O75 Public Administration

WHSmith admits underpaying 1500 workers by $2.2 million

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: Online : 6-Nov-20

WHSmith Australia has agreed to an enforceable undertaking after admitting that its employees had been underpaid some $2.2m between October 2013 and April 2019. The underpayment affected about 1,500 employees of the retailer, which has provided backpay totalling $2.257m to past and present staff. The company, which reported the underpayment to the Fair Work Ombudsman, will also make a ‘contrition payment’ of $50,000.

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WH SMITH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

‘CFMEU totally dysfunctional’: O’Connor quits

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Nov-20

Michael O’Connor has resigned as national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. O’Connor has attributed his departure to disunity caused by the ongoing fallout from a dispute with John Setka, the head of the union’s Victorian division. He says the CFMMEU is no longer united in purpose, and people within the organisation are not willing to work together or act in the interests of the union and its members. His departure is likely to strengthen the influence of Setka within the CFMMEU.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Spy charges for man tied to Communist Party

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Original article by Ben Packham, Tessa Akerman, Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-20

A 65-year-old Melbourne resident has become the first person to be charged under the federal government’s foreign interference laws. Di Sanh Duong, who is also known as Sunny Duong, faces up to 10 years’ jail if he is convicted under laws that were introduced in 2018. Duong is the president of Oceania Federation of Chinese Associations, and he is a member of several organisations that are believed to have links to the Chinese Communist Party.

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OCEANIA FEDERATION OF CHINESE ASSOCIATIONS, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Find another market other than China, exporters warned

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Original article by Will Glasgow, Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-20

Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has asked the Chinese government to clarify whether it does intend to impose new bans on Australian imports, after media reports in China appeared to confirm this. Meanwhile, federal government officials have discussed the potential ban during a telephone briefing with representatives from the agricultural industry, one of the sectors that would be amongst the hardest hit by such a ban. Participants in the briefing say they were advised to find alternative export markets.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Hotel handed $500k to quarantine no one

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 11 : 6-Nov-20

The Victorian government’s handling of its hotel quarantine program has come under renewed scrutiny. It has been revealed that the Sands Golf Resort in Torquay was paid $511,500 to house returned travellers under two state government contracts. However, the resort was not used as a quarantine hotel, and the Chinese-linked company that owned it subsequently went into administration. The company was also sanctioned for visa fraud less than a week before it was awarded the first government contract. The inquiry into the quarantine program will release its interim report on 6 November.

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Victorian aged care homes in clear

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Original article by Alex White
Herald Sun – Page: 15 : 6-Nov-20

Victoria has recorded its sixth consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases, while the number of active cases across the state has fallen to 20. The Department of Health & Human Services has also confirmed that there are no active cases in the state’s aged-care sector for the first time since mid-June. The state government is still preparing to further ease lockdown restrictions on 8 November, but it has reiterated the need to keep wearing face masks in public. Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien contends that face masks may not be necessary in open spaces, and he says Victoria should adopt New South Wales coronavirus restrictions. There are 41 active COVID-19 cases in NSW.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

Unemployment virtually unchanged in October at 12.8% – but up 2.5% to 14.6% in locked down Victoria

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-20

Latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows 1.81 million Australians unemployed (12.8% of the workforce), down 18,000 from September. There were fewer people looking for part-time work, down 76,000 to 1,020,000 but there was an increase of 58,000 people looking for full-time work to 790,000. In Victoria unemployment was up 2.5% to 14.6% – the highest of any mainland State as the strict lockdown continued in Melbourne until the last few days of the month. On raw numbers unemployment in Victoria was up 101,000 to 560,000 and under-employment increased 109,000 to 438,000 – almost 1 million unemployed or under-employed (26.1%).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Biden time for divided US

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 6-Nov-20

Democrats candidate Joe Biden has signalled that signing the Paris Agreement on climate change will be a key priority if he wins the presidential election. The US withdrew from the agreement under President Donald Trump, who has launched a legal challenge to the election results in several key swing states. Biden has yet to declare victory, but he only needs to win one of the states of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia or North Carolina to reach the threshold of 270 electoral college votes, while Trump must win all four states.

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DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

China spat puts $149bn trade at risk

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Original article by Will Glasgow, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Nov-20

There is growing concern that the Chinese government is set to impose bans on more Australian imports. Wine producers have become the latest casualty of escalating tensions between the two nations, with Chinese customs officials preventing them from exhibiting at the China International Import Expo. The lobster industry has also been targeted, with a shipment worth more than $2m having to be destroyed after it was delayed at a Chinese airport. Unconfirmed media reports in China have suggested that a widespread ban on Australian imports – including coal, copper and sugar – will take effect on 6 November.

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Masks here to stay, says Dan Andrews

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Original article by Kieran Rooney
Herald Sun – Page: 14 : 5-Nov-20

Victoria has recorded five consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases; there are now just 30 active cases across the state, and Melbourne’s 14-day rolling average of new cases has fallen to 1.7. Premier Daniel Andrews says the state government is on track to announce a further easing of lockdown restrictions on 8 November. However, he has cautioned that wearing a face mask in public places is likely to remain mandatory in the near-term, arguing that Victorians must not become complacent. Meanwhile, there are 49 active locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in NSW.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET