POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Wage theft: Labor takes on employers

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will use a speech in Perth on 15 May to announce that Labor will establish a small claims tribunal for people with unpaid wages if it wins the federal election. The tribunal, which will hear claims of up to $100,000, will be able to make and enforce orders to pay wages and to mediate claims. The tribunal will operate alongside the existing Fair Work Commission. Shorten will also use the speech to criticise the Coalition’s preferences deal with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM’s late pitch for young voters

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-May-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used the Coalition’s official election campaign launch to announce a First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. The $500m scheme will allow Australians to buy their first home with a deposit of just five per cent rather than 20 per cent, with the government to underwrite the balance via its National Housing Finance & Investment Corporation. Labor responded by announcing that it will match the policy while pressing ahead with its negative gearing reforms. Morrison also committed to providing $4bn worth of federal funding for the East West road link in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL HOUSING FINANCE AND INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Newstart review will go beyond adequacy of dole

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 13-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he does not intend to pre-empt the findings of the review of Newstart that Labor will conduct if it wins the federal election, and that the review will not just be about increasing the dole. A study commissioned by the Australian Council of Social Service in 2018 concluded that increasing the dole by $75 a week would cost taxpayers $3.3 billion, but that it would deliver $4 billion in economic benefits. ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie contends that people on Newstart are the "real victims of growing inequality in Australia".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Income tax cuts, bigger surpluses

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 10-May-19

Labor will release the Parliamentary Budget Office’s costings of its election policies on 10 May. The costings show that Labor is projected to deliver a Budget surplus equivalent to one per cent of GDP in 2022-23. In contrast, the Coalition expects to post a surplus in 2022-23 that is just 0.4 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Labor’s proposed tax reforms are slated to raise $154bn over 10 years. The costings also show that a Labor government would deliver total tax cuts over the next decade that are similar to those that have been budgeted by the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Morrison: Business tax cuts are no-go

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 10-May-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refuted suggestions that the Coalition will seek to revive its corporate tax cuts package if wins the election on 18 May. He also says the Coalition did not discuss the issue of company taxes with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party during negotiations for a preferences deal. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen recently claimed that company tax cuts will be on the Coalition’s agenda if it is returned to office.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Property taxes will hit safe Labor seats

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 10-May-19

The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales has urged Labor to reconsider its proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms. CEO Tim McKibbin says most of the 50 suburbs across Sydney that will be hardest-hit by the reforms are in Labor-held electorates. The median values of rental properties in some of these suburbs have fallen sharply in the last year, and the REISW warns that Labor’s reforms could result in a further decline.

CORPORATES
THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HERRON TODD WHITE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Trust tax to bring in $2b a year: Labor

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-May-19

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that taxing distributions from family trusts at 30 per cent would raise $7.7bn over four years and $26.9bn over 10 years. This compares with Labor’s forecasts of $4.1bn and $17.2bn respectively when it announced the proposal in mid-2017. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has also indicated that Labor’s plan to cap tax deduction for managing tax affairs will raise $375m over four years and $1.6bn over a decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

‘Labor won’t lead revolution of reform’

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has indicated that Labor will "modernise the economy" if it wins the federal election. Former IFM Investors chairman Garry Weaven says a Labor government would not pursue significant economic reform, adding that "revolutionary" reform is not necessary. Robert Carling of the Centre for Independent Studies agrees that a Shorten government would not seek to undertake reforms on the scale of those implemented by Labor under former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, ACTU, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Kelty in accord with $10bn childcare vow

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-May-19

Labor’s proposal to provide child care workers with a taxpayer-funded wage increase is supported by former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty. He argues that child care workers are "grossly underpaid", and the cost of the policy will not have a significant impact on wages across the economy. Kelty has also downplayed concerns that the policy would prompt employees in other sectors to seek a similar wage subsidy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Plan to silence enemies in media

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 8 : 8-May-19

Media lawyer Kevin Lynch says the Australian Greens’ communications policy appears to be targeting the party’s real or perceived enemies in the media sector. Amongst other things, the policy advocates an inquiry to address the issue of media concentration and the introduction of a public interest veto regarding acquisitions in the sector. Greens leader Richard Di Natale has also confirmed that the party’s proposal for new criminal laws on hate speech is aimed at the broader media industry rather than just the three broadcasters who have been named.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY