Author: roymorgansocial

‘Not what the Olympics is about’: Sport integrity chief laments doping cloud over Paris 2024

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Age – Page: Online : 23-Jul-24

Sport Integrity Australia boss David Sharpe says the interim findings of a review commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency into a number of drug tests failed by Chinese swimmers has not answered questions that Sport Integrity Australia is seeking answers to. Questioning why the swimmers in question were allowed to still compete while their cases were being determined, Sharpe says it is very disappointing that the 2024 Olympic Games are about to start in Paris with a ‘doping cloud’ hanging over them; he says "that is not what the Olympics is about"

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SPORTS INTEGRITY AUSTRALIA

Roy Morgan Poll: Coalition gains slight edge over Labor after controversy about alleged union corruption: L-NP 51% cf. ALP 49%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-24

If a Federal Election were held now the Coalition would be favoured to form a minority government with the support of minor parties and independents with the Coalition on 51% (up 0.5%) leading the ALP on 49% (down 0.5%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. The Coalition increased its primary vote lead over the ALP this week with the Coalition up 2% to 39.5% and well ahead of the ALP on 31.5% (up 0.5%). In addition, support for the Greens was up 0.5% to 13%. Support for One Nation was unchanged at 5%, support for Other Parties dropped 1.5% to 3.5% and support for Independents dropped 1.5% to 7.5%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

CFMEU seeks talks with Fair Work over administrator bid

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 23-Jul-24

The Fair Work Commission plans to place up to five of the CFMEU’s construction divisions into administration, following allegations that the union has been infiltrated by criminal elements connected to underworld figures and bikies. CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith is to seek talks with the FWC about its plans, with Smith wanting to meet with FWC general manager Murray Furlong before Furlong makes an application to the Federal Court to place the ­divisions under the control of an independent administrator. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out reinstating the Australian Building & Construction Commission or a new entity with similar powers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

No AUKUS change, but Israel may be different

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Jul-24

Michael Fullilove from the Lowy Institute says Kamala Harris is likely to adhere more closely to traditional US foreign policy compared with Donald Trump if she wins the presidential election. He notes that Harris has expressed support for the AUKUS defence pact with Australia and the UK, so it is likely to proceed under a Harris administration. However, Fullilove adds that the US government’s stance on Israel may change if Harris becomes president, given that she has been more supportive of Palestine than President Joe Biden. Delegates at the Democratic National Convention in mid-August will decide whether to formally endorse her nomination as the party’s presidential candidate.

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LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Giving it away: Optus’ novel plan to win back customers

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Original article by David Ross
The Age – Page: Online : 23-Jul-24

Optus is offering people the chance to access its mobile network for one week for free, as it tries to win back customers after it was hit by a mass outage in 2023 that impacted 10 million customers. The telco lost thousands of customers after the outage, and Optus MD of customer success Maurice McCarthy says it has been trying to rebuild customer trust since then. McCarthy says the free trial is the first of its kind from an Australian telco, and possibly the world; it will see people get access to 30 gigabytes of data, unlimited standard national calls and 1,000 standard national text messages over a seven-day period.

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SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Suppliers say Coles has outperformed Woolies

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Jul-24

A survey of 26 supermarket suppliers by investment bank UBS has found that the number who thought Coles outperformed Woolworths in the final quarter of the 2023-24 financial year more than doubled to 41 per cent. 19 per cent of suppliers felt Woolworths had performed better in the period, while 41 per cent said they had traded "about the same". Asked which supermarket they thought had gained the most market share since the start of the year, 59 per cent of suppliers said Aldi had, while 30 per cent said Coles had; just eight per cent said Woolworths had.

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UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Construction insolvencies on track to set record yearly high

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Original article by Chris Herde
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Jul-24

About 400 licensed building companies were declared insolvent in each of the 2018 and 2019 calendar years. Data from Alares shows that there were a similar number of insolvencies during the first half of 2024, and the firm’s suggestions suggest that the full-year total will be around 700. Alares director Patrick Schweizer emphasises that its data excludes unlicensed building companies, which comprise the bulk of the construction sector.

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ALARES SYSTEMS PTY LTD

Woodside swoops with US gas deal

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 23-Jul-24

Woodside Energy will increase its presence in the US after securing a $US1.2bn ($1.79bn) deal to acquire Tellurian, which is developing an LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Tellurian’s Driftwood terminal is expected to have annual export capacity of about 27.6 million tonnes, which is significantly higher than Woodside’s annual production in Australia. Woodside expects to make a final investment decision on the Driftwood project by the end of 2025, and says the facility could be operational before the end of this decade. Tellurian is said to have invested more than $US1bn in the project to date.

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WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, TELLURIAN INCORPORATED

ASIC warned over ANZ-AOFM probe

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 23-Jul-24

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is investigating allegations that ANZ traders manipulated a $14 billion placement of federal government securities in April 2023. ANZ only informed investors in May that it was facing an investigation by ASIC, but documents obtained under a Freedom of Information request show that the Australian Office of Financial Management shared over 20 documents concerning the ANZ with ASIC between Jaunary and May; one of the documents reveals that ASIC demanded information about past risk manager reports on 29 January.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY. OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Mortgage stress increased in June, but set to ease in the months ahead after the Stage 3 tax cuts

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,602,000 mortgage holders (30.3%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to June 2024. This represents an increase of 88,000 (+0.6%) on a month earlier, but is below the record highs reached earlier this year. The RBA left interest rates on hold during its June board meeting, and there is no RBA board meeting in July. The level of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in June is set to fall over the next few months after the Stage 3 income tax cuts were introduced from the start of July. Compared to May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases, the number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 795,000. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 1,016,000 (20.0% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.5%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED