O75 Public Administration

Australian elite seek to divert Russia’s $9b dirty money to Ukraine

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Original article by Rob Harris
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

The Supporters of Ukraine Network has asked the federal government to confiscate billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets and use the money to support Ukraine. The Supporters of Ukraine Network, which includes health industry leader Dr Tanya Dus and former prime minister John Howard, says the $9 billion in Russian assets that is currently held in Australia would make a enormous difference in terms of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, with the group claiming it would "effectively fund the reconstruction of half of Ukraine’s educational infrastructure".

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Not the retiring type: Australians are working well into their 60s

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

Analysis undertaken by KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley reveals men are not expecting to retire until they reach 10 weeks beyond their 66th birthday, which is the highest retirement age since 1972. In the case of women, they are not expecting to retire until 64.8 years, the the highest since 1971. Rawnsley says the working from home trend that emerged during the pandemic has led many Australians in professional jobs to realise that they can ‘semi-retire’ and still "dabble in the workforce" from home or even a coastal location. Rawnsley’s research shows expected retirement ages have risen since 2003, due in part to changes in access to the age pension.

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KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Federal voting intention: Coalition takes two-party preferred lead over ALP after support for One Nation surges: L-NP 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

Support for the Coalition increased 1.5% to 50.5% to edge narrowly ahead of the ALP on 49.5% on a two-party preferred basis as Australians began to return from Easter holidays. 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. Several issues hurt the Albanese Government’s support last week, in particular the surge in crime in Alice Springs which forced the imposition of a youth curfew in the outback town. There was also the arrival of a new asylum seeker boat in Western Australia and the death of an Australian aid worker in Gaza. Primary support for the Coalition increased 0.5% to 38% ahead of the ALP on only 29.5%, down 0.5% from a week ago. In addition, hurting the ALP on a two-party preferred basis was the decrease in support for the Greens, down 2% to 13.5%. The biggest beneficiary of the decline in support for the ALP and Greens last week was One Nation, which surged 2.5% to 6% – the highest level of support for the party for six months since November 2023. The majority of One Nation preferences flow to the Coalition. Support for Independents was unchanged at 9% and support for Other Parties was down 0.5% to 4%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,731 Australian electors from April 1-7, 2024. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by CEO Michele Levine.

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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

Supermarket hit could rock us all

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Original article by Jess Malcolm, Geoff Chambers, Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 4 : 9-Apr-24

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has expressed reservations about any push to make the food and grocery code of conduct mandatory rather than voluntary. ACCI CEO Andrew McKellar has responded to the release of Craig Emerson’s interim report on his review of the code of conduct by warning that excessive regulation could have "unintended consequences". Amongst other things, Emerson has recommended fining supermarkets up to 10 per cent of their turnover for breaches of the code. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has described Emerson’s inquiry as a "Mickey Mouse review conducted by a Labor mate"; Emerson is a former federal Labor minister.

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AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australian unemployment dropped in March as part-time jobs surged; but this caused an increase in under-employment

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

In March 2024, Australian ‘real’ unemployment dropped 78,000 to 1,358,000 (down 0.5% to 8.7% of the workforce) as employment reached an all-time high of over 14.2 million. However, the composition of the workforce changed – part-time employment surged 295,000 (up 6.1%) to 5,164,000 (a new record high). Unfortunately, there was a substantial decrease in full-time employment, down 256,000 (down 2.7%) to 9,103,000 as the composition of the employment market changed significantly. The rise in part-time employment was correlated to the increase in under-employment, up 75,000 to 1,576,000 (10.1%, up 0.5%). In total a massive 2.93 million Australians (18.8%, unchanged) were unemployed or under-employed in March. This trend of the increasing casualisation of the workforce is evident when comparing the latest employment figures for March with a year ago. Since March 2023 part-time employment has surged by 580,000 (84% of jobs created over the last year), while full-time employment has increased by only 113,000 (16% of jobs created).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Taxes eating up to 45pc of income: study

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Apr-24

The Centre for Independent Studies has forecast that federal, state and local government tax revenue will rise to 30 per cent of GDP in 2023-24; this would be the highest level since the 2000-01 financial year. CIS senior fellow Robert Carling also estimates that taxes now account for 35-45 per cent of household gross income; he adds that although there are at least 125 different taxes in Australia, just 10 of them account for 90 per cent of government revenue. He notes that the benefits of the stage-three personal income tax cuts will be gradually eroded by bracket creep.

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THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED

Staff shared around in first multi-employer deal

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Apr-24

The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has struck the first multi-employer agreement in the private sector since the federal government’s industrial relations reforms were enacted. The in-principle deal with air-conditioning manufacturers is also said to be the first enterprise agreement that allows employers to use a shared labour pool during peak periods. This will require an employer to offer extra work to the permanent staff of other companies that have signed the new agreement. However, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has expressed concern about such workplace arrangements.

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AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 82.8 as Australians enjoy Easter holiday weekend

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Apr-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 82.8 in the week to 31 March. However, the index has now spent a record 61 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 4.6 points above the same week a year ago (78.2), and virtually identical to the 2024 weekly average of 83.0. Consumer Confidence was down in New South Wales, up in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia and virtually unchanged in Western Australia. Now 20% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 52% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 34% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 11% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 31% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 22% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (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

AUKUS subs construction delayed by years: US navy

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: Online : 4-Apr-24

The federal government’s deal to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines via the AUKUS alliance is under renewed scrutiny following revelations that the construction of Virginia-class vessels is 2-3 years behind schedule. An internal investigation by the US Navy has found that work on building every class of vessel is behind schedule at present, while deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell notes that the submarines program is continuing to be affected by supply-chain disruptions arising from the pandemic. Campbell has also downplayed concerns about the future of the AUKUS alliance if Donald Trump wins the presidential election.

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UNITED STATES NAVY

PM signals budget help for families, small business

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Original article by James Massola
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 4-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech on Thursday to state that small businesses and families will be ‘front and centre’ again in the federal government’s budget on 14 May. He will note that assisting families and small businesses with their energy bills was a key priority of the 2023 budget. Albanese’s comments in his Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia speech will heighten expectations that the government is set to extend its Energy Bill Relief fund, which is slated to end on 30 June. He will also emphasise the importance of small businesses to Australia’s future prosperity, noting that they are job creators, innovators and early adopters of technology such as clean energy.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED