COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Sydney and Brisbane CBD workers surge while Melbourne struggles to regain pre-pandemic heights

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Oct-25

Roy Morgan research reveals that Australia’s central business district workforces have seen strong long-term growth over the past two decades, with most CBDs now surpassing their pre-pandemic peaks. Just 974,000 Australians worked in CBDs in 2003-04. Since then, the total has more than doubled to a record 2.2 million in 2024-25, driven largely by Australia’s population growth. Melbourne’s CBD workforce expanded significantly over the past two decades, more than doubling from 246,000 in 2003-04 to 614,000 in 2019-20. However, the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on Melbourne compared with other capitals. Worker numbers declined by nearly 100,000 within two years, reaching 519,000 in 2021-22, largely due to extended lockdowns and slower office re-entry. The workforce has since recovered to 577,000 but remains 37,000 below the pre-pandemic peak. Meanwhile, Sydney’s CBD workforce has surged from 283,000 workers in 2003-04 to 670,000 in 2024-25, rebounding strongly after a small pandemic dip and cementing its position as Australia’s largest CBD workforce. Brisbane’s CBD workforce has more than doubled, from 125,000 to 320,000, with rapid post-pandemic growth.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Allan refuses to reveal details behind Covid curfew call

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Carly Douglas
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 24-Apr-25

The Victorian government is under scrutiny in the wake of revelations that the decision to impose a two-month curfew on Melbourne residents at the peak of COVID-19 in 2020 was not based on public health advice. The documents obtained via freedom of information laws show that the decision to enforce the curfew was made at a meeting of the government’s crisis cabinet. Premier Jacinta Allan was asked about the curfew at a press conference on Wednesday, but she avoided giving any explaination as to who proposed the curfew and which members of the cabinet had supported it.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Class action on Covid-19 jabs doomed to fail: Defence

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Duncan Murray
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Dec-24

Brisbane law firm NR Barbi Solicitor is leading a class action against the federal government in the federal court, with the action alleging that it was negligent in approving Covid-19 vaccines. It seeks damages on behalf of those who suffered "serious adverse events" after taking one or more of the vaccines; one of those listed as members of the class action is Michelle Grace Hunder, who alleges she was diagnosed with vaccine-induced pericarditis. Kate Eastman SC, the barrister appearing for the respondents named in the action, told a hearing on Monday they were seeking to have the lawsuit thrown out on the basis it had no reasonable chance of being successful.

CORPORATES
NR BARBI SOLICITOR, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Scandalous Covid betrayal of trust

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 30-Oct-24

An independent panel’s review of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has made 26 recommendations; it concluded that 19 of them should be prioritised over the next 12-18 months. The inquiry found that the public generally supported Covid measures such as lockdowns at the onset of the pandemic, but "draconian" measures were not justified after the initial wave and merely reduced trust in governments. The report noted that the nation is now less prepared for a future public health emergency because the health system has not recovered from the pandemic and Australians are now unlikely to comply with onerous restrictions in the wake of Covid.

CORPORATES

Households deplete pandemic savings

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Aug-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia has estimated that the nation’s households had amassed excess savings of about $300bn during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, National Australia Bank believes that this figure was about $200bn. Meanwhile, research from Yarra Capital Management suggests that households had most likely exhausted these pandemic-era savings by March 2024. Economists are now speculating as to whether consumers will opt to spend or save the additional income from the stage-three tax cuts that took effect on 1 July. Too much spending could force the RBA to leave the cash rate on hold for longer than expected.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, YARRA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Health department records show some pathology companies rorted Medicare during COVID pandemic, expert says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alison Branley
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 16-Jul-24

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws have revealed that some pathology companies rorted Medicare during the pandemic, with one doctor claiming 21,000 tests in a single day. The documents also reveal cases where pathology companies were operating state-government funded pop-up and drive-through testing clinics, but billing Medicare; the federal government was already half-funding the state centres under a national partnership agreement. Health economist Professor Stephen Duckett says the documents show there was "systematic rorting on a very large scale", which reflects very badly on the pathology sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA

Disposable income soared for richest Australians after pandemic but went backwards for the rest, report says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephanie Convery
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 21-May-24

A report from the Productivity Commission has concluded that government assistance in response to COVID-19 resulted in an "unprecedented fall" in income inequality during the pandemic. The report found that household disposable income declined for 90 per cent of Australians early in the pandemic. However, the poorest households were hardest hit, with their income falling by eight per cent; in contrast, the income of the nation’s wealthiest households fell by just one per cent. The latter subsequently benefited the most from the post-pandemic rebound.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Vaccine ruling just tip of the iceberg

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ellie Dudley, Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-Feb-24

The Supreme Court of Queensland has ruled that the state government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for frontline workers such as police officers and paramedics was unlawful. More than 70 such workers pursued legal action against the government, contending amongst other things that requiring them to be vaccinated at the peak of the pandemic was a breach of their human rights. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the frontline workers had been "vindicated", while legal experts believe that the Queensland ruling may set a precedent for similar cases in other states.

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, ONE NATION PARTY

Australian government paid millions for unusable Covid face masks from obscure online retailer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Conn, Christopher Knaus
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Nov-23

The former Coalition government has come under renewed scrutiny over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been revealed that the Department of Health awarded $100m worth of contracts to supply personal protective equipment to a small online retailer in April and June 2020. The contracts to supply 50 million face masks and four million isolation gowns were subsequently outsourced to two companies that are registered in Cyprus. However, some 46 million face masks were deemed to be unusable because they did not comply with quality standards. The Department of Health awarded the contracts via a limited tender.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE

Immunity for mates: PM’s Covid cop-out

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Sep-23

The federal government has been widely criticised over the limited scope of its commission of inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay has questioned why the actions of state and territory governments during the pandemic will be excluded from the inquiry. She argues that this will make it harder to prepare for future pandemics. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of prioritising the interests of Labor premiers over those of the general public. Dutton wants the inquiry to be given the powers of a royal commission, including the ability to compel people to give evidence.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA