O75 Public Administration

Jobs, inflation swayed RBA on shock rates call

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 23-Jul-25

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy board meeting for July shows that it expects a further decline in underlying inflation by the end of 2025, which will justify more interest rate cuts. The board noted that the focus of the July meeting was on the timing and extent of further monetary policy easing. The minutes also show that factors such as the monthly inflation data and the resilience of the labour market contributed to the board’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged in July, despite widespread expectations of a 25 basis point cut.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

AI a Trojan horse for IR rules, business warns

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Jul-25

A recent survey by KPMG found that Australians have lower levels of artificial intelligence use, training and confidence than their global peers. Meanwhile, business leaders are concerned that the union movement will use the federal government’s upcoming productivity summit to argue for increased workplace regulation due to the growing adoption of AI technologies. Business Council of Australia CEO Bran Black says the business community will oppose any attempt to use to summit to further shift the balance of power in workplaces from employers to unions.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 86.3 in mid-July

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 86.3 in the week to 20 July; however, Consumer Confidence is now 1.9 points above the same week a year ago (84.4), and in line with the 2025 weekly average of 86.5. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence down in Queensland and South Australia, up slightly in Victoria and New South Wales, and virtually unchanged in Western Australia. Now 20% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 26% (down 4ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 31% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now just 11% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 28% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 24% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

‘Stronger together’: Congress pushes AUKUS before Morrison hearing

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 23-Jul-25

Australia’s former prime minister Scott Morrison will shortly appear before the US House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Morrison will testify about China’s use of "economic coercion", amid the Pentagon’s ongoing review of the AUKUS alliance. The committee is headed by Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, who have stated that all three members of the alliance are stronger because of it. They also contend that AUKUS will be vital to containing China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

CORPORATES
REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

ALP ups its attack on Israel over Gaza

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 23-Jul-25

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has defended the federal government’s decision to issue a joint statement with 27 other nations urging Israel to end the war in Gaza. Amongst other things, the statement contended that Israel’s "drip feeding" of aid into Gaza is "dangerous and unacceptable", and that the suffering of civilians in Gaza has "reached new depths". Burke had described Israel’s conduct in Gaza as "indefensible", but acknowledges that Hamas must release its remaining hostages. The joint statement has in turn been criticised by Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, who says it is "disconnected from reality" and "sends the wrong message to Hamas".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

A decade later: Cost-of-living overtakes corruption as Indonesians’ most important issue in 2025

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-25

Roy Morgan’s latest research reveals a reshuffling of Indonesians’ priorities over the past decade, amid economic expansion, bold reforms, and escalating household challenges. A representative cross-section of Indonesians aged 17+ were interviewed by Roy Morgan between October 2014 and March 2015 (15,204 interviews) and from October 2024 to March 2025 (5,499 interviews); they were asked "Which three issues are the most important to you". ‘Keeping day-to-day living costs down’ leads the national agenda in 2025, with 44% of Indonesians citing it as one of their top three most important issues (up 10% points from 34% in 2014-15). ‘Fighting corruption’ remains a top priority, holding steady at 41% of Indonesians, the same as a decade ago. Concern about ‘Reducing unemployment’ has risen from 24% to 31% over the last decade, and the share of Indonesians mentioning ‘Fair workplace and employment regulations’ as an important issue has risen from 7% to 10%. Meawhile, concern about ‘managing the economy’ has increased from 25% to 31%. However, Indonesians’ attitudes toward ‘poverty eradication’ have remained remarkably stable, with concern about this issue rising marginally from 29% to 30%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Back to future on carbon with Rio

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Original article by Greg Brown, Noah Yim
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jul-25

Rio Tinto has used its submission to the Productivity Commission’s so-called ‘five pillars’ review to call for Australia to introduce a market-based price on carbon. The resources group contends that this is the most effective way to encourage the private sector to make low-carbon investments and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, Rio Tinto has also argued that further government subsidies will be needed, as a carbon price alone will not be enough to reduce heavy industries’ emissions while allowing them to remain globally competitive.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Non-market job boom a drag on productivity

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Jul-25

The Department of Employment & Workplace Relations has warned that a rapidly expanding ‘non-market sector’ presents a challenge for the federal government. The department’s briefing for incoming Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth also notes that overall productivity growth has been impacted by the non-market sector’s increasing share of the economy. This sector includes the health care and social assistance, education and training and public administration and safety industries; it includes both public and private service providers that receive government funding. Four out of five jobs created in the last two years have been in this sector, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2.1pts to 86.5 after the Reserve Bank leaves interest rates unchanged at 3.85%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2.1pts to 86.5 in the week to 13 July; however, Consumer Confidence is now 8 points above the same week a year ago (78.5), and in line with the 2025 weekly average of 86.6. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence down in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, but up in South Australia and Queensland. Now 21% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 44% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 30% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now just 11% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 30% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 25% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

In June Australian unemployment dropped to 10.4% driven by rise in new jobs – especially full-time jobs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jul-25

In June 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell by 61,000 to 1,654,000 (down 0.5% to 10.4% of the workforce), a second straight monthly fall. The decrease in unemployment was driven by fewer people looking for both full-time work (down 18,000 to 548,000) and part-time work (down 43,000 to 1,106,000). In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.58 million Australians (9.9% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work (up 143,000 from May). In total, 3.23 million Australians (20.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in June. Meanwhile, Roy Morgan estimates that the overall workforce size (which adds together both the employed and unemployed) at 15,887,000 in June, up 147,000 on a month ago and representing 68.8% of Australians aged 14+. Employment increased by 208,000 to 14,233,000; this was driven by a significant increase in full-time employment (up 229,000 to 9,211,000); however, part-time employment dropped 21,000 to 5,022,000.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED