O75 Public Administration

Dire defence warning to PM, at eleventh hour

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Original article by Jamie Walker
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Nov-25

Retired army major-general Greg Melick has used a Remembrance Day speech at the Australian War Memorial to criticise the federal government’s spending on defence. Melick contended that Australia needs a "grand strategy" to be prepared for war amid the deteriorating security situation in the Indo-Pacific region; he warned of the risk that defence spending may become a "matter of what we can afford and not what we need". The nation’s defence budget is slated to rise from about two per cent of GDP at present to 2.33 per cent over the next decade. Melick is also the outgoing national president of the RSL.

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AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, THE RETURNED AND SERVICES LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 1pt to 83.5 after higher-than-expected ABS CPI for September quarter and in the week the RBA left interest rates unchanged

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1pt to 83.5 in the week to 9 November; it is now 3.2pts lower than a year ago (86.7), and 3pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.5. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, but up in Victoria and Western Australia. Now 21% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 44% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (up 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 31% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 8% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 30% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Only 20% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 37% (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

Unions to pursue above-CPI pay rises

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Nov-25

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s national secretary Steve Murphy has accused the Reserve Bank of being "out of touch" after it forecast that inflation will remain above its target range for at least six months and there will be negative real wages growth in 2026. He says the RBA blames workers, but "profit-driven price hikes" and "corporate greed" are the real problem. Murphy adds that despite the forecast increase in the inflation rate, the AMWU will be able to achieve real wages growth in upcoming negotiations for new enterprise agreements. The Electrical Trades Union’s national secretary Michael Wright says it also will continue to deliver real pay rises for its members.

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AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New Zealand: In October, National-led Government edges ahead of Labour-led Parliamentary Opposition

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-25

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for October 2025 shows the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) on 49.5%, up 1% point from a month earlier, marginally in front of the Labour-Greens-Maori Party Parliamentary Opposition on 45%, down 2.5% points. Within the National-led Government support for National was virtually unchanged at 32%, support for ACT dropped 1% point to 8% and support for NZ First increased 1.5% points to 9.5%. For the Parliamentary Opposition, support for Labour increased 2% points to 30.5%, support for the Greens was down 1.5% points to 12%, and support for the Maori Party dropped 3% points to 2.5%. A further 5.5% (up 1.5% points) of electors supported a minor party outside Parliament. This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 857 electors from 29 September to 26 October. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating was down 7.5pts to 82 in October.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND FIRST PARTY, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY

Optus’ $1.5b in federal contracts in doubt

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Nicola Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-25

Optus is under renewed scrutiny after a mobile network outage in the Hunter Valley region on Wednesday, which prompted the telco to warn that triple-zero services in 18 postcode areas could be affected. It was Optus’s third network outage in two months, and came just days after a parliamentary committee began an inquiry into the triple-zero outage in September that has been linked to several deaths. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells has indicated that Optus’s contracts with federal government agencies are likely to be reviewed. The telco’s current contracts with the Australian Tax Office and the Department of Home Affairs expire in December 2026.

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SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

ACCC’s big tech watchdog low on funding

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Nov-25

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has confirmed that its digital platforms team’s funding is set to lapse at the end of 2025. Sources have indicated that the team now comprises about 10 researchers, experts and lawyers, compared with more than 30 at its peak. The team was established by the former Coalition government in 2020, in response to the recommendations of an ACCC inquiry into digital platforms. Some former members of the team are said to have taken up roles at the technology compaies that it had been set up to monitor. The future of the digital platforms team is part of broader concerns about a looming ‘funding clifff’ for the federal government ahead of its mid-year budget update.

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AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Miners in appeal for a deal

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Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Nov-25

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable agrees with the federal government’s view that proposed changes to environmental laws need to be passed this year. She has urged Labor and the Coalition to reach consensus regarding an overhaul of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to ensure that the changes go ahead as quickly as possible, but with appropriate amendments to allay the concerns of the business sector. There are also fears among business leaders that Labor will capitalise on the Coalition’s in-fighting over a net-zero emissions target to strike a deal with the Greens on changes to the EPBC Act.

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MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Surprise additions to list of banned tech platforms

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 5-Nov-25

The federal government’s final list of social media platforms that will be subject to age restrictions has been expanded to include Reddit and video livestreaming service Kick. It had previously announced that people under the age of 16 will be barred from using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube from 10 December. Communications Minister Anika Wells says the list is ‘dynamic’ and will be updated over time. The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant has concluded that the "sole or significant purpose" of the eight platforms that will be subject to the ban is to enable online social interaction; platforms that are primarily used for messaging and online gaming will be excluded from the ban.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, REDDIT INCORPORATED, KICK, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM LLC, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, TIKTOK, X CORPORATION, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Free-power plan to raise prices

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Nov-25

MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic has described the federal government’s Solar Sharer scheme as "another poorly thought through market intervention" by the Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen. Kavonic warns that the proposed three-hour block of ‘free’ electricity during the day will inevitably be offset by higher electricity prices at other times. David Dixon from Rystad Energy in turn says households may become more reluctant to invest in rooftop solar if they can use electricity for free.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, MST MARQUEE, RYSTAD ENERGY AS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 1.3pts to 84.5 after higher-than-expected ABS CPI for September quarter ends speculation about more interest rate cuts this year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.3pts to 84.5 in the week to 2 November; it is now 2pts lower than a year ago (86.5), and 2.1pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.6. Analysis by State shows a fairly consistent result, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up marginally in Queensland. Now 22% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 42% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 26% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 10% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 32% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Only 21% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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