PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE – AUSTRALIA

Anning’s speech unites Parliament

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-Aug-18

The maiden speech of senator Fraser Anning has been widely denounced by fellow parliamentarians, particularly his call to ban Muslims from migrating to Australia and his use of the phase "final solution" with regard to immigration policy. The Katter’s Australian Party senator has refused to apologise for his comments, stating that he was exercising his right to free speech. Party leader Bob Katter has praised Anning’s speech, describing it as "solid gold", but One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says his remarks were "appalling".

CORPORATES
KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Hanson to seal PM’s tax win

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Jun-18

The Federal Government is set to pass its personal income tax cuts package after it gained the support of One Nation and the two Centre Alliance senators. The upper house approved the bill on 20 June, after endorsing Labor’s amendments to scrap the third stage of the tax cuts. However, the amended bill is set to be rejected by the lower house on 21 June, and the original bill will then be put to the Senate again. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Labor have accused each other of deserting so-called "battlers" with their stances on the tax package.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

One Nation split boosts union clout

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Jun-18

Further dissent within One Nation has emerged amid allegations concerning the Federal Government’s failure to pass legislation to subject union mergers to a public interest test. One Nation senator Brian Burston claims that his colleague Peter Georgiou opposed the Ensuring Integrity Bill in defiance of Burston and party leader Pauline Hanson. Burston says the latter then agreed to oppose the bill to ensure that the party was not viewed as being divided. A government source has backed Burston’s claim, stating that the government would have had sufficient support for the bill if Georgiou had voted for it.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Lib MP growls over layer of BEAR red tape

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 6-Feb-18

The Greens will seek amendments to the Federal Government’s Banking Executive Accountability Regime in the Senate, after the legislation was passed by the lower house on 5 February. Liberal MP Nicolle Flint opposed the BEAR regime, arguing that it will further increase the compliance burden for the financial sector, noting that it has been subject to a spate of new rules and regulations in recent years. The BEAR regime, which is slated to take effect in July, has the support of the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Reworked tax package to include personal cut

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Jan-18

The Australian Labor will again vote against a bill to reduce the tax rate for all companies if it is reintroduced to the Senate. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen argues that there are greater priorities for the Budget. Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has urged Labor to support the legislation, which will return to the Senate when parliament resumes in February. There is speculation that both company and personal income tax cuts will feature in the May 2018 Budget if the upper house rejects the legislation again.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Nation uplifted as marriage bill passes

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Joe Kelly, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 8-Dec-17

Same-sex marriage will be legalised in Australia after the private members’ bill of Liberal senator Dean Smith was passed by the House of Representatives on 7 December. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has described it as a "unifying day" for Australians, and he expects the first same-sex marriages to occur in early January. Three Coalition MPs voted against the bill, while Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison are among seven who are believed to have abstained from voting. Several proposed amendments to the bill regarding religious freedom were rejected by the lower house. The bill was passed by the Senate in late November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION

Coalition rejects ACTU push to delay IR agenda

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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

No changes to RET in power supply overhaul

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Sep-17

The Federal Government is expected to retain the renewable energy target in its current form, due to the prospect of any changes being rejected by the Senate and concern that further changes could create sovereign risk for investors. However, the Government is expected to announce that the RET will not apply to new projects from 2020. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has been criticised in parliament over his claim that the average Sydney household’s electricity bill has risen by $A1,000 since the Coalition was elected in 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, ENERGY CONSUMERS AUSTRALIA, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Fifield close to reform breakthrough

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 11-Sep-17

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is believed to be close to securing a deal for the Nick Xenophon Team to support cross-media ownership reforms in the Senate. Fifield held negotiations with NXT senators ahead of Senate debate on the media reform bill on 11 September. The Government hopes to end the impasse which followed its rejection of NXT’s original proposal regarding tax breaks for smaller media companies. The media reforms require the support of a majority of cross-benchers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

‘Zombie’ blockade to stymie PM’s agenda

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 5 : 8-Aug-17

The Australian Government is seeking to have 10 important measures passed by the Senate, but it is suggested that only two will get through because of a lack of cross-bench support. Changes to citizenship laws, higher education reforms, the same-sex marriage plebiscite and the media reform package are among the bills that are likely to be rejected. As a result, savings and revenue measures valued at some $A12 billion are at risk.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA