GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Senate pushes union pay deal inquiry

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Jun-17

The Senate will proceed with an inquiry into enterprise bargaining agreements struck by the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association and large retailers. The inquiry follows allegations that employers such as Coles and KFC had offered EBAs with lower penalty rates than the industry award. The inquiry’s scope to look into "any other related matters" will be restricted to penalty rates in the retail, hospitality and fast-food sectors. This is likely to exclude Cleanevent from the inquiry. Its controversial EBA was negotiated during the tenure of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at the Australian Workers’ Union.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KFC, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CLEANEVENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ACTU

Wesfarmers, Woolies rule out pokies exit

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 20-Dec-16

Wesfarmers has no intention to exit the poker machine sector. Such a move would involve selling Coles 3,069 poker machines. Woolworths’ pubs and clubs business ALH also remains committed to its 12,000 poker machines. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon insists that a Senate inquiry is necessary to scrutinise the gambling industry. He warned that 2017 could be "a very unhappy year" for the sector.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, ALH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GAMING TECHNOLOGIES ASSOCIATION LIMITED, ALLIANCE FOR GAMBLING REFORM, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Dodgy ABN’s ‘key to crackdown’

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 15-Dec-16

The Australian Government’s taskforce on the cash economy will release an interim report in March 2017. The taskforce will be led by Michael Andrew, who says the large number of Australian Business Numbers that have been issued but have never incurred a tax liability is a major concern. He has also flagged the potential to impose harsher penalties as part of the crackdown on the cash economy, and adds that the $A100 note would not be missed by most consumers if it were withdrawn from circulation.

CORPORATES
KPMG, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Crackdown on cash economy targets billions

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Dec-16

The Federal Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will include the creation of a taskforce aimed at combating the cash economy. It will be headed by former KPMG executive Michael Andrew, and one of its priorities will be to investigate the large number of $A100 notes that are in circulation, despite the growing trend toward electronic payments. The taskforce’s final report will be delivered in October 2017. It is estimated that the cash economy accounts for about 1.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP, which equates to $A21bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, KPMG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. BOARD OF TAXATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

PM rejects advice on carbon plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Dec-16

The Federal Government has decided against considering a carbon scheme for the electricity sector and thus ignored advice from Chief Scientist Alan Finkel. In early December 2016, Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg suggested that such a scheme could be considered under Finkel’s review of Australia’s National Energy Market. He subsequently rejected this scenario, under pressure from Senator Cory Bernardi and Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Census meltdown to cost $30m

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-Oct-16

The shutdown of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ census website on 9 August 2016 will cost up to $A30 million. Chief statistician David Kalisch has told the Senate estimates committee that $A20m has already been spent. He expects the ABS to spend another $A10m. IBM stated in a submission to the committee that the website was ready to be reactivated within three hours but the actions of other organisations extended the delay to 40 hours.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEXTGEN PTY LTD

Ombudsman wary of tribunal

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Sep-16

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s chief ombudsman Shane Tregillis has spoken against a proposal to set up a new banking tribunal. He believes that such a tribunal would make the dispute resolution system more adversarial and legalistic. Tregillis has suggested that the proposal should be examined by the independent panel led by Ian Ramsay which will conduct a review of the financial services sector’s dispute resolution and complaints system.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE LIMITED, CREDIT AND INVESTMENTS OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. SUPERANNUATION COMPLAINTS TRIBUNAL, FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION

Labor kept at bay over banks

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 1-Sep-16

The Australian Government has announced an inquiry into the practices of small business lenders. The inquiry, to be led by Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell, will examine "the adequacy of the law" to deal with lending practices that may need tighter regulatory provisions. About 23 cases will be examined which were identified as problematic by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations & Financial Services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CEC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CEG

Shorten to PM: rethink banks inquiry

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-Aug-16

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to support the Australian Labor Party’s proposal for a royal commission into the nation’s banks. Shorten has argued that a series of scandals in the financial services sector has significantly affected the finances of many people and undermined the public’s trust in banks. Meanwhile, Labor’s Sam Dastyari says the Opposition may have sufficient support in the Senate for a royal commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Fallout over meltdown tests Turnbull government

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Aug-16

The causes and implications of the crash of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ census website on 9 August 2016 will be investigated by the Australian Signals Directorate. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has assured Australians that the crash did not compromise the security of census data. For Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, it was "the worst-run census in Australian history."

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, REVOLUTION IT PTY LTD