Senate passes $130bn wage subsidy bill
The Morrison government’s $130bn wage subsidy package has passed both houses of parliament with Labor support, after the Coalition rebuffed calls to expand eligibility to one million short-term casuals and to temporary visa workers.
As debate in the Senate continues, here's what we learned today
The debate in the Senate continues, but with the outcome of the final vote certain we’ll leave it here for tonight. My colleague Paul Karp’s full wrap of tonight’s events will be here when the vote is done.
Karp, who is watching events as they unfold in the Senate, tells me debate is going longer than expected because the Greens and Centre Alliance are moving substantive amendments to the bill which Labor agrees with but will not vote for.
That’s because Labor wants to see the $130bn wage subsidy bills pass, and if the Senate passes a different version to the lower house, they would go back to the house, which the government controls, resulting in a stalemate.
Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick accuses Labor of voting against amendments its own supporters want (and indeed things it proposed in the house), such as expanding jobkeeper eligibility to temporary visa holders.
The manager of opposition business, Katy Gallagher, accused the crossbench parties of “grandstanding”, telling the Senate it’s a “crock” that if the amendments passed tonight this could somehow persuade the government to change its mind.
Here’s what we learned today:
- the Commonwealth’s historic $130bn wage subsidy, the jobkeeper program, passed the House of Representatives. Debate in the Senate continued until late into the night, but the legislation was almost certain to pass. The bill creates the $1,500 fortnightly jobkeeper payment to keep Australian workers attached to jobs during the Covid-19 crisis and dwarfs the Rudd government’s stimulus packages during the global financial crisis.
- Australia passed 6,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, and 50 deaths from the virus. But the daily rate of new infections continues to fall, down to just 2%.
- Finger pointing between the Australian Border Force and NSW Health over the Ruby Princess fiasco continued. After the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers reported that an Australian Border Force official ordered the Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney Harbour, despite a Sydney harbour master offering to halt the ship at Bradleys Head, the Commonwealth agency released a statement saying it was NSW Health who gave the all-clear for the ship to dock.
- Ratings agency S&P puts Australia’s credit rating outlook on notice, shifting its outlook to negative from stable to reflect “a substantial deterioration of its fiscal headroom at the AAA rating level”.
- In an address to parliament the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the parliament was acting to protect Australia’s “sovereignty” and ideologies have been “checked at the door”.
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While the Senate continues to do ... whatever it is the Senate does, I’ll leave it here for now.
As my colleague Paul Karp mentioned below, the jobkeeper bill is almost certain to pass the parliament and I’ll be back to let you know as soon as it does.
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The jobkeeper bills have passed the second reading stage in the Senate and we’re into the committee stage.
Basically, Greens and Labor members are peppering the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, with questions about the bill, before a final series of votes on Greens and Centre Alliance amendments and then the third reading of the bill.
Labor’s Kristina Keneally is probing the eligibility of a business run by people on safe haven enterprise visas. Cormann responds that the Australian residency requirement applies to employees – so yes, a business run by people on SHEVs could claim the $1,500 fortnightly payment on behalf of Australian staff.
The Greens senator Rachel Siewert asks if Australia is negotiating with other countries to support Australians stranded overseas, and to help temporary visa-holders here in return. Cormann responds that temporary visa-holders are expected to be able to support themselves in Australia, and notes the government has let them access superannuation.
Could be a long night yet, although the result is not in doubt.
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While we wait on the Senate, my colleagues Nick Evershed and Graham Readfearn have looked at how Australia is faring in our attempts to flatten the curve of Covid-19 cases.
Their review of government data shows locally acquired infections have outnumbered infections acquired overseas for the past four days.
The data also shows the growth in locally acquired cases is slowing in New South Wales and Victoria, the two states for which detailed data is available.
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As the Senate continues to debate amendments to the jobkeeper package, the secretary of the ACTU, Sally McManus, has called it a “historic win for working people”. The union remains unhappy that some casual workers will miss out on the wage subsidy, but McManus says the detail of the bill means it could be extended.
We called on the government to deliver a wage subsidy for all workers who needed a wage subsidy. It wasn’t long ago that members of the Morrison government were suggesting people would have to rely on their savings and go on Newstart, now they have allocated $130bn to wage subsidies.
The scale of this union-won package is unprecedented. The jobkeeper wage subsidy, along with the jobseeker payment, will transform lives and bring many workers and their families back from the brink of economic ruin.
If the union movement had not won this fight, workers would be receiving the old Newstart allowance of $40 per day. Now they will get up to double that on jobseeker as well as no less than $150 per day if they are on jobkeeper.
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As the Senate continues to debate the $130bn jobkeeper program, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, has offered his support to those in the Pacific dealing with not only the Covid-19 outbreak but also tropical cyclone Harold.
Thinking of our Pacific family today, especially Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga, as Tropical Cyclone Harold moves through the region. Australia is with you. We will continue to support our friends as they recover from this disaster and as we battle coronavirus together.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 8, 2020
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Border Force points finger at NSW Health over Ruby Princess
Australian Border Force has issued a statement responding to that story earlier from the Nine newspapers that an ABF officer told a Sydney harbour master to allow the Ruby Princess to dock.
The ABF has confirmed that it was contacted by the NSW Port Authority in the early hours of 19 March “expressing concern in relation to the health of passengers on board the Ruby Princess”.
But it says it was NSW Health who gave the all-clear for the ship to dock.
“The ABF officer made internal enquiries and subsequently advised the NSW Port Authority that the vessel had been cleared by NSW Health,” the ABF said in a statement.
“The ABF did not seek to shape or influence any view or decision by the NSW Port Authority. This is not the ABF’s role. The ABF completed its immigration and customs clearance functions. The ABF commissioner has clearly outlined at length the ABF’s role in this matter.
You can read the original story here.
Border Force confirming the Ruby Princess was cleared by NSW Health to disembark. It was not their call. @9NewsAus pic.twitter.com/k3UX7NURhk
— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) April 8, 2020
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Here’s Malcolm Farr on today’s mini-parliament (which is still sitting, by the way).
The mini-parliament was sitting because process demanded it, not because members were keen to muscle up on debate, accountability and policy scrutiny.
That robust democratic activity is more likely to be found in the national cabinet of federal and state leaders, which is scheduled to meet Thursday and again underline that it has superseded parliament as the national decision-making hub.
It’s a concentration of power which could redefine the parliamentary role when Covid-19 no longer is dictating democratic practice.
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The head of the Australian Medical Association, Tony Bartone, has been speaking on the ABC about reports of people avoiding GP visits during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He’s warned that could have negative consequences for the health system in the future, and urged people not to delay treatments for other illnesses.
Clearly, patients are either worried or concerned about the potential for contracting Covid-19, they are worried about the demands of what they think is a very overstretched and busy frontline health system, and minimising their own particular needs, or indeed, thinking telehealth is the only option.
But clearly, there is a time and a place for face-to-face care, there is a necessity to continue that ongoing routine healthcare, because otherwise what will clearly happen [is] that the burden of disease will be shifted down the track too many ... more complications, more presentations to emergency departments, and of course more interruption to the quality of life into the future for many, many hundreds of thousands of Australians.
We know that every week [there are] several tens of thousands of diagnoses around internal cancer, skin cancers, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the list goes on. These are all things that occur, they don’t take a holiday because these are circulating Covid-19 pandemic.
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Australia passes 6,000 Covid-19 cases.
Australia has now recorded more than 6,000 cases of Covid-19, following the release of the latest figures from Western Australia.
WA’s health department recorded 11 new cases of Covid-19 today, bringing the state’s total to 481.
Of the new cases, 10 are from metropolitan Perth and one is from the Kimberley.
Eight of the cases are related to cruise ships or overseas travel and one is a close contact of a confirmed case. Two cases are still being investigated.
The number of new cases in Australia has steadily flattened over the past week. Earlier today NSW reported 48 new cases since its last update, while Victoria recorded 21. Australia also recorded its 50th Covid-19 death today.
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Some good news via my colleague Ben Doherty.
An Iranian refugee under Australia’s protection has managed to return home to Melbourne after initially being caught up in Australia’s ban on non-citizens entering the country, and forcibly sent back to Europe where he potentially faced refoulement.
Foreign minister Marise Payne addressed the Senate a little earlier on the plight of Australians still stranded overseas.
For Australians stranded in South America, commercial charters have been organised. The embassy in Lima is accepting bookings for two flights on 8 April, flying Cusco-Santiago-Melbourne, and Lima-Iquitos-Santiago-Melbourne.
We’ve previously reported the cost would be $2,550 per person, about half the earlier flight from Lima and Cusco. Both flights will land in Melbourne and passengers would be taken into quarantine for 14 days in Melbourne.
Statement to the Senate on Australians returning from overseas.@DFAT @SmarTraveller pic.twitter.com/3O6hrtXkXU
— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) April 8, 2020
A bit more clarity on the immediate future of the NRL season is expected to arrive tomorrow when the league’s innovation committee meets before presenting recommendations to the ARL Commission.
Two options are on the table: a Sydney-based, 15-round season, and a split conference proposal.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting the former is the preferred option, and that the commission is expected to sign off on a return to action as early as 21 May, although 28 May is a more likely date.
The “bubble” idea, which has seen people get excited about the prospect of every team spending a couple of months together at a locked-down location, potentially a luxury island resort off the Queensland coast, appears to be losing momentum.
Queensland’s Building and Construction Commission has issued a dire warning this afternoon, urging people to be aware of “the dangers of DIY bidets in the wake of the toilet paper crisis”.
“Householders seeking a DIY solution to a toilet paper shortage through ‘alternative toileting devices’ such as bidets and douches could be putting themselves and their family at risk,” the QBCC says.
In the past month, the QBCC says, Google searches in Australia for the term “bidets” have increased tenfold. The commission’s head, Brett Bassett, says incorrectly installed devices could increase the risk of contaminating water supplies with E. coli bacteria.
“The last thing we need right now is to put unnecessary strain on our health systems,” Bassett said.
The 50 new Covid-19 cases recorded in New Zealand in the 24 hours to 8 April is the country’s lowest daily increase since the beginning of its four-week lockdown.
The country has recorded 1210 Covid-19 cases, and one death. Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, said while the country “might see bumps along the way,” she was encouraged that the country might be “turning a corner” in quashing the spread of the virus.
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Meanwhile, in Bunbury in Western Australia, a man has been charged with assaulting hospital workers after he allegedly coughed and sneezed at nurses after being tested for Covid-19.
Police said the 23-year-old man went to the emergency department of Bunbury Regional hospital on Monday because he was suffering from a respiratory condition. He was tested for Covid-19 and told he would need to remain in isolation in his hospital room pending the results of the test.
The next day, about 2.30pm, police said the man “became increasingly agitated due to still being in isolation and left his room, approaching the nursing station which was manned by four nurses”.
“It is further alleged the man proceeded to deliberately cough and sneeze repeatedly at nurses,” police said.
The man appeared in court in Perth today charged with four counts of assaulting a person working in a hospital.
Under new laws that passed WA parliament last month, the maximum penalty for this offence is up to 10 years jail.
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The ABC’s political editor, Andrew Probyn, has finally acknowledged his new status as a TikTok celebrity, which we wrote about a few weeks ago. He has, unfortunately, played it with a pretty straight bat.
I’ve been doing my job for 25 years. This is about the only time that my kids have ever taken any notice of what their old man does. It’s rather sad, isn’t it? I didn’t even know what TikTok really was until 10 days ago.
But if that episode encourages people to take more notice of federal politics, of press conferences where the prime minister’s talking about important things – well, my job is done.
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We are hearing reports that some childcare centres are telling families to continue keeping their children at home if they are in a position to do so.
Services around the country have been doing the sums to work out how last week’s free childcare announcement affects them – and what level of attendance they have the capacity to support under the new funding available.
An ongoing issue is that not all centres will be eligible for the jobkeeper wage subsidy, which is sailing through parliament today. Childcare centres run by local governments are a case in point.
Large not-for-profits may also miss out if the decline in revenue across the full scope of their operations doesn’t meet the test. Uniting NSW/ACT, for example, says it is disadvantaged because it also provides many other services such as youth and aged care, and is planning to make an application to the federal education department for additional funding based on exceptional circumstances.
Samantha Page, chief of the peak body Early Childhood Australia, says she welcomes the government’s relief package “but it’s a very one-size-fits-all model and that’s got some uncertainties in terms of how services can make it work”.
“A lot of services have sent out correspondence to families saying if you can keep your children at home, please continue to do that,” she says.
Some services have noted that the priority is on families who can’t keep their children at home, and those who never stopped attending in the past few weeks.
“What worries me is that a lot of families kept children at home for a short time ... and made it work, but they can’t necessarily sustain that. They’re now looking to come back into care and services have limited capacity to increase hours or take families back.”
The Labor senator Kristina Keneally has responded to that Sydney Morning Herald scoop we alerted you to a little earlier, which revealed that an Australian Border Force official ordered the Ruby Princess cruise ship to dock in Sydney Harbour.
BREAKING@PeterDutton_MP has repeatedly denied the Ruby Princess docking in Sydney was the Federal Government’s fault.
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) April 8, 2020
This story blows those claims out of the water #auspol #RubyPrincess https://t.co/xXUHQXeBAt
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Good afternoon. Thanks as always to the tireless Amy Remeikis.
I’m going to take you away from Canberra for a moment. The New South Wales police have just released some detail on the latest tranche of fines they’ve issued for breaches of the state’s strict public health orders.
Since yesterday’s update they’ve charged one person and issued 15 fines, bringing the total to 11 court attendance notices and 136 fines for breaches of the Public Health Act. In NSW breaching the orders is punishable by fines for individuals of up to $11,000 or six months in prison.
Among those fined was a 37-year-old man in Mt Druitt, in Sydney’s west, for “sleeping on a bench” and three boys, aged 15, 16 and 17, for “failing to be home without a reasonable excuse” after they were found at a friend’s house near Wollongong.
The man sleeping on the bench had been spoken to at 12.20pm by officers conducting a “proactive patrol” near a shopping mall. He told police he had left his home “as he had to get out and see his friends”. He was given a warning and police said that about two hours later he was seen sleeping on a bench nearby and was issued with a $1,000 fine.
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The Senate won’t take too long with the bill.
No one seems to want to be in parliament any longer than they have to be.
Once it rises, unless there is another emergency bill, parliament won’t sit until at least the second week of August.
National cabinet will meet tomorrow lunchtime, when it will discuss what to do about schools and year 12.
Residential tenancies still seem to be in the too-hard basket.
And with that, I will hand you over to Michael McGowan for the next few hours. Thank you so much for hanging with me (virtual hugs to you all). See you tomorrow – and take care of you.
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Coronavirus wage subsidy package passes the House
And it is done. Agreed to by the House of Representatives, and heads to the Senate.
Labor won’t be supporting any amendments there, unless the government puts them forward, to fix any procedural issues.
Which means all the Greens amendments will fail, and the bill will pass as it is.
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None of the amendments were passed.
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The wage subsidy bill is going through its third reading.
It is almost on its way to the Senate.
The Senate estimates it will be done with it by 8.
Then assent by the governor general and it’s law (for six months or so).
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As the divisions continue, this is becoming increasingly weird:
A division is currently in progress, on a second-reading amendment moved by @ALeighMP. To prevent Members crossing the Chamber to vote, the question put is that the amendment moved by Dr Leigh 'be DISagreed to', recognising the likely intent of both major parties.
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) April 8, 2020
To ensure physical distancing is adhered to, and to limit the amount of times people have to pass each other, the parliament is voting on whether it ‘disagrees’ with the question being put.
So no one has to move.
It’s like Yoda is reading out parliament procedures. ‘Disagree with it, you do.’
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Paul Karp checked what laws Greg Hunt was talking about when he spoke of penalties for deliberately passing on Covid-19, or scaring someone into thinking you have, such as coughing in their face.
It is another ‘needle in the strawberry’ scenario, where it applies to laws already in place.
General state and territory criminal laws also make it an offence to:
- Cause someone else to fear that you are transmitting the virus, for example, by coughing on them; or
- Make false statements or hoaxes – so, even if you don’t have Covid-19 but you try to make someone believe you do.
Most of the individual jurisdictions cover this off in intent to cause grievous harm legislation.
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The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi says the national cabinet has let residential tenancy solutions slip off the agenda and it needs to be addressed as a matter of urgent priority:
After weeks of promising more information and direction, the national cabinet has completely dropped the ball on housing. It must be put back on the agenda and dealt with urgently.
It smacks of gross incompetence to put housing in the too-hard basket by dismissing it as a state or territory issue. Our response to Covid-19 requires a coordinated national effort.
It’s revealing that while the national cabinet has acted so quickly on commercial tenancies, vulnerable people who rent their homes have no clarity on whether their landlord will be allowed to increase their rent next month or evict them as soon as the pandemic is over.
I urge the national cabinet to support rental and mortgage holidays, an increase to rent assistance, and boost funding for crisis housing.
Unemployment is increasing dramatically and the coronavirus supplement and jobkeeper payments are not due to land in bank accounts for weeks. People urgently need clarity and the assurance that they will have their home to live in during these trying times.
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The second reading has gone through without amendment, so we move to this:
Manager of Opposition Business @Tony_Burke now moving an amendment to #Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Bill 2020 regarding the Treasurer's rule-making power #auspol pic.twitter.com/mG1fFoKVxi
— Political Alert (@political_alert) April 8, 2020
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The Senate is waiting for the wage subsidy bill. It should be coming soon.
In these uncertain parliamentary times, it is nice to see the friendship between the House of Reps Twitter account, and the Senate account, continues:
"I can see clearly now the panes have gone ..." 🎵🎵 https://t.co/ah3NBmp7vX
— Australian Senate (@AuSenate) April 8, 2020
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The ACCC has updated its conditions on private health insurance:
Private health insurers have been granted conditional interim authorisation to co-ordinate on providing financial relief to policy holders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and broadening insurance coverage to include COVID-19 treatment, tele-health and medical treatment provided at home.
The ACCC granted interim authorisation after receiving an application lodged by Private Healthcare Australia (PHA), Members Health Fund Alliance and the members of both groups.
The interim authorisation is conditional on details of proposed measures being provided to the ACCC in advance. It also excludes agreements to increase premiums, and specifies that any agreements reached must terminate when authorisation ceases.
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NSW Health and Australian Border Force have been in a slanging match over who is to blame for allowing the passengers on the cruise ship to disembark without entering quarantine.
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Report says border force official ordered Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney
The Sydney Morning and the Age newspapers report that an Australian Border Force official ordered the Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney Harbour.
You can find the whole story here, but it includes this tidbit:
The Border Force officer expressed concern about passengers disembarking as she had been made aware that as many as 140 passengers on board were in isolation due to health concerns.
So serious were the concerns she flagged, the harbour master offered to stop the ship at Bradleys Head to prevent it docking at Sydney Harbour.
According to the sources, the harbour master was told by the Border Force officer that she needed to check with a supervisor and 15 minutes later, she called back and said the ship could dock.
The crucial development is understood to be a key part of a NSW Police criminal investigation examining the fiasco. There are as many as 650 passengers with COVID-19 and there have been 15 deaths.
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I was just getting back to this, but have just been reminded by someone a little faster than I that the $5.5bn figure Chris Bowen quoted to Greg Hunt in question time in regards to private health savings (or windfall, given that premiums are still being paid with no services able to be offered) came from The Australia Institute and was published in this story by Ben Butler:
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Northern Territory government announces new $180m package
Michael Gunner has announced another $180m relief program for Territorians:
Today the cabinet has signed off on a new package worth $180m to reduce costs for local businesses.
Right now, $1 that does not have to be spent on payroll or power prices is a dollar that can be spent on keeping a Territorian in a job.
Reducing the costs for Territory businesses saves Territory jobs. First, we are slashing payroll tax.
For small and medium businesses who can show they have been hurt by the coronavirus, their payroll tax will be completely abolished for the next six months.
For large businesses, their payroll tax will be deferred for six months.
Second, we are slashing power bills by 50% for businesses hurt by the coronavirus. Power prices and water prizes will be halved for the next six months.
This is massive, but it needs to be.
We will throw everything we have got at saving people’s jobs.
We know some businesses are struggling with the cost of their lease in these tough times, so we will help landlords as well, but our help comes with strings attached.
No one wants an empty shop. That’s not good for the tenant or the landlord. We expect commercial landlords to work with our tenants to share the pain that all Territorians are feeling right now. So when a tenant can demonstrate hardship because of the coronavirus and request assistance from the landlord, the landlord needs to negotiate rent relief.
Then and only then will the landlord be eligible for support like payroll tax relief or any of the measures we have already announced.
We are also working with councils to deliver relief on rates. I have written to all the councils today requesting they provide at least six months of rates relief through a three-month waiver followed by a three-month deferral. If they want to do even more than that, that is great.
I know that councils are keen to help. I know they are already looking at options. I am confident they will do the right thing here, so I know they are already looking at doing the right thing. We are all in this together.
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How Mike Bowers saw question time:
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The Law Council has welcomed the select Senate committee oversight of the government while parliament doesn’t sit:
The Law Council supports the establishment of a cross party Senate Select Committee, to review and report on the Australian Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and looks forward to seeing the Terms of Reference.
Given the government’s current plans to adjourn parliament until August 2020, with limited exceptions, the ability to scrutinise decisions has been restricted.
A functioning Australian Parliament is fundamental to national values that are deeply entrenched in Australian society: those of respect for democracy and the rule of law – particularly in times of crisis.
In these uncertain times, ensuring transparency, scrutiny and oversight of the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis is paramount, if the Australian people are to maintain confidence in the parliamentary system.
That is why it is so important that the Senate Select Committee has been established.
We also call on the Australian Parliament to continue throughout the Covid-19 crisis by the further adoption of technology and other measures.
Australians need to see democracy fully in action, not suspended, throughout this crisis.
PM Scott Morrison tries to break the fall of his phone with his foot after he dropped it in the way out of #qt @AmyRemeikis @GuardianAus #PoliticsLive https://t.co/O3JYt4F5LH pic.twitter.com/vJ228yaJAl
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) April 8, 2020
The House is about to vote on the second reading amendments on the wage subsidy bill.
They won’t go ahead. From there, it heads to the Senate, where the Senate will sit until it’s passed.
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Scott Morrison:
I ask that further questions be placed on the notice paper and remind Australians again, this Easter don’t go away, stay home, only go out for what you need, and that way we can continue to lock in the gains you have achieved for this country.
Anthony Albanese adds his comment – stay at home, happy Easter, and he hopes the Easter bunny comes.
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Question time ends.
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Linda Burney to Scott Morrison:
Could the prime minister outline his plans to guarantee food security for First Nations communities during the coronavirus crisis, especially in remote communities of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, in northern Queensland?
Morrison:
I thank the member for her question – $123m is going to support Indigenous communities. One of the very pleasing elements of the payments that the minister for government services has outlined is that when those payments have come through for Indigenous communities, there has been a very large amount of food in those communities, and that is fantastic, we were so pleased.
And I want to thank everybody involved, including the member for Barton, for the messaging that was going into Indigenous communities about how those payments might be used in those circumstances.
This was a tremendous result, obviously that has led to some supply shortages going into those communities and I know the minister for Indigenous Australians is working directly with the executive chair of the Covid commission, Neville Power, to make sure those supply lines of those food stocks going back into those communities is being refreshed as we speak.
That is one of the key tasks of the coordination commission – a group of very successful, very practical problem-solving people from the private sector, who are able to work through logistics issues, food supply chain issues, working out of the ministry of home affairs, Paul Gibson is the deputy secretary there, also leading a team working on the supply chain issues, not getting just supplies of food to remote Indigenous communities but also rural communities, regional communities, so we are not just restocking shopping centres and supermarkets in the cities but across the country. Another key issue they are working on is not just supplying the big supermarkets and big shopping centres but corner stores – we want people to stay home and we don’t want them going too far for what they need. In Indigenous communities they have no choice.
I want to commend the chief minister Gunner for the great job he is doing in the Northern Territory in securing these communities, but getting through to them is an important task and I can assure the member that the Covid commission working together with the minister for Indigenous affairs is working with the premiers of the states to make sure supply lines are replenished and support will be in place for those communities.
Of all the issues we discussed at national cabinet, our biggest concern of all the vulnerable communities in Australia is Indigenous communities. Recently I spoke to prime minister Trudeau and it is a similar issue in Canada for the remote Indigenous communities in Canada. We are employing very similar measures, we had a good discussion about that, to protect, insulate but maintain supply of support to those communities, not just food but essential services whether it be health, or indeed protection for people in those communities. I thank the member for the question and I know the minister for Indigenous Australians will be happy to keep her up to date on that matter on a regular basis.
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Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
And I refer him to the fact that Australians relied on the ABC to give them emergency updates during the bushfire crisis. Now Australians are relying upon the ABC to keep them informed, stay safe and to support the ongoing education of their children during this health crisis. Will the prime minister restore funding so the ABC can keep doing its job so effectively?
Morrison:
The ABC is doing an excellent job and they’ll continue doing that job with the resources that have been provided them. Like all agencies, like all Australians, they will all do the best job they can with the resources they have available to them.”
The Coalition backbench responds with the most lively ‘hear hear’ we have heard all day.
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But then Michael McCormack rose to his feet. https://t.co/Lby3jiQeY8
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) April 8, 2020
And with it came a watery word soup of something-something-Geelong-something-something-VFL-something-something-fight-something-something-I-find-croutons-too-spicy.
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Greg Hunt gets the rest of that answer:
One of the things we’ve been very focused on is ensuring we’re working with the private health insurers as well as the private hospitals. The private hospitals I have already had the opportunity to address during question time.
I have spoken at length with the leaders of both the large and small private health insurer organisations, both the Members Health for the small and the Private Health Australia for the large, as well as with many leaders within the particular sector.
They have responded and they have also spoken with the prime minister’s office, and the prime minister’s office has provided a very clear and strong message that they expect the private health insurers to step up, but they have already taken steps.
I have not heard that figure and I would want to respectfully check that figure which the member has set out. I do know that after the discussions they chose a very significant measure of waiving the increases.
I do know that individual insurers are making very significant provisions for hardship and supporting individuals, and in addition to that one of the things we are always looking to do is to make sure that we have not just a sustainable public health system but a sustainable private health system.
We are expecting a very significant surge in elective surgery after the virus has passed and so there will be ebbs and flows. We’ll seek further advice on those figures that you raised and if the member has that detail I’d be interested to receive that. But I would say this. That all of the insurers that I spoke with were above all else focused on provision of support for those Australians who have that need and to ensure that hardship packages, additional support were addressed during the course of the coronavirus period.
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Chris Bowen to Scott Morrison (on private health insurance):
Prime minister, private health insurers will save up to $5.5bn from the deferral of non-urgent services over the next six months. Those savings far outweigh the small amount that’s been returned to the policyholder with the six-month policy freeze. What is the government doing to make sure those savings are given back to the Australians doing it tough and not being pocketed?
Morrison:
Thank you. I’ll ask the minister for health to add further. You rightly note the policyholders have had the benefit of a reprieve there from those companies.
I think it’s very important as we continue to work through these many issues that wherever possible we try not to look at these issues as a contest or a conflict between interests here, and that we are trying to encourage others to come to the table in good faith, and not to second guess their motives. Wherever possible that will be subject to the normal tests that I think will exist in the public space.
But it has not been apparent to me that the private health insurance companies have engaged in bad faith in this process and nor I would expect them to do so. If they were to do so obviously the governments would take steps to ensure it would be remedied.
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Catherine King to Michael McCormack:
Is the government confident that all domestic airlines in Australia will survive the Covid-19 crisis without further support?
McCormack:
I thank the member for Ballarat, the shadow minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, for her question and we are doing everything that we can to keep every regional airline through.
That is why on 18 March when I stood at the Wagga Wagga airport and announced the initial $715m package that benefited not only the big players in the industry – Virgin and Qantas – but also regional airlines.
What we did was we backdated those announcements affecting fuel excise, affecting Airservices Australia fees and affecting such things as security screening, and that provided $159m at that point, because of the backdating, straight in to those companies’ bottom lines.
What we then did, as we announced our $298m package for regional airlines. So $198m of that is going to regional air services for the 138 or so centres that rely on sometimes a daily, sometimes a weekly but vital air services to provide in the interim.
Going forward, maybe a service a week to provide medical personnel, medicine, indeed medical supplies to those centres.
Right across Australia, 138 or so of them, and all of those airlines, be it Regional Express, be it QantasLink, be it Virgin, can access that $198m of subsidy for that particular service and, of course, then on the same day I announced $100m of underwriting for regional airlines.
We want regional airlines to come through the other side. It’s one in all in. We want to make sure that regional aviation can be its best self out the other side.
That’s why the federal government is providing and has provided more than a billion dollars of support for aviation. We want our airlines to come through the other side. We realise it’s going to be very, very tough for them. Covid-19 is having a devastating effect on regional, domestic and international travel and we want to make sure that our aviation industry is protected. Thank you for the question.
Updated
Sussan Ley on domestic violence measures:
Unfortunately, while for many people working from home is tedious, annoying, frustrating and we see the anecdotes often on social media, for many, particularly women, it is not a safe place to be at home.
And the increasing concerns around financial security, being in an enclosed environment, perhaps with a perpetrator of domestic violence, and all of the associated challenges and the difficulty of being able to access the services you need, it all creates a unique and a pressure that is – has been – very important for this government to recognise.
Now we have made the biggest ever commonwealth investment, $340m in the national plan, the fourth action plan for the national plan to reduce violence against women and their children.
But we have now added $150m.
My colleagues in the other place, the minister for social services and the minister for women, have led the Coag women’s safety group and provided immediately $32.5m to the states and territories to provide the services that they need.
And while that happens a further $97.5m will be allocated as we all work together to see what is needed.
Services do need to be able to continue to support those in need over the next six months.
Emergency and crisis accommodation, counselling and outreach, men’s behavioural change, responding to the unique challenges of rural and regional women.
All of these things matter, and what I want to say, Mr Speaker, is that while you may feel isolated in your home, and indeed we understand that, the services are there.
The help is there. You must ask for yourself, and it maybe via telephone, it maybe via web, it maybe via 1800 Respect but all governments are there to support women.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek to Josh Frydenberg:
On Sunday the treasurer said that all registered charities would be eligible for the jobkeeper wage subsidy if they had a decline in turnover of 15% or more, but less than 24 hours later the government reversed that position and said that schools and universities would be excluded. Why?
Frydenberg (in a very normal speaking voice he should use all the time):
Well, Mr Speaker, universities and non-government schools, to help the honourable member, are being treated like other not-for-profits. They are eligible for the jobkeeper payment.
However, those with an annual turnover, and this would obviously be relevant to universities not to non-government schools, of more than a billion dollars will need to meet the turnover threshold of 50% and those with an annual turnover of less than $1bn will need to meet the turnover threshold of 30%, but charities other than universities and the non-government schools that are registered with the national regulator will be eligible for the jobkeeper payment if they have suffered a decline in turnover of 15%.
Mr Speaker, this reflects that at this particular time there is going to be a significant increase in the demand for such services.
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Tony Burke to Scott Morrison:
Why will the government allow business to double dip by receiving the jobkeeper wage subsidy at the same time they’re running down their employees’ annual leave as the full rate as though the subsidy was not being paid?
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, as the member I suspect knows, that no person under these arrangements who takes leave would take leave otherwise by agreement with their employer. So it would be by agreement between the employer and the employee if they took leave and that would enable that employee to be able to get the full value of their leave paid at their actual wage rate for that entire term and that would enable the employer to support them in doing that through this arrangement.
Mr Speaker, that is good news for the employee, it’s good news for the employer and it enables both of them to work together on an agreement that they consider in both of their best interests.
That’s what we’re asking Australians to do. To work together to find the right outcome with the supports and arrangements we have put in place. It’s no different to what we’re asking through the national cabinet and state legislation what we’re asking landlords and tenants to do.
These are not usual times and they will require unusual arrangements, but what we’re providing for here is these unusual arrangements by agreement and in these cases it would be by agreement between the employer and the employee.
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Christian Porter makes sure everyone understands the changes being put in place are “temporary”.
He also takes the time to thank Sally McManus and other union leaders again for the work they have done to get these changes through.
There has been a bit of commentary today that the work the unions have done with the government means Labor has been “wedged” politically.
I mean sure ... unless you also remember that Labor is the political arm of the union movement and they are on the same page with this stuff. I mean – that was the whole point of the Shearer’s Strike and the Barcaldine meeting. But sure, go off.
Updated
Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg (following on from Paul’s posts on the legislation):
Can the treasurer confirm that under the government’s legislation he will have the power to extend the jobkeeper wage subsidy to casuals employed for less than a year, local government workers, university staff and teachers, temporary workers, disability workers, arts and entertainment workers and workers employed by charities that have experienced a drop in donations alone.
Frydenberg:
Mr Speaker, I can confirm there is a power in the legislation for the minister to make changes to the system, but I can also confirm to the chamber, to the House, that national cabinet agreed that local government was the responsibility of state governments.
In terms of casuals, as the prime minister has already told the House, casuals who have been with their employer for 12 months or more are eligible for the jobkeeper payment.Mr Speaker, this is a $130bn program.
This is a very substantial program and indeed a program like none other. It’s different to the United Kingdom’s program. It’s different to New Zealand’s program. It’s different to Canada’s program. It’s an Australian solution to an Australian challenge. And under this program some six million Australian workers will be eligible and benefit is the expectation. And, Mr Speaker, part-time workers, full-time workers, casuals, sole traders, the not-for-profit sector will all benefit from this very significant wage subsidy which will help this country and the millions of Australian employees who use this program to get to the other side after the coronavirus crisis.
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Dr Harry Nespolon, the president of the RACGP (the college that looks after GPs), has warmly welcomed news that GPs will be getting masks and other protective equipment from the latest shipment:
The announcement that primary care will receive 2.3 million masks is welcome news for general practice clinics right across Australia.
GPs are on the frontline combating COVID-19 and doing an incredible job and it’s essential that they have the personal protective equipment they need to get the job done.
The RACGP has advocated consistently over the last few months for more PPE to be made available and government has listened and acted; however, we will remain vigilant because there have been shortages across many clinics.
We are still hearing reports from GPs that they don’t have enough PPE and that is something we will continue to fight for.
Updated
Meanwhile, the agriculture department is working to clear supermarket provisions as quickly as possible:
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is placing dedicated people within its import assessment, bookings and inspection functions to enable critical supplies to be cleared faster without deviating from our strict biosecurity and imported food controls.
This has been developed through close consultations with the major retailers as part of the Australian Government’s Supermarkets Taskforce.
Head of biosecurity Lyn O’Connell PSM said the department is completing inspections as quickly as possible whilst meeting requirements under the Biosecurity Act 2015 and the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
Michael McCormack is talking about the VFL and ‘how good’ people are and god knows what else and just generally reminding everyone why he has been hidden away by the government during this crisis.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Given the jobkeeper wage subsidy is being supported by both sides of this chamber, to maintain the relationship between employees and employers, will the prime minister extend the wage subsidy for the 1.1 million casual workers who are currently excluded?
Morrison (after outlining what has been done):
Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I was just about to remark, we put the jobseeker payment and its increased capacity in place because we knew there would be those who would not be ultimately eligible for other measures we may consider.
And what we have done with jobkeeper is we have ensured we have extended to casual employees for those who have been with their employer for 12 months or more, a status that is already recognised under Australia’s taxation system.
And so in putting together the $130bn package, that is where we ultimately drew the line because, Mr Speaker, when you are putting these lifelines in place you have to draw a line somewhere and when we drew that line we knew we could do it knowing full well that we had already acted to put the jobseeker safety net in place for those who wouldn’t be eligible under the jobkeeper program.
So we have put our arms wide out as a government and as a country to support those who have been impacted by the devastating effects of the coronavirus in our economy.
The jobseeker program and the jobkeeper program work together. They work together to provide the foundational supports in our economy and in our community to ensure that we can help Australians get through these crises, and so that was the reasoning behind our decision, Mr Speaker, and we will continue to ensure that that support is in place.
But as I have said on a number of occasions, it is so important we find our way through and out, because these lifelines cannot be in place indefinitely, and that is why we are working on the health issues to ensure that we can get back to a position as quickly as we can, and subject to the health advice, to ensure we can get our economy moving again.
Updated
The two big global ratings agencies are at odds over Australia’s much-ballyhooed AAA rating, with S&P warning it might downgrade the country while Moody’s says its outlook is stable.
In a note this morning, S&P said it was changing its outlook to negative because of the risks posed to Australia’s ability to borrow from the gargantuan stimulus packages announced by the Morrison government.
Both sides of politics have been proud of the rating, which in theory helps Australia borrow money at lower interest rates. But with interest rates around the world at record lows, it’s probably not the most pressing issue right now.
“We expect the Australian economy to plunge into recession for the first time in almost 30 years, causing a substantial deterioration of the government’s fiscal headroom at the ‘AAA’ rating level,” S&P said.
“The large budget deficits that we project in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 are likely temporary and do not represent a structural weakening of fiscal performance.
“Net government debt and relative interest cost nevertheless are likely to remain at elevated levels for a number of years.”
Moody’s took a sunnier view in its last update to Australia’s rating, issued on Friday.
“The stable outlook on Australia’s rating reflects our expectation that, in the event of shocks – in the housing market, to access to external financing or from the coronavirus outbreak – the resilience of the economy, supported by countercyclical macroeconomic
policy, would allow Australia’s credit metrics to remain consistent with a Aaa rating,” it said.
Meanwhile, the third, smaller ratings agency Fitch downgraded all four big Aussie banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac – due to the likely economic downturn.
Updated
Josh Frydenberg updates on some of the money that has been spent already:
I can inform the House that some 6m payments have been already made totalling around $4.5bn making its way to pensioners, to carers, to those on other income support.
We announced the $1bn relief recovery fund and we announced a significant cashflow boost for small businesses.
The second package, Mr Speaker, on 22 March at $66bn was different in both scale and scope and involved an effective doubling of the safety net with our $550 coronavirus jobseeker supplement.
Another $750 payment, changes to the deeming rates, to the drawdown rates, giving people early access to their superannuation as well as strengthening further the cashflow boost for small business as well as changes to the insolvency and bankruptcy laws to provide a regulatory shield.
On top of that, we now have our $130bn jobkeeper package, but I’m pleased to inform the House that today Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed Australia’s triple A credit rating, and in doing so they said, and I quote, ‘Australia’s strong fiscal performance remains a credit strength and that the measures that the Morrison government have put in place’, and this is their words, ‘won’t structurally weaken Australia’s financial position’.
A very significant endorsement of the necessary measures that we’ve had to take. The unprecedented measures that we’ve had to take but those measures have been designed to keep Australians in jobs and Australian businesses in business.
Updated
James Paterson has been put forward as the government’s nomination for the deputy chair position on the select Senate committee, which will oversee the government’s Covid-19 response.
Katy Gallagher will chair.
Helen Haines gets the independent question (there will no doubt be another one today):
It’s to Dan Tehan:
In recent days I’ve been flooded with concerns from childcare providers worried that they will lose significant revenues as a result of the recently announced changes to childcare funding. Can the minister guarantee that no childcare provider, including those run by councils, schools or in-home care, will be worse off under the new funding arrangements.
Tehan:
In the space of seven to 10 days we overhauled the childcare sector to put a fundamental underlying security into the sector.
Now what this change means, that the new payment, which is 50% of the revenue that services received up to the hourly cap in the fortnight before 2 March, providers will be paid that weekly, and it will be calibrated with the jobkeeper payment.
Now for all services out there who want to get further information about their eligibility for the jobkeeper payment, we have set up the Child Care Subsidy help desk.
Those providers can dial 1300 667 276 to find out about their eligibility, how they apply for jobkeeper and how that, which will provide over a billion dollars or approximately a billion dollars to the sector, that coupled with the $1.6bn that we are putting into the sector with this new payment, this underlying payment, how that will enable their viability to continue.
There is also another mechanism for providers where there might be extenuating circumstances where they need further assistance.
So there will be a special circumstances payment, which will also be set up and that will go live on the Department of Education’s website tomorrow.
So for all those services, some for instance might operate for 24 hours, so we’ll have to take those circumstances into account.
And there might be, for instance, some providers who look after children with special needs who are accessing a large proportion of the additional childcare, in those instances also there’ll be additional arrangements which will be put in place.
Can I just take the time to thank all those in the sector and also all the officials who worked with the government to design this new system of providing free childcare for especially all those workers on the front line who over the next six months will be helping us defeat this pandemic.
Updated
Richard Marles to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister. On 15 March the prime minister banned cruise ships from docking in Australia with arrangements, and I quote, ‘Directly under the command of the Australian Border Force.’ Four days later the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney. Given Australian Border Force is responsible for protecting Australia’s borders, and had direct command of those arrangements, does the prime minister take any responsibility for the Ruby Princess fiasco?
Scott Morrison:
The member would be very well aware of the statement that was made by the ABF commissioner, Michael Outram, on this matter on 25 March 2020, which set out very clearly that the actions and responsibility of the Australian Border Force in relation to that matter, and I table that statement for the purposes of the House and for the information of the member, and I thank that addresses his question specifically and completely.
Updated
The government dixers are on the measures that are in place (or about to be in place) – social restrictions and the economy – but they are once again branded as ‘the Morrison government’ rather than the commonwealth.
As of 10am this morning, more than 730,000 businesses have registered interest in the jobkeeper program.
Updated
Emma McBride to Greg Hunt on the flu vaccine:
The health medical officer has said expert medical advice is that everyone over six months should be vaccinated against the flu. Does Australia have enough flu vaccines and how is it to be provided to Australians including vulnerable Australians?
Hunt:
And I want to thank the member for Dobell and acknowledge her work as a pharmacist over the course of her career.
A flu vaccine is a very important thing. I have just stood up with both Prof Michael Kidd, the deputy chief medical officer for primary care, and with Dr Tony Bartone, who is the president of the Australian Medical Association.
Dr Bartone urged as many Australians as possible to have a flu vaccine.
On all of our current projections, we are going to meet all of the demand.
In particular, on the national immunisation program, we have 8.5m flu vaccinations, which includes those between six months and five years of age, those with certain co-morbidities, IndigenousAustralians over the age of 50, and in particular older Australians beyond 65.
The advice that I have is that we have sufficient national immunisation program and other suppliers in Australia.
I think we are seeing a very good take-up, but out of an abundance of caution we have also spoken with suppliers, and indeed I have spoken with the global CEO of CSL within the last 48 hours, and I am very confident that CSL, which is a great Australian company, will provided additional supplies.
They’re currently assessing that. That is likely to ensure that not only do we meet our demand but we have spare capacity to ensure that everybody who seeks support for flu vaccination through the Australian national immunisation program or through the private market will have that support met.
Updated
Greg Hunt takes the rest of that answer:
One of the highest priorities of this government has been to ensure continued supply of personal protective equipment in what has been an intensely competitive global environment. We’ve seen the shortages and the suffering not just of health workers but in relation to the broader population, whether it’s in Europe or North America, whether it’s in parts of Asia or elsewhere. Against that background, we’ve been determined to continue through both domestic production and international PPE.
That’s the distribution of 11m masks to date, which includes 2.5 million to primary health care networks to support GPs, community pharmacies and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations, more than a million masks to support those who are assisting in frontline activities and 6m masks to state and territory health departments to support the acute care sector, in particular hospitals.
We have also, as part of our procurement program, now landed over 30m masks in Australia.
This has been a difficult and challenging task. That is part of a broader order process of 500m masks. As a consequence we are now allocating a second round of 11m masks and shortly before question time I announced that would include 7m for states and territories for their frontline public hospitals, 2.3m to primary health networks including 1.5m for GPs, 500,000 for community pharmacies, 75,000 for Indigenous workforce and health care and 160,000 for respiratory, and 1.7 million for our aged care workers.
We’ll continue to provide those masks. We are now getting ahead of the curve on this front, but we are very mindful of international supply constraints, and I want to thank our healthcare workers. They are literally saving lives and protecting lives and we will do everything we can to support them and to protect them.
Updated
Question time begins
It’s another sombre and empty question time, where the focus is actually on asking for and receiving information.
Chris Bowen to Scott Morrison:
Everyone in parliament would agree that no Australian health worker should die due to a shortage of personal protective equipment. There are still reports that hospitals, GPs and pharmacies are struggling to cope with a shortage of personal protective equipment. Could the prime minister please update the House on when these shortages will be fixed.
Scott Morrison:
I thank the shadow minister for health for his question and I’ll ask the minister for health to provide a more detailed response.
This has been one of the key focuses of the government now over some period of time, and we’ve been able to secure significant supplies, particularly in recent days and weeks, and I want to thank all of those who have been involved, and whether from industry or government directly, in securing those supplies from a large many sources. We have also been working over many weeks to increase our own domestic production capability of that same equipment. It is important for all the reasons that the member has said and I’ll ask the minister for health to further update the House.
Updated
The individual jurisdictions are beginning to lay out their plans for term 2.
Most are expected to follow what you see here from the ACT:
Also:
— Anna Vidot (@AnnaVidot) April 8, 2020
ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry has outlined the Term 2 plan for #Canberra public schools.
Bottom line: remote learning online, unless you really have to send your child to school.
If that's you, you need to register with the Education Directorate.#covid19aus
Updated
Question time is about to begin.
Updated
The 62-year-old woman who died in South Australia after being diagnosed with Covid-19 was a passenger on the Ruby Princess.
Scott Morrison speaks with Mike Pompeo
A good discussion with @SecPompeo about our efforts to combat the effects of #coronavirus, both health and economic, & the need to keep supply chains open. Australia & the US are good mates & we will continue to align our efforts as we work towards the recovery on the other side. https://t.co/HuEAXuMXAq
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 8, 2020
Question time is about to begin – it is going to be much like the one we saw 16 days ago.
The AMA president, Dr Tony Bartone, addresses the issue of masks:
Let’s not forget – we started this Covid-19 season on the back of a horrendous bushfire crisis and air quality.
The enormous amount of the stockpile was used up during that time. And then, in a global environment, and we are part of a global infrastructure, we’ve had a massive competitive pressure put on dwindling amounts of production around the world.
It’s true that Covid-19 has been one step ahead, perhaps, in many of those occasions.
But the minister and indeed the chief medical officer and the government have been really constructively diligent in trying to secure whatever possible amounts they can, and indeed the announcement last month of $1.1bn to secure additional PPE is an acknowledgement of the importance that they have put on the provision of that.
However, there is always going to be more that we will seek, and in an environment that is the world’s global infrastructure around this, it’s always going to be pressure. We need to conserve supplies.
We need to have the appropriate use of PPE. I must remind Australians that the wearing of masks down the street of the CBD is really an inordinate waste of valuable resources.
They’re masks that potentially could be used in a healthcare setting and putting my colleagues at risk, and I remind Australians that that is not within the recommendations of the chief medical officer, nor of any of the chief health officers in that respect.
Updated
Greg Hunt says Australia is not walking down the ‘herd immunity’ path:
Look, our goal is not to get people infected. Our goal is for people not to be infected.
Let me be really clear about this. We want as few people as possible to have this condition, because it can kill you. And that’s why. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old.
Obviously, it has a much bigger impact in terms of the likelihood of a serious consequence on somebody who is older, or has a comorbidity – some sort of other chronic condition.
But we’ve seen tragedies around the world of young people who lose their lives. The young are not immune.
They are simply less likely to get it, and less likely to have an impact. In the school situation, part of the debate has been about the safety of children at school because they may be less exposed to adults than might otherwise be the case if they were out with their parents shopping or doing other things.
Our goal is very clear. As few Australians to contract coronavirus as possible.
Updated
'Whatever we have, we'll share,' Greg Hunt says on the modelling
So what yesterday’s modelling showed us is the future we avoided.
That indicated from the outset the sort of risks that Australia faced of anywhere between three million and potentially 20 million infections if there had been, as what Professor Murphy described, a do nothing environment, that was the alternative world that Australia could face.
Because when we look at the tragedies in Italy or Spain or New York, they’re actually doing an enormous amount.
They are not sitting back. They are doing an enormous number of things, and that’s the agony that those areas are going through, even with immense action.
And so, you can imagine if they were doing nothing, or we were doing nothing, what we would have faced.
That’s why we have taken so many steps as a country, and why other countries are doing the same thing. The next phase of it is, whilst we’ve avoided that catastrophic future, we still have significant risk.
And so, now that we have increasing data in Australia, that’s going to be put into the model, and everything that we have we’ll share.
I think one of the charts that the Prime Minister and Brendan showed yesterday was the step down in Australian cases, coupled with exactly what you talked about - the timing of individual measure.
There is a lag between those measures and the outcomes. But they give an indication that as we’ve taken them, they’ve all had an impact.
In a way, probably the most important measure we’ve taken was to be one of the first countries in the world, and we were criticised at the time for closing the borders with China, but that bought us a huge amount of time and space and capacity for building our own capacity, whilst reducing the potential numbers in Australia. So whatever we have, we’ll share.
Updated
Labor has spent the past hour moving its second reading amendments on the wage subsidy bill.
So far, it doesn’t look like any of them have been taken up.
Josh Frydenberg’s office has responded to S&P’s watch notice this morning:
Australia’s AAA credit rating has been reaffirmed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in an expression of confidence in the Morrison Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and our record of prudent economic and fiscal management.
In its report, S&P notes that Australia’s “strong fiscal performance remains a credit strength” and that “while fiscal stimulus measures will soften the blow presented by the COVID-19 outbreak and weigh heavily on public finances in the immediate future, they won’t structurally weaken Australia’s fiscal position. This expected improvement is a key supporting factor of our ‘AAA’ rating.”
Today’s report confirms Australia as one of only 10 countries which has a AAA credit rating with all three major ratings agencies.
However S&P also recognised that “the COVID-19 outbreak has dealt Australia a severe economic and fiscal shock” and has put our AAA rating on a negative outlook which is defined as a one third probability of a downgrade over the next two years.
The Morrison Government has taken decisive action to protect Australians and the economy from the effects of the coronavirus, with Government support for the economy totalling $320 billion or 16.4 per cent of GDP.
This unprecedented level of support reflects the unprecedented moment that we find ourselves in.
S&P’s action today, in reaffirming our AAA rating, is a reminder of the importance of maintaining our commitment to medium term fiscal sustainability.
Our disciplined economic and budget management, which saw the Federal Budget return to balance for the first time in 11 years, meant the Budget as noted by S&P “was on track to achieve a surplus in fiscal 2021 before the COVID-19 outbreak”.
Our measures are temporary, targeted and proportionate to the challenge we face and will ensure Australia bounces back stronger on the other side, without undermining the structural integrity of the Budget which Australians have worked so hard to restore.
We are back on the ‘road’ analogy, used by Scott Morrison this morning.
Greg Hunt says Australia has been on the ‘road in’, and is now on the ‘road through’.
Now we’re in the suppression phase, where we are doing everything we can to track down and to wipe out community-to-community transmission. And then, as we get on top of that and the medical advice is clear, then we will begin to take the steps or the road out. So road in – road through – road out. That road out is something that we are planning now.
Updated
And on the heels of that, an official release has been put out by the government:
The Australian Government has expanded Medicare-subsidised telehealth services for all Australians and is providing extra incentives to general practitioners to support continued access to essential primary health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have a regular follow up appointment booked with your doctor, please contact your medical practice to see if this can be carried out using a telehealth consultation, (by telephone, or video call), or if you need to see your doctor for a face to face consultation.
If you are taking regular medication for management of a chronic condition, it is essential that you continue to take your medication. If you run out of medication, please contact your doctor or your local pharmacy to arrange a repeat prescription.
To further stop the spread of COVID-19 Australians can now have their PBS medicines delivered to their home from their community pharmacy of their choice through the Australian Government “COVID-19 Home Medicines Service”. There is no additional cost to have their medicines delivered to their home.
Australians should consider getting their flu vaccine over the coming weeks to protect them against the flu. April and May is the best time to get a flu vaccine and people should contact their doctor or community pharmacy to book an appointment.
Many Australians including all Australians over 65 years of age, and children under the age of five, are eligible for a free flu vaccine through the National Immunisation Program (NIP).
If you have regular blood tests as part of the management of your chronic health condition, please continue to have your blood tests done at your local general practice or local pathology collection centre.
Whether in person, or through the expanded telehealth network, it’s critical that people continue to manage their general health throughout the COVID-19 health emergency.
AMA president urges Australians to have normal health checks too
The Australian Medical Association president, Dr Tony Bartone, says he is worried Australians aren’t seeing their doctor over conditions they usually would, due to concern over Covid-19.
He says health must remain paramount – even if it is not coronavirus-related.
Every week in Australia, tens of thousands of diagnoses around internal cancers, skin cancers, diabetes, new heart disease are made.
If Australians neglect their care during this time, all we are going to do is shift an enormous burden of care many, many months down the road.
With worse outcomes, more complications, more morbidity, and indeed, many Australians will lose their life to preventable conditions.
So my message to Australians is – speak to your doctor. Keep in touch and maintain your usual care. There’s never been an easier time and a safer time to access the care face-to-face in a clinic.
Clinics at the moment are responding enormously well to the telehealth initiatives.
And consequently, there is a vast amount of work being done over the telephone or the video channels.
So, with the additional measures of separate entrances to protect respiratory type patients from other patients, your usual care can continue in almost the most safest of environments of all time. Better than any previous flu season you might say.
And while we’re talking about flu – that’s another opportune time to ensure that some things have to occur face-to-face, and making an appointment to see your GP over the month of April, in a progressively coordinated way, is an appropriate message to be sending out today. Influenza is a serious illness.
It is preventable, and there is a very safe way to prevent that, and it is the influenza vaccine. And over the month of April, we will progressively roll out that vaccination program.
Updated
Deliberately passing on coronavirus could bring life in prison
Greg Hunt reads out advice from the attorney general’s office:
The deliberate transmission of Covid-19 is an offence under the general criminal laws that apply in every state and territory.
The most serious of these offences may carry maximum penalties up to imprisonment for life, if somebody was to take a step which led to the death of a healthcare worker. If it were a deliberate transmission.
In addition, those same state and territory criminal laws also make it an offence to cause someone else to fear that they are having transmitted to them the virus, for example by coughing on them.
Hunt continues:
Interestingly, two people have been charged in the ACT for precisely this type of behaviour. And the same will occur in other jurisdictions as well. So we are stepping up our protection of healthcare workers. These are our heroes. Australians are overwhelmingly supporting and protecting our healthcare workers.
Updated
Eleven million masks are being sent out to health workers today.
Seven million are going to hospitals.
The rest are going to GPs, respiratory clinics, Indigenous health care workers and the aged care sector.
Updated
Greg Hunt (with a line he liked so much, he said it twice. Much like how they named Wagga Wagga):
This Easter is the time where we can lock in the gains we have made as a country.
The virus does not take a holiday. The virus does not take a holiday.
And when I say that, what that means is that now is the time, even in the greatest challenge, to stick to what we have been doing as a country.
We’ve been helping to lead the world with the way we’ve been containing. In terms of containment, we are at 5,977 cases, on the advice to me from the National Incident Centre just before coming here.
Sadly, [50] people have lost their lives to coronavirus. There are approximately 300 in hospitalisation. Just under 100 in ICU and just under 40 on ventilators around the country.
That means that our capacity is holding up. And that also means, however, that we have now reached a three-day rolling average of a transmission rate of approximately 2%.
That could spike, that could lift at any one time. But what it really says is that we are consolidating the gains in terms of flattening the curve. We’re not there yet. We’re not there until we have eradicated community transmission.
But as a country, all of this hard work and sacrifice has meant that we are saving lives and protecting lives. And I want to say to Australians – thank you for what you have done.
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Greg Hunt says Australia has tested more than 313,000 people for Covid-19 so far.
Meanwhile, Josh Frydenberg is still really hoping “Team Australia” will catch on, describing this package as the “ultimate Team Australia” moment.
That is probably best reserved for reconciliation, if it is to be used at all.
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MPs are racing through their speeches for the wage subsidy legislation.
Everyone is in support of it.
But Tony Burke couldn’t help picking up Christian Porter’s Dunkirk analogy (wrong, because he described it as $130bn “lifeboats” going out, which was more of a Titanic reference, than Operation Dynamo, which was a retreat, that did not use lifeboats, and also because of all the luck involved in the success of the mission.)
Burke:
The minister for industrial relations rather melodramatically the other day described this as the ‘Dunkirk moment’. The challenge in that analogy is that they are still leaving more than a million casuals on the beach.”
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The Greens will seek to amend the jobkeeper package in the Senate to include this:
I will be seeking the support of the Senate to:
- Extend the $550 supplement to the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Carer Payments
- Amend the revenue test for charities and not-for-profits
- Extend the Jobseeker Payment to people on temporary visas
- Ensure that part-time workers can’t be exploited
It is unlikely to get support.
Greg Hunt will be giving an update at 1pm.
Question time will be an hour later.
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Now the two coronavirus economic response bills are before the House of Representatives, we’ve had a chance to go through and look at some of the detail of what the Australian Council of Trade Unions has negotiated with the government.
The main safeguard is that when employers eligible for jobkeeper stand workers down rather than vary their hours, location or duties of work, the Fair Work Commission gets a binding power to arbitrate disputes.
As the explanatory memorandum explains: “Division 10 enables the FWC to settle disputes about the operation of Part 6-4C. Section 789GV authorises the FWC to deal with a dispute by arbitration ... and permits it to make:
- an order it considers desirable to give effect to a jobkeeper enabling direction;
- an order setting aside, or substituting, a jobkeeper enabling direction; or
- any other order it considers appropriate.”
So - it’s a very broad power to fix up any disputes between employer and employee.
The other interesting detail is that the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, gets a very broad power to vary the eligibility of existing payments or create new payment through rules – meaning without legislation and without parliament returning.
On the one hand, this is good for a government that doesn’t want parliament to return until 11 August, and allows flexibility.
On the other hand, every industry sector or group that feels the eligibility criteria has excluded them or isn’t generous enough (casuals with less than 12 months’ service, universities, the entertainment industry, local government, temporary visa workers) can ask for changes at any time.
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Britney Spears is not only emerging as a socialist hero (as the face of American capitalism who had been chewed up and spat out, are you really surprised) she is also one of the rare celebrities not singing “hopeful” tunes to keep us all “uplifted”.
Be more like Britney, other celebrities.
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Andrew Wilkie would also like to see another committee established to keep an eye on the government (on top of the select Senate committee) while it is in “emergency mode” and not sitting
I’m in a crossbench push for 2 Joint Select Committees to oversee Aus's COVID-19 response. The Parl's legislated billions of spending. The Gov is making life & death decisions. We must ensure these decisions don't happen in the dark. #politas #auspol https://t.co/xLbsziRkHJ
— Andrew Wilkie MP (@WilkieMP) April 8, 2020
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If you have a home, don’t camp on other’s people property as a way of having an Easter iso break. That should be pretty self-explanatory.
Amazingly just discovered two Sydneysiders camping on our property who thought they would 'self-isolate over Easter'. It's a five and a half hour drive. What is wrong with people?!
— Claire Wheaton (@claireawheaton) April 8, 2020
This means that the treasurer can make changes with a stroke of a pen – like changing how many casuals are eligible for the jobkeeper payments.
This is very broad power - treasurer can create new payments. These rules are disallowable. pic.twitter.com/5ioiHbfQFt
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) April 8, 2020
The livestreams from zoos while they remain closed to the public remain a shot of sunshine.
Today, we bring you baby otters.
Hello, would you like some baby otters? https://t.co/S1mVNhL1uw
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) April 8, 2020
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Victoria has recorded 21 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total to 1,212. Of those 101 cases are believed to have been acquired through community transmission, up eight from yesterday and in line with national figures that show roughly 10% of all Covid-19 cases in Australia were acquired through community transmission.
The number of people who have died in Victoria after contracting the virus has increased to 12, with the death of a woman in her 80s yesterday.
The number of people in intensive care with the disease in Victoria stands at 12, with 45 people in total in hospital. About 60% of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in Victoria have now recovered.
About 80% of all confirmed cases are in Melbourne.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, urged Victorians not to become complacent with the falling daily case numbers and to remain home this Easter weekend.
“The rules are clear – and they don’t change over Easter: if you can stay at home, you must stay at home,” Sutton said. “This is tough for many families, but no Easter holiday is worth a life. Stay at home, protect the health system, and save lives.”
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An investigation has been launched into how a man in Perth hotel quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic ended up in an induced coma in intensive care despite his wife allegedly calling for a doctor nearly 12 hours before he was transported to hospital.
Ken Watson and his wife, Kathleen, arrived in Perth on a charter flight from Rome, after being stranded on the Costa Luminosa cruise ship. The New South Wales couple were placed into quarantine in the Crown Promenade in Perth.
Ken, 71, suffers from diabetes and had struggled with his health in Italy.
Human rights and privacy experts have called on the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, to explain privacy and surveillance issues arising from the federal government’s recently launched Coronavirus Australia app.
The app has been downloaded more than 500,000 times in Australia, yet there is little publicly available information about what data is being collected from people and how that private information is being used and kept safe.
The Coronavirus Australia app is designed to keep people up to date with official information regarding the spread of Covid-19, however it also asks for people’s location data if they identify as being in isolation.
The government has also fast-tracked the review process for releasing an app being used by the Singaporean government, which would enable the government to identify every person a confirmed case had been in contact with, using bluetooth signal.
While contact tracing may be a vital component of preventing the spread of Covid-19, the uptake of this technology on a large scale could empower the Government to monitor the movements of all Australians, all of the time.
The Human Rights Law Centre, Digital Rights Watch, Access Now and the Centre for Responsible Technologies have called for greater transparency around the use of these highly invasive technologies and warned that their use must be limited to the current crisis or Australia’s democracy would be forever changed.
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And of course, the ever-present hand sanitiser.
Hand-sard @AmyRemeikis @GuardianAus #PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/Tg2Qx54AiK
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) April 8, 2020
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Mike Bowers was in the chamber this morning. Here is how he saw it:
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Police in Victoria have just released a bit more detail about those 114 fines that were issued to people allegedly breaching social distancing laws.
It seems an anti-bikie taskforce took the opportunity to apply social distancing laws to a group of people allegedly socialising at a clubhouse of the Rebels motorcycle gang in Sunshine, Melbourne.
A police spokesman said seven men and two women were issued with the $1,652 on the spot fines for breaching directions on gatherings.
The spokesman said:
“As always, Victoria police will be closely proactively monitoring all activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs. This will include issuing fines whenever they are found breaching the chief health officer’s directives by congregating in clubhouses.”
There has been a lot of commentary in recent weeks about the risks of granting police such wide discretionary powers in enforcing public health orders.
If you have had contact with police enforcing these orders, please let us know about it here. You can remain anonymous.
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Ratings agency S&P puts Australia's credit rating outlook on notice
Not unexpected, but Standard & Poors latest note has Australia on watch:
Overview
The government has announced several large stimulus packages to support the economy in response to the Covid-19 shock. We expect the government debt burden to weaken materially as a result.
We have revised our outlook on Australia to negative from stable to reflect a substantial deterioration of its fiscal headroom at the AAA rating level. At the same time, we are affirming our AAA/A-1+ long- and short-term local and foreign currency ratings.
Our ratings on Australia benefit from the country’s strong institutional settings, its wealthy economy, and monetary policy flexibility. The country’s high external and household indebtedness as well as its vulnerability to weak commodity export demand moderate these strengths.
Rating Action
On April 8, 2020, S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on its long-term ratings on Australia to negative from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on Australia.
Outlook
The negative outlook reflects our view that Australia faces fiscal and economic risks that are tilted toward the downside.
Downside scenario
We could lower our rating within the next two years if the Covid-19 outbreak causes economic damage that is more severe or prolonged than what we currently expect. With household indebtedness at elevated levels, this could delay the process of repairing the government balance sheet beyond what we expect currently. Government indebtedness and interest costs will remain at elevated levels.
Upside scenario
The outlook could revert to stable if the general government fiscal balance improves in line with our expectations as the economy recovers or if Australia’s external position improves. Stronger fiscal and external positions would provide the sovereign with a buffer to absorb another potential economic or financial shock.
Rationale
The Covid-19 outbreak has dealt Australia a severe economic and fiscal shock. We expect the Australian economy to plunge into recession for the first time in almost 30 years, causing a substantial deterioration of the government’s fiscal headroom at the AAA rating level. The large budget deficits that we project in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 are likely temporary and do not represent a structural weakening of fiscal performance. Net government debt and relative interest cost nevertheless are likely to remain at elevated levels for a number of years.
Along with its strong institutions, a credible monetary policy, and floating exchange-rate regime, Australia’s typically strong fiscal performance remains a credit strength for the rating. Australia meanwhile remains susceptible to vulnerabilities associated with its high external and household indebtedness.
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There seem to be more text messages going around – this one seems to be labelled “AusGov” instead of “Telstra” which should be less confusing.
The Australian govt Easter corona text. Good that it's from AusGov this time not Telstra. #auspol #covid19australia pic.twitter.com/8dhGNqq5Mb
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) April 8, 2020
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The tourism company APT and the federal government will battle it out in court next week over whether the health minister Greg Hunt’s order that all cruise ships leave Australian waters as soon as possible is valid.
As Guardian Australia reported yesterday, APT has taken legal action in the federal court to try to stop its ship, the Bahamas-flagged Caledonian Sky, being evicted.
The case had been set for a hearing at noon today but the judge, Angus Stewart, has put it off for a week and it’s now set for 9.30 next Wednesday.
In the meantime, the Caledonian Sky is moored in port at Darwin.
Updated
Daniel Andrews is holding his daily press conference.
He says he will not be “crystal balling” when Victoria might move its restrictions – he can’t as it is a “very fast-moving situation” and there is still no hope for a quick vaccine.
Updated
Josh Frydenberg has officially entered the legislation into the parliament.
Updated
Australia records its 50th death
A 62-year-old woman in Adelaide has died in Adelaide after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
Her death is the state’s second and Australia’s 50th.
Updated
The education minister, Dan Tehan, has been out and about spruiking the education council’s promise that all year 12s will graduate in 2020 despite the Covid-19 interruption.
Tehan also addressed the issue of support for universities – which is thorny because they were excluded from new rules that charities need only show a 15% revenue reduction to access jobkeeper wage subsidies.
But the minister dropped pretty big hints on ABC News Breakfast that a support package is coming, which is widely expected by the sector.
He said:
We are looking at other measures that we can work with the university sector on. We understand the important role they will play in educating our children, not only this year but next year. We think there will probably be increased demand next year for university, so we are working with them to make sure that we can provide the foundations that they’ll need to continue to be able to educate our children ...
We want to make sure our focus is on our domestic students, by making sure that our universities can support them. We also want to make sure that we are catering for and looking after our international students who are here with us at the moment. So we are continuing to have discussions with the universities on that and those discussions have been very fruitful, where universities are engaging incredibly well with the government and we will have more to say on this over the coming days.
Updated
Police in Victoria have fined 114 people for allegedly breaking social distancing laws in the past 24 hours, including seven who were gathered at a house for a dinner party, three people who were playing video games together but didn’t live together, and a group of friends hanging out in a park.
The on-the-spot fine for breaching social distancing laws, the detail of which can be found here, is up to $1,652 for individuals.
A spokesman from Victoria police said officers also fined four people who were “found walking the street seeking drugs” which was, presumably, not ruled to be an essential purpose.
In total, the spokesman said, Victoria police conducted 835 spot checks in 24 hours and have conducted more than 16,000 since the laws came into force on 21 March.
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Anthony Albanese finishes his speech with this:
This crisis has been a potent reminder that there is, indeed, such a thing as society. That we are not just individuals, that we rely on each other.
We will come through this together. This crisis will change Australia forever.
That’s the nature of human history. We evolve.
We have been reminded that it is our human relationships that are central to our quality of life.
We need to emerge from this crisis with confidence.
Confidence that we are stronger when we work together. Confidence in the principle that no one is held back and no one is left behind.
If we do that – if we continue to work together across this parliament – unions, business, community leaders, workers – we will emerge from this stronger, more united, with a greater sense of confidence in who we are.
I’m certain we can do that together, and I thank the House and I thank my colleagues for the work that they’ve done in going through a difficult process and in caucus, and the whole Labor party being prepared to work in such a constructive way.
And I pledge to continue to play a constructive role with the government during this crisis to ensure that we overcome both the health and the economic challenges ahead.
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Anthony Albanese on the fact that the people who are holding us together during the pandemic are mostly the ones we pay the least:
We should reflect on the fact that so many of those frontline workers – and think about it, cleaners, childcare worker, teachers, healthcare workers, nurses – are in so many cases defined not just by being primarily female occupations, although certainly not exclusively, but they are our poorest paid.
They are the people we are relying upon. That’s market failure. That’s market failure because price does not represent value. Because if their value has been shown to be absolutely essential to literally keeping us alive during this period.
We should also reflect that we have been reminded that there is a common interest between trade unions and the business community that have worked together so effectively.
The common interest between business and unions doesn’t just exist in a crisis – it was there before and it will be there after. And this parliament must recognise that.
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Anthony Albanese then moves into the long-term changes Labor wants to see from the pandemic:
It is encouraging that one possible casualty of this pandemic is a politics where partisan interests trump the national interest, where vilifying your opponents and their motives replaces a contest of ideas.
That sort of politics undermines faith in our democracy. One day we will conquer this disease.
The pandemic will be a Wikipedia entry with a start date and a finish date but the effects will be with us for a long time.
Each day has us reflecting on what really counts. Each day in this changing world is changing us. What sort of society will he be after this? There will be changes to the way we live, work and travel.
As we revealed, we must be guided by the principle of an economy that works for people – not the other way around.
That we need greater work security. That we need essential government services, such as that provided by Centrelink, to be done by people – not robots.
And that contracting out of core functions needs to end. It’s a good sign that this is recognised across the parliament by the abandonment of the visa privatisation proposal.
We must ensure greater self-reliance and self-protection. That means support for manufacturing and producing products that we need in times of crisis.
This extends beyond medical products to food and other essential supplies. It means recognising our fortune in being an island continent provides us with some advantages.
We should ensure that our maritime sector, whether carrying people on cruise ships, or freight on cargo ships, is revitalised by the Australian flag being present around our coastline, which would give us more control over our national interests.
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He then argues for parliament to sit more regularly:
We should continue to sit on a regular basis. I don’t see that it’s consistent that we are saying to our health workers, to our teachers, to our police officers, to our supermarket workers, to our cleaners and others – thank you for continuing to work and do your job, but we’re not going to sit in this parliament until August.
I believe today will be a day in which we can all be collectively proud of our efforts in this Parliament. Both those members and senators who are here and those who have done the right thing because of social distancing and been part of pairing arrangements. But I say that the government should, which it has the power to do, continue to meet at regular intervals. It is in their interest, it is in the nation’s interests and I think the public expect it.
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Anthony Albanese then moves on to critics of Labor’s position of bipartisanship:
We put these further suggestions to the government in the spirit of bipartisanship. Bipartisanship does not imply unilateralism.
It also does not imply silence. What it implies is goodwill, constructive relationships on both sides and a capacity to work through issues.
And I acknowledge that many issues have been worked through in a cooperative way, and I say that we, on this side, are prepared to continue to do so.
For example, we acknowledge that under the existing legislation, the treasurer has a capacity to make changes to who is eligible for jobkeeper payments on an ongoing basis.
And we say to him that we will continue, if we are not successful today, to argue the case because I think it is a good one.
And it is one that is argued, not in partisan interests – it is one that is argued in the national interest. Because we all have an interest in coming out of this as strong as we possibly can.
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Anthony Albanese lists off Labor’s concerns with who is left out, including the arts, some charities and about a million casual workers, as well as temporary visa workers who cannot get home:
The exclusion of temporary visa holders from the jobkeeper arrangements is also of concern. Now, I agree with the prime minister that if a temporary visa worker can go home in the midst of this crisis they should.
But the reality is that most cannot. As borders close and international flights are cancelled, that means there are some 1 million people who remain in Australia without work, without access to healthcare, and without a means of support.
Now, the nature of this pandemic means that that is a health issue, not just for the individual, but for the nation. And that’s why it requires a response from the government beyond that which is currently being offered.
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Anthony Albanese then reconfirms Labor won’t seek to move amendments in the Senate if its amendments fail in the House:
Today, we will move a series of second reading amendments. They go to the issues which we believe would improve the bill.
We will then move in detail, amendments in the House of Representatives.
We hope that the government is prepared to consider those and to respond positively. Just as we did in the first package of legislation. But we will ensure the speedy package, not just through the House of Representatives, but also through the Senate.
And our caucus today adopted a position that we will not support any amendments that are not moved by Labor in the Senate later this evening.
We do that because ... we do not want a standoff between the two chambers. We want a speedy package of the wage subsidies, which will make a difference to people’s lives. So we say that well in advance.
And indeed it’s consistent with what we did on the first package of legislation, and consistent with my approach to politics, which is never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And this is good legislation.
It will make a difference to people as a result of what we do in this parliament here. So the needs of our nation, I believe, demand unity and a common sense of purpose.
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The Labor leader then praises the government for its response:
I recognise that many of the measures being advanced by this government to intervene in the economy stand in direct contravention of their rhetorical position over many years, including, of course, their opposition to much of the economic stimulus program of the Rudd Labor government that protected Australians through the global financial crisis. Australians can feel comfort that the government has been prepared to act in a way which I’m sure makes it feel uncomfortable.
They deserve credit for listening to the views of Labor, unions and the business community on the wage subsidy issue.
Even though we have concerns about some elements of the package and would like to see it improved, and we will make suggestions to improve it, we will support the legislation, even if our suggestions are not adopted.
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Anthony Albanese:
We owe a debt to all our medical workers. Like our firefighters so recently, they’ve put themselves on the frontline day in, day out, week in, week out. We owe a debt to our cleaners – unsung heroes.
To our public transport heroes and other transport workers. To our teachers and our childcare workers. Our supermarket workers.
To our police officers and our emergency service work officers.
To everyone who is keeping us going through this. It is an unprecedented situation that is making unprecedented changes to the way that we live our lives.
And it is being met with unprecedented government spending, which we are considering today.
Labor has a responsibility to be constructive and to make sure that the government gets this right. I’ve continued to say from day one, that I want to be known as the Labor leader – not the opposition leader. We come to the parliament with open hearts and open minds.
But we owe it to all Australians to keep our eyes open, too. The scale of this expenditure that we’ll consider today is without equal in our nation’s history.
We are headed for a $1tn debt. It is a bill that will saddle a generation.
With this comes a compelling need for scrutiny and forensic oversight. We have call for a wage subsidy for many weeks. We regard the keeping of a relationship between employers and their employees as essential to minimise unemployment, and to ensure that we can transition from this economic downturn as quickly and as strongly as possible. I congratulate the government on changing its view on wage subsidies since we last met.
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Anthony Albanese addresses parliament
Anthony Albanese has the floor now:
Something we should reflect on when we gather here in the House of Representatives is that last word, representatives.
We are here to represent people. We are here to deliver policies which protect people’s health.
We are here to deliver programs that protect people’s living standards. In the current crisis, statistics and numbers abound, but they are not abstract.
They represent people. Someone’s mother, someone’s brother, someone’s and parent. Our colleague the member for Cooper, Ged Kearney, her father-in-law Mike, our sincere condolences go to Ged, and all of Mike’s family.
At times like this we must rise to the occasion while recognising the principle that looking after people is our core responsibility, that we have a responsibility to look after the sick, the vulnerable and the needy.
That we as representatives in this parliament must be as good and compassionate and courageous as the workers who continue to make a difference for their fellow Australians.
That we adhere to the principle of caring and looking after one another, the principal of the fair go, the heart of what it means to be an Australian.
And not just in easy times of peace and prosperity … While Australians have been forced to be 1.5 metres apart, in so many way we have never been closer together.
We don’t discard our values in hard times, we look to them, we trust in them. We trust in one another. We remember what it means to be an Australian. Not just the privilege of life in this country and some abstract sense, but the duty that we all have to look after each other.
And this is how we will come through this – together.
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For all those people commenting that the government has suddenly gone socialist, that line “we will pay the price needed to protect our sovereignty” should signal where the government’s thinking is really at.
These aren’t permanent changes in thinking or methods. The government is growing in popularity by opening the chequebook and bringing forth measures which, in some cases, help to address the growing inequality in this nation. But it is in no way a change of heart or a come-to-Jesus moment.
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The prime minister finishes with this (after detailing all the measures the government has put in place), which includes a very strong message to his party’s base:
Mr Speaker, we have a long way to go. Through the actions we have taken to date, we have bought Australia valuable time to chart a way out over the next six months. But there are no guarantees, and it could well take far longer.
Our country will look different on the other side but Australians will always be Australians. We have navigated the road in, and we can now see some encouraging signs.
We do stand in a place, today, far better than most nations around the world, because of the efforts of all Australians flattening the curve, buying more time – time other countries haven’t had, and we have seen the devastating effects on those nations and their people.
Preparing our health system for the challenge is to come. Putting in place the big economic lifeline and the buffers for Australians, in what for so many will be the toughest-ever year, in 2020.
We are charting the road through. We are all in. Our institutions are strong. Our people are strong.
Australia is strong and will continue to be strong. We will respond to this challenge. We are up for the fight.
We will pay the price needed to protect our sovereignty and we will chart a way out. We will get through this together, Australia.
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Scott Morrison:
It has been 16 days since this House last met.
As of this morning, 5,956 people have the coronavirus. Thankfully, 2,547 have recovered. 294 are hospitalised, 92 in intensive care and 32 are on respirators.
Sadly, there have been almost 50 deaths in Australia.
Tens of thousands more have died across the world.
One of those was the member for Cooper’s father-in-law.
On behalf of the government and the parliament, I extend our deepest sympathies to the member for Cooper and her family, as they are with all who have lost loved ones, both in recent times, here and overseas, and are fearful of that event occurring in the future.
As a nation, we especially send our best wishes to our good friend the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson. Get well soon, Boris. We need you.
When the House last met, new cases were growing at more than 20% a day.
In recent days, it has averaged 2% a day. This is very encouraging. We are flattening the curve.
We are buying ourselves precious time in this fight. And I want to thank the overwhelming majority of Australians for doing the right thing. You are saving lives, you are saving livelihoods.
But we have to keep up our efforts. Progress can be easily undone, as we have seen in other places around the world*.
We are only a few days away from Easter, a time that should give us great hope, and the message is clear, though. Stay home, don’t travel, don’t go away. We can’t let up now.
*Could someone please tell that to Alexander Downer, who continues to be completely tone deaf on this issue (which is a very Alexander Downer way to react though, to be fair).
We either save avoidable deaths & destroy society OR accept avoidable deaths & save society. The moral dilemma of our time.
— Alexander Downer (@AlexanderDowner) April 7, 2020
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Scott Morrison:
As a nation, we are working together nationally, especially through the national cabinet, and I wish to again place on record my thanks to all our premiers and chief ministers. We have come together to lead together in a new way through these crises.
I thank all my ministers, who I lead, together with the deputy prime minister and the treasurer.
And we’re all together as ministers ably advised by our experts and officials in Australian public service, and I particularly want to acknowledge Prof Brendan Murphy and his team.
I think all of my colleagues on the government benches for the input and leadership in their communities, as I do all members of this House and the other place.
I thank the opposition leader and his parliamentary team, and all of our staffs.
And I extend my thanks to the many businesses, large and small, to the unions, to the banks, to the media, to the not-for-profit organisations, welfare and charitable groups, to Indigenous leaders, to the churches and other faith groups for their prayers, for their support, and the many efforts that they are making.
Together, we have now established the key baseline supports and protections that have bought us much-needed time in this crisis.
To get us through, and I will speak of those actions today, but there is a long way to go in this fight. This has been our road in. We will now lead the country on the road through and in the road out and beyond.
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It seems as though the war analogies are going to continue, now ramped up to include Australia’s “sovereignty” as a nation, making the global Covid-19 pandemic a case of Australia v the world.
This has been coming since Australia closed its borders.
But a reminder: health should not be framed as a battle, or something that people are individually responsible for defeating or not. You don’t lose these fights because it is never, ever a choice to be sick, or to succumb to those illnesses.
For a much more eloquent wording of that idea, here is Marine Hyde:
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Scott Morrison continues:
Our sovereignty is demonstrated by the quality of life we afford Australians, with world-class health, education, disability, aged care, and a social safety net that guarantees the essentials that Australians rely on.
We will not surrender this.
And above all, our sovereignty is sustained by what we believe as Australians, what we value and hold most dear, our principles, our way of life, a way of doing things.
We will never surrender this. So make no mistake, today is not about ideologies. We check those at the door. Today is about defending and protecting Australia’s national sovereignty.
It will be a fight. It will be a fight we will win. But it won’t be a fight without cost, or without loss.
Defending our sovereignty has always come at a great cost, regardless of what form that threat takes, and today will be no different.
So today, we will agree to pay that price, through the important measures we will legislate today.
But today, as a government, I want to commit to all Australians, as prime minister, that once we have overcome these threats, and we will, we will rebuild, and we will restore, whatever the battle ahead takes from us.
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Scott Morrison addresses parliament
The prime minister says the parliament is acting to protect Australia’s “sovereignty” and ideologies have been “checked at the door”.
When our nation is under threat, that previous generations of Australians have done before us. Today we act to protect Australia’s sovereignty.
When Australian lives and livelihoods are threatened, when they are under attack, our nation’s sovereignty is put at risk, and we must respond. As a government, as a parliament, as a nation, together.
Nurses, teachers, drivers, cleaners, doctors, police and paramedics, factory workers, engineers and bankers, grocers, miners, farmers, pastors, priests and imams. Politicians, union officials, even lawyers. Mums, dads, grandparents, kids, families. All of us.
Our sovereignty is measured in our capacity and freedom to live our lives as we choose, in a free, open and democratic society. We are not a coerced society. We act through our agreement and our wilful support of the national interest, through our many institutions, including this parliament, and the many other parliaments around this country, and we will not surrender this.
Our sovereignty is enabled by having a vibrant market economy that underpins our standard of living, that gives all Australians the opportunity to fulfil their potential, to have a go and to get ago, and we will not surrender this.
I notice journalists are left off but that is to be expected.
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Tony Burke says in the absence of parliament continuing to sit (it is not scheduled to sit again until August), Labor welcomes the Senate select committee which will be put in place as oversight.
He says not having a government chair means Senate select committees are usually more effective than a joint committee.
Adam Bandt says while the Greens won’t stay in the way of today, he wants to point out that that doesn’t include the House, and House MPs have historically refused to appear in Senate select hearings.
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A new report on the curtailment of democratic rights during the Covid-19 crisis has called for the safe and immediate resumption of all Australian parliaments, increased oversight of law enforcement and state governments, more resources to help courts transition into digital operations, and added funding for legal assistance services.
The Grata Fund, a public interest litigator partnered with the University of New South Wales, this morning released a report titled: “In democracy we trust: Accountability in the time of Covid-19”.
It argues that the extraordinary measures adopted to fight coronavirus have weakened two critical arms of accountability: parliament and the judicial system:
These institutions must not be watered down or cease to function at a time where government is given extraordinary power, rather they should be strengthened so they can rise to the challenge and fulfil their democratic role enshrined in our Constitution.
Outside of the Parliament, we need our law enforcement authorities to implement the public health orders in a way that is careful and proportionate to the public health aims. We cannot allow the law to be applied in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner.
The report recommends that all adjourned parliaments be safely reconvened, oversight committees like the public accountability committee of NSW be set up in all jurisdictions, and that governments “urgently provide” funding to the courts to move proceedings online and deal with the amassing case backlog. State ombudsmen should be given a role to oversee law enforcement’s use of new powers, the report argues, including whether they are targeting Indigenous Australians and other already over-policed groups.
The Grata Fund’s founder, Isabelle Reinecke, said:
The adjournment of the Parliament and limitations on public participation in democracy through their elected representatives will see important things missed, unforeseen consequences overlooked, mistakes made and vitally, a breakdown of public trust in the government to manage the crisis.
Scrutiny and public accountability will aid politicians to make better decisions to protect public health and safeguard our democracy now and in the future.
Today we released a report outlining steps Government must take to strengthen democratic oversight of the #covid_19australia measures and maintain vital public trust. #auspol #lawpolhttps://t.co/KRHMUVjpY8
— Grata Fund (@GrataFund) April 7, 2020
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If Labor’s amendments fail in the House, it will not seek to pass them in the Senate.
While there would be a better chance to pass amendments in the Senate, any changes to the legislation would have to go back to the House, where it would fail again.
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The insurer QBE has hoisted the middle finger at the prudential regulator, which yesterday asked insurers and banks to defer paying dividends to shareholders during the coronavirus crisis.
In a statement to the stock exchange this morning, QBE said it “has carefully considered APRA’s new guidelines regarding the payment of dividends by financial institutions in the currently volatile COVID-19 economic environment” – and then decided to pay a dividend due on Thursday anyway. Shareholders will get 27c a share.
If other insurers and banks decide to ignore the Apra’s extremely strong advice, it may force the regulator to take stronger action, such as banning dividends entirely for the duration of the pandemic.
QBE stock was down about 5% in morning trade.
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Travel arrangements were also different for this sitting. Some MPs were granted exemptions to leave their states (and will have to quarantine on the way back in).
There were limited commercial flights so special RAF flights were organised.
Others drove. And documented the whole trip.
End of #roadtrip pic.twitter.com/ZK4ysWYA8J
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) April 7, 2020
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It’s all coronavirus in this emergency sitting.
The Senate is much the same.
Good morning, and welcome to an unusual sitting day in the House. The Daily Program, containing a schedule of today’s expected business, is available at https://t.co/3XF8cX7rc0 pic.twitter.com/7LV0LDmF9n
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) April 7, 2020
As with the last emergency parliamentary sitting, Scott Morrison will make a ministerial statement when parliament opens.
Anthony Albanese will follow.
Here’s Dan Tehan speaking to ABC this morning about school closures:
Each state and territory will act according to their jurisdiction and where the pandemic is at. For instance, at NT, school will operate as normal, schools will be open for all children to attend for term two.
It will be different for Western Australia and South Australia again. NSW and Victoria very much in line in terms of their encouraging students to stay at home, but one thing that all states and territories are committed to, if you’re – the parents – have to work or children are vulnerable and they can’t be safely looked at, at home, then schools will remain open for those children.
So parents won’t have to choose between going to work or staying at home and looking after their kids. Schools will be open for all those parents who need their children cared for in the school environment while they’re working.
The chief medical panel which advised the government, which is made up of the federal chief medical officer and all the state chief medical officers, they’re providing regular advice through to the government, through to the national cabinet on this. We’ve said all along we’ll act according to their advice. Now, at the moment, they’re saying it’s safe for you to have your children in childcare, it’s safe to have your children at school. We’ll continue to take their advice and act according to that.
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In case anyone missed it yesterday, the nation’s education ministers are working to make sure there is no “year 13”.
Dan Tehan put this out late yesterday:
The work you will do in Year 12 this year is incredibly important and your results will be as valuable as any previous year.
COVID-19 will take a lot from our nation but it won’t take all your hard work over your years of education.
All education ministers met today through Education Council and we agreed that Year 12 students will get a leaving certificate for 2020. There will be no Year 13. There will be no mass repeating of Year 12.
We want Year 12 students to finish their education and next year go to university, undertake vocational training or enter the workforce.
Each state and territory is responsible for their government schools and is also responsible for awarding senior secondary certificates in their jurisdiction.
It was agreed that every state and territory would follow national principles to support local decisions.
Students will receive their rankings, which will take into account this year’s disruption.
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Josh Frydenberg also rules out raising the GST and says the government will stick to the commitments it made during the election.
The prudential regulator has put new applications for bank, insurance and superannuation licences on hold for at least six months.
In a letter to applicants sent on Wednesday, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s head of regulation and licensing said coronavirus “has led to a fundamental change in the economic and social environment in Australia and globally”.
“Experience has shown that it is challenging for new entrants to succeed even under normal economic conditions, which is why APRA does not consider it prudent to license APRA-regulated entities at this time,” she said.
The move is good news for incumbents like the big four banks, which had been facing new, technology-based challengers.
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Speaking to Sky News, Josh Frydenberg said the banking regulator, Apra, has given “very strong guidance” on deferring dividend payments, or scaling any payments back, but ultimately it will be up to the banks’ boards what they do.
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Parliament is due to sit at 10.
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More than 400 criminal justice experts, including the former Victorian attorney general Rob Hulls and the Nauru supreme court judge Dr Ian Freckleton QC, have signed an open letter calling for the widespread screening of prisoners for Covid-19 and immediate hospital admission of any prisoner or detainee showing symptoms.
Among the signatories was Nerita Waight, co-chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. She said:
One of the recommendations requires the limited release of Indigenous people as a top priority. Governments should release Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from prisons and youth detention, due to our high vulnerability to the severe and critical impacts of Covid-19.
Prof Lorana Bartels from the Australian National University said prisons had “shut out” family members and advocates. She called for greater transparency:
Current practices are placing the lives of prisoners and prison staff at risk.
The letter calls on other states to follow the New South Wales lead in introducing legislation allowing for the special early release of prisoners who are nearing parole, or other prisoners on a case-by-case basis.
Coronavirus has caused significant deaths in prison systems in other countries. The UK has been warned that up to 800 prisoners could die of the disease if mitigatory measures are not put in place.
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Victoria records 12th death from Covid-19
Victoria has once again seen the devastation from coronavirus, with another person succumbing.
A further 21 people were diagnosed with the virus since the last update in that state.
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But as Anthony Albanese told Fran Kelly on ABC radio this morning, there is no chance Labor won’t vote for the wage subsidy legislation:
We do have concerns about casuals, about a million Australians missing out on the jobkeeper package. We have concerns about temporary visa holders. We have concerns about leave entitlements being used up during this period.
We have concerns about NDIS workers, about local government eligibility. We have concerns about charity and their eligibility. We have concern that the arts and entertainment sector have missed out almost completely from any support during this period.
And they are one area, as you’d be aware, Fran, have been particularly affected. So, we’ll raise those issues in both second reading amendments and we will have in-detail amendments. We’ll see whether they’re passed in the House of Representatives.
If they’re not, we won’t be pursuing in-detail amendments in the Senate because we don’t want any delay to this legislation.
After all, it’s Labor that has argued, along with unions and the business community, for wage subsidies to be an essential component of protecting workers at this time, protecting businesses at this time, and making sure that we emerge out of this crisis stronger than we would have otherwise.
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Labor says it will also be attempting to make changes to the jobseeker legislation to include more charities (as well as more casuals).
From Andrew Leigh’s office:
The future of hundreds of charity workers remain in limbo as they continue urging the Morrison Government to further revise the JobKeeper program.
In spite of initial changes to the program’s requirements, major charities – including Oxfam, Anglicare, UnitingCare, Fred Hollows Foundation, the Samaritans, St Vincent de Paul, Wesley Mission Queensland and many of our major medical research institutes – say they cannot meet the test of a 15 per cent drop in revenue required for charities to qualify.
According to a survey this week by the Australian Council of Social Service, many charities are expecting to have to shed jobs as a result of the drop in donations. They estimate that 37 per cent of anticipated job losses will still occur in organisations whose overall revenue loss is likely to be less than 15 per cent.
These charities operate essential services, including food pantries, disability services and early childhood centres. In the Prime Minister’s own electorate of Cook, Uniting Early Learning has three services that will be ineligible for JobKeeper payments.
Labor will today call for a further revision of the JobKeeper program to allow greater access to payments for charities, who are already under pressure from to decreases in donations and volunteers.
The charity structures are a little more complicated – government grants mean some charities don’t meet the requirements but the money has already been spent.
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Fitch Ratings has announced it has downgraded Australia’s big four banks, based on a “negative outlook”. This is not the end of the world – the banks have gone from AA to A+. It basically means it will cost a smidgeon more for the banks to borrow their own money:
The ratings on the banks had limited buffers at the previous levels, as reflected in a Negative Outlook on the IDRs, with an economic shock and further profitability weakness as stated downgrade triggers in recent reviews. Buffers are more substantial at the new rating. Nevertheless, further downside risk remains to our baseline case, which is why a Negative Outlook has been retained on the ratings.
The financial markets will be keeping an eye on whether or not Australian banks are forced to follow their New Zealand counterparts and stop dividend payments.
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Habits are hard to break.
"We can't do that" 🤝🙅♂️ #auspol @AlboMP @JoshFrydenberg pic.twitter.com/Ncqznq7ySR
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) April 7, 2020
There are reports NSW is considering relaxing restrictions on 1 May.
Gladys Berejiklian says it all depends on the health advice and says it is a balancing act.
We know that the restrictions are having an effect.
But it takes us a couple of weeks to get the data through the health experts to be able to advise us. So I don’t want to raise expectations but, at the same time, there could be a chance if the health experts deem it appropriate for us, to look at some relaxations. It’s a rolling monthly basis that we’ll look at that.
At this stage, as I said, the restrictions are having a positive impact on the number.
Not just on new cases but also on us being able to contact existing cases and making sure that people are isolated.
But if the advice, if the advice in a couple of weeks is that there might be a couple of aspects that we can tweak to provide relief to our citizens, well then, we’ll take that advice.
But that comes with risk.
And I need to be very upfront about that. Every time you relax a restriction, more people will get sick. More people will die. And it’s a horrible situation to be in, but they’re the choices and we need to be upfront about that. But can I please ask everybody to stick to the rules.
Everybody is doing so well. I know it’s hard. All of us are in this.
We all know how hard it is and what impact it’s having on all of us and our loved ones. But it is having a positive effect.
We have managed to contain the spread, and we have managed to ensure that those people who do have the disease are isolated and stay isolated. But if at any stage in the next few weeks, if the health experts give us advice to say that there’s an opportunity to relax any part of the existing restrictions, we will take that advice.
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A further 250 people will be released from quarantine today in NSW.
There were 48 new cases in the state since the last update, with 227 people in hospital, including 36 people in an ICU and 22 are being ventilated, and 2,734 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
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Mick Fuller says NSW police will be going around camping grounds and caravan parks “early” to ensure people are not travelling over the Easter holidays.
But the big focus will be on our country roads, those back streets, the main highways, the caravan parks right across country New South Wales. Police will be patrolling those. People will be given one opportunity to pack up, go back to your home state and go back home. Otherwise, we will, unfortunately, have to issue tickets.
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It’s a holding pattern for NSW at the moment.
Gladys Berejiklian says the state will continue to test widely.
She also announced a way to get more information in NSW:
As you recall during the bushfires, we had an app called Fires Near Me.
Now with the Service New South Wales app, you will get daily updates on Covid-19, and also get text messages about positive advice that you might like to adhere to. At this point in time, we already have 1.6 million people who have downloaded the Service New South Wales app.
If you also want to get that information, please, please download the Service NSW app. It is free and it will give you good information and we’re adding to it to make sure that it is timely. You can opt out at any time and you can get direct messages but a generic message that we can send anybody who has the app if there are any new developments that we want to convey to the community.
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Anthony Albanese says Labor will try again to have more casuals included in the wage subsidy legislation but will not stand in the way of its passage if it doesn’t get its way.
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Three children who were being quarantined in a Sydney hotel after returning from overseas travel have been taken to hospital overnight.
Ambulances were called to the Hilton to transfer the children to the Royal Prince Alfred hospital. They are being tested for Covid-19.
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The stimulus packages have sunset clauses, which means that the legislation includes an end date for when the stimulus payments will stop.
So far that is set for six months’ time.
Josh Frydenberg says that could be extended, if needed – but only for as long as the coronacrisis continues:
But clearly, the measures will be rolled back when it is safe to do so in terms of the health advice that’s coming to us, and the subsequent economic impact that it is having. I mean, what we are absolutely focused on is getting the support to people who need it most, and we’ve had effectively three separate packages of support measures.
They’ve all been different in nature and in scale and in scope. Obviously today’s legislation and the jobkeeper payment is the most significant. But we’ll do what is necessary, but we will also continue to take the best possible medical advice
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Josh Frydenberg is speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning.
He says today is “one of the most important days in the history of the Australian parliament, as we come together across the political divide to save millions of Australian jobs”.
There has been some raised eyebrows over the flat-rate approach with the wage subsidy. Everyone gets $1,500 a fortnight, no matter what the earnings were before. Frydenberg says there was no other way for Australia.
I think that it is very Australian to ensure that it is a flat payment, and no-one is getting paid more because they’re on a higher income. As you know, some of the schemes overseas adopted that approach. What we have tried to do is adopt an approach which has a flat payment, which uses the existing tax system, which will be much more efficient and effective to implement, and will get the money into people’s pockets sooner rather than later.
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Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in Australia. We will bring you all the latest developments, including from parliament, which will sit today.
Anthony Albanese has said Labor will support the jobkeeper payment scheme despite concerns that some casual workers will be excluded.
Here’s where we landed yesterday:
- Australia recorded seven new deaths, bringing the national tally to 48. Three were in New South Wales, two in Western Australia, and there was one each in Tasmania and South Australia.
- The federal government released modelling on the potential spread of Covid-19 in Australia but it was based on overseas data. The chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said more modelling based on Australian data would be released “in coming weeks”.
- The pandemic has forced 70% of businesses in the hospitality sector to reduce the hours of their staff and 43% to either sack workers or place them on unpaid leave, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed.
- All Australian year 12 students will graduate in 2020 despite the interruption of Covid-19, after education ministers ruled out a “year 13” to complete their studies in 2021.
- A controversial anti-malaria drug will be given to Covid-19 patients in hospitals outside of clinical trials, the federal government confirmed.
- The government agreed to Labor’s calls for a Senate select committee into the response to Covid-19.
The unions and the government have struck a deal over the changes to the Fair Work Act, so it is going to be a fairly smooth passage for the jobkeeper legislation.
Question time will be held at 2pm and the House is planning on adjourning at 4pm – so it is an in-and-out deal. The Senate will sit until the bill passes so it won’t be too far behind it.
We’ll have all of that and more for you, with the entire Guardian brainstrust on board. You have Amy Remeikis taking you through most of today.
Ready?
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