AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Revolving door – Thousands cleared to jet in and out of Australia multiple times during pandemic

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom Minear, Miles Proust
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-May-21

The Budget papers show that the federal government does not expect the majority of Australians to be able to travel overseas until at least mid-2022. However, Australian Border Force data shows that 134,758 citizens and permanent residents have received exemptions to travel overseas since the pandemic began. This includes 37,456 people who received a travel exemption on compassionate or humanitarian grounds, while 13,762 were allowed to leave Australia and return on multiple occasions. An ABF spokeswoman says the latter includes Australian Defence Force members and airline staff. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says the federal government will review the exemptions process.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Federal public service boom

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Rolfe
Herald Sun – Page: 8 : 13-May-21

The May 2021 Budget papers show that the ranks of the federal public service will swell to 174,300 in 2021-22, with almost 5,400 new staff to be recruited during the coming financial year. Government agencies that are taking on additional staff include the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity and the Productivity Commission. Public servant numbers peaked at 182,500 under the former Labor government, and the Coalition had reduced this to 165,600 by 2015-16. The public service’s operating expenses will rise from $76bn in 2020-21 to $78.1bn.

CORPORATES

Levy sparks alarm in energy industry

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-May-21

Industry body APPEA has expressed concern about the federal government’s proposed levy on the nation’s offshore oil and gas industry. The Budget measure will help fund the cost of decommissioning the Northern Endeavour floating platform and the associated Laminaria and Corallina oil fields in the Timor Sea. APPEA Andrew McConville says other options should be considered, warning that the levy is a "terrible precedent" that could adversely affect the domestic economy and jobs in the oil and gas sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Nursing home reforms set to raise standards

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 13-May-21

Changes announced in the May 2021 Budget will shift aged-care funding out of the hands of providers and give older Australians greater choice of nursing homes. Aged-care experts contend that this will increase competition in the sector and force poorly-performing aged-care facilities to lift their standards. Aged-care homes will also be required to provide each resident with a minimum of 200 minutes of care each day from October 2023. However, unions contend that the sector will continue to face staff shortages unless the government takes action to increase the wages of aged-care workers.

CORPORATES

AAA rating likely to be downgraded

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-May-21

S&P Global Ratings placed Australia’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook in April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commonwealth Bank has warned that Australia could potentially be downgraded to AA+ when S&P undertakes its annual review of the nation’s credit rating in September. Fixed income strategists Philip Brown and Martin Whetton attribute this to Australia’s rapidly growing net debt. However, ratings agencies are generally positive about Budget measures aimed at further stimulating the economy.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

‘Completely excluded’: budget delivers $58.6m to media but ABC misses out

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-May-21

Former ABC bureaucrat Michael Ward has criticised the lack of funding for the public broadcaster in the federal government’s May 2021 Budget. He contends that the ABC is among the few media companies that are excluded from the $58.6m funding package. Amongst other things, SBS will receive a $30m funding boost, some $8m has been allocated to community broadcasting and the privately-owned AAP newswire service will receive $15m. The Australian Communications & Media Authority will receive an additional $4.2m to implement the news media bargaining code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Pfizer warns that a Covid vaccine patent waiver could harm supply and safety

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-May-21

Australia is continuing to resist a global push to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer has used its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into vaccine fraud to argue that rather than increasing global supply of vaccines, a waiver may in fact make it more difficult to manufacture vaccines due to increased competition for raw materials. Pfizer has also highlighted the increased risk of Australians being offered counterfeit vaccines by scammers. Meanwhile, Moderna has advised that the federal government has agreed to buy 25 million doses of its mRNA-based vaccine, including 10 million doses in 2021. It is also holding talks about manufacturing the two-dose vaccine in Australia.

CORPORATES
PFIZER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PFIZER INCORPORATED, MODERNA INCORPORATED

JobKeeper aid helped prevent 500 suicides

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Apr-21

Ian Hickie, the joint director of Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre, says the best thing the federal government can do to reduce mental health stress and preventable suicide is to maintain economic and jobs growth. The centre’s latest modelling suggests that COVID-19 support measures such as the JobKeeper wage subsidy will prevent 469 suicide deaths and 4,226 hospitalisations for self- harm between 2020 and 2025. It is also likely to avert more than 51,000 mental health presentations at hospitals’ emergency departments over the same period.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. BRAIN AND MIND RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Australia examines modern slavery laws amid concerns over products linked to Uyghur abuse

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Daniel Hurst
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-Apr-21

Australian Border Force official Vanessa Holben says the federal government will review the Modern Slavery Act in 2022. The legislation has been criticised over its lack of financial penalties for companies that fail to deal with the use of slave labour in their supply chains. Holben says the government is "deeply concerned" about reports of human rights abuses against the Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang region. Independent senator Rex Patrick has proposed legislation to ban imports from Xinjiang and other parts of China that are produced by using forced labour. The bill is being scrutinised by a Senate committee.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE

Health officials beg for hotel quarantine to be upgraded

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Christopher Knaus, Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-Apr-21

Public Health Association of Australia president Tarun Weeramanthri has urged the national cabinet to end the ‘political blame game’ over hotel quarantine and address deficiencies with the system. He says airborne transmission of COVID-19 in hotels with inadequate ventilation is the single biggest risk in terms of the virus spreading. Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has defended the hotel quarantine system; he has told a parliamentary inquiry that the system is ‘fit for purpose’, but concedes that improvements can be made. Some state governments are continuing to advocate housing returned travellers in purpose-built facilities in regional areas.

CORPORATES
PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH