Author: roymorgansocial

‘Out of control’: Meta has Whitlam as our No.1 PM

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Apr-24

Shadow communications minister David Coleman has criticised Meta Platforms after it released the latest version of its artificial intelligence tool. When asked to rank Australia’s best prime ministers, the Meta tool listed Gough Whitlam first, despite the former Labor leader being the nation’s only prime minister to have been sacked by the governor-general. Malcolm Turnbull was the only Liberal prime minister in the AI tool’s list of the nation’s top five leaders. Coleman has accused Meta of either "deliberate bias or gross incompetence". Former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger says the results demonstrate a "strong left wing bias" at Meta, and show that technology companies should be regulated in the same way as conventional media.

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META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ALP regains two-party preferred lead as Coalition loses ground: ALP 52% cf. L-NP 48%

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

In a week that saw Israeli strikes on Iran which had the potential to set off a wider war in the Middle East, two knife attacks in Sydney, and the judgment handed down against Bruce Lehrmann, the Labor Government has regained the lead with support up 3% to 52% to be ahead of the Coalition on 48% (down 3%) on a two-party preferred basis. If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be re-elected with a slim majority as they have now, the latest Roy Morgan survey shows. Primary support for the ALP increased 0.5% to 30.5% but is still behind the Coalition on 35.5%, down 3%. A look at the support by gender shows women’s support for the Coalition dropped significantly this week – by nearly 4% to only 32% after Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgment in the Lehrmann case. Men’s support for the Coalition was down 2.5% to 39%. Support for the Greens returned to, and marginally exceeded, its highs of two weeks ago, up 2.5% to 16% while One Nation was unchanged at 5.5%. Support for Independents was unchanged at 7.5% and support for Other Parties was unchanged at 5%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,617 Australian electors from April 15-21, 2024. When comparing different polls it is always important to make sure to take note of the dates when the polls are conducted to undertake a proper comparison between two polls. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by CEO Michele Levine.

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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

3pc wage rises may be new norm: NAB

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Apr-24

Annual productivity growth averaged 1.2 per cent in the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but National Australia Bank believes that productivity growth is likely to average 0.5 per in coming years. The mining investment boom was a major driver of pre-pandemic productivity growth, and NAB senior economist Taylor Nugent contends that returning to this level of growth would require a substantial rise in non-mining productivity. NAB warns that lower productivity growth means that workers should expect annual pay increases of no more than three per cent in coming years.

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NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Economy, rates in a holding pattern

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 23-Apr-24

Deloitte Access Economics has claimed that the Australian economy is in a "holding pattern", while it does not expect the Reserve Bank to move on interest rates until November. Deloitte states that inflation is beginning to recede, while it expects around 100,000 people will lose their jobs by the end of the year, lifting the unemployment rate to 4.6 per cent. It notes that the revamped stage three tax cuts will take effect in the second half of the year, boosting disposable income, but that the housing crisis remains a concern.

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DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ABC ombudsman clears 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson of breaching impartiality rules in an interview with an IDF spokesman

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 23-Apr-24

The ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron has examined an interview between 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson and an Israel Defence Forces spokesman, after 52 complaints were received about the interview. Ferguson had told the spokesman that she did not accept claims that the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers was a mistake, with Cameron reviewing the complaints against Ferguson against the ABC’s editorial standards for impartiality. Cameron has come out in support of Ferguson’s comments, noting Ferguson had a duty to conduct a testing interview that does not allow the interviewee "to use the occasion as a political platform".

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Anti-Israel ACTU stirs Jewish fury

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Original article by John Ferguson, Damon Johnston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Apr-24

The ACTU has called on the federal government to cease military trade with Israel, provide Gaza and the West Bank with a further $100 million in aid, and enforce targeted sanctions against Israeli government officials. It represents the ACTU’s strongest statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict since it began in October; its timing has angered the Jewish community, given that it has been issued on the eve of the holy festival of Passover. Commenting on the statement, Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler says the ACTU appears to be living in an ‘alternative reality’ that ignores the fact that the conflict was started by Hamas, and that it is still holding 130 hostages.

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ACTU, ZIONIST FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIA

China rebuff in PM’s Anzac Day PNG push

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in Port Moresby ahead of a week of Anzac Day commemorations, with Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape to walk part of the Kokoda Trail during his visit. Speaking at PNG’s parliament, Albanese said that Pacific nations should be "free to pursue their own destiny and secure their own future", with his visit just days after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised jostling for regional influence, with Wang claiming that Pacific countries "are not the backyard" of any nation".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Liebherr electric excavator reaches million ton milestone, scores more orders

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Original article by Jo Borris
Electrek – Page: Online : 21-Apr-24

The large Liebherr electric excavator that is operating at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek iron ore mine in Western Australia achieved a major milestone earlier in April when it moved its one millionth tonne of dirt. Fortescue has been very impressed with the Liebherr electric excavator, and aims to have two more commissioned by the end of April. Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto says that around 95 million litres of diesel will be removed from its operations every year once its entire fleet is decarbonised, or more than a quarter of a million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

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FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, LIEBHERR AG

‘Can’t rule out a further rate rise’: economists survey reveals caution

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 23-Apr-24

The consensus of economists polled by the Australian Financial Review is that the Reserve Bank will reduce the cash rate in November. However, financial market pricing suggests that the central bank will leave official interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Ben Picton from Rabobank says another interest rate increase remains a possibility if inflation begins to accelerate. CPI data for the March quarter will be released on Wednesday.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

The Future of Retail: A Roy Morgan Business Address

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

Roy Morgan’s Retail, Social and Consumer Trends Expert Laura Demasi presents a Roy Morgan Business Address on the consumer trends shaping Retail, as sales flatten amid the ongoing cost of living crunch. The Future of Retail Business Address explores how consumers are coping in this pressured environment: who is the hardest hit, how Australians are adjusting their spending, which cohorts still have spending power, and the surprise retailers winning in this environment. The Address also outlines Roy Morgan’s forecast for annual retail sales for 2024.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED