Leaked email: how Libs marched off cliff

Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 30-Nov-18

The fallout from the Liberals’ rout in the Victorian election is continuing, with the party’s federal vice-president Karina Okotel criticising the ill-fated campaign in an email to some party members. Amongst other things, Okotel has described the Liberals’ advertising campaign as "hopeless" and said the party had failed to respond to internal polling which showed that the election campaign was not resonating with voters. Okotel also said senior Victorian Liberals such as president Michael Kroger and former leader Matthew Guy should accept responsibility for the election loss.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fewer workers are joining unions

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-Nov-18

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of workers who are union members has fallen by 11,700 overall since 2016. A total of 1.5 million Australians were union members in August 2018, comprising 1.133 million full-time workers and 402,000 part-time employees. However, union membership as a proportion of the workforce has fallen from 15.3 per cent in 2016 to 14.6 per cent. The education and training sector has the highest proportion of union membership.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ staff morale low amid overhaul

Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 23 : 30-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that the bank’s staff must feel free to speak up about governance issues. The inquiry has been presented with the results of a survey which found that morale at ANZ has declined. Amongst other things, the proportion of employees who said they feel able to raise issues and concerns without fear of negative consequences has fallen by three per cent since 2016 to 67 per cent. Likewise, the proportion of employees who stated that they rarely look for another job has fallen from 63 per cent to 56 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Trade spat a global threat: PM

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Nov-18

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that the US-China trade war could undermine global economic growth. He has stressed the importance of the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit to the outlook for the global economy, and he has urged the US and China to use the summit to resolve their trade spat. Many world leaders regard the G20 summit in Buenos Aires as the most important one to be held since the global financial crisis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Goal of 50pc renewables by 2030 on track

Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Nov-18

Green Energy Markets says renewable sources are likely to account for 50 per cent of Australia’s energy supply by 2030. The energy consultancy estimates that renewables could account for 78 per cent of the nation’s energy mix by 2030 if the current take-up rate of rooftop solar panels and investment in wind and solar farms is sustained. A recent report from the United Nations concluded that Australia and another seven G20 countries will not meet their 2030 renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD, UNITED NATIONS, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Housing drop near worst on record

Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 3 : 30-Nov-18

Data from CoreLogic shows that residential property prices in Sydney have fallen by 1.3 per cent so far in November, the biggest monthly decline in 14 years. The firm now expects Sydney house prices to fall by 15 per cent from their peak. Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the outlook for the housing market is unlikely to improve in the near-term, although he does not anticipate an increase in distressed sales. Meanwhile, Housing Industry Association data shows that sales of new homes fell by 10 per cent year-on-year in the three months to October.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Coal boom looms after Adani start

Original article by Michael McKenna, Jared Owens, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Nov-18

India-based Adani will commence construction work on the Carmichael thermal coal project in Queensland’s Galilee Basin before the end of 2018. The mine and associated rail infrastructure is slated to cost less than $2bn, compared with initial expectations of $16.5bn. The scale of the project has been pared back from 60 million tonnes per annum to just 10 million in its first year, although this will gradually increase to 27.5 million tonnes. Queensland Resources Council CEO Ian Macfarlane says that up to five other coal projects in the basin could now proceed.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, MACMINES AUSTASIA PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. OFFICE OF THE CO-ORDINATOR GENERAL, GVK INDUSTRIES LIMITED, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SEW-EURODRIVE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

Rio approves $3.5bn Pilbara iron ore mine

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 21 : 30-Nov-18

Rio Tinto has advised that annual production at its new Koodaideri mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara will be 43 million tonnes, compared with previous expectations of 40 million tonnes. There is also scope to increase output by 27 million tonnes in the second phase of the project. The cost of developing Koodaideri has risen by $US400m to $US2.6bn ($A3.5bn) since the initial feasibility study estimate was released two years ago. Production is slated to commence in 20201.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Roy Morgan partners Beyond Blue & Uni WA to analyse the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Australia’s Police & Emergency Services

Original article by
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Nov-18

Roy Morgan has partnered with the University of Western Australia and Australia’s leading mental health organisation Beyond Blue to interview over 21,000 Police & Emergency Services employees, volunteers and former employees regarding their mental health and wellbeing. The "Answering the Call" research explored in detail the stresses and strains impacting on those who often find themselves on the front lines in responding to traumatic and life-changing events in our community. The good news is that "Answering the Call" reports that more than half of all employees in these industries, and two-in-three volunteers, have reported high levels of resilience in dealing with experiences. Of course, there is always more that can be done and one-in-three employees report experiencing high or very high psychological distress – much higher than the one-in-eight amongst all adult Australians. For full details of the findings of the "Answering the Call" report please follow the link.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, BEYOND BLUE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Eslake warns on wage crisis ramifications

Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 33 : 29-Nov-18

Australian economist Saul Eslake says the business sector’s push for economic reform is being undermined by the low growth in wages. Eslake argues that the general public is becoming less receptive to reforms such as free trade, deregulation and company tax cuts in an era of sluggish wage growth. Eslake has contributed to a new book titled "The Wages Crisis in Australia". Its editors have argued the case for changes to the Fair Work Act, including expanding the definition of an "employee" to include anyone who provides labour and allowing enterprise bargaining at industry level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA