Perrottet switches focus to recovery

Original article by Yoni Bashan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Oct-21

New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet will chair his first meeting of the state’s crisis cabinet on 6 October, following his landslide win in a leadership ballot. Perrottet gained 39 votes in the partyroom meeting, compared with just five votes for Planning Minister Rob Stokes. Perrottet has flagged plans to shift the crisis cabinet’s focus to economy recovery and community wellbeing, rather than day-to-day emergency management. He has also expressed support for the existing reopening roadmap, but signalled that some changes could be made. NSW recorded 608 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases and seven additional deaths on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for fourth straight week, up 0.9pts to 104.6

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 0.9pts to 104.6 on 2/3 October. Consumer Confidence remains below the 2021 weekly average of 108.4, but it is now 8.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (95.7). Consumer Confidence was up in Sydney and Melbourne, as both cities quickly increase their vaccination rates, while down slightly in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Now 29% (up 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 27% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 36% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 14% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 16% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 25% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 36% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 33% (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 New Zealand Consumer Confidence down by 5.1pts to 104.5 in September – lowest for a year

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence fell 5.1pts to 104.5 in September. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation fell 5 points to +7%, while a net 24% of consumers expect to be better off this time next year, up 2 points. In addition, the proportion of people who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item fell 20 points to -7. Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook fell 8 points to -13%, while the five-year outlook rose 5 points to +12%. CPI inflation expectations were steady at 5.1%.

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

Offshore bank accounts exposed

Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 36 : 4-Oct-21

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has leaked millions of files from 14 large offshore companies that administer nominee firms for affluent clients in low-tax jurisdictions. Some of their clients include Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Over 400 Australians have been named in the huge leak of files, which have been dubbed the Pandora Papers ; assets revealed in the leaked files are worth over $1 trillion

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INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS

Thousands face income hit as disaster payments are cut: UNSW

Original article by Shane Wright
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

Research conducted by the University of New South Wales and the Australian Council of Social Service contends that many people in electorates across Melbourne and western Sydney will be adversely impacted by cuts to COVID-related disaster payments. The cuts are due to begin when 70 per cent vaccination targets are met, which is due to happen in NSW as soon as 11 October. The research contends that ending the payments will push thousands back into poverty, and could harm the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

$700m a week wiped from Victorian economy

Original article by Jade Gailberger, Sarah Booth
Herald Sun – Page: 6 & 7 : 4-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,220 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday, following a record 1,488 cases on the previous day. The state’s death toll from the pandemic has risen by three, and there are now 11,785 active cases state-wide. Meanwhile, Melbourne has now endured 246 days of lockdown since the pandemic began, overtaking the record previously held by Buenos Aires. It has been estimated that the lockdowns have cost the state’s economy about $700m per week. Melbourne will have been in lockdown for 267 days in total by 26 October, when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are expected to be fully vaccinated and the economy starts to reopen.

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Australian unemployment plummets to 8.7% in September – as lockdowns of over half of Australia’s population continue

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.27 million Australians were unemployed in September, down 97,000 on August, for an unemployment rate of 8.7%. Driving the fall was far fewer more people looking for part-time work (down 135,000 to 735,000) while there was an increase in people looking for full-time work (up 38,000 to 530,000). Some 1.16 million Australians (8.0% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work, a drop of 12,000 (down 0.2% points) from August. In total, 2.43 million Australians (16.7% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in September, a drop of 108,000 on August. Overall, total unemployment and under-employment was at its lowest since early March 2020 (2.16 million) just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, employment was up 267,000 to 13,308,000 in September, driven by an increase in part-time employment (up 273,000 to 4,660,000). In contrast, full-time employment was virtually unchanged at 8,648,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.7% for September is over 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for August 2021 of 4.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Perrottet stitches up deal to be next NSW premier

Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Oct-21

New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is set to succeed Gladys Berejiklian as state premier at a leadership ballot on 5 October. Planning Minister Rob Stokes is currently the only other contender, but sources have indicated that Perrottet has sufficient partyroom support to win the ballot. Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres is likely to become deputy premier, despite claims by Liberal insiders that Perrottet has a long-standing agreement for Environment Minister Matt Kean to run as his deputy. Kean is tipped to replace Perrottet in the treasury portfolio. The leadership change is not expected to affect the state’s schedule for reopening the economy.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Curse of ICAC claims Covid crusader Berejiklian

Original article by Yoni Bashan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 2-Oct-21

Former prime ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull are among the Liberal Party identities who have praised Gladys Berejiklian following her resignation as premier of New South Wales. Berejiklian is the state’s third premier to be forced to resign by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, after it announced that she would be investigated over a ‘breach of public trust’. Berejiklian’s relationship with disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire will come under scrutiny by ICAC. Berejiklian has criticised the timing of the investigation, given the COVID-19 pandemic, but says she had no choice but to resign. She will also exit state politics after 19 years in parliament.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Lockdowns no barrier to budget tax jump

Original article by John Kehoe, Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Oct-21

The federal government has advised that the Budget deficit blew out to a record $134.2bn in 2020-21, although this is well below the government’s worst-case scenario forecasts. Meanwhile, data from the Department of Finance shows that the underlying cash deficit for the first two months of 2021-21 was $22bn, compared with a forecast of $28.1bn in the Budget in May. Government revenue for the period was $12.1bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, with higher-than-expected revenue from personal and company taxes.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE