Calls to ban political donations from Australia’s big four consultancies after PwC scandal

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that the four consultancy firms have donated $4.3m to Labor and the Coalition over the last decade. The value of government contracts held by these firms has increased by 400 per cent over the same period. James Guthrie of Macquarie University says major political parties should not accept donations from the "big four" firms in the wake of PwC’s tax leaks scandal, particularly if they have previously received large payments for public contracts. Greens senator Barbara Pocock has also called for large consultancy firms to be banned from making political donations.

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CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Albanese urged to cancel China trip as Hong Kong vows to pursue exiled democracy activists for life

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

The federal government has stated that it will not tolerate any foreign interference on Australian soil, in response to Hong Kong’s move to issue arrest warrants for pro-democracy advocates Kevin Yam and Ted Hui. Hong Kong’s CEO John Lee has warned that Yam, Hui and the other six activists will be "pursued for life" if they do not surrender, adding that Hong Kong authorities will continue to "monitor" their actions and behaviour while they are overseas. Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should reconsider his proposed official visit to Beijing in the wake of Lee’s threats.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor’s Voice box of priorities

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jul-23

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will address the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Burney will identify health, education, jobs and housing as the four major policy priorities on which the proposed Indigenous Voice to parliament will be asked to privide advice. Burney will also state that unlike government, the Voice will focus on the next generation rather than the next election. Burney will argue that the Voice must be enshrined in the Constitution rather than merely legislated, to ensure that it cannot be abolished by a future government.

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NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

1.4m borrowers at risk of repayment stress

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 5-Jul-23

The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled that further interest rate rises may be necessary in order to return inflation to its target range, after leaving the cash rate unchanged at 4.1 per cent on Tuesday. Households will face further financial pressure if there are more rate rises. Home loan borrowers will be particularly vulnerable, with research from Roy Morgan showing that 1.43 million mortgage borrowers are now at risk of mortgage stress; this is an increase of 627,000 in the last year. Roy Morgan estimates that an additional 51,000 borrowers would be at risk of mortgage stress if the cash rate is increased by another 25 basis points. A second rate rise of this size would put another 94,000 borrowers at risk of mortgage stress.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence slips 0.8pts to 74.1 before the RBA meets on interest rates

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.8pts to 74.1 in the week to 2 July. Consumer Confidence has now spent 18 straight weeks below the mark of 80, the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly rather than a monthly basis in October 2008. Consumer Confidence is now 9.6pts below the same week a year ago (83.7), and 4.7pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.8. Consumer Confidence was down in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, but up in WA and SA. Now only 19% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 56% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the equal record high for this indicator). Some 28% (unchanged) of Australians now expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 40% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 6% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 43% (also unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 21% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 52% (down 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

Visa and minerals win for Indonesia

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Original article by Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 5 : 5-Jul-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held official talks with President Joko Widodo in Sydney on Tuesday. The two leaders agreed to establish closer ties via business, education and security, as well as addressing climate change. Amongst other things, Australia’s business visas for Indonesians will be extended from three years to five, while the two nations will co-operate with regard to critical miners; the federal government will also provide $50m in funding to invest in clean-energy-focused Indonesian start-ups and small businesses.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Housing market on knife edge despite rate pause

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 & 32 : 5-Jul-23

SQM Research MD Louis Christopher expects sentiment in the housing market to remain cautious in the near-term, despite the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate pause. He is of the view that sentiment will not improve until there is a longer pause. Shane Oliver from AMP Capital anticipates that any upturn in housing market activity arising from the second interest rate pause since April is likely to be temporary. He adds that further interest rate increases could put renewed downward pressure on house prices.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

ABC hires cultural guidance advisers

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 5-Jul-23

The ABC has released a 30-page Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Plan. Amongst other things, the public broadcaster will appoint three ‘cultural guidance advisers’ by June 2024; their role will include ensuring that culturally informed decisions are made when producing content. The inclusion plan, which is published every three years, also includes an anti-racism and discrimination statement, with the ABC set to launch a targeted anti-racism and discrimination campaign by the end of 2023. The ABC recently retrenched 120 employees as part of a restructuring program.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

RBA set to stay tighter for longer

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Original article by Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 22 : 3-Jul-23

The consensus of economists polled by the Australian Financial Review is that official interest rates will peak at 4.6 per cent in August. Judo Bank economist Warren Hogan estimates that there is a 35 per cent chance that the cash rate will rise above five per cent, citing factors such as ‘sticky’ inflation. However, Su-Lin Ong of RBC Capital Markets expects the cash rate to peak at 4.35 per cent in July. Meanwhile, most of the 27 economists who participated in the quarterly survey anticipate that the Reserve Bank will not begin easing monetary policy before May 2024, although Carlos Cacho of Jarden expects the first rate cut to occur in November 2024.

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JUDO BANK PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JARDEN AND COMPANY

Australians are wealthier than before COVID, but half the population holds over 95% of the wealth

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jul-23

The sixth edition of the Roy Morgan Wealth Report provides the full picture of individual Australians’ wealth and how that has changed during COVID-19. The report shows that after inflation, Australia’s wealth increased by 7.0% between March 2020 and March 2023, driven largely by the soaring value of owner-occupied homes (up 43.2% from $4.16 trillion to $5.95 trillion). The value of debt increased more quickly than the value of assets (53.0% vs. 22.2%), but not enough to stop the growth in overall wealth; the value of assets is now six times higher than the value of debt. Half the population now accounts for 95.4% of the nation’s net wealth. Watch our special End of Financial Year Wealth Report webinar with Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine and finance and investment journalist Alan Kohler at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2QW7kMF8dI.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED