O75 Public Administration

Union roasting for Labor: you are out of step

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-20

The fallout from Joel Fitzgibbon’s resignation from federal Labor’s frontbench over the party’s stance on climate change is continuing. Labor MP Mark Dreyfus has accused Fitzgibbon of being "out of step" with regional Australians on environmental policy; however, former ACTU president Jennie George contends that the only people who are out of step are Labor MPs who have failed to note the outcome of the 2019 election, which saw voters reject Labor’s climate policies. Peter Jordan of the construction union says Fitzgibbon has merely been trying to get Labor back in touch with its traditional supporter base.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Victorian ALP (58.5%) streaks ahead of L-NP (41.5%). Premier Daniel Andrews approval jumps 12% to 71%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-20

A Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey on Victorian voting intention shows that the ALP’s two-party support has jumped 7% to 58.5% following the end of the state’s coronavirus lockdown, with the L-NP on 41.5%. Primary support for the ALP is now at 45%, up 5% points from four weeks ago and well ahead of the L-NP on 34.5%, down 5.5% points. Support for the Greens is up slightly to 11% (up 2% points) while support for Other Parties is down 0.5% to 5.5%. The survey also found that 71% of Victorian electors approve of the way Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his job (up 12% since mid-October), while 29% disapprove (down 12%). This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 818 electors aged 18+ on November 9 and 10.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Flu fatalities nosedive thanks to adherence to anti-virus measures

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Original article by Imogen Reid
The Australian – Page: 9 : 9-Nov-20

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid says coronavirus-induced international border closures is probably the main reason why the nation’s 2020 flu season was much less severe than usual. He adds that reduced social interaction, better hygiene and higher levels of vaccination also helped curb the spread of flu. Data from the Department of Health shows that Australia has recorded just 21,215 confirmed cases in the flu in 2020, compared with more than 300,000 in 2019. Likewise, just 36 deaths have been linked to flu, down from 943 during the 2019 flu season.

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Labor looks to amend JobMaker subsidy over concerns older workers could be sacked

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Original article by Katharine Murphy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Nov-20

Labor has yet to decide whether to support the federal government’s JobMaker hiring credit scheme, which will be debated in the Senate on 9 November. However, senior Labor sources have indicated that the Opposition will seek amendments to the draft legislation to ensure that employers cannot sack older staff and replace them with workers under the age of 35 in order to qualify for the subsidy. The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has called for labour hire firms to be excluded from the scheme, arguing that they could exploit loopholes in the draft legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION

Victoria whole again as ring of steel rusts away

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Original article by Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 9 : 9-Nov-20

Victoria has recorded nine consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases. Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a further easing of lockdown restrictions that took effect at 11.59pm on 8 November. Amongst other things, the 25km travel limit in Melbourne has been scrapped and residents will now be free to travel to regional Victoria. The number of patrons that hospitality venues can serve has been increased, while cultural venues such as libraries and museums can reopen with strict rules on the number of patrons. Lockdown measures will be further eased on 23 November, although Andrews says face masks are likely to remain mandatory for some time. There are now just four active COVID-19 cases in Victoria, compared with 42 in New South Wales.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Biden: I’m unifier-in-chief

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Nov-20

US president-elect Joe Biden has promised to govern for all Americans and seek to unite rather than divide the nation. Biden has used his first national speech as president-elect to reach out to people who voted for Donald Trump, while he has urged both major political parties to co-operate. Meanwhile, Trump will press ahead with a legal challenge to the election results in some states; he contends that many votes were received illegally after 8pm on election day, which significantly affected the outcome of the poll in some key states. Biden currently has 51 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 49 per cent for Trump.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Australia warned it could be isolated over climate inaction after Joe Biden victory

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Original article by Adam Morton
The Guardian – Page: Online : 9-Nov-20

President-elect Joe Biden has set a net zero emissions for the US of no later than 2050, while he has committed to rejoining the Paris climate agreement. Howard Bamsey, Australia’s former special envoy on climate change, suspects the topic will come up in Biden’s first or second conversation with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, while former Australian diplomat to the UN Dean Bialek says Australia risks being further isolated as a "climate laggard" if it adheres to its current inaction.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Scott Morrison congratulates Joe Biden on US election win and flags Australian visit in 2021

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Original article by Katharine Murphy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Nov-20

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says his government looks forward to working with president-elect Joe Biden and his administration in addressing issues such as COVID-19 and climate change. Morrison adds that his government will continue to work with the Trump administration until Biden’s inauguration on 20 January, noting that the Australia-US alliance has become stronger under Trump. Morrison also says that he will invite Biden to visit Australia to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty in 2021.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

WHSmith admits underpaying 1500 workers by $2.2 million

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: Online : 6-Nov-20

WHSmith Australia has agreed to an enforceable undertaking after admitting that its employees had been underpaid some $2.2m between October 2013 and April 2019. The underpayment affected about 1,500 employees of the retailer, which has provided backpay totalling $2.257m to past and present staff. The company, which reported the underpayment to the Fair Work Ombudsman, will also make a ‘contrition payment’ of $50,000.

CORPORATES
WH SMITH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Find another market other than China, exporters warned

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Original article by Will Glasgow, Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-20

Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has asked the Chinese government to clarify whether it does intend to impose new bans on Australian imports, after media reports in China appeared to confirm this. Meanwhile, federal government officials have discussed the potential ban during a telephone briefing with representatives from the agricultural industry, one of the sectors that would be amongst the hardest hit by such a ban. Participants in the briefing say they were advised to find alternative export markets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE