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A party full of people flouting coronavirus restrictions have been caught out by Victoria Police, with 88 fines issued on Friday for breaching lockdown across the state.
There were 673 spot checks at homes and businesses across the state over the past 24 hours as police continue to crack down on those who do the wrong thing.
Among those fined yesterday were 12 people gathered at a home for a party and two members of the Mongols bikie gang who were discovered after they had been drinking at their Port Melbourne clubhouse.
Another five people were fined after being caught committing criminal damage.
There have now been 23,567 spot checks since March 21.
Meanwhile, Victorian students will likely be stuck at home far longer than any other state as the Andrews Government digs in on kids learning remotely.
The move has sparked calls for a one-off payment for families to offset the cost of home education.
Premier Daniel Andrews held firm on plans to keep children learning from home in Term 2, as Western Australia on Friday announced schools would be kept open and Year 11 and 12 students encouraged to learn on site.
The start of the term has been marked by confusion as the nation’s leaders have differed on how to respond to current medical advice.
New South Wales is set to introduce a gradual return to school after the first fortnight of teaching while Queensland will review its remote learning guidelines after five weeks.
BOATING BAN LIFTED, GOLF BANNED AGAIN
About 3 per cent of students attended Victorian state schools each day over the past week.
Mr Andrews said he did not want large numbers of students travelling to and from campuses.
“We don’t believe that is in any way consistent with the rules we’ve put in place (and) the messages we’re sending,” he said.
“We also don’t think it does anything other than potentially spread the virus.
“The Prime Minister has made the position of the federal government very clear — there is only one group of people to listen to and that’s the state government.”
The move prompted Parents Victoria and Gender Equity Victoria to call for a payment to support parents educating their kids at home.
Parents Victoria executive officer Gail McHardy said households needed help to cover associated costs such as for equipment, internet and printing.
“While Victorian families should be congratulated for embracing school at home during Term 2, there needs to be some recognition of the financial burden on parents through the provision of a home school allowance,” she said.
“Any form of contribution will go a long way to easing the burden of parents at this time.”
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan on Friday told the Today program each state and territory had the ultimate responsibility for its schools.
“I understand that there’s some confusion out there for parents, but what we now have is clear national priorities and, importantly, stating how important it is that we can, as best as possible, get back to that face-to-face classroom teaching,” he said.
“What we’ve been doing is taking the advice of the medical expert panel, and that includes the Victorian chief medical officer and all chief medical officers across the nation.
“Their advice has been consistent — that it is safe for children to go to school.
“Our hope is, if we can keep flattening the curve, we’ll see more states and territories providing that option for students to be able to go back to school, and get that teaching in the classroom from a teacher,” Mr Tehan said.
TAX CUT TO GIVE A LEG UP
Tax relief for individuals and direct government assistance for distressed businesses will be part of a co-ordinated effort to help the economy recover in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas is reviewing the state’s tax mix — likely delaying plans to double the landfill levy and raise $1 billion a year in a new mental health levy — because he concedes Victorians will struggle to pay more.
He has also promised to be “much more interventionist” and provide taxpayer-funded support to struggling businesses, as Victoria borrows $24.5 billion to tackle the crisis.
The federal government is also embarking on a wide-ranging review of taxes, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison favouring growing the economy by easing the burden on families and businesses instead of paying back increased debt with higher taxes or a new coronavirus levy.
Further income tax relief is already planned for 2022, when the threshold for the 19 per cent bracket is due to be lifted from $41,000 to $45,000.
By 2024, the government has promised to slash the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent — meaning 94 per cent of Australian workers would pay no more than 30 per cent.
Mr Morrison said “employment-friendly policies” would also help the nation recover.
“Increasing taxes doesn’t always grow the economy,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’ve got to get our economy up and humming. That’s how you get people back into work, and when people are back at work they are paying taxes.”
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy told the National Cabinet this week economic growth would not be achieved after the pandemic “under the old settings”.
Mr Pallas said a month ago he expected to deliver a Budget surplus of $300 million to $400 million this year, but the government had since been spending an extra $1 billion a week.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the massive increase in borrowing was necessary, and the state’s economic strength made taking on extra debt more viable.
“The carrying cost of debt borrowings that are critically important to save lives and save jobs has never been lower,” he said.
“We don’t want a situation where we’re in any way limited to make sure that we are in a position to support thousands of businesses across multiple sectors.”
Mr Pallas vowed a major tax review because “the capacity for the community to bear increased taxes will be substantially compromised as a consequence of the hardships that they’re going through”.
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2020-04-17 23:53:59Z
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