Qantas pilots calls for chairman to quit

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 5 : 26-Sep-23

The Australian & International Pilots Association has urged Qantas chairman Richard Goyder to step down in the wake of recent scandals at the airline. AIPA president Tony Lucas says pilots have lost all confidence in Goyder and the Qantas board, and the morale of pilots has never been lower. Lucas adds that it is galling that Goyder is receiving a pay rise of nearly $100,000 when he has overseen the destruction of the Qantas brand and staff are expected to accept a two-year wage freeze. Qantas announced on Monday that it will spend an additional $80m on customer improvements in 2023-24.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN AND INTERNATIONAL PILOTS ASSOCIATION

Pay rises surge, closing in on inflation levels

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Sep-23

Data from the Fair Work Commission shows that 174 enterprise agreements were submitted for approval in the two weeks to 25 August. The average annual increase in these workplace agreements was 4.7 per cent. Pat Bustamante of Westpac notes that the higher wage increases in new enterprise agreements follows the FWC’s decision to increase the minimum wage by 5.75 per cent from 1 July. She adds that high inflation could become entrenched if wages continue to grow at 4-4.7 per cent mark without productivity improvements.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Halloween hits sweet spot with Aussies – $490 million boost predicted

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 26-Sep-23

Research from the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan shows that more than 5.3 million Australians will celebrate Halloween in 2023, an increase of 300,000 year-on-year. Those celebrating Halloween plan to do so in a variety of ways, such as attending or hosting a Halloween-themed party, decorating their homes, getting dressed up and going out, or staying home and welcoming trick or treaters. Total spending on Halloween is forecast to reach $490m, up 14 per cent on 2022; average spending per person is forecast to rise 8.1% to $93. ARA CEO Paul Zahra says the increased spend this year in the face of cost-of-living pressures demonstrates the growing popularity of Halloween in Australia, particularly for adults.

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AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

El Nino a threat to power grid

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Sep-23

The Bureau of Meteorology’s CEO Andrew Johnson has warned that the El Nino weather pattern will present some challenges for Australia’s electricity grid during the coming summer. He says renewable energy generation will be impacted by El Nino, with expectations of more sunshine in some parts of the country and lower-than-average wind levels in others. Johnson adds that the proportion of renewables in the energy mix has increased since Australia’s last very hot summer. Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute notes that coal-fired power stations can also be heavily impacted by hot weather.

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AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Roy Morgan predicts No will win The Voice referendum; No (44%) well ahead of Yes (39%) as voting set to start

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Sep-23

Now 44% (up 8% points since May) of Australians say they would vote ‘No’ to establish an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice’ at next month’s referendum if it were held today – the first time more Australians have indicated to Roy Morgan that they would vote ‘No’ to this proposition. In comparison, only 39% (down 7% points since May 2023) say they would vote ‘Yes’ and a further 17% (down 1% point) are ‘Undecided’ on how they would vote. If ‘Undecided’ respondents are removed the split in favour of the ‘No’ vote is 53% cf. 47%. However, past experience with surveys conducted before previous referenda shows that ‘Undecided’ voters are far more likely to end up as a ‘No’ rather than a ‘Yes’ vote, meaning the actual figure is likely to be a larger majority in favour of ‘No’ than indicated here. This special Roy Morgan online survey was conducted with an Australia-wide cross-section of 1,511 Australian electors aged 18+ from Monday September 18 – Sunday September 24.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Lachie Neale claims second Brownlow Medal after stunning count

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Original article by Jon Pierik
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 26-Sep-23

Brisbane Lions co-captain Lachie Neale has won his second Brownlow Medal, becoming the 16th player to have claimed multiple medals. Neale won this year’s medal with 31 votes, finishing ahead of Marcus Bontempelli (29 votes) and Nick Daicos (28). Neale finished the night with seven best on ground votes, while he said "I am pretty rattled to be honest, I didn’t expect this", when asked to comment on his win. The award for mark of the year went to GWS player Harry Himmelberg, while Brisbane player Will Ashcroft won goal of the year and the Jim Stynes Community Award went to Sam Docherty from Carlton.

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Hollywood writers in deal to end strike

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Original article by Geordie Gray
The Australian – Page: 8 : 26-Sep-23

The Writers Guild of America has advised that it has reached a deal to end Hollywood’s 146-day writer’s strike. The ‘tentative’ three-year deal follows five days of negotiations with film studios and production companies. However, the WGA has emphasised that the strike will continue until members vote on the deal and it is ratified. Amongst other things, WGA members will receive increased royalty payments for streaming content and guarantees regarding the use of artificial intelligence to generate content. Separate industrial action by Hollywood actors is continuing, and no talks between the actors’ union and film studios are currently scheduled.

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WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

$21.7b dividend windfall set to land

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Original article by Tom Richardson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 26-Sep-23

BHP tops the list of Australian companies that will pay dividends in the final week of September. The resources group accounts for $6.34bn of the $21.7bn worth of dividends that investors will receive in coming days. Commonwealth Bank shareholders will in turn receive a combined $4bn worth of dividends, while Fortescue Metals Group’s payout will be about $3.01bn. Cyan Investment Management portfolio manager Dean Fergie expects fewer shareholders to invest their dividends in equities, given that banks are offering much better returns on cash deposits compared with recent years.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

US pursuit of Assange may damage alliance

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 5 : 22-Sep-23

Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson are part of a group of Australian politicians in Washington trying to persuade the US government to drop its espionage charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Shoebridge claims that an "an overwhelming part of the Australian public" want Assange to be allowed to return to Australia from the UK, where he has been in prison since being removed from the Ecuadorean embassy in London in April 2019, with Shoebridge saying the alliance between Australia and the US will be "damaged" if the US does not drop the charges against Assange.

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WIKILEAKS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Voice verdict might not be clear on the night

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 22-Sep-23

The Australian Electoral Commission has so far received nearly 1.2 million applications for postal votes in the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament. This includes voters who are registered to receive a postal vote automatically. AEC commissioner Tom Rogers says the high number of postal votes could mean that the nation may have to wait for several days after 14 October to know the outcome of the referendum. The AEC will also open more than 500 early voting centres nationwide from early October for people who cannot attend a polling place on referendum day.

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AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION