O75 Public Administration

Rebel Labor MP drops red shirts bombshell

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Original article by Shannon Deery, Mitch Clarke, Kieran Rooney, Rhiannon Tuffield
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

Victoria’s upper house has passed Adem Somyurek’s motion to have Labor’s ‘Red Shirts’ scandal referred to the state’s Ombudsman for further investigation. The motion was passed after Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela joined the Opposition and the 12 crossbenchers in voting for a new probe into the $388,000 taxpayer rort. Vaghela is the first Labor MP to ‘cross the floor’ since the party won office in 2014; she is a close ally of Somyurek, and could be expelled by Labor. She says branch-stacking is endemic within Labor, and an investigation into the Socialist Left faction of Premier Daniel Andrews and other groups is needed.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

TGA provisionally approves AstraZeneca COVID booster vaccine

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has provisionally approved the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a booster shot for people aged 18+. However, the TGA has stated that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are still preferred as a booster shot for all adults, regardless of the first two vaccine doses they had received. The TGA adds that people will need to consult their doctor before getting an AstraZeneca booster shot. Meanwhile, NSW recorded 10,312 new COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths on Wednesday; there were 9,908 new coronavirus cases and 21 deaths in Victoria, while Queensland reported 6,902 new cases and 24 deaths.

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AUSTRALIA. THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION, ASTRAZENECA PLC, PFIZER INCORPORATED, MODERNA INCORPORATED

Morrison’s controversial religious bill passes the lower house

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Original article by Lisa Visentin, Latika Bourke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The federal government’s religious discrimination bill will proceed to the Senate, after it was passed by the lower house at 4am on Thursday following more than 10 hours of debate. However, five Liberal MPs crossed the floor to vote with Labor in blocking changes to the Sex Discrimination Act that would have made it lawful to expel transgender students from religious schools. Several Liberal backbenchers also supported Labor’s proposed amendment to the ‘statement of belief’ provisions of the religious discrimination bill; the amendment was defeated with the deciding vote of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Andrew Wallace.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Court backs contract jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 10-Feb-22

University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart says a landmark High Court decision is a "big win" for companies which contend that their workers are independent contractors rather than employees. The court has ruled that two truck drivers who had worked exclusively for a lighting company for nearly four decades via a partnership arrangement are not employees, and are therefore not entitled to minimum pay and conditions. A majority of the court adopted a strict approach that relied almost solely on the terms of the contract itself. However, in a separate judgment the court has ruled that a British backpacker was an employee rather than a contractor, because his contract gave his construction labour hire firm the right to decide who he could work for.

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HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

ASIO foils spy plot to interfere with election

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Feb-22

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess says there have been attempts at foreign interference at all levels of government and in all states and territories. He has revealed that ASIO recently thwarted a foreign interference plot in the lead-up to an election, which is believed to have been the upcoming federal election. This plot involved a wealthy "agent of interference" with direct connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies; this person, whom Burgess referred to as "the puppeteer", had attempted to finance the campaigns of political candidates who were deemed to be susceptible to ‘inducements and cultivation’.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Roy Morgan Business Confidence plunges 18.7pts to 101.5 in January as Omicron variant sweeps Australia

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

In January 2022, Roy Morgan Business Confidence fell by 18.7pts (-15.6%) to 101.5. This is the biggest monthly plunge in the index in points during the pandemic and the largest fall in percentage terms since April 2020, when the index dropped 18.2pts (-19.1%). The plunge in January came as the Omicron variant swept Australia causing the infection of over 2 million Australians and forcing millions more into isolation for being close contacts of confirmed cases. The disruption to businesses caused problems throughout the economy and led to breakdowns in supply chains which are only now being gradually rectified. On a State-based level there were monthly decreases across the board in January; this was led by NSW, down 17.1pts (-13.7%) to 107.6. Despite the large fall in January, Business Confidence remains marginally in positive territory above the neutral level of 100. However, Business Confidence has fallen to the same level it was at during the middle of the ‘Delta wave’ in August 2021 (101.5) and is now well below the long-term average of 113.7.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Morrison apologises to House abuse victims

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Feb-22

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has publicly apologised to victims of bullying, harassment and sexual assault in Parliament House. Morrison specifically apologised to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped by a colleague in a ministerial office in 2019. Morrison, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Labor leader Anthony Albanese also committed to overhauling the culture of Parliament House and making it a safer place to work.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM warns: unite or lose poll

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Original article by Greg Brown, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 9-Feb-22

Parliament is expected to vote on the federal government’s revised religious discrimination bill and amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act within days, after a Coalition partyroom meeting endorsed the reforms on Monday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Coalition MPs to back the reforms, warning that the government faces the prospect of losing the upcoming election if it does present a united front. However, some Liberal MPs have expressed reservations about the religious discrimination bill, and Bass MP Bridget Archer says she cannot support the bill in its current form.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Labor Covid policies an extra $81bn hit: Finance Minister

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Feb-22

The federal government has spent about $337bn on economic and health support programs since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which has contributed to the budget deficit blowing out to $134bn. However, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says the government has contained spending during the pandemic by making its emergency measures "temporary, targeted and proportionate". He adds that Labor’s pandemic policies would have cost an additional $81bn in unnecessary spending and increased the deficit by 20 per cent. Shadow finance minister Katy Gallagher has in turn described the Coalition as the most wasteful government since Federation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

NZ’s new Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon boosts support for National to 35%; now ahead of Labour on 33%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Feb-22

Support for New Zealand’s Labour/Greens government was down 0.5% points to 43.5% in January, the fourth straight month of declines for the ‘coalition’ government. Support for the Labour Party was down 2.5% points to 33% (the lowest since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took office in late 2017), while support for the Greens increased 2% points to 10.5%. In contrast, support for a potential National/Act NZ coalition government is now at 48.5%. Support for the National Party rose 3.5% points to 35%; it has increased 8.5% points since Christopher Luxon took over the leadership at the end of November 2021 and has now overtaken Labour for the first time since October 2019. However, support for Act NZ fell 5% points to 13.5%, to its lowest since August 2021. Support for the Maori Party increased 1.5% points to 2.5%. A small minority of 5.5% of electors support other minor parties outside Parliament, with support for New Zealand First up 0.5% points to 2.5%, The Opportunities Party up 0.5% points to 1.5% and support for the New Conservative Party up 0.5% points to 1% in January. This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 951 electors during January.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY