LAW REFORM – AUSTRALIA

Minerals Council: End rigid industrial laws

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 11-Jan-18

The Minerals Council of Australia has used its pre-Budget submission to urge the Federal Government to pursue industrial relations reforms. Amongst other things, the MCA has proposed changes to workplace right-of-entry rules for unions, new restrictions regarding protected industrial action and an overhaul of the rules governing enterprise bargaining. Interim CEO David Byers has warned that Australia’s productivity and competitiveness will be adversely affected if there are no changes to the nation’s "outdated" workplace practices.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, GLENCORE PLC, ACTU

Coalition rejects ACTU push to delay IR agenda

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 10-Nov-17

ACTU president Ged Kearney says the Federal Government does not have a mandate for industrial relations reform while doubts remain about the eligibility of some MPs to be in parliament. Five bills relating to unions are currently before the Senate, but Kearney argues that they should be shelved until the dual citizenship crisis is resolved. Unions have raised the prospect of a legal challenge if any of the bills are passed.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Gun laws ‘drifting’ as critics fight deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Crowe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Oct-17

Gun Control Australia CEO Sam Lee says the Federal Government should put pressure on its state and territory counterparts to implement changes to the National Firearms Agreement. The reforms were agreed upon earlier in 2017 after extensive negotiations, but none of the states and territories have fully implemented the changes. The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia opposes the introduction of stricter gun control laws.

CORPORATES
GUN CONTROL AUSTRALIA, SPORTING SHOOTERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, THE ALANNAH AND MADELINE FOUNDATION LIMITED, THE GREENS NSW INCORPORATED, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, ONE NATION PARTY

Whistleblowers to get percentage of penalties

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 15-Sep-17

Providing whistleblowers with financial rewards is among the recommendations of a joint parliamentary committee that is examining the issue of increased protection for whistleblowers. The committee has proposed that people who expose corrupt practices in the corporate sector should receive a proportion of the financial penalty imposed on the company. Lauren Witherdin of KPMG has downplayed the concerns of lawyers that a "bounty" system modelled on the US one would encourage people to make spurious allegations for financial gain.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Bounties urged for evidence

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nassim Khadem, Adele Ferguson
The Age – Page: 1 : 14-Sep-17

The final report of a federal parliamentary inquiry has recommended increased legal protection for whistleblowers. Amongst other things, the joint parliamentary committee has proposed establishing a Whistleblower Protection Authority and providing financial payments or "bounties" for people who expose illegal conduct in the public or private sector. Under the proposed bounty system, a whistleblower who had participated in the criminal activity could potentially receive immunity from prosecution rather than a financial reward.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. JOINT STATUTORY COMMITTEE ON CORPORATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CPR PARTNERS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

Ferguson leads IR reform push

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Aug-17

Martin Ferguson will advocate changes to the Fair Work Act on behalf of the Minerals Council of Australia. He will urge the Federal Government to introduce reforms that would allow workers to sign individual workplace agreements rather than an enterprise agreement if their income is above a certain threshold. Ferguson, a former Labor minister and ex-ACTU president, will argue that individual agreements are already widely used in the mining sector. Other workplace reforms to be proposed by the MCA include changes to the rules on unions’ right of entry and restrictions on adverse actions.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

IR reform can help fix the low wage-growth problem

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Graeme Watson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 2-Aug-17

The Australian Government is expected to use the next session of parliament to somewhat belatedly issue its response to the Productivity Commission’s 2015 report on the industrial relations regime. A major overhaul of the IR system is needed in order to address issues such as low wages growth and the nation’s high level of youth unemployment. Reforms that foster a less adversarial IR system and encourage greater employee engagement will help lift productivity, innovation and wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Bosses face super gap crackdown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 14-Jul-17

The Australian Government will take legislative action to close a loophole that allows companies to reduce compulsory superannuation contributions if the worker has opted to make voluntary contributions via salary-sacrificing. At present employers can legally pay less than 9.5 per cent of an employee’s salary into their super fund by basing it on the worker’s post-sacrificing wage. The reform is one of several recommendations of a report that was jointly produced by several regulatory agencies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

Hanson holds out on reform package

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 15-May-17

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has indicated that her party will not support abolition of the "two-out-of-three rule", although it will back the rest of the Federal Government’s proposed media reform package. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is holding negotiations with senate crossbenchers to secure support for the reforms, although the Opposition also intends to vote against scrapping the two-out-of-three rule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Repeal 18C or say farewell to free speech: think tank

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Dec-16

The Institute of Public Affairs believes that freedom of speech is potentially threatened by section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. The institute argues in a submission to the legal and constitutional parliamentary committee that section 18C should be removed in its entirety. The institute objected to the Human Rights Commission’s apparently excessive use of section 18C.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY