O75 Public Administration

Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand; OpenAI enters the top 20 most distrusted brands for the first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that Bunnings is the most trusted brand for the 12 months to March 2026; it is the 10th consecutive quarterly victory for the leading hardware retailer, stretching back to late 2023. The top three places are unchanged for a ninth straight quarter, with discount supermarket Aldi in second place and discount department store Kmart in third. The next three spots are unchanged for a second straight quarter with the Commonwealth Bank in fourth, consumer products giant Apple filling out the top five, and discount department store Big W again in sixth. Meanwhile, Optus has replaced Woolworths as the most distrusted brand in Australia; this is the first time the telco has occupied this position since September 2024. Facebook and Temu are now the second and third most distrusted brands. Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are fourth and fifth most distrusted, with both improving in the latest quarter. OpenAI (including ChatGPT), experienced one of the biggest declines this quarter, down seven spots to enter the top 20 most distrusted brands in 19th place, driven by suspicions around profit motives and ethics.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, APPLE PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK, TEMU, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, OPENAI INCORPORATED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.7 points to 68.8 in late May – highest rating since early March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.7 points to 68.8 in the week to 31 May; this is the highest result since early March. However, Consumer Confidence is 17.6pts lower than a year ago (86.4), but just 2.4pts below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence increased in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but was unchanged in both New South Wales and Queensland. Now just 14% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 18% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 6% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 44% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 16% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Internal torpedo alert: PM faces AUKUS strife

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Original article by Greg Brown, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jun-26

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has responded to a growing push to reconsider the AUKUS alliance by emphasising that the federal government fully supports the defence pact. The United Workers Union’s national secretary Tim Kennedy is amongst those who have called for AUKUS to be reassessed, as have some Labor MPs and teal independents. Former industry minister Ed Husic used Labor’s caucus meeting yesterday to urge a new vote on the alliance, contending that the terms of the deal have changed following the revelation that Australia will now acquire three used Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines; the original deal had included one brand-new vessel.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED WORKERS UNION

Data centre boom drives first trade deficit since 2017

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Jun-26

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation recorded a trade deficit of $2.4bn in the March 2026 quarter, compared with a trade surplus of $1bn in the December 2025 quarter. The Commonwealth Bank’s head economist Belinda Allen says easing commodity prices and higher imports have dragged down the trade balance in recent years. The ABS notes that iron ore prices fell significantly in the March quarter, while both iron ore and coal export volumes fell. Australia’s exports fell by 1.1 per cent overall, while rising demand for data centre equipment saw imports rise by 0.8 per cent. The trade figures are expected to reduce Australia’s economic growth by 0.8 per cent, with GDP data for the March quarter to be released today.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Bosses warn on prices and jobs after 4.75pc pay boost

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Jun-26

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry says the latest increase in the minimum wage and award wages will cost about $11.7bn across the economy. The Australian Industry Group’s CEO Innes Willox says it will impose a significant burden on businesses when they are aleady facing growing cost pressures; he is particularly concerned about the Fair Work Commission’s decision to phase out the lowest award rate. Some 2.8 million workers on award rates will receive an above-inflation wage rise of 4.75 per cent from 1 July, while about 100,000 workers on the lowest pay rate will get a wage rise of six per cent. The national minimum wage will increase from $24.95 an hour to $26.44, lifting it above $1,000 per week for the first time. The minimum wage has risen by 30.1 per cent since Labor took office in May 2022.

CORPORATES
acci use AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

NSW Police accuse AFP, ASIO of hoarding information

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: Online : 28-May-26

NSW Premier Chris Minns said after the Bondi massacre that the Jewish-run Community Security Group could be given authorisation to carry firearms at public events. However, deputy police commissioner David Hudson told the Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Royal Commission on Wednesday that he had major reservations about the idea, saying "isolating a particular group for additional powers within our community is problematic". Hudson also told the commission that "other agencies" he works with had withheld intelligence in joint cases, while the commission heard that federal agencies were reluctant to share information with the NSW gun registry, due to concerns that sensitive details could be exposed if applicants challenged police over a ­licence decision.

CORPORATES

ANTISEMITISM – AUSTRALIA,{SPACE]DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – AUSTRALIA]

Australian study finds link between irregular blood pressure and poorer brain health

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Original article by Claire Sadler
The West Australian – Page: Online : 28-May-26

Professor Matthew Pase from Monash University says a study that saw its researchers track the blood pressure of 225 Australians aged between 55 and 80 for 24 hours shows the importance of extended blood pressure monitoring. The researchers found that fluctuations in blood pressure over the course of a day can impact cognitive health and can contribute to the risk of dementia, while higher average blood pressure over 24 hours was also associated with greater evidence of vascular brain injury, which occurs when blood vessels are blocked, narrowed, or weakened

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY

BRAIN – RESEARCH – AUSTRALIA]

Rate hold expectations on slowdown

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 28-May-26

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday show that the nation’s headline inflation rate declined from 4.6 per cent in March to 4.2 per cent in April, which was lower than the forecast of 4.4 per cent. Fuel prices fell by seven per cent in April after the federal government cut the fuel excise to $0.263, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers claiming that inflation would have increased to 4.7 per cent without the cut to the fuel excise, while the slowing of inflation in April has increased expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will leave interest rates on hold in June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS,{SPACE]AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY,{SPACE]RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Limit CGT changes to homes: BCA

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-May-26

The Business Council of Australia has called on the federal government to abandon its plans to rush through legislation to enact its proposed tax changes and to instead hold a proper parliamentary inquiry into them. The BCA and other business groups are united in their view that the government’s capital gains tax changes be limited to real estate, although Treasurer Jim Chalmers contends that allowing too many exemptions will only further distort the tax system. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claims only 10 per cent of small businesses will be impacted by the CGT changes as they will qualify for one of four existing concessions that apply to businesses with turnover of under $2 million, but Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Skye Cappuccio says the $2 million threshold has not been lifted for 19 years.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA,{SPACE]AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET,{SPACE]AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY,{SPACE]COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA]

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at almost 3.3 million in April; Real Unemployment at 1.63 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-May-26

In April 2026, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell 58,000 to 1,635,000 (10.1% of the workforce, down 0.4%), and under-employment dropped 48,000 to 1,639,000 (down 0.2% to 10.2%). In total, 3.27 million Australians (20.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in April. Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at just under 16.1 million in April (16,091,000 to be exact, down 94,000 on a month ago, and representing 68.8% of Australians aged 14+). Employment was down 36,000 to 14,456,000; this was driven by a sharp fall in full-time employment (down 225,000 to 9,145,000), although part-time employment rose 189,000 to a record high of 5,311,000. Overall employment represents 61.8% of Australians aged 14+. The April Roy Morgan Unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED