O75 Public Administration

PM urged not to visit China till sanctions go

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Jul-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remains under pressure to postpone a proposed official visit to China amid ongoing trade tensions. Warwick Smith from the Business Council of Australia says China’s trade sanctions are an "endless point of contention" that must be addressed before Albanese considers visiting China. Smith says the Productivity Commission’s recent finding that the trade restrictions had resulted in little impact on the Australian economy shows that China’s stance had been a "political own-goal"; however, he notes that individual companies had been heavily impacted by the sanctions. The wine industry in particular has found it hard to secure alternative export markets.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence jumps 2.6pts to 75.2 after decision to replace RBA boss Phil Lowe with Michele Bullock

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Jul-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.6pts to 75.2 in the week to 23 July, to its highest since early June. However, Consumer Confidence has now spent 21 straight weeks below the mark of 80, the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than a monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 7.2pts below the same week a year ago (82.4), and 3.1pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.3. Consumer Confidence was up in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and WA, but down slightly in South Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 53% (down 4ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 30% (up 2ppts) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 36% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 40% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 18% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 57% (also 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

Global outlook to help give economy a lift

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 26-Jul-23

The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its global economic growth forecast for 2023 from 2.8 per cent to three per cent. The IMF notes that the economic growth forecast "remains weak by historical standards", and compares with global real GDP growth of 3.5 per cent in 2022. The updated World Economic Outlook report does not include any forecasts for the Australian economy; however, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says factors such as global pressures and rising interest rates will see growth in the domestic economy slow considerably.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Right to disconnect from work should be law: union

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Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Jul-23

The Australian Services Union is pushing for the right to disconnect from work to be enshrined in the Fair Work Act. The ASU’s assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske notes that a growing number of countries are introducing a legislated right for employees to refuse to answer work-related emails or phone calls outside of their standard working hours. An ASU survey of clerical and administrative workers across several industries has found, amongst other things, that one in three respondents are expected to perform work outside their scheduled work hours; in addition, half of all workers feel pressured to take calls or monitor emails outside of work hours.

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AUSTRALIAN SERVICES UNION

Labor mulls IR relief amid employer fury

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Jul-23

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has indicated that the federal government may be open to exempting small businesses from its plans to allow casual workers to switch to permanent employment after six months in a job. Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has expressed concern about the potential impact of the casual labour reforms on small businesses, noting that many are already struggling in the wake of the pandemic, natural disasters and the cost-of-living crisis. Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey contends that the proposed reforms do not make sense, as businesses may offset their increased costs by downsizing their workforce. He adds that most of the retailer’s casual staff prefer the increased flexibility compared with permanent employment.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Legal expert outraged by out of context inclusion in Voice No pamphlet

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Original article by Lisa Visentin
The Age – Page: Online : 19-Jul-23

Constitutional lawyer Greg Craven supports the proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament; however, in comments made earlier in 2023 he was highly critical of the initial draft of the proposed model for the constitutional amendment, describing it as "fatally flawed". Craven is outraged that his words have been quoted in the ‘No’ campaign’s essay for the referendum pamplet, stating that his request to not be included in it had been ignored. Craven intends to make a formal complaint to the Australian Electoral Commission, although the AEC says it is legally required to publish both the Yes and No essays without any changes.

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AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

AI will turbocharge economy

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Original article by Noah Yim
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Jul-23

Tech Council of Australia and Microsoft have released a report which highlights the potential economic benefits of generative artificial intelligence technology. The report estimates that a rapid take-up of AI could boost the domestic economy by up to $115bn a year by 2030; a slower deployment of AI would boost the economy by around $45bn annually over the same time-frame. The report adds that the economic benefits of AI would primarily be derived from improving existing industries and enabling the creation of new products and services.

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TECH COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, MICROSOFT AUSTRALIA, MICROSOFT CORPORATION

Business backs Lowe on productivity

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Jul-23

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox is amongst the business leaders who have expressed support for comments made by Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe regarding productivity. Lowe told the G20 meeting on Monday that low productivity worldwide is a bigger challenge than inflation, and that there is no political will to implement measures to address the problem. Willox says there has been a lack of real policy focus on productivity agenda for more than 15 years. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott in turn contends that industrial relations policy right is the key to addressing the nation’s productivity challenge.

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THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Rate hikes may cost even more jobs: RBA

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Jul-23

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting for July show that it considered a 25 basis point increase in the cash rate. The board also discussed the possibility that growing pressure on households’ budgets could result in consumption slowing more sharply than the current forecasts suggest. This would in turn result in slower demand for labour, while the unemployment rate would most likely rise beyond the rate required to ensure that inflation returns to the target range of 2-3 in a timely manner. National Australia Bank’s senior economist Adam Boynton expects interest rates to remain on hold, although he says a rate rise in August is still a possibility.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 0.7pts to 72.6 – third straight week of declines

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jul-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.7pts to 72.6 in the week to 16 July. Consumer Confidence has now spent 20 straight weeks below the mark of 80, the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than a monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 9.2pts below the same week a year ago (81.8), and 5.8pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.4. Consumer Confidence was down in New South Wales and Victoria, but up slightly Queensland, WA and SA. Now only 17% of Australians (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 57% (up 4ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (a new record high for this indicator in 50 years of interviewing). Some 28% (up 1ppt) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 40% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 42% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 18% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 57% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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