A hard pay fight

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

The Morrison government will seek to abolish the “better off overall test” for prospective enterprise agreements under its omnibus industrial relations package, which the ABC reports will be unveiled in full today.

The change would empower the Fair Work Commission to approve agreements in “limited circumstances” that leave a worker worse off if the business has been affected by COVID-19. Agreements would however face an unspecified “public interest” test and have a two-year time limit.

In related news, the Transport Workers Union will launch a Federal Court case today over Qantas’ plan to outsource more than 2000 jobs, while The Sydney Morning Herald explains that the Berejiklian government will be forced to ignore a 2012 credit rating law, passed under Mike Baird to protect NSW’s triple A score, as the state grapples with the pandemic’s economic fallout.

And in other news from parliament’s penultimate sitting day of the year, InQueensland reports Josh Frydenberg will introduce legislation for the controversial mandatory news media bargaining code, which, if passed, would require Google and Facebook to pay for news content and share data collection methods.

PS: Keep in mind as the Morrison government outlines further details of its package today that, as Crikey explained earlier this week, the Productivity Commission’s 2015 review of workplace relations not only found the current system works well and flexibly but did not find any evidence that reform would increase productivity.

TIME TO BUCKLE UP

Following opposition from Labor and the university sector, the Morrison government yesterday passed its Foreign Relations Bill and, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, will immediately examine Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China now that it has the power to tear up the (non-binding) memorandum of understanding.

Simultaneously, The Australian ($) reports that Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has accused Beijing of undermining the “letter and spirit” of the 2015 China-Australia Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organisation obligations amid its slew of trade sanctions against Australian exports.

Which, to be fair, Australia kind of got there first, having launched nearly 170 anti-dumping investigations against China since 2012.

COVID WATCH: VACCINATIONS, A RAID, AND QUARANTINE EVASION

The UK’s mass vaccination program has officially begun, with the ABC reporting that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been administered to 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan.

The injection is the first of its kind in a Western country — although, as Crikey explained yesterday, both Russia and China have begun rolling out drugs that have not passed phase three clinical trials — and a second shot will be required for full immunisation.

In domestic COVID-19 news, The Age reports that Victorian authorities have confirmed that, back in July, a San Fransisco traveller evaded hotel quarantine in Sydney and flew into Melbourne. The leaked incident was not publicly communicated and close contacts were not contacted at the time.

Additionally, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Morrison government will extend its biosecurity powers so that restrictions on international travel and cruise ships remain in place until at least March 17.

Finally, while yesterday was a great day for science generally, The Guardian reports that Florida scientist Rebekah Jones — who says she was removed from her job running the state’s COVID-19 database because she refused to censor the data and has since gone on to create a much more detailed website — has had her home raided by armed police who confiscated her computers.