O75 Public Administration

Premiers’ $3bn blow to tourism

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 24-Dec-20

Modelling shows that the tourism sector will be hard hit by moves by state governments to close their borders to travellers from New South Wales during the Christmas holiday period. The modelling undertaken by Stafford Strategy on behalf of the Tourism & Transport Forum shows that Australians are set to spend about $2.6bn between 24 December and 11 January, compared with the annual average of around $5.5bn for the period. Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan says state borders should be re-opened as soon as possible to support the domestic tourism industry, while TTF CEO Margy Osmond warns that the sector will need ongoing government support.

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STAFFORD STRATEGY,TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM AUSTRALIA,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Tax Office to review rejected JobKeeper bids

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Dec-20

Karen Payne, the Inspector-General of Taxation & Taxation Ombudsman, has found that some businesses may have been unfairly denied coronavirus assistance by the Australian Taxation Office. As a result of her findings, the ATO will re-evaluate rejected applications for business cashflow payments and the $90 billion JobKeeper program. However, despite her findings, Payne and professional bodies such as the Institute of Public Accountants have praised the ATO for the way in which it quickly implemented government assistance programs during the pandemic.

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AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION AND TAXATION OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence ends 2020 on a high – up 5.1pts to 112.0 in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Dec-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence rose 5.1pts to 112.0 in December, and it is edging closer to its historical average of around 120. Consumers’ perceptions of their current financial situation rose 3 pts to +4, while a net 25% of consumers expect to be better off financially this time next year, down 2 points. Meanwhile, a net 18% of consumers think it is a good time to buy a major household item, up 7 points. Perceptions regarding the next year’s economic outlook lifted 12 points to -6%, and the five-year outlook rose 3 points to +18%.

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

Covid laggards beat Aussies to top of the class for economic performance

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 6 : 21-Dec-20

Data from the OECD shows that Australia’s real GDP contracted by 4.2 per cent over the first nine months of 2020. In contrast, real GDP in the US and Brazil declined by just 3.5 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively during this period, despite the fact that they have been hit much harder by COVID-19 case numbers and deaths. The economies of many countries also rebounded more quickly in the September quarter than Australia, despite having been hit harder in the June quarter. Elliot Clarke of Westpac attributes this to Australia’s tougher lockdown restrictions and the second wave in Victoria.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Christmas clampdown: NSW limits gatherings as 30 new COVID cases reported

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Original article by Calla Wahlquist, Graham Readfearn
The New Daily – Page: Online : 21-Dec-20

The New South Wales government has issued a stay-at-home order for residents of Sydney’s northern beaches local government area, after the region’s COVID-19 cluster rose to 68. The government has also restricted household gatherings across metropolitan Sydney to 10 people and reintroduced density limits for hospitality venues and places of worship. The government has also urged Sydney residents to wear face masks in public places, although this is not yet mandatory.

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State on verge of superspread disaster: expert

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Dec-20

University of New South Wales epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre says the state government should impose a lockdown across metropolitan Sydney if the northern beaches cluster worsens on 21 December. Professor MacIntyre warns that New Year’s Eve could become a major ‘superspreader’ event, as people who contract the coronavirus on Christmas Day will be at their most infectious six days later. She contends that a short, sharp lockdown across Sydney could avoid a major outbreak and much harsher restrictions in the new year.

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UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up 1.9pts to 111.2 as Australians become more confident about their personal finances

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Dec-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 1.9pts to 111.2 on December 12/13. It is now 15.4pts above the 2020 weekly average of 95.8 and 3.2pts higher than a year ago (108.0). This is the highest Consumer Confidence has been since Melbourne Cup weekend in 2019 (113.5). Now 27% (up 3ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 28% (down 3ppts), say their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest figure for this indicator since March 14/15). In addition, 41% (up 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the highest figure for this indicator since February 15/16), and 15% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Some 19% (up 2ppts) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months (the highest figure for this indicator since March), while 20% (down 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’ (the lowest figure for this indicator since November 2010). Meanwhile, 43% (unchanged) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the equal highest figure for this indicator since February 8/9), while 25% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the equal lowest figure for this indicator for nine months).

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

Age divide in queue for Covid vaccine

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Original article by Sue Dunlevy
Herald Sun – Page: 13 : 16-Dec-20

The federal government will compile the list of people who will be given priority in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine when it releases expert advice on the roll-out strategy in late January. However, frontline health workers and aged-care staff will be the first to receive a vaccine. The government will also prioritise people based on age, with the nation’s population to be divided into 12 age brackets. People aged 70+ will receive a vaccine first, followed by those in the 65-70 age group. The rest of the population will be divided into five-year increment age groups. The UK has adopted a similar strategy for its COVID-19 vaccination program.

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Union calls for minimum wage for fruit pickers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Dec-20

The Australian Workers’ Union will push for changes to the Horticulture Award to address the issue of wage exploitation in the sector. The ASU has applied to the Fair Work Commission to vary the industry award to include a wage floor for seasonal farm workers. The union’s proposal would provide a guaranteed minimum wage of $24.80 an hour, although piece rates would still be allowed. A recent investigation found that some fruit-pickers in the in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales were being paid just $3 an hour.

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AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

China accuses Australia of playing the victim and politicising trade, says coal ban is responsible act

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 16-Dec-20

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to growing criticism of its sanctions against some imports from Australia. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the ministry, has used a press conference in Beijing to stress that the recent action taken by the nation’s authorities is in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as international practice. He has also described it as a "responsible act" for Chinese industries and consumers. Coal appears to be the latest commodity to be hit by Chinese restrictions, which have also affected products such as wine, beef, timber and barley.

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CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE