O75 Public Administration

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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Congress defies mob

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 8-Jan-21

A state of emergency remains in place in Washington until Joe Biden’s inauguration on 20 January after a day of violence that saw supporters of Donald Trump storm the US Capitol, with the attack having been incited by Trump. One protestor was shot inside the Capitol and later died, while three other protestors died as a result of medical emergencies. Once the Capitol was cleared, Congress continued its counting of Electoral College votes, formally certifing Biden as US president in an early morning sitting. Biden said the attack bordered on sedition, while former Republican president George W. Bush condemned the protestors and the politicians who "inflamed them".

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Australia demands WHO entry to China without delay

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Jan-21

A delegation from the World Health Organisation was due to depart in early January on a visit to China to investigate the origins of COVID-19. However, there have been delays in China in issuing their permits, which has prompted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu say he was "very disappointed", while Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has called on China to allow the entry of the WHO delegation "without delay". Australia led the call for an independent investigation into the COVID-19, and it has been suggested this was a major factor in China’s ongoing retaliatory trade action against Australia.

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Warnock projected to defeat Loeffler in Georgia, moving Democrats closer to control of Senate

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Original article by Hannah Mio
cnbc.com – Page: Online : 7-Jan-21

Democrat Raphael Warnock has won the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff according to NBN projections; he would be the first Black Senator elected in Georgia if his victory is confirmed. Democrat Jon Ossoff was leading Republican Senator David Perduff in the other runoff with 98 per cent of the expected vote counted. If Ossoff wins, the Senate will be equally split between Republicans and Democrats, giving Vice-President elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. An earlier ABC News exit poll had indicated the Georgia vote would be tight, with voters evenly divided on preferred control of the Senate

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Spending holds up despite outbreaks

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Jan-21

Spending by ANZ cardholders increased by 6 per cent in December over November, with spending by Victorian cardholders up nearly five per cent and spending in New South Wales up two per cent. Spending by South Australian cardholders rose by 16 per cent, while Queensland spending was up 10 per cent. Spending on entertainment was up almost 25 per cent, while spending on accommodation was up 20 per cent.

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AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Donald Trump supporters clash with police, sending US Capitol into lockdown as Congress counts votes

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Original article by Peter Marsh
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 7-Jan-21

The US Capitol has been placed into lockdown after a rally by President Donald Trump prompted his supporters to storm it. Congress was in the process of counting the Electoral College votes to confirm Joe Biden’s presidential victory, while Vice President Mike Pence had earlier defied Trump’s push to have the election result overturned. Trump has tweeted for his supporters to "stay peaceful", while there are reports that guns have been drawn inside the House of Representatives.

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PM rejects election drive as Labor clears deck for early poll

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jan-21

A recent newspaper article has claimed that most Coalition MPs are expecting a federal election to be held between August and November. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on 5 January that his view on the government going full term had not changed, with Morrison noting the election is not due until 2022. He said he had enough to do in 2021 in dealing with the pandemic and helping the economy to recover to think about an election. Having recently shelved former leader Bill Shorten’s controversial franking credit policies, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has arguably put Labor on an "early election footing"

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Julian Assange’s lawyers fear offer to return to Australia would result in extradition

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 6-Jan-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could return to Australia if a US appeal against a UK judge’s decision not to extradite him to the US fails. However, lawyers for Assange claim the US could simply seek to have him extradited from Australia if he chose to return to the country of his birth, and they have called on Australia to ask the US to drop its case against him entirely. Were Assange to be extradited to the US at some point, he would be facing charges that carry a maximum penalty of up to 175 years in prison.

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WIKILEAKS