October 29, 2020 Edition.
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The biggest thing this week is the surge in
COVID19 across the whole of the Northern Hemisphere while fortunately in OZ we
are remaining under 10 new cases a day. The huge question is “Can it Last”???
The US votes in only a few days – next Tuesday
in fact – and we will all be on alert until a result is available and has been
accepted by all the actors. I have to say at this point it is really hard to
know where it is going – especially as Trump really behaved in the second
Debate.
In the UK lock-downs are ramping up and sadly
in the rest of Europe we are seeing increasing protests against the responses
to the virus – for what good that will do.
In Australia we have seen the onset of some
real apparent public organisation extravagance from Australia Post and ASIC as
well as some public servant sloppiness which has affected the public purse and
taxpayers money. The hysterical reaction of the PM seems to suggest he feels vulnerable
on all this and his lack of progress in creating a Federal Integrity
Commission. It is pretty clear such a Commission is needed I reckon!
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Major Issues.
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https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/ardern-s-win-poses-questions-over-the-greens-and-challenges-for-the-centre-right-20201018-p5664m.html
Ardern's win poses questions over
the Greens and challenges for the centre-right
By James
Massola
October 19, 2020 — 12.00am
Jacinda Ardern has captured the first outright single-party
majority in New Zealand
politics since the country's current electoral system was introduced in 1996.
Ardern is a totemic figure for the global
left through her inclusive policies and language, and her deft handling of
three huge crises in her first three years – the Christchurch massacre, the
White Island volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her re-election poses questions for
centre-right governments around the world – including that of Scott Morrison –
about what voters want and expect from their leaders in the time of COVID-19.
But first, the New Zealand Prime Minister
faces a difficult choice – whether, with a likely 64 seats in the 120-member
Parliament, she chooses to go it alone or whether she enters into some sort of
coalition arrangement and parcels out ministries to the Greens.
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https://www.smh.com.au/national/murdoch-s-sway-on-politics-warrants-royal-commission-20201016-p565wc.html
Murdoch's sway on politics
warrants royal commission
Former Australian prime minister
October 19, 2020 — 12.00am
Living in Australia, many now
habitually think our national media landscape is normal. It isn’t. No other
Western democracy has the level of print media monopoly that Rupert Murdoch has
secured for himself in Australia.
A single American billionaire has
now seized control of almost 70 per cent of daily newspaper circulation. In my
state of Queensland, which determines most federal elections, this monopoly is
almost 100 per cent with every newspaper from Cairns to Coolangatta and
Australia’s only commercial 24-hour 'news' channel.
But Murdoch is not just any old
businessman. He’s not just interested in money but also in political power and
far-right ideology. For Murdoch, it’s long been his triple-aphrodisiac. And the
habits of a lifetime lead him to destroy anybody who gets in his way. That’s
why people are frightened of him.
Where would Murdoch like to take
Australia? Look no further than Fox News in America, which remains the
epicentre of the Trump phenomenon, polluting Americans’ minds with bullshit
narratives about widespread voter fraud, climate hoaxes and other wild conspiracies.
This parallel-universe model is now unfolding in the pages of his Australian
newspapers and on Sky News.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/australias-security-and-the-grey-zone-of-influence-and-coercion/news-story/85538980012da68421bb72a674709d0d
Australia’s
security and the ‘grey zone’ of influence and coercion
Linda
Reynolds
·
11:00PM October 18, 2020
As
Defence Minister, it is my job to see and respond to the world as it is, not as
we wish it to be.
I
see an increasing imperative for Australia to advocate assertively for
stability, security and sovereignty in our region.
One
of my highest priorities has been engaging with our regional neighbours and
global partners. Defence diplomacy has never been more vital than now, as our
region faces the most consequential strategic realignment since World War II.
The
2020 Defence Strategic Update, which Scott Morrison and I launched on July 1,
takes a clear-eyed view of geostrategic trends. Australian interests are being
challenged more directly. Strategic competition, military modernisation and
coercion have increased, while warning times for conflict have decreased.
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https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/looks-like-a-cover-up-30m-western-sydney-airport-land-deal-probed-20201019-p566cl
'Looks like a cover-up': $30m
Western Sydney Airport land deal probed
Tom McIlroy and Ronald Mizen
Oct
19, 2020 – 12.33pm
A senior federal government
bureaucrat has conceded public servants might have tried to cover up actions
that led to taxpayers spending $30 million for
land worth a fraction of that price at Western Sydney Airport.
The Australian Federal Police are
investigating the purchase of the Leppington Triangle land, later valued at only $3 million,
with Infrastructure Department boss Simon Atkinson confirming two public
servants face additional internal investigations over the deal.
Appearing before Senate estimates
hearings on Monday, Mr Atkinson said the former inspector-general of
intelligence and security, Vivienne Thom, was investigating allegations of unethical
conduct raised in a scathing Auditor-General's report.
Dr Thom led the High Court of
Australia's review of sexual harassment allegations
against former justice Dyson Heydon.
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https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/spy-chief-personally-warns-mps-over-chinese-manipulation-20201020-p566om
Spy chief warns MPs: China may
target you
Andrew Tillett and Phillip Coorey
Oct
20, 2020 – 6.09pm
The nation's spy chief will warn
federal MPs they are vulnerable to manipulation by foreign agents as part of
efforts to ward off Chinese attempts to meddle in Australian politics.
And in a further boost to efforts
to push back against Chinese influence, Australia will participate in
joint naval exercises with India, Japan and the United States after a 13 year
absence,
cementing the burgeoning Quadrilateral alliance between the four countries.
The long-coveted invitation to
Exercise Malabar came as Australian, US and Japanese warships sailed together
through the contested waters of the South China Sea.
ASIO chief Mike Burgess told
Senate estimates on Tuesday the spy agency had stepped up its investigation
into foreign intelligence services that were "deceptively
cultivating" politicians at federal, state and local government level to
gain influence and curry favour.
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https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/lynas-highlights-global-moves-to-secure-rare-earths-20201021-p56756.html
Lynas highlights global moves to
secure rare earths
October 21, 2020 — 12.24pm
Rare earths miner Lynas Corp said
it is actively engaging with governments over plans to ease China’s grip over
the crucial sector which has become central to US-China trade tensions.
In a quarterly update to the ASX
on Wednesday, Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze highlighted the growing
strategic imperatives around the globe to secure supply chains for rare earths
outside of China which controls 80 per cent of the market.
Lynas noted the executive order from US
President Trump early this month to build reliable and resilient critical minerals supply chains
for the US economy.
The European Union also identified
the need for a diversified and sustainable supply chain to secure access to
rare earths, while the Australian government released its Modern Manufacturing
Strategy, which also prioritises these key ores.
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https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/pope-francis-calls-for-civil-union-laws-for-same-sex-couples-20201022-p567dk.html
Pope Francis calls for civil union
laws for same-sex couples
By Nicole
Winfield
October 22, 2020 — 1.17am
Rome: Pope Francis has endorsed same-sex
civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the
feature-length documentary, Francesco, in what amounts to his clearest support to
date for the issue.
The papal thumbs-up came midway
through the film that delves into issues he cares about most, including the
environment, poverty, migration, racial and income inequality, and the people
most affected by discrimination.
"Homosexual people have the
right to be in a family. They are children of God," Francis said in one of
his sit-down interviews for the film, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival
on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).
"What we have to have is a
civil union law; that way they are legally covered."
While serving as archbishop of
Buenos Aires, Francis endorsed civil unions for gay couples as an alternative
to same-sex marriages. However, he had never come out publicly in favour of
civil unions as pope.
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https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/christians-are-not-victims-church-leader-slams-religious-freedom-bill-20201022-p567n4.html
'Christians are not victims':
church leader slams religious freedom bill
By Angus Thompson
October 23, 2020 — 12.00am
The leader of a major church group
says it is disingenuous to portray Australian Christians as victims of
persecution in his criticism of a NSW religious freedom bill spurred by the
Israel Folau controversy.
In comments made before his
appearance in a parliamentary committee to discuss One Nation's Mark Latham's
proposed legislation on Friday, Uniting Church NSW and ACT Synod moderator
Simon Hansford put himself at odds with other denominations and the schools
under its umbrella in slamming the bill as heavy-handed against minorities.
Reverend Hansford rejected claims
that discrimination against Christians was spiralling in Australian society,
saying instead the evidence showed most discrimination was directed towards
religious minorities.
"Christians are not victims
in Australia because of our faith, and we should not seek freedoms that are
self-serving and come at the detriment of others in the community," he
said.
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https://www.smh.com.au/national/susan-ryan-opened-doors-that-will-never-close-20201022-p567fl.html
Susan Ryan opened doors that will
never close
Anthony Albanese
Contributor
October 22, 2020 — 6.53pm
My last conversation with Susan
Ryan was on September 4. It began with the usual pleasantries but typically,
she didn't want to talk about herself. She wanted to talk about others. Susan
was concerned about the crisis in aged care that has already led to more than
680 deaths. She pressed the immediate need to increase staff in aged care
homes, improve transparency and accountability, and implement long-term reform.
Susan knew a thing or two about
long-lasting reform. As the first woman to sit in a federal Labor cabinet, in
the Hawke government of 1983, she effected change that still resonates today.
It’s not just because of what she did that we honour her with a state funeral
in Sydney today,
even though she did so much. It’s because what she did lasted; the doors that
she opened will never be closed again. What she fought against looks to younger
generations like the stuff of dystopian fiction - but it was real and Susan
toppled it.
She was a Labor giant, feminist
hero and great Australian. Someone who, at the time, had a novel idea – that
gender-based discrimination shouldn’t be allowed in our workplaces – and fought
with a balanced combination of hunger and good grace to make it happen. It’s an
idea that is uncontroversial now but it was remarkable, even revolutionary, at
the time. And it was an idea that demanded the full force of Susan’s courage
and persistence. Her triumph is that her reforms have become part of who we are
as a nation.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/asic-chief-clings-on-as-expenses-scandal-hits-20201023-p567zj
ASIC chief clings on as expenses
scandal hits
John Kehoe and Ronald Mizen
Updated
Oct 23, 2020 – 6.15pm, first published at 1.13pm
Australia's top corporate watchdog
James Shipton is under pressure to keep his job after stepping aside for an investigation
into payments of more than $180,000 to cover the cost of managing his tax
affairs and rental payments for a deputy boss.
The federal government's auditor
criticised the size of payments the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission made for work relocation expenses, including $118,557 for KPMG tax
services to help Mr Shipton move from the United States to lead ASIC in 2018.
ASIC also paid $69,621 in housing
costs on behalf of deputy chair Daniel Crennan, QC, equal to $750 weekly rent
in 2018 and 2019, after he was asked to relocate from his long-time home of
Melbourne to ASIC's Sydney office.
In an extraordinary letter, Auditor-General
Grant Hehir told Josh Frydenberg that the matter was of "such
importance" he was directly contacting the Treasurer to "gain greater
confidence that appropriate action would be taken".
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https://www.afr.com/chanticleer/asic-chair-s-sense-of-entitlement-20201023-p56822
ASIC chair's sense of entitlement
Chanticleer
is Australia's pre-eminent business column.
Oct
24, 2020 – 12.00am
James Shipton's career as one of the country's top five most
powerful public servants
is almost certainly over.
The chairman of the Australian
Securities and Investments Commission is a victim of his own inflated sense of
entitlement.
This is the only conclusion
Chanticleer can draw after reading the letter sent by
Auditor-General Grant Hehir to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week.
Hehir sets out the granular detail
of how Shipton ended up charging ASIC for $118,000 in personal tax services
supplied by KPMG and $78,256 in fringe benefits tax. Shipton has repaid this
money to the Commonwealth.
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https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/old-age-is-the-next-global-economic-threat-20201022-p567dz.html
Old age is the next global
economic threat
By Noah Smith
October 23, 2020 — 6.03am
While the world wrestles with a
deadly pandemic and how to confront climate change, there's another, long-term
global challenge that no one really knows how to deal with: Population ageing.
As the human race transitions from a burgeoning, exploding species to a static
or shrinking one, economies around the world will come under significant
strain.
Japan is the canary in the coal
mine here. Although its birthrate is not as low as that of many other rich
countries, it's been low for a longer time. That's why Japan is now the world's
oldest major economy.
On one hand, Japan demonstrates
why a shrinking population doesn't automatically impoverish a country. Its
population is slowly declining, and is back down to the level of two decades
ago, yet the country's income per capita has continued to rise as productivity
grows and more women enter the workforce.
But pronounced ageing like Japan's
does come at an economic cost. Every year, a dwindling pool of working-age
Japanese people is forced to support an expanding pool of gray-haired
consumers. This is why Japan's living standards are falling behind rich
countries with growing populations.
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https://www.smh.com.au/national/abc-news-boss-warns-staff-against-focus-on-inner-city-left-wing-elites-20201023-p56849.html
By Michael
Koziol
October 25, 2020 — 12.00am
ABC news boss Gaven Morris told staff they
were too focused on the interests of "inner city left-wing elites"
and linked his concerns about editorial coverage to the national broadcaster's
ongoing funding from taxpayers.
In remarks made during staff briefings last
week Mr Morris warned it would not bode well for the ABC's funding "if
we're seen to be representing inner city elite interests", according to
three people who were present.
The sources said Mr Morris disparaged
"inner city left-wing elites" numerous times, telling staff he would
be "happier if we spent less time on the concerns of the inner city elites
and more time on the things that matter to central Queensland".
Mr Morris told The Sun-Herald and The Sunday
Age his remarks referred to the public's perception of the ABC and it was wrong
for anyone to infer that he was suggesting government funding could be under
threat if news coverage did not change.
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https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/cartier-watches-may-outrage-the-pm-but-he-should-clock-these-scandals-for-true-shock-value-20201023-p5681g.html
Jacqueline
Maley
Columnist and senior journalist
October 24, 2020 — 11.00pm
Napoleon said that men are led by baubles,
and certainly, in the case of the senior executives of Australia Post, the gift
of Cartier watches – suitably French and fancy – seems to have been received
gladly.
Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate rewarded
four of her senior staff with Cartier timepieces worth an average of $5000
each, it was revealed last week. She has stepped aside pending a government
investigation. She is not expected to return.
The favoured staff had pulled off a deal
worth $66 million to the taxpayer-owned company – for a new service called
Bank@Post, which allows customers to access banking at the post office. But
they negotiated the co-operation of only three of the four big banks (ANZ
didn’t sign up).
A $5000 watch for clinching three-quarters of
a deal? Not bad.
Imagine if they had pulled off the quartet:
they might have been gifted a Bulgari watch, like the one Holgate herself wore
as she gave her evidence at Senate Estimates.
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Coronavirus And Impacts.
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https://www.afr.com/politics/curfew-fails-human-rights-test-20201018-p56645
Curfew fails human rights test
The
court challenge to Victoria's curfew is important to make sure that the future
use of emergency public health powers is necessary, proportionate and
transparent.
Nathan Grills Contributor
Oct
19, 2020 – 12.00am
The case before the Supreme Court challenges the
legality of Victoria’s curfew.
Whatever the result, it deserves close attention. There are important lessons
about the proportionate application of public health emergency powers.
The limitations placed on using
emergency powers to address a public health threat are outlined in UN
conventions, various acts of parliament and also in public health and ethical
frameworks.
Under the Victorian
Charter of Human Rights,
limitations must satisfy principles including being necessary and
proportionate. Proportionality is also a principle in Victoria’s
Public Health and Wellbeing Act and forms an important constraint in outlining that use of powers
should be “proportionate to the public health risk sought to be prevented,
minimised or controlled; and not be made or taken in an arbitrary manner”. This
is consistent with the Siracusa
principles
outlined in the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, to which Australia is a signatory.
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https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/our-grandchildren-will-pay-the-price-for-covid-recession-20201018-p56646
Our grandchildren will pay the
price for COVID-19 recession
Having shut the economy, governments had to spend
up big. But the long-term consequences of this year's policy decisions could
include a return to the stagflation of the 1970s.
Alexander Downer
Columnist
Oct 18, 2020 – 12.48pm
John Maynard Keynes is said to have coined
the phrase “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?” When the
government of which I was part left office in December 2007, the Commonwealth
had a budget surplus and had paid off all of its debt. It was a singular
achievement of the Liberal Party to have governed so efficiently.
Today, the same party is in power but it has
just delivered a budget with a deficit of $213 billion and debt is expected to reach
more than $700 billion in the next year, or 36 per cent of gross domestic
product. By 2024 that will have grown to 44 per cent of GDP.
So what do people like me who were deficit
hawks think about that? On the face of it, the government has not had any real
choice. New facts required new policies. It has deliberately closed down much
of the economy, destroying businesses and jobs in order to protect Australians
from COVID-19. It has to compensate for those decisions.
And just in case you feel uncomfortable about
that, remember, governments throughout the world are doing exactly the same
thing. In most cases their starting points were much worse than Australia’s,
which means they will end up with substantially higher levels of debt-to-GDP
and eye-watering budget deficits.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/new-economics-not-just-about-the-virus/news-story/bb9d81ed7fc347f2aafed08fc2dba038
New
economics not just about the virus
Alan
Kohler
·
5:58AM October 19, 2020
When
the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, called for a new “Bretton Woods moment”
last week, it completed a dramatic transformation of economic orthodoxy.
Whether
her landmark speech is now followed by an international agreement like the one
in 1944 is another matter, but the two bodies that were created at the Bretton
Woods conference, the IMF and World Bank, have given the green light to
uncapped government spending and borrowing without later austerity.
Specifically,
the World Bank’s influential chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, who literally
wrote the book on austerity and was a leading proponent of it after the GFC,
told the Financial Times in an interview a fortnight ago: “First you worry
about fighting the war, then you figure out how to pay for it.”
The
head of fiscal policy at the IMF, Vitor Gaspar, said last week that countries
that are able to borrow will be able to keep borrowing, and will not have to
raise taxes or cut public spending.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/coronavirus-sweden-hopes-voluntary-lockdowns-will-tackle-hotspots/news-story/444c9500f9125c5a6fb778e218ea3d81
Coronavirus: Sweden hopes
voluntary lockdowns will tackle hotspots
·
By Oliver Moody
·
The Times
·
October 20, 2020
Stockholm
and other areas of Sweden are facing voluntary local lockdowns as the
authorities draw up “strong recommendations” against using public transport or
going to bars, restaurants and non-essential shops.
Swedes
in coronavirus hotspots such as Uppsala, Orebro and Jamtland could also be
advised to avoid travelling outside their region, physical contact with anyone
from other households and visits to people in risk groups, including the
elderly.
While
compliance with the rules will be voluntary and there are no plans to punish
violations with fines or prison sentences, they are likely to have a noticeable
impact on daily life in the affected areas.
The
guidance marks a shift in strategy from a country that had previously been
regarded as a standard-bearer for a more “light-touch” approach to the
pandemic.
Since
the start of September the number of new cases detected each day has risen from
an average of 160 to nearly 700.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/coronavirus-health-fascism-has-consumed-human-rights/news-story/e27dfbb1b5aae7c68a2dac5de003f74d
Coronavirus:
Health fascism has consumed human rights
Adam
Creighton
·
11:00PM October 19, 2020
What
a farce human rights have become. For years progressive politicians, academics
and activists have called for stronger protection for human rights, new codes,
new laws — and well-staffed commissions costing millions to oversee them.
Democracies just couldn’t be trusted.
Indeed,
this year has witnessed the most extraordinary attack on freedoms by democratic
governments in modern history, making a mockery of such human rights acts and
conventions. Yet there’s been barely a peep from those in the human rights
industry, who’ve perhaps been enjoying working from home on their large taxpayer
guaranteed salaries.
The
$10m-a-year Victorian Human Rights Commission, at ground zero for what will be
seen as the most destructive over-reaction in Australian history, says on its
website its focus during the pandemic includes “reducing racism” and “improving
workplace gender equality”. COVID-19 “has exposed some weaknesses in the way
the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities protects Victorians from
violations of their rights”, the commission does concede on its website.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/why-covid-20-is-less-deadly-all-that-sanitising-bought-us-time/news-story/99c2fa369cd091818332ed522cf56d71
Why Covid 2.0 is less deadly: all
that sanitising bought us time
Imogen
Reid
·
6:51AM October 21, 2020
Is
COVID-19 becoming less deadly as the pandemic progresses? That’s a question
being asked by scientists who have found the amount of virus present in throat
and nose swabs from positive patients is less than what it was at the start of
the pandemic.
There
are now understood to be a number of different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
circulating around the world, and a US study in Detroit — which took samples
from hospital patients in Michigan from April to June — shows the initial viral
load in COVID-19 swabs has been decreasing as the pandemic progresses.
The
study found that the downward trend in the viral load on swabs was associated
with a decrease in the death rate.
It
also suggests Australia’s approach of rapid social-distancing measures,
lockdowns and the use of masks may have decreased exposure and consequently
bought time for the population as the virus became less deadly.
-----
https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/after-the-pandemic-a-revolution-in-education-and-work-awaits-20201021-p5675o
After the pandemic, a revolution
in education and work awaits
The
pandemic has accelerated the fundamental shift of focus from degrees to skills
in a new world in which skills are becoming obsolete faster than ever before.
Thomas L. Friedman
Oct
21, 2020 – 2.42pm
The good Lord works in mysterious
ways. He (She?) threw a pandemic at us at the exact same time as a tectonic
shift in the way we will learn, work and employ.
Fasten your seatbelt. When we
emerge from this coronavirus crisis, we're going to be greeted with one of the
most profound eras of Schumpeterian creative destruction ever –
which this pandemic is both accelerating and disguising.
No job, no K-12 (kindergarten to
12th grade) school, no university, no factory, no office will be spared. And it
will touch both white-collar and blue-collar workers, which is why this
election matters so much.
How we provide more Americans with
portable healthcare, portable pensions and opportunities for lifelong learning
to get the most out of this moment and cushion the worst is what politics needs
to be about after November 3 – or we're really headed for instability.
-----
https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/has-australia-been-too-successful-in-combating-covid-19-20201022-p567n7
Has Australia been too successful
in combating COVID-19?
With
a vaccine months away and new case numbers in the low single digits, the
Australian government needs a national plan for living with the virus.
Jill Margo Health editor
Oct
24, 2020 – 12.00am
This is the weekend Victorians
have been waiting for. New cases of COVID-19 have settled into low single
figures and on Sunday, Melburnians are expecting a further easing of restrictions.
For more than 100 days, they’ve
shown what sacrifices are needed to overcome a second wave in the absence of a
vaccine. And their success contrasts dramatically with the surge in cases in Europe and North America, where the same disciplines were not applied.
But Victoria's stringent approach
would not have been necessary if the state had been better prepared and it is time for structural
change, says Honorary Professor John Mathews, an esteemed epidemiologist with
deep experience in Australian health politics.
In the 1970s authorities thought
we had seen the “end of communicable diseases", says Professor
Mathews.
"Despite early optimism about
the national cabinet facilitating co-operative planning, that ethos has largely
been lost and hard work is now needed to fix the problems that arise from
divided responsibilities, particularly relating to border control," he
says. “From the 1918 pandemic we should have learned the importance of
Commonwealth control of border quarantine.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/coronavirus-how-to-do-away-with-lockdowns/news-story/5a027eaf758ec969eb3b03614c725af9
Coronavirus: How to do away with
lockdowns
Natasha
Robinson
·
6:55PM October 23, 2020
It’s
a study in contrasts. Europe is grappling with a second wave of COVID-19, with
case numbers already triple those recorded at the peak of the first wave. But
in Asian countries including Singapore, Japan and South Korea, the disease is
largely contained and governments are preparing to ease restrictions and reopen
borders.
The
seeds of the disaster in Europe versus the success in Asia were sown early. In
countries including Italy, France and Britain, governments locked down hard,
brought cases down and then largely eased restrictions throughout their summer.
But community transmission was never brought fully under control and, as
lockdowns ended, cases rose.
In
Asia, rigorous contact tracing, strict quarantine measures and widespread
testing stamped out outbreaks when they arose, the groundwork carefully laid
for a long-term strategy of containment.
Lacking
a strong public health infrastructure — Germany is the exception — many
countries in Europe are now left with little choice but to again lock down
societies. It’s a strategy the World Health Organisation rejects as not
feasible in the longer term. So what can be learned from Asia about how to
prevent the virus from gaining control and avoiding ongoing lockdowns?
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-90-per-cent-economy-post-pandemic-it-will-never-be-the-same-20201023-p567xr.html
Matt Wade
Senior economics writer
October 24, 2020 — 11.01pm
When nations across the globe went into
pandemic lockdowns earlier this year The Economist newspaper coined the term
“90 per cent economy" to describe what would be left once restrictions
were lifted.
Australia has dealt with the health crisis
better than most countries but our economic decline was largely in line with
that prediction. At the end of June, the quarterly output of the Australian
economy was about 92 per cent of what it would have been if growth had
continued as normal, uninterrupted by the coronavirus outbreak.
A recovery is now under way, but the Reserve
Bank governor, Philip Lowe, warns the pandemic has taken an unusually haphazard
toll. “All recessions are uneven, but this one has been especially so,” he said
this month.
Under the best-case scenarios, where a
COVID-19 vaccine becomes quickly available and pandemic restrictions ease, it
will be some time before important industries such as international tourism and
education are revived.
-----
Climate Change
-----
No articles this week.
-----
Royal Commissions And The Like.
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/radical-shake-up-of-financial-advice-rules-floated-20201019-p566e4
Radical shake-up of financial
advice rules floated
Aleks Vickovich Wealth editor
Oct
20, 2020 – 12.01am
Research house Rice Warner has
proposed a major rethink of the laws governing financial advice, deregulating
the troubled sector in a bid to improve access and affordability for regular
consumers.
In a new paper commissioned by the
Financial Services Council and seen by The Australian Financial Review, researchers Michael
Rice and Richard Dunn conclude that consumers need advice to maximise their financial
positions, boost national savings and take pressure off the age pension.
However, most Australians are
priced out by exorbitant costs pushed up by complex laws and regulations.
According to Rice Warner, the vast majority of consumers would not pay more
than $500 a year for comprehensive, face-to-face advice, while the fees charged
by advisers can often be closer to $5000.
The paper proposes overhauling the
present dichotomy
between "general" and "personal" financial advice, only the latter of which
involves proper consideration of the consumer's personal circumstances.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/national/aged-care-inquiry-lawyers-call-for-staff-ratios-and-tougher-laws-and-enforcement-20201022-p567gh.html
Aged care inquiry lawyers call for
staff ratios and tougher laws, enforcement
October 22, 2020 — 10.49am
Lawyers assisting the aged care
royal commission have recommended mandated staffing ratios in residential aged
care, including the compulsory registration of aged care workers, and a new
Aged Care Act that would protect the rights of older people.
After two and half years of
hearings that have included appalling tales of neglect of aged care residents,
counsel also recommended a new act to protect the human rights of older
Australians and proposed replacing the existing regulator with a new and
independent Aged Care Commission.
The recommendations are among 124
proposed by senior counsel Peter Gray, QC, and Peter Rozen, QC, assisting the
commissioners. They are contained in a 500-page submission to commissioners,
Tony Pagone, QC, and Lynelle Briggs. It was made public on Thursday.
Counsel also called for the
proposed new Australian Aged Care Commission - and its new commissioner - to be
independent of the Aged Care Minister. The Australian Quality and Safety
Commission, the existing body, is with the Commonwealth Health Department.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/aged-care-royal-commission-hears-of-almost-50-sexual-assaults-every-week/news-story/06203d31c8418b113bf0692e37dedd13
Aged Care Royal Commission hears
of almost 50 sexual assaults every week
·
By Angie Raphael
·
NCA NewsWire
·
October 22, 2020
The
Royal Commission into Aged Care has heard there are almost 50 sexual assaults
in residential care every week.
Senior
counsel assisting the royal commission Peter Rozen referred to a KPMG report
during his lengthy closing submissions on Thursday.
Mr
Rozen said the estimated number of incidents of “unlawful sexual contact” in
2018–19 was 2520, or almost 50 per week, which he described as “a national
shame”.
“Many
witnesses have explained they placed their loved ones into residential aged
care because they felt it would be safer for them or because safety was a
concern,” he said.
“It
is therefore entirely unacceptable that people in residential aged care face a
substantially higher risk of assault than people living in the community.”
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/agedcare-commission-at-odds-as-sir-humphreyspeak-strikes-a-discord/news-story/decd1e27012ff5d053732d4b6e471059
Aged
Care Commission at odds as Sir Humphrey-speak strikes a discord
STEPHEN
LUNN
·
8:35PM October 22, 2020
Things
could be a little frosty between aged-care commissioners Tony Pagone and
Lynelle Briggs as they sit down to the unenviable task of finalising their royal
commission report to government, due in February.
On
Thursday, they had a brief if significant public spat over an element of the
new aged-care system being proposed by the commission’s counsels assisting,
Peter Rozen and Peter Gray.
Summarising
a 500-page submission, Rozen and Gray outlined an ambitious plan for aged care,
basically abandoning the old system and building a new one all but from
scratch.
It
is premised on some important themes, including a new Aged Care Act enshrining
that older Australians have a universal right to receive safe, timely and
quality care. Aged care should no longer be rationed, they argue. If the need
is there to help someone live an active, meaningful life, it should be
provided. No arguments so far.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/aged-care-system-needs-to-be-torn-up-and-rebuilt-aged-care-royal-commission-is-advised/news-story/bddff1634f58924963140636e393e562
Aged care system needs to be torn
up and rebuilt, aged care royal commission is advised
Stephen
Lunn
·
4:48AM October 23, 2020
The
aged care sector should be reconstructed, with nursing homes required by law to
deliver minimum adequate care standards and address system-wide neglect that is
currently failing at least 20 per cent of residents.
The
plan is contained in 124 recommendations to the aged care royal commission by
counsel assisting Peter Rozen QC and Peter Gray QC. They also include mandatory
minimum staff levels, price controls and a universal right for seniors to
access care.
In
the 500-page submission urging a fundamental redesign of the aged care system,
the lawyers propose mandatory minimum hours of care per resident and a new
legally enforceable duty of care on providers to deliver quality services.
Sexual
abuse of nursing home residents was far more prevalent than previously
understood from official figures, Mr Rozen said, with new KPMG survey data on
resident-to-resident abuse revealing the extent of the problem.
-----
National Budget Issues.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/this-one-year-fold-away-budget-won-t-do-the-trick-20201018-p56668.html
This one-year, fold-away budget
won’t do the trick
Economics Editor
October 19, 2020 — 12.00am
From the way the budget blows out
debt and deficit, it may seem that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have
stopped caring how much they rack up, but it ain’t so. This budget is just a
one-year plan, which not only brings the handouts to an early stop, but then
starts reeling much of the money back in.
This budget is like a fold-up bike
you can put back in the boot after you’ve finished with it. Technically, its
design is clever. But I fear it’s too clever by half.
If it turns out Morrison has
turned off the budgetary stimulus too soon – as many business economists fear –
he won’t have got the economy growing strongly enough and unemployment falling
far enough.
His decision to turn the stimulus
off so early – and to choose his budget measures based more on political
correctness than job-creating effectiveness – may prove a great error of
political (as well as economic) judgment as the election approaches in late
next year or early 2022.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/economy-set-for-a-beautiful-recovery-says-deloittes-chris-richardson/news-story/2881f54f2f7daf9b05acce6b02f981bd
Economy set for a ‘beautiful
recovery’, says Deloitte’s Chris Richardson
Patrick
Commins
·
11:00PM October 18, 2020
Australia’s
economy over coming years will bounce back hard and fast from the COVID-19
shock, provided the health crisis remains under control, but will still be left
smaller because of a much lower population.
Deloitte
partner Chris Richardson said despite a devastating recession, “if things go
right, and virus numbers go right, you genuinely start to get a beautiful
recovery”.
Mr
Richardson, who began his career at Treasury in the early 1980s, said previous
recessions or downturns in Australia had been followed by times of faster
growth as workers and industries left idle resumed activity.
“The
point that people have not understood is we will grow really fast when we come
out of this,” he said. And “the bigger the downturn, the bigger the recovery”.
-----
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-s-chris-kent-talks-up-200b-tff-20201020-p566p6
RBA's Chris Kent talks up $200b
TFF
Jonathan Shapiro Senior reporter
Oct
20, 2020 – 10.00am
Reserve Bank assistant governor
Chris Kent says the central bank has provided more support to the economy than
it did during the global financial crisis.
That is even though interest rates
were cut by 4 percentage points then compared to 0.5 percentage points in
response to the COVID-19 crisis.
This Dr Kent explained in a speech
on Tuesday was because it had expanded its balance sheet up 5 percentage points
and injected funds into the banking system for a longer period.
"The breadth and the durability
of the easing in financial conditions associated with these balance sheet tools
has been greater now than was the case during the GFC," he said.
Dr Kent's comments were eagerly
watched after Thursday's game-changing speech by governor Phil Lowe in which he said more easing
would be required to support the economy while dropping a strong hint that the
central bank could begin buying long term government bonds.
-----
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/virus-response-sees-banks-operational-resilience-emerge-from-shadows-20201019-p566e1
Virus response sees banks'
operational resilience emerge from shadows
James Eyers Senior Reporter
Oct
20, 2020 – 12.00am
Almost one-third of global bank
leaders say "scale and complexity" make it tough to satisfy
regulators' demands for stronger "operational resilience", while 16
per cent say budgets for doing so are constrained, a survey by Herbert Smith
Freehills has found.
After the Reserve Bank and the
prudential regulator specifically flagged emerging risks around the stability
of IT systems as digitisation in the economy accelerated during the crisis, the
latest global bank review by the law firm finds resilience as the third biggest
concern for senior managers over the next three years (after broad regulatory
change and digital transformation).
Regulators define
"operational resilience" as a bank's ability to prevent, respond to
and learn from disruptions to operations. The RBA last week flagged growing
outages of bank payment systems this year as a concern.
Australian regulators are
"developing a set of standard operational performance disclosures, with
the intention of focusing banks and their leadership on ensuring the
reliability of their retail payment services", a team of global bank partners
of Herbert Smith Freehills said in the review.
-----
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/rba-minutes-reveal-early-easing-flip-20201020-p566nu
RBA minutes reveal early easing
flip
Matthew Cranston Economics
correspondent
Oct
20, 2020 – 12.19pm
The strength of the Australian
dollar and the significant drag on the economy caused by Victoria's lockdown
were two key factors that are pushing a further easing monetary policy, the
minutes of the Reserve Bank reveal.
The board meeting minutes show
that one of the biggest changes in monetary policy in 27 years was agreed almost a week before
it was announced to the public,
Last week RBA governor Philip Lowe
said the bank would make monetary policy decisions based on actual not forecast
inflation – a move that signalled interest rates would stay low for "at least" three years.
In meeting minutes published on
Tuesday, the Reserve Bank said it had decided to change this policy on October
6 and would reveal the move in a speech by Dr Lowe a week later.
-----
Health Issues.
-----
No articles in this section.
-----
International Issues.
-----
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/trump-threatens-to-leave-if-he-loses-as-stimulus-talks-revive-20201018-p5667o
Trump threatens to leave if he
loses, as stimulus talks revive
Jacob Greber
United States correspondent
Oct 18, 2020 – 6.56pm
Washington | Hopes for a last-minute
pre-election US stimulus package have been revived after House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held talks over the weekend.
As the presidential election intensifies, with just over two weeks to go and more than
26 million votes already cast, US Treasury official Monica Crowley said on
Twitter that Ms Pelosi and Mr Mnuchin spoke for an hour and 15 minutes on
Saturday (Sunday AEDT) and agreed to speak again on Monday.
Signs that both sides are still working on
some form of deal came as President Donald Trump went on the offensive,
accusing Democrats of trying to "destroy the American way of life",
and suggesting he might leave the country if he lost "to the worst
candidate in the history of American politics".
Speaking at rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin
– two rust-belt states Mr Trump won four years ago but is in danger of losing
this year – the President said electing his Democratic rival Joe Biden would
create the "single biggest depression in the history of our country".
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/us-election-2020-cult-of-trump-is-not-going-away/news-story/182064fa530bd75fead2f5c7c38f2023
US
election 2020: Cult of Trump is not going away
Joe
Hockey
·
11:00PM October 18, 2020
Donald
Trump had a brief moment of reflection last week. “Could you imagine if I
lose?” he told a large crowd in Georgia, “maybe I’ll have to leave the
country.” His critics will be cheering but they won’t be alone.
If
he wins in two weeks we will all need to strap in for the wildest of rides. If
he loses he will continue to be a massive influence on US politics. He will be
the leader of a political cult movement that has tens of millions of members.
He will still be a disruptive force on the centre right. Over time, even his
current allies and colleagues will be encouraging him to make a move to
Christmas Island.
No
single figure in modern American history has had more unwavering support from
such a large proportion of the country. Both Trump the candidate and Trump the
President have managed to harness that energy behind the patriotic grab, “Make
America Great”. People have forgotten that it was used by many leaders
including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Only Trump has weaponised it successfully
against fellow Americans who don’t support his agenda. Trump owns the American
flag, the anthem and patriotism. His rallies are all red, white and blue.
Even
so, Trump has not won a single significant poll that would indicate he could win
on November 3. Despite this, he can still rely on a hard vote of at least 35
per cent of the voting population.
-----
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/a-distracted-us-is-dangerous-for-taiwan-20201020-p566oa
A distracted US is dangerous for
Taiwan
For
decades, the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has been held in check by
the US. But the US is now consumed by the most divisive presidential election
campaign in living memory.
Gideon Rachman Columnist
Oct
20, 2020 – 9.28am
The idea that a US election can be
shaken up by an “October surprise” is a well-worn staple of
political commentary. Less discussed is the danger that, if China takes
advantage of political confusion in the US to make a move on Taiwan,
international affairs could be convulsed by a November or December surprise.
The din of the American campaign
is drowning out increasingly aggressive words and actions by China, as it
threatens to use military force to combat what it regards as intolerable
“separatism” by Taiwan, which is, de facto, an independent state, but claimed
by Beijing.
A Taiwanese Air Force F-16 in
foreground flies on the flank of a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force
H-6 bomber as it passes near Taiwan. Xi Jinping has already demonstrated that
he is willing to take military risks and repressive actions that antagonise the
west and scare China’s neighbours. AP
Chinese military aircraft now
regularly cross the median line between Taiwan and the mainland, forcing the
Taiwanese air force to scramble. Last week, a flight from Taiwan was prevented
from reaching the Pratas Islands — a Taiwanese-controlled outpost in the South
China Sea. The flight was turned back by Hong Kong air traffic control, which
cited unspecified dangers in the area and said the airspace is now closed.
-----
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/why-history-is-on-trump-s-side-not-joe-biden-s-20201019-p566bw
Why history is on Trump's side,
not Joe Biden's
Late
tightening of polls, the power of incumbency and the enthusiasm of crowds mean
that the President is far from dead.
John Ruddick Contributor
Oct
19, 2020 – 4.00pm
Can Donald Trump win again? We have four guides in election forecasting: polls, precedents,
passion and punters. A sober overview tells us Trump has a realistic chance of
victory.
On October 17, 2016 (22 days
before election day), Hillary Clinton had a 7 per cent lead in the national
polling average. October 12, 2020, was 22 days before this year’s election and
on that date Joe Biden led Trump by 10.2 per cent.
That’s obviously positive for
Biden, but in the final weeks of 2012 and 2016 the national polls narrowed
significantly in favour of the Republican. In early October 2012, Mitt Romney
was 9 per cent behind, but on election eve Obama had only a 0.7 per cent
polling lead. Much of the commentariat were so certain of Clinton’s win from
mid-October 2016 they switched off checking the polls, which showed Trump
finishing strongly.
Clinton’s national polling lead
slipped from 7 per cent on October 17 to 3.2 per cent on election eve. The
actual result had Trump down 2.1 per cent in the national popular vote so the
polls in 2016 were off, but only just – except where it counts.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/chinese-economy-grows-but-disappoints-20201019-p566g0.html
Chinese economy grows but misses
forecasts
By Gabriel
Crossley
Updated October 19, 2020 —
3.51pmfirst published at 1.15pm
Beijing: China's economic recovery
accelerated in the third quarter of 2020 as consumers shook off their
coronavirus caution, however, overall growth missed forecasts pointing to
persistent challenges for one of the world's few current engines of demand.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew
4.9 per cent in July-September from a year earlier, National Bureau of
Statistics data showed on Monday, slower than the median 5.2 per cent forecast
by analysts in a Reuters poll and following 3.2 per cent growth in the second
quarter.
"The rebound in Q3 GDP was
less strong than expected, but was still a decent 4.9 per cent
year-on-year," said Frances Cheung, head of macro strategy for Asia at
Westpac in Singapore.
-----
https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/is-joe-biden-making-the-same-mistake-as-bill-shorten-20201020-p566sz
Is Joe Biden making the same
mistake as Bill Shorten?
While the Democratic hopeful rests up ahead
of this week's crucial debate, President Trump's return to the fray has given
his supporters hope that the 2020 race is still alive.
Jacob Greber United States
correspondent
Updated
Oct 20, 2020 – 3.44pm, first published at 2.10pm
Washington | Donald Trump was in deep
trouble just two weeks ago.
With a hectic campaign schedule
derailed by a nasty, but ultimately short-lived, bout of COVID-19, the US President's already flagging
fortunes – thanks in part to a disastrous first
debate
– appeared to have been dealt a lethal blow.
Madder-than-usual Twitter volleys,
a virus-wracked White House, poor polling and an interminable row with Congress
over stimulus funding to help lift the US out of recession made his re-election
bid look all but hopeless.
However, after 11 rallies in eight
days of frenetic campaigning, a now fighting fit President Trump is managing to
nudge the polls in his direction.
Although there's still plenty of
ground to cover before he catches Joe Biden, his chances have improved at the
margins.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/power-shift-china-us-economic-battle-reshaped-by-the-pandemic-20201022-p567e2.html
Power shift: China-US economic
battle reshaped by the pandemic
By Andrea
Shalal and Gabriel Crossley
October 22, 2020 — 11.04am
The United States and China dealt
with the spread of the devastating coronavirus pandemic in vastly different
ways, and that split is reshaping the global battle between the world's two
leading economies.
About 11 months after the Wuhan
outbreak, China's official GDP numbers this
week
show not only that the economy is growing, up 4.9 per cent for the third
quarter from a year earlier, but also that the Chinese are confident enough the
virus has been vanquished to go shopping, dine and spend with gusto.
China's total reported death toll
is below 5,000 and new infections are negligible, the result of draconian
lockdowns, millions of tests, and strict contact tracing that set the stage for
an economic rebound.
"China's success in
containing the virus has allowed its economy to rebound more quickly, and with
relatively less policy support, as compared with other large economies,"
said former senior US Treasury official Stephanie Segal, a senior fellow at the
US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/possible-to-imagine-putin-russia-china-military-alliance-can-t-be-ruled-out-20201023-p567tl.html
'Possible to imagine': Putin says
Russia-China military alliance can't be ruled out
October 23, 2020 — 5.40am
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin
says there is no need for a Russia-China military alliance now but the idea of
a future one can't be ruled out.
Putin was asked during a video
conference with international foreign policy experts Thursday if a military union
between Moscow and Beijing was possible. He replied that “theoretically, it’s
quite possible to imagine it.”
Russia and China have hailed their
“strategic partnership,” but so far rejected any talk about the possibility of
their forming a military alliance.
Putin noted that Russia has been
sharing highly sensitive military technologies China that helped significantly
bolster China's defence capability, but didn’t mention any specifics, saying
the information is sensitive.
“Without any doubt, our cooperation
with China is bolstering the defence capability of China’s army,” he said,
adding that the future could see even closer military ties between the two
countries.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-breaks-agreement-by-releasing-his-own-video-of-60-minutes-interview-20201023-p567tb.html
Trump breaks agreement by
releasing his own video of '60 Minutes' interview
By Jeremy
Barr and Elahe Izadi
October 23, 2020 — 3.55am
US President Donald Trump has
followed through on his threat, or promise, to release a video of his 60 Minutes
interview before it goes to air on Sunday night.
Trump was interviewed by CBS News
journalist Leslie Stahl at the White House on Tuesday, but abruptly ended the interview
after 45 minutes, declining to participate in a scheduled walk-and-talk that
would have included Vice-President Mike Pence as well.
Later that day, he said on Twitter
said that he was "considering" posting the White House's copy of the
video interview, "so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and
BIASED interview is all about".
Then, on Thursday morning (Friday
AEDT), after he again teased a release of the video ("the vicious
attempted 'takeout" interview of me"), a 37-minute-clip of the
interview appeared on the President's Facebook page.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/russia-accused-of-mysterious-havana-syndrome-attacks-on-cia-officials-visiting-australia-20201021-p567dd.html
Russia accused of mysterious
'Havana Syndrome' attacks on CIA officials visiting Australia
October 22, 2020 — 8.15am
London: Russia is being accused of
carrying out mysterious "Havana Syndrome" attacks against two CIA officials
visiting Australia last year using microwave weapons.
The attacks, first
reported by GQ
magazine,
have been confirmed by senior Australian government sources.
But US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo refused to state if foreign actors were involved with the peculiar cases
of US diplomats and spies around the world falling ill with brain damage. He
cautioned that the government has not reached a definitive conclusion about
what is behind the so-called Havana Syndrome.
Havana Syndrome refers to the
curious symptoms first reported by American diplomats stationed in Cuba in 2016
and 2017. US diplomats in China reported the same set of symptoms. Now comes the
report of attacks as recently as last year on Australian soil.
-----
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/taiwan-signs-us18bn-missile-deal-with-the-united-states/news-story/3f9e3af08dac97ce97e3487361808a3f
Taiwan signs $US1.8bn missile deal
with the United States
·
By Wendy Tang
·
The Times
·
October 23, 2020
Taiwan
has insisted that it is not provoking an arms race with China after sealing a
US1.8 billion missile deal with the US.
The
island nation said that the package, which includes 135 precision land attack
missiles manufactured by Boeing, 11 lorry-based rocket launchers with a striking
range of more than 270km and associated equipment and training, would enable it
to modernise its defence capacity.
The
Trump administration has increased support for Taiwan through arms sales and
visits by senior US officials, adding to tensions between Beijing and
Washington that have already been heightened by disagreements over the South
China Sea, Hong Kong, human rights and trade.
Beijing
has ratcheted up military drills off Taiwan in recent months, including flying
fighter jets across the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait, which serves
as an unofficial buffer.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/the-end-of-democracy-if-trump-loses-trumpism-still-wins-20201023-p5683g.html
The end of democracy? If Trump
loses, Trumpism still wins
Political and international editor for The Sydney Morning Herald
and The Age
October 23, 2020 — 6.45pm
He couldn't be trusted with a
microphone button, yet Donald Trump is asking to be trusted again with the
nuclear button. In the last presidential election campaign, he said: "I
could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose
any voters. It's like, incredible." Four years on we can see something
even more incredible happening.
He didn't stand in the middle of
5th Avenue and shoot anybody. He is, however, presiding over a pandemic that so
far has killed 228,000 of his citizens. He has lost some voters in the course
of four years. He won 46 per cent of the popular vote in 2016 and today has
about 43 per cent on the average of the polls.
But he is still President
unimpeached. He is still supported overwhelmingly by the Republican Party. And he
is still a real chance of winning re-election, with the betting markets giving
him about a 40 per cent chance of victory. Another way of expressing this
probability is that if the election were held under the same circumstances 100
times, Trump would win 40 times. In spite of everything.
"They say I have the most
loyal people – did you ever see that?" He said that four years ago, and it
remains true.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/re-elected-trump-will-prioritise-reducing-global-reliance-on-china-security-adviser-says-20201024-p5685l.html
Re-elected Trump will prioritise
reducing global reliance on China, security adviser says
October 24, 2020 — 6.51am
London: One of Donald Trump's top national
security advisers says redressing the West's reliance on Chinese supply lines
will be at the heart of the President's second-term agenda if he is re-elected,
pointing directly to Australia's economic dependence on the country.
Matt Pottinger, who is President
Trump's deputy national security adviser, told the Westminster think tank
Policy Exchange that the US views Australia and India as the "canaries in
the coal mine" and on the frontline of dealing with China's increasingly
aggressive stance since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which first
emerged in Wuhan last year.
Pottinger delivered a lecture in
Mandarin in which he urged the world to speak up
about China's oppression of the Uighurs, saying there was "no credible
justification in Chinese philosophy, religion, or moral law for the
concentration camps", where it is estimated up to one million Muslims are
held in Xinjiang province.
Pottinger answered a question
posed by Policy Exchange Chair Alexander
Downer, who
asked what specific steps a re-elected Trump administration would take to help
countries like Australia who were bearing the brunt of China's fury via tariff
increases and threats of economic boycott.
-----
https://www.smh.com.au/national/when-the-us-sneezes-we-get-a-cold-that-s-why-australia-needs-a-biden-whitehouse-20201023-p5680f.html
When the US sneezes, we get a
cold. That's why Australia needs a Biden White House
Columnist
October 24, 2020 — 12.00am
This is a bittersweet weekend to
be a Melburnian. The second wave of the coronavirus is finally behind us. Only
one new infection was reported on Friday, bringing the rolling 14-day average
down to 5.5. That should mean a significant easing of restrictions on our
movement from next week.
But first we have to reckon with
the grim denouement of lockdown: an AFL grand final between two Victorian teams
at Brisbane's Gabba on Saturday night, followed by a rugby league grand final
played where it was always intended, in Sydney on Sunday evening. Both events
will remind Melbourne of its enforced separation from the rest of the country
since June.
Before the pandemic, grand final
week in Melbourne ran like a carnival, culminating in a cheesy Friday lunchtime
parade where players on both sides were chauffeured like royalty past adorning
crowds. The streets of the city buzzed into Saturday morning, but then they
emptied for the game itself. One hundred thousand people were seated at the
stadium, while millions more followed the play at pubs, or at home. The party
resumed after the siren, as the hungover returned to the night. The Melbourne
Cup compressed this week-long ritual into a single afternoon, with the city
stilled for the race itself.
Lockdown has removed every part of
that communal experience. This week, the streets have been empty, as they had
been every other week. Stage four restrictions mean that grand final night in
Melbourne will also be pin-drop quiet. The only sound you are supposed to hear
are the drones of the Victoria Police which will patrol the suburbs to ensure
that every Richmond, and neutral, supporter is watching the game in his or her
own home, without visitors.
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https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/new-virus-rules-in-madrid-as-spain-mulls-national-emergency/news-story/8448be1dd44a0558a36286c9bddbfe5f
AFP
9:11PM October 24, 2020
New coronavirus restrictions were taking
effect in Madrid on Saturday as the Spanish government weighed declaring a
national state of emergency to allow curfews to be imposed.
Just days after Spain registered more than
one million virus cases, the country’s regions — responsible for managing
public healthcare — have heaped pressure on the government to give them legal
right to impose tighter restrictions.
In practice, that would involve the government
of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declaring a national state of emergency which
would enable the regions to impose a curfew — a measure increasingly applied
across Europe.
So far, nine of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions
have formally requested such a measure, with the government expected to decide
at an extraordinary meeting on Sunday.
Although the government can impose an
emergency for up to a fortnight, it would need parliamentary approval to extend
it.
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I
look forward to comments on all this!
-----
David.
