POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Labor launches $1.8b plan to school kindies

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 4-Oct-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will announce details of Labor’s early education policy on 4 October. Amongst other things, Labor will provide three-year-olds with 15 hours of subsidised pre-school education each week, or 600 hours a year. The subsidy currently only applies to four-year-olds, and was introduced by Labor when it was previously in office. The expanded scheme is estimated to cost $1.75bn over four years. Meanwhile, Shorten has criticised the federal government for failing to guarantee funding for the scheme beyond 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten commits: I’ll keep home affairs intact

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Oct-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ruled out breaking up the Department of Home Affairs if Labor wins the next federal election. Labor’s left faction has called for the "super-ministry" to be dismantled, but Shorten says it will be retained unless security agencies recommend changes to its structure. Shorten adds that Labor will not unwind the policies of the current federal government simply because they were Liberal initiatives.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten defies Left on security

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-Oct-18

It is understood that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will commit to keeping the Department of Home Affairs intact if Labor wins the next federal election. This is despite members of the party’s left and some unions wanting to see it dismantled. Shorten’s plan takes away a potential weapon from the federal government, which could have used any promise that Labor would break up Home Affairs as an opportunity to criticise it for being "soft" on border control and national security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Greens call for government energy retailer

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 26-Sep-18

The Australian Greens will propose increased government intervention in the electricity market to put downward pressure on prices, including the creation of a publicly-owned electricity retailer. Greens leader Richard Di Natale estimates that a taxpayer-funded electricity retailer could be established at cost of just $85m, while using it could save consumers around $200 a year on power costs. Di Natale will also advocate greater government intervention in other sectors in a National Press Club speech on 26 September.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, RED ENERGY PTY LTD, LUMO ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

PM ups the ante on small biz tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Sep-18

Federal government sources have indicated that the Coalition is likely to seek to pass legislation prior to the next election aimed at bringing forward tax cuts for businesses with turnover of up to $50m. The tax relief for small businesses has already been legislated, but additional legislation would be required for the cuts to take effect earlier than 2026-27. Labor opposes a further reduction in the small business tax rate, but it could face the prospect of having to go into the election with a policy of reversing the additional tax cuts.

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

ALP states to support Shorten if NEG revived

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 19-Sep-18

Queensland’s Energy Minister Anthony Lynham and Victorian counterpart Lily D’Ambrosio have indicated that they would back the national energy guarantee if Labor wins the next federal election. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten recently signalled that a Labor government would be open to adopting some aspects of the Coalition’s NEG. Lynham has also criticised the federal government’s lack of action regarding energy policy following its decision to abandon the NEG under new Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Union laws facing Senate stumbling block

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Sep-18

The crossbenchers may determine the fate of the federal government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill, which will be put to the Senate on 19 September. Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick says the party may support the bill, although this would be conditional on certain amendments. Other independent senators are also still considering their stance on the bill, although Tim Storer has ruled out supporting it. He is particularly concerned about the provisions that allow union officials to be disqualified for misconduct, noting that the sanctions are tougher than those for company directors under the Corporations Act.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Morrison bid to fast track union bill

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Sep-18

The Federal Government will make a new push for the Senate to pass its Ensuring Integrity Bill, which was shelved earlier in 2018. Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has urged Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to support the bill, stressing that the proposed reforms are needed to protect workers and small businesses. Amongst other things, the bill would allow union officials to be disqualified for repeated breaches of civil law while it would become easier to deregister a union. The bill is supported by employer groups, but the ACTU has called for crossbenchers to vote against it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Previously NEGative, Shorten attacked for reviving dead policy

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Sep-18

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has criticised Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for signalling that Labor could potentially implement a policy that is similar to the national ­energy guarantee if it wins the next federal election. Frydenberg says Shorten is merely playing politics with regard to energy policy and is not concerned about reducing electricity prices. The NEG included a carbon emissions reduction target of just 26 per cent, compared with Labor’s proposed target of 45 per cent. Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman says the Labor target is "ridiculous" and would destroy the economy.

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

Labor to prefer progress over blunt school report cards

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Original article by Rebecca Urban
The Australian – Page: 5 : 7-Sep-18

Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said on 6 September that Australia’s school system is in general a high-performing one, but that there was always room for improvement. Plibersek said that if Labor wins the next election that it will introduce an assessment system that focuses on progress rather than achievement, which was one of the main recommendations of the Gonski review into education excellence. Another recommendation that Labor plans to adopt is an increased focus in the curriculum on capabilities such as problem-solving and creativity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MELBOURNE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION, THE McKELL INSTITUTE, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. MITCHELL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH AND EDUCATION POLICY