- $50 million of relief to any business that pays license fees to the NSW Government – 200,000 businesses will no longer pay these taxes (License fees will be predominately paid by tradies – Construction industry is so important to the recovery of the state)
- IMF predicts Australian economy to shrink 6.7 per cent this year, followed by rebound of 6.1 per cent next year (if global pandemic peaks within three months and social distancing eases in second half of his year.) Predicts global economic impact as worst since Great Depression.
- Trade Minister Birmingham will today announce a $500m credit facility to exporters. The Covid-19 Export Capital Facility will extend loans of between $250,000 and $50m to SMEs that had been profitable prior to pandemic but are now struggling to get credit.
- CMO Murphy confirms a tracing app will be offered to Australian public. Probably based on Singapore app, which works through Bluetooth, and records contacts with others with app. De-identified data, opt-in, and the government hopes 40 – 60 per cent of people will take it up.
- Prime Minister Morrison says easing priorities will be getting people back to work rather than leisure, and on areas of low risk, high value, nominating manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, and construction. From there on people may do short office work weeks or rosters.
- The PM will today use a Facebook video to urge teachers to return to school to ensure childrens’ education is not impaired.
- Industry Minister Andrews says she will use federal government procurement power to assist sectors such as medical supplies. ‘Governments historically don’t like to pick winners. But there are pretty critical industries emerging that we can build on.’ Andrews told AFR that ‘We will use procurement as a real option.’
- Office of Budget Responsibility in United Kingdom (equivalent of our Parliamentary Budget Office) predicts British economy will shrink by 35 per cent if tight social distancing remains in place for three months with partial lifting after that.
- Debates around goals – Greg Hunt said our goal is now ‘effective eradication’ of Covid-19. This reflects the unexpected success in reducing cases, with the possibility of complete eradication hovering into view. It’s a strategy increasingly popular in parts of the medical establishment.
- Of course moving to an ‘Effective Eradication’ goal would entail very different economic/business impacts compared to the strategy of Flatten the Curve, then Ease.
- The Grattan Institute support the eradication – wrote on this issue yesterday (CEO John Daley and Health Program Director Stephen Duckett). See here: https://grattan.edu.au/news/australias-endgame-must-be-total-elimination-of-covid-19/
- Grattan explicitly calls for ‘elimination,’ rather than what they call the ‘Goldilocks’ strategy (ease and restrict to manage Covid-19 at low level)
