O75 Public Administration

Australia ranks last for climate action among UN member countries

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Original article by Lisa Cox
The Guardian – Page: Online : 2-Jul-21

Australia Institute climate expert Richie Merzian says he is not surprised that Australia has been ranked last in a survey of 193 members of the United Nations in terms of action taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He says the federal government has no climate and energy policy, instead preferring to cherry-pick technologies, many of which support the fossil fuel industry. Australia’s last-place ranking on climate action was contained in a report on progress towards global sustainable development goals, with Australia ranking 35th in that area.

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THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, UNITED NATIONS

Fewer than 8% of Australian adults fully vaccinated four months into Covid rollout

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 2-Jul-21

New data from the federal government shows that just 1.63 million Australians aged 16+ (7.92 per cent) have received both doses of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to date. Some 6.11 million (about 30%) have had their first dose since the vaccine rollout began in late February. The figures also show that despite being a priority in the rollout, the proportion of older Australians who are fully vaccinated remains low. This varies from 38.4 per cent of people in the 95+ age group to 5.7 per cent of those aged 65-69. Epidemiologist Hassan Vally says the number of people aged 60+ who are fully vaccinated should rise sharply in coming weeks, due to the 12-week delay in receiving the second AstraZeneca dose.

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ASTRAZENECA PLC, PFIZER INCORPORATED

Current account surplus gives Australian economy breathing room, says Bank of America

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Original article by Michael Janda
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 2-Jul-21

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation has posted a trade surplus of $9.68bn for May, slightly below the record $9.87bn surplus in January. Exports rose by 6.1 per cent in May, amid continued strong demand for commodities such as iron ore. The steel input has been a key driver of Australia’s trade surpluses. Tony Morriss from Bank of America notes that while the iron ore price is widely tipped to fall, the decline may not be as sharp as anticipated, as the massive infrastructure program in the US will help to offset any fall in demand from China as that nation’s stimulus measures are wound back.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED

PM seeks deal to end lockdowns

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Original article by Greg Brown, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will try to get an agreement from the premiers and chief ministers on the vaccination threshold that needs to be met in order to end COVID-19 lockdowns when national cabinet meets on 2 July. Morrison says the "magic number" for this threshold will be determined by medical science. The national cabinet has already been given modelling for a vaccination threshold based on the Alpha variant, while modelling for one based on the more contagious Delta variant is understood to be nearly finished. Meanwhile, some premiers have called for a big reduction in the number of international arrivals until the majority of Australians have been vaccinated.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

D-Day for dud superannuation funds

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Jul-21

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume says the federal government’s new online tool aims to encourage superannuation fund members to exit underperforming funds. The YourSuper tool will be launched on 1 July, and will initially allow super fund members to rank and compare default funds based on their performance over six years. The tool will be expanded to include the majority of non-default funds in mid-2022. The tool can be accessed via the MyGov portal or the Australian Tax Office’s website. It is part of the ‘Your Future, Your Super’ reforms.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Taxes down, super up from today

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Jul-21

The corporate tax rate for small and medium enterprises with turnover of less than $50m will be reduced by one per cent to 25 per cent on 1 July. Other changes that take effect at the start of the new financial year include an extension of the low- and middle-income tax offset and an increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that the super change will boost the retirement income of the average worker by about $19,000. New measures aimed at first-home buyers also take effect on 1 July.

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THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

More than 100 patients and staff at two Sydney hospitals in isolation

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Original article by Lucy Caroll, Mary Ward
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-Jul-21

New South Wales has recorded 22 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, although 11 were self-isolating while they were infectious. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has welcomed the lack of a spike in case numbers, and says the state may be on track to lift the lockdown of Greater Sydney and nearby regions as scheduled on 9 July. An unvaccinated student nurse has also tested positive and will be included in the daily case numbers for 1 July; she worked at the Fairfield and Royal North Shore hospitals while she was infectious, prompting the state government to order patients and staff who may have come into contact with her to be tested and self-isolate. Meanwhile, Victoria has reported one new locally-acquired case, while there are three new cases in Queensland and one in Western Australia.

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Alice Springs locks down, Adelaide on edge

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Original article by Tom Burton, Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 1-Jul-21

The Northern Territory government has imposed a three-day lockdown for the Alice Springs local government area after a worker at the Tanami gold mine spent seven hours at the city’s airport before returning home to Adelaide. The man and four members of his family subsequently tested positive for the Delta variant of COVID-19, ending South Australia’s record of seven consecutive months with no locally-acquired cases. The man is not believed to have been infectious while he was at the airport, but NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner says the lockdown is necessary in order to protect vulnerable communities in the region. The SA government hopes the cluster can be contained without the need for a lockdown.

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NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER

Lower corporate taxes vital to growth

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Original article by Tom Dusevic
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Jun-21

The Business Council of Australia has released a discussion paper which calls for an overhaul of the nation’s tax system. The BCA contends that tax revenue is too heavily skewed toward the largest companies and the three per cent of individuals who pay the highest personal income tax, and the tax system must evolve in line with a changing economy. BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott says the 30 per cent company tax rate in particular needs to be reviewed, given that the OECD and the Group of Seven have proposed a global minimum corporate tax rate of just 15 per cent.

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BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GROUP OF SEVEN (G-7)

Movement in the Sydney CBD plunged last week – even before the city was placed into lockdown

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jun-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows that movement in the Sydney CBD plunged to only 26% of pre-pandemic averages last week – even before the city was placed into a two-week lockdown on the weekend. The average 7-day movement level in the Sydney CBD last week was at its lowest since early January, during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Beaches, and movement levels are set to fall further this week after the entire Sydney metropolitan area was placed into its first lockdown since mid-May 2020. Movement levels in the Melbourne CBD are recovering from the lockdown of the city in early June. Although restrictions on mask wearing and crowd gathering sizes remain, average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD had picked up to 18% of pre-COVID-19 averages last week, up from a low of 12% during the lockdown. The last few days have seen a flurry of new border restrictions introduced as new cases of COVID-19 have emerged in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Before the new restrictions introduced over the weekend, movement levels in other Capital City CBDs were at just under half of their pre-pandemic levels, led by the Adelaide CBD at 46% – the only mainland State yet to report a recent community case of COVID-19. In a close second place was the Perth CBD at 44% of pre-COVID-19 averages, ahead of Brisbane CBD (40%) and Hobart CBD (39%). 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