O75 Public Administration

Inflation Expectations increase to 4.1% in July, highest for nearly 2 years since Oct 2019

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

In July 2021, Australians expected inflation of 4.1% annually over the next two years, up 0.1% and the highest Inflation Expectations since October 2019. Inflation Expectations are now up 0.9% points since the pandemic low of 3.2% in August 2020. Inflation Expectations are still 0.6% points below their long-term average of 4.7%, but are now 0.6% points higher than the 2020 monthly average of 3.5% and 0.7% points higher than in July 2020 (3.4%). A look at Inflation Expectations by occupation and employment category compared to a year ago shows increases across the board. Inflation Expectations for employed Australians increased by 0.8% points to 4.0% but still trail those of Australians who are not employed at 4.3%, an increase of 0.6% points from July 2020. Self-employed Australians now have the highest Inflation Expectations of any employment category at 4.4% in July, up 0.9% points since July 202; there has been a similar increase for Australians employed in private industry, with Inflation Expectations of 4.1% (up 0.9% points). However, those in the public service have a different view and their Inflation Expectations have only increased 0.3% points to 3.5%. On a State-based level Inflation Expectations are slightly higher than the national average and are now highest in Queensland and Tasmania at 4.2%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases slightly to 101.8 as Melbourne & Adelaide lockdowns end

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.1pts to 101.8 on July 31/August 1, after lockdowns in Melbourne and Adelaide ended and Australians were advised of vaccination targets to achieve to avoid future lockdowns. Consumer Confidence is well below the 2021 weekly average of 110.3; however, it remains 13.2 points higher than the same week a year ago (88.6). There were mixed fortunes for Consumer Confidence around the country, with increases in Melbourne and Adelaide, while there was a decline in Sydney after the lockdown was extended for another month. Now 26% (up 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 27% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 37% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 15% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 11% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 36% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 32% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Berejiklian says too soon for road map out of lockdown

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Original article by Luke Cormack, Alexandra Smith
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 4-Aug-21

New South Wales has recorded 199 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including at least 50 people who were active in the community while they were infectious. Premier Gladys Berejiklian says that although case numbers have plateaued in the last week, it is too soon to know if the current outbreak will worsen. She has also advised of a further delay in releasing a post-lockdown ‘road map’; it was first flagged on 7 July, and the state government had intended to release it on 28 July, the day on which the lockdown of Greater Sydney was extended by four weeks. Meanwhile, Berejiklian will now aim for six million people in NSW to be vaccinated by the end of August. Some 3.9 million doses have been administered to date.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Updated national Covid plan suggests 80% of Australians could be fully vaccinated by end of 2021

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Aug-21

The federal government released an updated version of its National COVID Vaccine Campaign Plan on 3 August. Amongst other things, it outlines plans to ramp up the vaccine rollout by operating drive-through vaccination clinics in most states and territories by mid-October. Retail vaccinations hubs are also slated to commence in October, along with workplace vaccination programs. The rollout could also potentially be extended to schools by early December. The revised plan also indicates that 70 per cent of the eligible population could be fully vaccinated by November, potentially rising to 80 per cent by December.

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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

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

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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