What we learned: Wednesday 14 April
And that’s where I’ll you for tonight. Here’s what we learned today:
- Scott Morrison refused to apologise to Christine Holgate, saying it was not his “intention” for his “strong language” to impact the former Australia Post chief executive, while rejecting her claim her gender played some role in her treatment.
- The prime minister also revealed he will meet with Brittany Higgins, saying there were “a range of issues she’s relayed to my chief of staff that she would like to raise and I look forward to hearing her”.
- Morrison also abandoned his opposition to major vaccine hubs while announcing he would meet with state and territory leaders twice a week to get the derailed rollout back on track.
- But the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, warned the prime minister that more transparency over the rollout would be “a condition” of more frequent national cabinet meetings.
- The Christchurch mosques terrorist is launching a legal challenge in the New Zealand high court. The Australian terrorist is not appealing against his sentence, but his prison conditions and designation as a “terrorist entity”.
- Besieged Liberal National MP Andrew Laming awarded two grants to community organisations run by an LNP branch president and administered by his own electorate officer, while the organisations used their platforms to promote the LNP.
- Former South Australian state Labor MP Annabel Digance and her husband, Greg Digance, were charged for allegedly blackmailing state opposition leader Peter Malinauskas.
Updated
A Sydney couple received a fright when they discovered a rare venomous snake in a bag of supermarket lettuce – but recovered and later used the fresh produce in a salad wrap.
This Calla Wahlquist and Matilda Boseley co-production comes under the category of: do not want.
Part-time administrative appeals tribunal members appointed by the Coalition are being overpaid by claiming “pretty questionable” hours for their work, a Labor senator has claimed.
During a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday, Murray Watt used data on the payment to four part-time members to grill the AAT about the plausibility of their work claims, which he described as “fishy”.
Christopher Knaus has the full story:
The Australian federal police has confirmed it has “opened an investigation” stemming from Nine’s reporting about former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith.
But at a Senate estimates hearing this afternoon, the AFP said it would not go into detail as it could not provide a “running commentary”.
In a new statement this afternoon, Roberts-Smith has said the allegations aired by Nine on Sunday evening are “entirely untrue”.
He has specifically rejected allegations that he hid or failed to disclose material to the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes.
In the statement, a spokesperson on behalf of Roberts-Smith said:
The allegation that he threatened any witness or potential witness … to stop them giving evidence is false. The allegation that he buried USBs in his backyard is false. That simply did not happen.
During a Senate estimates spillover hearing, the Labor senator Kristina Keneally raised a series of questions about the reports on 60 Minutes and in the Nine papers “regarding alleged war crimes”.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege, Keneally said:
In the 60 Minutes report it was reported that USB sticks with classified information as well as photos were buried in a person’s backyard. The 60 Minutes report also ended with the statement that the AFP have opened fresh investigations into this matter. What I would like to ask you is: has the AFP opened a fresh investigation into any of the matters that were reported on 60 Minutes on Sunday night?
The AFP’s deputy commissioner, Ian McCartney, told the hearing:
The AFP has opened an investigation into aspects of that media reporting, senator.
Asked if the AFP now had possession of those USB sticks, McCartney said:
Given it is an ongoing investigation, we’d prefer not to provide a running commentary in terms of the conduct of the investigation.
When Keneally asked whether the AFP had sent two war crimes briefs of evidence to the now-former attorney general, Christian Porter, McCartney said that was “not correct”. Speaking generally, McCartney said the process would be that a brief of evidence would be provided to the commonwealth director of public prosecutions, not the attorney general.
Keneally also asked during the Senate hearing: “We also saw reports in the 60 Minutes episode on Sunday night about alleged witness intimidation in respect of ongoing war crimes matters … Are you investigating alleged witness intimidation?”
McCartney replied:
You’re not going to be surprised by my answer given it is an ongoing investigation, but what I can say is some of the allegations that have been raised are serious and it’s being treated as a priority by the Australian federal police.
Updated
Labor senator Kristina Keneally is claiming defence minister Peter Dutton intervened to disallow the use of a plane to visit the Biloela family on Christmas Island.
BREAKING:
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) April 14, 2021
4:50pm - @AusBorderForce confirms my permission to visit the #hometobilo family
5:12pm - I receive an email: “the Defence Minister has determined that the Special Purpose Aircraft can no longer be made available for the Committee’s travel”
Dutton cancelled the trip. https://t.co/gGOSwAhUdj
Updated
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has named Penny Williams as Australia’s new Ambassador to Indonesia. Ms Williams was most recently a deputy secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and will be Australia's first female ambassador in Jakarta.
— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) April 14, 2021
Still on vaccines, here are the latest raw numbers for Australia. Via AAP:
- There have been 1,295,672 doses administered in the national Covid-19 vaccination rollout up to Tuesday, including 60,991 in the past 24 hours.
- Of the total, 700,332 have been administered by the commonwealth, an increase of 43,523 in the past 24 hours.
- 547,512 have been doled out in primary care (+39,034) and 152,820 in aged and disability facilities (+4,489).
- 595,340 have been administered by the states and territories, an increase of 17,468 in the past 24 hours.
- 160,637 have been administered in NSW (+4,743), 152,363 in Victoria (+4,565), 115,025 in Queensland (+2,606), 70,584 in Western Australia (+1,689), 40,728 in South Australia (+1,522), 25,832 in Tasmania (+1,218), 18,644 in the ACT (+585) and 11,527 in the NT (+540).
Updated
Australia is 100th in the world for the number of Covid-19 vaccinations administered for every hundred residents and 44th in total doses administered, according to Guardian Australia analysis of data from Our World in Data.
A fascinating data piece from my colleague Josh Nicholas on where Australia really stands in the global vaccine rollout.
What we learned from a minor omnishambles at estimates
A little earlier this afternoon the Australian federal police appeared at a spillover estimates hearing. Fair to say things became ... a little circular.
Bear with me as we enter the vortex.
The Labor senator Kristina Keneally wanted the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw to explain why, during a previous appearance before a Senate committee, he had appeared to suggest that he hadn’t told the head of Scott Morrison’s department Phil Gaetjens, to pause an investigation into contact between staff in the PMO and Brittany Higgins (the former Liberal staffer who alleges that she was raped in Parliament House in 2019).
We reported these reasonably convoluted events at the time. If you need a recap, look here.
Kershaw acknowledged that he had (despite the impression he gave at the time) asked Gaetjens to hold off so as not to disrupt the criminal investigation into the alleged sexual assault.
The commissioner said he answered in the equivocal way he did on 22 March because he had lacked a specific power to order or direct Gaetjens to stop.
Keneally thought this was a distinction without a difference. Kershaw thought Keneally had misinterpreted what he had said, that this was “a play with words”. Keneally brandished the transcript from 22 March as “evidence” she hadn’t misinterpreted his comments. Kershaw explained that police didn’t answer questions like civilians.
And so the minor omnishambles went.
Keneally wanted to know if the AFP was investigating any other activity in Parliament House other than the alleged rape. Kershaw wouldn’t go there.
Keneally noted the head of ACT policing had provided some particulars about the investigation during an interview on local ABC radio.
Kershaw wasn’t inclined to budge. He said he did not intend to “disclose any facts” about a “live investigation”.
The Liberal chair of the committee, Sarah Henderson, thought (and said, more than once) that Keneally was sailing close to the wind. Keneally wondered how she could be close to the wind when the head of ACT policing could tell the local ABC some facts about the investigation in a public interview, but nobody could repeat those same facts during a Senate estimates hearing?
That question seemed reasonable, but in the end, the argument proved unpersuasive. When Keneally persisted, Kershaw thought the process wasn’t sufficiently “victim focused”. Being asked to repeat facts already in the public domain, Kershaw said, was “not in the public interest”.
So to cut a long story short we learned very little in today’s hearing.
Updated
The independent senator Rex Patrick has been on the ABC talking about today’s biggest story - the troupe of dancers hired by the Australian Defence Force to twerk at the opening of a war ship.
He wasn’t a fan, suggesting that Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson would be “turning in his grave”.
Look, I think Admiral Nelson might be turning in his grave if he were to see this. It is not something you would [expect to] see at a commissioning of a ship. That’s normally a very formal event. It is a very significant event in the context of a very expensive vessel entering into service for the Royal Australian Navy in what we hope will be a very successful voyage over probably 20 to 30 years. I just don’t understand who decided that this was the right thing to do. I just put it in the inappropriate bin.
The Greens senator Lydia Thorpe has been asking home affairs department officials about what test the department is applying to determine if people are “non-citizen non-aliens” – Indigenous Australians who the High Court held in Love & Thoms cannot be held in immigration detention.
Thorpe is concerned the department seems to think people need an “ongoing continual connection to country pre-1900” to qualify, which is not part of the three-part test in Mabo.
The home affairs general counsel, Pip de Veau, says the test from the separate majority judgments in Love & Thoms is:
- Biological descent from an Aboriginal [or] Torres Strait Islander person;
- Self-identification with that group of ATSI people;
- Acceptance by elders or people with traditional authority among those people.
De Veau says the third limb must be for a people who have had spiritual connection to land from pre-colonial times and an ongoing connection to country. Thorpe warns this excludes members of the Stolen Generation, but de Veau says this is the law as best they understand it from the decision.
De Veau then revealed:
Seven people have been released from immigration detention on the basis of the high court test. A further 20 people are being assessed, none of who have produced evidence sufficient to meet or probably meet the tripartite test.
Updated
Ex-MP Daryl Maguire cleared over Leppington Triangle land deal
Former New South Wales MP Daryl Maguire has been cleared by federal police over a controversial land deal near western Sydney airport.
The federal infrastructure department in 2018 paid $30m for the Leppington Triangle land worth $3m at Badgerys Creek.
The state’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has previously heard allegations Maguire personally benefited from other land deals in western Sydney.
But on Wednesday Australian federal police deputy commissioner Ian McCartney said after working with Icac there was no link found between those agreements and the airport land purchase.
He told Senate estimates on Wednesday:
Daryl Maguire is not a person of interest in relation to our investigation in relation to the Leppington Triangle.
The Australian Border Force is investigating separate allegations about McGuire’s involvement in a cash-for-visas scheme which came to light during the corruption inquiry.
Maguire is accused of abusing his public office while serving as a state MP.
He once received thousands of dollars in cash at his taxpayer-funded office, with the money linked to securing Australian visas for Chinese nationals.
Maguire has admitted making representations to immigration officials as well as federal politicians.
Updated
A former South Australian Labor MP and her businessman husband have appeared in court, charged with trying to blackmail state opposition leader Peter Malinauskas, AAP reports.
Annabel Digance, 63, and her husband Greg Digance, 60, were arrested on Wednesday at their Strathalbyn home, south of Adelaide, and came before Adelaide magistrates court.
The pair were released on bail, with magistrate John Wells accepting that special circumstances existed, although those circumstances were not disclosed.
Their bail conditions include that they have no contact with Malinauskas, surrender their passports and that they each lodge a $5000 surety with the court in cash.
Wells cautioned them both about complying with their bail conditions, saying:
If you disobey any of those conditions, you run the risk of being arrested and being remanded in custody.
Details of the allegations against Digance and her husband were not disclosed in court but media reports said they related to alleged threats made against Malinauskas.
Digance previously served in the parliament as the member for Elder from 2014 to 2018, when she lost her seat to the Liberals.
Updated
An update via SBS re: the twerking dancers.
I tried to get to the bottom of the twerking dancers at the commissioning of the HMAS Supply.
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) April 14, 2021
ADF told me "HMAS Supply engaged with the local community of Woolloomooloo – one of her home ports – to build positive relationships." @TheFeedSBS pic.twitter.com/HgFDGWRSJT
Updated
The Australian National Audit Office has written to Kristina Keneally confirming it will audit the Safer Communities program.
Keneally requested a probe after ABC’s 7:30 revealed former home affairs minister Peter Dutton asked his department to fast-track a grant proposal from the National Retailers Association weeks after the industry body made a political donation to support the home affairs minister.
The ANAO already has a performance audit page live with terms of reference asking:
- Were appropriate guidelines in place?
- Were applications assessed in accordance with the guidelines?
- Were funding decisions appropriately informed and documented?
The ANAO has indicated it will accept submissions until 28 November.
After Dutton’s intervention the NRA received a one-off $880,000 grant for a program to assist retailers responding to armed offender incidents.
Dutton has denied he was influenced by a $1,500 donation to the Liberal National party of Queensland, and the head of the retailers association, Dominique Lamb, denied discussing the grant with Dutton at the event at which the donation was made.
Updated
Christchurch mosque attacker requests judicial review after life sentence
The Christchurch mosques terrorist is launching a legal challenge in the New Zealand High Court.
Brenton Tarrant, the Australian who was last year sentenced to life imprisonment for 51 murders, will represent himself in a hearing in Auckland on Thursday.
Tarrant has requested a judicial review, which looks at whether decisions have been made appropriately within the law.
News outlet Stuff reports he wants to challenge his jail conditions and his recent designation as a “terrorist entity” by the New Zealand government.
Tarrant is being housed at an Auckland jail, with strict conditions surrounding his imprisonment, and few lines of communication to the outside world.
Justice Geoffrey Venning is scheduled to hear Tarrant’s case, with the Australian-raised terrorist to represent himself.
The hearing will be not be open to the public, though media will be permitted to attend.
Updated
In Senate estimates, we’re getting an update about the Leppington Triangle scandal.
You’ll remember that in the wake of that explosive audit office report, which found the infrastructure department paid 10 times too much for a block of land near the western Sydney airport, the government initiated four reviews. Two were investigations of potential breaches of conduct.
We’ve just learned that those code-of-conduct investigations are now with independent decision-makers for review.
The government also commissioned an independent audit of the purchase. That audit has been completed and passed on to the Australian federal police.
The fourth was a culture and capability of review, being conducted by KPMG, which will be finished shortly.
There is also a separate AFP investigation.
Infrastructure department deputy secretary Pip Spence said:
The four independent investigations and review processes initiated by the department in response to the ANAO’s [Australian National Audit Office’s] audit and the separate AFP investigation into matters raised into this report do remain ongoing.
As previously noted, the AFP has advised the department that any material that may prejudice its investigation should not be released while the investigation is underway. This advice was reconfirmed in March of this year.
Spence said staff were now being trained in how to manage contact with “interested parties” during acquisitions of this kind. That follows evidence that departmental officials met with the seller in a coffee shop before the Leppington Triangle purchase.
The department has given its senior governance committee more oversight of land acquisitions, is conducting a framework review and is updating its guidance on spending money under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act.
In a separate hearing, the AFP was also asked about the progress of its investigation. It wouldn’t say if an infrastructure department official is a person of interest or if ministers or staff have been interviewed.
Updated
Letter from Timor Leste's FM to @MarisePayne requests "temporary shelters, food and other essentials" in wake of floods (which Australia has already committed) but *also* "logistics to provide assistance to the most isolated areas"- seems a clear request for military helicopters pic.twitter.com/gt0sz8Yarr
— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) April 14, 2021
Andrew Laming awarded grants to two organisations run by LNP branch president
Besieged Liberal National MP Andrew Laming awarded two grants to community organisations run by an LNP branch president and administered by his own electorate officer, while the organisations used their platforms to promote the LNP.
Another cracking exclusive from my colleague Sarah Martin:
Updated
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, June Oscar, says Australia must stop the “mass incarceration” of Indigenous people in order to prevent deaths in custody.
In a statement issued on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, the Bunuba woman said:
The fact that imprisonment rates have increased markedly since the royal commission shows Australia has failed to build a just relationship with First Nations peoples. It is a deep national shame.
For 30 years we have urged Australian governments to implement all the recommendations made by the royal commission. We have long held the solutions and countless inquires and reports have given us the way forward. But time and again we fail to effectively implement them, and as a result we continue to see First Nations men, women and children dying in our so-called justice system.
The mass incarceration of First Nations Australians is driven by systemic and structural problems within the justice system and beyond it. Until this changes – until we see diversionary programs and justice reinvestment replacing mass incarceration – the grave injustice of Indigenous deaths in custody will continue.
I know there is genuine desire for change across the justice system. But this change requires courageous leadership from governments to drive systems reform. It is time governments entered into genuine, trusting and just partnerships with our peoples to finally address and overcome this crisis.
Oscar called for a national database to track Indigenous deaths in custody and for national independent oversight.
Guardian Australia’s database tracking deaths in custody, Deaths Inside, has found that at least 474 Aboriginal people have died in custody since the royal commission handed down its findings in 1991.
Photograph: Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Updated
Two men killed in a light plane crash north-east of Canberra were contracted to perform aerial inspections of an electrical network, AAP reports.
The pair’s employer has promised to leave “no stone unturned” in its quest for answers on the crash.
The Cessna 172 fixed-wing aircraft crashed into a farming paddock in Sutton near the ACT border about 4.30pm on Tuesday.
The plane had taken off from Canberra airport with a 31-year-old pilot from rural Victoria and an 18-year-old passenger from Albury on board.
The contractor, Oberon Aviation Services, said it was devastated by the crash and would support the families of its crew members however possible.
The company said in a statement:
This is a very difficult time for us – we’re a small aviation business company, and family, and have lost two of our members.
We can’t speculate on what might have caused this tragic accident while formal investigations are underway.
However, our families and staff can be assured that we will leave ‘no stone unturned’ in finding the cause of this accident.
A crime scene has been established and the area has been cleared for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to gather evidence.
In a statement on Wednesday, Essential Energy said the company’s “thoughts remain with the families, friends and colleagues of the two people who died”.
NSW police superintendent Paul Condon said the incident was distressing for all involved.
I’ve been to a number of plane crashes over my years of service and they’re all horrific scenes.
As you would expect, it’s always a shock to [family] ... These things are just like car accidents, they happen suddenly and it not only affects the people and victims but families and the emergency services who attend.
Updated
Big news out of South Australia, where a former Labor MP and her husband have reportedly been arrested and charged with blackmailing the state’s opposition leader Peter Malinauskas.
The Adelaide Advertiser reports Annabel Digance - a former state MP in the seat of Elder from 2014-18 - and her husband Greg were arrested on Wednesday morning at their home in the Adelaide Hills in relation to “threats allegedly made to Mr Malinauskas by the pair last year and over recent months”.
In a statement, South Australian police say:
Shortly after 7.00 am this morning SAPOL Major Crime Investigation Branch detectives attended at a domestic residence in the southern regional area where they arrested a 60 year old man and 63 year old woman both from Strathalbyn.
Both people were charged with the serious offence of Blackmail Section 172 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, 1935 which has a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.
Both people were refused police bail and are scheduled to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court today at or after 2.15 p.m.
As the matter is now before the court no further information can be provided.
The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, is also in Perth (he was there yesterday too) and is mocking the government’s new line: that it is returning to a “war footing” by reinstating bi-weekly national cabinet meetings to handle the vaccine rollout.
Albanese:
Today we have Scott Morrison saying he’s placing Australia on war footing. What’s his response? A couple of meetings a week. You know, under Scott Morrison we’ll meet them on the beaches, we’ll meet them on the phone hook-up.
I’m not totally clear on what the logical end point to this criticism is. Do we want Morrison to go to actual war with something? But the line from Labor is essentially that the government only had a few key jobs during the pandemic, and delivering the vaccine was one of them.
Albanese:
The fact is that he is responsible and the federal government is responsible for the deals on vaccines, and the problem that you have is you can’t have a rollout of the vaccines if the vaccines aren’t available. The federal government hasn’t made the vaccines available. They have put all of their eggs in the AstraZeneca basket and then the chickens have come home to roost when that has failed.
Updated
PM plans to meet Brittany Higgins
A tidbit from that Scott Morrison press conference from earlier: the prime minister says he will meet with Brittany Higgins.
Morrison said a location for the private meeting was yet to be confirmed, but that he was “looking forward” to meeting with her.
I know there are a range of issues she’s relayed to my chief of staff that she would like to raise and I look forward to hearing her.
Updated
The Australian government says it is not planning to send Myanmar nationals back home when their visas expire, as the post-coup death toll in the south-east Asian country continues to grow.
But despite mounting calls for greater reassurance to Myanmar nationals in Australia, Canberra has stopped short of across-the-board visa extensions or offers of asylum, insisting the issues will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
With hundreds of civilians killed by security forces in Myanmar since the 1 February military coup, the Australian government has been urged to grant visa extensions similar to those given to Hong Kong nationals last year.
There were 3,366 visa holders from Myanmar in Australia at the end of February, government figures show, with about half of them being students. Labor has written to the government to say: “No one should be involuntarily deported to Myanmar if they don’t want to go back.”
In response to questions from Guardian Australia, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said Myanmar citizens who wished to remain in Australia “should contact the department to ensure they are aware of the range of options available to extend their stay and remain lawful”.
Australia is not considering removals given the current situation in Myanmar and the restricted travel options caused by Covid.
Australia provided protection to individuals consistent with international human rights obligations, the spokesperson said, and “does not return individuals to situations where they face persecution or a real risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary deprivation of life or the application of the death penalty”.
The spokesperson said individuals who wished to seek Australia’s protection “may be granted permanent protection provided they are also able to fulfil the relevant visa criteria, which includes the health, character and security requirements that apply to all Australian visas”.
However, each case is assessed on its individual merits and protection visa decisions are not based on broad assumptions about the safety in particular countries.
Updated
Good afternoon! I’m Michael McGowan and I’m as enthusiastic to be with you for the rest of the afternoon as a dancer twerking in front of a war ship.
A little earlier this afternoon the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, was telling reporters that a “strong and stable” state government depended on the Nationals being returned in the Upper Hunter byelection next month.
Though Berejiklian has previously all but conceded the government will lose the seat, she said in Singleton in the Upper Hunter today that Nationals candidate David Layzell’s victory in the poll was crucial for the Coalition’s policy agenda.
Berejiklian said:
I’ll say this straight out: the deputy premier and myself need him on our team to have a strong and stable government.
We need him to help us keep doing the job we’re doing.
The government only holds a one-seat majority. The resignation of former MP Michael Johnsen late last month threatens to throw them into minority.
Updated
And that’s about it from Morrison. (Well, that’s all the interesting stuff anyway.)
With that I shall depart and leave you in the capable hands of Michael McGowan (not the WA premier, that’s Mark), who will take you through the rest of the afternoon.
Updated
Morrison says he “hopes” the extra 20 million Pfizer vaccines will allow everyone to receive their first vaccine doses by the end of the year.
The issue is in relation to the Pfizer vaccines. The timetable we have from Pfizer is ramping up in the next few weeks and months.
We have secured an additional 20 million Pfizer vaccines that will become available in the fourth quarter of this year...
We will have a substantial number of vaccines in the fourth quarter of this year. We would like this done before the end of the year but that will only be possible if we can ensure mass vaccination programs are in place that can do that in that space in that final quarter.
Prior to that, we will have AstraZeneca vaccines that we believe we might be able to ramp up the pace of vaccination for those aged between 50 and 70. That’s millions of Australians.
To be clear, “in the final quarter” does mean any time up until 11.59 pm December 31st.
Updated
The prime minister is quick to point out that it turns out the government was probably right not to purchase millions of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses after the US suspended its rollout today while several extremely rare blood-clotting cases are investigated.
Morrison says:
In the United States, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is now facing similar issues. This is why the selection of vaccines was so important. In recent days, the government has been criticised for not getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
That would have been another adenovirus vaccine. We already had one of those, AstraZeneca.
So we decided to go with the Novavax vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine and the mRNA vaccine so we ensured that we had coverage over the different types of vaccines foreseeing that it is possible – although there was nothing in early testing to suggest this – that any one of those vaccines could potentially face one of those challenges.
Right now our focus is on vaccinating people for whom the AstraZeneca vaccine does not present a challenge. There are those under 50 and aged care workers and others, but a vast number of those are aged over 50, and the AstraZeneca vaccine is appropriate for them and those supplies are continuing to roll out. We don’t have an issue with the supply of AstraZeneca vaccines*.
*I mean true, but that’s kind of a weird thing to be bragging about right now.
Updated
The prime minister has rejected assertions that Holgate’s treatment was exacerbated by gender:
This issue was not about gender. This was about taxpayer organisations handing out Cartier watches to well-paid executives.
This has nothing to do with gender. This has to do with the performance of people who are responsible for running taxpayer organisations.
I think acknowledging distress has been caused is appropriate, but when it comes to these organisations, we all carry big responsibilities and it can be a very robust environment and that robust environment should not take account of people’s genders.
It should treat everybody equally. That’s what I do.
Updated
Let just be crystal clear on what Morrison’s statement in parliament was, now that he claims he would have completely allowed Holgate to stay in her position while a review was completed.
Here is the quote:
She’s been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn’t wish to do that, Mr Speaker, she can go.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Updated
Morrison has been asked if he accepts that his strong words in parliament may have made it untenable for Christine Holgate to remain in her position as CEO of Australia Post.
I don’t accept that. The position was that Christine Holgate would be able to stand aside while that review took place. She chose not just to do that. She chose while the review was under way to resign from the company*.
That was a matter between her and the chairman. If she’d wished to stay in the organisation while the review was concluded, then the board and her could work through serious issues raised in that review. There were serious matters here and serious issues we didn’t want to see repeated. If she chose to work through the process, she could have chosen to do that**. Instead she chose to resign from the organisation***. That’s a matter between her and the Australia Post board.
My language in the parliament on the day – the Labor Party was saying she should resign. I remind everybody that was the context of the discussions in the parliament and what was said later. Parliament can get very willing and on that occasion, my language was very strong and I regret any distress that would have caused to Ms Holgate.
*Holgate strongly contests this.
**Holgate strongly contests this.
***Holgate strongly contests this.
Updated
OK, there is a lot of talk about GST and apprenticeships, but I’ll double back to that later as Morrison has just been asked if he will apologise to former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate.
He seems to be staying firm that she was right to resign (although she says she was sacked).
The prime minister says:
I said earlier today that the events that occurred in the parliament last year, October of last year, related to a serious issue...
One was that Cartier watches had been handed out to well-paid employees who were also entitled to employment bonuses under their normal remuneration arrangements. And on top of that, Cartier watches were handed out – on top of that. I didn’t think it was appropriate. I still don’t think it was appropriate.
When that occurred it was also stated that this was not taxpayers’ money. I disagreed with that statement strongly too. Physically it’s a government company, it’s taxpayers’ money, and it should be treated with the same level of respect across government organisations as well...
The instruction was that the chief executive would stand aside while that was being done. I stated in the parliament that if the chief executive – and the indication had been that this might be the case – was not prepared to stand aside, she might wish to leave the company. I reflected that in the parliament.
Now, it was a willing day in the parliament. The language in the parliament was very strong. It was not my intention to cause distress to Holgate and I regret any distress that that strong language may have caused to her and indeed did cause to her. That was not my intention. But this issue is about ultimately ... about the way taxpayers’-money-funded companies are run.
Updated
Morrison has now moved onto the second challenge, AstraZeneca:
The second challenge is to deal with those under 50 and those in the next phase who are between the ages of 50 to 70.
I will be talking and working with the states to look at the options for mass vaccination, firstly in the instance of those aged between 50 to 70 and the AstraZeneca vaccines that we have available.
Good news on the general practitioners is that we now have 4,000 of those GP sites established. We flagged that at the beginning of this week that we would be ramping that up further and that has occurred...
In total, we’re just shy of 1.3 million people who have been vaccinated as of the close of yesterday...
Australians can see Australia is coming through the pandemic better than almost any other country in the world today. We’re in a handful of countries to be living in this position. We intend to keep it that way.
Updated
Scott Morrison is now discussing vaccines, and has applauded the number of doses administered yesterday:
We have seen 60,000 people vaccinated yesterday. That is up from the previous day and particularly after the advice that we received from the technical advisory group on immunisations, regarding the remote risk that was associated with AstraZeneca, to see the numbers pick up the next day was an encouragement but we have a long way to go yet*.
I have called together the Premiers and Chief Ministers for us to work together to deal with the problems we have in the vaccination program which stem from two issues.
The first one was the constraint in the supply from overseas for our doses of those imported vaccines. We had three million that were supposed to turn up in those first few weeks and because of the problems in Europe, they did not arrive.
We were getting over the top of that problem and the second issue that has come from outside the Government’s control is the medical advice regarding those remote risks associated with AstraZeneca. That will change how we do the rollout. The critical thing right now is we must be vaccinating those most vulnerable in our community...
We will do everything we can to avoid an outbreak. But as we saw in Victoria, that cannot be always guaranteed. Those who we lost most, almost exclusively, were the elderly in Victoria when that outbreak occurred. Our goal right here, right now, is to ensure that we continue to progress forward with vaccinating that most vulnerable population.
*Yeah, you don’t say.
Updated
Morrison is chiefly in WA to discuss a GST deal with the premier Michael McGowan. It’s definitely a popular issue.
Morrison:
This afternoon, when I meet with the Premier, we will be talking about many other issues but one issue that is not in dispute and never will be, that is the GST deal for WA.
Crowd:
Hear hear!
Morrison:
This is a deal that as Treasurer I sponsored, as prime minister I legislated. The one person you can trust anymore with this deal is the person who actually brought it about and that is me.
The premier and I share a passion for this and we work together to achieve this. I argued it on the west coast and more importantly, I argued it on the east coast. I said the same thing in Sydney as I have said in Perth. I have said the same thing throughout WA as I said in North Queensland and in South Yarra. That is how you approach this.
We did it because it was the right thing to do. It was a wrong that needed to be righted in WA and we were pleased as a Government to both take that initiative, to argue the case and get it done. One of the many other areas we will be discussing this afternoon is the ongoing economic plan recovery plan for Australia but, particularly for WA.
Morrison and McGowan to discuss further cyclone recovery support
Morrison has started by addressing those who have lost their homes to the tropical cyclone Seroja:
I just extend, on behalf of the commonwealth government and all Australians, to all those in Kalbarri, that we are standing with you. This morning at 8am the phone lines opened ... that will provide that disaster recovery payment support to people effected in those areas. That is $1,000 per adult and $400 per child.
These are critical support payments in a time like this. You can call that number, your application is dealt with over the phone. There is no need for lots of paperwork. The commonwealth government, through Services Australia, has become very experienced through so many of the disasters we have experienced over the course of the last few years...
I am looking forward to going, in a couple of days time, to be able to see first hand on the ground and see what additional support we can provide...
One of the things that happens during these disasters, Australians who have never had to reach out for support before, very self-sufficient – and I know how self-sufficient West Australians are – they reach out. The support is there for you at a time like this. Please make that support available to you by reaching out and calling that number today and you will get a swift response. And we are very pleased to do that element, as we will be doing many others in concert with the state government.
Updated
The prime minister is speaking now.
On those mass vaccination hubs, Twitter user mstevo got in contact with a great point, which is that now the Pfizer vaccine is set to play a much large role in the Australian rollout, mass vaccination hubs will make the complicated cold-storage requirements of mRNA vaccines much easier.
Updated
Former SA Labor MP arrested and charged with blackmail
Just back on South Australia, Guardian Australia understands that former state Labor MP Annabel Digance and her husband Greg Digance were arrested this morning at their home in the Adelaide Hills and charged with blackmailing opposition leader Peter Malinauskas.
The charge of blackmail carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
Malinauskas is set to speak at 3pm Adelaide time (3.30pm Melbourne and Sydney time) this afternoon.
Updated
For those of you thinking, “Hey, wasn’t the prime minister meant to be speaking by now?”, that is a good point.
We were given a rough time of 11.30am, but it was never fully confirmed. I’m chasing up if we have any update on when he might be up.
Also worth remembering is he is in Perth this morning so it could well be much further into the afternoon than it usually is.
Updated
Just a bit of background on the mass vaccination hubs.
Unlike many other countries, at the start of the year, Australia opted for a rollout based on the GP network. This has been complicated by limited supply, with some GPs spending thousands on specialty vaccine fridges only to receive as few as 50 doses.
Mass hubs provide a more central vaccination location with higher turnover and can make it simpler to book in for vaccination, but can make region vaccination more difficult.
Morrison didn’t specify but I presume the mass vaccination hubs will be in addition to GPs, rather than replacing them.
Updated
Australia to move to mass vaccination hubs
Australia is set to shift to mass coronavirus vaccination clinics in a bid to roll out more jabs under the troubled immunisation program, reports AAP.
Scott Morrison on Wednesday abandoned his opposition to major vaccine hubs, which Labor and doctors have been agitating for.
The prime minister made the shift while speaking to the West Australian, after announcing he would meet with state and territory leaders twice a week to get the derailed rollout back on track.
We’ll need to change our rollout to go to mass vaccination options and that will have to be done in partnership with states and territories.
Morrison said offering all Australians at least one shot of a vaccine by the end of this year remained a possibility.
At this stage, there are too many uncertainties to commit to a timetable like that ...
I would need – and the states would need – to be sure they could put those arrangements in place and ramp them up and do them safely.
The government is copping significant flack over its decision to dump a vaccine rollout timetable after falling short of its initial targets.
Updated
Just back on the Eastern Freeway crash, the brother of victim Josh Prestney, Andrew, will speak to the media on behalf of all four families. I will bring that to you as soon as I can.
Apologies. Andrew Prestney, Const. Josh Prestney’s father, is set to address the media on behalf of the families of the deceased police officers.
— Jodi Lee (@jodilee_7) April 14, 2021
Updated
We are expecting Scott Morrison to stand up in the next 15 minutes or so, where he will no doubt face some serious questioning over both the vaccine roll out and the government’s treatment of former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate. I will bring you all the updates as that goes on.
NSW reports no new local Covid cases
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 14, 2021
Three new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,158.
There were 12,260 tests reported to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/VCW19mZ78P
Updated
Eastern Freeway crash truck driver sentenced to 22 years
Truck driver Mohinder Singh has been jailed for at least 18 years and six months for hitting and killing four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway reports Gus McCubbing from AAP.
Singh was short on sleep and high on drugs when he crashed a 19-tonne semitrailer into the officers who had pulled over Porsche driver Richard Pusey on 22 April last year.
Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney died at the scene.
Singh previously pleaded guilty in Victoria’s supreme court to four counts of culpable driving causing death, three charges of drug trafficking and one of possessing drugs.
The 48-year-old was jailed in Victoria’s supreme court on Wednesday for 22 years, with a 18-year and six-month non-parole period.
Justice Paul Coghlan said the crash had “shocked the public conscience” and described footage of the incident as chilling.
The grief of those close to the victims is profound and life-changing ...
Such grief is heightened by the sudden and unnecessary nature of the deaths. We can only hope ... as time goes by, some amelioration of their suffering can come about.
Singh had been using and trafficking drugs in the lead-up to the crash, and was “talking nonsense” about being chased by witches earlier that day.
Const King’s widow, Sharron MacKenzie, told the court her life had been reduced to an “ocean of tears and sleepless nights”.
I still feel the devastation and absolute heartbreak when I told my children their father and hero would not be coming home ...
For the first time in my life I understood the feeling of choking pain – deep and utter despair.
Sen Const Taylor’s husband, Stuart Schulze, said he would never forget the “dreadful spectre” of three officers at his door that day.
Const Humphris’ partner, Todd Robinson, said Singh took away the most important person in his life, while Const Prestney’s brother, Alex, said his sibling died “without dignity”.
JUST IN
— Danny Tran (@DANNYTRAN) April 14, 2021
Mohinder Singh.
Behind the wheel of a 20-tonne truck while high and sleep-deprived in April 2020.
Ploughed his prime-mover into four police officers on the Eastern Freeway.
Sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Parole in 18 years and six months.@abcmelbourne pic.twitter.com/iVygQ7UObH
Updated
Unsurprising opposition leader Anthony Albanese isn’t too fond of Scott Morrison’s plan to help the vaccine rollout by upping the number of national cabinet meetings:
The fact is that Scott Morrison contracted out to the states most of the responsibility during the pandemic. He was responsible for a few things though – the app that no one’s used and has been of no purpose and that cost a lot of money.
Secondly, aged care where he passed off responsibility, didn’t have appropriate safety mechanisms in place, even though the federal government is the founder of aged care, the regulator of aged care and establishes all of the rules and is quite clearly responsible.
And the third area of course is the area of the vaccine rollout. We said last year that they needed to do five or six deals, that was international best practice in order to secure a rollout of the vaccine that would ensure people’s health was looked after but so that the economy could be opened up.
It was the key. And today we have more thought bubbles. Today we have Scott Morrison saying he is placing Australia on war footing. What’s his response? A couple of meetings a week.
Under Scott Morrison, “we will meet them on the beach, we will meet them on the phone hook-ups”. That’s his idea of war footing.
The fact is that he is responsible and the federal government is responsible for the deals on vaccines. And the problem that you have is you can’t have a rollout of the vaccines if the vaccines aren’t available. And the federal government hasn’t made the vaccines available. They put all their eggs in the AstraZeneca basket and then the chickens have come home to roost when that has failed.
I want “we will meet them on the beach, we will meet them on the phone hook-ups” cross-stitched on a pillow.
Updated
Morrison says he didn't intend to hurt Christine Holgate, but stops short of apologising
Scott Morrison has responded to former Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate’s claim that he “humiliated” her in parliament.
Speaking to the West Australian’s live podcast, Morrison said:
That day in parliament was quite a heated day. The Labor party was calling for her resignation. Parliament can get pretty willing. I gave a strong response. The suggestion was we endorsed handing out Cartier watches to people already paid very well. My language was very strong. I see that has caused some strong reaction from Christine and hurt her deeply. That wasn’t my intention – and I regret that. But the issue is how taxpayer funds were used in a government-owned company.
Morrison said he had “no intention” to upset or offend Holgate, and he understands she went through a “difficult time” and that “is not something I would’ve liked to see happen”.
Morrison rejected claims his treatment of Holgate had anything to do with her gender.
