O75 Public Administration

Candid meeting clears the air

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jun-24

Five memorandums of understanding between Australia and China were signed following the meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday, although their details will not be released until after Li concludes his visit in Perth on Tuesday. In what was described as a "candid" meeting, Li and Albanese agreed to improve military-to-military lines of communications in order to hopefully prevent potentially dangerous confrontations in the air or at sea, while Li stated that the two countries could seek common ground while "shelving their differences".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australian federal politicians awarded 3.5% pay rise by independent tribunal

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Original article by Sarah Basford Canales
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 18-Jun-24

The Remuneration Tribunal has defended its pay rise for federal public office holders, stating that it took into account factors such as the minimum wage case, changes in private and public sector wages and the budget position. MPs, senators and bureaucrats will receive a pay rise of 3.5 per cent from 1 July, and the independent tribunal notes that they have received a ‘modest’ cumulative pay rise of just 18.25 per cent since 2015. The salary of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will rise by more than $20,000 a year, to $607,471; Opposition leader Peter Dutton will in turn be paid $432,239 a year, an increase of about $25,000. The salary of Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis will rise $34,202 a year to more than $1m.

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AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘More secretive than the Morrison government’: Labor accused of transparency failure

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Original article by Amy Remeikis
The Guardian – Page: Online : 18-Jun-24

When they were in opposition, Labor MPs were critical of the Morrison government over what they claimed was its secrecy and its failure to deal with issues of transparency issues. However, independent MPs, who were elected on a platform to boost transparency and restore trust in Australian democracy, claim that Labor is more secretive in government than the Morrison government was. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who has been in federal parliament for 14 years, rates the Albanese government as a "a fail for transparency", while fellow independent MP Helen Haines contends the major parties only believe in transparency when they are in opposition.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Melbourne Institute & Roy Morgan – Taking The Pulse of the Nation: Many women are dissatisfied with the division of unpaid domestic work between them and their partner

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jun-24

Taking the Pulse of the Nation (TTPN) surveys the Australian population to capture their sentiments and behaviours related to current economic and social issues. The March 2024 survey reveals that, while the total hours of unpaid domestic work has decreased since March 2023 for parents of dependent children, women -and mothers in particular – continue to undertake disproportionately more household work. Such activities include grocery shopping, food preparation, laundry, grounds care and gardening, home and vehicle maintenance, caring for children, caring for adults, and paying bills. Although the gender gap in part reflects differences in employment status – and, thus, could reflect a conscious decision to specialise within couples – women are more often dissatisfied with the division of household tasks than men. To view all Melbourne Institute – Roy Morgan Taking The Pulse of the Nation Reports visit the TTPN website portal: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/ttpn.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

ALP & Coalition are now even on two-party preferred terms in mid-June: ALP 50% cf. L-NP 50%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jun-24

The Albanese Government and the Liberal-National Coalition are now ‘dead even’ on two-party preferred terms: ALP 50% (down 3.5%) cf. Coalition 50% (up 3.5%). If a Federal Election were held now the result would be too close to call with a hung parliament and the support of minor parties and independents required for either the ALP or Coalition to form a minority government, the latest Roy Morgan survey shows. The major States of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland drove the swing to the Coalition this week with each State swinging by at least 3% away from the Government. Primary support for the Coalition increased 3% to 38% this week. The increase for the Coalition came at the expense of the ALP, down 1% to 29.5%, and the Greens, down 2% to 13.5%. Support for One Nation was down 0.5% to 5%, support for Other Parties was up 1.5% to 5.5% and support for Independents was down 1% at 8.5%.

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

ABS employment estimates for May followed Roy Morgan’s earlier figures showing jobs growth driving a drop in unemployment

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

The ABS employment estimates for May released this week showed Australian unemployment dropping 9,200 to 598,900 (4.0%, down 0.1%). The ABS estimate once again followed the earlier released Roy Morgan ‘Real Unemployment’ estimates which showed a decrease of 170,000 to 1,365,000 (8.7%, down 1%) – over twice as high as the latest ABS estimate. The ABS showed under-employment, increasing 17,000 to 1,008,000 (6.7%, up 0.1%) although this is still significantly lower than the latest Roy Morgan under-employment estimate of 1,338,000 (8.5%). The combined Roy Morgan ‘Real Unemployment’ and under-employment estimates show 2.7 million Australians (17.2% of the workforce) unemployed or under-employed in May – the lowest rate of total labour under-utilisation for nearly two years since July 2022 (17.1%, 2.52 million) during the last few months of pandemic restrictions.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Setka threat to AFL may be unlawful

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Jun-24

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says the CFMEU’s proposed work-to-rule campaign against the AFL is likely to constitute unlawful industrial action. Steven Amendola, a partner at law firm Kingston Reid, adds that the threat of industrial action unless the AFL agrees to sack head of umpiring Stephen McBurney could breach adverse action laws; he also suggests that the threat could potentially fall within Victoria’s blackmail laws. The CFMEU’s John Setka contends that the proposed action is not unlawful as construction workers will simply adhere to their regular hours and not work overtime or on rostered days off.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, KINGSTON REID

‘Not backing down’: G7 summit opens with deal to use Russian assets for Ukraine

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Original article by Paolo Santalucia
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Jun-24

The annual Group of Seven summit has opened in southern Italy, with the G7 leaders agreeing on a US proposal to back a $US50 billion loan to Ukraine that would use frozen Russian assets as collateral. US President Joe Biden said that the loan would serve as another reminder to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "we’re not backing down". Biden made his comments in a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at which Zelensky was asked about the question of Chinese support for Russia. Zelensky said he had had a phone call with the leader of China, and that he was told that China would not sell any weapons to Russia.

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GROUP OF SEVEN (G-7)

Record surge in immigrants starts to slow

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Jun-24

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed that the nation experienced its biggest quarterly fall in immigrants since the borders were closed at the beginning of the pandemic, suggesting that the federal government’s efforts to curb migration are beginning to have an impact. However, with Australia’s total population just short of 27 million, the ABS data also reveals a further fall in the nation’s birth rate, with the number of new babies declining to its lowest level since 2006. International students have been largely behind the recent lift in migrant numbers, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he makes no apologies for reforming the migration system by tightening eligibility for foreign students.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Union launches BHP same pay challenge

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 13-Jun-24

The Mining & Energy Union has filed 10 applications in the Fair Work Commission to increase the wages of BHP’s labour hire workers under the federal government’s ‘same job, same pay’ laws. The initial applications cover about 1,700 workers at three of BHP’s coal mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin who are employed by WorkPac, Chandler McLeod and BHP’s own Operations Services subsidiary. The union is pushing for these workers to receive pay rises of between $10,000 and $40,000 in order to achieve pay parity with BHP’s direct employees. The MEU is expected to make further applications against BHP.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINING AND ENERGY UNION, WORKPAC PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED