O75 Public Administration

Thousands face income hit as disaster payments are cut: UNSW

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Original article by Shane Wright
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

Research conducted by the University of New South Wales and the Australian Council of Social Service contends that many people in electorates across Melbourne and western Sydney will be adversely impacted by cuts to COVID-related disaster payments. The cuts are due to begin when 70 per cent vaccination targets are met, which is due to happen in NSW as soon as 11 October. The research contends that ending the payments will push thousands back into poverty, and could harm the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence down by 5.1pts to 104.5 in September – lowest for a year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence fell 5.1pts to 104.5 in September. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation fell 5 points to +7%, while a net 24% of consumers expect to be better off this time next year, up 2 points. In addition, the proportion of people who believe it is a good time to buy a major household item fell 20 points to -7. Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook fell 8 points to -13%, while the five-year outlook rose 5 points to +12%. CPI inflation expectations were steady at 5.1%.

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

$700m a week wiped from Victorian economy

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Original article by Jade Gailberger, Sarah Booth
Herald Sun – Page: 6 & 7 : 4-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,220 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday, following a record 1,488 cases on the previous day. The state’s death toll from the pandemic has risen by three, and there are now 11,785 active cases state-wide. Meanwhile, Melbourne has now endured 246 days of lockdown since the pandemic began, overtaking the record previously held by Buenos Aires. It has been estimated that the lockdowns have cost the state’s economy about $700m per week. Melbourne will have been in lockdown for 267 days in total by 26 October, when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are expected to be fully vaccinated and the economy starts to reopen.

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Australian unemployment plummets to 8.7% in September – as lockdowns of over half of Australia’s population continue

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.27 million Australians were unemployed in September, down 97,000 on August, for an unemployment rate of 8.7%. Driving the fall was far fewer more people looking for part-time work (down 135,000 to 735,000) while there was an increase in people looking for full-time work (up 38,000 to 530,000). Some 1.16 million Australians (8.0% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work, a drop of 12,000 (down 0.2% points) from August. In total, 2.43 million Australians (16.7% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in September, a drop of 108,000 on August. Overall, total unemployment and under-employment was at its lowest since early March 2020 (2.16 million) just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, employment was up 267,000 to 13,308,000 in September, driven by an increase in part-time employment (up 273,000 to 4,660,000). In contrast, full-time employment was virtually unchanged at 8,648,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.7% for September is over 4% points higher than the current ABS estimate for August 2021 of 4.5%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Perrottet stitches up deal to be next NSW premier

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Oct-21

New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is set to succeed Gladys Berejiklian as state premier at a leadership ballot on 5 October. Planning Minister Rob Stokes is currently the only other contender, but sources have indicated that Perrottet has sufficient partyroom support to win the ballot. Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres is likely to become deputy premier, despite claims by Liberal insiders that Perrottet has a long-standing agreement for Environment Minister Matt Kean to run as his deputy. Kean is tipped to replace Perrottet in the treasury portfolio. The leadership change is not expected to affect the state’s schedule for reopening the economy.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Curse of ICAC claims Covid crusader Berejiklian

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Original article by Yoni Bashan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 2-Oct-21

Former prime ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull are among the Liberal Party identities who have praised Gladys Berejiklian following her resignation as premier of New South Wales. Berejiklian is the state’s third premier to be forced to resign by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, after it announced that she would be investigated over a ‘breach of public trust’. Berejiklian’s relationship with disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire will come under scrutiny by ICAC. Berejiklian has criticised the timing of the investigation, given the COVID-19 pandemic, but says she had no choice but to resign. She will also exit state politics after 19 years in parliament.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Lockdowns no barrier to budget tax jump

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Original article by John Kehoe, Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Oct-21

The federal government has advised that the Budget deficit blew out to a record $134.2bn in 2020-21, although this is well below the government’s worst-case scenario forecasts. Meanwhile, data from the Department of Finance shows that the underlying cash deficit for the first two months of 2021-21 was $22bn, compared with a forecast of $28.1bn in the Budget in May. Government revenue for the period was $12.1bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, with higher-than-expected revenue from personal and company taxes.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Submarine jobs will be sent offshore under nuclear deal with US and UK, defence suppliers say

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Original article by Andrew Greene
abc.net au – Page: Online : 1-Oct-21

The federal government’s now cancelled $90 billion submarine contract with the French called for a commitment to 60 per cent of the work being done by local suppliers. With that deal now replaced by one with the US and UK that will see Australia get nuclear-powered submarines, the local defence industry is calling for a similar commitment. However, there are suggestions that the government’s focus has shifted from local industry to getting the submarines built quickly, prompting concerns that local submarine jobs will be sent overseas.

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Hydroxychloroquine sales spiked almost 100% in Australia at start of Covid pandemic, study finds

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Original article by Donna Lu
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 1-Oct-21

Australian researchers have reported that there was a 99 per cent increase in hydroxychloroquine dispensing in March 2020. The surge came at a time when it was being touted by people such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk as being effective against COVID-19, despite there being no evidence of this. They also found that new use of ivermectin doubled in May 2020, even though studies that suggest it can effectively treat COVID-19 have not held up under careful scrutiny.

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Victoria’s exit from lockdown could be delayed if grand final case spike becomes trend

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 1-Oct-21

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says "some poor choices" resulted in the state reporting a record 1,438 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. He has not ruled out pushing back the scheduled date for relaxing Melbourne’s lockdown restrictions if case numbers and hospitalisation rates continue to rise. Contact-tracing interviews suggest that about 500 of the new cases may be linked to illegal home gatherings on the AFL grand final long weekend. COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar has warned that the ‘superspreader’ event could potentially see case numbers reach the upper limit of modelling by the Burnet Institute, which formed the basis for the state government’s reopening roadmap. Victoria’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen by five, and there are now 11,018 active cases state-wide.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET