Today's News - Thursday 17 December 2020
Our Backyard
The Federal Government has confirmed it will appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China's decision to impose huge tariffs on Australian barley earlier this year, threatening $2.5 billion of trade.
It is the first time Australia has referred China to the independent umpire over an agricultural commodity.
Australia has previously taken Canada and India to the WTO.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has updated financial distress guidelines, with the sector committing to not deal with debt management firms that are working against a customer’s best interests.
Debt management firms are third parties that advertise services to consolidate a customer’s outstanding debt.
An Australian Securities and Investments Commission report found that some services were worsening consumer outcomes by lobbing high fees on customers and making false and misleading claims about debt consolidation.
The ABA guidelines say banks will deal directly with a consumer if the debt management firm is not acting in the best interest of a client.
The Australian Workers Union will today apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to amend the current horticulture award to ensure farm workers receive the minimum casual wage of $24.80 an hour.
Under the current agreement, employers can avoid paying the minimum hourly rate by using the "piece rate" where workers are paid according to the amount of fruit or vegetables they are able to pick.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/awu-fair-work-commission-underpaid-blueberry-pickers/12988242
A proposed half-a-billion dollar zircon and titanium dioxide mine in Western Australia has been given approval to sell 50 per cent of the project to a Chinese steel producer to raise the funds needed for construction.
Perth-based Sheffield Resources has been trying to raise funding for the Thunderbird mine on the sandy Dampier Peninsula, between the north-west towns of Broome and Derby, since gaining federal environmental approvals in 2018.
State and Federal Governments are expected to earn more than a billion dollars in taxes and royalties over the life of the mine.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/kimberley-sand-mine-gets-chinese-buy-in-approval/12986100
Linfox’s Armaguard business acquired parts of the ANZ and Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s non-branch ATMs over 2020, according to Banking Day.
The company announced yesterday it would rebrand the ATMs as “atmx” in a rollout expected to be completed by 2021.
While using the new atmx machines, customers from ANZ will not be charged. However, anyone whose banks haven’t reached a deal with Armaguard will be hit with a $2.50 fee every time they withdraw.
Neobank Xinja has blamed COVID-19 and a tough capital raising environment for its decision to exit banking in Australia and focus on its US share trading platform.
Xinja announced on Wednesday it would close all bank accounts, refund customer savings and hand back its banking licence after what has been a challenging year for the company.
The fintech said it would give customers seven days' notice before closing all high interest Stash accounts, after it banned new customers from joining in March. Accounts will no longer earn interest effective immediately, and cards and payment facilities will be terminated from January 15. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said it would ensure all funds are returned to Xinja's depositors.
Xinja said it would refocus the business on its US share trading platform Dabble "should circumstances allow". Dabble was launched in July and aims to connect Australian investors with the US stock market with no brokerage fees and an annual subscription.
Perth airport is being upgraded with facial recognition technology slated to be introduced by 2022.
Dr Leonardo de Moraes says COVID-19 is accelerating the trend of airports moving towards automation and biometrics.
Biometric data and facial recognition could replace the role of boarding passes, according to Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown.
Crown Resorts will begin opening the non-gaming areas of its Barangaroo resort in Sydney from December 28 -- just in time for New Year’s Eve -- after being given the go ahead by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) on Wednesday.
Crown in a statement that said it had been given a liquor license for certain non gaming areas of Barangaroo from Wednesday and expected to “progressively commence” non gaming operation from December 28.
Crown said it had been granted a liquor license on an interim basis for certain non gaming operations at Crown Sydney including the Crown Towers hotel, bars and some restaurants.
Search warrants against journalists and whistleblowers will have to be signed off by senior judges, under changes the Federal Government argues will strengthen press freedom in Australia.
The QLD Government will scrap youth bail houses from next month, despite data showing Queensland young people are still being locked up in police watch houses for weeks at a time.
The State Government says youth bail houses are not cost-effective.
Holiday opening hours of major Aussie retailers revealed:
World News
Fiji is again bracing for a severe tropical cyclone that has the potential to be one of the most destructive in living memory.
Tropical Cyclone Yasa developed into a Category 5 storm overnight, which is the highest category for tropical cyclones.
It is expected to remain at this category when it hits the country's two main islands — Viti Levu and Vanua Levu — by early Friday morning (local time).
Fiji's National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) has said some 600,000 people lie directly in the cyclone's path, based on tracking estimates from Tuesday night.
China's ministry of commerce has announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Papua New Guinea to build a $200 million "comprehensive multi-functional fishery industrial park" on Daru Island in PNG's Western Province.
The proposed fishery is five kilometres to Australia's Saibai Island, or a six hour boat-ride to Thursday Island, just off the northern-most tip of Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/china-fishery-fears-for-torres-strait-islanders/12988998
US President Donald Trump is considering appointing a special counsel to investigate the tax affairs of president-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter, according to US media.
Earlier, Republican senators told not to join in attempts to object to results in January.
British high street brands are under pressure from human rights campaigners to ban cotton picked in the Chinese region that is home to its oppressed Uighur population.
It came after reports revealed at least half a million Muslims were being forced to work in the fields of Xinjiang amid an ongoing anti-Muslim crackdown by Beijing that has seen people detained and put into so-called re-education camps.
Campaigners say retailers' existing policies do not go far enough to ensure that cotton from the region does not end up in the supply chain, and that it seemed virtually impossible to ensure that raw materials from the region are not the product of forced labour.
Saudi Arabia sought to deploy a 10-man security team with diplomatic immunity to Norway in an attempt to target a critic of Mohammad bin Salman, the Kingdom's Crown Prince, according to Norwegian media reports.
A Norwegian government spokesman confirmed to Dagbladet the Saudi request for immunity, but said it was only granted to one of the 10 security staff.
Israel could be open to future cooperation on missile defence with Gulf Arab states that share its concerns about Iran, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, local time.
But Moshe Patel, who heads the Israeli Missile Defence Organisation that is part of the Defence Ministry, said it was still premature to pursue any such deals. He said Washington's approval would be needed if Israeli systems developed with US technology were involved.
Covid-19
Australian diagnostics company Ellume has won approval from US regulators to sell the first rapid at-home COVID-19 tests that don't require a prescription.
The Brisbane-based company was granted an emergency use authorisation on Wednesday (AEDT) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to sell its over-the-counter tests.
Stephen Hahn, the head of the FDA, hailed the authorisation as "a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19".
A Sydney van driver who this morning tested positive for COVID-19 attended a junior soccer match while infectious.
NSW coronavirus warnings have been issued since the man, who drives international flight crews to and from Sydney Airport, tested positive for COVID-19.
It is the state's first locally acquired coronavirus infection since a hotel quarantine worker tested positive at 1.30am on December 3.
The man wore a mask and observed infection control measures, NSW Health says.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-16/nsw-confirms-new-locally-acquired-coronavirus-case/12988866
South Australia will scrap its remaining interstate travel barriers, removing border checkpoints and scaling back domestic arrival checks at Adelaide Airport.
Police Commissioner and State Coordinator Grant Stevens said because Australia has "virtually eliminated" COVID-19, he was confident to make the changes immediately.
The British Medical Journal and the Health Service Journal have warned the UK Government loosening COVID restrictions over Christmas will "cost may lives".
At present up to three different households will be able to mix together indoors at homes during a UK-wide easing of restrictions over the Christmas break between December 23 and December 27.
Property
Perth housing sales have surged to their highest level since the city's last property boom seven years ago, partly due to a tightening of supply and buyers flocking to the COVID-19 "safe haven" of Western Australia.
In the three months to November, established home sales in Perth were 29 per cent higher than in the same period last year, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA).
Westfield owner the Scentre Group and superannuation fund-backed Cbus Property have kicked off construction on their $1bn mixed-use development of the former David Jones department store in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.
The heritage redevelopment will feature high-end retail and premium commercial components inside the existing building, while the new 22-storey luxury residential tower will be added above, with podium gardens and views across Sydney Harbour and Hyde Park.
Scentre will build the joint venture project, designed by award-winning architects, FJMT Studio.
In one of the strongest pointers to the direction of central business districts US group Hines has swooped on a development site in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD and is planning a $1 bn-plus office scheme.
The site was bought from Chinese-backed developer Landream which had planned a 54-storey luxury apartment and hotel tower on the blue ribbon Collins Street site that was designed by the late Zaha Hadid.
The move by the US group means the 600 Collins Street site will no longer house a luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel but Landream has exited profitably as the site sold for about $200m.
Markets
Banks and miners have jumped in afternoon trade, driving the Australian market sharply higher compared to yesterday's losses.
The ASX 200 was up 0.7 per cent at the close to 6,679 points. The broader All Ordinaries lifted by a similar margin to 6,917.
Meanwhile, online bank Xinja has taken the extraordinary step of ending its banking services, and pledged to return its customers' money.
Many of the best performers were gold miners such as Perseus Mining (+7pc), Resolute Mining (+10.3pc) and Zip Co (+6.7pc).
It helped that spot gold prices went up (+1.5pc) to $US1,857 an ounce.
Shares in Webjet (+4.8pc) and Whitehaven Coal (+7.9pc) and Virgin Money UK (+4.9pc) also made strong gains.
The biggest boost to the market came from Commonwealth Bank (+0.9pc), Westpac (+0.8pc), ANZ (+1.4pc), NAB (+1pc), BHP (+1.8pc), Rio Tinto (+1.7pc) and Fortescue Metals (+2.3pc).
On the flip side, Tassal Group (-3.6pc), Viva Energy (-2.9pc), Mesoblast (-2pc) and Avita Therapeutics (-2.6pc) were the worst performers.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar had risen (+0.2pc) to 75.5 US cents, as the greenback hovered near a two-and-a-half year low.
Brent crude futures (for February delivery) lifted (+0.9pc) to $US50.74 a barrel.
Iron ore lifted (+0.5pc) to $US155.07 a tonne.
Wall Street's benchmark index, the S&P 500, snapped a four-day losing streak overnight. It closed 1.3 per cent higher at 3,695.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose (+1.3pc) to 12,595 points, its highest ever closing figure.
The Dow Jones index lifted 338 points (+1.1pc) to 30,199.
European markets were mixed, with Germany's DAX making solid gains (+1.1pc) to 13,363, while Britain's FTSE fell (-0.3pc) to 6,513.