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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay (now), Josh Taylor, Nino Bucci and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

Scott Morrison says ‘pause’ on flights from India is working – as it happened

Health workers conduct coronavirus testing at a Covid-19 facility at Bondi Beach
NSW Health is urgently investigating the source of infection of a locally acquired Covid case residing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

What happened Wednesday 5 May 2021

We’ll leave it there for today. Thanks for tuning in.

Here are today’s main developments:

Australia’s high commissioner in India, former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, said the number of Australians registered with the government as “vulnerable” had increased from 600 to 900 over the past week.

“We look forward to the resumption of flights we can assist the 900 people who are vulnerable, to get back home,” O’Farrell told ABC.

However he said the Department of Foreign Affairs was unsure if any Australians were currently in hospital suffering from Covid.

Well within the vulnerable cohort that is registered in Canberra, as well as across the 9,000, people have registered with us, people who have suffered in the past from Covid or maybe ... infected currently. We are saying to those people who are registered with us, if they have difficulties, please contact us so that we can do what we can to assist.

Updated

British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta appears to have saved South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks after securing refinancing in place of funding from its major lender Greensill.

GFG Alliance said Liberty Primary Metals Australia had agreed terms to refinance the Greensill exposure, reports AAP.

“The new financing is sufficient to pay out its Greensill debt in full and to provide on-going working capital for the LPMA group, which includes the integrated mining and primary steel business at Whyalla and its coking coal mine at Tahmoor,” GFG said in a statement on Wednesday.

The setting of conditions and documentation is expected to be completed within four weeks.

“GFG Alliance is in continuous discussions with multiple financiers on a competitive basis for various parts of its business and is committed to securing sustainable funding solutions to replace funding provided by Greensill,” it said.

The decision could impact on the direction of court action by Citibank, acting on behalf of Credit Suisse, launched in an attempt to wind up two of Gupta’s operations – OneSteel Manufacturing and Tahmoor Coal.

South Australia premier Steven Marshall said it was an important day for the Whyalla community and workers.

“The workers of Whyalla deserve enormous credit for the recent, much improved performance of the Whyalla Steelworks, which has contributed to this refinancing,” he said.

“The South Australian and federal governments have worked closely together to give potential financiers the confidence to back Whyalla.”

Updated

My colleague Mike Hytner with the full story of how Australian cricketers will escape India.

Just a bit more on the NSW Labor cyberattack.

A spokesperson for the party said:

This is a matter of serious concern. We have referred the matter to police and we are conducting a full investigation.

The people who are behind the attack operate by delivering the ransomware via phishing emails with malicious attachments in the form of a zip archive file.

Updated

The New South Wales branch of the Labor party has been the latest organisation to be hit by a ransomware attack.

The AFR reported the party was hit by the Avaddon ransomware group, encrypting files held by NSW Labor and threatening to leak sensitive documents including contracts, licenses, passports and employee information unless payment is made in ten days.

NSW police told Guardian Australia:

Detectives from Sydney City Police Area Command are aware of the incident and have commenced inquiries.

Ransomware attacks are hitting more and more companies, with Mimecast’s state of email security 2021 report released last month suggesting 64% of Australian businesses had been disrupted by a ransomware attack in the past year, up from 48% the previous year.

Updated

NSW Liberal MP Matthew Mason-Cox will be expelled from the party by day’s end after successfully nominating himself as upper house president, in defiance of the wishes of premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Berejiklian on Wednesday said she had asked NSW Liberal party state director Chris Stone to boot Mason-Cox from the party, AAP reports.

A dispute over the vacant Legislative Council presidency reached a crescendo on Tuesday night when Natasha Maclaren-Jones – Berejiklian’s preferred candidate – assumed the chair in the upper house.

Labor and the crossbench have previously argued Maclaren-Jones was not correctly elected as upper house president and proceeded to initiate a vote of no confidence in her position, which was carried.

Mason-Cox then nominated as a presidential candidate and was elected to the role ahead of Maclaren-Jones by 23 votes to 18.

“It has been a tumultuous day,” Mason-Cox said on Tuesday night.

I ask for your goodwill, for your patience and, indeed, for your better judgment ... we now move to working for the people of NSW again.

Berejiklian on Wednesday made clear she wanted Mason-Cox out.

She also made clear a woman should have assumed the presidency, but declined to say if Maclaren-Jones would now be offered a frontbench role.

There is party discipline and party rules people have to follow, he clearly breached those and it’s actually the NSW Liberal party, the organisation, which has taken the action.

I don’t think most people in NSW know or care about it, to be honest ... they just want us to get on with the job of governing.

I’m not happy people play games during what is a very difficult time.

Transport minister Andrew Constance was more forthright, saying on Wednesday that Mason-Cox was “a selfish bloke” and “inherently lazy”.

I’m no fan of his and I haven’t been for a couple of decades now, so I’m internally smiling about it.

[Former premier] Mike Baird dumped this guy in 2014 as fair trading minister for good reason ... he hardly had a glowing ministerial career.

Updated

Another reminder that we are currently in beef week™.

In case you missed it, here was Scott Morrison at a beef week event in Rockhampton yesterday.

Prime minister Scott Morrison at the Beef Australia Expo 2021 in Rockhampton on Tuesday.
Prime minister Scott Morrison at the Beef Australia Expo 2021 in Rockhampton on Tuesday. Photograph: Steve Vitt/AAP

Updated

Cricketers to escape India

Australia’s cricketers will escape the worsening Covid-19 situation in India by flying to Sri Lanka or the Maldives before taking a chartered flight home once the government’s controversial travel ban is lifted.

Cricket Australia and the players’ union said on Wednesday they were working on arrangements to repatriate the cohort of 38 players, coaches and staff who remain in India as quickly and as safely as possible.

CA CEO Nick Hockley said:

What we and the BBC are working to do, and they’ve been incredibly cooperative, is to move the entire cohort out of India, where they will then wait until it’s possible to return to Australia.

The BCCI has been working on a range of options. That’s now narrowed down to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The BCCI are working through the final details of that at the moment and we expect that movement will happen in the next two to three days.

Coach Mike Hussey, who has tested positive for the virus, will have to remain in India to see out his period of quarantine.

Updated

Former Australian Test cricketer Stuart MacGill was allegedly kidnapped and held against his will for an hour last month, but did not immediately go to police out of “significant fear” for his and his family’s safety.

NSW police said on Wednesday that four men, including a 46-year-old known to MacGill, have been arrested following an investigation into the incident on Sydney’s lower north shore on 14 April.

Detective acting superintendent Anthony Holton said NSW police believed MacGill may have been targeted for financial reasons, although no ransom demand was made.

“We think it [the motive] was purely financial – he was seen as someone they could get money from, although no money was paid prior to him being released,” Holton said.

MacGill, who played 44 Tests and took 208 wickets between 1998 and 2008, was allegedly confronted by a man in Cremorne around 8pm before two other men appeared and MacGill was forced into a vehicle.

Read more about this wild story:

New South Wales Health has released further locations of interest related to the coronavirus case announced earlier today.

Anyone who attended any of the following newly identified venues at the times specified is asked to immediately get tested and isolate until NSW Health provides further advice.

This applies to everyone, including those who have been partially or fully vaccinated.

New venues of concern:

  • District Brasserie at 2 Chifley Square, Sydney on Friday 30 April between 11am – 11:45am.
  • HineSight Optometrist; Sofitel Sydney Wentworth at P2/61-101 Phillip St, Sydney on Friday 30 April between 12pm – 1pm.
  • Barbetta, 2 Elizabeth St, Paddington on Friday 30 April between 1:30pm – 2:30pm.

These venues are in addition to those announced earlier today, with the full list of venues of concern available at https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates.

Updated

Professor of global security at UNSW, Raina MacIntyre, has used mathematical modelling to determine the effectiveness of a range of Covid-19 vaccine strategies.

Published in the medical journal Vaccine, it says because vaccine supply is limited, the government has adopted a targeted approach, vaccinating the most high-risk and vulnerable first, to make the most of the limited supply.

The study found while this approach is effective at reducing deaths from Covid-19, it ultimately will not mitigate an epidemic scenario should an outbreak occur. The best exit strategy from the pandemic will be mass vaccination to achieve herd immunity, the study says.

MacIntyre said:

A limited supply requires a targeted strategy where particular populations are prioritised.

We show that for a population of 7.5 million people [ie, NSW], if faced with an epidemic and an initial restriction in vaccine supply, sustained epidemic control cannot be achieved by this smaller, targeted vaccination strategy.

Other non-pharmaceutical interventions, such a face mask use, physical distancing, and limits on the movement of people through travel, will need to continue to mitigate any outbreaks.

The study shows that ultimately, adequate and effective vaccine supply coupled with rapid delivery is the only way to prevent sustained transmission in the community, and also improve prospects for economic recovery by removing the need for ongoing social restrictions.

MacIntyre said:

While our model shows that a targeted vaccine strategy can still reduce illness and death from Covid-19 – it is clear that a mass vaccination strategy would be far more effective at controlling disease.

Encouragingly, our model suggests that herd immunity can be achieved in states like NSW by vaccinating two thirds of the population with a high efficacy vaccine.

Updated

Thanks Josh.

I’m Elias Visontay, and I’ll be taking you through the next part of the day.

I will now hand over to my colleague Elias Visontay for the remainder of the day’s news.

Updated

Here’s our full story on the alleged kidnapping of former Test cricketer Stuart MacGill.

Detective acting superintendent Anthony Holton said NSW police believe MacGill may have been targeted for financial reasons, although no ransom demand was made.

“We think it [the motive] was purely financial – he was seen as someone they could get money from, although no money was paid prior to him being released,” Holton said.

Updated

Earlier the health minister, Greg Hunt, was asked about the federal court legal challenge.

Hunt said:

“I won’t comment on specific cases before the courts. More generally, I spoke about this earlier in the week before there was a case ... I made a statement two days ago – I was crystal clear in relation to that. We always exercise these with absolute caution and full processes, and that’s what we’ve done right throughout.

On Monday, Hunt said the government was of the “strong, clear, absolute belief” the India ban is legal.

Updated

A bit more on that Sydney Town Hall station situation that turned out to be a hoax, via AAP.

A threat that prompted the evacuation of Sydney’s Town Hall station and hours of major train delays was a hoax, police say.

NSW police confirmed at 11.40am on Wednesday that an operation was under way, with train services through the busy station suspended.

Officers searched the station and surrounds, but about 12.30pm confirmed nothing had been found, allowing trains to resume. The reason behind the operation was not clear.

Commuters caught up in the saga were urged to delay their travel, with major flow-on delays still plaguing the train network hours later. Buses were supplementing trains in some areas.

Police block off an entrance to Town Hall station in Sydney
Police block off an entrance to Town Hall station in Sydney. Photograph: Lloyd Jones/AAP

Updated

Federal court to expedite India travel ban challenge

The federal court has completed its urgent case management hearing in just under 10 minutes.

Christopher Ward, appearing for the applicant Gary Newman, said the case relates to a 73-year-old man resident in Bangalore who wishes to return to Australia but is prevented by health minister Greg Hunt’s determination banning people who have been in India in the past 14 days from entering Australia.

Ward said that there are broadly four grounds of challenge: two relate to statutory interpretation; the third relates to “proportionality and reasonableness” and the fourth is constitutional.

Ward asked that the first two be heard separately first, and then the other grounds later because they require “more substantial evidence and preparation”.

The applicant and respondent had come to court with agreed orders. Justice Stephen Burley said the court would need to find a judge to hear the case urgently.

Burley ordered that proceedings be expedited, and agreed that the first two grounds should be heard separately. The case will be listed for a final (one day) hearing on a date to be notified to the parties in the next 24-48 hours.

Updated

Protesters have expressed impatience with South Australia’s decades-long debate about voluntary euthanasia, ahead of upper house MPs voting on whether to legalise assisted dying, AAP reports.

Several dozen protesters rallied on the steps of the South Australian parliament on Wednesday, commemorating those who have died since 1995, when the first bill was introduced.

It’s the 17th attempt in 25 years to introduce voluntary euthanasia laws in South Australia.

The Labor MP Kyam Maher, a co-sponsor of the bill before parliament, paid tribute to the terminally-ill South Australians who dedicated the “precious last days of their lives campaigning to ensure others don’t have to go through what they’ve been through”.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying SA spokesperson Lainie Anderson told the crowd: “The fact this is the 17th bill in 20 years – it’s time, isn’t it?”

Protester Shelly Nieuwenhuizen wants to ensure others don’t have to endure what her parents experienced at the end of their lives.

The 60-year-old Largs Bay resident lost her mother after a prolonged battle with dementia, and her father after he opted to allow an infection to “run rampant” and take his life.

Wearing a crucifix necklace bestowed to her by her mother, Nieuwenhuizen is no longer religious after watching the suffering endured by her parents, but said her mum always supported the right to die despite her religious convictions.

“My mother used to have two false teeth that we never saw her take out growing up because she had too much self-pride,” she told AAP.

“That dignity was taken away from her in her last days. Shouldn’t people who believe in God have compassion?”

The legislation is modelled after a euthanasia bill passed in Victoria in 2017.

Updated

While we wait for the 3pm federal court hearing, it’s worth a quick recap of the legal arguments against the India travel ban from this explainer published on Monday.

There are two ways the travel ban could be challenged: first, on the basis the determination is unlawful because it breaches safeguards in section 477 of the Biosecurity Act; or secondly, that it is unconstitutional.

Both Melbourne University’s Prof Cheryl Saunders and Sydney University’s Prof Anne Twomey have suggested the former is the better argument.

Saunders said a plaintiff could argue the ban was disproportionate and therefore failed the test of being “no more restrictive or intrusive than is required in the circumstances”.

“There is also a question about whether the legislation or the determination is apt as it applies to citizens,” Saunders told Guardian Australia.

She said a plaintiff could argue the law needed to be more explicit if it was intended to allow Australians to be barred from entering Australia and the “pretty extreme” penalties could support the view it didn’t.

Twomey said any challenge was most likely to turn on whether the health minister could “reasonably be satisfied” of the requirements – including that the ban was effective, appropriate and adapted to its purpose and no more intrusive than necessary.

Twomey said a constitutional case would have to clear two hurdles: first, establishing that citizens have an implied right to enter Australia; and secondly, whether that right was absolute or could be qualified to protect public health.

The federal court has informed us that the applicant will be represented by Christopher Ward, Phillip Santucci and KA Morris.

Australia has delivered an initial supply of 20,000 Covid-19 vaccines from our national stocks to Timor-Leste, along with 56 tonnes of humanitarian, medical and PPE supplies.

Additionally 10,000 doses will be sent to Fiji this week, adding to the over 275,000 doses of Covax delivered to Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Nauru.

Australia, with Unicef, is procuring up to 6m Covid vaccines for the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Thanks Nino. While I am here, I might as well drop a link to my article we posted just after the NSW community transmission was confirmed, which shows there’s been a 25% drop in the number of Covid check-ins at venues in NSW between January and April.

Updated

My colleague Josh Taylor is taking the reins now, enjoy the rest of your day.

Legal challenge to India travel ban filed in federal court

Michael Bradley, the managing partner of Marque Lawyers, has told Guardian Australia there will be a hearing in the federal court at 3pm to ask for an urgent hearing of a challenge to the India travel ban.

There’s already a court file for the case – Gary Newman v Minister for health and aged care – which Bradley said relates to a 73-year-old applicant who has been in India since early March 2020 and wants to come home.

The case will seek to argue both that the travel ban breaches the constitution and the requirements of section 477 of the Biosecurity Act.

The health minister, Greg Hunt, has just been asked about the urgent hearing, before Justice Burley at the federal court in Sydney.

We’ll be attending the case and have updates through the afternoon.

Updated

Hunt’s press conference is no longer being shown on the ABC, but the upshot (pun intended) is that GP clinics will be given an increased number of Covid-19 vaccinations in the next few weeks.

Smaller GP clinics will see their doses triple to 150 per week, and medium-sized clinics will see their doses double to 200 a week.

Hunt says we are starting to see an acceleration in the vaccination program, which he expects to increase from the week of 17 May, when manufacturer CSL starts delivering up to 1m doses of vaccine a week.

But he cautions that a key consideration will remain having enough supply to give people their second doses.

I think what you are seeing is that acceleration right now with 79,000 vaccinations in the past 24 hours. With regards to going forward ... we have to provision for second doses. Sometimes that is somehow lost.

Updated

Here is the inevitable India ban question. Hunt responds:

It is about case load. That’s the important point to understand. What we have seen is, of course, one in eight – more than one in eight – passengers on the most recent flights were testing positive. That’s a level beyond anything that we had seen before.

Our job is to protect Australia against a third wave, our job is to protect our health system. So we have to manage the balance and the case load ... which is precisely why we took the difficult temporary measures.

Updated

Hunt is asked about whether incentives could be offered as part of the vaccine rollout, given the US government is considering such a measure.

He says:

At this stage we’re not proposing any incentives per se, other than the vaccine keeps you safe and it can help ... save your life, the life of your mother, father, grandmother or father and community.

America is at a different point. They are dealing with those that might be more hesitant. Our job is to encourage as many people to come forward as possible.

Updated

Oh and Australian Medical Association president, Dr Tony Bartone is here too. He says the “underlying trust and importance of the relationship” between patients and their GPs will address issues with vaccine hesitancy.

Updated

Dr Lucas De Toca, the first assistant secretary of the Covid-19 primary care response, is speaking with Hunt, and urges everyone who can get vaccinated to get vaccinated ASAP.

Updated

Hunt also announced more detail about vaccine supply for GP clinics, as we close in on 2.4m doses.

Updated

Hunt confirms that a shipment of health equipment including 1,056 ventilators and 42 oxygen compressors will be on its way to India today.

He says:

This is the first shipment. It’s not the last. We’re getting great support from around the states and from the general community on that front.

Updated

Health minister Greg Hunt is speaking in Melbourne.

He has only just started and he has already pumped up NSW for its “global gold standard” contact tracing.

Updated

Buttrose was also asked about vacancies on the ABC board, two of which have been vacant since November and a third from a director who finished in early March.

Buttrose said she “would appreciate having some new directors” because the board’s quorum is four “and that’s what we’ve got: four [directors]”.

Buttrose added:

So, I said to my fellow directors, ‘for god’s sake don’t get sick anyone. Everyone’s got to stay well.’ But hopefully we’ll hear soon.

When another question returned to the topic, Buttrose revealed she spoke to communications minister, Paul Fletcher, about the subject five or six weeks ago and he said it would be a few more weeks.

She said:

I am concerned, as I mentioned, because we are just four ... One of our directors, one of the four, lives in rural Queensland and she was attacked by a cow. I had no idea cows are so awful! I’m not wishing that on her again, in fact, she’s in full health. Unexpected things can happen. So, I’m sure the fact it’s been raised here today will be a reminder to government that there is a shortage of directors. We look forward to hearing who they might be.

Buttrose said she knows interviews have been conducted and a shortlist produced. But she also notes the chair “doesn’t actually have an input into who gets appointed to the ABC board” beyond speaking to the minister and chair of the appointment panel.

She said:

I think that’s a mistake. I don’t know chairs of other companies who have no input into the composition of their board. Although we are a commonwealth entity I do think the chair of all commonwealth entities should have some input into who the directors are. As chair, you know where you have to plug up a few gaps, you know what you’re looking for. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Updated

Health minister Greg Hunt is expected to speak in Melbourne soon.

Buttrose was also asked earlier today whether she expected any surprises in the budget next week.

She said:

We’re not expecting any surprises in the budget, but one can often be surprised. I take that as read!

Updated

Circling back on Ita Buttrose at the national press club.

She was asked a couple of questions regarding the ABC’s reporting on historical rape allegations against a cabinet minister.

The Australian asked whether she had any oversight of a story published by the ABC regarding the allegations.

ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Wednesday, 5 May 2021.
ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Wednesday, 5 May 2021. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The story is now the subject of defamation proceedings by Christian Porter, who subsequent to the story being published identified himself as the cabinet minister and strenuously denied (and continues to deny) the allegations.

Buttrose responds:

You’re not really serious about that question, are you? You know the case is before the court and I have simply cannot comment one way or the other.

Our own Paul Karp then asks about the commonwealth model litigant obligations, which he says require the ABC to avoid litigation if possible and to settle cases where appropriate. He asks if the ABC has made a settlement offer to Porter and asks her to “explain why in your view the ABC is entitled to fight that to the end?”

Buttrose says:

I really don’t have a comment on this case. It is before the court. We did not instigate the litigation.

We have filed our defence. And that’s as much as I can tell you.

Updated

A couple of other points from that conference:

  • The man’s workplace has not been released as he is not believed to have attended it while infectious.
  • Genomic sequencing is being completed.
  • The process of contacting those people who checked in at venues that were also visited by the man while infectious is happening now (eg not all those people have received a notification yet that they should isolate and get tested).

Updated

ABC has “lost the link” to the press conference in NSW, but it was largely winding up.

Berejiklian says it is clear there were going to be more cases during the course of the pandemic.

She said she would be surprised if the case announced today had implications for the New Zealand travel bubble “given they had more cases and we didn’t even flinch”.

She urged close contacts of the recent case to get tested, and says the list of venues was likely to increase.

Updated

Dr Chant has mentioned some concern that there were only 100 people registered via QR codes on Friday at Bondi Junction, according to her preliminary inquiries, making contact tracing difficult.

Berejiklian says this case is a wake-up call:

The strong message is QR codes work. We need them to keep us safe. This is a good wake-up call. We can never be complacent. I [still] try and do the elbow tap but I know around New South Wales people are shaking hands and kissing in public. We need to be aware that virus is still around.

Whilst in a pandemic we still have to maintain that level of caution and I just hope that everybody takes this as a wake-up call to make sure all of us adjust our behaviour. It’s easy to let down your guard especially in a social setting. It’s important not to let down our guard.

Updated

Here’s the list of venues the man visited:

Bondi Junction Screening of The
Courier at Event Cinemas
30 April (6pm – 8pm)

Rushcutters Bay Figo Restaurant
30 April (8.45pm – 11pm)

Silverwater Joe’s Barbeques
& Heating
1 May (1pm –1.45pm)

Silverwater Tucker Barbecues
1 May (1pm – 1.45pm)

Annandale Barbeques Galore
1 May (2pm – 3pm)

Casula Barbeques Galore
1 May (4pm – 5pm)

Mascot BP Mascot
1 May (4.30pm – 5pm)

Bondi Junction The Meat Store
2 May (3pm – 4pm)

Chant adds:

So to CT values in this case were low, so just to be clear low CT values mean that you are – have a higher viral load and therefore potentially are more infectious, so they do give us some cause for concern.

Updated

There is no obvious leads as to how the man caught Covid-19, Dr Chant said. He had been symptomatic on 30 April and was tested yesterday.

Chant said:

He hasn’t returned from overseas. He hasn’t worked in border or quarantine roles. He has not had any contact with the hospital system, so all of the usual routes where we would expect someone to have acquired the infection are not clear.

That’s why this is really – requires us to do that genome sequencing to give us that understanding of where that source of infection was and then we can work back from that, in addition, we will be testing those around him, and so again that may lead us to some other chains of transmission.

She added the man had a “reasonably large number of close contacts” and clarifies that is around 20. Some of the businesses the man visited are yet to be contacted.

Updated

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant is now running through the list of venues the man has visited. I’ll go into more detail on this later, but it includes a cinema and butcher at Bondi Junction, and multiple barbecue stores at Silverwater, Annandale and Casula, between 30 April and 2 May.

Updated

Berejiklian says:

Because this gentleman was very good as using the QR codes, we have good information on where he was and when, and the list is growing, obviously, but we’ll be able to update the community on what is available so far.

Can I also stress that ... the more people who are vaccinated the less chance we have people of acquiring the disease and end[ing] up in hospital.

It’s an important reminder in addition to preventing the spread of the virus that we also encourage as many people as possible who are eligible to get the vaccine to come forward and get it.

Updated

The man is in his 50s, was very active in the inner east, but did everything right, including using QR code check-ins at venues, Berejiklian said.

Gladys Berejiklian is speaking about a new locally acquired case of Covid-19 in New South Wales.

Updated

“I have a question about carpet design, amongst other things.”

That has to be a first at the national press club.

Updated

New case of locally acquired Covid-19 in Sydney

This just out from NSW Health:

NSW Health has been notified this morning of a new COVID-19 case in a person who resides in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Urgent investigations into the source of the infection and contact tracing are underway.

It is understood the case, a man in his 50s, has not travelled overseas in recent times and he does not work in a hotel quarantine, border or health role.

The man underwent testing yesterday (Tuesday 4 May) and returned a positive result today (Wednesday 5 May). This case will be included in tomorrow’s numbers.

Genome sequencing is underway, with results expected in the next 24 hours.

Close contacts are being urgently contacted, tested and isolating. The man visited a number of venues while potentially infectious.

Anyone who attended one of the following venues at the times specified is asked to immediately get tested and isolate until NSW Health provides further information.

This advice applies to everyone, including those people who may have been partially or fully vaccinated.

Updated

Ita Buttrose is speaking at the national press club about eye health, but she is now being asked mostly about ABC related matters.

Updated

Michael McCormack has had a busy day. Now he’s talking about how next week’s budget will be about saying thank you to regional Australians, apparently.

Looks like that police operation at Sydney’s Town Hall was fairly uneventful.

Sydney’s Town Hall train station has been evacuated as police search the vicinity.

NSW police confirmed at 11.40am on Wednesday that a police operation was underway at the busy train station.

The reason behind the operation is not clear but police have promised to update the public as soon as possible.

There have been reports of delays across the network due to the security operation.

Updated

With that, I shall hand you over to Nino Bucci to take you through today’s National Press Club speech.

Updated

For the second successive week, the number of Covid-19 cases globally has remained at the highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic, with over 5.7m new weekly cases, following nine consecutive weeks of increases.

The data, from the latest WHO epidemiological update published today, also said that new deaths continue to increase for the seventh consecutive week, with over 93,000 deaths. The south-east Asia region continues to report marked increases in both case and death incidences.

India is currently driving the vast majority of this upward trend; however, notable increases have also been observed elsewhere in the region, for example in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

India accounts for over 90% of both cases and deaths in the region, as well as 46% of global cases and 25% of global deaths reported in the past week.

The highest numbers of new cases were reported from India (2,597,285 new cases; 20% increase), Brazil (421,933 new cases; 4% increase), the US (345,692 new cases; 15% decrease), Turkey (257,992 new cases; 32% decrease), and France (163,666 new cases; 23% decrease).

Updated

News Corp Australia is reporting the media company is poised to announce details of multi-million dollar deals it has secured with Facebook and Google under the news media and digital platforms mandatory bargaining code.

On Thursday News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson and Chief Financial Officer Susan Panuccio will hold a third quarter fiscal update in New York and the announcement may be part of that event.

According to the report in the Australian the deal with the global giants to pay for content in Murdoch’s Australian newspapers is close.

Seven West Media, owner of the West Australian and the Seven network announced a five-year deal with Google and a three-year agreement with Facebook.

Ahead of the budget next week, communications minister Paul Fletcher said the government would give the Australian Communications and Media Authority $4.2m to implement the code.

Ummm, wow.

Check out the NSW upper house last night Liberal MP Natasha McLaren Jones sat in the president’s chair without the majority support of the members from the upper house.

Essentially the former upper house president resigned and the government and premier picked McLaren Jones to fill the spot.

However, Labor and some members of the crossbench disagreed with her appointment, meaning she didn’t have the numbers to assume the role.

Just because we’re slowly coming back to the office, doesn’t mean those home renovations have stopped.

Building approval figures out today show approvals across Australia surged 17.4% in March thanks to ultra-low interest rates and the impending end of the government’s homebuilder grant scheme.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports private sector dwellings, excluding houses, rose 63.6%, while private sector houses rose 0.1%.

This March figure follows a 20.1% rise in total dwellings approved in February.

The homebuilder scheme – which provides $15,000 in eligible renovations plans – was meant to wind up on 31 March, which partly accounts for this enthusiastic surge in March applications.

But in April the scheme was extended for another twelve months, so economists expect these red hot building approvals figures to stay elevated.

New South Wales saw the largest building approvals growth, at 26.9%. Followed by Victoria at 24.7%, and Queensland at 12.1%.

Total dwelling approvals in Western Australia and Tasmania fell (-6.4% and -4.8% respectively).

Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS, said:

The total number of dwellings approved in March was the second highest recorded, only exceeded by the November 2017 result.

All of these figures are seasonally adjusted.

See you at Bunnings!

Updated

Acting Victorian premier James Merlino maintains the use of a nebuliser machine by an infected man in hotel quarantine was still a “significant” contributor to the Holiday Inn outbreak and subsequent lockdown.

He says opposition leader Micheal O’Brien is “completely wrong after he demanded Merlino apologise to the man.

This conversation in parliament was born out of a report in the Australian newspaper alleging the outbreak was caused by the lengthy swabbing of an unmasked woman in an open doorway, and not from the room of a man using the nebuliser.

Guardian Australia has not independently confirmed this report.

Updated

Updated

The Morrison government will use next week’s budget to establish a national recovery and resilience agency and create a new climate service to help manage the risk of natural disasters.

The government will allocate $600m to the agency to fund resilience projects such as bushfire and cyclone-proofing houses, building levees for flood control, and improving the resilience of telecommunications and essential supplies.

Senior government figures, including Scott Morrison and the deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, are on the road in regional Queensland ahead of next Tuesday’s economic statement in Canberra.

The Coalition on Wednesday will also foreshadow a new round of the Building Better Regions Fund with a budget of $250m, as well as funding for business cases for water infrastructure projects in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania to the tune of $22.3m.

You can read Katharine Murphy and Paul Karp’s full report below:

Another day of zeros for WA.

The state had a scare over the weekend with yet another quarantine breach. This time the state didn’t go into lockdown, and it’s seeming more and more like this was the right call.

India ban working, prime minister says

Prime minister Scott Morrison has declared that the “pause” on flights to India is working, with case numbers in the Howard Springs facility falling.

The goal has been to get the number of infected residents at Howard Springs back under 2% – although in the coming weeks this will mostly be done by increasing the number of beds rather than necessarily reducing the number of infected travellers.

The pause will be in place until 15 May, as we said, and that pause is already working.

This is enabling us to get on the right foot to restore repatriation flights and we are making good progress to that. We are starting to see, as a result of the pause, the results of cases at Howard Spring is coming down – we have more of a distance to travel there – but it is working and that means that the pause will enable us to get Australian citizens and residents and their immediate families back on repatriation flights.

Without it, we would be eroding our capability to do that over the medium to longer term, so this was a necessary step to ensure that we could help more Australian citizens and residents get home, safely, in a way that did not risk a third wave in Australia. That is what we want to achieve.

We are working safely with the Indian community. Minister Hawke is talking with the Indian community, as is other members of parliament and we thank them for their patience and understanding and we will continue to work closely with them.

Updated

Morrison:

I am pleased that the humanitarian support is getting out to India and is on its way even as we speak. India is a great friend of Australia.

We formed many partnerships and, most recently, not just our own comprehensive strategic partnership which I signed with the prime minister last year, but also through our new Quad relationship at a leaders level, and working together with the other Quad partners to provide whatever support we can provide to India in at this time of the great need.

Updated

Morrison says he is not worried that the India ban has damaged Australia’s relationship with our important South Asian ally.

I am not concerned about that. Today, the humanitarian support – the significant humanitarian support for India – has departed Sydney.

1,000 oxygen containers, masks, respirators – minister Marise Payne is at the G7 meeting. There is a partnership effort with India to support them as they deal with this terrible crisis.

Updated

Scott Morrison is discussing natural disasters and climate change today:

These disasters, sadly, are things that people who live in northern Australia in particularly deal with. They understand that it is part of the cycle* of what can impact on their businesses and livelihoods and homes. It doesn’t make the loss any less or make the job any less difficult. But these are things we need to plan more for and we need to have the supports there when those disasters come about.

These disasters we are seeing happen more frequently, and that’s why building resilience is a key plank of our government’s response to climate change**.

*The manmade cycle, by the way, not the natural one.

**Some would argue that committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 would also be a good way to help people with natural disasters caused by climate change.

Updated

The prime minister is speaking now from Townville.

ABC files defence in Christian Porter defamation case

Many are eagerly anticipating the ABC’s defence in Christian Porter’s defamation case against the public broadcaster and investigative journalist Louise Milligan, which was due to be filed on Tuesday.

The comcourts file confirms the defence was filed at 8:50pm, and then at 11:06pm Porter’s team filed a document that is labelled a “reply”. These are yet to be published by the federal court.

A federal court spokesman said:

In the present case, the court has been informed that there are discussions between the parties concerning the publication of the defence and reply. Justice Jagot proposes to allow the parties a reasonable opportunity to complete these discussions before the uploading of the documents to the online file.

Guardian Australia contacted the ABC and Porter for comment.

Updated

Date set for Jacinda Ardern's wedding

The most anticipated wedding in New Zealand’s history will take place this summer, when prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her fiance Clarke Gayford tie the knot, reports AAP.

This morning, Ardern, 40, revealed on Coast Radio she and Gayford, 44, would wed after two-and-a-half years of engagement.

“We have finally got a date. Finally,” she said, declining to reveal the precise date, but adding it would be “this coming summer”.

When I say we’ve got a date, that doesn’t mean we’ve told anyone yet. I feel like we should probably put some invites out!

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her fiance Clarke Gayford.
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her fiance Clarke Gayford. Photograph: Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images

Weddings by heads of government are relatively rare.

When UK prime minister Boris Johnston marries his fiancee Carrie Symonds, as he intends to do this year, he will become the first British leader to do so in office in almost two centuries.

Updated

Daniel Hurst mentioned this before on the blog, his full story on the Guardian Australia website now:

UN human rights officials have raised “serious concerns” about the Morrison government’s ban on Australians returning from India, and the severe penalties attached to breaches.

The office of the UN high commissioner for human rights has questioned whether the controversial temporary measure – which can attract maximum penalties of five years’ imprisonment or $66,600 – is consistent with Australia’s human rights obligations.

“We have serious concerns about whether the Biosecurity Determination – and the severe penalties which can be imposed for its breach – meets Australia’s human rights obligations,” a spokesperson for the office, Rupert Colville, said early on Wednesday.

“In particular, article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is binding on Australia, provides that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.”

You can read the full article below:

Direct flights resume between New Zealand and South Australia

The trans-Tasman bubble has made it to South Australia this morning!

(Well, technically it was always part of it, but like now they have direct flights to Adelaide, so now they will get way more of the financial benefits from it.)

Updated

Westpac accused of insider trading as watchdog takes legal action

The corporate watchdog has launched legal action accusing Westpac of insider trading over Australia’s biggest ever interest rate swap, linked to the $12bn part-privatisation of NSW’s Ausgrid power network in 2016.

In the federal court lawsuit, the Australia Securities and Investments Commission alleges Westpac used its knowledge that it would be selected to do the swap “in order to pre-position Westpac in anticipation of the execution of the swap transaction”.

In a statement, the regulator said:

Asic alleges that Westpac’s trading occurred while it was in possession of information that was not generally available to other market participants including those that traded with Westpac that morning...

Prohibitions against insider trading are a fundamental tenet of market integrity.

Asic also alleges Westpac didn’t give AustralianSuper and IFM, who were buying 50.4% of Ausgrid and had ordered the swap, “full and informed disclosure about its intention to pre-position its trading books prior to and with notice of the execution of the swap transaction” and that this amounts to unconscionable conduct.

It’s seeking pecuniary penalties – basically a fine – plus declarations Westpac broke the law.

Westpac said it took the allegations “very seriously” and was considering its position.

Australia’s Westpac bank.
Australia’s Westpac bank logo. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

Temporary visas for Myanmar nationals in Australia could be extended

Myanmar nationals currently in Australia on temporary visas may apply to extend their stay until it is safe to return home, the Morrison government has announced.

The government has faced repeated calls to grant visa extensions in the wake of the 1 February military coup that has seen hundreds of civilians killed by security forces in Myanmar. There were 3,366 visa holders from Myanmar in Australia at the end of February, government figures show, about half of them students.

The immigration minister, Alex Hawke, issued a statement this morning to say the government was acting “owing to the ongoing unrest in Myanmar”.

The government says it will write to all Myanmar citizens temporarily in Australia “with further advice on how to remain lawful in Australia”.

It has also reaffirmed Australia’s “condemnation of the ongoing violence in Myanmar”.

The statement says a range of options may be available to suit individual circumstances, including the grant of new visas.Hawke said the move would enable affected individuals to remain in Australia until the situation in Myanmar improves.

This measure provides a means for Myanmar citizens in Australia to remain here until it is safe for them to return home. These arrangements will support Myanmar nationals in Australia who are affected by the ongoing unrest in Myanmar, consistent with Australia’s international obligations. Australia continues to strongly urge the Myanmar security forces to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against civilians, release those detained arbitrarily and engage in dialogue.

Protesters rally against the military coup in Myanmar and arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi outside Parliament House in Canberra in February.
Protesters rally against the military coup in Myanmar and arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi outside Parliament House in Canberra in February. Photograph: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Updated

This was pointed out by blog reader Josh B.

Great catch!

You can send your observations to me via Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.

General practitioners in Australia grappling with major vaccine supply shortfalls are being refused more AstraZeneca doses, despite 1m per week now being manufactured onshore.

Guardian Australia spoke with GPs across the country on Tuesday to understand whether early supply issues had eased, particularly given the increase in domestic manufacturing of the AstraZeneca vaccine at CSL’s Melbourne facility.

The overwhelming response was that nothing had changed.

In many cases, GPs had made direct requests to the federal government for increases to their allotted vaccine supply, but were rejected.

You can read the full report below:

Take a sip of coffee every time the deputy prime minister says “lube” in this tweet.

Speaking of that front-page story from the Australian:

They allege the bureaucrat managing infection prevention across Victoria’s hotel quarantine program had been ­reported to authorities twice since March.

This has not been independently verified by Guardian Australia, however, the general manager has now reportedly been stood down pending an investigation into allegations made in the article.

Updated

This is in relation to the Australian’s front-page story today that alleges Melbourne’s Holiday Inn Covid-19 outbreak that sparked Victoria’s third lockdown was caused by the lengthy swabbing of an unmasked woman in an open doorway, and not from the room of a man using a nebuliser.

The Australian quotes from a “secret report” into the outbreak, but the head of the Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria, Emma Cassar has said this morning that the nebuliser was still the “working hypothesis”.

Updated

Police release details on alleged kidnapping of Stuart MacGill

Here is what NSW police have to say about this alleged kidnapping reportedly of former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill.

Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives have arrested four men following an investigation into the alleged kidnapping of another man from Sydney’s lower north shore last month.

About 8pm on Wednesday 14 April 2021, a 50-year-old man was allegedly confronted by a 46-year-old man near the intersection of Parraween and Winne Streets at Cremorne.

A short time later the pair were approached by two other men, [allegedly] forcing the older man into a vehicle.

He was then driven to a property at Bringelly, where the two men, plus another unknown man, allegedly assaulted the 50-year-old man and threatened him with a firearm.

About an hour later, the man was driven to the Belmore area and released.

The incident was reported to officers from North Shore Police Area Command on Wednesday 20 April 2021 ...

Following extensive investigations [police] arrested four men, aged 27, 29, 42 and 46, from 6am today.

The men were taken to local police stations where charges are expected to be laid.

Officers are currently in the process of executing search warrants at homes at Sutherland, Caringbah, Brighton Le-Sands, Banksia and Marrickville.

Investigations are continuing.

We will learn more when NSW police hold a press conference at 1pm.

Stuart MacGill.
Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill. Photograph: Jonathan Wood/Getty Images

Updated

Biloela family could be released in community detention in the 'not too distant future'

I know I promised you no more home affairs minister Karen Andrews this morning, but I promise this is good news this time.

Andrews has told ABC radio that she would have announcements concerning the Bioela family potentially being allowed to live more freely on Christmas Island under community detention in the “not-too-distant future”.

Priya, Nades and their two young daughters have been kept in immigration detention centres for more than 1000 days.

Newly appointed Andrews has inherited one of the government’s most unpopular decisions, and while she has been reluctant to support a prime ministerial captains call to allow the Tamil family to come home, she has hinted at the potential for a more relaxed form of detention for the family while their claims for protection go through the courts.

The welfare of that family on Christmas Island is clearly an issue that I have turned my mind to ...

I am seeking advice on that at the moment and I will continue to seek advice ...

In terms of other accommodation that may be available to them on Christmas Island, that’s an ongoing discussion that I am having with our officials ...

I will make a response in the not-too-distant future.

Tharunicca, aged three, is being held in detention on Christmas Island with her family.
Tharunicca, aged three, is being held in detention on Christmas Island with her family. Photograph: Supplied from the office of Kristina Keneally

Updated

Queensland records no local Covid cases

Updated

Four men reportadly arrested over alleged kidnapping of former Australian cricketer

The ABC and 10 News are reporting that four men have been arrested over the alleged kidnapping of former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill in April.

I’ll bring you more information as soon as I can.

Updated

Australia Post responds to Christine Holgate demands

The board of Australia Post has agreed to participate in mediation with former chief executive Christine Holgate, reports Daniel McCulloch from AAP.

But the board will require Holgate to make public her demands to settle the dispute and the outcome of the mediation.

The board said in a statement today:

Australia Post’s lawyers have again written to Ms Holgate’s lawyers confirming that Australia Post will participate in a mediation ...

Further, given the public interest in this matter and Australia Post’s wish to be transparent about it, we have asked that Ms Holgate agree that following the mediation the parties will make public what she asked Australia Post to give her to settle the dispute and also the outcome of the mediation.

Holgate claims she was bullied and unlawfully stood aside for rewarding four senior executives with luxury Cartier watches.

Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate.
Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated

When Australia announced it would withdraw all military personnel from Afghanistan, Farkhondeh Akbari’s dream died a little.

“For me and my generation in the diaspora, some of us have been hoping to return back to Afghanistan, our homeland,” says the PhD candidate in diplomacy, international politics and strategic studies at the Australian National University.

But the decision by US president Joe Biden to pull US troops out by September, meaning Australia will also leave, leaves her fearing her home country will be further beset by violence and instability:

We always had this sense of responsibility to rebuild the country, but unfortunately if we are facing scenarios of civil war and further instability in the country, I’m afraid that dream is being taken away from us,.

You can read the full story below:

Updated

Victoria record no local Covid cases

Well, I mean Victorian barbecues might be in peril (apparently) but at least we have triple doughnuts!

Updated

Is everything OK in the Victorian parliament?

Updated

Anthony Albanese has confirmed he does support restrictions on commercial flights to India but said the government should have been running more repatriation flights in the months leading up to this.

Well, look, I understand absolutely that we should have restrictions on who comes to Australia, but we should have brought people home earlier when the government said that it would.

We haven’t used assets that are at our disposal, including the air force assets that are OK to fly government ministers and jobseekers to Europe. We haven’t used those assets.

We were able to use Qantas charter flights to get people home from Wuhan at the binning of the pandemic, but we haven’t used the assets that are at our disposal. There has never been more aviation assets, more unused, than there has been in the last 12 months and Australia has let down our citizens by not doing what the government itself said it would do.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has been asked if he welcomes Michael McCormack’s assurances that “nobody’s going to jail” for trying to return to Australia from India.

I do, but why do you make an announcement in the middle of the night about threats of five years’ jail and considerable fines and then days later say that we won’t implement the law. There is a separation of course of powers ... between law enforcement and lawmakers, but this is quite extraordinary.

The fact that the government made this announcement on of course late Friday night or Saturday morning after they had meetings with leaders of the Indian community on Friday, hadn’t bothered to mention that this was coming, then on Sunday we had a further double-down from the foreign minister.

On Monday we had the health authorities come out with a different story, saying it wasn’t based upon advice, but of course they don’t make the rules and then yesterday morning we had Scott Morrison saying virtually no chance, “almost zero possibility” of implementing the laws and then today on your program we had – it has now become absolutely zero possibility.

This is a shambles. The government should be getting the vaccinations right and it should be getting quarantine right. Scott Morrison said that Australians would be brought home by Christmas and we know that more than 35,000 Australians remain stranded overseas.

OK, I say we all take a sip of coffee every time Labor brings out the “they promised everyone will be home by Christmas” line.

Updated

Sorry to dive straight into another political interview but opposition leader Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC news breakfast now.

OK I swear this is the last Karen Andrews post – her interview was just so wild.

She has been asked about the Biloela family being helod in a detention centre on Christmas Island.

This was a decision made by the old home affairs minister Peter Dutton, and Andrews has been asked if she will step in and let them come home:

The matter is currently before the courts, so there is nothing that I am prepared to say or do at this point in time that would either jeopardise the positions of the government or of the family concerned. So, at this point, it is a wait and see what the results are through the court systems.

Michael Rowland:

Do you have compassion for that family? I know the legal process is going, but ... It’s a question ... As to who you are home affairs minister Karen Andrews, do you have compassion for this family who have been detained for more than three years?

Andrews:

I am a very compassionate person by nature. I will never walk away from that. But compassion takes many different forms.

Ummmmmmm ........ Y.I.K.E.S!

Updated

Gosh, Karen Andrews has been taking a direct and blunt approach to interviews this morning.

Karen Andrews
Home affairs minister Karen Andrews. Photograph: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

On ABC News Breakfast she is being asked why the states have been left in charge of quarantine when it is constitutionally the responsibility of the commonwealth:

What I would say to that very clearly is that the state and territories made some commitments some time ago, and that was in line with the health orders that they were wanting to put in place. It is right and it is appropriate that they take the responsibility for the quarantine systems that they have put in place ...

The state and territories gave their commitment last year. They wanted to take that responsibility*. And I applaud them for doing that. They should continue to manage their responsibilities as well as they possibly can.

*Only thing is, at least two states, Victoria and WA, have since made it abundantly clear that they no longer want that responsibility. Victoria even sent the commonwealth blueprints for the quarantine facility they wanted the federal government to build. Literally.

Updated

UN raises serious human rights concerns over Australia's India travel ban

The office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights has raised “serious concerns” about Australia’s India travel ban and the severe penalties attached to breaches.

It has questioned whether the controversial measure is consistent with Australia’s human rights obligations.

In response to a request for comment from Guardian Australia this week, Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the UN office, provided the following statement overnight:

We have serious concerns about whether the Biosecurity Determination* – and the severe penalties which can be imposed for its breach – meets Australia’s human rights obligations. In particular, article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is binding on Australia, provides that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.

The UN Human Rights Committee, which oversees implementation of the ICCPR, has emphasized the narrow authority to refuse nationals’ return, and considers that there are few, if any, circumstances in which deprivation of the right to enter one’s own country could be reasonable.

In assessing the issue of arbitrary deprivation, key factors to be taken into account are its necessity to achieve a legitimate end and its proportionality, including whether it is the least intrusive approach to accomplish its public health objectives. We note that the measure is scheduled to be reconsidered on 15 May.

(*Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Emergency Requirements—High Risk Country Travel Pause) Determination 2021)

Updated

Karen Andrews has been asked about the growing calls for the government to commit to establishing more federal quarantine facilities, to reduce the reliance on hotel buildings.

But the home affairs minister says the system is working well:

The response to Covid quite clearly has been an issue for all governments to work together on.

Now, the state government, state and territory governments made commitments last year about what they would do in relation to quarantine.

By and large, quarantine facilities have been working well in hotels. I understand that there are issues in Victoria*. We have known about that as a nation for some time. I am sure that the Victorian government is doing all that it can.

*Yes, problems in Victoria, and NSW, and SA, and WA, oh, and Queensland.

Updated

Gosh, government ministers have become a broken record on this India situation. It’s starting to feel as though it doesn’t matter what question they are asked – their answers are all some variation of the following.

Karen Andrews:

We are doing all that we can to support the Indian – India as a nation and also Australians who are in India. But it’s a balance of making sure that we are protecting all of the Australians who are here now. We have done so well in making sure that Australians are safe and secure and that’s a big credit to all Australians. What this government is not going to do is put Australians at risk. We will look to reopen as soon as we can. We are working on that every single day. This is a temporary pause and we will do our best to get those vulnerable Australians home as quickly as we can.

The question that this was the answer to, by the way, was: “If an Indian Australian dies who wanted to fly back to Australia, who [whose hands] is that death on?”

Updated

Well, that sounded a little bit extremely harsh from Karen Andrews, but I’m sure it was just a slip of the tongue, right? I’m sure she doesn’t double down.

Wrong.

Would I like to see the sanction applied? Clearly not. The best way for that not to happen, as I’ve just said, is for people not to get on those planes.

We have a significant issue that we have to deal with, to protect Australians who are here now to make sure that they aren’t exposed to Covid.

Speaking of travel bans, why don’t we hear from home affairs minister Karen Andrews?

The newly appointed minister has been out and about chatting with media this morning, and, rather than sticking with the deputy prime minister’s “nobody’s going to jail” line, she has taken a very different approach:

So, I understand the concerns that people have at the moment and quite frankly the best way to avoid the prospect of any fines, any sanctions, is to not get on a plane and come here in the first instance.

Oooooooft!

Updated

Now part of the government’s slow walk back of the travel ban has been emphasising that the sanctions are just an automatic part of the Biosecurity Act, and were never intended to be used as a threat to those attempting to come home. Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack is being grilled on this point now.

Michael Rowland:

You won’t jail people, why announce it? Why threaten it in the first place?

McCormack:

It’s in the act. It’s actually in the act ...

Rowland:

It was also specifically mentioned in your colleague Greg Hunt’s media release late on Friday night. I ask again – why mention it? Why be so specific about it if, as you say now, no one is going to be jailed?

McCormack:

There were Australians who were using other avenues and third ports to come home, and we don’t want Australians to breach those ... We don’t want Australians to do things because based on perhaps their level of ability to charter planes and the like and to overwhelm our quarantine system. We want Australians to do the right thing.

Oh yeah, you know ... like a threat.

Updated

Michael McCormack is speaking with the ABC’s Michael Rowland, who is trying to pin him down on exactly how concrete the “nobody’s going to be jailed” directive is.

Rowland:

That is a direct statement, “Nobody is going to be jailed.” A clear direction from the government now to Border Force officials and other parts of the system?

McCormack:

The prime minister said that. Look, it’s ...

Rowland:

Can the government do that? Where does the separation of powers come in?

McCormack:

We want people to understand that we appreciate their plight. We get the fact that there are 9,000, probably more, Australians in India at this point in time. That’s why the prime minister made it quite clear on March 13 last year to Australian whose are overseas to come home as quickly and as best they could ...

There is no manual that you can pull down off a shelf to say, “This is what you need to do today, tomorrow, or next month.” This pandemic continues. But we are continuing to take the best possible medical advice to address the issues that it throws up.

Well, that wasn’t an answer, was it.

Michael McCormack
Deputy PM Michael McCormack. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

McCormack confirms 'nobody’s going to be jailed' over Indian travel ban

Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack says “nobody’s going to be jailed” for trying to return to Australia from India, continuing the federal government’s walk-back of their hardline travel ban:

But, look, the prime minister made it quite clear yesterday that nobody’s going to be jailed.

Obviously, there needs to be a hardline taken as far as the overall act being in place, but nobody’s going to be jailed ... at this time. The prime minister made it clear.

We have taken this pause. We have made it in the national interests. We have done it, based on the best possible medical advice. It’s until May 15. We review it constantly, as you’d expect us to do.

Updated

A big old hello to you all on this fine Wednesday morning.

Matilda Boseley here, ready to guide you through this Wednesday’s worth of news.

Now, it probably comes as no surprise that all eyes are once again on India today, as federal immigration minister Alex Hawke moves to an urgent roundtable with Indian-Australian community leaders in an attempt to quell anger around the strict travel bans from the subcontinent.

As you probably know the federal government has enacted the Biosecurity Act in order to make it a criminal offence for someone to attempt to enter Australia within 14 days of being in India – punishable by up to a $66,000 fine or five years in prison.

But the government spent the last two days walking back this hardline approach amid mounting pressure, including from within Coalition ranks. Scott Morrison now says there is “pretty much zero” chance of harsh sanctions actually being imposed but has remained steadfast that repatriation flights will not resume before 15 May.

Hawke is set to meet with community leaders today to discuss the ban that is blocking 9,000 people, including 650 who are considered vulnerable, from returning to Australia.

This tension has been compounded by Australian cricketer Michael Hussey testing positive for Covid-19 in India, according to local media.

Hussey, who’s working as batting coach for the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings, is now undergoing a second test to confirm the result.

A team source told the Times of India:

Hussey tested positive. But his samples are being redone. Hopefully, the report will come negative.

This comes after Chennai Super Kings bowling coach L Balaji and a team staff member tested positive.

Batsman Steve Smith and other Australian cricketers re isolating in India after the IPL was suspended amid a devastating second wave of Covid-19 across the country.

Well, there is plenty to get through today, so why don’t we jump right in.

If there is 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.

Updated

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