O75 Public Administration

Petrol: PM’s tough talk won’t work

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Oct-18

The average price of unleaded petrol has risen to a 10-year high of more than $1.60 per litre. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged government intervention to put downward pressure on prices. However, he says it is ultimately up to petrol companies to "do the right thing". Caltex argues that the high crude oil price and the low Australian dollar are the main drivers of the spike in petrol prices. It adds that the government’s fuel excise tax of $0.412 a litre is also a major contributor, but government sources have ruled out an excise tax cut.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence recovers to 114.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Oct-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2% to 114.6 in the week ended 28 October, regaining a third of the previous week’s decline. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose by 3.1%, while sentiment regarding the future financial situation rose by 1.5%. Sentiment towards current economic conditions rose by 6.2%, more than recovering the previous week’s fall of 5.4; sentiment towards future economic conditions rose by 3.1%. However, the "time to buy a household item" sub-index fell by 2.5%.

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

Greens in push to slug rich to boost the dole

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Oct-18

Greens leader Richard Di Natale will announce plans to impose a minimum tax rate of 35 per cent on earnings in excess of $300,000 a year. The proposal, which has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, would raise around $10.5 billion a year, with the funds raised to be used to increase unemployment benefits by $75 per week. The Greens are also seeking to revive Labor’s failed super-profits tax on mining companies.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Spy chief says Huawei a threat to key infrastructure

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Nick McKenzie
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Oct-18

The federal government’s decision in August to ban "high-risk vendors" from building a 5G mobile network has been backed by Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate. He says Australia’s critical infrastructure such as power and water networks would not have been able to be properly protected if such vendors had been allowed to build the 5G network. Although he did not mention them by name, it is assumed that Burgess was referring to Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. Meanwhile, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has expressed concern about the level of collaboration between Australian universities and Chinese military scientists.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED, ZTE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Migrant workers robbed of $1bn

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 3 : 29-Oct-18

Backpackers and international students are owed more than $1 billion in unpaid wages, according to a study to be released on 29 October. However, only nine per cent of them make an effort to recover their wages. Just three per cent took their case to the Fair Work Commission, but 58 per cent of that group did not recovery any money. The report makes a number of recommendations, including setting up a specific team to assist with migrant workers’ questions and making changes to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s processes

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Morrison to boost small end of town

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Oct-18

The federal government is understood to be working on various measures aimed at assisting small business. They include helping small companies to get paid more quickly by larger firms, increasing their access to finance and improving dispute resolution with the Australian Taxation Office. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan recently criticised suggestions that the ATO has a vendetta against small business, while Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert says the government will review measures aimed at protecting small businesses against unfair contract terms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

LaTrobe University Bold Thinking Series – Is Democracy Broken featuring Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, Tony Walker, Mark Textor and others (Video)

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Oct-18

The high turnover of Prime Ministers in Australia suggests a democratic system showing signs of a broader political malaise. Analysing the state of Australian politics means understanding the interplay of "trust" and, even more importantly "distrust" in politics. (Vid 15:40). Levine asserts that "Trust is more important than ever before. When we’re all unnerved and uncertain, trust is absolutely critical. So trust is really the foundation of all human connections. It’s the glue." (Vid: 23:15). Levine on the importance of polls even considering the challenges faced in this day and age: "It’s really really important and we shouldn’t knock these polls completely. Polls are actually the voice of the people" and "Our leaders really need to understand what people, everybody’s fears, are." (Vid: 1:04:30) Roy Morgan Executive Chairman Gary Morgan posed a question about Australian democracy – to Katharine Murphy of the Guardian – "What have you done about correcting the error on what you published in the Guardian the ReachTel poll commissioned by Greenpeace" (on the Wentworth by-election). Murphy responded by expressing concern about "single seat polls" and "the rise of activists groups commissioning polls in order to massage public opinion in various ways and a lot of those activist commissioned polls have push poll questions that elicit certain responses from voters". For the full video of the discussion access the video here:

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Industry staff tapped to opt out of new deal

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Original article by Sally Whyte
The Canberra Times – Page: 16 : 26-Oct-18

The federal Department of Industry, Innovation & Science may use a clause in the Public Service Act that allows departmental secretaries to make determinations about pay and conditions, so long as there is no loss to the benefits of staff. Civil servants are being asked to vote on whether they want the Department to make such a determination, which would see the terms of their current enterprise agreement maintained, or to enter into a new bargaining process with the Community & Public Sector Union. The CPSU wants staff to vote against the determination proposal.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Hunt for bomber targeting Trump rivals

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 26-Oct-18

Actor Robert De Niro and former vice-president Joe Biden appear to have become the latest target of a serial bomber in the US. Former president Barack Obama and former CIA director John Brennan are among those to whom the bomber has addressed home-made pipe bombs, with President Donald Trump saying that every effort is being made to find the perpetrator of the attacks. All of the packages have used as their return address the Florida office of Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chaired the Democratic National Committee during part of the 2016 presidential campaign.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, CNN, DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES), REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Windfall tax take balancing the books

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-Oct-18

New figures show that the federal government had a balanced Budget in the 12 months to September, with cash receipts and expenditure both totalling $257.4bn. Meanwhile, the deficit for the first three months of 2018-19 was just $10.5bn, well below the forecast of $19.5bn in May. The figures also show that company tax revenue was 13.8 per cent higher than in the first quarter of 2017-8 and personal income tax revenue was 6.3 per cent higher. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the improved Budget position will be at risk if Labor wins the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY