O75 Public Administration

‘Massive hit’: unemployment jump set to break ABS records

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-May-20

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects labour market data to be released on 14 May will show that a record 750,000 jobs were lost in April. AMP Capital forecasts that the unemployment rate rose to 10 per cent in April, while less bearish economists anticipate a jobless rate of between eight and nine per cent. Justin Smirk of Westpac notes that the actual jobless rate is likely to be much higher, as the Australian Bureau of statistics does not consider somebody to be unemployment if they have been laid off but have a job to go back to. Meanwhile, data from the ABS shows that annual growth in wages was just 2.1 per cent in the March quarter.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Let’s fly: state in bid to buy Virgin

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Original article by Craig Johnstone
The Australian – Page: 1 : 14-May-20

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has criticised the Queensland government’s proposal to acquire a stake in Virgin Australia via the state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation. State Treasurer Cameron Dick has stressed the importance of having two sustainable national airlines, adding that his priority is to retain and create jobs for Queenslanders. The QIC is tipped to join one of the consortiums that are bidding for Virgin, and Dick says its investment could take the form of a direct equity stake, a loan, guarantee or other financial incentives.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Australia used as example to warn world

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-May-20

The motives for China’s decision to suspend beef imports from Australia continue to attract scrutiny. Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute says China is sending a message to countries that cross it politically. There have been suggestions that the ban is in retaliation to Australia’s push for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. Stephen Kirchner of the US Studies Centre believes that the threat of punitive tariffs on Australian barley is in response to the anti-dumping duties being imposed on Chinese steel, rather than the proposed coronavirus inquiry.

CORPORATES
LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE

Birmingham: Tit-for-tat tariffs not on

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 14-May-20

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says China should appeal to the World Trade Organization if it is still unhappy about Australia’s decision in 2014 to impose a tariff on Chinese steel imports. He contends that China should not seek to resolve an anti-dumping dispute by imposing its own tariff on Australian barley, describing such actions as unjustified. Birmingham adds that there is no evidence to support China’s claim that Australian barley is being subsidised.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Union backs PM over China

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told parliament that the comprehensive strategic partnership with China has been highly successful. However, amid growing tensions between the two nations, Morrison has stressed that Australia will always act in the national interest when relations become strained. Meanwhile, the federal government’s stance on China has received support from Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Labor-aligned Australian Workers’ Union. He has urged the government to resist pressure from China over domestic and foreign policy decisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Porter to consider EBA change limit

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-May-20

The Greens will back Labor’s Senate motion to disallow a regulation that temporarily reduces the notice period for changes to enterprise agreements from seven days to just 24 hours. Attorney General Christian Porter has signalled that the federal government may be open to One Nation’s proposal to limit any such variations in enterprise agreements to 12 months. The regulation is slated to expire after six months; shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke contends that as it stands, any variations to enterprise agreements will remain in place after the pandemic abates, and they will need to be removed via another vote by employee

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

MPs push for wage subsidy overhaul

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 3 : 13-May-20

The federal government’s JobKeeper scheme is slated to end on 27 September, but Liberal MP Jason Falinski believes that it should be phased out sooner. He suggests that the government should consider starting to phase out out JobKeeper once all students have returned to school. Liberal MP Craig Kelly in turn contends that businesses that have resumed normal operations should no longer receive the wage subsidy, while Liberal-National Party MP Warren Entsch says industries and regions that have been hardest hit by the coronavirus-induced downturn should continue to receive the subsidy beyond September.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increases for sixth straight week, up 0.8pts to 90.3

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-May-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.9% to 90.3 in the week to 10 May. Now 21% (down 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 40% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 36% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 20% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. However, just 6% (down 2ppts) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 46% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 30% (up 1ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 39% (down 6ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ remained unchanged at 3.4%. The weekly reading increased from 3.2% to 3.5%.

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

A generational divide on freedom vs the law as Government urges people to not break the rules

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-May-20

Australians’ willingness to follow lockdown regulations and social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key factor in our relatively low death toll from the disease. But new findings on generational divides over personal freedoms vs the law may indicate challenges ahead as the nation moves into the recovery phase. Roy Morgan’s latest findings show that while the vast majority of Australians don’t place personal freedoms ahead of the law, there is a major difference between generations. Overall, 24.7% of Australians agreed with the statement ‘Freedom is more important than the law’ in March, as the effects of the pandemic were starting to really be felt. But behind that average lies a big gap in attitudes across different ages. Among Pre-Boomers (born before 1946), fewer than 1 in 7 (13.6%) placed freedom ahead of the law, and among Baby Boomers (born 1946-1960) it was fewer than 1 in 6 (15.4%). But among Gen Z (born 1991-2006) more than 1 in 3 (35%) said freedom takes priority. Meanwhile, when asked to agree or disagree with the statement, ‘I don’t trust the current Australian government’, more than half (56.3%) agreed with it. This is fewer than those who felt that way at the height of the bushfire crises in January (59.9%) but is still above the five-year average for this sentiment (53.8%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Treasurer concedes coronavirus economic figures sobering as Australia faces largest deficit in history

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Original article by Brett Worthington
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 13-May-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg used an economic update on 12 May to advise of a blowout in the budget deficit. He revealed that the underlying cash deficit was $22.4bn at the end of March; this is nearly $10bn higher than the federal government had forecast in its mid-year Budget update in December. Frydenberg has not revealed the likely size of the deficit for 2019-20, but Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics expects the next two budgets to feature the biggest deficits on record. Treasury expects GDP to fall by at least 10 per cent in the June quarter due the coronavirus pandemic, while household consumption is forecast to fall by about 16 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY