Health News at Your Fingertips

Ben Butler

Airport workers at Menzies strikes new pay deal

Workers at Menzies, one of three main companies that handle baggage for Qantas, have struck a new pay deal, averting possible industrial action as the already troubled airline gears up for surges in travel over the September school holidays and Christmas.

The Transport Workers’ Union said under a deal covering ground workers in Victoria and NSW, Menzies has agreed “to insource all operations that are currently outsourced”, increase minimum hours and deliver an 11% pay increase, including backpay, by January.

Workers had been planning to ballot to go to industrial action.

It comes after the TWU last week struck a deal with DNata, which also handles Qantas bags, to give ground staff a new deal that includes a 17% pay rise over four years, as well as improved working conditions.

This means that of the main companies that handle Qantas baggage, only Swissport, which is regarded as having the most aggressive attitude towards the TWU, remains without a new agreement. The agreement there expires in December.

The TWU said it has also struck a deal with DNata’s catering division that delivers workers there between 7.5% and 8% over two years, including backpay to January 2022, when the company resumed operations after the Covid shutdown grounded air fleets.

A lack of industrial turmoil in its outsourced operations would be welcome news at Qantas, which has been struggling to deliver flights on time and get baggage where it is supposed to go.

Rise in EV sales not enough to offset Australia’s growing preference for SUVs and utes

Adam Morton

The emissions intensity of new light vehicles in Australia fell by only 2% last year, reflecting the slow uptake of electric vehicles and increased sales of SUVs and utes that pollute more than sedans.

The report by the National Transport Commission is consistent with national greenhouse gas emissions data that shows transport pollution has continued to rise once the impact of Covid-19 lockdowns is removed.

Electric vehicle sales tripled last year to reach about 2.8% of the total, but Australia continues to trail most other countries in moving away from petrol and diesel cars.

The jump in EV takeup from a low base was not enough to offset the impact of Australians’ growing preference for large cars. Sales of utes increased by more than 43,000 and SUVs about 25,000.

About 45% of new passenger cars sold in Australia had an emissions intensity of 160 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre travelled or less. This compares with 90% in Europe. Many SUVs and utes emit more than 210 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

Transport is responsible for about 18% of national emissions.

The report says:

Increasing investment in public recharging stations, preferential tax arrangements and other incentives, and the adoption of emissions standards can lead to significant uptake in greener vehicles.

Paul Karp

Gai and Robbie Waterhouse to travel on plane with Albanese to Queen’s funeral

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to KIIS FM about his upcoming travel to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Albanese revealed that horse trainers Gai and Robbie Waterhouse will be on the PM’s plane, because they “couldn’t get on a commercial flight”.

Albanese said it will be a “pretty full plane”. In addition to departmental staff Australia is assisting heads of state or government from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Samoa.

I doubt there has been an occasion like this before in history,” Albanese said.

Albanese departs this evening and will meet the new UK prime minister, Liz Truss, on Saturday morning at her residence in Kent.

Asked about the tone of public debate in the period of mourning, Albanese said:

I think this is a time for respect. It’s not about our system of government – this is about respect for Queen Elizabeth, her contribution. You can have respect for individuals without being drawn into – at this time – those debates.”

ACTU secretary says paid leave essential to contain Covid spread

The NSW premier wants to scrap the mandatory Covid isolation period altogether and have people stay home if they’re sick and let them leave if they’re not.

Sally McManus though, says “doing the right thing” when ill depends on “if you get paid leave or if you don’t get paid leave”.

So it is not an equal playing field.

McManus told the ABC:

For casuals, and for a lot of people, because they’ve run down their leave because of so much sickness with the pandemic, staying home and not being paid is a big economic question.

I think it’s naive and we know from our own experience, during the pandemic it is wrong to think that people [are all in the same situation].

If you aren’t going to get paid leave the chances are you will choose between paying your bills and not paying your bills.

People will choose to pay their bills first. That’s not a good thing for workplaces, for employers either, if you spread sickness at work.

Australian Medical Association backs idea of national Covid summit

Josh Butler

(Continued from last post)

States governments are already running long Covid clinics. The federal government believes Australia’s high vaccination rate and relatively lower incidences of cases of the more serious Alpha or Delta virus variants, may see a lower occurrence and severity of long Covid in Australia.

Dr Danielle McMullen, vice president of the Australian Medical Association, said she saw long Covid patients in her general practice.

“It definitely exists and it can be serious. We’re already seeing large rates of absenteeism here and abroad. In my own practice, patients who are many months after their infection are suffering an inability to participate in life as they used to,” she said.

“We don’t know how long it lasts, how many people affected and the ages of those people are likely to be. It’s difficult to predict the impact on society but it’s likely to be significant.”

McMullen said the AMA backed the concept of a national Covid summit, saying specialised clinics, more Medicare subsidies and better training of health workers was critical.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary, Sally McManus, also voiced support for a renewed national conversation.

“Long Covid will likely have a lasting impact on our society, our workplaces and our healthcare system. It’s extremely important that we do everything we can to understand it and what we can do to control it, just as we have with the virus itself,” she said.

Monique Ryan calls for national summit on coronavirus as government fears impact of long Covid

Josh Butler

The health minister, Mark Butler, says Australia is still seeking “a clear picture” on the impact of long Covid, declaring the need for a national response and more research on the lingering effects of the virus.

It comes as independent MP Monique Ryan calls for a renewed national conversation about Covid and even a national summit on the virus, raising concerns about the longer-term problems of workplace absenteeism and strain on the health system.

“Off the back of the success of the jobs and skills summit, I think it would be appropriate and timely to take the same approach to Covid,” Ryan, the member for Kooyong, told Guardian Australia.

“I get people are frustrated and tired, and pretending it’s gone away and we’re going back to normal, but that’s ill-advised and won’t pay off for us in the long term.”

Ryan, a paediatric neurologist, wrote to Butler last week calling for a national consensus approach on virus strategy.

“In light of the recent success of the Jobs and Skills Summit – and the broad consensus that meeting achieved – I write to ask you to consider a National Summit on COVID,” she wrote.

Ryan suggested a meeting of business groups, health experts and representatives from the aged, disability and childcare sectors to discuss issues including ventilation for public areas, anti-viral and vaccine strategy, and plans for testing, isolation and workforce support in the face of new variants.

Ryan told Guardian Australia she was concerned by issues around “long Covid”. As opposed to acute lingering symptoms in the weeks after infection, long Covid refers to rarer instances of serious symptoms persisting months after infection, such as neurological issues or fatigue.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last month some 31,000 Australians were forced to miss work each day over long Covid.

“Over time, if 5 or 10% of people get long Covid, and if the more often you get it the more likely you are to develop long Covid, those issues accumulate and considering effects on the workforce, that’s a significant effect on our economy,” Ryan said.

“Long Covid will be an unfolding story. People are looking at it, there’s lots of research and questions nobody knows the answer to.”

Welcome to Thursday 15 September.

Thursdays are usually the worst day of the week – you get through hump day just to have to do a whole other day before its Friday. Named for the Norse god Thor, you need all of the strength and protection to get through Thursdays.

Anthony Albanese flies out today to attend the Queen’s funeral. The governor general and the 10 chosen Australians (mostly Australians of the Year recipients) are heading out with him.

While there, Albanese will meet with the UK prime minister Liz Truss, a mystery world leader for breakfast at the hotel they are both staying at, and have an audience with the King. He is hoping to also meet with Joe Biden, but logistics will determine that.

Richard Marles will be Australia’s acting prime minister.

In news closer to home, the government has released the issues paper for the Reserve Bank of Australia review. There is not a lot new in the paper –it just goes into more detail of what we had already been told would be part of the review.

Carolyn Wilkins, Professor Renée Fry‐McKibbin and Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM will review the bank’s role in today’s world and how well it reacts to modern challenges.

So what is in their sights? Well, policy settings – which includes interest rates – and how the central bank’s policies work towards full employment and keeping inflation stable. The review will also look at workplace culture, the board and the bank’s leadership.

And given the world we are living in, the review will also look at whether the bank needs to take more into account the effects of climate change in the economy, and whether its policy settings should take it further into account.

The Review will consider the culture, management, and recruitment processes of the RBA. It will be particularly focused on the extent to which these aspects of the organisation support its overall effectiveness in meeting its policy objectives.

… This is particularly important in the context of the economic and social challenges that many countries including Australia are facing, for example demographic change, digitalisation of finance and the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and sustainable natural capital management.

Considering climate change and how it affects monetary policy is not alien to the bank – former deputy governor Guy Debelle had spoken on it in speeches before he left, outlining how the bank was having to consider climate change as part of its response. This review will be looking holistically at the bank’s responses, which means looking at the role of climate change on the economy, and the bank’s policy settings at large (which includes interest rates).

The review will also examine the “tools” the bank uses (interest rate rises) and whether there are others which could be lent on, with the reviewers looking at:

Its performance in meeting its objectives, including its choice of policy tools, policy implementation, policy communication, and how trade-offs between different objectives have been managed.

We will bring you all the day’s news, so we hope you have your coffee. It’ll be a four-cup minimum for me.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.