March
01, 2018 Edition.
In Trump world the big news is that the Special Prosecutor has indited yet more and had a few plead guilty to all sorts of financial and other crimes. This really is not going to end well for Trump I reckon and just in the week when Mr Turnbull was visiting!In OZ the Barnaby saga has fully reached escape velocity and he has fallen on his sword. Lord knows what happens next but one must hope our system has considerable powers of self repair. What an utter fiasco - only exceeded by Michaelia Cash's rabid meltdown on Wednesday! The coalition seems to want to self-destruct!
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Here
are a few other things I have noticed.
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Major Issues.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/leadership/asic-chief-james-shipton-culture-at-top-of-watch-list/news-story/f1a62bd1565f0d29cf7e54a845052672
ASIC chief James Shipton: Culture at top of watch list
-
12:00AM February 17, 2018
-
Michael Roddan
Culture
will remain the top focus at the corporate watchdog, says new
chairman James Shipton, who warned Australian businesses of increased
legal actions in his first public comments.
Appearing
before the parliamentary joint committee on corporations, the
Australian Securities & Investments Commission, where Mr Shipton
replaced former chairman Greg Medraft in November, also kept up
pressure on the Turnbull government to pursue its payday loan
reforms, which have been under attack by backbench MPs.
Mr
Shipton, a lawyer at Harvard who worked at the Hong Kong securities
regulator and Goldman Sachs, yesterday said he was keen to maintain
ASIC’s focus on culture inside large institutions.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/joyce-saga-a-distraction-from-economic-debate/news-story/886309cb4f89b583f70806a21bb79812
Joyce saga a distraction from economic debate
-
The Australian
-
12:00AM February 19, 2018
The
scandals and questions generated by Barnaby Joyce’s personal life,
his rent-free living arrangements, his approval of two
taxpayer-funded jobs for the woman who is now his partner and his
political judgment have distracted political debate from the
government’s core business, including economic management. On
Thursday, the announcement of another record-breaking month of jobs
growth barely registered, despite a further 16,000 positions being
added to the economy in January. The result lifted total jobs growth
over the past 16 months to 492,000. Malcolm Turnbull and Scott
Morrison tried to play up that achievement but the Joyce saga was too
salacious and politically damaging to be pushed out of the limelight
— especially after the slanging match between the Prime Minister
and Mr Joyce exacerbated an already parlous situation. Mr Turnbull’s
frustration will be compounded today by the 27th consecutive Newspoll
showing the Coalition trailing Labor.
The
Joyce saga is biting in National Party heartland, especially in
Queensland, with support leeching to One Nation. After a stronger
showing in the first Newspoll of the year a fortnight ago, the
government has slumped back to where it was at the end of last year —
trailing Labor 53-47 on the two-party-preferred vote. Mr Turnbull’s
lead over Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister has been halved
from 14 to 7 percentage points.
Unless
the Coalition can clear the air surrounding Mr Joyce before
parliament resumes in a week’s time, it will continue to struggle
to sell its successful economic narrative. When Mr Turnbull meets
Donald Trump in Washington this week he will probably hear more about
the impact of US corporate tax cuts on business, jobs and wages
growth — further boosting the case for the government’s
enterprise tax plan to make Australian businesses more competitive.
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/equity-bond-markets-wildly-overvalued-20180216-h0w74f.html
Equity, bond markets 'wildly overvalued'
Sarah
Turner
Published:
February 19 2018 - 12:49PM
The
equity market may have shrugged off the recent Wall Street
correction, but not all global fund managers are convinced market
conditions signal a return to easy gains.
Tony
Cousins, chief executive of fund manager Pyrford International
believes there's "far too much optimism" embedded into
wildly overvalued equity and bond markets. "Buying at these
levels leads to lousy long-term returns," he said.
As
an example of exuberance that could signal that markets have moved
too far too fast, Mr Cousins pointed to television commentary
proclaiming the robustness of the global economy.
"That's
often the case at the market top," he said. "The hardest
time to buy equities is when things are bad."
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/aussie-expats-becoming-potential-collateral-tax-damage-20180218-p4z0se.html
Aussie expats becoming potential collateral tax damage
Michael
Pascoe
Published:
February 19 2018 - 12:37PM
If
the Hockeys were “normal” expat Australians, Treasurer Scott
Morrison would be about to whack them with a surprise $1.1 million
capital gains tax bill for selling their family home of 14 years.
Add
$500,000 for stamp duty on the new house, a conservative $100,000
commission for the selling agents, something for the removalists
… the $1.7+million transaction costs of changing Hunters
Hill addresses is beginning to look expensive.
Admission:
I clearly don’t know how Melissa Babbage (former treasurer Joe
Hockey's wife) arranges her financial affairs. It’s possible she
has retained Australian tax residency while living in Washington
DC for several years. It’s also possible she hasn’t and
therefore will be caught in a new CGT trap that has astounded
tax professionals for its unfairness and Treasury’s blunt
intransigence.
“Hang
on,” many readers will be thinking, “the family home is exempt
from CGT – it’s the most fundamental Australian tax shelter,
neither side of politics would be game to touch it.”
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http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-has-a-cancer-growing-in-it-that-must-be-cut-out-20180217-p4z0q4.html
Labor has a cancer growing in it that must be cut out
Clive
Hamilton
Published:
February 19 2018 - 12:10AM
Canberra
is finally beginning to push back against Beijing’s long-running
campaign to seduce our elites so completely that the nation kow-tows
before China’s wishes.
The
first phase of the pushback culminated in December with the Turnbull
government introducing legislation to outlaw foreign interference
operations and novel forms of espionage. Afraid that its well-made
plans will be thwarted, Beijing has been making panicky claims that
it’s all motivated by “anti-Chinese racism”.
Led
by shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus, the Labor Party is gearing
up to oppose the legislation. Dreyfus says his concern is to protect
press freedom, but that is being used to undermine the rationale of
the laws themselves.
Amending
the legislation to protect democratic freedoms is easy. The harder
task is undoing the deep penetration of the Labor Party by proxies
for and agents of the Chinese Communist Party. The spectacular
downfall of Sam Dastyari was one clumsy instance of a more
insidious problem for Labor.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/today-inflation-tomorrow-crisis/2018/02/18/8deeb394-133e-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html
Today, inflation. Tomorrow, crisis?
by
Robert
J. Samuelson February 18 at 7:25 PM
Anyone
looking for good economic news will be disappointed by the latest
inflation report, which showed
the consumer price index (CPI) advancing by 0.5 percent in January.
By itself, this isn’t especially alarming — prices jump around
month to month — but it has troubling implications for the future.
To some economists, it suggests the possibility of another financial
crisis on the order of the 2008-2009 crash.
Until
recently, inflation seemed to be dead or, at least, in a prolonged
state of remission. It was beaten down by cost-saving technologies
and a caution against raising wages and prices instilled by the Great
Recession. From 2010 to 2015, annual inflation as measured by the CPI
averaged about 1.5 percent, often too small to be noticed. In 2016
and 2017, the annual rates inched up to 2.1 percent. On an annualized
basis, January’s 0.5 percent would be 6 percent.
It’s
doubtful that many economists believe that inflation is now so high.
Remember those erratic month-to-month swings. But the pervasive
nature of the inflation suggests that supply is shrinking compared
with demand. This enables businesses to raise prices. The January
gains, wrote Ken Matheny of Macroeconomic Advisers, were
“broad-based, with increases in . . . apparel, used cars and
trucks, shelter, medical care services and transportation services.”
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http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/marine-numbers-in-darwin-to-rise-as-turnbull-trump-talk-security-20180216-p4z0lm.html
Marine numbers in Darwin to rise as Turnbull, Trump talk security
David
Wroe
Published:
February 19 2018 - 2:54AM
The
US will send more Marines and cutting edge Raptor fighter jets to
Australia this year amid a growing appetite on both sides to step up
military co-operation in Asia to face rising security challenges.
Fairfax
Media understands Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and US President
Donald Trump will discuss future Marine numbers in Australia as part
of broader talks about security in the Indo-Pacific region when Mr
Turnbull visits Washington at the end of next week.
The
Trump administration's pick as next ambassador to Canberra, Admiral
Harry Harris, told a Congressional hearing on Thursday that the
number of Marines rotating through Darwin would jump from 1250 last
year to 1500 this year, accompanied by 10 Osprey aircraft.
Crucially,
the US will also send more F-22 Raptor planes - the most advanced and
deadliest fighters in its operational fleet - to exercise with the
RAAF.
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/rba-keeping-close-eye-on-pockets-of-mortgage-stress-20180219-p4z0y2.html
RBA keeping close eye on 'pockets' of mortgage stress
Clancy
Yeates
Published:
February 20 2018 - 11:46AM
The
Reserve Bank says there are "pockets" of financial stress
among the highly-indebted household sector, and it is closely
watching how customers with interest-only loans manage when they are
required to start paying back principal over the coming years.
The
central bank's assistant governor for the financial system, Michele
Bullock, on Tuesday played down the threat to the banking system from
high housing debt, saying the risks to financial stability from
mortgage debt were "not particularly acute."
Even
so, she signalled the central bank was closely monitoring key risks
on the horizon from interest-only customers, many of whom could face
an increase in their loan repayments over the next few years.
Ms
Bullock told a conference in Sydney data being watched by the RBA
suggested mortgage stress overall was "relatively low," but
there were key risks it was watching closely.
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https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/act/federal-government-is-losing-the-debate-on-company-tax-cuts-20180220-h0wdjx.html
Federal Government is losing the debate on company tax cuts
By
The Canberra Times
20
February 2018 — 11:00pm
The
Federal Government has a long way to go in its bid to convince
ordinary Australians they will benefit from its commitment to
reducing the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent by
2026.
This
was always going to be a hard sell given some commentators estimate
this will take about $65 billion out of consolidated revenue over the
next eight to 10 years.
Commonsense
suggests that if it fails to create extra economic activity, then
other forms of taxation, such as income tax or the GST, will need to
be increased or key Government services, such as health, welfare or
education, would need to be cut.
The
only other option would be to kiss any hope of ever returning the
Federal Budget to surplus goodbye.
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http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/treasurer-scott-morrison-rubbishes-tony-abbott-s-call-for-immigration-cut-20180220-p4z12f.html
Treasurer Scott Morrison rubbishes Tony Abbott's call for immigration cut
Fergus
Hunter
Published:
February 21 2018 - 10:38AM
Treasurer
Scott Morrison has rubbished Tony Abbott's call to cut Australia's
immigration intake, which the former prime minister has linked to
stagnant wages, groaning infrastructure, unaffordable housing and
"ethnic gangs".
On
Tuesday, Mr Abbott - who first called for a reduced
immigration early last year - proposed a rapid cut from the current
level of 190,000 to 110,000.
"My
issue is not immigration; it’s the rate of immigration at a time of
stagnant wages, clogged infrastructure, soaring house prices and, in
Melbourne at least, ethnic gangs that are testing the resolve of
police," Mr Abbott told the Sydney Institute.
"It’s
a basic law of economics that increasing the supply of labour
depresses wages; and that increasing demand for housing boosts
price," he said.
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http://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/dont-be-fooled-by-the-plethora-of-brands-20180215-h0w4x6.html
Don't be fooled by the plethora of brands
Clancy
Yeates
Published:
February 20 2018 - 10:30AM
If
you're taking out insurance to cover the vet bills for a dog or
cat, at first glance it looks like a hotly contested market. The
Productivity Commission last week reported there are 22 different
brands of pet insurance out there.
But
here's the catch: 20 of those brands are underwritten by the
same insurer, the Hollard Insurance Company.
That
is an extreme, but telling, example of what the Commission calls the
"illusion of competition" in financial services: where
companies fool us into thinking competition is more fierce than the
reality, by bombarding us with different brands owned by the same
businesses.
And
it is not just an issue that affects fringe products like pet
insurance.
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http://www.smh.com.au/world/un-issues-blank-statement-on-syria-says-it-has-run-out-of-words-20180220-p4z12b.html
UN issues blank statement on Syria, says it has run out of words on child casualties
Published:
February 21 2018 - 9:32AM
The
UN children's fund UNICEF issued a blank "statement" on
Tuesday to express its outrage at mass casualties among Syrian
children in the besieged enclave of Eastern Ghouta and neighbouring
Damascus.
"No
words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their
fathers and their loved ones," the release from UNICEF's
regional director Geert Cappalaere began.
There
followed 10 empty lines with quote marks indicating missing text, and
an explanatory footnote.
"UNICEF
is issuing this blank statement. We no longer have the words to
describe children’s suffering and our outrage," it said.
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http://www.smh.com.au/comment/selfinterest-standing-in-the-way-of-a-fix-for-the-murraydarling-20180220-h0wcxl.html
Self-interest standing in the way of a fix for the Murray-Darling
Ross
Gittins
Published:
February 21 2018 - 12:04AM
Genelle
Haldane, my desk calendar tells me, has said that "only until
all of mankind lives in harmony with nature can we truly decree
ourselves to be an intelligent species". I've no idea who
Haldane is or was, but she's right.
And
you don't need to be terribly intelligent to realise it. Even most
economists get it. It's blindingly obvious that the economy – that
is, human production and consumption of goods and services - exists
within the natural environment.
The
economy is sustained by the natural resources the environment
supplies to it and by the natural processes that are part of
the human production process. We rely on the ecosystem also
to deal with the mountains of waste and emissions we generate.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/mental-illness-pension-cases-leading-the-way/news-story/740934e6fce36fcd726715ae868105cf
Mental illness pension cases leading the way
-
12:00AM February 21, 2018
-
Rick Morton
The
proportion of new disability pensioners who qualified because they
have a mental illness has soared to one out of every three cases, but
growth in the cost of the payment is almost flatlining.
A
report by the Parliamentary Budget Office reveals new projections and
analysis of the $814-a-fortnight welfare payment. It shows the
pension will cost almost $5 billion less per decade than
forecast but new recipients with psychological impairments are
younger and could stay on the pension for more than 20 years.
The
changing “dynamics” mean budget pressures will resume in the long
term, the report says. “This is because an increasing number of new
DSP recipients are under 40 and more likely to have psychological and
intellectual conditions,” the report says. “As most recipients
with these conditions remain on the payment until they receive the
Age Pension, this younger cohort could remain on (the DSP) for over
20 years. Around a decade ago ... the average period of receiving the
payment was 10 years.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/adam-creighton/mental-illness-the-latest-drag-on-disability-support-pension/news-story/6ea7f97c877be4f09bf45e6aa1a619d7
Mental illness the latest drag on disability support pension
-
12:00AM February 21, 2018
The
government deserves credit for reining in what was out-of-control
growth in the cost of the disability support pension — an
extraordinary 9 per cent a year between 2008 and 2012 — but further
progress will be harder.
Physical
incapacity is easier to test than mental, and debilitating depression
appears to be increasing, especially among young men. New forecasts
show a slowing in take-up of the disability support pension, which
provides a maximum $814 a fortnight (for singles) to almost 800,000
people who are unable to work. The number of new recipients with
musculoskeletal impairment, also known as a sore back, fell from
32,000 in 2001 to 3500 last year.
But
the number of those with psychological and intellectual conditions
has surged, almost quadrupling for men in some categories. “Men
under 40 with these conditions accounted for three times as many new
DSP recipients than women under 40 with the same conditions,” the
Parliamentary Budget Office said, noting new recipients aged under 40
had increased from 28 per cent to 40 per cent since 2001.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wealth/im-going-to-live-too-long/news-story/71b5311afa25e8e1e82ac7773dfc4484
I’m going to live too long
-
5:14PM February 20, 2018
You
might think that if self funded retirees in Australia have roughly
four times more money than average retirees then they should be able
to look after themselves.
Not
so, says a new report from actuaries Accurium ltd, which suggest one
in five SMSF operators could run out of cash in retirement. In other
words, it seems no quarter of the retirement system offers genuine
security for those who wish to have a comfortable — and extended —
retirement. Even the rich are at risk.
The
median balance among the majority of the country’s two-person
superfunds is $1.4m.
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-
Updated Feb 21 2018 at 12:00 PM
IMF issues budget wages warning, urges bolder tax reform
The
International Monetary Fund has cast fresh doubt over the Turnbull
government's wage growth forecasts and again called for more
ambitious tax reform plan that lowers barriers to hiring and
investment while doing more to tax land and consumption.
Urging
the Reserve Bank of Australia to maintain its ultra-easy interest
rate settings until wages firm and applauding the current surge in
infrastructure spending, the fund warned, however, that Treasurer
Scott Morrison's budget repair strategy remains "vulnerable"
to weak income growth.
The
message was delivered in the final draft of its annual country
review, which included a forecast that wages growth would remain at
or below 2.9 per cent through 2023 - materially lower than Treasury's
prediction for future growth of 3.5 per cent. Annual growth has been
stuck at 2 per cent in recent years.
The
fund's wages caution is a timely reminder of the Turnbull
government's primary budget challenge in juggling its need to
maintain the AAA rating by restoring the budget to surplus by 2020-21
while funding a series of income and company tax cuts. Weak wages
growth threatens to erode the revenue base required to pay for such
promises.
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/wages-flatline-for-10-million-australians-despite-small-general-lift-20180221-p4z14c.html
Wages flatline for 10 million Australians despite small general lift
Eryk
Bagshaw
Published:
February 21 2018 - 2:42PM
Ten
million Australians working in the private sector are getting pay
rises that are neck-and-neck with inflation, while the pay packets of
professionals, miners and retail workers are going backwards compared
to the cost of living.
Figures
released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday show
sluggish wage growth continues to frustrate the Reserve Bank, the
Turnbull government and millions of employees.
The
Coalition and Labor will go head-to-head over finding a solution to
the country's intractable wage growth problem this year, with the
government focused on legislating company tax cuts so businesses can
pass savings onto workers, and Labor determined to stop them because
it does not believe they will follow through.
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/australian-big-business-jumps-on-the-trump-tax-bandwagon-20180219-p4z0y6.html
Australian Big Business jumps on the Trump tax bandwagon
Michael
Pascoe
Published:
February 21 2018 - 11:17AM
Compare
and contrast: the Business Council of Australia jumping on the Trump
tax bandwagon; the Reserve Bank of Australia and the International
Monetary Fund being wary of US corporate tax cuts as being a
race to the bottom.
The
most obvious difference is that the BCA, theoretically representing
Big Business in Australia, is talking its own book – the immediate
self-interest of its members. The RBA and IMF are putting the bigger
interests of a sustainable economy and society first.
Once
upon a time, the BCA made important contributions to Australian
economic reform – it was born in the 1983 formation of the Accord
and for decades provided a valuable voice in policy debates.
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http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/bank-ceos-to-get-one-grilling-this-year-20180221-p4z15f.html
Bank CEOs to get one grilling this year
Clancy
Yeates
Published:
February 21 2018 - 5:04PM
The
federal parliamentary banking inquiry appears to set to hold one
round of hearings this year, rather than two, as the Hayne
royal commission into misconduct in finance takes centre stage.
The
new chair of the house of representatives committee on economics,
Sarah Henderson, on Tuesday announced that a round of public hearings
scrutinising the four major banks would occur in eight months' time,
in October.
Last
year the committee set up by the Turnbull government held two rounds
of hearings, in March and October, at which top bankers were quizzed
on topics including mortgage interest rates, ATM fees, and the
Commonwealth Bank's run of scandals.
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Australia slides further in global corruption index in wake of scandals
Adam
Gartrell
Published:
February 22 2018 - 5:00AM
Revelations
of dodgy donations, travel rorts and the cosy relationship between
politicians and industry lobbyists appear to have battered people's
trust in Australia's public sector, pushing the nation downwards in a
global corruption index.
Transparency
International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index shows Australia's
score has fallen another two points - from 79 out of 100 down to 77 -
reflecting growing community scepticism about the integrity of the
nation's institutions.
The anti-corruption
organisation says while Australia's ranking is unchanged - it remains
equal 13th out of 180 countries - its score has slipped eight points
since the index began in its current form in 2012.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/relax-there-s-no-need-to-follow-trump-on-company-tax-yet-20180220-p4z12r.html
Relax, there's no need to follow Trump on company tax - yet
Peter
Martin
Published:
February 22 2018 - 12:04AM
We
were mugs to believe what we were told in the election about property
prices. The Prime Minister said if negative gearing went and capital
gains were better taxed, prices would be “smashed”. His Treasurer
said it would “take a sledgehammer” to prices.
Thanks
to Freedom of Information, we now know that the Treasury thought the
effects were “likely to be small”.
Now
they are telling us that a cut in the company tax rate would bring
about an “immediate” jump in wages.
-----
Australia's terrorism focus in 2018: Islamic State, al-Qaeda and closer to home
Clive
Williams
Published:
February 22 2018 - 9:25AM
This
year could see China and Russia with a counterterrorism capability to
deploy smart killer drones using facial-recognition technology to
eliminate persons deemed to be "terrorists". Many such
persons would be considered by Australians to be activists,
separatists or insurgents - rather than "terrorists".
Some
terrorist groups are also using drones, but they are unsophisticated
and used for more basic purposes, such as surveillance, collecting
intelligence, videoing propaganda footage, and dropping munitions.
While
terrorism remains a common-denominator topic at international
government meetings, there is still no agreed international
definition of terrorism, or consensus about which groups are
"terrorist" and which are not. Each nation therefore
usually focuses on the groups it considers to be its main enemies.
-----
Suckers suffer as ASX tech push turns sour
John
McDuling
Published:
February 23 2018 - 12:05AM
Just
over a week ago, ASX Limited, the owner of Australia's main stock
exchange, boasted of its growing clout as a global venue for tech
stock listings.
Tech,
up until recently, was all but absent from the market. Now it is the
third biggest source of companies on the exchange, an earnings slide
deck showed.
Over
the past four years, the total market value of tech companies on the
bourse had nearly trebled to $63 billion - 3.3 per cent of the entire
market, it said.
One
week on, tech on the ASX has certainly been in the headlines but for
less flattering reasons.
-----
IMF again tries to stir the tax reform pot
The
IMF has again offered Australia its thoughts on broad tax reform -
advice that will likely be quickly forgotten.
23
February 2018
You
can't blame them for trying.
The
International Monetary Fund used its annual appraisal of Australia
this week to again call for sweeping tax reform - rather than the
piecemeal efforts of the past 18 years.
Like
similar repeated endeavours by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development, the IMF has urged Australia's taxation
system focus on revenue raising from consumption - in other words,
the GST - and land taxation.
This
would help relieve the onus on corporate and personal income tax.
But,
as with all such well-meaning suggestions, both sides of politics
tend to cherry-pick the things they want to hear while ignoring the
rest.
-----
'We bought an MDF coffin and painted it': funerals can be dead cheap
John
Collett
Published:
February 20 2018 - 4:30PM
People
who are grieving can fall prey to upselling and unscrupulous
practices.
Consumers
can be taken advantage of when a loved one has died and it comes
to arranging the funeral.
Reports
released in recent years point to an industry that is not very
effectively regulated, and where the rules vary between states and
territories, leaving those grieving the loss of a loved one easy prey
to unscrupulous funeral operators.
Terry
Clifton, the co-founder of Prestige Funerals in Melbourne, says costs
vary enormously and people should shop around, but may not be in
a state-of-mind to make those decisions.
-----
Will rising profits equal higher wages?
-
12:00AM February 24, 2018
-
Alan Kohler
Over
the next few weeks, Australia’s largest companies will gush more
than $15 billion into the bank accounts of their shareholders.
The
dividend flow will cap off a very solid interim reporting season.
There have been a lot more “beats” than “misses” (versus
expectations) and half of the companies to have reported have had
their forecast earnings upgraded, which is a lot more than usual. And
those things are based on genuinely strong cash flows from the
companies and upbeat messages from the chief executives about the
future.
Of
those that have reported so far, three-quarters increased the
dividend, which is a clear statement about the current cash flows and
the boards’ confidence about the future. Telstra aside (which has
halved the interim dividend as it grapples with the NBN), the average
rise is about 4 per cent — twice the average wage rise.
-----
National Budget Issues.
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5234643/morrison-says-tax-cuts-wont-risk-surplus/
February
18 2018 - 3:31PM
Morrison says tax cuts won't risk surplus
Colin
Brinsden, AAP Economics Correspondent
Treasurer
Scott Morrison is defending his plans for tax cuts.
Treasurer
Scott Morrison insists anything the Turnbull government does in
cutting taxes won't put at risk returning the budget to surplus in
2021.
Reserve
Bank governor Philip Lowe told parliamentarians on Friday if the
government pursued lower corporate tax rates, it would be a big
mistake to do that on the back of higher budget deficits.
"The
prime minister and I have both said anything we do on the tax front
is not being done to prejudice or put at risk that 2021 projection,"
Mr Morrison told ABC television on Sunday.
"So
we know that rule. We've been sticking to it and that's why we've
been keeping the triple-A credit rating."
-----
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/international-monetary-fund-urges-australia-to-cut-company-taxes-20180221-p4z12l.html
International Monetary Fund urges Australia to cut company taxes
By
Eryk Bagshaw
21
February 2018 — 12:19pm
The
International Monetary Fund has thrown its weight behind
the Turnbull government's company tax cuts, arguing they would
"benefit productivity and reduce inequality".
The
emphatic call from the global financial watchdog is likely to heap
pressure on the Senate to come back to the negotiating table and
consider Treasurer Scott Morrison's proposal to cut corporate tax
rates to 25 per cent over the next decade.
Following
extensive bilateral discussions with regulators, economists and
the government the IMF's Article IV assessment found Australia
should reduce corporate and income tax rates and balance the budget
through more efficient taxes on land and an increase in the
GST.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/wages-rise-stronger-than-expected/news-story/5f971d60c136950881f114665493926a
Wages rise stronger than expected
Wages
rose 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, and rose 2.1 per cent over
calendar 2017.
-
Dow Jones
-
11:37AM February 21, 2018
Australian
wages growth came in stronger than expected in the fourth quarter of
2017, lending support to the idea that interest rates might be raised
sooner than anticipated.
Wages
rose 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, and
rose 2.1 per cent over calendar 2017, the Australian Bureau of
Statistics said.
Economists
expected a 0.5 per cent rise over the quarter.
The
Australian dollar initially rose 0.2 per cent to US79.01c after the
data release before dropping back to US78.91c.
-----
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/treasurer-scott-morrison-rubbishes-tony-abbott-s-call-for-immigration-cut-20180221-p4z12f.html
Treasurer Scott Morrison rubbishes Tony Abbott's call for immigration cut
By Fergus Hunter
21
February 2018 — 10:38am
Talking
points
-
Tony Abbott has called for annual permanent migration to be cut from 190,000 to 110,000
-
Abbott linked it to infrastructure, housing affordability, wages growth and street crime
-
Morrison says the proposal would wipe out up to $5 billion from the federal budget
Two
of the Turnbull government's most senior conservatives have dismissed
Tony Abbott's push to cut Australia's immigration intake, which the
former prime minister has linked to stagnant wages, groaning
infrastructure, unaffordable housing and "ethnic gangs".
On
Tuesday, Mr Abbott - who first called for a reduced
immigration early last year – proposed a rapid cut from the
current level of 190,000 to 110,000.
-----
While we've been looking elsewhere, our current account deficit got a lot smaller
Ross
Gittins
Published:
February 24 2018 - 12:07AM
They
say a watched pot never boils, so maybe it's a good thing we now
spend so little time worrying about the current account deficit.
While our attention's been elsewhere, it's got a lot smaller.
This
news comes courtesy of the International Monetary Fund's latest
country report on Australia, issued this week.
Settle
back. The nation's "balance of payments" is a statement
summarising all the transactions between Australians (whether
businesses, governments, or individuals) and the rest of the world.
-----
Health Budget Issues.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/stronger-flu-vaccines-available-to-over65s-this-year/news-story/1b54fa454f66076ad84014d6bd285492
Stronger flu vaccines available to over-65s this year
-
12:00AM February 19, 2018
Australians
over 65 will have access to two stronger flu vaccines this winter in
a federal move to prevent another deadly flu season.
Flu
vaccines FluAd and FluZone will be free for older patients from April
through the federal government’s national immunisation program.
A
particularly deadly flu strain last year resulted in more than 1100
deaths nationally. Many of the victims were older than 65 and living
in nursing homes.
Federal
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the two new vaccines would give
elderly patients better immunity this flu season.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/nib-laments-soft-health-insurance-market/news-story/1d6c7a07fb98633f182fbb0ee2ae2e94
NIB laments ‘soft’ health insurance market
-
Dow Jones
-
10:22AM February 19, 2018
NIB
managing director Mark Fitzgibbon says the Australian health
insurance market is as soft as he can recall after the insurer’s
first-half profit dipped 1.3 per cent to $70.9 million.
Mr
Fitzgibbon says sluggish wage growth and stiff competition are
weighing on NIB, which has posted a decline in net profit for the six
months to December 31 largely due to its $155.5 million purchase of
corporate health insurer GU Health.
“The
domestic Australian health insurance market is as soft as I can
recall,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/hbf-and-hcf-to-merge-challenge-forprofit-private-health-insurers/news-story/8a1fd82ebaf9ebd3de5218dff0c19f7a
HBF and HCF to merge, challenge for-profit private health insurers
-
11:33AM February 19, 2018
-
Sarah-Jane Tasker
Health
insurers HBF and HCF plan to merge to create the third biggest health
insurer in Australia, as affordability issues continue to impact the
market.
The
companies have signed a heads of agreement to create the largest
not-for-profit health insurer in Australia, which will account for
around 18.4 per cent of the market, sitting behind Bupa and Medibank.
The
combined entity would have 2.5 million members and total assets of $4
billion.
HBF
chief executive John Van Der Wielen said if all relevant approvals
were obtained, the increased scale and efficiencies of the combined
group would enable HBF and HCF to better compete against the
for-profit private health insurers.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/what-hcf-and-hbf-s-plan-to-merge-means-for-health-insurance-customers-20180219-p4z0ud.html
What HCF and HBF's plan to merge means for health insurance customers
Esther
Han
Published:
February 19 2018 - 6:29PM
Health
fund HCF says it hopes to be merged with not-for-profit bedfellow HBF
as soon as August, which will turn the pair into Australia's
third-largest health insurance provider, behind Bupa and Medibank.
While
the merger announcement was largely welcomed on Monday, the dental
industry was scathing, calling the development "dangerous and
onerous".
HCF
and HBF say if they successfully merge, the new not-for-profit entity
will have an 18.4 per cent market share, 2.5 million members and
total assets worth $4 billion, and a greater ability to minimise
premium increases in the future.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/national/tsunami-of-bacteria-is-on-our-doorstep-20180216-p4z0n5.html
Tsunami of bacteria is on our doorstep
Peter
Collignon
Published:
February 19 2018 - 7:43PM
When
Jane returned from her holiday in Thailand, she brought with her
something far worse than a bout of traveller's diarrhoea. She brought
home a superbug. And it landed her on my list of patients.
Superbugs
are bacteria that are resistant to most, and sometimes all
antibiotics. They are now causing many common infections in what is a
major and growing international problem. Some of these
infections have very limited options for therapy and will result in
death.
Even
when some effective antibiotics remain available, they are often
difficult to deliver and very expensive. Often there will be no oral
tablets and a patient will have to have their antibiotics through a
drip - like Jane did. More importantly these remaining antibiotics
can be much more toxic, with sometimes more frequent and serious side
effects.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/health-department-collusion-probe-into-spike-in-pathology-tests/news-story/8c4342b41138ac9e2ae61fdb39d7f4d2
Health Department ‘collusion probe’ into spike in pathology tests
-
12:00AM February 20, 2018
The
Department of Health is investigating whether inappropriate financial
arrangements are behind the rising number of tests and scans being
undertaken on patients in major clinics and medical centres across
Australia.
With
an ageing population, and demand for costly new interventions, there
is concern health dollars must be spent more wisely.
In
the private sector, the health insurance regulator has warned that
rising costs need to be better managed, while in the public sector a
new funding agreement for hospitals has been delayed by an argument
over growth forecasts.
-----
WA Health wasted millions, risked billions: Langoulant inquiry
Emma
Young
Published:
February 22 2018 - 9:11AM
State
Special Inquirer John Langoulant has named the contract awarded
to Serco for Fiona Stanley Hospital services the
single "worst case of financial risk taking for the State"
across the entire scope of his inquiry into the previous government's
management of 31 major projects from 2008-2017.
The
former under-treasurer examined eight Health projects, five being
significant infrastructure projects costing more than $8.2 billion,
and while some were considered well managed and good value for
money, others were seen as evidence of highly-risky decision making.
While
not taking substantive issue with much of the report, WA Health
pointed out in its responses that many process improvements had taken
place over the nine years the report covered.
-----
Simple genetic test can avoid tragedy - and should form part of all preconception care
Debra
Kennedy
Published:
February 22 2018 - 10:09PM
When
Rachael Casella was pregnant with her daughter Mackenzie, she chose
to undertake myriad tests to optimise the chances of a healthy baby
and pregnancy. But at no stage was she offered a straightforward
saliva or blood test to see if she was carrying the Spinal Muscular
Atrophy Type 1 gene.
The
couple, who featured in a report on 7.30 on the ABC on
Thursday night, lost Mackenzie to the disease when she was just seven
months old. They had to endure the slow devastation of watching their
daughter lose her muscle strength, her movement, her ability to feed,
to swallow and finally to breathe before her first birthday.
Yet
such tragedy could have been prevented if they had known about a
simple genetic test they could have taken before or when Rachael was
pregnant. The test for the SMA Type 1 gene has been available
for some time through a pathology company that also screens for
cystic fibrosis and Fragile X. Unfortunately it costs about $400 and
parents do not receive a rebate through Medicare. And as Rachael and
her husband, Jonathan, discovered, most GPs are not even aware of its
existence.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/uk-moves-toward-making-adults-presumed-organ-donors-20180224-p4z1kf.html
UK moves toward making adults presumed organ donors
Richard
Perez-Pena
Published:
February 24 2018 - 11:27AM
London:
Britain took a crucial step on Friday toward making all adults
presumed organ donors unless they say otherwise, which would add the
country to a growing list of those that have adopted the policy to
address a chronic shortage for transplants.
The
House of Commons, on a sparsely attended voice vote, gave unanimous
approval to send an organ donor bill to committee, where a final
version would be hammered out. Though it still could face procedural
obstacles, it has the support of a rare alliance of the Conservative
government, the leadership of the opposition Labour Party, and the
British medical establishment, indicating that chances of passage are
good.
"I've
seldom seen such a unanimous range of support," said Geoffrey
Robinson, the Labour lawmaker who sponsored the bill and who was one
of dozens from both major parties who spoke in favour of it on
Friday. "This will save lives."
-----
Samantha Armytage's advice on mammograms was misguided
Alexandra
Barratt
Published:
February 25 2018 - 12:10AM
I
have no doubt Samantha Armytage was hoping to save lives when she had
a screening mammogram on Channel Seven’s Sunrise to
look for breast cancer.
Before
undressing for the X-ray of her breasts last week, Armytage, 41, told
millions of Australian viewers that one in eight women would develop
breast cancer, and that the key to surviving it was early detection
through mammography.
By
the time Armytage received her false positive result - an all-clear
after being called back for more tests when an area of concern was
found on her right breast - she was moving beyond BreastScreen’s
targeted call for women to start mammograms at 50, by suggesting
women start at 40 instead.
-----
Mental illness among Australian children rises, immunisation rates fall
-
8:10AM February 25, 2018
Australian
children are falling behind in immunisation rates while facing rising
rates of mental illness, according to a report from the Australian
Research Alliance for Children and Youth.
ARACY’s
five-year snapshot, released today, shows the proportion of
two-year-olds who have been fully immunised fell from 92.7 per cent
in 2008 to 90.5 per cent in December 2017.
With
mental illness, the report found that in 2014-15, the percentage of
18-to-24 year-olds suffering from high or very high psychological
distress rose to 15.4 per cent, compared with 11.8 per cent in 2011.
The
report highlighted the vulnerability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander youth in particular who “are over three times more likely
to commit suicide than non-indigenous youth and more than three times
more likely to die of injury before the age of 14”, the ARACY
statement says.
-----
International Issues.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/theyre-laughing-their-asses-off-in-moscow-trump-on-the-attack-over-russia-probe-20180218-h0w9yg.html
'They're laughing their asses off in Moscow': Trump on the attack over Russia probe
Josh
Dawsey
Published:
February 19 2018 - 2:51AM
West
Palm Beach: US President Donald Trump
questioned the special counsel's intensifying Russia probe on
Sunday while attacking his own national security adviser, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hillary Clinton, former president
Barack Obama, Congress, CNN and others in a nine-hour span of tweets
that included swearing and grammatical errors.
The
Twitter tirade coincided with a trip to Europe during which US
officials and lawmakers told foreign policy leaders to ignore the
President.
Posting
from his Florida estate, he seemed most aggrieved that special
counsel Robert Mueller's team had unearthed 13 indictments
against Russians on Friday – and alleged that they could have
swayed the 2016 election to benefit Trump.
For
more than a year, Trump has rejected accusations that he had help
from Russia, while firing and threatening to fire law enforcement
officials investigating him.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/top-us-officials-tell-european-foreign-policy-leaders-to-ignore-donald-trump-20180218-h0w9y8.html
Top US officials tell European foreign policy leaders to ignore Donald Trump
Michael
Birnbaum and Griff Witte
Published:
February 19 2018 - 2:52AM
Munich:
Amid anxiety about President Donald Trump's approach to
global affairs, US officials had a message for a gathering
of Europe's foreign policy elite in Germany: pay no attention to the
man tweeting behind the curtain.
US lawmakers
– both Democrats and Republicans – and top national
security officials in the Trump administration offered the same
advice publicly and privately, often clashing with Trump's Twitter
stream: the United States remains staunchly committed to its European
allies, is furious with the Kremlin about election interference and
isn't contemplating a preemptive strike on North Korea to halt its
nuclear program.
But
Trump himself engaged in a running counterpoint to the message,
taking aim on social media at his own national security adviser, H.R.
McMaster, for not tell the Munich Security Conference that the
results of the 2016 election weren't affected by Russian interference
– a conclusion that is not supported by US intelligence
agencies.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/the-troll-factory-what-we-know-about-the-13-russians-indicted-by-the-us-20180218-p4z0qo.html
The troll factory: What we know about the 13 Russians indicted by the US
Ivan
Nechepurenko & Michael Schwirtz
Published:
February 18 2018 - 1:06PM
St
Petersburg, Russia: Operating from St Petersburg, they
churned out falsehoods on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
They promoted Donald Trump and denigrated Hillary Clinton. They stole
the identities of US citizens. They organised political rallies
in several states, and hired a Clinton impersonator for one event, in
West Palm Beach, Florida.
On
Friday, 13 Russians were indicted by a federal grand jury in
Washington on fraud and other charges. Details of their roles in a
three-year campaign to disrupt US democracy have begun to emerge from
the indictment, other records, interviews and press accounts.
------
http://www.smh.com.au/world/how-trump-s-fixer-made-scandal-disappear-tough-talk-hush-money-and-tabloids-20180219-p4z0us.html
How Trump’s fixer made scandal disappear: tough talk, hush money and tabloids
Jim
Rutenberg
Published:
February 19 2018 - 3:55PM
Washington:
As accounts of past sexual indiscretions threatened to surface during
Donald Trump's presidential campaign, the job of stifling potentially
damaging stories fell to his longtime lawyer and all-around fixer,
Michael D. Cohen.
To
protect his boss at critical junctures in his improbable political
rise, the lawyer relied on intimidation tactics, hush money and the
nation's leading tabloid news business, American Media, whose top
executives include close Trump allies.
Cohen's
role has come under scrutiny amid recent revelations that he
facilitated a payment to silence a porn star, but his aggressive
behind-the-scenes efforts stretch back years, according to
interviews, emails and other records.
They
intensified as Trump's campaign began in summer 2015, when a former
hedge-fund manager told Cohen he had obtained photographs of Trump
with a bare-breasted woman. The man said Cohen first blew up at him,
then steered him to David J. Pecker, chairman of the tabloid company,
which sometimes bought, then buried, embarrassing material about his
high-profile friends and allies.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-us-needs-leadership-but-trump-can-t-deliver-20180219-p4z0vj.html
The US needs leadership but Trump can't deliver
Nicole
Hemmer
Published:
February 20 2018 - 12:07AM
You
could feel the panic wafting off the presidential Twitter feed.
In
less than 24 hours, Donald Trump spit out more than a dozen tweets in
response to the sweeping indictments handed down by the Justice
Department’s special counsel on Friday. Thirteen Russians and three
Russian companies face charges of criminally interfering with the
2016 presidential election. And while the charges did not touch on
the issue of collusion with the Trump campaign, the President quickly
lashed out on Twitter, attacking everyone from his National Security
Adviser to Barack Obama to the FBI.
It
was one of those moments that crystallised the crisis in the US: the
country has no national leader. And without a leader, it is daily
becoming less safe and more chaotic.
The
cost of leaderlessness is most clear in the case of Russian
interference in the election. For more than a year, the intelligence
community in the US has unanimously affirmed that Russia interfered
in the 2016 election as part of a broader effort to destabilise the
country. A Republican-led Congress has authorised more sanctions
against Russia in retaliation. But the White House has declined to
act — in large part because the President refuses to acknowledge
the underlying bad act of interference.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/trump-orders-ban-of-rifle-bump-stocks-after-florida-shooting-20180220-h0we5l.html
Donald Trump orders ban of rifle 'bump stocks' after Florida shooting
Published:
February 21 2018 - 8:55AM
US
President Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to write
regulations banning the use of accessories known as "bump
stocks" that allow semi-automatic rifles to be fired more
rapidly.
And
his press secretary declined to rule out supporting restrictions on
the purchase of AR-15-style rifles such as the one used in a
Florida school shooting last week.
The
suspect in the attack, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, killed 17
people in six minutes using an AR-15-style rifle that he had
purchased legally.
"I
signed a memorandum directing the Attorney-General [Jeff Sessions] to
propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into
machineguns," Trump said at the White House on Tuesday.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/whatever-trump-is-hiding-is-hurting-all-of-us-now-20180220-p4z11n.html
Whatever Trump is hiding is hurting all of us now
Thomas
L. Friedman
Published:
February 21 2018 - 3:11AM
Democracy
is in serious danger.
President
Donald Trump is either totally compromised by the Russians or is a
towering fool, or both, but either way he has shown himself unwilling
or unable to defend America against a Russian campaign to divide and
undermine our democracy.
That
is, either Trump's real estate empire has taken large amounts of
money from shady oligarchs linked to the Kremlin - so much that they
literally own him; or rumours are true that he engaged in sexual
misbehavior while he was in Moscow running the Miss Universe contest,
which Russian intelligence has on tape and he doesn't want released;
or Trump actually believes Russian President Vladimir Putin when he
says he is innocent of intervening in our elections - over the
explicit findings of Trump's own CIA, NSA and FBI chiefs.
In
sum, Trump is either hiding something so threatening to himself, or
he's criminally incompetent to be commander in chief. It is
impossible yet to say which explanation for his behaviour is true,
but it seems highly likely that one of these scenarios explains
Trump's refusal to respond to Russia's direct attack on our system -
a quiescence that is simply unprecedented for any US president in
history. Russia is not our friend. It has acted in a hostile manner.
And Trump keeps ignoring it all.
-----
http://www.smh.com.au/world/western-hand-in-china-s-grand-plan-could-build-trust-uk-minister-says-20180220-p4z12p.html
Western hand in China's grand plan could build trust, UK minister says
Nick
Miller
Published:
February 21 2018 - 10:28AM
A
British government minister has expressed his support for China’s
huge Belt Road Initiative and encouraged Australia to do the same,
just weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May resisted intense Chinese
pressure to formally endorse the project.
British
Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, told The
Australian newspaper that “in his heart” he shared the same
concerns as others in the West about China’s BRI, a $US5 trillion
($A6.3 trillion) infrastructure fund.
But
the solution was to get involved, he said.
On
the weekend Germany’s foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel joined a
growing chorus of BRI sceptics, telling the Munich Security
Conference that BRI was an attempt to “shape the world in Chinese
interest” and the West should offer an alternative that reflected
values of freedom and democracy.
-----
-
Updated Feb 21 2018 at 9:51 AM
How Brexit will make the United Kingdom just like Canada
by
Martin Wolf
So
where, when the dust has settled, will the UK end up? It will become
Canada. It will have a trade relationship with the EU similar to
Canada's. It will relate to the EU in a way not dissimilar to
Canada's relationship with the US.
It
will remain a middle-of-the-road democracy, like Canada, and not
become, as David Davis, secretary of state for Brexit puts it, a "Mad
Max" dystopia leading a regulatory race to the bottom. Finally,
like Canada, it can seek a modestly positive global influence.
Michel
Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, has explained why the UK's future
trading relationship with the EU will be similar to that in the
EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or Ceta. This
agreement allows both sides to enter into separate deals with other
partners. It also puts Canada outside the EU's customs union and
single market. Thus Ceta provides limited benefits to providers of
services.
-----
-
Updated Feb 22 2018 at 9:29 AM
Trump may no longer be interested in Russia, but Russia is interested in him
Edward
Luce
Donald
Trump may no longer be interested in Russia, but Russia is
interested in him. Robert Mueller, the special counsel, has now
indicted 19 people — including 13 Russians and five Americans who
worked on Mr Trump's campaign.
That
was just the start. When Mr Mueller gets round to Moscow's election
hacking, more Russians and Americans will surely be added. The
Watergate investigation took two years to play out from burglary to
presidential resignation. Nine months into the job, Mr Mueller looks
to be on a similar timetable.
Familiarity
lulls the mind. It is thus easy to miss the enormity of what is
unfolding. Mr Mueller is playing a game of chess. Every move is made
with his opponent's king in mind. Last Friday, he boosted his defence
by nailing Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Do not take Mr
Mueller's word for it. HR McMaster, Mr Trump's national security
adviser, said Russia's role was "now incontrovertible".
That makes it far harder for the president to fire Mr Mueller —
something he has tried to do more than once. I would bet Mr Trump now
sees General McMaster as a sacrificial pawn.
-----
China challenge 'more subtle and sophisticated' than the threat of war
David
Wroe
Published:
February 22 2018 - 2:17PM
China
has a saying, inspired by the famed strategist Sun Tzu, that the best
outcome of any standoff is “winning without fighting”.
Experts
say while Malcolm Turnbull is right that China does not pose a direct
military threat to Australia, it does excel at the practice of making
steady gains that remain calculatedly short of military confrontation
or conflict.
The
latest instance, some say, is China’s handling of the paradisiacal
Indian Ocean nation the Maldives, into which Beijing has poured money
as part of its “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative. A
Chinese naval task group has been in the Indian Ocean while Beijing’s
ally, the Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, wrestles with a
political crisis, prompting speculation the Chinese are propping up
Mr Yameen by warding off India from intervening.
-----
Australia and UK must combat Chinese and Russian interference says Tory MP
Latika
Bourke
Published:
February 23 2018 - 12:46PM
An
influential Tory MP says Australia and the UK must lead global
efforts to combat Russian and Chinese interference in western
democracies because the investigation into Russian meddling has
neutered the Trump White House's ability to lead on the issue.
Conservative
MP Bob Seely raised the matter with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in
London this week.
Writing
exclusively for Fairfax Media, Mr Seely, who has just been elected to
the British parliament's prestigious foreign affairs committee, said
the Mueller investigation would only get worse for Mr Trump,
diverting the US' ability to deal with threat of foreign
interference.
-----
US imposes largest package of sanctions against North Korea
Published:
February 24 2018 - 4:57AM
US
President Donald Trump says the United States will impose the
"largest-ever" package of sanctions on North Korea,
intensifying pressure on the reclusive country to give up its nuclear
and missile programmes.
In
addressing the Trump administration's biggest national security
challenge, the US Treasury sanctioned one person, 27 companies and 28
ships, according to a statement posted on the US Treasury
Department's website.
The
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the measures,
which are designed to disrupt North Korean shipping and trading
companies and vessels and to further isolate Pyongyang.
The
ships are located, registered or flagged in North Korea, China,
Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and
Comoros.
-----
Shadowy far-right fraternities 'infiltrating' Austrian state
Boris
Groendahl
Published:
February 24 2018 - 2:40PM
Vienna: Austria's
new government is allowing secretive groups with links to the far
right to exert control over powerful positions in the state,
according to former Chancellor Christian Kern.
Kern
told reporters that it was the job of his successor, Sebastian Kurz,
to halt the creeping takeover by members of fraternities linked to
the nationalist Freedom Party, the conservative chancellor's
coalition partner.
Kern,
a Social Democrat, was speaking after anti-semitic songbooks were
found in the possession of two of the shadowy groups, prompting the
Austrian Jewish community to boycott official Holocaust memorials
last month.
-----
I
look forward to comments on all this!
-----
David.
