Author: roymorgansocial

Rapid shift to renewable energy could lead Australia to cheap power and 100,000 jobs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-May-20

Climate change thinktank Beyond Zero Emissions has called for 90 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity and 20GW of batteries to be built over the next five years. It estimates this would create 124,000 construction jobs and 22,000 ongoing jobs. Beyond Zero Emissions also states there should be local content requirements for wind turbines, batteries and transmission components, saying this could create 15,000 manufacturing jobs, and that a wind energy manufacturing industry could be easily created by converting old factories.

CORPORATES
BEYOND ZERO EMISSIONS INCORPORATED

Retail union stands firm over BOOT

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-May-20

The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association has expressed support for an overhaul of the enterprise bargaining system. However, national secretary Gerard Dwyer says the union is of the view that the ‘better off overall test’ is not the primary cause of delays in negotiating and implementing workplace agreements. Employers’ group contend that the BOOT is a key problem that needs to be addressed. The proportion of private sector employees who are covered by enterprise agreements has fallen from 22 per cent in 2013 to just 12.8 per cent.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Brace for negative super returns: Silk

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 29-May-20

AustralianSuper’s balanced investment option has posted a return of minus 3.3 per cent for the year to April, following a coronavirus-induced rout in financial markets in the March quarter. CEO Ian Silk has warned that the balanced option is likely to post its first negative return for a financial year since the global financial crisis. However, he notes that the balanced option has delivered an average return of eight per cent over the last decade. Silk adds that some 200,000 AustralianSuper members have utilised the federal government’s early access scheme.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD

Lowe urges paying subsidies for longer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 29-May-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has reiterated that the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme and the doubling of the JobSeeker allowance are temporary and targeted measures. However, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has told a Senate committee hearing that there may be a case for extending some of the coronavirus stimulus measures; he has warned that withdrawing the fiscal stimulus too soon could hinder the economy’s recovery from the pandemic. Lowe also said that recent economic data suggests that the downturn may not be as severe as had been forecast.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Iron ore price surge set to boost WA budget amid Brazil coronavirus crisis and Chinese demand

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Carmody
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 29-May-20

The resilience of the iron ore price may provide some relief for the Western Australian government amid growing concern that the state faces a recession. Treasurer Ben Wyatt has indicated that mining royalties could be higher than forecast, which will help to offset a decline in the state’s revenue from other sources. WA’s iron ore industry has benefited from factors such as lower output in Brazil and the state’s closer proximity to China. Meanwhile, the remoteness of WA’s iron ore mines has traditionally been seen as a disadvantage, but it has been regarded as a positive during the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Rio Tinto blasting of Juukan Gorge Indigenous site prompts call for heritage protections

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Toby Hussey, Karen Michelmore, Holly Ferguson
abc.net au – Page: Online : 29-May-20

Rio Tinto recently destroyed two ancient rock caves in Western Australia’s Pilbara region as a result of blasting activity. It had secured permission for the blasting in 2013 under section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act, which allows landowners to seek exemption from laws that ban work that is likely to impact Aboriginal sites. WA Mining and Pastoral Region MP Robin Chapple has called on Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt to review all approved Section 18 notices following the destruction of the caves. Chris Salisbury, the CEO of iron ore at Rio Tinto, says the company takes cultural heritage "very seriously".

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS

Watchdog backs delay of Hayne banking reforms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 16 : 29-May-20

Some of the recommendations arising from the Hayne royal commission were slated to be implemented in July. Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman James Shipton has expressed support for the federal government’s decision to delay these reforms until the end of 2020, given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on banks and the domestic economy. Shipton has also told a Senate committee that ASIC is watching out for fraudulent activity such as phoenix companies and attempts to scam people out of their superannuation savings via the early access scheme.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Fast track to post-virus freedom

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-May-20

A meeting of the national cabinet on 29 May will review the progress of the states and territories in easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the federal government’s target date of July to re-open the economy may be brought forward if the nation’s success in containing the virus’s spread is sustained. The Australian Health Protection Principal ­Committee is expected to recommend doing so earlier if the nation continues to record fewer than 10 new cases of the coronavirus each day. The meeting is also expected to consider retaining the national cabinet model in the post-coronavirus environment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH PROTECTION PRINCIPAL COMMITTEE

$1bn NRL broadcast deal kicks off

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 29-May-20

The National Rugby League has negotiated a revised broadcasting rights deal with Fox Sports and Nine Entertainment for the 2020 season. The two broadcasters are believed to have been granted a 30 per cent discount for the remainder of their existing rights deals, which expire at the end of the 2022 season. Fox Sports has also agreed to extend its NRL rights deal for a further eight years. The NRL season resumed on 28 May, after a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Australia’s 12 million public transport users face a COVID19 dilemma – get back on the train or drive to work?

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-May-20

Research by Roy Morgan shows that over 12 million Australians aged 14+ (58%) use public transport in an average three months. Trains are the most popular form of public transport, used by 9.2 million (44%), ahead of buses (used by 8 million, or 38%) and trams (used by 3.4 million, or 16%). The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months has raised new questions about the safety of mass transit systems as Australians start returning to a more normal work-life experience as restrictions are gradually eased. Usage of public transport is fairly similar for both women (56%) and men (59%). Analysis by generation shows a clear correlation between age and how likely someone is to use public transport, with 3.4 million Australians in the youngest generation, Gen Z (72%), using public transport. Over 3 million Millennials (60%) use public transport, compared with 2.6 million in Gen X (53%), 2.3 million Baby Boomers (51%) and 770,000 Pre-Boomers (42%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED