O75 Public Administration

PM’s bid to boost disaster powers

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Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use a National Press Club speech on 29 January to argue the case for the federal government to be given increased powers to declare a national emergency. He will also call for the government to be given the power to deploy Australian Defence Force personnel to disaster areas without a request from a state premier. Morrison will stress the need for Australia to learn from the current bushfire season in order to be better prepared for future disasters.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

China trade links mean virus a $1bn risk

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-Jan-20

Australian National University economist Warwick McKibbin estimated in 2003 that the SARS virus reduced the nation’s GDP growth by 0.07 per cent. He says the coronavirus could have a much bigger impact on the Australian economy, noting that the Chinese economy is now much larger and more integrated than in 2003, while Australia has become much more dependent on trade with China. Business and consumer confidence is also likely to be negatively affected by the new virus, having already taken a hit from the bushfires crisis.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

NZ blasted for climate hypocrisy

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Jan-20

New Zealand has previously criticised Australia over its plans to use Kyoto carry-over credits to meet its 2030 Paris emission targets. However, New Zealand has indicated that it intends to use carry-over credits from meeting its 2012 Kyoto target in order to meet its 2020 Kyoto target, which has sparked claims of hypocrisy from Australian federal government MPs. Australia is tipped to meet its 2020 Kyoto target without having to resort to using Kyoto carry-over credits.

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MPs warn of side effects if McKenzie fired

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 28-Jan-20

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie remains under scrutiny over the ‘sports rorts’ scandal in her previous role as sports minister. Senior bureaucrat Phil Gaetjens will release a report into the allocation of sports grants in coming days, amid demands for McKenzie to lose her portfolio. However, some National Party MPs are concerned that removing McKenzie could embroil Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the scandal, as his office is believed to have passed requests for funds from Liberal MPs on to McKenzie’s office.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

China tourist ban to bite

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 28-Jan-20

The deepening coronavirus crisis has prompted the Chinese government to ban travel operators from taking tour groups overseas for at least two months. The blanket ban will particularly impact on Australia’s tourism industry, given that about 1.4 million Chinese tourists visit the nation each year and inject some $12bn into the domestic economy. Chinese travel companies have indicated that they have requested refunds for trips that have already been booked with Australian airlines and hotels.

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PM’s welfare shake-up to deliver $2bn saving

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-Jan-20

The federal government will legislate to ensure that welfare recipients are not overpaid, in a move that is projected to save some $2.1bn over four years. The proposed reform will affect about 1.2 million welfare recipients who also have income from a job, with changes to how they report gross earnings to Centrelink. Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says the current system for calculating earnings can be confusing and result in misreporting. The cost savings will help offset the impact of the bushfires on the federal Budget.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Doctors call for a national centre for disease control, as coronavirus outbreak spreads

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Original article by Cait Kelly
The New Daily – Page: Online : 28-Jan-20

The Australian Medical Association has argued for years that the nation needs a national centre for disease control, and the coronavirus outbreak has led it to repeat its call. AMA president Tony Bartone says having a CDC offers a number of benefits, while he claims that all other OECD member nations have a national CDC. The coronavirus has resulted in at least 80 deaths and infected 2,744 people in China, while it has spread to a number of other countries. The World Health Organization has stated that it is too soon to declare the coronavirus a global health emergency.

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

Today 26% of Australian businesses have been affected by bushfires – Australia needs to support businesses in the Accommodation and Food services industries with Visitors and Tourists

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jan-20

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Survey shows that 26% of Australian businesses have been affected either ‘A great deal’ (7%), ‘Somewhat’ (10%) or ‘A little’ (9%) by the bushfires. Some 74% of businesses have been unaffected by the bushfire. A deeper analysis of the industries most heavily impacted shows that over a third of businesses in the Accommodation and Food services sector, which includes travel and tourism, say they have been affected ‘A great deal’ – higher than any other industry. Businesses in Queensland and NSW have been the hardest hit, with 12% of Queensland businesses and 11% of NSW businesses affected ‘A great deal’ by the bushfires – far higher than any other State. In general businesses in NSW are the most likely to have been impacted, with 35% affected in some way, compared to around a quarter of businesses in Queensland (25%) and Victoria (24%). In contrast, only 16% of businesses in WA and 11% in Tasmania have been affected at all. These findings are based on an SMS survey of 1,308 Australian businesses.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Health authorities brace for coronavirus’ spread from China

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, says health authorities are developing a one-step test for the pneumonia-like coronavirus. Chinese officials are preparing to seal off Wuhan, a city with 11 million people, in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus, with the last flight out of Wuhan to Australia arriving in Sydney on 23 January. Murphy says that if any passengers on the flight were infected, it could be weeks before they display any symptoms. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australians not to be too concerned; he noted that there have been no confirmed cases of the disease in Australia.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australia among 21 nations where perceived corruption has worsened

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Original article by Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Australia has received a rating of 77 out 100 in Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index. This is unchanged from 2019, although the nation has risen from 13th position to 12th in terms of the world’s least corrupt nations. Australia has also been identified as one of 21 countries in which perceived corruption has significantly declined since 2012. Transparency International Australia CEO Serena Lillywhite says the nation’s ranking and trust in the government will continue to decline unless a proposed federal anti-corruption agency is established.

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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA