Australian Economy

The decision to let passengers disembark from the cruise ship ‘Ruby Princess’ when it arrived in Sydney on 19 March has been linked to hundreds of COVID-19 cases and at least 22 deaths.

The official COVID-19 data has been released with Victoria recording 627 new infections versus NSW’s 21: Additional key data for Victoria includes: 8 more deaths (all aged over 50); 928 active cases in aged care; and 1030 health workers infected.

ABC’s 7.30 Report ran a disturbing segment on Melbourne’s hotel quarantine failures, which are behind the second wave of COVID-19 infections spreading across Victoria into New South Wales and Queensland.

Three weeks into lockdown, Victoria today has reportedly recorded its second highest COVID-19 infection rate of 627 cases, which follows yesterday’s record 748 cases: Victoria has recorded its second-highest ever daily increase in coronavirus numbers, with 627 new cases on Friday, following Thursday’s record of 723.

Nice charts from Greg Jericho today at The Racist: The latest payroll job numbers released this week show that, as expected, the shutdown of Melbourne has caused a sharp drop in jobs in Victoria.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released dwelling approvals data for the month of June.

Victoria has officially recorded 723 new COVID-19 infections – a new daily record – alongside a record 13 deaths (all elderly): There are now also 34 people in Victorian ICU.

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has called on the Morrison Government to abandon further $16 billion of tax cuts in favour of permanently lifting JobSeeker by $185 a week: ACOSS is also calling for the rate of the JobSeeker unemployment payments to be permanently raised by $185 per week.

The mainstream media is reporting that Victoria is expected to record over 700 new COVID-19 cases – the highest daily tally – alongside a record 13 new deaths: Victoria is reportedly set to announce a new record of over 700 cases today, marking a shocking new record for the nation.

COVID-19 has exposed the neoliberal obsession with transferring the provision of public services to private providers, and this is now costing lives.

A special Roy Morgan analysis of movement data in Melbourne’s CBD shows few people moving around and a plunge in movement in Melbourne in the week ending July 13 as “Lockdown 2.0” began.

Victoria has recorded another 295 new COVID-19 cases overnight: Breakdown as follows: 9 new deaths (7 in aged care) 371 people in Victorian hospitals 804 cases in aged care 502 health workers infected.

A school employee in Queensland is among two people that have tested positive to COVID-19 after returning from an interstate holiday in Melbourne and Sydney last week.

The Australian Treasury has released a new report claiming that the sharp rise in unemployment associated with COVID-19 may have long-lasting effects on Australia’s youth: This paper explores the effects of labour market conditions at graduation on an individual’s work‑life over the following decade.

KPMG Chief Economist Brendan Rynne is optimistic about job retention rates in the hospitality industry, despite the second lockdown in Melbourne and the budding COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.

The Australian’s Judith Sloan has torn into Australia’s bloated, inefficient university sector citing nearly 50 years of policy bungles.

Australia ranks last among OECD nations when it comes manufacturing self-sufficiency, according to a new report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.

Just in from the ABS: Total payroll jobs decreased by 1.1 per cent in Australia between mid-June and mid-July according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today.

New South Wales reported 17 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, four of which are linked to a funeral in Bankstown.

Victoria has recorded 384 new COVID-19 infections, down from yesterday’s record 532 cases: Another six deaths were recorded (all elderly) with 260 patients in hospital including 42 in ICU.