AUSTRALIAN

Wellbeing budget still relies on old data

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Original article by Lily McCaffrey
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Sep-25

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the timeliness of data is a vital part of the federal government’s Measuring What Matters national wellbeing framework. The government announced this framework as part of its ‘wellbeing budget’ in 2023, and Chalmers subsequently transferred responsibility for the framework’s reporting to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, the latest update to the framework shows that the ABS is largely using data that is at least three years old for many of the key wellbeing metrics. Chalmers says the government’s $14.8m funding boost for the ABS in 2024 will improve future Measuring What Matters data.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Andrews’ great wall of silence

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Original article by Patrick Carlyon, Mitch Clarke, Carly Douglas
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 7-Jun-23

The Victorian government is under scrutiny over revelations that Premier Daniel Andrews addressed a forum in Melbourne on Monday night to which access was restricted to the Chinese media. Andrews has indicated that he has "no idea" why Australian journalists were banned from attending the Post Pandemic China-Australia Economic Co-operation Forum. Opposition leader John Pesutto says it is unacceptable for any political leader to give speeches in secret. Liberal senator James Paterson recently raised concerns that one of the forum’s sponsors is a "front group" for China’s top spy agency.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

More than one in five Australians worked from home at height of 2021 lockdowns, census shows

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Original article by Caitlin Cassidy, Nick Evershed
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Oct-22

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 25 per cent of capital city residents were working from home on Census day in August 2021. Some 20 per cent of people nationwide worked from home on the day of the Census, which coincided with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions across most of eastern Australia. The figures also show that 31 per cent of NSW residents worked from home on Census day, compared with just 4.8 per cent in 2016. Likewise, 26 per cent of people in Victoria were working from home, up from 4.6 per cent in 2016. Australian statistician David Gruen says the 2021 Census provides a "fascinating insight" into how Australians worked and lived during a global pandemic.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Priceless artworks in the bush firing line

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Original article by Matthew Westwood
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Jan-20

Some of the major artworks at the historic Bundanon property and art centre near Nowra in New South Wales have been moved to a safer location due to the bushfire threat. The Bundanon Trust has indicated that more artworks may be moved after the Currowan bushfire came close to the property, which was gifted to the nation by artist Arthur Boyd and his wife in 1993. Bundanon’s $43m art collection include works by Boyd, Sidney Nolan and Charles Blackman. Meanwhile, poor air quality due to smoke from bushfires prompted the closure of art museums in Canberra on 5 January.

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BUNDANON TRUST, NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY (AUSTRALIA), MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACY

Important life events are happening later in life

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

New data from Roy Morgan shows that important life events such as moving away from parents, sharing a household, renting, and then paying off a home and finally owning a home, are all occurring later in life for Australians than they were a decade ago. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Australians are living at home for longer, renting until their late 30s or even 40s, and paying off their homes well into their 60s and 70s, as the changing nature of Australian society impacts on the living arrangements of many. Levine says the changing way Australians decide upon their living arrangements and living their lives is clearly having a huge impact on the choices Australians make as consumers and where they decide to spend their dollars for leisure and entertainment, as well as for necessities and consumables.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australians expect 2019 will be better than 2018

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Jan-19

A special Roy Morgan survey taken in mid-December shows 44% of Australians think 2019 will be ‘better’ than 2018, 32% say 2019 will be ‘the same’, only 14% say 2019 will be ‘worse’ and 10% don’t know. Australians are far more positive about 2019 than they were a year ago when asked about 2018, when only 31% said 2018 would be ‘better’ than 2017, a record low. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Australians have entered 2019 in a more positive frame of mind than a year ago, with 44% expecting 2019 will be ‘better’ than 2018 an increase of 13% points from a year ago. Levine notes the first half of 2019 is set to be dominated by political issues, with the New South Wales State election scheduled for late March, and a federal election expected only a few weeks later in mid-May.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Aussie trades at fresh 32-month lows before recovering post US GDP – AFEX Monday Update – October 29, 2018

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The AUD/USD chart resembled a roller coaster on Friday.  Initially the bears were in control, pushing new lows, however the bulls later gained the ascendancy in the US session helping the Aussie dollar recover from its initial losses and close the week relatively unchanged.

Earlier in the day the AUD hit fresh multi-year lows as risk-aversion swamped the markets.  Equities reversed early morning gains and currencies were swept up in the carnage.

The moves caught many off-guard due to the lack of volatility throughout the week.  Up until 2pm AEST on Friday the weekly range was a mere 72-points and tracking a similar weekly trade range to the week prior, which was the lowest weekly range since 2002.

However the weight of equity market turbulence took its toll, alongside a weakening Chinese yuan that touched it’s lowest level since January 2017.  This saw the AUD sell-off quite suddenly, pushing through the weekly lows at 0.7052 and quickly surpassing the monthly lows at 0.7040, taking out traders stop loss positions which exemplified the moves and test towards psychological support at 0.7000.

But after the release of US 3rd quarter GDP on Friday night the US dollar sold off across the board, enabling the Aussie to bounce off the low of 0.7021 and push all the way back above 0.7100 before closing the session at 0.7087.

Whilst the headline release of 3.5% growth versus 3.3% expected was quite strong, delving into the data traders saw that a considerable portion of growth came from increased inventories whilst exports declined, and thus took the position that the number was overstated and at risk of declining at the next read, and sold their USD holdings accordingly.

Looking ahead and the economic calendar is quite a lot busier than last week.  On Monday the US releases core PCE, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, followed by consumer confidence data on Tuesday.  This leads into Australian inflation data on Wednesday which is quickly followed by Chinese manufacturing and services data.  Later that night the US will publish quarterly wage price data, followed by Australian retail sales figures on Friday ahead of US employment numbers.

Given how close traders came to testing 0.7000 on Friday, any negativity in domestic data or strength in US data would likely see that figure tested again.  If it does break through 0.7000 the next key level of technical support coincides with the August 2015 low at 0.6907.  Thereafter and the January 2016 low of 0.6827 is the next key figure to watch.  Whilst the trajectory is for a lower AUD, a break back above 0.7160 could help the Aussie recover in the short-term, although I imagine any rallies will be met by sellers who appear in control at this time.  A sustained move towards 0.7300 could change this view, but the likelihood of this happening looks quite remote given current price action and most market participants still favour a lower AUD from here.

James King
Head of FX Dealing, AFEX
www.afex.com

Australians are real stars at cheating – Ball-tampering is merely the tip of the iceberg

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Original article by Janet Albrechtsen
The Australian – Page: 12 : 4-Apr-18

Factors such as the extent of "liar loans" revealed by the banking royal commission, the black economy, and rampant insurance fraud and theft from shops suggest that Australia is a nation of cheats. The forgone tax revenue from the $A25bn-a-year black economy, for example, is much greater than tax evasion by large companies. For many people in a nation founded by petty criminals, the real crime arising from cricket’s ball-tampering scandal may be not the plot itself but the fact that Smith, Warner and Bancroft did it live on international television.

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AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED

Australians losing faith in democracy, report finds

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-Nov-17

Just 28 per cent of Australians trust the federal government to do the right thing by them either most of the time or almost always, compared to 48 per cent in 2009. This is according to the latest findings of the Monash University-Scanlon Foundation Social Cohesion Program, which has gauged Australians’ views on issues such as immigration, discrimination and political trust annually for the past decade. Over a third of respondents stated Australia’s current political system needs either a major revamp or replacing altogether.

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MONASH UNIVERSITY, SCANLON FOUNDATION, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Packer concedes global strategy failed

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 27-Oct-17

Crown Resort’s controlling shareholder, James Packer, has conceded at the its AGM that the casino group’s offshore expansion was a failure. However, he said he is optimistic about the prospects of its Sydney casino, hotel and apartment complex, which Lendlease is building on Sydney Harbour. Packer also observed that Crown had made around $A2 billion from its international foray, which was possibly the best result of all Australian companies that have abandoned offshore expansion plans.

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CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MELCO CROWN ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED