O75 Public Administration

IMF spurs debate on JobKeeper extension

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Original article by Steve Jackson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Apr-21

The International Monetary Fund’s latest economic outlook report highlights the role that job-retention schemes have played in supporting nations’ economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Washington DC-based agency has also cautioned against winding back such measures too soon. Grattan Institute CEO Danielle Wood contends that the federal government’s fiscal capacity is sufficient to have maintained the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, which ended on 28 March. She notes that some sectors are still struggling in the wake of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

ALP’s return to olden days of IR

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 7 : 3-Apr-21

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says Labor’s proposed industrial relations policy would "seriously undermine" the nation’s economic recovery. Amongst other things, Labor intends to abolish the Australian Building & Construction Commission and scrap the government’s building code if it wins the next federal election. Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash notes that the ABCC has recovered more than $2.7m in wages and entitlements for some 4,200 employees since it was reinstated in 2016, while it has secured $12.7m in penalties for breaches of workplace laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence down by 2.3pts to 110.8 in March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Apr-21

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence fell 2.3pts to 110.8 in March, stopping slightly short of its historical average of 120. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation rose 5 points to +3%, while a net 30% of consumers expect to be better off financially this time next year, up 3 points. Meanwhile, a net 14% of consumers think it is a good time to buy a major household item, down 6 points. Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook fell 9 points to -7%; the five-year outlook fell 5 points to +15%. CPI inflation expectations eased 0.6%pts to 4.0%, still quite a high read but a significant step towards more normal levels than have been seen in recent months.

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

AstraZeneca vaccine program unlikely to be shelved – Clot risk not high enough

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Original article by Tamsin Rose, Kieran Rooney
Herald Sun – Page: 11 : 6-Apr-21

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will meet on 7 April to discuss the future rollout of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. A 44-year-old Melbourne man was recently admitted to hospital with a rare blood clotting condition after receiving the vaccine. Acting Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd says it is "likely" that the case is linked to the vaccine, but he adds that there is no evidence to suggest that the risk is sufficiently high to halt the rollout. Kidd stresses that the vaccination program is necessary as Australia will remain vulnerable to future outbreaks, particularly as its international borders re-open.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP ON IMMUNISATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, ASTRAZENECA PLC

Breaking silence on ATO

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 1-Apr-21

Businessman John Dahlsen has revealed the onerous demands that the Australian Taxation Office makes on the nation’s 500 largest private companies. The owner of Victoria-based building materials supplier Dahlsens estimates that complying with the ATO’s request for information about its operations would require the company to submit about 1,000 pages of documentation. The ATO also wants this information to be provided within 27 working days. Dahlsen says the ATO’s implied threat that it will subject companies to audits if they fail to supply all requested information is an abuse of power and process.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DAHLSENS BUILDING CENTRES

Gig workers, truckie safety, industrial deaths on Labor’s agenda

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 1-Apr-21

Delegates at Labor’s two-day national conference have backed key measures in the party’s industrial relations platform, including minimum entitlements for workers in the gig economy and the introduction of national industrial manslaughter laws. Labor will also abolish the Australian Building & Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission if it wins the next federal election, and scrap the government’s building code and union demerge laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Bluesfest cancelled, restrictions for Byron Bay after man tests positive

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Original article by Mary Ward, Sarah McPhee
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-Apr-21

New South Wales has recorded its first locally-acquired COVID-19 case in 14 days, after a Byron Bay resident tested positive. The man had attended the same venue that hosted a bachelorette party which has been linked to one of the Brisbane clusters. The NSW government has responded by cancelling Byron Bay’s popular Bluesfest music festival and reimposing coronavirus restrictions across four shires in the region. Bluesfest organisers had hoped to attract over 16,000 music fans on each day of the event, which had also been cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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Thousand in isolation as Qld cluster grows

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Original article by Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 7 : 1-Apr-21

Queensland has recorded two new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours; both are linked to Brisbane’s second cluster, which has increased to 11. The new cases are a nurse at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital and her housemate. The nurse is one of two healthcare workers who have contracted the virus from an international traveller who had arrived in Brisbane from India. One new COVID-19 case has also been reported in hotel quarantine in Queensland. The state government will make a decision on whether to end Greater Brisbane’s three-day lockdown at 9am on 1 April. At present the lockdown is scheduled to end at 5pm.

CORPORATES
PRINCESS ALEXANDRA HOSPITAL

Australian Greens to propose 6% wealth tax on billionaires to combat inequality

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Mar-21

The Greens will call for 700 per cent of Australia’s energy needs to be produced from renewable energy sources as part of their ‘Fight for the Future’ policy. The policy also calls for a six per cent wealth tax on billionaires, for public schools, universities and Tafe to be free, and for a jobs and income guarantee. The proposed wealth tax would see mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest hit with tax increases of $2.2 billion and $586 million respectively, while the Greens will urge voters to elect a minority Labor government and give them the balance of power in both houses of parliament at the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Mine export surge holds up economy

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 29-Mar-21

The federal government expects the value of Australia’s resources and energy exports to top $296bn in 2020-21, after a record $291bn in the previous financial year. The surge in export earnings will be driven by iron ore; the Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources now expects iron ore earnings to total $136bn, compared with its forecast in December of $123bn for the financial year. However, exports of LNG, thermal coal and coking coal are forecast to be lower in 2020-21. The record resources and energy exports will boost the Budget bottom line, with the full-year deficit now expected to be $150bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES