That's it for today – thanks for reading
The main news on 28 April 2021:
- Two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Australia.
- The controversial Liberal MP Andrew Laming is diagnosed with ADHD.
- Scott Morrison, speaking in Darwin to mark a $747m defence training expansion, says the project is designed to pursue peace.
- No locally acquired cases of Covid are officially recorded across Australia, but ACT health announced a new case which will be included in its statistics tomorrow.
Updated
An isolated Indigenous community in Queensland has again been left without phone lines or internet services for four days, AAP reports.
The Lockhart River and Aboriginal shire is without internet and phone services because of an infrastructure incident at the region’s provider in Batavia Downs.
The region has an extensive history of telecommunications problems which tend to happen in the wet season when the services are needed the most.
Earlier in February, about 800 Lockhart River residents lost landline, mobile and internet connections for more than a week because of intermittent power failures at the same site.
In 2018, the town went without contact with the outside world for six weeks after lightning struck a phone tower.
Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher said Telstra’s infrastructure doesn’t meet the demands for the region and the reoccurring incidents were dangerous for his community:
If it happened once every three years or five years you can understand, but the fact that in the last 18 months we’ve had three breakdowns ... it’s getting ridiculous ... or stupid, I guess, in one sense.
You can’t work, you can’t run your own business, you can’t do nothing without internet or phone service.
I think it’s just unacceptable. It seems to be the problem with the infrastructure over and over again.
I mean, obviously there’s this clear indication that they need to start fixing or investing in their infrastructure.
As service went down on Sunday, a local couple and their 10-year-old son were camping 30km south of Lockhart when heavy rain hit the region and they were left stranded.
The young family were rescued on Wednesday when the mayor was able to reach an emergency air-lift service from Cairns.
“I could only communicate with the helicopter that was nearby to pick them up this morning and it was all weather dependent too,” Butcher said.
“Luckily they were just down to the last, I think, piece of bread, but we got them safely back to town.”
The town operates off a 3G service, but Butcher says the ongoing inconsistencies pose real danger to the locals.
We’re supposed to have 3G but we’re flat out having 1G.
It urgently needs an upgrade. We’ve been talking to Telstra about an upgrade and I think they’ve negotiated some options on the table, so we’re just waiting to hear back what it’s going to look like, or how much it will cost.
There has to be a quicker response time. We simply can’t wait four or five days if someone is in a leaking boat out there, or someone is having a heart attack. You got no chance of survival.
This is a serious community safety issue now and our community seriously needs better investment and infrastructure that can cope with our environment.”
Telstra has been contacted for comment.
Updated
People should be given a choice of apps other than the default Apple and Google phone apps when setting up a new device, under a raft of proposals from Australia’s competition watchdog to reduce the duopoly the two tech giants have over the app store marketplaces.
Here is a story taking in the news from earlier today about the sentencing of Richard Pusey, who filmed the final moments of police after they were hit by a truck on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway last year.
Clive Palmer’s plan to build an open-cut coalmine 10km from the coast of the Great Barrier Reef has been deemed “not suitable” by the Queensland government.
Its assessment will now be sent to the federal environment minister.
The ABC is reporting that the Andrews government will build a specialised quarantine facility north of Melbourne, despite some reports circulating a few days ago that suggested it would be in the city’s outer west.
WA premier Mark McGowan said earlier today that his government was also considering building a facility, given the federal government was not looking to build a major national hub.
Vic gov set to choose a site near the Mickleham Quarantine facility in Melbourne’s north to build a quarantine hub for returned travellers, senior sources say #springst @abcmelbourne
— Richard Willingham (@rwillingham) April 28, 2021
Updated
I wish I could give you some more information about this quite odd story from South Australia, but alas I have only what the good scribes at AAP have provided:
A man has been charged after allegedly replacing QR codes with fake ones in Adelaide.
The 51-year-old man is accused of placing the fake QR codes – used to sign people into venues to help with contact tracing – over real ones at South Plympton businesses on Sunday.
He will appear in Adelaide magistrates court charged with two counts of obstructing operations relating to Covid-19 under the state’s Emergency Management Act and faces a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.
The man was also allegedly caught with a double-side knife at his Edwardstown home.
South Australian police said no personal data had been released through the fake QR codes.
Updated
The mother of Aboriginal man Wayne “Fella” Morrison says little has changed in the five years since her son’s death in custody and the wait for answers has left her in limbo.
Updated
Channel Seven has been ordered to pay a My Kitchen Rules contestant ongoing compensation of $22,000 a year for psychological injury sustained from appearing in the show.
Wong says she does not think Andrew Laming being diagnosed with ADHD justifies his behaviour.
I don’t think people would say that the diagnosis is an excuse for [the] sorts of behaviour that ... Andrew Laming has engaged in in relation to women.
I have not seen people – parents of children or others who may have this diagnosis – use the diagnosis as a justification or rationalisation of these sorts of behaviours, of what appeared to be a persistent pattern of harassment that has been described.
Updated
Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, senator Penny Wong, is speaking to the ABC.
She has reiterated some of the points made by Labor leader Anthony Albanese yesterday regarding the Morrison government’s failures in dealing with Covid-19, particularly as it relates to India.
About 9,000 Australians in India have registered to return home.
This is an extraordinarily deep crisis, we see not only in the images but in the numbers that have been reported. We really do have to work with all other countries to contain this dreadful wave in India.
I would also make a comment, if I may, about the thousands of Australians still stranded there. This really has been an abdication of responsibility from Mr Morrison. He told people they would be home by Christmas and clearly that has not been the case.
We still do not have a system of safe national quarantine led by the commonwealth, which is critical, about which he has been advised ... The longer we waited, the more perilous the situation would become, and regrettably that has come to pass and Australians in India are less safe as a consequence of the prime minister’s failure to act.
Updated
Liberal MP Andrew Laming claims ADHD is the reason for his well-known erratic behaviour, while revealing he has an “online addiction” that saw him post 50,000 comments across more than 30 social media accounts every year.
Young went into more detail about the two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine that have now been administered.
He said:
Our primary care network, the general practices, Aboriginal control health services, now account for over 1 million doses of the vaccines. Again, they took approximately 21 days to get to the first 500,000 doses of the vaccine and a further 12 days to get to 1m. That comes from additional capacity of those primary-care networks with another 62 added this week. Our total commonwealth, state and territory sites able to administer the vaccine is now over 5,100 and continuing to grow.
Updated
McMillan provided a little more context on the decision taken yesterday to pause flights from India, saying:
I think at the moment what we are seeing in India is that there is a significant proportion of the population now infected. Despite the measures we put in place with pre-testing before departure, we are still seeing evidence of people arriving and testing positive in the early days of their time in quarantine. I think it is the magnitude of what we are seeing in India that is of greatest concern. As I’ve said before, we are very concerned for our friends and family in India and the situation they are in.
There is a media conference going on at the moment featuring the chief nursing and midwifery officer, Prof Alison McMillan and Commodore Eric Young, from the Royal Australian Navy, who is the operations coordinator from the vaccine operations centre.
Updated
This is not strictly Australian news, but it is fascinating and does feature that famous Aussie Rupert Murdoch, so I’ll allow it.
Bereaved Aboriginal families have accused the prime minister of continuing to ignore the “ongoing crisis” of Aboriginal deaths in custody after news of two more deaths this week.
Scott Morrison did not discuss this issue during his press conference today (but he wasn’t asked about it by the journalists in attendance either).
We missed Western Australian premier Mark McGowan some time earlier this afternoon, but he reportedly confirmed he would be getting the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, when he becomes eligible, and that the state would shut down three of its nine quarantine hotels, following the recent outbreak of Covid-19.
Oh, and there are no new cases again in WA.
I can confirm that as of 10am today, we have recorded no new local cases of COVID-19 in WA.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) April 28, 2021
We have detected four new cases of COVID-19 overnight related to returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/He2jAHQ6LL
Updated
Just finishing up a couple of bits and pieces from Scott Morrison, who just finished speaking in Darwin.
On the Port of Darwin, which was leased to a Chinese company by the Northern Territory government in 2015, Morrison said he would consider cancelling the long-term deal if the defence department or security agencies advised that it raised national security implications.
But he confirmed he is yet to receive that advice.
If there is advice from the defence department or our security agencies that change their view about the national security implications of any piece of critical infrastructure, we have legislation now which is dealing with critical infrastructure. Then ... you could expect me as prime minister to take that advice very seriously and act accordingly.
Updated
A new Covid-19 case recorded in the ACT
ACT Health has just released the following statement regarding a case of Covid-19 detected in the territory:
A new case of Covid-19 has been detected in a man in his 50s, who is a returned overseas traveller to the ACT.
The man is a diplomat who returned to Australia on 25 April. He flew into Sydney International Airport and travelled to Canberra by private vehicle on the same day. He did not stop en route to the ACT and has been in home quarantine since his return.
While in quarantine, the diplomat experienced mild Covid-19 symptoms and was tested for Covid-19, returning a positive result. The individual has followed all quarantine measures for returning overseas travellers and is being supported by ACT Health.
ACT Health is in communication with NSW regarding this positive case to assist them for contact tracing purposes.
This positive case will be counted in ACT Health’s statistics reporting tomorrow and genome sequencing is being undertaken to determine if he is infected with a variant of concern.
At this time, ACT Health has identified three close contacts of the diplomat through contact tracing, in accordance with national guidelines. All close contacts are also in quarantine and are following the instructions of our public health officers. There is no risk to the public.
The ACT receives returning diplomats and government officials on a regular basis and given the Covid-19 situation internationally, it is not uncommon for there to be some reports of positive Covid-19 cases in the ACT’s quarantine system. This is exactly why the ACT has a quarantine system. The circumstances of this new case demonstrate that our quarantine system here in the ACT is working well to protect the Canberra community from Covid-19.
Updated
Scott Morrison says NT military buildup ‘designed to pursue peace’
Morrison is being careful to separate the $747m funding package from tensions in the region, particularly with China.
All of our objectives through the activities of our defence forces is designed to pursue peace. That is the objective of our government. That is the path that we are pursuing, but to do that in a region as uncertain as this you need to ensure that you have the defence capability that enables you to protect and defend Australia’s interests in that region. And this enables us to ensure there’s an appropriate balance.
Updated
He also touched on the vaccination program, saying (incorrectly, but I made the same mistake earlier) that two million Australians had been vaccinated, when it is actually two million doses which have been administered.
He went on:
More than half of those have been vaccinated by their GPs. The vaccination program continues to roll out, focusing on those most vulnerable Australians and those in the front lines of our health workforce, and we will soon move on 3 May to bring forward the over 50s vaccinations with AstraZeneca through the GP respiratory clinics and the state and territory-related facilities, and two weeks after that we will move to over 50s – I should say more broadly – for the GP rollout all around the country.
Updated
Morrison is touring the Howard Springs quarantine facility after this press conference, which he says will increase in capacity from 800 beds to 2,000 beds by the end of May.
What that means is we’ll be able to continue to bring our charter aircraft or repatriation flights back into Australia from all around the world. For the next couple of weeks as you know we’ve had to suspend the flights out of India but we’ll be returning to those flights.
We’ll be restarting those flights in several weeks time, we hope, and that means that the facility will be ready to take those returning Australians and we’ll be continuing to move as many Australians from around the world back to Australia as safely as we possibly can.
We have now clicked over half a million Australians, half a million, who have returned to Australia during the course of Covid. We’ve been facilitating those flights, we have been directly running charters to get Australian homes and that is the number of Australians that have come back during the course of Covid.
Updated
Morrison is discussing the four training centres he is upgrading as part of a $747m package.
Interesting there is such a large defence spend announced the day after the “drums of war” speech became news, but I digress.
Morrison said:
Defence forces are always ready and ... they have access to the best training facilities of anywhere in the world and that they can work with our allies and partners ... we are here with the United States marines to ensure that together, as always, the United States and Australia will be a combination that pursues peace.
Updated
Scott Morrison is speaking in Darwin. First remarks are about the 25th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre.
Two million Covid vaccine doses administered in Australia
Oh look, we have ticked over the two million doses being administered mark.
This daily infographic provides the total number of people vaccinated in Australia as of 27 April 2021. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/TUKfzVuGVm #COVID19vaccines #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/wdi3hEmJsG
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) April 28, 2021
Updated
We are expecting to hear later this afternoon from the prime minister, Scott Morrison, whom the ABC says is in Darwin for a defence announcement.
Updated
Labor’s NDIS spokesman, Bill Shorten, says he believes “Australians probably wouldn’t think” it “appropriate” that the scheme funds sex worker services as a reasonable and necessary support.
Asked at the National Press Club on Wednesday if he agreed with the former minister Stuart Robert, who has begun moves to ban the supports from being funded, Shorten questioned the Coalition MP’s motives but also suggested it was outside community expectations.
He accused Robert of using a federal court case that ruled the support could be funded by the scheme as a “stalking horse”.
Shorten said:
What they want to do is the minister and the agency want to have the power to wind back the range of matters that people can seek funding on. Now, ultimately, do I think that service is sustainable? Maybe not. No.
But what I don’t accept is that the government just really wants to use a couple of examples, cherrypick one or two examples out of 433,000 participants, and justify wholesale cuts to the system. Let’s call a spade a spade.
He might be right on that particular point, but what he is not right on is making 433,000 people re-apply [through independent assessments]. He is not right in eliminating states and territories from decision making.
Pressed on his view on whether sex worker services could be funded by the NDIS, Shorten said:
I accept in the debate that Australians probably wouldn’t think that is appropriate. What I don’t accept is the motivations of Mr Robert.
Leaked draft legislation has suggested the government is considering giving the minister a so-called “God power” that would give them more power them to determine which supports are not to be funded by the scheme.
The woman at the centre of the federal court case told Guardian Australia in an exclusive interview last month that Robert was using her case as “clickbait”.
“It’s been so beneficial in helping maintain my mood and self-esteem and maintaining my sense of wellbeing,” she said.
The court determined that the services were “reasonable and necessary” in her specific case and could be funded by the NDIS.
However, it also rejected government claims that allowing the funding in the woman’s case would open the door to it being funded widely.
Updated
The family of an Australian businessman arrested in Iraq during a “trap” laid by the country’s central bank say they are enduring a “living nightmare” and are frustrated by Australia’s slow and secretive response.
Bill Shorten has finished speaking to the press club, but I’ll give you another of his zingers, just for old time’s sake.
Asked about whether Linda Reynolds can be a good social services minister, he said, among other things:
At the moment, just being not Stuart Robert, whilst that in itself is a relief for some people, isn’t actually enough to say that you are doing a good job as the minister.
Updated
Facebook bans second Craig Kelly page
Independent MP Craig Kelly’s second Facebook page he set up just prior to being banned earlier this week has also been banned by the tech giant.
The page, which had amassed fewer than 10,000 followers at last check, was up as late as this morning, but has been taken down by Facebook at around 1pm AEST, as well as his Instagram account.
The former Liberal MP’s main Facebook page was removed on Monday for repeated breaches of the company’s misinformation policy, with Kelly suspended earlier this year for posting Covid-19 misinformation.
He said he was “absolutely outraged” at being banned on the platform and announced plans to introduce legislation that could see social media companies fined up to $100,000 per day for deplatforming people for political speech.
Updated
AAP reports that Australia recorded a goods trade surplus of $8.5 billion in March, according to preliminary figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
Both exports and imports rose 15% in the month.
“Iron ore is the foundation of Australia’s export strength, accounting for 39% of all March exports,” ABS head of international statistics Sean Crick said.
A record $14 billion of iron ore was exported in March, up $2.5 billion from February.
Iron ore shipments to China rose by $1.3 billion to $10.1 billion in the month.
The iron ore price struck a record $US193.85 per tonne on Tuesday, overtaking the previous high set in 2011.
It will be a bonus for the federal budget in terms of revenue when Treasury had predicted an iron ore price of $US55 per tonne in the mid-year budget review released in December.
The 2021/22 budget will be handed down on 11 May.
Updated
Shorten is asked at the press club about the emissions reduction target he took to the 2019 election (a cut of 25% by 2030). Mark Kenny, the former journalist and ANU professor, says that the world appears to have now caught up to that ambition, but wonders whether Labor will be similarly ambitious before the next election.
Shorten responds:
That is a matter for Anthony and the whole shadow cabinet. Times have changed a bit. I think the global political climate has changed and I think President Biden in the US is showing what you can do if you set your mind to something.
But having said that, our 2030 target was formed in 2015 and it was based on evidence from then, and now by the next election it will be 2022. I am not sure I would take the same target, in a hypothetical sliding-doors moment, to the next election because I think the steepness of trying to achieve that in the remaining time that we have between 2022 and 2030 is less than the runway we might have had in 2016 or indeed even in 2019.
I don’t think you can simply just say we should set the same target because unfortunately the nation hasn’t been on that direction, at least at the Canberra level.
Updated
There is not a lot new in Bill Shorten’s address to the press club this afternoon, but he is warming up with some attacks on the Morrison government, and reflections on his former role as Labor party leader.
On whether they can avoid parliament when it comes to making major changes to the NDIS, including the independent assessment model:
If this government could avoid going the parliament they would. These guys have got the God complex about their decision making. They don’t want to go to parliament. Yet it had to prepare exposure draft legislation, so if they try to bring these changes in without going to parliament then they will have an almighty legal battle. They can’t avoid the parliament, which annoys them no end. It will be up to the crossbench.
We can’t stop the government but it is completely clear that I will do everything that I can to stop the government.
And on the Covid-19 vaccine rollout:
What is the current exchange rate for a Scott Morrison promise in this country? It has got to be depreciating ... This guy is so good that even when he promises, we don’t believe him, he doesn’t believe [it] so he doesn’t get held accountable.
He promised to do four million vaccinations by the end of March. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Biden, 76. He is not the youngest politician we have ever seen. He’s managed to roll out in America; 80% of people are vaccinated.
Unbelievable! They used to call him ‘sleepy Joe’, how about ‘sleepy Scotty’. It is not fair on people with disability. There is a serious edge to this.
On the current state of the opposition, given recent polling put the primary vote at 33%:
Listen, I am the last person in the world to say believe the polls.
OK. I think we are going fine. We are in a battle. It is not easy when you are in opposition in Covid, but really. This government, really.
Updated
Last night I spoke to chief Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor. He told me countries have failed to unite to provide an adequate global response to prevent the “tragic” coronavirus outbreak from overwhelming India, and singled out wealthier nations for failing to provide equitable access to healthcare around the world.
Speaking to Guardian Australia from the US, the chief medical advisor to the White House said the situation in India had highlighted global inequality.
“The only way that you’re going to adequately respond to a global pandemic is by having a global response, and a global response means equity throughout the world,” Fauci said.
And that’s something that, unfortunately, has not been accomplished. Often when you have diseases in which there is a limited amount of intervention, be it therapeutic or prevention, this is something that all the countries that are relatively rich countries or countries that have a higher income have to pay more attention to.
The latest epidemiological update from the World Health Organization (WHO) issued on Tuesday said Covid-19 cases increased globally for the ninth consecutive week, with nearly 5.7m new cases reported. India accounts for the majority of cases, with 2,172,063 new cases reported in the past week – a 52% increase.
Fauci said while WHO was trying to accelerate support to India through the Covax initiative – a global program aimed at ensuring countries most in need get access to vaccines and other treatments – “we have to do even more than that”.
You can read the full story and interview here:
Updated
New Zealand is donating $1 million to assist with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in India.
“We stand in solidarity with India at this difficult time, and commend the tireless efforts of India’s frontline medics and healthcare workers who are working hard to save lives,” Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.
Mahuta announced on Wednesday that the donation would go to assist India via the International Federation of the Red Cross, which is providing oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, and other medical supplies.
The health minister, Greg Hunt, has complained that health department and other government officials are spending too much time appearing before Covid-19 inquiry hearings.
It is important to note, however, that these hearings have been essential to getting information about Australia’s response to the pandemic, our vaccine agreements, the vaccine rollouts and other information in the public interest. These hearings have pressured the government into revealing more detailed updates about the vaccine rollout and deliveries.
The Covid inquiry can ask for explanations and evidence for how decisions were made, and can ask government departments to provide data. Much of this data has been requested repeatedly by journalists. For example, I have been asking the federal Department of Health about how much vaccine wastage has occurred. The latest response from the department did not directly answer the question.
A department spokeswoman told me:
The Australian government are working in partnership with the jurisdictions and vaccine providers to minimise wastage across the supply chain. A small percentage for wastage has been included in the utilisation data.
When I followed up to ask what a “small percentage” meant, I did not receive an answer. A lot of time is wasted when straightforward questions aren’t directly answered, which means inquiries like the Covid committee need to demand answers.
The public is entitled to this information and the idea that government officials are too busy to respond to inquiries of public interest is a bit alarming.
Updated
China’s foreign ministry says Australia is 'sick'
China’s foreign ministry says Australia is “sick” but is “telling others to take the medicine”.
The latest rhetorical salvo comes amid increasing tensions between the two countries, fuelled by a range of disagreements including Australia raising concerns over human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the crackdown in Hong Kong. Beijing has also been angered by the Australian government’s decision to cancel Victoria’s Belt and Road agreements and its longstanding ban on Chinese telco Huawei’s involvement in the 5G network.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was asked at a regular press briefing overnight to respond to the head of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson, who said in a recent speech that China “expects compromise on key national interests in exchange for dialogue and cooperation”.
Adamson said Canberra was experiencing a range of difficulties in its relationship with Beijing “as China adopts a more authoritarian approach domestically and asserts itself internationally in ways which challenge and undermine those rules”.
Wang replied that China believed a “sound and stable” relationship served the interests of both sides, but the “root cause of the severe difficulties in bilateral relations is that Australia grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs, hurts China’s interests and adopts discriminatory trade practices against China”.
“None of the responsibility rests with China. The Australian side used the word ‘authoritarian’ to describe China, but it was among the first to ban Chinese companies from its 5G rollout. It has also vetoed time and again Chinese investments under the pretext of ‘national security’ and wantonly searched Chinese journalists in Australia. It accused China of undermining the rules, but again it has blatantly torn up cooperative deals with China and disrupted bilateral exchange and cooperation. Basically Australia is telling others to take the medicine when it is sick itself. How can this solve the problem?”
Wang said Australia should “look at China and China’s development in an objective and rational light and work to build mutual trust and facilitate practical cooperation instead of going further down the wrong path”.
The comments also follow a speech by the head of the Department of Home Affairs, Michael Pezzullo, in which he warned of an increasing drumbeat to war. There is also increasing political momentum in Canberra for stronger action against reported human rights abuses, including forced labour, in Xinjiang.
Updated
With that, I shall depart for today! But the unbelievably talented Nino Bucci is here to take you through Bill Shorten’s National Press Club event.
Updated
Facebook is allowing businesses to advertise to children as young as 13 who express an interest in smoking, extreme weight loss and gambling for as little as $3, research by the lobby group Reset Australia has found.
The organisation, which is critical of digital platforms, set up a Facebook page and advertising account under the name “Ozzie news network” to see what ad options Facebook would provide through its Ads Manager platform.
While Facebook will not allow the advertising of alcohol and other age-inappropriate content to people under 18, it does not prevent advertisers from targeting children determined by Facebook’s profile to have an interest in alcohol, for advertising that might not appear explicitly to be about those topics.
You can read the full report below:
About an hour ago I sharing a statement from Shine Lawyers discussing the class action being launched against the commonwealth government seeking compensation for stolen generations victims.
In that release was a statement from one of the class action members, Heather Alley, who was nine she was forcibly removed from her mother:
I loved my mother and when she passed away, it took me 30 years to find the strength to even say her name. That’s how much the loss of her shook me.
In my 84 years, I think I only ever got to spend eight with her, and she was a good woman who loved me dearly ...
My mother never knew her mother. They’ve wiped away entire generations, like they never existed ...
I joined this class action because I believe our stories have to be told.
Updated
The Prime Minister will visit Robertson Barracks, NT, 1.20pm AEST #auspol
— Political Alert (@political_alert) April 28, 2021
Ooooft! Check out the smoke hovering over Perth today.
The smoke has been caused by planned hazard reducation burns.
SMOKE ALERT: The Department of Health is urging the public to take the necessary health precautions in response to smoke caused by prescribed burns. #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/mmTXMrdEIv
— 7NEWS Perth (@7NewsPerth) April 28, 2021
An expert who quit a Tasmanian government panel overseeing the state’s Atlantic salmon industry expansion says there is no sound scientific basis for a planned doubling of production over the next decade, and that concerns she and another member raised were consistently ignored.
Louise Cherrie, an environment management consultant who resigned from the marine farming planning review panel in 2018, told the ABC she was speaking out as she believed there was misinformation about the industry that needed to be countered, and she felt less alone on the issue than in the past.
This follows the publication last week of a book by the award-winning author Richard Flanagan, Toxic, that says the industry is devastating the local environment and state authorities are failing to regulate it.
The book was published 10 days before a state election that conservationists say has had noticeably less focus on environmental issues than past campaigns. The Liberal government and Labor opposition both support the $800m fish farming industry, which is a major exporter and employer in regional areas.
You can read the full report below:
For those wanting to know a bit more about Laming and his previous controversies, check out this exclusive from earlier this month by Sarah Martin:
NSW reports no new locally acquired Covid cases but nine in hotel quarantine
No local Covid-19 cases in NSW by the way, but nine overseas-acquired cases.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 28, 2021
Nine new cases were acquired overseas to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,260. pic.twitter.com/xW6G3v3xlt
Updated
Controversial MP Laming diagnosed with ADHD
There is some news breaking about controversial MP Andrew Laming.
Samantha Maiden from News.com.au is reporting that Laming has been recently diagnosed with ADHD.
Maiden reports:
Liberal MP Andrew Laming has revealed the shock medical diagnosis that he believes explains some of his erratic and downright eccentric behaviour that friends admit has left his career “in flames”.
The veteran Queensland MP has told news.com.au he has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD by a psychiatrist. He believes that the daily medication he now relies on has changed his life.
There is one particularly interesting quotes from the former medical practitioner:
As a medically trained person, I really genuinely just had no idea that ADHD and hyperactivity was an adult condition.
I mean to be fair, he was an ophthalmologist not a psychiatrist, but like, still!
Updated
I’ve just been in court for the latest mention in the case against Witness K, the former intelligence officer who helped expose Australia’s bugging of Timor-Leste during 2004 oil and gas negotiations.
Witness K is considered a whistleblowing hero in Timor-Leste. In Australia, he is being prosecuted for the disclosure of protected intelligence information.
The case has inched towards a sentencing hearing since K indicated he would plead guilty last year.
Witness K’s lawyer Haydn Carmichael told the ACT magistrates court on Wednesday that his client still has not been given a document that he believes may be relevant to his case.
The contents of the document – thought to be an affidavit submitted to the Hague during arbitration between Australia and Timor-Leste – are currently unknown to both the defence and prosecution, the court heard.
But the document is in the possession of the Attorney General’s Department and Carmichael says it should be disclosed in the interests of justice and fairness.
Carmichael is seeking a temporary stay of the proceedings to obtain and digest the document ahead of a scheduled sentencing hearing on 3 June.
The stay application will also consider Witness K’s ability to finance his defence. The court heard he has sought financial assistance to fund his case and may need to consider whether he has the ability to pay for subject matter experts to give evidence.
The stay application will be heard on 13 May.
Updated
Just on the news about Richard Pusey being sentenced to 10 months in prison.
The police officer he filmed while she died was, of course, Senior Constables Lynette Taylor.
Lynette Taylor's husband Stuart says "every time a media outlet makes reference to this offending, it always reference to filming a dying policewoman. There was only one. And she was my wife. And every time that commentary is made it tears at my heart and soul."
— Heidi Murphy (@heidimur) April 28, 2021
Important NSW vaccine dates
OK, so there were a lot of rapid-fires dates from the NSW press conference. Here is the breakdown:
10 May – Homebush mass vaccination hub open. It will only be available to those CURRENTLY in phase 1A and 1B, which is basically frontline workers, aged and disability care residents and staff and those over 50.
17 May – The national vaccine guidelines will change, making everyone over 50 eligible for the AstraZeneca jab. But in NSW those aged 50-69 who aren’t already in another eligible category will ONLY be able to book in for the vaccine with a GP.
24 May –Mass vaccination hubs will start accepting people aged 50-69 who aren’t already in another eligible category. You are asked to call and book and there may be a waitlist of several weeks.
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Berejiklian says mass vaccination hubs won’t be available for the general over 50s population until 24 May, however.
From 17 May, as was announced by the prime minister, GPs will offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to all people over 50. We encourage you to do that and go through your GP and do that as quickly and safely ask and if you have any questions or underlying health issues, your GP is the best place to answer those questions.
We will, New South Wales, be waiting until 24 May before we open up our [mass vaccination centres] for the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is because New South Wales, during the epidemic, has always ensured we have our systems in place to give people a positive experience.
There are 2.9 million people in New South Wales over the age of 50 and can you imagine if everybody went online to book for the same day? The system wouldn’t cope.
From 24 May, if you can’t get a dose of the vaccine through your GP and if you feel you want to get a dose as soon as possible, you are able to contact NSW Health and then you will be assigned a booking date which could be some weeks after your call.
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Six million to be vaccinated in NSW by end of 2021, says Berejiklian
Wow! It’s been a hot minute since we have had politicians committing to hard and fast targets when it comes to vaccines, but this morning Berejiklian has bucked the trend.
The New South Wales, the GP network and NSW Health team are one team.
Together, we are lucky to vaccinate six million people by the end of year.
But wait, there is a fairly big caveat:
Six million people as soon as we can, I should say, because the level at which we are able to vaccinate our population depends on the doses we receive.
We are working to maximise the opportunities we have given the doses we are receiving.
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Homebush mass vaccination hub to open from 10 May
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has finally given an opening date for the mass vaccination hub being set up in Homebush.
I’m pleased to say that from 10 May, the Homebush mass vaccination centre will be up and running and will be available to those categories of people that New South Wales has responsibility for.
We work our way through the list and are looking forward to welcoming people through the mass vaccination hub from 10 May.
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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking now.
NT stolen generation sues government
I mentioned before that a group of Northern Territory survivors of the stolen generations have issued class action proceedings against the commonwealth in the NSW supreme court.
Here is a statement from Shine Lawyers who will be representing the group of around 800 members who have signed up so far.
Special Counsel Tristan Gaven said:
It’s impossible to improve the future, without acknowledging the past.
We estimate that there are around 4,000-6,000 Northern Territory members of the stolen generation eligible to register for this class action. The commonwealth was responsible for tearing apart Indigenous families in the Territory and it’s up to the commonwealth to make amends.
Nearly every state and territory has acted on recommendations to compensate Indigenous Australians who were victims of the Stolen Generation, but nothing has been offered to those affected in the Northern Territory, that’s why we’ve filed this class action.
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Porsche driver who filmed dying police officers sentenced to 10 months
Porsche driver Richard Pusey has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for outraging public decency after filming dead and dying police officers in Melbourne last year and saying it was “justice”.
With time served, this means he will complete his sentence in just under a week. However, he may not be freed immediately as he is still in custody over other charges.
JUST IN
— Danny Tran (@DANNYTRAN) April 28, 2021
Richard Pusey to spend just a few extra days in prison over the crash on the Eastern Freeway.
He's been sentenced to 10 months in jail. Already served 296 days.
Doesn't mean he gets to go home though. Still in custody on other charges. @abcmelbourne
📸AAP pic.twitter.com/cqhsXdB9rn
The 42-year-old had been pulled over for speeding in his Porsche at 149km/h along the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne when a truck crashed into the emergency lane on 22 April last year, killing four police officer.
Pusey avoided injury because he’d been urinating off the side of the freeway. The court heard he rebuffed witnesses’ pleas to assist the officers or help shield their bodies with blankets, AAP reports.
Instead, he made two videos of the scene.
“Oh he’s smashed. Look at that. Look at that. Lucky I went and had a piss,” he said while zooming in on Const Humphris wedged between the truck and Porsche.
Pusey also walked towards the truck and said:
You cunts, I guess I’ll be getting a fucking Uber home, huh.
Zooming in on a damaged unmarked police car, he said, “that is fucking justice, absolutely amazing”.
It’s accepted Pusey, who has a severe personality disorder, was talking to himself and not taunting the officers.
He pleaded guilty to outraging public decency not because he filmed the scene, but on the basis of his comments.
He also admitted speeding and possessing MDMA, which he tested positive to, alongside cannabis, when pulled over by police.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce will provide a COVID-19 and vaccine update at 11:00am #nswpol
— Political Alert (@political_alert) April 28, 2021
Greg Hunt tells Covid committee to cool it
The health minister, Greg Hunt, has claimed parliamentary scrutiny of senior health officials is distracting them from managing the vaccine rollout and broader coronavirus pandemic, reports Daniel McCulloch from AAP.
Hunt has written to the chair of the Senate’s select committee on Covid-19, senator Katy Gallagher, to raise concerns about the amount of time officials spend preparing and appearing before the inquiry hearings.
I am concerned that recent demands on the Department of Health are detracting too much from their daily responsibilities.
In particular, two hearings with senior officials in less than two weeks is a significant commitment of time taken away from their focus on the vaccine rollout, which is crucial to the health and prosperity of Australians.
Hunt urged committee members to concentrate their efforts on upcoming budget estimates hearings in May instead.
The minister acknowledged the importance of scrutinising the performance of departments and agencies throughout the pandemic.
But he pointed out officials from the Department of Health had appeared 13 times before the committee, and the government had already responded to almost 2000 questions on notice.
This is in addition to the many briefings offered to the leader of the opposition and shadow ministers.
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Home affairs minister Karen Andrews says that about 9,000 Australians in India are still struggling after the federal government halted all commercial flights until at least 15 May.
She spoke to Sky News this morning:
As soon as its possible for us to look at flights to bring them back to Australia, we will be doing all that we can to make that happen ...
Our heart goes out to those people and their families.
Andrews encouraged them to use personal protective equipment if they can get their hand on any and follow the Australian health guidelines, such as social distancing and thorough hand washing.
India is now regularly recording more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases daily, which experts say is likely a vast underestimate.
You would want to quickly get up to speed on the situation in India, you can check out my Guardian Australia 60 second explainer below:
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Today we remember their names.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 28, 2021
25 years ago today, Australia’s worst mass shooting took the lives of 35 people.
The youngest victims, Alannah and Madeline, were just three and six years old.
Their legacy lives on through the @alannahmadeline Foundation. pic.twitter.com/21aRdUCMP4
The Australian government has left the door open to toughening up the nation’s laws against modern slavery amid concerns about human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region.
Officials also revealed at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that the government was in regular discussions “with all China-facing businesses” and had used those conversations to highlight the risks of forced labour in supply chains from Xinjiang.
Uyghur community representatives told the same hearing Australia had been too slow to respond to “severe oppression” and “atrocities” in the region, possibly because the government was afraid of facing further trade sanctions from Beijing, which denies the accusations.
British MPs voted last week to declare that China was committing genocide against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, following the passage of similar motions in the Canadian and Dutch parliaments and in line with the US government’s position.
You can read the full report below:
Australian news blog or not, you know that I am always committed to bring you any and all Britney Spears news.
Well, today a judge agreed to Spears personally addressing the Los Angeles court dealing with her long-running conservatorship in June.
Spears, 39, has been under a conservatorship since 2008 but rarely takes part in hearings. Her lawyer said on Tuesday that she had asked to speak to the court directly, but he did not say what matters she wished to raise.
Lawyer Samuel Ingham told the court on Tuesday:
My client has requested a hearing at which she can address the court directly ...
My client has asked that it be done on an expedited basis.
The judge set a 23 June hearing for Spears to speak to the court. It was not known which matters the singer planned to address.
You can read the full report below:
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Labor says PM's defence funding announcement isn't new
Now Albanese isn’t the only one in the Northern Territory today. The prime minister is heading there to discuss the governments $747m in funding to upgrade four ADF training areas and ranges.
Scott Morrison said by working with the US and other Indo-Pacific allies Australia will “advance Australia’s interests by investing in the Australian defence force”.
Our focus is on pursuing peace, stability and a free and open Indo-Pacific, with a world order that favours freedom.
This investment will also maximise local jobs through a targeted industry plan to contract local businesses throughout the entire supply chain.
But, as mentioned by Albanese earlier, Labor contests that this is truly a new “announcement”.
Shadow minister for defence Brendan O’Connor said the PM needs to “be upfront about why it is using an NT defence base visit for a photo opp two years after the relevant project was announced”.
AusTender documents reveal that the prime minister’s “announcement” today is for upgrades confirmed two years ago in a closed tender.
The funding disclosed today ($747m) is up to $447m above the tender estimates, continuing a trend of delays and blowouts on major procurements such as Future Submarines ($40bn blowout) and Future Frigates ($10bn blowout).
Today’s rehashed procurement predates recent comments by government members and national security bureaucrats that use language that is neither sober nor cautious about our regional settings. The project also predates Defence’s 2020 strategic update.
Which begs the question: is the government using another Defence announcement for purely political purposes, such as distracting from its botched vaccine rollout and the abandoning of thousands of Australians stuck overseas?
You can read the above mentioned AusTender documents here.
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The commonwealth ombudsman has released a scathing report into the Australian federal police’s use of powers to access metadata, focusing specifically on location-based services.
The ombudsman launched the inquiry after revelations the ACT policing unit of the AFP had engaged in widespread unlawful access of metadata. The report concluded that between 13 October 2015 and 2019 ACT policing accessed location information on 1,713 occasions and the ombudsman was only confident that nine were fully compliant.
The report rejects several arguments made by the AFP to play down the scale of the breaches.
It said:
Firstly, if access was unlawful and the information relied on in prosecutions, there may be consequences for people convicted of an offence. While initial advice provided by the AFP to my Office was that the LBS obtained by ACT Policing was only used to locate someone to arrest them, we were unable to rule out the possibility that unlawfully obtained evidence, the LBS, may have been used for prosecutorial purposes. Secondly, the privacy of individuals may have been breached.
We could not be satisfied that the scope of the breaches has been fully identified by the AFP nor the potential consequences and consider it is possible breaches have occurred in parts of the AFP other than ACT Policing.
The ombudsman described ACT policing’s attitude to its legal requirements as “cavalier”.
It said the AFP had made some progress with remedial action but “needs to do more to confirm the extent of non-compliance with the legislation for this type of telecommunications data and remediate any consequences of non-compliance”.
It’s interesting the AFP has agreed to seek legal advice about the consequence of non-compliance, but I can’t see any commitment to notify people who were subject of unlawful information access.
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A reporter has asked if Labor believes Northern Territory stolen generation survivors launching a legal case with the courts deserve compensation from the commonwealth.
Linda Burney has taken this answer:
The Labor party took to the last election, and it’s not changed – a commitment to compensate members of the stolen generation from capital territories, including the Northern Territory.
Shine Lawyers is launching a class action today and there is about 800 people attached to that class action. But the commitment of our party is to compensate those where there has been no compensation scheme in place. And they are from the capital territories.
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Albanese claims the $747m defence package to be announced by Scott Morrison today is “just another re-announcement from the government”.
He says:
We support increased support for our Australian defence force. But the government needs to just re announcing the same things over and over again.
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Asked about news Australian Olympians could receive their vaccines as early as next week, Albanese says he supports athletes being able to represent Australia at the Tokyo games.
But he adds:
But we argue, why is it that older Australians in nursing homes, for example, who were category 1a, are yet to receive their vaccine? ... Why is it that people with disabilities haven’t received their vaccines? Why is it that communities, including here in the Territory, haven’t received their vaccine?
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The Labor leader Anthony Albanese has stepped up for a doorstop in the Northern Territory.
He says:
The real question is, why weren’t these Australians brought home when Scott Morrison said he would? He told these Australians that they’d be home before Christmas.
I called some 10 months ago, for example, for the use of the VIP fleet, that would have been appropriate to bring people home from India who wanted to get home. But that wasn’t done by the federal government.
Albanese says he feel “greatly for those people who are stranded in India as Australian citizens. And also for their families back here as well, many of whom are distressed”.
Updated
This is a thought-provoking piece by epidemiologist Hassan Vally about Australia’s obligations to act on the unfolding Covid-19 crisis in India.
Hundreds of seabirds found dead in Hobart
Wildlife authorities and police are investigating the mysterious deaths of hundreds of short-tailed shearwater birds in Hobart, reports AAP.
The seabird carcasses were discovered last week at Cameron Bay near the suburb of Berriedale.
Tasmania’s wildlife and parks department has called for anyone with information to come forward.
“The matter is being investigated with support from Tasmania police,” the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Killing or interfering with native wildlife is illegal in Tasmania unless a person has the relevant licence or permit. Significant penalties apply for wildlife offences.”
People convicted of aggravated cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act face fines up to $34,000 and up to five years’ jail.
Penalties under other acts and regulations may also apply.
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The World Health Organisation issued its latest epidemiological update overnight, and it makes for concerning reading. It says that globally, new Covid-19 cases increased for the ninth consecutive week, with nearly 5.7 million new cases reported in the last week – surpassing previous peaks.
The number of new deaths increased for the sixth consecutive week, with over 87,000 new deaths reported.
The report said:
While a number of countries in the region are reporting upward trends, India accounts for the vast majority of cases from this regional trend and 38% of global cases reported in the past week.
Similarly, all but two regions, south-east Asia and eastern Mediterranean, reported declines in new deaths this week.
The highest numbers of new cases were reported from India (2,172, 063 new cases; 52% increase), the US (406,001 new cases; 15% decrease), Brazil (404,623 new cases; 12% decrease), Turkey (378,771 new cases; 9% decrease), and France (211,674 new cases; 9% decrease).
Virus evolution is expected and the more the virus circulates, the more opportunities it has to mutate, the report says.
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The Crown Resorts executive chair, former Howard era minister Helen Coonan, has responded to the Victorian casino regulator slapping the company with a $1m fine for failing to properly control junket operators yesterday.
You may remember that in February an inquiry in NSW found that junket operators who brought high rollers to Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos were linked to organised crime.
In a statement to the ASX, Coonan said:
Crown continues to engage with the VCGLR and the Victorian government in relation to its reform agenda.
These reforms and changes to our business are aimed at delivering the highest standards of governance and compliance as we restore public and regulatory confidence in our operations.
As part of this reform agenda, Crown has already ceased dealing with all junket operators.
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As mentioned earlier in the blog, the chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly fronted the Covid committee hearing last night, saying while hotel quarantine could be improved, the system was nonetheless fit for purpose and he was not aware of any plans to create new purpose-built facilities, despite estimates from the Australian Medical Association president that the system might be needed until at least the end of next year.
He was also questioned about airborne transmission, which has been a hot topic following the latest hotel quarantine outbreak in Western Australia. Kelly told the committee:
There is no question, and never has been a question, right throughout this pandemic that aerosols do play a part in the transmission of this virus.
This was particularly the case indoors when many people were positive with the virus and in places with inadequate ventilation – such as some hotel quarantine facilities. But, Kelly said, it was not the key form of transmission.
This idea that the commonwealth government … are all denying that aerosols are important is ridiculous and false.
You can read our explainer on aerosol spread and why it’s become a topic of discussion again here:
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Queensland reports no local Covid cases but nine in hotel quarnatine
While Queensland has recorded no locally acquired cases of Covid-19 today there were nine more overseas acquired cases.
This Queensland premier Anastacia Palaszczuk has expressed concerns over the number of returned travellers carrying high contagious variants of the virus in the quarantine system, urging the commonwealth government to step up and establish federal facilities.
Wednesday 28 April – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 27, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 9 new overseas acquired cases
• 24 active cases
• 1,550 total cases
• 2,446,266 tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,503 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/MbsQZucs0o
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Victorian off-duty police suspended after chase
Two off-duty police officers are under investigation after a car chase in central Melbourne, reports Callum Godde from AAP.
The pair were allegedly among five men in an unregistered Mercedes-Benz that fled from police after running a red light early on Saturday morning.
It stopped on Little Bourke Street with its occupants fleeing on foot.
The first off-duty police officer, a senior constable from northwest metro region, was arrested nearby before being released.
He is expected to be charged with drug possession and has been suspended with pay.
The other off-duty officer, a 28-year-old recruit, was spoken to by police and also suspended with pay.
Two of the three other men in the car have been identified.
Victoria police’s Professional Standards Command is investigating the incident.
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Former prime minister John Howard has spoken to Radio National about why he took action cracking down on guns in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre.
Howard said he was counselled by some not to, but he thought given he had been elected in 1996 with a “huge majority” that wouldn’t last, he should use his political capital for a “good cause”.
He said:
I thought if I couldn’t do something I wasn’t up to the job ... I thought the country should be given a greater assurance of safety – we deserved better. If the political system couldnt’ rise to the occasion, then something was wrong. But it did, I had bipartisan support from [Labor leader] Kim Beazley, and we got states together [to pass stricter gun laws].
Howard acknowledged that stricter gun laws were tough for the Coalition partner, the National party, and he thanked its leaders Tim Fischer and John Anderson for the support they gave him.
Howard acknowledged that firearms control had helped spur support for One Nation, and the National party had also seen an erosion in their vote to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party although he said this was for “broader political reasons”.
Given the growth in the vote and lobbying efforts of people who resent the laws, Howard said these should be resisted, and it is “up to current and future governments to ensure there is no erosion” in the laws.
We’ve secured a safer community, we mustn’t do anything to unpick that.
Updated
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's statement on the 25th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre pic.twitter.com/fjXIFHShYS
— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) April 27, 2021
A fatal truck crash has occurred this morning in Sydney.
A truck driver has died in a crash on Sydney's M7 which has caused massive delays. #9Today pic.twitter.com/CjCtFRgq91
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 27, 2021
Just for everyone who thought the mouse plague was over, here is a rather concerning pic from Dubbo.
Dubbo’s Amy Payten says her cat’s given up too and just watched the mice run by - the pic says it all! https://t.co/a3NviYp1xV pic.twitter.com/DERCpTwOWP
— Lucy Thackray (@LucyThack) April 27, 2021
Ongoing black deaths in custody are a “national crisis” that requires urgent action, the Greens senator, Lidia Thorpe, has said, after confirmation of deaths in Victoria and NSW.
Seven Aboriginal people have died in custody across Australia in the past two months. Four of the deaths were in NSW jails.
An Indigenous man died at Port Phillip prison in Melbourne’s west on Monday night, Corrections Victoria said. It is believed he suffered a medical episode. A smoking ceremony was being arranged.
Separately, NSW authorities confirmed that a 37-year-old man had been found dead in his cell at Cessnock correctional centre on Tuesday morning.
“Another two people dead. More suffering and more pain,” said Thorpe, a Gunnai Gunditjmara DjabWurrung woman.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
Man dies during arrest in Victoria
A man has died while being arrested by police in Melbourne’s south-east, triggering a homicide investigation, reports AAP.
Police patrolling High Street in Cranbourne spotted a 32-year-old man walking in traffic just before midnight on Tuesday.
The man was asked to get off the road but didn’t follow the request and allegedly became aggressive towards the officers.
When they tried to arrest him, the man appeared to suffer a medical condition and died at the scene, despite resuscitation attempts.
Homicide squad detectives will investigate the death, with oversight from Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command.
“This is standard protocol when a person has died in police custody,” police said.
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An environmental consultant who holds interests in a property that made more than $40m selling conservation offsets to governments is part of a consortium that has made tens of millions of dollars more, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Steven House is a former director of Eco Logical Australia, a firm that advised governments on major projects in western Sydney.
He is also a director of Meridolum No 1 – a company that Guardian Australia revealed had made more than $40m selling offsets for infrastructure projects that Eco Logical, which employed two of Meridolum’s directors, provided offset advice on.
The directors denied any suggestion of wrongdoing or conflict of interest and said they had made the appropriate declarations.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
Victoria records no local Covid cases
No new local cases of Covid-19 in Victoria today!
Reported yesterday: no new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 27, 2021
- 3,839 vaccine doses were administered
- 17,015 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKHFvv
#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/sM4zoUbrye
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Before his speech at the National Press Club today, Bill Shorten has accused the government of “trying to restrict people with disability’s access” to the NDIS, “constructing fences and padlocks” to applications to get supports.
Shorten said the proposed compulsory independent assessments would see people with disability submit to two-hour interviews with strangers rather than their treating doctor and allied health professionals, with the “whole chance of being in the scheme” hinging on that interview.
He told Radio National:
People are asking, “Why do we have to re-prove our disability yet again?” Everyone wants fairness, everyone wants to make sure people who are eligible get support. But this doesn’t occur in a vacuum. There are 433,000 NDIS participants. We have already had a process to get these people here. It’s profoundly insulting to say to those who have already qualified that there’s a question mark over them. If you’re blind, you’re blind; if you’re deaf you’re deaf. What is the case for reassessment? The government haven’t proven there is mass rorting of the scheme.
Shorten said if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or those who don’t speak English as a first language were having difficulty accessing the scheme, they should be supported by NDIS staff to apply, rather than making everyone requalify.
He questioned the government’s bona fides in calling a pause on the compulsory assessments, noting that new minister Linda Reynolds has not torn up offers for tender for private providers to be contracted to conduct the assessments.
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The families of Indian Australians stranded in the subcontinent are urging the Morrison government to establish a quarantine solution that would allow their loved ones to return home en masse when flights from India eventually resume.
Yesterday Scott Morrison announced a pause on direct flights from India to Australia until at least 15 May – including government repatriation flights due to land at the Howard Springs quarantine facility outside of Darwin.
Some 9,000 Australians in India are bracing for a deterioration of the Covid outbreak that recorded 350,000 new infections on Monday. Moves by countries including Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia to bar non-citizens from transiting through their airports have essentially closed off any option to leave India.
Morrison, asked about the possibility that vulnerable Australians in India could die during the health crisis, said: “That is the nature of a global pandemic – that is why we have been repatriating citizens.”
You can read the full story below:
Updated
Just want to bring you this little exchange from the minister for sport Richard Colbeck’s appearance on ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning:
Host Michael Rowland:
Can you understand their concern and in some cases anger being felt by some of the people in 1a this morning about what is unfolding for the athletes?
Colbeck:
No, I can’t, actually, because it was always anticipated there would be some overlap.
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Seems like Facebook’s ban on independent MP Craig Kelly’s page hasn’t kept him down for long.
Craig Kelly's backup FB page is still up. These posts were one after the other, lol pic.twitter.com/811HuI0KPX
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) April 27, 2021
Updated
Richard Colbeck has promised that all aged care residents will be vaccinated before Olympians leave for the Games:
There was always anticipated to be some overlaps in the rollout. What the national cabinet has decided to do is put the athletes and officials for the Olympics into 1b.
Residents in residential aged care are in stage 1a and that process will continue. By the time the athletes go away, all of the residents in residential aged care will well and truly have been vaccinated.
Every aged care facility in the country has either a date or a two-week window within which they will be receiving vaccinations for their residents and that will be done in the next few weeks and we have been working with the states since we have had to reset the national rollout to provide a series of options to support staff in residential aged care as well. That’s progressing well.
There will be a number of options to make it as easy as possible for staff in residential aged care to access their vaccination.
It’s worth noting that the staff of aged care facilities are also in phase 1a, although it seems Colbeck has stopped short of promising they will also all be vaccinated by July.
Updated
Notably, Richard Colbeck confirmed that the under-50s athletes (no doubt most of them) will receive the Pfizer vaccine, which is in extremely short supply in Australia.
Given that scores of younger frontline health workers have been asked to make the decision between signing a consent form to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine despite the TGA not recommending it for under 50s, or remaining unvaccinated, I can’t see this detail being received all too well.
Updated
On ABC News Breakfast sports minister Richard Colbeck has been asked why Olympic athletes have been bumped up the quarantine queue:
There remains some concern with respect to the amount of Covid in the world and the probability that it will be present at the Tokyo Olympics. Tokyo itself still having some issues with respect to incidences of Covid now.
The AOC and Paralympics Australia made a request to us to make the vaccine available to the athletes before they went away. That has beep considered by national cabinet and national cabinet has agreed to allocate an appropriate number of doses to support the vaccination of the athletes and the support staff before they go.
Updated
'Australian Open-style' quarantine floated for returning Olympic athletes
Federal sports minister Richard Colbeck is speaking with ABC radio now about the decision to vaccinate Olympic athletes before the Toyko games.
He said it was important returning athletes “don’t take up spots” in hotel quarantine.
Colbeck is instead promoting an “Australian Open-style” quarantine arrangement but said negotiations were still ongoing.
Updated
The Morrison government should step up its action on climate change and avoid framing Australia’s policies in the South Pacific in anti-China terms, according to a new paper out today.
Michael Wesley, a deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Melbourne, explores how Australia should react to the People’s Republic of China’s activities in the region in a policy brief for the China Matters thinktank.
The former official at the Office of National Assessments notes that the Pacific Islands Forum adopted the Boe declaration in 2018, elevating climate change as “the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific”.
Wesley argues that Australia “should engage genuinely with the security framing and imperatives of the Boe Declaration” by taking “more determined action on climate change and signalling the phasing out of fossil fuel production and exports”.
He says despite Australia’s Pacific Step-Up policy, the country “finds itself with arguably the lowest levels of influence and authority in the South Pacific since the mid-1980s”, partly as a result of increased solidarity among island nations about the climate crisis:
Australia’s passive stance on climate change and its role as a major producer and exporter of coal and gas are major sources of estrangement from Pacific Island countries.
More broadly, Wesley says Australia “is right to be concerned about the PRC’s growing presence in the South Pacific, but its policy response is too transparently focused on countering the PRC”. Arguing there is “no need to frame Australia’s Pacific Islands strategy in anti-PRC terms”, he writes:
First, Canberra must highlight the values that Australia and its Pacific neighbours share. By adopting a Blue Pacific rather than a Cold War framing, Australia will decrease perceptions of its apartness and neo-colonial impulses, and increase its influence at this critical time. Second, Australia should avoid directly countering the PRC’s initiatives with its own (particularly on infrastructure). Doing so simply lends credibility to the PRC’s role as a long-term development partner in the region. Third, Australia’s policy framing must avoid obvious competition with the PRC. This will help avoid cynical attempts by Pacific Island governments to bid up proposals and counterproposals to gain the maximum advantage.
Updated
Well hello there, it’s Wednesday, which means we’re nearly halfway done, guys. Well done!
It’s Matilda Boseley here, by the way, bringing you all the most important updates this hump day.
To start with, why don’t we have a chat about federal government-run quarantine facilities, or, well, the lack thereof.
Yesterday chief medical officer Paul Kelly and health department boss Brendan Murphy fronted the Senate’s coronavirus response committee in Canberra.
A number of states and the Australian Medical Association have united to call for the commonwealth to transform out-of-use military bases or asylum seeker detention centres into new quarantine facilities as the country racks up infection control breaches in hotel facilities.
But when asked about the prospect, Kelly said the hotels were “fit for purpose”:
In general terms, it has been very successful and very safe.
Murphy said there were no plans to invest in purpose-built facilities and that health officials had examined options including Christmas Island and defence bases but none were physically suitable.
Christmas Island has previously been used to quarantine repatriated Australians from Wuhan.
Even if a new facility were built Australia “would not have the public health workforce” to operate it, Murphy said.
Kelly said the facilities were being continually improved but were broadly achieving good outcomes.
He conceded that it was impossible to fully prevent the virus from spreading within hotels but did not seem to believe this was a deal-breaker:
We expect that there will be transmission in quarantine ... The important thing is that it doesn’t transmit outside of quarantine and if it does, that it’s picked up quickly.
So we will keep an eye out for reactions today from Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and the AMA, who have been the most vocal critics of the state-based hotel system.
Today also marks 25 years since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
At the time, the attack was considered the world’s worst mass shooting, with 35 people killed and 23 injured at the popular tourist site on the Tasman Peninsula.
It remains Australia’s most deadly massacre.
It was this massacre that prompted an overhaul of Australia’s attitude towards gun control under the then-prime minister, John Howard.
Laws were brought in banning rapid-fire guns from civilian ownership, tightening requirements for firearms licensing, registration and safe storage, and establishing a government buyback of semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns.
More than 650,000 weapons were destroyed, potentially almost halving the number of gun-owning households.
The gunman is serving 35 life sentences and more than 1,000 additional years’ jail without parole over the shooting.
There will be a commemoration service held at Port Arthur today.
With that, why don’t we jump into the day.
If there’s something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
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