O75 Public Administration

No-go zones: a nation divided

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Jan-21

Business leaders have criticised Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan after he acknowledged that the state is pursuing an elimination strategy for COVID-19. This is at odds with the national cabinet, which adopted a suppression strategy in 2020. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says an elimination strategy will merely "kill investment and job creation", while Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong has warned that an elimination strategy would destroy the economic recovery. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian contends that the total elimination of COVID-19 is impossible while Australians continue to return from overseas, adding that the goal should be zero community transmission.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

WA flags battle over GST split

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-Jan-21

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan says other states and the federal government must not seek to change the existing arrangement for distributing goods and services tax revenue. WA’s share of GST revenue is currently $0.70 in the dollar, having fallen to a low of about $0.30 in the dollar during the last mining boom. New South Wales in particular has criticised the GST equalisation deal, but McGowan argues that NSW now receives more than $0.90 in the dollar from GST revenue. He has also urged the federal government to resolve the ongoing trade tensions with China.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Coronavirus restrictions tipped to stay in Australia until mid-2022

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Original article by Josh Butler
The New Daily – Page: Online : 11-Jan-21

Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon has warned that Australians should expect to be subject to COVID-19 restrictions until at least the end of 2021. He adds that restrictions could potentially be in place for up to two years if governments adopt an elimination strategy. He also says that further restrictions may be necessary during the coming winter months, as the coronavirus spread more and survives for longer in colder weather. There is also uncertainty about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines that the federal government has committed to buying.

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Tax bonus eases pain of lockdown

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Original article by Sid Maher, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Jan-21

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government delivered some $7bn worth of tax cuts to Australian workers in the second half of 2020. This includes about $1.1bn under the stage-two tax cuts and $5.9bn via the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset. Treasury estimates that the tax cuts will boost GDP by around $3.5bn in 2020-21. The tax relief is likely to have contributed to a surge in retail spending during the half-year, despite the impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Citigroup expects consumer spending to have risen by seven per cent in November, with data to be released on 11 January.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Berejiklian slams Andrews over hasty border shutdown

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 11-Jan-21

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged other states to consult with her government before closing their borders in the future. Victoria’s border with NSW remains closed, and Premier Daniel Andrews has yet to set a firm date for lifting the restrictions. This is despite the fact that NSW recorded just three new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on 10 January, while just 10 new cases among returned travellers in hotel quarantine were recorded nationwide. There are now 199 active cases in NSW, 45 in Victoria, 21 in the Northern Territory, 20 in Queensland, 15 in South Australia and 15 in Western Australia.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Qld govt refuses to reveal whether harsh restrictions will be lifted

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Original article by Hayden Johnson
The Courier-Mail – Page: 4 & 5 : 11-Jan-21

The three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane is slated to end at 6pm on 11 January, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has not yet committed to lifting the restrictions. The snap lockdown was imposed after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19; two returned travellers in quarantine at the hotel have also been diagnosed with the mutated variant of the coronavirus. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the latest COVID-19 numbers will determine the government’s next move. Queensland has recorded two consecutive days with no new cases.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND HEALTH

China trade rises to $208bn despite feud

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Jan-21

Two-way goods trade between Australia and China hit $208.8 billion over the 11 months to November, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 7 January. The figure is higher than the comparable period in 2019, despite the increasingly strained relationship between the two countries. Imports from China over the subject period increased by five per cent to $76.3 billion, while Australian exports to China rose to $132.5 billion. The value of iron ore shipments fell by two per cent in November, while LNG sales were up eight per cent.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

States push for masks on local flights

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 8-Jan-21

A proposal to make mask wearing mandatory on domestic flights and in airports will be discussed at an emergency national cabinet meeting on 8 January. The proposal is one of a number of measures aimed at preventing a mutant strain of the coronavirus that has originated from the UK from spreading throughout Australia. Other measures to be discussed include daily testing of hotel quarantine staff and compulsory pre-flight screening of passengers. A survey conducted by the Australian Airports Association in December found that around 88 per cent of people supported mandatory masks in international terminals, while 82 per cent supported pre-flight screening.

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AUSTRALIAN AIRPORTS ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Crop losses from labour shortages hit $39m

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: Online : 8-Jan-21

The updated National Crop Loss Register has revealed that farmers have lost at least $39 million in crops as a result of labour shortages due to the pandemic and closed international and domestic borders. Berries accounted for 55 per cent of losses, while Queensland recorded the worst losses among the states. Richard Shannon from Growcom, which runs the Register for the National Farmers Federation, says urgent action is needed to expand capacity to safely bring in Pacific Islanders and East Timorese into Australia to take up job offers. Shannon also says the agricultural sector needs to reduce its reliance on backpackers.

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GROWCOM, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED

PM fast-tracks vaccine rollout for frontline workers

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jan-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 7 January that Australians will start getting the COVID-19 vaccine from mid- to late February. Quarantine, border and frontline healthcare workers will be the first to get the vaccine, with Morrison saying around 80,000 people a week will initially receive it. The government has set a target of having four million people receive the vaccine by the end of March, with that figure to include around 500,000 aged and disability care residents and staff.

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