GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

$100m sport grants biased

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Jan-20

Auditor-General Grant Hehir has released a report which shows that marginal seats held by the Coalition were among the biggest recipients of grants to ‘grassroots’ sporting groups ahead of the May 2019 federal election. Former sports minister Bridget McKenzie approved the grants, and Hehir found that she failed to take into consideration the recommendations of Sport Australia when allocating the money. The report notes that the grants also favoured seats that the Coalition believed that it could win at the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, SPORT AUSTRALIA

Recovery funds to hit budget

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis, Patrick Commins, Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that the Budget bottom line will be impacted by the federal government’s disaster relief measures. However, Morrison has stressed that his priority is to provide bushfire victims with the support they need, now and over the next several years. The government has announced an initial $100m funding package to support farmers, fishers and foresters who have been affected by the bushfires. Details of a $50m funding package for charities and financial counsellors to assist bushfire victims will be announced on 15 January.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM stumps up for fire crisis

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Jan-20

The federal government has appointed former Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew ­Colvin to head its national bushfire recovery agency. It will finance the reconstruction of critical infrastructure that has been damaged or destroyed, as well as providing income and mental health support for people who have been affected by the disaster. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out asking the states to match the federal government’s funding. Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud has stressed the need to ensure that government support is tailored to each community that has been affected by the bushfires.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Pumped hydro next on Morrison’s energy list

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Original article by Greg Brown, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Dec-19

The federal government has given in-principle approval for the construction of two new gas-fired power plants under its Underwriting New Generation Investments. APA Group will build a 220MW gas plant in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong; the government will also underwrite a 132MW gas plant in the Queensland town of Gatton. The government is also expected to underwrite at least one of three proposed pumped-hydro projects in South Australia that were short-listed for the scheme.

CORPORATES
APA GROUP – ASX APA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Investment strike keeps growth low

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 5-Dec-19

Commonwealth Bank economist Michael Blythe says the latest GDP data shows that Australia has a two-speed economy, with private sector spending down 0.1 per cent in the September quarter and 0.3 per cent year-on-year, while public sector spending increased by 1.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. Master Builders Australia has urged the federal government to fast-track smaller infrastructure projects, with chief economist Shane Garrett noting that businesses and consumers lack the confidence to spend at present.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, WAGNERS HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED – ASX WGN

‘QE will do nothing’: fundies back infrastructure spending

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Original article by Robert Guy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 27-Nov-19

Quay Global Investors portfolio manager Chris Bedingfield contends that the Reserve Bank of Australia should not implement quantitative easing. He argues that the federal government should instead prioritise increased spending on infrastructure, noting that this will create jobs in the short-term and boost productivity in the long-term. Sarah Shaw of 4D Infrastructure also advocates investing in infrastructure to stimulate the economy.

CORPORATES
QUAY GLOBAL INVESTORS PTY LTD, 4D INFRASTRUCTURE PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BENNELONG FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Call to include clean coal in PM power push

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Original article by Olivia Caisley, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Oct-19

Shine Energy CEO Ashley Dodd says the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s mandate should be expanded to include replacing Australia’s existing coal-fired power plants with high-efficiency, low-emissions plants. The federal government will inject an additional $1bn into the CEFC, but it has specifically ruled out using the extra funding to invest in new coal-fired plants or to upgrade existing plants. National Party MP Keith Pitt supports expanding the CEFC’s mandate to embrace all energy sources.

CORPORATES
SHINE ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM’s $1bn clean energy bet

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-Oct-19

The federal government will establish a Grid Reliability Fund, which will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance ­Corporation. The new fund will invest in projects that increase the reliability of energy supplies and transmission infrastructure, and help to reduce electricity prices. Such projects include the ones that are on the short-list for the Underwriting New Generation Investments scheme. The government will also inject an additional $1bn into the CEFC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSGRID, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET COMMISSION

Content on ice as ABC still frozen

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 2 : 23-Oct-19

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has told a Senate estimates committee hearing that the public broadcaster will have to find annual cost savings of about $40m from fiscal 2022 due to its funding freeze. He added that the cost of producing quality Australian content is rising, while the ABC is facing growing competition for audiences from international streaming video providers. Anderson also said a controversial documentary about One Nation was reviewed by editorial managers and lawyers before it was broadcast by the ABC in March.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ONE NATION PARTY, AL JAZEERA, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Uni funding: job success gets more weight

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Original article by Robert Bolton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Oct-19

Education Minister Dan Tehan has advised that the federal government will give more weighting to graduate employment outcomes when allocating additional money to the nation’s universities under a new performance-based funding model. The increased focus on ensuring that university graduates are equipped with the skills to obtain employment quickly follows the government’s move to provide an extra $80m in performance-based funding in 2020. Meanwhile, the Australian Learning Lecture Project has questions the relevance of ATAR entry scores for admission to university courses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN LEARNING LECTURE PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY