Author: roymorgansocial

Secret polls led Palaszczuk to quit

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Original article by Lydia Lynch, Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Feb-24

The Queensland government has belatedly released the first five ‘waves’ of an ongoing polling project that has been undertaken by Ipsos Public Affairs via a $390,000 public contract. Former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had consistently refused to release the findings of the polling, which has canvassed Queenslanders’ views on issues such as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics Games, youth crime, economic management and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ipsos sentiment testing has influenced the government’s policy decisions since Premier Steven Miles succeeded Palaszczuk in December; the polling had also contributed to Palaszczuk’s decision to resign.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, IPSOS PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Unemployment jumps to two-year high

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Feb-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation’s official unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent in January, up from 3.9 per cent in December. The economy added just 500 jobs in January, and Bjorn Jarvis from the ABS says seasonal factors may have contributed to the larger-than-expected increase in the jobless rate. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says that although the labour market has been weakening, it remains very strong. Capital Economics economist Abhijit Surya in turn says the Reserve Bank is now likely to bring forward the first interest rate cut to around August rather than November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Prabowo wins Indonesian Presidency as surge in support shown by Roy Morgan continued to grow until election day

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

The final Roy Morgan Poll on the Indonesian Presidential Election showed support continuing to grow for Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto early in 2024. Subianto won an estimated 57% of the vote in Wednesday’s vote, ahead of runner-up Anies Baswedan on 25% and third-placed Ganjar Pranowo on 17%. The Roy Morgan Poll for September quarter 2023 showed Prabowo with 30% support and in second place. The next Roy Morgan Poll showed Prabowo’s support increasing rapidly, by 13% points, to 43% in December, after Prabowo recruited incumbent President Joko Widodo’s son Gibran Rakabuming to be his vice-presidential running mate in late October. The surge in support for Prabowo, after recruiting Gibran, continued in 2024 with Prabowo’s support increasing another 3% to 46% in January and then another 11% points to 57% on election day – almost doubling Prabowo’s support since September. The Roy Morgan Polls for December 2023 and January 2024 picked up this surge in support for Prabowo and we remarked that ‘Prabowo (was) closing in on a first-round victory in the Presidential election’ – which proved to be correct. The surge in support for Prabowo during the final months of the Indonesian Presidential election campaign mirrors what happened in the 2019 Australian Federal Election. The ALP enjoyed a consistent lead in Roy Morgan polling between 2016 and 2019. However, as the 2019 Federal Election campaign began, the Coalition began to increase their support and close the gap. This trend continued throughout the campaign and the Coalition managed to retain government and win a narrow majority of one seat on election day as their support continued to increase.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL

Hundreds more immigration detainees could be released in sequel to NZYQ high court ruling

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus has asked that the High Court hear a case that could see hundreds more immigration detainees released in the wake of the NZYQ ruling on indefinite detention, rather than it be heard as an appeal by the full federal court. The case revolves around the issue of whether people in immigration detention have to be released if their refusal to co-operate has prevented them from being deported, with the Commonwealth to argue that it should have the right to detain people who refuse to co-operate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Millions of people being left behind as big banks close branches, say experts

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Original article by Matthew Elmas
The New Daily – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

Researchers from RMIT and Swinburne University have warned that many Australians are being left with limited or no access to banking services as the sector shifts to digital banking. The nation’s major banks have closed hundreds of branches in recent years, but Julian Thomas from RMIT says a significant proportion of Australians either lack reliable access to the internet or cannot afford the cost. The banking industry has claimed that nine out of 10 Australians now use online banking; however, the researchers’ analysis of digital inclusion index data shows that only 74 per cent of people aged 75+ and 87 per cent of public housing tenants do so. They also note that many people in regional and rural areas lack reliable internet access.

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RMIT UNIVERSITY, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

BHP train drivers to get $300,000 plus bonus

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 16-Feb-24

BHP has averted industrial action after agreeing to a new pay deal with its iron ore train drivers in the Pilbara that will see their base salary rise to more than $300,000 over the next four years. The in-principle agreement with the Mining & Energy Union includes an immediate pay rise of four per cent, followed by four annual increases of four per cent. The train drivers will also receive two retention bonuses of $20,000; the first will be paid immediately, with the second to be paid in 12 months’ time. The protected industrial action that was slated to disrupt iron ore rail shipments to Port Hedland from Friday will no longer proceed.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINING AND ENERGY UNION

Australia, Canada and NZ warn Israel against catastrophic Rafah ground offensive

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have said a joint statement that Israel must "listen to its friends" and not mount a ground offensive on Rafah. Anthony Albanese, Justin Trudeau and Christopher Luxon stated such an offensive would be "catastrophic" and "devastating", with there being "simply nowhere else for civilians to go". Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to an offensive on Rafah in order to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages, but only after civilians are allowed to leave the "battle zone". However, he has not yet stated where they would be permitted to go, and what safeguards, if any, would be put in place to protect them.

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BHP hit in $5.4b nickel wipeout

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker, Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 17 : 16-Feb-24

BHP’s Nickel West division has made a loss of $US200m ($308m) over the last six month, due to the sharp downturn in the price of the battery metal. BHP has advised that its half-year accounts will include a pre-tax writedown of $5.4bn in the value of the nickel business; the resources group has also warned that it could potentially place the nickel operations – which employ about 3,000 people – in ‘care and maintenance’ mode. Meanwhile, the Western Australian government may provide royalty relief to struggling nickel producers, but Premier Roger Cook says governments at all levels need to step in and assist them to ride out the "significant structural disruption" to the industry.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Shambolic right to disconnect fix

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Feb-24

The federal government was criticised over its failure to consult with employers’ groups regarding the ‘right to disconnect’ provisions of its latest industrial relations reforms. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has attracted further criticism for belatedly consulting with employers with regard to the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2024, which is intended to remove criminal penalties for employers who breach the right to disconnect. The haste with which the Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2 was pushed through parliament resulted in the criminal penalties inadvertently being left in the legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Up to 150 Australian tax office staff investigated over $2bn social media scam

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 14-Feb-24

The Australian Taxation Office has recovered more than $2bn via Operation Protego, which was set to investigate fraudulent claims for goods and services tax refunds. An additional $2.7bn in GST refunds was stopped just before payment was made. An auditor-general’s report has revealed that 57,000 people were involved in the scam, including about 150 employees of the ATO. There had been more than 100 arrests and 16 convictions over the same as of August 2023.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE