O75 Public Administration

BCA plan aims to accelerate recovery

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 20-Apr-20

The Business Council of Australia has developed a three-tier plan for restarting the domestic economy when coronavirus lockdown restrictions start to be eased. Amongst other things, the discussion paper proposes a gradual resumption of office-based work, with appropriate health and safety measures to protect workers. The BCA has also called for regulatory and industrial relations reforms to boost economic activity, while it says the focus of government assistance should shift to accelerating the economy rather than keeping it on ‘life support’.

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BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Bipartisan call to investigate China’s role in spread of virus

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Apr-20

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has called for an independent investigation into how China and the World Health Organization handled the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the role of China’s wet markets in the virus’s creation. Shadow health minister Chris Bowen says Labor would support such an investigation, while Peter Jennings from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says the G20 might be an appropriate body to conduct the type of investigation that the federal government is calling for.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Big tech made to pay for news

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 20-Apr-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has been directed to set up a mandatory code of conduct under which Google and Facebook will be required to pay news publishers for using their content. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says it is only reasonable that those who create content are rewarded for it. Facebook and Google had initially been directed to set up a voluntary code of conduct for content payment by November, but the two technology companies had been accused by media firms of not genuinely engaging in negotiations on the issue. Nine Entertainment CEO Hugh Marks has praised the government for taking "taking swift and decisive action" on the issue.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Royal commission begins into harrowing black summer of bushfires

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Original article by Bellinda Kontominas
The New Daily – Page: Online : 17-Apr-20

The royal commission into Australia’s deadly 2019/20 bushfire season has been formally opened via an online hearing on 16 April. The commission has already held 17 community forums in bushfire-affected areas, but all future hearings will be conducted online, due to the impact of COVID-19 and social distancing restrictions. Thirty-three people lost their lives during the fires, while over 10 million hectares were burnt, and 3,000 homes and 7,000 outbuildings were destroyed. The commission hopes to release its findings before the start of the next bushfire season.

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Long road to life without Covid

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Apr-20

International modelling shows that Australia has a coronavirus detection rate of 84 per cent, compared with 12 per cent for the US and just 3.6 per cent for the UK. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that lockdown restrictions are likely to remain in place for at least another four weeks. He has outlined a three-stage process for easing the restrictions; this will be based on increased testing for the virus, improved tracing of virus cases and action to contain coronavirus ‘hotspots’. Morrison argues that easing the restrictions too soon risks further infections, with resulting health and economic consequences.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM flags business growth plan

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Apr-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told a meeting of the national cabinet that pro-growth economic policy measures will be required in the post-coronavirus environment. He has stressed that business rather than government will lead the economic recovery, so there will be a need for policies that encourage employers to invest in their business and to hire people. Morrison has also raised the prospect that some of the policies that the Coalition took to the May 2019 election might need to be shelved. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has expressed support for Morrison’s pro-business focus.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

ABS March unemployment figures are misleading – because second half of March ignored!

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Original article by Gary Morgan, Michele Levine, Julian McCrann
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Apr-20

The ABS yesterday, finally, released their March unemployment estimates – actually the first half of March. The ABS March employment estimates show employment increasing by 6,000 and unemployment virtually unchanged at 5.2%, up only 0.1% from February – both very misleading and should never have been released in their current form. On April 8, 2020 Roy Morgan released accurate real employment and unemployment estimates for the whole of March – pre and post COVID-19 lock-down. Roy Morgan’s unemployment estimate pre the COVID-19 lock-down was 7.3%, essentially unchanged on February. However, Roy Morgan’s late March unemployment estimates showed the Government’s COVID-19 lockdown response resulted in an extra 1.4 million Australians becoming unemployed in a matter of two weeks, leading to unemployment of 2.4 million (16.8%) and under-employment increasing 374,000 to 1.52 million (10.6%) in the second half of March. This means a record high 3.92 million (27.4%) of Australians were either unemployed or under-employed and looking for more work in the second half of March – depression numbers! (Following is a link to full details on Roy Morgan’s March employment and under-employment estimates: http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8363-roy-morgan-unemployment-and-under-employment-march-2020-202004080900)

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

IMF jumped the gun with dire forecasts: Frydenberg

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Apr-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has downplayed the International Monetary Fund’s latest economic growth and unemployment forecasts for Australia. He argues that they were made prior to pandemic stimulus measures such as the $130bn JobKeeper scheme. New figures show that more than 838,000 businesses have applied for the wage subsidy to date. The IMF has forecast that the domestic economy will contract by 6.7 per cent in 2020, although Alan Oster of National Australia Bank expects GDP growth to fall by just 4.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Ex-Fair Work senior official calls for bargaining overhaul

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 16-Apr-20

A former senior deputy president of the Fair Work Commission warns that strict application of the ‘better off overall test’ is contributing to the decline of enterprise agreements. Jonathan Hamberger, who stepped down from the FWC in late 2019, has praised the flexibility of employers and unions in negotiating changes to industry awards during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that such flexibility is needed in the enterprise agreement system. Amongst other things, he says the better off overall test should be replaced with the ‘no disadvantage test’.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Hope as recoveries outpace new cases

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Original article by Jill Margo, Edmund Tadros, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Apr-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 134,007; more than 2,073,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. There are 6,447 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Australia, and the nation’s death toll has risen to 63. However, just 47 new cases were reported nationwide on 15 April, while the number of people who have recovered from the virus is estimated to have increased by 90. Experts warn that the rate of infection could rise again, particularly if lockdown measures are relaxed too soon.

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