2020-

PM urges Berejiklian to keep up the fight

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Original article by James O’Doherty, Angira Bharadwaj
The Daily Telegraph – Page: 5 : 20-Aug-21

New South Wales has recorded 681 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the state’s death toll from the current outbreak has risen to 61. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has conceded that the Delta variant means that achieving zero new cases in the community is unrealistic, and the nation will have to "learn to live with Delta" when 80 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated and the economy reopens. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has emphasised the importance of a suppression strategy in Sydney, arguing that the lockdown must work. The state government has extended the lockdown in regional NSW until 28 August, in line with the Greater Sydney lockdown.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Pressure on airlines to vaccinate workers

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Aug-21

Alliance Aviation’s Scott McMillan expects more airlines to adopt a policy of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for their employees. Alliance will require all staff and contractors to be vaccinated by 15 November; Qantas recently announced that it will also enforce a ‘no jab, no job’ policy. Michael Tooma, the managing partner of law firm Clyde & Co, says that mandatory vaccination is a "lawful and reasonable direction" for sectors such as aviation under occupational health and safety laws. He agrees that other airlines are likely to implement such a policy.

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ALLIANCE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AQZ, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CLYDE AND COMPANY LLP

News chief urges bosses to champion the rollout

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 7 : 20-Aug-21

News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman Michael Miller has called on Australia’s business owners and leaders to "cham­pion the vaccination rollout". He says the media company is doing all it can to encourage and help its staff to get vaccinated as soon as they can, and he urges all other businesses to adopt the same approach. Miller has called on federal and state leaders to set vaccination targets and a timetable that will enable all Australians "to plan for life in a new normal state of affairs".

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NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Movement in the Perth & Adelaide CBDs now at around two-thirds of pre-pandemic averages while Sydney & Melbourne CBDs locked down

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Aug-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows movement in the Perth CBD and the Adelaide CBD increasing to around two-thirds of their pre-pandemic average in mid-August, even as extended lockdowns cause movement to remain well below pre-pandemic levels in both the Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD. The average 7-day movement level in the Adelaide CBD was at 67% of pre-pandemic levels in mid-August, just ahead of the Perth CBD at 64%. This is the highest level of movement in both cities since late May. Both cities have had one short and sharp lockdown during the winter months and both have managed to snuff out their respective outbreaks of COVID-19. In contrast, movement levels in the Sydney CBD remain near record lows at only 14% of pre-pandemic levels – a slight increase since restrictions on the construction industry were relaxed somewhat in early August. The average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD were also at only 14% of pre-pandemic levels in mid-August as the city entered its sixth lockdown in early August. Since then the Melbourne lockdown has been extended until September and this week restrictions have been tightened with a curfew re-introduced and the banning of the use of children’s playground equipment. Just behind the two leaders in third place is the Hobart CBD with movement levels at 55% of pre-pandemic averages in mid-August. Movement in the Brisbane CBD was at 45% of pre-pandemic averages in mid-August and bouncing back quickly after the city’s fifth lockdown ended just over a week ago. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Get vaxxed or leave, Qantas chief warns

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 19-Aug-21

Qantas is the latest Australian company – and the largest so far – to require mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for its staff. CEO Alan Joyce contends that vaccination is necessary for the safety of the airline’s employees, customers and the destinations to which it flies. Joyce has advised that all frontline staff must be vaccinated by 15 November, and he has warned that those who do not have valid medical grounds for refusing a vaccination will need to look at career options in other industries. A survey of Qantas employees has found that 75 per cent of them support mandatory vaccination.

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QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

NSW to hit 2200 cases a day if virus continues to spread at current rate

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Original article by Lucy Carroll, Lucy Cormack
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Aug-21

A record 633 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases have been reported in New South Wales in the last 24 hours; at least 92 of these people were active in the community while they were infectious. The state’s reproductive rate is currently 1.3, and Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that case numbers will keep rising until this falls below 1. University of Melbourne epidemiologist James McCaw says daily case numbers in NSW could potentially rise to around 2,000 within a month, given that there are now more than 3,800 mystery cases. The state’s death toll from the current outbreak has risen by three, to 59.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Melbourne heading in right direction but lockdown extension likely

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Original article by Michael Fowler
The Age – Page: Online : 11-Aug-21

Victoria has recorded 20 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours; only five had been self-isolating while they were infectious, while 10 of the new cases have been linked to a shopping centre in Caroline Springs. Meanwhile, the state government is expected to extend Melbourne’s current lockdown beyond the scheduled end date of 12 August, amid concern about rising case numbers in the western suburbs. University of South Australia epidemiologist Adrian Esterman contends that the restrictions should not be relaxed until daily case numbers are in single digits. He says the four-day average of the current outbreak is still rising and is unlikely to peak for another 2-3 days.

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

NSW in Covid limbo

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Original article by Alexandra Smith, Lucy Cormack, Mary Ward
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 11-Aug-21

New South Wales has recorded 356 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours; at least 97 of these people were active in the community while they were infectious. The state’s toll from the current outbreak has risen to 32 following another three deaths. A fourth person has died after he contracted the coronavirus while overseas and tested positive in hotel quarantine. Meanwhile, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has rejected calls for stricter lockdown measures, such as a curfew or a ‘ring of steel’ around Sydney, and flagged the possibility that restrictions could be eased at the end of August if the state achieves its vaccination targets. However, chief health officer Kerry Chant says it is too soon to be thinking about easing restrictions, emphasising the need to reduce daily case numbers.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Movement in the Adelaide CBD bounces back after short lockdown while movement in the Sydney CBD continues to trail other cities

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Aug-21

A special analysis of movement data in Australia’s Capital City CBDs since the COVID-19 pandemic began shows that movement in the Adelaide CBD bounced back quickly following its short lockdown in July, while movement remains low in both the Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD – both in lockdown. The average 7-day movement level in the Adelaide CBD was at 40% of pre-pandemic averages in early August, up by 25% points from a low of 15% in late July. The entire State of South Australia was locked down from July 21-27 to deal with the State’s first outbreak of COVID-19 so far this year. The average movement level in the Sydney CBD was at only 10% of pre-pandemic levels in early August and well below other cities. Greater Sydney has now entered its seventh week of lockdown since the city was first locked down on June 26. The city of Melbourne was still recovering from its fifth lockdown in late July, with average movement levels in the Melbourne CBD at only 20% of pre-pandemic levels in early August. The State of Victoria was in lockdown from July 16-27 and exited lockdown only briefly before returning to lockdown just a week later. The Perth CBD has regained its spot as Australia’s most ‘COVID-normal’ city with average movement levels at 55% of pre-pandemic averages in early August. This is the highest they’ve been since early June and the first time Perth has sat atop the rankings since late January when the city entered its second lockdown. Just behind in second place is the Hobart CBD with movement levels at 47% of pre-pandemic averages in early August and the Brisbane CBD at 46% of pre-pandemic averages before last week’s short lockdown. These results do not include the impact of the most recent lockdowns in Victoria or SE Queensland. Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technology innovator UberMedia to aggregate data from tens of thousands of mobile devices to assess the movements of Australians as we deal with the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

Live music industry prepares for a quiet, sad summer

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Original article by Kelly Burke
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 9-Aug-21

The UK recently announced a Stg750 million government-backed insurance scheme to help provide the live music and entertainment sector with a financial buffer against future lockdowns, and the federal government is being urged to do the same for the Australian live music sector. Annabelle Herd, who is the CEO of ARIA and PPCA, claims it will be a "quiet and sad summer" for the live music sector if a scheme similar to the one in the UK is not put in place. It was stated that recently that over 28,000 live events have been cancelled since 1 July, leading to losses of over $84 million.

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AUSTRALIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, PPCA