Author: roymorgansocial

Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plan could lead to major electricity shortages, analysis says

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Original article by Graham Readfearn
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

Modelling by Frontier Economics concluded that Australia’s remaining coal-fired power stations would need to keep operating until the Coalition’s proposed nuclear plants are built. However, the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis contends that Frontier Economics has not taken into account the growing unreliability of coal-fired power stations as they get older. The IEEFA argues that the modelling is based on the assumption that the coal-fired plants would be able to keep operating at 72-81 per cent of their generation capacity. The IEEFA notes that the 13 coal-fired plants that have closed down since 2000 operated at just 66 per cent of their capacity in the last 10 years of their operating life.

CORPORATES
FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Former CFMEU leaders set to plead guilty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Apr-25

The lawyer representing the CFMEU’s former NSW state secretary Darren Greenfield and his son Michael has indicated that the pair may plead guilty to some of the charges they face, while other charges may be withdrawn. However, the lawyer has declined to comment on whether the Greenfields will plead guilty to bribery charges. They were initially charged with accepting bribes from a construction firm in 2021. Meanwhile, nearly 92 per cent of the CFMEU’s manufacturing division have voted in favour of demerging and establishing the Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Investors urge ALP not to extend tax on unrealised gains

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-Apr-25

The federal government is continuing to attract scrutiny over its plans to tax the unrealised gains of superannuation funds. The controversial proposal is part of Labor’s push to double the tax rate of super funds with balances exceeding $3m. A coalition of groups representing self-funded retirees, small businesses and farmers has issued a joint statement urging Labor to rule out any move to expand the unrealised gains tax beyond superannuation. The industry coalition contends that taxing unrealised gains is confiscation rather than reform.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2.6pts to 84.2 as Australian Dollar and markets fall following Trump Tariffs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2.6pts to 84.2 in the week to 13 April. Consumer Confidence is now 0.7 points above the same week a year ago (83.5), but 2.4pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.4. Analysis by State shows that there were decreases in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia, but a modest increase in New South Wales against the overall trend. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 30% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 10% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 5ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 22% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 40% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

In March Australian unemployment dropped to 10.2% as both full-time and part-time employment grew

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

In March 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell 230,000 to 1,604,000 (down 1.3% to 10.2% of the workforce), with significantly fewer people looking for work. The decrease in unemployment was driven by full-time employment (up 29,000 to 9,385,000) and part-time employment (up 34,000 to 4,801,000). However, the Australian workforce dropped 167,000 to 15,790,000 as many of those unemployed decided to leave the workforce. In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.43 million Australians (9.1% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, down 199,000 from February. In total, 3.03 million Australians (19.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in March. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.2% is clearly more than double the ABS estimate of 4.1% for February, and is in line with the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Fortescue racks up $350m drill bill in net zero emissions push

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 16-Apr-25

Pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue expects the deployment of electric drill rigs at its Pilbara mines to reduce diesel fuel usage by about 35 million litres per year and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 90,000 tonnes. Fortescue will pay about $350m for 50 electric drill rigs that are manufactured by Sweden-based Epiroc. Fortescue has also commenced construction of a 190-megawatt solar farm at its Cloudbreak mine, as part of its strategy to achieve a net-zero emissions target of 2030. The Cloudbank solar farm will boast almost double the capacity of Fortescue’s only existing solar farm.

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FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG

Doctors v PM: free for every GP visit a fantasy

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Apr-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated that the federal government’s proposed bulk-billing incentives will allow 90 per cent of Australians to see a doctor for free. However, the Australian Medical Association’s president Danielle McMullen cautions that people should not expect to see a GP for free, contending that not all medical practices will switch to bulk-billing; she adds that Labor’s policy will not address the structural reforms that the Medicare system requires. The Coalition has committed to matching the bulk-billing incentives policy.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Up There Cazaly by Mike Brady is Australia’s most iconic sporting anthem by a margin of almost 3:1 over Down Under

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

A special Roy Morgan SMS Poll shows that ‘Up There Cazaly’ by Mike Brady was named by 28% of Australians – unprompted – as an iconic Australian sporting anthem. This compared to 11% who named ‘Down Under’ by Men At Work and 9% who named ‘Waltzing Matilda’ by Banjo Paterson. Other well-known songs mentioned as iconic Australian sporting anthems included ‘C’mon Aussie C’mon’ (8% of respondents), the national anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’ (7%), ‘Simply The Best’ by Tina Turner (5%), ‘Holy Grail’ by Hunters and Collectors (5%) and AFL club theme songs (4%). This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,103 Australians aged 14+ from 24-29 January.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Russia’s base instinct: shadow of Putin hangs over election campaign

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Original article by Amanda Hodge
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Apr-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is seeking clarification from its Indonesian counterpart regarding a formal request from Russia to base military aircraft in the province of Papua. The government has stated that Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has dismissed reports in a defence publication that Russian aircraft may operate out of Indonesia, and just 1,300km from the Australian mainland. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has warned that a Russian military presence in the Indo-Pacific region would be "deeply destabilising" and says the federal government must disclose whether it had been aware of Russia’s request before it was made public.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INDONESIA. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Just four economists expect the RBA to stay pat on rates

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 16-Apr-25

Financial markets have fully priced in a 25 basis point interest rate cut at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy meeting in May, and a 34 per cent chance of a 50 basis point cut. The general consensus of economists is also that the cash rate will be eased in May; most economists had previously expected rates to remain unchanged in May, prior to the global financial market turmoil in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs war.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT