O75 Public Administration

Pre-Christmas retail trade for 2021 predicted to remain steady year-on-year at $58 billion

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

The Australian Retailers Association and strategic partner Roy Morgan are predicting that this year’s pre-Christmas spending will broadly match last year’s high and be significantly above 2019 pre-pandemic spending. The ARA-Roy Morgan 2021 pre-Christmas Retail Sales predictions forecast that overall spending will come in at $58.8 billion, virtually unchanged on last year, but up 11.3% on pre-pandemic conditions. National retail trade for pre-Christmas 2021 is predicted to be in-line with 2020, with growth in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT; NSW and WA largely flat and some contraction in Queensland, SA and NT off the back of strong pre-Christmas sales in 2020. The Roy Morgan data also values (for the first time) the impact of the most recent lockdowns on retail trade at $131 million per day across the economy.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

NSW COVID-19 cases up, most infections outside of Sydney

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Original article by Mary Ward
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

New South Wales reported 372 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Thursday, and one additional death from the current outbreak. More than half of the new cases were in regional areas, include a spike in infections in local government areas near the Victorian border. Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin University says it was to be expected that case numbers would rise in areas that have lower vaccination rates; she adds that it is too soon to know whether the state’s recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions has impacted on case numbers. Meanwhile, a Queensland man in his 30s has been hospitalised with COVID-19 after returning from a trip to Sydney and Melbourne.

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DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Eddie Obeid jailed for coal collusion

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Oct-21

Former NSW Labor minister Ian McDonald has been sentenced to at least five years and three months in jail for his role in a coal mine licencing conspiracy. Fellow minister Eddie Obeid was given a sentence of at least three years and 10 months, while his son Moses will serve at least three years in prison. The Obeids netted at least $30 million from the conspiracy, while the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s investigation of the mine licencing deal prompted counsel assisting the inquiry, Geoffrey Watson SC, to describe it as the worst example of political corruption since the days of the Rum Corps. Eddie Obeid was been released on bail after his lawyers argued that he was at risk of contracting COVID-19 in custody.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Senate backs inquiry into whether tax commissioner should release JobKeeper details

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan will come under scrutiny by the Senate’s privileges committee over his refusal to disclose the details of companies with annual turnover of more than $10m that received JobKeeper payments. Jordan had contended that doing so would not be in the public interest, but the Senate has voted 25-21 to hold an inquiry into whether he had disobeyed a lawful order of the upper house. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has criticised Labor for supporting the motion, which was put forward by independent senator Rex Patrick. Jordan could potentially face jail if he is found to be in contempt of the Senate.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Victoria scraps isolation, COVID testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors from NSW

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Original article by Simone Fox Koob, Cassandra Morgan
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,749 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, and an additional 11 deaths from the current outbreak. Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that unvaccinated Victorians may not enjoy the same freedoms as fully-vaccinated people until "well into 2022". The government has also advised of changes to its border permit system. Greater Sydney will be downgraded from a ‘red zone’ to ‘orange’ at 11:59pm on Wednesday, which will allow fully-vaccinated residents to enter Victoria without having to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19. The new rules will also apply to regional NSW, which will be downgraded to green zones.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

$25bn in Coalition grants made through closed process with no competitors, report finds

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

The Auditor-General has released a report which shows that the federal government spent $60.2bn via its GrantsConnect program between December 2017 and June 2021. A total of 108,206 grants were allocated over this period, and 42% were awarded via a non-competitive tender process. The report also shows that 27 per cent of grants that were earmarked for regional development programs were allocated to recipients with capital city postcodes; just eight per cent of the grants were awarded to remote or very remote areas.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

Mike Baird staffer questioned why Berejiklian wanted to spend $5.5m in safe seat of Wagga Wagga

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Original article by Michael McGowan
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Zacharia Bentley was a policy adviser to former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in her previous role as the state’s treasurer. Documents submitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption show that Bentley believed that Berejiklian had discussed a proposed $5.5m grant for the Australian Clay Target Association with her former lover, Daryl Maguire; it is one of two grants in his electorate of Wagga Wagga that are at the centre of ICAC’s investigation. Bentley has also revealed that he told ICAC investigators in April that the grant had been queried by Nigel Blunden, who was former premier Mike Baird’s strategy director when the grant was proposed. Meanwhile, the state government has agreed to pay all of Berejiklian’s legal costs arising from the ICAC inquiry.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

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+.

CORPORATES
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’.

CORPORATES
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.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA