O75 Public Administration

Allan government blocks Big Build document release

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 15-Apr-26

The Victorian government has been criticised for blocking the bulk of a freedom of information request for documents pertaining to corruption on the ‘Big Build’ project. Liberal MP David Davis sought access to documents covering the period from 2020 to 2025. The Department of Premier & Cabinet identified a total of 1,082 pages of such documents, but only 132 pages were released; some of these were partially redacted, and were restricted to documents created after July 2024. Davis says the suppression of documents is "outrageous" and it is not credible that Premier Jacinta Allan’s own department is blocking the release of information that is clearly in the public interest.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

ACTU bid to bump up pay rise for three million

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Apr-26

The ACTU has previously pushed for the Fair Work Commission to grant a pay rise of five per cent for people on the minimum wage and award wages in 2026. However, ACTU secretary Sally McManus has advised that the peak union body will now seek a higher wage increase, citing factors such as the Iran war’s impact on the cost of living. McManus also says that unions wil seek higher pay rises through enterprise bargaining as existing agreements expire and are renegotiated. Business groups have advocated a 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage.

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ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

WA government starts its own fuel reserve with 4 million litre purchase

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Original article by Hamish Hastie
WAtoday – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

The Western Australian government has paid $10m to buy four million litres of diesel fuel, as part of a strategy to establish a domestic fuel reserve. Cambridge Gulf bought the fuel from BP on behalf of the state government, and will store the fuel at its facility in Wyndham free of charge. Premier Roger Cook says the fuel will be delivered to the state’s regions that experiencing acute, localised shortages; he adds that it will support remote communities and key industries such as agriculture in particular. Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has rejected suggestions that WA is establishing its own fuel reserve because the federal system is not working for the state.

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CAMBRIDGE GULF LIMITED, BP PLC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases 2.2 points to 64.5 after ceasefire agreement in Middle East

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.2 points to 64.5 in the week to 12 April; however, it is now 19.7pts lower than a year ago (84.2), and 9.1pts below the 2026 weekly average of 73.6. Although a second straight weekly improvement and the highest result for a month, this is the fourth-lowest Consumer Confidence in the index stretching back to 1972. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence improved in the three largest States of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland; it was unchanged in Western Australia and down in South Australia. Now 12% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 59% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 19% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 4% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 50% (down 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 14% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (down 4ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Foreign tax grab shocks investors

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Apr-26

The federal government has previously announced a range of measures aimed at boosting investment in Australia. However, tax experts warn that Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ proposal to retrospectively apply a 30 per cent capital gains tax on foreign investors who sell property-related assets may have the opposite effect. The tax measure had previously been expected to apply to future asset sales, but Chalmers has proposed backdating it to 2006. Jenny Wong from CPA Australia warns that applying new tax laws to past transactions will make the nation a less attractive investment destination. The CGT change would apply to assets such as renewable energy infrastructure, ports, water entitlements and mining machinery.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CPA AUSTRALIA

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at 3.4 million in March; Real Unemployment at 1.69 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

In March 2026, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell 28,000 to 1,693,000 (10.5% of the workforce, down 0.1%), and under-employment dropped 205,000 to 1,687,000 (down 1.2% to 10.4%). In total, 3.38 million Australians (20.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in March. Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at just under 16.2 million in March (16,185,000 to be exact, down 78,000 on a month ago and representing 69.4% of Australians aged 14+). Employment was down 50,000 to 14,492,000; this drop was due to a sharp fall in part-time employment (down 120,000 to 5,122,000), while full-time employment rose 70,000 to a new record high of 9,370,000. Overall employment represents 62.1% of Australians aged 14+. The March Roy Morgan Unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14+.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australia joins Strait of Hormuz talks – without the US

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Original article by Matthew Knott, Michael Koziol
The Age – Page: Online : 15-Apr-26

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has advised that that Australia will "most definitely" participate in a proposed Europe-led summit aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. About 40 nations have been invited to attend the summit, which has been organised by France and Britain, and will seek to form a global coalition to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after a permanent ceasefire is in place. The US and Iran are not expected to have any role in the proposed coalition. Meanwhile, media reports have indicated that at least 15 US warships participated in the first day of the Trump administration’s blockade of the Strait.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

IMF fears third global recession this century

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 15-Apr-26

The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report has warned that the Iran war could potentially trigger a recession. The IMF’s worst-case scenario is for global economic growth to fall by 1.3 percentage points in 2026, to just two per cent; this would the global economy on the brink of a recession. The IMF has also urged governments worldwide to curb spending and avoid targeted cost-of-living relief, arguing that such measures could boost inflation and make it harder for central banks to bring it under control. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor Andrew Hauser says it will continue to increase official interest rates if it deems the risk of high inflation to be more important than the impact on economic growth.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Ministers’ exit triggers Allan cabinet revamp

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-Apr-26

The Victorian government will announce a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, having confirmed that three ministers will not contest the election in November. Premier Jacinta Allan has praised outgoing ministers Danny Pearson, Mary-Anne Thomas and Gayle Tierney, stating that they have all left an "indelible mark" on the Victoria, the government and the Labor movement. Natalie Hutchins had previously advised in late 2025 that she will retirefrom politics. Labor’s caucus will vote on filling the four ministerial vacancies today, amid expectations that former union leader Luba Grigorovitch will gain one of the portfolios.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Alarm over Russian blood oil

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Original article by Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Apr-26

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will travel to Brunei and Malaysia in coming days as the federal government seeks to shore up Australia’s fuel supply. He has been urged to seek assurances that any fuel that is imported to Australia from countries such as Brunei and Malaysia has not been sourced using crude oil from Russia. Both nations have become significant importers of crude oil from Russia in recent years, and the Iran war-induced fuel crunch has prompted many Asian countries to buy the so-called "blood oil". Australia’s sanctions prohibit oil from being directly imported from Russia, although a loophole allows local companies to buy refined fuels from third countries that process Russian crude.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET