Coronavirus - Australia
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During the initial lockdown, my company had about a 1-week lull. Then once the construction industry was declared essential we took off like a rocket. We hired 3 new staff and took on 3 new subbies crews.
Since the second wave in VIC we've been hit hard. All of our national contracts are all basically on hold or canceled altogether.
Our retail sales tripled in April, May & June. All the DIYers stuck at home wanting to finally finish the project they'd been putting off or never had the time to complete. Added that many people took out $10k of their super as well.
This time though, if it had not been for a massive Chinese contract paid in full I think we'd be reassessing that 3 people hire. It's slim fucking pickings as people wait for the QLD border to close and potential mass infections.
The pre-tax spend did not eventuate and the last time I remember that happening was in 2008/2009.
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@antipodean I agree a region-by-region approach is appropriate, which so far is what we are seeing by and large.
WA is on its own planet as usual, which Clive fkn Palmer may be about to change. Ludicrous there is no open border with SA.
And agree with the criticism of Victoria. The nursing home situation especially reflects really poorly on them and the Federal Government. If I were NSW I'd be looking very closely at how it happened, and making some changes to ensure it's easy to quickly lock them down without so much staff movement in, out and around the sector.
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@barbarian the fact that McGowan keeps digging the boots in when the WA government legal defence is pretty weak. Their chief medical officer who was an expert witness during the high court hearing had to make a couple of big concessions that only helps the Palmer case.
And anyone that knows anything about potentially significant constitutional matters that go before the highest court in the land, will know the Commonwealth Attorney General should be there as an interested party or intervener.
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In related news, the Army in Victoria have done around 1300 doorknocks of confirmed COVID cases, and found around 400 people not in their homes. That is unfathomable to me. They have tested positive, but just popped down to the shops, gone to work, hanging with friends.
Should be a 10k fine. That is just reckless behaviour, akin to high range drink driving IMO.
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@barbarian I absolutely agree.
the thing is, arguably it's worse. Drink driving you might kill a few people, but it'd be less than 10. If you have and spread C19, you could start an outbreak, require lockdow, which means killing orders of magnitude more people AND economic damage that could be billions.
It's bizarre.
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@antipodean said in Coronavirus - Australia:
hundreds of billions added to public debt
How is that different to the last 7 years? I didn't see a hue and cry about it then.
If that debt had been used to raise NewStart or other unemployment benefits, we'd probably have a better position to start this from.
But seriously - call me when we decide to tax companies correctly or invest in education and public health, rather than letting private companies put the elderly in a place you wouldn't keep your enemy's cat.
Or maybe talk about the massive carbon debt we're continuing to accrue and show no signs of paying off with our resources windfalls.
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@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@antipodean said in Coronavirus - Australia:
hundreds of billions added to public debt
How is that different to the last 7 years? I didn't see a hue and cry about it then.
Will 2016 suffice? https://www.forum.thesilverfern.com/post/64655
If that debt had been used to raise NewStart or other unemployment benefits, we'd probably have a better position to start this from.
But seriously - call me when we decide to tax companies correctly or invest in education and public health, rather than letting private companies put the elderly in a place you wouldn't keep your enemy's cat.
Profit shifting, inter company loans etc are a genuine problem, but I can't take seriously journalists who don't understand the difference between revenue and profit. Much like the chief economics reporter for the ABC...
Or maybe talk about the massive carbon debt we're continuing to accrue and show no signs of paying off with our resources windfalls.
When the Greens back nuclear, I know we're being serious about climate change.
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@barbarian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
In related news, the Army in Victoria have done around 1300 doorknocks of confirmed COVID cases, and found around 400 people not in their homes. That is unfathomable to me. They have tested positive, but just popped down to the shops, gone to work, hanging with friends.
Should be a 10k fine. That is just reckless behaviour, akin to high range drink driving IMO.
I think we are all on this bandwagon mate. Its selfishness beyond belief, and the scale of it is extraordinary. I would have never predicted that at this stage of the virus, 400 ppl out of 1300 (31%!!!) would have such total disregard for their fellow citizen and the country.
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@antipodean said in Coronavirus - Australia:
the measures we're taking are heavily swayed to the generations that have had the deck loaded for them all their lives.
If someone else had made a similar comment in a different context you'd be all over them for being entitled / whingers etc.
The whole Boomers had it easy argument really doesn't stack up unless you want to cherry pick the criteria by which the argument is measured. As for the pre- Boomer generations yeah really loaded deck.
No issue with the rest of your argument although as has been said it totally ignores the fact that many of your most profitable industries would be fucked irrespective of whether OZ had remained totally open. Tourism would still be crap and a global downturn is inevitably going to screw the great Aussie dig shit out of the ground industry. Sweden did what you suggest and economically they are no better off than their Scandinavian neighbours.
The bolded bit though - victim mentality / politics of envy and deserves to be called out as such.
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@antipodean said in Coronavirus - Australia:
When the Greens back nuclear, I know we're being serious about climate change.
Sorry one minute you're talking about pursuing sound economics, then you're talking about completely irrational economics.
Which is it?
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@barbarian said in Coronavirus - Australia:
In related news, the Army in Victoria have done around 1300 doorknocks of confirmed COVID cases, and found around 400 people not in their homes. That is unfathomable to me. They have tested positive, but just popped down to the shops, gone to work, hanging with friends.
Should be a 10k fine. That is just reckless behaviour, akin to high range drink driving IMO.
If they can't be trusted to remain at home then an enforced supervised stay not at their home may be the only course of action.
Fines won't work.
If it's like the UK then the ability / inability to pay a fine rarely changes behaviour.
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@dogmeat said in Coronavirus - Australia:
The whole Boomers had it easy argument really doesn't stack up unless you want to cherry pick the criteria by which the argument is measured.
It's an economic argument and it holds true. Labour force participation rate, increased access to higher education (six times the rate of population growth over a generation and Whitlam providing free tertiary education). Now students pay HECS (government loan for higher education) and the university fees are unregulated. Then after accruing debt they face being among the 15% that don't find employment up to four years after they've completed their degree. If they do it's in a market increasingly marked by uncertainty associated with the "gig economy". The favourable capital gains legislation providing a boon to those who purchased property decades ago and did nothing other than witness migration and OS investment drive real estate values. Helped in no small measure by legislation favouring investment in the housing market. Then in the main income producing years of their worklife they've had decades without recession and favourable superannuation treatment, while the generations that follow them face increasing healthcare imposts on government expenditure, loss of income tied up in superannuation which has a net negative impact for the foreseeable future (and likely to be compounded if the planned increase to 12% happens).
I'm not a boomer, nor am I in the generation taking it hard in the arse, but I do sympathise with them. Their plight is real and is currently being exacerbated by Covid-19. Boomers had a unique opportunity to create wealth by accident of birthdate.
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@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@antipodean said in Coronavirus - Australia:
When the Greens back nuclear, I know we're being serious about climate change.
Sorry one minute you're talking about pursuing sound economics, then you're talking about completely irrational economics.
Which is it?
Nuclear remains the cheapest, safest, cleanest, most dependable form of energy generation per MWh yet implemented.
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@antipodean Don’t want to lead the thread too off topic especially as I can’t talk to the Australian experience but despite the narrative here being similar boomers had far less access to education went through multiple recessions lives in a much less open society with way fewer opportunities were far less connected had negligible leisure opportunities and housing was even less affordable than it is today. could keep on but it’s largely pointless. Every generation has its challenges. Blaming another for all the ills of society just strikes me as a massive cop out.
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@dogmeat I can't speak knowledgeably about generational difference outside of Australia, but there's no doubt that the power of their voting bloc has meant both major political parties in Australia have ensured their policy position heavily favoured them.
But the response here is making a bad situation even worse for Gen Z.
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These two girls totally don't look like they don't give a fuck about anyone but themselves.....
https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/coronavirus-queensland-teens-who-allegedly-failed-to-quarantine-identified/news-story/d671893867c3389f5f1c5007e3a77871
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@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@Kiwiwomble said in Coronavirus - Australia:
everyone see the woman who pasted the vid last week going through the check point...arrested yesterday for more or less doing the same thing, smashed her car window and dragged her out
She's a stripper!! How good?!
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@mariner4life said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@NTA said in Coronavirus - Australia:
@Kiwiwomble said in Coronavirus - Australia:
everyone see the woman who pasted the vid last week going through the check point...arrested yesterday for more or less doing the same thing, smashed her car window and dragged her out
She's a stripper!! How good?!
Trip to Melbourne post-covid looking good
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@canefan said in Coronavirus - Australia:
Spoke to my sister in Melbourne, apparently they are about to head into level 4 lockdown. Funny because I thought they were already there
The speculation is rife. Currently in “level 3”, whatever that actually means!