Category: 3. Business

ANZ is forecasting a surge in consumer spending this festive season, with customers expected to inject $5.1 billion into the economy during the holiday shut down period (21 December 2025 to 5 January 2026) – a 4.7% increase on the same period last year.

Spending is expected to be led by categories that capture the holiday spirit, including food and beverages, travel and leisure, digital goods, and precious stones and metals – together accounting for around half of total expenditure.

ANZ General Manager, Deposits and Payments, Kate Britton said: “Customers are embracing the festive spirit and we’re seeing that reflected in their spending habits, both in the lead up to Christmas Day, and the sales that follow it. 

“From travel and leisure to digital goods and luxury items, this seasonal boost offers a significant and welcome uplift for businesses across the country, as consumers use the down time to spoil themselves and their loved ones.” 

One business seeing this trend firsthand is Michael Hill, a long-standing ANZ customer and leading jewellery retailer. CEO of Michael Hill International Limited, Jonathan Waecker, said: 

“Christmas is one of our favourite moments of the year at Michael Hill, and the joy of gifting just keeps getting bigger. This season, we are celebrating with an incredible range of fine jewellery across key price points, making it easier than ever to find something truly special for the people you love.

“Our iconic packaging is more beautiful than ever, so every gift feels magical from the moment it is unwrapped. It is a time filled with sparkle, celebration, and the delight of giving something that lasts.”

Key trends from 2024 ANZ customer data highlights shifting consumer priorities:

• Digital goods (such as digital games, platform subscriptions, digital books and apps) surged 50.9% year-on-year, while precious items rose 24%

• Holiday-driven demand spikes were evident across hotels (+31.9%), vehicle rentals (+31.5%), and wineries (+24.3%), compared to normal trading weeks*

*Normal trading weeks refer to weeks not influenced by an event or festival.

State-by-state insights from 2024:

• QLD, NT, and WA recorded the largest year-on-year increases (10%, 9%, and 8.8% respectively)

• WA had the highest spend per capita ($1,465, up 6.2%), while QLD saw the strongest per capita growth (8%)

Holiday spending patterns:

• Boxing Day rebounds strongly, driven by post-Christmas sales, with $282m spent in 2024 on 26 December alone

• Pre-Christmas spending is consistently high, with $415m spent on Christmas Eve in 2024, up from $295m in 2023

Data refers to the period of 21 December to 5 January.

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Festive spending: ANZ forecasts $5.1 billion boost during holiday ‘shut down’

2025-12-17

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Tuesday, December, 2025

Each year, the Industrial Automation Department at Bakersfield College hosts their
Senior Projects Open House which allows students in the program to present the innovative
projects they have been working on throughout the year. The event is open to the public,
and attendees have the opportunity to preview the students’ automation creations and
interact with the people who developed them. This year’s open house took place during
the first week of December and was hosted in the Robotics Lab of the Science & Engineering
Building.

There were a variety of projects that covered multiple industrial practices including
agriculture, human-machine interface, industrial processes, and more. One of the participating
projects was titled ‘Aerophonics with Weather Machine’ and was conceived and created
by a student team. RJames Viloria, Juan Manriquez, and Amy Huerta have been working
together on the agriculture-based project for nearly two semesters. The ambitious
endeavor focuses on optimizing a controlled environmental system for more efficient
farming.

“We came up with the idea because most of the solutions in the market are timer-based,”
says RJames Viloria, “the purpose of our project is to implement precision by measuring
nutrients, PH levels, and temperature in order to increase yields.” They built the
entire project from scratch, and their display included a kale crop they had cultivated.
“We grew kale, but we also tested lettuces and specifically, Romaine lettuce,” says
Viloria, “and we were able to increase the growth rate and yield of the crops.”

When asked if they felt their project was successful, Juan Manriquez was quick to
reply, “As a group and team, we feel like we nailed it,” he says, “all of our hard
work has paid off.” The team gets graded throughout the entire process, but the open
house serves as the last step to receiving their grade. “We do get reviewed and graded
during both semesters, and towards the end, the overall project would be the presentation,”
says Manriquez, “So, based on how that goes today – it’s like the final of our course.”

The Industrial Automation open house served a perfect environment to showcase the
talent, creativity and technical skill developed within the department. The dedication
demonstrated by students like Viloria, Manriquez, and Huerta reflects their commitment
to hands-on learning and modern problem solving. Congratulations to all participating
seniors for their impressive work and successful presentations and best wishes as
they take the next steps in their academic and professional careers.

Households that use high-speed NBN plans with a fibre to the premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) connection are now receiving faster internet speeds following the rollout of NBN Co’s recent upgrade program, the ACCC’s latest Measuring Broadband Australia report has found.

In September 2025, NBN Co increased the wholesale plan speeds for certain NBN plans that use a FTTP or HFC connection at no extra charge for retailers. The upgrade was not available to any other connection types.

Further, the speed increase was limited to 100/20 Mbps (NBN Home Fast), 250/25 Mbps (NBN Home Superfast) and 1000/50 Mbps (NBN Home Ultrafast) plans, which have now increased to 500/50 Mbps, 750/50 Mbps and 1000/100 Mbps respectively.

“Our latest report has found that the recent changes to certain high-speed NBN plans have now been passed on to retail customers, meaning that most households that use the upgraded plans on a FTTP or HFC connection are now accessing faster internet speeds,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

The upgraded NBN Home Fast plan, which now offers customers 500/50 Mbps speeds, was the most popular high-speed NBN fixed-line plan among the services monitored in this report. The average download speed on the upgraded NBN Home Fast plan during the busy hours of 7 to 11pm on weekdays was 503.9 Mbps, with 80.5 per cent of services on this plan achieving an average busy hour speed exceeding 500 Mbps.

Figure 1. NBN Accelerate Great – Average speeds per plan

While many FTTP and HFC connections that use the upgraded plans consistently achieved download speeds in line with the new plan speeds, there was a small proportion of underperforming services that rarely, if ever, recorded download speeds close to their new plan speeds.

These underperforming services may be experiencing speed constraints due to their in-home equipment. For example, older home routers may not be able to support access to 100 Mbps download speeds or higher.

“Consumers that are using older Wi-Fi routers may be missing out on the faster download speeds that are available on their upgraded plan,” Ms Brakey said.

“We encourage consumers to contact their retailer if they are not able to access the higher download speeds despite their plan being upgraded. We expect retailers to help customers understand if either their router or the network is preventing them from accessing the full speeds of their selected plan.”

“While NBN Co’s upgraded higher speed plans benefit large households with high broadband usage, many households may receive better value from a less expensive 25 Mbps or 50 Mbps speed plan depending on their household’s broadband usage,” Ms Brakey said.

Households that have a fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the curb (FTTC) NBN connection saw no change to their broadband speeds. For these connection types, the fastest plan download speed available is still 100 Mbps.

“Consumers with FTTN or FTTC connections that would like faster internet speeds should contact their internet provider to check if their NBN connection is eligible for an upgrade to FTTP,” Ms Brakey said.

The report also observed performance improvements on Starlink’s Satellite network. The average busy hour upload speed on Starlink’s network increased from 30.6 Mbps in the previous quarter’s report to 46.2 Mbps in the latest report. The average busy hour download speed also increased from 189.3 Mbps to 197.2 Mbps

Background

Data for the Measuring Broadband Australia program is provided by UK-based firm SamKnows using methodology based on speed testing programs delivered in the UK, US, Canada and New Zealand.

NBN services may exceed their maximum plan download speed due to overprovisioning. This is where NBN Co provides a slightly higher data rate than the wholesale plan download speed to accommodate for the portion of a connection’s data rate lost in retrieving information that enables a download to occur. NBN Co does not currently overprovision the uplink for NBN fixed-line connections.

• Yilgarn Iron exports first shipment from Port of
  Esperance
• More than 176,000 tonnes of iron ore from the
  Koolyanobbing operation en route to China
• Delivers regional jobs and reactivates road and
  rail corridors in the Goldfields-Esperance region

Iron ore exports from
Southern Ports’ Port of Esperance have received a major boost with Yilgarn Iron
completing its first shipment, delivering new jobs and renewed activity for the
region.

The five-day operation
saw more than 176,000 tonnes of iron ore loaded through the Port of Esperance
iron ore circuit onto the bulk carrier MV Densa Shark, which departed for China
on Saturday.

At full production,
Yilgarn Iron is targeting annual exports of more than four million tonnes,
supporting the creation of up to 15 new operational roles at the Port of
Esperance in early 2026 and increasing the port’s operations workforce by more
than a third.

Haulage from Yilgarn’s
operations recommenced in September, with the first trainloads of iron ore
reaching the Port of Esperance last month, reactivating transport corridors
linking the Yilgarn Hub with the port.

The shipment comes less
than 12 months after Mineral Resources’ final export from the Koolyanobbing
operations in the Yilgarn Hub, which were acquired by Yilgarn Iron Investments
in June.

Yilgarn Iron becomes the
second customer to use the port’s iron ore circuit, joining Gold Valley, which
has exported almost 2.5 million tonnes of iron ore through the Port of
Esperance since its first shipment in October 2024.

Comments attributed to Ports and Regional Development Minister Stephen
Dawson:

“It is fantastic to see
iron ore from the Yilgarn Hub once again moving through the Port of Esperance.

“More customers using the
iron ore circuit delivers real benefits for the economy and local jobs and
reflects Southern Ports’ continued progress in diversifying its trade across
the State’s southern regions.

“The Cook Government’s
targeted investment in port infrastructure such as the recent investment in the
Esperance iron ore circuit is helping unlock new export and employment
opportunities for the regions.”

Comments attributed to
Mines and Petroleum and Goldfields-Esperance Minister David Michael:

“Strong and efficient supply chains across the
Goldfields-Esperance region have allowed Yilgarn Iron to pick up where the
previous operator left off.

“It is pleasing to see the logistics of this operation come
together so quickly, delivering further job creation across the region.

“There is still significant life left in the Yilgarn, and we
welcome a new operator investing to unlock that potential.”

Comments attributed to Southern Ports chief executive officer
Keith Wilks:

“Having Yilgarn Iron come
on board as the Port of Esperance’s second iron ore exporter less than a year
on from the operations ceasing in the Yilgarn is a great result.

“Two customers using our
iron ore infrastructure means more volume and more shipments from our Port of
Esperance, which ultimately means more hours for our workforce on the ground.

“Trade losses are never
easy to weather, but by proactively pursuing opportunities to diversify our
customer base and commodity throughput we continue to be a reliable partner
creating enduring value across our regions.”

Comments
attributed to Yilgarn Iron Investments managing director Fergus Campbell:

“It was a pleasure being
in the Port of Esperance to watch the loading of our first shipment into the MV
Densa Shark. This is a fantastic milestone for Yilgarn Iron Pty Ltd, the
Yilgarn region and in particular the communities of Southern Cross and
Esperance. 

“Exporting our first
176,000 tonnes within less than four months of assuming control of the
Yilgarn Iron Ore project is a testament to our hardworking and dedicated team,
as well as to our suppliers and service providers, including Southern Ports and
Aurizon.

“We look forward to
continuing to unlock the value of the Yilgarn’s iron ore resources and shaping
a positive future for company, country and community for many more years.

• UK Government provides over £120m support package as part of £150m joint investment with INEOS to protect vital chemical production and 500 jobs at Grangemouth, plus hundreds more in the supply chain.
• Unique plant strategically important for UK’s critical national infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, North Sea operations and modern Industrial Strategy.
• Deal secures operational commitment from INEOS for the plant and multimillion-pound investment from the company.

Britain’s last ethylene plant at Grangemouth has been saved by the UK Government – securing 500 good jobs and hundreds more across the region in the supply chain.

Thanks to a landmark partnership between the UK Government and INEOS, the future of this vital site is now protected, sending a clear signal: this Government is backing workers and their communities across the whole of the UK.

With over £120 million in UK Government support and major investment from INEOS, the Grangemouth plant will stay open with jobs secured.

This huge win keeps the heart of Scotland’s industry beating strong, supports local families, and keeps critical supply chains running nationwide.

This package will help secure the site’s operations and contribute toward improving energy efficiencies, reducing carbon emissions and increasing productivity, helping to secure the site’s long-term competitiveness and sustainability. INEOS has spent over £100 million over the last year maintaining operations at the site.

The Grangemouth plant is vital for the whole UK economy. It produces ethylene which is essential for medical-grade plastics and use in the chemical supply chain. These plastics are also vital to key industries, including advanced manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace, where they are used in nearly every product.

The decisive action from the UK Government is part of its modern Industrial Strategy, which identifies chemicals as a vital foundational sector that underpins the UK’s high-growth industries like defence and advanced manufacturing by producing the materials they all depend on, while also being essential to many supply chains.

The UK Government is backing the chemicals sector through the Industrial Strategy with targeted support to bring down energy costs, including through the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme – which will slash costs for businesses in sectors including chemicals by up to 25% – and the British Industrial Supercharger, which will save Britain’s most energy-intensive firms money on their electricity costs.

The plant also links to the Forties Pipeline System, which is key for transporting North Sea oil and gas to onshore facilities. Without government intervention, the plant’s closure would have seriously affected hundreds of onsite workers, impacted thousands of jobs regionally, and devastated supply chains.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle will formally announce the support today (17 December) during a visit to the INEOS site in Grangemouth with the Chancellor and Scotland Secretary.

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:

When we said we’d protect jobs and invest in Britain’s future, we meant it – and this is proof.

Through partnership, determination, and our Modern Industrial Strategy, we’re delivering new opportunities, fresh investment, and security for the next generation of workers in Scotland.

This is about good jobs, stronger communities, and a modern economy that works for everyone.

Our commitment is clear: to back British industry, to stand by hardworking families, and to ensure places like Grangemouth can thrive for years to come. Promise made, promise delivered.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said:

The UK Government’s decision to step in will protect Grangemouth as a site of strategic national importance and secure 500 vital jobs in the area.

By partnering with INEOS we are backing the plant and its long-term future, giving certainty to workers and the supply chain going forward.

This approach is part of our Modern Industrial Strategy through which we are working to reduce the cost of energy for industry and support manufacturing in the UK.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:

We said we would stand squarely behind communities like Grangemouth and we meant it.  

Building on the millions of pounds we’ve already invested in Grangemouth, this vital package protects our national resilience and secures the livelihoods of hundreds of people employed at the site way into the future.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said:

The UK Government is investing £120 million today to protect jobs and secure future opportunities at Grangemouth.

Grangemouth has been at the heart of Scotland’s industrial story for generations, and today we’re ensuring it remains central to our future.

This is a landmark moment for Grangemouth. This £120 million UK Government investment protects not just the 500 jobs at the plant, but thousands more across Scottish supply chains.

INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe said:

This £150m investment in the future of a major UK industrial site demonstrates INEOS and the UK Government’s commitment to British manufacturing. The support of the UK Government is welcome as we work to deliver competitive and efficient low-carbon manufacturing for the UK, long term. 

UK Government support for INEOS’ investment shows the strategic importance of making things in Britain. It protects 500 high-value jobs, secures supply chains and preserves the industrial capability the nation needs.

Through the partnership, INEOS and the UK Government have demonstrated their commitment to operating the site and maintaining jobs. The agreement includes safeguards to protect taxpayers’ money, such as strict assurances that the funding can only be used to improve the site, and also gives the UK Government the right to share in future profits.

The chemicals sector across Europe has faced significant challenges in recent years, including high energy costs, with around 40 percent of remaining European ethylene capacity having recently closed or remaining at risk.

The partnership demonstrates the UK Government’s commitment to working with business to support Scotland and Scottish workers, and contributes towards government’s vision for Grangemouth’s long-term future.

This vision includes £200 million of investment from the National Wealth Fund to support new opportunities in Grangemouth, with projects actively being considered and around 140 enquiries already received.

Last week it was announced that around 310 jobs will be supported over the next five years by the Scottish company MiAlgae, that has started construction on its first commercial scale manufacturing facility that will transform whisky waste into fish-free Omega 3 following £3 million in UK and Scottish government backing.

To support workers at the nearby Exxon Mobil Mossmorran plant which is to close in February 2026, the UK and Scottish governments as well as Fife Council will set up a taskforce to ensure those impacted have the best chance of securing well-paid and valuable employment.

The Grangemouth Training Guarantee will also be expanded to those workers who provided shared services to the refinery, providing new opportunity across local communities.

The UK Government is also working to tackle the challenges of high industrial energy prices at source for Scottish and UK businesses through the modern Industrial Strategy, launched in June.

This includes increasing the discount on eligible businesses’ electricity costs from 60 to 90% through the British Industrial Supercharger scheme, and consulting on the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), which will slash electricity costs by up to 25% for over 7,000 UK businesses.

As the UK’s biggest bank for business, accelerating regional growth is a key priority for us at NatWest. We know that this vital funding will support Ineos Grangemouth in remaining a critical site for our national resilience and prosperity, whilst helping protect jobs in Scotland and beyond.

Notes to Editors:

• The MiAlgae project will create around 130 direct full-time jobs at Grangemouth over the next five years, alongside supporting an additional 180 roles across Scotland.
• This support will be funded from within the Department for Business and Trade’s existing budgets.
• NatWest is providing finance, backed by a 100% UK Government guarantee.

• Part of Cook Government drive to a
  decarbonised, diversified economy
• Emissions reduction technology grants for
  local businesses
• Funding supports projects to support
  innovation in hard to abate industry

The State Government is investing
$6.58 million to advance technologies and investigate modern solutions that
help remove, reduce or offset industrial emissions.

A total of 10 projects will receive
funding under the second round of the Carbon Innovation Grants Program (CIGP),
which is designed to build the capacity of heavy industry sectors to transition
to net zero emissions by 2050.

The latest grants will support six
pilot projects and four feasibility studies that represent innovative approaches
to carbon abatement and sequestration.

The pilot projects include
establishing a seaweed biorefinery manufacturing
facility that will make plastic alternatives and an initiative to create
by-products from captured carbon dioxideat
an ammonia manufacturing plant.

Funding for
the feasibility studies will allow recipients to assess the viability of new
technologies or methods for reducing emissions, such as a study that will
investigate hybrid electrification of quad trailers for long distance regional
transport needs.

The $15 million Carbon Innovation
Grants Program was a 2021 election commitment made by the State Government.

It funds feasibility studies, pilot
projects and capital works, with a focus on supporting innovative technologies
for carbon abatement and sequestration.

The Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation administers the program through a competitive process –
further details on the program can be found here.

The full list of successful recipients
is available below.

Comments attributed to Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade
Sanderson:

“These grant recipients show the depth of advanced technologies in Western
Australia as we drive to decarbonise and diversify our economy, ensuring it
remains the strongest in the nation.

“Through government support of
scientific and industry partnerships, we can limit industrial emissions by
commercialising innovations that help contribute to our target of net zero
emissions by 2050.

“The potential evident in all
successful applicants is a credit to those involved and I look forward to these
projects succeeding at scale.”

Carbon Innovation Grants Program Round 2

The
successful pilot projects are:

• C Sea Solutions
  Pty Ltd: $1.5 million to deliver a pilot seaweed biorefinery manufacturing facility that
  will produce alternatives to mainstream plastics;
• Airbridge Pty Ltd:
  $1.5 million for a pilot project to capture CO₂ from an ammonia manufacturing plant
  and create by-products from the captured CO_2;
• FMG Solomon Pty
  Ltd: $1 million for a pilot project to test
  low emissions explosives for open pit iron ore operations in the Pilbara;
• Wallis Drilling
  Pty Ltd: $704,000 for a pilot project that
  will trial and test electrification of a reverse circulation drilling rig suite;
• Warradarge Energy
  Pty Ltd: $229,359 for a pilot trial of dual-fuel
  (hydrogen and diesel) technology and refuelling infrastructure on trucks; and
• Oasis IQ Pty Ltd: $225,376 for a pilot project to trial of scheduling
  software for air conditioning systems in mine site accommodation, reducing air
  conditioner running time and energy use.

The
successful feasibility studies are:

• DBK Enterprises
  Pty Ltd & MAGV Pty Ltd: $500,000 for a
  study that will investigate the hybrid electrification of quad trailers for
  long distance regional transport needs in WA;
• University of
  Western Australia: $401,480 for a
  feasibility study to investigate compressed air energy storage to support
  industrial energy demand;
• Craig Mostyn Group
  Pty Ltd: $273,000 for a feasibility study to
  compare anerobic digestion technologies to manage agribusiness waste streams;
  and
• Australian Flow
  Batteries Pty Ltd: $250,000 for a
  feasibility study to assess the viability of establishing a Megawatt scale
  vanadium battery manufacturing facility in WA.