O75 Public Administration

Movement of people in Brisbane and Perth CBDs rebounds after recent lockdowns while Sydney and Melbourne CBDs lag well behind

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows movement in the Brisbane and Perth CBDs rebounding after recent lockdowns in early July, while movement plunged in the Melbourne CBD as the city entered its fifth lockdown. The average 7-day movement level in the Brisbane CBD was at 35% of pre-pandemic averages, up 13% points from a low of 22% in early July, while in the Perth CBD movement levels rebounded even more strongly to be at 41%, up 17% points from the low of 24% during Perth’s most recent lockdown three weeks ago. In contrast, the extended lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne have forced movement in the two cities towards record lows. In the Sydney CBD the average movement level has remained at only 10% of pre-pandemic levels all of last week while in the Melbourne CBD the average movement level dropped to 16% of pre-pandemic levels after the city entered its fifth lockdown on Friday July 16th. The Adelaide CBD again came out on top for the 168th day in a row with the highest average movement levels at 43% of pre-pandemic levels, but these figures were compiled before the city went into its third hard lockdown on Wednesday last week following an outbreak of COVID-19 sparked by a returned traveller. Hobart is now the only State Capital City to avoid a lockdown this year, but despite this good record at managing COVID-19 average movement levels in the Hobart CBD were at only 36% of pre-pandemic levels last week after the island State closed its borders to nearest neighbour Victoria which provides the largest share of visitors to Tasmania. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Coles abandons enterprise bargaining for staff at its stores

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 28-Jul-21

The existing enterprise agreement for workers in Coles stores expired more than 14 months ago, but the retail giant has refused to negotiate a new deal with unions. The Fair Work Act prohibits workers from taking protected industrial action if their employer refuses to engage in enterprise bargaining. The full bench of the Fair Work Commission recently rejected an application by the Retail & Fast Food Workers’ Union for a majority support determination based on its petition of 2,000 Coles employees. The union plans to take Coles to the Federal Court to force it to the negotiating table. Coles still negotiates agreements with its distribution centres, which are heavily unionised.

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COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Winners & Losers: Trust & Distrust in a post-COVID world – video presentation by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine & Social Scientist Dr. Ross Honeywill

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-21

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown an important spotlight on which brands and industries Australians Trust and Distrust with the clear winners being those businesses able to respond quickly and proactively to customers’ needs such as leading supermarkets Woolworths, Coles and ALDI – all clustered near the top of the rankings with high Net Trust Scores while those dealing with high levels of Distrust include Social Media giant Facebook, Telecommunications provider Telstra and media company News Corp. In this one hour long presentation Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine and Social Scientist Dr. Ross Honeywill dissect the drivers of Trust and Distrust across more than 20 industries and highlight what propels the companies performing well with high levels of Trust to the top of the rankings and what mistakes and missteps are made by those companies experiencing high levels of Distrust. It is often thought that the most valuable commodity a company can have is a high level of Trust in the brand, but when one examines the drivers of consumer decision making it is actually Distrust which is a more powerful driver of consumer behaviour. Of course it’s important for a company to have a high level of Trust amongst its customers, but that can be more than cancelled out by a rising level of Distrust. Some recent examples include the ‘Fake News’ scandals that have enveloped Facebook, the accusations of poor treatment and low payment of workers at Amazon, the allegations of sexual harassment at AMP and the destruction of the 46,000 year old Juukan Gorge indigenous heritage site by Rio Tinto – all of which have led to high and rising levels of Distrust in these companies. Although Trust is key to building a brand, Distrust can easily destroy that same hard-won reputation in a far quicker time-frame. To explore the ‘Winners & Losers’ of the COVID-19 pandemic please register and view the full video here:

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Victorian restrictions to stay until most have been vaccinated

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Original article by Mitch Clarke
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 28-Jul-21

