O75 Public Administration

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2pts to 76.7 this week as Black Friday/Cyber Monday drives buying intentions up to their highest for ten months – since January 2023

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Nov-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2pts to 76.7 in the week to 26 November; however, it has now spent a record 43 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is 6.9pts below the same week a year ago (83.1), and clearly below the 2023 weekly average of 77.9. Consumer Confidence was up significantly in New South Wales and Queensland, but down in Victoria and South Australia, and virtually unchanged in Western Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 55% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Looking forward, 27% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the lowest figure for this indicator since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020), while 40% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. (This week’s figure is the lowest net rating for this question since August 1989). Only 8% (up 2ppts) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 40% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 23% (up 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the highest figure for this indicator since January 2023), while 49% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since January 2023).

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

More IR changes make bad bill worse

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 29-Nov-23

The federal government tabled 81 amendments to its Closing Loopholes Bill in the lower house on Tuesday. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox and Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable have expressed concern about some of the amendments, with the latter contending that they will broaden the union movement’s powers with regard to the ‘same job, same pay’ provisions. However, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has described the amendments as "practical reforms".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Union bosses demand cost-of-living relief as PM flags further measures

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Nov-23

Prime Minister Albanese has told Labor MPs that the cost-of-living crisis has been at the top of the federal government’s top agenda, but he acknowledged that it must do more to assist households in the next year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus and the CFMEU’s national secretary Zach Smith have urged the government to make cost-of-living relief a priority; the latter has advocated measures such as a super profits tax on big business and short-term measures such as cutting the fuel excise or subsidising energy bills.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Households coping well, says Bullock

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Nov-23

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock addressed an international conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. She told the audience – which included a number of central bankers – that Australian households and businesses are in a "pretty good position", despite the "political noise" regarding the RBA’s 13 interest rate increases since May 2022. Bullock also conceded that the RBA’s goal of returning inflation to its target range of 2-3 per cent by the end of 2025 is "very uncertain". Her predecessor Philip Lowe told the conference that he is concerned that central banks may not yet have lifted interest rates far enough to rein in inflation.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 74.7 this week as buying intentions improve ahead of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 74.7 in the week to 19 November; however, it has now spent a record 42 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is 6.9pts below the same week a year ago (81.6), and clearly below the 2023 weekly average of 77.9. Consumer Confidence was up in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, virtually unchanged in New South Wales, and down slightly in Queensland. Now 19% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 55% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 42% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 19% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 52% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Inflation Expectations in mid-November are at 5.6% – significantly higher than the month of October (5.3%)

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

The latest weekly Inflation Expectations are at 5.6% for the week of November 13-20; this is up 0.1% points from a week ago and 0.3% points higher than the month of October. A look at the monthly Inflation Expectations for October shows the measure at 5.3% for the month, an increase of 0.1% points on September (5.2%). In the month of October 2023 Australians expected inflation of 5.3% annually over the next two years, and this has continued to increase since. The increase in Inflation Expectations in the month of October is important given that this is the first increase in the monthly indicator since June. The latest ABS monthly CPI estimate for September also showed an increase at 5.6%, up 0.7% points from 4.9% in the year to July. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source which has interviewed an average of around 5,000 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade and includes interviews with 7,495 Australians aged 14+ in October 2023.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

50 Commonwealth Games bureaucrats still being paid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Shannon Deery, Alex White
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

The Victorian government is continuing to attract scrutiny over its controversial decision in July to withdraw from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. It has been revealed that the government has yet to finalise exit packages for about 50 staff who were employed to organise the Games; sources say they will continue to be paid until 29 January, which is the deadline for them to ­decide whether to accept an exit package. The Games staff say they have been placed on ‘gardening leave’. The manager of opposition business James Newbury says Premier Jacinta Allan holds the gold medal for wasting taxpayers’ money. Allan was the minister responsible for the Commonwealth Games.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ALP divides to conquer on IR

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Nov-23

The federal government has struck a deal with the Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association to exempt service contractors from the labour-hire provisions of the Closing Loopholes Bill. It follows week of negotiations between Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke and AREEA, whose CEO Steve Knott has been a vocal critic of the proposed reforms. The amendments to the bill mean that the Fair Work Commission will not be able to make labour hire pay orders if a business is providing a service to a client rather than supplying labour. The government has previously agreed to changes to the bill following talks with the Australian Hotels Association and gig economy platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY EMPLOYER ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION

Bullock: Pay growth risks higher interest rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Nov-23

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock has warned that reducing the inflation rate is the "crucial challenge" facing the domestic economy over the next several years. She also said that rapidly rising labour costs are another challenge for the RBA in restoring inflation to its target range of 2-3 per cent, and stressed that the recent growth in wages will not be sustainable unless productivity improves. Recent data shows that annual wages growth reached a 14-year high of four per cent in the September quarter. Meanwhile, the minutes of the RBA’s board meeting for November show that economic data will determine whether monetary policy is further tightened. Financial markets have priced in a five per cent chance of an interest rate rise in December.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM urged to be honest over Xi meeting

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 22-Nov-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing growing pressure to reveal whether he discussed a naval incident with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the recent APEC summit in San Francisco. Albanese stated on Monday that he does not disclose the discussions he has with any world leader, but he said allegations that divers from HMAS Toowoomba were injured by a sonar pulse from a Chinese warship have been raised in the "appropriate way". Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Albanese need to be "honest" as to whether he had discussed the issue with Xi. He has also described China’s denial that it had breached international laws as "propaganda". The incident took place within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET