BRISBANE, Australia — Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said that Campbell Newman’s decision to quit Queensland’s Liberal National Party is not politically brave and is timed to damage the party. The former Queensland premier resigned from the Liberal National Party and his position as party trustee after its annual conference, saying he was “dismayed” with both the state and federal arms of the party. Newman accused the Liberal National Party of failing to stand up for individual freedom and small businesses amid a “heavy-handed” response to Covid-19. While Joyce said he respected Newman, he accused the former premier of lacking political valor and bravery and timing his…
Author: zenger.news
BRISBANE, Australia — The Queensland government is being urged to assess the impact of its budgets policies on gender inequality and the pay gap. The Queensland Council of Social Services said the Palaszczuk government has done well to monitor gender disparity since 2015, but further action is needed. The Palaszczuk government’s Women’s Economic Statement in its 2021/22 budget details general spending measures that could also improve women’s economic security. Aimee McVeigh, chief executive of Queensland Council of Social Services, said that the government should assess the impact of all budget measures, rather than just spending, on the gender disparity. “The gender pay gap and other…
CANBERRA, Australia — Business Australia calls for a more innovative approach to tackling the coronavirus than the current response, which has seen half the population in lockdown, negatively impacting the national economy. South Australia is set to end its restrictions on the night of July 27, while Victoria is yet to make a final decision whether it will do the same. But New South Wales looks mired in lockdown beyond its scheduled ending on July 30, with daily new virus cases remaining well above 100 in recent days. Research by consultants Ernst and Young and commissioned by the Business Council of Australia shows these three…
CANBERRA, Australia — In Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, remanded in custody, convicted by the courts, and jailed. Some 499 children aged between 10 and 13 were detained in the youth justice system in 2019/20, with more than two-thirds identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. A coalition of legal, medical, and human rights groups have written to Attorney-General Michaelia Cash in a renewed push to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Federal, state, and territory attorneys-general met on July 27, 2020, to discuss raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, which would bring…
CANBERRA, Australia — Cars are usually regarded as a depreciating asset, losing value as soon as they have been purchased. But sustained higher price tags for both new and used vehicles in Australia during the pandemic have briefly turned that wisdom on its head. Data from Moody’s Analytics shows the price of a used car in June was a third higher than at the same time last year and ten percent more expensive than at the beginning of the year, thanks to a lack of cars on the market. A shift away from public transport due to fears about Covid-19 was…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Forty-one workers at a southeastern Australian city’s Melbourne hospital have been temporarily standing down after a fellow staffer worked a shift while infectious with Covid-19. The employee of Casey Hospital, a 229-bed facility in the city’s outer southeast, returned a positive test on July 22. Monash Health, the public health service that manages the hospital, confirmed the case the same night. The staffer worked one shift during their infectious period, forcing 41 hospital employees to be furloughed as they await test results. But the worker wore personal protective equipment during the shift, does not have a front-facing role,…
TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian President Kais Saied, on July 25, 2021, sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended all activities of the Assembly of People’s Representatives or the parliament. Saied announced the move in a video broadcast on the official page of the Tunisian Presidency on Facebook after an emergency meeting he held with senior security officials. Saied said he would temporarily head the government until he appoints a new prime minister. The president also annulled the immunity of all members of parliament. “Many people were deceived by hypocrisy, treachery, and robbery of the rights of the people,” he said in…
NEW DELHI — Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan and representatives of the Producers and Directors Guild from the film industry attended a meeting called by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT) on July 27 for discussing the Cinematography (Amendment) Bill 2021. Recently, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has sought public opinion on the Cinematography Amendment Bill 2021. The government is yet to introduce the bill in Parliament. The bill, which was produced on June 18, 2021, proposes to punish film piracy with a jail duration and monetary fine, establish age-based certification, and give power to the Central government to re-certificate a film…
MUMBAI, India — Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan is all set to headline RSVP Movies and Baweja Studios’ “Captain India,” directed by filmmaker Hansal Mehta. The upcoming film is inspired by one of India’s successful rescue missions from a war-torn country. Aaryan took to his Instagram account to unveil the first look poster of “Captain India,” which features him in a never-before-seen avatar. “When a man goes beyond the call of duty,” the actor captioned the post. “With great pride and honor, we bring to you #CaptainIndia @hansalmehta sir @rsvpmovies @bawejastudios #RonnieScrewvala #HarmanBaweja.” Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Harman Baweja, the inspiring action-drama will star Aaryan as he steps into the…
NEW DELHI — Afghanistan, terror dwellings in Pakistan, and Covid-19 are the top issues that India will take up with the United States during the latter’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken visit to India. Blinken will visit the country on July 27 and 28 and this would be his first visit to India after assuming office. New Delhi has attached considerable importance to the visit of Secretary Blinken and will try to take forward the conversation with the US on numerous issues, be it Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, bilateral, regional, addressing Covid-19 or global developments. Blinken’s visit continues the high-level visits…