VIRUS DISEASES – VICTORIA

PM vows to break Victoria’s fall

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jul-20

Victoria recorded 134 new coronavirus cases on 8 July, as metropolitan Melbourne prepared to go into lockdown for six weeks. The virus outbreak in Victoria is set to dominate the national cabinet’s agenda when it meets on 10 July, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged extending the JobKeeper wage subsidy beyond late September. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in turn says the federal government will look at bringing forward legislated personal income tax cuts in order to stimulate the economy. The government is also considering measures such as providing greater incentives for business investment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Investors brace for harder hit from second wave

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Jul-20

The S&P/ASX 200 has shed 3.2 per in the last three trading sessions, while the Australian dollar has retreated ahead of Melbourne going into lockdown. Damien Boey of Credit Suisse says policymakers may have underestimated the economic cost of the lockdown, which may be closer to $26bn than the $6bn that has been forecast. He adds that the new lockdown may the "straw that broke the camel’s back" for many small businesses that were already struggling. Analysts also expect the new coronavirus outbreak in Victoria to weigh on corporate earnings and dividend payouts.

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STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Victoria’s $12b economic hit from new lockdown

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Jul-20

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird says the six-week coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne is likely to reduce Australia’s GDP growth by about one per cent in the September quarter. While the economic cost of the lockdown to the Victorian economy is uncertain, estimates range from $1bn to $2.3bn per week. IFM Investors’ chief economist Alex Joiner says the federal government will have to take the new lockdown into account when finalising its forecasts for the economic statement to be released on 23 July. Victoria accounts for about 25 per cent of the national economy.

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COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Melbourne locked down: Premier pleads for help

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-20

The Victorian government has extended stage-three lockdown restrictions to the 31 local government areas across metropolitan Melbourne after a record 191 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state on 7 July. The six-week lockdown also includes the Mitchell Shire, which is located north of Melbourne. Premier Daniel Andrews says the growth in new cases is unsustainably high and failure to take action would have seen the virus get out of control. There are currently 772 active cases in Victoria, including 438 that have been attributed to community transmission.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Cash-in-hand security

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Original article by James Campbell, Matt Johnston
Herald Sun – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-20

The scandal over Victoria’s troubled hotel quarantine program continues to deepen. Written statements from several security guards allege that they were paid $22 cash per hour and no superannuation to work at the Crown Promenade Hotel when it was being used to quarantine returned travellers. They also allege that they were not provided with pay slips or asked to supply tax file numbers. They claim to have been hired by a security firm that was subcontracted by Unified Security.

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UNIFIED SECURITY GROUP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CROWN PROMENADE HOTEL, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Shut border risk to jobs

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Jul-20

A record 127 new coronavirus cases were reported in Victoria on 6 July, including 16 at the nine public housing estates that are in a hard lockdown. Another two people in Victoria have died from the virus, lifting the national death toll to 106. Meanwhile, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has described the decision to close Victoria’s border with New South Wales as a "sledgehammer approach" which will result in immense economic disruption. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian argues that the border closure is necessary because the coronavirus is now being spread in Melbourne via community transmission. She maintains that borders between other states should be re-opened.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Overcrowded towers are virus incubators

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-20

Fifty-three residents of Melbourne’s nine locked-down public housing towers have tested positive to the coronavirus to date. Victoria’s Housing Minister Richard Wynne says that about 400 residents were tested on 6 July, and four per cent tested positive. The Victorian Public Tenants Association’ executive officer Mark Feenane says there is chronic overcrowding in the towers, adding that it is time to consider scrapping the high-rise buildings in favour of low-density accommodation. Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has likened the public housing towers to ‘vertical cruise ships’.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, VICTORIAN PUBLIC TENANTS ASSOCIATION

Victoria reimposes drastic lockdowns in 10 hard-hit COVID hotspots across Melbourne

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 1-Jul-20

Victoria reported a total of 64 new coronavirus cases on 30 June, prompting the state government to reimpose stage three lockdowns in 36 suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west for four weeks from 11.59pm on 1 July. Residents in the postcodes of 3012, 3021, 3032, 3038, 3042, 3046, 3047, 3055, 3060 and 3064 will only be allowed to leave their homes to go to work or school, for care or care giving, for daily exercise or to buy food and other essential items until at least 29 July. Police will be deployed to enforce the lockdown in the coronavirus hotspot suburbs.

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