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Civil society fears spike in GBV cases if government cuts Covid-19 relief funds

By Se-Anne Rall 14m ago

Durban – A move by government to cut Covid-19 relief funding could lead to a spike in gender-based violence cases.

This is according to former public protector Thuli Madonsela, who joined several civil society organisations across the country in pleading with the government to continue providing the much-needed R350 Social Relief of Distress grant as well as the R585 monthly grant to caregivers.

Speaking during a media briefing on Monday, Madonsela said if the government planned to withdraw the grant, “we need to push them as women and girls would bear the brunt”.

“We know that when there is distress that women and girls will pay the price as they bear the burden of care,” she said.

Madonsela said funding could be pulled from other spheres to accommodate for the payments of these grants.

Alluding

Australia to Run Record Budget Deficit as Government Cuts Tax, Boosts Job Support | Investing News

07Oct

By Sam Holmes and Colin Packham

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia pledged billions in tax cuts and measures to boost jobs on Tuesday to help pull the economy out of its historic COVID-19 slump in a budget that tips the country into its deepest deficit on record.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has unleashed A$300 billion in emergency stimulus to prop up growth this year, having seen the coronavirus derail a previous promise to return the budget to surplus.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday announced A$17.8 billion in personal tax cuts and A$5.2 billion in new programmes to boost employment in a recovery plan aimed at creating one million new jobs over the next four years.

Those measures are forecast to push the budget deficit out to a record A$213.7 billion, or 11% of gross domestic product, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021.

“There is no economic recovery

Postal Service cuts are cutting into its law enforcement mission

07Oct

In April, Daniel J. Trammell attacked a postal service letter carrier while the letter carrier was simply delivering mail. The Postal Service employee suffered an injury to their neck. Earlier that same day, Trammell entered a post office, shouted at employees and threatened to shoot his letter carrier.

This of course was not the first threat that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has dealt with. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the nation was on edge bracing for additional waves of attacks, which ultimately did come with the anthrax scare. This dangerous attack emanated through the mail, just seven days after 9/11. The USPS was the unwitting victim, with its law enforcement officers, postal police and postal inspectors having to handle a very dangerous incident.

Today our pandemic is seeing similar dynamics at play, exacerbated by funding debates in Congress, as postal police and Postal Service inspectors are

Australia tips into record budget deficit as government cuts tax, boosts jobs support

06Oct

FILE PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has unleashed A$300 billion in emergency stimulus to prop up growth this year, backpedalling on a previous promise to return the budget to surplus.

Those measures are forecast to push the budget deficit out to a record A$213.7 billion, or 11% of gross domestic product, for the fiscal

Budget should reverse ‘brazen’ Coalition cuts to transparency bodies that hold government to account

05Oct

Anti-corruption experts have urged the Coalition to use Tuesday’s budget to reverse “brazen” attacks on accountability and transparency bodies, saying the current government is “extraordinarily” eager to conceal its activities.

a sign on the side of a building: Photograph: Danny Casey/AAP

© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Danny Casey/AAP

The Centre for Public Integrity on Monday released an analysis of the funding of 11 crucial government bodies, including the Australian National Audit Office, the office of the Australian information commissioner, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the commonwealth ombudsman, the CSIRO and the ABC.

a sign above a store: The ABC is among organisation’s targeted for funding cuts by the Coalition, along with others including the CSIRO and the Australian National Audit Office, who revealed the sports rorts affair.

© Photograph: Danny Casey/AAP
The ABC is among organisation’s targeted for funding cuts by the Coalition, along with others including the CSIRO and the Australian National Audit Office, who revealed the sports rorts affair.

In many cases, the centre found that funding in real terms had either fallen or not kept pace with additional workloads since 2010-11.

The analysis found total funding had been cut by $1.4bn in

Budget should reverse ‘brazen’ Coalition cuts to transparency bodies that hold government to account | Australian budget 2020

05Oct

In many cases, the centre found that funding in real terms had either fallen or not kept pace with additional workloads since 2010-11.

The analysis found total funding had been cut by $1.4bn in real terms and the percentage of budget allocation to the 11 agencies had dropped from 1.14% to 0.6% over the past decade.

The audit office, which has recently revealed the sports rorts and Leppington Triangle scandals, is among the worst hit, according

Argentina farm body says grains tax cuts not enough, lambastes government

02Oct

Adds context

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Argentina’s main farm association said on Friday that government measures to cut export taxes on grains were inadequate and failed to address issues facing local farmers amid a grave economic crisis and strict capital controls.

The center-left government said on Thursday it would reduce the export levy on soybeans, soymeal and soyoil by 3 percentage points to 30% to stimulate stalled sales and bring in much-needed foreign currency.

Farmers in Argentina, the world’s top exporter of processed soy, have held back on selling their soy harvests, a concern for the government as foreign currency reserves dwindle amid the coronavirus pandemic and low confidence in the peso as the country heads for its third straight year of recession.

Argentina is also just emerging from a sovereign default after restructuring over $100 billion in foreign currency debt.

The

Southwest Airlines warns furloughs, wage cuts still possible without more government aid

01Oct

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told employees Thursday that the Dallas-based airline may still have to furlough workers or cut wages and benefits if the aviation industry doesn’t get another round of economic aid.

Southwest, which has said it won’t furlough employees this year even as competitors began letting go of workers Thursday, is still lobbying for Congress to extend the Payroll Support Program that gave $25 billion in grants to airlines to cover worker costs and another $25 billion in loans.

“But, I need to be honest with you and remind you, if the PSP extension fails, as we have warned for months, we’ll be forced to find a way to further reduce our spending, reduce our salaries, wages and benefits specifically by seeking concessions, or as a last resort, layoffs and furloughs,” Kelly said in the video message to employees posted Thursday afternoon.

Passengers walk through a largely empty check-in area for American Airlines at Miami International Airport during the coronavirus pandemic, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Miami. The airline industry has been decimated by the pandemic. The Payroll Support Program given to the airlines as part of the CARES Act runs out Thursday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A similar program passed in

Without Government Assistance, The Airlines Will Launch Massive Job Cuts On Oct. 1

28Sep

Unemployed Airport Workers Call On Delta To Rehire After Airline Received Bailout — (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Getty Images

If nothing soon changes, October will be a brutal month for airline employees. The airline industry was hit hard by the effects of Covid-19. The federal government warned people not to take unnecessary flights and prohibited travel to and from certain countries. Passengers were afraid to fly and canceled their trips and vacations over concerns that they’d catch the disease. Business professionals that were accustomed to taking flights to meet with clients played it safe by holding Zoom calls instead.

As flight travel came to a grinding halt, the revenues and profits for the major airlines plummeted. There was little other choice for the airlines than reducing headcount, as there wasn’t a demand for flying. Two major companies in the industry, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, told their respective employees that there will be massive layoffs in October. Concerns and fear over