Summary
Let’s wrap up the main developments of the day.
- Nearly one million people are out of work, ABS data shows, with a third of hospitality jobs lost
- A 16th resident died at the Newmarch house nursing home
- A Covid-19 cluster from a Melbourne meat processing facility now has 45 recorded cases
- Jacinda Ardern and Australia’s national cabinet discussed a trans-Tasman travel zone
And with that, I will leave you for the day. Thanks for reading and stay safe.
Qantas extends flight cancellations
In an email to loyal customers, Qantas said it was extending Australian domestic and trans-Tasman flight cancellations to the end of June 2020 and international flight cancellations to the end of July.
“Australia and New Zealand have done an amazing job of flattening the curve, and we’re optimistic that with encouraging results and the easing of some government restrictions, some travel may return soon,” said Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer Stephanie Tully.
“We are still flying a small number of international, domestic and regional services for essential travel, as well as rescue flights on behalf of the Australian Government to bring those stranded overseas, back home. And when restrictions are eased, we will be ready to put on more services.”
Updated
Tasmania is considering direct flights to and from New Zealand for the first time in more than two decades under a mooted trans-Tasman travel bubble.
AAP reports the Tasmanian premier, Peter Gutwein, has held discussions with Tourism Tasmania and Hobart Airport about the prospect of direct flights.
“This isn’t going to happen tomorrow, it’s not going to happen next week,” Gutwein said. “(But) as we work our way through the course of the calendar year if the opportunity arises ... then that’s an opportunity we will look at. It’s one that I’m looking to pursue.”
Gutwein said appropriate quarantine and border force arrangements would need to be set up before any flights were possible.
“The one thing that we can’t do is have a situation where the virus moves between the two countries,” he said.
Direct flights last operated between New Zealand and Tasmania in the late 1990s.
Updated
My colleague Naaman Zhou has filed this story about today’s Ruby Princess inquiry hearings:
Updated
This seems like a problem.
BREAKING 🚨
— Sam Phillips (@samphillips06) May 5, 2020
Albury Council have BARRED @storm from using council facilities
Will be forced to find private grounds for training in the region or pack up shop + relocate elsewhere
More soon @smh + @SMHsport
The WA government has shelved a hotel accomodation trial for the homeless, citing mixed results.
Facing pressure from campaigners for what they called an inadequate response to protecting rough sleepers during Covid-19, the government put up 20 homeless people at a Perth hotel at the end of March.
In a statement reported by AAP on Tuesday, the community services minister, Simone McGurk, has confirmed the government won’t continue the trial, which she described as having had mixed results.
Those who finished the program moved into other accommodation last week.
“It achieved positive health outcomes for some participants, helping them to address underlying health issues, and some chose to detox from alcohol and drugs,” McGurk said in a statement.
“On the other hand, 11 participants left the pilot very early on. Their reasons for leaving included struggling with the quarantine period, being confined to the hotel, not being able to smoke when they wanted to, alcohol and drug use, and family pressures.
“We won’t be continuing the program at this stage. That may change if the health advice tells us that rough sleepers need to self-isolate to stay safe.”
National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project co-ordinator Gerry Georgatos said WA had done far less than other states to help the homeless and the trial program did not provide sufficient psychosocial support for participants.
“We know first-hand because we supported some of those that actually left,” he told AAP. “This abatement in the coronavirus scare should have been seen as an opportunity to ramp up support for the homeless.”
Updated
AAP has the latest on the TV rights for the NRL. I have excerpted some of their story below.
Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks has fired another salvo at the NRL, saying it’s not a given the league is a part of the network’s future.
Marks’ comments come as delicate discussions continue with the NRL over how much it will pay to broadcast this year’s rejigged competition.
While stakeholders continue to press ahead with a 28 May restart date, it remains unclear how much the game will receive from Nine and Foxtel.
“We have to be hard … we have agreed to nothing this year,” Marks said during a conference hosted by investment bank Macquarie on Tuesday. “There is no agreement on value or for how long.”
Updated
One final point of interest from the hearing of the Senate select committee on Covid-19 this afternoon:
The secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Michael Pezzullo, was asked several questions about security of data generated by the Covidsafe app.
The Greens senator Nick McKim asked whether the Department was aware of – or had itself made – any requests to developers of that app to create a backdoor using powers under the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018.
“No,” Pezzullo replied.
Pressed on whether the answer applied to both parts of the question, he added: “Correct. That’s a no to both.”
On a related issue, the secretary was asked how he could be confident US courts would not uphold warrants by American agencies seeking access to app data held by Amazon Web Services. He replied that the data would not be stored overseas.
McKim noted the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (Cloud) Act allowed for law enforcement agencies to seek access to data from US-based tech companies regardless of whether it was stored in America or on foreign soil.
Pezzullo said: “We’re very confident ... in the negotiations generally that were undertaken with the US Department of Justice before Covid ever came on the scene, that there would be no clash of laws, that our laws would prevail, as would American laws in relation to data stored in America.
A bill is currently before the Australian parliament to allow for agreements with like-minded foreign governments “for reciprocal cross-border access to communications data”. Meanwhile, as my colleague Josh Taylor has pointed out in his explainer piece, the draft bill to put safeguards around the app makes it a crime to store the data outside Australia, or communicate the data to someone outside Australia.
“We’ve sought and received advice on the operation of the Cloud Act in relation to Covid,” Pezzullo said at today’s hearing.
Later, senator Rex Patrick asked a follow up – “I’m trying to save an FOI heading your way” – as to whether that advice was provided by an independent lawyer within the commonwealth, external counsel or the Australian Government Solicitor. The secretary took that question on notice.
Thanks Josh. I’ll be with you for the remainder of the evening. You can contact me at luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com or on Twitter @lukehgomes.
I am handing over the blog to my colleague, Luke Henriques-Gomes to take you through the evening.
South Australian COVID-19 update 5/05/20.
— SA Health (@SAHealth) May 5, 2020
For more information go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/KDQwBVyL0J
Labor’s Bill Shorten indicates Labor senators are going to ask about issues with the Covidsafe app at a Senate committee hearing tomorrow.
Just one small problem with the coronavirus tracing app...
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) May 5, 2020
It’s not working properly on iPhones. pic.twitter.com/lWdQKdESWY
Cashless welfare card trial extended
Cashless welfare card holders will remain on the controversial income management program until at least the end of the year after the government extended the trials for six months.
The social services minister, Anne Ruston, said the government would also introduce 1% interest earnings for account holders and contactless tap and go technology for the 15,000 people on the Indue card.
“The government is committed to making sure the user experience for welfare recipients who are participating in the Cashless Debit Card trials is the same as anyone else if not better,” Ruston said in a statement today.
“Participants are now earning interest on their Cashless Debit Card accounts at a rate of 1% which is higher than rates offered on typical every day accounts.”
Recipients are likely to receive a cash bonus from June 2020 because interest payments will be backdated to July 2019.
The card, which is strongly opposed by welfare groups, operates in Ceduna, SA, the East Kimberley, and the Goldfields, WA, and Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, Queensland.
The government has paused new entrants to the card from 25 March, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated
The Covid-19 swabs taken from the Ruby Princess on March 19 were delayed, because the lab forgot to put them into the system as a priority, the special inquiry has heard.
Counsel assisting, Richard Beasley SC, told the inquiry that swabs were collected from sick passengers at 3am on March 19 and taken to a laboratory for testing.
Usually, any swabs that arrive in the lab by 10am will have results back by 4pm.
However, Kelly-Anne Ressler from NSW Health, told the inquiry that when she checked at 4pm, the swabs had not even been put into the system. The lab then told her they would “be put on the next run,” Beasley said.
Commissioner Bret Walker SC asked Ressler why this had occurred.
“My understanding is the technician didn’t realise they were cruise ship samples, and they were put into the queue as per normal, and were not tested as priority,” Ressler said.
She added that she had not personally “escalated for the specimens to be tested as a priority” but that the swabs were labelled and that “cruise ship samples should have been tested urgently”.
The hearing has finished for today, but will return tomorrow.
Updated
Labor MP Ed Husic told ABC News says if more people are going to use the Covidsafe app, they have to be confident in how it works, how the data is managed, and whether it will work.
He notes the government still hasn’t released the source code, as has been promised.
If they want more people to use it, he says, they still need to build confidence in the app.
Peters also said he wants to get to the bottom of what the origin of the coronavirus is:
All things point to Wuhan and the question is what happened there. But as I say, in making our judgement, on behalf of New Zealand people, I’m required, the prime minister and others are required, to know what we’re talking about, to have the evidence and be able to ensure that if that’s not the case, we at least need the cooperation of the Chinese government to help us find what happened. I believe in the cause of international health and in the cause of respect for those millions of people who are going to lose their life, that’s the least we could expect.
Updated
New Zealand deputy PM Winston Peters is on ABC News.
When asked about the app, he says it would need around 60% uptake to be effective (our government argues 40%) otherwise it is not useful. He says if it was made compulsory to download, there was nothing to force people to use it.
The Law Council of Australia put out a statement largely positive on the draft legislation for the Covidsafe app, but raising concerns about making it much easier for people to opt out of the app:
Some of the core design parameters raised in the Law Council’s principles, released on 24 April 2020, are not yet fully incorporated. In particular, the Law Council considers that the legislation should prescribe the core parameters or minimum design specifications of the Covidsafe app and data store themselves, rather than leaving them to be determined from time-to-time. For example, the legislation should provide that the app must operate on a strictly voluntary, opt-in basis at all times, with accessible mechanisms for users to ‘opt out’.
The Law Council also supports prohibitions on creating and using ‘derivative data’ from data that has been collected by the app; and reverse engineering or reidentifying data that has been ‘deidentified’.
Other matters that the Law Council would like to see addressed in the bill are:
· Provisions requiring the privacy commissioner to inspect and certify that the data deletion obligations at the end of the app’s period of operation have been complied with.
· Periodic reporting obligations while the app is operational, with these reports tabled in parliament; and
· Streamlined arrangements to manage the interaction of investigations by the privacy commissioner with law enforcement investigations of offences for breaching the prohibitions on the use of data, under which the commissioner is not obliged to discontinue investigations.
Porter, when asked about this said he had not seen the submission yet, but would read it, and said if people wanted to opt out of the app after downloading it, they could delete it from their phone:
Well, yes, except the data that is collected with respect to an individual can only be used for the explicit purposes and prescribed purposes by state health authorities for contact tracing if someone tests positive, which has to be certified by a medical professional and that information self-deletes every 21 days.
He says it is a “fairly boutique criticism” from the Law Council, balanced against the “massive national interest” in having an effective way to contact trace.
Updated
Porter also revealed it would be a matter of days until the unpublished royal commission findings into conduct of Cardinal George Pell would be released, but he would not be pinned down on exactly when it would be released.
Porter says the legislation for the Covidsafe app overrides other powers, including court orders and warrants, and the anti-encryption legislation meaning police will not get access to it.
“The way we drafted the biosecurity determination and the legislation out for consultation now, is that it in effect overrides other powers that may exist for law enforcements agencies, both state and federal, to subpoena that information, or, indeed, for it to be given voluntarily to the agents. If I put it this way – the privacy protections trump those other powers.”
Updated
Another Newmarch resident has died
Anglicare has confirmed that another resident of the Newmarch aged care centre in western Sydney has died after testing positive for coronavirus.
The statement:
Anglicare Sydney is deeply saddened to announce that a resident at Newmarch House who had tested positive for Covid-19 has passed away this morning. The family has been contacted and all relevant authorities have been notified.
We extend our sincere condolences to the family, for whom this is both distressing and tragic.
The incredibly contagious nature of the virus is evidenced by the fact that in the last 24 hours three staff members of Newmarch House have tested positive. They are now self-isolating. The positive test results were discovered during our daily, rigorous testing regime which is now being applied to all staff working at Newmarch House prior to the commencement of their shifts.
Anglicare Sydney appreciates the expertise being provided by infection control specialists which have been generously provided by government.
Our team are working tirelessly to contain this virus which continues to have a devastating effect on residents, families and staff at Newmarch House.
It takes the number of deaths at the facility to 16.
Updated
On the paid pandemic leave, Porter says that “isn’t the stronger of [the ACTU] submissions”.
It’s the case, of course, that casual employee, if they are unable to work, due to self-isolation, for instance, for a period of two weeks or more, then that person will be able to receive the increased amount of the jobseeker payment, but they wouldn’t have an income in that period. We have made very significant provisions through jobkeeper and jobseeker for people who’ve been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Again, I’m always open minded to reasonable submissions and that will run its course through the Fair Work Commission but that’s not the strongest of the submissions put to me.
Updated
The attorney-general, Christian Porter, is on ABC News.
He says he is examining the ACTU proposals we have detailed, and he says some are stronger than others.
He says the ACTU has a point around the differences between states in notifying health authorities of a Covid-19 outbreak in a workplace and it is something he is looking at.
As Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have been out trying to restart the economy and get 1 million Australians back to work, the Australian Council of Trade Unions has been calling for pandemic leave and work health and safety rules as prerequisites.
The ACTU plan involves adding pandemic leave to the National Employment Standards so every employee, including casuals, can take leave to get tested and, if they test positive, self-isolate to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, told Guardian Australia:
“We need to have a culture to encourage people to go and get tested, a whole lot of people are asymptomatic or their symptoms are minor so they ignore it – we have to change that mindset. If they have a scratchy throat – like that aged care worker in Sydney –they have to be able to go home and get tested … One in three workers don’t have any paid leave, so they can’t take sick leave to go do that. It’s about removing that disincentive to go get tested.”
Secondly, the ACTU wants legal obligation on employers to protect their workers and their customers by implementing the highest practical standards, including physical distancing.
McManus said the system would give state and territory authorities enforcement powers, as well as health and safety representatives in workplaces, to shut down businesses without safe working practices, such as an overcrowded call centre.
Asked if that meant everyone would be 1.5m apart, McManus replied:
With this, the first source is what medical experts say, and while they say that’s how far you have to stay distant – well then yes, that’s what’s got to be in place. I can’t see that changing unless the science changes, frankly.”
McManus said Australia was at the leading edge of reopening the economy with very few countries, like Singapore, to learn from about how to avoid a second wave.
She said:
If employers had in their minds that easing restrictions will mean ‘we’re open – everything can go back to normal’, it’s not going to be back to normal, because if we do, we risk a big second wave. We’ve already been through a lot of pain to the economy and all the jobs lost in the last eight weeks – and to make it all worth it we have to get this bit right.”
Updated
Murphy says he doesn’t see 100,000 people packing the grand final for the football, and handshakes and random hugs and crowded rooms are probably not on the cards any time soon.
But he says in a few weeks, there could be a push for local tourism within Australia, including interstate travel.
That won’t be in the first easing of restrictions, though.
On reopening workplaces, Murphy says hotdesking would have to be done differently than it has in the past.
Social distancing and staggered start times would also be common.
There would need to be sanitiser everywhere, frequent cleaning, a reduction in travel, all the things designed to limit the spread.
Updated
Murphy repeats that the MoUs with states and territories over accessing the data from the Covidsafe app will be finalised this week.
Essentially it’s just making sure that those that can access the data (contact tracers) are only accessing it for that purpose, as the government has repeatedly stressed.
Updated
There’s no modelling on how many more cases there could be if schools reopen because there’s no evidence schools fuel transmission, Murphy says.
“We have no real evidence that schools are a driver of transmission. So it is not possible to model that. Obviously, that’s something we would watch. The most – I would imagine the most likely negative effect of schools might be some transmission from adults to adults, like teachers if they are not practising good distancing in the classroom. We don’t believe there is significant transmission from children so we have done no modelling on that.”
Updated
Murphy says we are now at 4.95m downloads of the Covidsafe app, out of about 16m Australian adults with smartphones.
He suggests the app will be “a very significant help to us” in the event of outbreaks like in the Victorian meatworks.
He says it is good to see people getting out again, but social distancing, hand hygiene and other measures already in place need to be maintained.
He says the national cabinet decisions on easing restrictions are likely to be very cautious decisions, that will likely differ from state to state.
Those with no cases for some time would probably be more confident in easing restrictions.
“We are in a great place, but we cannot risk this place we are in.”
Updated
Now chief medical officer Brendan Murphy is providing an update.
It’s just a general health update.
The number of cases confirmed is 6,849, and unfortunately 96 deaths, he says.
There was an increase in 25 cases in the past 24 hours, which is higher than in the past week. He says this is of concern but it is mostly related to the Victorian meatworks outbreak, which has been “expertly controlled” by the state health department.
There has been extensive contact tracing and isolating.
He said this sort of thing is something we are likely to see over the coming months as the restrictions are eased. We just need to make sure we have the capacity to contact trace, test, and quarantine. That’s what has happened in Victoria.
The testing is 665,000 tests in total now, and Victoria leads the pack after the two-week 100,000 tests blitz.
The senior doctor on board the Ruby Princess exchanged Whatsapp messages with a NSW Health employee, and told her that “we just have to stop all cruise ships” as early as March 8, the special inquiry has heard.
Kelly-Anne Ressler, a senior epidemiologist at the south-eastern Sydney health district, told the inquiry that she and the ship’s doctor, Dr Ilse von Watzdorf began communicating over Whatsapp because they had technical difficulties using satellite phones.
The cruise ship docked in Sydney on March 8, and a new boatload of passengers boarded, to return on March 19.
The inquiry heard today that on March 8, von Watzdorf sent Ressler a Whatsapp message saying “thank you for your cooperation, hopefully they’ll [the passengers] behave this cruise” including an “emoji looking like an exasperated doctor”.
Ressler said it meant “hopefully they won’t become unwell” and was “not about the way people were conducting themselves” in disembarking or on the ship.
She also added that von Watzdorf told her on the 8th “we just have to stop all cruise ships”.
“It was a passing comment, she just said we have to stop all cruises,” Ressler said.
Earlier in the inquiry, von Watzdorf had said she was “surprised” that 2,700 passengers had been allowed to disembark from the ship on March 19, without waiting for coronavirus test results.
Updated
NT chief minister Michael Gunner says territorians are “legends” for passing the test for the easing of the restrictions in the NT over the weekend.
He says they didn’t “do a Bondi” and stage 1 easing went off “without a hitch”.
Stage 2 will start now, and most businesses will be allowed to reopen once they complete a checklist of cleaning and safety protocols.
“Just fill it out, submit it and get back to business.”
He says businesses just have to lodge it, and that’s it, they can re-open.
Bret Walker SC is asked “Do you know what Whatsapp is?" pic.twitter.com/H03rbc9aun
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) May 5, 2020
Good afternoon everyone.
In news that will surprise no one, the Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, Annaliese van Diemen, has been cleared over her tweet about Captain Cook that upset state Liberals and a few federal Liberals like Peter Dutton and Eric Abetz last week.
According to the ABC, the Victorian public sector commission found her tweet comparing the impact of Cook’s arrival to Covid-19 not against the code for public servants in the state, but van Diemen has since deleted Twitter off her phone, and has been counselled on social media risks.
Professor Brendan Murphy is about to give the national health update.
Josh Taylor will take you through that. I am going to have a few days off ahead of parliament restarting next week, so I will see you all on Monday. In the meantime, please take care of you.
Qantas says it will extend its cancellation of domestic and Kiwi flights, which had been slated to return in the middle of this month, until the end of June.
The airline has also extended the cancellation of international flights to the end of July.
This means it has also extended a stand-down that has left more than 20,000 employees without work to “at least the end of June”, the company told the ASX.
“The initial easing of government restrictions suggests some domestic travel may start to return before the end of July – though initial demand levels are hard to predict,” it said.
“The impact of this stand down is deeply regrettable but has been greatly softened by the Australian government’s jobkeeper program, which the group commenced paying several weeks ahead of the official payment start date.”
Qantas has also borrowed another $550m against its planes, on top of more than $1bn borrowed in March.
It said it now had $3.5bn in ready cash and money it could borrow quickly, and could last with the majority of its fleet grounded until December next year.
The airline said it was burning $40m a day during the crisis.
Updated
Scott Morrison ends the press conference.
National cabinet will meet on Friday, where it will outline the plan to ease the restrictions.
So there was nothing really new in that press conference, but we did hear the arguments for why the economy needed to be restarted – or woken up from the “controlled freeze” it had been put into.
The government expects Covid case numbers to increase as restrictions are relaxed. Lifting restrictions means the health system feels equipped to deal with whatever comes, not that the virus has been eradicated. It’s why you are going to hear a lot more about testing in the coming weeks, as well as downloading the tracing app.
Updated
Scott Morrison says the government’s cap on permanent migration remains at 160,000 a year, and he doesn’t anticipate changes to that:
I think one of the lesser understood elements of the net overseas migration outcomes and how temporary migration plays into permanent migration is the vast majority of skilled migration these days actually comes from those who are already here on a temporary skilled visa and so if you are wanting to hack into the temporary skilled migration program you are basically saying you want to hack into the skilled permanent migration program and those communities all around the country whose – that permanent migration program is incredibly important to, I think that an insensitive way in dealing with that in an unbalanced way is not only good for the economy but equally, I think it puts unnecessary pressures on particular communities around Australia and shows an insensitivity to those.
Updated
What about domestic travel?
Scott Morrison:
There are still hard borders with Western Australia. There was a bit of friendly banter about whether Kiwis would be welcome into Western Australia before those from the east coast were, that is still to play out, but there is, I think, no doubt a big benefit once we’re back in that situation where people hopefully, by the end of term school holiday, if they are able to go and have a holiday on the Gold Coast or in South Australia or in – wherever it happens to be out of one’s home state, let’s hope that is possible because that will be great for those places in terms of the tourism impact.
Already in New South Wales, which is what I have discovered here in the ACT, we are seeing those restrictions about people being able to move and travel a bit further, the same is true back in Queensland, that is good.
I welcome that. I think that is great. I think Australians are welcoming that too.
That is all part of getting back to the Covid-safe economy. What is really important is people need to really still hold to those principles around a Covid-safe environment, the social distancing, the keeping in contact but not physically in contact.
The hand hygiene, all of these things remain just as important and of course downloading the Covidsafe app that provides that passport, I think, to protect those you are with, your family, yourself, as well as those you are coming in contact with.
Updated
Because the Nationals have missed having attention, having had their last leadership challenge on the first day of parliament resuming, when the nation was meant to be focused on a day in memory of the deadly summer bushfires, and obviously getting antsy in iso, the NSW Nationals leader is having a barny with the federal Nationals leader.
Which they have made public.
Scott Morrison is asked whether Michael McCormack raised any concerns with him, about John Barilaro coming into the federal parliament and whether the latest round of infighting will cause issues in the Eden-Monaro byelection and says:
No and no.
Scott Morrison is asked about reports China hoarded medical supplies and says:
What I am keen to have undertaken is a proper assessment and review of these questions. I don’t want to express an opinion about it, I want to know. I think the best way to arrive at that is what I have proposed.
I have written to all the G20 leaders this week proposing exactly that process. I think - it is and the 18 May, the world health assembly will be meeting and considering a proposal being put forward by the European Union.
I ... have discussed that with Boris Johnson and many others and I think there is good support for that motion.
That is a good first step and doesn’t cover all the issues I have been advocating but I will continue to advocate for those and to do it in the global interest and in Australia’s national interest.
So that’s where we are focusing our effort, how other nations choose to pursue those issues I will leave to them.
Updated
Scott Morrison once again has to remind people of how the federation works, saying he can not force the states to reopen things they control – like schools – until they want to:
We’re a federation and at the end of the day states have sovereignty over decisions that fall specifically within their domain.
The national cabinet more than any other tool I have seen in my time in public life, has brought about a consistency of approach between states and territories.
Not a uniformity but a greater consistency. And within those discussions they have always been candid, they have always been honest and they have always been in good faith. Whether it is considering, as I did today, demonstrating what the impact is by state to the economy.
At the end of the day every premier, every chief minister, has to stand in front of their state and justify the decisions that they’re taking in terms of the extent of the restrictions that are in place.
The trade-off that they are making between people having jobs and the impact of the containment of the coronavirus.
My view has always been this, and I’ve said it from this podium many times, just having a low number of cases is not success particularly when you have a lot of people out of work like your friend today.
That is the curve that I’m looking to address now. We have had great success on flattening the health curve and that is great and we all wanted that but it has come at a price and we have to now start balancing that up.
Having spoken to all the premiers and chief ministers regularly they are in no shortage of pressure on the decisions they are making I can assure you but I respect the fact that they each have to make their own call just as do I and they have to explain to it the people that live in their state and they have to justify it.
I think that is the appropriate transparency and accountability.
Updated
The prime minister says there can not be a stop/start method to reopening the economy:
The last thing that businesses want, and this is common feedback that Nev and I get is what is called the sawtooth which means you are open, you shut, you open, you shut, that is not good for business.
There needs to be the certainty to keep moving forward all the time. So to have that you need to have these things in place.
What we are talking about today is further encouraging business to do just that. Thanks to the AHA and the restaurant and caterers that advice will go off to the medical expert panel and will be part of the process we will work through to get back to a position when pubs and clubs and restaurants or cafes in the future can be open. As I say, we are not making those decisions today. We have had some good discussions on that today but we still have quite a bit of work to do.
Updated
Federal authorities were aware of 128 sick people aboard the Ruby Princess – including 24 with a temperature – on the evening before passengers were allowed to disembark, a Senate inquiry has been told.
The Senate select committee on Covid-19 is investigating responsibility for the decision to allow Ruby Princess passengers to disembark in Sydney on 19 March, because numerous cases of coronavirus in Australia were subsequently linked to the ship.
The federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has submitted material to the committee, showing it had received a final pre-arrival report from the Ruby Princess vessel master on 18 March at 7.21pm.
The report indicated 128 people had become ill or shown signs of illness in the previous two weeks, including 24 with a temperature over 38C.
It was one of three updates to the vessel’s original pre-arrival report, which was submitted on 16 March at 1.46pm and showed there had been 53 people showing signs of illness including 10 with a temperature.
In answers to written questions on notice, the agriculture department said the Ruby Princess had been issued with a document “outlining berthing arrangements for its arrival in Sydney which stated that human health issues notified by the vessel would be assessed and the vessel must display the quarantine signal”.
The agriculture department said NSW Health had assessed the information provided by the Ruby Princess and had advised there were no issues preventing disembarkation.
“On the morning of 19 March 2020, biosecurity officers reconfirmed with NSW Health the approach to managing passengers and the advice remained there were no concerns relating to passengers leaving the vessel. Biosecurity officers disembarked passengers, consistent with this advice.”
Under questioning at the Senate inquiry this afternoon, Andrew Metcalfe, the secretary of the agriculture department, said the information about ill health was provided to the relevant health authorities – the NSW health authorities.
“There was no need to notify any other federal authorities,” Metcalfe said.
“My officers are not doctors,” he said, adding they relied on health advice.
Updated
Does Scott Morrison anticipate the domestic economy, in terms of businesses, could be up and running again ‘in a matter of months’?
Morrison:
I hope to have more to say about that later in the week, it’s certainly something states and territories have been discussing in some detail, we do have to have some aspirations and targets about this, even when you are easing restrictions for some sectors it may take a week or two for those particular sectors that have been closed down to be able to reopen to get staff back, to get their supplies and open the premises and, it can take a step up on the way back, it is the goal to come back to the state you are talking about, what we are talking about is a Covid-19 safe economy to get to that point as quickly as we can.
At $4bn a week we have a very strong incentive for all.
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Trans-Tasman travel first step to reconnecting to rest of the world but will take time, says Morrison
On what the national cabinet and Jacinda Ardern spoke about in terms of trans-Tasman travel, Scott Morrison echoes the New Zealand leader that it is going to take some time:
It is still some time away. It is important to flag it because it is part of the road back, at some point both Australia and New Zealand connect with the rest of the world again, the most obvious place for that to start is between the two countries.
We could see that happening but not something about to happen next week, it is something that will better sit alongside when we are seeing Australians travel from Melbourne to Cairns, at about that time I would expect everything being equal we would be able to fly from Melbourne to Auckland or Christchurch or things like that.
The two-way travel between Australia and New Zealand is 1.4 million a year both ways, almost as many Kiwis come here is Australians go there. Especially for states like Queensland there is a much greater share of that tourism travel that comes out of New Zealand into Queensland, and as we build up our economies again and especially for trans-Tasman travel and what it means for the airlines that will be important to support jobs in those sectors.
We are working cooperatively together, New Zealand has stronger by security arrangements as do we so it is the obvious place to start.”
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Asked about what he means by a restriction relaxation roadmap, Scott Morrison says:
I can’t preempt decisions on Friday, the national cabinet, especially on these issues with the Commonwealth has no direct authority at all, our job is to try to make sure as much consistency across state and territory jurisdictions as possible, and it has been one of the more effective tools we have had, when we compare ourselves to other countries that exist in federations Australia really has operated as a federation remarkably well.
But as we have seen already as has been the case, states and territories have operated on different timetables, different nuances they have reflected the case characteristics in each of those states and territories and some cases they have reflected the sheer geography of different states and territories.
So what you can expect on Friday, again, I will seek to have as consistent national position as possible, but ultimately each state and territories are the arbiters of their own position, but I have no doubt they will seek to do that and as consistent a way as possible.
They are already moving on many restrictions, I would expect that on Friday there will be some restrictions formally eased which many states have already moved on others I get to move on, I think that framework will assist states but our hope that where we get to on Friday can lay out much more of the roadmap for Australians so they can see what is happening for weeks and months ahead.
Home Affairs undecided on Ruby Princess inquiry cooperation
The home affairs secretary, Michael Pezzullo, has just told the Covid-19 Senate committee that no decision has been made about whether to respond to subpoenas from the NSW special commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess.
The inquiry, led by Bret Walker, includes terms of reference to evaluate how commonwealth agencies including Border Force and the home affairs department handled the incident responsible at one point for 10% of Australia’s coronavirus cases.
On 21 April the prime minister, Scott Morrison, appeared to offer full cooperation, when asked about the issue he responded “we always cooperate with royal commissions”.
But Pezzullo indicated that, because no subpoenas have been received, no decision has been made – and he didn’t give any guarantee the department would respond when they arrive.
Instead, Pezzullo said the commonwealth wouldn’t decide on an “issue by issue” basis how to deal with such inquiries, but rather would adhere to “long-standing points of jurisdiction and principle”.
When Walker led the South Australian Murray Darling Basin royal commission, the commonwealth went to the high court to resist subpoenas to call federal public servants. So, on previous form, the commonwealth could be gearing up to resist the Ruby Princess inquiry as well.
Pezzullo concluded by suggesting the “better course” would be a cooperative approach.
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Before we get to questions Scott Morrison updates on the tracing app, with a special call out to media outlets which have ‘promoted that’:
Before I do that an update on the Covidsafe app, it will pass 5 million today, ... that’s a welcome response, and we would like to see a bit more.
I would like to thank everybody including those in the media for their support in promoting that and passing on the messages part of that app, its most important job is to keep you safe, every single Australian that downloads it, it keeps them safe.
If you have come into contact with someone who also has the app who has been infected by Covid-19 you will know and people will get in touch with you so they can tell you you have been officially compromised by the virus and then you can make decisions to make sure you protect your other family members and those in your household and around you.
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Nev Power who has been advising the government on the business response says coming back means having a plan:
So, my message to business is a very very simple, continue to work with your employees to find ways of configuring your business so you are able to introduce the restrictions on social distancing and hygiene into your normal business activities and have plans in place and be ready as the restrictions change that you can continue to do that as more customers are coming into your business, as there is a higher level of activity and make sure that we continue to contain the virus as the economy starts to expand again.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate on hold at the record low 0.25%, citing its estimate unemployment will hit 10%.
In his statement RBA governor, Phil Lowe, said:
The Australian economy is going through a very difficult period and there is considerable uncertainty about the outlook. Reflecting this uncertainty, the board considered a range of scenarios at its meeting. In the baseline scenario, output falls by around 10% over the first half of 2020 and by around 6% over the year as a whole. This is followed by a bounce-back of 6% next year...
In the baseline scenario considered by the board, the unemployment rate peaks at around 10% over coming months and is still above 7% at the end of next year. A lower unemployment rate than this is possible if the reduction in labour demand is accompanied by a larger reduction in average hours worked, rather than by people losing their jobs.
The board also considered other scenarios. A stronger economic recovery is possible if there is further substantial progress in containing the coronavirus in the near term and there is a faster return to normal economic activity. On the other hand, if the lifting of restrictions is delayed or the restrictions need to be reimposed or household and business confidence remains low, the outcomes would be even more challenging than those in the baseline scenario.”
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Scott Morrison starts laying out the reasons why the restrictions will begin to be relaxed (but we won’t find out that plan until Friday):
It is not just being able to go back to a workplace that is safe but also about being able to do that confidently and also about being able to go into a workplace where there are, and let’s not forget when we ease these restrictions, you will see numbers increase in some areas, you will see outbreaks occur in other places, that is to be expected.
What matters is how you deal with it, and how you respond to it, and it is important that businesses, employees and employers have the tools to deal with the Covid-19 environment and ensure they are all working together to support a Covid-19 safe workplace.
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The numbers continue:
If you look at what is done in the areas that have had great restrictions, you can see that some three percentage points of that 11% fall, but when you look at the jobs, 708,000 jobs estimated to be lost and impacted by these restrictions, specifically on those industry sectors.
You have a broader impact on domestic demand, on flow awards from these changes of around four percentage points, and that equates to some 516,000 jobs, and when it comes to schools, the school shutdown, three percentage points, estimated of that growth, and that flows through to around 304,000 jobs.
When you break it out, the same impact in terms of the percentage decline in gross domestic product and you look at jobs, you can see that for, particularly the hospitality sector, just under 2% fall, but in terms of jobs, 441,000 jobs.
That is the sector most affected by all of this, when you look at the retail services, it is just 1%, but 146,000 jobs, 120,000 on construction, and arts and recreation, around 180,000.
The broader remaining industries, you can see around 4% fall of GDP, and that translates proportionately to fewer lost jobs and you can see why, in terms of the other sectors that have been more acutely affected.
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Scott Morrison starts running through the numbers. They are not great:
By the end of the day, more than a million Australians will have had claims processed for jobseeker. Around 5 million are estimated to be on jobkeeper. One million, or more, are accessing their own super, of almost $10m. 384,000 businesses are accessing around $7m in cashflow assistance, and that is just to date.
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This can not be a surprise to anyone. There is nothing really left in the RBA’s tank, in terms of rate cuts. It reached its ceiling
At its meeting today, the Board decided to maintain the current policy settings, including the targets for the cash rate and the yield on 3-year Australian Government bonds of 25 basis points - https://t.co/oolm6sKPfu
— RBA (@RBAInfo) May 5, 2020
Scott Morrison:
Thousands of Australian lives have been saved, when you look the experience of how Covid-19 has affected so many countries around the world, but we now need to get 1 million Australians back to work.
That is the curve we need to address.
We have had especially when you look at it at an international level, quite an amount of success as a national cabinet, federal government working together closely with state and territory governments to make sure we have been able to manage and contain the outbreak of the virus here in Australia.
In those decisions that we have taken have been incredibly important, and no doubt had we not taken them, not only with the health impact have been disastrous, but, the economic cost would have been even greater.
Then what we are now currently experiencing, and as the treasurer has gone into some detail today explaining, but it is also true that has come at a cost.
That cost will continue so long as we have Australians in a position where they are unable to open their businesses and go back to the offices, children unable to go back to school, and the many restrictions in place, that is why the national cabinet has been working very effectively today as we move towards the decisions we need to take on Friday, that will impact on these restrictions in weeks and months that are ahead.
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Scott Morrison press conference begins
He says there is nothing to report in terms of health – he’ll leave that to the CMO.
Today is about “getting Australians back to work”, he says
The chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, will deliver today’s national Covid update.
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Labor has responded to the latest ABS figures. From its release:
It is particularly concerning that industries that have seen the biggest job losses have a relatively high proportion of workers who have been deliberately excluded from the Morrison Government’s JobKeeper program, such as accommodation and food services, and arts and recreation.
With job losses mounting and worse results still expected to come, it is difficult to imagine how these workers will “snap back” to work when the worst of this economic crisis passes, with the RBA, IMF, the Commonwealth Treasury and many others expecting unemployment to rise and persist for some time.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have refused to listen to too many hard-hit Australian workers and businesses, who are either ineligible for JobKeeper, or still face uncertainty about their eligibility.
When unemployment spikes in the next few months remember hundreds of thousands of job losses could have been prevented if the Treasurer had used his powers to include more workers in the JobKeeper program that he has excluded, which he could do with the stroke of his pen.
Might be worth pointing out that it was the Coalition government, under Peter Dutton, which changed the department from customs and immigration, to Border Force, at a cost of $10m in signage and uniforms.
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“Because we’re called the border force, people think we’re omnipotent”
Michael Outram, the Australian Border Force commissioner, has testified the Ruby Princess was exempt from the cruise ship ban because it was a round-trip cruise.
Facing questions at a Senate inquiry, Outram has also shed some light on the interactions between an ABF officer and the harbour master in the lead-up to the disembarkation.
Outram said the harbour master had legislated authority under NSW law to give or deny permission to the Ruby Princess to dock.
He conceded that if the ABF had said to the harbour master that it was preferred the ship did not dock, then the harbour master was likely to have made such a decision under NSW law.
But Outram said an ABF officer had simply shared with the harbour master information the agency had from NSW Health.
“The decisions that flowed from that advice, they hinge on that advice from the expert panel of four doctors who said it was low risk, you’re free to disembark the passengers,” Outram said.
“They didn’t tell the harbour master what he or she should or shouldn’t do. They’ve got no legislated authority to do that.”
Outram said his officers had acquitted their tasks according to their responsibilities, but all agencies would learn lessons from it because “clearly none of us want a repeat of the Ruby Princess”.
He said:
This has been a point of frustration for me over recent weeks, because we’re called the border force, people think we’re omnipotent and that I have some miraculous legislative authority to direct states and territories and all sorts of organisations to do all sorts of things. I don’t. Our role in relation to cruise ships is really linked to the law, the Customs Act and the Migration Act. Beyond that I don’t have responsibility in terms of the safety of the sea, the navigation of the sea, the pilots, the wharf workers … I know what mine are.”
This doesn’t mean the program was a failure – just that you can’t put walls and a roof around our most vulnerable people, many of whom struggle with addition and mental health issues, and expect everything to be hunky dory:
The State Government hoped putting 20 homeless people in a Perth hotel during the coronavirus crisis would transform their lives. For some, it did. But of the 20, 11 walked out "very early" in the program https://t.co/in4eOcD3EP
— Jacob Kagi (@kagij) May 5, 2020
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Scott Morrison’s press conference is due to start at 2pm.
We should also get the joint statement with Jacinda Ardern around the same time.
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In announcing his candidacy for the Liberal preselection for the seat of Eden-Monaro, Andrew Constance pays tribute to the retiring Labor MP, Mike Kelly, who he says has “tremendous heart”
I am very proud to be a friend of his and hesomeone who has enormous regard for his capacity and ability, he is someone who has bought dollars to regional New South Wales in a way country people of New South Wales have never seen. He is a great guy, and that has been a tough week for him the decision he has reached.
On why he wants to shift to the federal arena, Constance says:
There has been thousands of people left traumatised by both of these catastrophes. Especially myself, I experienced it and I know when it’s about when you see the impact of trauma that a bushfire of the magnitude we faced over summer brings to communities.
To this end, it’s important we look at how we establish a pathway moving forward with a national response to trauma when it comes to natural disasters. Doesn’t matter if it is drought, fire, flood, cyclones.
Our community has been through so much, but one massive hole in recovery is that health and well-being of our local people, wouldn’t matter if you are in places over the other side of the Snowy Mountains, orchards have been lost, livelihoods through small business, homes have been lost, and incredible trauma, we have to look at a national level of how we are going to deal with where thousands of people are traumatised so we don’t see the long-term repercussions of that translate into depression and mental health challenges for the community.
I also think it’s important we see debate in this country about the establishment of the national disaster relief fund, and that flows into especially the actions of charities.
We are waiting to hear from Scott Morrison, now that national cabinet has broken for the day
Senate select committee into Covid response resumes
The Senate select committee on Covid-19 has begun its hearing, which is focusing on probing responsibility for the Ruby Princess saga.
This parliamentary hearing is in addition to the NSW inquiry, which my colleague Naaman Zhou has been covering for us today.
In an opening statement, Andrew Metcalfe, secretary Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Secretary, said his officers “relied entirely on the advice of health authorities” in the handling of the passengers and crew of the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Metcalfe added:
“As there have been suggestions that incomplete or inaccurate information may have been provided by the vessel, that matter is being investigated by my department, given our responsibilities under the Biosecurity Act.”
Under questioning from Labor senator Kristina Keneally, the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Michael Pezzullo, said he had not formed a view about who was responsible for the decision to disembark the Ruby Princess passengers.
Keneally asked several times who was responsible for that decision. Pezzullo’s overarching point was that state and national agencies have a range of responsibilities and it was not possible to name a single person responsible.
He argued it was not possible “to concoct a legal or statutory authority out of thin air”.
When it came to the Ruby Princess, he pointed to the opening statement of Michael Outram, the Australian Border Force commissioner, who said AFB was responsible for two of the three overarching requirements that passengers have on arrival into Australia: customs and immigation clearances.
Outram said:
“In respect of biosecurity, I would refer you to the evidence given by Dr [Brendan] Murphy about Australia’s human biosecurity arrangements and responsibilities.
At the border, there are arrangements in place between the Department of Health, State and Territory Health Departments’ Human Biosecurity officials and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment who appear here with us today.”
The ACT has recorded no new cases of Covid-19.
It’s run of no active Covid cases was broken yesterday, when a returned traveler tested positive for the virus.
We then get to the final question:
Treasurer, much has been made about the enormous government debt to GDP coming through. Household debt to GDP is twice that of the US. Yes, there has been big fiscal response from you guys, interest rates are at a record low, and there have been deferrals of interest as well. The question is, surely as treasurer you have some figures or numbers in your head as to the capacity or the buffer that households have to handle that debt when it comes through in just a few months. That is what businesses want to know, that’s what they want to get a grip on, your understanding of what that buffer is.
Josh Frydenberg:
Household debt, it will be functioning depending on what happens to unemployment. People have a job, then they can meet their mortgage payments, and there are other expenses, but as you know, household assets to household debt, household assets are about four to five times as to what household debt is, so there is a position here in Australia where we can get through these issues, the governor of the Reserve Bank has previously commented on households debts, and the issue, it is a manageable issue. The best way to help household budgets is to get people into work.
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What conversations has the government had with the states about the GST?
Josh Frydenberg:
Well, we just had the GST relativities confirmed following the advice, and of the independent assessor in that case.
And obviously, some states got more than they were hoping for and some got less. And it just swings in roundabouts. It moves from year to year.
Some are happy and some would like more. But obviously, the impact on GST is a reflection of the impact on consumption. And the quicker we can get people to work, the quicker we can get kids back to school.
And I point out – South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory – around 70% of kids are back in school. That’s a really positive thing, and New South Wales and Queensland have already signalled that they [will follow]. That is a positive development because that will happen to the labour force, have an impact on consumption, and that will obviously flow back to state coffers through the GST.
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That is about the third mention of the Shifting the Dial report. If you want to know where the government’s economic thinking is heading.
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Question:
We’ve got a generation now facing the possibility of long-term joblessness and another generation coming up behind them facing possible poorer education outcomes because they have been learning at home. And the probability that they are going to find it hard to get a job after they have been to uni or done training. How is Australia not going to avoid taking a hit to our productivity and hence our growth in the future?
Josh Frydenberg:
You touch on an important area in terms of skills and getting people back into the workforce and one of the – one of the comment that’s come through regularly in my dialogue with businesses, big and small, is that through this crisis, there is going to be greater digital take-up across the economy. It was already a transition that was occurring, but more people working from home, you know, more people having the virtual meetings, e-commerce is going to accelerate in the post-crisis environment. It is going to be important that young and old workers have access to those skills. So the Joyce Review was the one we commissioned in terms of the skill space, setting up a national skills commission, working with the states on the issue of Tafe, in particular. But also accreditation.
Accreditation of skills is one of the recommendations out of the Shifting the Dial report, which was raised in the conversation with state treasurers last week. So, there is work that’s being undertaken across jurisdictional lines in order to try to get that – try to get those skills and those accreditation changes to enhance the economy, and it is one area among many that we will be focused on for reform once we get through this crisis.
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The questions continue, with this one from Katharine Murphy:
Q: In April 2018, standing where you are right now, you told this club that Australia needed to find sensible workable, affordable market-based solutions to transition to a low-emissions future. Furthermore, you said the alternative would be policy paralysis, more expensive short-term government interventions, and higher power prices. Now, today one of Australia’s largest business groups, the AI Group, has said that there are two - the two biggest challenges currently before us are the Covid recovery, and also achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Are they right?
Josh Frydenberg:
In terms of meeting emissions, the targets Australia signed up to, that is a focus of the Morrison government. We have made great progress on that. At the same time, we’re investing in new generation in the energy space. And we have been following the ACCC’s recommendations about more transparency in competition in the retail, and wholesale market. All those interventions, while – you know, Coalition governments don’t like to make those sort of regulatory interventions, I think they have been necessary in that sector. So, we believe that those changes we’ve made on the generation side, on the regulatory side, are helping to reduce prices, but also to reduce our carbon footprint.
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Josh Frydenberg says the tax cuts which have been legislated (including the flat rate for those earning between $45,001 and $200,000) are here to stay.
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Is there a debt to GDP limit the government is working with?
Josh Frydenberg:
Before this crisis, our interest bill on our debt was around $19bn a year. That is about as much as we spend on schools. Double what we spend on childcare.
So, every time you lift your debt and you increase your interest payments, that is money that has to be found across the economy.
So, we have set – we have a limit in terms of what is legislated through the Parliament. That’s $850bn. Obviously we are working hard to keep it well below that. But what we are focused on right now is spending the money where it is necessary to avoid – to avoid some of the challenges that we have seen around the rest of the world.
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Andrew Constance, the NSW transport minister, has confirmed he will be putting his hand up for preselection in Eden-Monaro.
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Josh Frydenberg again rules out keeping the jobseeker rate at its current level:
We have been very clear that the measures we have announced are temporary, targeted, they are proportionate and we have used existing systems.
These were the principles that we adopted. That ABS data you referred to is pretty consistent with where Treasury’s forecasts are for unemployment to hit 10% in the June quarter to rise from that 5.1% we saw if February and 5.2% we saw in March.
But we are very conscious, that the way to get people off the unemployment benefits is to get them back into the workforce, to encourage economic activity, and that’s why the lifting of the restrictions is so important.
The quicker we lift those restrictions, the more economic activity we generate.
Those enablers that I was talking about, those sectors – education, childcare, transport and logistics – even opening our cafes and restaurants will mean that farmers will have a home for their produce.
We have actually now seen rains in recent weeks and months that is making a real difference to the – to the capacity of the farmers to produce more from their land.
So, we need to find a home for that produce and getting those cafes and restaurants and other activities open as quickly as possible will be a way of getting more people back to work and reducing that unemployment.
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Back to Josh Frydenberg:
Q: Treasurer, do you think that the crisis has exposed significant problems with Australia’s supply chain and their vulnerabilities? If you do think that, how do you think it should be addressed, whether by diversifying sources becoming more self-sufficient and how do we avoid protectionism in this process?
Frydenberg:
Well, there is already work going on these particular issues, undertaken by Treasury, the Department of Industry and, indeed, the Covid Commission under Nev Power.
There are some areas, where we are self-sufficient. We’re a country of 25 million people but we produce enough food for 75 million people.
There are other areas where we’ve shown to be – where we show that we need more work and I’m thinking particularly about the rush to get some of PPE equipment and other manufactured goods in the health space, which we had to rely on many ways and means in order to secure that.
So, these are questions that we will address in the aftermath … of this crisis, but we’re already undertaking the thinking around it.
But the prime minister has made very clear – we have got to play to our strengths. We have to play to our comparative advantages. And that does not mean we produce everything or need to produce everything in this country.
But we do need to ensure that in areas where there are going to be materials that could be absolutely necessary in times of crisis, that we won’t be left vulnerable to disrupted supply chains.
An area where we are – have already taken some action is fuel security. As you know, Australia’s fuel stocks are below where we would like them to be. The minister has been working on securing extra supplies. But, again, storage of those supplies, or more storage of those supplies into the future may be required.
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Breaking away from the press club for a moment for this update from Naaman Zhou on the Ruby Princess inquiry hearing:
A NSW Health senior epidemiologist has said it was “unsatisfactory” that more Covid-19 swabs were not taken from passengers on the Ruby Princess.
Kelly-Anne Ressler, from the south-eastern sydney health district, who was not part of the decision-making process for testing, told the inquiry that people could be swabbed and tested for both influenza and Covid-19 at the same time.
She was asked extensively by commissioner Bret Walker why there were more influenza swabs taken than Covid-19 swabs, and admitted it was “unsatisfactory” that there were not equal numbers.
Later, in a tearful comment after hours of questioning, Ressler apologised on behalf of the department.
Commissioner Walker asked her why he “should not draw the conclusion that there has been a reprehensible shortcoming from NSW Health”.
“All I can say is that myself and my colleagues were working very hard, we did what we could, and if we could do it again, it would be very different,” she said.
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AAP’s Mick Tsikas is at the physically distanced press club lunch with Frydenberg.
The next question was on migration numbers, but it was too hard to hear in its entirely (imagine the ‘you’re on mute’ zoom call meeting, but a press club address and you get the picture)
Frydenberg, on whether or not the government will rethink migration (which is already predicted to drop by 85% in the next year)
Australia is very proud of the fact that we have welcomed immigrants and I am a product of – indeed, everyone here is in one way or another – and I think that will continue to be our approach.
It will affect the economy. And as long as the borders are closed the movement to Australia of international students and permanent migrants, it will be restricted. It is a fact that other countries, not only Australia will go through. It will have a significant impact on the economy. We have allowed for that in our forecasts.
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Press club Q and A
The questions begin.
Q: How flexible is the government prepared to be with further financial assistance, given with winter approaching, the experts warn there will be more outbreaks of Covid-19 and a second wave?
Josh Frydenberg:
Obviously we will continue to do what is necessary. That’s been our consistent position through this crisis and where there is a demand we will be there to support the Australian people. But as you know, we’ve already outlined some $320bn worth of economic support, which equates to over 16% of GDP, $200bn of which is direct support.
The other support is through loans and guarantees and support for the financial system.
That is a very significant amount by global standards and in the case of Australia’s history, the most that we’ve ever seen. So, we’re now in the implementation phase of our programs. The jobkeeper program has seen over 725,000 businesses registered, more than 4.7 million Australian workers will be covered by that program.
That money will be flowing out this week. I believe that that support, together with other programs, will be what is required to continue to help people through this crisis.
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Josh Frydenberg ends with this:
It is with that that I will give the final word to one of my constituents, Enid Williamson. Three months shy of her 100th birthday, Enid recently wrote to me as follows,
“Here in Australia we have always found ways and means of growing and responding to life’s difficulties. When this corona pandemic is under control, I believe we will be like a phoenix, rising from the ashes, and with our innate resilience become stronger, hopefully more caring, hopefully more integrated, hopefully more cooperative in achieving a better community and a better world. Just a dream? Yes. But don’t just follow that dream, chase it.”
Thank you, Enid. That is all what we must do
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Josh Frydenberg says the banks have approved $1bn in loans to businesses since the crisis began.
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Josh Frydenberg gets to the crux of the speech: while all options are on the table, don’t expect the Coalition to stray too far off its established path, as it goes into the economic “recovery phase”.
The values and principles that have guided Coalition reforms in the past must guide us again in the future: encouraging personal responsibility; maximising personal choice; rewarding effort and risk-taking whilst ensuring a safety net which is underpinned by a sense of decency and fairness.
Unleashing the power of dynamic, innovative, and open markets must be central to the recovery, with the private sector leading job creation, not government.
There is a risk that protectionist sentiment re-emerges on the other side of the crisis, and for that we must be vigilant. While we must always safeguard our national interest, we must also recognise the great benefits that have accrued to Australia as a trading nation.
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And then we get to the “time to restart the economy” part of the speech.
Josh Frydenberg:
We must get people back into jobs and back into work. For every extra week the current restrictions remain in place, Treasury estimates that we will see close to a $4bn reduction in economic activity from a combination of reduced workforce participation, productivity, and consumption.
This is equivalent to what around 4 million Australians on the median wage would earn in a week. History shows that the longer people are unemployed, the harder it is to get a job. In the early 1990s, unemployment increased by 5% over three years, but took seven years to get back to its pre-crisis level.
As has been remarked, unemployment went up in the elevator, and went down by the stairs. In the current coronavirus, it is expected the unemployment rate will go up by around five% in three months, let alone three years. It underlines the importance of getting people back to work as soon as possible to avoid the long-term economic and social impacts from a high unemployment rate. Throughout this health crisis it has been a fundamental priority of the Morrison government to keep the economy going even with the disruption and the constraints caused by the health restrictions.
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The treasurer says that 85% of mining businesses have been able to continue operate in Australia during the lockdown.
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Josh Frydenberg continues:
These falls in economic activity together with the employment effects of the health restrictions have seen Treasury forecast that the unemployment rate is likely to double.
Having fallen in February to 5.1%, it is now forecast to reach 10% in the June quarter.
Treasury has also forecast that, but for the jobkeeper package, it could have risen to 15%.
The worsening economic picture is not unique to Australia, indeed many countries are facing considerably more challenging circumstances.
More than USD$8tn has already been committed globally in economic support, and more than 100 countries have now gone to the IMF seeking assistance. The economic shock the world is confronting dwarfs the GFC.
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'The economic shock dwafts the GFC'
Josh Frydenberg says the coming economic crisis will be greater than what the world saw in 2008:
Notwithstanding Australia’s success to date on the health front, and the unprecedented scale and scope of our economic response, our economic indicators are going to get considerably worse in the period ahead before they get better. Some of the hardest hit sectors like retail and hospitality are among the biggest employers, accounting for more than 2 million employees between them.
Recent credit card data from the banks shows that spending on arts and recreational services, accommodation and food services were down around 60% and 70% respectively in late April compared to the previous year.
Despite the toilet paper boom and the record increase in retail trade in March due to panic buying, overall consumption, according to NAB data, has fallen 19.5% since the start of the year, with declines across all jurisdictions.
Victoria has had the steepest fall of 23% followed by the ACT (20.7%), WA (20.5%), NSW (20.4%), Queensland (18%), South Australia (16.8%), Northern Territory (15%) and Tasmania (14.9%).
The economic shock is much broader than the impacts on these sectors.
GDP is now expected to fall significantly, with Treasury forecasting a fall in the June quarter, the equivalent of around $50bn.
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Josh Frydenberg on jobkeeper:
Our decision around jobkeeper was made in the context of the new social distancing arrangements announced following the national cabinet on Tuesday, the 24th of March.
This would see the prohibition of a number of activities and precipitate the temporary closure of a number of businesses including pubs, restaurants, and cafes.
At that time Treasury could see a scenario where GDP could fall by 10 to 12% in the June quarter. If these restrictions were increased even further, akin to the eight-week lockdown in Europe, then the adverse impact on GDP could double to 24%, or $120bn, in the June quarter.
This would have seen enormous stress on our financial system as a result of increased balance sheet impairments, widespread firm closures, higher unemployment and household debt. This was the cliff we were standing on.
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It took seven minutes, but we get our first “team Australia moment” mention from Josh Frydenberg as he continues to recount what the government has done.
Josh Frydenberg begins press club address
It is not a normal press club, if there is such a thing – journalists are spread out just two a table, and there is only a handful of people in the room, to ensure the physical distance restrictions are being met.
Frydenberg starts his speech by talking about when he realised shiz was getting real:
It was the weekend of 22 February at the G20 finance ministers meeting in Saudi Arabia when the economic impact of the coronavirus really hit home. As I listened to my counterparts provide their country updates, it was the words of my Singaporean colleague that resonated most. He spoke of the damage inflicted on his proud city state as a result of Covid-19 and the fiscal support that would now be required. Having not run a budget deficit in more than a decade, he was resigned to this fate. My mind quickly turned to what would be required at home.
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Some happy news.
— Kate Lyons (@MsKateLyons) May 5, 2020
Stranded at sea for months due to Covid-19 and refused port three times, sailor docks in Fiji https://t.co/eKHTEI9Sae
We are expecting this in the next 10 minutes or so.
Today at @PressClubAust I’ll be speaking about Australia’s path out of the #COVID19 crisis as we move toward recovery & reform.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) May 5, 2020
While the shadow of the economic shock will be profound, Australians can be optimistic about our future.
Tune in at 12.30 on @abcnews & @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/oh4bHzA7iY
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WA health minister Roger Cook says for the sixth day in a row, Western Australia has recorded no new cases of Covid-19.
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A little more from the latest ABS figures, ahead of Josh Frydenberg’s address to the national press club (which will begin very shortly).
The ABS reports:
Over the period mid-March to mid-April:
- Nearly a third of Australians (31%) reported that their household finances had worsened due to Covid-19;
- One in four Australians aged 18 years and over (28%) reported receiving the first one-off $750 economic support payment from the commonwealth government; and
- Compared to the 2017-18 National Health Survey almost twice as many adults reported experiencing feelings associated with anxiety, such as nervousness or restlessness, at least some of the time.
The Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia estimates also showed that between 14 March and 18 April (the five weeks after Australia recorded its 100th confirmed Covid-19 case) total employee jobs decreased by 7.5%, while total wages paid by employers decreased by 8.2%.
The head of labour statistics at the ABS, Bjorn Jarvis, said: “The industries which lost the most jobs continued to be accommodation and food services (-33.4%) and arts and recreation services (-27.0%).
“Job losses in accommodation and food services were greatest in South Australia (-39.7%) and Victoria (-35.6%).
“The new data shows that jobs in accommodation and food services worked by people aged 20-29 and people over 70 decreased the most (-40.8% and -43.7%).”
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And it is only predicted to rise.
A reminder that the government assistance has a sunset clause of 24 September.
If the ABS payroll data is spot on, the loss of about one million jobs since mid-March has taken the unemployment rate to almost 12.5%. Or about 7.4pp.
— Shane Wright (@swrighteconomy) May 5, 2020
It’s not just seasonal flus going down.
We've done it. We've flattened the curve. pic.twitter.com/PHVYOPpuG0
— Kara Schlegl (@karaschlegl) May 5, 2020
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One-third of hospitality and accommodation jobs have been lost, says ABS
It’s a very sobering release.
One third of Accommodation & food services jobs lost, says @ABSStats https://t.co/DwC19kWmhn #auspol pic.twitter.com/2hoUeGlYaa
— Political Alert (@political_alert) May 5, 2020
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And on the question of a timeline, Jacinda Ardern says:
I do want to let that [national cabinet] meeting conclude. And, of course, at the moment, what we are discussing here is a concept that has been floated for some time. But I do want to allow the meeting to draw to a conclusion before we go any further.
Jacinda Ardern is asked whether or not, given the interstate border closures, she anticipates some states will be open to trans-Tasman travel, not all:
For me, that really comes down to a determination at a state and federal level by Australia.
So, that’s less of a – other than, of course, we would have some expectations of when travel resumes or if we’re able to establish this kind of bubble, to make sure we do it safely for us.
That would mean if we were seeing a cluster of cases or growth in cases or outbreaks we would have to look at changing what we were doing and receiving on our side but ultimately I see it as part of an arrangement to be made between the states and at federal level.
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Jacinda Ardern:
I say to New Zealanders in Australia, you can come home. But of course we are still requiring that quarantine to keep you safe and to keep your family safe. But we are also actively considering what the future looks like for us.
Now, I’m very keen, of course, as I always said, the advantage we have of getting back control of the virus has been to try to get back to some form of normality. International travel won’t feel like that for some time but if we can find a way to make it work with Australia, then that would give that sense of normality, if we can make it work.
Don’t expect trans-Tasman travel to start up again any time soon.
There are still interstate border restrictions. There is still forced quarantine in both nations. It is going to be a slow process.
Jacinda Ardern says both countries are very aware how quickly Covid can spread, especially given the Victorian meat works case:
The important message there it doesn’t take much and that, I think, reinforces why we continue to share that message of stay the course.
We have seen across the ditch very low numbers and then it can only take one outbreak and one workplace or one environment to suddenly have an uptick and that’s why it is so important to stick with our restrictions.
The other takeaway for me, I say this generally, regardless, is there are a lot of similarities in the way that we have each tried to manage Covid and get on top of it and get back in control and therefore there’s the same goals for both of us.
Neither of us want cases of Covid coming between our countries. Neither of us would want the burden of that. I think, regardless of our future path we will be looking for ways to do it safely, top of mind.
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New Zealand has had a second straight day of no new cases of Covid-19 recorded, as the government considers whether to further relax lockdown restrictions.
Yesterday was the first time since before New Zealand’s national shutdown began on 25 March that there were no new cases diagnosed.
There are four people in hospital with the illness, down from seven yesterday. There have been no additional deaths reported. Twenty people have died of the coronavirus in New Zealand.
Eighty-eight per cent of the 1,486 people with confirmed or probable Covid-19 have now recovered, according the Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand’s director-general of health, who is currently giving a news conference in Wellington.
“Of course we must stick to the plan,” Bloomfield told reporters. “The worst thing we could do is celebrate success early before the full-time whistle blows.”
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Jacinda Ardern says the national cabinet meeting is ongoing, so she’ll wait until Scott Morrison is out before issuing the joint statement:
Again, I would note such a discussion is only possible as a result of the world-leading actions and we should both be proud of the efforts that have been made and again the demonstration of the important Anzac bond between us.
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The NZ prime minister says the conversation with the Australian national cabinet was about what each country had gone through with Covid-19, as well as starting trans-Tasman travel.
The national cabinet tends to meet in times of national crisis but is obviously infrequent. The last New Zealand prime minister to participate in a meeting was Peter Fraser, who attended various meetings of Australia’s war cabinet. Australians and New Zealanders travel across the ditch more than anywhere else.
New Zealand is Australia’s largest source of tourists, apart from China, with 1.6 million Aussies visiting us. So we both stand to benefit from getting travel up and running again.
Part of the reason for so much travel is families and friendship span the Tasman. There are more than half a million Kiwis in Australia. Also we are Australia’s largest export market: 18,000 Aussie businesses trade with New Zealand, which means we are especially critical for Australian SMEs so the case for increasing economic relations – when safe – is clear.
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Jacinda Ardern has attended Australia’s national cabinet meeting and is holding a press conference in NZ.
(As has been pointed out, she is not the first New Zealander to attend an Australian cabinet meeting. Barnaby Joyce sat on cabinet meetings for years.)
It has been spoken about quite a bit, but the latest figures show that women have not fared well, from an economic standpoint, during the lockdowns.
From the Financy Women’s Index report:
The scorecard of women’s financial progress, the Financy Women’s Index, recorded its weakest start to a calendar year since 2015 and rose by just 0.4 percentage points (ppt) to a revised 71.3 points in the March quarter up from 71 points in the December period.
The index result for the March quarter means that based on the rate of progress, economic equality in Australia is at least 32 years away.
“For women, the risk is that some of the recent economic progress slides backwards,” said Joanna Masters Chief Economist Ernst & Young Oceania. “This is not because we care less about gender equality but reflects economic consequences and perhaps diverted focus,” she said.
The Index was most affected by a slowdown in female employment growth with full-time job numbers up only 0.1% to 3.35 million over the March quarter while male full-time employment rose by 0.9% to 5.49 million.
- The initial impact of Covid-19 shutdowns and containment measures are driving a setback in the financial progress of Australian women.
- The Financy Women’s Index rose by 0.4ppt to a revised 71.3 points in the March quarter.
- The pace of progress reflects the slowest start to a calendar year since 2015.
- A slowdown in full-time employment growth among women and rising female unemployment relative to male weighed on the index result and likely reflects the early impact of Covid-19.
- The index shows that women are 32 years from achieving economic equality with men but this timeframe could expand depending on the long-term impact of Covid-19.
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There is now a website for people to endorse the CovidSafe tracking app.
From it’s press release:
Major Australian companies, including Coles and Woolworths, associations such as the National Rugby League and the Australian Banking Association, and small business owners have publicly encouraged their organisations to install the app.
Robert Slonim, Doron Samuell and Demetris Christodoulou from the University of Sydney, have set up the Endorse CovidSafe website to urge their fellow Australians to act quickly in the face of this unprecedented pandemic.
Almost 4.25 million Australians have installed CovidSafe so far, around 21% of smartphone use. This is a good start, but it is no time for celebration or complacency. We are still far away from the 40% target for the app to be effective. In fact, we believe that 40% is a conservative target, with Singapore admitting the need for minimum 75% and the UK asking for 80%.
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The Ruby Princess inquiry has heard a transcript of the call made by the cruise ship’s port agent to NSW Ambulance as she arranged for two passengers to be immediately taken to hospital when the ship docked.
One of those patients tested positive for Covid-19 and later died in hospital.
“Basically they are infectious,” the ship’s port agent said, according to the transcript. “They have an upper respiratory tract that also requires cardiology consult ... We’ve been requested by New South Wales [sic] to take them to the Royal Prince Alfred hospital.”
Ambulance officer: “So is he infectious?”
Port agent: “The doctor has told me they have been tested for coronavirus, so precautions need to be taken, so possibly.”
Ambulance officers then informed the ship’s port agent that their paramedics would be wearing protective gear.
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The Geelong Advertiser has a story on the work international researchers and scientists have contributed to Geelong’s CSIRO centre, which has helped lay the groundwork for a vaccine, after Liberal senator Sarah Henderson called for international research collaborations at the centre to be put on hold.
The Advertiser quotes a spokesperson from the CSIRO as saying the previous work had helped speed up vaccine work:
CSIRO collaborates with scientists and research institutions from around the world because it assists in understanding more about challenges such as human diseases prevention and management.
CSIRO has been working around-the-clock in the race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 and save lives.
In less than three months we have progressed our vaccine work to a stage that would have ordinarily taken years to reach. This has only been made possible by previous pivotal research into bats.
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Meanwhile
JUST IN: Carnival Cruise Line says it will begin to phase-in cruises again starting August 1 with eight of its ships leaving from Miami, Port Canaveral and Galveston. https://t.co/jn8limUSe7
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 4, 2020
Ruby Princess 'denied booking to dock' by NSW Port Authority
A lot has already been revealed in the opening minutes of the third day of the Ruby Princess special inquiry.
We have not heard from witnesses yet, but the counsel assisting, Richard Beasley SC, has been providing some facts in his opening address.
Beasley has told the inquiry that “at one point in the morning” of 19 March, the Ruby Princess’s booking to dock in Sydney was cancelled by the NSW Port Authority.
This was over concerns that one person had tested positive for Covid-19. However, this was not true at the time. The booking was later reinstated.
He also said that someone from the Australian Border Force called the duty harbour master to discuss the possibility of “turning the ship around and sending it back to sea”.
However, shortly after, and for an unclear reason, the “same ABF person called the harbour master and said it could proceed”.
And finally, he revealed that on the day the Ruby Princess disembarked in Sydney, one of the people who tested positive for Covid-19 had not been listed on the ship’s log declaring people with “acute respiratory disease” before the ship docked.
“When that was discovered, [NSW Health] contacted the ship’s doctor, who on 20 March sent through an updated log that revealed many more passengers [on the disease log].
“The log was not up to date for respiratory disease at the time the ship docked,” he said.
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The Australian Council of Social Services CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie says the Essential poll shows that most Australians (57%) believe the jobseeker rate should not be wound back to $40 a day.
The government has put a 24 September cut-off date for the Covid-19 supplement that doubled the benefit to $1,100 a fortnight. But the campaign to save it has started in earnest:
It’s clear we need a permanent fix to our social safety net. Our income support system was cruel before this crisis began,” Goldie said.
We can never go back to the brutality of trying to survive on $40 a day. We need a secure safety net that protects us all from poverty.
The ongoing jobseeker payment must ensure everyone can keep a roof overhead, food on the table and the lights on.
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The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas has also announced an additional $491m in tax relief for businesses in that state. Businesses which are eligible for the jobkeeper program won’t pay payroll tax or WorkCover premiums.
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Victorian Covid-19 cases climb by 17, with 11 new cases from meat-processing plant cluster
The meat-processing plant cluster continues to see Victoria’s Covid-19 diagnosis numbers inflate.
A further 11 people who worked at the plant have been diagnosed with Covid-19. That takes that one plant to 45 cases.
There is no threat to the public.
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Tasmania reports no new cases of coronavirus
It’s Peter Gutwein o’clock – Tasmania has reported no new cases
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We’ve built a drone.
The government has just announced it’s $40m Royal Australian Air Force partnership with Boeing has seen the “first military aircraft to be designed and built in Australia in more than 50 years” rolled out.
They call it an unmanned aircraft, or the Boeing Loyal Wingman, because as Maverick could have told you, there is nothing worse than an unloyal wingman.
I call it a drone.
From the release:
The Loyal Wingman will have a range of more than 3,700km, enabling Defence to better understand how these types of aircraft can be used as a force-multiplier, helping to project power forward while keeping manned capabilities out of harm’s way.
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Even if borders were reopened, travel is going to look very different in a post-restrictions Australia.
.@Qantas has extended flight cancellations from the end of May through to the end of July. 🛬
— Jamie Travers (@JamieTravers) May 4, 2020
Points to a "Trans-Tasman" bubble as a possible ray of light going forward. 🌏@SBSNews pic.twitter.com/yNWpOC7wxL
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Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland’s border closures will remain in place, for now, but will be regularly reviewed. She said in terms of the tourism industry it may be “Queenslanders supporting Queenslanders” at first.
So it might be, you know, short-term accommodation initially, but we need to take this cautiously and, of course, national cabinet is looking the what restrictions can be lifted and some time frames around that.
It is small beans in the scheme of things, but it is a very, very strange feeling to be effectively locked out of your home state. I think there will be quite a few people who will never take freedom of movement for granted again.
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Lower flu and other winter ailment cases have been a side-effect of all the self-isolating, which is welcome. But it also means Covid testing numbers are starting to drop off, because people aren’t getting the symptoms which would send them to a testing site.
Health authorities are asking people who have any symptoms at all to get a test.
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Queensland reports two new Covid-19 cases
Queensland’s health minister, Dr Steven Miles, is giving that state’s update:
Overnight we’re confirming five additional cases, but three of those relate to earlier cases that had been recorded in other states, as other states identify cases within their reports that relate to Queensland residents, they advise us of that and at that point in time, those numbers come off that state’s record and get added to Queensland’s.
That means we now have 57 active cases here in Queensland; 980 people have now recovered from Covid-19. In the last 24 hours, we tested 1,069 people.
That number has been dropping slightly as the number of people with all kinds of respiratory illnesses has been dropping across the state.
That means there are just two new cases – one in the Gold Coast, with health authorities working to trace how the virus was picked up, and another in Brisbane, which was related to a known case.
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Kristina Keneally was asked herself this morning about the response, with colleagues including Anne Aly having discussed their discomfort at the language used.
Speaking to Fran Kelly on ABC radio RN, Keneally said she was listening to the criticism but she believed this was a necessary conversation:
Look, I always take on board the views of my colleagues, but let me just say we are now having a conversation that we need to have.
We’re facing an unprecedented economic crisis; migration’s an important economic tool, and it does make a big difference to our economy.
And, as I have said, unlike Pauline Hanson, I’ve said often and included in my opinion piece that Australia has been proudly built on migration.
It will always have an important contribution to make. But what this crisis is exposing is that Australia is heavily reliant on temporary migration, that often results in workers being exploited.
That temporary migration sees employers hiring temporary migrants and these are people whose visa status depends on their employer – it leads to exploitation, it has resulted in serious wage theft.
This is unacceptable and unfortunately though it has an effect right across the economy.
So as we’re in this crisis, Fran, we need to examine the migration settings to determine how we can use this lever as we go through this crisis to ensure that we have one, sustainable economic growth and two, help Australians get back into work into secure, well-paid jobs.
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The Kristina Keneally op-ed was spoken about on Q+A last night.
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Ben Smee and Christopher Knaus have this story:
A tiny Brisbane company linked to coronavirus test scandals in Australia, Puerto Rico and the mainland United States says it is now attempting to fill international orders by manufacturing its own antibody tests, despite having no previous diagnostic experience and the tests being unsanctioned and unproven.
Promedical Equipment Pty Ltd – a company run by convicted rapist Neran de Silva – made a series of promises to deliver huge quantities of Covid-19 tests to governments across the world, initially on the basis that it was able to re-sell equipment from a reputable Chinese manufacturer.
When its deal with the Chinese manufacturer collapsed, Promedical continued to market its own branded test kits, which it falsely claimed had various approvals and said were obtained from an unnamed Australian supplier.
But amid further questioning from Guardian Australia, the company now claims it is the physical manufacturer of its product, raising alarm at a time when experts say the supply of unapproved tests – or the manufacture of tests by unqualified companies – needs greater scrutiny.
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Jim Chalmers was asked about the op-ed by the ABC. He said he had been aware it was coming out and that it was part of internal discussions within the party:
There has been a conversation that’s happened behind the scenes in our team, for some weeks now, not just about this but all the aspects of the policy of the crisis and how we come out of it. I think it’s a conversation that’s appropriate at a time when the flow has largely stopped.
We need to work out what’s the optimal settings for Australia when it restarts again. It’s about the mix between temporary and permanent migrants.
It’s about making sure that we have the training settings right to fill the skills shortages in the economy and making sure temporary workers aren’t exploited.
There is a whole range of issues and it is important to have the conversation at this time so we can get the settings right going into the future.
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Kristina Keneally’s weekend op-ed in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age is still making waves. In the piece, Keneally argued for the cut in the number of temporary migrant visas.:
We must make sure that Australians get a fair go and a first go at jobs. Our post-COVID-19 economic recovery must ensure that Australia shifts away from its increasing reliance on a cheap supply of overseas, temporary labour that undercuts wages for Australian workers and takes jobs Australians could do.
We must also ensure that regional areas don’t only get transient people, but community members who will settle down, buy houses, start businesses and send their kids to the local school.
The “Australia first” language has left many unsettled and upset. Pauline Hanson though, loved it, and said Labor was coming round to her way of thinking. It is not the first time Labor has gone down this path – Bill Shorten started an “Australian first” campaign as leader before the last election. So it’s not new. It’s just getting louder.
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Jim Chalmers, speaking to ABC News Breakfast, says it has always been a balance between public health and the economy, and the best way forward is to listen to the experts:
One of the reasons why Australia has largely succeeded where other countries have failed is that we have relied heavily on expert advice and the advice of the medical community in particular.
And we need to be relying on that same advice as our minds turn to how we reopen the economy.
This has always been a complex task to balance the saving of lives with the saving of jobs.
The government has had to try and keep the economy alive at the same time as they have shut down large sectors of it. These are complex decisions.
The best way to proceed is to rely on the advice. When the government does that we support them.
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What does Jim Chalmers think of the $4bn a week number Josh Frydenberg has put out as the cost of the lockdown to Australia?
Well, it’s a very confronting number and another reminder of the devastating economic consequences of this diabolical health crisis.
We’ve been as constructive as we can be in supporting the government in some of the welcome steps they have taken to deal with this but I think there has been a lack of urgency in getting this support into the economy.
Certainly, the feedback that we receive from the community, including the business community, is that the implementation of the wage subsidies, for example, has been too slow.
It hasn’t been communicated clearly enough and there are too many gaps in the program.
Which means all these workers which are being [blocked] from jobkeeper by the treasurer means the unemployment queues will be longer than they need to be because of the way the government has designed the scheme and refused to fix it.
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Government releases tracing app draft legislation
The attorney general, Christian Porter, has released the draft legislation for the Covid tracing app.
From Porter:
The Privacy Amendment (Public Health Contact Information) Bill 2020, will reinforce the protections set out in the Determination made by the Minister for Health under the Biosecurity Act 2015 on 25 April 2020, placing the protections into primary legislation through amendments to the Privacy Act 1988.
Under the determination, it is a criminal offence to collect, use or disclose COVIDSafe app data for a purpose that is not related to contact tracing. It is also a criminal offence to coerce a person to use the app, to store or transfer COVIDSafe app data to a country outside Australia and to decrypt app data. A maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment or $63,000 applies to breaches of the determination.
The draft Bill clarifies the enforcement mechanisms for the penalties that are already in place against misuse of data from the COVIDSafe app. Criminal offences under the Bill can be investigated by the Australian Federal Police. Individuals can also have their complaints heard by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner or the relevant State or Territory privacy regulator if appropriate.
In addition to the protections provided by the Biosecurity Determination this Bill puts in place a clear process outlining how the Government will satisfy its obligation to delete all COVIDSafe data from the National COVIDSafe Data Store once the pandemic is over.
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The NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance, is expected to announce his preselection candidacy for the Liberals today.
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Kristy McBain, the mayor of Bega, has officially won Labor’s preselection as the candidate for Eden-Monaro:
I’m honoured to be endorsed as the Labor candidate for the upcoming Eden-Monaro b-election.
The last six months have been a tough time for communities right across Eden-Monaro, and people feel like they’ve been forgotten.
Our experience of the drought, the devastating bushfires and now Coronavirus has made me more determined than ever to stand up for our community.
I was here during the bushfires. I saw the devastation first-hand. I saw how much being here mattered, I saw how much leadership matters – and how much national leadership matters.
I was so proud of the people of our region and how they responded to such a huge threat and such terrible tragedy. I love these people and want to keep working for them, in the same way Mike Kelly worked tirelessly to deliver for the area.
Our community can’t be forgotten again – we need a strong voice in federal parliament. I want to be that voice.
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NSW reports three new Covid-19 cases
It is Gladys o’clock.
The NSW premier says three people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.
Two of those cases came from Newmarch House (the case we told you about this morning is separate to that, as it was diagnosed after the 8pm cut-off date.)
The third case from yesterday was another healthcare worker, in the Nepean Blue Mountains local healthcare district, who had not worked while infectious.
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While the national cabinet will be laying out the roadmap to relaxing restrictions when it meets on Friday, the government is pivoting from health crisis to economic crisis, with Josh Frydenberg to tell the National Press Club today that the lockdown is costing $4bn a week.
That’s ahead of the statement Frydenberg and Mathias Cormann will make to the parliament next week.
It’s the strongest sign yet that the government is ready to kickstart the economy again, as it lays the groundwork for why it is going to move forward – although don’t expect life to be what we knew it.
Schools might be going back, and retail stores will be opening and there might even be some trans-Tasman travel starting, with Jacinda Ardern to chat about that with the national cabinet today.
But until there is a vaccine there will still be a pall over daily life – and along with a 10% unemployment rate (at least), shrinking economy and stressed financial markets, it is going to add up to a rough few years.
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Katharine Murphy has the latest Guardian Essential poll (usual poll caveats yadda, yadda) which shows that people are getting used to the idea of relaxing the restrictions:
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Donald Trump has said the US death toll could reach 100,000. That is one of the better estimates.
Here is another issue that is not going away anytime soon, as the Trump administration tries to deflect criticism of how it has handled the pandemic:
British and other Five Eyes agencies do believe that Beijing has not necessarily been open about how coronavirus initially spread in Wuhan at the turn of the year. But they are nervous about getting involved in an escalating international situation.
On Sunday Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said: “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.”
No evidence was offered by Pompeo to back up his assertion but information has been circulating over the last month in the UK, US and Australia aimed at raising questions about the high-security Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has long specialised in researching coronaviruses in horseshoe bats.
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Anglicare has reported that a staff member at Newmarch House, a western Sydney aged care home, who was working in the Covid-19 positive area of the facility, has tested positive for the virus.
Fifteen of the residents who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 have died.
Anglicare says it working to contain the outbreak:
It is our understanding that this staff member was asymptomatic. The positive test result was discovered during our now daily, rigorous testing regime which is now being applied to all staff working at Newmarch House.
Anglicare continues to be advised and guided by infection control specialists, generously provided by government and we are incredibly appreciative of their expertise and ongoing support.
We continue to work diligently to contain this virus which has had a devastating effect on residents, families and staff at Newmarch House.
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Labor has signalled it will focus on the handling of the Ruby Princess cruise ship saga when the Senate select committee on Covid-19 meets for another hearing today from 1pm to 4pm.
The committee will be questioning representatives of Australian Border Force, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and the Department of Home Affairs. The witness list includes the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Michael Pezzullo.
On the eve of the hearing, Labor’s home affairs spokesperson, Kristina Keneally, argued that there were at least “four handbrakes the Morrison government could have applied to stop the Ruby Princess debacle” – including Border Force’s power under the Migration Act to require the medical officer of a boat to certify that no passengers present a risk to public health.
Keneally said she would ask questions about the creation of the mega-department of Home Affairs during the Turnbull years and why it had failed “to stop the one boat that mattered”.
“Given the federal government’s clear accountability and responsibility for our borders, and given the public’s justifiable anger over the Ruby Princess, I hope these officials come with fearless and frank answers and not just Minister Dutton’s talking points,” Keneally said.
“In the short time available in today’s hearing it is unlikely we will get to the bottom of the Ruby Princess debacle. But this is the first time, at a federal level, that parliamentarians are able to examine this extraordinary lapse in border security, and no doubt, it won’t be the last.”
Peter Dutton has previously said mistakes were made within NSW Health and it was appropriate that an investigation was being carried out.
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Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia.
We will bring you all the latest developments today, as the New Zealand PM, Jacinda Ardern joins, Australia’s national cabinet meeting, and the special commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess debacle resumes. AAP reports that the inquiry will hear from five new witnesses.
Also today, the Home Affairs boss, Michael Pezzullo, will be quizzed about the Ruby Princess affair by a Senate committee examining the government’s response to coronavirus, along with officials from Border Force and the agriculture and environment departments.
And Josh Frydenberg will use a speech to the National Press Club to warn that the economic shock associated with Covid-19 will be both profound and prolonged.
Here are a few developments you might have missed yesterday:
- The government released legislation for its Covidsafe tracing app
- Victoria recorded a spike in active cases after the emergence of a cluster at a meat processing facility in Melbourne
- A 15th person died at the Newmarch House nursing home in Sydney
You have Amy Remeikis with you, for most of the day.
Ready?
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