Author: roymorgansocial

Plea for certainty on fuel excise as tourism braces for school holiday hit

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-May-26

Transport & Tourism Forum CEO Margy Osmond says the federal government must soon decide whether to extend the temporary fuel excise tax reduction beyond 30 June. Osmond says the tourism industry needs more certainty regarding the excise tax relief ahead of the mid-year school holidays. The TTF has also joined forces with Accommodation Australia and the Caravan Industry Association of Australia to urge the government to develop a ­national fuel dashboard, which would allow motorists to track fuel prices and shortages across state borders.

CORPORATES
TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM, ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, CARAVAN INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Roy Morgan unveils Annual Customer Satisfaction Award winners across all categories

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-May-26

Roy Morgan has announced the winners of its annual Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2025. The awards recognise outstanding levels of customer satisfaction, as judged by more than 60,000 consumers via the Roy Morgan Single Source survey. The award categories cover sectors such as finance, automotive, retail, telecommunications and utilities. Of the 37 award winners this year, 23 are repeat winners backing up from victory a year ago; they include 11 with a perfect record of 12 monthly award wins for the year. In addition to the repeat winners, there were also five first-time winners and seven companies returning to the winner’s circle after missing out a year ago. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards are the gold standard in identifying those companies and brands that stay ahead of the pack by knowing what their customers want and delivering it consistently.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

‘Incubated in hatred’: Warnings, risks laid bare as Bondi royal commission zeroes in on security flaws

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Original article by Alexandra Smith, Matthew Knott, Michael McGowan
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-May-26

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s interim report has made 14 recommendations in total, although five of them remain confidential. Amongst other things, royal commissioner Virginia Bell examined NSW Police’s response to a request from the volunteer Jewish-led Community Security Group in November 2025 for a police presence at the upcoming Hannukah celebrations at Bondi Beach. The CSG warned that a terrorist attack against the Jewish community was likely; police officers were instructed to send a "car crew or two" to Bondi on 14 December but were told that they did not need to stay for the whole event. NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated that all recommendations in the interim report will be implemented in full.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION ON ANTISEMITISM AND SOCIAL COHESION, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Super funds set to avoid CGT change

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Original article by John Kehoe, Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-May-26

The federal government’s widely-tipped changes to the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount are likely to affect personal investors who have held assets such as property and shares for more than one year. However, sources claim that the government has told superannuation funds that the budget on 12 May will not include any major changes that will affect them. This suggests that super funds’ current CGT discount on their earnings will be retained. Meanwhile, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has not explicitly ruled out exempting any existing assets from potential changes to the CGT discount, although he has indicated that any impact on such assets would be minimal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Budget leak: Chalmers’ productivity centrepiece

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-May-26

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the federal govenment’s budget on 12 May will include a "productivity package". There is growing expectation within the business community that the focus of this package will be reducing red tape, rather than major new company tax incentives. However, Chalmers is believed to favour making the asset write-off for businesses with annual turnover of less than $10m a permanent feature of the tax system; the instant asset write-off of up to $20,000 a year was extended for 12 months in 2025. Tax & Transfer Policy Institute director Bob Breunig contends that broader tax reform than simply extending the asset write-off is needed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY. TAX AND TRANSFER POLICY INSTITUTE

US seeks international help to reopen Strait of Hormuz as crude prices surge

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Original article by Timothy Gardner
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-May-26

The US is calling for other countries to form an international coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed two months into the Iran war. France, the UK and other countries have held talks on contributing to such a coalition, but have indicated that they are only willing to help open the strait after hostilities between the US and Iran cease. The US’s push for a coalition comes as oil prices soared to their highest in more than four years. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed that Australia has been briefed by the US about its proposed coalition and was "engaging on options"; however, a government source has indicated that no decision has been made.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Axe hanging over 1300 smelter jobs

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 & 21 : 1-May-26

The $135m joint federal and state assistance package for Nyrstar Australia’s zinc smelter in Hobart and its lead smelter in Port Pirie were announced in August 2025, but expired yesterday. Negotiations with the federal, South Australian and Tasmanian governments to extend the rescue package have stalled, and Nyrstar has advised that it will now consider all options for the smelters. This is likely to include closing the plants, which employ about 1,300 people. The Port Pirie smelter produced antimony for the first time earlier this year; Nystar plans to produce another critical mineral, germanium, at the Hobart plant.

CORPORATES
NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Woolies flags higher prices, profit squeeze

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 1-May-26

Woolworths has advised that its supermarket division’s sales rose by 5.9 per cent to $13.8bn in the third quarter of 2025-26. Group sales were up 4.5 per cent to about $18bn for the 13 weeks to 5 April. CEO Amanda Bardwell says the Iran war did not affect shelf prices during the quarter, but she has warned that growing pressure from suppliers is likely to result in higher prices for some grocery products in the final quarter. She adds that fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, milk and bread are most vulnerable to price increases, due to the impact of rising fuel and fertiliser costs on farmers. Coles will release its third-quarter results today.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

Volvo wins the Roy Morgan Best of the Best Award for Customer Satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-May-26

Volvo has won the Roy Morgan ‘Best of the Best’ Customer Satisfaction Award for the first time, with a customer satisfaction rating of 96.5%. The win for Volvo was built on victory as the Car Manufacturer of the Year with eight monthly wins, ahead of Private Health Insurer of the Year Police Health with a customer satisfaction rating of 96.1% and Liquor Store of the Year First Choice Liquor (95.3%). The ‘Best of the Best’ award goes to the company that achieves the highest customer satisfaction of all 37 winners in the Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. Volvo returned to the winner’s circle in 2025 after a 12-year absence; it finished ahead of previous winner Lexus and third placed GWM/Haval; Volvo last won the Car Manufacturer of the Year award in 2013.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, VOLVO CAR CORPORATION, POLICE HEALTH LIMITED, FIRST CHOICE LIQUOR, LEXUS, GWM, HAVAL

MinRes braces for diesel price pain

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-May-26

Mineral Resources has upgraded its full-year production guidance for its mining services, iron ore and lithium divsions, including its Onslow Iron, Wodgina and Mount Marion projects. The company has also maintained full-year cost guidance across its divisions, although it noted that the rising cost of diesel fuel due to the Iran war began to have an impact on its operations. It is estimated that Mineral Resources uses about 12,000 litres of diesel fuel each day, while it also requires aviation fuel for its fleet of airplanes for its ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workforce.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN