“Businesses such as clubs, hotels, those venues will still operate the check-in for the purpose of confirming vaccination status and allowing us still to ensure check-in of clients with that mandatory vaccination,” Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said. “For all other businesses from today immediately they will not require to [check-in]. That means taxis and rideshare, that means retail, supermarkets, it also means hairdressers, beauty therapy, gyms. Many of those indoor play centres, and real estate and auction houses, indoor sports centres … and any part of government buildings or services where the public ordinarily have access will not need to check-in now.” D’Ath said the move is driven by the downward trend in COVID-19 cases seen in the state. The Sunshine State recorded 4,701 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths on Monday. Elsewhere, Canberra has charged the Productivity Commission to undertake its second five-year review of Australia’s productivity performance to help identify priority areas for reform, including data and digital innovation and workforce skills. The review will also consider how the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response have shaped Australia’s productivity challenges and opportunities. “To ensure Australians continue to enjoy higher living standards, we need to continue to focus on the task of lifting productivity. Previous reforms brought Australia’s productivity closer to the global frontier, but there is more to do,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement. “Lifting our productivity will require policy settings that foster a flexible and dynamic economy, that is able to adapt in the face of economic challenges and opportunities.” The Productivity Commission is set to report back within a year.
MORE GOVERNMENT NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA
Labor election plan has digital licence and misinformation detection course for children A digital licence program for children, like a ‘pen licence for the digital age’, has been proposed by the Labor Party ahead of this year’s federal election. eSafety worried proposed anti-trolling laws may be used in vigilante-style justice With Australia’s proposed Social Media (Anti-Trolling) Bill 2021 primarily being focused on defamation, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner expressed disappointment that the laws would most likely not live up to the original goal of ‘unmasking trolls’. Morrison promises another AU$2 billion for research commercialisation A new 10-year AU$1.6 billion government program will focus on commercialising research across six national manufacturing priority areas, including defence and space. Home Affairs seeking support to build out Australia’s identity-matching system A government tender has been published seeking new components to build, deploy, and host the country’s identity-matching services.