He argued that “Cartier watches weren’t handed out” to people based on their gender, and the government’s complaint was that “Cartier watches were handed out to people for doing their job”.
This was about the use of taxpayers’ money. I don’t accept it was a gender issue at all. Things got heated – I note Labor were calling for her resignation as well.
Asked if he was adequately briefed, Morrison replied that the independent Maddocks review “confirmed what happened with the watches and a number of issues that were also troubling”. Morrison said he disagreed with Holgate’s claim in Senate estimates that it was not taxpayer money spent on the watches.
If you’re running a government-owned business, it is taxpayers’ money.
Updated
OK while that has been breaking the opposition leader Anthony Albanese has been speaking to the media. I’ll bring you updates from that in just a second.
Updated
David Fricker, the head of the National Archives of Australia, is up at Senate estimates and has just conceded that his agency risks breaching the Archives Act because it is so under-resourced records may soon deteriorate or be lost.
It is rather an awkward point to make, given he is sitting right next to his minister, Amanda Stoker.
Fricker is asked whether such a deterioration of records would breach the law.
“Yes, yes it would be,” Fricker said.
Because if you engage in conduct that results in the deterioration or loss of the record, that’s a breach of the Archives Act.
Stoker is asked whether her government’s under-resourcing of the archives has forced it to breach the law.
She says all agencies are subjected to efficiency dividends.
I don’t accept the premise of the question that’s based on the idea that the archives isn’t getting what it needs to do its job properly. Most agencies would like to have more, they would like to have access to an ever-growing pie. But if we assess the great work that the national archives is doing against its resources, I think it can hold its head very high.
The comments follow the release of a major review of the archives, conducted by David Tune, a former senior public servant.
The report made several startling findings. It found the National Archives of Australia was “struggling” to meet its mandate “to secure, preserve and make public, the archival resources of the commonwealth”.
Updated
Former South Australian Labor MP charged with blackmailing Peter Malinauskas
Here is what the South Australia police say about the arrest of a former South Australian Labor MP and her husband over blackmailing offences:
Shortly after 7am this morning SAPOL major crime investigation branch detectives attended at a domestic residence in the southern regional area where they arrested a 60-year-old man and 63-year-old woman both from Strathalbyn.
Both people were charged with the serious offence of blackmail section 172 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, 1935 which has a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.
Both people were refused police bail and are scheduled to appear in the Adelaide magistrates court today at or after 2.15 p.m.
As the matter is now before the court no further information can be provided.
I’m just getting confirmation on the name of the MP. I will bring that to you as soon as I can.
Updated
ABC is reporting a former South Australian Labor MP and her husband have been arrested and charged with blackmail offences after allegedly threatening the Leader of the Opposition Peter Malinouwskus.
More to come.
Fiona Nash, who was previously a Nationals senator until the great dual citizenship culling of 2017, now says she will not run to reclaim her place.
Last month it was reported she was seriously considering running for the NSW Senate at the next federal election, heading into a heated preselection battle with former deputy prime minister John Anderson.
But now Sky News is reporting she will no longer run.
🚨 Breaking: Fiona Nash has withdrawn from the race for the Nationals Senate spot.
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) April 14, 2021
“I've decided not to run for the Senate. Despite the opportunity you have to do good things for people when you’re in Parliament, I realised I didn’t want to constantly be away from home again”
Updated
Fatal NSW light plane crash scene horrific
Two men killed in a light plane crash north-east of Canberra were contracted to perform aerial inspections of an electrical network, Essential Energy says.
The Cessna 172 fixed-wing aircraft crashed into a farming paddock in Sutton near the ACT border about 4.30pm on Tuesday, reports Angelo Risso from AAP.
The plane had taken off from Canberra airport with a 31-year-old male pilot from rural Victoria and an 18-year-old male passenger from Albury in southern NSW.
A crime scene has been established and the area has been cleared for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to determine the cause of the crash.
In a statement on Wednesday, Essential Energy says the company’s “thoughts remain with the families, friends and colleagues of the two people who died”.
NSW police Superintendent Paul Condon told reporters the incident was distressing for all involved.
I’ve been to a number of plane crashes over my years of service and they’re all horrific scenes ...
As you would expect, it’s always a shock to [family] ... these things are just like car accidents, they happen suddenly and it not only affects the people and victims but families and the emergency services who attend.
Updated
States and territories are a little wary of Scott Morrison’s decision to convene national cabinet twice weekly. While they’re keen to hear how the rollout can be improved, they don’t want to be blamed for what is mostly a commonwealth responsibility.
Earlier, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, politely suggested that maybe what Australia’s rollout needs is supply of vaccines, not meetings (although she’s happy to attend).
She said:
The prime minister raised [national cabinet] yesterday. I’m happy to meet as often there’s a need for national cabinet to meet. Let’s have the first meeting and see how that goes. I would’ve anticipated that we’d need to meet more often as we got in more supply. But I’m happy to go along with whatever the prime minister requests.
Asked what Queensland hoped to get out of it, Palaszczuk replied:
It’s been called by the prime minister, so he’ll be putting on the agenda. It’s not one we’ve called for. You’ll have to ask him. The Australian public needs confidence that everyone is working together. That’s what we need and that’s what the prime minister wants out of national cabinet.
Palaszczuk said the “real crunch” will come when Australia’s vaccine supply increases.
And who is responsible for that?
The federal government is responsible for the supply. They’ve been very upfront about that.
Updated
I’ll bring you updates on this as soon as I can.
Truck driver Mohinder Singh has arrived at the Supreme Court to be sentenced for killing 4 police officers on the Eastern Fwy. Courtroom filled to capacity with families and police colleagues. More than 300 people watching the live stream of the hearing. @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/G8giLSj0AD
— Eliza Rugg (@Eliza_Rugg9) April 13, 2021
Truck driver Mohinder Singh is set to be sentenced today after fatally hitting four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway last year.
The 48-year-old pleaded guilty in Victoria’s supreme court to four counts of culpable driving causing death, three charges of drug trafficking and one of possessing drugs.
It’s alleged Singh was short on sleep and high on drugs when he crashed a 19-tonne semitrailer into the officers who had pulled over Porsche driver Richard Pusey on 22 April last year.
Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney died at the scene.
Updated
I mentioned before that search and rescue teams in Victoria were preparing to renew their search for two hikers, Russell Hill and Carol Clay, who went missing more than a year ago in the Alpine region of the state.
New information has lead police to renew their efforts, looking for the pair more than 100km from where they were last known to be.
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad and Search and Rescue are preparing for their day-long search for Russell Hill and Carol Clay @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/TztOoPiGBt
— Cassie Zervos (@cassiezervos) April 13, 2021
Updated
Wow, some pretty scary footage from a massive fire in the Victorian holiday town of Apollo Bay this morning.
The Victorian Country Fire Association say they were called to the Collingwood Street scene around 3.15 am.
On arrival, one restaurant was fully alight, with the fire rapidly spreading to two neighbouring businesses.
The first two shops have been completely destroyed, with crews managing to save approximately a third of the last business.
A hazmat vehicle was also called because of spilt chemicals at the scene, and an advice message was put out for the area.
A motel next door to the buildings was also evacuated, along with nearby residents.
CFA says the scene was declared under control just before 6.30am.
Extraordinary vision of the Apollo Bay blaze in full swing has been sent to 3AW Mornings 👉 https://t.co/VunT7Ok2Nd pic.twitter.com/tb3JWJ3n72
— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) April 13, 2021
Updated
Christine Holgate says she has not heard from the PM yet but says - “if he was to call me and apologise I would welcome that apology - that’s all I want it’s all the people want.” @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/H45VY9j8z5
— Jonathan Kearsley (@jekearsley) April 13, 2021
Richard Marles accuses Coalition of trying to shift vaccine rollout blame to states
The deputy opposition leader Richard Marles has slammed the prime minister’s comments surrounding his decision to ramp up national cabinet meetings from once a month to twice a week.
In relation to the vaccine rollout, Morrison acknowledged the federal government had had problems, but also said states and territories “are also tackling their own unique issues and working together we are all going to be in a better position to find the best solutions”.
Marles says this is simply a move to shift the blame:
This is the standard play from the prime minister now. What he is doing here is trying to spread responsibility, spread political risk, point fingers in different directions and pretend it is not all about him.
The truth of the matter is this is a moment where we need to see the prime minister stand up. The federal government is responsible for procuring the vaccines that need to be rolled out in this country. That is the fundamental question here. Talking to state premiers will not see us procure more of the vaccine.
The government has botched this and they need to be explaining to the Australian people – the prime minister needs to be explaining to the Australian people what the plan is to actually get more vaccines here so that the country can be vaccinated. It is absolutely the government’s fault that they were complacent last year, in terms of the way in which they placed Australia in the queue of the various vaccines that were being developed around the world. That was the moment when they needed to be spreading the risk.
Instead, they bet the house on the production of AstraZeneca in Australia and that it would do the lion’s share of the work in vaccinating Australia. Now we have the problems that have emerged and in a situation where the advice is not to use AstraZeneca on people under the age of 50. The government has a very significant problem in seeing Australia be vaccinated. This stems from the complacency of the government last year in the midst of its self-congratulations when it should have been putting Australia at the front of these queues rather than being slow out of the blocks.
Updated
Younger people urged to book in flu shots ASAP
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has urged people to still get their flu shots this year as the majority of the public waits for their Covid-19 vaccination.
Getting the flu shot is complicated slightly this year as it’s advised there must be at least two weeks between receiving it and any Covid-19 vaccine. Therefore the RACGP president Dr Karen Price is advising younger people to get the flu shot as soon as possible in order to avoid clashes later in the year.
We are dealing with the twin threats of influenza and Covid-19, for which two national vaccination programs will be rolling out at the same time – it’s a lot for our health system to manage, and it’s a lot for patients ...
We are urging patients in later phases for the Covid-19 vaccine to get their flu shot as soon as it is available, and then get their Covid-19 vaccine when they can. This will help to minimise strain on the health system ...
If you’re young and healthy you might think you should be standing back and waiting for the most vulnerable patients to get their flu shots first.
In fact, we want these patients to do the opposite. Book an appointment with your GP to get your flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, and then get your Covid-19 vaccine when you can.
Patients who are more vulnerable, including those who are older, should prioritise getting their Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it is offered to them.
The RACGP says the annual influenza vaccine is recommended for all patients over six months to prevent influenza.
For those aged over 65 years, the adjuvanted influenza vaccine, Fluad® Quad, is recommended over the standard influenza vaccine.
Updated
New lead in missing Victorian campers case
Police investigating the baffling disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay more than a year ago have moved the focus of their search following a new lead, reports AAP.
Victoria police said search and rescue officers and detectives from the missing persons squad will begin searching the area near the Great Alpine Road in Mount Hotham from 9am on Wednesday.
Detectives are acting on information uncovered during the course of the investigation that has led them to this area and is believed to be of interest to the investigation.
Mount Hotham is about a 100km drive from the Wonnangatta Valley, where Hill, 74, and Clay, 73, went missing in March 2020.
Police believe Hill left his Drouin home on 19 March and picked up Clay from her home in Pakenham in his white Toyota Landcruiser. Hill was last heard from on 20 March via HF radio, stating he was at Wonnangatta Valley.
Campers found Hill’s car with signs of minor fire damage at the duo’s campsite near Dry River Creek Track in the Wonnangatta Valley the next day.
Their campsite had been completely destroyed by fire.
Investigators have been told Hill took a drone with him on the trip, which is yet to be recovered, and they are yet to account for a white dual cab ute seen near the pair’s campsite on 19 March.
An older person or pair were sighted at the Black Snake Creek, Eaglevale River crossing and the Ollies Jump area on 22-23 March but investigations haven’t been able to establish whether it was Hill and Clay.
Police have conceded it is unlikely the pair are still alive.
Updated
I can’t believe I just posted those tweets before and didn’t post this one.
Instagram style graphic design from the leader of a state... SIP!
BREAKING: Restrictions will ease from 6am tomorrow, Thursday 15 April. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/eK9LX5fs9i
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2021
Further to masks no longer being required in Queensland here are the other restrictions that will ease as of 6am tomorrow.
Visitors will be allowed in hospitals, aged and disability care as soon as facilities are ready.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2021
You can stand up to eat and drink in pubs and clubs, and dancing will be allowed.
Stadiums, theatres and cinemas can operate at 100% capacity.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2021
Gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed at private residences.
As always, if you’re sick – stay home and get tested.
Morrison and Hunt welcoming state premiers to the twice weekly National Cabinet meeting pic.twitter.com/nCk4eX6QFQ
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) April 13, 2021
Covid restrictions to ease in Queensland
Well, that press conference went in a different direction!
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the easing of restrictions in the state, with masks now only required at airports and on planes.
I have had a meeting this morning with Dr Young and the health minister and I can advise that the easing of our restrictions will be from 6am tomorrow morning. So that’s wonderful news.
It was originally scheduled for 12 [midnight], but Dr Young said there’s no issues with that being at 6am. So that means that you don’t have to carry your mask.
You still have to carry your masks going through airport terminals and planes.
I advise everyone if you’re going into a crowded area in a shopping centre or something or public transport and you can’t socially distance, have your mask and if you feel like putting it on, please feel free to do that.
Updated
Covid detected in Brisbane hospital ward despite deep cleaning
We are expecting the Queensland premier to front the media shortly to tell us a bit more information about this unfolding situation at the Princess Alexandria Hospital in Brisbane.
Engineering consultants are inspecting the hospital’s infectious diseases ward after traces of coronavirus turned up in testing there, one week after it was deep-cleaned, AAP reports.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Ward 5D was shut from 30 March and deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters involving 23 cases, which resulted in a snap three-day lockdown of greater Brisbane last month.
A spokesperson for Metro South Hospital and Health Service told AAP on Wednesday that deep cleaning was undertaken by contractors last week, but testing has found the virus is still in Ward 5D.
Subsequently, testing has shown Covid-19 related virus in Ward 5D, and further cleaning will be occurring of the ward today ...
It’s important to remember that Ward 5D is currently closed.
Updated
Victoria reports no local Covid cases
No local Covid-19 cases in Victoria today. If my maths is correct, that is the 47th day with no community transmisson.
Yesterday there were no new cases reported.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 13, 2021
- 2,890 vaccine doses were administered
- 16,002 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKHFvv#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/XZ3TlrX0yB
Updated
Speaking of responses to that explosive committee appearance by former Australia Post CEO, Christine Holgate, one of the senators on that committee, Green’s Sarah Hanson-Young, has called on Scott Morrison to apologise and sack the chair of the Australia Post board.
She spoke on ABC radio earlier this morning:
He needs to apologise to Christine Holgate and he needs to sack the chair of Australia Post.
I think it’s untenable that we have a situation where an essential service, like Australia Post, at a time when we are still in the midst and the grips of a pandemic, is in such turmoil.
Updated
ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland isn’t letting up with this line of questioning, and we got this (rather telling) interaction:
Rowland:
Is [the prime minister’s] treatment of Holgate in your view bullying?
Tehan:
What the prime minister was doing was dealing with an issue around the misappropriate use of government expenses. And that was what he was talking about, that is what this matter is about.
Rowland:
Was it bullying? Was it bullying?
Tehan:
It wasn’t about the person who was the CEO of Australia Post. It was about the misappropriate use of government expenses.
Rowland:
Yes, that was – again another issue involved. We are talking about that, I’ll ask you again: did the prime minister bully Christine Holgate in the language he used in that spray during parliament?
Tehan:
And I’ll say – I listened to that – the answer to that question and what it was about the misappropriate use of government expenses.
Rowland:
OK. So you don’t believe she was bullied at all?
Tehan:
He was talking about the misappropriate use of government expense.
Rowland
And, therefore, she doesn’t deserve an apology from the prime minister in your view?
Tehan:
Well, I’ll go again to the point, what this, what this was about and what the prime minister was addressing was the misappropriate use of government expenses.
Rowland:
Just give me a single-word answer choice: yes or no, an apology?
Tehan:
What I’ll say is this was about the misappropriate use of government expenses.
Rowland:
OK. We’ll leave it there.
Updated
Dan Tehan has stayed firm on the issue of former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate. He maintains this is purely an issue about the misuse of government funds, and she resigned. (Holgate vehemently denies both these assertions).
Tehan:
What this issue is about is the misappropriate use of government expenses and Christine Holgate resigned and as far as I’m concerned that’s where the matters ends.
Rowland:
Was she bullied?
Tehan:
What this issue was about the misappropriate use of government expenses.
Rowland:
Yes, that was one issue, but Christine Holgate is clearly taken... by the Prime Minister’s spray - and there isnt’ better way of describing it - in Parliament. You saw it, you were probably there in the chamber. She said that was bullying. Was that bullying?
Tehan:
I think the most important thing here is that we just understand and you got to remember at the time the Leader of the Opposition said that Ms Holgate’s position was untenable.
Tehan has been asked why the federal government didn’t diversify its vaccine contracts early on in the pandemic and sign contracts with producers such as Moderna.
Tehan:
Well, as you’ll remember we set up an expert panel to look at what vaccines we should be using here in Australia and to enter into the contracts and we also took that decision to make sure that we could have domestic production here of AstraZeneca.
So we will continue to work through what vaccines we need, contracting those vaccines and one of the key things that I’ll be doing on my trip is making sure that where contracts are entered into, all countries understand how important it is that those contracts can be honoured because not only is it important for Australia in terms of planning the vaccine rollout here, but critically important for our region, especially countries like Papua New Guinea where the situation is fraught at the moment.
I had a phone call from my New Zealand counterpart yesterday and he’s asked me to also use New Zealand’s name in pressing the case against export restrictions being used because they can disrupt planning right across the globe of the vaccine rollout.
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And would you look at that: the trade minister Dan Tehan is now on ABC News Breakfast as well.
He is being asked by host Michael Rowland about the decision to ramp up national cabinet meetings from once a month to twice a week:
Rowland:
We’re sure the premiers and chief ministers will play their part but people should be left in no doubt, shouldn’t they, that this mess, this delayed vaccine rollout is squarely on the Morrison government?
Tehan:
What has happened, Michael, obviously we’re dealing with a pandemic, but also we’re dealing with changes in advice which have been given around the AstraZeneca vaccine and also around restrictions that were put in place by the European Union with regard to supply of the vaccine.
So we now have to recalibrate the planning of the vaccine rollout and national cabinet will be asked to do that job by starting to meet twice weekly.
Obviously, national cabinet was a key component of getting us through the pandemic and dealing with the pandemic and now it’s going to be vitally important that state and territory governments and the commonwealth work as closely together as they possibly can in planning how the rollout will work now that we have had the medical advice with regards to AstraZeneca and only being used for over 50s and now with regards to Pfizer and when the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Australia.
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One of the biggest questions today is: will the government apologise to former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate after she spoke at a Senate committee yesterday about how humiliated and devastated she was by the prime minister calling for her resignation on the floor of parliament last year.
But from the looks of things so far it doesn’t look like a “sorry” is that likely.
When asked about the issue on the Today Show, the federal trade minister, Dan Tehan, said both sides of government supported her being stood down last year.
Well, this issue was about the inappropriate use of government resources. And you will remember bipartisan the view that Christine needed to resign, and that’s what she ultimately did ...
This was about the misappropriate use of government expenses and, at the time, there was bipartisan position that her position was untenable and she resigned. And obviously there’s a Senate inquiry going on at the moment, the CEO of Australia Post has also put evidence around this issue.
But, in the end, this was a decision about the misappropriate use of government expenses.
If you want to get up to date on the whole Holgate situation, have a look at this article below:
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Now we all know that there are a fair few problems with the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, but let’s talk about what our backups are.
Basically, we have 40m doses of Pfizer on order (about one million have arrived so far) and we also have 51m doses of Novavax on order.
Novavax is a promising vaccine but it us several months behind the others. It is still finishing up its final trials, it still needs to ramp up production and it still needs approval by the TGA.
So by the looks of things Novavax is still a fair way off.
Reuters is reporting Novavax Inc has pushed back the timeline for hitting its production target of 150m vaccine doses per month until the third quarter of the year due to supply shortages including bags used to grow cells.
The company told Reuters in January it expected to reach full-scale vaccine production capacity by May or June, but this no longer looks like it will be possible.
Just yesterday Australia’s TGA boss John Skerritt was saying they were trying to hurry them up:
I think that we probably are still, sadly, a couple of months away – June – before we will get the Novavax data ...
We talk to them regularly and I was talking to them yesterday and we are talking with them at a big meeting on Thursday.
And we are obviously trying to hurry them up but clearly you can’t make things like clinical trials go faster.
Data released in March from the UK trial showed the Novavax vaccine to be highly effective against the original variant of Covid-19 as well as the more contagious UK variant.
The data also suggests the shot provides some protection against a highly concerning variant that emerged in South Africa, which some drugmakers have said may require a booster shot to address.
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Something to look out for this morning. The prime minister will likely have to face some tough questing over his treatment of former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate in his first media appearance since her explosive appearance at a Senate committee yesterday.
PM's first media conference since Christine Holgate Senate testimony.. expected around 11.30am AEST this morn (time not fixed)
— Joe O'Brien (@JoeABCNews) April 13, 2021
We'll bring you it live on @abcnews channel.
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Welcome to Wednesday
Good morning, Matilda Boseley here to get you through the slog of Wednesday.
Well, it looks like the prime minister is trying to shake things up when it comes to Australia’s vaccine rollout, asking for the national cabinet to meet, not just monthly, not just fortnightly not even weekly! Yep, the prime minister and all state and territory leaders will be jumping on to a big Zoom call twice a week until the vaccine rollout is back on track.
Previously these meetings had been pared back to once a month but now the prime minister has brought forward the next meeting from 7 May to April 19 and suggested the blame for the slow rollout lies with both the federal and state governments. (Which is weird because just last week I thought it was “an issue with supply pure and simple”.)
I have requested that national cabinet and our health ministers move back to an operational footing – to work together, closely, to tackle head-on the challenges we are all facing with making our vaccination program as good as it can be ...
There are issues we are trying to deal with as a federal government, and I have been upfront about those.
But amongst the states and territories, they are also tackling their own unique issues and working together we are all going to be in a better position to find the best solutions.
He said the more regular meetings would continue “until we solve the problems and get the program back on track”.
In other Covid news, the US has recommended that states pause administering the Johnson & Johnson jab while authorities investigate six reports of unusual clots, including a death, out of more than 6.8 million Americans given the one-dose vaccination so far. Just like the AstraZeneca blood-clotting cases, these were extremely rare, but occurring mostly in women under the age of 50.
This follows on from yesterday’s announcement by the Australian health minister Greg Hunt that Australia would not purchase the Johnson &Johnson vaccine because it was too similar to AstraZeneca, being another adenovirus vaccine.
OK! With that why don’t we jump into the day. 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
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