O75 Public Administration

Australia can play key role in global supply of rare earths

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 24 : 17-Apr-25

Federal Resources Minister Madeline King recently called for Australia to establish a strategic reserve of critical minerals. However, King did not name terbium and dysprosium, which are crucial for the defence sector and which will now be subject to export controls by China. King also did not mention that although Australia has terbium and dysprosium deposits, the nation does not currently produce these minerals. Meanwhile, Haoma Mining’s rare earth ore bodies at Bamboo Creek in the Pilbara carry some of the highest grades of terbium and dysprosium in the world. Gold will first be extracted via the Elazac process, which greatly assists the economics. The high content of terbium and dysprosium in the remaining material can potentially be treated several ways. The Bamboo Creek ore also contains lutetium and yttrium, which are important in lutetium-based prostate cancer treatments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, HAOMA MINING NL

Trump’s tariff probe boosts local miners

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 17-Apr-25

US President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order regarding critical minerals. He has directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate whether new tariffs should be imposed on all critical minerals imports on national security grounds. Amongst other things, Lutnick will examine the impact of the "predatory economic, pricing and market manipulation" strategies of countries that process critical minerals. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable has welcomed the investigation, saying it will present Australia with an opportunity to strengthen its position as a trusted and reliable supplier of critical minerals to the US.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Putin’s man in Indonesia fixes aim at Australia

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Hodge, Dian Septiari, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 17-Apr-25

Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, has defended his nation’s military ties with Indonesia in the wake of reports that the nation had made a request to base military aircraft in the province of Papua. He says that military co-operation is an integral part of the intergovernmental relations between Russia and Indonesia. Tolchenov added that all interactions between the armed forces of the two nations are aimed at strengthening their mutual defensive capabilities and pose no security threat to the Asia-Pacific region. He also warned that any challenges to regional stability are more likely to arise from the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines deal and plans by the US to station troops and military airplanes in Australia.

CORPORATES

In March Australian unemployment dropped to 10.2% as both full-time and part-time employment grew

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

In March 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell 230,000 to 1,604,000 (down 1.3% to 10.2% of the workforce), with significantly fewer people looking for work. The decrease in unemployment was driven by full-time employment (up 29,000 to 9,385,000) and part-time employment (up 34,000 to 4,801,000). However, the Australian workforce dropped 167,000 to 15,790,000 as many of those unemployed decided to leave the workforce. In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.43 million Australians (9.1% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, down 199,000 from February. In total, 3.03 million Australians (19.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in March. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.2% is clearly more than double the ABS estimate of 4.1% for February, and is in line with the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 2.6pts to 84.2 as Australian Dollar and markets fall following Trump Tariffs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 2.6pts to 84.2 in the week to 13 April. Consumer Confidence is now 0.7 points above the same week a year ago (83.5), but 2.4pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.4. Analysis by State shows that there were decreases in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia, but a modest increase in New South Wales against the overall trend. Now 20% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 28% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 30% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 10% (down 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 5ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 22% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 40% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Investors urge ALP not to extend tax on unrealised gains

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-Apr-25

The federal government is continuing to attract scrutiny over its plans to tax the unrealised gains of superannuation funds. The controversial proposal is part of Labor’s push to double the tax rate of super funds with balances exceeding $3m. A coalition of groups representing self-funded retirees, small businesses and farmers has issued a joint statement urging Labor to rule out any move to expand the unrealised gains tax beyond superannuation. The industry coalition contends that taxing unrealised gains is confiscation rather than reform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Former CFMEU leaders set to plead guilty

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Apr-25

The lawyer representing the CFMEU’s former NSW state secretary Darren Greenfield and his son Michael has indicated that the pair may plead guilty to some of the charges they face, while other charges may be withdrawn. However, the lawyer has declined to comment on whether the Greenfields will plead guilty to bribery charges. They were initially charged with accepting bribes from a construction firm in 2021. Meanwhile, nearly 92 per cent of the CFMEU’s manufacturing division have voted in favour of demerging and establishing the Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plan could lead to major electricity shortages, analysis says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Graham Readfearn
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Apr-25

Modelling by Frontier Economics concluded that Australia’s remaining coal-fired power stations would need to keep operating until the Coalition’s proposed nuclear plants are built. However, the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis contends that Frontier Economics has not taken into account the growing unreliability of coal-fired power stations as they get older. The IEEFA argues that the modelling is based on the assumption that the coal-fired plants would be able to keep operating at 72-81 per cent of their generation capacity. The IEEFA notes that the 13 coal-fired plants that have closed down since 2000 operated at just 66 per cent of their capacity in the last 10 years of their operating life.

CORPORATES
FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Doctors v PM: free for every GP visit a fantasy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Apr-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated that the federal government’s proposed bulk-billing incentives will allow 90 per cent of Australians to see a doctor for free. However, the Australian Medical Association’s president Danielle McMullen cautions that people should not expect to see a GP for free, contending that not all medical practices will switch to bulk-billing; she adds that Labor’s policy will not address the structural reforms that the Medicare system requires. The Coalition has committed to matching the bulk-billing incentives policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Russia’s base instinct: shadow of Putin hangs over election campaign

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Hodge
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 16-Apr-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is seeking clarification from its Indonesian counterpart regarding a formal request from Russia to base military aircraft in the province of Papua. The government has stated that Indonesia’s Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has dismissed reports in a defence publication that Russian aircraft may operate out of Indonesia, and just 1,300km from the Australian mainland. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has warned that a Russian military presence in the Indo-Pacific region would be "deeply destabilising" and says the federal government must disclose whether it had been aware of Russia’s request before it was made public.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INDONESIA. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA