O75 Public Administration

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were at 6.6% in late April – up 0.3% points from the month of March

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations increased in the month of March 2026 and have continued to increase in April as the US and Israel war on Iran has continued, and are now at 6.6% for the week of 20-26 April (up 0.3% points from the month of March). Inflation Expectations have averaged 6.1% over the first 16 weeks of 2026. However, a look at monthly Inflation Expectations for March shows the measure at 6.3% for the month (up 1% point from the prior month of February, and 0.2% points above the current average for 2026). Looking back over the last six months, since mid-October 2025, weekly Inflation Expectations have averaged 5.8% over this extended period. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade, and includes interviews with 4,115 Australians aged 14+ in March 2026.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 3.5pts to 67.8 in late April – highest for over a month

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 3.5pts to 67.8 in the week to 26 April, although this is still the seventh-lowest Consumer Confidence reading of all time. Consumer Confidence is now 15.6pts lower than a year ago (83.4), and 4.8pts below the 2026 weekly average of 72.6. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence improved significantly in Victoria and South Australia, was up slightly in New South Wales and Queensland, but down in Western Australia.. Now 17% of Australians (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 20% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 44% (down 1ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 4% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (down 5ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 17% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Donald Trump names former Republican congressman as new US ambassador to Australia

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Dziedzic
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

The Trump administration has nominated David Brat as the next US ambassador to Australia, a post that has been vacant since late 2024. Brat was part of the so-called Tea Party movement and was elected to Congress in 2014, but he lost the 2018 election. The free-market economist has frequently expressed Christian nationalist views and commented on issues such as the Ukraine war and free trade. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has released a statement saying that the federal government has "welcomed" the nomination of Brat, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will work with whoever becomes the next ambassador. Brat’s appointment must be confirmed by the US Senate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Higher tariffs on Chinese steel could raise construction costs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Apr-26

Economist Huw McKay says the federal government’s decision to increase the tariffs on Chinese steel products is "potentially counterproductive". McKay warns that this will increase construction costs, which will in turn add to inflation and the housing supply crisis. The government recently increased the tariff on Chinese-made steel reinforcing bar from 19 per cent to 24 per cent, in response to a recommendation from the Anti-Dumping Commission. The government has previously increased the tariffs on a range of other Chinese steel products, including bolts, hot-rolled coil and ceiling frames.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ANTI-DUMPING COMMISSION

Prince Harry and Meghan’s four-day visit to Australia did not win the Australian public over

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Apr-26

A large majority of 82% of Australians aged 18+ knew Prince Harry and Megan visited Australia for four days last week (equivalent to 18.1 million Australians), according to a special Channel Seven-Roy Morgan SMS Pulse Poll. Awareness of the trip was high at over three-quarters of Australians across almost all key demographics. Women (84%) were slightly more likely than men (81%) to know about the trip, and age was clearly correlated with awareness; 79% of 18-34 year olds knew about the trip, 80% of 35-49 year olds, 84% of 50-64 year olds and 87% of people aged 65+. The SMS Pulse Poll was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,767 Australians aged 18+ on 18-19 April.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED

AUKUS submarines are not the priority, US Navy says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Koziol
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 22-Apr-26

US Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher says the Trump administration remains committed to the AUKUS alliance. However, he says the US Navy’s priority is the next-generation Columbia-class of nuclear-powered submarines, rather than the Virginia-class vessels. Gaucher has conceded that the production rate for Virginia-class submarines is still well below that required to meet the needs of both the US Navy and the deal to sell at least three vessels to Australia via the AUKUS defence pact. A spokesman for Defence Minister Richard Marles say the federal government is confident that the US submarines will be delivered.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES NAVY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Labor races to secure fertiliser and diesel

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ronald Mizen, Ryan Cropp
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 22-Apr-26

The federal government is confident that Australia will have sufficient petrol supplies for the month of May and at least the first part of June. However, government sources have indicated that the outlook is less certain for diesel, jet fuel and fertiliser. Australia is likely to face competition for these commodities in coming months, as European and Asian countries begin to rebuild their stockpiles. The government is set to announce new deals for Wesfarmers and Incitec Pivot to underwrite the purchase of fertiliser on the international market; this will be similar to a recent deal for Export Finance Australia to underwrite to fuel cargo purchases on the global spot market.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. EXPORT FINANCE AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 64.3 in mid-April

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Apr-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 64.3 in the week to 19 April, although this is still the fourth lowest Consumer Confidence reading of all time. Consumer Confidence is 21.1pts lower than a year ago (85.5), and 8.7pts below the 2026 weekly average of 73.0. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence improved in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia, but was down in Victoria and South Australia. Now 15% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 57% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 21% (up 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 45% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 4% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 53% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 15% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

BHP tapped to advise on fuel crisis fix

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 22-Apr-26

Resources Minister Madeleine King says the federal government has been working with companies across the economy to shore up the nation’s diesel fuel supplies since the Iran war began. It has been revealed that the government accepted an offer from BHP to provide expert advice on securing diesel supplies; Rio Tinto has also been assisting Labor to navigate the fuel market, although neither of procured physical supplies for the government. However, sources have indicated that Labor had been slow to accept assistance from the corporate sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Tax take hits record $30,633 per person

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Apr-26

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the combined tax revenue of the federal and state governments rose to a record $839bn in 2024-25. This was boosted by higher revenue from the goods and services tax and personal income tax. The latter increased by 1.5 per cent and accounted for 11.1 per cent of GDP; the Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated that this will increase to 14.5 per cent in 2036, due to the impact of ‘bracket creep’. The ABS figures also show that the cost of disability benefits – including the NDIS – increased by 9.4 per cent in 2024-25 to a record high of $87.3bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE