O75 Public Administration

Victoria coronavirus cases climb by 177 as Daniel Andrews warns lockdown will last as long as it needs to

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 14-Jul-20

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has not ruled out reinstating stage-four coronavirus lockdown restrictions if necessary. He has stressed that people should comply with the lockdown rules if they want the current restrictions to be lifted. Victoria recorded 177 new coronavirus cases on 13 July; a total of 72 people are being treated in hospital, with 17 in intensive care, and there are 1,612 active cases in the state. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has welcomed the fall in the number of new cases, but he cautions that the state’s second wave of infections may not have peaked.

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

Crossroads cluster spreads

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 14-Jul-20

The New South Wales government has advised that 21 cases of COVID-19 are now linked to the Crossroads Hotel in the Sydney suburb of Casula. This comprises 10 people who were at the hotel and 11 of their close contacts. Health authorities have revealed that some hotel patrons who tested positive had visited other venues in Sydney, including The Star casino. The source of the Crossroads Hotel infection is not yet know, and NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says the government will aim to determine whether it is linked to travellers from Melbourne. The hotel is widely used by truck drivers delivering freight from Victoria to NSW.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH, CROSSROADS HOTEL

HomeBuilder package most effective stimulus in a decade

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Original article by Simon Benson, Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jul-20

Nearly 40,000 people are believed to have registered for the federal government’s HomeBuilder grants since the scheme was launched on 4 June. Data from the Housing Industry Association shows that sales of new homes increased by 77 per cent in June; however, chief economist Tim Reardon says the data for July and August will indicate whether the surge in June was a one-off. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar says HomeBuilder is working as intended, by stimulating construction and renovation activity and generating work for tradespeople.

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HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

JobKeeper could send firms broke

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Jul-20

The federal government will announce details of its revised JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme on 23 July, when it will also release an economic update. Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Peter Strong says JobKeeper has enabled employers to retain staff. However, he warns that many businesses will need to think carefully about signing up for the revised scheme, as employees on JobKeeper are accruing entitlements such as annual leave that will have to be paid out if they are laid off. These will have to be paid from cash reserves if the company is not making a profit.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Aussie scientists fast-track human trials on Covid vaccine

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Original article by Jamie Walker
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Jul-20

The University of Queensland will commence a phase one clinical trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine on 13 July. Professor Paul Young, one of the lead researchers, says preclinical testing of the S-Spike vaccine showed that it is effective in neutralising the virus and is safe to administer to humans. More than 4,000 people volunteered to take part in the clinical trial, although the university had sought just 120. Project leader Trent Munro says a working vaccine could be available by September, although he notes that it may take longer to receive final approval and commence mass production.

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UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Fair Work flags reprieve on underpayment

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-Jul-20

Restaurants, cafes and horticulture are among the sectors that the Fair Work Ombudsman tends to focus upon regarding wage underpayments. However, the FWO notes that businesses in these sectors are likely to be under severe financial stress because of COVID-19. As a result, it is prepared to take no legal action against businesses in these circumstances as well as considering the reduction of ‘contrition payments’, provided that their non-compliance was not "egregious or deliberate". The FWO will make large companies its 2020-21 focus so far as underpayments are concerned.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Labor demands coronavirus supports remain as figures show 13 jobseekers per vacancy

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Jul-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison claimed on 10 July that Labor was scaremongering over the future of the $70 billion JobKeeper program. He said he had made it clear that there would be a further stage of income support, and that it was "disgraceful" and "blatantly untrue" for Labor to claim the government was going to end the program in September. Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese responded to Morrison’s comments on 12 July by stating that businesses still had no certainty about whether the program will continue, while Labor says figures that reveal there are 13 jobseekers per job vacancy show that the government must keep COVID-19 income support programs in place beyond September.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Covid strategy clarion call

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Original article by Greg Brown, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Jul-20

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the nation cannot afford to maintain a ‘stop-start’ approach to re-opening the economy. She stresses that Australia needs to learn to live with the coronavirus, as it may be two years before a vaccine is available. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has expressed similar sentiments, arguing that the nation’s response to the pandemic must be "proportionate and logical", rather than "hysterical and irrational". Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner has called for a nationally consistent strategy in dealing with the pandemic.

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BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT

NSW reaches virus crossroads

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Original article by Natasha Boddy, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Jul-20

Victoria recorded 455 new coronavirus cases on the weekend of 11-12 July, while the state’s death toll has risen to 24. The number of cases linked to public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington has risen to 237, while 142 cases have now been linked to the Al-Taqwa College. Meanwhile, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that south-west Sydney could become a coronavirus hotspot after a cluster was identified at the Crossroads Hotel in the suburb of Casula. The nation’s death toll has risen to 108, while the global death toll is now 570,564. More than 13 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the virus, although more than 7.5 million have recovered.

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

Inflation Expectations down to new record low in June of 3.2%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Jul-20

In June, Australians expected inflation of 3.2% annually over the next two years; this result signified a new record low for the index – down 0.1% points on May and 0.8% points on the pre-COVID period of February 2020. Inflation Expectations have declined around the nation; however, the magnitude of the drop has been far larger in some places than others – notably Melbourne where Inflation Expectations have dropped 0.9% points since February to only 2.8% in June. The biggest decline has been in Tasmania, down from 4.9% in February to 2.9% in June, as Hobart’s formerly hot housing market has cooled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adelaide experienced the least change, with Inflation Expectations of 3.7% in June down only 0.1% points since February, while expectations in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth are down by 0.5-0.6%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the rapid decline in Inflation Expectations in recent months is a sign of ongoing economic weakness as Australia experiences its first recession for three decades.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED