O75 Public Administration

Coronavirus cases in Victoria rise by 19 as state of emergency extended for a further four weeks

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 22-Jun-20

The Victorian government will reinstate some coronavirus restrictions as the number of new infections in the state continues to rise. Amongst other things, people will be limited to having no more than five visitors inside their home at a time, while a maximum of 10 people will be able to attend outdoor gatherings. Another 19 new cases of the coronavirus were recorded in Victoria on 21 June; this include three contractors who work at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza hotel, where people who have returned from overseas are being quarantined.

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Wage-theft laws may be gazumped

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jun-20

The Victorian government’s Wage Theft Bill will take effect in mid-2021 after being passed by the state’s upper house. Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the 12-month delay, arguing that a transition period is needed. The federal government’s draft bill to criminalise wage theft could be enacted before the state legislation, whose penalties include jail terms of up to 10 years for employers who deliberately underpay their staff.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Official ABS May jobless rate out today – will anyone believe figure?

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Jun-20

Economist Saul Eslake says the May jobless rate would be nearer 13 per cent if those on JobSeeker and the youth allowance were counted as unemployed. Gary Morgan, the executive chairman of Roy Morgan, who conduct their own unemployment survey, says the headline ABS jobless figure is "phony" and the government needs to revise definitions. He says the current definitions were made up after the Second World War, and things have changed a lot. Morgan notes that there are now far more women and part-time workers in the workforce, and people change jobs more. Record uncertainty about the job market and doubts over the relevance of the ‘official’ ABS unemployment rate have prompted calls for more information on the number of welfare recipients and a rethink of how ‘unemployed’ is defined. ABS forecasts for the May unemployment rate will be released on 18 June.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australia very unlikely to allow foreign tourists this year

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-Jun-20

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has conceded that Australia’s borders are likely to remain closed to international visitors for the rest of 2020. He says the nation’s strict border controls have contributed to its success in containing the coronavirus’s spread. Recent data shows that there was a 99.7 per cent downturn in international arrivals in April as lockdown restrictions took effect. The federal government hopes travel between Australia and New Zealand can resume before the end of the year.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Idle staff not all keen to return to work

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jun-20

Some employers in the retail sector say they are finding it hard to get staff who are receiving the JobKeeper subsidy to return to work. Lee Boys from the Organic Store & Kafe in Adelaide notes a ‘sense of entitlement’ among some employees, while the CEO of a large retailer says many of the company’s workers on JobKeeper are using "ridiculous" excuses to avoid coming to work. Carolyne Burns of recruitment firm Expr3ss! agrees that getting JobKeeper recipients back to work is a problem, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors.

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ORGANIC STORE AND KAFE, EXPR3SS!

IBAC will look into branch stacking

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jun-20

The branch-stacking scandal that has embroiled Victorian Labor has been referred to the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which has confirmed that it has commenced an investigation into it. However, the state government is resisting a push to have the allegations referred to the Victorian Ombudsman, despite an Opposition motion to this effect being passed by parliament’s upper house on 17 June. Meanwhile, some members of Labor’s Right faction have accused Premier Daniel Andrews and federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese of a ‘power grab’.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Explosive text messages of a political assassin

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jun-20

The crisis over Victorian Labor’s branch-stacking crisis has deepened, after details of text messages that federal MP Anthony Byrne sent to Adem Somyurek over several years were disclosed. The recordings that led to Somyurek’s downfall were made in Byrne’s electoral office; the two were once close allies, and friends of Somyurek say he cannot understand why Byrne turned against him. Amongst other things, the text messages that Byrne sent to Somyurek include derogatory comments about Labor colleagues.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Albanese takes over state ALP

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Original article by Greg Brown, Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Jun-20

The Australian Labor Party’s national executive has appointed Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin as administrators of the party’s troubled Victorian branch. Federal Labor will take control of Victorian Labor for three years in the wake of the branch-stacking scandal, which resulted in Adem Somyurek being expelled from the party and the resignation of frontbenchers Robin Scott and Marlene Kairouz. Bracks and Macklin will audit all 16,000 members of Victorian Labor, amid concerns within the party that up to 4,000 members may have been ‘stacked’ in recent years.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Push for national integrity commission to restart after Somyurek fall

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Jun-20

Federal crossbench MPs say the branch-stacking scandal in Victoria has highlighted the need for a national anti-corruption commission. The federal government revealed plans to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission in 2018, although progress on the issue has since stalled amid claims that its powers would not be sufficient. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that he will seek to resume negotiations with crossbenchers to establish the CIC.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Movement at Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens back to normal levels – led by Metrotechs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jun-20

A special analysis of movement data at Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens shows a steady pick-up in visitation in the number of devices seen at the inner-city park over the last month, since reaching a low point in late April. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technological innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we emerge from the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of devices – a good proxy for visitors – seen at the Botanic Gardens hit low-points during the lockdown in early April, around Easter, and also at the end of April as the focus turned towards a gradual lifting of restrictions. Since late April there has been a steady increase in movement at the Botanic Gardens. During the summer months early in 2020 three-quarters of the movement data for the Botanic Gardens was drawn from the big spending Leading Lifestyles and Metrotechs Helix Personas communities, and this majority has increased to 83% in the most recent week available. This increase has been entirely driven by Metrotechs who now comprise 50% of the movement data, up from 40% during summer. Movement data for Leading Lifestyles is virtually unchanged at 33%.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA