O75 Public Administration

Trade surplus hits $10.6b thanks to iron ore, coal

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-May-20

Official data shows that Australia has posted a record trade surplus of $10.6bn for March; the result was driven by strong growth in exports, particularly to China. There was a 33 per cent increase in iron ore exports to China, as one of Australia’s key trading partners began to ease coronavirus restrictions; analysts also note that iron ore supply in February was disrupted by cyclone Damien. Meanwhile, gold exports rose by 22.5 per cent in March, while coal and LNG shipments also rose. Economists had expected a trade surplus of just $6.4bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Pell knew of Catholic Church abuse for decades – royal commission

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 8-May-20

Redacted sections of the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were released on 7 May, in the wake of the High Court’s decision to overturn Cardinal George Pell’s child sexual abuse convictions in April. The report indicates that the commission did not believe Pell when he claimed that Catholic Church officials had deceived and lied to him about Gerald Ridsdale – Australia’s most prolific paedophile priest – and Melbourne parish priest Peter Searson; the commission heard that the latter had abused children in parishes and schools for over 10 years. The redacted findings indicate that the commission believed that Pell was aware of sexual abuse by Catholic priests as far back as 1973. Cardinal Pell says the views of the Commission are not based on evidence.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, CATHOLIC CHURCH

Employers want power over app

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

The federal government has advised that its CovidSafe app has now been downloaded 5.1 million times. Meanwhile, the rights of employees with regard to the app is under scrutiny. Stephen Cartwright, the CEO of the NSW Business Chamber, says employers should have a legal right to require staff to download the app as a condition of returning to work when lockdown restrictions are eased. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that employers should not have the power to force workers to download the app.

CORPORATES
NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER LIMITED, ACTU

Fiscal stimulus is almost the world’s biggest

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-May-20

Analysis by BIS Oxford Economics shows that 46 advanced and emerging countries have spent a combined US8trn ($13trn) on direct stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar tops the list, with its stimulus measures equating to 13 per cent of GDP; it is followed by Australia and Thailand, with stimulus worth 10.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent of GDP respectively. Gabriel Sterne of BIS Oxford Economics says Australia’s stimulus package was much bigger than the firm had expected, and he notes that the nation was in a strong fiscal position at the onset of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Rich hit hard as households lose $102b

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

Research by the Australian National University highlights the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The ANU’s survey suggests that the nation’s employment rate fell to 58.9 per cent in April, compared with 62 per cent in February. This equates to the loss of about 670,000 jobs. The ANU also estimates that the total loss of income for Australian households since the lockdowns began is about $102bn, while after-tax income on a per capita basis has fallen from $740 a week to $663. The richest 10 per cent of households have been hardest hit, with their income falling from $2,110 per week to $1,688.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

ACTU wage bid ‘damaging’, puts recovery at risk

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-May-20

The ACTU has called for the minimum wage to be increased by four per cent in 2020, or $30 a week. Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has warned that the ACTU’s wage claim could jeopardise Australia’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry contends that it would increase the financial strain on businesses that are already battling during the crisis.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Let’s get 1 million back to work

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the national cabinet will set a target date of July for the majority of businesses to reopen. The states and territories will decide the exact timeline for businesses to resume trading, but retailers, cafes and restaurants are expected to be amongst the first to have coronavirus restrictions lifted. Morrison argues that while Australia has been successful in ‘flattening the curve’, the focus must now be on getting people back to work. Nev Power, who chairs the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, notes that some sectors of the economy are better placed than others to resume trading.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COVID-19 COORDINATION COMMISSION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for fifth straight week, up 4.5pts to 89.5

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-May-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 5.3% to 89.5 in the week to 3 May. Now 23% (up 4ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 39% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 36% (up 6ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 21% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. However, just 8% (up 2ppts) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 29% (up 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (up 7ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ fell 0.3ppt to 3.4%. The weekly reading fell to 3.2% from 3.6%.

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

Business Council backs Gary Banks on critical IR reform

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 5-May-20

There has been a mixed response to a call by former Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks to make industrial relations reform a priority in the wake of the pandemic. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott supports his proposal to revisit the recommendations of the PC’s 2014 inquiry into the IR system, particularly those regarding the Fair Work Act’s ‘better-off-overall test’. However, University of Melbourne labour economist Jeff Borland has questioned the benefits of major IR changes, while the ACTU also opposes any such reforms.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, ACTU

Back to school, except Victoria and Tasmania

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Original article by Robert Bolton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 5-May-20

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced students will start returning to school on 11 May, with all years to be back by 25 May. The New South Wales government is adopting a staggered return of its students, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hoping this will mean that most students will be back at school by the end of May. This leaves Tasmania and Victoria as the only states resisting federal government advice to return to face-to-face teaching, although Independent Schools of Victoria CEO Michelle Green notes Victoria’s chief health officer will review his current advice on May 11.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS VICTORIA INCORPORATED