POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Labor’s tax grab faces Senate block

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Dec-18

Labor may not have sufficient support in the Senate for its proposal to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits if it wins the 2019 federal election. Labor would require the support of the Greens and four crossbenchers to pass the reforms before the current Senate is dissolved on 30 June. However, nine of the 10 crossbenchers oppose the policy, with Fraser Anning describing it as a "socialist retiree tax". In addition, none of the current senators support Labor’s proposal to restrict negative gearing to new homes, although some favour capping the number of properties that can be negatively geared.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Labor trade-off over pattern bargaining

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Dec-18

Industrial relations is likely to be a key issue on the agenda at Labor’s upcoming national conference. Labor sources have indicated that the party is set to reinstate pattern bargaining as part of its industrial relations platform. However, Labor is expected to restrict pattern bargaining to workers in sectors that have low wages, such as childcare and cleaning. The ACTU is leading a union push for pattern bargaining to be allowed across all industries. Labor’s policies on free trade and asylum seekers are also expected to attract debate at the national conference.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Shorten allows encryption laws to pass

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Original article by Primrose Riordan, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Dec-18

The federal government’s encryption laws were passed by the Senate on 6 December, after Labor withdrew proposed amendments to the bill. The legislation will provide security agencies with improved access to encrypted data messages, thereby boosting their attempts to combat terrorism attacks while making it easier to pursue organised crime gangs and paedophiles. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Labor hopes to get the government to agree to adopt its proposed amendments in the 2019 parliamentary year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

One-year delay likely for negative gearing changes

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

It is unlikely that Labor would be able to legislate its proposed negative gearing reforms in time for the start of the 2019-20 financial year if it wins the next federal election. The poll is tipped to be held on 11 or 18 May 2019, which would give a Labor government just six weeks to enact its reforms for them to take effect on 1 July. This means the reforms would most likely take effect in July 2020, although a Labor source has raised the possibility that the legislation could be backdated if it is passed after 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY

House prices to dive 10pc more: Ellerston

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Dec-18

Brett Gillespie of Ellerston Capital is bearish about the outlook for Australia’s residential property market, forecasting that house prices will eventually fall by an additional 10 per cent. He adds that this could occur much more rapidly if Labor wins the 2019 federal election and implements its proposed changes to the negative gearing regime. Gillespie says a 4-5 per cent fall in house prices would be necessary to 4 to 5 per cent to offset the impact of the negative gearing reforms.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Labor backs down over encryption laws

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Dec-18

The federal government aims to pass its encryption legislation before parliament rises for the year after reaching a compromise with Labor. The Opposition has reached agreement with the government that only state anti-corruption commissions will not be given new powers to access encrypted data and devices. Labor had also sought to have state police excluded from the legislation, which is intended to target terrorists, paedophiles and organised crime.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Avalanche of renewables may threaten power grid

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Dec-18

Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that clean energy will account for the bulk of investment in Australia’s electric power generation capacity in the next two decades or so. However, the International Energy Agency’s executive director Fatih Birol says the stability of Australia’s energy grid may be jeopardised if measures are not in place to ensure that it can cope with a big influx of renewables. Birol adds that increasing renewables’ share of the energy mix is not the sole solution to global warming. Labor proposes to implement the national energy guarantee as part of its climate change policy.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BLOOMBERG NEW ENERGY FINANCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Sparks fly in ex-PM’s energy war

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Original article by Simon Benson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Dec-18

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the federal government should implement his signature national energy policy, noting that it had been strongly supported by his successor Scott Morrison. Turnbull has also rejected suggestions that the government had shelved the NEG shortly before he was ousted, stating that Cabinet had agreed to put it on hold until there was sufficient support in parliament to pass the legislation. A spokesman for Turnbull has also denied claims that he has discussed the NEG with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten since the leadership spill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SMART ENERGY COUNCIL

ALP open to industry-wide enterprise bargaining

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 5 : 26-Nov-18

The ACTU wants a future federal Labor government to amend workplace laws so that workers can take strike action across entire industries. Currently, protected industrial action is only allowed during enterprise bargaining negotiations with a single employer. Labor’s industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor claims that enterprise bargaining is not delivering decent outcomes for workers, suggesting that he is amenable to union calls for industry-wide bargaining. However, industry groups claim that such a move would spell "disaster" for the Australian economy.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Strategy will shut four coal plants

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Original article by Matthew Denholm
The Australian – Page: 6 : 23-Nov-18

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says Labor must explain how it will guarantee a reliable base-load power supply under its policy of a renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030. She has warned that the policy could force four coal-fired power stations in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland to be shut down well before the 2030 target date, in addition to the Liddell plant in NSW. She adds that this would result in a big rise in electricity prices.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION