INDEPENDENT REGULATORY COMMISSIONS – AUSTRALIA

GetUp! and go, Xenophon tells APC’s McGrath

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 10 : 7-Jun-17

Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the Australian Press Council’s independence has been undermined by the appointment of GetUp chair Carla McGrath to its board. He says McGrath should resign, as she cannot be a board member of both the APC and the political activist group. The APC has responded to a boycott of its rulings by leading newspapers by issuing a statement in which it stresses that McGrath will not adjudicate any complaints against publishers in which there is the potential for a conflict of interests.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Boycott grows over judgment by activist

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Jun-17

Herald & Weekly Times MD Peter Blunden has advised that its newspapers will boycott all Australian Press Council rulings in which new board member Carla McGrath participates. The boycott was initiated by HWT parent News Corp Australia in response to the appointment of McGrath, who also chairs political activist group GetUp. Community Newspapers of Australia has indicated that it may also boycott APC rulings.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, HERALD AND WEEKLY TIMES LIMITED, COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED

Calls for McGrath to resign

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann, Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 23 : 5-Jun-17

Former Australian Press Council chairman David Flint says GetUp’s deputy chair Carla McGrath should never have been considered for a position on the APC board. He adds that the media cannot have confidence in the APC and its judgments if there are any concerns about political conflicts of interest. Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance CEO Paul Murphy and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield have also questioned McGrath’s appointment, while more News Corp newspapers intend to boycott APC rulings in which McGrath participates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, NEW MATILDA PTY LTD

Oz will boycott decisions of ‘political stack’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 2-Jun-17

The media sector has expressed concern that the appointment of Getup’s Carla McGrath to the board of the Australian Press Council could lead to a conflict of interests. McGrath is the deputy chair of the activist group, which has traditionally adopted a left-wing position when campaigning on issues such as mining, immigration and climate change. Paul Whittaker, the editor-in-chief of "The Australian", says the newspaper will boycott any rulings of the APC in which McGrath participates, given GetUp’s hostility toward News Corp Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL, GETUP LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD

Watchdog to learn new tricks but old rules remain

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 22-May-17

The Federal Government has endorsed all 27 recommendations arising from a review of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Amongst other things, the roles of chair and CEO will no longer be held by the same person under the reforms to be implemented by the Government, while the focus of regulation will shift from traditional media such as print and broadcast to content and delivery channels.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

ACCC concerned about oOh!media merger plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 5-May-17

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is scheduled to make a final decision on the proposed merger between oOh!media and APN Outdoor on 6 July. However, the ACCC’s statement of issues indicates that the regulator has concerns that the $A1.6bn deal would reduce competition in the out-of-home advertising sector. ACCC chairman Rod Simms notes that the combined entity would control more than 50 per cent of this market.

CORPORATES
OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN

ACCC caps pricing for NBN competitors

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 10-Jan-17

The competition regulator has released a draft decision on the prices that retail broadband ISPs can charge wholesale customer for using their networks. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has capped the aggregation charge at $A15.25 per megabit per second per month. ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the wholesale prices are likely to fall over time to reflect growth in traffic in superfast broadband.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, NBN CO LIMITED

Sims slams easy route to growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims argues that more local companies should be pursuing international growth rather than merely acquiring their domestic rivals. He adds that while many companies support the idea of becoming a "national champion", this has resulted in some companies dominating the domestic market rather than expanding globally. Sims has also raised the possibility of changing the criteria for approving mergers by requiring a company to prove why the deal should be allowed to proceed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC

Cartel fines up $45.7m as ACCC bares teeth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Jun-16

The competition watchdog has become more active in pursuing companies engaged in uncompetitive behaviour. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has imposed fines of $A45.7 million in total for breaches of cartel and competition laws since January 2016. This figure is rather surprising, considering that the commission found no evidence of the same offences and issued no fines at all in calendar 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, EGR PTY LTD, PALRAM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMPELITE, CEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

News move to increase stake in Foxtel will trigger ACCC interest

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 23-Mar-16

News Corporation would have a 51 per cent stake in the merged Foxtel-Fox Sports if the deal and a proposed IPO of Telstra’s stake in Foxtel proceeds. A second option would be for News to buy out Telstra’s 50 per cent stake in Foxtel. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says any move by News to increase its stake in Foxtel would attract scrutiny. However, he notes that the media group already has significant influence at Foxtel.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SKY PLC, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE