Roy Morgan New Zealand Poll: Support for National-led Government surges in May as Labour support falls

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

Roy Morgan’s New Zealand Poll for May 2026 shows that support for the National-led Government (National, ACT & NZ First) is up 4% to 51.5%, opening a large lead over the Labour-Greens-Maori Party Parliamentary Opposition (down 6.5% to 41.5%). Amongst the Government support for National increased 5% to 30.5%, although support for NZ First was down 0.5% to 11% and support for ACT was down 0.5% to 10%. For the Parliamentary Opposition, support for Labour fell 7.5% to 26.5%, support for the Greens increased 1.5% to 12.5% and support for the Maori Party was down 0.5% to 2.5%. A further 7% (up 2.5%) of electors supported a minor party outside Parliament. The survey results for May would lead to the National-led Government winning 63 seats (down five seats from the last election) and the Labour-led Parliamentary Opposition would win 50 seats (down five seats). This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 870 electors from 27 April to 24 May. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating rose 9 points to 84.5 in May.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND FIRST PARTY, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY

Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand; OpenAI enters the top 20 most distrusted brands for the first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that Bunnings is the most trusted brand for the 12 months to March 2026; it is the 10th consecutive quarterly victory for the leading hardware retailer, stretching back to late 2023. The top three places are unchanged for a ninth straight quarter, with discount supermarket Aldi in second place and discount department store Kmart in third. The next three spots are unchanged for a second straight quarter with the Commonwealth Bank in fourth, consumer products giant Apple filling out the top five, and discount department store Big W again in sixth. Meanwhile, Optus has replaced Woolworths as the most distrusted brand in Australia; this is the first time the telco has occupied this position since September 2024. Facebook and Temu are now the second and third most distrusted brands. Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are fourth and fifth most distrusted, with both improving in the latest quarter. OpenAI (including ChatGPT), experienced one of the biggest declines this quarter, down seven spots to enter the top 20 most distrusted brands in 19th place, driven by suspicions around profit motives and ethics.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, APPLE PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK, TEMU, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, OPENAI INCORPORATED

Big tech warns news tax a global precedent

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jun-26

Two US lobby groups have criticised the proposed News Bargaining Incentive in submissions to the federal government. The Software & Information Industry Association and the National Foreign Trade Council both represent technology giants such as Meta and Google, while the latter’s members also include Amazon, Coca-Cola and Shell. The NFTC contends in its submission that the NBI is a "discriminatory" digital services tax that primarily targets US companies. The NBI would impose an additional tax of 2.25 per cent on the Australian revenue of Meta, Google and TikTok if they fail to secure commercial deals with local news publishers for using their content.

CORPORATES
SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, UNITED STATES. NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE COUNCIL, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, SHELL PLC, TIKTOK

Internal torpedo alert: PM faces AUKUS strife

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Original article by Greg Brown, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jun-26

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has responded to a growing push to reconsider the AUKUS alliance by emphasising that the federal government fully supports the defence pact. The United Workers Union’s national secretary Tim Kennedy is amongst those who have called for AUKUS to be reassessed, as have some Labor MPs and teal independents. Former industry minister Ed Husic used Labor’s caucus meeting yesterday to urge a new vote on the alliance, contending that the terms of the deal have changed following the revelation that Australia will now acquire three used Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines; the original deal had included one brand-new vessel.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED WORKERS UNION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.7 points to 68.8 in late May – highest rating since early March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.7 points to 68.8 in the week to 31 May; this is the highest result since early March. However, Consumer Confidence is 17.6pts lower than a year ago (86.4), but just 2.4pts below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence increased in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but was unchanged in both New South Wales and Queensland. Now just 14% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 18% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 6% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 44% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 16% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Data centre boom drives first trade deficit since 2017

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Jun-26

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation recorded a trade deficit of $2.4bn in the March 2026 quarter, compared with a trade surplus of $1bn in the December 2025 quarter. The Commonwealth Bank’s head economist Belinda Allen says easing commodity prices and higher imports have dragged down the trade balance in recent years. The ABS notes that iron ore prices fell significantly in the March quarter, while both iron ore and coal export volumes fell. Australia’s exports fell by 1.1 per cent overall, while rising demand for data centre equipment saw imports rise by 0.8 per cent. The trade figures are expected to reduce Australia’s economic growth by 0.8 per cent, with GDP data for the March quarter to be released today.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

13.6 million Australians now use AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Canva Magic Studio and Claude

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 13.6 million people (equivalent to 58% of Australians aged 14+) used Artificial Intelligence tools in an average four weeks in the March 2026 quarter. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is clearly the most popular AI tool, with 10.5 million Australians (45%) using ChatGPT. Google Gemini is the second most used AI tool, used by 5 million Australians (21%); usage of Gemini represents the active use of the tool, rather than the embedded use that comes with using Google Search. Microsoft Copilot follows closely behind Google Gemini, used by an estimated 4 million Australians (17%). Well behind the big three are Canva’s Magic Studio, used by an estimated 1.4 million Australians (6%), while Anthropic’s Claude is used by an estimated 777,000 Australians (3%). Analysis by age shows that 74% of Australians aged 25-34 and 72% aged 35-49 use AI tools, the highest usage of any age groups. This is followed by people aged 18-24 (68%) and 14-17 (66%). In contrast, only 50% of people aged 50-64 and just 31% of people aged 65+ use AI tools.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Fortescue ore under scrutiny by China

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 3-Jun-26

Fortescue will replace its 60 per cent iron West Pilbara Fines product with a new low-grade product known as Fortune Fines, which has just 55 per cent iron content. Fortescue revealed plans to sell the Fortune Fines product in October, and shipments could begin as soon as July. Fortescue has acknowledged reports that the state-backed iron ore buyer China Mineral Resources Group has told some of its steel mill customers to ask questions about the Fortune Fines product, which is aimed at prolonging the life of Fortescue’s iron ore mines in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED

V’landys lures NRL bids from Amazon, Seven

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Jun-26

The Australian Rugby League Commission’s chairman Peter V’landys has previously stated that he wants the National Rugby League’s next broadcasting rights deal to be finalised by 15 July. The ARLC has confirmed that Amazon Prime Video and the Seven Network’s parent Southern Cross Media Group have submitted bids for the five-year broadcasting rights deal from 2028. Sources have indicated that both groups are seeking the rights to one match per week, while Southern Cross will also seek the State of Origin rights. Current NRL broadcasters Nine Entertainment and Foxtel will seek the rights to all matches, although anti-siphoning laws would require Foxtel to on-sell some matches to a free-to-air network.

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NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION LIMITED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Bosses warn on prices and jobs after 4.75pc pay boost

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Jun-26

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry says the latest increase in the minimum wage and award wages will cost about $11.7bn across the economy. The Australian Industry Group’s CEO Innes Willox says it will impose a significant burden on businesses when they are aleady facing growing cost pressures; he is particularly concerned about the Fair Work Commission’s decision to phase out the lowest award rate. Some 2.8 million workers on award rates will receive an above-inflation wage rise of 4.75 per cent from 1 July, while about 100,000 workers on the lowest pay rate will get a wage rise of six per cent. The national minimum wage will increase from $24.95 an hour to $26.44, lifting it above $1,000 per week for the first time. The minimum wage has risen by 30.1 per cent since Labor took office in May 2022.

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acci use AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY