Author: roymorgansocial

McGowan flags end to WA’s state of emergency COVID laws

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Original article by Peter Martin
The West Australian – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

The Western Australian government declared a state of emergency in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Premier Mark McGowan says the government may follow its interstate counterparts and enforce its remaining Covid rules such as mask mandates via legislation rather than its emergency powers. National Party MP Shane Love says it is time for McGowan to admit that the state of emergency is over and surrender these powers. WA reported 2,145 new infections and one death on Tuesday, and the number of active cases statewide has fallen to the lowest level since March. There were 7,145 new case and 24 deaths in NSW, and 4,858 new infections and 20 deaths in Victoria.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rebounds, up by 3.9pts to 84.2 – biggest weekly increase this year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 3.9pts to 84.2 in the week ended 10 August. It is now 16.9pts below the same week a year ago (101.1). In addition, Consumer Confidence is now 7.5pts below the 2022 weekly average of 91.7, but it is now at its highest since late June 2022. On a State-based level Consumer Confidence was up in the two largest States of NSW and Victoria, as well as WA, but down in Queensland and SA. Now 25% (up 3ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 41% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 32% (up 3ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 31% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 37% (down 8ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 23% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 49% (up 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

Jobs summit to focus on employment for people with disability

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says action is needed to get more people with a disability into the workforce. She argues that such people make significant contributions to the workplace, and hiring them should not be seen as an optional or charitable act. Rishworth will host a disability employment roundtable in Canberra on Monday, ahead of the jobs and skills summit. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that more than more than 220,000 people of working age with a disability are not currently in the labour force but want to work and are looking for a job.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

BHP bets on China after $44bn profit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 17-Aug-22

BHP has posted a record net profit of $US30.9bn ($44.2bn) for 2021-22, which is 173 per cent higher than previously. The result was boosted by a $US7.3bn gain from the merger of its petroleum division with Woodside Energy and a $US9.3bn turnaround at its Queensland coal mines. However, lower iron ore prices saw its flagship division’s underlying EBITDA fall 17.7 per cent year-on-year to $US21.71bn. BHP shipped 282.8 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021-22 and expects 2022-23 shipments to be within the range of 278 to 290 million tonnes. BHP has also indicated that it may look to eventually lift this to 330 million tonnes. However, CEO Mike Henry says Chinese demand for iron ore may be nearing its peak, although he expects commodity sales to remain strong over the next year following China emergence from lockdowns.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

US unions push back against Australian pilots

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 17-Aug-22

Large US airlines are seeking to hire about 13,000 pilots in 2022 and 2023, and some are offering sign-on bonuses of up to $US20,000. However, unions have objected to moves by airlines to recruit pilots from Australia using the E-3 visa scheme, which was introduced via the free-trade agreement between the two nations. The Air Line Pilots Association alleges that some airlines are abusing the visa scheme, which is only accessible to Australian workers. A number of factors have contributed to the shortage of pilots in the US, including the impact of the pandemic and the mandatory retirement age of 65.

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AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION

De-extinction: scientists are planning the multimillion-dollar resurrection of the Tasmanian tiger

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Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

The University of Melbourne will work with US-based biotechnology firm Colossal in a genetic engineering project to revive the extinct thylacine. Professor Andrew Pask of Melbourne University believes that the first Tasmanian tiger joeys could be born within a decade, although Colossal CEO Ben Lamm suggests that a time-frame of six years could be realistic. The researchers aim to use gene editing to create a thylacine embryo via stem cells from the fat-tailed dunnart, which has similar DNA. The last known living thylacine died in 1936, and the species was officially declared extinct in the 1980s.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, COLOSSAL INCORPORATED

Seven West optimistic of securing AFL rights

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Original article by Mark Di Stefano, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Aug-22

The Australian Football League was hoping to finalise its next broadcasting rights deal after the last round of the home-and-away season this weekend. However, insiders have suggested that the AFL will not rush a deal in order to secure the best outcome. The AFL Commission discussed the competing bids on Monday, and it hopes to sell the broadcasting and streaming rights for around $3bn. Incumbent free-to-air rights holder Seven West Media is confident that its deal will be renewed, with CEO James Warburton noting that it has a "very strong" relationship with the AFL.

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AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

Morrison sorry as PM vows action on secrecy

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 17-Aug-22

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has defended his actions in secretly appointing himself to five cabinet portfolios. He believes that the move had been "prudent and responsible", as it would enable him to take charge of key portfolios if the relevant minister became incapacitated due to COVID-19, rather than placing the portfolio in the hands of a junior minister. Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews – who had not been aware that Morrison had seized her portfolio – has called for him to resign from parliament, although Opposition leader Peter Dutton says he should stay on. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Morrison has undermined the Westminster system of government, and has flagged the possibility of legal reforms to prevent such an abuse of power in the future. He adds that other people will need to be held accountable for the scandal.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australian alcohol consumption declines from pandemic highs of 2021, but consumption of RTDs at a record high

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Aug-22

New data from Roy Morgan’s Alcohol Consumption Report shows that 13,603,000 Australians (67.9%) aged 18+ consumed alcohol in an average four-week period in the year to June 2022, down 1.8% from a pandemic high of 13,908,000 (69.7%) a year earlier. The standout alcoholic beverage over the last year as we emerged from the pandemic lockdowns of 2020-21 has been Ready-to-drinks (RTDs); some 3,349,000 Australians (16.7%) consumed RTDs in the year to June, an increase of 3.2% points (+680,000). The most popular alcohol is still wine, but the number of Australians drinking wine fell to 8,938,000 (44.6%), a decrease of 1.7% points (-297,000) from a year ago. Beer has also lost ground from its pandemic highs with 6,666,000 Australians (33.3%) now drinking beer, down 2.3% points (-428,000) on a year ago. Spirits are clearly the third favourite type of alcohol with 6,083,000 Australians (30.4%) now drinking spirits, down 2.8% points (-538,000) on mid-2021. The findings are from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, Australia’s most trusted and comprehensive consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

RBA deliberately setting up for a recession: ACTU

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Original article by Michael Read, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-22

The ACTU has released a policy paper which argues that full and secure employment should be the top macroeconomic priority for the Jobs and Skills Summit. The report was written by Jim Stanford from the Centre for Future Work; he argues that the Reserve Bank’s "whatever it takes" approach to returning inflation to its target range means it is willing to cause a recession and massive job losses in order to do so. The ACTU wants the summit to consider a fairer and more comprehensive inflation-reducing policy, and greater regulation of labour markets to ensure that real wages growth is in line with productivity.

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ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA