Unions demand five weeks of annual leave

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 4-Mar-26

The ACTU will lobby the federal government to increase full-time workers’ annual leave entitlements to five weeks a year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that Australians already do an average of 4.5 weeks of unpaid work every year, and getting back one of these weeks will result in a better rested and happier workforce. She adds that the current standard of four weeks’ annual leave for full-time workers has not changed since it was introduced in 1974. The ACTU also wants regular shift workers’ annual leave to be increased from five weeks to six, and an increase in the casual loading from 25 per cent to 27.5 per cent to compensate people who do not receive annual leave.

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ACTU

Spending surges higher than expected

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 6 : 4-Mar-26

The Australian Bureau of Statistics expects an 0.9 per cent increase in public sector demand in the December quarter to contribute 0.3 percentage points to GDP for the period. Public demand, which comprises all federal, state and local government spending and investment, totalled $198bn in the three months to December. Citigroup’s chief economist Joshua Williamson expects GDP growth of one per cent for the December quarter following stronger-than-expected public sector demand. Some economists anticipate annual GDP growth of up to 2.7 per cent in data to be released today.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

War cost to Aussie hip pockets

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Original article by Greg Brown, Matthew Cranston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 4-Mar-26

The Treasury has advised the federal government that the initial rise in oil prices following the airstrikes on Iran could increase Australia’s inflation rate by 0.15 per cent. Treasury also stated that inflation may rise by about 0.26 per cent if the conflict lasts for 18 months, and warned that any damage to gas production infrastructure in Qatar – which accounts for 20 per cent of global supply – would add to domestic inflationary pressures. Meanwhile, Resources Minister Madeleine King says Australia’s gas market is in a better position to absorb the impacts of the war in the Middle East than in 2022, when the invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in gas prices. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock says the war could result in higher interest rates, noting that inflation is already elevated.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down 3.1 points to 77.1 driven by falling confidence about the economy

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Mar-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.1 points to 77.1 in the week to 1 March; it is now 10.6pts lower than a year ago (87.7), and 2.9pts below the 2026 weekly average of 80.0. Analysis by State shows Consumer Confidence falling in most States, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia, but up in Western Australia. Now 17% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 45% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 21% (down 3ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 37% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 7% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 37% (up 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 19% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 40% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Middle East war could be decided by who runs out of missiles or interceptors first, analysts say

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Original article by Jason Burke
The Guardian – Page: Online : 4-Mar-26

Iran has launched retaliatory airstrikes against Persian Gulf nations such as Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Bahrain since the joint US-Israel attacks began. Stacie Pettyjohn, from the Center for a New American Security based in Washington, DC says the Iran conflict has become "a bit of a salvo competition", and the duration of the war may depend on the size of the combatants’ weapons arsenal. Pettyjohn adds that the extent of Iran’s stockpile is the "big unknown". Tal Inbar from the Missile Defence Advisory Alliance in turn notes that the duration of previous wars has been partly determined by the number of air defence missiles each country had.

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CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY, MISSILE DEFENCE ADVISORY ALLIANCE

‘Serious misconduct’: Kyle taken off air

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Original article by Steve Jackson, Stephen Rice, Samina Rahkshani
The Australian – Page: 7 : 4-Mar-26

ARN Media has suspended controversial broadcaster Kyle Sandilands after KIIS FM co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson advised that she cannot continue to work with him. The popular Kyle and Jackie O show has been put on hold for two weeks, and most of its production staff have been told not to come into the studio today. The breakfast duo fell out after an on-air dispute in late February, and ARN has told Sandilands that his behaviour was an "act of serious misconduct" that breached of his service agreement; he has been given 14 days to remedy the breach or have his contract terminated.

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ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, KIIS1065

Trump says ‘everything’s been knocked out in Iran’

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 4-Mar-26

US President Donald Trump says Iran is "getting hit very hard" in the ongoing airstrikes targeting the Islamic regime. Trump adds that Iran’s navy, air force, air detection systems and "just about everything" else has been "knocked out" since the joint US-Israeli military action began. Trump also claims that a building where Iran’s senior clerics were meeting to elect a successor to the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been hit. Trump has suggested that the war could take four or five weeks, while a Reuters report has suggested that Israel’s campaign has been planned to last two weeks.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

1.7 million Young Australians aged 6-13 play Roblox

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Mar-26

The latest Roy Morgan Young Australian Survey shows that 61% of children aged 6-13 years old (an estimated 1.7 million) play Roblox. Older children are more likely to play Roblox, with the play rate rising with age; 41% of 6-7 year-olds say they play Roblox, climbing to 66% of 8-9 year-olds, 69% of 10-11 year-olds, and 70% of 12-13 year-olds. The most popular genres for Roblox players aged 6-13 are Adventure (43%) played by 737,000 children, ahead of 637,000 playing the Action category (37%), and 541,000 playing the Simulation category (32%). Boys show significantly higher engagement in Fighting, Shooters and Action, while girls demonstrate higher interest in Fashion, Music and Party. This research is part of an ongoing programme of research into Young Australian life experiences, preferences, priorities and opinions. This programme has been operating since the early 2000s, with the latest data collection on Roblox between April and December 2025 with a nationwide sample of 792 Young Australians aged 6-13 who play Roblox.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

News Corp CEO predicts record 2026 profit

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 4-Mar-26

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson says the global media group posted record profits in the last financial year and is on track to do the same again this year. He notes that News Corp has also recorded year-on-year earnings growth for 11 consecutive quarters. Thomson also says that News Corp is now essentially an ‘input’ company for artificial intelligence platforms, while the media group will become a ‘launch partner’ for OpenAI when it begins to sell advertisements via its ChatGPT platform. News Corp is keen to establish more partnerships in the sector, but Thomson says it will pursue legal action for unauthorised use of its content by AI platforms.

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NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, OPENAI INCORPORATED

Rio Tinto fights shareholder over NT uranium site

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 4-Mar-26

Zentree Investments is the second-largest shareholder in Energy Resources of Australia. It contends that Rio Tinto’s takeover offer for ERA of $0.02 per share undervalues the former uranium miner, which ceased production at the Ranger mine in 2021; Zentree estimates that ‘fair value’ would be around $0.3102 per share. Rio Tinto values ERA’s undeveloped Jabiluka uranium deposit at zero because it does not think the traditional owners would allow it be mined; however, Zentree argues that the Mirarr people do not have the right to veto development of Jabiluka, and any future owner of the project would not be bound by ERA’s pledge to not undertake mining without the consent of the Mirrar.

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RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA, ZENTREE INVESTMENTS