What happened today, Monday 7 June
We’ll leave it there for now.
Here are today’s developments:
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, called for Victoria to come out of lockdown “as soon as possible”.
- Victoria recorded 11 new cases, but all were linked to existing outbreaks.
- The Victorian government announced a $30m emergency relief package.
- Morrison was with the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to announce $500m in joint funding for a new bypass over the Hawkesbury River.
- Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial opened in Sydney.
- The youngest daughter of a Tamil family being detained on Christmas Island while they fight deportation was medically evacuated to Perth.
Thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow.
Updated
Approval has been given for the first phase of the $500m redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, reports AAP.
The National Capital Authority has given the nod for early works including the demolition of Anzac Hall.
The NCA had asked for further information on tree removal and replacement planting, noting that there were 595 trees in the precinct.
“A total of 455 trees are to be retained, while 140 trees are to be removed as part of the project,” the NCA’s chairman Terry Weber said in a statement on Monday.
The NCA will require that the AWM plant a minimum of an additional 250 native trees as a condition of approval for these works.
With this change noted, the NCA has concluded the proposal is not inconsistent with the National Capital Plan and the works have been approved.
The NCA, which has published a 1,200-page consultation report, received 601 submissions during its consultation process, of which three were in support.
Key concerns were the need for the expansion, tree removal, the impacts on heritage values and the cost.
The AWM argues the project will address constraints to the existing use of the building, improve the overall visitor and veterans’ experience and maintain its significance as a national cultural institution.
The current Anzac Hall is a bespoke building that is not extendable and is no longer fit for purpose to meet the memorial’s needs to tell the stories of recent conflicts.
New galleries created will provide the space needed to share the experiences of Australians who have served in conflict and operations in places including Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
Updated
The Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim has issued a statement after news the youngest daughter of the Biloela family has been airlifted to hospital.
This family’s treatment has been appalling and disgraceful.
They have been exiled to a remote island, and detained indefinitely, having built a life for themselves in Queensland.
Physical and mental health problems have always gone hand in hand with offshore detention – and yet their detention continues.
It is beyond unconscionable that they would be sent back to Christmas Island.
They must be resettled in our community urgently, before any more damage is done.
Updated
NAB, casino operators may face Austrac action
National Australia Bank and three casino operators may need to pay hefty fines or overhaul their operations after a blitz by the financial crimes watchdog, reports AAP.
The bank, Crown Resorts, SkyCity and Star Entertainment on Monday revealed watchdog Austrac had serious concerns about their efforts to prevent money laundering and the financing of criminal groups.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) is a government agency tasked with making sure criminals cannot exploit the financial system.
Westpac recently fell foul of the watchdog after revelations its lax standards allowed child abuse groups and others to shift money overseas.
The bank paid a $1.3bn fine last year, and has other requirements to ensure its meeting legal obligations.
Austrac said fines were not being considered for NAB.
The two have been working to improve the bank’s controls since 2017.
However, Austrac could force the bank to make sweeping changes to its systems, as it did with Westpac.
NAB boss Ross McEwan said the bank was improving in this area and clearly had more work to do.
Crown Resorts’ woes continued after Austrac widened its investigation of the company to include its Perth casino. The watchdog has found the Perth venue has potentially serious problems in meeting anti-money laundering obligations.
Austrac is already investigating Crown Melbourne for the same reasons.
Updated
Fiona Patten, an influential crossbencher and the leader of the Reason party in Victoria’s upper house, says the Victorian Liberal party’s latest attack on Daniel Andrews is “extraordinary”.
Asked if the issues raised today by the opposition were reasonable, Patten replied “no”.
“Sadly I saw her press release,” Patten said, referring to the shadow treasurer, Louise Staley, “which did send me down a rabbit hole of conspiracies.”
“I actually wish the bloke the best, he probably nearly lost his ability to walk,” Patten said of Andrews.
“I hope to see him back at work soon.”
Staley said today that Andrews had several questions to answer about how he injured his back earlier this year. She said he should not be receiving his premier’s salary and should instead be on an MP’s base pay.
Labor MPs have savaged Staley’s comments, saying the opposition was peddling conspiracies, with one accusing the Liberals of “vile and disgusting gutter politics”.
Updated
Foxtel will save between $10m and $12m a year if legislation to halve its commitment to producing Australian drama becomes law, Foxtel has told a legislation committee.
The Morrison government’s broadcasting bill, which slashes Foxtel’s requirement to spend 10% of its drama budget on Australian content to 5%, has passed the house but is being reviewed by the senate.
Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany told senators the local drama quota cost the pay TV company $24m a year when it was at 10%.
Foxtel has welcomed the proposed reduction and said it won’t alter its commitment to Australian production which includes recent dramas Wentworth and The End.
The pay TV company told the senate it had invested $217m on lifestyle programming and $265m on drama programming in the last five years.
Delany said Foxtel earnings have halved in the same period of time as they’ve been swamped by international streaming services like Netflix, and yet they were subjected to laws that were decades old.
Melbourne-based Liberal MP Katie Allen wants the state government to provide more details on the targets for coming out of lockdown.
She tells the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
I would like to know what the roadmap is. What we would be comfortable about opening up with. What is the yardstick? If they have in the back of their mind they are only going to open up certain places or not, we need to know. People are on the edge of their seats. The long weekend is coming up. We need to know what is going to happen.
Updated
The ABC has confirmed the prime minister’s press secretary Andrew Carswell contacted ABC news director Gaven Morris at around 6pm on 1 June about the Four Corners story on QAnon.
“Mr Carswell asked if the Four Corners Program concerning QAnon was going to air,” the ABC said in a statement released after senate estimates.
“Mr Morris said it was and the PMO should answer the detailed questions that had been put to it. Mr Morris said the team had been in contact with the PMO on more than 20 occasions seeking answers to questions put in writing and it wasn’t tenable that the PMO did not respond to the questions. Mr Carswell said he would ensure answers were provided. That was the entire conversation.
“The PMO subsequently contacted Four Corners saying they would respond to the questions.
Knowing a response was expected to be included in the program, Mr Morris endorsed the program sent to the Managing Director for his approval.”
Anderson earlier told estimates that he reviewed the program and asked Four Corners for more details after the program was sent to him by Morris.
He said the PM’s adviser called about the program but no-one in the government had pressured the ABC to pull the program.
The vice president of the Australia Medical Association Dr Chris Moy has been asked on the ABC if the numbers in Victoria justify extending the lockdown.
He doesn’t answer directly, but here are his thoughts:
Look, the numbers are pretty much stable over the last few days and I think that is a positive thing. It is really a question of how many sort of contacts and how many sort of exposure sites they have got. I think that is just as important. Speaking to contact tracers, what they’re trying to work out is have they got to the edge of this, have they got it surrounded and have a reasonably good idea of where they are at with it? They probably have a much better idea about that first one that came from South Australia.
But this other one, [the Delta variant case] I think they are really starting from scratch at the moment and that is the worry because they really do not know where boundary of this is. Obviously not huge numbers but the fact that it’s came out of the blue is a real worry particularly because it looks like it is more of an infectious variant.
Updated
Here’s the latest from the disability royal commission from, well, from me.
The commission is meeting in Adelaide this week, examining cases of abuse in disability care.
A South Australian family have told of their fear after receiving an anonymous letter warning their nephew would be “abused with cruelty, violence, regularly and repeatedly” and might be poisoned or drowned at his supported disability accommodation.
'Biloela family' daughter evacuated to Perth
The youngest daughter of a Tamil family being detained on Christmas Island while they fight deportation has been medically evacuated to Perth, according to change.org.
In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, Change said Tharnicaa of the ‘Biloela family’ was being medically evacuated to Perth after being hospitalised on Christmas Island with a suspected blood infection (septicaemia).
The statement said her mother, Priya, would accompany her to Perth but the other two members of the family would stay on Christmas Island.
It said the Queensland-born three-year-old had been unwell for 10 days. She was taken to hospital on Sunday.
The family was moved to Christmas Island in late 2019 after a court injunction prevented them being removed from Australia. That legal battle is continuing.
Guardian Australia has approached the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
A statement from Priya, distributed by Change, said:
I am feeling very scared and worried for my little girl. She has been sick for many days, it took a long time for her to get to the hospital. She is already asking for her papa, it is going to be very hard being away from her Dad and sister. It is very hard for our family to be separated when our daughter is sick.
Updated
Commodore Young adds that 7,777 people in disability residential setting have been vaccinated. There are about 22,000 across the country.
There are still four aged care homes yet to have a first-dose visit, Young confirms.
The remaining four are among the 2,565 aged care facilities across Australia.
He says 2,163 homes – or 84% – have had a first and second dose visit. Authorities expect to do another 290 homes this week.
In Victoria, all of the 596 homes have had a first dose visit, while 457 have had their second dose visit also.
Updated
Australia is now averaging 136,000 doses per weekday, Young says.
There has been an increasing uptake in the 50 to 69-year-old cohort.
Updated
Young says the coming week will be “our biggest week”.
He says 1.1 million doses will be distributed to 2,500 locations across the country.
“This will include 71,370 doses of Pfizer and 41,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to state hubs and another 280,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the primary care network across Victoria,” he says.
Commodore Eric Young says there were 832,000 doses of vaccine administered across the country, last week.
It took the total beyond 5 million.
Young says: “It took 47 days to get to our first one million doses of vaccine administered and just nine days to get to our most recent million.
He notes 327,538 doses of vaccine were administered in Victoria “through a combination of state and Commonwealth clinics”.
Kelly is also urging people to get vaccinated.
We had an expansion of the eligibility criteria on Friday, as a decision from national cabinet, so many more people are now eligible in Australia to get vaccinated.
He says you can check your eligibility at health.gov.au.
Chief medical officer confirms 16 new Covid cases in Australia
The chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, has stepped up.
He confirms there have been 16 new cases in Australia over the past 24 hours, with five of those overseas acquired in hotel quarantine. The other 11 are the new cases in Victoria.
Of those 11, nine of those are already in quarantine, they’re known contacts of cases so they’ve already, during their infectious period, being isolated from the community. So that doesn’t lead to any further risk. That’s a good thing.
Updated
A search is under way for a 71-year-old woman missing in the Northern Territory’s Litchfield National Park, reports AAP.
The woman failed to return on Sunday from a bushwalk near Wangi Falls, about 110km south of Darwin, NT police said.
Rescue specialists, police and park rangers started searching on Monday morning.
Superintendent Brendan Muldoon urged travellers in the area to keep an eye out for the woman.
“She is reportedly a fit and experienced hiker. However, the terrain is challenging out there and we have concerns for her safety,” he said.
The minimum overnight temperature in the park was 19C, with a maximum of 32C.
Much of the terrain near Wangi Falls is thick bush and hilly.
Updated
Not everyone in the Victorian Liberals is on the same page on this it appears.
Opposition leader Michael O’Brien didn’t weigh in at a press conference today.
Press Release from @LouiseStaley just minutes after @michaelobrienmp told me in his news conference that specific questions about @DanielAndrewsMP leave should wait for “another day”.@10NewsFirstMelb #springst pic.twitter.com/IyrBlilKAf
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) June 7, 2021
Victorian Liberal opposition questions premier's pay while on leave
The Victorian Liberal opposition has attacked the premier, Daniel Andrews, for pocketing his salary while he remains on leave.
In a new statement, and fairly significant escalation of the opposition’s rhetoric on this issue, the shadow treasurer, Louise Staley, says:
Enough is enough, Daniel Andrews can’t continue to get paid for a job he’s not doing. He should only be getting the basic MP’s pay while he’s off work.
Victorians need honesty and transparency from Daniel Andrews about the circumstances of his injury. Everyone is entitled to privacy about their health, but these questions are not about the nature of his injuries, only how he got those injuries.
If there is no cover up then there is no reason not to provide answers to these simple questions.
Catherine Andrews posted the following photo recently:
On the tools again. Practice makes perfect 💇🏻♂️ I love this one. Getting better every day. pic.twitter.com/ciNGuHmB5C
— Catherine Andrews (@CathLAndrews) June 5, 2021
The premier also tweeted last week:
And on a personal note, I'm sorry I can't be there with everyone but I'm so grateful to @JamesMerlinoMP for his leadership. I have more scans and a meeting with my medical team next week. I'll let you know how that goes and exactly when I'll be back on deck later this month.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) June 2, 2021
Updated
Some advice from Rex Patrick.
First of two AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations done ✅. Tip: If you’re planning to have a photo taken of yourself getting the jab, I recommend wearing a t-shirt #auspol pic.twitter.com/3CWCXQ9cpQ
— Rex Patrick (@Senator_Patrick) June 7, 2021
McGowan declines to weigh in on Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to get the Pfizer vaccine in case she needs to go to the Tokyo Olympics.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he says, a little bemused.
He then adds: “Is she in the age group? Never talk about a woman’s age. Very dangerous.”
Mark McGowan has also strongly backed calls for pharmacists to join the vaccine rollout.
I have been a strong supporter of that. At National Cabinet I have raised that that we should have as many opportunities for vaccines to be rolled out, as many locations, as possible. So pharmacies are all over the state, there’s about 700 of them, and they are good at issuing flu vaccinations so I think it would be a good thing. That is currently on the agenda of the National Cabinet and I am pushing for it.
Asked about whether aged care workers should face mandatory vaccinations, he says he thinks that’s a “good idea”, subject to some exemptions.
“We do it for flu vaccinations,” McGowan says.
He also suggests the Pfizer vaccine “should be available to the entire aged care workforce”.
Updated
Mark McGowan says WA is considering adding a 17th day, post-hotel, quarantine test.
People are currently tested three times while in hotel quarantine in WA.
Updated
The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has stepped up to discuss a confirmed Covid-19 case in the state.
McGowan says the person is a “very low risk of being a spreader of the virus” but has been sent back to hotel quarantine.
He is shedding not spreading. That is the advice but as a precaution he’s back into hotel quarantine.
We had 33 casual contacts who have all been contacted. He wore a mask for the day that he was in public. He went to, I think, three separate venues and he had dinner at one restaurant. The advice I have is that he is very, very low risk but as a precaution he has gone back into quarantine.
Updated
A little context to the below.
There was a little bit of consternation in Melbourne this morning (full disclosure: where I’m based) after the state recorded 11 cases. The state’s department of health noted later on Twitter the cases were linked to existing outbreaks.
Opposition Leader @michaelobrienmp says “to ensure Victorians don’t get scared or panicked,” @VicGovDH must give further detail in its morning tweet about case links or details, “from tomorrow,” @10NewsFirstMelb #springst pic.twitter.com/9vTA7sIdwE
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) June 7, 2021
Hello everyone. Luke Henriques-Gomes here. I’ll be with you for the next short while.
Thanks to Mostafa for steering the ship this morning.
Do let me know if you see anything worth sharing. I’m on Twitter @lukehgomes.
Onwards.
And with that, my time on today’s blog will come to an end, but fear not, I leave in you in the ever capable hands of Luke Henriques-Gomes for the afternoon’s news. Thanks for reading!
Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has lifted its outlook on Australia’s economy, indicating the country’s top-tier AAA rating is safe.
AAP has the story:
S&P said the improved outlook reflects its expectations that government budget deficits will narrow in line with its forecasts.
“We expect the budget to be supported by steady revenue growth, aided by robust commodity prices and expenditure restraint,” the agency said on Monday.
“We believe Australia’s external accounts are likely to remain stronger than in the past and be resilient during potential crises.”
It said Australia has a strong track record of managing major economic shocks, moderating the agency’s concern over the nation’s high level of external and household debt.
Updated
We have released a snapshot of the Composition of the Australian Economy - https://t.co/FgF6SdkB6X pic.twitter.com/1nvS9ZS09g
— RBA (@RBAInfo) June 7, 2021
The Northern Territory is expanding the age range for vaccinations, allowing all over 16s to get the jab.
The NT becomes the first jurisdiction to offer the vaccine to almost everyone, and makes the vaccine available to another 60,000 people there.
The chief minister, Michael Gunner, said it was a “sensible” decision to take:
This is a sensible decision, based on our indigeneity, mobility and vulnerability.
When you consider not just the make-up of the Darwin population but how people move in and out of Darwin it makes sense to treat us as you would a remote vaccination centre.
This decision will also breed vaccine confidence – the more people you know, who you work and play with, will have the vax.”
Updated
So the discussions around Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s vaccination this morning have continued, with a many questioning both the reason given (to go to the Olympics?) and the choice of vaccine:
I also may need to go to... Tokyo... for the.. Olympics. Vax me up please. https://t.co/YUHyqpWv7C
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) June 7, 2021
If only there was some way to have predicted the reaction to this tweet. https://t.co/6DmPCBdysF
— Scott Dooley (@scottdools) June 7, 2021
Mmm. She's 51. Shouldn't she be having ze Astrazeneca ... https://t.co/qxRUXR2xcD
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) June 7, 2021
Why not AZ?.. why would she need to go to Tokyo?.. so many questions.. https://t.co/dwDux3Pcg3
— Natalie Forrest (@nat_forrest) June 7, 2021
For what it’s worth, the premier defended getting the Pfizer vaccine, saying it was so she could get her second dose...before the Tokyo Olympics.
“There may be a requirement for the state to present to the whole (International) Olympics Committee about the Olympics, and I wouldn’t have been unvaccinated and that’s why I had the Pfizer,” Palaszczuk told reporters.
I, for one, would also like a vaccine and a trip to the Olympics.
Updated
Victorian press conference
OK, so here’s what we learned at today’s press conference:
- 11 new cases reported today, including three children, two aged care workers, a resident at said facility, and a new case in West Melbourne.
- No fresh announcements on the extent or timing of the Melbourne lockdown.
- The Victorian government announced a $30m support package for the state, with a focus on emergency relief.
- The new case in West Melbourne means there is an increase in the list of exposure sites and close contacts.
- The health minister welcomed the additional vaccine doses allocated by the commonwealth.
Not quite as terrible as early reports suggested. It was good to get the context on those numbers and cases.
Updated
And now Foley is asked about the impacts lockdowns are having on the mental health of children:
We know that mental health system in the country, let alone the state, has been under huge challenge before the pandemic. That’s why we called a royal commission.
We saw during the course of, right across the country, the reports of how presentations, particularly for young people, whether they be community or acute services, had gone up.
That’s why the royal commission’s recommendations that were adopted by the Victorian government specifically fund and commit to arrangements to address precisely that issue, and that’s why when it comes to the work that all the states put to national cabinet last Friday, on hospital demand, one of the biggest areas of increased demand right across the country, the Ambulance Victoria, ambulance callouts, presentations and emergency departments and presentations at community settings is mental health challenges and particularly issues for young people with mental health, this is a national crisis in our system, we welcome the royal commission’s recommendations, we welcome the work done by all the national health commissioner.
Updated
Will the vaccine age limit be dropped any time soon? Testing commander Jeroen Weimar had this to say:
We will drop the age when we start to see demand soften. I think, from the numbers in my head at the moment ... around one in five Victorians aged 40 to 49 have had their first dose. We will start the second dose in a week or two, and I want to make sure we can get them completed as fast as we can. We’ve done around just over 36% of Victorians aged 50 to 69.
We are part of a national program and the rollout was set up really around those high-risk occupations first – we have a good record – and then vulnerability, age-based, work your way down, knowing those older are more vulnerable than those younger.
We are not going to keep shifting around in this program, this is now a thing Victorians understand. Forty and above, you can get vaccinated. If you are Aboriginal and Torres straight Islander over 16, you can get vaccinated. Certain medical conditions, you can get vaccinated. Critical workforces, you can get vaccinated.
Updated
Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial has opened in Sydney. His barrister Bruce McClintock has begun by describing the Victoria Cross recipient’s skill as a soldier, saying:
This is a case of courage, devotion to duty, self-sacrifice and – perhaps most important of all – surpassing skill in soldiering, on one hand. On the other hand, it’s a case about dishonest journalism, corrosive jealousy, cowardice and lies … led by bitter people, jealous of [Roberts-Smith’s] courage and success, aided by credulous journalists.
McClintock emphasised to Justice Anthony Besanko: “War is violent”, and that soldiers are required, at times, to “kill the enemy”.
He said Roberts-Smith’s detractors have “forgotten the violence of war in their rush to tear him down”.
McClintock quoted Winston Churchill:
We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
The soldier himself is in the courtroom, supported by his parents. He is expected to give evidence later this week.
Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of reports published in 2018 which he alleges are defamatory because they portray him as someone who “broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement” and committed war crimes including murder.
The court heard on Monday that the newspapers allege Roberts-Smith committed six murders, on five separate occasions, while deployed to Afghanistan as a member of the SAS regiment. He is also accused of bullying fellow soldiers and committing domestic violence.
Roberts-Smith, 42, has consistently denied the allegations, saying they are “false”, “baseless” and “completely without any foundation in truth”.
Updated
Testing commander Jeroen Weimar is now asked about concerns (??) about stockpiling vaccines in the state.
He explains it was a “flow process”, that all vaccines received are flowing into people’s arms.
When vaccine arrives our depots, into our hubs, we have to go through a process of disturbing it to over 48 of our clinics. We also have some clinics, that has to go through a process of pharmacists who have to make up the vaccine into the doses – that takes time.
Vaccine doses that arrived yesterday from the commonwealth, which I’m very grateful for, takes me at least a week to convert into a viable product they can hand out to people. We will do over 150-or-160,000 doses in the week ahead. The stock we have at the moment is about right for the scale [of the] program we’re running, so we don’t run out at some local centres.
It was great we got some additional uplift of supply from our colleagues in the commonwealth last week. That was great. We have a temporary bump up in our numbers. It will also go through into the clinics in the next week or so and into arms in the following week.
There is no concern at all about our work.
Updated
An interesting interaction now, with Sutton asked if the outbreak stems from diplomats who are allowed to quarantine at home. He says:
We simply don’t know. Wouldn’t rule anything in or out. We are obviously checking against everyone who is tested, and diplomats should be tested as well. But without a match we can’t say.
Sutton is then asked if he has the figures for how many people are exempt from quarantine, and says he doesn’t but they are “in the tens”.
Updated
Sutton was also asked about the PM’s nudge of Victoria to end its lockdown as soon as possible, and said no state had handled similar outbreaks to Victoria:
Outbreaks previously across the country have either been single cases who have had some community exposures – we have seen circuit-breaker lockdowns, it is not as though they haven’t occurred, they have occurred a couple of times in Perth, a couple of times in Brisbane, with single cases or just a couple of cases.
And previous outbreaks in Victoria had been handled without lockdowns; they were handled through contact tracing, and the Black Rock outbreak as an example of that.
We are dealing with a variants of concern. I don’t want to say it is some order of magnitude more dangerous. But 75% of people within households becoming positive when there is a case, there is a challenge.
Updated
Chief health officer Brett Sutton was asked if he was concerned that a number of the new cases came after a day-13 test. He said:
I don’t think it is a concern. We have thousands of primary close contacts, they will all go through that early testing. If they are identified as cases, they going into isolation for the 10 days. But they will always get an ‘exit test’, if you like – day 13 is the need there. A number of those don’t have any symptoms, and [were] picked up on the day-13 tests.
They were picked up on day seven – they might have tested positive earlier but the fact that every single one of them needs to have a confirmed day-13 test before they are released from quarantine is a standard precaution, to be absolutely sure. And there will be a number who only get picked up on that test.
Updated
Testing commander Jeroen Weimar has given some further details on the new case who worked as a cleaner at a construction site.
Weimar said the person was known to authorities, having been a close contact, and it meant there were a few more exposure sites the individual travelled to, including taking a train trip.
We have over 490 primary close contacts, and over 400 have returned a negative test results – an encouraging step forward. There are a few more to chase down. The immediate work colleagues of the cleaners have all returned negative test results but we will continue to drive hard on [testing].
Updated
Victorian government announces $30m support package
The minister for disability, ageing and carers, Luke Donnellan, has announced the state government has put together a $30m support package for the state, to make sure “no one will be left behind” and that everyone has access to emergency and hardship payments.
So far, that includes $4.5m for that emergency relief, as well as $12m for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, $5m for emergency food relief and $7m to bolster communication, case management and service access.
Updated
Health minister Martin Foley has addressed the state’s increased allocation of vaccines, saying Victoria had been “eating into our supplies”:
We welcome the federal government’s allocations announced yesterday, particularly when it comes to doubling the supply for the next few weeks of AstraZeneca for our GPs. That is most welcome.
We have in fact been eating into our supplies. And having demonstrated that, I was pleased with the commonwealth providing Victoria extra doses beyond our allocated standard numbers.
Updated
Three children and an aged care worker among Victorian cases
Health minister Martin Foley has given further context to the 11 cases reported today, which include three children and an adult, another staff member at the Arcare aged care facility (in addition to the resident and staff member reported yesterday, but included in today’s numbers) and four household contacts of the Whittlesea outbreak.
The final numbers include a new case in Port Melbourne: a construction worker who has been previously identified.
Updated
The Victorian press conference has begun.
There is no clash between ABC management and Four Corners over the QAnon story, Senate estimates has been told.
An upcoming episode examining the relationship between the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory was delayed for review last week.
ABC managing director David Anderson said he respected Four Corners and stood by its journalism, despite his decision as editor-in-chief to delay the QAnon story.
He said:
I do have absolute faith and the utmost respect for the 4C team... it is not unreasonable for me to question certain things.
News Corp reported on Monday that Four Corners was at war with management.
Anderson said no one in government or the Liberal party had contacted the ABC and demanded the story not be aired and that the ABC board had not been consulted over the issue.
However, he confirmed that an adviser for Morrison had contacted ABC news chief Gaven Morris about the story.
Anderson said:
I do not believe there has been an intervention by the government or anyone else that the program should not go to air.
Updated
We are on standby for the Victorian press conference, thankfully no crossover today, but I wonder if we’ll hear any reaction to Scott Morrison essentially putting some pressure on the state government to lift lockdown “as soon as possible”.
Updated
Finally, the PM was also asked his thoughts on the Queensland premier getting the Pfizer jab so she could go to the Olympics. He says:
I have no plans to go to those Olympics. I’ll be looking forward to seeing the Japanese prime minister next weekend – this weekend coming, I should say – at the G7.
Can you imagine having gone through all those preparations and then having the world struck by a pandemic? That I know was quite heartbreaking for the people of Japan and so we wish them all the best as they persevere and put these Games on.
Updated
Next up, Morrison was asked if the lockdown in Victoria should be extended. He says:
That would ultimately be a decision for the Victorian government, as it always is. The commonwealth will determine its position through the chief medical officer. We are seeing the cases that are identified, occurring in quarantining, and whether they are presenting in other areas, a contained situation.
Here in Australia, we are living in a way with this virus like few if any other countries other than New Zealand are in the world. And this is a challenging lockdown but it’s one that will be overcome and it will be one that I hope will see Victoria opened again soon, particularly for those parents who are having to keep the kids at home away from school. Kids have lost enough time out of school over the course of the last 18 months. It’s very important we get those kids to school as soon as possible.
I am hopeful that these restrictions in Victoria will be lifted as soon as possible. As the premier herself said when similar circumstances were faced here, in New South Wales, the restrictions were contained to a very specific part of Sydney, so I would be urging that we move towards lifting those restrictions as soon as possible.
We will be in a position tomorrow for Victorians affected to go online and make those applications for the payments, and there will be further updates provided by the minister for Services Australia later today to confirm those arrangements.
Updated
So, with the PM slightly smirking behind her, Berejiklian has kind of clarified her call on the government to build and run its own quarantine facility in New South Wales, saying it was because NSW was at “capacity”.
The point I was making is we are at our operational capacity. So if there was any proposal in the future, it wouldn’t come from us because we are at stretch point now.
The expert advice is, New South Wales, once you get over 5,000, and sometimes 5,500 at any one time, when you creep up over that you are at a very high risk point. The point I made was we certainly wouldn’t be putting on a request to operate any additional facility because we don’t have the capacity, we are at capacity now.
As the prime minister said, down the track, quarantine could look different once the majority of our population is vaccinated and international borders are open. That is a different question but at this point in time, we don’t have capacity, that’s the point I was making.
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I post the following with zero comment:
this tweet was just read out in full at #estimates https://t.co/s1VGqJA6ZB
— Tiger Webb (@tfswebb) June 7, 2021
— Tiger Webb (@tfswebb) June 7, 2021
PM and NSW premier announce $500m Hawkesbury bypass
Prime minister Scott Morrison and NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian have announced they are combining forces to fund a $500m bypass over the Hawkesbury River to solve “traffic issues.”
From what I’ve understood, this will be a new bridge over the river, to relieve the “choke point” at the Richmond bridge.
This, by the way, was the same bridge that flooded during the one-in-100-year rain event earlier this year.
Updated
So, apparently the PM and the NSW premier are set to make a major infrastructure announcement at any time now. It looks like we’re going to have presser crossover. Excellent Monday morning.
Updated
I want to go back to Gladys Berejiklian’s time on 2GB this morning, where she also piled pressure on to the federal government to find alternatives to hotel quarantine.
She repeated her calls for the government to build and run its own dedicated quarantine hubs in NSW.
We don’t know how long the pandemic is going to be with us and I just say to the feds 5,000 [people in quarantine] is all we can do in NSW at any one time.
We need to think about when the vast majority of our population is vaccinated, international travel resumes, presumably quarantine will look a bit different to what it is now.
The feds do have to consider what that means for the future of facilities. If they want extra capacity in NSW, they’re going to have to build and run it themselves. We’re not in the business of operating a federally-built quarantine facility
The premier also said hotels couldn’t be used forever, especially if international borders opened again.
Updated
11:45am
— WhatTimeIsTheVicPresser - The Comeback Tour (@WhatTimeDan) June 7, 2021
In the meantime, New South Wales has recorded zero locally acquired cases today, but is reporting five cases in overseas travellers:
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 7, 2021
Five overseas-acquired cases were recorded in the same period, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,411. pic.twitter.com/3ImFLsnMyL
Also of note is that in the week ending Sunday 6 June NSW delivered more than 80,000 vaccines, including more than 33,000 jabs administered at the Sydney Olympic Park vaccination centre.
NSW has now administered just under 1.5 million vaccines in total, with nearly a million of those coming from the GP network.
Updated
I’m hearing that the PM will be stepping up for a presser alongside NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian in the next half hour, which should be fun, but also I hope it doesn’t overlap with the Victorian presser. Please line them up, guys, please.
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ABC MD David Anderson has contradicted Christian Porter’s claims last week that the ABC is “humiliated”, that it had “backed down” and that it regretted the article the ABC published.
The former attorney general gave a bullish press conference outside court last week in which he said the ABC had been “forced to say they regret the outcome of the reporting”. He said:
They have been forced by my taking this action all the way to the court door, they have been forced to say they regret the article..
I never thought that they would concede that the accusations that were put in the article could never be proven.
But Anderson told a Senate estimates hearing that the ABC was not humiliated and “did not regret the article”.
All that had happened was an editor’s note had been attached to the article.
Anderson said:
The editor’s note said that both parties accept that some readers misinterpreted the article as an accusation of guilt against Mr Porter and that reading, not intended, was regretted.
Senator, again I’ll just suggest that the editor’s note was agreed by both parties, and was affixed to the online article as [of] that Monday.
Anderson stopped short of agreeing with a suggestion that what Porter said outside court was “nonsense”.
Updated
Victoria's new Covid cases 'all linked to existing outbreaks'
Finally, the Victorian Department of Health has given *some* context, after dropping the numbers this morning without any explanation:
All new locally acquired cases today are linked to existing outbreaks. Eight are existing primary close contacts who were quarantining during their infectious period. More details will be provided in today's press conference.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 7, 2021
This appears to be good news, but many people on Twitter are pointing out the needless anxiety that comes with just plonking numbers onto social media without an explanation, and without a time for the press conference.
We are still waiting on the confirmation of the time for that presser as well.
Updated
So, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has had her first dose of the Covid vaccine, and marked the occasion with a characteristic tweet and video:
Happy Monday everyone! I just received my first COVID jab thanks to Dawn Pedder 👏🙌 pic.twitter.com/TaJT9do9eu
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 6, 2021
But there are some elements to this that need a second look. According to the premier, she got the Pfizer jab because... she has to go to the Olympics?
Today I got the Pfizer vaccine in the event I need to travel to Tokyo for the Olympics. Register to vaccinate here: https://t.co/4PFyE9EjOV
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 7, 2021
Why does she need to go to the Olympics? I mean sure, perhaps to push for the 2032 Brisbane bid, but couldn’t it be a Zoom call? And also, with all the consternation around the AstraZeneca v Pfizer jab, it is interesting she has gotten the latter.
Questions abound.
Updated
The government is monitoring the 'Likes' ABC staff make on Twitter. Senator James Patterson says Neighbour liked a tweet from @TheShovel about Porter.
— amanda meade (@meadea) June 7, 2021
Ben Roberts-Smith arrives in court as defamation hearing begins
Ben Roberts-Smith has arrived in court for the first day of his defamation hearing against three newspapers over their reporting of war crimes allegations against him.
The Victoria Cross recipient walked into court alone, wearing a suit, and did not speak to waiting media, but greeted a well-wisher with a brief “thanks mate”.
His mother, Sue, and father, Len, a judge and major general in the Australian army, hugged him in court when they arrived and took up seats behind him.
Roberts-Smith will be the first person to give evidence in the case. He is expected to take the stand later this week.
Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of reports published in 2018 which he alleges are defamatory because they portray him as someone who “broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement” and committed war crimes including murder.
Roberts-Smith, 42, has consistently denied the allegations, saying they were “false”, “baseless” and “completely without any foundation in truth”.
Updated
ABC managing director David Anderson is defending the broadcaster’s social media policy, after telling senators that Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour won’t be disciplined for an inaccurate tweet about Porter dropping his defamation action.
Anderson said Neighbour’s tweet was inaccurate and he had contacted news chief Gaven Morris to tell him to contact her immediately and get her to take it down. Neighbour deleted it and followed up with an accurate tweet.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson asked him why the ABC didn’t follow the BBC’s lead and simply ban journalists from tweeting about certain subjects.
Anderson said ABC staff were required to act in a certain way and the guidelines were “sophisticated and enforceable”.
The ABC has also confirmed that a story published in the Australian last week saying the ABC had apologised to the judge for Neighbour’s tweet was incorrect.
For the record, this story in today’s Australian is WRONG. They were told it was wrong but ran it anyway. The note to the court had nothing to do with me or any tweet. I look forward to an apology and correction from @jamesmaddenfl and @NicBerko pic.twitter.com/m104cG0Ffp
— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) June 1, 2021
Updated
In completely normal Sydney news, Domain is reporting a house with no kitchen and no toilet in the south-east has sold for $4.07m at an auction this weekend.
That’s right, no kitchen and no toilet. Over $4 million. Described as “uninhabitable”.
The house in Kensington also has no power or water connected and a leaking roof. But that didn’t put off bidders.
For some comparison, the previous owners bought the home for $1.1m in 2005.
There were 1048 (!!) auctions in Sydney at the weekend, with 770 results reported. Which feels crazy.
Updated
The National Australia Bank is facing an investigation after allegations of potentially serious and ongoing non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws were made in a letter from the industry watchdog, Austrac.
In its letter to NAB, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre outlined serious concerns about the bank’s customer identification procedures, ongoing customer due diligence, and compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Austrac’s enforcement team is now taking a look at the matter and will determine if any further action is required.
Austrac has a wide range of enforcement options available to it, including civil penalty orders, enforceable undertakings, infringement notices and remedial directions.
Speaking to the SMH, NAB boss Ross McEwan said it would cooperate with the investigation.
We are very aware that we need to further improve our performance in relation to these matters. We have been working to improve and clearly have more to do.
It is a key priority for everyone at NAB to uplift our financial crime capabilities, minimise risk to customers and the bank, and improve operational performance. That’s why we are so focused on getting the basics right every time to protect our customers and our bank.
Updated
Queensland reports no news Covid cases
Monday 7 June – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 6, 2021
• 0 new cases
• 11 active cases
• 1,632 total cases
• 2,654,146* total
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,598 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/6NjEQ6hwuz
Updated
ABC boss says it will pay $100,000 in mediation costs to Christian Porter’s legal firm
The ABC will pay $100,000 in mediation costs to Christian Porter’s legal firm, ABC managing director David Anderson has told parliament.
Under the agreement between the ABC and Porter, the ABC was given permission to tell the Senate details of the otherwise confidential agreement.
Updated
So there’s a fair amount of anxiety making the rounds about today’s Covid numbers, especially since Melbourne is supposedly due to emerge from lockdown on Thursday.
We’re still waiting on confirmation for when the press conference will be to hear what authorities have to say, but I thought Josh Taylor made a good point here:
To explain this a bit better - if you're a close contact and must isolate for 14 days, you need to get a test on day 13 before you can be released. Those first close contacts just before lockdown are just starting to be released.https://t.co/J325io9a2v
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) June 6, 2021
So, and this is speculation, but it is possible these numbers are just a ripple effect from the initial outbreak. But we will see.
Updated
ABC managing director David Anderson was up at Senate estimates at 9am this morning after he was recalled to be questioned about the end of the Christian Porter defamation suit, which the former attorney general dropped last week.
The MD is expected to be grilled about the details of the confidential agreement with Porter after the Australian reported that Porter would receive “a sum in the vicinity of $100,000 from the ABC” – a claim the ABC denies.
A spokesperson said:
The ABC has not and will not pay any amount to Mr Porter.
ABC managing director David Anderson has been asked to appear before the Senate estimates committee on Monday 7 June and will have the opportunity to respond to a range of issues.
The original reporting on this matter remains unaltered on the public record and we stand by our journalists and the work they do in the public interest.
Our staff are aware of their responsibilities under the ABC’s ‘personal use of social media’ guidelines and the processes in place to ensure compliance with those guidelines.
We are also expecting some questions about the ABC’s social media policy.
Updated
Victoria records 11 new Covid cases
Victoria is reporting 11 new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight last night.
But the good news is that more than 17,000 vaccine dose were administered, and more than 24,000 tests taken.
Reported yesterday: 11 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 6, 2021
- 17,719 vaccine doses were administered
- 24,265 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco
#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/d874u4rAvu
The two cases announced yesterday – a nurse and a resident at an aged care facility – are also included in those numbers.
Updated
We’re still waiting for today today’s Covid numbers out of Victoria, but since we’re previewing what’s coming up, I thought I’d also add that ABC boss David Anderson will be quizzed in estimates today, which should be interesting in light of his decision to delay the airing of a Four Corners episode that looked at the PM’s ties to a a QAnon conspiracy theorist.
Deputy PM Michael McCormak, looking absolutely freezing this morning, received his own jab today, and indicated that he thought some vaccine complacency had come with Australia’s “strong” response to the pandemic.
It is a worldwide effort to combat this insidious virus but Australia has done very well when you consider America. We have had one death this year. We have done very well and that has led to a level of complacency across the community. I will get the jab and I will get it whenever. I say to Australians make sure you do.
Don’t wait. Get the jab when you’re eligible to do so and do it for yourself and for your community.
Updated
More (ex) politicians on morning shows! This time, it’s former PM Malcolm Turnbull on RN Breakfast throwing his support behind vaccine passports, both domestic and international.
Turnbull said the idea was sound and that vaccine hesitancy needed to be addressed.
I know people will say this is tough, this is non-libertarian. [But] we need to be able to have good records so people can authoritatively and accurately say whether or not they have been vaccinated.
Australians have to be tough about this and make it very clear that there are some things you will not be able to do if you are not vaccinated. Similar to no jab, no play.
But if you want to work in healthcare, if you want to work in aged care [and] if you want to get on an airplane, if you want to go to a cinema, we are entitled to say you can’t do it to protect the rest of the community.
A virus can spread at the speed of a jet airplane. So we cannot treat this as just a one-in-100-year event. We’ve got to make sure we we don’t waste this crisis.
Updated
Support for Morrison dives: Newspoll
So just on those Newspoll results, I thought I’d give it a bit of a rundown as we head into the rest of the day.
So the Coalition drew level with Labor on a two-party preferred basis for the first time in months, leaving them at 50-50. Support for the Coalition rose from 49% in May, with the last time the parties deadlocked being in February.
On a primary vote basis, however, the Coalition still leads Labor 41-36. Backing for the Greens dropped a percentage point to 11, while One Nation’s primary vote rose from 2 to 3%.
PM Scott Morrison’s numbers dropped pretty sharply, from 58% in mid-May to 54%, but Labor’s Anthony Albanese’s approval rating also dropped from 39% to 38%.
And in terms of who would make a better prime minister, Morrison maintains his lead over Albanese, with 53% backing Morrison compared to 32% for Albanese.
Updated
Sticking with politicians on morning shows, senator Jacquie Lambie was on the Today Show saying the latest Newspoll results should give the PM a jolt.
If this hasn’t been a kick up the backside, I don’t know how else to get him to better manage Covid. He needs to stop saying it is the states or the premier down here or whatever. Start taking responsibility for your lack of actions.
I just don’t think he has been on top of his game since he got in. Covid has knocked him around. I don’t think he has handled it as well as what he probably could have.
It of course comes after the PM’s approval rating dropped from 58 % to 54 %, according to the poll.
Updated
NSW should get 'fair share' of Covid vaccine, Berejiklian says
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian was on the radio this morning saying NSW should receive a “fair share of the vaccine” after federal health minister Greg Hunt yesterday announced Victoria will be receiving an extra 330,000 vaccines.
Speaking on 2GB, Berejiklian said the outbreak in Victoria looked under control and it was only fair NSW received it’s “fair share”.
Anything we can do to help we should, [but] I think fair is fair and we should just receive based on the size of every state.
We are taking in lots of bodies every week through the airport and we do it because it’s the right thing to do. We have a lot on our shoulders as well. I think it’s only fair that we get our fair share of the vaccine.
NSW has had similar if not larger outbreaks and we’ve dealt with things as we’ve seen fit.
I just think moving forward we just have to offer states an incentive for doing the right thing, offer states an incentive for getting on top of things and I hope that’s the way things happen in the future.
Updated
Straight out of the gates this morning (or lingering from last night – it’s a matter of perspective) is Labor Senator Kristina Keneally, releasing a joint statement with Catherine King, calling for an “urgent review” of security at Australia’s airport.
Deeply disturbing allegations on @60Mins of drugs freely imported into Australia under @ScottMorrisonMP’s watch
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) June 6, 2021
COVID is changing how our airports work, & with these new allegations, it's now time for a new airport security review
Here's my joint statement with @CatherineKingMP pic.twitter.com/3viX8I5N5W
It comes after a report from 60 Minutes yesterday, followed up by reports in the Sydney Morning Herald, alleged that Qantas had been infiltrated by organised crime to facilitate drug importation.
Keneally described the revelations as “deeply disturbing” and said it was “frustrating” the Coalition had “held up” changes to airport security legislation, although it is unclear how that would stop alleged criminals being hired by Qantas.
Of note also was Australia Criminal Intelligence Commission boss Mike Phelan saying Australia “has an insatiable demand for all types of drugs”. Make of that what you will.
Updated
Some tweets now to visualise those Newspoll results:
#BREAKING: The Coalition has recovered electoral ground to draw level with Labor on a two-party-preferred basis for the first time since February #Newspoll https://t.co/4c6YM1zYGs pic.twitter.com/Bqrq7ud1q1
— The Australian (@australian) June 6, 2021
#Newspoll Federal Primary Votes: L/NP 41 (0) ALP 36 (0) GRN 11 (-1) ON 3 (+1) #auspol
— GhostWhoVotes (@GhostWhoVotes) June 6, 2021
#Newspoll Preferred PM: Morrison 53 (-2) Albanese 32 (+2) #auspol
— GhostWhoVotes (@GhostWhoVotes) June 6, 2021
Good morning and happy Monday to all. My name is Mostafa Rachwani and I will be guiding you through the news this morning.
We begin with a poll of over 1,000 people that found that 75% of Australians support compulsory Covid vaccines for aged care staff, coming on the heels of last week’s national cabinet meeting, where the idea was being seriously considered.
It comes after Victoria recorded four cases yesterday, including a 79-year-old resident and a nurse at an aged care centre. The resident lives in “close proximity” to the previous two cases from the Arcare aged care home in Maidstone.
It also comes after Western Australia was put on alert after a returned overseas travelled tested positive after leaving hotel quarantine. There are now a number of potential exposure sites and the man is back in hotel quarantine.
In federal politics, health minister Greg Hunt announced an extra 330,000 vaccines would be directed to Victoria, and said people should seize the “moment of momentum” and get a jab.
And according to Newspoll, the Coalition has pulled level with Labor on a two-party-preferred basis, but prime minister Scott Morrison’s support has nosedived in the wake of the vaccine rollout.
Updated
