O75 Public Administration

Liberal Party takeover of NSW branch after nominations fiasco ‘premature’, Mark Speakman says

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Original article by Nick Dole
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 20-Aug-24

NSW Liberal Leader Mark Speakman says he has twice spoken to federal opposition leader Peter Dutton about the efficiency of the NSW branch of the party, following its failure to nominate close to 140 councillors in next month’s NSW council elections. He says he can understand the concerns of the federal branch of the party, given that there is a federal election due next year, but that any attempt by the federal Liberal party to take over the NSW state branch following the council nominations debacle would be "premature".

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LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Allan govt under fire for keeping credit report secret

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Original article by Shannon Deery
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 20-Aug-24

The Victorian government’s reputation for transparency is under scrutiny following the revelation that it has not released a private credit assessment that was completed two years ago. Treasurer Tim Pallas commissioned the report from credit ratings agency Fitch in March 2022, which included an assessment of the state’s financial position. Meanwhile, rival ratings agency Standard & Poor’s recently warned that Victoria’s credit rating may be further downgraded if the state government proceeds with the Suburban Rail Loop project without federal funding. S&P downgraded the state’s credit rating by two notches to AA in late 2020.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC

Roy Morgan Poll: ALP (50.5%) marginally ahead of Coalition (49.5%), but too close to call

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Aug-24

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be ‘too close to call’, with the ALP on 50.5% (up 0.5%) just ahead of the Coalition on 49.5% (down 0.5%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. The ALP or Coalition would require the support of minor parties and independents to form a minority government. The result once again highlights the importance of preference flows to determine the overall two-party preferred result. The Coalition primary vote increased by 0.5% to 38.5% while ALP primary support was up 1% to 30.5%. Support for the Greens was down 0.5% to 13.5% and support for One Nation was down 1% to 4%. Smaller parties and independents lost support this week. Support for Other Parties increased 1% to 5% and support for Independents was down 1% to 8.5%.

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

CFMEU headed for administration after Labor-Coalition agreement

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Aug-24

Legislation to appoint administrators to the CFMEU’s state construction divisions was passed by the Senate on Monday, after the federal government agreed to several concessions sought by the Coalition. Amongst other things, the government accepted the Coalition’s push for a minimum administration period of three years and a maximum of five years, and for administrator Mark Irving to provide federal parliament with a progress report every six months. Irving has agreed that the CFMEU will not make any political donations or engage in "party politics" during the period of administration. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt has described the legislation as the strongest action a government has taken against a union in Australia’s history. The bill will be put before the lower house later this week.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

In July Australian unemployment jumped to 10.1%; highest unemployment for a year since August 2023 as part-time jobs were lost in July following the Mid-Year sales

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Aug-24

In July 2024, Australian ‘real’ unemployment increased by 294,000 to 1,597,000 (up 1.8% to 10.1% of the workforce). This is the highest level of unemployment since August 2023 and was caused by a significant decline in part-time jobs during July after the end of the Mid-Year sales. Part-time employment dropped by 176,000 to 4,765,000 in July – the lowest level of part-time employment since July 2023. Although full-time employment increased marginally in July (up 24,000 to 9,390,000), overall employment for the month dropped by 152,000 to 14,155,000. In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.54 million Australians (9.7% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, up 132,000 from June. In total 3.13 million Australians (19.8% of the workforce, up 2.5%) were either unemployed or under-employed in July. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.1% is clearly more than double the ABS estimate of 4.1% for June, but it is approaching the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.6%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 2.6pts to 83.9 after the RBA leaves interest rates unchanged again

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Aug-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.6pts to 83.9 in the week to 11 August; however, the index has now spent a record 80 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 5.7 points above the same week a year ago (78.2), and 3.1 points above the 2024 weekly average of 81.8. A look at Consumer Confidence by State shows that the index increased in most States including Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, but it was down slightly in New South Wales. Now 24% of Australians (up 3ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year (the highest figure for this indicator since November 2022), while 47% (down 4ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since February 2023). Looking forward, 32% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 9% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 34% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 24% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 47% (up 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Roy Morgan Business Confidence up 3.6pts to 95.1 after Stage 3 tax cuts provide boost to taxpayers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Aug-24

In July 2024, Roy Morgan Business Confidence was 95.1 (up 3.6pts since June). However, Business Confidence is now 16.1pts below the long-term average of 111.2, although it is up 7.6pts since July 2023. Now 49.3% (up 3.8ppts) of businesses expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next year, while 48.7% (down 2.9ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 38.8% (down 5.1ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 20.6% (down 4.6ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest figure for this indicator since May 2022). The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for July are based on 1,501 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ALP set to rush CFMEU law through Senate

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Aug-24

The Coalition still has some concerns about the federal government’s legislation to appoint administrators to the CFMEU’s state construction divisions. However, it is ultimately expected to support the bill, although shadow employment minister Michaelia Cash will push for a Senate inquiry into the legislation. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn contends that an inquiry is not necessary and the bill should be passed as quickly as possible. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt intends to table a motion in parliament today for the bill to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, with a view to having it passed by the upper house either on the same day or early next week.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Giles ‘breached ministerial code of conduct’: Coalition

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Aug-24

Former immigration minister Andrew Giles continues to attract scrutiny over his handling of the portfolio. Documents obtained via freedom of information laws show that Giles was aware that at least 83 immigration detainees had been released into the community without bridging visas in the wake of the High Court’s landmark NZYQ ruling. However, Giles had told question time in November that all detainees who were required to be released into the community were on bridging visas. Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson contends that Giles had breached the ministerial code of conduct and should resign for misleading parliament.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Business warning on public sector pay surge

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Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Aug-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that overall wages growth was steady at 4.1 per cent in the year to June. Public sector wages increased by 3.9 per cent in the 12 months to June, compared with 3.1 per cent a year earlier; private sector wage growth was 4.1 per cent, up from 3.9 per cent in the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, public sector wages increased by 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, compared with 0.7 per cent growth for private sector wages. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has expressed concern that public sector wages are rising at a time when private companies are trying to moderate wages growth to reduce inflationary pressures.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP