O75 Public Administration

Iron ore, coal price rises add $22b to the bank

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: B12 : 10-May-23

The budget papers show that the Treasury has upgraded its price assumptions for key export commodities. Treasury has traditionally adopted a conservative approach to commodity price forecasts, which was reflected in the federal government’s first budget in October. The iron ore price had been forecast to be around $US55 per tonne by now, but this has been upgraded to $US60/tonne. The price assumptions for LNG, thermal coal and metallurgical coal have also been upgraded. Treasury expects the revised price assumptions to boost the budget bottom line by around $2bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Melbourne Institute & Roy Morgan – Taking The Pulse of the Nation: Women continue to do more unpaid domestic work than men, better provision of external support services and greater flexibility to work from home needed to reduce burden

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-May-23

In Australia, women consistently undertake more unpaid domestic work – which includes grocery shopping, food preparation, laundry, gardening, home and vehicle maintenance, caring for children and paying bills – than men. The March 2023 Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey reveals that women with children bear the brunt of these demands and that cost or availability of external support services as well as a lack of support from friends and families are key contributing factors. Greater flexibility to work from home could help reduce that burden. The survey shows that women do 23.1 hours of unpaid domestic work per week compared to men’s 15.3 hours. This difference is not solely attributable to gender variance in time spent at work; even when women are in full-time employment, they spend almost four hours more doing household chores than men (17.4 hours vs 13.8 hours). The gender gap exists across all age groups, but is most pronounced between ages 35 and 64, corresponding to child-rearing and pre-retirement stages in people’s lifecycle. This report is based on a total of 1,005 adult respondents from data collected in March 2023. 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.

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

New Zealand: National/Act NZ on 44.5% are now just ahead of Labour/Greens on 42% but neither is set for a majority

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll shows that support for the Labour/Greens coalition government fell 15% points to 42% in April. Support for Labour was down 3% at 30%, while support for the Greens was up 1.5% points to 12%. Support for the National Party was unchanged at 32%, while support for Act NZ was down 0.5% points to 12.5% – its lowest support so far this year. Support for a potential National/Act NZ coalition fell 0.5% points to 44.5%. The results for April continue to show the New Zealand Election later in 2023 is on a knife-edge, with the crossbench set to determine who will form the next Government. This New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 929 electors during April. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating fell 6pts to 80 in April to its lowest level since former prime minister Jacinda Ardern resigned in January.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence up 1.6pts to 79.3 in April

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-May-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence rose 1.6pts to 79.3 in April, although it remains at an extremely low level. Consumers’ net perceptions of their current personal financial situation rose 1 point to -25%. A net 6% of consumers now expect to be ‘better off financially’ this time next year, up 5 points on March. A net -31% of consumers think it is a ‘bad time to buy a major household item’, up 1 point on March. Meanwhile, net perceptions regarding the economic outlook in 12 months’ time fell 4 points to -50%. The 5-year-ahead measure fell from -10% to -2%. One-year-ahead CPI inflation expectations fell back from 5.4% to 5.2%, with no trend evident.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.8pts to 79.8 and has now spent a record nine straight weeks below 80

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-May-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.8pts to 79.8 in the week to April 30. The index has now spent nine straight weeks below the mark of 80 – the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 10.9pts below the same week a year ago (90.7), and 0.9pts below the 2023 weekly average of 80.7. Consumer Confidence was mixed around the States, with increases in Queensland and WA, but down in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 50% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Some 31% (up 1ppt) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 34% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 35% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 20% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 52% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Jobs galore, but more on JobSeeker

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-May-23

Data from the Department of Social Services shows that 921,000 people were receiving the JobSeeker and youth allowance payments at the end of March. The number of people receiving these payments has fallen by just 59,000 since Labor took office in May 2022, despite the unemployment rate having fallen to its lowest level in nearly five decades. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has urged the federal government to strengthen the ‘work for the dole’ program, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected. He says the 9 May budget will include measures aimed at supporting communities that are facing "entrenched, long-term unemployment".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Coalition’s $50 JobSeeker rise more generous than Labor’s proposal, Pocock says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amy Remeikis, Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-May-23

The federal government is under scrutiny over reports that an increase in the JobSeeker payment in the 9 May budget will be restricted to people aged 55+. Independent senator David Pocock has called for an across-the-board increase in unemployment benefits and the youth allowance, saying it appears that younger people are being "left behind". Pocock adds that Labor risks being unfavourably compared to the former Coalition government, which increased JobSeeker and other support payments by $50 a fortnight in April 2021. Liberal MP Bridget Archer and teal MPs have also called for an increase in JobSeeker for all recipients.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Budget warning after RBA shock

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-May-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to increase the cash rate to 3.85 per cent on Tuesday underlines the fact that inflation remains the primary challenge for the domestic economy. Chalmers adds that the latest rate increase highlights the need to ensure that the budget on 9 May does not add to Australia’s inflation outbreak. Amid calls for an increase in welfare payments, Chalmers has stresssed that the budget will include "responsible cost-of-living relief" that does not add to inflation. Meanwhile, RBA governor Philip Lowe has conceded that further interest rate rises may be needed in coming months in order to reduce inflation to the target range of 2-3 per cent; however, he says the RBA does not need to get inflation back to the target straight away, while it also cannot take too long to do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Scandal-plagued Perth Mint could be privatised

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rebecca Le May
The West Australian – Page: Online : 21-Apr-23

Western Australia’s Mines Minister Bill Johnston has indicated that "all options are on the table" for the Perth Mint in the wake of concerns that it has breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. The government has commissioned an independent review of the state-owned Gold Corporation, which operates the Perth Mint, and it has not ruled out privatisation. However, shadow mines minister Mia Davies notes that Labor and Premier Mark McGowan have regularly stated that privatisation is not the answer.

CORPORATES
PERTH MINT, GOLD CORPORATION PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY

RBA to get the Lowe-down on jobs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-23

The federal government will introduce legislation by the end of the year to amend the Reserve Bank Act after accepting all 51 recommendations of an independent review of the central bank. The RBA’s restructuring will result in responsibility for setting interest rates being transferred to a new monetary policy board, which will have six external members and continue to be chaired by the central bank’s governor. This board will meet eight times per year and it will hold a press conference after each meeting. The RBA will be required to give equal consideration to achieving full employment and controlling inflation in its future interest rate decisions. A separate governance board will assume responsibility for the day-to-day management of the RBA.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY