O75 Public Administration

Labor mulls broader emissions safeguard

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 8-Nov-21

Labor is still working on its climate policy in the lead-up to the next federal election, with shadow climate change minister Chris Bowen confirming that it will not include a climate tax or emissions trading scheme. Bowen has indicated that Labor will consider an expansion of the federal government’s ‘safeguard mechanism’, which requires large emitters to cut their carbon pollution. However, some Labor MPs are said to be wary of embracing the safeguard mechanism, due to concerns that it could make Labor vulnerable to a carbon tax-style scare campaign.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australian unemployment increases to 9.2% in October – as over 12 million Australians are released from long lockdowns

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Nov-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.32 million Australians were unemployed in October, up 55,000 on September, for an unemployment rate of 9.2%. Driving the increase was more people looking for part-time work (up 114,000 to 849,000) while there was a decrease in people looking for full-time work (down 59,000 to 471,000). Some 1.23 million Australians (8.6% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work, an increase of 64,000 (up 0.6% points) on September. In total, 2.55 million Australians (17.8% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in October, an increase of 119,000 on September. Meanwhile, employment dropped 289,000 to 13,019,000 in October, driven by the decrease in part-time employment (down 379,000 to 4,281,000 – the lowest since August 2020). In contrast, full-time employment increased by 90,000 in October to 8,738,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.2% for October is over 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for September 2021 of 4.6%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

National booster program launched with Pfizer in pharmacies

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Original article by Rachel Clun, Lucy Carroll
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 8-Nov-21

The federal government will ramp up the national COVID-19 vaccination rollout, with pharmacies to begin offering booster shots from 8 November. The Pfizer booster dose will be available to all Australians who have been fully vaccinated for at least six months; about 173,000 booster doses have already been administered to people such as healthcare workers and aged-care residents. Meanwhile, pharmacies will now be able to offer all three Pfizer doses, while the Moderna vaccine will be available from GPs. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Sonya Bennett says that booster shots are likely to be needed periodically, but they will probably not be required every year. Some 80.5 per cent of Australians aged 16+ are now fully vaccinated, and 89.3 per cent have had one vaccine dose.

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PFIZER INCORPORATED, MODERNA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Movement in the Melbourne CBD was at only 23% of pre-pandemic levels in late October as the city begun re-opening

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows that movement in the Melbourne CBD was at only 23% of pre-pandemic levels in late October as the city began to re-open after over two months of lockdown. The average 7-day movement level in the Melbourne CBD hit a low of 8% of pre-pandemic levels in late July and had increased to 23% on the first weekend after the end of the lockdown on Friday October 22. Although Melbourne’s lockdown officially ended over a week ago many stores remained closed during the first week post-lockdown. Melbourne’s non-essential retail stores were only allowed to fully re-open over the last weekend and many hospitality venues remained closed to in-store dining due to ongoing restrictions. Meanwhile, life has continued to return to the Sydney CBD and in late October the average 7-day movement levels were at 31% of pre-pandemic levels, up 4% points from a week earlier. Almost 90% of adults in New South Wales are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Following the end of the short and sharp three-day lockdown in southern Tasmania the average 7-day movement levels in the Hobart CBD had recovered to 49% of pre-pandemic levels by late October. The movement levels in other Capital City CBDs continued to improve over the last few weeks. The Adelaide CBD is again the standout with average movement levels closest to pre-pandemic ‘normal’ at 83% – the highest level of movement since mid-April. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Inflation Expectations jump 0.3% points to 4.8% in October; highest for seven years since November 2014

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-21

In October 2021, Australians expected inflation of 4.8% annually over the next two years, up 0.3% points, and the highest Inflation Expectations since November 2014. Inflation Expectations are now 1.3% points higher than a year ago (3.5%). Inflation Expectations are also now 0.1% points above the long-term average of 4.7%, the first time the measure has been above the long-term average since June 2012. A look at Inflation Expectations by Gender and Age shows that the gap between women and men is persisting and has widened slightly in recent months. Women’s Inflation Expectations are at 5.3% in October 2021, compared to 4.2% for men. Inflation Expectations are highest for people aged 50-64 at 5.0%. Women in this age group have Inflation Expectations of 5.6% compared to only 4.4% for men. There is also a large ‘Gender Gap’ of 1.3% points for people at either end of the age spectrum. For people aged under 35 women have Inflation Expectations of 5.4% compared to 4.1% for men, and those aged 65+ women’s Inflation Expectations are 5.3% compared to 4.0% for men. The only exception to this trend is for people aged 35-49 who have Inflation Expectations of 4.6% – the lowest of any age group. In this group the ‘Gender Gap’ is only 0.4% with women’s Inflation Expectations of 4.8% slightly higher than that for men of 4.4%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Labour support down and Government Confidence Rating drops to lowest since Jacinda Ardern became PM in 2017

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-21

Support for New Zealand’s Labour/Greens government was down 5% points to 50% in October, as support for the Labour Party dropped 6% points to 39.5%. During this period the lockdown of New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland was extended throughout October. Support for the Greens was up 1% point to 10.5%. The governing parties are now only 6% points ahead of the Parliamentary opposition National/Act NZ/Maori Party on 44%, up 3% points since September. The increase was driven by a rise in support for National, up by 3% points to 26%. Act NZ was unchanged at a record high of 16% and support for the Maori Party was unchanged at 2%. A small minority of 6% of electors support other minor parties outside Parliament, with support for New Zealand First up 1% point to 2.5%, The Opportunities Party down 0.5% points to 1% and support for the New Conservative Party at 1.5%. 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 929 electors during October. Meanwhile, the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating dropped by 15.5pts in October to 109.5, to be at its lowest since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern came to office four years ago in October 2017.

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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, THE OPPORTUNITIES PARTY, NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Morrison outlines $2 billion funding pledge to UN climate summit

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Original article by David Crowe
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Nov-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used the COP26 climate summit to announce that Australia will contribute $2bn over five years to programs that will assist developing countries in the Pacific region to deal with climate change. He also reiterated the importance of technology in achieving net zero targets. Morrison noted that Australia has reduced its carbon emissions by 20 per cent since 2005, while the economy has grown by 45 per cent over the same period; he added that Australia’s emissions are on track to fall by 35 per cent by 2030, well ahead of its commitments under the Paris agreement. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the summit of a ‘doomsday’ scenario if action is not taken to address climate change.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Federal government offers Hongkongers Australian permanent residency pathway

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Original article by Joshua Boscaini, Stephen Dziedzic
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 2-Nov-21

The federal government will offer two new permanent residence visa streams for Hong Kong passport holders who have lived in Australia for at least four years. Almost 9,000 people are expected to be eligible to apply for the new visas from 5 March, including temporary skilled workers, temporary graduate workers and student visa holders. Applicants for the new visas will not need to be sponsored by an employer or be in a job that is on the list of current skills shortages. In 2020, the government agreed to offer "safe haven" for Hong Kong passport holders after China’s introduced new national security laws in the former British colony.

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PM sinks Macron’s subs lie

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Nov-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded to the latest furore over the decision to cancel Naval Group’s $90bn submarines contract. French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Morrison of lying about both the submarines contract and Australia’s decision to establish the AUKUS alliance. Morrison says he did not lie to Macron and informed him in mid-June that Australia had concerns about the Naval Group project and was looking at alternative submarines. Morrison says the decision to cancel the contract was made in the national interest. The federal government attempted to inform Macron of the decision two days before the AUKUS deal was announced, but Macron advised that he was not available to take a call from Morrison.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NAVAL GROUP

Australia commits 10 million vaccines to south-east Asia

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 28-Oct-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the Association of South-east Asian Nations on Wednesday. He said that Australia will supply south-east Asian nations with 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by mid-2022, in addition to the four million doses it has already provided. Morrison also advised that Australia will provide the region with $124m to address "complex and emerging challenges" such as terrorism and energy security. He also stressed that the AUKUS alliance – and Australia’s deal to acquire nuclear-powered submarines – will have no impact on Australia’s commitment to both ASEAN and nuclear non-proliferation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS