O75 Public Administration

Coalition’s $100bn savings formula

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Aug-24

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says the Coalition will pursue a ‘back to basics’ economic agenda if it wins the next federal election. The Coalition has identified nearly $100bn worth of savings it can make by scrapping government programs and initiatives. They include the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Rewiring the Nation program and the Future Made in Australia policy. Taylor says the government’s excessive spending is driving up the longer term inflation rate, and notes this has been acknowledged by the Reserve Bank.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM’s offence minister: Dutton is dangerous

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 27-Aug-24

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended his economic record in a speech to the Labor-aligned John Curtin Research Centre in Melbourne. Chalmers also used the speech to outline Labor’s plans to create a new ‘fourth economy’ over coming decades, which will be driven by energy, technology, demography, industry and geography; he noted that the nation’s three previous ‘economies’ have occurred roughly 40 years apart. Chalmers also used his speech to criticise Opposition leader Peter Dutton, describing him as the most divisive leader of a major political party in Australia’s modern history.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, JOHN CURTIN RESEARCH CENTRE

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

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Aug-24

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be ‘too close to call’, with the Coalition on 50.5% (up 1%) just ahead of the ALP on 49.5% (down 1%) on a two-party preferred basis, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. This a reverse of last week’s results but nevertheless 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 1% to 39.5% while ALP primary support was down 1% to 29.5%. Support for the Greens was down 0.5% to 13% and support for One Nation was unchanged at 4%. Support for Other Parties was unchanged at 5% and support for Independents was up 0.5% to 9%.

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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

Business split over right to disconnect law

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Original article by Matt Bell, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 17 : 27-Aug-24

Unions have welcomed the federal government’s ‘right to disconnect’ reforms, describing them as a "cost-of-living win" for workers. However, shadow finance minister Jane Hume says the right to disconnect laws are "completely unworkable"; she contends that employers have been discussing this issue with their staff for many years, so legislation is not necessary. NIB Holdings CEO Mark Fitzgibbon is amongst the business leaders who have also questioned whether the right to disconnect laws are needed. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank CEO Marnie Baker in turn says workers should be able to choose whether to disconnect from their employer outside of working hours.

CORPORATES
NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN

Labor denies Setka’s claim of secret deal

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: 6 : 27-Aug-24

Former Construction, Forestry & Maritime Employees Union official John Setka told Seven’s Spotlighht program on Sunday that he had been given the impression that the CFMEU would be "left alone" if he quit. However, the suggestion that the federal government had agreed to let Setka stand down in return for not placing the CFMEU into administration has been rejected by the federal government, with workplace relations minister Murray Watt saying that claims by Setka that Labor double-crossed him over the issue were "absolutely fanciful".

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

‘The Wild West’: sacked CFMEU leaders ‘go rogue’, prepare for mass walkouts

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Aug-24

A meeting of sacked NSW CFMEU delegates on Monday could see them face fines or criminal penalties if they are found to have undermined its administration, with the CFMEU having being forced into administration last week. The meeting called for union members to walk off construction sites and attend rallies on Tuesday, with builder Multiplex expected to be targeted; it has told the Fair Work Commission its agreement with the CFMEU – which is currently waiting to be approved – is a not genuine one because of the union’s alleged coercion. One construction industry source has stated that the CFMEU has "gone rogue", while Master Builders Association CEO Denita Wawn says walkouts to attend the protest were "likely unprotected action".

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Docked pay, red cards for badly behaved politicians

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Original article by Olivia Ireland
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 21-Aug-24

The federal government will belatedly introduce a bill on Wednesday to establish an Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. The proposed commission was one of the key recommendations of a landmark 2021 report by former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins, and it was originally intended to be operation by the end of 2023. It will have the power to investigate allegations of breaches of parliamentary standards by MPs, senators and their staffers. Amongst other things, politicians could be be suspended from parliament or be fined up to five per cent of their base salary for any breaches of the standards.

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ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 0.9pts to 83.0 as buying sentiment drops to lowest for a month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Aug-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.9pts to 83.0 in the week to 18 August; the index has now spent a record 81 straight weeks below the mark of 85. However, Consumer Confidence is now 7.2 points above the same week a year ago (75.8), and 2.1 points above the 2024 weekly average of 81.9. A look at Consumer Confidence by State shows that the index decreased in most States, including New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, although it was up slightly in Queensland. Now 23% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 47% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 32% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 32% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 8% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 20% (down 4ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 49% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Jakarta pact of strategic trust

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Aug-24

The federal government has finalised a new defence agreement with its Indonesian counterpart during an official visit by president-elect Prabowo Subianto. Amongst other things, the two nations will hold more joint military exercises and increase maritime security co-operation, as part of a push to counter Chinese’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Prabowo, who is currently Indonesia’s Defence Minister, says he wants to strengthen the nation’s ties with its neighbours. Defence Minister Richard Marles will formally sign the agreement in Indonesia next week.

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INDONESIA. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

RBA sticks to its guns: no rate cut before 2025

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Aug-24

The minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s two-day board meeting in eatly August show that it considered increasing the cash rate to 4.6 per cent. The minutes have also reinforced expectations that the central bank will not reduce the cash rate in 2024, with the board concluding that restoring inflation to the mid-point of its 2-3 per cent target range would be delayed until 2027 if official interest rates were cut to 4.1 per cent in the near-term.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA