Author: roymorgansocial

Snowy 2.0 buried in a wage storm

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Sep-25

The Australian Workers Union has struck a new enterprise agreement with Snowy 2.0 contractor Webuild that will boost the wages of tunnel workers. The ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workers will receive an upfront pay rise of $6,000 over a six-week roster cycle, plus an additional wage increase of 2.25 per cent every six months for four years; this will boost their annual wage to about $300,000. The wage deal also includes a 62 per cent increase in the tunnel workers’ hourly productivity allowance. The AWU’s NSW secretary Tony Callinan has conceded that the new agreement will result in a significant increase in Snowy 2.0’s labour costs. The renewable energy project is already well over budget and behind schedule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION, WEBUILD

Government spending tops $1trn for the first time

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Sep-25

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the combined recurrent spending of the federal and state governments rose by 7.7 per cent in 2024-25, to $1.02 trillion. In contrast, government revenue increased by just four per cent during the financial year. The increase in recurrent spending was driven by a number of factors, with government employee costs rising by 8.8 per cent and social benefits up 11.9 per cent. EY’s chief economist Cherelle Murphy warns that fiscal sustainability across the federal and state governments will be at risk if the current spending trends continue, which could potentially result in credit rating downgrades.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ERNST AND YOUNG

Rio Tinto in sweetheart tax deal with Guinea junta

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Original article by Peter Ker, Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 10-Sep-25

Rio Tinto and its partners have negotiated a corporate tax rate of just 15 per cent for the rail and port component of the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. This tax rate will apply for the first 17 years of operation of the port and rail infrastructure, before rising to 25 per cent; this compares with the standard corporate tax rate of 35 per cent in Guinea. The iron ore mines will have a different tax arrangement. Rio Tinto, Singapore-based Winning International and Chinese steelmaker Baowu are investing $US23.2 billion ($35.1 billion) on the two Simandou iron ore mines and the associated rail and port infrastructure. Iron ore shipments are slated to commence in November.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WINNING INTERNATIONAL, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.3pts to 89.3; driven by more positive views about personal finances

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.3pts to 89.3 in the week to 7 September; it is now 7 points above the same week a year ago (82.3), and 2.4pts above the 2025 weekly average of 86.9. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, unchanged in Western Australia, and down in New South Wales. Now 22% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 40% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 29% (up 3ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 27% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ – this is the highest net rating for this indicator since the Federal Election. Meanwhile, 11% (down 3ppts) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 28% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Just 26% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Roy Morgan Business Confidence drops in August as businesses grow more worried about the next 12 months

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-25

In August 2025, Roy Morgan Business Confidence fell 4.4pts to 98.6, despite the Reserve Bank electing to cut interest rates by 0.25% to 3.6% at its meeting in mid-August. Business Confidence is now 11.4pts below the long-term average of 110, and it is 2.7pts lower than in August 2024. Now 28.5% (down 3.7ppts) of businesses says their business is ‘better off’ financially than this time a year ago, while 35.4% (up 1.9ppts) say the business is ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 39.6% (down 1.3ppts) of respondents expect the business will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 24.3% (up 4ppts) expect the business will be ‘worse off’. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for August are based on 1,189 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

PM plans giant UN event despite possible COP out

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Sep-25

The federal government has released tender documents for the appointment of an event manager to handle the COP31 climate change summit in 2026, even though the host nation has yet to be decided. The government’s advance planning for the summit envisions that it will be attended by more than 52,000 people, and will be bigger and more complex than any event that Australia has hosted in the past. However, Turkey remains reluctant to withdraw its rival bid to host COP31, and senior Labor figures have conceded that this makes it increasingly likely that Labor’s bid will fail.

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BHP pays $110m to settle dam class action

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 10-Sep-25

BHP has reached an out-of-court settlement over a class action that was launched on behalf of Australian investors who bought its shares in the three years or so before the collapse of an iron ore tailings dam in Brazil on 5 November 2015. BHP’s shares fell by 22 per cent in the wake of the disaster; amongst other things, BHP was accused of failing to disclose material information to the market and engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct by claiming that safety was its highest priority. BHP agreed to pay $110m shortly before the case was scheduled to be heard by the Federal Court. However, US-based litigation funder G&E KTMC Funding is expected to be entitled to a significant share of the payout.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, G&E KTMC FUNDING

Siblings paid to exit Murdoch media empire

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Sep-25

Sources have indicated that the Murdoch family has settled the long-running dispute over future control over its media empire in a deal worth $US3.3bn ($5bn). Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan is set to assume full control of the family’s stakes in News Corp and Fox Corporation, ending the dispute with his siblings. Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will each receive $US1.1bn, while they have also agreed to sell all of their shares in the two companies over the next six months. The family trust that was at the centre of the legal dispute between the Murdochs will be dissolved as part of the deal.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION

4500 jobs cuts at ANZ not about profits

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 10-Sep-25

The ANZ Bank has advised that its 2025-26 financial accounts will include a restructuring charge of $560m as part of its plan to shed about 10 per cent of its workforce. ANZ will retrench about 3,500 employees and 1,000 contractors as recently-appointed CEO Nuno Matos continues to reshape the ‘big four’ bank. Matos contends that the job cuts difficult but necessary in order to eliminate duplicated roles and simplify ANZ’s complex structure. He adds that the job cuts are "about getting things right" rather than profits. The Finance Sector Union’s president Wendy Streets says ANZ is discarding workers so its executives can feed an "out-of-control profit machine".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Temu and Amazon have each gained close to a million shoppers in the last year, Shein has also gained over half a million shoppers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-25

New data from Roy Morgan reveals the staggering growth in the numbers of shoppers for online players Amazon, Temu and Shein. Some 8.8 million Australians bought at least once from Amazon over the year to June 2025 (up by 900,000 year-on-year, +11% growth), while 4.7 million bought from Temu (up by 900,000 year-on-year, +24% growth), and 2.6 million bought from Shein (up by 600,000 year-on-year, +27% growth). The rapid rise of these online disruptors is reshaping Australia’s retail landscape; several major retailers have experienced significant year-on-year declines in customer numbers, while others have exited the market entirely in the last year. Roy Morgan estimates that Temu had nearly $2.6 billion in annual sales in the 12 months to June (compared to an estimated $1.6 billion a year ago), while Shein had close to an estimated $1.3 billion in annual sales (compared to an estimated $1 billion a year ago).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, TEMU, SHEIN