Author: roymorgansocial

Troop boost but no ship to Red Sea

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Original article by Ben Packham, Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 19-Dec-23

The US government will shortly reveal details of a new multi­national task force to combat Houthi rebels’ attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The US Navy had initially asked Australia to contribute to Operation Prosperity Guardian by deploying a warship to the Red Sea; however, the US is believed to have now requested the deployment of additional Australian soldiers to the region, after the federal government indicated that the Indo-Pacific is its priority. Five members of the Australian Defence Force are currently serving with the US-led Combined Maritime Force. Shipping lanes in the Red Sea carry about 10 per cent of the world’s cargo.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, UNITED STATES NAVY

Roy Morgan Federal voting intention poll shows two major parties dead-locked at Christmas: ALP 50% cf. L-NP 50%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

The ALP on 50% (down 1%) is now ‘dead-locked’ with the Coalition on 50% (up 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, according to the final Roy Morgan survey on Federal voting intention for 2023. If an election were held now we would have a hung parliament with the minor parties and independents controlling the balance of power. The primary vote of both major parties improved this week with the Coalition now on 38%, up 1% from a week ago well ahead of the ALP on 32%, up 1.5%. The Greens are down 2.5% to 11.5% and One Nation is down 0.5% to 4.5%. Support for Independents increased 1.5% to 9%, but support was down 1% to 5% for Other Parties. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,720 Australian electors from December 11-17, 2023. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine here: http://www.youtube.com/roymorganaus.

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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

Queensland tourism takes estimated $60m hit as floods leave towns isolated

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Original article by Rafqa Touma
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen estimates the region’s tourism sector has been hit with $60 million in cancellations as a result of the floods that have devastated the area and left towns isolated. Olsen said the Barron River had overflowed into the Cairns airport "for the first time in history", and that the airport will not be operating any flights until it has been given the all-clear. Angie Hewitt, who is a director of ecotourism company Daintree Rainforest, says that the toll of weather is "part and parcel of the landscape we live in; Daintree Rainforest has been closed since ferries were cancelled last Tuesday.

CORPORATES
TOURISM TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND, DAINTREE RAINFOREST ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRE PTY LTD

Government clamp on AI likely to be part of new media deals

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

The federal government has endorsed the five recommendations that arose from a review of the news media bargaining code. The government has advised that another review of the code is slated be completed in early 2025, with the aim of ensuring that it remains ‘fit for purpose’ in a rapidly evolving technology environment for news publishers and digital platforms. Artificial intelligence technology was not specifically mentioned, but it may well be included in the next review. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson argued earlier in 2023 that media companies should be compensated when their content is use to train generative AI platforms.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Climate body targets cattle barons

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-23

The Climate Change Authority has compiled a list of agricultural entities it contends have large cattle herds that are generating enough carbon emissions to qualify for the federal government’s safeguard mechanism. The list includes companies run by cattle barons such as Gina Rinehart and the Holmes a Court family; the CCA says they should be compelled to disclose the level of greenhouse gas emissions from their herds. Although the CCA is not calling for agricultural emissions to be subject to the safeguard mechanism "at this stage", it has called for greater scrutiny of farmers in this respect, with farmers accounting for 12 per cent of national emissions.

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AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY

Bankers strike $5b in M&A deals

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Original article by Aaron Weinman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 14 : 19-Dec-23

Australian investors benefited from a pre-Christmas spike in mergers and acquisitions activity on Monday. Share registry administer Link Group endorsed a $1.2bn buyout offer from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and building materials group Adbri advised that it has received a $2.1bn takeover bid from Barro Group and CRH. Dental group Pacific Smiles has in turn been the subject of a $233m takeover offer from Genesis Capital. Ian Holmes from E&P suggest that the end-of-year surge in takeovers may be driven by a desire for suitors to avoid dragging out a bid into the new year.

CORPORATES
LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, ADBRI LIMITED – ASX ABC, BARRO GROUP PTY LTD, CRH PLC, PACIFIC SMILES GROUP LIMITED – ASX PSQ, GENESIS CAPITAL, E&P FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX EP1

Mining giant charges dropped over harassment documents

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Original article by Aaron Bunch
WAtoday – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

Fortescue Metals Group has released a statement in which it emphasises that the health and safety of its staff are the highest priority. This follows a decision by WorkSafe Western Australia to drop legal action against the iron ore miner over its failure to supply documents relating to alleged sexual harassment incidents at its Christmas Creek, Solomon and Cloudbreak mines. Fortescue has agreed to provide funding for programs arising from the recommendations of the Enough is Enough report on sexual misconduct in WA’s mining industry.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CONSUMER AND EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION. WORKSAFE

WA environment watchdog to scrutinise Alcoa’s jarrah forest mining

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Original article by Peter Milne
WAtoday – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has advised that it will undertake an extensive assessment of Alcoa’s bauxite mining plans over the next four years. The public environmental review will examine the impact of bauxite mining in jarrah forests in WA’s south-west, after the issue was referred to the EPA by environmental group WA Forest Alliance. The state government has also previously raised concerns about the potential impact of the bauxite mining on Perth’s water supply.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence jumps 4.4pts to 80.8 after the RBA leaves interest rates unchanged – the highest for over ten months since early February 2023

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Dec-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 4.4pts to 80.8 in the week to 10 December, after the RBA left interest rates unchanged at its final board meeting for the year. However, Consumer Confidence has now spent a record 45 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 2.1pts below the same week a year ago (82.9), but nearly 3 points above the 2023 weekly average of 77.8. Now 22% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year (the highest figure for this indicator since February 2023), while 51% (down 6ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 31% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (down 3ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since January 2023). Only 9% (up 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since May 2022, just after the RBA first raised interest rates), while 36% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 20% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 53% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Last-ditch attempt to forge fresh COP28 deal after original rejected

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Original article by Fiona Harvey, Nina Lakhani
The Guardian – Page: Online : 13-Dec-23

The COP28 climate change summit’s president Sultan Al Jaber hopes to secure delegates’ support for a revised draft communique on fossil fuels. The initial draft was widely criticised for advocating a reduction in both the consumption and production of fossil fuels, while avoiding any move to phase out or phase-down oil and gas. The COP28 talks have been extended in a bid to end the impasse and reach an agreement. Analysis shows that 127 countries attending COP28 have supported phasing out fossil fuels, compared with just 80 at the previous summit in 2022.

CORPORATES
UNITED NATIONS