O75 Public Administration

Business blues over IR shake-up bill

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 2 : 8-Nov-23

The federal government continues to attract scrutiny over its compromise agreement with the Australian Hotels Association regarding the casual employment provisions of the Closing Loopholes Bill. The deal has been criticised by Restaurant & Catering Australia, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia and the Minerals Council of Australia. They have released legal advice from Corrs Chambers Westgarth which suggests that, despite the amendments, employers that breach the new definition of a casual could still incur existing penalties.

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AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION, RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.8pts to 77.8 – with more people saying it’s a good time to buy major household items

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Nov-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.8pts to 77.8 in the week to 5 November; however, it has now spent a record 40 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 0.9pts below the same week a year ago (78.7), and it is just above the 2023 weekly average of 78.1. Consumer Confidence was up in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, but down slightly in Western Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 52% (down 4ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 38% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 22% (up 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Australian government paid millions for unusable Covid face masks from obscure online retailer

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Original article by David Conn, Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Nov-23

The former Coalition government has come under renewed scrutiny over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been revealed that the Department of Health awarded $100m worth of contracts to supply personal protective equipment to a small online retailer in April and June 2020. The contracts to supply 50 million face masks and four million isolation gowns were subsequently outsourced to two companies that are registered in Cyprus. However, some 46 million face masks were deemed to be unusable because they did not comply with quality standards. The Department of Health awarded the contracts via a limited tender.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Bullock acts on stubborn price rises

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Nov-23

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock says that slower than expected progress in reducing inflation had prompted the board’s decision to increase the cash rate to 4.35 per cent on Tuesday. Bullock also indicated that economic data and the evolving assessment of risks will determine whether further tightening of monetary policy will be required to ensure that inflation returns to the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent in a reasonable timeframe. Financial markets have priced in a seven per cent chance of a rate rise in December, and a 36 per cent chance of another increase in February 2024.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Former PM Tony Abbott says climate warnings are ahistorical and implausible

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has used a speech in London to express his view that voters will continue to prioritise issues such as the rising cost of living and energy price over emissions reduction. Abbott also questioned the theory of anthropogenic global warming, arguing that in its more extreme forms it is both "ahistorical and utterly implausible". He also criticised the "emissions obsession" and contended that the "climate cult" will eventually be discredited. Abbott was speaking at the launch of a new report on energy security from the Institute of Public Affairs, a right-wing Australian think tank.

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INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED

Melbourne Institute & Roy Morgan – Taking The Pulse of the Nation: Financial pressures are seen widely as the key barrier to getting a university education

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey data collected in June 2023 asked respondents why they believe that people of a similar background to themselves in their 20s and 30s might not pursue a university education. Respondents could choose multiple responses from a set of 16 reasons that can be broadly categorised as financial barriers, personal barriers, and social barriers. The survey found that Australian-born residents are more likely than residents born overseas to believe that financial barriers prevent people from getting a university education. This is despite the fact that Australian-born residents are more likely to be eligible for financial help to support them while they study. The data also reveals that a similar number of both university-educated people and those who have never entered the higher education system believe that financial barriers are putting university out of the reach of young people in Australia. To view all Melbourne Institute – Roy Morgan Taking The Pulse of the Nation Reports visit the TTPN website portal: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/ttpn.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

BHP warns against Same Job, Same Pay

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Nov-23

BHP CEO Mike Henry has reiterated that the ‘same job, same pay’ provisions of the Closing Loopholes Bill could potentially force the resources group to discontinue its FutureFit training academies. Henry says 1,500 people have been inducted into the academies, which provide them with the skills that are needed to work in the mining industry. Henry also contends that the labour hire reforms would increase costs more broadly and make Australia less attractive as an investment destination. Henry says the proposed reforms are the most significant and far-reaching changes to Australia’s industrial relations laws since the WorkChoices regime.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

IMF calls on RBA to raise rates

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Nov-23

The International Monetary Fund now believes that Australia’s inflation rate will not return to the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent until early 2026. The central bank itself expects inflation to return to the upper limit of its target band by late 2025. Abdoul Wane, the IMF’s mission chief to Australia, notes that although the inflation rate is gradually declining, further interest rate increases are needed in order to bring inflation under control more quickly. Wane also contends that the federal and state governments should defer some infrastructure projects in order to alleviate inflationary pressures.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

First foreign nationals evacuated from Gaza named

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Original article by Lucy Cormack
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Qatar has mediated a deal between Egypt, Israel and Hamas to allow up to 500 foreign passport holders in Gaza to enter Egypt via the Rafah crossing. Sources at the border have indicated that the first group of evacuees have reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah. The General Authority for Crossings and Borders had earlier published a spreadsheet listing the names and personal details of the people who had been cleared to leave Gaza; the list includes at least 34 Australians, and 23 of them are among the foreign nationals to have reached Egypt. Some 88 Australians were in Gaza when hostilities commenced after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October.

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Hamas leader vows to repeat Israel attacks again and again

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Original article by Natalie O’Brien, Tiffany Bakker
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad has used an interview on Lebanese television to warn Israel that it can expect more terrorist attacks similar to the one on 7 October that sparked the latest war in the Middle East. Hamad said that Hamas has the "determination, the resolve and the capabilities to fight"; he added that "Israel is a country that has no place on our land" and that it must be "finished". The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that nearly 8,800 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the terrorist attack. Meanwhile, the United Nations has criticised Israel’s airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp on the Gaza strip. At least 47 people are believed to have been killed, including a Hamas commander; Hamas claims that seven of its hostages are among the dead.

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