O75 Public Administration

Taxpayers on hook for big bill as Commonwealth Games axed

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Original article by Annika Smethurst, Rachel Eddie, Broede Carmody, Michael Gleeson
The Age – Page: Online : 19-Jul-23

The Victorian government has not disclosed the likely cost of triggering the cancellation clause in its contract to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. However, legal advice provided to the Queensland government in 2012 about the potential axing of the 2018 Gold Coast Games suggested that the state would be liable to pay for the cost of staging the Commonwealth Games in another city; the state Labor party estimated at the time that this could cost around $1bn. The Victorian government still intends to spend some $2 billion on Games-related infrastructure in regional towns that were to have hosted events. Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games Australia CEO Craig Phillips has questioned the government’s estimate that the cost of hosting the Games has blown out from just $2.6bn to at least $6.2bn.

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COMMONWEALTH GAMES AUSTRALIA

Trust and Distrust in the Not-for-Profit Sector

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jul-23

Join Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine to discover how trusted the not-for-profit sector is, whether high-net-worth donors are more trusted than other Australians in relation to this sector, which Australians are most likely to donate to charities, and what the not-for-profit industry can do to become more trusted. Michele will unpack these insights from more than 100,000 respondents.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Trust and Distrust in the Real Estate Industry

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jul-23

Join Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine to discover how trusted or distrusted the real estate sector is, where real estate agents are ranked, what is driving trust and distrust in the real estate sector, and what the real estate industry can do to become more trusted. Michele will unpack these insights from more than 100,000 respondents.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Chalmers won’t back the unions on jobless target

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Jul-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he will not ‘pre-empt’ the monetary policy decisions that incoming Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock might recommend to its board. Chalmers adds that it "remains to be seen" as to whether inflation can be brought under control with higher levels of employment, and he says inflation is the main challenge facing the domestic economy. The ACTU has called for a "reset" of the RBA’s full employment target in the wake of Bullock’s appointment, while Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Farrow said the RBA should redefine full employment as being "understood as zero involuntary unemployment". Bullock had suggested in June that the unemployment rate will have to rise to 4.5 per cent to restore inflation to the target range of 2-3 per cent.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES

Casual employment at 10-year low

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Jul-23

The Australian Industry Group has released a report which shows that the proportion of casual employees in the workforce has fallen to a decade-low of just 22.1 per cent. The Ai Group says the report refutes the union movement’s claim that the Australian workforce is becoming increasingly casualised, noting that the proportion of casual workers had remained relatively steady at between 23.5 per cent and 25.5 per cent in the years immediately prior to the pandemic. The report also notes that casual work is skewed toward younger Australians.

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THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

‘Dangerous and Orwellian’: Tech giants, lawyers warn on Labor bill

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Original article by Rhian Deutrom, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Jul-23

The federal government continues to attract scrutiny over proposed laws targeting online misinformation and disinformation. Josh Machin of Facebook’s parent Meta has told a parliamentary committee that the digital giant is concerned that the additional powers given to the Australian Communications & Media Authority could potentially be abused, or used in a way that inadvertently ‘chills’ free and legitimate political expression online. Liberal senator James Paterson contends that censorship is not the answer to addressing online misinformation. Paterson and some of his Coalition colleagues have previously expressed concern about the ‘Orwellian’ nature of the proposed misinformation laws.

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META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Inflation Expectations down 0.4% points to 5.5% in mid-July after rising significantly in June and early July

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jul-23

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations are down 0.4% points to 5.5% in mid-July after increasing steadily during June. This week Australians expected inflation of 5.5% annually over the next two years. Despite the weekly fall, the measure has averaged 5.7% so far in July after increasing significantly from a weekly low of 5.1% in mid-May. The monthly figure for June showed Inflation Expectations of 5.6%, an increase of 0.4% points from May, and the equal highest monthly figure so far this year after dipping to its lowest in over a year in May. Roy Morgan’s Inflation Expectations during 2023 have consistently been followed weeks later by the ABS CPI figures. The monthly ABS CPI figures dropped to 5.6% in May 2023 – down 1.2% points from April (6.8% annual CPI). If the trend continues, we can expect to see the ABS CPI annual figures for June register an increase after dipping in May. The ABS CPI figures for June are due to be released on 26 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 5,966 Australians aged 14+ in June.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips 0.8pts to 73.3 despite the RBA holding interest rates unchanged

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Jul-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.8pts to 73.3 in the week to 9 July. Consumer Confidence has now spent 19 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 8.3pts below the same week a year ago (81.6), and 5.3pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.6. Consumer Confidence was unchanged in New South Wales but down in Victoria, Queensland, WA and SA. Now only 19% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 53% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 27% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 39% (down 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 43% (also unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 17% (down 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 56% (up 4ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Labor targets Stuart Robert and his handling of robodebt in negative ads before Fadden byelection

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Jul-23

The Coalition’s robodebt scheme has become a key focus of the campaign for the byelection in the federal seat of Fadden on Saturday. Labor has used social media and newspaper advertisements to target outgoing Fadden MP Stuart Robert and former prime minister Scott Morrison over their role in the robodebt scandal. Robert is a former government services minister, while Morrison was social services minister when the scheme was implemented. The Coalition is expected to win the byelection, having retained Fadden with a two-party preferred margin of 10.6 per cent at the 2022 election.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor hints at further cost respite

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Jul-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal government’s bigger-than-expected budget surplus for 2022-23 is in addition to cost-of-living relief than than instead of it. Addressing an event hosted by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Melbourne on Tuesday night, Chalmers said the surplus of around $20bn will give the government the flexibility to provide further cost-of-living relief if this proves to be necessary, after the 9 May budget included expenditure of $14.6bn on such measures over the forward estimates period. Meanwhile, independent economist Chris Richardson says the recent fall in commodity prices means that a second successive surplus in 2023-24 is now much less certain than on budget night.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BROTHERHOOD OF ST LAURENCE