AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

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

Fast cash to calm virus storm

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Original article by Simon Benson, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Mar-20

Cabinet’s expenditure review committee is set to approve the federal government’s economic stimulus package within days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use a speech on 10 March to argue that the stimulus must be targeted and position both the domestic economy and the federal budget to rebound when the coronavirus crisis is over. He will also urge large companies to support their employees, customers and suppliers, and to ensure that small businesses are paid promptly. National Australia Bank’s chief economist Alan Oster says the package must be worth at least $10bn and should include measures such as a business investment allowance and income tax cuts.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Jobs subsidy plan to bust recession

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Mar-20

Treasury expects the impact of the coronavirus to reduce economic growth by at least 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, while the recent bushfires will cut growth by a further 0.2 per cent. The federal government’s stimulus package will aim to prevent economic growth from also being negative in the June quarter; it will include wage subsidies, a business investment allowance and tax breaks to assist with cash flow. Greens leader Adam Bandt says the stimulus package should also include an increase in unemployment benefits and financial assistance for workers who are not entitled to paid sick leave.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

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

Media regime just a way to keep bad laws

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Original article by Richard Ferguson, Leo Shanahan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 7 : 29-Feb-20

The Australian Federal Police and the Department of Home Affairs have used a joint submission to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security to propose a ‘notice to produce’ regime for journalists. This would require an independent body to assess requests from security agencies for access to documents and communications between journalists and their confidential sources. The proposal has been criticised by News Corp Australia’s executive chairman Michael Miller, while Labor contends that journalists would still be at risk from prosecution and jail.

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AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY JOINT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

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

Everyone will get the virus

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Feb-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 2,814, and more than 82,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. The federal government has responded to the growing crisis by extending its ban on direct travel from mainland China for another week, while it recently activated an emergency response plan. Meanwhile, Professor Ian Mackay from the University of Queensland doubts that the coronavirus can be contained and warns that it will most likely become endemic. He adds that most people will become infected with the coronavirus at some stage, and for most people the symptoms will be no worse than a bad head cold.

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UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

PM won’t identify foreign spy ring

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Feb-20

ASIO’s director-general Mike Burgess has declined to identify any countries behind a recently-exposed foreign spy ring. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also refused to do so, citing national interest concerns. However, Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick says nations such as the US and Canada have "called out" the countries that are involved in espionage and foreign influence. He has suggested that China is the "most likely culprit".

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CENTRE ALLIANCE

What’s our strategy for slump in wake of virus?

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 26-Feb-20

Research by Roy Morgan shows that one-in-six Australian businesses have already been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. This includes sectors of the economy that are among the biggest employers, such as manufacturing and education. However, small and medium enterprises are likely to be hardest hit by the economic fallout from the virus. The federal government is therefore to be commended for proposing to require large companies to pay suppliers more promptly. At present, the proposed legislation only applies to businesses with turnover of up to $10m, but it should be expanded to include medium-sized businesses.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Virus triggers surplus retreat

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Feb-20

The global death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 2,711, and more than 80,000 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has warned that the virus will have a greater economic impact on the Australian economy than the summer bushfires, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed the impact of the virus is not restricted to the education and tourism sectors. Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics says there is still a chance that the government will achieve a Budget surplus for 2019-20.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD