O75 Public Administration

Optus’ $1.5b in federal contracts in doubt

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Nicola Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-25

Optus is under renewed scrutiny after a mobile network outage in the Hunter Valley region on Wednesday, which prompted the telco to warn that triple-zero services in 18 postcode areas could be affected. It was Optus’s third network outage in two months, and came just days after a parliamentary committee began an inquiry into the triple-zero outage in September that has been linked to several deaths. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells has indicated that Optus’s contracts with federal government agencies are likely to be reviewed. The telco’s current contracts with the Australian Tax Office and the Department of Home Affairs expire in December 2026.

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SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Miners in appeal for a deal

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Original article by Greg Brown, Jack Quail
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Nov-25

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable agrees with the federal government’s view that proposed changes to environmental laws need to be passed this year. She has urged Labor and the Coalition to reach consensus regarding an overhaul of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to ensure that the changes go ahead as quickly as possible, but with appropriate amendments to allay the concerns of the business sector. There are also fears among business leaders that Labor will capitalise on the Coalition’s in-fighting over a net-zero emissions target to strike a deal with the Greens on changes to the EPBC Act.

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MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Surprise additions to list of banned tech platforms

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 5-Nov-25

The federal government’s final list of social media platforms that will be subject to age restrictions has been expanded to include Reddit and video livestreaming service Kick. It had previously announced that people under the age of 16 will be barred from using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube from 10 December. Communications Minister Anika Wells says the list is ‘dynamic’ and will be updated over time. The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant has concluded that the "sole or significant purpose" of the eight platforms that will be subject to the ban is to enable online social interaction; platforms that are primarily used for messaging and online gaming will be excluded from the ban.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, REDDIT INCORPORATED, KICK, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM LLC, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, TIKTOK, X CORPORATION, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Free-power plan to raise prices

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Nov-25

MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic has described the federal government’s Solar Sharer scheme as "another poorly thought through market intervention" by the Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen. Kavonic warns that the proposed three-hour block of ‘free’ electricity during the day will inevitably be offset by higher electricity prices at other times. David Dixon from Rystad Energy in turn says households may become more reluctant to invest in rooftop solar if they can use electricity for free.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER, MST MARQUEE, RYSTAD ENERGY AS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 1.3pts to 84.5 after higher-than-expected ABS CPI for September quarter ends speculation about more interest rate cuts this year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-25

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 1.3pts to 84.5 in the week to 2 November; it is now 2pts lower than a year ago (86.5), and 2.1pts below the 2025 weekly average of 86.6. Analysis by State shows a fairly consistent result, with Consumer Confidence down in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up marginally in Queensland. Now 22% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 42% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 26% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 10% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 32% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Only 21% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 35% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Inflation is going north, wages south

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Nov-25

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock has indicated that the current monetary policy easing cycle could potentially be over, after the central bank left the cash rate unchanged at 3.6 per cent yesterday. The RBA has reduced official interest rates three times in 2025, but financial markets expect the next rate cut to occur in December 2026. Meanwhile, the RBA expects both headline and underlying inflation to remain above its target range of 2-3 per cent for at least another six months. Shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien has blamed Labor for the RBA’s decision to leave the cash rate on hold, contending that government spending is growing more than four times faster than the Australian economy.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Spy boss warns of realistic possibility of foreign-ordered killings in Australia

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Original article by Matthew Knott
The Age – Page: Online : 5-Nov-25

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess says there are "multiple, cascading and intersecting threats" to Australia’s social cohesion. He has used a Lowy Institute speech to warn that there is a realistic possibility that foreign governments will attempt to assassinate dissidents in Australia, and ASIO believes that least three nations are willing and capable of doing so. Burgess also identified a number of other threats, including state-sanctioned trolls, neo-Nazis, extreme anti-Israel activists and Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir; the latter is not a designated terrorist group in Australia, although it is in countries such as the UK.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Business wants states to handle environmental approvals

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Oct-25

The federal government’s proposed changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act will be put before the lower house on Thursday. The government aims to have the Environmental Protection Reform Bill passed by parliament before it negotiates s separate deals with each state and territory regarding the streamlining of environmental approvals. The Business Council of Australia has called for the states and territories to be given responsibility for assessment and approval rights; CEO Bran Black says this is necessary to lock in faster approvals for housing, critical minerals and infrastructure projects.

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BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Uber drivers sacked over sex claims reinstated

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 29-Oct-25

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that ride-sharing giant Uber must reinstate two drivers under the federal government’s unfair deactivation laws. Uber was also ordered to pay one of the drivers more than $6,000 in lost earnings after removing him from its platform in May due to several complaints about sexually inappropriate misconduct; this included a female passenger’s allegation that the driver had been sexually gratifying himself. In the second case, the FWC has yet to determine how much compensation for lost wages a driver will be entitled to following his deactivation for allegedly hugging and kissing a female passenger. In both cases the FWC found that Uber had relied on customer statements or hearsay evidence from its service team in deactivating the drivers.

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UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations are at 4.8% in late October – down 0.1% points from the month of September

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Oct-25

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were at 4.8% for the week of 20-26 October, down 0.1% points from the full month of September. A look at monthly Inflation Expectations for September shows the measure at 4.9% for the month – down 0.1% points from August. Looking back over the last year, weekly Inflation Expectations have moved in a band of 4.2% to 5.2% since the start of September 2024 and averaged 4.8%. A look at Monthly Inflation Expectations on a State-based level for September shows mixed results, with decreases in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, unchanged in Victoria, and up in Tasmania.. 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 4,097 Australians aged 14+ in September 2025.

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