Australian dollar breaks 75 US cents

Australian dollar breaks 75 US cents

A solid rally in oil prices underpinned strength in US energy stocks to lead Wall Street higher overnight.

A bigger-than-expected fall in gasoline inventories and few surprises from figures on US crude stockpiles helped to push Brent crude above US$40 a barrel.

Analysts say the advance in oil prices was helping to offset ongoing concerns about Chinas economic growth， and the prospect of higher interest rates in the United States.

Elsewhere， biotechnology shares came under pressure because of a US government health agency proposal that would change the way Medicare compensates doctors who administer vaccines in their offices.

On Mar 10， The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 36 points， or 0.2%， at 17，000， while the S&P 500 Index added 10 points， or 0.5%， to 1，989， and the Nasdaq rose 25 points， or 0.6%， to 4，674.

Firmer oil prices also lent support to European markets and， in London， the FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 6，146.

at 8：20am （AEDT）， the ASX SPI 200 was up 0.2% to 5，166.

At the same time， the Australian dollar was worth 74.83 US cents.

The local currency continued to power ahead overnight， climbing to a fresh eight-month high above 75 US cents.

On the cross-rates， it was buying 68 euro cents， 52.61 British pence， 84.88 Japanese yen and AU$NZ1.12.

West Texas crude oil had increased to US$37.57 a barrel， the price of a barrel of Tapis had also risen to US$42.95 and spot gold had eased to US$1，250.81 an ounce.

ANZ Bank bungle hits 1.3 million people

ANZ Bank will conduct an independent review after breaches affecting 1.3 million customers were identified， including super contributions being paid to the wrong account.

It has hired professional services firm PwC to review its insurance and superannuation unit OnePath after compliance breaches were reported the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

On March 15， ANZ said that the breaches included not following up on some unbanked cheques and superannuation contributions not being allocated to the customers correct account.

None of the breaches relate to life insurance claims.

Since February 2013， ANZ has compensated approximately AU$4.5 million to around 1.3 million OnePath customers.

ANZ wealth Australia managing director Alexis George apologised to OnePath customers and assured them that its working hard to improve its controls.endprint

The review by PwC began in January， and is expected to report back to both ANZ and Australian Securities and Investments Commission by the middle of the year.

As part of the review， PwC will identify any gaps in OnePath compliance systems and make recommendations to improve frameworks， policies and processes.

The compliance breaches were reported to Australias corporate watchdog from early 2013.

Australian firms urges dads to take parental leave

A growing number of Australian companies are encouraging their male employees to take parental leave and play an increased role in raising children.

REA Group， which is majority owned by News Corp Australia， is the latest company to introduce a generous parental leave scheme for both primary and secondary carers， in a move designed to enable the career potential of women by prompting men to take up more of the slack at home.

The property advertising firm has announced it will provide all primary caregivers six months parental leave at full pay， while all secondary carers will be eligible for three months leave， the first six weeks on full pay and the second on half pay.

The decision sees REA Group join the ranks of companies like Aurizon and PwC.

The rail transport company recently introduced a ‘share care policy to encourage men to spend time at home with their newborns， and the financial advisory firm offers both mums and dads the chance to take 18 weeks of paid parental leave if they are the pri- mary carer anytime in a childs first 12 month.

REA Groups executive general manager of people and culture， Barb Hyman， said the new parental leave scheme was part of the companys ambitious plan to boost the representation of women in technical roles.

“Women will not fulfil their career potential if they dont have supportive partners at home，” Ms Hyman said.

“The average age of our employees is 34， and a lot of young people one day decide to have a family — we want to hold on to our people and for them to think they can balance the best of their personal life with an REA Life，” she said.

REA Group employee Shane Gibb is hoping to use the new scheme to take time off later this year to look after his one-month-old son.

Mr Gibb said he believed it was very important for dads to spend whatever time they could with their babies.

“You also get to really focus on your family and not be torn between work and home life， which with the lack of sleep can be pretty stressful，” he said.endprint

“And most importantly its a once in a lifetime opportunity to bond with your newborn.”

Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons said leave arrangements that recognise the caring responsibilities of dads as well as mums are important in giving new fathers confidence looking after their baby.

“They also help to establish caring arrangements that allow both partners to balance work with family，” she said.

“It gives men the support they need to enjoy this special time， and it also allows their partners to more easily return to work.”

REA Group will make its new generous PPL arrangements available to all employees after six months service， and superannuation payments will be made throughout the period.

The companys CEO Tracey Fellows said， “we are very proud to be one of the first Australian technology companies to offer this kind of benefit to our employees”.

7-Eleven worker warns Aust image at stake

Bharat Khanna worked more than 60 hours a week managing a 7-Eleven store while studying full-time at university.

When he challenged the boss over his pay he was told to walk.

Other employees were even made to withdraw some of their wages from ATMs and hand over cash to the franchise owner.

The international student was invited to share his story in Parliament House on Wednesday by federal Labor leader Bill Shorten.

“I would say that the image of Australia is at stake，” Bharat said， warning the federal government there were lots of other people like him.

When he was planning on coming to this “beautiful country” and studying he heard hed work 20 hours and be paid at the appropriate rate.

But after arriving， he struggled to find work and when he did he was paid AU$10-11 an hour.

Mr Shorten and his workplace relations spokesman Brendan OConnor used Bharats story - and another from a Queensland hospitality worker - to challenge the government over worker exploitation.

Their experiences revealed an “underbelly” which Mr Turnbull liked to pretend didnt exist.

“It is not an exciting time，” Mr Shorten said， referring to the prime ministers description of modern Australia.

Labor senator Doug Cameron on Mar 15 introduced to parliament a private bill that aims to crackdown on unscrupulous employers.

The bill increases civil penalties to AU$32，400 for individuals and AU$162，000 for corporations who fail to pay workers properly.endprint

It also includes greater protections for workers from sham contracting.

The federal government last year established a ministerial working group to look into protections for vulnerable foreign workers.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash hit back labelling the “reannouncement” hypocritical.

When Mr Shorten was head of the Australian Workers Union， it entered into an agreement with Cleanevent which removed all penalty rates for lowpaid cleaners without compensation， she said.

About 11，000 families face welfare hit

The families of about 11，000 Commonwealth employees will take a hit to their welfare payments under a measure introduced to parliament.

But Social Services Minister Christian Porter says the government is just levelling the playing field and treating them the same as everyone else.

The change means Commonwealth workers will have to do what other workers already must do and start counting parental leave payments as income， which may mean they lose other benefits.

Mr Porter said that under the present system a person can receive a government-funded parental leave payment of AU$1314 a fortnight while also receiving AU$731.20 as a single parent or AU$472.60 as a partnered parent.

But if the parental leave was treated as income or paid leave it would reduce the singles payment to AU$280.24 a fortnight and the partnered amount to nil.

Mr Porter said the change would mean about 5000 families will receive reduced income support and another 6000 will get none.

Australias Treasurer all but rules out income tax cuts in budget

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has all but ruled out income tax cuts in this years budget， despite indicating for months that he was aiming to deliver some tax relief.

It is confirmed that the federal government is still seriously considering handing down the budget a week early to help clear the path for a double dissolution election in July.

Mr Morrison told a business summit in Melbourne that the Government could not afford to provide cuts to both company and personal taxes in the budget， given the state of the federal finances， and argued this was something that could be achieved “within budget after budget after budget”.

The government has been working on a tax reform package for months， but since ruling out an increase in the Goods and Services Tax （GST）， its options have been rapidly narrowing.endprint

Mr Morrison said tax reform would now be delivered primarily through cutting spending， and in the case of income tax cuts， faster economic growth.

“The best way to drive income tax cuts ultimately， is off growth，” he said.“So our focus is very much on， lets drive growth.”

Mr Morrison has consistently made the case for cutting income tax， warning hundreds of thousands of Australians would soon be paying higher taxes simply because of inflation.

“The goal is to ensure that those 300，000 — that the average wage earner in this country doesnt move into the second highest tax bracket，” he told Melbournes 3AW radio in February.

During that interview， he said he was working to ensure that “in the Budget we are able to deliver some modest tax relief to people so they do not go into these higher tax brackets”.

The timing of the budget still re- mains unclear.The Government has sought advice and is contemplating bringing back the House of Representatives， without the Senate， a week early and delivering the budget on May 3.

It is understood no decision has yet been made， but changing the date of the budget is a live option.One of the arguments in favour of bringing forward the budget is to give Opposition Leader Bill Shorten a right of reply， should the Prime Minister call a double dissolution election.

Australias housing construction to fall sharply over next 2 yrs

The Housing Industry Association， Australias largest residential building organization， expects new home building activity will begin to slowly decline in the latter part of 2016， and warned divergent conditions will persist across the country.

The HIA said Australia started work on 220，000 new dwellings in 2015， a record high， but added that Australia is coming off an unprecedented upcycle， from which “there would be a subsequent large decline”.

The housing lobby group forecasts the reduction in activity will accelerate during 2017， and bottom out in the 2017/2018 financial year at around 160，100 starts.

“Looking beyond the current cycle， a strong focus on housing supply and policy reform is crucial to Australias future economic and social prosperity，”said HIA chief economist Dr Harley Dale.

“Australia will fail to achieve this objective without Federal Government leadership and involvement in housing policy reform， including strategic planning for the future housing and residential infrastructure requirements of our growing and aging population.”endprint

Negative gearing policy has been a highly contentious and politicized topic in a year Australians are heading to the polls.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned against plans to restrict negative gearing， but the Government has left some options open for changes to the rules.

The HIA has previously warned against any changes to the tax breaks， arguing it would reduce investment in housing， which makes a significant contribution to the economy.

The report forecasts renovations growth will pick up during 2015/16， with an increase of 2.8 per cent， compared to just a 0.9 per cent increase the previous year.

Further， growth in renovations is anticipated to slow down to 1.7 per cent in 2016/17， and seen to be modest but steady to the end of the decade.

In a state-by-state breakdown， the HIA anticipates strong home building in 2016 for New South Wales， Victoria and Queensland.

However， it flagged softness for South Australia， Western Australia， Tasmania and the Northern Territory.endprint