HOUSEHOLDS – ECONOMIC ASPECTS – AUSTRALIA

Union bosses demand cost-of-living relief as PM flags further measures

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Nov-23

Prime Minister Albanese has told Labor MPs that the cost-of-living crisis has been at the top of the federal government’s top agenda, but he acknowledged that it must do more to assist households in the next year. ACTU secretary Sally McManus and the CFMEU’s national secretary Zach Smith have urged the government to make cost-of-living relief a priority; the latter has advocated measures such as a super profits tax on big business and short-term measures such as cutting the fuel excise or subsidising energy bills.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Power bill relief likely only if grid survives summer

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 24-Oct-23

Wholesale electricity prices are down as much as 70 per cent on a year ago, but Gavin Dufty from the St Vincent de Paul Society says he does not expect to see any easing in retail prices for households and small businesses until perhaps the start of the 2024-25 financial year. He says this is because most rates will have been locked in before July, while Josh Stabler from energy adviser Energy Edge says the 2023-24 summer is likely to be very hot, leading to possible record electricity consumption as a result of people using air conditioning.

CORPORATES
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY, ENERGY EDGE

Footy fans for NRL and AFL helped drive strong growth in hospitality sales in September

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: Online : 12-Oct-23

The Commonwealth Bank Household Spending Insights Index has found that five of the 12 underlying categories it tracks saw spending declines in September, including recreation and household goods, while annual spending growth came in at 1.8 per cent. The hospitality sector enjoyed strong growth, with fans of the leading football codes the NRL and the AFL spending up big during the month, with an exciting AFL final series and Collingwood’s exciting grand final helping Victoria to record the joint biggest spending growth among all the states.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA,[SPACE]ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA]

Melbourne Institute & Roy Morgan – Taking The Pulse of the Nation: To address rising energy costs, Australians want long-term solutions from the government rather than temporary reliefs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Feb-23

In December 2022, the Taking the Pulse of the Nation survey asked Australians about their ability to meet daily energy needs, their strategies to deal with high energy costs, and what they expect from the government to assist with rising energy costs. Rising energy costs have meant that a fifth of Australians can’t afford to adequately use their heating or cooling. The proportion of Australians unable to heat or cool their homes is almost four times higher among those in financial stress compared to those not in financial stress. When asked how they’re responding to recent and predicted future increases in electricity and gas prices, 36% of Australians have changed the heating and/or cooling setting of their homes to lower energy costs and save money. Some 12% of respondents reported having skipped a meal or eaten less to be able to pay their energy bills. Meanwhile, about 45% of Australians believe the government should invest in or subsidise the development of more renewable energy sources instead of one-time transfers to households to help alleviate energy poverty. Many Australians also want to see government intervention with price controls or caps on energy market prices, and investment in nuclear technologies and power infrastructure. This report is based on a total of 1,000 adult respondents from data collected in December 2022. Visit the Melbourne Institute Taking the Pulse of the Nation web portal for further information and to access interactive charts and other findings: https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/data/ttpn.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

October rate raise could be final straw for lower income spenders

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Original article by Emma Koehn
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 4-Oct-22

Low-income households will come under further pressure if the Reserve Bank of Australia increases the cash rate by another 50 basis points on Tuesday. The latest quarterly consumer survey from UBS shows that low income earners have an "outright negative" financial outlook, although wealthy Australians are expected to keep spending. Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra notes that the full impact of the recent interest rate increases have yet to flow through the economy, adding that retail sales could soften in coming months.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Frydenberg flags home loan curbs

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-Sep-21

Growing concern about the high debt-to-income ratios of home buyers may prompt the federal government to push for regulatory intervention. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg discussed the issue at the Council of Financial Regulators’ recent quarterly meeting, although the CFR is not expected to announce any macro-prudential measures in its quarterly statement on 29 September. Frydenberg says Australia’s macro-prudential settings must be continually assessed, and they should be adjusted if this is deemed to be necessary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS

Mortgage and rental stress worsen in May

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 9-Jun-21

Data from Digital Finance Analytics shows that 41.3 per cent of households in New South Wales were in mortgage distress in May, compared with just 38.2 per cent in April. Likewise, 56.8 per cent of households in Tasmania were in mortgage distress. The northwest Sydney suburb of Stanhope Gardens had the nation’s highest level of mortgage stress in May, at 91.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory was the only jurisdiction that did not record an increase in rental stress during the month.

CORPORATES
DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS

HILDA report shows home ownership sliding, incomes falling and inequality rising

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Original article by Rod Myer
The New Daily – Page: Online : 20-Nov-20

The Melbourne Institute’s latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) report shows that the nation’s average household assets increased by 64 per cent to $1.37 million between 2002 and 2018. However, average household debt rose by 104 per cent to $213,496 over this period. The HILDA survey also found that the proportion of Australians with a mortgage rose from 33.8 per cent to 36.3 per cent, although home ownership has declined from 68.1 per cent in 2002 to 63.9 per cent.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

Young and lowly paid most vulnerable: RBA

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 24-Jun-20

Research from the Reserve Bank of Australia has found that most households had sufficient wealth at the onset of the coronavirus-induced recession to ride out a temporary fall in income. However, only about half of younger Australians had enough liquid assets such as savings to pay their expenses for three months. A similar percentage of workers in sectors that were hardest hit by coronavirus lockdown measures had limited capacity to meet their expenses at the start of the recession. The RBA research is based of the findings of the Household and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey in 2018.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Rich hit hard as households lose $102b

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

Research by the Australian National University highlights the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The ANU’s survey suggests that the nation’s employment rate fell to 58.9 per cent in April, compared with 62 per cent in February. This equates to the loss of about 670,000 jobs. The ANU also estimates that the total loss of income for Australian households since the lockdowns began is about $102bn, while after-tax income on a per capita basis has fallen from $740 a week to $663. The richest 10 per cent of households have been hardest hit, with their income falling from $2,110 per week to $1,688.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY