Author: roymorgansocial

Roundtable revolt on super

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-25

The federal government’s economic reform roundtable is set to be inundated with submissions from business leaders, the union movement and special interest groups. Many of these submissions are likely to propose alternatives to Labor’s superannuation tax reforms, particularly the controversial plan to tax the unrealised capital gains of super funds. Critics of this provision of the reforms contend that at the very least the $3m threshold should be indexed to inflation. Financial services industry veteran Geoff Wilson has previously warned that taxing unrealised gains will have a negative impact on productivity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM’s $16m team: it’s time to earn it

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-25

The Australian Public Service had 193,503 ongoing and non-ongoing employees at the end of 2024, but the federal government’s March 2025 budget papers had forecast that this will rise to about 213,000 in 2025-26. Meanwhile, analysis shows that the combined remuneration of the 17 highest-ranking federal public servants will be around $16.3m in 2025-26. They received a salary increase on 1 July, following a recent ruling of the Remuneration Tribunal. Steven Kennedy, who heads the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, is the nation’s highest-paid bureaucrat, with total remuneration of $1,035,690.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 0.5pts to 87.2 as buying sentiment improves for a second straight week

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Jul-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 0.5pts to 87.2 in the week to 29 June, and is now at its highest since mid-May. Consumer Confidence is now 5.9 points above the same week a year ago (81.3), and just above the 2025 weekly average of 86.5. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in New South Wales and South Australia, down in Queensland and Western Australia, and unchanged in Victoria. Now 17% of Australians (down 4ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now just 11% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 28% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the highest figure for this indicator so far this year), while 31% (down 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since March 2022).

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

China, critical minerals dominate Quad agenda

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-Jul-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese still hopes to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue leaders’ meeting later this year. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s executive director Justin Bassi say the Quad meeting must address issues such as China’s "coercive conduct" in the Indo-Pacific region and the nation’s dominance of global critical minerals supply. These issues are also expected to be discussed at this week’s Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Washington DC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED

FY25 the worst year on record for insolvencies

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Original article by Joseph Carbone
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Jul-25

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that a record 14,105 businesses were declared insolvent nationwide during 2024-25, which is 26.8 per cent higher than the previous financial year. The figures, which cover the fiscal year up to to 15 June, also show that the construction sector was hardest-hit, recording 3,417 insolvencies. CreditorWatch’s chief economist Ivan Colhoun says the upturn in insolvencies is at least partly attributable to the Australian Taxation Office’s tougher stance on recovering debts after a period of leniency during the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CREDITOR WATCH PTY LTD

Build times go through the roof

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Original article by Jessica Wang
The Australian – Page: 7 : 2-Jul-25

Analysis by the Institute of Public Affairs shows that it took an average of 12.7 months to build a new home in 2024, from initial approval to completion. This compares with an average of 8.5 months in 2014. The IPA’s analysis of building activity data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows that the cost of building materials has increased by 53 per cent over this period. The IPA’s research director Morgan Begg says all levels of government must take action to address the housing crisis; amongst other things, he has called for a reduction in the migrant intake, less red tape and the release of more land for housing development.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Fortescue pair strike gold with Greatland

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 2-Jul-25

Greatland Resources’ recent Australian sharemarket float has been a financial boon for chairman Mark Barnaba and deputy chair Elizabeth Gaines. Their stakes in Greatland are estimated to be worth about $10.3m and $5.4m respectively. Barnaba and Gaines are also directors of pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue; Wyloo, the private company of Fortescue’s founder Andrew Forrest, has an 8.2 per cent stake in Greatland, which is now dual-listed on the ASX and London’s AIM sub-market. A third Greatland director, Yasmin Broughton, was appointed to Fortescue’s board yesterday.

CORPORATES
GREATLAND RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GGP, FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, WYLOO METALS PTY LTD

Smoking increases among young Australians since vaping sales ban in 2024

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Jul-25

The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that the proportion of Australians aged 18+ smoking Factory Made Cigarettes (FMCs), Roll-Your-Own Cigarettes (RYO) or vaping bottomed at 16.8% (3.59 million) in the year to December 2024. Since then, the incidence of Australians smoking (or vaping) has increased to 17.1% (3.7 million), an increase of 0.3% points (+110,000). Driving the increase has been increased smoking rates of (FMCs), which has increased from 7.9% (1.67 million) to 8.3% (1.79 million), an increase of 0.4% points (+120,000). Meanwhile, legislation banning the sale of disposable single-use and non-therapeutic vapes in mid-2024 has had only a small impact on overall vaping rates, which are now at 7.5% of the population (1.61 million), down by only 0.2% points (-40,000) since the year to September 2024. Despite the legislation, 20.5% (510,000) of 18-24yr olds now vape, up from a low of 19% (470,000) in the year to September 2024; this is an increase of 1.5% points (+40,000) in less than a year.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Smelters face risk of closure, Nyrstar warns

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Jul-25

Nyrstar Australia’s CEO Matt Howell says the company’s smelters in South Australia and Tasmania are expected to post losses totalling "several hundred millon" dollars over the next two years. He says a joint state and federal government rescue package is vital to the future of the smelters, and a deal with the governments is expected shortly. Significant capital investment is required for both the Port Pirie and Hobart smelters, while Nyrstar is also looking at the viability of upgrading the plants to process critical minerals. Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute contends that government assistance should only be provided if it is deemed to be in the national interest.

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NYRSTAR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

ASX rotation could see CBA investors jump on mining train

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 2-Jul-25

S&P/ASX 200 bank stocks gained 26 per cent during the 2024-25 financial year, while the resources sector fell eight per cent. However, some analysts believe that investors are set to shift from banks to resources stocks in 2025-26, amid speculation that the Commonwealth Bank’s outperformance will not be sustained. The stock gained 45 per cent in 2024-25, with its share of the benchmark index rising from nine per cent to nearly 12 per cent.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA