O75 Public Administration

Productivity lags France, US

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-20

Australia has the fifth-highest hours worked per person in the OECD, according to the Productivity Commission. However, it only ranks 16th among OECD nations when it comes to productivity. Productivity commissioner Michael Brennan notes all available evidence indicates higher productivity results in higher wages. Australia is more productive in sectors such as mining and construction when compared to the US, although its service industries are reckoned to be between 20 per cent and 60 per cent less than those in the US; however, this is in part due to the long distances that Australian service workers have to cover in their jobs.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Warning virus could hit 20pc of NSW population

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Original article by Bo Seo Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 13-Mar-20

New South Wales chief medical officer Kerry Chant said on 12 March that COVID-19 could infect up to 20 per cent of the state’s population. Chant’s comments came as the number of COVID-19 cases in Australia rose past 150, with 78 of those being in NSW. International travel has now been banned for all federal MPs, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked the government’s expert panel for advice on whether Australia should follow the US’s lead and ban all travel from Europe. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there were fears the COVID-19 outbreak could extend into the flu season, and he urged everyone to get their flu shots.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH

May budget ready to add to stimulus

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Mar-20

The federal government’s $17.6 billion stimulus package includes a one-off $750 payment to all welfare recipients, with the payment to be tax-free. The package also includes an increase in the instant asset write-off from $30,000 to $150,000. The measure will apply until 30 June, and will be available to businesses with turnover of up to $500 million, up from the current threshold of $50 million. Other measures include a $1 billion payment to a regional and community fund that will assist businesses most badly impacted by the coronavirus, along with a 50 per cent wage subsidy for apprentices that will provide up to $21,000 to employers.

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Italy’s crisis could end the euro

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: Online : 13-Mar-20

Italy is facing financial collapse, and this could mean an end to the euro. Of all the nations that adopted the euro, Italy has suffered the most from doing so. Under the lira, its ‘business model’ relied on regular devaluations of its currency. However, once it adopted the euro, it no longer had this option. It needed to increase its productivity to compete with other Eurozone nations, but this did not occur. The coronavirus means that Italy’s tourist industry is at risk of collapse, and its debt-to-GDP ratios could increase to more than 150 per cent by the end of 2020.

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Politics is killing productivity, says McKibbin

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Mar-20

Professor Warwick McKibbin of the Australian National University warns that productivity reform will not be achieved without support from both sides of politics. The former Reserve Bank board member has told a business summit that the political system is the biggest hurdle to achieving such reform. Meanwhile, Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has called for an overhaul of the enterprise bargaining regime, arguing that it is no longer working.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Grand prix rocked by pit lane virus fear

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Original article by John Stensholt, Damon Johnston, Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Mar-20

The Australian Formula One Grand Prix is still expected to go ahead on 15 March, but fans could be locked out if three members of the Haas and McLaren teams test positive for the coronavirus. They have been placed in isolation pending the outcome of the tests. All three recently arrived in Australia, and spectators will be forced to watch the race on TV if they test positive and are deemed to have caught the virus in Australia. The opening race of the F1 season at Albert Park had been expected to attract more than 300,000 fans over four days.

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AUSTRALIAN FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX

Telstra offers affected staff 14 days’ leave pay

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Mar-20

The ACTU has urged the federal government to underwrite two weeks’ paid leave for all permanent, casual and contract workers who are directly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The proposal has been rejected by employers’ group and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter. Meanwhile, Telstra has advised that all employees whose jobs mean they cannot work from home – such as technicians and store staff – will receive 14 days of paid leave if they are forced to self-isolate or must care for children due to the closure of schools or child-care centres. Less than 10 per cent of Telstra staff cannot work from home.

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ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Health minister says Australia cannot predict how many will die from coronavirus

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Original article by Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 4,607; more than 125,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, including 129 in Australia. Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt stresses that it is too soon to predict the mortality rate in Australia or the number of people who will become infected. Some projections have suggested that up to 400,000 Australians could die, but virology experts argue that there is still not enough data for accurate modelling of the virus’s likely impact.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Over 2.4 million Australians looking for work following summer of bushfires along Australia’s east coast

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Mar-20

The latest data for the Roy Morgan employment series shows that 12,913,000 Australians were employed in February 2020, up 739,000 from a year ago. The rise was driven by a significant increase in full-time employment of 514,000 over the last year (to 8,673,000), and an increase of 225,000 in part-time employment (to 4,105,000). The figures also show that 1,174,000 Australians (8.3% of the workforce) were unemployed in February, down 118,000 on a year ago, with the unemployment rate falling 1.3%. An additional 1,269,000 Australians (9% of the workforce) were under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, up 113,000 (or 0.4%) over the last year. In total, 2,443,000 Australians (17.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in February, down 5,000 on a year ago. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.3% for February is higher than the current ABS estimate for January of 5.3%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that more Australians are working than ever before and 67.1% of Australians of working age are now in the workforce – up 2% points on a year ago and a two-and-a-half year high.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

PM’s cash splash to save jobs

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Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Mar-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is confident that all necessary legislation for the federal government’s economic stimulus package will be passed in the last sitting week of Parliament prior to the Budget in May. The package will cost almost $18bn in total, in addition to the government’s $2.4bn health plan in response to the coronavirus. Small and medium enterprises will be a focus of the package; they will receive a cash payout of between $2,000 and $25,000, plus a wage subsidy to ensure that they continue to employ apprentices. The threshold for the instant asset write-off will be increased from $30,000 to $150,000. The stimulus package will rule out a Budget surplus for 2019-20.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET