O75 Public Administration

Government spending tops $1trn for the first time

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Sep-25

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the combined recurrent spending of the federal and state governments rose by 7.7 per cent in 2024-25, to $1.02 trillion. In contrast, government revenue increased by just four per cent during the financial year. The increase in recurrent spending was driven by a number of factors, with government employee costs rising by 8.8 per cent and social benefits up 11.9 per cent. EY’s chief economist Cherelle Murphy warns that fiscal sustainability across the federal and state governments will be at risk if the current spending trends continue, which could potentially result in credit rating downgrades.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ERNST AND YOUNG

Australians evenly split on teaching religion in government schools

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Sep-25

New Roy Morgan research reveals a profound shift in Australian attitudes towards religious education in government schools in the year to June 2025. Support was even at 50% in favour and 50% opposed to teaching religion at least once a week. This represents a complete reversal of sentiment over a generation. In 1997-98, support for weekly religious instruction was overwhelming, with 72% of Australians in favour and just 28% opposed. Over the following two decades, support gradually eroded, slipping below 70% in the early 2000s and into the low-60s by the mid-2010s. For the first time, support and opposition reached parity in 2021-22, marking a critical convergence. The trajectory then continued, with the "No" vote overtaking the "Yes" vote for the first time in the 2022-23 period, establishing a narrow majority of 51% to 49%. This shift from majority to minority support signalled the end of long-standing consensus. Support and opposition then held steady in 2023-24 at 51% to 49%. The data highlight a significant cultural shift in Australia, reflecting growing secularisation, greater diversity of beliefs, and evolving expectations about the role of religion in public education.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New Zealand: In August, support for Labour surges to highest since the 2023 New Zealand Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Sep-25

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for August 2025 shows that support for the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) has fallen by 4.5% points to only 46.5%, its lowest level of support this year. In contrast, support for the Labour-Greens-Maori Party Parliamentary Opposition has risen to 50% (up 4% points from a month ago). Within the National-led Government support for National was down 2% points to 29%, support for ACT was unchanged at 10.5% and support for NZ First dropped 2.5% points to 7%. For the Parliamentary Opposition, support for Labour increased by 3% points to 34% (the highest level of support for any party since September 2024); support for the Greens was up 2% points to 13.5%, but support for the Maori Party dropped 1% point to 2.5%. A further 3.5% (up 0.5% points) of electors supported a minor party outside Parliament. This New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 873 electors from 28 July to August 24. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating was unchanged at 83.5 in August.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND FIRST PARTY, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY

Labor truth tax set to be blocked

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Original article by Sarah Ison, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Sep-25

The federal government’s proposal to charge a fee for submitting Freedom of Information requests appears set to be defeated. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley contends that Australians "should never have to pay for the truth", while she adds that secrecy is the "refuge of weak governments". The Greens have also criticised Labor’s proposal to impose a fee for FOI requests and ban people from making anonymous applications; justice spokesman David Shoebridge says the latter measure is another attack by Labor against "whistleblowers and truth tellers" within the government. Communications Minister Anika Wells has defended the legislation, arguing that the deluge of automated FOI requests is diverting public servants from important work.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Allan off to Beijing – to win over voters

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Original article by Damon Johnson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Sep-25

A Victorian government spokesperson has advised that Premier Jacinta Allan will head a five-day trade mission to China in mid-September. Allan will meet with Chinese politicians and business leaders, and the talks will focus on issues such as trade, education, tourism and innovation. She will be accompanied by a junior minister, as well as four Labor backbenchers whose electorate have a large number of Chinese-Australian voters. It will be Allan’s first major overseas trip since she replaced predecesser Daniel Andrews, who visited China six times when he was in office.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2pts to 88.0 in late August; driven by more positive views on buying conditions

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Sep-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2pts to 88.0 in the week to 31 August. Consumer Confidence is now 4.9 points above the same week a year ago (83.1), and 1.2pts above the 2025 weekly average of 86.8. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in New South Wales and Western Australia, down in Victoria and South Australia and virtually unchanged in Queensland. Now 23% of Australians (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 43% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 26% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 31% (down 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 14% (up 2ppts) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since February 2022), while 29% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Just 26% (up 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 32% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

One absent ambassador and two useful idiots

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Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 3-Sep-25

The Chinese government’s Victory Day parade in Beijing will be attended by the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Australia’s ambassador to China, Scott Dewar, will be a notable absentee, and the nation will be represented by a defence attache and political counsellor from the embassy; in contrast, the then-minister for veteran affairs Michael Ronaldson represented Australia in 2015. Sources have stated that there is "no way" Labor would send a government representative to an event being attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sources have stressed that former state premiers Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews are attending the event in their personal capacity; Carr is also an ex-foreign minister.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

The staggering amount Allan govt is spending to keep young crims locked up

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Original article by Ryan Bourke
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation has released a report which shows that it now costs the Victorian government – and taxpayers – $7,775 per day to keep each young offender in jail. This equates to more than $280,000 per year for each offender. In contrast, the daily cost of detaining young offenders is just $2,814 in New South Wales and $2,162 in Queensland. A spokesman for Victoria’s Department of Justice & Community Safety says every dollar spent on keeping the community safe is "money well spent". The Minderoo Foundation’s figures are based on data from the Productivity Commission covering the period from 2023 to 2024.

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MINDEROO FOUNDATION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY SAFETY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 3.4pts to 86.0 in late August – its lowest for two months since mid-June

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.4pts to 86.0 in the week to 24 August; it was the first full week of interviewing after the Reserve Bank reduced official interest rates to 3.6 per cent. Consumer Confidence is now 3.4 points above the same week a year ago (82.6), but 0.8pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.8. Analysis by State shows mixed results, with Consumer Confidence up in New South Wales but down in every other State. Now 21% of Australians (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 43% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 12% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 29% (up 4ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Just 22% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations up slightly to 5% in late August – up from 4.8% for the month of July

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-25

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were 5% for the week of 18-24 August, up 0.2% points from the month of July but down from the peak of 5.2% in early August. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for July 2025 shows the measure at 4.8% for the month – unchanged from June and level with the average so far this year (also 4.8%). Looking back over the last year, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.2% to 5.2% since the start of July 2024 and averaged 4.8%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for July shows mixed results, with increases in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania; this was offset by decreases in Victoria and Western Australia, leaving the overall figure unchanged from a month ago. 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 4,036 Australians aged 14+ in July 2025.

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