O75 Public Administration

PM plays a long game with China, US cashes in

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia will never "trade away its values" and will continue to pursue calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 despite China’s trade threats. The government holds the view that it is being tested by China, and that China is seeking to create division between the government and business by targeting important trade sectors such as agriculture. With China threatening 80 per cent tariffs on Australian barley, China is now allowing barley imports from the US as part of its commitment under the easing of its trade war with the Trump administration.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Farmers still waiting for government bushfire loan applications to be assessed

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Original article by Lucy Carter
The New Daily – Page: Online : 15-May-20

Farmers on the New South Wales south coast say they are still waiting for applications for federal government bushfire recovery loans to be assessed, some months after the fires hit. Free-range chicken farmer Dan Tarasenko says he could hire "10 people tomorrow" if his two loan applications went through. Figures from the National Bushfire Recovery Agency show that of the 681 applications received for concessional loans, just 288 have been approved. Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud says it is the job of the states and territories to distribute the loans, even though it is federal government money.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL BUSHFIRE RECOVERY AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ABS April Unemployment estimate doesn’t reflect reality. ABS claims 594,000 lose their jobs but only 104,000 become unemployed (?!?)

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Original article by Gary Morgan, Michele Levine, Julian McCrann
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-May-20

Yesterday the ABS released its April employment estimates. The ABS estimates that 12,419,000 Australians were employed in April, down 594,000 on March. There were sharp falls for both full-time and part-time employed. The ABS estimate Australian unemployment increased by only 104,000 to 823,000 in April (6.2% of the workforce, up 1%). Australians will be asking, how can the ABS say 594,000 have lost their jobs in April but only 104,000 become unemployed? This is because the ABS claim 490,000 people left the workforce in April. i.e. the ABS claims these people lost their jobs and weren’t then looking for work and available to start work during the reference week. These workers are unemployed – NOT out of the workforce. So the workforce size in April should match the March estimate of 66%. The real ABS unemployment estimate for April is closer to 1.35 million (9.8%) – an increase of 4.6% points. Combined with the estimated ABS under-employment of 1.82 million (13.7%) means a combined unemployment and under-employment of 3.16 million (23.5%). This is much closer to the Roy Morgan April employment estimates showing 2.16 million Australians (15.3%) were unemployed and a total of 3.48 million (24.7%) were either unemployed or under-employed.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Don’t take away job payments: employers

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-May-20

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says the $130bn JobKeeper scheme must run its full course, and it should be extended beyond the current end date of 27 September if necessary. He has also cautioned against any move to reduce the amount of the wage subsidy, which is currently $1,500 per fortnight. Some Coalition MPs argue that businesses which have resumed normal operations should no longer receive the subsidy, but Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong suggests that such businesses should instead be allowed to opt out of the scheme.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

‘Massive hit’: unemployment jump set to break ABS records

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-May-20

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects labour market data to be released on 14 May will show that a record 750,000 jobs were lost in April. AMP Capital forecasts that the unemployment rate rose to 10 per cent in April, while less bearish economists anticipate a jobless rate of between eight and nine per cent. Justin Smirk of Westpac notes that the actual jobless rate is likely to be much higher, as the Australian Bureau of statistics does not consider somebody to be unemployment if they have been laid off but have a job to go back to. Meanwhile, data from the ABS shows that annual growth in wages was just 2.1 per cent in the March quarter.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Let’s fly: state in bid to buy Virgin

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Original article by Craig Johnstone
The Australian – Page: 1 : 14-May-20

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has criticised the Queensland government’s proposal to acquire a stake in Virgin Australia via the state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation. State Treasurer Cameron Dick has stressed the importance of having two sustainable national airlines, adding that his priority is to retain and create jobs for Queenslanders. The QIC is tipped to join one of the consortiums that are bidding for Virgin, and Dick says its investment could take the form of a direct equity stake, a loan, guarantee or other financial incentives.

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VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Australia used as example to warn world

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-May-20

The motives for China’s decision to suspend beef imports from Australia continue to attract scrutiny. Richard McGregor of the Lowy Institute says China is sending a message to countries that cross it politically. There have been suggestions that the ban is in retaliation to Australia’s push for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. Stephen Kirchner of the US Studies Centre believes that the threat of punitive tariffs on Australian barley is in response to the anti-dumping duties being imposed on Chinese steel, rather than the proposed coronavirus inquiry.

CORPORATES
LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE

Birmingham: Tit-for-tat tariffs not on

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 14-May-20

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says China should appeal to the World Trade Organization if it is still unhappy about Australia’s decision in 2014 to impose a tariff on Chinese steel imports. He contends that China should not seek to resolve an anti-dumping dispute by imposing its own tariff on Australian barley, describing such actions as unjustified. Birmingham adds that there is no evidence to support China’s claim that Australian barley is being subsidised.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Union backs PM over China

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-May-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told parliament that the comprehensive strategic partnership with China has been highly successful. However, amid growing tensions between the two nations, Morrison has stressed that Australia will always act in the national interest when relations become strained. Meanwhile, the federal government’s stance on China has received support from Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Labor-aligned Australian Workers’ Union. He has urged the government to resist pressure from China over domestic and foreign policy decisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Porter to consider EBA change limit

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-May-20

The Greens will back Labor’s Senate motion to disallow a regulation that temporarily reduces the notice period for changes to enterprise agreements from seven days to just 24 hours. Attorney General Christian Porter has signalled that the federal government may be open to One Nation’s proposal to limit any such variations in enterprise agreements to 12 months. The regulation is slated to expire after six months; shadow industrial relations minister Tony Burke contends that as it stands, any variations to enterprise agreements will remain in place after the pandemic abates, and they will need to be removed via another vote by employee

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE