O75 Public Administration

Morrison sorry as PM vows action on secrecy

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 17-Aug-22

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has defended his actions in secretly appointing himself to five cabinet portfolios. He believes that the move had been "prudent and responsible", as it would enable him to take charge of key portfolios if the relevant minister became incapacitated due to COVID-19, rather than placing the portfolio in the hands of a junior minister. Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews – who had not been aware that Morrison had seized her portfolio – has called for him to resign from parliament, although Opposition leader Peter Dutton says he should stay on. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Morrison has undermined the Westminster system of government, and has flagged the possibility of legal reforms to prevent such an abuse of power in the future. He adds that other people will need to be held accountable for the scandal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

RBA deliberately setting up for a recession: ACTU

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Original article by Michael Read, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-22

The ACTU has released a policy paper which argues that full and secure employment should be the top macroeconomic priority for the Jobs and Skills Summit. The report was written by Jim Stanford from the Centre for Future Work; he argues that the Reserve Bank’s "whatever it takes" approach to returning inflation to its target range means it is willing to cause a recession and massive job losses in order to do so. The ACTU wants the summit to consider a fairer and more comprehensive inflation-reducing policy, and greater regulation of labour markets to ensure that real wages growth is in line with productivity.

CORPORATES
ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Unions seek ban on axing EBAs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-22

Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey says the termination of enterprise bargaining agreements is one of the greatest drags on wage growth in Australia. Unions NSW will push for a policy change at Labor’s state conference in October which would ban future Labor governments from terminating workplace agreements during bargaining. Rail unions have accused the state government of repeatedly threatening to terminate Sydney Trains’ enterprise during protracted negotiations over a new pay deal.

CORPORATES
UNIONS NSW, SYDNEY TRAINS

FOI documents show Dutton’s ‘captain’s call’ to make senior Liberal head of defence thinktank

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

The former Coalition government appointed Justin Bassi to succeed Peter Jennings as executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute shortly before it called the 21 May election. Bassi was the chief of staff to foreign affairs minister Marise Payne at the time; documents obtained via freedom of information show that former defence minister Peter Dutton selected Bassi for the role even though the ASPI itself preferred one of the other five candidates. The ASPI is partially funded by the Department of Defence, but its charter states that it is independent. Labor had warned Dutton against making a "political captain’s call" regarding the ASPI appointment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Worst of Covid over, experts say

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 10-Aug-22

Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon believes that Australia’s winter COVID-19 wave has peaked. Infectious diseases modeller Romain Ragonnet says barring the emergence of major new variants, future waves are likely to be smaller and less severe, and COVID-19 will eventually become a seasonal event like influenza. Just 26,746 new COVID-19 cases were reported nationwide on Tuesday, compared with 35,659 a week earlier. NSW reported 10,043 new cases and 25 deaths, while there were 6,380 new infections and 44 deaths in Victoria.

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Inflation Expectations up 0.2% points to 5.9% in July – the highest monthly rating since August 2012

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

In July 2022, Australians expected inflation of 5.9% annually over the next two years, up 0.2% points from June. Inflation Expectations in July are now 1.8% points higher than a year ago, and 2.5% points above the near record low of 3.4% in July 2020. A look at Inflation Expectations by socio-economic quintile shows large increases across the board since the measure hit record lows in mid-2020 during Victoria’s second COVID-19 wave. Inflation Expectations are lowest for the top ‘AB Quintile’ at 5.3%, although this is up 2.8% points since mid-2020 – the equal largest increase of any socio-economic quintile. Inflation Expectations are progressively higher for each subsequent socio-economic quintile. On a State-based level Inflation Expectations were highest in Tasmania in July at 7%, far higher than any other State. Next highest was the largest State of NSW at 6.3% – also well above the national average. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source which has interviewed an average of 4,700 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade, and includes interviews with 7,484 Australians aged 14+ in July 2022.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australian unemployment increases to 8.5% in July as workforce swells to 14.7 million Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.25 million Australians (8.5% of the workforce) were unemployed in July, up 121,000 (0.7%) from June. The number of Australians looking for full-time work was up 85,000 to 494,000 in July, and the number of people looking for part-time work was up 36,000 to 752,000. Some 1.27 million Australians (8.6% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – up 44,000 from June. In total, 2.52 million Australians (17.1% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in July, up 165,000 on June. Meanwhile, employment increased by 74,000 to 13,440,000 in July, driven by an increase in full-time employment (up 8,000 to 8,884,000); part-time employment rose by 66,000 to 4,556,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.5% for July is more than double the ABS estimate for June of 3.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops by 3.8pts to 80.3 after RBA raises interest rates for fourth straight month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Aug-22

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.8pts to 80.3 in the week ended 7 August. It is now 18.3pts below the same week a year ago (98.6). In addition, Consumer Confidence is now 11.6pts below the 2022 weekly average of 91.9 and at its lowest since early April 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic. On a State-based level Consumer Confidence was down across all five mainland States this week with the largest falls in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia. Now 22% (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 43% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 29% (down 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 35% (up 3ppts) 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 45% (up 6ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the highest figure for this indicator since September 2020). Meanwhile, just 23% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 48% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Dutton presses button on the nuclear debate

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Aug-22

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the energy crisis has demonstrated the need for more dispatchable power in the electricity grid. He adds that the nation must have an honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy. Dutton has advised that the Coalition will hold an internal party review on the issue of nuclear energy; he says it is mature, proven technology that can provide reliable, emissions-free, base-load electricity. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable has welcomed the Coalition’s commitment to looking at the option of nuclear energy, but Energy Minister Chris Bowen contends that more renewable energy is the solution to rising power prices.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Roy Morgan Business Confidence down 2.4pts to 94.9 – lowest since September 2020

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

In July 2022, Roy Morgan Business Confidence fell 2.4pts to 94.9. This is the third straight monthly fall and the first time the index fell for three straight months since the long lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria in August 2021. Business Confidence is now at its lowest since September 2020 (85.6), and 18.5pts below the long-term average of 113.4. The monthly decline in Business Confidence was driven by a fall in confidence about the prospects for the Australian economy over the next five years, with only 37.6% of businesses now expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years, down 2ppts from a month ago. Meanwhile, 41.4% (down 0.1ppts) expect the business to be ‘better off’ this time next year and 38.8% (up 0.2ppts) say the business is ‘better off’ financially than this time a year ago.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED