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Amazon workers rather quit than move to “central hub”

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Amazon employees who have been working remotely are choosing to quit rather than adhere to the company’s requirement to relocate to its central hubs.

In a move announced in July, the e-commerce giant instructed certain remote workers to return to offices located in major hubs such as New York City, Seattle, Austin, Texas, or Arlington, Virginia.

Those unwilling to move were given the option to apply for different positions within the company or resign. Employees affected by this directive have until the first half of 2024 to complete their relocation, even if they reside in another state. However, some workers were reportedly given as little as 30 to 60 days to make their decision.

One Amazon employee based in Texas chose to leave the company and secure a different job rather than uproot their life for the move to a central hub. Concerns about future job security and the higher cost of living in major cities were cited as reasons for this decision.

Quitting for family

Three other Amazon employees, located in Colorado, Utah, and California, decided to quit after being instructed to relocate to Seattle. They preferred quitting over disrupting their family lives or incurring the financial burdens of relocation. These employees also noted that the company’s demand seemed unnecessary, as they were already working in-person at local Amazon offices three days a week.

These resignations come amidst a broader trend of tech companies dealing with a slowdown, including layoffs and hiring freezes. Amazon, for instance, has laid off around 27,000 employees since the previous fall, including a wave of 9,000 announced in March, although it still maintains approximately 350,000 corporate employees.

Amazon spokesperson Rob Munoz stated that the relocation requirement affects only a small portion of the company’s workforce, with each team deciding on the hub that best suits their needs. The company is offering benefits to employees who choose to relocate.

Amazon’s recent email warning to employees about office attendance requirements has also caused frustration among workers. Some employees received these messages in error, leading to confusion and resentment.

While some employees are quitting rather than complying with the relocation demand, other major companies, like Meta, have also been pushing their employees to return to the office, raising questions about the future of remote work in the tech industry.

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Defending the Territory – Can Darwin be the AFL’s 20th Club?

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When the Tassie Devils join the AFL, in 2028, as the 19th team, Darwin will be the only capital city in Australia without an AFL or NRL team. Will the AFL go in and defend their territory which it failed to do in Canberra all those years ago?

The Footy Case for the Northern Territory

The case for a NT team in the AFL – to be called the Darwin Dingoes or Darwin Crocsis considered a romantic notion in some ways, but the footy case is strong. The Territory has produced rich reservoirs of football talent from Alice Springs to the Arafura Sea. Playing talent like Michael Long, the Rioli family, Andrew McLeod and Nathan Buckley roll off the tongue of any Aussie Rules diehard, and many Territory (often Indigenous) players become famous in the state leagues of SA and WA as well as the AFL. Many play in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) before heading down south in what is the ‘off season’ for the Top End.

In fact, according to James Coventry’s neat little book, Footballistics (2018), the NT is truly Aussie Rules heartland in terms of participation and talent. In terms of ‘footy readiness’, according to Coventry, the NT often comes top in terms of participation rates.

For a small population of just over 240,000 people, over 13 percent of Territorians participate in AFL programmes, compared to 8 per cent in WA, 6 per cent in SA and 2 per cent in Victoria. NT is top in terms of adult participation and top four in terms of children’s participation. In fact, in non-metropolitan areas, Coventry found there were 22,000 registered participants (in 2018), which means every child outside Darwin and Alice Springs plays footy—not allowing for the many unregistered participants who are also playing. In 2022, this had grown to around 40,000 participants. And in terms of talent, the NT produces 56 elite AFL players per million people, with only Victoria and SA ahead.

And in the NT, they simply love footy. Just watching the finals from the Tiwi Islands or Central Australia will tell you that! It also shows up statistically, with almost half the population favouring the AFL column in terms of Google searches—ranking it with the traditional Aussie Rules states Tasmania, SA, Victoria and WA.

AFL Club Taskforce – The Strategic Business Case

The NT AFL Club Taskforce, in their Strategic Business Case for the 20th licence, has examined a number of options. These include more AFL matches in Darwin and Alice Springs, a relocated team, or a Darwin-based stand-alone Northern Territory team that also plays in Alice. They even consider a Northern Australia team (Darwin-based but also playing in Cairns in Far North Queensland), although it may be better to have the Queensland teams—Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns—develop Far North Queensland, Central Queensland and the Sunshine Coast, and let the NT team focus on Darwin and Alice Springs. Hawthorn is also considering playing a few games in Cairns.

The Economic Challenge

Of course, that’s the footy case. It seems an open and shut case. But the economic case for the NT is much harder—especially given climate, population and financial considerations if the NT team requires a new stadium or upgrades to TIO Stadium in Marrara, Darwin and TIO Traeger Park Oval in Alice Springs.

As experience shows with NT teams, even the basketball team the Darwin Crocs struggled.
ABC News: NT Sports Club Struggles

Even with a significant AFL contribution of $7.83 million per year, the Taskforce forecasted that the NT AFL Club would need Federal and NT Government to fund an operational funding gap of $18.89 million per annum. This would include a new or upgraded stadium, with AFL NT chairman Sean Bowden explaining that:

The Stadium will anchor the opportunity to bid for a 20th licence in the AFL should that opportunity arise.”

However, the Taskforce noted:

The economic benefit to the NT could be as much as $559 million if the new club was provided with a new stadium. The Strategic Business Case indicates that an AFL Team would create 160 full-time jobs, bring game day activation of the economy and add $116M a year in economic output to the Territory economy.”

AFL NT makes its case

Social Impacts and National Significance

Hand in hand with the economic benefits come the social impacts. The NT has a serious problem with diabetes and associated health problems, low educational attainment and imprisonment. The Taskforce would develop pathways for participation—not only for elite footballers in an AFL and AFLW team—but also create a social safety net of social programs for all Territorians under the umbrella of the NT AFL team. Social cohesion is important for internal security in the same way as defence is important for external security.

In some ways, the NT team might be considered a national security (internal social cohesion) project. In the same way as the PNG team in the National Rugby League (NRL) is getting support from the Commonwealth Government for geo-political reasons (external security) to the tune of $600 million as part of a $750 million ambitious investment by the NRL:

An AFL team in Darwin might be considered in the same way. Darwin was the only capital city bombed in wartime in 1942. It is considered vital to our defence strategy, and the new tensions in global geo-politics will see a review of our defence assets and arrangements. For instance, the lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese Government-linked company would never have happened in today’s global climate.

So just like having an NRL team in PNG, the Commonwealth might consider having an AFL team in Darwin as important to national security.

And as many seasoned commentators (hello Ross Gittins) always say—what do you do when economists question a project? Put it in the defence budget under ‘national security’. It may be a stretch to consider it part of defence, although the AFL might like this, as it would allow them to ‘defend their territory’ and keep the NT a predominantly Aussie Rules zone.

Completing the National Jigsaw

And there’s no doubt that the Aussie Rules footy community would love it. As the legendary AFL commentator Bruce McAvaney once said, the NT would “complete the jigsaw” in the national competition of Australia’s truly indigenous home-grown game.
McAvaney’s View on the 20th Team

There’s that romance coming up again. Australia’s only indigenous game—with AFL teams from Tasmania to the Top End, and from the East Coast to the West Coast in every Australian capital city. It might be just too much for the AFL, as custodians of the great Australian game, to resist.


*Professor Tim Harcourt is Industry Professor and Chief Economist at the Centre for Sport, Business and Society (CSBS), University of Technology Sydney, and author of Footynomics and the Business of Sport.

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Secret IMF meeting sparks US-China truce

Covert IMF meeting sparks US-China trade breakthrough with 115-point tariff cut for 90 days, marking significant progress since the Trump trade war.

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Covert IMF meeting sparks US-China trade breakthrough with 115-point tariff cut for 90 days, marking significant progress since the Trump trade war.


A covert meeting in the basement of the IMF has set off a diplomatic shockwave, leading to a major breakthrough in US-China trade talks.

Top officials from both nations have now agreed to slash tariffs by 115 points for 90 days—marking the first real progress since the Trump-era trade war began.

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Gen Z and millennials surpass boomers in voting power

Gen Z and Millennials outnumber Baby Boomers in Australian elections, signaling potential reforms in taxation and inheritance laws.

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Gen Z and Millennials outnumber Baby Boomers in Australian elections, signaling potential reforms in taxation and inheritance laws.


For the first time in history, Gen Z and Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers at the ballot box in Australia, marking a seismic change in the country’s political landscape.

Experts say this electoral milestone could spark major reform debates on taxation, superannuation, and inheritance laws as younger voters prioritise different values.

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