Victoria’s 12-day COVID-19 lockdown ended at 11.59pm on 27 July, although "lockdown lite" restrictions will remain in place for at least two weeks. Amongst other things, the 5km travel limit has been scrapped, schools and gyms will reopen and Victorians will be allowed to leave their home for any reason; however, households will continue to be banned from having visitors and face masks will remain compulsory in all public places. Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that some restrictions – and the potential for further lockdowns – can be expected until the majority of Victorians have been vaccinated; about 40.48 per cent of Victorians aged 16+ have received one dose, while 16.98 per cent are fully vaccinated. Victoria has recorded 10 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, but they had all been self-isolating while they were infectious.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops a further 3.6pts to 100.7 as COVID-19 cases numbers remain stubbornly high in NSW, despite lockdown

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.6pts to 100.7 on July 24/25, as daily NSW COVID-19 cases remain high despite the Greater Sydney lockdown. Consumer Confidence continues to remain well below the 2021 weekly average of 110.6; however, it is still 11.7 points higher than the same week a year ago (89.0). Consumer Confidence was down 2.2pts (-2.2%) to 99.3 in Sydney and down 6.8pts (-6.4%) to 99.0 in Melbourne. Consumer Confidence also fell significantly in Brisbane, but it increased slightly in Adelaide as the state continues to record low COVID-19 case numbers. Now 25% (down 4ppts) 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, 34% (down 4ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the lowest figure for this indicator since early October 2020), and 15% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 12% (down 3ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 27% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the highest figure for this indicator since late November 2020). Meanwhile, 34% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (up 5ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ – to put this indicator in negative territory for the first time since mid-October 2020 during Victoria’s second wave.

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

NSW lockdown to last extra four weeks

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Original article by Yoni Bashan, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jul-21

The New South Wales government is set to extend the lockdown of Greater Sydney by four weeks, following a meeting of its crisis cabinet. The state has recorded 172 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily infection rate during the current outbreak; 79 of these people were active in the community while they were infectious. The government is expected to announce a ‘singles bubble’ to allow people to meet indoors during the extended lockdown, while the two-week ban on construction work is likely to be eased from 31 July. The government is also said to be considering the use of rapid antigen tests for essential workers and new support measures for the business sector.

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We’re full partners in Brisbane Olympics: PM

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Original article by Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 7 : 23-Jul-21

The federal government has committed to funding half the cost of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. However, in his first press conference after Brisbane was announced as the host city, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was at pains to stress that the arrangement between the federal and Queensland governments is a "50-50 partnership" rather than a "50-50 funding partnership", with the cost of staging the Brisbane Olympic Games expected to be at least $5 billion. The event is expected to generate around $18 billion in economic benefit.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

$4.6bn in JobKeeper went to businesses that increased their turnover at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic

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Original article by Dan Conifer
abc.net au – Page: Online : 23-Jul-21

The Parliamentary Budget Office has reported that 157,650 employers saw their turnover increase between April and June 2020, when compared to the same period in 2019. These employers received a combined $4.6 billion in JobKeeper payments during this period, and Labor MP Andrew Leigh says the figures show how much of taxpayers’ money was wasted on the wage subsidy scheme; he contends that these companies should return their JobKeeper payments.

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AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

AstraZeneca blitz: PM says get the jab now

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Jul-21

Prime Scott Morrison says he is sorry that the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout has missed a series of targets. However, he says it is "totally focused" on turning this around. Morrison has also revealed plans to ramp up the number of pharmacies that are able to provide COVID-19 vaccinations, while he has urged younger Australians to get the AstraZeneca vaccine. Morrison contends that the emergence of the Delta variant in Australia means that the AstraZeneca vaccine should no longer be restricted to people over the age of 60, and notes that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved its use among people aged 18+. Meanwhile, the TGA is set to approve Pfizer’s application for its vaccine to be given to children aged 12-16.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASTRAZENECA PLC, AUSTRALIA. THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION

Thousands of COVID-19 close contacts in Victoria not yet tested

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Original article by Paul Sakkal, Cassandra Morgan
The Age – Page: Online : 23-Jul-21

Victoria has recorded 26 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, although only two of them were active in the community while they were infectious. Some 16 of the new cases have been partially vaccinated, while five are fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, more than 19,000 Victorians are self-isolating because they are close contacts of infected people or they have visited exposure sites. Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin University has questioned why there is no legal requirement for them to be tested soon after going into isolation; at present they are only required to test negative on the 13th day of their two-week quarantine period.

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DEAKIN UNIVERSITY