In May, Cwth told VIC facing Delta & entering shutdowns: "No financial support. It incentivises lockdowns. That's bad for the economy." By July: "OK, some supports, but only for lockdowns less than 1 wk". 1/3
Delta hits NSW in July. Cwth: "Send urgent financial supports. Lift payments higher. NSW is engine of Aus economy. It's in national interest we put in place different arrangements. Redirect VIC's vax allocations to NSW." 2/3
September, Cwth & Gladys: "NSW leads the vax race. Living w the virus means death but NSW opens & will lead economic growth. It's time to unwind supports. Snap back. VIC? Why you still locked down?" Get ready for: "VIC is dragging the economy down". 3/3
Cwth (w NSW govt compliance) has manufactured this state play-off due to failure to procure sufficient vaccines. Distraction is aim. Its sacrificed biz, condemned 000s to needless poverty & undermined our pandemic response. Its unforgiveable.
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Far-right riots a shocking moment in pandemic. Majority of Australians support public health, vax & govts that protect lives. They need clear information alongside violent footage on their TVs. It's clear we're FAR past describing riots as "ordinary" elements of society. 1/5
Unions have stated far-right targeting them all pandemic. There's a reason leaders like @sallymcmanus speak with authority. It's not new. Fascist groups world-over target unions as collectivist wrking class orgs. 1 planned to bomb VTHC last yr. 2/5 abc.net.au/news/2021-03-2…
Importantly, the brains behind riots aren't wackjob conspiracists (their explanatory models aren't coherent enough). They're fascists. They believe in great replacement theory. Social darwinism. They’ve planned terror attacks. They’re organised. 3/5
6 years ago this day my life changed. I sat at the doilyed dining table of an old Greek woman's home I didn't know in Hurstville, Sydney. Floor-to-ceiling white. I was housesitting, looking after two yappy dogs while she travelled to Greece. 1/8
I'd landed here through a housesitting website after years of insecure share-housing & crisis accommodation. It was a 1mo stay & I thought I'd hit the jackpot! No stable home in an unforgiving dog-eat-dog-cultured city like Sydney was rough. 2/8
I'd just got the call. I landed a permanent full-time job in the public service in Canberra. I called my family teary & ecstatic. Secure permanent work was about the ceiling of our expectations in this broken economy. 3/8
Low vax targets cannot substitute for continued public health restrictions to control disease spread. We need both. Why? We dont have vaccines for children yet. Vulnerable ppl incl many disabled cannot be vaccinated & are at high risk of dying if we allow unmitigated spread. 1/6
Long-COVID among youth rising elsewhere in world like UK. LT impacts on kids not yet known nor costs & capacity of healthcare systm to cope. New variants are emerging, of which current vaccines may not provide full protection in LT (better than no protection tho, get vaxd!). 2/6
Like NZ Aus can recommit to elimination & protect ppl against death & serious illness. NSW hasn't reproduced successful VIC strategy but it still can! Wrkplce plans in essential industries, cut output, test & isolate payments. Feds can reinstate JK & CS to support standdowns. 3/6
Excluding welfare recipients from Cwth disaster payments is a failure on both public health & income security grounds. It will deepen inequality. Take scenario: Two 21yo uni students, both live w parents, & both worked 8 hrs/wk. Earnt $216 p/wk before lockdowns. 1/5 #COVID19nsw
The poorer student receives Youth Allowance at $156/wk + PT job income= $372/wk. Pays board to rents to help w bills. The wealthier student never got YA due to high parent income & assets. Both cant work. The wealthier qualifies for Cwth disaster payment- receives $375/wk. 2/5
The low-income student does NOT qualify for disaster payment - receives just $156/wk in YA. Nearly $220 LESS/wk than wealthier student. Govt has fostered 2 classes thru re-design of COVID payments. People w highest need excluded, deepening inequality. 3/5
The mission? Stop people moving & stop transmission. Keep bare minimum economic activity functioning to support most staying home (food, healthcare, utilities). To do this NSW govt need industry & workplace-level plans. It's what VIC did to stop 2nd wave. 1/3 #COVID19nsw
Govt coded essential/non-essential sectors. Assigned transmission risk rating. Shutdown non-essential biz. Calculated outputs needed from essential high-risk settings (ie abattoirs). Intervened to reduce output, reduce staffing. +200k workers stood down w income supports. 2/3
Employee coordination mechanisms were critical. Unionised workers in cleaning, logistics & meat shut sites w COVID cases. VIC 2020 was feat of war-time logistics & planning. Immense sacrifice. Competing interests but strong govt leadership pulled all to reach zero-COVID outcome.
There’s a clear reason Morrison lifted multiple-site working rules in aged care. It’s for same reason he introduced IR omnibus bill in March – protecting labour hire companies. Allow me to explain: 1/7 #auspol
Labour hire or “agencies” are entrenched in aged care. Facilities pay a fee to labour-hire biz for recruitment & admin costs. Staff perform services at facility but agency schedules & pays them -an efficiency & cost-reduction measure to cream fat off short-term govt contracts 2/7
Govt allocated $17.7bn to aged care in Budget (min $10bn/yr needed to meet RCs reccos). Critically, funds to providers came w no stipulations of organisation & pay of jobs. Its why @anmf_federal@unionsaustralia & others have been pointing to insecure wrk & contagion risks. 3/7