O75 Public Administration

Business cuts a deal on workplace rules

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 15-Jun-23

The Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association still opposes the proposed ‘same job, same pay’ laws for labour hire workers. However, CEO Steve Knott says AREEA believes that the federal government will legislate the changes in some form, regardless of the widespread opposition. AREEA will therefore shift its focus to influencing how the policy is implemented. In contrast, AREEA had funded its own advertising campaign against the multi-employer bargaining provisions in the government’s first tranche of industrial relations reforms.

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AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY EMPLOYER ASSOCIATION

Lidia Thorpe withdraws accusation made in parliament of sexual assault against Liberal senator

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Original article by Josh Butler, Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 15-Jun-23

Controversial independent senator Lidia Thorpe has used the protection of parliamentary privilege to allege that she had been sexually assaulted by Liberal senator David Van. Thorpe interjected while Van was making a speech regarding the Brittany Higgins rape case; Thorpe stated that she feels "really uncomfortable" when a ‘perpetrator’ is speaking about violence, and accused him of sexual assault and harassment. He immediately denied her allegations. Thorpe subsequently withdraw her allegations in order to comply with Senate standing orders, but indicated that she will have more to say on the matter on Thursday.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 3.1 points to 72.7 after the RBA raises interest rates by 0.25% to 4.1% and buying conditions deteriorate

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jun-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.1 points to 72.7 in the week to 11 June, to its lowest since early April 2020. Consumer Confidence has now spent 15 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 7.7pts below the same week a year ago (80.4) and 6.8pts below the 2023 weekly average of 79.5. Consumer Confidence was up in NSW, but down in Victoria, Queensland, WA and SA. Now 17% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 56% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (a new 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% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially (the highest figure for this indicator since August 1989). Only 6% (up 1 ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 43% (up 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the highest figure for this indicator since August 2022). Meanwhile, 19% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 57% (up 5ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the highest figure for this indicator since the very start of the pandemic in March 2020).

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

Secret compo: Higgins’ 40 years of lost wages

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Original article by Janet Albrechtsen, Ellie Dudley, Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 15-Jun-23

Details of the former Coalition government’s settlement with Brittany Higgins’ remain confidential, although some media reports have sugggested that her payout was up to $3m. Higgins’ draft statement of claim shows that she had sought more than $2.5m in compensation. The document stated that she had been diagnosed as medically unfit for ­employment and had little prospect of future employment. She was therefore seeking damages for economic loss, including 40 years of foregone income, as well as the loss of a potential future career in politics. Chantille Khoury from Law Partners Personal Injury Lawyers says Higgins’ payout seems "unusually high". Higgins has held several jobs since her alleged rape at Parliament House, including media adviser for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.

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LAW PARTNERS PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS

Coal boom to fund Qld’s green power shift

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Jun-23

A $1.5bn cost-of-living package is the centrepiece of the Queensland government’s 2023 budget. It includes a $550 energy rebate for all households in the state, plus a rebate of up to $1,000 for vulnerable households. Treasurer Cameron Dick does not expect the package to boost inflation, although Gene Tunny of Adept Economics notes that other states are also ramping up their expenditure, which will be taken into account by the Reserve Bank when adjusting monetary policy. Dick’s fourth budget has also allocated $19bn to pumped hydro, wind, solar and battery projects that will be owned by the government. This spending will see the budget return to deficit in 2023-24, following a record surplus of $12bn for 2022-23. A $10bn increase in coal royalties is the major contributor to the surplus.

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QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Svitzer agrees to one-year outsourcing ban

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 14-Jun-23

Some 63 per cent of Svitzer Australia employees have voted in favour of the tugboat operator’s new four-year enterprise agreement. The Maritime Union of Australia withdrew its support for the agreement in the lead-up to the ballot, although the deal had the support of the Australian Institute of Marine & Power Engineers. Svitzer has agreed to some concessions after nearly four years of negotiations; amongst other things, it has given an undertaking to not outsource work performed by its employees during the first year of the agreement.

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SVITZER AUSTRALASIA SERVICES PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE AND POWER ENGINEERS

Morrison, Gallagher deny misleading parliament over Higgins rape allegation

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Original article by James Massola, Paul Sakkal
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 14-Jun-23

The Brittany Higgins rape case came under scrutiny in federal parliament on Tuesday. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher admitted to the Senate that she had been given information about Higgins’ allegation several days before it was reported in the media; however, Gallagher said she had been asked to keep that information to herself and did so. Gallagher also rejected suggestions that she had misled the Senate about when she had been informed of Higgins’ allegation. Meanwhile, former prime minister Scott Morrison also denied misleading parliament over his handling of the rape allegation. Bruce Lehrmann has consistently denied that he had raped Higgins.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

IR reforms will blast $13bn hole in economy

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 14-Jun-23

Modelling undertaken by the Centre for International Economics highlights the potential impact of the federal government’s second tranche of industrial relations reforms on productivity in the mining sector. The modelling, which was commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia, is based on a one per cent fall in productivity; it concludes that the restrictions on the mining sector and supply chains resulting from the reforms could potentially reduce economic activity by $13bn a year and reduce consumption in the mining sector by $6bn. MCA CEO Tania Constable says a one per cent hit to productivity is a "conservative estimate". The CIE also modelled several other scenarios.

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CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

AFP war crimes probe collapses over risk of tainted evidence

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Original article by Nick McKenzie
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Jun-23

A new joint taskforce will investigate alleged war crimes in Afghanistan that involved Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith. The taskforce comprises detectives from the Office of the Special Investigator and a team of Australian Federal Police investigators who are not connected to a previous five-year AFP inquiry into the war crimes allegations. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had concluded in March that Roberts-Smith should not be prosecuted as a result of the earlier inquiry, due to concerns that the AFP investigators may have unwittingly used tainted evidence; that evidence comprised information from the separate war crimes inquiry headed by Paul Brereton.

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AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR

Rates must stay high ‘into next year’: Carney

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Jun-23

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has downplayed the prospect that official interest rates will be reduced in the near-term. Carney has warned that interest rates in Australia and abroad will need to remain high until well into 2024 in order to bring inflation under control. He adds that a "very robust" banking system means that Australia is much better placed to cope with higher interest rates than some countries. The Reserve Bank of Australia has flagged further interest rate rises in coming months as it seeks to restore inflation to the target range of 2-3 per cent.

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BANK OF ENGLAND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA