FISCAL POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Treasurer Morrison promises to stop the debt

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 21-Sep-15

Australia’s new Treasurer Scott Morrison says he will aim to reduce the Budget deficit and the nation’s debt. He has indicated that job creation will be also be a priority, with some 300,000 jobs created during the tenure of predecessor Joe Hockey. Morrison adds that the process of producing white papers on issues such as taxation and the federation will not be affected by the ministerial reshuffle.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Dipping Australian dollar tipped to drop below US60c

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 21-Jul-15

Deltec International Group’s Atul Lele says further interest rate cuts and fiscal policy easing are needed in Australia due to the country’s uncertain economic outlook. He says the economic downturn in Canada is likely to be replicated in Australia, and forecasts that the Australian dollar will fall below the $US0.70 level by the end of 2015. He also warns of the potential for it to fall below $US0.60.

CORPORATES
DELTEC INTERNATIONAL GROUP, BANK OF CANADA

Chaney tells Senate to OK budget

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-May-15

Incoming Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney says the Australian Government needs to be more proactive in informing the public about the need to reduce spending in the May 2015 Budget. He has also stressed the need for bipartisan support for Budget measures in the Senate, and says consumer confidence, employment and the economy will be negatively affected if the Budget is rejected by the upper house. Chaney will succeed Bob Every as Wesfarmers chairman in November.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL

Budget gets $80b worse under Libs

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Original article by Laura Tingle, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Mar-15

Analysis of the Australian Government’s Budget papers shows that the nation’s cumulative deficits for the three years to 2017-18 now total $A103.9bn. This compares with the Government’s forecast of $A24.5bn in deficits. The Government seems likely to achieve about $A8bn worth of savings that it has pursued since taking office in 2013. The budget deficit for 2014-15 is expected to exceed $A40bn, compared with the Government’s forecast of just $A24bn

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Abbott loses the plot on debt

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Mar-15

Prime Minister Tony Abbott seems to have abandoned his commitment to economic reform. He said on 18 March 2015 that the May 2015 Budget will be "dull". Abbott no longer insists on reducing debt as quickly as possible and accepts that it could take 40 years to achieve a Budget surplus. Australia’s national debt is currently at 15 per cent of GDP, but it is forecast to rise to 60 per cent by 2055

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Iron ore budget hole gets bigger

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Mar-15

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says his government will balance the Budget in about five years’ time. However, the continued fall in the price of iron ore since late 2014 is expected to reduce government revenue by $A1.8bn a year. The mid-year Budget update had forecast an average iron ore price of $US60 per tonne, but it has since traded at a low of $US56. Meanwhile, Education Minister Christopher Pyne will press ahead with university reforms, despite the bill being rejected by the Senate for a second time on 17 March 2015

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Hockey pushes for cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Feb-15

Treasurer Joe Hockey has conceded that the Federal Government’s May 2014 Budget may have been too ambitious. However, he argues that the Government must persist with Budget measures that have failed to pass the Senate if it is to achieve a surplus. These include the Medicare co-payment, deregulation of university fees and changes to the welfare system. Meanwhile, the Senate has passed the Government’s reforms to the regime for R&D tax breaks

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ASC PTY LTD

$500m yearly drop in tariffs on Japan goods

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-Dec-14

The Australian Government’s mid-year Budget update shows that the free trade agreement with Japan will reduce revenue from tariffs by $A100m in 2014-15 and $A1.59bn over the next four years. The Budget update also forecasts that China’s economic growth will slow to 6.5 per cent in 2016, while India’s economy will grow by six per cent

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, INDIA. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

Business plea to fix budget mess

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-14

The Australian Government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook forecasts an increase in the Budget deficit and the unemployment rate. The deficit is expected to rise to $A40.4bn in 2014-15, compared with the May 2014 Budget forecast of $A29.8bn. The jobless rate is now expected to top 6.5 per cent in 2015. The Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group say bipartisan support in Parliament is needed to ensure that necessary reforms are implemented

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Softer China blows out the budget deficit

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Dec-14

The Australian Government’s mid-year Budget update will scale back its forecast for 2014-15 revenue to $A379bn, compared with expectation of $A386bn in the May 2014 Budget. Treasurer Joe Hockey has attributed the revenue shortfall primarily to the decline in commodity prices. The update also forecasts that Australia’s terms of trade will fall by 13.5 per cent, compared with a previous forecast of a 6.75 per cent decline. The Government has also downgraded its forecast for China’s economic growth

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY