Legal issues for vaccine; study hopes
Employers urged to seek legal advice on mandatory vaccination
Employers should seek legal advice if they wish to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory in their workplace, according to updated advice issued by the Fair Work Ombudsman. The Ombudsman said that in some cases, employers may be able to require their employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19. It said that employers could support their employees by providing them with leave or time off to get vaccinated. After a meeting this week with employer and union leaders, Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash reiterated the Federal Government’s position that vaccination was free and voluntary, unless a state or territory public health order was in place.
Tudge optimistic on international student returns
Federal Education and Youth Minister Alan Tudge says he is confident that international students will return in significant numbers, starting when Australia reaches the full-vaccination rate of 70 per cent of the eligible population. In an address to a higher education forum, Mr Tudge said international student numbers had fallen 12 per cent on the record highs of 2019. He said private education providers – especially English language providers – had been impacted far greater than the public universities. Many of the private providers did not have the numbers of domestic students to balance out their revenue and mainly offered courses of shorter duration.
Jobless numbers falling under border restrictions
Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 4.9 per cent to 4.6 per cent in July, according to seasonally adjusted estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. All states and territories except for Queensland (5.2 per cent) recorded unemployment rates below five per cent. The level of underemployment (those who want to work more hours), however, rose to 8.3 per cent as lockdowns were re-imposed in Sydney and Melbourne; the level of underemployment in July in NSW jumped from 7.2 per cent to 9.3 per cent. Lower unemployment levels reflect the shortage of international workers due to border restrictions.
China dominating imports in vulnerable supply chains
A report by Australia’s chief economic advisory agency has found that China is the main supplier of vulnerable imported products within supply chains. The Productivity Commission’s analysis on vulnerable supply chains also found that only five per cent of Australian imports might be vulnerable to concentrated sources of global supply. Its report also found that among Australia’s main exports, only iron ore was identified as vulnerable. While education and tourism services were Australia’s biggest service exports, they were not identified as vulnerable because the main importer constituted less than 40 per cent of the market.
International travel reverses under new Covid curbs
International travel in and out of Australia slumped again in July, as new Covid-19 restrictions started to bite. Provisional travel figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show around 75,000 arrivals and 88,000 departures in July, down from a 12-month peak of 114,520 arrivals and 107,230 departures in May. Pre-Covid, Australia was recording monthly figures of more than two million arrivals and almost two million departures. Visitor arrivals of 151,000 in 2020-21 were 98 per cent down on the previous year, underlining the economic effects on inbound tourism.
Foreign owners control 11 per cent of water assets
Foreign interests own just 11 per cent of Australian water assets, according to the draft report of an inquiry conducted by the Productivity Commission. The PC’s initial findings on the register of foreign-owned water entitlements found that Canadian, Chinese and US interests led the register, with most water used for agriculture. While the PC acknowledged some community unease with foreign ownership, it stated that the register’s transparency provided public confidence and that there was no compelling case for major changes to the register.