One absent ambassador and two useful idiots

Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 3-Sep-25

The Chinese government’s Victory Day parade in Beijing will be attended by the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Australia’s ambassador to China, Scott Dewar, will be a notable absentee, and the nation will be represented by a defence attache and political counsellor from the embassy; in contrast, the then-minister for veteran affairs Michael Ronaldson represented Australia in 2015. Sources have stated that there is "no way" Labor would send a government representative to an event being attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sources have stressed that former state premiers Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews are attending the event in their personal capacity; Carr is also an ex-foreign minister.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

The staggering amount Allan govt is spending to keep young crims locked up

Original article by Ryan Bourke
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation has released a report which shows that it now costs the Victorian government – and taxpayers – $7,775 per day to keep each young offender in jail. This equates to more than $280,000 per year for each offender. In contrast, the daily cost of detaining young offenders is just $2,814 in New South Wales and $2,162 in Queensland. A spokesman for Victoria’s Department of Justice & Community Safety says every dollar spent on keeping the community safe is "money well spent". The Minderoo Foundation’s figures are based on data from the Productivity Commission covering the period from 2023 to 2024.

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MINDEROO FOUNDATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY SAFETY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 3.4pts to 86.0 in late August – its lowest for two months since mid-June

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.4pts to 86.0 in the week to 24 August; it was the first full week of interviewing after the Reserve Bank reduced official interest rates to 3.6 per cent. Consumer Confidence is now 3.4 points above the same week a year ago (82.6), but 0.8pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.8. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in New South Wales but down in every other State. Now 21% of Australians (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 43% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 12% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (up 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Just 22% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations up slightly to 5% in late August – up from 4.8% for the month of July

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were 5% for the week of 18-24 August, up 0.2% points from the month of July but down from the peak of 5.2% in early August. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for July 2025 shows the measure at 4.8% for the month – unchanged from June and level with the average so far this year (also 4.8%). Looking back over the last year, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.2% to 5.2% since the start of July 2024 and averaged 4.8%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for July shows mixed results, with increases in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania; this was offset by decreases in Victoria and Western Australia, leaving the overall figure unchanged from a month ago. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade, and includes interviews with 4,036 Australians aged 14+ in July 2025.

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

Crime concerns surge post-pandemic to highest levels in more than a decade

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

New Roy Morgan research shows that 66% of Australians agree that ‘Crime is a growing problem in my community’ – a higher figure than at any point in the last 10 years. The national trend over the last decade shows that agreement with this statement reached a pre-pandemic high of 60% in 2016-17 before moderating over the next few years and falling to a pandemic low of 51% in 2020-21. Since then, concern has surged and is up 15% points in only four years. Roy Morgan interviewed a representative cross section of 498,629 Australians electors aged 18+ over the decade from July 2015 to June 2025 who were asked to agree or disagree with the statement that ‘Crime is a growing problem in my community’. The State-by-State results of the research reveal significant differences, but the same clear upward trend since Covid. Queensland has recorded the highest current level of concern about crime at 77%, up 16% points in 10 years and up 17% points since 2020–21. Victoria recorded the sharpest rebound since the pandemic, up 21% points and 12% points over the decade (60% to 72%).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Ambassador expelled, terror law changes: Iran’s brazen antisemitic attacks on Australian soil

Original article by Matthew Knott, Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government is taking "strong and decisive action" after ASIO advised that Iran had directed at least two arson attacks on Australia’s Jewish community. Albanese says the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and a kosher cafe in Sydney in 2024 were "extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression" orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. He adds that they were attempts to "undermine social cohesion and sow discord" in the community. The goverment has expelled Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and given him seven days to leave Australia; it has also closed Australia’s embassy in Tehran and indicated that it intends to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

AUKUS at risk of failing: experts

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Aug-25

The Center for Strategic & International Studies recently recommended narrowing the focus of the so-called ‘Pillar II’ of the AUKUS defence alliance. John Lee from the Hudson Institute says this proposal is understandable given the federal government’s insufficient allocation of funding for defence and Pillar II in particular. Lee adds that Labor needs to build a public case for an increased commitment to AUKUS and Pillar II. Meanwhile, Strategic Analysis Australia director Michael Shoebridge contends that the aim of AUKUS is to shift the military balance in the Indo-Pacific region away from China in order to deter war. He says AUKUS will fail if the alliance’s partners cannot explain this common purpose to their constituents.

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CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, STRATEGIC ANALYSIS AUSTRALIA

Slash green tape to hit 2035 target

Original article by Greg Brown, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-25

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is set to reveal the federal government’s 2035 carbon emissions reduction target in September. A group of Australian companies have joined forces under the Business For 75 banner to lobby the government, calling for an emissions target of at least 75 per cent. The Climate Change Authority is considering a target of 65-75 per cent, but the Business For 75 members contend that a target at the higher end of tis range would increase investment by $20bn a year. Bowen has indicated that the government may adopt a target range for reducing emissions, rather than a specific figure.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

‘People are less safe’: Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin claims Melbourne’s pro-Palestine protest put public at risk

Original article by Patrick Hannaford
Sky News Australia – Page: Online : 26-Aug-25

About 100,000 people attended a pro-Palestine protest in the Melbourne CBD on Sunday, while similar events were held nationwide. Victorian police have stated that they had a "highly visible presence" at the rally but made no arrests on the day. However, Opposition leader Brad Battin says more than 22,000 police shifts have been diverted to the weekly pro-Palestine rallies, when police could have been dealing with the state’s escalating crime crisis. Premier Jacinta Allan has previously stated that people have a right to protest peacefully and that this right should be respected. Shadow police minister David Southwick agrees, but he says the pro-Palestine protests have gone "well and above that", and people no longer feel safe visiting the CBD.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Housing prices up: insurers go to war

Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Aug-25

Modelling produced by Lateral Economics suggests that the federal government’s proposed expansion of the home guarantee scheme will adversely affect the first-home buyers it aims to help. The government will allow such people to buy a home with a deposit of just five per cent, and without the need for lenders mortgage insurance. The report, which was produced on behalf of the Insurance Council of Australia, concludes that the policy will result in house prices rising by between 3.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent nationally within its first year. ICA CEO Andrew Hall says house prices will rise by more than the cost of lenders mortgage insurance.

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LATERAL ECONOMICS, INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED