Giant loss nets Seven worst grand final rating in 18 years

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 30-Sep-19

Data from OzTAM shows that the Seven Network’s broadcast of the 2019 AFL Grand Final boasted a metropolitan audience of 2.197 million viewers, compared with 2.601 million in 2018. The nationwide audience fell from 3.378 million in 2018 to just 2.939 million. Richmond’s 89-point victory over the Greater Western Sydney Giants was the third-biggest winning margin in AFL/VFL history.

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AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB, GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY FOOTBALL CLUB, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, OZTAM PTY LTD, STREEM PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Price rises set housing up for new boom

Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 30-Sep-19

Data to be released by CoreLogic on 1 October is expected to show that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have increased by 3.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent over the last four months. Prices rose by 1.6 per cent in Sydney and 1.4 per cent in Melbourne during August. Yarra Capital’s Tim Toohey has flagged the potential for a housing bubble in the medium-term, particularly if the Reserve Bank further eases monetary policy, while the ANZ Bank’s David Plank says regulatory intervention may be necessary if prices keep rising and there is an upturn in mortgage lending.

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CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YARRA CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

News in call for curbs on big tech

Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-19

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has called for legislative action to reign in the market power of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. Amongst other things, he says such platforms should sign a mandatory code of conduct and be prohibited from using any publisher’s content unless they do so. Miller contends that technology platforms have been the biggest cause of damage to Australia’s media industry and Australians’ access to trusted and reliable content.

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NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Mining earnings heading for peak

Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 30-Sep-19

Resources Minister Matt Canavan says the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report underlines the importance of mining to Australia’s economy, noting that the sector contributed a third of GDP growth in the June 2019 quarter. He has urged lenders to continue to provide financing for resources and energy projects, at a time when local mining companies intend to increase their annual investment expenditure for the first time in six years. The report forecasts that resources and energy exports will top $282bn in 2019-20, eclipsing the record $279bn in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

NSW Premier doesn’t turn up to final vote on abortion

Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

The New South Wales Lower House approved the Abortion Law Reform Act on 26 September via a verbal vote known as "on the voices". The Act had been approved in the NSW Upper House by 26-11 on the previous day. Anti-abortion groups attacked the passage of the legislation, while its passage was welcomed by pro-abortion bodies and feminists. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whose handling of the controversial legislation has seen her come under fire from many Liberal MPs, was not present in the Lower House when verbal consent was given to its passage.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

$100m for farmers as dams fast-tracked

Original article by Ean Higgins Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will travel to the Queensland town of Dalby upon his return from the US on 27 September. Once in Dalby, he will announce that an additional 13 local government areas are to be eligible for drought assistance from the federal government. Meanwhile, with the New South Wales government being the most vocal of the states when it comes to complaining about new dam proposals being hampered by environmental roadblocks, federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley says she is working with the NSW government to make more efficient the review of dam projects under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

‘One-sided and unfair’: China hardens rhetoric against Scott Morrison

Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

China’s embassy in Canberra has rejected suggestions by Prime Minister Scott Morrison that China should be regarded as a ‘developed’ nation for World Trade Organisation purposes. The embassy noted that China’s GDP per capita is 17 per cent of Australia’s GDP per capita, while the gap between its rich and poor is too great for it to lose the trade concessions it currently enjoys as a ‘developing’ nation under WTO rules. The embassy claimed Morrison was essentially repeating US grievances about China and trade.

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WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fall in job vacancies lifts rates pressure

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Sep-19

Job vacancies in Australia declined by 1.9 per cent over the year to August, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Private sector vacancies fell by 2.6 per cent over the period, while public sector vacancies surged 10.8 per cent. Callum Pickering from job site Indeed says there are now three people unemployed for every job vacancy, while ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman says the decline in job vacancies in the year to August was the biggest fall since February 2014. The figures increase the likelihood that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates when it meets on 1 October.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Lockouts to go but NSW festival laws fail

Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed Labor, Greens and crossbench MPs after they moved to disallow regulations governing the safety of music festivals in NSW. The Upper House move comes as a cross-parliamentary committee is expected to recommend on 30 September that lockout laws and late-night drink restrictions in Sydney’s CBD be repealed, but that restrictions in Kings Cross remain in place. Berejiklian claims the actions of the NSW Upper House MPs have put "thousands of lives at risk".

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Digital cash grab not so bad for some

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

A report released on advertising spending on 26 September revealed that digital’s share of spending has risen from nine per cent to 29 per cent since 2009. Television’s share of spending has fallen since 2009, as has news media and magazines, but radio and outdoor media have increased their share, along with digital. Commenting on the report, federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says the report suggests the outlook for traditional media in terms of competition from the digital sector may not be as bad as some have suggested.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS