Author: roymorgansocial

Australian employment increased to over 14 million for the first time in November, but still over 3 million unemployed or under-employed

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

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 37,000 to 1,505,000 (9.7% of the workforce, down 0.2%) in November. Under-employment fell by 45,000 to 1,532,000 (9.9% of the workforce). A total of 3.04 million Australians (19.6% of the workforce) were unemployed or under-employed in November. Meanwhile, employment rose by 51,000 to a new record high of 14,010,000 in November. The increase was due to a rise in part-time employment (up 52,000 to a new record high of 5,002,000), while full-time employment was virtually unchanged at 9,008,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.7% for November is more than double the ABS estimate of 3.7% for October, but it is almost identical to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Bullock: banks should bear more of cost of moving cash

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-Dec-23

Australia’s major banks will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the future of cash distribution, amid warnings from cash transport firm Armaguard that the growing shift to digital payments may threaten the company’s viability. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock says there are merits to exploring a co-operative model for cash distribution, which would require authorisation from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Bullock added that the central bank places a high priority on the community continuing to have reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit services.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ARMAGUARD

Albanese calls for Gaza ceasefire in joint statement with NZ and Canada PMs

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Dec-23

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments have condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October. The joint statement issued by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his counterparts Chris Luxon and Justin Trudeau also calls for a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for Hamas to release all remaining hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields and lay down its arms. The three leaders have also recognised Israel’s right to defend itself but have emphasised that the nation must respect international humanitarian law.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CANADA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Secret Qld deal puts unions miles ahead

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Original article by Lydia Lynch, Sarah Elks, Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 13-Dec-23

The Queensland government is set to announce changes to its cabinet team after incoming premier Stephen Miles is sworn in on Friday. Treasurer Cameron Dick will become deputy premier after his Right faction agreed to support Miles over rival Left faction candidate Shannon Fentiman. The latter withdrew from contention after union powerbrokers negotiated a factional agreement in return for an industrial deal over government-funded infrastructure projects. Miles says his priorities will include the cost of living, health, housing, infrastructure and the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. His first initiative will be a 12-month freeze on vehicle registrations, which will take effect from mid-2024.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Penny Wong most trusted Australian politician; Peter Dutton most distrusted

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

A Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey has found that Senator Penny Wong has emerged as the political leader with the highest Net Trust Score. She was followed by Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who came to the forefront of Australian politics as a lead spokesperson for the successful ‘No’ campaign in the October Voice referendum. Penny Wong retains the position she held in March 2022. Nampijinpa Price and Treasurer Jim Chalmers also record more trust than distrust. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has emerged as the most distrusted politician (up from second-most distrusted last year). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has moved into Net Distrust territory, having been a trusted leader in 2022. Meanwhile, Andrew Forrest is the only business leader to record a Net Trust Score. These Roy Morgan Snap SMS surveys were carried out from 28 February to 1 March 2022 and from 16-20 November 2023.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Micro-taxes stifle productivity

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Dec-23

The Productivity Commission has released a research paper which raises concern about the growing use of industry levies by Australia’s federal and state governments. The Commission has found that governments are using these levies to raise $11bn in revenue a year ‘by stealth’. The agricultural sector was initially the focus of industry levies, but the Commission notes that the sector now accounts for just $600m of this revenue. Deputy chairman Alex Robson contends that taking action to rein in the use of industry levies could help to boost the nation’s productivity.

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AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Ranger blowout to force raising

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 13-Dec-23

Energy Resources of Australia has advised that rehabilitation costs at the Ranger uranium mine in the Kakadu National Park are now expected to be $2.3bn. This compares with ERA’s previous estimate of between $1.6bn and $2.2bn. The company had $273.6m in cash at the end of September, but it is spending about $55m each quarter on rehabilitation work and corporate costs. It will most likely need to undertake a large capital raising by the end of 2024 in order to finance rehabilitation costs at Ranger over the next four years.

CORPORATES
ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA

Bunnings overtakes Coles as second most trusted brand

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

Hardware store Bunnings has overtaken Coles as Australia’s second most trusted brand in the 12 months to September 2023. Bunnings was the most trusted brand in Australia in the pre-pandemic era, and was in top spot until May 2020 when overtaken by Woolworths, which has held first place ever since. The most trusted brands are still dominated by major retailers, with Woolworths Bunnings, Coles, ALDI and Kmart rounding out the top five. Meanwhile, telecommunications company Optus remains the most distrusted brand in Australia, even before the recent data outage in early November. Other familiar names near the top of the most distrusted brands include social media giant Facebook/Meta, embattled airline Qantas, private health insurer Medibank and retail giant Harvey Norman.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Pharmacy giant’s 100-year plan

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 12-Dec-23

Sigma Health has forecast that its merger with Chemist Warehouse will generate annual cost savings of $60m. The combined group will boost EBIT in excess of $495m and a market capitalisation of about $8.8bn. Chemist Warehouse operates a network of more than 600 franchised stores, while Sigma owns the Amcal and Discount Drug Store brands and a pharmaceuticals wholesaling arm. The merged group will be headed by Sigma CEO Vikesh Ramsunder and chairman Michael Sammells. Chemist Warehouse CEO and co-founder Mario Verrocchi says that listing the company on the sharemarket is a "life dream". Further expanding the Chemist Warehouse brand overseas will be part of the merged group’s 100-year growth strategy.

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SIGMA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SIG, CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

$10 billion more in spending cuts, changes aimed at inflation fight

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 12-Dec-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher will release the mid-year budget update on Wednesday, and they are tipped to reveal that almost $10 billion in federal spending will either be cut or redirected to other areas to help fight inflation. However, the budget update will also include $5.2 billion in what the federal government has labelled ‘unavoidable’ spending, including $1.5 billion to end a special COVID-era visa program and $254 million on additional biosecurity spending, including on efforts to stop a growing incursion of imported red fire ants.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY