That’s it for tonight, thanks for reading. To recap:
- Christine Holgate has resigned as chief executive of Australia Post, days after insisting she would defend her position in the aftermath of revelations of her decision to spend $20,000 on Cartier watches to give to her senior executives as gifts.
- Attorney general Christian Porter unveiled the government’s plans for a federal corruption watchdog. However his claims that the commonwealth integrity commission will have stronger powers than a royal commission have been criticised by Labor, the Greens and independents disappointed the body is not set to conduct public hearings or release reports into alleged corruption by public servants and politicians.
- Queensland opposition leader Deb Frecklington announced she will vacate her position as LNP leader, despite signalling her intention to remain in the position immediately after conceding Saturday’s election.
- Victoria recorded another day of zero cases of Covid-19, as the supreme court threw out a challenge to the state’s now-scrapped Covid-19 curfew.
- New South Wales recorded one new locally transmitted case of Covid-19, and six new cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
- Australia’s seafood export industry says delayed consignments of lobster are starting to clear customs in China – a development it describes as a positive sign. The delays had fuelled fears that seafood could be the next Australian industry sector affected by trade tensions with China.
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For more details about the proposed commonwealth integrity commission unveiled by the government today, my colleague Paul Karp has this report:
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A privilege to move a vote of thanks to my good friend & colleague, @MathiasCormann, tonight following his outstanding 2020 Sir Robert Menzies lecture. pic.twitter.com/qnawv5FF1Z
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) November 2, 2020
Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland has responded to the resignation of Christine Holgate as Australia Post chief executive today, saying the circumstances which led to her departure are “regrettable”.
Scott Morrison mustered up all the confected outrage in the world about $20,000 on watches, yet when his own ministers rort taxpayers he turns a blind eye.
The Australia Post board is stacked with Liberal party hacks and mates of Scott Morrison. Even on their best day, you wouldn’t call these Liberal directors the C-team.
The decision to use Covid-19 as opportunistic cover to cut services, attack one in 4 postie jobs and increase delivery timeframes was wholly ratified by the Australia Post board.
Anyone who thinks these issues will be resolved through a change of CEO is kidding themselves. This board must be cleaned out.
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Earlier today a deal was struck between Labor and the Greens in the ACT.
The deal, outlined in the below report from AAP, will see the minority government phase out gas by 2045, deliver more renewable energy and undertake gambling reform.
The 17 October election left the ACT with a hung parliament, comprising six Greens, 10 Labor and nine Liberal members out of 25 seats.
Chief minister Andrew Barr and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury on Monday reached an agreement comprising 100 items.
Three Greens will be ministers in the new government, with portfolios chosen by the chief minister.
Part of the agreement is a plan to achieve net-zero emissions in the ACT through the rollout of renewable energy and batteries, making transport and energy use more efficient and the phasing out of household gas by 2045.
As well, the second phase of light rail will be built, extending the network to Woden, in southern Canberra.
On the social front, there will be more affordable housing and the number of pokies will be reduced by 3,500 by mid-2025, with incentives provided to clubs that move to zero machines.
A staged rollout of $5 bet limits and $100 load-up limits by the end of 2022 will follow a thorough review and transitional plan.
Electoral reform will include a ban on foreign donations and real-time public disclosure of donations.
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Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has also responded to the government’s proposed commonwealth integrity commission, lashing the plans unveiled today as “a woefully inadequate integrity agency” that “will deeply disappoint and alarm many members of the community”.
The country is crying out for an effective integrity body, even more so in recent times on account of the avalanche of dodgy goings on in Canberra.
But what’s been confirmed by the government today is dreadful and worse than useless because it will leave some people thinking the job is done. Frankly we would have been better off with nothing than the appallingly designed integrity agency the government is pursuing.
What’s needed instead is a powerful independent body that can hold public hearings, make findings of guilt, lean on a broad definition of corruption and accept referrals from any member of the community.
What the government is working on is the opposite of that and begs the question again: what have they got to hide?
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Ministers pay tribute to departing Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate
Finance minister Simon Birmingham and communications minister Paul Fletcher have issued a joint statement paying tribute to former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate.
Holgate announced her resignation today, following controversy over a decision to spend $20,000 on Cartier watches as gifts for Australia Post senior executives following a deal for the organisation.
As shareholder ministers, we thank Ms Holgate for her service over the past three years.
Under Ms Holgate’s leadership, Australia Post has risen to the challenge of the enormous increase in parcel volumes that accompanied the Covid-19 crisis. Ms Holgate has also driven important reforms at Australia Post that have resulted in more sustainable arrangements for licensed post offices and their franchisees.
Ms Holgate has confirmed that she remains available to assist the investigation into Australia Post’s governance arrangements and corporate culture concerning the proper use and management of public resources being undertaken by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and the Department of Finance.
The government will consider the findings of the investigation in due course.
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The union representing postal workers has warned that Christine Holgate’s resignation as Australia Post chief executive won’t fix “serious, systemic issues with management” at the organisation.
In a statement, Communication Workers Union national secretary Greg Rayner said Australia Post’s workforce has been “dismayed” at recent management moves that have included underemployment and reducing daily deliveries.
There’s something seriously wrong when management thinks nothing of splashing out on Cartier luxury watches but delivers only cut backs and service cuts for the rest of us.
The resignation of Christine Holgate won’t stop the rot at Post.
The rest of the so-called leadership team must be held accountable for this mess.
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Australia’s seafood export industry says delayed consignments of lobster are starting to clear customs in China – a development it describes as a positive sign.
The delays had fuelled fears that seafood could be the next Australian industry sector affected by trade tensions with China.
The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, told reporters earlier today that Australia had “never had a worse relationship with what is the major destination for our exports”. Albanese said it was “absolutely critical” for jobs and the economy that the Australian government seek to resolve the trade issues with China.
The Seafood Trade Advisory Group, which represents seafood exporters on trade and market access issues, confirmed there were some clearance delays in China on Friday and Saturday “for some Australian lobster shipments as new inspection processes were being implemented”.
In a statement issued today, however, it said the industry had been working closely with authorities to understand the new inspection processes and expected “that the situation will become clearer now that normal business has resumed following the weekend”.
There are positive signs today with the Chinese authorities undertaking additional testing over the weekend and confirmation that delayed consignments are starting to clear customs.
In an indirect pitch to Chinese authorities to avoid further disruptions, the Seafood Trade Advisory Group emphasised that Australia’s lobster industry valued “the mutually beneficial trading relationship it has enjoyed with China for many decades”.
We are proud to send the best quality seafood for our friends in China to enjoy special occasions with their families. We remain confident that this will continue, underpinned by the Australian rock lobster industry’s reputation as a global leader in quality, reliability and food safety.
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WA records one new Covid case
Western Australia has recorded one new case of Covid-19 today, in a returned traveller.
According to a WA Health statement, the confirmed case is a male traveller in his 20s who is in hotel quarantine in Perth.
There are now 39 active cases of Covid-19 in Western Australia.
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Jim Chalmers, opposition treasury spokesman, was just interviewed by ABC News.
Asked about Labor’s widespread appeal evident from its victory at the weekend’s Queensland election, compared to federal Labor’s difficulty in swaying voters in the state’s regions at the May 2019 election, Chalmers said Annastacia Palaszczuk had “a laser-like focus on jobs”.
“Also to recognise that Queensland is not one big economy. It is a series of regional local communities and economies. And to make sure that you have a policy offering which is relevant to every part of the community,” Chalmers said, explaining why he thought Labor was victorious.
On the government’s proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission unveiled today, Chalmers echoed his legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus’s comments that it appears “weak”, “secretive” and “compromised”:
Unfortunately when you join the dots between what the government is attempting to do here and what it has been doing with the auditor general as well. We need a strong and independent national integrity commission and a strong and independent auditor general and all of the government’s actions in recent times have sought to diminish those two important things.
Chalmers also linked the resignation of Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate with the proposed CIC.
If Christine Holgate is hounded out for $20,000 in luxury watches by the prime minister, what does that now mean for Scott Morrison’s own ministers who have been sprung paying $30million to a Liberal donor for a $3 million parcel of land? What does it mean for sports rorts and regional rorts and doctored documents? All of these sorts of things that Morrison government ministers have been caught red handed doing but remain in their jobs while Christine Holgate is hounded out of hers.
What we ask from the prime minister is that he apply the same standards to his own ministers that he has applied to Christine Holgate on this occasion.
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Greens leader Adam Bandt has labelled the government’s proposed commonwealth integrity commission “toothless”.
Bandt said:
The Liberals’ model is limited only to serious criminal conduct, meaning many of the misconduct scandals involving current and former government MPs would not be caught.
It won’t hold public hearings, so politicians could escape scrutiny for years. The public sector branch won’t be able to start investigations under its own steam, so whistleblowers will need to jump through hoops to warn about political corruption.
This consultation draft could push back action for another 12 months. This sends a green light to any corrupt minister that they’ve got another year to milk every last cent out of our democracy.
People are fed up with politics. Every day they see it work for big corporations and developers, but not for the public. This sham Icac will do nothing to change that.
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Independent MP Helen Haines, has promised to study the commonwealth integrity commission but expressed some strong criticisms already.
Haines said:
I am deeply alarmed that this legislation appears to be the same weak model the attorney general served up two years ago, and is inadequate in several fundamental respects.
Unlike a royal commission, the CIC’s public sector division, covering 80% of the public service, cannot hold public hearings. And so it is clearly misleading for the attorney general to claim the CIC has “more powers than a royal commission”.
It would also only be able to investigate behaviour that constitutes a criminal offence, meaning it would have no jurisdiction over cases of non-criminal corruption. These deficiencies will cause alarm among millions of decent Australians, and many members of the government’s own party room.
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Mark Dreyfus, the opposition legal affairs spokesman, has criticised the government’s proposed commonwealth integrity commission unveiled by attorney general Christian Porter earlier today, saying it is based on a “weak, secretive and compromised model”.
Dreyfus’s main concerns are the lack of significant provisions for the commission to instigate its own inquiries in most circumstances, as well as its inability to hold public hearings for corruption investigations related to politicians or public servants.
Speaking to media in Melbourne this afternoon, Dreyfus said on the issue of public hearings:
It has got some good aspects to it but it does not have, as the attorney general has just said at his press conference this afternoon, more powers than a royal commission. That is simply not right. A royal commission is not prohibited from holding public hearings.
I find it shocking to suggest that you would establish a national integrity commission and deprive it of the possibility of holding hearings in public.
Public hearings build confidence in the integrity of our public administration, which is, of course, why we establish integrity commissions in the first place.
He added:
The commission must be able to respond to tipoffs, to information that it obtains, sometimes anonymously, sometimes from whistleblowers who are prepared to be named but need protection
An integrity commission that is worth its name must be able to act on its own motion, it must be able to start its own investigations. The model that Mr Porter is putting forward here would prevent this integrity commission, if it is established in the form he proposes, from starting its own investigations and that simply is wrong.
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I am going to hand over the blog now to my colleague Elias Visontay to see you through the afternoon and evening.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
And some more from the Victorian press conference earlier, via AAP (which wasn’t covered live, so I couldn’t bring it to you earlier):
The Victorian transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, said the state government won’t further ease restrictions before Sunday, despite the positive figures.
So much hard work has gone into getting these numbers at these low levels.
These are very much precious gains we want to hold onto and part of holding onto that is continuing to follow health advice about how we should carefully and safely step out of restrictions.
More restrictions are due to ease in Melbourne from 11:59pm on 8 November, including the scrapping of the so-called “ring of steel” dividing the city from the regions and the 25km travel limit.
Gyms and fitness studios will be able to reopen, with a maximum of 20 people per space and one person per 8 sq metres.
Pubs and restaurants will increase up to 40 people inside and 70 outside.
Allan said case numbers remained steady in Melbourne even as restrictions were eased last week because people have practised social distancing and worn masks.
We are going to need to continue to do that for the months ahead.
Allan said she does not expect restrictions to be eased around face masks as they proved to be an “important and effective” tool in slowing the spread of the virus.
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Some information on the Victoria Covid-19 situation from the daily press release:
- There are now just 49 active cases of Covid-19 in Victoria, all in metro Melbourne.
- Two active cases are among healthcare workers, and three in aged care settings.
- Looks like testing is down, with just 2,387 tests processed on Sunday.
- In the Deer Park area, the department is continuing to investigate a case reported on Friday and is being managed as a new infection pending further tests, with 21 close contacts identified and in quarantine.
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Here’s the governing agreement between the ACT Labor party and the ACT Greens. Very interesting document, and it seems like there’s an actual coalition between the two parties (something you would imagine hard to replicate elsewhere, given the brawl over the Greens winning the South Brisbane seat over the weekend in Queensland).
There will be three Greens ministers in the new ACT government. There will also be quarterly joint partyroom meetings between Labor and the Greens.
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Now is probably as good a time as any to resurface this piece by my colleagues Ben Butler and Nick Evershed from the weekend about some of the highest paid public servants.
Labor’s shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, will respond to the federal government’s proposed federal integrity commission at 3.30pm AEDT.
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An interesting clause in the contract.
She has to give six months notice to quit or they need to pay her six months pay / will be interesting to see how that’s resolved as it’s over $700,000 https://t.co/ZHlxUrvrW9
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) November 2, 2020
Christine Holgate says she “deeply regrets” that the decision to give the watches, which she says was supported by the chair of Australia Post, has “caused so much debate and distraction” and she appreciates “the optics of the gifts involved do not pass the ‘pub test’ for many”. But she says the executives deserved recognition for their work.
I still believe firmly that the people who achieved the Bank@Post outcome for Australia Post deserved recognition, their work secured a $220m investment over the following years, which dramatically improved the financial performance of the company, protected a critical community service which more than 50% of the communities in Australia depend on and made our community post offices sustainable for the long term.
Holgate says she will be available to help with the investigation and she holds “no animosity” towards the government, and enjoyed working with the prime minister and the shareholder ministers and other political leaders.
I am deeply appreciative of the significant support I have received from our people, our customers, our partners – especially our community licensed post offices and individuals across the country. I have made this difficult decision to leave to enable Australia Post to be able to fully focus on delivering for our customers.
My sincere apologies if my words or actions have offended others, as this would never have been my intention because I have always held Australia Post in the greatest regard.
Australia Post is growing and now has a strong viable future where our community post offices can flourish, our posties and delivery teams maintain their roles, communities secure ongoing services and one which can support the economic recovery of our country.
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Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate quits
Australia Post’s chief executive, Christine Holgate, has quit her job following the controversy over the decision to give Cartier watches worth $20,000 as executive bonuses.
In a letter on Monday, Holgate confirmed she had quit.
I have offered today the chairman and board of Australia Post, with great sadness, my resignation as chief executive with immediate effect. I am not seeking any financial compensation.
Holgate said Australia Post needed a strong leader over the next few months
I firmly believe the ‘ship’ needs a strong captain at the helm to help navigate through this time. The current issue I am managing is a significant distraction and I do not believe it is good for either Australia Post or my own personal wellbeing. Consequently, I have made the difficult decision to resign, hoping it will allow the organisation to fully focus on serving our customers. I have had the privilege to lead Australia Post for three years, and I am so proud of what we have achieved together over this time.
Holgate, through her lawyers, last week denied she had been stood aside and demanded Australia Post provide grounds to stand her aside.
Australia Post last week stated Holgate had agreed to stand aside, after her lawyer, Bryan Belling, said the organisation had not provided “any proper notification that she has been stood down from her role”.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, denounced the “disgraceful” corporate largesse on 22 October in what Belling said was a “humiliating answer during question time” in parliament.
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Why can’t people refer public sector workers to the CIC as they can for law enforcement? Porter says it would become a “circus”.
One of the reasons why when you cover hundreds of thousands of people, politicians, people at universities, people at the SBS and ABC, and the very heightened environment we exist in at the commonwealth level, there is a tendency for some to refer for motives that aren’t entirely pure. And we [want] a reasonable system of assessment, sober, sensible assessment.
The sort of things we have seen, for instance, with a shadow attorney general has overseen 10 unsuccessful referrals of Coalition members for parliament or criminal investigation, that is just ridiculous and you don’t want to have things turn into a circus.
Lobbyists could also not be investigated under the public sector component.
That’s the end of the press conference. We will have a full report on the proposed CIC up soon for you.
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Why did it take so long for the government to announce the CIC? Porter blames Covid-19.
The draft was available on a preliminary form to me last December, I was working on it over the Christmas break then we had a pandemic.
We will have six months of intensive consultation ... It would have been a terrible idea to put 400 odd pieces of legislation dealing with some of the most sensitive issues and the creation of the most powerful investigative body and history of the commonwealth out for consultation during the height of a pandemic. We waited for that to calm down, it has now is happening.
Submissions are open until 12 February 2021, and public consultations will happen between November and March.
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Porter says the decision to not allow the CIC to hold public hearings for politicians will be a matter for public debate on whether politicians are having double standards.
He says it has to be a right balance between preserving people’s liberties, and the court is the best place for a public hearing.
Porter says his decision was influenced by seeing some of the “excesses” of the Western Australia corruption commission, and that he saw people’s careers destroyed based on reports of the commission.
I’m not denying that what I saw in WA has had any effect on me and the way that I have advised the government. And the government has determined to take an approach which is extremely powerful but exercising jurisdictional caution around that power.
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When will the scrutiny of politicians be brought in?
Porter says it will depend on when the legislation passes parliament.
That’s a question for the passage of legislation through parliament. Part of my process and role here is to speak with the crossbench, whose role will be very important in the passage of any legislation, about this detailed legislation – listen to them, consider their views.
I also would imagine trying to convince them that this is the best-balanced approach to creating an agency of the most unheralded type in terms of its coercive and investigative powers that has ever existed at a commonwealth level.
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No public hearings for MPs proposed for commonwealth integrity commission
Parliamentarians can self-refer to the CIC, but there in no reasonableness requirement for other agencies.
The law enforcement section of CIC can hold public hearings, but the public sector section (that is, the part that covers politicians) will not be allowed to hold public hearings, Christian Porter says.
The rationale for that on the government’s part is there is a higher risk and a much greater threat from corruption inside law enforcement agencies in so far as they are the agencies that are meant to enforce the law.
Having that discretion – which has never been used, I might add, by the existing Aclei to date – is appropriate in that division.
We do not consider that a body with this type of power should be having at its discretion the ability to hold public hearings. That’s the government’s position. I know some people agree with that position. I know some people disagree with that proposition. We will have all those arguments ventilated in the context of this detailed draft.
The government’s position is to not repeat some of the mistakes that have occurred at a state level.
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Christian Porter says the commonwealth integrity commission (CIC) legislation will cover 143 offences, and would bring in some new offences, including requiring the heads of law enforcement agencies to refer corruption issues relating to their agencies to the CIC where they have a reasonable suspicion that is necessary.
For intelligence agencies, they would notify the inspector general of intelligence and security, who will decide if it is appropriate to refer to the CIC.
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Christian Porter says the CIC would not cover members of the federal judiciary, but would cover their staff. He says part of the consultation will be over potential constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers.
Here’s the consultation on the commonwealth integrity commission (CIC) announced by attorney general Christian Porter.
Some more on what Paul mentioned earlier:
The expansion of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (Aclei) would just be the first part.
The model proposed by the government would see the CIC subsume Aclei when brought in, Porter says.
The law enforcement integrity division - which is what Aclei will become in the new integrity commission - will have coverage of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian federal police, [Austrac], the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and its new jurisdiction over the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Taxation Office.
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Here is our report on the new New Zealand cabinet announced by prime minister Jacinda Ardern this morning.
Christian Porter to announce federal integrity commission plans
The basic detail of the commonwealth integrity commission that attorney general Christian Porter will announce is that he wants to expand the existing Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity into two separate divisions.
One division will oversee law enforcement bodies and will be able to consider general corrupt conduct such as abuse of office, perversion of the course of justice or corruption of any other kind.
The second is the public sector integrity division, which includes the Australian public service, MPs and their staff. Jurisdiction of this division is limited to conduct that involves an abuse of office or perversion of the course of justice where this conduct would also constitute one of a list of corruption-related offences against a law of the commonwealth. It would only investigate criminal offences and would not make findings of corruption at large.
So, the watchdog has a much higher threshold for investigating wrongdoing allegedly committed by politicians, in that it has to be a crime.
In a statement, Porter has also sledged Labor for backing a much stronger version proposed by the crossbench and Greens:
The model proposed in the consultation bills learns from the significant mistakes of state integrity bodies and strikes the right balance between the need to protect the rights of individuals and the need to establish a powerful investigative body that can guard against potential criminal corruption at the commonwealth level.
Labor is on the record as supporting a dangerous and unjust model developed by the Greens which argues for a body that represents a NSW Icac on steroids, without fixing any of the many well-publicised structural issues of such a model. The Greens model, supported by Labor, would see the most extreme coercive powers being used for the most minor code of conduct breaches that would otherwise be minor disciplinary matters.
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Attorney general Christian Porter is set to announce the consultation drafts for the long-awaited integrity commission at 1.40pm AEDT.
We will bring you all the updates from the press conference once it starts.
NT opens to regional Victoria and announces Covid check-in system
The Northern Territory is welcoming in people from regional Victoria (apart from Mitchell Shire) from noon today, AAP reports.
Chief minister Michael Gunner says:
They are as safe as we are.
It comes as the NT announces new contact tracing rules for businesses to help health workers track people should an outbreak of the virus occur in the community.
Gunner said:
It makes sense to add another layer of defence against the coronavirus, just in case.
Businesses including cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants and cinemas will be required from 30 November to record for 28 days patrons’ details if they stay longer than 15 minutes.
The list also includes hairdressers, beauty therapy salons, tourism operators, swimming pools, gyms, casinos, indoor sporting facilities, libraries, art galleries and churches.
Affected businesses will also be required to appoint “Covid safety supervisors” and update their safety plans every six months.
Police will undertake compliance checks.
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Women bore the brunt of job losses in the opening phase of Australia’s first recession in 30 years, but the shadow minister for the future of work, Labor frontbencher Clare O’Neil, warned on Monday there is “a tsunami coming for workers in predominantly male industries”.
O’Neil used a speech on Monday to point to the vulnerabilities of particular cohorts of male workers as the recession moves from the “artificial” phase of government-imposed shutdowns to the “organic phase” of sustained downturn.
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Google reports that for the past seven days, Victoria’s Covid-related searches remain 2.5 times higher than the rest of the country. Makes sense considering the restrictions still in place. These were the top searches:
Trending questions for “Covid” in the past 7 days in Victoria:
- How many coronavirus tests in Victoria?
- What restrictions will ease in Victoria?
- What is the coronavirus numbers today?
- When SA borders open for VIC?
- Can Victorians travel to NSW?
Trending questions for “Covid” in the past 7 days in Australia:
- How many have died in the US of coronavirus?
- How many coronavirus tests in Victoria?
- When will coronavirus vaccine be available in Australia?
- When did the first corona case happen?
- Which country has highest Covid cases?
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Just to clarify, the childcare centre in New South Wales where a child attended while infectious was the Bambinos Kindergarten at Horningsea Park, on 29 and 30 October.
Deb Frecklington says there is “no doubt” Covid-19 has had a huge impact on Queensland politics, and politics generally.
I am proud of the policies and the candidates that we put forward at this election. I’m proud of the campaign that we fought. We fought fair. I wish my successor as the leader of the Liberal National party and opposition, all the very best. While we didn’t win this election, I am as determined as ever to fight on on behalf of the people of my electorate and the people of Queensland.
Frecklington will stay on as the local MP, and when asked what changed between Saturday night and today, Frecklington said it was her family, as she hadn’t been around for the past three years.
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Deb Frecklington quitting as Queensland LNP leader
The Queensland Liberal National party leader, Deb Frecklington, says she is standing aside as leader of the LNP in Queensland, following the party’s election loss on Saturday.
Once all of the results are finally declared, I will convene a party room meeting and I will ask my colleagues to appoint a new leader of the Liberal National party. I will not be a candidate in the leadership contest. Whoever the new leader of the LNP is will have my full support and my full loyalty. I will assist them in any way possible to help this party move forward.
This came after she said on Saturday night she would stay on as leader.
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Victoria's supreme court throws out challenge to curfew
Victoria’s Supreme Court has thrown out a challenge to the state’s now-scrapped Covid-19 curfew, AAP reports.
Cafe owner and aspiring Liberal MP Michelle Loielo challenged the curfew on grounds including that it violated her human rights.
Justice Tim Ginnane on Monday dismissed Loielo’s case.
While the curfew did restrict human rights, the judge said, these restrictions were legal and proportionate to the purpose of protecting public health.
An 8pm to 5pm curfew was introduced on 5 August, before being pushed back an hour to 9pm.
A public health official, Associate Professor Michelle Giles, authorised the measure as part of a suite of restrictions under emergency powers.
The curfew was scrapped altogether ahead of the trial against its legality.
Justice Ginnane rejected Loielo’s argument that Giles did not make an independent decision to authorise the curfew, and only signed off on it at the behest of premier Daniel Andrews.
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Summary
Here’s where we are as of 12pm today:
- Victoria has recorded zero new cases of Covid-19 and zero deaths for the third day in a row, with speculation there could be more restrictions eased this weekend.
- New South Wales reported one new locally-acquired Covid-19 infection and six in hotel quarantine. The one new case is a child who attended the Flip Out Prestons trampoline centre.
- NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has given her strongest indication yet that QR code check-in record-keeping systems for businesses could become mandatory after a Liverpool restaurant failed to keep full records of everyone who attended at the same time as a person infectious with Covid-19.
- Berejiklian has said the NSW and Victoria border would open in a “matter of weeks” but would depend on how the easing of restrictions in Victoria goes in the next few weeks.
- Trade minister Simon Birmingham has urged people not to assume that Australian lobster stuck on an airport tarmac in China is the latest victim of the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries.
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The trade minister, Simon Birmingham, has urged people not to “jump to conclusions” about the significance of delays to rock lobster shipments clearing customs in China.
Birmingham told reporters at a press conference a short time ago that it had been well reported that a number of industry sectors had experienced disruptions in their trade with China this year.
On the broader trade tensions, Birmingham said the risk of trade with China “appears to have changed as a result of some of the unpredictable administrative decisions that have been made at the Chinese end”.
He said Australia valued the trading relationship with China, because it was beneficial to both nations, and he reaffirmed his call for all such issues to be resolved through dialogue.
However, Birmingham said he was hopeful the issues with lobster shipments could be resolved satisfactorily. He said there appeared to be a good degree of cooperation and engagement between Chinese authorities and Australian industry on these matters.
Birmingham said the government understood that a number of seafood shipments had faced delays as additional testing was undertaken for metal content levels.
Australia prides itself on being a high-quality, safe exporter of premium product and we have absolute confidence that our industry meets the type of safety standards that are necessary into whatever market it is that they are exporting.
Birmingham said the industry was concerned about delays “because, of course, this type of product is high-value it also has short timeframes in terms of safely delivering the product from the Australian oceans to ultimately the marketplace in which they’re sold”.
So it’s crucial that timelines are kept to an absolute minimum when it comes to processing and that the trade has certainty around the type of conditions that are being applied.
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Australia has been praised for a “historic act of leadership” in dedicating $500m towards buying and distributing Covid-19 vaccines across the Pacific and south-east Asia.
Amid the nationalistic races for a #COVID19 vaccine, Australia has stepped-up with solidarity to ensure Pacific economies are not left behind.
— Frank Bainimarama (@FijiPM) October 31, 2020
Unless our pandemic recovery is inclusive, there won't be one at all. Australia understands that –– so must the rest of the world. pic.twitter.com/deXJOMlI7P
Reverend Tim Costello, the executive director of social justice organisation Micah, said the commitment “provides hope for people in vulnerable nations who might otherwise have missed out on a vaccine”.
Covid-19 won’t be over for anyone until it is over for everyone.
This reminds me of when we came to the aid of Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami or walked with East Timor through its turbulent times. It’s of that scale and significant. This is Australia taking seriously our region and our responsibilities within it.
Our neighbours will say ‘Australia is back’. We are acting again out of our true self as a compassionate neighbour and re-engaging as a real friend in times of need.
Announcing the $500m commitment, the foreign minister, Marise Payne, said the Indo-Pacific region was the engine of the new global economy.
Ensuring it can recover quickly will stimulate economic activity and restore jobs at home and abroad.
Dozens of advanced trials for a Covid vaccine are under way across the world.
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The trade minister, Simon Birmingham, is due to face the media in South Australia later this morning to discuss the rock lobster hold-ups in China (as mentioned on the blog earlier today).
Ahead of that doorstop, Birmingham has issued a brief statement confirming the government is “aware of reports of customs clearance issues related to premium shellfish imports into China and are working closely with the industry to secure clarity on this matter”.
He said all importers “should be subjected to equivalent standards and there should be no discriminatory screening practices”.
He stressed the need for China to abide by its World Trade Organization commitments and by the Abbott-era China-Australia free trade agreement: “So far as any industry concerns imply a breach of WTO or ChAFTA commitments Chinese authorities should rule out the use of any such discriminatory actions.”
The concerns come amid ongoing tensions in the relationship between China and Australia but the government appears to be still trying to seek clarity on what precisely is going on.
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That’s the end of the press conference.
Gladys Berejiklian says she will make a decision in the “near future” about whether to make the QR code system mandatory.
I wrote this explainer on the state of play when it comes to QR code check-in systems in Australia at the weekend.
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Gladys Berejiklian says she wouldn’t be surprised if NSW moves to reopen the border to Victoria before Queensland reopens the border to greater Sydney.
There is “no reason” the NSW-Queensland border should be closed, she says, because NSW has shown it can keep on top of outbreaks.
Our state, our system, is well placed to get on top of anything that emerges, except when people don’t do the right thing.
She says she’s not softening on the two-week waiting period for Victoria, but it’s not clear when that will be. She indicates that NSW wants to see what happens once the so-called “ring of steel” between metro Melbourne and regional Victoria comes down on 9 November, but NSW could move quickly to allow Victorians to travel into NSW:
We’re talking weeks, not months.
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Gladys Berejiklian says NSW will “throw the book at” businesses that aren’t complying with the rules, who don’t have Covid-safe plans, or aren’t keeping proper records:
The last thing we want to see is a setback in New South Wales because someone hasn’t done the right thing.
Fines will be issued if they need to be, she says.
We never want to be heavy-handed when it comes to small businesses that are doing it tough but if the small businesses ... don’t make public safety first during a pandemic we have no option.
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Chant said there was booking data at the restaurant in question, but it didn’t keep a record of all the individuals in each booking:
We are concerned we have missed people who were at that restaurant.
Chant said businesses do have obligations, and could be penalised, but the immediate focus is on contact tracing, and regulatory obligations on the restaurant will be dealt with in the coming days:
I think we think it’s a handful [of people] but it has been a protracted period to get data, and that concerns me.
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Kerry Chant says it is “quite concerning” that it has been difficult to get information from venues about who has been attending them.
She says the NSW government wants the venues to use QR codes:
Everyone has a responsibility to log in, and we ask businesses also assist us by ensuring people log in.
It sounds as though the restaurant in question was keeping a log but not everyone who was there had signed in.
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The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, says the one new case of community transmission is the second child to be infected after visiting the Flip Out Prestons trampoline centre.
Anyone who attended there on Sunday 25 October between 11am and 1.50pm should come forward for testing and isolate, she says.
Chant says the child had attended the Bambinos Kindergarten in Horningsea Park on 29 October and 30 October. So any child or staff member is considered a close contact and must get tested and isolate for the full 14 days, regardless of the result of the first test.
The centre has been closed for deep cleaning.
Any staff or patrons at the Jasmines Lebanese restaurant in Liverpool on 25 October between 2pm and 3.30pm also need to come forward for testing.
The details of some people who attended at that time were not available, Chant says.
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NSW reports seven new cases
The NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says there were seven new cases of Covid-19, all but one of those in hotel quarantine.
Berejiklian says she is concerned about compliance with Covid-19 rules at Sydney restaurants: “We don’t have any room for complacency.”
She says mandatory QR codes are still on the table for NSW.
“The experience Health is having at the moment in contact tracing people who attended certain restaurants is very difficult because people in charge didn’t do the right thing.”
The premier says she doesn’t want to embarrass businesses but they need to do the right thing.
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Sunday was the first day in more than 120 days that the daily Victorian presser wasn’t held in the Treasury theatre with that all-too-familiar purple signage.
It feels weird without it, but nice to see a return to announcements about level crossings again. Life is getting to, as the politicians like to say, Covid-normal in Melbourne.
We’re back in the wild! The days of the lecture theatre and its purple media wall are gone.. Transport Infrastructure Minister @JacintaAllanMP is providing the daily Coronavirus update today... from a level crossing removal site in Coburg @10NewsFirst #SpringSt #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/sv118wSRQ4
— Candice Wyatt (@CandiceWyatt10) November 1, 2020
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The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is in isolation after being identified as a close contact of someone with Covid-19.
I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19. I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2020
You can follow the latest updates on this and other global coronavirus news on our international live blog.
Kevin Rudd has hit back at another Daily Telegraph story, this time linking him to Hunter Biden via an alleged email invite naming the former PM.
Rudd goes into long detail about how he has no knowledge of it, and lists lots of people he has met, including Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump and others.
It’s the second in a week of the Tele taking aim at the former PM, which Rudd has linked to his petition for a royal commission into media diversity, which has more than 400,000 signatures.
Here are the questions Murdoch put to my office last night, and the answers that were sent back.
— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) November 1, 2020
The idea that US Ambassador Max Baucus needed Hunter Biden (or anyone else) to obtain “access” to me is absurd— Max and I have known each other since well before he started that job. pic.twitter.com/Ff2vCb76MZ
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Australia’s acting chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, has warned Australians not to become complacent about Covid-19.
England has joined France and Germany in reintroducing nationwide lockdowns and the US is recording 100,000 new infections each day.
“We haven’t beaten it yet,” Kelly told ABC radio on Monday. “We need to absolutely keep our eye on the ball. There is a global pandemic going on and those disturbing numbers from many of our friends overseas give us food for thought.”
Kelly said complacency was one of the major risks going forward. “We need to remember this virus hasn’t gone away,” he said. “There was and continues to be an increase in cases coming into our quarantine hotels.”
Victoria has recorded three straight days of no new coronavirus cases, its best numbers in five months.
Now all states and territories have brought coronavirus under control, Scott Morrison wants all internal borders reopened by Christmas.
“I’m very hopeful it will be reached and certainly the prime minister is very keen for that to happen,” Kelly said. “I’m sure all Australians are if it can be done safely, but those internal border measures are really decisions for the states.”
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Residential property values increased across the nation in October apart from locked-down Melbourne, although even there the decline in home prices is easing, AAP reports.
CoreLogic’s national home value index rose 0.4% in October, ending five months of consistent declines.
Although values were lower across Melbourne through October, the decline of 0.2% in the month was the smallest drop since the Covid-19 related downturn began in April.
CoreLogic said since the announcement that private home inspections were once again permitted across Melbourne, new property listings had surged, clearance rates had lifted and buyer activity was recovering.
“Based on this recent trend in housing values and activity, it seems likely we will see Melbourne follow the other capital cities towards a recovery over the coming month,” it said.
Meanwhile, dwelling values increased by 1% or more in each of the smallest four capital cities – Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra. Values in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra also reached record highs.
CoreLogic’s head of research, Tim Lawless, said the rise in capital city housing values over the month was entirely attributable to a 0.4% lift in house values which offset a 0.2% fall in unit values:
Through the Covidperiod so far, unit values have actually shown a smaller decline in values than houses, but this is likely to change. Almost two-thirds of Australian units are rented, and rental conditions have weakened, especially in the key inner city precincts of Melbourne and Sydney.
He believes low levels of investment activity, relatively high supply of unit stock in inner-cities and international border closures are key factors that imply units will under-perform relative to houses over the medium term.
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This week is going to be intense.
Trump plans to declare premature victory if he appears "ahead" on election night, @jonathanvswan writes. "Trump's team is preparing to falsely claim that mail-in ballots counted after Nov. 3 ... are evidence of election fraud." https://t.co/IteRny41AZ
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) November 1, 2020
Frydenberg backs down on plan to make AGMs online only
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has backed down on his plan to ram through online-only shareholder meetings for companies after a ferocious backlash from investors.
Frydenberg initially allowed virtual AGMs as a measure to see companies through the coronavirus crisis.But he gave investors and other interested parties less than two weeks to respond to his proposal to make the change permanent during a consultation period that closed on Friday.
It earned him a bollocking from everyone from small the shareholder activist Stephen Mayne to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which represents many of our biggest pension funds.
Extra angsty was the fund manager Geoff Wilson, who has plenty of political clout after seeing off Labor’s proposal to clamp down on franking credits during last year’s election campaign.
In the face of unanimous condemnation, Frydenberg now says he’s open to a hybrid model, where there’s a physical AGM but shareholders who can’t make it can join online. Investors have previously said this model would be a good idea. He said:
The government is interested in the proposition of a hybrid model where physical AGMs will still be required but at the same time virtual participation will also be permitted. This would be an opportunity to leverage technology to improve AGMs and to allow an even greater number of shareholders to participate in the process.
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The health minister, Greg Hunt, says Australia is recording its highest vaccination figures on record as of September this year.
The highest is 97% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at five years. For all five-year-olds, the rate is 94.9%, while among two-year-olds it is 92.4%.
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Australia’s economy will be 6% smaller, there will be 880,000 fewer jobs and $3.4tn in economic opportunities will be lost if the climate crisis goes unchecked for the next 50 years, a Deloitte Access Economics report says.
Westpac reports 66% drop in profits
The banking giant Westpac has reported a 66% drop in full-year profits, down to $2.29bn.
Part of this is the $1.3bn penalty paid by the bank for the wire transfers scandal.
Westpac’s chief executive, Peter King, said:
2020 has been a particularly challenging year and our financial result is disappointing. Our earnings have been significantly impacted by higher impairment charges, increased notable items and the sharp decline in economic activity. At the same time, we have incurred higher expenses due to increased resourcing to handle unprecedented Covid-19 demands and fixing our compliance issues.
King said Westpac had provided certain special interest rates, fee waivers and temporary loans to customers, and had deferred home loan repayments for 215,000 customers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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It has been pointed out to me that Victoria used to have a cash for cans scheme many years ago, albeit not one run by the state government.
Look what I found - it was run by Alcoa. https://t.co/JysoDw7iS2
— Andrew Reid (@andrewincairo) November 1, 2020
I can (as someone originally from NSW) only remember the South Australia scheme being advertised on cans, until NSW got its own scheme a couple of years ago.
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We will get an announcement from the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, on who the new deputy PM will be at 11am AEDT, after an NZ Labour party vote, AAP reports.
The party room has assembled in the capital to ratify Ardern’s cabinet for her second term in office, including her deputy and – crucially for Australia – a new foreign minister.
On Monday morning Ardern’s deputy party leader, Kelvin Davis, ruled himself out of the deputy PM role, saying his decision not to run was “my decision and my decision alone”.
“I came into politics for two reasons. To represent [my electorate] Te Tai Tokerau and to make a difference for Māori,” he said. “I see myself as supporting the wider caucus [and] I will look to remain as leader of the Labour party.”
Ardern’s previous deputy prime minister and foreign minister was Winston Peters, who was unsuccessful in returning his New Zealand First party to parliament in last month’s election.
The most likely deputy PM is Grant Robertson, the finance minister and Ardern’s closest political ally. Robertson, 49, would be the first openly LGBT person to hold the office.
The new cabinet will be wholly made up of Labour MPs, supported by two Greens ministers outside cabinet.
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It’s always interesting going through the paid Facebook ads in the ad library to see what exactly the parties are pushing through social media.
the LNP paid to promote Kevin Rudd's video promoting Jackie Trad pic.twitter.com/P3QNTDdGVe
— camwilson (@cameronwilson) November 1, 2020
Victoria reports zero Covid cases
Victoria has now reported three days in a row of zero cases. This brings the 14-day rolling average down to just 1.9, and there remains just one case in the 14-day window with an unknown source.
Zero new cases and no lost lives reported in the last 24 hours. The 14 day average is down to 1.9. There is 1 case with an unknown source. More info: https://t.co/eTputEZdhs#COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/XG94AhLGzI
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 1, 2020
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Manufacturing improves from pent-up demand
Australia’s manufacturing sector has seen a marked improvement despite the weight of Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown, AAP reports.
The Australian Industry Group’s manufacturing index increased by 9.6 points to 56.3 in October. It is the first time since July the index has been above 50 points, indicating the sector is in expansion.
The surge was led by NSW, while respondents across all sectors noted a jump in sales and new orders as a result of pent-up demand from initial coronavirus restrictions.
Ai Group’s chief executive, Innes Willox, said the lift in sales and strong growth in new orders were encouraging signs of improving household and business confidence.
“The solid national performance was achieved despite another month of contraction in Victoria,” Willox said. “With restrictions in Victoria being lifted there are very good prospects of further strength in the closing months of 2020.”
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Very NT.
NT government media releases continue to be extremely NT pic.twitter.com/AyzKUYNcfg
— Rohan Pearce (@rohan_p) November 1, 2020
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The head of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh, was on ABC TV just then to respond to the agriculture minister David Littleproud’s comments about ANZ’s action on climate change. Bligh said ANZ was doing what every bank in Australia and around the world was doing:
The minister is right, banks are there to lend money into the economy but also there to make sure they lend the money with the appropriate degree of risk and the ability to manage the risk and that’s important for all of us because they are lending your money out of your deposit account and they have to do is in a way that is safe which is taking account of all known risks including climate change.
There is nothing unusual about ANZ, every bank is doing it, not only here and around the world and they are required to do it by regulators. ANZ has made it clear they are there to back Australian farmers. They are talking about the 100 biggest emitters and make sure they have a transition plan as the market changes over the coming years.
Bligh also wouldn’t predict whether there would be a rate cut announced tomorrow. She said about half a million Australians had switched their home loan to another bank this year.
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Proposed cash for cans scheme unveiled in Victoria
Under a new recycling scheme proposed by the Victorian state government, people would be paid 10 cents for each can, bottle or carton dropped off to a collection point.
Collection points will include shops, vending machines and drive-through depots. There are also plans for pop-up collection points at music festivals and other special events.
Under the proposed model, the Victorian government will provide regulatory oversight, while the beverage industry will be involved in managing the operation of the scheme. One or more network operators will also be appointed by the government to manage collection points and refunds.
The proposed model will provide opportunities for a range of organisations to manage collection points, including community groups, charities and sporting clubs.
The Victorian government is conducting public consultation on the proposal, which would be rolled out in the state in 2023.
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The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, will make an announcement about the Sydney Gateway project at 11am today, where we will also get a Covid-19 update.
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Speaking of Angus Taylor, my colleague Anne Davies has obtained WhatsApp messages from Taylor’s office after a lengthy freedom of information battle, revealing that the minister’s staff were in a panic when they realised the figures were wrong in the data provided to the Daily Telegraph’s story over the City of Sydney’s travel expenditure.
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Health professionals want Angus Taylor out
More than 700 health professionals have written to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, expressing their concern about the emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, and his ability to fulfil his responsibilities in that portfolio.
The letter states that Taylor is failing in his ministerial duties by allocating public money to gas and other fossil fuel projects, while overseeing a 50% decline in large-scale renewables investment, failing to reduce Australia’s emissions in line with our international obligations, and for not committing Australia to a 2050 net zero emissions target.
“We are ... united by our concern about the climate crisis and the impact it is having on the safety and wellbeing of Australians and our neighbours,” the letter states. “Public health is inextricably linked to climate health. Climate damage is here now – and it is killing people.”
The letter was coordinated by the Australian Conservation Foundation, and some signatories include Prof Nick Talley, the editor-in-chief of the Medical Journal of Australia; Dr Clare Skinner, the incoming president of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine; Dr Rob Phair, the president of the Rural Doctors Association of Victoria, and Assoc Prof Brigid Lynch, the president of the Australasian Epidemiological Association.
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David Littleproud was also asked about his criticism of ANZ for requiring high-emissions customers to develop emissions reduction plans. He said it wasn’t for banks to be the “moral arbiters of society”:
It is about them understanding the risks when they lend money to the Australian economy. Their job in the Australian economy – a privileged one – is to lend money and make sure that someone can may it back. It is not to pass a moral compass from well-heeled CEOs and board members of their own philosophical view. You should let the Australian government do that. We have a clear pathway to reduce emissions and we will stick to that pathway, because we have made international commitments around that and we won’t deviate from that.
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Lobsters may be victim of China trade spat
There are reports that tonnes of Australian lobster are stuck on a tarmac at a Chinese airport, amid ongoing trade tensions between China and Australia.
David Littleproud confirms the lobsters are subject to inspection in China but Australia is seeking clarifications:
They’re saying they want to understand if there’s trace elements of minerals and metals in it. We will clearly be able to demonstrate because we test before they go and that that is not the case so we’re asking why this action is being taken against Australian rock lobster, as we’ve asked around the cotton issue, understanding that officials were telling those importers not to bring in cotton from Australia.
We need to get clarification of that. We’re a fair country. We play by WTO [World Trade Organization] rules and we expect countries we trade with to do that. If they don’t, we’ll have to make consideration with industry around what our next action is around the independent umpire, being the WTO, and what we would do next.
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The agriculture minister, Queenslander David Littleproud, is on ABC TV.
He says the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, did a good job in campaigning around keeping Queensland safe with the border closures but he says it is ultimately the federal government picking up the bill for it:
Unfortunately we have to understand that we not just have to keep ourselves safe but we also have to keep the economy going. The states can easily stick to that mantra but unfortunately it’s the commonwealth government and the Australian taxpayer who’s got to pay for it.
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Re-elected Queensland Labor government works on budget
Just on Queensland, AAP reports that the returned premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is working on the state’s budget, as Labor is on track to pick up an additional four seats, up to 52, AAP reports.
The Liberal National party appear to have lost a net four seats, taking its numbers to 34 in the 93-seat chamber.
Palaszczuk says putting together a state budget is her first priority.
Labor didn’t deliver a budget because the federal budget, which includes crucial GST forecasts, wasn’t delivered until 6 October when the state government was already in caretaker mode before the election.
Palaszczuk, her treasurer, Cameron Dick, and the deputy premier, Steven Miles, are meeting with departmental director generals Monday to keep their promise of delivering a budget before Christmas.
She says the state budget is likely to be handed down on 8 December, the week after the new parliament is sworn in.
Queensland’s economy is sluggish, with the unemployment rate at 7.7% in September, the highest in the country, and 209,000 people out of work.
The Labor government already has a $11bn stimulus plan in place to try to deal with the impacts of Covid-19.
Dick forecast net debt to hit $101.96bn by June 2021, up from the $83.8bn predicted in December, in a financial and economic update delivered in early September.
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Good morning
Hello and welcome to Monday. I’m Josh Taylor and I will be on the Australian Covid-19 live blog for today.
The health minister, Greg Hunt, says Australia is close to securing two more sources for a coronavirus vaccine, which he expects will start rolling out in 2021.
So far the Morrison government has two vaccine contracts in place – the Oxford-AstraZeneca for 33.8m units and the University of Queensland-CSL for 51m units.
“The results from both of those have actually been positive, more positive than we had expected,” Hunt told reporters on Sunday. “We are now close to additional contracts and there are two further ones on the advice of the medical expert panel which are being pursued and which I am confident will be completed within the coming weeks if not earlier.”
Health workers and the elderly would be prioritised, but he said the aim would be to give the vaccine to every Australian who wants to be vaccinated over the next 12 months.
Victoria reported two days of zero cases of Covid-19 at the weekend, as Melbourne marked its first weekend of cafes, restaurants and pubs opening up to customers.
Local councils had converted parking spaces on streets out the front of venues for more seating to allow the venues to increase their capacity, which now only allows for 20 indoor, and 50 outdoor.
That capacity could likely increase this weekend if the low case numbers continue to drop and restrictions are further eased.
Here’s some of the other news you might have missed at the weekend:
- Australia officially recorded no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the first time since 9 June. A local case recorded in NSW after the 8pm cut-off point – that of a second child linked to a trampoline park in Sydney’s south-west – will be included in today’s official tally.
- The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has put her historic election win down to her Covid-19 response allowing voters to maintain their lifestyles.
- Regional Victorians will be allowed to travel to the Northern Territory from today.
- The interim hotel quarantine inquiry report is due this Friday.
- Tasmania will open its border to NSW residents from Friday, when Queensland reopens to all of NSW bar greater Sydney.
Let’s get into it.
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