Canberra protesters have kicked off a weekend of planned demonstrations, chanting ‘always was, always will be Aboriginal land’.
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Demonstrators gathered outside Parliament House on Friday to join the Black Lives Matter movement in solidarity with the US following the death of George Floyd in police custody. Hundreds of demonstrators could be seen flouting social distancing measures, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with placards which read ‘end police brutality now’ and ‘all lives can’t matter until black lives matter’.
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Thousands to flout coronavirus rules to join Black Lives Matter protests | Sky News AustraliaState leaders and health experts are at odds as they prepare for tens of thousands of people to take part in Black Lives Matter protests across the weekend. \n\nNew South Wales Premier Gladys Berrejiklian has given the greenlight to protesters joining the Black Lives Matter movement, despite stark warnings from health officials it could facilitate a second coronavirus wave. \n\nDespite COVID-19 rules limiting public gatherings to just 10 people, tens of thousands of people are expected to flout restrictions and converge on Sydney’s CBD on Saturday. \n\nPremier Berejiklian urged protesters to maintain their distance from one another but infectious disease experts said this would likely be impossible at a rally, and therefore be “absolutely” a health risk. \n\nVictorian Premier Daniel Andrews has encouraged people to remain at home on Saturday, gaining the support of his state’s Chief Health Officer. \n\n“Now is not the time for thousands of people to gather together, putting your and others’ health at risk,” Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said. \n\nWhile urging people to stay home, Premier Andrews said protesters would not be fined for flouting coronavirus restrictions while at the protest as it could only “inflame” the situation.
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Thousand of Black Lives Matter protesters could cause second COVID-19 wave | Sky News AustraliaHealth experts fear a Black Lives Matter rally with more than 30,000 protesters could spark a second wave of the killer coronavirus after Victorian police revealed no fines would be issued.\n\nThis Saturday tens of thousands of protesters are set to break Victoria’s mass gathering limit of 20 people to protest against the death of George Floyd in the United States.\n\nVictoria’s Health minister Jenny Mikakos has pleaded with protesters not to enter the city amid fears of a deadly second wave but the state’s police have vowed not to fine a single people breaking the rules.\n\nImage: Getty
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Aboriginal youth support programs to 'start all over again' after forced restrictionsThe effective ban on face-to-face interaction during the pandemic has scuppered Aboriginal youth support progress, and in Ballarat hugely successful programs have been shut.
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Australian dollar remains solid following Frydenberg announcement | Sky News AustraliaSky News business editor Ticky Fullerton says 'really interestingly' the Australian dollar has stayed 'pretty high' compared to the US greenback despite Treasurer Frydenberg's confirmation the economy is headed for recession. \n\nMs Fullerton said the market actually finished up 1.8 per cent on the day. \n\nOn Wednesday Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, with economists certain the June quarter will be even worse.\n\nThat means Australia will slip into its first recession in 29 years due to the shutdown measures enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19.\n\nImage: Getty
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Australia to record its first recession in almost 30 years | Sky News AustraliaTreasurer Josh Frydenberg has called Australia's latest GDP figures evidence of the 'economy's remarkable resilience', despite conceding the nation will slip into recession in the June quarter.\n\nAustralia's Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.3 per cent for the March quarter - broadly in line with market expectations of about 0.4 per cent.\n\nThe result means Australia will record its first recession since June 1991, when Paul Keating was prime minister.\n\n'In response to this one-in-100-year global event, we put in place a series of health measures that have hit the economy hard. These were tough decisions, but these were decisions we had to take,' Mr Frydenberg said. \n\nMr Frydenberg said while the figures were disappointing, Australia’s economy is performing much better than other developed nations. \n\n'While, tragically, 102 people have died as a result of the coronavirus, it stands in stark contrast to the United States, where more than 100,000 people have lost their lives, and the United Kingdom, where around 40,000 people have lost their lives.\n\n'To illustrate how bad we thought it could get, we purchased 5,500 ventilators, but today, there is just one person in an Australian hospital on a ventilator as a result of the coronavirus.'\n\n'Indeed, Australia's performance in the March quarter compares very well to that seen in other nations, with negative growth of 9.8% in China, 5.3% in France, 2.2% in Germany, 2% in the United Kingdom, and 1.3% in the United States.'\n\n'Growth was rising, unemployment had fallen to 5.1% in January, 5.1 million jobs had been created and the budget was back in balance for the first time in 11 years,' he said.\n\n'As the Reserve Bank governor said last week in evidence to the Senate committee on COVID-19, with the national health outcomes better than earlier feared, it's entirely possible that the economic downturn will not be as severe as earlier thought.'\n\n\nImage: News Corp Australia\n
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Recession announcement ‘a sad day for Australia’ | Sky News AustraliaUnlike its 1991 predecessor, the current recession is truly the “one we were indeed forced to have,” according to Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell.\n\nAustralia recorded its last recession in June 1991, with Paul Keating Australia's treasurer.\n\nThe recession was severe, with unemployment climbing to almost 11 per cent in 1992 and interest rates surging to 10 per cent.\n\nMr Clennell said Mr Keating’s claim the downturn was the “recession Australia had to have”, became an “extremely politically damaging statement for the Hawke and Keating governments.”\n\n“For obvious reasons then, as Josh Frydenberg earlier this afternoon announced a recession, he avoided a similar term,” Mr Clennell said. \n\n“It would have been more appropriate if Josh Frydenberg had said that today. Because of the health shutdown, this is the recession that were indeed forced to have.”\n\nThe treasurer on Wednesday confirmed Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, with economists certain the June quarter will be even worse.\n\nThat means Australia will slip into its first recession in 29 years due to the shutdown measures enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19.\n\nMr Clennell said the result is a “sad day,” but it’s worth remembering Australia’s relative economic strength compared to comparable nations.\n\nHe said the government will be hopeful the economy can begin to recover now the stringent lockdown restrictions are being lifted across Australia.\n\n“Frydenberg is hopeful here that with restrictions coming off, we can dig ourselves out of this hole somewhat,” Mr Clennell said.\n\n“He says it is time for things like tax reform because we need to get business going again and that needs infrastructure, tax reform, industrial relations reform, changes to skills.”\n\n
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