GOVERNMENT SPENDING POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Stop digging, we’re deep enough in this fiscal hole

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 24 : 21-May-16

The Australian Government’s policies means the nation faces cumulative budget deficits of $A85bn over the next four years, although this is based on GDP and revenue projections that are unlikely to be realised. The May 2016 Budget papers also show that the deficit will blow out to $A584bn in 2019-20, compared with $A499bn in 2016-17. Australia is almost certain to lose its triple-A credit rating long before 2025-26, when the deficit will top $A647bn. However, the Australian Labor Party’s election policies would ensure that the Budget is even worse off than under a Coalition government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Labor’s $8b budget drag

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-May-16

The Federal Opposition estimates that its proposal to abolish the pharmaceutical co-payment will cost nearly $A1bn over four years. The co-payment was outlined in the Australian Government’s 2014 Budget but has been stalled in the Senate. The Opposition has now announced some $A8bn worth of election promises in the areas of health and education. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to outline how the Australian Labor Party will fund its spending promises, arguing that it cannot do so without tax increases.

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

Diversity key for ABC, says Guthrie

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-May-16

Former Google executive Michelle Guthrie officially succeeded Mark Scott as MD of the ABC on 2 May 2016. She has called for greater diversity in the ABC’s staff and its content, to ensure that the public broadcaster is relevant to all Australians. Meanwhile, Guthrie will appear before a Senate estimates committee on 5 May, while the ABC’s funding is likely to be retained at about its current level in the Australian Government’s Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SKY PLC, STAR TV, PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS INCORPORATED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Budget to reopen uni fees fight

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Apr-16

The Australian Government’s May 2016 Budget will include the deregulation of university fees. However, fees may be capped rather than allowing universities to set their own fees. The Senate rejected the Government’s previous attempt to fully deregulate higher education fees, which was a key initiative in the highly unpopular 2014 Budget. The Budget will also include reduced funding for schemes such as the Higher Education Participation & Partnerships Program and the Promoting Excellence in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education program.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA

Budget cuts needed for AAA: JPMorgan

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 14-Apr-16

Australia’s credit rating has not been downgraded since 1986, but Sally Auld of JP Morgan warns that the nation’s Budget deficit, national debt and current account deficit are now at similar or higher levels. She says Australia’s coveted triple-A credit rating may be at risk unless the May 2016 Budget includes additional reductions in government expenditure. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund says export-focused countries must reduce government spending in anticipation that commodity prices will remain low for some time.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Seven ‘fantasy’ promises carry $400bn bill

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Original article by David Crowe, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Apr-16

Some $A400bn worth of big-ticket spending initiatives over the next decade will present a challenge for the Australian Government in achieving its goal of returning the Budget to surplus. These include the $A111.4bn in net new spending on the National Disability Insurance Scheme and $A57bn in compensation payments for the now-repealed carbon tax. It is estimated that the Budget would be in surplus by 2019 without the seven spending commitments, which also include defence, education and pension funding. Australia’s debt is also expected to keep rising over coming years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Job-loss aid ‘ignores plight of thousands’

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Apr-16

The Australian Government’s program to assist retrenched workers has been criticised by the OECD, which describes it as inequitable as it tends to favour workers in certain industries or regions. Employees in the steel, resources and car industries are among those who have benefited from labour assistance programs that are aimed at helping them to get new jobs. However, the OECD notes that many more employees in other sectors are retrenched each year and often do not receive the same level of assistance from the government.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, QUEENSLAND NICKEL PTY LTD, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK

‘We must live within our means’

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Apr-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has signalled that the May 2016 Budget will not include significant government spending measures. He says Budget finances mean the Government cannot afford the expenditure on services such as health and education that was promised by the Australian Labor Party prior to the 2013 election. The Coalition announced an $A80m reduction in spending on health and education in May 2014.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, SKY NEWS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Turnbull wants to end federal funding of schools

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

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has proposed radical changes in fiscal relations between the federal and state governments. He envisages ceding responsibility for public schools and the health system to the states in exchange for granting more fiscal powers to the states. He will unveil the details of his plan at a Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra on 1 April 2016.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

States resist Turnbull offer to tax incomes

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Mar-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison will discuss fiscal matters at a meeting with their state counterparts on 1 April 2016. Turnbull will propose a new intergovernmental taxation arrangement. The proposal includes a cut of about two percentage points in income tax rates and the introduction of an income tax surcharge by states and territories to compensate for the negative effects of the income tax cut on their tax revenues. The states are divided in their opinions on the proposal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT