O75 Public Administration

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.

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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%.

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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%).

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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.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Bushfire recovery bill could top $2 billion: PM

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 12-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says that federal government spending on helping communities to recover from the impact of the summer bushfires could end up exceeding $2 billion. He has also announced another $650 million in bushfire assistance, with Morrison and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud saying that the regions that were hit the hardest would be prioritised under the latest funding. Upwards of 16,700 applications have been approved for special small business support grants of $10,000, as well as 1,300 applications for small business grants of $50,000.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

COVID to outlast support for IR reform

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 12-May-20

It is unlikely that the co-operation between employers, unions and the federal government during the COVID-19 crisis will last long enough to bring about much-needed change to Australia’s industrial relations system. Federal Labor has already shown indications along these lines with its push to disallow regulations that temporarily cut the negotiating period for changes to enterprise agreements. Although few would argue that the enterprise bargaining system was not already in crisis even before COVID-19, the federal government is yet to outline what it sees as necessary in terms of industrial relations reform.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Inflation expectations are higher for women than men of all ages

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-May-20

In April, Australians expected inflation of 3.6% annually over the next two years, down 0.4% on March as the impact of COVID-19 hit the Australian economy. Beneath the headline figure for April there are significant differences between key demographics, including women and men. Women expect price increases of 4.2% per year over the next two years while men expect prices to increase by 3%. This gap is evident for all age groups and most pronounced for those aged 50-64. Women aged 50-64 expect inflation of 5.2% – higher than any other age group, while men expect inflation of only 3.2%. Longer-term trends show the inflation expectations of women average being 0.8% higher than men. Another trend we see consistently is higher inflation expectations for older Australians aged 50+ compared to those under that age, which is confirmed by the latest April figures. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the disparity between the inflation expectations of women and men is consistent, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic this trend continues.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Door not shut on extending jobless aid: PM

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-May-20

JP Morgan expects about one million Australians to have lost their jobs in April, lifting the unemployment rate to 8.5 per cent. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reiterated that at present the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme is still slated to be in place for six months. He adds that it could be extended or scaled back, depending on the pace at which the economy and the labour market recover from the pandemic. Official labour market data for April will be released on 14 May.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Two-year hangover from Covid

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-May-20

KPMG has warned that the Australian economy will not recover its losses from the coronavirus pandemic until the September 2021 quarter. The firm’s research suggests that industries such as healthcare, public administration and civil engineering will have fully rebounded by the end of 2020, but the hospitality, accommodation, and retailing and sectors will not recover until March 2022. KPMG’s forecasts are based on expectations that the easing of lockdown restrictions will not result in any major virus outbreaks.

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KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

‘Australians know there is no money tree’: Treasurer

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-May-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will use his economic statement on 12 May to stress that there must be a limit to the federal government’s stimulus and assistance schemes, and they must eventually be wound back. Treasury has estimated that the government’s three-stage strategy to re-open the economy by July will boost GDP by $9.4bn a month and generate 850,000 jobs. However, Frydenberg will emphasise that this is dependent on Australians continuing to observe social distancing and hygiene measures.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY