Author: roymorgansocial

Albanese given inner-city cafe policy warning

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Original article by Greg Brown, David Tanner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 25-May-21

Federal Labor has been warned that it could potentially lose three seats in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales at the next election. The Coalition is expected to target the region in the wake of NSW Labor’s resounding defeat in the by-election in the state seat of Upper Hunter. Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official Peter Jordan says the by-election result shows that Labor is losing support in ‘coal country’ and needs to re-engage with blue-collar workers. Labor MP Pat Conroy, whose seat of Shortland is amongst those that may be at risk, says the by-election has no implications for Labor at federal level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Victorian budget a risk to recovery

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-May-21

The Victorian government’s May 2021 Budget shows that the state’s net debt will blow out to $156.3bn by mid-2025. However, the government has confirmed that the state’s deficit for 2020-21 will be much lower than previously forecast, at $17.4bn. The key measure announced in the Budget is a payroll tax surcharge of 0.5 per cent on businesses with a wages bill of more than $10m; this will rise to one per cent for businesses with wages costs of more than $100m. The surcharge is slated to raise $387m in 2021-22 and about $3bn over four years, with the proceeds to be used to finance a $3.8bn mental health package. The levy has been criticised by business leaders and federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who warn that it will cost jobs and undermine the national economy’s recovery from the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Jobs defy wage subsidy’s demise

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 21-May-21

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the latest jobs data shows that the federal government was justified in ending the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme in late March. New figures show that about 31,000 jobs were cut in April, well below forecasts that between 100,000 and 150,000 jobs would be lost when JobKeeper ended. The figures also show that 132,000 people have moved off income support since March. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has welcomed the slight fall in the official unemployment rate, but she says many workers are underemployed or in multiple jobs that are insecure and unreliable. Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles notes that 1.8 million Australians are still looking for work.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Don’t delay jab warning to over 50s

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Original article by Natasha Robinson, Adeshola Ore
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-May-21

Amid reports of an increase in ‘vaccine hesitancy’, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has urged people over the age of 50 to receive AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid agrees, warning that the nation will be at risk of another outbreak as winter approaches. He adds that over-50s who hold out for an mRNA vaccine such as Pfizer will not be a priority when more doses become available, as they chose not to have the vaccine that was available to them. Meanwhile, 24 cases of rare blood clots have now been reported among Australians who received the Astra-Zeneca vaccine. A 53-year-old South Australian man is among the six new cases; he is said to be in a ‘very serious condition’ in intensive care.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, ASTRAZENECA PLC, PFIZER INCORPORATED

Facebook removed 14 million pieces of COVID-19 misinformation last year

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 21-May-21

Josh Machin from Facebook Australia claims that "pushing back against misinformation" is vital for democracy. Machin was commenting on the social media company’s inaugural transparency report for the Australian Communications & Media Authority, in which it stated that it removed 14 million pieces of misinformation relating to COVID-19 between March and December 2020. This includes 110,000 posts by Australian users.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Jobs lost as Qantas earnings nosedive

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 21-May-21

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said on 20 May that it had lost $16 billion of revenue since early 2020, and that it was likely to post a full-year loss of over $2 billion. The airline will be making more staff redundant, while imposing a two-year wage freeze on management and staff. Joyce called for Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination to be accelerated so that Australia’s international borders can be opened "sooner than later", but only when it is "safe to do so". Unions were not impressed with the airline’s wage freeze plan, while Transport Workers Union secretary Michael Kaine queried why the federal government still kept giving Qantas financial help when it continues to cut jobs.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Mergers of super funds to cut costs

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 21-May-21

Consolidation in Australia’s superannuation industry has increased in recent years, including the upcoming merger between LGIAsuper and Energy Super. The merged entity will have $22bn worth of assets under management, which will increase to $28bn when it completes a deal to acquire Suncorp’s wealth business. LGIAsuper CEO Kate Farrar believes that smaller funds will continue to have a role in the super industry, although she expects the average size of boutique funds to increase to between $30bn and $50bn.

CORPORATES
LGIASUPER, ENERGY SUPER

Vaccine passports risk a two-class country

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-May-21

Business leaders have questioned the merits of the federal government’s proposed ‘vaccine passport’ system for domestic travellers. It would allow fully vaccinated people to travel interstate and return without being subject to COVID-19 restrictions. Restaurant & Catering CEO Wes Lambert says it would be "very cumbersome" and create more red tape; he adds that it might also create two classes of Australians, based on their vaccination status. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and New South Wales counterpart Gladys Berejiklian both oppose the scheme. Meanwhile, five new COVID-19 cases have been reported in hotel quarantine nationwide in the last 24 hours.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

China trade tension a risk to economy: BHP mining boss

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Original article by Emmaline Stigwood
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-May-21

China’s unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia has forced local producers to find alternative markets for metallurgical coal. BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto notes that this has resulted in the price falling by up to 50 per cent; he says this is unsustainable and action to improve Australia’s relations with China will eventually be needed, given that China is a major market for coal used in steel-making. Basto says that both nations must take action to "rebuild trust".

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Super quick payback looms on BHP’s South Flank mine

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 21-May-21

BHP commenced production at its new South Flank iron ore mine on 20 May, less than three years after the $US3.6bn project was approved. South Flank is slated to produce about 40 million tonnes of iron ore in fiscal 2022, and the mine is scheduled to reach full capacity of 80 million tonnes in its third year of operation. The iron ore price is currently trading above $US210 per tonne, compared with just $US66 per tonne when BHP’s board approved the project in June 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP