GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Betting review’s focus live wagers, tax

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Sep-15

Former New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell will undertake a review of the Interactive Gambling Act on behalf of the Australian Government. The review will examine factors such as technology issues associated with online gambling, including the growing popularity of in-play betting, as well as the extent of illegal overseas gambling. The review’s final recommendations are slated to be delivered to the Government in mid-December 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF FAMILY STUDIES, WILLIAM HILL LIMITED, BET365 GROUP LIMITED, LADBROKES GROUP PLC, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Ban Transfield from detention centres: Greens

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 1-Sep-15

Transfield Services and Wilson Security were not properly accountable to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection in the running of a detention centre on Nauru, a Senate inquiry has found. It said the centre was not run well, prompting the Australian Greens to call for Transfield and Wilson to be dumped as providers of government services there. However, Transfield’s shares rose nine per cent to $A1.17 after the company reported its contract for running the Nauru centre as well as one on Manus Island had been renewed for five years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, TRANSFIELD SERVICES LIMITED – ASX TSE, WILSON SECURITY SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SAVE THE CHILDREN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Labor rallies as Heydon decides to stay

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 1-Sep-15

Union leaders fighting the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption have been likened to corrupt police who tried to shut down the Fitzgerald Royal Commission in Queensland in the 1980s. Attorney-General George Brandis said the Australian Labor Party and the unions were throwing mud at the royal commission because they had much to fear. The head of the royal commission, Justice Dyson Heydon, has refused to recuse himself.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL, ACTU, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Kane rages at sideshow to ban

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The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 28-Aug-15

Boral CEO Mike Kane says the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption is "absolutely necessary" for the recovery of an efficient construction market in Australia. Claiming the campaign against the royal commission’s head, Justice Dyson Heydon, was an unneccessary distraction, Kane say union officials operate outside the law. Boral has not delivered concrete in the Melbourne CBD for more than two years because of bans imposed by the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union, which Boral is suing in the Victorian Supreme Court.

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, GROCON PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Police raid CFMEU, Gatto role explored

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Aug-15

The Canberra offices of the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) have been raided by Australian Federal Police, who seized computers as part of an extortion investigation. It follows evidence at the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption and the arrest of two CFMEU officials. Meanwhile, the Victorian Supreme Court heard claims that Boral was told it should pay Mick Gatto $A100,000 to mediate its dispute with the union.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CANBERRA RAIDERS, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Senior CFMEU bosses face criminal charges

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Original article by Nick McKenzie, Ewin Hannan, Richard Baker, Nick Toscano
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 25-Aug-15

Officials of the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union (CFMEU) are under police investigation in three states. National president Dave Hanna, who was also a vice-president of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland, has quit the union as police probe allegations that he received secret commissions. In Victoria, senior officials of the CFMEU’s construction division are facing allegations of blackmail, while in New South Wales Brian Parker, the state secretary, is being investigated after phone taps linked him to organised crime figure George Alex.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, VICTORIA POLICE, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, BUILDERS’ LABOURERS’ FEDERATION

Commission exposes deals unions and bosses want to hide

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Original article by Grace Collier
The Australian – Page: 20 : 22-Aug-15

The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption has revealed that unions and companies act in collusion to extract money from workers. The unions and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) are trying to shut down the commission because they want to protect their financial interests. The Coalition could use the findings of the commission to portray the ALP as the party whose interests are not necessarily aligned with those of workers. Voters would no doubt support a political platform of eradicating business-union deals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

‘Kidnap’ exemption to be introduced to Parliament

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 20-Aug-15

Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has convinced some crossbench senators to support legislation that will exempt about 1,000 private companies from revealing their tax affairs. Independent senator Nick Xenophon is the latest to agree to the "kidnap" exemption, so called because some owners of private companies fear they will be crime targets if their fortunes are revealed. With the Australian Labor Party and Australian Greens opposing the change, the government needs six of the eight crossbenchers to support its bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, TEYS BROS (HOLDINGS) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Labor steps up push to oust Heydon

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 19-Aug-15

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) will petition Governor-General Peter Cosgrove to remove Dyson Heydon from the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance & Corruption. A motion to that effect will be debated in the Senate as early as 19 August 2015. The ALP objects to Heydon’s role in the commission on the grounds of political bias and conflict of interests. Heydon is also under pressure from the labour movement to resign from the commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

Uber and Airbnb to face grilling over tax practices

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 18-Aug-15

The Senate committee on corporate tax avoidance has turned its attention to Uber and Airbnb, its chairman claiming tens of millions of dollars might be lost to the government if it failed to establish proper tax settings for sharing economy companies. Senator Sam Dastyari said he did not want Uber and similar companies setting a precedent in which they avoided Australian tax by sending profits offshore.

CORPORATES
UBER GLOBAL PTY LTD, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. SENATE ECONOMICS LEGISLATION COMMITEE, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CHEVRON CORPORATION, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, BP PLC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, APPLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NOVARTIS AG, PFIZER INCORPORATED