POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Team X keeps tax aid on agenda

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 4-Sep-17

Independent senator Nick Xenophon remains optimistic that his party can secure a deal with the Federal Government regarding cross-media ownership reforms. However, he stresses that any deal would be conditional on the Government agreeing to provide tax breaks for smaller media outlets. The Nick Xenophon Team’s initial proposal for tax breaks was rejected by the Government, which requires the support of 10 Senate crossbenchers for its media reform bill.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Time is past for banks royal commission policy

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 2 : 1-Sep-17

Australian banks are attracting increased regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the Commonwealth Bank’s money-laundering scandal. This has weakened the Australian Labor Party’s case for a royal commission into banks, as such an inquiry would take some time to set up if Labor wins the next federal election. Meanwhile, Labor may not be able to act on the inquiry’s recommendations until after the following election. Labor increased the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s regulatory powers when it was previously in government, and it could so again without the need for a royal commission.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Morrison puts $31bn price on Labor tax

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Aug-17

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison will use his annual Bloomberg address to highlight the economic impact of the Opposition’s tax policy. He will argue that the tax take would increase by $A31bn a year under a Labor government, as the tax-to-GDP ratio would rise to 25.7 per cent. The Coalition aims to maintain the tax-to-GDP ratio at 23.7 per cent. Morrison will also call for a greater focus on health and education as a key driver of growth in productivity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BLOOMBERG LP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Labor ‘hypocrisy’ exposed on penalty rates: Ferguson

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Aug-17

Tourism Accommodation Australia chairman Martin Ferguson has criticised the Australian Labor Party and the ACTU over their stance on penalty rates. He has accused them of "hypocrisy and dishonesty" for continuing to oppose penalty rate cuts in the wake of revelations that the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has struck deals with large companies to trade-off Sunday penalty rates in return for higher base wages. Ferguson is a former president of the ACTU.

CORPORATES
TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Fix it and get back to economy, says BCA

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-17

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has urged Parliament to resolve the standoff over marriage equality quickly in order to focus on economic policy. Westacott says the Federal Government must agree to a conscience vote if the majority of Australians support legalising same-sex marriage in the postal plebiscite. She has also criticised the "anti-business agenda" of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten regarding tax cuts for smaller companies and the taxation of trusts.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

NXT considers further media compromise

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-17

The Federal Government requires the support of 10 crossbench senators for its cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in early September. There are indications that the Nick Xenophon Team may be prepared to accept a compromise on its proposed tax break for smaller media companies in return for supporting the reforms. The Australian Labor Party has not changed its stance on opposing the abolition of the "two-out-of-three" rule.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION

APRA probe risks CBA rating

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Phillip Coorey, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Aug-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will establish an independent panel to review the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s governance, culture and accountability. CBA CEO Ian Narev has described the review, which follows a series of scandals at the nation’s largest bank, as a "positive and constructive step". However, ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch have warned that CBA’s credit rating could be downgraded if the review results in any adverse findings. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen maintains that a royal commission into the entire banking sector is needed.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Nick of time: negotiations stalling reform

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 21-Aug-17

Senator Nick Xenophon remains hopeful that the Federal Government will agree to provide tax breaks for small media companies in return for supporting its cross-media ownership reforms. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has indicated that it would be inappropriate to extend such tax breaks to foreign-owned publications. The latest stalemate means that the media reform package will not be debated in the Senate for at least another two weeks.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, SCHWARTZ MEDIA PTY LTD, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Tax break idea worthy, but unworkable

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Aug-17

Senator Nick Xenophon’s proposal to provide a 40 per cent tax break for smaller media companies has merit, and it is likely to benefit the publishers of newspapers such as "The Saturday Paper" and websites like "The New Daily". However, the Federal Government would need to determine whether the local editions of overseas publications would be eligible for the tax break. There is also the question of whether taxpayers should subsidise small media outlets that would be competing with the monolithic ABC for both funding and audiences.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SCHWARTZ MEDIA PTY LTD, THE NEW DAILY, THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA, DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, THE HUFFINGTON POST, POLITIFACT AUSTRALIA

Coalition tips Medicare Levy will get over the line

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Aug-17

The Federal Government is optimistic that its proposed 0.5 per cent increase in the Medicare levy will be passed by the Senate. The bill will be put before the upper house on 17 August, although a vote is unlikely before September. The increase in the levy is one of 10 bills that were endorsed by the Coalition’s partyroom on 16 August. The Opposition is pushing for the increased levy to be restricted to people whose annual income exceeds $A87,000. The Government hopes to secure the support of crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS