O75 Public Administration

Roy Morgan Business Confidence hits a new record low of only 76.1 in May after Reserve Bank raises interest rates

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Jun-26

In May 2026 Roy Morgan Business Confidence hit a new record low of 76.1 and has now fallen by 28.9pts so far during 2026. This result is 0.4pts below the previous record low reached a month ago, and 0.8 points below the pandemic low of 76.9 in April 2020. Business Confidence is also down 23.5 points from a year ago. Now 25.2% (up 1.2ppts) of respondents say their business is ‘better off’ financially than a year ago, while 44.9% (up 0.9ppts), say the business is ‘worse off’ (the highest figure for this indicator since December 2023). Just 29% (down 3.6ppts) of respondents expect the business will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the lowest figure for this indicator since August 2015), while 34.1% (up 4.5ppts) expect the business will be ‘worse off’ (a record high figure for this indicator). Meanwhile, just 28.8% (up 0.5ppts) of respondents say the next 12 months will be a ‘good time to invest’ in growing the business, while 50% (unchanged) say the next 12 months will be a ‘bad time to invest’. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for May are based on 1,181 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Non-compete clause: Taylor confidant’s shock call on One Nation

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Greg Brown, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Jun-26

Liberal MP Tony Pasin says the Coalition should work with One Nation to ensure that Labor is defeated at the next federal election. Pasin contends that the Liberals and One Nation should identify electorates where each party has the best chance of winning, and focus their campaigning on these seats rather than competing with each other in all electorates. Pasin says he is concerned that the Liberals and One Nation will spend the next two electoral cycles fighting each other, resulting in a "very bad Labor government" retaining office. Meanwhile, opinion is divided within the Liberals as to whether the party should direct preferences to One Nation at the next election.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll: Support for National-led Government surges in May as Labour support falls

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for May 2026 shows that support for the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) is up 4% to 51.5%, opening a large lead over the Labour-Greens-Maori Party Parliamentary Opposition (down 6.5% to 41.5%). Amongst the Government support for National increased 5% to 30.5%, although support for NZ First was down 0.5% to 11% and support for ACT was down 0.5% to 10%. For the Parliamentary Opposition, support for Labour fell 7.5% to 26.5%, support for the Greens increased 1.5% to 12.5% and support for the Maori Party was down 0.5% to 2.5%. A further 7% (up 2.5%) of electors supported a minor party outside Parliament. The survey results for May would lead to the National-led Government winning 63 seats (down five seats from the last election) and the Labour-led Parliamentary Opposition would win 50 seats (down five seats). This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 870 electors from 27 April to 24 May. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating rose 9 points to 84.5 in May.

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

Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand; OpenAI enters the top 20 most distrusted brands for the first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that Bunnings is the most trusted brand for the 12 months to March 2026; it is the 10th consecutive quarterly victory for the leading hardware retailer, stretching back to late 2023. The top three places are unchanged for a ninth straight quarter, with discount supermarket Aldi in second place and discount department store Kmart in third. The next three spots are unchanged for a second straight quarter with the Commonwealth Bank in fourth, consumer products giant Apple filling out the top five, and discount department store Big W again in sixth. Meanwhile, Optus has replaced Woolworths as the most distrusted brand in Australia; this is the first time the telco has occupied this position since September 2024. Facebook and Temu are now the second and third most distrusted brands. Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are fourth and fifth most distrusted, with both improving in the latest quarter. OpenAI (including ChatGPT), experienced one of the biggest declines this quarter, down seven spots to enter the top 20 most distrusted brands in 19th place, driven by suspicions around profit motives and ethics.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, APPLE PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK, TEMU, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, OPENAI INCORPORATED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.7 points to 68.8 in late May – highest rating since early March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.7 points to 68.8 in the week to 31 May; this is the highest result since early March. However, Consumer Confidence is 17.6pts lower than a year ago (86.4), but just 2.4pts below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence increased in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but was unchanged in both New South Wales and Queensland. Now just 14% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 18% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 6% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 44% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 16% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Internal torpedo alert: PM faces AUKUS strife

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Original article by Greg Brown, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jun-26

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has responded to a growing push to reconsider the AUKUS alliance by emphasising that the federal government fully supports the defence pact. The United Workers Union’s national secretary Tim Kennedy is amongst those who have called for AUKUS to be reassessed, as have some Labor MPs and teal independents. Former industry minister Ed Husic used Labor’s caucus meeting yesterday to urge a new vote on the alliance, contending that the terms of the deal have changed following the revelation that Australia will now acquire three used Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines; the original deal had included one brand-new vessel.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED WORKERS UNION

Data centre boom drives first trade deficit since 2017

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Jun-26

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation recorded a trade deficit of $2.4bn in the March 2026 quarter, compared with a trade surplus of $1bn in the December 2025 quarter. The Commonwealth Bank’s head economist Belinda Allen says easing commodity prices and higher imports have dragged down the trade balance in recent years. The ABS notes that iron ore prices fell significantly in the March quarter, while both iron ore and coal export volumes fell. Australia’s exports fell by 1.1 per cent overall, while rising demand for data centre equipment saw imports rise by 0.8 per cent. The trade figures are expected to reduce Australia’s economic growth by 0.8 per cent, with GDP data for the March quarter to be released today.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Bosses warn on prices and jobs after 4.75pc pay boost

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Jun-26

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry says the latest increase in the minimum wage and award wages will cost about $11.7bn across the economy. The Australian Industry Group’s CEO Innes Willox says it will impose a significant burden on businesses when they are aleady facing growing cost pressures; he is particularly concerned about the Fair Work Commission’s decision to phase out the lowest award rate. Some 2.8 million workers on award rates will receive an above-inflation wage rise of 4.75 per cent from 1 July, while about 100,000 workers on the lowest pay rate will get a wage rise of six per cent. The national minimum wage will increase from $24.95 an hour to $26.44, lifting it above $1,000 per week for the first time. The minimum wage has risen by 30.1 per cent since Labor took office in May 2022.

CORPORATES
acci use AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

NSW Police accuse AFP, ASIO of hoarding information

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Original article by James Dowling
The Australian – Page: Online : 28-May-26

NSW Premier Chris Minns said after the Bondi massacre that the Jewish-run Community Security Group could be given authorisation to carry firearms at public events. However, deputy police commissioner David Hudson told the Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Royal Commission on Wednesday that he had major reservations about the idea, saying "isolating a particular group for additional powers within our community is problematic". Hudson also told the commission that "other agencies" he works with had withheld intelligence in joint cases, while the commission heard that federal agencies were reluctant to share information with the NSW gun registry, due to concerns that sensitive details could be exposed if applicants challenged police over a ­licence decision.

CORPORATES

ANTISEMITISM – AUSTRALIA,{SPACE]DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – AUSTRALIA]

Australian study finds link between irregular blood pressure and poorer brain health

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Original article by Claire Sadler
The West Australian – Page: Online : 28-May-26

Professor Matthew Pase from Monash University says a study that saw its researchers track the blood pressure of 225 Australians aged between 55 and 80 for 24 hours shows the importance of extended blood pressure monitoring. The researchers found that fluctuations in blood pressure over the course of a day can impact cognitive health and can contribute to the risk of dementia, while higher average blood pressure over 24 hours was also associated with greater evidence of vascular brain injury, which occurs when blood vessels are blocked, narrowed, or weakened

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY

BRAIN – RESEARCH – AUSTRALIA]