O75 Public Administration

Victoria records two COVID-19 deaths ahead of modest easing of restrictions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sumeyya Ilanbey, Melissa Cunningham
The Age – Page: Online : 1-Sep-21

Victoria has recorded 76 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including 31 mystery cases. The state has also recorded its first COVID-19 deaths since 30 November, a woman in her 60s and a 49-year-old woman; it is not yet known whether they had been vaccinated or had underlying health conditions. Meanwhile, the state government is expected to relax some lockdown restrictions after conceding that its ‘COVID-zero’ strategy is no longer feasible. However, Premier Daniel Andrews says the aim will to get daily case numbers to as close to zero as possible to avoid overwhelming the hospital system. The state has 841 active cases, including 52 in hospital.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

PM: Christmas trips likely

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison contends that Australians should be able to travel interstate to spend Christmas with family and friends once 70-80 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. Morrison has again urged the states and territories to back his government’s four-stage plan for reopening the economy, reiterating that lockdowns will do more harm than good when the vaccination target rate has been achieved. Meanwhile, employers’ groups have urged the federal government to relax the restrictions on travelling overseas for business purposes, arguing that people who have been vaccinated should be allowed to do so and quarantine at home upon their return.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

COVID vaccine booster shots will happen in Australia

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Sas, Sophie Scott
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 25-Aug-21

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will provide the federal government with initial advice on COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in coming weeks. However, ATAGI’s co-chair Allen Cheng says the nation will not be in a position to start giving booster shots until all eligible Australians have received at least one vaccine dose. He adds that people who are immunosuppressed or in ultra-high risk categories are likely to be given priority for booster shots.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP ON IMMUNISATION

Federal government errors contributed to Ruby Princess disaster, report finds

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniella White
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 25-Aug-21

The Inspector-General of Biosecurity, Rob Delane, has completed a review of the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney that was caused by the arrival of the Ruby Princess cruise ship in March 2020. His report concluded that the federal Department of Agriculture’s failure to properly enforce biosecurity rules had contributed to the outbreak; amongst other things, biosecurity staff had not screened Ruby Princess passengers who were sick, and they were allowed to leave the ship after it arrived in Sydney. More than 663 passengers and crew subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, while 28 passengers died.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF BIOSECURITY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up slightly to 101.6 despite lockdown extensions in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Aug-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 0.5pts to 101.6 on August 21/22, although it is still well below the 2021 weekly average of 109.4. Consumer Confidence is now only 8.9 points higher than the same week a year ago (92.7). Consumer Confidence is now lowest in Victoria and NSW just below the neutral level of 100. Consumer Confidence in Queensland is just above 100 while it is significantly higher in both Western Australia and South Australia at over 110. Now 29% (up 4ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 26% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. In addition, 35% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and only 14% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 12% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (up 5ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 35% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 33% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

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

Commonwealth announces financial support for childcare centres

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Katina Curtis, Sumeyya Ilanbey
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Aug-21

The federal government has announced new support measures for childcare centres and after-school care operators. Childcare centres in areas where state premiers have directed parents to keep children at home or that have been under lockdown for more than four weeks will receive 25 per cent of pre-pandemic revenue, along with the fee subsidies they would usually get if all children were in attendance; after-school care operators will get 40 per cent of pre-pandemic revenue. The new measures have been welcomed by the Australian Childcare Alliance and the Outside School Hours Council of Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHILDCARE ALLIANCE INCORPORATED, OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

PM’s blast for slow-jab states

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged state leaders to support the federal government’s four-stage plan for reopening the economy. He has reiterated that restrictions must be eased when 70-80 per cent of the nation’s population has been fully vaccinated, while he has warned that Australians must live with COVID-19. However, there are concerns that some states are falling behind in meeting the vaccination threshold targets; based on current figures, Western Australia is unlikely to achieve a full vaccination rate of 80 per cent until late November, while Queensland will not do so until late December.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Doherty target risks death of 25,000 people

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-21

The federal government’s plan to reopen the economy once 80 per cent of Australians aged 16+ have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is based on advice from the Doherty Institute. However, a group of economists and medical researchers has warned that this threshold is too low; they contend that the government should instead aim to fully vaccinate 90 per cent of Australians, including children. Australian National University economics professor Quentin Grafton says that retaining the 80 per cent threshold could potentially result in 25,000 deaths from COVID-19 and some 270,000 cases of so-called ‘long Covid’.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. PETER DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Australia to resettle thousands upon thousands of Afghans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rob Harris
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that the federal government will look to resettle "thousands upon thousands" of Afghans, in recognition of their efforts in standing with Australian forces in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. He said the national security committee of cabinet is meeting daily to discuss the issue in Afghanistan, and that the government’s priority is to get Australian citizens, permanent residents and visa holders safely out of the country.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM urges Berejiklian to keep up the fight

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James O’Doherty, Angira Bharadwaj
The Daily Telegraph – Page: 5 : 20-Aug-21

New South Wales has recorded 681 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the state’s death toll from the current outbreak has risen to 61. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has conceded that the Delta variant means that achieving zero new cases in the community is unrealistic, and the nation will have to "learn to live with Delta" when 80 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated and the economy reopens. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has emphasised the importance of a suppression strategy in Sydney, arguing that the lockdown must work. The state government has extended the lockdown in regional NSW until 28 August, in line with the Greater Sydney lockdown.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET