Disaster aid for Covid hotspot, investment leaps

Feds release disaster funding for Melbourne workers

Workers affected by Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak can apply for a special temporary disaster payment of up to $500 per week, provided by the Federal Government. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday unveiled the emergency assistance program for employees living or working in a Commonwealth-declared hotspot who had lost work, subject to conditions. The Government resisted calls for a revival of the JobKeeper scheme.

Federal Budget assumptions challenged by Victorian outbreak

As Victoria moved to its fourth Covid-19 lockdown, the head of Federal Treasury reminded Parliament’s Economics Legislation Committee that the 2021-22 Budget assumptions were based on the absence of extended or sustained state border restrictions. Dr Steven Kennedy said the Budget also assumed few domestic restrictions and a population-wide vaccination program in place by the end of 2021. He added that around 56,000 former JobKeeper workers had lost employment in the first four weeks after the scheme ended in late March.

Emissions drop to record levels

Australia reduced its emissions to under 500 million tonnes in the year to December 2020, the lowest level on record. Energy and Emissions Reductions Minister Angus Taylor said the quarterly update on Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory revealed a five per cent drop on 2019 emissions and a 20.1 per cent drop on 2005 levels. Covid-19 restrictions helped to lower emissions from the transport sector by 12 per cent, while electricity generation emissions fell 4.9 per cent, in part driven by deployment of solar and wind power. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised that Australia would lead the world in low emissions production in the resources sector, with the goal of producing among the cheapest green hydrogen in the world in 2030 and 2050.

Private investment driving GDP growth

Australia’s economy has continued to grow, with gross domestic product rising 1.8 per cent in seasonally-adjusted terms in the March quarter. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that private investment was a major contributor to economic growth, with private investment and dwelling investment rising 5.3 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively in the quarter. Machinery and equipment investment recorded its strongest rise (11.6 per cent) since December 2009. In 2020, GDP slumped seven per cent in the June quarter, before recovering by more than three per cent in each of the September and December quarters.

Tudge aims for ten million international students

Federal Education and Youth Minister Alan Tudge has set a 10-year target for ten million international students studying for Australian qualifications through online, in-country or hybrid models. Mr Tudge said Australia needed to diversify its international intake, given that it was reliant on just two countries for 55 per cent of international student enrolments. The Minister told a Universities Australia forum that total international student enrolments were just 11 per cent down on 2019 numbers, equating to a drop of about three per cent in revenue through border closures.

University total revenue rising again

Meanwhile, total revenue received by Australia’s university sector increased through the year to the March quarter 2021, driven by revenue from current grants and subsidies. Government Finance Statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show total revenue in the year to the first quarter of 2021 rose eight per cent, after four consecutive quarters of negative growth. Over the same period, universities reduced operating expenses during Covid-19, with redundancies in prior quarters resulting in lower staffing levels and reduced wages and salaries paid in the March quarter.