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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Luke Henriques-Gomes (now) and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

PM grilled over response to Brittany Higgins; Victoria reports two local Covid cases – as it happened

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison speaks during question time.
Scott Morrison was asked in question time about his and his government’s response to Brittany Higgins allegation she was raped in the defence minister’s office in 2019. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

What happened today, Tuesday 16 February

We will leave it there for today. Here are today’s main developments.

See you tomorrow.

Updated

Paul Karp has more on Craig Kelly’s Facebook’s suspension at the article below.

New poll predicts crushing Western Australia Labor win

Western Australia’s opposition leader is at risk of losing his own seat in another Labor landslide at the March election, according to a new poll, reports AAP.

The poll of 1,021 residents across the state, commissioned by the WA Conservation Council and conducted by polling firm uComms on January 29, found Labor leading the Liberals 61-39 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

Such a result on polling day would bring a 5.5% swing to Labor from the bloodbath 2017 election in which the Liberals lost 18 of its 31 seats.

Five of the party’s remaining seats are considered marginal.

Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup holds his seat of Dawesville by just 0.7%, although his elevated platform as leader could boost his vote in the electorate.

Updated

Three men arrested in Melbourne over alleged lockdown breaches

Three men have been arrested in Melbourne’s north after police responded to reports of people training at a gym, in breach of Victoria’s lockdown directions.

A police spokeswoman said:

As part of Operation Sentinel patrols, police attended a gym on Sydney Road this afternoon following reports the gym was in operation and in breach of the directions issued by the chief health officer.

Three men were arrested at the scene all of which will be issued penalty notices in relation to breaching CHO directions.

Police will also be following up and have enquiries to make in relation to several patrons of the gym who were believed to be training in the gym at the time.

Updated

Australian-made claims costs wipes maker $200,000

The makers of Kleenex flushable wipes will have to pay a $200,000 fine over the online use of the Made in Australia logo, reports AAP.

Kimberly-Clark Australia had accepted its use of the mark on its websites for the products and others in the Kleenex Cottonelle range was false or misleading because the flushable wipes were foreign-made.

Physical packaging during the relevant times correctly stated the products were imported.

“The contraventions occurred as part of a desire to promote KCA’s Australian made Kleenex Cottonelle toilet paper products without considering that the representations would appear in such a way that it would indicate that all products promoted on the Kleenex Cottonelle website were made in Australia,” federal court Justice Wendy Abraham said on Tuesday.

“I accept that the contraventions occurred by oversight, that the situation was remedied when brought to KCA’s attention and it cooperated with ACCC at an early stage.”

Updated

This vaccine rollout explainer from my colleagues Matilda Boseley and Michael McGowan is definitely worth your time.

Updated

This is an interesting story by Kelly Burke about the impact of the pandemic at the box office.

ASX closes above 6900

AAP has today’s market update.

Australia’s share market closed above 6900 points for the first time since February last year, and an analyst expects it will rally in the short term as coronavirus vaccines are distributed.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index closed higher by 48.4 points, or 0.7%, to 6917.3.

The index is near the record close of 7162.49, set in February last year, just before stocks tumbled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The All Ordinaries on Tuesday closed better by 39.6 points, or 0.55%, at 7189.3.

The top sector was energy, up 2.1%, as vaccine programs around the world give hope for higher oil consumption.

Industrials was the next best sector, up 1.92%.

Updated

Greg Hunt for the Nobel prize? One Liberal MP thinks so apparently.

Asked about Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton’s remark today that the AstraZeneca approval marked the start of the end of the pandemic, the federal Liberal MP, Katie Allen says she’d “love to hear that coming from Greg Hunt”.

She tells ABC Melbourne:

Greg deserves a Nobel prize. I mean he’s an incredible health minister.

The health minister Greg Hunt.
The health minister Greg Hunt. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

From the office of Labor’s communications spokesperson, Michelle Rowland:

The Senate has today reprimanded Minister [Paul] Fletcher and NBNCo for delaying responses to 34 questions on notice, which are now 58 days overdue.

Liberal Senator Jane Hume was called to explain the delays under Senate standing order 74(5), who then claimed the Minister’s own Department was blaming NBNCo for repeatedly refusing to answer.

What convenient buck passing to delay the release of information that Minister Fletcher wants to suppress!

Updated

O’Brien says he would have liked the state government to give more details today about whether Victoria will leave lockdown tomorrow night.

He says:

The trouble is the premier has been there in the past, he told us six weeks last time last year, and it turned out to be 16 weeks. So I think Victoria is very nervous when it comes to to this premier making pronouncements … We’ve been burned before.

Updated

O’Brien notes that when other states such as WA and Queensland announced “snap” lockdowns, they did not lockdown the whole state.

He says: “So why is Victoria so different?”

The Victorian government has locked down the entire state, rather than metropolitan Melbourne, saying that there would otherwise have been an exodus of Melburnians fleeing to the regions.

Updated

Speaking of the Victorian Liberals, the opposition leader, Michael O’Brien, is on the ABC.

He’s asked about the Andrews government’s idea of building a purpose-built quarantine outside the Melbourne CBD.

O’Brien says it’s a “third order” issue and that government’s priority should be fixing hotel quarantine and contact tracing.

He’s then played comments he made last week, where he said that there was some merit to the idea.

O’Brien replies:

I’m not opposed to the concept, but what I’m saying is moving hotel quarantine out of Melbourne is not a substitute for fixing the problems in hotel quarantine.

He notes that NSW has managed hotel quarantine without the same consequences as have occurred in the UK.

Updated

The Victorian Liberal opposition is unhappy the Health Department has not updated its Covid-19 local government area data map.

It says the map has not been updated since 30 January 2021. The latest outbreak began on 4 February 2021.

The Liberals’ health spokeswoman, Georgie Crozier, says:

Why on earth do Victorians not have access to live and up-to-date information?

The Andrews Labor government is either hiding this data on purpose or is simply incompetent.

Victorians need to access all of the latest information to make the right choices to protect themselves and their communities from Covid-19.

Updated

Hello everyone. Luke Henriques-Gomes here. Thanks to Amy Remeikis for her excellent work today.

I’ll be with you into the evening.

It’s been another draining day for a lot of people and if you are one of them, know that we are thinking of you, and you’re not alone. I hope whatever you do tonight, it comes with kindness.

Luke Henriques-Gomes is going to take you through the evening.

Politics Live – and me – will be back early tomorrow morning, where hopefully we will be able to give Victorians a better idea of whether or not the lockdown will be extending.

It’s looking good for lifting. But you never know with Covid, until you know.

In the meantime, be gentle with yourself and take care of you.

Updated

And a positive step:

I missed this from a little earlier today.

Updated

Angus Taylor is speaking to the ABC now.

Patricia Karvelas: Penny Wong says she doesn’t think parliament – it’s clearly not safe for women. Do you agree with that?

Taylor:

Well, I mean, I don’t see evidence of that in my office, and I do everything I can to make sure that …

PK: But we have evidence about this now?

Taylor:

This event is clearly not acceptable. The reports and the allegations are totally unacceptable behaviour, no question about that, and we have to do better.

PK: So you agree with Andrew Bragg that the Liberal party needs to do more on these issues? You need sort of deeper, deeper reform within your political party to fix this?

Taylor:

Well, what the nature of the reform is, I’m sure, will come from the reviews, but it is very clear we need to look at this and we need to do better. And we will await the outcomes of the review work that is done, but I think the commitment is very strong.

PK: Have you taken the prime minister’s advice and spoken to your own staff about how to create a safer workplace?

Taylor:

Yes.

PK: What have you said to them?

Taylor:

Well, I’ve said we’ve got to do better. Look, most importantly, I’ve said to them that, and this has been something that I have observed my colleagues doing across the board, we need a safe working environment, we need a situation where if there is a problem people call it out, and that’s what I’ve asked my staff to do.

I – look, it’s very important we all role model the right behaviour and we all ensure that there is an environment where people can call out behaviour that is unacceptable, and that’s certainly something I seek to do in my office.

Updated

President Dr Karen Price from the royal college of GPs has responded to today’s AstraZeneca announcement:

Today’s announcement is a welcome milestone in the vaccine roll-out, and protection of our community. Most Australians will get the AstraZeneca vaccine, and many will naturally want to be vaccinated by their usual GP,” said Dr Price.

GPs across the country overwhelmingly want to vaccinate their patients. There was a huge response to the Department of Health’s expression of interest with over 5000 practices applying to be a vaccination clinic.

Initially, not all practices will be able to be involved in the vaccination program, but eventually the expectation is that it will be rolled out more widely, and more practices will become involved as supply increases. For now while we are in Phase 1, it’s critical that we can vaccinate as many of the highly vulnerable people as efficiently as possible. The logistics of later phases will be addressed as the roll-out progresses.

We know there will be high demand for the vaccine, and I urge everyone to please be patient and understanding.

We ultimately would like to see every practice that wants to provide these vaccinations to be able to do so. We need to get to the stage where COVID-19 vaccinations are part of usual patient care as soon as possible – especially if we want to finish this job by October, as the Government has said they want to.

It’s been a busy day, so I’m only just now beginning to catch up on the Coalition party room meeting from earlier today.

The allegations raised by Brittany Higgins dominated the discussion, as you’d expect, with a number of government MPs saying there needed to be independent HR processes to deal with cultural problems.

There was also significant debate about superannuation and home ownership, and given the huffing and puffing by the Nationals about climate change and net zero commitments over recent weeks, the Queensland MP George Christensen wanted to know what the process was for settling policy ahead of the next international climate talks in Glasgow.

If you don’t speak fluent Nationals – this basically means will Scott Morrison bring any proposal through the government’s normal deliberative channels?

Morrison told Christensen policy would come to the party room in the usual way.

That interview moved on to foreign affairs issues, which included the issue Jacinda Ardern has raised today:

Patricia Karvelas: Is it fair that Australia has cancelled the citizenship of a woman born in New Zealand who travelled to Syria on an Australian passport?

Penny Wong:

Look, citizen cancellation is a very serious decision to be made. It is a decision that should always be made with a very clear focus on safety of Australians.

We did pass, with the government, laws that enable the government of the day to cancel citizenship in certain circumstances. It is for the government to explain to you and to the public, Patricia, why it has chosen to do so in these circumstances and I note you have been reporting on Jacinda Ardern’s response.

I think is also important that the explain why it is that they have done this in such a way that we have that kind of negative response from our closest friends and partners.

PK: Is NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern right to say Australia has abdicated its responsibilities here?

Wong:

Australian governments always have to look to the safety of Australians and our national interest, but I think it is not unreasonable for people to expect the Australian government to engage with its counterparts so that we don’t have this sort of disagreement being publicly aired in the way it is.

Updated

Patricia Karvelas: Is Parliament House a safe workplace for women?

Penny Wong

Well, clearly it isn’t. And we all have to work together to ensure that it is. And that starts with some honesty.

And I think a lot the sadness and reaction from a lot of Australians is that when confronted with this issue of a very distressing and serious set of allegations from Ms Higgins, is that for two years, this government has approached it as a political problem instead of reaching out to her and supporting her.

She clearly doesn’t feel supported and so all these were that I’ve heard over the last two days in the Senate chamber about Ms Higgins feeling empowered, being given agency, well, they are words that simply do not match up with her account of her experience.

Patricia Karvelas: Are Celia Hammond and the deputy head of the PMO the right people to be recommending improvements in how these cases are handled?

Penny Wong:

I don’t believe so. I think if we are really going to have an inquiry or a review or a process which results in change, we need a … very different approach to this.

Anthony Albanese said some time ago that we are willing to work with anyone who is about trying to make sure this place is safer.

A safer workplace is something we should all work toward. Anthony and Tanya put out a statement today putting out what we believe should happen and I refer you to that.

We said look, there should be an eminent external person who was involved in this.

It should be supervised or engaged with by a bipartisan committee, and I think those suggestions should be taken up.

I would point out that Mr Morrison, when there were bullying allegations inside the Liberal party when Mr Turnbull lost to the prime minister, he did say that he would have a review into the Liberal party.

Let’s not have this announcement go the way that one did, which is nowhere.

PK: Richard Marles says this needs to lead to improvements across both parties, what improvements does Labor need to make?

Wong:

We are making them, and as a result of actions taken last year, under Anthony’s leadership, there has been a review and a revision of our policies and our procedures, engagement with staff about that, and there is, I think, as others have said, we are at the final stages of consideration and adoption of those.

Updated

Patricia Karvelas: So if Labor is asserting that it is not believable that the prime minister didn’t know, how will you pursue this? Given now that he has said on the public record that he didn’t?

Penny Wong:

I think the question is less what will our approach be, than what the prime minister should do.

To Scott Morrison, stop dealing with this as a political problem and start doing the right thing.

That is what he should do.

Stop dealing with this awful set of allegations as a political problem and do the right thing. Tell the truth, stop obfuscating, stop dancing around and do the right thing. Not just for Ms Higgins, but for all women, and men, in this workplace, and across the country.

Updated

Patricia Karvelas:

Is Labor accusing the prime minister of lying when he says he only found out about the allegations in the last few days?

Penny Wong:

Look, I think it is very difficult for anyone to believe that neither an Australian prime minister nor his or her office would know of an event of alleged criminal activity occurring in the minister of defence’s office for two years.

That statement becomes even less credible when you remember that the person who was the minister for defence’s chief of staff at the time of the incident, at the time of the alleged rape, was someone who had previously worked for the prime minister and subsequently returned to work with the prime minister.

And finally, we know from Ms Higgins in her own words that a person who she has described as the prime minister’s fixer, I think his principal adviser, was involved shortly after the alleged rape and in fact even called her again in the week that Four Corners aired its program exposing sexual misconduct inside the government. So those facts, along with I think the commonsense view, do make it very difficult for Australians to believe that the prime minister knew nothing.

Updated

Penny Wong is speaking to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, where she is asked if Linda Reynolds’s apology to Brittany Higgins went far enough:

Well, it’s two years later, isn’t it? But I will come back to that. I want to first start by expressing my personal sympathy to Ms Higgins for what she has been through. You want to acknowledge her enormous courage.

I know she has made a public statement about the outpouring of support that she has had and I hope that she knows as a consequence of that, that she is not alone and she has shown enormous courage.

Unfortunately, from what we are seeing from the Morrison government these allegations have come to light, since these events have come to light, a reliance on platitudes and nice words but it’s very late and these platitudes and words should not be used as a mask to attract attention or hide the fact that they failed to do what they should have done. They failed to take responsibility and act appropriately.

Updated

Tony Burke’s release includes why Labor will continue to oppose the government’s IR legislation, despite it removing the changes to the better off overall test

When the Government first announced it was planning industrial relations changes Labor set a very simple test: we would support the legislation if it delivered secure jobs with decent pay.

The Government’s legislation still fails that test.

Labor has always made it clear that while the BOOT change was the most egregious attack on job security and workers’ pay in the Government’s bill – it is certainly not the only one.

Liberal MP Craig Kelly has told Guardian Australia Facebook has deleted three posts and banned him from posting for a week due to alleged breaches of the social media giants community standards.
Kelly said the posts related to unproven treatments including:

  • Claims by Prof Dolores Cahill that vitamins, zinc and hydroxychloroquine can treat Covid-19
  • A profile of Prof Thomas Borody in the Spectator which includes advocacy of ivermectin to treat Covid-19
  • General pathologist Roger Hodkinson claiming that masks are “useless” for children and “paper and fabric masks are simply virtue signalling”.

Kelly told Guardian Australia:

I strongly object to the ban. There are absolutely no grounds whatsoever. The points are a legitimate point of view, I’m not posting my opinions, I’m posting the opinions of medical experts ... Whether they’re right or wrong is a matter of debate, but their views should be debated.

Asked whether this continued posting breached an agreement with Scott Morrison, Kelly said:

What the PM was concerned about was making sure nothing I said was contrary to the vaccine policy. There’s nothing that I can see is contrary to that policy.

Updated

This was not forgotten in the parliament today.

Updated

The Greens senator Larissa Waters has responded to the prime minister’s announcement of a review into workplace culture:

The Prime Minister has been missing in action for years on acknowledging that cultural change is necessary to keep women safe in parliament, and that his party has a problem with women.

There’ve been three young Liberal staffers sexually assaulted who have come forward so far, and no doubt many others who are yet to speak out.

Brittany Higgins’ case is deja vu of the worst kind.

The Prime Minister’s decision to charge his own Department with reviewing Brittany’s case, and the broader complaints process, puts the fox in charge of the henhouse.

...With two senior staff from the Prime Minister’s office up to their necks in the cover-up of Brittany Higgins alleged rape, including the PMs ‘fixer’, the PMO is part of the problem.

Ordering two internal reviews does not give anyone confidence that real change will flow, it’s a continuation of the culture of cover-up that has seen this issue fester and more women assaulted.

We need an independent review of how the existing complaints process let Brittany down. And a broader review of the toxic culture at APH with recommendations for reform to ensure the women that work here are safe.

The Greens called for an independent investigation into the culture in Parliament many months ago, and yesterday called for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to do that review.

The Prime Minister should pick up the phone to both Ms Higgins and to our Sex Discrimination Commissioner to have an independent, qualified body do the job.”

Mike Bowers visited Senate question time today:

Senate Leader Simon Birmingham and Labor senate leader Penny Wong during question time
Senate leader Simon Birmingham and Labor Senate leader Penny Wong during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The minister for Defence Linda Reynolds
The minister for defence, Linda Reynolds. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The minister for Defence Linda Reynolds during question time
Linda Reynolds during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The minister for Employment Michaelia Cash
The minister for employment, Michaelia Cash. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Cameron Wilson has reported Craig Kelly has told him he has been banned from posting on Facebook for seven days.

From Wilson’s Gizmodo story:

In a 46-minute, wide-ranging interview that took place while the House of Representatives was in session, the government backbencher spoke to Gizmodo about his Facebook suspension, his belief that Big Pharma and public servants are trying to promote the science about climate change or the evidence discrediting unauthorised COVID-19 treatments and more.

Craig Kelly confirmed that he has been unable to post to Facebook — which he does frequently, to share misinformation and conspiracies — due to “four strikes” against the platform’s misinformation and harm policy, as first reported by the Guardian.

Updated

Question time ends.

Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong has asked the government Senate leader Simon Birmingham about the role of staffers in Scott Morrison’s office in dealing with the aftermath of the alleged assault of Brittany Higgins.

The questions relate to Fiona Brown (chief of staff to Linda Reynolds at the time, and now in the Morrison office) and Yaron Finkelstein – one of the prime minister’s senior political advisers.

Morrison told the House earlier in question time that the first time his office was aware of the alleged assault was 12 February this year.

This answer is hard to square with the prior knowledge of the allegations Brown would have taken with her to the PMO and with Brittany Higgins telling The Project on Monday night that Finkelstein had “checked in” with her around the time of a Four Corners episode about parliamentary culture last year.

(Amy shared that passage of the interview with you earlier).

Wong is seeking to square circles.

But Birmingham refers Wong to Morrison’s answers in the House.

“I understand the PM has answered questions directly, and I refer the Senate to those answers,” Birmingham says.

