O75 Public Administration

Dilemma over targeted vaccines

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Original article by Jamie Walker, Sarah Petty
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Jun-22

The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron are rapidly becoming the dominant strains of COVID-19 in Australia. They are better able to evade existing vaccines, but companies such as Pfizer and Moderna have indicated that they have had some success in developing vaccines that target these variants. While Australians who meet certain criteria can now receive a second booster dose, health authories may delay recommending a broader rollout until vaccines that target these variants are available. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is amongst those who support this view; the state recorded 5,824 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths on Sunday. There were 7,461 new infections and seven deaths in NSW.

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PFIZER INCORPORATED, MODERNA INCORPORATED, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Chalmers seeks more RBA board diversity

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Jun-22

The independent review of the Reserve Bank of Australia is slated to report to the federal government in mid-2023. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that the size and composition of the RBA’s board are among the issues that will be considered; he says the government wants the board to be comprised of people representing all parts of Australia and all parts of the economy. The RBA board is currently dominated by people from the business sector, but there have been calls for it to include more economists. ACTU secretary Sally McManus has in turn advocated having a union representative on the board for the first time since the 1990s.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ACTU

ALP 53% leads the L-NP 47% as energy crisis strikes Eastern Australia

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Jun-22

The latest Roy Morgan Poll shows that the ALP’s lead over the L-NP is now 6% points on a two-party preferred basis, a month after the Federal Election: ALP 53% (down 1% point in a week) ahead of the L-NP 47% (up 1% point). This is still an increase for the ALP on the Federal Election result: ALP 52% cf. L-NP 48%. If a Federal Election had been held last weekend the ALP would have won easily. Primary support for the ALP is up 2% points to 36% but it still trails the L-NP, unchanged on 37%. Support for the Greens was down 1.5% points to 11%. Support for One Nation was up 0.5% points to 4% and support for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party was down 0.5% points to 0.5%. Support for Other Parties was up 2.5% points to 7% while support for Independents was down 3% points to 4.5%. Analysis by State shows that the ALP leads in four States (Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania), while the L-NP leads in NSW and the two parties are even in Queensland. Meanwhile, the weekly Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is down 2pts to 105, the third consecutive week of declines after reaching a high of 111.5 immediately after the Federal Election. Some 42% (down 2% points) of Australians now say the country is ‘heading in the right direction’, while 37% (unchanged) say the country is ‘heading in the wrong direction’. This Roy Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention and Government Confidence was conducted via telephone and online interviewing of 1,401 Australian electors aged 18+ from Monday June 13 to Sunday June 19.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.3pts to 81.7 while Inflation Expectations soar to highest since late March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Jun-22

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 1.3pts to 81.7 in the week ended 19 June. Despite the increase, Consumer Confidence is still 30.7pts below the same week a year ago (112.4), and it is now 12.9pts below the weekly average of 94.6. On a State-based level Consumer Confidence was up in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, but dropped in Queensland and Western Australia. Now 21% (unchanged) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 42% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 27% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 33% (down 5ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Only 7% (down 1ppt) of Australians now expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the lowest figure for this indicator since September 2020), while 38% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 24% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items), while 48% (down 1ppt) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Universities on workplace watchdog’s wage theft priority list

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Original article by Angus Thompson
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 22-Jun-22

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker says wage underpayment has become a systemic issue in Australia’s tertiary education sector. The FWO is investigating 11 of the nation’s universities for potentially underpaying their staff. Parker says the high level of casual staff at universities is also a major concern. The National Tertiary Education Union’s president Alison Barnes says wage theft in universities is "out of control". Wage theft in the higher education sector will be one of the FWO’s priorities in 2022-23, along with the fast food, hospitality and agricultural industries.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION

Wage hikes ‘risk economy’: Lowe

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jun-22

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has downplayed the prospect of a recession, noting that the nation’s economic fundamentals are strong and the jobless rate is at a five-decade low. However, Lowe has warned of the need for wage restraint, arguing that across-the-board pay rises of five per cent or more could see high inflation become entrenched. He contends that wage increases of around 3.5 per cent are more appropriate and sustainable in the current environment. Lowe has also reiterated his view that inflation will peak at around seven per cent before falling in early 2023, but he cautions that it will not return to the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent for some time.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Russia blacklists 121 Australians indefinitely

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Original article by Merryn Johns, Zoe Smith, Nicole Madigan
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

The Kremlin has advised that 121 Australian citizens will be barred from entering Russia in retaliation for the federal government’s sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. The blacklist includes journalists and newspaper editors, ABC chair Ita Buttrose, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, property developer Harry Triguboff and Defence Force Chief General Angus Campbell. Russia has accused them of being part of a ‘Russophobic agenda’, and signalled that the blacklist may be expanded.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Cost of Australia’s aged care system to taxpayers could double, experts warn

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

Australia’s aged care system costs taxpayers $27 billion a year, or roughly 1.2 per cent of GDP. However, a report by the University of Technology Sydney’s Ageing Research Collaborative claims its cost could rise to 2.1 per cent of GDP within 40 years. The report notes that additional government funding will be needed, but that more money is not the only solution to addressing the system’s problems. Work needs to be done on increasing the independence of older people in order to reduce demand, while government subsidies for aged care need to be used more effectively.

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UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY

Burke’s IR agenda: fix bargaining

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 17-Jun-22

Employment and Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke says legislating to include 10 days of paid family and domestic violence in the national employment standards will be his first priority when parliament resumes in July. He adds that overhauling the enterprise bargaining system is the key to addressing Australia’s "wages crisis", and he will consider every proposal that emerges from the government’s jobs summit with employers and unions in September. Burke is open to using a single bill to pursue his workplace reforms, which also including criminalising wage theft and equal pay for labour hire workers.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT

Red-hot jobs market to push RBA harder on rates

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Cecile Lefort, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 17-Jun-22

The latest labour force data has heightened expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will continue to aggressively tighten monetary policy. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added about 60,000 jobs in May, well above market expectations of 25,000. The official unemployment rate was steady at 3.9 per cent, and the underemployment rate was down 0.4 percentage points to 5.7 per cent. There is now widespread consensus among economists that the RBA will increase the cash rate by 50 basis points in July, and some economists anticipate that this will be followed by 50 basis point rises in both August and September.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS