O75 Public Administration

Gender balance improves, but still a long way to go

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Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 15 : 6-Sep-23

Data from Chief Executive Women shows that 10 women were appointed as the CEO of an S&P/ASX 300 company in 2022-23. However, the net gain was eight, given that two female CEOs resigned during the period, while men still account for 91 per cent of CEO roles at the nation’s top 300 listed companies. CEW president Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz says progress towards gender equity is being made, but it is still "glacial". The figures do not include the more recent appointment of Michelle Jablko at Transurban and Fiona Hick’s resignation at Fortescue Metals Group. Vanessa Hudson was named the successor to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce in May, but her appointment was originally slated to take effect in November.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE WOMEN,STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX,TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL,FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG,QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

We could lose the race on critical minerals

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 6-Sep-23

Lynas Rare Earths has received a $US258m ($404m) grant from the Biden administration to build a heavy rare earths refinery in Texas. It will be the first facility of its kind outside of China, and will process material from Lynas’s Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. However, although the federal government has allocated some funding to Australia’s burgeoning critical minerals industry, its strategy for the sector seems to be based primarily on local companies gaining access to funding from the US. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has used a Minerals Week speech in Canberra to call for greater action to capitalise on Australia’s competitive advantage in the criticals minerals sector.

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LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC,TESLA INCORPORATED

Victoria’s demands are taste of future: Price

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale,Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Sep-23

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s 12-month deadline to respond to the 46 recommendations in its final report is "ambitious", and one that the state government is unlikely to meet. He has downplayed concerns that the recommendations would result in separate justice systems for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The federal Opposition’s Indigenous affairs spokeswoman, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, warns that the Yoorrook commission’s recommendations are a taste of what Australians can expect if the divisive voice to parliament is enshrined in the Constitution. She adds that lowering expectations for Indigenous Australians does not help solve the problems that lead to their over-representation in the criminal justice and child protection systems.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 0.6pts to 78.7 – highest for four months since late April

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Sep-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 0.6pts to 78.7 in the week to 3 September; despite the small increase, the index has now spent a record 27 straight weeks below the mark of 80. Consumer Confidence is now 7.4pts below the same week a year ago (86.1), and it is just above the 2023 weekly average of 78.1. Consumer Confidence was up in Victoria and South Australia, but down slightly in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 53% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Only 7% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 37% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 21% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 52% (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

BHP says IR changes to cost more than $1.3b estimate

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Sep-23

BHP estimated in May that the ‘same job, same pay’ policy for labour hire workers would cost the resources group about $1.3bn a year. However, BHP believes that the actual cost may be much higher, given that the explanatory memorandum attached to the Closing Loopholes Bill could potentially capture mining service providers such as Thiess and Downer EDI. BHP did not take such providers into account when it released the initial estimate. BHP says it supports the intention of the bill with regard to low-paid and vulnerable workers, but argues that it is not appropriate for the mining sector; BHP notes that the average wage for employees in its Operations Services division is nearly $150,000 a year.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,THIESS PTY LTD,DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW

Alan Joyce to depart Qantas early

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser,Joe Aston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Sep-23

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has stepped down with immediate effect, stating that recent events have made it clear that he should bring forward his retirement by two months and allow the airline to move ahead with its ‘renewal’ as a priority. Qantas has come under scrutiny over its role in lobbying the federal government to block Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia, as well as legal action by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission over allegations that Qantas had sold tickets for more than 8,000 flights that it had already cancelled. Incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson will face the challenge of restoring Qantas’s reputation. Michele Levine, the CEO of Roy Morgan, which surveys the public regularly on the question of whether Corporate Australia is facing moral bankruptcy, says the poor behaviour of many of the economy’s corporate leaders reveals a moral blindness to what is ethical and in the community’s interest rather than solely in the shareholders’ interest.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Backbench MPs now on $225k a year

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 6 : 30-Aug-23

The Remuneration Tribunal has approved a pay rise of four per cent for federal MPs; it will take effect from 1 September and will be backdated to 1 July. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will receive a pay rise of $22,573 a year, lifting his salary to $586,929. The base salary for cabinet ministers will rise by $14,977 to $389,406, while the base salary of backbench MPs will rise from $217,060 a year to $225,742. The independent tribunal has described the increase in MPs’ salaries as ‘conservative’, given that wages for public sector workers have grown much faster over the last decade.

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AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Dispute exposes labour hire laws legal nightmare

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-23

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says a union dispute at Opal Australian Paper shows that the federal government’ proposed ‘same job, same pay’ policy could be a legal nightmare for employers. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union alleged that a labour hire worker was paid less than the direct workforce at Opal’s Maryvale paper mill in Victoria. A union deal required contractors to receive ‘no less favourable’ wages and conditions than direct employees. The Fair Work Commission assessed a range of disputed conditions before ruling in Opal’s favour, including overtime, casual rates, allowances and bonuses.

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OPAL AUSTRALIAN PAPER, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.3pts to 78.1 as Consumer Confidence hits a record six months below 80

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Aug-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.3pts to 78.1 in the week to 27 August; however, it has now spent a record 26 straight weeks below the mark of 80. Consumer Confidence is now 6.9pts below the same week a year ago (85.0), and it is in line with the 2023 weekly average of 78.1. Consumer Confidence was up in the three largest States of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but down slightly in both Western Australia and South Australia. Driving the improvement in the index this week were positive moves in sentiment related to both personal finances and the fortunes of the Australian economy over the next year.

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

Howard calls on No supporters to maintain their rage

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Original article by Paige Taylor
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-23

Former prime minister John Howard has reiterated his view that the proposed constitutional amendment to establish an Indigenous Voice to parliament will divide Australia by race. He says the proposal for an Indigenous advisory body goes against what makes people Australian, and notes that former Labor PM Bob Hawke stated in 1988 that the only thing that defines someone as an Australian is their commitment to Australia. Howard hopes the voice is defeated in every state, while he contends that the notion of establishing a treaty with Indigenous people is absurd because treaties are made between sovereign nations.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET