O75 Public Administration

Community transmission makes Victoria coronavirus outbreak more precarious and challenging

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Original article by Tegan Taylor
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Jul-20

Federal MP Katie Allen notes that people returning from overseas accounted for 90 per cent of coronavirus cases in Australia’s first wave. However, the former medical researcher says the majority of cases now being recorded in Victoria are due to community transmission. La Trobe University epidemiologist Hassan Vally says the state government has taken appropriate action to curb the virus’s spread via community transmission, but he stresses that individuals must accept responsibility and comply with lockdown rules. Vally has also cautioned against complacency, warning that a similar coronavirus surge could occur elsewhere in Australia.

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LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

Beware Beijing’s ‘arbitrary detention’: DFAT

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Original article by Olivia Caisley, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Jul-20

The growing tensions between Australia and China have prompted the federal government to upgrade its travel advice. The Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has warned that Chinese authorities have detailed foreign travellers on the grounds of ‘endangering national security’, adding that Australians may be at risk of detention. DFAT also recently advised caution about travelling to Hong Kong after China introduced new national security laws for the former British colony. DFAT recommends that Australian defer all overseas travel due to the coronavirus.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Melbourne locked down: Premier pleads for help

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-20

The Victorian government has extended stage-three lockdown restrictions to the 31 local government areas across metropolitan Melbourne after a record 191 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on 7 July. The six-week lockdown also includes the Mitchell Shire, which is located north of Melbourne. Premier Daniel Andrews says the growth in new cases is unsustainably high and failure to take action would have seen the virus get out of control. There are currently 772 active cases in Victoria, including 438 that have been attributed to community transmission.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Victoria’s $12b economic hit from new lockdown

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Jul-20

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird says the six-week coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne is likely to reduce Australia’s GDP growth by about one per cent in the September quarter. While the economic cost of the lockdown to the Victorian economy is uncertain, estimates range from $1bn to $2.3bn per week. IFM Investors’ chief economist Alex Joiner says the federal government will have to take the new lockdown into account when finalising its forecasts for the economic statement to be released on 23 July. Victoria accounts for about 25 per cent of the national economy.

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COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence drops 0.9 pts to 92.1 after Melbourne COVID-19 cases surge – forcing Melbourne back into six weeks lockdown

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 0.9pts to 92.1 in the week to 4/5 July, to its lowest level since May 9/10 (90.3). Consumer Confidence is now 25.5pts lower than a year ago (117.6) and 2.9pts below the 2020 weekly average of 95.0. Now 23% (up 2ppts) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 37% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 35% (up 1ppt) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 18% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Just 7% (unchanged) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 46% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 35% (down 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 36% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ was stable at 3.2%.

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

Women twice as likely as men to be discouraged workers after Covid-19 job loss

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Jul-20

A report by the Australian National University has noted an increase in the number of people who are unemployed but not actively looking for work. The report was based on a survey by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, and report co-author Nicholas Biddle says the increase fits in with the notion of the ‘discouraged’ worker, namely someone who would like to work but does not believe there are any suitable jobs available. The ANU found that women who have lost their job because of COVID-19 are much more likely to be ‘discouraged workers’ than men.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Cash-in-hand security

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Original article by James Campbell, Matt Johnston
Herald Sun – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-20

The scandal over Victoria’s troubled hotel quarantine program continues to deepen. Written statements from several security guards allege that they were paid $22 cash per hour and no superannuation to work at the Crown Promenade Hotel when it was being used to quarantine returned travellers. They also allege that they were not provided with pay slips or asked to supply tax file numbers. They claim to have been hired by a security firm that was subcontracted by Unified Security.

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UNIFIED SECURITY GROUP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CROWN PROMENADE HOTEL, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Work visa sweetener for uni students

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Original article by Tim Dodd, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Jul-20

Australian universities and state governments had been hoping to start bringing international students back into the country from the end of July. However, the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Victoria has put these plans on hold. In an attempt to help Australian universities to remain competitive with rivals in Canada and Britain, it is believed that the federal government will grant post-study visas to foreign students who are enrolled in Australian universities but have had to return to their home countries and study online. Currently, only overseas students who study in Australia are awarded graduate work rights.

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Shut border risk to jobs

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Jul-20

A record 127 new coronavirus cases were reported in Victoria on 6 July, including 16 at the nine public housing estates that are in a hard lockdown. Another two people in Victoria have died from the virus, lifting the national death toll to 106. Meanwhile, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has described the decision to close Victoria’s border with New South Wales as a "sledgehammer approach" which will result in immense economic disruption. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian argues that the border closure is necessary because the coronavirus is now being spread in Melbourne via community transmission. She maintains that borders between other states should be re-opened.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Overcrowded towers are virus incubators

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-20

Fifty-three residents of Melbourne’s nine locked-down public housing towers have tested positive to the coronavirus to date. Victoria’s Housing Minister Richard Wynne says that about 400 residents were tested on 6 July, and four per cent tested positive. The Victorian Public Tenants Association’ executive officer Mark Feenane says there is chronic overcrowding in the towers, adding that it is time to consider scrapping the high-rise buildings in favour of low-density accommodation. Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has likened the public housing towers to ‘vertical cruise ships’.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, VICTORIAN PUBLIC TENANTS ASSOCIATION