O75 Public Administration

Cyclone Alfred looks to be final barrier to PM calling April 12 election

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Mar-25

A source within the federal government says there is a 50 per cent chance that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the date of the election this weekend, with 12 April seen as the most likely option. However, some Labor insiders believe that Albanese will wait until the potential impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred on south-east Queensland is known before going to the polls. The Bureau of Meteorology has upgraded the cyclone to a category two system, and it is forecast to make landfall somewhere between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast later this week. The next most likely date for the election would be 3 May, given that Albanese will have to take into account Easter and Anzac Day when deciding on a date to go to the polls.

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

PM rolls out $7.4b for aged care pay

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Mar-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce on Tuesday that he has struck a deal with NSW to provide its public schools with a $4.8 billion funding boost over 10 years. It leaves Queensland as the only state not to sign up to new funding arrangements, while Aged Care Minister Anika Wells will announce on Tuesday a further 12 per cent pay rise for aged care nurses that is worth $2.6 billion over three years. The announcement of the funding deal for NSW schools and the pay rise for aged care nurses comes amid increasing speculation that Albanese will call a federal election for 12 April immediately after Western Australians go to the polls on Saturday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Australian women earn nearly $30,000 less than men a year, the governments latest pay gap report finds

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Kate Lyons, Eelemarni Close-Brown
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Mar-25

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the gender pay gap narrowed at 56 per cent of employers in the year to March 2024. However, the data indicates that the gender pay gap at 72.2 per cent of employers still favours male workers, while just 6.5 per cent have a pay gap that favours women; some 21.3% of employers have a neutral gender pay gap, whereby the difference in wages for male and female workers is no more than five per cent. Meanwhile, the gender pay gap is largest in male-dominated industries such as construction and financial services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

CFMEU to ignore pledge and campaign in election

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Mar-25

CFMEU administrator Mark Irving KC has previously committed to barring the construction union from making political donations, engaging in party politics or supporting candidates. However, CFMEU national secretary and Victorian branch executive director Zach Smith appears to be ignoring Irving’s pledge, with Smith having promised to campaign against opposition leader Peter Dutton during the upcoming federal election campaign, over Dutton’s pledge to deregister the CFMEU if he is elected. Commenting on Smith’s promise, a spokesman for Irving said he has reaffirmed his commitment that the CFMEU will not engage in party politics while in administration, and that there is "no contradiction between that commitment and the union continuing to educate members on issues that affect them".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION

Roy Morgan Poll: Coalition regains narrow lead after Reserve Bank boost proves short-lived: L-NP 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5%

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Mar-25

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be a hung parliament, with the Coalition on 50.5% (up 1.5%) narrowly ahead of the ALP on 49.5% (down 1.5%) on a two-party preferred basis. The Coalition, or the ALP, would require the support of minor parties and independents to form government, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. This latest weekly poll has not completely reversed the ‘Reserve Bank boost’ but has definitely shown the ‘boost’ to Labor has been significantly softened. The Coalition stretched their primary vote lead, with L-NP support up 3.5% to 40% while ALP support dropped 3% to 28.5%; the Greens were unchanged at 13.5%, One Nation down 1% to 4%, Other Parties unchanged at 3.5% and Independents up 0.5% to 10.5%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Ukraine a conflict too far for Diggers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham, Jacquelin Magnay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-Mar-25

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has proposed to European leaders that a peacekeeping force be deployed in Ukraine as a part of a ceasefire plan in the war against Russia. However, although Australia supplied troops to the US-led ‘coalition of the willing’ in Iraq more than two decades ago, neither side of politics seems willing to commit Australian troops to a similar force in Ukraine, with a federal election only a matter of weeks away. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said on Monday that Australia should still support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia, with Dutton labelling Vladimir Putin a "murderous dictator", but he does not see the need for Australia to send troops to Ukraine, while a government spokeswoman said the deployment of Australian troops to the proposed peacekeeping force is not currently under consideration.

CORPORATES

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations fell to 4.2% in late February – well down from 5.0% for the month of January

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Feb-25

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were 4.2% for the week of 17-23 February 2025; this is down 0.8% points from the month of January, and the lowest since August 2021. However, a look at monthly Inflation Expectations for January 2025 shows the measure at 5.0% for the month – an increase of 0.2% points from December, and just above the average for last year of 4.9%. Looking back over the last year, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.2% to 5.3% since the start of 2024 and averaged 4.9%. 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 6,086 Australians aged 14+ in January 2025.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Sydney nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh charged over kill Israelis video

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: Online : 26-Feb-25

NSW detectives from Strike Force Pearl have arrested former Bankstown Hospital nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh several weeks after she and a male colleague threatened to kill Israeli patients. The 26-year-old has been charged with three commonwealth offences, including threatening violence to a group, the use of a carriage service to threaten to kill, and use of a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. Police Commissioner Karen Webb says the charges have been laid following a lot of hard work, as well as legal advice received from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on Tuesday. Ahmad Rashad Nadir has yet to be charged over the antisemitic rant that was recorded by Israeli social media influencer Max Veifer.

CORPORATES

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence jumps 4.7pts to 89.8 after the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates for the first time since 2020

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Feb-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 4.7pts to 89.8 in the week to 23 February, after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates by 0.25% to 4.1%. Consumer Confidence is now 6.6 points above the same week a year ago (83.2), and 2.7 points above the 2025 weekly average of 87.1. A look at Consumer Confidence by State shows increases in all States, with the largest increase in Western Australia and increases of at least 3 points in the other States. Now 22% of Australians (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 44% (down 6ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since January 2023). Looking forward, 37% (up 5ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the highest figure for this indicator since January 2022), while 27% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since May 2022). Now 11% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 26% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since April 2022). Meanwhile, 24% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the equal lowest figure for this indicator since before the Black Friday sales period), while 44% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

National nightmare of teals on a Green pitch

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Garvey, Perry Williams, Colin Packham, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Feb-25

Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill says it would be bad for households, business and the environment if the Greens or the teals hold the balance of power after the federal election. Beach Energy CEO Brett Woods has expressed similar concerns, warning that a minority government could result in "exorbitant power" being given to a small collection of MPs who are focused solely on their own narrow agenda rather than the good of the nation. He contends that electors should vote for either Labor or the Coalition, as the consequences of giving the Greens or teals greater influence would include higher unemployment and severe energy shortages.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, AUSTRALIAN GREENS