O75 Public Administration

Billions in stimulus to stop slump

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Mar-20

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has warned that the coronavirus will have a "material impact" on Australia’s economic growth in the first half of 2020. Amid growing concern that the nation could go into recession for the first time since 1990-91, the federal government is set to announce a stimulus package that will hit the Budget bottom line. The package will focus on jobs, small business cash flow and capital investment; it is expected to include a business investment allowance that was to have been announced in the May Budget. The stimulus package is likely to result in a deficit for 2019-20.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Hunt accused of passing the buck as staff walk

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Original article by Yoni Bashan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 5-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 3,252, with Australia recording its second fatality. NSW Health has confirmed that a 95-year-old woman who died on 4 March has tested positive for the virus. More than 95,000 people worldwide have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including 52 in Australia. Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has criticised the "convoluted" process for securing emergency funding from the federal government, after NSW Health was forced to provide staff to an aged-care home whose employees failed to turn up for work following a coronavirus outbreak at the facility. The deceased woman was a resident of the aged-care home.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Australia’s economy beats expectations ahead of bushfire, coronavirus impacts

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Original article by Michael Janda
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 5-Mar-20

Official data shows that the Australian economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter and 2.2 per cent year-on-year. The general consensus of economists was for quarterly growth of 0.3-0.4 per cent and annual growth of two per cent. However, the full impact of the bushfires and the coronavirus outbreak will not be felt until GDP data for the first quarter of 2020 is released. Meanwhile, overall domestic demand increased by just 0.1 per cent in the December quarter, while business investment and resident construction fell. Sarah Hunter of BIS Oxford Economics says the economy is likely to contract in the March quarter, adding that the risk of a recession has increased.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

CFMEU slugged $486k for blockade

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 3-Mar-20

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has been fined $404,500 for organising an unlawful blockade at the Barangaroo project in Sydney. The Federal Circuit has also ordered five current and former union officials to pay fines ranging from $7,500 to $22,500. The industrial action was aimed at forcing concreting firm De Martin & Gasparini to sign an enterprise agreement. The CFMMEU and its officials have now been fined $9.62m in total since the Australian Building & Construction Commission was reinstated in 2016.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DE MARTIN AND GASPARINI PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Doctor caught in coronavirus firing line

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Original article by Yoni Bashan, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 3-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 3,087, with the US reporting its sixth death; more than 90,000 people worldwide have now been diagnosed with the illness. The number of people in Australia who have contracted the virus has risen to 33; a doctor is among two people who have been infected via person-to-person transmission within the local community rather than while they were overseas. Health Minister Greg Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy have warned that it is now impossible to contain the virus.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Australia most exposed to virus: Trump adviser

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Mar-20

Kevin Hassett, the former chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, has forecast that the Chinese economy will contract by 10 per cent in the March 2020 quarter. He adds that China’s economic growth will return to normal if the coronavirus outbreak is quickly contained, but he warns that Australia faces the prospect of a recession if the outbreak is not brought under control by the start of the northern hemisphere’s summer. The US has introduced new travel restrictions on people who have recently visited Iran, while the nation has reported its first confirmed death from the virus.

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Employer warning on wage reforms

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 2-Mar-20

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has criticised a proposal to allow workers to trade off penalty rates in return for higher basic wages. Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross has raised the prospect of extending ‘loaded rates’ in enterprise agreements to workers who are covered by industry awards. Employers’ groups have expressed support for the proposal, but some warn that it will not succeed if the FWC continues to adopt a ‘technical approach’ to approving enterprise agreements.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Virus strikes: first Aussie dies

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson, Sarah Elks, Victoria Laurie, Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Mar-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 3,001, and more than 87,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. Meanwhile, Australia has recorded its first death from the virus, with 78-year-old James Kwan passing away after contracting it on the ‘Diamond Princess’ cruise ship. A total of 28 Australians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including several who had visited Iran. Federal cabinet’s national security committee will meet in coming days to review the effectiveness of the government’s plan for dealing with a pandemic.

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Chinese economy takes a record hit

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Original article by Will Glasgow, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Mar-20

The impact of the coronavirus on China’s manufacturing sector has been highlighted by the nation’s latest purchasing managers index data. The index fell from 50 to just 35.7 in January, and it is now below the levels recorded at the height of the global financial crisis. The virus outbreak resulted in the temporary closure of factories across China, and while some have resumed production, many remained closed. China’s economic growth slowed to 6.1 per cent in 2019.

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Global pandemic upon us: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Feb-20

The coronavirus outbreak has not yet been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, but the federal government believes it is only a matter of time. Only 23 Australians have contracted the virus to date, and eight of them were on the cruise ship ‘Diamond Princess’; however, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the nation needs to prepare for a pandemic. The government has advised that it will provide ‘targeted’ financial assistance to sectors that have been affected by the coronavirus, such as education, tourism, exporters and small business. This may further jeopardise the prospect of a Budget surplus for 2019-20.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET