THE Federal Government should seriously consider de-registering the CFMEU and the MUA after the unions this week threatened crippling and unlawful strikes at a national level. according to a statement by national resource industry employer group Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) chief executive Steve Knott.

"These threats are an attempt to coerce prosecutors into dropping charges against 101 construction employees being pursued over illegal strikes in Perth in 2013," Mr Knott said. "The threats must be scrutinised by the government and condemned by the leadership of the ALP and ACTU.

"Government, employers and the broader community need to stand united. We cannot allow any group in our society to continually break the law and then threaten illegal strike action to force a government regulator to back down.

"It is beyond belief that in the 21^st Century the CFMEU, MUA and their respective members are oblivious to the fact that illegal industrial action may result in organisational and/or individual prosecutions and fines.

"An avalanche of evidence in recent months highlights that it may be time to take away the privileges these organisations receive as registered industrial organisations. These privileges include default bargaining representation rights, extensive powers to enter worksites, special standing before the Fair Work Commission, and lesser fines and penalties than corporations."

Mr Knott said recent examples of illegal action included:

• Thousands of unionists walking off their jobs in Melbourne to protest against two senior CFMEU officials being charged with serious blackmail offences uncovered by a Royal Commission;
• Hundreds of CFMEU members downing tools in Brisbane and rallying in support of a fellow unionist who was charged with assaulting a female building developer; and
• The Federal Court imposing penalties of $151,000 on the CFMEU and a number of its officials for their role in illegal blockades during the Grocon dispute in 2012 – this came after the CFMEU agreed to pay Grocon $3.55m in damages in June this year.

"The FWBC Inspectorate has a record number of cases currently in court (52 as of August) and almost 90% of these cases have the CFMEU or CFMEU officials named as respondents," Mr Knott said. "It is no surprise that Federal Court Judge, Justice Christopher Jessup, last month condemned the CFMEU’s culture as one in which breaking the law has become normalised.

"The threat from the CFMEU and the MUA is also the first sign of the damage that will be created by the planned amalgamation of the two unions.  Legal action against construction employees has nothing to do with the maritime industry or the employers and wider community that will be harmed by any MUA strikes in support of their law-breaking mates at the CFMEU.

"It is 2015, not the 1970s. If the militant minority of Australia’s trade union movement continually refuses to recognise this, they strengthen the case of those who argue that deregistration is the only way to end their calculated and contemptuous law breaking."

www.amma.org.au

ends

ELIMINATING inefficient elements of state taxes, such as the payroll tax threshold and conveyancing duties on the transfer of properties, would add a third of a percent to Australia’s GDP, says Victoria University economist John Madden.

Professor Madden from the University’s Centre of Policy Studies will join a leading panel of economic experts examining Tax Reform in a Modern Federation at the next Melbourne Economic Forum tomorrow.

He will assess the economic gains from proposed state and federal tax reforms.

“There are clear economic gains to be had from these reforms but they would only have a minor impact on the budgetary problems of the federal and state governments,” he said.

“The government faces a considerable fiscal task that requires substantial tax increases to meet planned public expenditures. Economic modelling suggests that increasing the payroll tax rate would be less damaging to the economy than an increase in the GST rate.”

The Turnbull government has pledged to place tax reform at the top of the policy agenda but the hardening of positions on tax reform from unions and business underscores the difficulty the government will face in achieving consensus on a tax package.

Other speakers at the Melbourne Economic Forum include:

• Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Research Fellow in Economics, University of Melbourne
• Professor John Daley, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute
• Professor John Freebairn, Ritchie Chair of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
• Professor Miranda Stewart, Director, Tax and Transfer Policy, Australian National University
• Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders, Director of Studies, Government Law, Co-Director of Studies, Public and International Law, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne.

 
The Melbourne Economic Forum is a joint collaboration between Victoria University and the University of Melbourne. It is run in association with the Australian Financial Review.

Tax Reform in a Modern Federation

When: Thursday 17 December, 11am to 2pm
Where:  University of Melbourne: Woodward Conference Centre, Level 10, Law Building, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton.

ends

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will commence biannual public hearings with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

This process is similar to that used by the committee to review the RBA and APRA which are also scrutinised and held to account by the committee at biannual public hearings.

Committee Chair, Mr Craig Laundy said,“The ACCC has a vital role in promoting competition, fair trading and regulating national infrastructure for the benefit of all Australians. The ACCC’s role in promoting competition is particularly important as our economy transforms and rebalances activity following on from an enormous mining construction boom.”

The hearings will provide an opportunity for the committee to scrutinise the ACCC on its core objectives including how it maintains and promotes competition and remedies market failure, protects the interests and safety of consumers and supports fair trading in markets, and promotes the economically efficient operation and investment in monopoly infrastructure.

The committee notes the work of the Harper review into competition policy. The work is timely and heralds a new phase in competition policy which will help promote innovation, increase investment and help raise Australia’s productivity levels.

The first public hearing with the ACCC will be held in Canberra on Friday, 26 February 2016 with the full details shown below.

Public Hearing Details

Committee: House of Representatives Economics Committee
Venue: Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra
Date: Friday, 26 February 2016
Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm

Webcast: The hearing will be webcast  http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting/

ends

AUSSIE SHOPPERS are tipped to spend $2.3 billion nationwide on Boxing Day 2015, according to the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), with a total of $16.8 billion to be spent from December 26 to January 15, 2016.

Post-Christmas spending estimates by the ARA and Roy Morgan Research indicate sales will be four percent higher than the same period last year, evidence of Australia’s growing love affair with bargains.

“Pre-Christmas 2015 saw record sales at retail stores, and we’re expecting to see a very similar growth story play out in the post-Christmas sales,” said Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA.

“A rush of bargain hunters will be out in force on Boxing Day, with December 26 one of the biggest shopping days of the year across the country.

“Boxing Day heralds the opening of the post-Christmas sales period and is traditionally when the biggest savings can be made.

“Of course, the sales will continue beyond December 26 right through January, so for those who aren’t able to get to the shops on Boxing Day, there will be further opportunities to snap up some bargains,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Victoria will see the lion’s share of the post-Christmas shopping growth, up 5.6 percent to $4.2 billion across the 21-day period tracked by ARA and Roy Morgan, followed by NSW at 3.8 percent growth and $5.3 billion.

“All states are predicted to see healthy growth this year, as are all retail categories, although the ‘other’ category will shine particularly brightly in the post-Christmas sales with 6.1 percent growth to $2.3 billion, as will department stores at a 4.3 percent increase and $1 billion sales.”

When it comes to Boxing Day, the ARA anticipates that NSW and Victorian residents will spend the most at $750 million and $721 million respectively.

ARA ROY MORGAN POST-CHRISTMAS 2015/16 SALES PREDICTIONS

December 26, 2015 – January 15, 2016

Boxing Day 2016 sales

(Australian Retailers Association)

2015/16 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by State

(ARA/ROY MORGAN)

2015/16 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by Category

(ARA/ROY MORGAN)

 About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $284 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

ENDS