O75 Public Administration

Andrews sets date to reveal his post-shutdown plans for Victoria

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Sep-20

Premier Daniel Andrews will outline a ‘roadmap’ for easing Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions on 6 September. However, he says another week of daily case numbers will be needed before any decisions are made about which restrictions can be relaxed from 13 September. Victoria reported 73 new coronavirus cases on 31 August, the lowest daily total in eight weeks. The state has reported an additional 41 deaths from the respiratory illness; 33 of these deaths occurred in aged-care facilities in recent weeks but had not previously been reported to health authorities. Victoria’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 565, and the national toll is now 652.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Australian TV presenter Cheng Lei detained in China

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Sep-20

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has confirmed that Australian television journalist Cheng Lei has been detained by Chinese authorities. Payne says official notification of Cheng’s detention was received on 14 August, and that Australian officials spoke to her via video link at a detention centre on 27 August. The Australian citizen works for Chinese state-run broadcaster CGTN. The reason for her detention and the charges she faces are not yet known.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, CGTN

Working at home becomes flexible

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Sep-20

Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross says the growth in telecommuting has been one of the most significant changes to working arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. He notes that the majority of modern industrial awards do not expressly include provision for working from home. Ross has released a model flexibility schedule that could potentially be inserted in some awards. Amongst other things, employees would be able to ask to work the same hours over fewer days, ‘buy’ additional leave or take twice as much leave at half-pay. Meanwhile, casual workers would be able to request flexible working arrangements after six months of ‘regular and systematic’ employment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Migration, tax reform key to revival

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-20

The Australian Industry Group has urged the federal government to pursue major changes to the nation’s tax system. The employers’ group says long-term tax reform measures should include an overhaul of the goods and services tax, the abolition of mining royalties and replacing fuel excise with road-user charges. It has also called for scheduled personal income tax cuts to be brought forward and business income tax relief to be extended. The AiGroup also wants the migrant cap to be increased, with priority given to skilled migrants.

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THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Labor likely to hold on in NT but must wait

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Original article by Amos Aikman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Aug-20

The Northern Territory’s Chief Minister Michael Gunner is confident of retaining office following the election on 22 August. Gunner’s Labor party seems set to win at least 11 of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly, while the Country Liberal Party appears to have won three seats to date; another two seats have been provisionally awarded to independents. With 10 seats still in doubt, it remains uncertain as to whether Labor will win outright or will have to seek a coalition arrangement. CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro has not yet conceded defeat.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNTRY LIBERAL PARTY

Border closures could become illegal

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Original article by Natasha Boddy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-20

Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin University says a decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases could prompt a review of state border closures within weeks. Western Australia and Queensland are among the states that want hard border closures to be maintained, while Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews concedes that it will be some time before the state can argue the case for other jurisdictions to relax their border controls. Swinburne University’s Professor Bruce Thompson says the legality of border closures may be called into question if case numbers keep falling.

CORPORATES
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

L-NP (54%) widens lead over ALP (46%) in mid-August as Victoria and NSW grapple with second wave of COVID-19

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-20

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says support for the L-NP Federal Government (54%) is at its equal highest since the 2019 Federal Election, now well ahead of the ALP (46%) on a two-party preferred basis. Support for the LN-P has risen strongly in South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The second wave of COVID-19 which began in Melbourne with a breach of hotel quarantine in late May has led to a Stage 4 lockdown in the city since early August with mandatory mask wearing enforced throughout Victoria for all residents. The good news is that since the Stage 4 lockdown began new cases of the virus have dropped significantly and are now at their lowest since early July. Looking forward, the extension of the JobKeeper and JobSeeker support packages until March 2021 has provided certainty to businesses dealing with the ongoing impact of the pandemic, and the example of NSW over the last seven weeks shows that the virus can be successfully managed.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

China’s great science swindle

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Original article by Sharri Markson, Kykar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Aug-20

Andrew Hastie has called for a parliamentary investigation into China’s Thousand Talents Plan. The research scheme sees Australian scientists offered good second salaries and attractive perks, but requires any inventions developed under it to be patented in China and for the scientists to abide by Chinese law. FBI director Christopher Wray has described the Thousand Talents Plan as "economic espionage" and a threat to national security, while Hastie, chair of federal parliament’s joint ­intelligence committee, says the revelations regarding the scheme show how Australian research and intellectual property is being "plundered by the CCP".

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Morrison wins crossbench support for jobs plans

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Aug-20

Centre Alliance will back the federal government’s push to extend temporary changes to the Fair Work Act which allow bosses to vary the hours an employee works and the duties they perform. One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has signalled that he is also likely to side with the government, which would require only one more crossbench vote in the Senate. The industrial relations changes are linked to the government’s revised JobKeeper scheme. The bill will be put before parliament within days.

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CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY

Victoria: State of confidence but virus is stubborn

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 5 : 24-Aug-20

Victoria reported 208 new coronavirus cases on 23 August, after case numbers remained below 200 on each of the two previous days. The state’s seven-day daily average has fallen to 218, its lowest level since mid-July. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is optimistic that daily case numbers will not return to the 300-400 range, while Premier Daniel Andrews has warned against complacency in the final weeks of Melbourne’s stage-four lockdown. Victoria’s death toll has risen by 17 to 415; and the national toll is now 502.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES