POLITICIANS – AUSTRALIA

MP’s China donor bombshell

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-May-18

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has used parliamentary privilege to name property developer Chau Chak Wing as a suspect in the payment of bribes to a United Nations official in 2013. He said Chau is the individual that the FBI has given the code-name of "CC-3" in the bribery case. Chau has denied any involvement in the plot, and lawyer Mark O’Brien has stated that the FBI gave his client a pseudonym to protect his reputation, as he had never been a suspect. Chau, who has made substantial donations to both of Australia’s major political parties, has also denied that he has ever been a member of China’s Communist Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED NATIONS, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA), FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Cloud hovers over Labor’s Aly

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 11-May-18

The dual citizenship saga continues to plague Federal Parliament, with the latest High Court ruling having raised uncertainty about the eligibility of Labor MP Anne Aly. Parliament’s citizenship registry shows that Aly applied to have her Egyptian citizenship cancelled in early May 2016, well before nominations for the federal election closed in June. However, Aly is yet to submit any documentation to prove that her Egyptian citizenship has been cancelled. Professor George Williams from the University of New South Wales has called for a referendum on the issue of dual citizenship.

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

Call for referendum on dual citizenship

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 10-May-18

Professor Kim Rubenstein of the Australian National University says the High Court’s latest ruling on dual citizenship demonstrates the need for a referendum on section 44 of the Constitution. She says that only a "small pool" of Australians will be eligible to be in parliament unless section 44 is amended. A parliamentary inquiry is examining the question of whether changes to the Constitution are necessary, and it is slated to report its findings in coming days.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREAT BRITAIN. HOME OFFICE

Labor bracing for mid-year byelections

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-May-18

The High Court will hand down its determination on whether Labor senator Katy Gallagher is eligible to sit in parliament because of her dual citizenship on 9 May. Should its decision go against her, there would be pressure on fellow Labor MPs Susan Lamb, Justine Keay and Josh Wilson and Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie to resign from parliament or be referred to the High Court. Should Lamb, Keay and Wilson resign, it is likely that by-elections would be held on the same day as the one to replace Labor MP Tim Hammond, who resigned in early May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, PROFESSIONALS AUSTRALIA

Shorten CFMEU links hurt ALP

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Apr-18

There are concerns that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s efforts to boost his number within the Labor party through deals with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union have the potential to harm its prospects at the next federal election. His leadership is said to be safe at the moment, but there are a number of potential candidates in the wings should dissatisfaction with his ties to the CFMEU grow, including Chris Bowen, Tony Burke and Tanya Plibersek.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

CFMEU boss wants Shorten to restore rights of workers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 20-Apr-18

John Setka says that Labor has been criticised in the past for being a party that does not really stand for anything. However, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s Victorian secretary says this seems to have changed under Bill Shorten. Setka says he is happy to endorse Shorten as an alternative prime minister, despite the fact that he used to represent the Australian Workers’ Union, with which Setka’s union has traditionally been at odds. Setka hopes Shorten takes action to restore the rights of workers if Labor wins the next federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION

Shorten sets sights on safe-seat shift

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Apr-18

Changes to electoral boundaries in Victoria will result in about 40 per cent of voters in the seat of Maribyrnong being transferred to the newly-created seat of Fraser. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten holds Maribyrnong with a margin of 12.3 per cent, although this will be reduced to around 10 per cent following the changes. Shorten is said to be contemplating switching from his current electorate to Fraser, where Labor is expected to have a margin of around 20 per cent. This would allow Shorten to focus on campaigning nationally rather than in his own seat.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ALP links: 189-vote senator blocks $36bn tax cuts

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Original article by Michael Owen, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Mar-18

The Federal Government still hopes to secure the two Senate votes that are required to pass its corporate tax cuts package. The Government is continuing to negotiate with Derryn Hinch, but fellow crossbencher Tim Storer says he cannot support the bill in its current form. He argues that the forgone revenue from the company tax cuts should instead be used to finance social and economic programs. Storer gained just 189 votes as a Nick Xenophon Team candidate at the 2016 election, and he was elevated to the Senate after Skye Kakoschke-Moore was ruled ineligible due to dual citizenship. He had resigned from the Australian Labor Party in 2015.

CORPORATES
NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT

Billson faces rebuke for working two jobs

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 11 : 27-Mar-18

Federal parliament’s privileges committee has recommended amending parliamentary rules so that MPs are banned from undertaking any paid lobbying. This follows its finding that former Small Business Minister Bruce Billson had not followed parliamentary standards when he undertook paid lobby work while he was still an MP. Billson, who left parliament after the June 2016 election, took on a paid role with the Franchise Council of Australia in March of that year. However, he did not disclose his appointment in the register of interests. Billson is expected to be censured by federal parliament as a result of the privileges committee’s findings.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, FRANCHISE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AGILE ADVISORY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Cash could face court over raids

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Age – Page: 9 : 16-Mar-18

Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, says it will seek to subpoena Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash to appear before a hearing into a police raid on the union’s offices in October 2017. The AWU also wants to subpoena Cash’s former media adviser, David De Garis, who resigned after admitting that he told the media about the raid, as well as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s former media director, Mark Lee. The latter has denied leaking details of the raid to De Garis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GETUP LIMITED