labor Party were allocated $A23.4m and $A22.3m respectively, while the Greens have received $A6.6m. One Nation, which is led by controversial Senator-elect Pauline Hanson, has been paid $A1.6m and the Nick Xenophon Team will receive $A1.2m. The Palmer United Party will not receive any public funding.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, PALMER UNITED PARTY, JUSTICE PARTY, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FRED NILE GROUP), AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Games site hostage to union ‘ploy’

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Jul-16

The Federal Court has been told that stopwork action at a key 2018 Commonwealth Games construction site was unlawful and unconscionable. Fair Work Building & Construction claims that the industrial action by the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union was designed to get lead contractor Hansen Yuncken to accept a new enterprise bargaining agreement. The CFMEU says the two-hour stopwork meetings – which were held twice a day – were needed to inform workers about the Coalition’s proposed industrial relations reforms in the lead-up to the federal election.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HANSEN YUNCKEN PTY LTD, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED, HUTCHINSON BUILDERS, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE FAIR WORK BUILDING INDUSTRY INSPECTORATE

Next election may be two years away

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Jul-16

Federal Parliament will resume on 30 August 2016, but it will not run for the full three-year term. Indeed, the timing of state elections in Victoria in November 2018 and New South Wales in March 2019 means that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull could potentially call an election in August 2018, which is the earliest possible date for a federal election. His decision to opt for a double-dissolution election means the next poll can be held no later than mid-May 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor to hold post mortem into Queensland failures

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Jul-16

At best, the Australian Labor Party is likely to win seven Queensland seats in the 2016 federal election, compared with its expectations of up to 12. The Coalition is expected to have 22 seats in Queensland, despite a 2.5 per cent swing against it. Labor’s disappointing performance in Queensland will be closely scrutinised as part of a broader review of its election campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY

Gary Morgan’s comment on the surge in Roy Morgan Business Confidence in June

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Original article by Gary Morgan, Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jul-16

Business Confidence was up 7.6 points in June 2016, to 119.5. However, in July it may "take a hit" given the increased size of the crossbench in the Senate. All businesses will have their eyes on the Coalition’s promised corporate tax cuts – reducing the corporate tax rate for large businesses to 25 per cent (from the current 30 per cent) over the next decade. The Coalition’s election victory means this policy is still on the agenda and the prospect of tax cuts over the next few years should continue to support Business Confidence. Investment certainty is crucial for larger businesses undertaking major projects with substantial investment expenditure.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Business Confidence surges in June – up 6.8% to 119.5 prior to Federal Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jul-16

Roy Morgan Research’s Business Confidence jumped 6.8 per cent to 119.5 in June 2016. The rise in Business Confidence comes despite a downward trend on the Australian sharemarket in June – the All Ordinaries closed at the end of June at 5,310.40 (down 2.5 per cent -or 137.4 points – from May 31). However, the large rise in Business Confidence in June was likely more tied to the perception in the closing weeks of the Federal Election campaign that the Coalition would retain Government with a narrow victory – which turned out to be correct – despite a week of uncertainty following the Election. The increased level of Roy Morgan Business Confidence in June is now back above the five-year average (116.7).

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ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Minor parties warn of risks of e-voting

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Jul-16

The high cost of the 2016 federal election – estimated at almost $A200m – and the lengthy delay in counting votes has prompted renewed debate about electronic voting. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten support e-voting, but the Nick Xenophon Team and the Australian Greens are concerned about security issues. The latter notes that the potential for hacking of personal devices emerged during the 2015 election in New South Wales.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON ELECTORAL MATTERS, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Coalition set to govern in own right

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Original article by James Massola
The Age – Page: 1 : 12-Jul-16

The Coalition has won the seats of Flynn and Capricornia, giving it 76 seats in the lower house. Meanwhile, the ABC’s election analyst Antony Green expects the Coalition to have about 30 seats in the Senate. Two seats in the lower house and three in the Senate remain undecided, but the Coalition is optimistic that it will have the numbers to pass its industrial relations reforms in a joint sitting of both houses. One Nation will boast three senators, and their support may be crucial for the Coalition to pass legislation to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission and establish a Registered Organisations Commission.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT