POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Cut power bills by new year or else

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia has warned that some of the federal government’s proposed measures to put downward pressure on electricity prices could create investment uncertainty. Amongst other things, energy retailers will be required to offer default price contracts from mid-2019, while energy companies could be forced to divest assets if they fail to take sufficient action. The government also proposes to underwrite investment in new reliable energy sources. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says reducing electricity prices and cutting carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Labor risks $12bn housing hit

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Oct-18

Independent modelling by Cadence Economics has examined the likely impact of Labor’s proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms on the residential property market. It concludes that the policy could result in new dwelling commencements falling by between 10,000 and 42,000 over a five-year period. This would in turn reduce construction activity by up to $12bn over this period and result in between 7,500 and 32,000 fewer jobs in the sector. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn notes that housing approvals have peaked since Labor announced its policy two years ago.

CORPORATES
CADENCE ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ALP looks to loosen reins on strike action

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-18

Labor is understood to be planning changes to the Fair Work Act to make it easier for workers and unions to undertake sector-wide pay claims. However, to ease employers’ concerns over the prospect of allowing industry-wide industrial action, Labor is believed to be considering giving the Fair Work Commission more powers to stop or cease industrial action where a number of companies are being targeted. University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart says it would seem reasonable to allow industry-wide bargaining in sectors where enterprise bargaining is not easy to access.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, ACTU

Labor flags flip on small biz tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Oct-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signalled that Labor remains open to backing legislation to bring forward tax cuts for small and medium enterprises. He says a prerequisite would be that there is no impact on government funding for hospitals and schools. The tax cuts for businesses with turnover of up to $50m have already been legislated, but the federal government wants to reduce the tax rate to 25 per cent in 2021-22 rather than 2026-27.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten to shake up bank super

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Oct-18

Labor leader Bill Shorten has indicated that bank-owned superannuation funds could face tougher regulation under a Labor government. Noting the inherent of conflict of interests associated with profit-focused banks owning retail super funds, he said that one option could be a requirement that such funds appoint independent trustees. He also flagged the possibility of empowering the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to sack trustees of super funds that consistently underperform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Taylor forces NEG security onto states

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 10-Oct-18

Power retailers will be required to guarantee a reliable electricity supply under a new proposal by the federal government. The proposal for a reliability mechanism – which was a key element of the national energy guarantee – will be put to the upcoming meeting of the COAG Energy Council. The reliability mechanism is one of the initiatives of Energy Minister Angus Taylor which are aimed at reducing electricity prices while ensuring a reliable energy supply as the proportion of electricity generated by renewables increases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS. ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HYDRO TASMANIA, ERM POWER LIMITED – ASX EPW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Regions plan a thought bubble: ALP

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Oct-18

Labor has criticised the federal government’s proposal to ban some immigrants from settling in major capital cities for up to five years. Shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor has described it as a "thought bubble", arguing that the government’s priority should be to take action on the issue of temporary work visa holders. He notes that 1.6 million people are now on such visas, while 1.8 million Australians are unemployed or underemployed and looking for more work.

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

Labor, Coalition square off in Reef election

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 9-Oct-18

Labor’s acting energy spokesperson, Penny Wong, has claimed that the federal government has given up on trying to tackle climate change. Wong was commenting on the release of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report which warned that coral reefs would be wiped out by global warming of two degrees celsius. Wong said Labor is committed to its 45 per cent emissions reduction target, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he is confident Australia can easily meet its Paris emissions reduction target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, UNITED NATIONS

ALP launches fair go policy manifesto

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Oct-18

Labor released a five-point plan that it will take to the next federal election at a rally in south-western Sydney on 7 October. The rally included speeches from Opposition leader Bill Shorten and deputy leader Tanya Plibersek, and was held on the same day as latest opinion polls showed that the federal government could lose up to 19 seats on the mainland at the next election. Shorten said that if Labor is elected, it would be the first time that Australia would have a government with 50 per cent female representation. He also stated that Labor is targeting 50 per cent of power to be generated from renewable energy by 2030.

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

Union threat to Labor over trade deals

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

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has warned that it will reconsider financial support for federal Labor due to the party’s stance on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. The union has contributed some $367,000 to Labor’s federal and New South Wales branches in the last two years, but AMWU state secretary Steve Murphy has criticise federal Labor’s lack of consultation with the union movement in deciding to support the trade deal. The TPP’s provisions regarding labour market testing for imported workers is a key concern for unions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY