O75 Public Administration

Covid isolation rules may be cut to five days

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Jan-22

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg notes that some countries have reduced the isolation period for people with COVID-19 from 7-10 days to just five. He has not ruled out a similar move in Australia to help address a labour shortage in key sectors. Frydenberg says isolation rules are under constant review and stressed that health settings will remain "pragmatic and proportionate". Chief medical officer Paul Kelly concedes that shorter isolation periods would increase the risk of community transmission. Some state governments have already reduced the isolation period for people with the virus to seven days.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Liberals slam unions’ strike threat on rapid antigen tests

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Original article by Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 4 : 19-Jan-22

The federal government has criticised the ACTU for raising the prospect of strike action if workers are not given free rapid antigen tests. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned that industrial action at this stage of the pandemic would punish Australian families, while Health Minister Greg Hunt says the provision of free rapid tests across all sectors would "destroy" the supply chain. Frydenberg has also rejected claims that the government has adopted a ‘let it rip’ approach to COVID-19. Labor leader Anthony Albanese says businesses should not have to bear the cost of providing their employees with rapid antigen tests.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ICU numbers still much lower than Delta’s worst

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Jan-22

NSW had 131 people with COVID-19 in ICU on Thursday, while the state had 206,667 known active cases. The number of people in ICU is significantly down on the number of people that were in ICU in NSW hospitals at the peak of its Delta wave in September, when there were just 27,997 active cases and 242 in ICU. A similar decline can be seen in Victoria, which had 61,120 known active cases on Thursday and 51 people in ICU. At the height of its Delta wave in October, it had 25,035 active cases and 163 people in ICU.

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It’s ‘like a lockdown’: omicron chaos crippling business

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Original article by Hannah Wootton, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 7-Jan-22

Australia posted 72,392 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, along with 13 deaths. NSW recorded the most new cases, with 34,994, followed by Victoria, with 21,997. The record number of cases comes as businesses in a range of sectors are experiencing significant disruptions to their operations as a result of staff being sick or having to isolate. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he had spoken to the CEOs of Coles, Wesfarmers, Metcash and Woolworths in regard to supply chain and workforce problems, and that Treasury was relying on its National Co-ordination Mechanism to "resolve these issues". Business groups have compared the current chaos being caused by the surge in omicron cases as akin to being in lockdown, with confusion over new rules for testing and monitoring of cases only adding to the problem.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Border farce: court to rule on Djokovic visa

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Original article by Jamie Walker, Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Jan-22

Federal Court judge Anthony Kelly has issued an interim injunction against the federal government’s attempt to deport Novak Djokovic. The injunction means that the world’s number one men’s tennis player can remain in Australia until at least Monday, when the court will review Djokovic’s legal challenge against Australia’s border security rules and the cancellation of his visa for breaching vaccination orders. He will remain in hotel quarantine until his hearing is heard, with his lawyer Nick Wood stating the Australian Open would be hoping for a decision on whether Djokovic can stay in Australia by Tuesday, so it can reschedule the draw if necessary.

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FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australian social services department underpaid dozens of staff $400,000 over five years

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Original article by Luke Henriques-Gomes
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Dec-21

Documents released under freedom of information laws, show that a key federal government agency has admitted to underpaying its staff. The Department of Social Services self-reported the underpayments totalling more than $400,000 to the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Community & Public Sector Union contends that the Department had been aware of the underpayments in 2017 and had failed to address the issue until it was issued with a compliance notice by the FWO in July 2021. A total of 68 current and former employees of the Department’s communications services branch were affected by the underpayments.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine could be a game changer for anti-vaxxers

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Original article by Maria Bervanakis
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 22-Dec-21

The European Union has approved the use of Novavax’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18+. Protein-based vaccines have been safely used for decades, which may increase the vaccine take-up rate among people who have been hesitant about getting an mRNA-based vaccine like those of Pfizer and Moderna. Clinical trials have shown that the Novavax vaccine has an efficacy rate of around 90 per cent, with only mild or moderate side effects. The Australian government has ordered 51 million doses of the vaccine, which has yet to be approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

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NOVAVAX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION

China accuses Australia of violent interference in Five Eyes response to Hong Kong election

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Original article by Daniel Hurst, Vincent Ni
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Dec-21

Australia’s relationship with major trading partner China have become further strained in the wake of the recent election in Hong Kong. Australia and other members of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance issued a joint statement expressing concern about the outcome of the election, which will result in Hong Kong’s new legislature being dominated by pro-Beijing candidates. China has responded by strongly condemning the joint statement; it has also accused Australia of "violently" interfering in China’s internal affairs, while noting that Australia has in turn been highly critical of other countries for alleged foreign interference.

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Australia wrote to Naval Group noting progress on submarines a week before contract was cancelled

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Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Dec-21

The federal government’s decision to terminate a contract to buy French-designed conventional submarines has attracted renewed scrutiny. It has been revealed that the Department of Defence sent a three-page letter to Naval Group in early September in which it noted the successful completion of one of the six conditions for the government to move to the next stage of the $90bn project. The letter was sent just eight days before the government cancelled Naval Group’s contract and agreed to buy nuclear-powered submarines under a new defence alliance with the US and the UK.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, NAVAL GROUP

Call for calm: rampant Omicron not as severe

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Michael McKenna, Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Dec-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out the reintroduction of lockdowns to combat COVID-19, arguing that the nation must shift from a "culture of mandates" to a "culture of responsibility". The snap meeting of the national cabinet on Wednesday will receive updated modelling from the Doherty Institute; according to its worst-case scenario, about 200,000 people in Australia could become infected with the Omicron variant each day by late January unless action is taken to curb its spread. However, infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon says overseas evidence suggests that the new variant does not result in higher rates of hospitalisation or death than the Delta strain.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET