O75 Public Administration

Push for minimum pay for rideshare drivers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 9 : 17-Dec-25

The Transport Workers Union will apply to the Fair Work Commission for minimum pay and conditions for rideshare drivers. The TWU will push for drivers’ minimum hourly rates to reflect the costs of being a contractor – such as vehicle expenses, road tolls and insurance – in addition to their actual work. The TWU’s survey of 1,600 rideshare drivers has found that their average take-home pay is $15 an hour, compared with the award rate of between $26 and $32 for transport workers. The TWU also found that drivers earn an average of just $703 a week after costs, while 59 per cent are skipping meals to save money.

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TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Budget bottom line improves but is still bright red

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Dec-25

The federal government’s Mid-Year Economic & Fiscal Outlook is expected to include a revised 2025-26 budget deficit of $36.8bn. This compares with the government’s forecast of a $42.2bn deficit ahead of the federal election in May. The MYEFO is also expected to show that the cumulative budget deficit over the next four years will be $143.5bn, down from the pre-election forecast of $151.9bn. Government revenue has been boosted by a range of factors, including a surge in the gold price, higher-than-expected iron ore prices and an increase in personal income tax.

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ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2pts to 81.5; plunges to its lowest for over a year since August 2024

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Dec-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2pts to 81.5 in the week to 14 December; it is now 2.4pts lower than a year ago (83.9), and 2.8pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.3. Analysis by State shows a split result, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up in Queensland after plunging a week ago. Now 19% of Australians (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 25% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 35% (also unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 8% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 24% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 36% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Roy Morgan Poll: ALP support drops in mid-December as expenses scandal impacts several senior ministers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Dec-25

In the week of December 8-14, primary support for the ALP was at 30.5% (down 2.5% from the first three weeks of December), the Coalition was at 27.5% (up 1.5%), One Nation was at 17% (up 2%), the Greens were at 13% (down 0.5%), and Independents/Other Parties were at 12% (down 0.5%) according to the latest Roy Morgan survey conducted with a representative Australia-wide cross-section of 1,574 electors. On a two-party preferred basis, the ALP is now on 54.5% (down 1.5% from early December) ahead of the Coalition on 45.5% (up 1.5% from early December). If a Federal Election were held now the ALP would be returned to Government with a decreased majority. All interviewing for this Roy Morgan survey was conducted before the shocking terrorist attack on Bondi Beach early on Sunday evening.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Bondi shooter’s terror links revealed as police investigate manifesto

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Original article by Perry Duffin, Sally Rawsthorne, Mostafa Rachwani, Michael McGowan
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Dec-25

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon says authorities are looking into the purpose of Sajid and Naveed Akram’s trip to the Philippines just weeks before the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. They are believed to have received military training by Islamic State, which still has a presence in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett says the early indications suggest that the Akrams’ terrorist attack had been "inspired by Islamic State" rather than their religion. Police are also investigating claims that the Akrams had prepared a manifesto documenting their extremist beliefs; they are also looking into how Sayid Akram was granted a gun licence in 2023, despite his son having previously been investigated over his links to IS supporters.

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NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

Gun laws fail to quell rising anger

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Dec-25

The federal government is attracting growing criticism over its plans for gun controls in the wake of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. Former prime minister John Howard is concerned that the government is using gun laws as a diversion to deflect attention from its failure to show leadership on the issue of anti-Semitism. He says Labor’s initial response to the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel had been "weak and unconvincing"; he contends that some of the anti-Semitism that has been allowed to spread over the last two years may have been prevented if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had taken a firmer stance from the outset. Queensland’s Premier David Crisafulli supports gun law reform but agrees that cracking down on anti-Semitism must be a priority.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Telcos accused of Triple-Zero death cover-up

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Nicola Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-25

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has accused the nation’s telecommunications companies of a "cover-up" during the second hearing of an inquiry into Optus’s triple-zero outage, which has been linked to several deaths. She was responding to the revelation that a person had died after an outdated Samsung mobile phone was used to call triple-zero; the device defaulted to Vodafone’s decommissioned 3G network. This incident had been reported six days after the Optus outage on 24 September, but it was not publicly disclosed. Communications Minister Anika Wells was also criticised over her handling of the Optus outage; she had been in New York at the time, promoting the government’s social media age restrictions.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Secret state backing anti-mining activists

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: 5 : 10-Dec-25

The Minerals Council of Australia has criticised a court’s decision to impose a 30-year suppresssion order on much of the evidence that informed the federal government’s decision to block development of the McPhillamys gold mine in NSW. Federal Court judge James Stellios contended amongst other things that the suppression order was necessary to "prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice" and to uphold Indigenous traditional law. However, a spokesman for the MCA says the decision has made Australia a "secret state" that supports the interests of anti-mining activists

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MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

We will stand firm against the tech giants

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Dec-25

Communications Minister Anika Wells says the federal government is proud of its "world-leading" social media age restrictions, which come into effect today. She adds that the government is on the side of kids, parents and families with regard to online safety, rather than social media platforms. Wells has emphasised that Labor will defend its ban on under-16s’ use of social media platforms, amid several legal challenges and resistance to the policy amongst some technology companies. Meanwhile, Reddit has advised that it will comply with the ban, having previously flagged a legal challenge.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, REDDIT

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at 3.34 million in November – 12 months straight above 3 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-25

In November 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment was virtually unchanged at 1,628,000 (10.2% of the workforce). There were fewer people looking for full-time work (down 89,000 to 599,000), which was largely offset by the rise in people looking for part-time work (up 80,000 to 1,029,000). In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.71 million Australians (10.7% of the workforce, up 0.3%) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work (63,000 from October). In total 3.34 million Australians (20.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in November. Meanwhile, employment increased by 119,000 to 14,339,000; Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at 15,967,000 in November, up 110,000 on a month ago, and representing 68.8% of Australians aged 14+.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED