Worried miners call for China olive branch

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 17-Sep-21

The Association of Mining & Exploration Companies is concerned about how China may react to Australia’s new defence pact, and that its response might include sanctions that hurt the mining sector. AMEC CEO Warren Pearce has urged the federal government to make efforts to rebuild its trading relationship with China. He has also urged Australia to extend an ‘olive branch’ to China by stating that it welcomes any foreign investment, so long as it is not in industries that are linked to defence. Members of AMEC include Fortescue Metals Group, OZ Minerals and Roy Hill.

CORPORATES
ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Retailers slam new Aust Post US service

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Dec-14

Australia Post has launched its new ShopMate service, which allows consumers to order goods from US online retailers that ship only to domestic addresses. The parcels are being sent to a warehouse in the US and then forwarded to Australia. The move has been sharply criticised by the Australian National Retailers Association, which says it exacerbates the problem of no goods and services tax being charged for items shoppers buy over the internet from overseas. The lobby group is especially disappointed as Australia Post is a Federal Government business

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, JUST GROUP LIMITED, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, NATIONAL ONLINE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Free TV gets back on the licence fee warpath

Original article by Lara Sinclair
The Australian – Page: online : 25-Nov-14

Free TV Australia CEO Julie Flynn has revived the lobbying body’s campaign for the Federal Government to significantly reduce the licence fees paid by commercial free-to-air TV networks. The trigger this time is a plan by the Government to allow public broadcaster SBS to lift the length of advertising slots by 100%, and gain as much as $A200m extra in half a decade. That decision had been meant by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull to compensate SBS for funding cuts worth $A53.7m

CORPORATES
FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC in apology over gaffe on gas

Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 19 : 7-Oct-14

The ABC recently repeated a claim made by the Australian Workers’ Union on a website, that all other gas-producing countries had a domestic gas supply reservation policy. This was disputed by the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association lobby group, and CEO David Byers has now accepted a formal apology for the incorrect statement from the public broadcaster

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, RADIO NATIONAL

High cost of ‘green tape’ to economy

Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 18-Aug-14

A new study has been commissioned from BAEconomics by the Minerals Council of Australia. The special interest group will argue that the research shows so-called green tape will hold up developments that could otherwise add some 69,000 jobs to the economy by 2015, unless state and federal governments act to reduce the bureaucratic burden. The Department of Employment recently also forecast that 16,000-plus workers would be made redundant in the half-decade to 2018 in the areas of exploration as well as metal ore and coal mining, after 106,700 positions had been created in the previous five years

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BG GROUP PLC, QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Energy report urges job reform

Original article by Amos Aikman
The Australian – Page: 18 : 18-Aug-14

A new study, "Heading North: The Importance of Labour Mobility in Developing Northern Australia", has been commissioned by the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association special interest group. It will argue before the federal parliament’s Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia on 18 August 2014 that state and federal governments must do more to support flexible staffing solutions. These include "fly in, fly out" rosters, more skilled immigration and the use of "457" visas. Such measures could unlock a potential $A180bn in capital investments

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Rinehart’s charity for billionaires

Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Jun-14

At the 2012 Association of Mining & Exploration Companies (AMEC) congress in Perth, a new award was announced by mining heiress Gina Rinehart. It was to be handed to the identity in the resources sector who did the most to counter attacks by parts of the media, and to voice uncomfortable truths in public. However, the $A50,000 in prize money was not paid in 2013, and nor will the upcoming 2014 AMEC event feature the award. Instead Rinehart gave the funds in November 2013 to fellow billionaire Len Buckeridge, at a National Mining and Related Industries Day ceremony in Brisbane

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, BGC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD