Author: roymorgansocial

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers and businesses

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Original article by Chris F Wright
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 24-Nov-22

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers’ groups. However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining. The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements. The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers. Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

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Housing affordability set to worsen despite falling house prices

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 24-Nov-22

The latest ANZ/CoreLogic Housing Affordability report shows that rising interest rates saw the cost of servicing a mortgage surge in the September quarter. The proportion of income needed to repay a new mortgage rose by 4.4 percentage points nationwide, to 43.3 per cent. This metric rose to a record high of 51.1 per cent in Sydney, while it increased by 4.3 per cent to 42.4 per cent in Melbourne. Eliza Owen of CoreLogic says mortgage serviceability is likely to worsen given that further increases in the cash rate are expected.

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

NZ Reserve Bank nails our RBA’s failure

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Original article by Terry McCrann
Herald Sun – Page: 49 : 24-Nov-22

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has stated that wage outcomes must be consistent with the return of inflation to the central bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent. Increasing wages in line with the inflation rate would inevitably result in large-scale job losses and further boost inflation. Allowing inflation to remain well above the target range for too long would also heighten the risk of a wage-price spiral. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand recognises these risks; its cash rate was increased by 75 basis points on Wednesday, and it seriously considered a one per cent increase. In contrast, the RBA increased the cash rate by just 25 basis points in November, despite the inflation rate in both countries being nearly identical. NZ’s cash rate is now 4.25 per cent, but Australia’s cash rate will still be just 3.1 per cent if – as expected – the RBA announces a 25 basis point increase in December.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Andrews slugged by voters

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Original article by Michael Warner
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 24-Nov-22

Ian Cook is among a large field of Victorian election candidates who are contesting the seat of Mulgrave, which has been held by Premier Daniel Andrews since 2002. Independent exit polling at Mulgrave’s only early voting booth suggests that there could be a shock swing against Andrews. Cook’s campaign manager Emily Coltraine says with that preferences factored in, the exit polls show that Cook has 57.2 per cent of the vote compared with 42.8 per cent for Andrews; however, the exit polls comprise a sample of just 159 voters. Coltraine says many electors are telling Cook that they support Labor but will not vote for Andrews. Cook’s catering business was forced to shut down after a local council health inspector allegedly found a slug on the premises.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ALP fears for 10 seats amid late challenges as Victorian polling day nears

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Original article by John Ferguson, Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 6 : 24-Nov-22

Labor strategists believe that the party could potentially lose 8-10 seats at the Victorian election on Saturday, and these seats are likely to be targeted by both major political parties in the final days of the election campaign. The loss of so many seats could reduce Labor to a minority government, as some of these seats are likely to fall to Greens and independent candidates rather than the Coalition. Meanwhile, the state government’s Suburban Rail Loop dominated the election on Wednesday, with the Opposition pushing Premier Daniel Andrews to release costings for the project.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

ALP Government of Daniel Andrews set to win with a reduced majority as support for L-NP grows – but will the trend continue?

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Nov-22

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll shows that the Victorian ALP on 55% (down 2% points since early November) has an election-winning lead over the L-NP Coalition on 45% (up 2% points) on a two-party preferred basis. The Poll shows a swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP since the 2018 Victorian Election in which the ALP on 57.3% defeated the L-NP on 42.7% (a near record margin of 14.6% points). Primary vote support for the two major parties shows the ALP now at 38% (down 4.9% points from the 2018 Election) ahead of the L-NP on 32.5% (down 2.7% points). Support for the Greens is at 12.5% (up 1.8% points) while total support for ‘Other parties and independents’ is now at 17% (up 5.8% points). There are many seats on tight margins that will be closely contested at the election. If the Roy Morgan Poll result of a uniform swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP to the Liberal-National coalition is the outcome this would lead to five or six seats being lost to the Liberal Party. However, even if the Liberal Party does pick up five or six seats from the ALP Government they may lose three or four seats to a ‘Teal Independent’ candidate elsewhere. This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 1,195 Victorian electors aged 18+ conducted from Tuesday November 22 to Wednesday November 23.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

MEAA to review standards for Clarion media awards after Walkley Foundation rescinds its award

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 24-Nov-22

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance will undertake a review of the state-based Clarion awards. The review has been prompted by the fallout arising from the Walkley award that was given to a news story on former federal MP Andrew Laming which was subsequently found to have been defamatory. Nine Entertainment journalists Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell also won a Clarion award for their articles on Laming, who intends to make a submission to the MEAA’s review. The Walkley Foundation recently decided to rescind the Walkley award of Fegan and Powell.

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MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, WALKLEY FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Victorians get poorer under Labor

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 23-Nov-22

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that Victoria’s gross household disposable income per person was $52,488 in 2021-22, which is the second-lowest among the states and territories. Victoria’s gross household disposable income per person had been ranked fourth in 1999, and reached the third-highest in the early 2000s. Former federal Treasury economist Stephen Anthony says the state government has overseen a "pyramid scheme" built on high debt; he says it is very clear that Premier Daniel Andrews has destroyed living standards and been "fiscally profligate". Victoria’s net debt is forecast to rise to $166bn in 2025-26, which equates to 24.6 per cent of the state’s economy

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Forrest’s Fortescue joins rare earth race

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 23-Nov-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest has told its AGM that the company aims to expand into critical minerals. He said Fortescue has "kicked off a global stream of work" in South America aimed at securing access to critical minerals such as rare earths. He added that rare earths will be critical to Fortescue Future Industries’ projects in manufacturing, renewables and hydrogen. Forrest also said that Fortescue is close to gaining a preliminary mining licence for the Belinga iron ore project in Gabon, and that it plans to commence drilling early in 2023.

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FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Firms face $75k cost for bargaining

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Nov-22

The Department of Employment & Workplace Relations estimates that it will cost small businesses about $14,638 to engage in multi-employer bargaining. Medium businesses and large companies in turn will face costs of $75,148 and $94,311 respectively, according to the department’s regulatory impact statement. The federal government has based these estimates on an average consultant cost of $175 an hour. However, Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar contends that businesses could expect to pay market rates of about $400 an hour. Meanwhile, Hancock Prospecting, has warned that multi-employer bargaining could threaten thousands of mining jobs and billions of dollars in royalty revenue.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD