O75 Public Administration

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.9pts to 111.2 as Australians become more confident about their personal finances

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Dec-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 1.9pts to 111.2 on December 12/13. It is now 15.4pts above the 2020 weekly average of 95.8 and 3.2pts higher than a year ago (108.0). This is the highest Consumer Confidence has been since Melbourne Cup weekend in 2019 (113.5). Now 27% (up 3ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 28% (down 3ppts), say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest figure for this indicator since March 14/15). In addition, 41% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the highest figure for this indicator since February 15/16), and 15% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 19% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since March), while 20% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since November 2010). Meanwhile, 43% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the equal highest figure for this indicator since February 8/9), while 25% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the equal lowest figure for this indicator for nine months).

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

Age divide in queue for Covid vaccine

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Original article by Sue Dunlevy
Herald Sun – Page: 13 : 16-Dec-20

The federal government will compile the list of people who will be given priority in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine when it releases expert advice on the roll-out strategy in late January. However, frontline health workers and aged-care staff will be the first to receive a vaccine. The government will also prioritise people based on age, with the nation’s population to be divided into 12 age brackets. People aged 70+ will receive a vaccine first, followed by those in the 65-70 age group. The rest of the population will be divided into five-year increment age groups. The UK has adopted a similar strategy for its COVID-19 vaccination program.

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Union calls for minimum wage for fruit pickers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Dec-20

The Australian Workers’ Union will push for changes to the Horticulture Award to address the issue of wage exploitation in the sector. The ASU has applied to the Fair Work Commission to vary the industry award to include a wage floor for seasonal farm workers. The union’s proposal would provide a guaranteed minimum wage of $24.80 an hour, although piece rates would still be allowed. A recent investigation found that some fruit-pickers in the in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales were being paid just $3 an hour.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

China accuses Australia of playing the victim and politicising trade, says coal ban is responsible act

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 16-Dec-20

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to growing criticism of its sanctions against some imports from Australia. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the ministry, has used a press conference in Beijing to stress that the recent action taken by the nation’s authorities is in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as international practice. He has also described it as a "responsible act" for Chinese industries and consumers. Coal appears to be the latest commodity to be hit by Chinese restrictions, which have also affected products such as wine, beef, timber and barley.

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CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

China coal ban an FTA breach

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government has received no "official information" from China about restrictions on coal imports from Australia. He says that any such move would be in breach of both the free-trade agreement between the two nations and World Trade Organization rules. China’s state-owned media has reported that Australian thermal coal will be blacklisted in favour of coal from countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Mongolia. Morrison contends that a ban on higher-quality Australian coal would increase China’s carbon emissions. He has also emphasised that Japan and India are bigger markets for Australian thermal and coking coal respectively than China.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Workers in private sector turn their backs on unions

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Stephen Lunn
The Weekend Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Dec-20

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that just 9.2 per cent of workers in the private sector are now members of unions, down from 12.1 per cent in 2014. In percentage terms, union membership in the public sector has fallen from 39.6 per cent to 36.8 per cent in the last six years; however, the number of union members has actually risen from 570,00 to 710,000 over this period. The ABS figures also show that casual workers were the hardest hit during the downturn in the labour market in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Iron ore fear tax helps to boost budget

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 14-Dec-20

The federal government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will reflect the surge in the price of iron ore since it handed down the Budget just two months ago. Its forecasts were based on an iron ore price of just $US55 per tonne free-on-board; the steel input is currently fetching around $US152 per tonne free-on-board, and the spot price has reached a seven-year high. Meanwhile, Deloitte Access Economics now expects 2020-21 GDP to be $33bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, while the firm says the underlying cash deficit could be up to $3bn better than had been expected in October.

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DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Smelter offered millions to stay put

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Dec-20

Alcoa’s aluminium smelter at Portland in Victoria will receive $76.8m from the Australian Energy Market Operator for load-shedding during periods of peak demand for electricity. The payments from AEMO’s Reliability & Emergency Reserve Trade scheme will be guaranteed by the federal government. Energy Minister Angus Taylor stresses that the payments do not constitute a subsidy; instead, they will compensate Alcoa for its role in stabilising the electricity grid. The deal will in itself not ensure the future of the smelter, which remains under pressure due to high energy costs.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Job ads targeting migrants overwhelmingly offering below the minimum wage

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Original article by Isobel Roe
abc.net au – Page: Online : 14-Dec-20

Unions New South Wales looked at 3,000 job advertisements in foreign languages and aimed at migrant workers and found that 88 per cent were offering below award rates. The rate of job ads offering illegal pay rates has risen over 14 per cent since the start of the pandemic, while Unions NSW’s latest survey found that the construction and cleaning sectors were the worst offenders in terms of paying below the minimum wage. Migrant workers are reluctant to pursue complaints over poor wage rates for fear it could put their visa status at risk.

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UNIONS NSW

Refinery rescue deal to safeguard fuel stocks

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Dec-20

The federal government is set to announce a rescue package for the Lytton, Geelong and Altona oil refineries to ensure that they remain operational until mid-2021. The refineries will receive a payment of at least $0.01 per litre for their petrol, diesel and jet fuel production over the six months from 1 January. Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government is finalising a long-term market mechanism for the production payment, which is slated to take effect from 1 July. The future of Australia’s three remaining refineries has come under scrutiny following BP’s recent decision to close its Kwinana plant.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, AMPOL LIMITED – ALD, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIVA ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX VEA, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED