O75 Public Administration

Right to disconnect? We’re already doing it, say bosses

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Original article by Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 20-Feb-24

The federal government’s move to enshrine an employee’s ‘right to disconnect’ in workplace laws continues to attract scrutiny. Australian Human Resources Institute CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett says these provisions of the Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2 have increased employers’ concerns about the pace and extent of the government’s workplace reforms. Research undertaken by the AHRI in October found that 40 per cent of respondents’ organisations already have a ‘right to disconnect’ policy, while nearly 90 per cent said the policy is successful.

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AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Spend more on Defence now, PM told

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Feb-24

The review of the Australian navy’s surface fleet is expected to recommend acquiring a fleet of warships that are smaller and more heavily armed than the Hunter-class frigates. However, naval expert Jennifer Parker says this will require allocating additional spending on defence in the federal government’s budget in May. She adds that scaling back the Hunter-class program will not in itself generate sufficient cost savings to finance a new fleet of warships. The findings of the review that was undertaken by retired US admiral William Hilarides will be released today.

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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY

ALP maintains an election winning lead in mid-February as parties set to contest Dunkley by-election: ALP 52.5% cf. L-NP 47.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Feb-24

Support for the Labor government (52.5%) is in an election-winning position ahead of the L-NP (47.5%) on a two-party preferred basis, according to the latest Roy Morgan survey on Federal voting intention. The result is a slight improvement on the 2022 Federal Election (ALP 52.1% cf. 47.9%) and augurs well for the ALP, which faces the Dunkley by-election in Victoria on the first weekend in March. If a Federal Election were held now the Albanese government would be returned with a narrow majority. There was little movement on primary votes this week, with the Coalition’s primary support unchanged at 37% while ALP support was down marginally by 0.5% to 34%. The Greens were up 1% to 13%, One Nation dropped 0.5% to 4% and support for Independents & Other Parties was unchanged at 12%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,706 Australian electors from February 12-18. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by CEO Michele Levine.

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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

Greens are targeting tax breaks for investors to make buying a home affordable for renters, Max Chandler-Mather says

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

The Greens are hoping to use their balance of power in the Senate to get the federal government to cut back on tax breaks for property investors in return for them supporting its Help to Buy shared equity scheme. The Greens are hoping their policies will reduce house prices and therefore make buying a home more affordable for renters. Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather contends that the problem with Australia’s housing market is that the tax system essentially forces prices up, often far in excess of wage increases.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Secret polls led Palaszczuk to quit

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Original article by Lydia Lynch, Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Feb-24

The Queensland government has belatedly released the first five ‘waves’ of an ongoing polling project that has been undertaken by Ipsos Public Affairs via a $390,000 public contract. Former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had consistently refused to release the findings of the polling, which has canvassed Queenslanders’ views on issues such as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics Games, youth crime, economic management and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ipsos sentiment testing has influenced the government’s policy decisions since Premier Steven Miles succeeded Palaszczuk in December; the polling had also contributed to Palaszczuk’s decision to resign.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, IPSOS PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Unemployment jumps to two-year high

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Feb-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation’s official unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent in January, up from 3.9 per cent in December. The economy added just 500 jobs in January, and Bjorn Jarvis from the ABS says seasonal factors may have contributed to the larger-than-expected increase in the jobless rate. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says that although the labour market has been weakening, it remains very strong. Capital Economics economist Abhijit Surya in turn says the Reserve Bank is now likely to bring forward the first interest rate cut to around August rather than November.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Prabowo wins Indonesian Presidency as surge in support shown by Roy Morgan continued to grow until election day

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

The final Roy Morgan Poll on the Indonesian Presidential Election showed support continuing to grow for Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto early in 2024. Subianto won an estimated 57% of the vote in Wednesday’s vote, ahead of runner-up Anies Baswedan on 25% and third-placed Ganjar Pranowo on 17%. The Roy Morgan Poll for September quarter 2023 showed Prabowo with 30% support and in second place. The next Roy Morgan Poll showed Prabowo’s support increasing rapidly, by 13% points, to 43% in December, after Prabowo recruited incumbent President Joko Widodo’s son Gibran Rakabuming to be his vice-presidential running mate in late October. The surge in support for Prabowo, after recruiting Gibran, continued in 2024 with Prabowo’s support increasing another 3% to 46% in January and then another 11% points to 57% on election day – almost doubling Prabowo’s support since September. The Roy Morgan Polls for December 2023 and January 2024 picked up this surge in support for Prabowo and we remarked that ‘Prabowo (was) closing in on a first-round victory in the Presidential election’ – which proved to be correct. The surge in support for Prabowo during the final months of the Indonesian Presidential election campaign mirrors what happened in the 2019 Australian Federal Election. The ALP enjoyed a consistent lead in Roy Morgan polling between 2016 and 2019. However, as the 2019 Federal Election campaign began, the Coalition began to increase their support and close the gap. This trend continued throughout the campaign and the Coalition managed to retain government and win a narrow majority of one seat on election day as their support continued to increase.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL

Hundreds more immigration detainees could be released in sequel to NZYQ high court ruling

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus has asked that the High Court hear a case that could see hundreds more immigration detainees released in the wake of the NZYQ ruling on indefinite detention, rather than it be heard as an appeal by the full federal court. The case revolves around the issue of whether people in immigration detention have to be released if their refusal to co-operate has prevented them from being deported, with the Commonwealth to argue that it should have the right to detain people who refuse to co-operate.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australia, Canada and NZ warn Israel against catastrophic Rafah ground offensive

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Feb-24

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have said a joint statement that Israel must "listen to its friends" and not mount a ground offensive on Rafah. Anthony Albanese, Justin Trudeau and Christopher Luxon stated such an offensive would be "catastrophic" and "devastating", with there being "simply nowhere else for civilians to go". Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to an offensive on Rafah in order to destroy Hamas and rescue hostages, but only after civilians are allowed to leave the "battle zone". However, he has not yet stated where they would be permitted to go, and what safeguards, if any, would be put in place to protect them.

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Shambolic right to disconnect fix

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Feb-24

The federal government was criticised over its failure to consult with employers’ groups regarding the ‘right to disconnect’ provisions of its latest industrial relations reforms. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has attracted further criticism for belatedly consulting with employers with regard to the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2024, which is intended to remove criminal penalties for employers who breach the right to disconnect. The haste with which the Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2 was pushed through parliament resulted in the criminal penalties inadvertently being left in the legislation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS