POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Greens stir Gillard ghosts

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-May-19

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale will use a National Press Club speech on 1 May to urge Labor to form a coalition with the minor party to address the issue of climate change. Former prime minister Julia Gillard struck a similar alliance with the Greens to form a minority government after the 2010 election. The Greens have questioned Labor’s proposal to use international carbon credits as part of its target of reducing carbon emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Climate policy impossible to cost: ALP

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 1-May-19

Labor’s climate change spokesman Mark Butler says it cannot estimate how much its carbon emissions reduction policy will cost the business sector. He argues that this is because Labor will not impose a direct carbon price on businesses. However, the Coalition claims that Labor’s policy would cost businesses between $27.5bn and $35bn. A senior industry economist argues that the lack of detail regarding Labor’s policy means that no accurate estimate of its cost can be made prior to the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor’s penalty rates a triple hit for retailers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Apr-19

Labor will seek to reverse cuts to Sunday penalty rates within 100 days if it wins the federal election. The Australian Retailers Association has estimated that this would see wages rise by as much as 21 per cent for weekend workers. Cuts to Sunday and public holiday penalty rates are being phased in over four years by the Fair Work Commission to ease the impact on employees, but shadow Employment Minister Brendan O’Connor says it will reverse the cuts "in a single hit". Employers’ groups have called for greater consultation over Labor’s plans, while employment law professor Andrew Stewart has cautioned Labor about trying to rush legislation on the issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Top end of town pays $57bn tax

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Apr-19

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that nearly 430,000 people had taxable income of at least $180,000 in fiscal 2017, an increase of 26 per cent since fiscal 2013. The total net tax they paid increased from $43 billion to $57bn. There was also a 17 per cent increase in the number of people with taxable income of $37,000 to $80,000, with their share of the total tax take rising from $47bn to $62bn. Tax cuts have been a key focus of the election campaign, but economics professor Richard Holden says a simpler option is to peg the tax system to wage inflation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ALP vow: permanent work for casuals

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Apr-19

Labor has doubled down on the Coalition’s commitment to legislate to allow casual workers to apply to become permanent employees after 12 months of regular and ongoing work with the same employer. Labor will also amend the Fair Work Act to allow such workers to legally challenge a refusal of their request to become a permanent employee. More than 50 per cent of Australia’s 2.6 million casual employees have worked for the same employer for at least 12 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Morrison fund woos small enterprises

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Apr-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will launch a $100 million government-backed fund that will provide equity funding to small businesses. The Australian Business Growth Fund is based on similar initiatives in the UK and Canada. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to create 250,000 new small businesses over the next five years, with 230,000 small businesses having been launched over the last five years. National Australia Bank is in charge of efforts to launch the Australian Business Growth Fund.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Fightback on penalty rates

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Original article by Ben Packham, Dennis Shanahan, Alice Workman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Apr-19

Labor plans to reconvene federal parliament before 30 June if it wins the election, in order to capitalise on a Senate that may be more amenable to its proposed industrial relations reforms. Amongst other things, Labor intends to reverse cuts to penalty rates within its first 100 days in office. However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has written to Senate crossbenchers warning that Labor’s workplace reforms would require more extensive consultation than would be possible by the end of June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE

CFMEU pushing closed shop ahead of possible Labor win

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Apr-19

The New South Wales branch of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has declined to comment on claims that it has adopted a ‘no ticket, no start’ policy at construction sites in Sydney. The Master Builders Association has raised concerns about the practice, with executive director Brian Seidler fearing that the push for compulsory union membership on building sites will spread to other states. The federal government’s building code – which Labor wants to abolish – prohibits ‘no ticket, no start’ arrangements.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Revealed: Bill’s carbon costs

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Original article by Simon Benson, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Apr-19

The Greens believe that Labor’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction target is too dependent on the use of international carbon credits. Greens MP Adam Bandt has signalled that the party could use its numbers in the Senate to block any legislation that mandates the use of international carbon credits. Meanwhile, some estimates suggest that Australian businesses could be forced to pay up to $25bn to purchase international carbon credits under Labor. This is based on an average price of $50 per carbon credit over the next decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Record 1.3 million landlords cash in on negative gearing as shake-up looms

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 26 : 17-Apr-19

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that the number of property investors who use negative gearing rose from 631,000 to about 1.3 million between 2000 and 2017. In contrast, the number of investors who broke even or made a profit rose from 532,000 to around 856,000. The figures also show that the proportion of investors who are aged 60+ rose from around 15 per cent to about 23.5 per cent. Robert Deutsch of the Tax Institute does not expect Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms to have much effect on housing prices.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, THE TAX INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES