Markets live updates: ASX set to follow Wall Street falls, US government bonds continue sell-off
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SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
A 'really important initiative' or 'complete overreach': New WFH plan draws mixed reactions
With new Australian-first rules suggested, working from home might soon be a legal right for Victorians. Premier Jacinta Allan announced on Thursday that she would introduce legislation in 2026 legally enshrining the right to work from home for two days a week. Allan said she expected the plan to face some criticism but said many Victorians stood to benefit from the changes, which will cover all employees who can "reasonably" do their job from home. "Bosses who think being seen at a desk is more important than a parent getting home for dinner with their kids, if they want to look their workers in the eye and tell them their time with their families doesn't count, they know where my government stands," Allan said. "We won't stand by while workers — especially women, single mums, carers — get punished for needing balance in their lives." Details are yet to be worked through but Allan signalled the changes could come into effect under Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act, as private workplaces are regulated by federal laws. Issues such as the definition of remote work, who can do it, how it would affect part-time workers and the types of businesses to which the law would apply, will be figured out through a consultation process. 'Complete overreach' Peak business bodies have criticised the plan, with Committee for Melbourne CEO Scott Veenker calling it a "complete overreach". "It's another regulatory burden or requirement that just makes the cost of doing business too hard," he said, adding that his group "hadn't been consulted with prior to the announcement". "The reality is that we want to actually have an environment where businesses can thrive and flourish, and they don't need more regulation and more legislation to prevent them [from] doing that." Veenker said the state government's new plan will make "members both small and large" of the business advocacy group ask if they should "continue trading in Victoria". "We know that businesses will move their staff and their resources accordingly, and we don't want Victoria to be seen as a place that's too hard to do business," he said. "They should be arrangements that are really done in conjunction with staff and the employers, rather than the state government trying to put their nose into this. "We want the state government to be looking at how we should be focusing on economic growth and enabling businesses to prosper." The Committee for Melbourne, which merged with the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce in 2024, describes itself as being founded "to champion key initiatives to stimulate the economy and civic development, which put Melbourne on a pathway to become one of the world's most liveable cities". 'A really good initiative' However, several people SBS News talked to on the streets of Melbourne said they supported the proposal. One young woman said it was "a really good initiative". "I think working from home allows people to have a bit more of better work-lifestyle balance, therefore making them happy — happy to be at work when it is time to be at work, [and] happy to be at home," she said. Another woman SBS News spoke to said the ability to work from home "just makes life so much easier". Source: SBS News A middle-aged man said he currently had an arrangement to work one day a fortnight at home and would "certainly be keen for that to be made a legal thing to do more". A young man who works from home said: "going to [the] office necessarily doesn't mean full productivity, so that's something people have to consider," he said. Several experts recently told SBS News that working from home breaks down barriers to gender equality in the workplace and is necessary for modern families, especially those who face significant commutes to work. LISTEN TO More than one in three Australian employees typically work from home, but that figure rises to 60 per cent among managers and those in professional services, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ABS also says 43 per cent of those who work from home do overtime, compared to one quarter of those who do not. State Opposition signals possible support Allan — whose announcement coincided with the Victorian Labor Party meeting for its annual conference — has promised to introduce the law in 2026, prior to the state election. Polls indicate Labor is on track to win a fourth term but the November 2026 poll will be the first as premier for Allan, who lags Opposition leader Brad Battin as preferred state leader. On Saturday, Battin indicated he might support the proposal. "We support measures that help Victorians enjoy a better work-life balance, and will review any legislation closely, to ensure it supports flexibility, productivity and personal choice," he said. The federal Opposition's proposal to eliminate remote work for public servants was partly blamed for its poor performance in the May federal election, even though it abandoned the policy before voting day. During the campaign, former Opposition leader Peter Dutton apologised after admitting that the proposal to end work-from-home arrangements for public servants was a "mistake". The plan was immediately framed by Labor and Greens parliamentarians as being a regressive move for women's working rights. — With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press
Sky News AU
4 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump unhappy with grim US jobs report
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has delivered a report reflecting a significant downturn in the job market following recent tariffs. Job numbers from May and June were revised down drastically and American companies only added about 73,000 jobs in July. In response, President Donald Trump is calling for the head of the bureau to be fired.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Donald Trump's tariffs have a large role to play in Australia's interest rates cycle
When the RBA handed down its most interest rate decision last month, it shocked economists and the public by holding the cash rate at 3.85 per cent. The widely held consensus had been strongly in favour of another 0.25 per cent cut to follow the previous one in May. In the weeks since the Reserve Bank's decision, economic data has been mixed, with some elements such as the recent retail sales report providing support for the RBA's message of caution, while on the other hand, the recent substantial rise in unemployment was far more supportive of the cash rate being cut. In several important ways the RBA's uncertainty about the path forward for interest rates is arguably justified. Trump, Trade And Global Uncertainty At a global scale, the implementation of the Trump Administration's various tariffs and threats of even greater trade barriers to nation's not willing to make a swift agreement with the United States remains a source of major questions for central banks around the world. The challenge posed by tariffs to the path of interest rates was recently summed up by JPMorgan Chase (the world's most valuable bank) CEO Jamie Dimon at an event hosted by the Irish government. 'The market is pricing a 20% chance (of rising interest rates). I would price in a 40-50% chance I would put that as a cause for concern,' Dimon said. Dimon went on to cite the Trump administration's tariffs, the restructuring of global trade and the growing U.S government budget deficit as inflationary forces impacting the path forward for interest rates. While U.S interest rates can and do rise and fall independently of those of other nations, they are also the most important global benchmark. Theoretically, the U.S Federal Reserve holding a higher interest rate than the RBA can have two major knock on effects for Australia. It can force a repricing of Australian interest rates to better reflect the global benchmark. Or if the RBA chooses to allow the distance between the RBA cash rate and the U.S federal funds rate to expand, it places downward pressure on the value of the Australian dollar in a vacuum. A Mixed Bag For Australia At a domestic level, there is also a high degree of uncertainty impacting the path forward for interest rates. With government currently the driving force behind broader economic growth and employment growth in generally taxpayer funded sectors of the economy (public administration, education and, healthcare and social assistance) the main driver of the resilience of the labour market, it's challenging for the RBA to know exactly when a rate cut would be appropriate. Meanwhile, the deeply mixed nature of retail sales growth depending on the lens with which it is viewed also complicates matters. For example, looking at the latest headline retail sales showing a 1.2 per cent rise in turnover or June in a vacuum, it would be hard to justify a rate cut. But when the focus is shifted to an inflation adjusted figure that looks at retail sales per working age adult, the data for the June quarter reveals a return to recession in per capita terms. This is due to expansion of the population, the vast majority of which is occurring via migration acting as more or less the only driver of the retail economy in aggregate. History And Market Pricing Based on RBA rate cut cycles seen in the last 35 years, where the cash rate has been cut by at least one percentage point, the average rate cut cycle sees mortgage rates fall by approximately 33.3 per cent. If we remove the rate cut cycles driven by major emergencies such as the Global Financial Crisis and the early 1990s recession, the average reduction in mortgage rates falls to 27.0 per cent. If we were to see a similar reduction in interest rates today, we would see a total fall in the cash rate of approximately 1.75 percentage points. This would leave the average payable rate on a variable mortgage for an owner occupier at 4.58 per cent. In terms of the pricing of the future path of interest rates from financial markets, the next full 0.25 per cent rate cut is priced in for the RBA's August meeting, with the next expected to follow in November. Overall, market pricing has interest rates falling by a total 1.33 percentage points, with the cash rate hitting a low of 3.02 per cent during the middle of next year. The Outlook For Rates While the direction of interest rates is ultimately in the hands of the Reserve Bank, under the current circumstances government is also playing a significantly greater role in influencing the path forward than has been historically normal. With the growth in the domestic consumer economy concentrated in the 65 and over age demographic and otherwise reliant on population growth, the level of migration set by the Albanese government will be vital in determining to what degree aggregate consumer demand is weak enough to warrant further cuts in interest rates. Meanwhile, the level of employment growth stemming from government policy will also be a key consideration. If the current pullback continues without a corresponding increase from the private sector, the urgency and magnitude with which the RBA approaches the ongoing rate cut cycle may intensify significantly. Ultimately, it's entirely possible that events beyond our shores end up playing a significant role in the direction of Australian interest rates, whether that be as a result of President Trump's tariffs or the Chinese economy slowing more swiftly than expected due to the ongoing trade conflict and still simmering domestic economic issues.
