WESTERN AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

A Coalition that can’t agree

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joanna Heath, Joanna Mather, Madeleine Heffernan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jan-15

The Australian Government plans to release a white paper examining potential changes to the goods and services tax. However, the Western Australian Government remains opposed to GST reform unless there are changes to the methodology for distributing revenue from the tax to the states. A number of federal WA MPs are also in favour of GST reform, while KPMG chairman Peter Nash expects tax reform to be a key issue of debate in 2015

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Royalties leave deficit certain

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Gareth Parker
The West Australian – Page: 33 : 17-Dec-14

The Western Australian Government has warned that the Budget deficit for 2014-15 will be "significant". The Budget bottom line has been hit by factors such as a sharp fall in revenue from iron ore and petroleum royaties, due to the downturn in the price of both commodities. The Government’s revenue from royalties has risen by 127 per cent since Premier Colin Barnett took office. In contrast, revenue from all other sources has increased by just 31 per cent

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Doubt over mental health plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cathy O’Leary
The West Australian – Page: 11 : 4-Dec-14

The Western Australian Government will seek submission on its mental health plan until March 2015. Mental Health Minister Helen Morton estimates that at most the reforms will cost $A600m. The Australian Medical Association notes that the 10-year plan fails to resolve the state’s shortage of psychiatrists, while Alison Xamon of the WA Mental Health Association believes that additional mental health services should be made available more quickly

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), WESTERN AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH INCORPORATED

Shark alert app copied

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Sas
The West Australian – Page: 22 : 21-Nov-14

The Western Australian Government may face legal action over allegations that it infringed a software developer’s intellectual property. Paul Holliday invested $A140,000 in the development of iKoast, an app that warns users about shark sightings on the state’s coast. The app was launched in March 2014, and Holliday claims that the Government’s Sharksmart website is based on his app

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FISHERIES, SURF LIFE SAVING WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Minister calls for cut to Sunday pay rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kim Macdonald
The West Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Nov-14

The Western Australia Government will face resistance from the union movement if it attempts to reduce penalty rates for working on weekends and public holidays. Small Business Minister Joe Francis says the high cost of penalty rates forces a lot of small businesses to close on such days, and notes that many large businesses do not have to pay such high penalty rates. Meredith Hammat of Unions WA says employees would to need to work longer hours to offset any reduction in penalty rates

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS, UNIONS WA

WA plan allows use of dead man’s sperm

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kate Emery
The West Australian – Page: 7 : 21-Oct-14

The Western Australian Government plans to introduce reforms which will allow sperm to be used posthumously to enable a dead man’s partner to conceive. However, Health Minister Kim Hames has indicated that use of harvested sperm will only be permitted if the man gave permission to do so before his death. New South Wales and Victoria already have laws governing the use of sperm after death

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

No-fault insurance proposal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alex Massey
The West Australian – Page: 14 : 16-Oct-14

The Western Australian Government will seek public comments on a proposal to adopt a no-fault compulsory third-party car insurance regime. The proposal has the support of Julie Waylen of National Disability Services, who is critical of the current fault-based system. However, a non-fault system is likely to increase the cost of compulsory third party insurance by $A109 per annum. Several Australian states already have a no-fault regime

CORPORATES
NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES LIMITED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, INSURANCE COMMISSION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Sponsorship backflip in opera drama

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniel Emerson
The West Australian – Page: 9 : 14-Oct-14

Western Australian Health Minister Kim Hames says Healthway’s sponsorship deal will not be affected by any decision by WA Opera to stage "Carmen". The popular opera features scenes that depict smoking, and WA Opera removed it from the 2015 program to avoid jeopardising the $A400,000 sponsorship deal. Healthway is a government-funded health promotion agency

CORPORATES
WEST AUSTRALIAN OPERA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, HEALTHWAY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Nahan’s hit list of key projects

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Shane Wright
The West Australian – Page: 1 : 7-Oct-14

The Western Australian (WA) Government has indicated that the funding of infrastructure projects will be affected by the decline in the iron ore price, which has fallen below $US80 per tonne. Treasurer Mike Nahan says the downturn has reduced the state’s revenue by at least $A1.5bn. Nahan has also called for changes to the allocation of goods and services tax revenue among the states to ensure a fairer deal for WA

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, PALMER UNITED PARTY

Synergy puts case to be split

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniel Mercer
The West Australian – Page: 3 : 6-Oct-14

State-owned power utility Synergy has made a submission to the Western Australian Government arguing the case for its structural separation. It favours the creation of at least two companies that are engaged in both electricity generation and retailing, in order to boost competition in the energy sector and lead to a reduction in electricity prices over the long-term. Synergy was merged with generation company Verve Energy at the start of 2014

CORPORATES
SYNERGY POWER CORPORATION PTY LTD, VERVE ENERGY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF ENERGY