O75 Public Administration

China cereal killer threat

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-May-20

China is threatening to impose tariffs of over 80 per cent on Australian barley, with the federal government given 10 days to argue why they should not be imposed. China’s threat comes after an 18-month investigation into allegations that Australia was dumping its barley in China. Farmers and grain grower groups have consistently maintained the investigation was politically motivated, while Australia has not ruled out the possibility of taking China to the World Trade Organisation over the dispute. The Chinese market was worth just under $600 million to Australian barley farmers in 2019.

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WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Depression a $5bn hit to productivity

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-May-20

Sydney University’s Brain & Mind Centre has carried out modelling on the national wealth impacts of COVID-19. The Centre’s modelling indicates up to $5 billion in productivity could be lost as a result of an impending mental health crisis linked to mass unemployment. Centre director Ian Hickie says Australia’s mental ‘wealth’ was four per cent of GDP prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, and that Australia faces its biggest loss of that national wealth since the Great Depression if effective action is not taken as soon as possible.

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UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. BRAIN AND MIND RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Recovery rapid but jobs must be saved

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-May-20

A new report from Deloitte Access Economics forecasts that the coronavirus pandemic will reduce national income by 10 per cent, which equates to nearly $200bn. The firm also expects income tax revenue to fall by $14bn in 2020 and $37bn in 2021, and warns that the unemployment rate may not return to five per cent until 2024. Deloitte also expects the Australian economy to recover from the pandemic more quickly than other countries. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will release an economic statement on the coronavirus on 12 May.

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DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

In April Business Confidence plunged to record low of 76.9 but starting to improve

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-May-20

In April 2020 Roy Morgan Business Confidence was down 18.2pts (-19.1%) to 76.9 – plunging to a second consecutive record monthly low. Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan, says "Business Confidence in April continued in a steep negative direction following when it began plunging in late March. The large drop followed the introduction of strict social distancing and self-isolation directives from the Federal and State Governments that persisted throughout the month of April. The good news is that Business Confidence bottomed in the first half of the month and has since improved. For the first half of April Business Confidence averaged only 69.3, similar to its rating for late March of 71.4. Since this low-point the index has improved and averaged 82.0 during the second half of April as Australia ‘flattened the curve’ of new COVID-19 infections."

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Early super releases pass the $10b mark

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Tom McIlroy, Michael Roddan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 8-May-20

The federal government has advised that 1.2 million people have now applied to withdraw a total of $10.2bn from their superannuation fund via its early access scheme. Treasury had forecast that about $27bn in total will be withdrawn by people who have experienced financial hardship due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police have executed five search warrants as part of an investigation into allegations that fraudsters are taking advantage of the scheme. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan has told a Senate inquiry that about $120,000 has been stolen from super funds by fraudsters.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Slow crawl out of Covid hole

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Original article by Simon Benson, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 8-May-20

The national cabinet meeting on 8 May will decide on a timeframe for relaxing the coronavirus lockdown. The restrictions are expected to be progressively eased over the next two months. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has called for restrictions to be lifted at the same time across all states and territories, arguing that maintaining ‘artificial barriers’ between jurisdictions will merely increase costs for businesses and make it harder for them to retain jobs. However, some states have signalled that they will follow their own timetable for easing restrictions.

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AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Trade surplus hits $10.6b thanks to iron ore, coal

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-May-20

Official data shows that Australia has posted a record trade surplus of $10.6bn for March; the result was driven by strong growth in exports, particularly to China. There was a 33 per cent increase in iron ore exports to China, as one of Australia’s key trading partners began to ease coronavirus restrictions; analysts also note that iron ore supply in February was disrupted by cyclone Damien. Meanwhile, gold exports rose by 22.5 per cent in March, while coal and LNG shipments also rose. Economists had expected a trade surplus of just $6.4bn.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Pell knew of Catholic Church abuse for decades – royal commission

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The New Daily – Page: Online : 8-May-20

Redacted sections of the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were released on 7 May, in the wake of the High Court’s decision to overturn Cardinal George Pell’s child sexual abuse convictions in April. The report indicates that the commission did not believe Pell when he claimed that Catholic Church officials had deceived and lied to him about Gerald Ridsdale – Australia’s most prolific paedophile priest – and Melbourne parish priest Peter Searson; the commission heard that the latter had abused children in parishes and schools for over 10 years. The redacted findings indicate that the commission believed that Pell was aware of sexual abuse by Catholic priests as far back as 1973. Cardinal Pell says the views of the Commission are not based on evidence.

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AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, CATHOLIC CHURCH

Employers want power over app

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 5 : 7-May-20

The federal government has advised that its CovidSafe app has now been downloaded 5.1 million times. Meanwhile, the rights of employees with regard to the app is under scrutiny. Stephen Cartwright, the CEO of the NSW Business Chamber, says employers should have a legal right to require staff to download the app as a condition of returning to work when lockdown restrictions are eased. ACTU secretary Sally McManus contends that employers should not have the power to force workers to download the app.

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NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER LIMITED, ACTU

Fiscal stimulus is almost the world’s biggest

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-May-20

Analysis by BIS Oxford Economics shows that 46 advanced and emerging countries have spent a combined US8trn ($13trn) on direct stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar tops the list, with its stimulus measures equating to 13 per cent of GDP; it is followed by Australia and Thailand, with stimulus worth 10.6 per cent and 8.9 per cent of GDP respectively. Gabriel Sterne of BIS Oxford Economics says Australia’s stimulus package was much bigger than the firm had expected, and he notes that the nation was in a strong fiscal position at the onset of the pandemic.

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BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD