ETC – AUSTRALIA

PM’s green tape tangle for miners

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Original article by Noah Yim, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jan-25

The Minerals Council of Australia has expressed concern about key elements of the federal government’s proposed critical minerals production tax incentive scheme. The MCA contends that the ‘community benefit principles’ requirement of the tax incentive would create uncertainty for the nation’s critical minerals industry, which is already facing strong global competition. The government estimates that the tax incentive will cost about $7bn over a decade, but create secure jobs in Australia and diversify global supply chains by processing critical minerals onshore rather than exporting the raw materials overseas.

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MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Inflate this: PM’s public service splurge costs taxpayers extra $5bn

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Nov-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 26,100 permanent positions have been added to the federal public service since Labor took office in May 2022. The annual public sector wages bill has risen from $32.5bn in June 2022 to more than $37bn, and the federal public sector workforce has risen to 365,400. Meanwhile, the total cost of the public service across Australia’s three tiers of government is now almost $250bn a year. Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher contends that the federal government has been rebuilding the Australian Public Service after a decade of neglect under the Coalition. However, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says Labor is using the public sector to prop up the jobs market and GDP.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Fortescue execs face bonus backlash

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 6-Nov-24

Fortescue shareholders will be given a vote on a proposal to grant performance rights to mining division CEO Dino Otranto and clean energy arm CEO Mark Hutchinson. However, Fortescue notes that granting performance rights does not require shareholder approval under the Corporations Act or ASX listing rules; the company has indicated that it will issue the performance rights even if investors vote against the resolution at its AGM on Wednesday. Three large US pension funds will oppose the resolution, with SBA Florida contending that there has been insufficient disclosure of performance targets.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, SBA FLORIDA

Voluntary news media recycling scheme receives official accreditation

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Aug-24

Australia’s news media industry has been operating a voluntary recycling scheme for printed newspapers for more than 30 years. The success of the scheme resulted in just 0.2 per cent of all printed news­papers going to landfill in 2023. It is administered by ThinkNewsBrands, whose CEO Vanessa Lyons has welcomed the federal government’s decision to official accredit the ‘product stewardship’ scheme. Media industry executives have emphasised the importance of sustainability for the sector.

CORPORATES
THINKNEWSBRANDS

Union fury at Nine chief’s torch run amid jobs row

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has criticised Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby for attending the Paris Olympic Games during enterprise agreement negotiations at its publishing division. The union is seeking a pay rise of 20 per cent over three years for employees of the division, and Nine’s staff have voted to take strike action for five days from Friday, which will coincide with the start of the Games. Sources have indicated that Nine’s journalists were also not impressed by footage of Sneesby participating in the Olympic torch relay, given that the division is expected to shed about 90 jobs as part of a broader restructuring program at Nine.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

New governor-general’s $200k pay rise slammed as indefensible

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Greg Brown, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jun-24

Sam Mostyn will be officially sworn in as Australia’s 28th governor-general on 1 July. The federal government has revealed that Mostyn will receive an annual salary of $709,000 in her new role. Outgoing Governor-General David Hurley has been paid just $495,000 annually, although his salary was reduced because he also received a military pension during his five-year term. However, National Party MP Keith Pitt says the big pay rise for Mostyn is inappropriate during a cost-of-living crisis.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Australian federal politicians awarded 3.5% pay rise by independent tribunal

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Original article by Sarah Basford Canales
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Jun-24

The Remuneration Tribunal has defended its pay rise for federal public office holders, stating that it took into account factors such as the minimum wage case, changes in private and public sector wages and the budget position. MPs, senators and bureaucrats will receive a pay rise of 3.5 per cent from 1 July, and the independent tribunal notes that they have received a ‘modest’ cumulative pay rise of just 18.25 per cent since 2015. The salary of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will rise by more than $20,000 a year, to $607,471; Opposition leader Peter Dutton will in turn be paid $432,239 a year, an increase of about $25,000. The salary of Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis will rise $34,202 a year to more than $1m.

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AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

AICD warns of dangers from AI

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 18 : 12-Jun-24

The Australia Institute of Company Directors has released a new guidebook on artificial intelligence technology. Amongst other things, it advises company directors to examine the potential benefits and key risks associated with using AI within their organisation, while they should take action to ensure that the data that is being used by their company’s AI applications is ‘fit for purpose’. The AICD’s Mark Rigotti says directors may face significant commercial, reputational and regulatory damage if they lack sufficient oversight regarding the company’ use of AI.

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS

Court urged to make example of CBA on pay

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Sep-23

The Federal Court has been urged to impose the maximum penalty on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for underpaying about 7,4000 employees some $16m over more than a decade. Michael Seck, the lawyer representing the Fair Work Ombudsman, contended that the penalty must be sufficient to deter other large companies from underpaying their staff. The bank had self-reported the underpayments to the FWO and has provided back-pay to all affected employees. The underpayments occured after CBA shifted affected employees from an enterprise agreement to individual agreements.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Backbench MPs now on $225k a year

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-23

The Remuneration Tribunal has approved a pay rise of four per cent for federal MPs; it will take effect from 1 September and will be backdated to 1 July. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will receive a pay rise of $22,573 a year, lifting his salary to $586,929. The base salary for cabinet ministers will rise by $14,977 to $389,406, while the base salary of backbench MPs will rise from $217,060 a year to $225,742. The independent tribunal has described the increase in MPs’ salaries as ‘conservative’, given that wages for public sector workers have grown much faster over the last decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET