O75 Public Administration

Albanese government axing external debt collectors in bid to prevent another robodebt

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

Services Australia will assume full responsibility for recovering outstanding debts from welfare recipients when existing contracts with external debt collection firms expire on 30 June. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has advised that all debt recovery will be undertaken in-house, contending that the nation must ensure that the robodebt scandal never happens again. The controversial scheme resulted in an increase in the use of external debt collection agencies to recover overpayments to welfare recipients. However, the majority of Centrelink debts were in fact recovered by Services Australia.

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AUSTRALIA. SERVICES AUSTRALIA. CENTRELINK

Wyatt urges Libs to defy Dutton on Voice

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Apr-23

Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt believes that Liberal Party MPs will be given a conscience vote on the Indigenous Voice to parliament. However, he hopes that more Liberals will opt to support the Voice, despite the party’s formal rejection of the federal government’s proposed model. Wyatt’s comments follow the decision of Julian Leeser to resign as shadow attorney-general in order to support the ‘Yes’ case. Liberal senator Simon Birmingham says he respects Leeser’s decision but has ruled out joining him on the Coalition’s backbench. Birmingham has also stated that he will not campaign for the ‘No’ case.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.1pts to 79.3 and up 2.8pts from mid-March low of 76.5

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.1pts to 79.3 in the week to April 9. The index has now increased by 2.8pts from the mid-March low of 76.5, its lowest level since early in the pandemic. However, this is the sixth week in a row the index has been 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 15.3pts below the same week a year ago (94.6), and 1.9pts below the 2023 weekly average of 81.2. Consumer Confidence was up in most States including Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but down slightly in NSW. Now 19% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 52% (also unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 32% (unchanged) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 8% (up 2ppts) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 37% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 20% (up 2ppts) 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’.

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

China to be cut from critical minerals deals

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Original article by Peter Ker, Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Apr-23

The federal government will shortly release its critical minerals strategy. Resources Minister Madeleine King will use a speech on Thursday to indicate that this strategy will push back against the "concentration" of critical minerals processing in China. She will also state that "like-minded" foreign investors will be welcome to back the nation’s critical minerals projects, and emphasise that such investment will be needed to develop new projects in the sector. However, Global Lithium’s MD Ron Mitchell says the government must remember that China is a very important trading partner, and rather than excluding China, it could offer incentives for miners that secure deals and supply agreements with allied nations.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, GLOBAL LITHIUM RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GL1

Government debt bill poised to double: IMF

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Apr-23

The International Monetary Fund has forecast that federal and state government spending as a share of the Australian economy will settle about two per cent above its pre-pandemic average. It also expects the general government interest bill to account for 1.8 per cent of GDP by 2028; this is more than double the size of the interest bill in the years leading up to the pandemic. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the federal budget has structural issues, due to factors such as the growing debt bill, the rising cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and spending in areas such as health, aged care and defence.

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australia’s high-polluting utes spark calls to change fuel efficiency laws

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Apr-23

Sales of SUVs and dual-cab utes have risen strongly in Australia over the last decade. The Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger are the nation’s biggest-selling utes, but the Climate Council notes in a new report that they are among the most expensive to run and have poor tailpipe CO2 emissions. Jennifer Rayner from the Climate Council has called for the introduction of fuel efficiency standards, which would incentivise car-makers to supply low- and zero-emissions vehicles to the Australian market.

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CLIMATE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Liberals must shake off nastiness to win back voters: Birmingham

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 5-Apr-23

Liberal Party insiders have downplayed the potential for Peter Dutton to face a leadership challenge in the wake of the loss of the Victorian seat of Aston. However, Liberal senator Simon Birmingham contends that the party must become more inclusive if it hopes to win office, and do more to attract support from people who have turned away from the Liberals, including women, migrants, urban and younger voters. Birmingham adds that the Liberals need to adopt new policies on issues such as housing and climate change.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.6pts to 78.2 this week; fifth week in a row below 80 is the first time since 1990-91

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.6pts to 78.2 in the week to April 2; however, this is the fifth week in a row the index has been below the mark of 80 – the first time this has happened since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than a monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 15.2pts below the same week a year ago (93.4), and 3.5pts below the 2023 weekly average of 81.4. Consumer Confidence was mixed around the country this week; it was driven upwards by a significant increase in New South Wales following the state election, and it was also up in WA and SA. In contrast, Consumer Confidence was down in Victoria and Queensland. Now 19% of Australians (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 52% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 32% (up 2ppts) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 35% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (up 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 36% (down 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 18% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 53% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Australian full-time employment in March hit a record high of 9 million as unemployment fell 0.7% to 9.4%

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

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 111,000 to 1.41 million (9.4% of the workforce) in March. Underemployment was down 48,000 to 1.32 million (8.8% of the workforce). A total of 2.73 million Australians (18.8% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in March, down 159,000. Meanwhile, employment increased by 57,000 to 13,574,000 in March. The increase was driven by an increase in full-time employment, up 41,000 to a new record high of 8,990,000; part-time employment also increased, up 16,000 to 4,584,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.4% is almost 6% points higher than the ABS estimate of 3.5% for February and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.3%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

RBA hits pause, for now

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Apr-23

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has emphasised that the interest rate pause on Tuesday does not necessarily mean that the cash rate has peaked. He says the decision to leave rates on hold at 3.6 per cent in April will give the RBA board more time to assess the state of the economy and the outlook. Lowe added that further tightening of monetary policy may be needed to restore inflation to the target range of 2-3 per cent. Financial markets have now priced in a 22 per cent chance of a rate rise in May, compared with 40 per cent prior to the monthly board meeting. Economists say that inflation data for the March quarter will be a key factor in the RBA’s interest rates decision in May.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA