It’s time to raise GST, says Proust

February 2, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 2-Feb-17

Australian Institute of Company Directors president Elizabeth Proust says the Federal Government should pursue comprehensive tax reform. She argues that this should include increasing the goods and services tax from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, and adds that reducing personal income tax rates should also be a higher priority than company tax cuts. The AICD released a position paper in 2016 which noted that the average GST rate among OECD countries is 19.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Overall holiday intention down (but not everyone’s staying put)

January 31, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Jan-17

The latest findings from the Roy Morgan Holiday Tracking Survey show that the proportion of Australians planning to take a holiday slipped from 73% to its lowest point in almost three years (69%) in the 12 months to September 2016. The recent downturn appears to have been driven primarily by declining domestic holiday intention. In the September 2015 quarter, 73% of the population had a holiday in the pipeline, with 58% reporting that they were planning a holiday in Australia in the coming 12 months. As of the September 2016 quarter, total holiday intention had dropped to 69%, and domestic intention was at 55%. In contrast, overseas holiday intention is the same as it was a year ago (11%). Analysis using Roy Morgan’s consumer-profiling tool Helix Personas shows that educated, high-earning "Humanitarians" and the slightly younger, socially aware (but no less well paid) "New School Cool" Personas have the strongest overall holiday intention (at 87% apiece).

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ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Unemployment measurement is "absurd" says Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey

January 31, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Gary Morgan, Michele Levine, Julian McCrann, Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Jan-17

Renowned Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey has correctly identified the real problem facing the Australian economy in 2017 – the absurd measurement of unemployment means the true level of real unemployment and under-employment is under-reported. As Blainey correctly pointed out in an interview on the ABC 7.30 Report last Friday, someone who works for only one hour a week being classified as employed is "absurd". Using this definition of unemployment allows the Government to rely on inflated figures of real employment provided by the ABS each month, while simultaneously down-playing the real levels of (much higher) real unemployment and under-employment. The latest Roy Morgan December employment estimates show 20% (2.584 million) of Australians are either unemployed or under-employed. Nearly half a million people (445,000), that Roy Morgan considers unemployed the ABS consider either employed (280,000) or not in the workforce (165,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

LNG exports post $1.9bn record

January 30, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 30-Jan-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation’s revenue from LNG exports rose from $US1.39bn in July 2016 to $A1.9bn in November. Meanwhile, the three LNG plants in Queensland shipped 1.75 million tonnes via the Port of Gladstone in December, compared with 1.5 million tonnes in October. Chevron CEO John Watson has indicated that the second production train at the Gorgon LNG project has reached 90 per cent of capacity, while the third train is likely to commence production in the June 2017 quarter.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, GORGON LNG, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, CONOCOPHILLIPS, PORT OF GLADSTONE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BP PLC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Hanson set to scupper ownership laws

January 30, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 26 : 30-Jan-17

There is speculation that One Nation will vote against the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in February. One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has declined to comment on her party’s intentions, although the Government is likely to need its support to pass the bill in the Senate. Meanwhile, Senator Nick Xenophon will push for amendments to the bill, as well as the introduction of a "super tax" on digital players Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

The Great Wall dividing Chinese- and Australian-made products

January 27, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Jan-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 89% of Australians aged 14+ say they are more likely to buy a product if it is made in Australia. In contrast, only 30% report being more likely to buy items manufactured in China, and 48% are less likely to buy such products. The survey, which was carried out in the year to September 2016, also shows that 89% of Australians are more likely to purchase locally grown/processed food, compared with just 5% who would buy food originating in China. Concern about country of manufacture varies somewhat between age groups, with teenagers aged between 14 and 17 showing the most divergence from the average: 37% are open to Chinese-made products overall, while 82% say they are more likely to purchase those made in Australia.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

The telly and the trolley: what Sunday night TV shows’ viewers spend on the week’s groceries

January 25, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Jan-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Australians spend over two billion dollars a week on groceries. Meanwhile, viewers of the average Sunday night episode of Seven’s "My Kitchen Rules" together spend an average $236 million a week on groceries – around three times more than viewers of either Nine’s "Australia’s Got Talent" ($81 million) or Ten’s "I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" ($71 million), which also aired on Sunday nights in early 2016. Seven’s mid-year season of "House Rules" reached $167 million worth of the week’s grocery expenditure on an average Sunday night, ahead of "The Voice" ($143 million) and "MasterChef" ($120 million). Reconfiguring viewership as an audience dollar value in the grocery market delivers the strongest boost to "MasterChef". Its typical pool of Sunday night viewers is not only popular among grocery buyers, but they spend $18 more a week than the average Australian. The show’s $120 million worth of "grocery market reach" is 14% bigger than its share of the population.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Fair Work dysfunction needs fixing

January 24, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jan-17

The Fair Work Commission is under scrutiny following the resignation of vice-president Graeme Watson, who accused it of being "‘partisan, dysfunctional and divided". Australian Mines & Metals Association CEO Steve Knott has called for a review of the FWC, while former prime minister Tony Abbott claims that it is "pro union and anti-jobs". Eight members of the FWC have either resigned or opted for early retirement since 2013.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Pay-TV defies on-demand boost

January 23, 2017roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 25 : 23-Jan-17

Data from Roy Morgan Research shows that around 2.27 million Australian households had a Netflix subscription in December 2016. Some 428,000 homes have a Stan subscription, while about 151,000 homes use Presto. The figures also show that 2.42 million homes have a Foxtel subscription and 200,000 homes use FetchTV. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that despite the growing use of subscription video-on-demand services, traditional free-to-air TV remains the main source of video content for Australian consumers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, AMAZON PRIME

ABIX

Australia's News Summarising Service

Author: roymorgansocial