Today 26% of Australian businesses have been affected by bushfires – Australia needs to support businesses in the Accommodation and Food services industries with Visitors and Tourists

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jan-20

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey shows that 26% of Australian businesses have been affected either ‘A great deal’ (7%), ‘Somewhat’ (10%) or ‘A little’ (9%) by the bushfires. Some 74% of businesses have been unaffected by the bushfire. A deeper analysis of the industries most heavily impacted shows that over a third of businesses in the Accommodation and Food services sector, which includes travel and tourism, say they have been affected ‘A great deal’ – higher than any other industry. Businesses in Queensland and NSW have been the hardest hit, with 12% of Queensland businesses and 11% of NSW businesses affected ‘A great deal’ by the bushfires – far higher than any other State. In general businesses in NSW are the most likely to have been impacted, with 35% affected in some way, compared to around a quarter of businesses in Queensland (25%) and Victoria (24%). In contrast, only 16% of businesses in WA and 11% in Tasmania have been affected at all. These findings are based on an SMS survey of 1,308 Australian businesses.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Doctors call for a national centre for disease control, as coronavirus outbreak spreads

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Original article by Cait Kelly
The New Daily – Page: Online : 28-Jan-20

The Australian Medical Association has argued for years that the nation needs a national centre for disease control, and the coronavirus outbreak has led it to repeat its call. AMA president Tony Bartone says having a CDC offers a number of benefits, while he claims that all other OECD member nations have a national CDC. The coronavirus has resulted in at least 80 deaths and infected 2,744 people in China, while it has spread to a number of other countries. The World Health Organization has stated that it is too soon to declare the coronavirus a global health emergency.

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Streaming titans to have tilt at our top tennis title

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 28-Jan-20

The international broadcasting rights for the Australian Open expire in January 2021, and bidders are expected to include subscription video-on-demand providers such as Netflix and social media companies like YouTube. Tennis Australia’s chief revenue officer Richard Heaselgrave notes that most of the international rights will expire at the same time, which will allow the organisation to pursue global deals rather than for specific countries or regions.

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TENNIS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED

Rio mining big data, AI to bleed desperate suppliers

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Original article by Jared Lynch, Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 28-Jan-20

Rio Tinto has stressed that it is committed to 30-day payment terms for its suppliers, following reports that it is offering to pay invoices before the due date in exchange for a discount of up to two per cent. The so-called ‘dynamic discounting’ scheme is generating significant cost savings for Rio Tinto, but it has attracted criticism from Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell and Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan. Rio Tinto is also said to be using big data and artificial intelligence technology to determine how much of a discount a supplier is prepared to accept.

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RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Health authorities brace for coronavirus’ spread from China

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, says health authorities are developing a one-step test for the pneumonia-like coronavirus. Chinese officials are preparing to seal off Wuhan, a city with 11 million people, in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus, with the last flight out of Wuhan to Australia arriving in Sydney on 23 January. Murphy says that if any passengers on the flight were infected, it could be weeks before they display any symptoms. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians not to be too concerned; he noted that there have been no confirmed cases of the disease in Australia.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australia among 21 nations where perceived corruption has worsened

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia has received a rating of 77 out 100 in Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index. This is unchanged from 2019, although the nation has risen from 13th position to 12th in terms of the world’s least corrupt nations. Australia has also been identified as one of 21 countries in which perceived corruption has significantly declined since 2012. Transparency International Australia CEO Serena Lillywhite says the nation’s ranking and trust in the government will continue to decline unless a proposed federal anti-corruption agency is established.

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA

Brazil struggles may prolong iron ore boom

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Jan-20

Brazilian miner Vale will release a market update on 11 February, but several sources have suggested that its iron ore exports so far in January are significantly lower than previously. Vale had flagged lower shipments in the first quarter of 2020, although it has advised that export volumes would rise later in the year. Nevertheless, lower exports from Brazil could see the price of iron ore remain high in the near-term, which would boost the earnings of Australian producers and federal government revenue.

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VALE SA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Kaufland exit helps Coles

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 24-Jan-20

JP Morgan analyst Shaun Cousins says Coles and Metcash have most to gain from Kaufland’s decision to abandon the $100 billion Australian grocery market before it had even opened a store. He says the gap in the market that the German retailer had sought to fill was not obvious, while Citigroup’s Bryan Raymond says Kaufland’s exit has removed a major risk from what he says has been a very rational grocery industry in the past 12 months.

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COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, KAUFLAND STIFTUNG & CO KG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Bauer chief determined to proceed with $40m Pac Mags deal with Seven

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Bauer Media Australia CEO Brendon Hill has stressed that the group’s proposed acquisition of Pacific Magazines is in the interests of the magazine industry. He adds that Bauer and its German parent are fully committed to the $40m deal to buy Pacific from Seven West Media. He has rejected suggestions that Mercury Capital’s withdrawal of its offer to acquire Bauer Media Australia will affect the Pacific deal. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission expressed concern in late 2019 about the potential impact of the merger on competition in the magazine sector.

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BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, MERCURY CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA KG

FWC ruling a win for casual workers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 24-Jan-20

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission has ruled that a casual sales assistant at Bed Bath N’ Table is entitled to pursue an unfair dismissal claim against the retailer. FWC deputy president Amanda Man­sini had previously ruled that the employee was not covered by unfair dismissal laws, as her employment was not regular and systematic. However, the full bench rejected Mansini’s reasoning and ruled that the case can proceed.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BED BATH AND TABLE