GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Coalition’s $1bn drive to get regions moving

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Apr-19

The federal government’s April 2019 Budget will include an additional $1bn for the Roads of Strategic Importance program. The extra funding will be used to upgrade regional and interstate road infrastructure. The Budget will also include one-off payments to assist people such as pensioners, veterans and the disabled with the rising cost of energy. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the Budget will focus on responsible and targeted spending, while shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says it will be a "highly political" document that will in reality be an election campaign launch for the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS PARTY

$20bn resources boost to budget

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Mar-19

The federal government’s April 2019 Budget bottom line is expected to be boosted by a sharp rise in earnings from resource and energy exports. The value of such exports is forecast to have grown by about $20bn since the December quarter, due to a rise the prices of key commodities. Meanwhile, the Budget is set to include $2.2m worth of additional funding for road safety programs over the next four years, with about half of this to be allocated to regional projects. The government will also establish an Office of Road ­Safety.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

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

PM’s energy free-for-all bid criticised

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 28-Feb-19

The federal government has announced $3.5bn worth of funding for initiatives in the energy sector in recent days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 27 February that the government will underwrite three Tasmanian pumped hydro projects in 2021 if feasibility studies conclude that they are economically viable. However, several energy industry executives have criticised the government, accusing it of political ‘pork barrelling’ ahead of the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM pumps hydro before coal power

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Feb-19

Power industry executives have questioned the merits of the Snowy Hydro expansion program, arguing that it may deter alternative investment in new power generation capacity before Snowy 2.0 is completed. Some have also suggested that a nuclear power station or up to six coal-fired power stations could have been built for the same cost as the Snowy upgrade, which is slated to be between $3.8bn and $4.5bn in total. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that the federal government may underwrite a pumped hydro project in Tasmania.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SUNSET POWER INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TRANSGRID, AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AST, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM to give Snowy 2.0 a $1.4b green light

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Feb-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that the federal government will contribute $1.38bn to the cost of the Snowy Hydro expansion project. Morrison says the government has reviewed the business case, which shows that the pumped hydro project is viable. Snowy Hydro Limited, which is owned by the federal government, will finance the balance of the project’s cost. Morrison has also committed the government to investing $56m in the Marinus Link project to build a second electricity interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Iron and coal to deliver surprise budget bonanza

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 12-Feb-19

Federal government revenue will be boosted by the recent rally in the prices of Australia’s key export commodities. The mid-year budget update had forecast that the iron ore price would average $US55 per tonne in the first half of 2019, but it is widely tipped to reach $US100/tonne in coming days. The price of coking coal also remains well above the budget update’s forecast. Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics expects the government to use the revenue gains to provide cash hand-outs in the April 2019 Budget.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Budget risks in pensioner pork

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Jan-19

Speculation that the federal government may give pensioners and families on low incomes a one-off cash payment prior to the election has prompted suggestions of ‘pork barrelling’. Some observers have likened it to the strategy of former prime minister John Howard ahead of the 2007 election, which he lost. Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics says a low jobless rate and a strong economy means such largesse is not necessary, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the government is now in election mode.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

PM’s cash splash for oldies

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 24-Jan-19

Sources within the federal government have indicated that it may offer pre-election sweeteners to age pensioners and families in the form of one-off cash payments. The potential measure is said to be aimed at ensuring that people who will not directly benefit from the government’s income tax cuts package are not disadvantaged. The first stage of the tax package took effect at the start of 2018-19, but Labor has committed to scrapping the second and third stages it wins the 2019 election.

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

Budget surplus on track, says Frydenberg

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Jan-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg remains confident that the federal government will return the Budget to surplus in 2019-20. This is despite domestic and global headwinds, including the International Monetary Fund’s latest downgrade of its global economic growth forecast. Frydenberg also used a Sydney Institute speech to warn that the domestic economy cannot afford Labor’s proposed $200bn package of tax increases. He added that unlike Labor, the Coalition will increase health, education and infrastructure spending without increasing taxes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, SYDNEY INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY