VICTORIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

No action on Labor MP rorts

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Original article by Benjamin Preiss, Adam Carey, Noel Towell
The Age – Page: 1 : 22-Mar-18

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says nobody should lose their job over the misuse of taxpayers’ funds during the 2014 state election campaign. He notes that the report of Ombudsman Deborah Glass made no recommendations about taking further action against any individual. Her investigation found that some field organisers were employed full-time by Labor while also being employed for two days a week as electorate officers on the public payroll. Opposition Leader Matthew Guy says the government ministers responsible for the $A388,000 rort should resign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN GREENS

Andrews delivers for his union movement mates

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 29 : 27-Feb-18

Victorian Government legislation could give unions unprecedented power to decide the future of many businesses. The Victorian Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 will require all labour hire firms in the state to renew their registration every three years. However, a range of interested parties will be able to oppose re-registration – including unions and rival labour hire firms. The legislation would enable a union to demand that a firm agrees to become fully unionised in return for supporting the renewal of their registration; unions could potentially target each firm in turn until they are all unionised. Significantly, the bill – which has been passed by the lower house – also covers large consulting firms.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, HAYS PERSONNEL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ADECCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED, MANPOWER AUSTRALIA, PAXUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Doyle on the brink

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Original article by Ian Royall, Grant McArthur, Aneeka Simonis
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jan-18

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has denied allegations that he sexually harassed a woman during his tenure as chairman of Melbourne Health. The alleged victim has told the inquiry headed by Ian Freckelton QC that Doyle touched her inappropriately during a Melbourne Health function in 2016. Victoria’s Health Minister Jill Hennessy has commissioned a separate inquiry, to be headed by Charles Scerri QC, into Doyle’s conduct. Doyle is expected to appear before the Freckelton inquiry shortly. He has denied the sexual harassment allegations made by former councillor Tessa Sullivan and Greens councillor Cathy Oke.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, MELBOURNE HEALTH, VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Byelection win boosts Greens

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Original article by Georgie Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 20-Nov-17

The Greens will now have three seats in Victoria’s lower house, following their strong win in the Northcote by-election on 18 November. With nearly 80 per cent of the votes counted, Greens candidate Lidia Thorpe led Labor’s candidate Claire Burns 56 per cent-44 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. Labor had previously held the seat, with the by-election resulting from the death of Fiona Richardson in August. The swing against Labor was over 10 per cent, while Thorpe becomes the first Aboriginal women to win a seat in the Victorian Parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Green foes hit ACTU chief’s bid for seat

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 28-Sep-17

Ged Kearney will step down as president of the ACTU in July 2018 to become the Australian Labor Party’s candidate for the lower house seat of Brunswick at the Victorian election. Labor holds the seat with a margin of 2.2 per cent, and incumbent Jane Garrett will seek to move to the upper house. However, the Greens are gaining support in Melbourne’s inner-city and are seen as a real threat in the seat of Brunswick. Kearney had been widely tipped to pursue a seat in federal parliament if she entered politics.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Business slams grand final holiday as fans flock on expensive flights

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Sep-17

PwC estimates that Victoria’s Australian Football League grand final eve public holiday costs the state’s businesses around $A1.2bn a year. Business leaders have urged the State Government to abolish the public holiday or at the very least shift it to the Monday after the grand final, to bring Victoria into line with several other states. Meanwhile, airlines have been criticised for increasing their airfares on some routes to Melbourne and Sydney, which will host the AFL and National Rugby League deciders.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB, ADELAIDE CROWS FOOTBALL CLUB, MELBOURNE STORM RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, VICTORIAN EMPLOYERS’ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AFL FANS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Labor bracing for backlash over $40m timber buyout

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Jul-17

The Victorian Government has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Heyfield timber mill in the Latrobe Valley. The mill has been under threat of closure, with the potential loss of 250 jobs, due to insufficient supply of timber from state-owned forests. Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford said the Hermal Group, the mill’s parent company, had agreed that there will be no loss of jobs while the sale process is being finalised. The Government is understood to have paid between $A38 million and $A42 million to conclude the deal.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, HERMAL GROUP, AUSTRALIAN SUSTAINABLE HARDWOODS, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Power chaos looms amid union row

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-May-17

The Victorian Government has intervened in the long-running dispute over enterprise agreement negotiations at AGL Energy’s Loy Yang power station. The Government will seek an order from the Fair Work Commission to prevent the Electrical Trades Union from launching industrial action. AGL had warned that safety considerations would force it to shut down the power station from mid-May if workers went on strike. Loy Yang supplies more than 40 per cent of the state’s electricity.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

MP rorts inquiry heads to High Court

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Original article by
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 6-Jan-17

The Victorian Government does not want the misuse of allowances during the 2014 Victorian election campaign to be investigated by the office of Ombudsman. In November 2015, the Legislative Council requested the office to investigate the matter. Asked whether the office have sufficient powers to do so, the Supreme Court answered in the affirmative. An appeal of the Government was dismissed in December 2016. Attorney-General Martin Pakula stated on 5 January 2017 that the matter of the Ombudsman’s prerogatives will now be taken to the High Court.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN

We’re about to rock

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Original article by John Masanauskas
Herald Sun – Page: 3 : 13-Dec-16

The Victorian Government will contribute $A10m in funding for the Australian Music Vault. The exhibition and education facility will include an Australian Music Hall of Fame, and it will be based at the Victorian Arts Centre. Music industry veteran Michael Gudinski has welcomed the announcement of the Hall of Fame and the fact that it will be located in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN ARTS CENTRE, MUSHROOM RECORDS PTY LTD, THE FRONTIER TOURING COMPANY PTY LTD