AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Morrison’s crisis aid for India

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Emma Connors
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Apr-21

The federal government will provide a COVID-19 support package to assist India to combat its second wave of the coronavirus. The initial aid will include 500 ventilators, 100 oxygen concentrators and personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, face masks and surgical gloves. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also announced that all direct flights from India will be suspended until at least 15 May. The move will affect up to 9,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents who are currently in India. Meanwhile, India has recorded 323,144 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours; Australia has reported 23 new cases in hotel quarantine.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

‘We must get real on a possible China war’: Dutton

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-Apr-21

Defence Minister Peter Dutton says Australia must continue to be a ‘good neighbour’ in the Asia-Pacific and work with its partners and allies to maintain peace in the region. He adds that China has made it clear that reunification with Taiwan is firmly on its agenda, and he has warned that war over Taiwan cannot be ruled out in the future. Dutton has also indicated that thousands of deals with foreign governments are being reviewed following the Coalition’s decision to terminate Victoria’s deal to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. They include the 2015 deal to lease the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company for 99 years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Business calls to fast-track tax cuts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Apr-21

The third stage of the federal government’s income tax cuts package is slated to take effect from 1 July 2024. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the government should consider bringing forward the tax cuts in order to boost the economy and create jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie recently called for the third-stage tax cuts to be dropped, arguing that they will benefit people on high incomes the most.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Parental leave a $5bn earner

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Apr-21

The Business Council of Australia has called for paid parental leave to be increased to 26 weeks for couples who agree to more equally share the amount of time they take off work. The BCA has also proposed increasing the childcare subsidy for lower-income households from 85 to 95 per cent; it notes that modelling by KPMG suggests that this would boost the economy by about $5bn a year. The BCA contends that the high cost of childcare is deterring many women from returning to the workforce. Some Liberal MPs have urged the federal government to include childcare reforms in the Budget on 11 May.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Axe falls on Andrews’ BRI deal with China

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Apr-21

Australia’s strained relations with China may worsen after the federal government used the Foreign Relations Act to cancel Victoria’s agreement to participate in the controversial Belt and Road Initiative. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has used the new powers to veto the state government’s 2018 memorandum of understanding with regard to the BRI, as well as a subsequent framework agreement. Payne has also deemed that the Victorian government’s scientific co-operation agreement with Syria and an education and training deal with Iran are not in the national interest.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

PM’s global tech fix for emissions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Apr-21

The federal government has committed to spending $566m over eight years on the development of low-emission technologies in partnership with other countries. This follows the government’s previous announcement that it will spend $540m on hydrogen and carbon capture and storage projects. Prime Minister Scott Morrison contends that international collaboration is the most effective way to address the issue of carbon emissions, a point he will emphasise during the upcoming virtual climate change summit that will be hosted by US President Joe Biden.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

RBA lauds $50bn budget boost

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-21

The federal government had forecast a $198bn Budget deficit for 2020-21 in its mid-year economic and financial outlook. The Department of Finance has advised that the Budget bottom line improved by $23bn during the first eight months of the financial year; some economists now expect the full-year deficit to be about $50bn lower than had been forecast in December. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia says the strong economic rebound has seen national GDP growth return to its pre-pandemic level. The RBA reiterated in the minutes of its monthly board meeting that the cash rate is likely to remain on hold until at least 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM pushes jobs on road to net zero

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Apr-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government will adopt a ‘technology-first’ approach to reducing carbon emissions. He will reveal plans for the government to invest in four clean hydrogen hubs in regional Australia, as well as carbon capture and storage technology. These initiatives will cost some $540m, while Morrison says they will create 2,500 jobs. Morrison has also committed to ensuring that the government’s climate policies will not penalise industries that have high carbon emissions, such as mining and agriculture.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australians still set to take the vaccine: but opinion is divided on PM Scott Morrison’s handling of all COVID-19 related issues

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Apr-21

Now 83% of Australians have either already been vaccinated (7%), are willing to be vaccinated (69%) or would be willing to be vaccinated once the Pfizer vaccine becomes available (7%) – a total of 83% and an increase of 3% points since February, according to a special Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey conducted on Friday April 9 and Saturday April 10, 2021. Although the vast majority of Australians across all ages, genders, States and political party allegiances are willing to take the vaccine or have already done so, there is a political divide. Only 13% of L-NP voters say they will not be vaccinated, while more than 1-in-5 Labor and Green voters and those who vote for Independents and other parties express unwillingness to be vaccinated. The nation is evenly split on Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s handling of all COVID-19 related issues with 51% disapproving of Morrison’s handling of the pandemic and 49% approving. Clear majority support for Morrison’s handling of all COVID-19 related issues is recorded among Australians aged 65+, people in country areas, NSW, Queensland, WA and Tasmania, as well as L-NP supporters. In contrast a majority of younger Australians, women, people in capital cities and Victoria as well as supporters of the ALP and Greens disapprove.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM shelves vaccination targets

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Apr-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has advised that the federal government will not set a revised target for all Australians who want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to receive their first dose. Morrison said there are too many uncertainties regarding the vaccine rollout to set a new target, although he stated that the preference is still for all first doses to be administered by the end of 2021. The government has ordered an additional 20 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine following a recommendation that people under the age of 50 should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns about blood clotting.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASTRAZENECA PLC, PFIZER INCORPORATED