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UK sugar tax hits sweet spot, so why is Australia waiting?
In a paper published in the British Medical Journal, UK researchers have shown that one year after the British Government imposed a levy on sugar sweetened beverages (or SSBs), people are buying less sugar, but industry’s bottom line remains largely unscathed – described as a ‘win-win’ outcome.
In an editorial accompanying this paper, The George Institute’s Dr Alexandra Jones proposes that there are lessons to be learned by other countries, including Australia:
Here, an SSB tax has been sidelined by a voluntary pledge by the Australian Beverage Council to reduce sugar sold in beverages by 20 percent over a decade, but the terms of the pledge are vague, it doesn’t cover all products and will not be independently reviewed.
AusBiotech has shifted its plans for AusBiotech 2021, the biggest gathering of Australia's biotech industry, and will now offer a predominantly virtual.
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JobKeeper replacement for aviation industry will not protect jobs
An initiative to replace the JobKeeper wage subsidy announced by the Morrison Government for the aviation industry today, with no strings attached to protect jobs, will go straight to employers.
The scheme is intended to replace JobKeeper – a wage subsidy won by unions that has been keeping aviation workers in jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. But the package – the result of discussions between QANTAS Group and the Morrison Government will not be enough for many workers.
The ACTU and aviation unions are appealing to the Morrison Government to introduce Aviation Keeper, which would ensure aviation jobs are secured, as well as implement strict salary capping for executives, banning bonuses and dividends, and ban the outsourcing of jobs overseas.