O75 Public Administration

Daniel Andrews under fire over delayed easing of restrictions

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Original article by Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 26-Oct-20

Victoria recorded seven new coronavirus cases on 25 October, including six that are linked to an outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Premier Daniel Andrews says an easing of lockdown restrictions for the retail and hospitality sectors will be delayed until about 1,000 coronavirus tests in the northern suburbs have been processed. He has stressed that it is a "cautious pause" and the government still hopes to relax the restrictions within days. Andrews’ backdown has been criticised by business leaders and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Melbourne’s 14-day rolling average of new cases has fallen to 4.6.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Belt and Road deal a cause for alarm

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 8 : 23-Oct-20

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser has expressed concern about the Victorian government’s deal to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster says that although the BRI agreement would generate some economic opportunities, it will "come with strings attached". This could include the expectation that local communities would have to support China’s foreign policy.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Dutton attacks Facebook’s death star

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Oct-20

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has expressed concern about Facebook’s proposal to introduce end-to-end encryption across its messaging platforms. Dutton has warned that fully encrypting Messenger and Instagram will facilitate the activities of terrorists and paedophiles. Dutton is seeking to introduce new laws aimed at cracking down on the so-called ‘dark web’; he contends that under current legislation it is almost impossible to investigate and identify people who use the dark web. Facebook-owned WhatsApp already uses end-to-end encryption.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Rip up aged care, start over

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Oct-20

Australia’s aged-care system is no longer ‘fit for purpose’ and requires a major overhaul, according to Peter Rozen QC. He is one of the counsel assisting the royal commission into the sector. Rozen and Peter Gray QC have made a 500-page submission to the inquiry which features 124 recommendation, including the introduction of mandatory staff ratios and a legally enforceable duty of care for aged-care providers. Rozen says that at least one in five nursing home residents have received substandard care, while it is estimated that about 50 are sexually abused each week.

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AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO AGED CARE QUALITY AND SAFETY

Canberra boost for Pilbara renewables

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 23-Oct-20

The proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara is set to be granted major project status by the federal government. The 6,500-square kilometre hub will use wind and solar power to produce zero-emission green hydrogen for the domestic and export markets. So-called clean hydrogen was identified as one of five priorities in the government’s low-emissions technology roadmap. A final investment decision on the $US36bn ($51bn) project is slated to be made by 2025.

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Red card for postal boss

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Oct-20

Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate will stand aside pending the outcome of an investigation into revelations that four senior executives were rewarded with luxury watches. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ordered the independent review after Holgate told a Senate estimates committee that the Cartier watches – which cost $3,000 each – were given to the executives for securing the Bank@Post deal with three of the major banks. Holgate contended that taxpayers’ money had not been used as Australia Post is a commercial business. Some Coalition MPs have called for Holgate to resign, while the Communications Union’s national secretary Greg Rayner says Australia Post’s entire board should step aside.

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AUSTRALIA POST, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRONIC, ENERGY, INFORMATION, POSTAL, PLUMBING AND ALLIED SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Is reaching zero COVID-19 possible?

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Original article by Kingston Mills
The Conversation – Page: Online : 23-Oct-20

A number of countries have successfully suppressed the coronavirus. However, an elimination strategy is more difficult to achieve; New Zealand came close to doing so, but new cases emerged after the nation had been COVID-free for 100 days. Potential options for achieving ‘zero COVID-19’ include herd immunity; however, reaching the threshold for this through natural infection will result in many more deaths, while some people who survive COVID-19 will experience long-term health effects. A vaccine is the best chance of reaching zero COVID-19, but it is unrealistic to expect the first vaccines to be fully effective, and distributing a vaccine worldwide could take years.

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NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set to sweep to a crushing election victory on Saturday

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

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to be returned for a second term on Saturday with Labour Party support at 47.5% in September, an increase of 10.6% points since the 2017 New Zealand Election. Support for the main opposition National Party is unchanged at 28.5% in September, but down a massive 16% points from the last Election. If these results are repeated on Saturday, the governing Labour Party will be on the cusp of winning a majority of seats in its own right with a projected 61/120 seats set to be won by Labour and National on track for 38 seats in the new Parliament. Interviewing for this survey in September encompassed the period during which Auckland was subject to Stage 2.5 restrictions and the rest of New Zealand was in Stage 2 up to and including the first leaders debate between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Opposition Leader Judith Collins. This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a NZ-wide cross-section of 911 electors during September.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Unemployment hits 6.9pc as 30,000 jobs go

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-20

The locked-down Victorian economy shed 36,000 jobs in September, although the state’s unemployment rate is estimated to have fallen by 0.5 percentage points due to a decline in the participation rate. The national unemployment rate increased from 6.8 per cent to 6.9 per cent in September, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest estimate. The ABS jobs data does not include people who have given up looking for work. UBS economist George Tharenou suggests that the nation’s real unemployment rate is likely to be around 10 per cent at present.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

ASIO foils plot to infiltrate Australian government

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Age – Page: Online : 16-Oct-20

ASIO has stated it uncovered and foiled a plot that could have seen classified information about Australia’s intelligence services fall into the hands of a foreign government. ASIO revealed details of the plot in its latest annual report, stating that the plot was detected and disrupted in 2020. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess says there are currently more foreign spies and their proxies in Australia than there were "at the height of the cold war", while he says right-wing extremists are have become "more organised, sophisticated, ideological and active" than in previous years.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION