O75 Public Administration

Unemployment matters: At the Federal Election the L-NP picked up four marginal seats with total unemployment and under-employment over 25%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Aug-19

The latest data for the Roy Morgan employment series shows that in July 1.19 million Australians were unemployed (8.7% of the workforce) with an additional 1.3 million (9.6%) now underemployed. Employment was up 361,000 to 12,382,000 in July, while unemployment was down 147,000 on a year ago to 1,182,000 Australians, with the unemployment rate having fallen by 1.3% to 8.7%. However, the underemployment rate has risen 1% to 9.6% over the past year. Roy Morgan’s real unemployment figure of 8.7% for July is significantly higher than the current ABS estimate for June of 5.2%, although Roy Morgan’s underemployment estimate of 9.6% is comparable to the current ABS underemployment estimate of 8.2%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says unemployment and underemployment played a decisive role in the recent federal election, with the L-NP Government picking up four marginal seats from the ALP which have total unemployment and underemployment of over 20%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Backbench push unfair dismissal

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Aug-19

The business sector is calling for changes to industrial relations laws, and Coalition backbenchers are also pressuring the federal government for action in this area. The Business Council of Australia has called for the replacement of the ‘better off overall test’ with a new test that would only require each class of employee, rather than each individual employee, not to be worse off when the Fair Work Commission is asked to approve an enterprise agreement. Meanwhile, Liberal National party senator Amanda Stoker claims unfair dismissal laws as they apply to small and medium businesses represent a "block to growth", while she also says the modern award system is too complicated.

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

Government accused of censoring Parliament over inquiry into China ties

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 12-Aug-19

Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick has accused the federal government of effectively censoring Parliament over its refusal to support an inquiry into Australia’s relationship with China. Patrick is the co-sponsor of the proposed inquiry, along with Labor Senator Kimberly Kitching. He claims the government is worried about how China might react to such an inquiry, but Patrick says it is not intended to be inflammatory. Labor frontbencher Richard Marles notes Australia’s relationship with China "is a very complex question".

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CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Union campaign forgot voters

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 9-Aug-19

Former Labor executive Evan Moorhead has undertaken a review of the ACTU’s ‘Change the Rules’ campaign, which is estimated to have cost about $10m. The confidential review has concluded that the campaign did not resonate with voters because its policy objectives were too complex and it was ‘swamped’ by competing messages from the Coalition, Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and Labor’s own election campaign. Moorhead also found that many union organisers did not fully embrace the ACTU campaign due to complacency that Labor would win the election.

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ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

US-China trade war to rage for decades

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal, Rosie Lewis, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Aug-19

The Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet’s secretary Martin Parkinson says the US-China trade war is unlikely to be resolved in the near-term, and it could last for decades. He has also used an Asia Society briefing to note that the trade tensions have already undermined confidence in the rules-based trade system. Meanwhile, Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says that handling the trade war requires a delicate balancing act, given that the US is Australia’s biggest ally and China is the nation’s largest trading partner.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JOHN CURTIN RESEARCH CENTRE

Costello defies PM, urges super debate

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 8-Aug-19

The legislated increase in the superannuation guarantee continues to attract scrutiny, with former treasurer Peter Costello calling for the issue to be "thoroughly debated" in the Coalition’s partyroom. He says increasing the guarantee from 9.5 per cent at present to 12 per cent by mid-2025 will have "very significant ramifications", although he has stopped short of declaring his own position on the issue. A number of Coalition backbenchers oppose increasing the super guarantee.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Qantas boss warns climate hysteria threatens air travel

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 : 8-Aug-19

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce addressed the annual Centre for Aviation summit on 7 August, stressing that imposing levies on airlines and travellers is not the solution to climate change. The French government recently announced a new tax on airfares, and the Netherlands is considering a similar levy. Joyce argued that the global airline industry is aware of its environmental impact and is taking action to reduce its carbon footprint. He also stressed the economic importance of international air travel in terms of trade and job creation.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CENTRE FOR AVIATION, AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS

Treasurer in bid to allay surplus fears

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has downplayed concerns about the US-China trade war, stressing that it will not affect the federal government’s timetable for returning the Budget to surplus. Frydenberg has acknowledged that financial market volatility following China’s move to devalue the yuan was a concern, but he has cautioned against an overreaction. Labor has urged the government to bring forward income tax cuts and infrastructure spending in order to stimulate the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Skills crisis at critical level: CEOs

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Sascha O’Sullivan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Aug-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has urged the federal government to take action to address the nation’s skilled labour shortage. Willox says the situation is particularly urgent given the number of major infrastructure projects that will be undertaken in coming years. He has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison arguing the need for a national approach to the issue, noting that the number of people undertaking apprenticeship and traineeship programs fell to 259,385 in 2018, compared with 446,000 in 2012.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

RBA’s Lowe faces grilling over cheap money

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-19

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe will appear before a parliamentary committee on 9 August. His testimony is likely to attract increased scrutiny after the central bank’s New Zealand counterpart reduced official interest rates by 50 basis points. The House of Representatives’ economics committee is chaired by Liberal MP Tim Wilson. He says the RBA’s dual rate cuts in June and July and how it expects to eventually begin tightening monetary policy when household debt is rising are among the issues that will come under scrutiny.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA