1
00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,280
Speaker 1: It's Friday, the sixth of September twenty twenty four. Welcome

2
00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,680
Speaker 1: to the Fast five Business News by Fear and Greed.

3
00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:11,520
Speaker 1: Will we give you the top five business stories you

4
00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,040
Speaker 1: need to know in just five minutes. Are Michael Thompson

5
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,600
Speaker 1: and Good morning, Adam Lange.

6
00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:17,240
Speaker 2: Good morning Michael, Adam.

7
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,239
Speaker 1: Five big stories to race through this morning in five minutes,

8
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,480
Speaker 1: so let's get cracking. Story number one, the competition watchdog

9
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,200
Speaker 1: has backed a one point six billion dollar eleven year

10
00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:32,839
Speaker 1: network sharing deal between Optus and TPG to boost regional coverage.

11
00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,440
Speaker 1: Just last year, the ahriable C actually knocked back a

12
00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:39,760
Speaker 1: deal worth one point eight billion dollars between Telstra and TPG.

13
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,839
Speaker 2: Yes, Michael, TPG Telecom owns Votaphone and this new arrangement

14
00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,040
Speaker 2: will help the network triple its access to mobile sites

15
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,760
Speaker 2: while transferring its sites to Optus. In areas without an

16
00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:55,040
Speaker 2: existing Optus footprint, TPG gets access to fewer towers than

17
00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,200
Speaker 2: if you'd done the deal with Telstra. But still, according

18
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,240
Speaker 2: to TPG, had the ahriable C said no to the arrangement,

19
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,840
Speaker 2: then it would have cost them six billion dollars to

20
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,280
Speaker 2: expand in the regional areas. Themselves. Now this arrangement will

21
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,680
Speaker 2: also help Optus in the five G race, including via

22
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,600
Speaker 2: access to the TPG spectrum.

23
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,600
Speaker 1: There's a lot of different parts to this adam, but

24
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,120
Speaker 1: what does it mean for customers?

25
00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,319
Speaker 2: The deal Michael has been seen as a win for

26
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,320
Speaker 2: customers because it will give them more choices about which

27
00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,200
Speaker 2: provider to pick from if they travel or live in

28
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,280
Speaker 2: rural and regional areas. Some of these spaces are only

29
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,720
Speaker 2: serviced by Telstra presently, so people who spend any time

30
00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,039
Speaker 2: in the bush in these areas may now consider a

31
00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,000
Speaker 2: completely different telco network, which could put downward pressure on

32
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,840
Speaker 2: plan prices. More competition might also mean more innovation and

33
00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,119
Speaker 2: focus on regional areas, which could help businesses and those

34
00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:46,640
Speaker 2: moving out of the cities.

35
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,440
Speaker 1: All right, moving on to story number two now and

36
00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,040
Speaker 1: Labour's Bill Shorten is retiring from federal politics having been

37
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,680
Speaker 1: an MP since two thousand and seven. The NDIS and

38
00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,680
Speaker 1: Government Services Ministers is probably known for leading Labor in

39
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:07,760
Speaker 1: opposition for six years, taking them to two very bruising elections.

40
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, Michael, in seventeen years as a fair stint, Shorten

41
00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,200
Speaker 2: has only recently secured major deals, including major NDIS reforms

42
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,720
Speaker 2: through Parliament and a crucial deal with the States and

43
00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,400
Speaker 2: territories to change governance rules. He's set in camera on

44
00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,880
Speaker 2: Thursday that he would retire in February before the election.

45
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,600
Speaker 2: The press gallery has taken this as confirmation that the

46
00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,680
Speaker 2: election will not be held before Christmas and may likely

47
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 2: be a March election. Shorten is going to become the

48
00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:35,480
Speaker 2: University of Canberra's vice chancellor.

49
00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,240
Speaker 1: Story number three. We've seen some rather staggering numbers from

50
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,400
Speaker 1: new Commonwealth Bank research. More than half of small and

51
00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:46,240
Speaker 1: medium sized business owners and senior managers are saying that

52
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,480
Speaker 1: their mental health has been affected by the economic climates

53
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:50,399
Speaker 1: of the past year.

54
00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,600
Speaker 2: Yes, Michael, these numbers are hard to hear. The survey

55
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,640
Speaker 2: found that stress from navigating the cost of living crisis

56
00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,960
Speaker 2: is really taking a toll on small to medium sized enterprise.

57
00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,200
Speaker 2: Among the sources of this stress is that about sixty

58
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,839
Speaker 2: five percent of businesses had to deal with unexpected expenses

59
00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,799
Speaker 2: at an indicative collective total of seven point three billion

60
00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,960
Speaker 2: dollars that's about four thy three hundred each in the

61
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,200
Speaker 2: past twelve months on average. Equipment repairs, high supply costs

62
00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,680
Speaker 2: and rising utility costs were among the most commonly cited

63
00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:26,800
Speaker 2: sources of these unanticipated and stressful outgoings. Commonwealth Bank Australia

64
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,480
Speaker 2: will launch a new partnership with mental health not for

65
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,680
Speaker 2: profit Smiling Mind to give small businesses access to programs,

66
00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,160
Speaker 2: tools and strategies to help them get through this challenging period.

67
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,240
Speaker 2: Now anyone can get access to the app from next month,

68
00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,840
Speaker 2: regardless of if they are a bank customer to get support.

69
00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,560
Speaker 1: That is good news. Story number four Adam. The United

70
00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,560
Speaker 1: Workers Union is raising the alarm about the future of

71
00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,720
Speaker 1: eight thousand workers in Queensland and New South Wales at

72
00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,480
Speaker 1: Star Entertainment as discussions between the casino operator and its

73
00:03:58,520 --> 00:03:59,680
Speaker 1: bankers continue.

74
00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is a huge Star Fleet, Michael, and the

75
00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,600
Speaker 2: union is pushing for everyone involved to prioritize retaining the

76
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,320
Speaker 2: jobs of staff, saying the facing major uncertainty and financial insecurity.

77
00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,200
Speaker 2: Starr confirmed on Thursday that it was reviewing its liquidity.

78
00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,600
Speaker 2: The Financial Review is reporting that Star's bankers have been

79
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,279
Speaker 2: pushing back at its request for short term debt, instead

80
00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,040
Speaker 2: saying new loans should also be matched by more security

81
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,400
Speaker 2: over its assets and government concessions. Amid major cost blowouts,

82
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,400
Speaker 2: fines and slower trading at its major casinos. Star hasn't

83
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,640
Speaker 2: yet published its last financial year accounts, which saw it

84
00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,000
Speaker 2: suspended by the ASX, and the company has been thrown

85
00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:39,679
Speaker 2: into flux.

86
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,960
Speaker 1: Last one story number five, Volvo has backed off from

87
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,560
Speaker 1: its plans to only sell evs by twenty thirty, and

88
00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:49,920
Speaker 1: yet another sign of the cooling of the electric vehicle

89
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,080
Speaker 1: frenzy as challenges hit automakers.

90
00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,920
Speaker 2: Michael Volvo said back in twenty seventeen that it would

91
00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,560
Speaker 2: be all electric or hybrid by twenty twenty five, and

92
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:01,040
Speaker 2: then in twenty twenty one said it would be totally

93
00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,520
Speaker 2: EV by twenty thirty. The media headlines are focused on

94
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,239
Speaker 2: the ditching of this commitment. However, the EV transition isn't

95
00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,080
Speaker 2: scrapped entirely. A close look at the statement from the

96
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,000
Speaker 2: car maker shows that it still reckons ninety percent of

97
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,040
Speaker 2: what will be made by twenty thirty will be EV

98
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,479
Speaker 2: or plug in hybrid, and the balance still won't be

99
00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,080
Speaker 2: entirely fossil fuel based. Instead, it will be petrol with

100
00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:28,599
Speaker 2: energy saving technology. Now get this, Michael Volvo has dubbed

101
00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,839
Speaker 2: these cars mild hybrids.

102
00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,320
Speaker 1: Oh what a name? All right, there we go. The

103
00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,039
Speaker 1: top five business stories in five minutes.

104
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:36,520
Speaker 2: Thank you Adam, thank you Michael.

105
00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:39,920
Speaker 1: It is Friday, the sixth of September twenty twenty four.

106
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,479
Speaker 1: Remember to hit follow on the podcast and if five

107
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:44,919
Speaker 1: minutes isn't enough, you can find our longer daily show

108
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,560
Speaker 1: called Fear and Greed where heavy listen to podcasts are

109
00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:51,040
Speaker 1: Michael Thompson. And that was the past five Business news

110
00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:52,960
Speaker 1: by Fear and Greed. Have a great day.