O75 Public Administration

Australia and European Union fail to resolve trade deadlock

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Original article by Latika Bourke
The Age – Page: Online : 12-Jul-23

The federal government’s negotiations over a free-trade agreement with the European Union have reached an impasse after two days of talks. Trade Minister Don Farrell interrupted his European holiday to attend the talks in Brussels. Negotiations will resume in August, but Farrell has indicated that the government is prepared to abandon the proposed trade deal if it is not finalised by the end of 2023. The European Union wants access to Australia’s critical minerals, but Australian farmers’ access to Europe’s agricultural markets remains a key issue, along with the use of geographical indicators for products such as champagne and feta.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

NATO grateful for Australia’s support

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 12-Jul-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met with NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the defence alliance’s leaders’ summit in Lithuania. Albo emphasised the federal government’s strong support for Ukraine, noting that despite Australia’s distance from Europe the invasion has had an impact on the nation’s inflation rate and its economy. Stoltenberg in turn said NATO is "extremely grateful" for Australia’s support, noting that what happens in Europe matters for the Indo-Pacific region. Albanese will participate in a special session on the Indo-Pacific region on Wednesday. Meanwhile, some media reports have suggested that major NATO member nations believe that Ukraine cannot be offered a pathway to full membership even when the war ends.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION

Gas code poised for release

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 5-Jul-23

The federal government will shortly release the full text of its new mandatory code of conduct for the gas industry, which will require gas to be sold at a "reasonable price". Senex Energy and Cooper Energy are amongst the companies that have suspended or delayed gas projects due to concerns about the code, which is being introduced as part of the government’s controversial intervention in the gas industry. The Australian Consumer & Competition Commission recently concluded that the nation should have sufficient gas supplies for the next 18 months.

CORPORATES
SENEX ENERGY LIMITED, COOPER ENERGY LIMITED – ASX COE

New Zealand: National/Act NZ on 45% are on the verge of a majority ahead of Labour/Greens on 40% in June

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

The latest Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll shows that support for the Labour/Greens coalition government fell 3% points to 40% in June. Support for Labour was down 0.5% points to 30.5%, while support for the Greens fell 2.5% points to 9.5% (the lowest support for the party since August 2022). Support for the National Party was down 1.5% points to 30% (the lowest level of support since Christopher Luxon became National leader in November 2021), while support for Act NZ was up 1.5% point to 15%. Support for a right-leaning potential National/Act NZ coalition was unchanged at 45% in June. The results for June suggest that neither Labour/Greens nor National/Act NZ will have enough support to form a majority Government later this year and the party in the box seat to determine the next Government is the Maori Party, with support surging 2.5% points to a record high of 7% in June. This New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 955 electors during June. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating was up 4pts to 84 in June, its highest since March.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND

Labor’s Voice box of priorities

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jul-23

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will address the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Burney will identify health, education, jobs and housing as the four major policy priorities on which the proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament will be asked to privide advice. Burney will also state that unlike government, the Voice will focus on the next generation rather than the next election. Burney will argue that the Voice must be enshrined in the Constitution rather than merely legislated, to ensure that it cannot be abolished by a future government.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Albanese urged to cancel China trip as Hong Kong vows to pursue exiled democracy activists for life

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

The federal government has stated that it will not tolerate any foreign interference on Australian soil, in response to Hong Kong’s move to issue arrest warrants for pro-democracy advocates Kevin Yam and Ted Hui. Hong Kong’s CEO John Lee has warned that Yam, Hui and the other six activists will be "pursued for life" if they do not surrender, adding that Hong Kong authorities will continue to "monitor" their actions and behaviour while they are overseas. Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should reconsider his proposed official visit to Beijing in the wake of Lee’s threats.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Calls to ban political donations from Australia’s big four consultancies after PwC scandal

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that the four consultancy firms have donated $4.3m to Labor and the Coalition over the last decade. The value of government contracts held by these firms has increased by 400 per cent over the same period. James Guthrie of Macquarie University says major political parties should not accept donations from the "big four" firms in the wake of PwC’s tax leaks scandal, particularly if they have previously received large payments for public contracts. Greens senator Barbara Pocock has also called for large consultancy firms to be banned from making political donations.

CORPORATES
CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips 0.8pts to 74.1 before the RBA meets on interest rates

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.8pts to 74.1 in the week to 2 July. Consumer Confidence has now spent 18 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 9.6pts below the same week a year ago (83.7), and 4.7pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.8. Consumer Confidence was down in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, but up in WA and SA. Now only 19% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 56% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the equal record high for this indicator). Some 28% (unchanged) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 40% (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, 21% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 52% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

1.4m borrowers at risk of repayment stress

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 5-Jul-23

The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled that further interest rate rises may be necessary in order to return inflation to its target range, after leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.1 per cent on Tuesday. Households will face further financial pressure if there are more rate rises. Home loan borrowers will be particularly vulnerable, with research from Roy Morgan showing that 1.43 million mortgage borrowers are now at risk of mortgage stress; this is an increase of 627,000 in the last year. Roy Morgan estimates that an additional 51,000 borrowers would be at risk of mortgage stress if the cash rate is increased by another 25 basis points. A second rate rise of this size would put another 94,000 borrowers at risk of mortgage stress.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Visa and minerals win for Indonesia

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Original article by Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 5 : 5-Jul-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held official talks with President Joko Widodo in Sydney on Tuesday. The two leaders agreed to establish closer ties via business, education and security, as well as addressing climate change. Amongst other things, Australia’s business visas for Indonesians will be extended from three years to five, while the two nations will co-operate with regard to critical miners; the federal government will also provide $50m in funding to invest in clean-energy-focused Indonesian start-ups and small businesses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET