Author: roymorgansocial

Victoria scraps isolation, COVID testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors from NSW

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Original article by Simone Fox Koob, Cassandra Morgan
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,749 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, and an additional 11 deaths from the current outbreak. Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that unvaccinated Victorians may not enjoy the same freedoms as fully-vaccinated people until "well into 2022". The government has also advised of changes to its border permit system. Greater Sydney will be downgraded from a ‘red zone’ to ‘orange’ at 11:59pm on Wednesday, which will allow fully-vaccinated residents to enter Victoria without having to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19. The new rules will also apply to regional NSW, which will be downgraded to green zones.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

$25bn in Coalition grants made through closed process with no competitors, report finds

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

The Auditor-General has released a report which shows that the federal government spent $60.2bn via its GrantsConnect program between December 2017 and June 2021. A total of 108,206 grants were allocated over this period, and 42% were awarded via a non-competitive tender process. The report also shows that 27 per cent of grants that were earmarked for regional development programs were allocated to recipients with capital city postcodes; just eight per cent of the grants were awarded to remote or very remote areas.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

BHP aims to crush South Flank glitches

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 20 : 20-Oct-21

BHP shipped 70.8 million tonnes of iron ore in the September quarter, which is 3.5 per cent lower than the same period in 2020. The resources group’s iron ore export volumes for the first nine months of 2021 were also 3.8 per cent lower than the previous corresponding period. This has largely been due to technical issues at its South Flank mine, which commenced production in May. BHP has experienced mechanical problems with one of the crushing machines at South Flank, prompting it to hire temporary crushing equipment. BHP’s iron ore volumes in the Pilbara have also been impacted by a shortage of train drivers. BHP produced 71 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara during the September quarter, which is three per cent lower than the June quarter.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

COVID-19 is the most important problem facing the World and Australia – just ahead of Global Warming & Climate Change

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

A special Roy Morgan study of Australians’ attitudes towards issues facing Australia and the World in the future has found COVID-19 and related health issues to be the top issue facing both Australia and the world at large. Some 36% of Australians identified health and COVID-19 related issues as the most important problem facing Australia (including the pandemic itself, the economic impact of the pandemic and the global recovery as well as the restrictions, border controls and vaccines). Environmental issues are in a clear second place, mentioned by 24% of Australians, and dominated by issues surrounding ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change’ that are set to be discussed at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. Environmental issues have declined significantly since reaching a high point of 41% in October 2019. Economic issues, which have traditionally been the leading problem identified by Australians, were mentioned by only 12% of respondents, while 6% mentioned issues related to Terrorism/ Wars/ Security. When considering the wider World, the largest theme to emerge was again concerns related to health and COVID-19, mentioned by just over 33% of Australians – easily the highest for Health-related issues in the sixteen-year history of the survey. The research was conducted in Australia during September 15-20, with a nationally representative sample of 1,024 men and women aged 14+.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mike Baird staffer questioned why Berejiklian wanted to spend $5.5m in safe seat of Wagga Wagga

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Original article by Michael McGowan
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Zacharia Bentley was a policy adviser to former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in her previous role as the state’s treasurer. Documents submitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption show that Bentley believed that Berejiklian had discussed a proposed $5.5m grant for the Australian Clay Target Association with her former lover, Daryl Maguire; it is one of two grants in his electorate of Wagga Wagga that are at the centre of ICAC’s investigation. Bentley has also revealed that he told ICAC investigators in April that the grant had been queried by Nigel Blunden, who was former premier Mike Baird’s strategy director when the grant was proposed. Meanwhile, the state government has agreed to pay all of Berejiklian’s legal costs arising from the ICAC inquiry.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Unions slam BHP over FIFO searches

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-Oct-21

BHP has been criticised for implementing a new policy that allows it to search the personal belongings of ‘fly in, fly out’ workers. Western Mine Workers Alliance spokesman Greg Busson says FIFO workers in Western Australia have been told that they will not be permitted to stay in BHP’s mining camps if they do not agree to the policy. He adds that the policy is "wide open to abuse". BHP has indicated that searches will only be carried out if there is reason to believe that a worker is in possession of prohibited items.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN MINE WORKERS ALLIANCE

Economists cast doubt on central bank’s view

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 20-Oct-21

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest monthly board meeting show that it still expects the cash rate to remain on hold until 2024, when inflation is forecast to be sustainably within its target range of 2-3 per cent. However, the consensus of economists is that the central bank will begin tightening monetary policy in mid-2023. Judo Bank’s chief economist Warren Hogan says the first rate rise could potentially be in November 2022, while Su-Lin Ong of RBC Capital Markets expects a rate rise in the December 2023 quarter.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JUDO BANK PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Top 20 sports: Walking and jogging increase during pandemic but most sports decline during year of lockdowns

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Roy Morgan’s latest National Sports Participation report shows that walking for exercise is easily the most popular sport or activity which Australians regularly participate in. It is also one of the few activities Australians did more of during the year to June 2021 compared to a year earlier. Nearly 11 million adult Australians (51.9%) regularly go for a vigorous stroll. This is an increase of over 850,000 (+8.5%) on a year earlier. Going to the gym/weight training is again Australia’s second most popular sporting activity with over 3.5 million Australians (16.9%) regularly participating, an increase of 97,000 (+2.8%) on a year ago. There is a new activity in third place overall with over 2.2 million Australians (10.5%) now regularly jogging, an increase of 251,000 (+12.8%) on a year ago; it has overtaken swimming, which experienced the largest decline of any sport – down 637,000 (-32%) to 1.35 million. Meanwhile, soccer, basketball, cricket and netball are the only team sports that made the top 20 leading sports and activities, although all four had fewer regular participants in the year to June 2021 than a year ago, as lockdowns forced the cancellations of many sporting competition

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for sixth straight week, up 1.4pts to 107.0 with Melbourne lockdown set to end

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.4pts to 107.0 on 16/17 October. However, Consumer Confidence remains below the 2021 weekly average of 108.3, although it is now 8.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (98.1). Consumer Confidence was up in Sydney following the end of the city’s 106-day lockdown; it also increased in Melbourne with the news that the lockdown would soon be ending and in Brisbane after that city avoided a lockdown despite concerns about a handful of cases. Now 27% (unchanged) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (also unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 38% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 19% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 20% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 37% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 30% (also unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Court rejects Narrabri gas challenge

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 19-Oct-21

A community action group has failed in its bid to overturn the Independent Planning Commission’s recent decision to grant environmental approval for the Narrabri coal seam gas project in New South Wales. The legal challenge has been rejected by the state’s Land & Environment Court, although anti-gas activists have vowed to continue the fight against the Santos project. The latest legal challenge to the controversial project is likely to further delay a final investment decision, which is now expected to be made in 2024.

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SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT PLANNING COMMISSION, NEW SOUTH WALES. LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT