What we learned today, Friday 22 January
With that, we’ll be closing the blog for today. Here’s a recap of the day’s headlines:
- Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia and Facebook has threatened to remove news from its feed for all Australian users if a code forcing the companies to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead.
- Margaret Court, the former Australian tennis player who has sparked controversy in recent years because of her views on LGBTQ+ issues, will be recognised with Australia’s highest honour. News of the honour, which was leaked ahead of the traditional Australia Day announcement, has prompted furious backlash from Victoria’s premier. Daniel Andrews. However, Scott Morrison said he could not comment on the honour before Tuesday.
- The prime minister and state and territory leaders have not increased the cap on international arrivals despite pressure leading into Friday’s national cabinet meeting. After the meeting, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said she intends to present a formal plan to Morrison about using regional mining camps to boost quarantine capacity.
- In one decision to come from the meeting, returned travellers who test positive to the mutant strain of Covid-19 originating in the United Kingdom will have to isolate for 14 days after their diagnosis.
- Olympic gold medal winner Cathy Freeman has become the latest high-profile critic of Morrison following the prime minister’s comments about Cricket Australia’s initiative to make matches around the date of 26 January more inclusive.
- Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have eased entry restrictions for all but one Sydney local government – Cumberland – while Western Australia has softened its hard border with New South Wales and Queensland. However, travellers will still need to get tested and isolate.
- Victoria and Tasmania have struck a deal to bring 1,500 seasonal farm workers to Australia from the Pacific Islands.
- The Japanese prime minister and sporting officials have denied reports the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic games would be cancelled. However, Morrison has noted the pandemic is placing “real pressure” on preparations for the games.
- A man from regional Victoria who went missing while snorkelling off the South Australian coast is believed to have been killed by a shark.
Updated
The NSW premier’s office breached state record-keeping laws by shredding documents related to a pork-barrelling scheme, a watchdog has found.
A day after Gladys Berejiklian’s staff were half-heartedly cleared by the information commissioner over the incident, the State Archives and Records Authority has concluded rules were broken, AAP reports.
An adviser to the premier in October told a parliamentary committee she shredded “working advice notes” showing Berejiklian “signed off” on $141.8m of council grants.
She also deleted electronic copies.
The grants had been causing trouble for the premier for months, after it emerged more than 95% of the $252m fund went to projects in Coalition-held seats in the lead-up to the 2019 state election.
The notes, which Berejiklian’s staff argued didn’t fall under record-keeping requirements, functioned as pseudo briefing notes and were therefore required to be kept, Sara found.
“These working advice notes should not have been destroyed and they should have been retained as state archives,” the report reads.
The report notes an email recording the final outcome of the premier’s review of the notes was sent but ruled that it was not sufficient as the final version of the record.
Sara also found the guidelines on record-keeping given to the premier’s staff were lacking and that monitoring of the office’s compliance with the laws was insufficient.
The NSW information commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd, on Thursday published a report also concluding guidelines for the office were poor. Tydd made no adverse finding against Berejiklian’s staff.
The opposition leader, Jodi McKay, on Friday said Labor would introduce a bill in the first sitting week of the year to do just that.
“I find it extraordinary that we even have to do this ... It should be commonplace that state records important documents are kept by the premier’s office,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the premier told AAP the government would consider all the information in the commissioner’s report and said it was pleasing an investigation was not warranted.
Updated
Olympic gold medal winner Cathy Freeman has become the latest high-profile critic of Scott Morrison following the prime minister’s comments about Cricket Australia’s initiative to make matches around the date of 26 January more inclusive.
Morrison on Thursday criticised the decision by some Big Bash League clubs to follow CA guidance and drop references to “Australia Day” from promotional material for upcoming matches in a bid to create a safer and more inclusive environment for fans.
The day, referred to as “Invasion Day” by many Indigenous people and others, will instead be referred to by some clubs simply as 26 January.
Morrison said the push by CA was “pretty ordinary” and claimed the date in 1788 “wasn’t a particularly flash day for the people on those [first fleet] vessels either”.
Freeman, who famously won Olympic gold at the 2000 Games in Sydney and is a prominent Indigenous rights campaigner, rebuked the prime minister’s comments.
You can’t compare the experiences of those 12 ships that first arrived to
— Cathy Freeman (@CathyFreeman) January 22, 2021
this country to what their arrival meant for all generations of Australia's First Nations people!
“You can’t compare the experiences of those 12 ships that first arrived to this country to what their arrival meant for all generations of Australia’s First Nations people!” Freeman tweeted on Friday.
Morrison, when asked whether he had meant to draw parallels between what Indigenous people suffered as a result of European settlement in 1788 and the experiences of those on the first fleet, said “it was false to take that equivocation”.
“I’ll simply say this: Australia is more than 25m stories; more than 25m. Each of us can trace our stories back into our own Australia, Indigenous Australia, First Nations Australia. All the stories are important. All stories should be respected,” he said.
Updated
The news media code is not aimed at making Google and Facebook pay per click on news articles, but to let media companies negotiate fair payment for the value of their content to the platforms, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair, Rod Sims, has told parliament.
The ACCC developed the code in 2020. Sims has told the Senate committee reviewing the draft legislation that what’s being lost in the debate over the code is that it’s not simply a requirement for Google and Facebook to pay per click for news articles.
“Discussions we are aware of have focused on paying upfront lump sum amounts, not per click,” he said.
“What the code does is require the digital platforms to negotiate in good faith over paying news businesses for the value that the digital platforms derive from having news content on their platforms, and participate in arbitration if no agreement is reached.
“Without the code as a backup, commercial deals cannot be made as terms are simply offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.”
He said ultimately digital platforms and media companies do want to reach a deal but the code would empower media companies to make proper commercial deals by levelling the playing field.
Updated
WA reopens border to NSW and Queensland
Western Australia will reopen its borders to NSW and Queensland from Monday but travellers will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days and get a Covid-19 test, AAP reports.
The decision to reclassify the states as “low risk” means travellers will no longer require exemptions to enter WA.
Queensland has recorded 15 consecutive days of no confirmed community transmission and NSW seven.
Victoria was also reclassified as a low-risk state earlier this week. People from all other states and territories are allowed to enter WA without self-isolating.
WA’s chief health officer has advised Queensland could also transition to “very low risk” from 1 February, removing the isolation requirement.
“The outbreak in NSW last month was extremely concerning and prompted immediate action right across the country,” the premier, Mark McGowan, said in a statement on Friday.
“Queensland’s situation, which followed shortly after, was compounded with the detection of the variant strain and again resulted in swift action by us, by the Queensland government itself and from other states and territories in a bid to protect the country.
“Everyone in the community has played a role in keeping WA safe and I want to thank them for their co-operation, particularly over the last month as border controls have had to change quickly.”
All arrivals at Perth Airport will be required to undergo health screening and a temperature check and to present for a Covid-19 test on day 11 of their isolation period.
Updated
Australian travellers with UK strain must isolate for 14 days
The deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, has said any Australians who test positive to the more transmissible Covid-19 strain originally identified in the United Kingdom will have to isolate for longer than other returned travellers.
Kidd, speaking after today’s national cabinet, said the requirement was communicated to state and territory leaders on Friday.
It means those travellers with the strain will have to isolate for 14 days from diagnosis, as opposed to 10 days.
Kidd said:
One of the concern with this variance is the concern about whether they lead to increased transmissibility of Covid-19. Fortunately they did not seem to be causing more severe disease, but are more at risk of being transmitted.
As a consequence we have increased the isolation requirements for people who are diagnosed with these new variant, from 10 days to 14 days, before they get potential release from isolation.
Updated
Retired female tennis star Martina Navratilova has responded to news Margaret Court will be recognised with Australia’s highest honour.
Navratilova has been a vocal critic of Court’s position on LGBTQ+ issues and, with John McEnroe, last year called for Margaret Court arena at Melbourne Park – where the Australian Open is held – to be renamed to honour Evonne Goolagong Cawley.
This is what needs to happen... one day... pic.twitter.com/LTlvauDGXi
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 22, 2021
It appears Navratilova is renewing that idea.
You can read more about Court’s leaked Australia Day honour, and the furious backlash it has sparked from Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews, here:
Updated
The full national cabinet statement is out and gives a bit more context to the decision not to require vaccinations in aged care – for now.
It said:
National cabinet agreed the interim AHPPC advice on Covid vaccination and aged care facilities.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) has provided advice that state and territory public health orders should not be utilised to require the Covid-19 vaccine for aged care workers at this point.
There is currently a lack of evidence regarding effectiveness at preventing transmission and there is not yet a clear date by which all residents, staff, visitors and carers will have had an opportunity to be vaccinated.
The AHHPC will continue to monitor the situation and will reconsider this matter and provide advice once further evidence becomes available.
Currently, AHPPC believes that commonwealth and jurisdictional efforts should focus on communications to strongly encourage community uptake, which is expected to be high.
Updated
Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia and Facebook has threatened to remove news from its feed for all Australian users if a code forcing the companies to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead.
The move would mean the 19 million Australians who use Google every month would no longer be able to search, and 17 million Australians who log into Facebook every month would not be able to see or post any news articles.
Guardian Australia’s Josh Taylor has this report on what Google’s Australian managing director, Mel Silva, said this morning before a Senate committee on a proposed news code that would force the digital platforms to enter into negotiations with news media companies for payment for content.
Local news outlets, including the managing director of Guardian Australia, later appeared before the committee, speaking in favour of stronger laws protecting news publications.
Silva has also appeared in a video Google is distributing on social media.
Mel Silva, Managing Director for Google Australia, explains why there is a workable news code that doesn’t break Google Search. Learn more about what the News Media Bargaining Code means for you at https://t.co/X4UoySQPLw pic.twitter.com/9UjtaPW0zZ
— googledownunder (@googledownunder) January 22, 2021
Updated
The Morrison government is offering fossil fuel companies grants of up to $250,000 to attend industry events as part of a program that is supposed to help the Australian conference industry recover from a coronavirus-induced slump.
A dozen events involving the oil, coal and gas industries are among 150 so far approved by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission as part of the $50m stimulus package.
They include the International Mining and Resources Conference (Imarc), where police action in 2019 to break up a blockade left one protester in hospital.
Bans on travel and social distancing rules smashed the events sector in 2020. Instead of face-to-face conferences, industry bodies and other organisers either held events online or cancelled them altogether.
Announcing the program in September, Scott Morrison said: “Getting business events up and running again will be a critical part of the recovery of our tourism industry, but will also have huge flow-on effects through the entire economy.
“This is not only about supporting events companies and venues, but will also be a shot in the arm for a broad range of businesses and the people they employ – whether it’s accommodation providers, those who build exhibitions, caterers, cleaners or those offering audio-visual services.”
Businesses can claim a grant of half of many of the expenses incurred for both attending a trade show and appearing at one. Costs the government will cover include airfares, accommodation, registration of delegates, and the cost of building, installing and staffing event booths.
Updated
Temperatures across south-east Australia are set to soar for at least the next four days and some areas will reach 45C.
Heat building over western New South Wales will push towards the coast over the weekend and early next week, forcing temperatures up to 16C above average.
Fire danger will be elevated on Sunday and Monday. The Rural Fire Service has urged people to use the next few days to prepare.
“People need to take this seriously ... this season we haven’t had these heightened fire dangers but we have now got to be prepared,” its NSW director, Peter McKechnie, said.
Bega, on the south coast, is expected to reach at least 39C on Monday, and western Sydney will be in the same range on Sunday and Monday.
Other parts of southern NSW could get up to 45C on Sunday and Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Updated
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has spoken after the national cabinet meeting today.
She said she raised her plan to create additional quarantine spots for returning Australians in regional Queensland, using mining camps. She said she will be delivering a formal plan to Scott Morrison.
Palaszczuk said:
I put to the prime minister some options about where we could look at some alternative quarantine, away from our capital city. The details of the proposal will be going more formally to the prime minister but we looked at a number of options involving both Gladstone and Toowoomba.
International flights would have to get the approval of the federal government through Rockhampton and Toowoomba. The [Queensland] chief health officer has looked at these details. We’ll put the proposals forward.
I think it is a very safe proposal ... It won’t necessarily take away from the international flights that are coming here. It’s about getting more Australians home.
You need to have back-up plans and options. Howard Springs has worked well in the Northern Territory. This is about putting additional options and ideas on the table.
Updated
In case you missed it earlier, Margaret Court, the former Australian tennis player who has sparked controversy in recent years because of her views on LGBTQ+ issues, will be recognised with Australia’s highest honour.
Court, who has worked as a Pentecostal minister since her retirement from tennis, will be awarded the Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest category of honour awarded as part of the Australia Day honours on Tuesday.
Court was a vehement opponent of same-sex marriage in Australia before the 2017 postal survey, and has become a controversial figure in tennis because of her stance on LGBTQ+ rights.
While the list of Australia Day honours was under a strict media embargo, it was released on social media and reported on Friday.
Scott Morrison has refused to comment on Court’s honour. On Friday, the prime minister said: “I can’t comment on an award that is done through an independent process that hasn’t been announced or I have no official knowledge of those things.”
However federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, and Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, have blasted the award.
Full story:
Updated
Tokyo Games will go ahead: AOC
Matt Carroll, Australian Olympic Committee chief executive, says claims the Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled are an “unfounded rumour”.
He said AOC officials had contacted Australian athletes today to reassure them the Games will go ahead.
Carroll said the Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga reaffirmed in Tokyo today that the city will host the Games this year.
Carroll said:
Tokyo 2020 will be a very different games. Simpler, but with a focus on the athletes and their competitions. Sadly ceremonies and cultural aspects of the Games will be reduced. Decisions on spectators, local and international, are still to be made.
This will be an athlete- and competition-centred Games. A perfect example is this afternoon, our chef de mission has already written to all the athletes to ease their anxiety and gone out to all our member sports to make sure they understand it’s an unfounded rumour.
Working in Japan for a couple of years, when the Japanese prime minister makes a statement, he makes a statement ... The Japanese prime minister has stood up in parliament and said the Games are on.”
Updated
ACT eases entry for most of Sydney
The Australian Capital Territory will lift travel restrictions for all Sydney local government areas except Cumberland.
The change means 449 of 561 people isolating in Canberra can leave when the changes come into effect at 3pm today.
Travel restrictions to remain in place for Cumberland Local Government Area (LGA) in Sydney. pic.twitter.com/gwcTta90E7
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) January 22, 2021
Victoria announced a similar move earlier today.
Updated
We’re expecting the Australian Olympic Committee to hold a press conference at 1.30pm AEDT.
Updated
Thanks for taking us through the morning, Nino.
I’m Elias Visontay, and I’ll be bringing you the latest news throughout the afternoon.
If you see something you think I should know about, you can contact me on email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com or get in touch on Twitter @EliasVisontay.
Updated
I’m going to hand you over to Elias Visontay. Enjoy the weekend.
Here is a recap of what has been a fairly frantic day:
- Tennis legend Margaret Court is set to be awarded the highest Australia Day honour, a decision which dismayed Victorian premier Daniel Andrews
- No new locally acquired Covid-19 cases recorded in Victoria, New South Wales or Queensland
- There will not be an immediate increase in the international arrival cap
- Google threatened to remove its search engine from Australia
- Reports emerged about the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics, but Australian athletes are preparing as normal
- Victorian travel restrictions on NSW and Queensland ease.
Updated
Queensland records no new locally acquired cases, three in hotel quarantine
On the day that Covid-19 restrictions lifted in Brisbane, there were no new locally acquired cases and three in hotel quarantine.
Friday 22 January – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 21, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 3 overseas acquired cases
• 23 active cases
• 1,303 total cases
• 1,715,747 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,261 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/hvSj9Bg95Q
The US Olympic committee is also saying it is preparing for the Tokyo games as usual, despite reports they will be cancelled.
(1/3) USOPC statement on the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020:
— USOPC News (@USOPC_News) January 22, 2021
Updated
Australian Olympic committee expects Tokyo Games to go ahead
A statement issued by the Australian Olympic committee says as far as it is concerned the Tokyo Games will go ahead as planned, despite reports of Japan planning to cancel them emerging earlier today.
The statement also addresses reports that Japan would pivot from hosting this year towards a bid for the 2032 Games, which Brisbane wants.
The AOC statement reads:
The AOC is continuing its planning to ensuring the Australian Olympic team arrives in Tokyo, competes and returns home safe and Covid-free. The AOC, federal government, Queensland government and Brisbane city council are continuing to progress the candidature for the Olympic Games to be held in Queensland in 2032 – and that process continues.
AOC statement on Tokyo Olympic Games rumour:
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) January 22, 2021
"Both Japanese Prime Minister Suga and IOC President Bach have this week strongly reaffirmed their commitment to the Tokyo Olympic Games going ahead in July this year."
👉 https://t.co/JS4L22nM2Q pic.twitter.com/JIXVA00dBm
Updated
Hearing that the Australian Olympic committee plans to speak in the next hour about those reports that the Tokyo Games are set to be cancelled.
Updated
Drinks group Coca-Coal Amatil says it will repay NZ$7.2m ($6.7m Australian) it received in the Kiwi equivalent of the jobkeeper scheme.
The move comes after other Australian companies, including the local arm of Toyota and the Super Retail Group, announced they would voluntarily return millions of dollars in jobkeeper.
Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh, who has been running hot on the issue, seized on CCA’s announcement to renew his calls for the Premier Investments group controlled by retail billionaire Solomon Lew to hand back its jobkeeper payments, given it’s had a very good year.
Coca-Cola Amatil is voluntarily repaying its NZ wage subsidies https://t.co/ehHsoKNQNd Good corporate citizenship, and a stark contrast with firms like Premier Investments, who’ve gotten JobKeeper, enjoyed a profit boom, given a CEO bonus, yet won’t repay the taxpayer #auspol pic.twitter.com/si7xSiVx53
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) January 21, 2021
CCA did benefit from about $1m in jobkeeper payments in Australia, which it hasn’t said anything about paying back.
The money went to two brewers: Australian Beer Co, a company half owned by CCA and half by the Casella family; Feral Brewing, which is wholly owned by CCA.
Updated
South Australian police believe a Victorian man who went missing while snorkelling has been the victim of a shark attack.
The 32-year-old went missing about 5pm yesterday near Port MacDonnell in South Australia’s south-east.
Police said a shark had been spotted in the area yesterday afternoon, and a damaged wetsuit and flippers have been found.
The search will be scaled back. The full SA police statement is here.
Updated
Facebook threatens to withdraw news from feeds
Facebook has repeated its threat to withdraw news from people’s feeds in Australia if the news media code to pay news outlets for their content goes ahead.
Josh Machin, Facebook’s head of public policy in Australia, told a Senate committee that if the code goes ahead, Facebook would potentially prevent not just news companies from posting links to news articles on Facebook, but all users based in Australia.
Machin said news articles make up under 5% of what the average user sees in their feed, and Facebook did not get much commercial benefit from news articles posted on Facebook.
When asked whether Facebook profited from fake news posted on the platform, Machin said no commercial benefit was gained by Facebook on its users posting fake news.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked Machin multiple times whether the company had removed any misinformation posted by Liberal backbench MP Craig Kelly, but Machin would only say content had been removed “from a number of public figures in Australia”.
Updated
PM appears unsure of how many doses Pfizer vaccine Australia expects
The most important thing we just learned from Morrison’s press conference is that the commonwealth does not appear to know how many doses of Pfizer vaccine Australia will get by mid-February.
Asked about delays in delivery of Pfizer vaccines, Morrison said:
The health minister and others will make further comment on this. There is no doubt in the discussions I had with European prime ministers, and others, earlier in the week that there are some difficulties that they’re encountering. And so we’re watching that very closely. We’re able to provide as much update as possible today to the premiers and chief ministers. They know what we know. There are some things in our control and some things that are not.”
States weren’t told how many doses Australia would get before the meeting today, and it doesn’t sound like that changed in discussions in the room. We’ll ask the health minister, Greg Hunt.
Morrison was in expectations management mode. He said:
At this stage we’re relying on the delivery of the vaccines from those producing countries at this early stage. I think we’re being very careful to be clear about expectations here. We know that we’d be starting at a small scale before moving to a much greater scale. We’ve said out indicative time frames when we would hope to commence, in mid- to late-February, but that will obviously change and be subject to any impacts on production schedules overseas. I know that Pfizer is retooling, upgrading their capacity in Europe to produce and increase the output of what they’re doing there. There are huge demands across Europe from other clients. So we’ll just continue to work through that and we’ll update the Australian people, as we have information available to us.
Updated
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese weighs in on the Margaret Court controversy, making clear he feels her impending Australia Day honour is not about contributions to tennis:
Margaret Court has already been honoured for her tennis prowess.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 22, 2021
She’s already an Officer of the Order of Australia.
I think it’s clear for everyone to see that making her a Companion of the Order of Australia has nothing to do with tennis.
And to reiterate his comments from earlier, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has just tweeted this:
I don't want to give this person's disgraceful, bigoted views any oxygen.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) January 22, 2021
But when others insist on rewarding them with this country's highest honour – I think it's worth saying again:
Grand Slam wins don't give you some right to spew hatred and create division.
Nothing does.
Updated
PM clarifies his 26 January 'not a flash day' comments
Scott Morrison says comments he made yesterday about 26 January not being a “flash day” for those on the first fleet were not designed to compare their experience to Indigenous Australians and it was wrong to draw that conclusion.
Morrison said:
I’ll simply say this: Australia is more than 25m stories. More than 25m. Each of us can trace our stories back into our own Australia: Indigenous Australia, First Nations Australia. All the stories are important. All stories should be respected.
On Australia Day it is important to do that – understanding the loss, the gains, the successes, the failures, the hardships that were encountered.
Australian stories are unique in this country. But the thing they celebrate most about Australians, despite the hardship, whether that be that of dispossession and the terrible disease and ... destruction faced by the First Nations or whether it was the convicts who came, all those stories are important. They’re not competing with each other. They’re just part of who we are.
Updated
Morrison is commenting on a lot of other things that are happening in days or weeks, despite what he had to say about not being able to comment on the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court.
Updated
Morrison warns Google: Australia does not respond to threats
Prime minister Scott Morrison has snapped back at evidence Google provided to a Senate committee today which indicated it could leave Australia should it be forced to pay for news.
Let me be clear. Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. That’s done in our parliament. It’s done by our government. And that’s how things work here in Australia. And people who want to work with that, in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats.
PM can't comment on Margaret Court's Australia Day honour
Morrison on Margaret Court set to be awarded an Australia Day honour:
I can’t comment on an award that’s done through an independent process that hasn’t been announced or I have no official knowledge of ...
This is a completely independent set of processes.
It is an announcement that will be announced on that day. It is a system that recognises the full spectrum of individuals across this country.
Updated
Morrison says he has heard speculation about the Tokyo Olympics being cancelled but has not heard anything official. He says he understands that would be disappointing for the Japanese government and he would get in contact with it to express that sentiment if it was confirmed.
Updated
Morrison is asked about mandatory vaccination for those who work and live in aged care settings. He said that is not the position at the moment, but it may change.
Kidd, the acting chief medical officer, says they would “actively encourage” people in those settings to be vaccinated.
Updated
Morrison says almost 79,000 people have returned to Australia since the middle of September, a number that has “significantly exceeded” the expected number.
“But we have to put public health and safety within our borders first.”
Morrison says he wants to be “very clear” that the government has contractual arrangements in place with Pfizer for the supply of Covid-19 vaccines. We reported earlier this week that TGA approval for that vaccine was imminent.
Morrison says he has not been given the proposal by Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to use mining camps for quarantine, so will wait until he has (he’s meeting her this afternoon) before he comments on it, but he has an “open mind”.
Updated
Acting chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd says about 1% of international arrivals are testing positive to Covid-19.
No increase to international arrival caps
Prime minister Scott Morrison says there will be no increase to international arrival caps announced today.
There will be negotiations with individual states before 15 February about whether this can change.
#breaking Scott Morrison announces no changes to international passenger arrival caps, but will try to negotiate individually with states to do so before 15 February, when capacity snaps back to earlier levels. #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) January 22, 2021
Morrison and acting chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd are speaking from Brisbane.
Updated
Prime minister Scott Morrison is up, but the ABC feed is broken so I’ll struggle to post more for the minute. Stay tuned.
Before we hear from prime minister Scott Morrison very soon regarding the national cabinet meeting today, but also about the decision to award the highest Australia Day honour Margaret Court, I thought it was worth reminding you how Victorian premier Daniel Andrews described the decision earlier today:
He said:
I do not support that. I don’t believe that she has views that accord with the vast majority of people across our nation, that see people, particularly from the LGBTIQ community, as equal, and deserving of dignity, respect and safety. I don’t believe she shares those views and I do not believe she should be honoured because of that.
And, with reference to the recent banning of gay conversion therapy in Victoria:
I think calling out bigotry is always important. We have just had a debate in the parliament of Victoria to outlaw the bigoted quackery that costs lives.
My position on this has been consistent. I don’t seek to quarrel with people but I’ve been asked a question and I’ve answered it.
I’m not going to stand here for politeness sake and not live my values, and my values say those attitudes and the position of my government – and I think the vast majority of Victorians – they do not support that kind of hateful approach. They want to see us unified, they want to us respected and respectful, and they want to see people be able to live safely, and no one has the right to take that away from anybody else. And those views do that, they absolutely do.
This will come as no surprise to her, or to anybody else. Or it shouldn’t. This has been my view every day of my public life, every day of my life.
And also:
Do we really have to do this every single summer? But apparently we do. I thought we might not have had to have this debate this summer.
But anyway, others have saw fit to honour her in that way. They’re not decisions that I make; you’ve asked me if I support it, I’ve indicated no, and I’ve also given a sense of why.
Updated
An interesting take on the Margaret Court being awarded an Australia Day honour controversy:
Australia Day and Queens Birthday honours should go only to people who we've NEVER heard of, who are doing magnificent things in the community. Sports stars, entertainers, politicians et al, already have a lifetime of recognition elsewhere.
— Chris Urquhart (@chrisurquhart) January 22, 2021
Japan reportedly concedes Tokyo Olympics will have to be called off
This is a significant story that we will be keeping tabs on throughout the day: the Japanese government reportedly conceding that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled.
The Japanese government has privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, and the focus is now on securing the Games for the city in the next available year, 2032 https://t.co/bsuB9wMt30
— The Times (@thetimes) January 21, 2021
Updated
We can expect prime minister Scott Morrison to be asked about the decision to award the highest Australia Day honour to Margaret Court when he fronts the media about 11.45am.
Updated
Here is some more reaction to the news that Margaret Court is set to receive the highest Australia Day honour. The below, from Greens senator for Victoria Janet Rice, refers to these comments made by Court in 2017 about “the gay lobby”.
Court said:
That’s what Hitler did. That’s what communism did
Get in the minds of the children. There’s a whole plot in our nation and in the nations of the world to get in the minds of the children.
Reminder (because apparently we have to go over this every year): Margaret Court has said that being LGBTIQ+ is the work "of the devil". She’s compared homosexuality to Hitler.
— Janet Rice (@janet_rice) January 22, 2021
She is an enemy of the values Australians stand for and must not receive our highest honour. https://t.co/ILpH6T3g5A
Updated
Google threatens to remove search engine from Australia
Google has threatened to remove its search engine from Australia if a code forcing the company to negotiate payments to news media companies goes ahead, saying the proposal sets a “dangerous precedent”.
The company’s Australian managing director Mel Silva told a Senate committee on Friday that the proposed news code was untenable and would set a “dangerous precedent” for paying for links.
“The principle of unrestricted linking between websites is fundamental to search, and coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk is this version of the code were to become law, it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia,” she said.
Senators at the hearing repeatedly questioned Silva about what they said was a threat to pull search from Australia entirely, questioning whether it was simply about avoiding the precedent it would create worldwide for paying for news in search results.
Silva denied it was a threat, just the “worst case scenario” if the code went ahead.
Independent senator Rex Patrick compared Google’s threat to China threatening Australia’s trade in response to the inquiry into Covid-19. He said Google’s response was not about “breaking” search, but Google protecting its revenue.
“It’s about breaking your bank account, that’s what this is about it. It does not touch the the internet and the way in which it works,” he said.
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No new locally acquired Covid-19 cases detected in NSW
There was one case recorded in hotel quarantine.
NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hrs to 8pm last night. There was 1 case recorded in a returned traveller. Two previous cases have been excluded after further investigations, bringing total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 4,894 pic.twitter.com/10azDOpNHF
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 22, 2021
More reaction is filtering in regarding the decision to award Margaret Court an AC (companion in the general division), the highest Australia Day honour.
This from Greens senator Nick McKim:
Like awarding Pauline Hanson for the quality of her fish and chips. https://t.co/8UaXhoPQ0W
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) January 21, 2021
And I believe this tweet from Melbourne-based broadcaster Justin Smith is what fuelled debate this morning:
Margaret Court is going to be honoured on Australia Day. With our highest honour. She shouldn’t, and we need to have the debate before it happens.
— Justin Smith (@justinsmithword) January 21, 2021
Have a read. pic.twitter.com/hFsJ8UOXyz
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Daniel Andrews obviously frustrated by the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court:
Do we really have to do this every single summer? But apparently we do. I thought we might not have had to have this debate this summer.
But anyway, others have saw fit to honour her in that way. They’re not decisions that I make; you’ve asked me if I support it, I’ve indicated no, and I’ve also given a sense of why.
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More from Andrews on Margaret Court receiving an Australia Day honour. He invokes the recent debate in Victorian parliament about outlawing gay conversion therapy in the state:
I think calling out bigotry is always important. We have just had a debate in the parliament of Victoria to outlaw the bigoted quackery that costs lives.
My position on this has been consistent. I don’t seek to quarrel with people but I’ve been asked a question and I’ve answered it.
I’m not going to stand here for politeness sake and not live my values, and my values say those attitudes and the position of my government – and I think the vast majority of Victorians – they do not support that kind of hateful approach. They want to see us unified, they want to us respected and respectful, and they want to see people be able to live safely, and no one has the right to take that away from anybody else. And those views do that, they absolutely do.
This will come as no surprise to her, or to anybody else. Or it shouldn’t. This has been my view every day of my public life, every day of my life.
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Andrews again on the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court:
I’m quite sick of talking about that person every summer. We finish up having this discussion in one form or another every single summer. I would prefer not to be giving oxygen to some of these views.
I don’t give out those gongs, that’s not a matter for me, that’s for others. You might want to speak to them about why they think those views, which are disgraceful, hurtful, and cost lives, should be honoured.
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Daniel Andrews said he was “quite sick of talking about that person every summer”. In recent years there has been simmering debate about whether to strip Court’s name from an arena used for the Australian Open in Melbourne Park.
But there is a new furore this year, with Court to be recognised with an Australia Day honour.
Andrews said:
I do not support that. I don’t believe that she has views that accord with the vast majority of people across our nation, that see people, particularly from the LGBTIQ community, as equal, and deserving of dignity, respect and safety. I don’t believe she shares those views and I do not believe she should be honoured because of that.
He would not comment on renaming the stadium.
Updated
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews slams decision to award Australia Day honour to Margaret Court
Tennis legend Margaret Court is set to be honoured on 26 January, only days before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has come out strongly against the official recognition of Court, saying her views towards the LGBTI community are harmful and cost lives.
Andrews expects announcement on seasonal workers soon
Andrews also says that he expects a significant announcement will be made about seasonal workers soon, but that he believes the national cabinet meeting today will largely focus on Covid-19 vaccination plans.
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Andrews flags he is unlikely to change Victoria's border closure stance
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews doesn’t sound as if he will be particularly receptive to any push to ease the state’s approach to Covid-19 outbreaks.
It has been reported that establishing a consistent approach across states to border closures will be discussed at today’s national cabinet meeting.
Andrews again sounds displeased by the strategies in place in NSW to stop the virus, although he did not name any other state.
He said:
I’ll just again make the point: when you consider what’s at stake here, it makes perfect sense to make sure you’re doing everything you can, not to keep Victorians out of Victoria, but to keep the virus out of Victoria.
If every state plays their part in that, that’s how we keep Australia virus – not necessarily free, but that active and aggressive suppression strategy that we’ve all signed up for only works when everybody is playing their part.
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Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton spoke earlier about the case of Paula Badosa, who tested positive to Covid-19 last night.
She will have to isolate for 10 days if it is considered a standard case, or 14 days if it is the UK variant, which will put her chances of competing at risk.
The acting foreign affairs minister, Simon Birmingham, has confirmed the federal government would like to see an increase in the international arrival cap, although that is not guaranteed from the national cabinet meeting today.
Birmingham told ABC News Breakfast:
National cabinet had agreed to review the cap in mid-February, so if such a decision were made today, it would be bringing it forward. Look, I hope the states and territories do consider ways to do so. They made this decision to reduce the cap on the basis of concerns about the UK strain and other new variants of the virus. We want to make sure that we do have the systems in place to keep medi-hotels and quarantine systems safe from these new strains, but also to try to get those cap numbers back up to where they were as quickly as possible.
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Andrews said:
We thank Victorians for embracing that [the home gatherings cap].
I know it’s been very inconvenient. It’s been a challenge for many people, but the reward is this long run of days without any community transmission. Having run to ground that Black Rock cluster, the Vermont South case, having seen really significant testing numbers this couple of weeks and no additional cases for 16 days in the Victorian community, that gives us confidence to make this decision.
He says it will be a short press conference because of national cabinet later today.
Updated
In Victoria, gatherings in the home can be up to 30 people from midnight tonight, doubling the limit of 15 introduced on New Year’s Eve.
Premier Andrews confirms that all of greater Brisbane and all of regional NSW apart from the Blue Mountains and Wollongong will be classified as green zones from 6pm.
Andrews says Cumberland LGA only remaining NSW red zone
Premier Daniel Andrews says chief health officer Brett Sutton made the recommendation to change red zones which applied to Blacktown, Burwood, Canterbury Bay, Canterbury Bankstown, Fairfield, inner West, Parramatta and Strathfield councils to oranges zones from 6pm today.
People will be able to apply for a permit to travel to or from those councils, but they must be tested within 72 hours.
Updated
In NSW, the Cumberland local government area is the only remaining red zone. That means people in every other local government area in NSW can apply for a permit to travel to Victoria.
Victoria is relaxing some restrictions within the state, and some travel restrictions.
Daniel Andrews speaks in Melbourne
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is speaking in Melbourne. He confirms the one hotel quarantine case recorded overnight relates to the Australian Open.
Updated
Treasurer reportedly rejects calls for jobkeeper extension
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has reportedly rejected calls from the hospitality sector to extend wage subsidies beyond the conclusion of jobkeeper on 31 March.
In a letter to the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association, reported in The Australian, Frydenberg said:
We recognise the challenges faced by the accommodation and food services industry. However, given the unprecedented levels of support announced by the commonwealth and state and territory governments, I consider that existing policy settings will continue to support a strong economic recovery and we are not contemplating a ‘Hospokeeper’ package at this time.”
Yesterday the Australian Bureau of Statistics reportedthat Australia gained 50,000 jobs in December, driving unemployment down 0.2% to 6.6%. The better than expected jobs numbers have increased the likelihood economic supports will be permanently withdrawn.
Scott Morrison told reporters the government had sought to provide “as much certainty as possible about what the support arrangements are” but businesses would have to make tough choices because it was “not sustainable” to continue to use debt to prop up the economy.
Asked if the government would introduce sector-specific support, Morrison replied:
At this stage the settings are as I’ve set them out and people should work on the basis of those settings unless they’re reviewed.”
That is a bad sign for other industries still pleading for support, such as the tourism sector, which warned of as many as 320,000 job losses by September given international borders are still closed.
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PM not keen on mining camp quarantine plan
A national cabinet meeting will be held today, and using Queensland mining camps as quarantine facilities is going to come up.
Prime minister Scott Morrison is worried it might not be the best idea for the mining industry, AAP reports:
Prime minister Scott Morrison has raised concerns Queensland’s push to quarantine international arrivals in regional camps could endanger the mining industry.
Friday’s national cabinet meeting of federal and state leaders is set to discuss Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s plan to use remote sites instead of CBD hotels.
She wants national changes to avoid highly contagious new strains of coronavirus being exposed to capital cities.
Morrison said heavy industries including mining had been major contributors to Australia’s economic performance during the pandemic.
“We’ve got to be careful how we manage the health issues around Covid, that we don’t put those sort of things at risk,” he told 4BC radio on Friday.
After meeting with locals in the central Queensland town of Gladstone, which is close to the site floated for quarantining arrivals, Morrison has cooled on the proposal.
“There are a lot of concerns being expressed up there,” Morrison said.
“If the Queensland government wants to proceed with this then they’re going to have to address those issues up there with the local community.”
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said quarantine was a federal responsibility under the constitution.
“Why haven’t we got the federal government actually coming up with a plan which has quarantine arrangements around the country which allow stranded Australians to get home?” he told the Nine Network.
Home affairs minister Peter Dutton is worried fly-in, fly-out workers coming to Gladstone could be exposed to coronavirus and infect other parts of the country.
“People in Gladstone are really scratching their heads as to why they need to have a quarantine facility in their backyard,” he told Nine.
National cabinet will be briefed on new travel protocols that mandate tests and masks on all flights entering Australia.
Passengers will need to display evidence of a negative test taken within three days of their scheduled departure.
Morrison will dial in to national cabinet from Brisbane after spending the week touring regional Queensland talking up the economic recovery.
Medical advisers will update the leaders on how new variants of coronavirus are being managed.
The gathering will be briefed on vaccine planning, as the Therapeutic Goods Administration finalises advice on the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs, which will be the mainstay of this year’s program.
It is expected the leaders will discuss arrangements to get more seasonal workers into farming regions desperate to pick crops.
Updated
We’ve all done it, haven’t we? Left home without a mask? Bit harder to get away with when you’re the world number one tennis player and you bump into a reporter in the supermarket:
Updated
There is another powerful story online today by Laura Murphy-Oates from the tremendous Childhood in custody series.
Updated
Tropical cyclone Lucas gathers pace in northern WA
There is also a tropical cyclone warning for northern parts of Western Australia, AAP reports.
The Pilbara and Kimberley are bracing for tropical cyclone Lucas, and communities are being urged to prepare and tourists told to evacuate.
The fire and emergency services department has issued a blue alert for communities between Beagle Bay and Port Hedland, including the popular travel hotspot Broome.
“People ... need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water,” the Friday morning alert reads.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a tropical low was intensifying as it moved towards the coast and and may develop into a cyclone early on Friday and reach category 2 intensity later in the day.
Gales may develop on the coast near Bidyadanga and Broome during Friday afternoon and may extend to other parts of the warning area during Friday evening. But gales are not likely at Port Hedland, the bureau said.
Updated
It is summer, and it is hot. Extremely hot (45 degrees!) in some places. Here is the Bureau of Meteorology major cities forecast, and AAP reports that heat building over western NSW will push towards the coast over the weekend and early next week, forcing temperatures up to 16 degrees above average.
Fire danger will be elevated in NSW on Sunday and Monday, with the RFS warning people should use the next few days to prepare.
Parts of southern NSW could experience temperatures up to 45 degrees on Sunday and Monday.
Updated
Canadian tennis player Félix Auger-Aliassime is having a chat on the ABC about his time in quarantine ahead of the Australian Open. He sounds a pleasant young fella, and is convinced the grand slam will go off without a hitch.
Here’s some of what the world No 21 had to say:
I have a lot of sympathy for my other colleagues, players that don’t have a chance to practise due to either positive cases or contacts. But for myself and other players that do have a chance to go out five hours during the day – which is already a privilege compared to what, I guess, everybody else goes through here in Australia or for myself when I was back in Canada, going through harder quarantines – it is a privilege to be able to go out.
We have exactly two hours on the court and then an hour and 30 in the gym and an hour to eat and just be outside of the room, so the main difference is having access to the court, really. We see most players being able to find a way to train physically in the room or to do exercises but to have a chance to get on the court to hit makes a huge difference so close to the tournament.
That is a fairly different approach to a tournament and different treatment for myself and other players and a different preparation. The difference is quite huge.
Yes – well, it is such unprecedented times so it is never something any player has been through before or either myself. It is a first. We will see how it goes. The good thing is that they do have eight to nine days before the tournament starts when they go out or maybe just a week. They do have a little bit of time and I think Tennis Australia and authorities are looking at options for them to find a way to train but we will see. The preparation not being the same, if myself, I had to play one of these players, we did have a different preparation, is that going to have an impact on the result? I don’t know.
Updated
Staff members of NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian have been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by the NSW information commissioner into the shredding of documents linked to a controversial $140m council grants program.
This is the program that Berejikilian admitted was pork-barrelling but said that “it’s not unique to our government” and “unfortunately it does happen from time to time by every government.”
Here’s part of a story AAP have filed on the NSW information commissioner’s findings:
Members of NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s staff have been half-heartedly cleared by the information commissioner over the shredding of documents related to a pork-barrelling scheme.
Sarah Lau, an adviser to the premier, told a NSW parliamentary committee in October that she shredded records showing Berejiklian had “signed off” on $141.8m of council grants and deleted electronic copies.
The grants had been causing trouble for the premier for months, after it emerged more than 95% of the $252m fund went to projects in Coalition-held seats in the lead-up to the 2019 state election.
Lau’s admission sparked a referral to the NSW information commissioner Elizabeth Tydd, who on Thursday made no adverse finding against Berejiklian’s staff.
She said:
However, the government Information Public Access Act makes express reference to the public interest in the disclosure of information which could reasonably be expected to ensure effective oversight of the expenditure of public funds.
The magnitude of the funds allocated through this program are significant and improving the integrity of government grants schemes has been the subject of communication from Icac.
Tydd found the incident did not constitute a serious or systemic breach of the GIPA act but that the record-keeping handbook provided to ministerial staff did not provide the necessary guidance in helping staff comply.
The case did prompt Tydd to recommend the parliament consider enacting laws that would prevent the “reckless” destruction of documents.
She said:
It is opportune to consider whether the offence under section 120 of the GIPA act should extend to the reckless destruction of government information.
The commissioner also referred her report to the state’s corruption watchdog.
The premier’s office has been contacted for comment.
Updated
No locally acquired cases in Victoria for 16 days
Sixteen days without a locally acquired case in Victoria, and one new case in hotel quarantine.
Yesterday there were 0 locally acquired cases reported, and 1 in hotel quarantine. It has been 16 days since the last locally acquired case. Thank you for getting tested - 16,465 test results were received.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 21, 2021
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKHFvv#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/RLxc9fpz8s
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Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has released what he is calling “the first episode of Murdoch watch for 2021”.
It is a six-minute clip where he basically runs through this quite remarkable New York Times story from Sunday.
Our first episode of Murdoch Watch for 2021 & it's a doozy. The story of Murdoch's Fox News & their collaboration with Trump on conspiracy theories surrounding the tragic murder of a young man, Seth Rich. The culture of the Murdoch media empire is foul. #MurdochRoyalCommission pic.twitter.com/EEqzurDOWV
— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) January 21, 2021
The Times story found Fox News agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement to the family of murdered Democratic National Committee staff member Seth Rich for repeatedly peddling conspiracy theories about his death, on condition that details on the settlement were not released until after the US election.
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Tennis player Paula Badosa revealed late last night that she had tested positive for Covid-19 while in hotel quarantine ahead of the Australian Open.
— Paula Badosa (@paulabadosa) January 21, 2021
It was quickly pointed out that she had earlier questioned the strict requirements in a video with a fellow tennis player Marta Kostyuk posted online last week.
WTA players Marta Kostyuk and Paula Badosa giving a player perspective on the tougher lockdown they’re now facing. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/9EvK1XE6T9
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 16, 2021
Here is the press release from Emirates regarding its decision to resume flights. Do the company know something we don’t about what is going to happen with international arrival caps at national cabinet later today? Surely just coincidence:
Emirates will resume passenger flights to Sydney from 25 January, to Melbourne from 26 January and to Brisbane from 28 January. Passenger flights between Dubai and Perth, as well as cargo operations to all Australian points, continue as scheduled.
We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers in the period where we had to temporarily suspend our services.
The pandemic has made international flying incredibly challenging, and the dynamic restrictions and requirements implemented by the different state authorities in Australia had added complexity and burden to our operations. This led us to temporarily suspend passenger services while we engaged with various stakeholders regarding crew protocols and other operational details.
Following this engagement, we’ve made the decision to resume services with adjustments to our operations, so that we can continue serving our customers.
All our crew (cabin crew and pilots) operating on Australian flights were already mandated to take a PCR test 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure from Dubai. With the latest adjustments, these tests will be administered in their homes, and our crew will also observe self-quarantine in their homes from the moment of testing until their flight.
Combined with the hotel quarantine and tests on arrival in Australia, this effectively means that our crew are in a “bubble” from 48 hours before their flight, until they return to Dubai. This is an added burden for our crew as individuals, for our rostering, and operating costs, and therefore this decision was made after careful review and consideration. We are grateful that our wonderful crew teams are very understanding and supportive, which has enabled us to quickly restart passenger services.
The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority, and as always, we work closely with the authorities and health experts in this regard.
Emirates is keen to serve the many Australians waiting to get home, and we hope that commercial and operational conditions will allow us to continue doing so.
Our commitment to Australia remains firm as ever, and this has not changed in the 25 years since Emirates began serving the community.
We look forward to helping more Australians get to where they need to be, and will continue to provide Australia with international air transport services of the highest safety and quality standards.
Updated
National cabinet will consider increasing the cap on international arrivals to Australia, after a reduction earlier in January to help combat more infectious strains of Covid-19. Ahead of today’s meeting, which will also consider vaccine implementation planning, seasonal worker arrangements and a bid from Queensland for new regional quarantine facilities, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) revealed that it is dealing with a record number of complaints, driven in part by Covid restrictions and Australians stranded overseas. Meanwhile, Emirates has announced it will resume passenger flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from Monday and Spanish tennis star Paula Badosa has tested positive to Covid-19 while quarantining after being exposed to the virus on an Australian Open charter flight.
The number of Indigenous Australian prisoners has continued to grow despite an overall reduction in the number of adult prisoners nationally. The increasing gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous imprisonment rates has been laid bare in the Productivity Commission’s latest report on government services, released as Guardian Australia publishes an investigative series into Indigenous children in custody. Isaiah spent his teens in and out of youth detention, in a traumatic (and since-closed) behaviour program dubbed “supermax for kids”. Now he’s using his experience to help vulnerable young people in western Sydney. He runs a footy team, for boys who won’t engage with most social services but will turn up for Oztag. “You get them playing footy together, you’re gonna hear nothing but laughing,” he says. “To be a part of something … it makes them feel included, you know?”
Newly minted president Joe Biden has marked the start of his term with a flurry of executive orders, some undoing significant actions from the Trump administration, including on the Paris climate agreement. Biden will sign more today aimed at tackling the pandemic, which has already claimed more than 400,000 American lives. Nancy Pelosi declined to specify when she will transmit the article of impeachment to the Senate, instead simply saying she will do so “soon”. The Democratic speaker said the Senate had signalled it was ready to receive the article, which charges Donald Trump with incitement of insurrection in connection with the Capitol riot. Trump, meanwhile, appears to be setting up for post-presidency life at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
In other news:
New South Wales and South Australia have intervened in a high court case in defence of Australia’s foreign interference laws, which are being challenged by a political staffer accused of acting on behalf of China.
Kevin Rudd has added details of his overseas interviews to the country’s foreign influence register after a running battle with the attorney general’s department, but the former Australian PM insists he is “not a foreign agent”.
Australia’s housing market is set for an “up crash”, says investment bank UBS, as the government’s homebuilder subsidy scheme prompts a spike in construction that will rapidly fall away.
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Welcome. I’m Nino Bucci and it’s Friday, 22 January.
