O75 Public Administration

New move could gift Andrews unprecedented power

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Original article by Shannon Deery
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 26-Oct-21

The Victorian government will shortly introduce a bill to parliament that will replace the existing state of emergency powers, which have been in place since March 2020. The draft bill would give Premier Daniel Andrews the power to declare a pandemic and extend it indefinitely for three months at a time. The proposed legislation would also transfer authority to issue public health orders from the state’s chief health officer to the minister for health. Shadow Attorney General Tim Smith has questioned the need to hand more power to Andrews, given his government’s handling of the pandemic.

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$5.5 million grant was a priority project for Berejiklian, ICAC told

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Original article by Lucy Cormack
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption has heard evidence from senior public servant Chris Hanger. He has told the inquiry that in early 2017 he was asked to review the business case for a $5.5m upgrade of a shooting club in Wagga Wagga. The initial business case for the project had a benefit-to-cost ratio of less than one, which meant it could not be approved by Infrastructure NSW. Hanger told ICAC that an adviser to former deputy premier John Barilaro had asked him to review the business case; however, he believed that the request had come from Gladys Berejiklian, who had recently become the state’s premier. Hanger says he was not aware of her relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire at the time.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, INFRASTRUCTURE NEW SOUTH WALES

Victoria AMA says Covid-deniers and anti-vaxxers should opt out of public health system and let nature run its course

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Original article by Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

Anti-vaxxers and covid-deniers should update their advanced care plans and inform their relatives that they do not wish to be treated in the public health care system if they become infected with COVID-19, and let "nature run its course". This is according to Australian Medical Association Victorian president Dr Roderick McRae, with his comments coming as Victoria prepares to ease some of its restrictions as it passes the 70 per cent double vaccination target. He has urged Victorians celebrating the easing of restrictions not to get drunk and have any accidents that will result in them needing medical care, because the "hospitals are full".

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Pre-Christmas retail trade for 2021 predicted to remain steady year-on-year at $58 billion

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

The Australian Retailers Association and strategic partner Roy Morgan are predicting that this year’s pre-Christmas spending will broadly match last year’s high and be significantly above 2019 pre-pandemic spending. The ARA-Roy Morgan 2021 pre-Christmas Retail Sales predictions forecast that overall spending will come in at $58.8 billion, virtually unchanged on last year, but up 11.3% on pre-pandemic conditions. National retail trade for pre-Christmas 2021 is predicted to be in-line with 2020, with growth in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT; NSW and WA largely flat and some contraction in Queensland, SA and NT off the back of strong pre-Christmas sales in 2020. The Roy Morgan data also values (for the first time) the impact of the most recent lockdowns on retail trade at $131 million per day across the economy.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

NSW COVID-19 cases up, most infections outside of Sydney

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Original article by Mary Ward
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

New South Wales reported 372 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Thursday, and one additional death from the current outbreak. More than half of the new cases were in regional areas, include a spike in infections in local government areas near the Victorian border. Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin University says it was to be expected that case numbers would rise in areas that have lower vaccination rates; she adds that it is too soon to know whether the state’s recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions has impacted on case numbers. Meanwhile, a Queensland man in his 30s has been hospitalised with COVID-19 after returning from a trip to Sydney and Melbourne.

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DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Eddie Obeid jailed for coal collusion

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Oct-21

Former NSW Labor minister Ian McDonald has been sentenced to at least five years and three months in jail for his role in a coal mine licencing conspiracy. Fellow minister Eddie Obeid was given a sentence of at least three years and 10 months, while his son Moses will serve at least three years in prison. The Obeids netted at least $30 million from the conspiracy, while the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s investigation of the mine licencing deal prompted counsel assisting the inquiry, Geoffrey Watson SC, to describe it as the worst example of political corruption since the days of the Rum Corps. Eddie Obeid was been released on bail after his lawyers argued that he was at risk of contracting COVID-19 in custody.

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Senate backs inquiry into whether tax commissioner should release JobKeeper details

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan will come under scrutiny by the Senate’s privileges committee over his refusal to disclose the details of companies with annual turnover of more than $10m that received JobKeeper payments. Jordan had contended that doing so would not be in the public interest, but the Senate has voted 25-21 to hold an inquiry into whether he had disobeyed a lawful order of the upper house. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has criticised Labor for supporting the motion, which was put forward by independent senator Rex Patrick. Jordan could potentially face jail if he is found to be in contempt of the Senate.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Victoria scraps isolation, COVID testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors from NSW

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Original article by Simone Fox Koob, Cassandra Morgan
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,749 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, and an additional 11 deaths from the current outbreak. Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that unvaccinated Victorians may not enjoy the same freedoms as fully-vaccinated people until "well into 2022". The government has also advised of changes to its border permit system. Greater Sydney will be downgraded from a ‘red zone’ to ‘orange’ at 11:59pm on Wednesday, which will allow fully-vaccinated residents to enter Victoria without having to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19. The new rules will also apply to regional NSW, which will be downgraded to green zones.

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$25bn in Coalition grants made through closed process with no competitors, report finds

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Original article by Sarah Martin
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

The Auditor-General has released a report which shows that the federal government spent $60.2bn via its GrantsConnect program between December 2017 and June 2021. A total of 108,206 grants were allocated over this period, and 42% were awarded via a non-competitive tender process. The report also shows that 27 per cent of grants that were earmarked for regional development programs were allocated to recipients with capital city postcodes; just eight per cent of the grants were awarded to remote or very remote areas.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

Mike Baird staffer questioned why Berejiklian wanted to spend $5.5m in safe seat of Wagga Wagga

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Original article by Michael McGowan
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Zacharia Bentley was a policy adviser to former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in her previous role as the state’s treasurer. Documents submitted to the Independent Commission Against Corruption show that Bentley believed that Berejiklian had discussed a proposed $5.5m grant for the Australian Clay Target Association with her former lover, Daryl Maguire; it is one of two grants in his electorate of Wagga Wagga that are at the centre of ICAC’s investigation. Bentley has also revealed that he told ICAC investigators in April that the grant had been queried by Nigel Blunden, who was former premier Mike Baird’s strategy director when the grant was proposed. Meanwhile, the state government has agreed to pay all of Berejiklian’s legal costs arising from the ICAC inquiry.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION