Author: roymorgansocial

Watchdog ‘didn’t vet gamblers’

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Original article by Rebecca Le May
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Sep-21

Western Australia’s former chief casino officer Michael Connolly has appeared before the state’s royal commission into Crown Resorts. He has told the inquiry that the state government did not undertake background checks on foreign high-roller gamblers because it was assumed that they were being vetted by federal agencies such as Austrac and the Australian Border Force. A ‘Four Corners’ report in 2014 examined the potential links between Asian high-rollers and organised crime, including money-laundering.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. GAMING AND WAGERING COMMISSION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, SPORT AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE

Australia on track to live with Covid from early 2022, leading epidemiologist says

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Original article by Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett believes that Australia will shortly move into a new phase of living with COVID-19. She expects the nation to have the coronavirus under control during the first quarter of 2022 as vaccination rates rise and the focus shifts to suppressing COVID-19. Professor Bennett expects the requirement to wear a face mask indoors and bans on large gatherings to be the last coronavirus restrictions to be scrapped in Australia.

CORPORATES
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence falls 1.8pts to a neutral result of 100.0 with positive and negative sentiment now evenly balanced

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.8pts to 100.0 on September 4/5, with sentiment now evenly balanced between positive and negative sentiment. Consumer Confidence is well below the 2021 weekly average of 108.9, but it is 8.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (91.1). Consumer Confidence fell in both Victoria and NSW and is now clearly below the neutral level of 100 in both States and both Sydney and Melbourne. However, Consumer Confidence in South Australia and Queensland is just above 100 while it is significantly higher in Western Australia at over 110. Now 26% (unchanged) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 29% (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 34% (down 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and only 16% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 11% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 28% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 33% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 34% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Swan as new Cbus chairman an ‘insult to workers’: CFMEU

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 8-Sep-21

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has described the appointment of former Labor minister Wayne Swan as chairman of industry superannuation fund Cbus as the "height of hypocrisy". The CFMMEU says the appointment is an "insult to construction workers", given Swan’s role in maintaining the building industry watchdog during his tenure as federal treasurer and deputy prime minister. The union has also suggested that there is a conflict of interests due to Swan’s role as Labor’s national president.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND

Tough restrictions, vaccination have saved thousands of lives in Sydney, modelling shows

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Original article by Lucy Cormack, Alexandra Smith
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

New South Wales has recorded 1,220 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The state has also reported an additional eight deaths from the current outbreak. Meanwhile, new modelling from the Burnet Institute suggests that the current lockdown of Greater Sydney and the vaccination program may have prevented nearly 5,000 deaths and almost 500,000 infections across the metropolitan area. The modelling also shows that these measures may have averted 5,808 deaths and 580,000 new infections in the 12 local government areas at the centre of the current outbreak.

CORPORATES
THE MACFARLANE BURNET INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH LIMITED

Major advertiser backs News Corp climate shift

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Original article by Zoe Samios, Amelia McGuire
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

News Corporations insiders have suggested that pressure from advertisers may have contributed to the media group’s new stance on climate change. News Corp intends to launch a campaign across its platforms to promote the benefits of a carbon-neutral economy. Grocery giant Coles, which boasts one of Australia’s biggest advertising budgets, has welcomed News Corp’s revised approach to climate change. Coles’ new zero emissions advertising campaign has appeared in News Corp’s publications, as well as those of rival media groups.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL

BP, Macquarie see a green future for shuttered Australian oil refinery

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Original article by Nick Toscano
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

The Western Australian government will partially finance a feasibility study into converting the defunct oil refinery at Kwinana to produce ‘green’ hydrogen. BP announced the refinery’s closure in October 2020; the energy giant and Macquarie Capital will now look into the viability of using the facility to produce hydrogen from renewable energy. WA premier Mark McGowan says that green hydrogen produced at Kwinana could eventually be exported worldwide. Green hydrogen is currently much more expensive to produce than ‘grey’ hydrogen, which is produced using fossil fuels.

CORPORATES
BP PLC, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Supermarkets are the most trusted brands but Department Stores Myer, Kmart, Big W and Target are the big improvers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

Data from Roy Morgan shows that Australia’s top four most trusted brands are Woolworths, Coles, Bunnings Warehouse and ALDI. Notably, there have been four big improvers in the June 2021 quarter, with department stores Kmart, Myer, Big W and Target all improving their standing as some of Australia’s most trusted brands. Kmart has entered the top 5, both Myer and Big W are new entrants to the top 10 and Target jumped seven spots in the quarter to be just outside the top 10. The Roy Morgan analysis also reveals the top 20 list of Australia’s most distrusted brands, with Harvey Norman entering the top 20 list for the first time; brands including Amazon, Google, Twitter and Crown Resorts all experienced rising distrust rankings during the June quarter. Roy Morgan is presenting a special webinar on the top 20 most trusted and distrusted brands on September 14 at 11am.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS WAREHOUSE, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Number of Australians drinking wine, spirits and RTDs up significantly in 2021 while beer drinking holds steady

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Sep-21

New data from Roy Morgan’s Alcohol Consumption Report shows that the proportion of Australians who drink alcohol increased by 4% points to 69.7% in the 12 months to June 2021. A total of 13,908,000 Australians (69.7%) aged 18+ consumed alcohol in an average four-week period in the year to June, up from 13,040,000 (65.7%) a year earlier. The number of Australians drinking wine increased by nearly 1 million over the past year, from 8,323,000 (42.0%) to 9,237,000 (46.3%) – an increase of 4.3% points. In addition, some 6,621,000 Australians (33.2%) were drinking spirits in mid-2021, up from 5,876,000 (29.7%) a year earlier – an increase of 3.5% points. Also increasing was consumption of Ready-to-drinks (RTDs), which increased from 2,187,000 Australians (11.0%) up to 2,699,000 Australians (13.5%). There were mixed results for the other categories of alcohol, with drinking of beer and liqueurs virtually unchanged on a year ago while fewer Australians were drinking cider and fortified wines. 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 50,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Free-trade deal with India a big step closer

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Original article by Ben Packham, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Sep-21

Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Peter Dutton will shortly travel to India for discussions with their counterparts, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar views this as a positive sign that Australia is keen to secure a free-trade agreement with his nation, and he is optimistic that a deal will proceed. Negotiations for a free-trade deal have stalled for some years, but Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled the importance of India as a trading partner as exporters seek to reduce their reliance on China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INDIA. MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS