Author: roymorgansocial

PM stumps up for fire crisis

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Jan-20

The federal government has appointed former Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew ­Colvin to head its national bushfire recovery agency. It will finance the reconstruction of critical infrastructure that has been damaged or destroyed, as well as providing income and mental health support for people who have been affected by the disaster. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out asking the states to match the federal government’s funding. Natural Disaster and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud has stressed the need to ensure that government support is tailored to each community that has been affected by the bushfires.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Housing set for recovery: Lendlease

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 6-Jan-20

A number of factors will boost Australia’s residential property market in 2020, according to Lendlease executive Kylie Rampa. They include the federal government’s First Home Buyers Deposit Scheme, improved access to housing credit and historically low interest rates. Rampa adds that Lendlease wants to capitalise on its expertise in the affordable housing market in the UK to increase its presence in this sector in Australia.

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LENDLEASE GROUP – ASX LLC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Morrison won’t rule out bushfires royal commission

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government is open to holding a royal commission into the bushfire crisis. Morrison says there is broad agreement on the need for a review of factors that contributed to the devastating bushfire season and the response to the disaster, but he stresses that now is not the right time to apportion blame for the crisis. Issues such as land clearing and hazard reduction will be on the agenda for the next Council of Australian Governments meeting in March.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE

US rates likely to stay on hold, Fed indicates

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Original article by James Dean
The Australian – Page: 14 : 6-Jan-20

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting show that the US central bank expects official interest rates to remain unchanged for some time, although this is likely to depend on the economic outlook. Some Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that an extended low interest rate environment may encourage ‘excessive risk-taking’. Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve chairman contends that the central bank has options other than quantitative easing and forward guidance to stimulate the economy in the event of a downturn.

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UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

How Uber Eats is changing the make-up of Australia’s roads

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Original article by Killian Plastow
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Jan-20

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has reported that 84,708 new vehicles were sold in November, 9.8 per cent down on November 2018. However, scooter sales rose 14.5 per cent year-to-date by the end of September. James Caldwell from IBISWorld says the popularity of scooters is in part due to falling discretionary income, with the 2019 Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey finding that median household’s annual discretionary income declined between 2009 and 2017. Food delivery services like Uber Eats are also boosting the popularity of scooters, although Caldwell says those making the actual deliveries are unlikely to be purchasing a new scooter, as they do not get paid very much. Interviewing for the HILDA survey is conducted by Roy Morgan.

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FEDERAL CHAMBER OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Woman dies from bushfire smoke in Canberra after exiting plane

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Original article by
news.com.au – Page: Online : 3-Jan-20

An elderly woman has died after apparently going into respiratory distress after disembarking from a Qantas plane onto the tarmac at Canberra Airport on 2 January. Canberra is being blanketed by smoke from the New South Wales bushfires, and its air quality is currently worse than Delhi, Mumbai and Beijing. A Qantas spokesperson has said it had received no reports of passengers being unwell on the flight, with the plane having come from Brisbane.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Cricketers set sights on clean sweep

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Original article by Peter Lalor
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Jan-20

Cricket Australia has confirmed it has guidelines in place in the event that smoke from the current bushfires causes play in the Third Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney to be halted. The match starts on 3 January, with CA and the SCG Trust advising that shirts worn by the players in the game will be sold to raise money for victims of the fires. CA CEO Kevin Roberts says any halt in play because of smoke will need to be treated in the same way that rain delays are. The ‘Pink Test’, which raises money for the McGrath Foundation, is now in its 12th year.

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CRICKET AUSTRALIA

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declares state of emergency, as thousands flee South Coast ahead of horror fire weekend

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Original article by Kevin Nyugen, Emma Elsworthy
abc.net au – Page: Online : 3-Jan-20

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has declared a seven-day state of emergency for NSW as from 9am on 3 January, due to the state’s ongoing bushfires. NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says conditions on 4 January are likely to be worse than those on New Year’s Eve; temperatures are predicted to reach 41 degrees Celsius on the South Coast. A ‘tourist leave zone’ has been declared by the RFS for a 14,000-square-kilometre area between Nowra and the edge of the Victorian border. The RFS has revealed 382 homes were destroyed by fires on the South Coast on New Year’s Eve, bringing to 1,298 the number of homes lost during the current bushfire season.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE

Bushfires prompt Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to declare state of disaster as blazes bring unprecedented risk

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Original article by Brad Ryan
abc.net au – Page: Online : 3-Jan-20

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has declared a State of Disaster for six local government areas and three alpine resorts as the state’s bushfire crisis threatens to get worse. The six LGAs include the Mansfield Shire and the East Gippsland Shire, while Mt Buller is one of the three alpine resorts. The State of Disaster declaration, which applies for a week, was one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. In making his announcement, Andrews stated a second person had died during the current bushfires, but declined to give any further details, while 17 people remain missing. Over 780,000 hectares have been burnt so far in Victoria, while there are currently 50 ongoing fires.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Drop hurdle rates or risk missing out

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 3-Jan-20

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has urged local companies to lower their ‘hurdle rates’ for investment returns to reflect lower rates. His comments regarding lower hurdle rates echo those of federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe. Sims says if firms do not adjust their hurdle rates, Australia will forgo business investment, while overseas companies with more realistic hurdle rates will acquire more local assets. Sims has also urged the corporate sector to back his push for new laws that outlaw unfair business practices.

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AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION