O75 Public Administration

COVID-19 is the most important problem facing the World and Australia – just ahead of Global Warming & Climate Change

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

A special Roy Morgan study of Australians’ attitudes towards issues facing Australia and the World in the future has found COVID-19 and related health issues to be the top issue facing both Australia and the world at large. Some 36% of Australians identified health and COVID-19 related issues as the most important problem facing Australia (including the pandemic itself, the economic impact of the pandemic and the global recovery as well as the restrictions, border controls and vaccines). Environmental issues are in a clear second place, mentioned by 24% of Australians, and dominated by issues surrounding ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Climate Change’ that are set to be discussed at the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. Environmental issues have declined significantly since reaching a high point of 41% in October 2019. Economic issues, which have traditionally been the leading problem identified by Australians, were mentioned by only 12% of respondents, while 6% mentioned issues related to Terrorism/ Wars/ Security. When considering the wider World, the largest theme to emerge was again concerns related to health and COVID-19, mentioned by just over 33% of Australians – easily the highest for Health-related issues in the sixteen-year history of the survey. The research was conducted in Australia during September 15-20, with a nationally representative sample of 1,024 men and women aged 14+.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for sixth straight week, up 1.4pts to 107.0 with Melbourne lockdown set to end

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.4pts to 107.0 on 16/17 October. However, Consumer Confidence remains below the 2021 weekly average of 108.3, although it is now 8.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (98.1). Consumer Confidence was up in Sydney following the end of the city’s 106-day lockdown; it also increased in Melbourne with the news that the lockdown would soon be ending and in Brisbane after that city avoided a lockdown despite concerns about a handful of cases. Now 27% (unchanged) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (also unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 38% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 19% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 20% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 37% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 30% (also unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Qantas accused of pilot underpay

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-Oct-21

Former Qantas pilot Captain Andrew Hewitt has taken the airline to the Federal Court over what he contends is a shortfall in his termination payout. Hewitt, who is the son of former Qantas chairman Sir Lenox Hewitt, was among a number of pilots who were offered early retirement and redundancy packages when it stopped international flights because of the pandemic. Hewitt alleges that Qantas ‘shortchanged’ him by more than $92,000; a spokesman for Qantas says it intends to defend the claim being made against it by Hewitt.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Crossbench test for class action reform

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Original article by Adeshola Ore
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-Oct-21

The federal government is expected to shortly introduce a bill to cap the proportion of class action payouts received by lawyers and litigation funders at 30 per cent. Shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones says Labor has yet to decide its position on the proposed fee cap. The government will require the support of at least three Senate crossbenchers if Labor and the Greens oppose the bill. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson supports the proposed reforms, but independent senator Rex Patrick contends that the bill should be subject to a Senate inquiry.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Work-from-home tax shortcut extended

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 19-Oct-21

Michael Croker from Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand says it might be time to make the working from home ‘coronavirus shortcut’ a permanent feature of the tax system. The shortcut allows people to claim $0.80 for each hour they work from home rather than itemising individual work-related expenses, and Croker was commenting on a decision that has seen its use extended to June 2022. He notes that the percentage of people working from home has risen from less than eight per cent to 40 per cent in just two years, and he says it is likely that people will continue to work from home at least part of the week for the foreseeable future.

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CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

PM cites national security as a key climate incentive

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 19-Oct-21

Sources within the National Party are hopeful that it can strike a deal with the Liberals over a net zero emissions target by 2050 by the end of the week, or at the beginning of next week at the latest. The Nationals met for the second day in a row on 18 October to discuss their stance on a climate deal, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the Liberal partyroom on the issue. He is said to have told the meeting that the election of US President Joe Biden has increased the pressure on Australia to commit to a net zero target, apparently saying that Australia needs the Western alliance "now more than ever".

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NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Bureaucrat tells ICAC of concerns about gun club grant

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Original article by Lucy Cormack
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Oct-21

The opening day of the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s investigation into former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian heard evidence from Office of Sport director Michael Toohey. He was questioned about the fast-tracking of a government grant for the Australian Clay Target Association in the Wagga Wagga electorate of Berejiklian’s former lover Daryl Maguire. It is one of two grants that were approved in the electorate when Berejiklian was the state’s treasurer. Toohey told the inquiry that the intimate relations between Berejiklian and Maguire at the time clearly constituted a conflict of interest, and said the grant application would most likely have been subject to greater scrutiny if this relationship had been known.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, NEW SOUTH WALES. OFFICE OF SPORT, AUSTRALIAN CLAY TARGET ASSOCIATION

ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator – Quarterly Update September 2021

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-21

Financial wellbeing continues to be an important measure of how people are faring in their financial lives and the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods. The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator is reported as a 12-month rolling average, with quarterly updates showing changes in aspects of financial wellbeing across locations and for a range of segments in the community. This update compares 12 months of post COVID-19 financial wellbeing data to June 2021 with the pre COVID-19 period (12 months to March 2020). The June quarter was a period of optimism in Australia, with low COVID-19 infection numbers and minimal restrictions in April and May 2021. This is reflected in Australians feeling more positive about their financial situation at the time. However, these feelings were likely short-lived with a new wave of infections and restrictions in Australia’s two most populous cities by the end of the quarter. The ANZ Roy Morgan Financial Wellbeing Indicator shows that the financial wellbeing of Australians declined by 4.4% from 60.7 (as a score out of 100) in the 12 months to March 2020 (pre-COVID-19) to 58.0 in the 12 months to June 2021.

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

Electoral staffer used for Victorian Labor factional work

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-Oct-21

Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has heard further evidence of misuse of public resources within the state’s Labor government. Elle Schreiber had a senior role in the office of former Labor minister Adem Somyurek; she has told IBAC that she had often spent as much as 80 per cent of her working hours on party-political activities for Labor’s moderate faction rather than work related to Somyurek’s portfolio. Schreiber subsequently took up a role in the office of federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne, who revealed the extent of branch-stacking and the misuse of taxpayers’ funds in his appearance before IBAC on Monday.

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VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for fifth straight week, up 1pt to 105.6 as Sydney lockdown ends

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1pt to 105.6 on 9/10 October. However, Consumer Confidence remains below the 2021 weekly average of 108.3, although it is now 7.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (97.7). Consumer Confidence was up in Sydney as the 106-day lockdown finally came to an end. Consumer Confidence was also up in Brisbane and Adelaide, but down in Melbourne as the lockdown of that city is set to continue for another two weeks. Now 27% (down 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 36% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (also unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 17% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 23% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 37% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 30% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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