Updated

Bob Katter beats Pat Conroy to the call for a question, and asks about foreign investment.

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

Why did the prime minister tell the House yesterday that the guidelines had been followed for this program when the minister for home affairs approved the two grants he announced during the Braddon byelection despite advice from his department that the projects were, and I quote from the department’s advice, “unsuitable and ineligible”?

Morrison:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. And the guidelines that relate to such grants that require that where a decision is made by a minister which they are empowered to do, then they give a statement of reasons for that purpose, which is what the minister did, which is what the requirement is, Mr Speaker.

Updated

Pat Conroy to Scott Morrison:

Why did the prime minister tell the House yesterday that the Safer Communities Fund guidelines had been followed, when, in fact, the minister for home affairs announced two grants during the Braddon byelection before the guidelines had even been written? How on earth can the prime minister claim guidelines were being followed when they didn’t yet exist?

Morrison:

Well, the guidelines and the processes for undertaking the grants that the minister did engage in, Mr Speaker, were followed.

That’s how I can say that, Mr Speaker, because that’s exactly as it’s done in relation to the grants that related to those particular funding announcements. That’s how we can say that, Mr Speaker.

Updated

Labor in the Senate is persisting with Linda Reynolds.

The defence minister has told the chamber her second staff member (meaning the alleged perpetrator) was terminated for “a security breach”.

Reynolds says she does not recollect having any contact with him after the termination, and she does not recall doing a reference for him after the termination.

Labor senator Tony Sheldon wants to know when Reynolds became aware of the alleged assault.

Reynolds is now effectively shutting down further inquiries. She says the place to canvas these facts is with the Australian federal police, not in the chamber.

We then move on to fuel security – Labor pointing out that refineries have closed since the government announced it was moving to protect Australia’s fuel supply, the government saying its an industry under pressure

Updated

Tony Burke: Can the prime minister confirm that under his industrial relations legislation section 193 of the Fair Work Act is amended so that workers, instead of receiving cash for their overtime and allowances, can be paid in kind?

Christian Porter:

The ability of the Fair Work Commission to take into account non-monetary benefits in making its determination about enterprise agreements was placed in the Fair Work Act by the Labor party.

Updated

Wouldn’t a “no opposition” be an opposition that didn’t oppose?

Updated

Tony Burke to Scott Morrison:

The question to the prime minister: Will the Prime Minister dump the other provisions of his industrial relations bill that also allow cuts to workers’ pay?

Morrison:

Well, Mr Speaker, that is not what the government’s bill does. It’s not what it does. And Labor can say it, they can assert it, they can do all of this, Mr Speaker, they can engage in the overreach that they are engaged in, Mr Speaker, but I think Australians know – and, indeed, whether it’s employers or employees, know, Mr Speaker – that the measures we put forward in this area are modest measures. They’re measures that have resulted from a series of good-faith discussions between unions, between employers and others, Mr Speaker, to arrive as a set of practical measures that are simply designed to get more people into work as we come out of the Covid-19 recession.

Now, Mr Speaker, we got more dialogue and engagement from the union movement than we got from the opposition here, Mr Speaker. And they’ve lived up to their name when it comes to this – an opposition.

It was supposed to be about working together. It’s just been about “no”, Mr Speaker.

That is the leader of the No Opposition that we see over there, Mr Speaker. So, we will engage with parties who are interested in engaging us in good faith to get Australians back to work.

Now, we have done that with One Nation in the Senate, and we’re keen to do that with other parties in the Senate to ensure that we can progress these bills, to ensure that we can get more Australians back into jobs as a result of the terrible impacts of the Covid-19 recession. That’s what we’re doing, Mr Speaker. The opposition is just engaged in overreach, negative politics.

Updated

Linda Reynolds 'unreservedly apologises' to Brittany Higgins

Over in the Senate, the defence minister Linda Reynolds has just apologised unreservedly to Brittany Higgins.

Reynolds has told the Senate she “deeply deeply” regrets conducting a debrief in her ministerial office – which is the location of the alleged assault in March 2019.

Reynolds says she believed she was doing everything she could to support her staffer, but she acknowledges the efforts have fallen short.

Labor has asked Reynolds about the other staffer, the person who is the alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault. This staffer left the office shortly after the alleged incident.

Was he sacked is the question from Katy Gallagher?

“He was terminated from my office,” the defence minister says.

Gallagher says this staffer has been characterised as a favourite of Reynolds (this was Brittany Higgins’ observation on the Project last night).

The defence minister says she sought advice about how to deal with “both of my staff members”.

She says she won’t share details. She says the conduct will be canvassed by the AFP.

Labor wants to know whether she has had contact with the terminated staffer since he departed the office.

Reynolds hedges. “These were very complex matters.”

Gallagher persists. Was the alleged rapist assisted in finding alternative employment? Was he given a reference?

Reynolds says she’s “bemused” by the question.

She will take advice about what she can say about the termination, and come back to the chamber.

Updated

The opposition’s questions move on to IR.

Christian Porter, who has taken out the changes to the better off overall test, says it wasn’t because it allowed cuts to pay.

The question from Anthony Albanese was to Scott Morrison, but he passed it on to Porter:

My question is to the prime minister: And I refer to reports that the government has this morning ditched a section of its industrial relations legislation which allows for pay cuts, which the prime minister repeatedly said did not exist. Will the prime minister now admit he was trying to use Covid as cover to cut workers’ pay?

Porter:

Well, of course we won’t admit that, because that’s not true.

It’s not even close to being true.

There was a part of the bill which would have extended a provision that was inserted into the Fair Work Act by Labor, it would have extended it, in our view, in a very modest way. We will remove that from the bill. Why are we doing that? Because we take a practical, pragmatic approach, and we want to see as much of this bill as possible, find passage through the parliament, find passage through the parliament, because the bill contains a range of measures that will grow jobs, put upward pressure on wages, and help businesses survive through Covid.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is again to the prime minister: How can the defence minister maintain the prime minister’s confidence when the prime minister agrees that the defence minister was aware for two years of a reported serious offence occurring just down the corridor from his own office, which potentially attracts a custodial sentence, and did not inform the prime minister or his office according to his own statements?

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, my understanding is the minister acted in good faith towards Brittany and sought to support Brittany. Brittany, I understand, chose not to make a statement to police about this matter, but the minister, I understand, encouraged her to make a statement to the police about this matter.

The agency of individuals, of Brittany in this case, or anyone else who would find them in this case, the power to make the decision about how they wish to proceed is something we have to respect.

Mr Speaker, this is a very difficult situation and it’s one that I’m sure the leader of the opposition would agree that, in terms of the safety of the people who work in this building, that no party has a mortgage on this type of behaviour.

And so let us address it together.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is again to the prime minister: I ask, does the prime minister have confidence in his defence minister?

Morrison:

Yes, I do, Mr Speaker. The defence minister, having looked into this matter over the last day and a half, and in my discussions with her, was seeking … was seeking to provide support to Brittany in those circumstances, and had exercised judgement in relation to protecting her privacy.

Now, Mr Speaker, that judgement on that of course, is being called into question, and that issue, Mr Speaker, I think will carry with it some important lessons that I think the many processes that are now getting under way – and, indeed, the others have already been discussed here today – I think can address those issues.

This is a shattering incident, as I’ve said. It is very serious and we are taking it very, very seriously, Mr Speaker. From the moment I became away, and the actions that we are taking.

Now, Mr Speaker, we can do this together or we can do it in another way. I’m keen to do this together and address this as a parliament, Mr Speaker. I don’t think this should be a matter of politics. It should be a matter of keeping people safe in this building.

Updated

Here is what Brittany Higgins, an experienced staffer, who knows which office people work in, told the Project yesterday, on her contact with the prime minister’s office:

Lisa Wilkinson: So apart from Fiona Brown, has anyone else from the prime minister’s office been in touch with you over the assault?

BH: Yes. So I’ve had [Yaron] Finkelstein in proximity around it during the week after the event.

LW: Who is that?

BH: He is the principal secretary to the prime minister, I think is his official title but essentially the fixer, he fixes problems. Not just people, but other issues, but he’s the fixer.

LW: Did you hear from Mr Finkelstein after the initial period?

BH: I did, I did. It was just like a strange sort of check-in essentially but those happened to me pretty regularly.

LW: What was the timing of that check-in?

BH: There was sort of story, it was another Liberal women issues Four Corners.

LW: The Canberra bubble story on Four Corners?

BH: That’s correct.

LW: What did [he] say?

BH: Just checking in.

LW: Is it normal for a junior staffer to get a call from the Prime Minister’s chief fixer?

BH: No. It’s not normal.

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is to the prime minister: Brittany Higgins was reportedly sexually assaulted in the defence minister’s office almost two years ago. The prime minister said just here that his office was not informed about this until just weeks ago. Is it acceptable that the defence minister was aware that a reported serious crime had been committed in her office but did not inform the prime minister or his office?

Morrison:

[No] Mr Speaker, and it shouldn’t happen again.

Updated

Someone do us all a favour, and save us some moments of our lives, and let Josh Frydenberg, for the love of Dolly, know that LinkedIn exists and we don’t need a bio for every MP he takes a dixer from.

Helen Haines tries in vain to get an answer from Michael McCormack on funding for inland rail in her electorate of Indi.

The answer includes someone on Victorian GDP, so I doubt she, or her electorate, is any the wiser.

Updated

Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison:

My question is to the Prime Minister: the Prime Minister has just, in his previous answer, contradicted Brittany Higgins’ recollection that the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary knew about the reported assault in 2019. By saying his office learned about this only in the past few weeks.

The Prime Minister also claimed that Ms Higgins’ statements were confused in his press conference. Previously, the Prime Minister has said victims of sexual assault should be believed.

Why doesn’t that apply in this case?

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, I can only inform the House of the information that I know - that I have been advised of. And the information that I have been advised of is that my office became aware of the allegations of a sexual assault on 12 February of 2021.

That is my information. That is what I know to be the information as it has been provided to me, based on what has occurred over these last 24 hours. Now, I can only tell you what I know to be the case, based on that information presented to me. I can’t provide another set of information.

Mr Speaker, I note the statement that has been issued today by Brittany Higgins, and I welcome that statement.

And, Mr Speaker, that statement, I think, recognises the steps that the Government is taking, and I welcome the additional suggestions made today.

And I note, Mr Speaker, it concludes with this, “I ask for my privacy to now be respected as I begin to emotionally recover from this difficult period and wish to make no further comment.” Now, Mr Speaker, I will be complying with that request, Mr Speaker.

Michael McCormack can’t even get someone else’s words right:

It’s getting money in the pocket of those hardworking people, indeed, local contractors, local suppliers, local small businesses, providing local workers as we get out of Covid-19, the recession that we, unfortunately, have had to have.

Updated

Michael McCormack is speaking and I am just too emotionally fatigued to even pretend he knows what he’s talking about.

Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison:

My question is to the prime minister: Brittany Higgins says that the prime minister’s principal secretary was aware that she had been sexually assaulted in the defence minister’s office soon after the reported assault in March 2019. When and how did the prime minister first become aware of the reported sexual assault of Brittany Higgins?

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, as I said this morning, I became aware of the alleged sexual assault at about 8.30 yesterday morning. That is true. That is when I became aware of it, Mr Speaker.

And the first that my office became aware of an alleged sexual assault, I’m advised, was on 5 April of this year.

Sorry. No, the 12th ... I’m sorry, I misread that. Apologies. 12 February 2021. That’s when my office first became aware, I’m advised, of an alleged sexual assault.

Updated

Question time begins

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

[Wouldn’t the review the prime minister has ordered be better] conducted by an eminent Australian such as a former sex discrimination commissioner?

Will he ensure that review is conducted in an independent manner and formed by the experience of current and former staff across all parties?

Morrison:

I welcome the suggestion by the leader of the opposition and I noted his statement just before coming in here today, and the government is very happy to sit down with the leader of the opposition and other leaders of parties, both in this place and in the other place, to pursue a path like that that the leader of the opposition has outlined.

I’m very happy to do that, Mr Speaker, and I thank him for that suggestion and the spirit in which it’s put forward.

Because I’m sure all of us agree that, in the important work we all do here, whether it’s members of this place, senators in the other place, our staff, we all come here because we want to make a contribution to our country.

And we should be able to do that in a safe environment for everyone who is here. So, I welcome that suggestion. The government, of course, will continue on with the things I’ve outlined today.

I’m keen to get that moving, and we will. That is about addressing the issues amongst government members and senators and ministers’ officers, and we’ll continue with that process. That is important.

The work that the member for Curtin I’ve asked to do is very much work that is being done within our party room, consulting with colleagues on our side. And I would encourage the leader of the opposition to pursue a similar exercise amongst his colleagues.

And we could swap notes at the end, and I think that would be very, very worthwhile. And I would encourage that process as well. But the suggestion is a positive one and I take it in that spirit, and happy to work with the opposition and other parties within the parliament, both here and in the Senate, to that end. Thank you.

Updated

Save the Children has responded to the issue Jacinda Ardern has raised (you’ll find it below).

From Mat Tinkler, the Deputy CEO Save the Children Australia said the woman Australia stripped of her citizenship, had two children:

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is dead right, the safety and wellbeing of the young children involved in this case must be the priority.

They’ve already been through hell, through absolutely no fault of their own.

We know that there are families here in Australia ready to love and care for these young children.

The Australian Government must take responsibility for its citizens, not shirk responsibility to other countries.

Our actions as a nation have left these two young children even more vulnerable than they already were.

The Australian Government must immediately act to repatriate Australian children and their mothers, including these two children born to an Australian mother.

Updated

(continued from previous post)

The Presiding Officers have responsibility for the control and management of Parliament House. As such, they must also play a role in the review.

The aim of an independent, bipartisan review should be to ensure the safety of anyone who works at Parliament – parliamentarians, their staff, all staff of the parliament and others who come in contact with them.

We would expect the review to examine issues including:

    • An assessment of existing policies, processes, and workplace culture including the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984;
    • The establishment of a truly independent complaints process which provides unbiased advice for complainants centred on their well-being;
    • Properly resourced support services including high quality trauma-informed counselling;
    • A clear focus on cultural change

The Australian Labor Party is in the final stages of adopting an updated version of its existing harassment processes and policies.

We renew the offer made on 12 November, 2020 to work with anyone in this building who wants to make this a safer and more respectful workplace.

All workplaces around Australia need to be safe.

A good place to start would be implementing the recommendations of the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces which was presented to the Federal Government in March 2020.

Updated

That continues:

To ensure that the review has the confidence of the public and of parliamentary staff, it must be truly independent with bipartisan oversight. To ensure that, the review should be led by an expert from outside of government.

Similar reviews, including of the Australian Defence Force, and the parliaments of Victoria, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, were all led by experts from outside government.

The terms of reference for the review, the conduct of the review and the implementation of its recommendations, should be overseen by a bipartisan group of federal parliamentarians.

Staff should be given the opportunity to participate fully and for their voices to be heard in a confidential and respectful way.

Updated

Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek have released a statement on the review into workplace culture at parliament house:

Brittany Higgins has shown true courage. Ms Higgins’ account of her rape in the Defence Minister’s office is sickening. We admire Ms Higgins’ bravery in coming forward, and hope she is now getting the genuine support and justice she is entitled to and the police investigation proceeds swiftly.

There is a clear need for a review into the workplace culture at Parliament House and electorate offices.

(cont)

Updated

It’s the downhill slide to question time.

Expect it to be focused on vaccines and industrial relations.

Updated

Labor’s Mark Butler has responded to the AstraZeneca approval:

It’s great news for Australians that the TGA has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine – this is a huge effort by our regulators.

The vaccine rollout should already be well under way.

In the EU, UK, USA and Canada, once the vaccines were approved by their regulators, injections were being administered in less than a week.

In Australia, the Pfizer vaccine was approved more than three weeks ago, on the 25th of January, and we are still waiting for the first jab.

The health minister confirmed today we might not receive AstraZeneca supply until early March.

In December the health minister said, “Australians will be ‘fully vaccinated’ against Covid by the end of October”. With a 12-week wait time between AstraZeneca doses it will be hard to see how Scott Morrison keeps that promise.

Every day in this pandemic matters for our health and our economy.

There are still a number of very serious questions about the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.

How will the online booking system work? How will the vaccines be distributed to the states? When will we start to see jabs actually in people’s arms?

Australians want clarity about the vaccine rollout and they need more details from the prime minister and health minister.

Labor’s Mark Butler.
Labor’s Mark Butler. Photograph: Kelly Barnes/AAP

Updated

He then ends the press conference because of question time.

Which is in half an hour.

We mentioned a little bit earlier that Jacinda Ardern was very, very angry when speaking of the Australian decision to strip a dual Australian-New Zealand citizen of their Australian citizenship, after Interpol put them on a wanted list for terrorism offences.

Scott Morrison was asked about the issue:

Well, my job is Australia’s interests. That’s my job.

And it’s my job as the Australian prime minister to put Australia’s national security interests first. I think all Australians would agree with that. Now, the legislation that was passed through our parliament automatically cancels the citizenship of a dual citizen where they’ve been engaged in terrorist activities of this nature.

And that happens automatically. And that has been a known part of Australia’s law for some time.

Now, I understand that the New Zealand government has some issues with that. And I understand that and the prime minister and I are scheduled to speak later today. We speak quite frequently.

This is an issue we’ve discussed before. So I’ll leave how we practically deal with those issues to our discussion later today and I’m sure that the many others that we’ll have.

There is still a lot more unknown about this case and where it sits and where it may go to next. And so, I think that that will also be a subject for the discussions. But Australia’s interest here is that we do not want to see terrorists who fought with terrorism organisations enjoying privileges of citizenship, which I think they forfeit the second they engage as an enemy of our country. And I think Australians would agree with that.

Updated

Mike Bowers is at the press conference.

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference in the PM’s courtyard of Parliament House, Canberra this afternoon
Scott Morrison at a press conference in the PM’s courtyard of Parliament House, Canberra on Tuesday afternoon. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Q: If something like this was to happen again, how quickly would you expect to be told if one of your ministers was aware? And who would you expect to be told by?

Scott Morrison:

There are two points there. The first one, and this is what I referred to the deputy secretary, and I flagged this.

That in cases like this, there is an argument for a mandatory advice to the relevant department, which in this case, would be the Department of Finance.

But I just add a note of caution on this, that I would not want to have anything done in this process that in any way might create a triggered action that might lead to someone like Brittany in this circumstance not wanting to proceed.

So I want to be very confident that any of these things that we may do around this event would in no way impede the agency of the victim in these cases. And someone like Brittany in these cases.

So I’m not going to rush to any knee-jerk reaction here. There is best practice in a lot of other jurisdictions and a lot of other workplaces and I would like them to look at that and carefully advise us about what the automatic responses should be.

Now, it is also possible that in circumstances like this, that the terrible incident like this can be advised to me, both by the minister and through my office, in an anonymous way.

And I think that it is very important to protect the privacy of individuals in these situations and it is my absolute understanding that that was the intent of minister Reynolds.

Updated

Q: Prime Minister, was she [Brittany Higgins] mistaken in her recollection?

Scott Morrison:

I can’t comment because I wasn’t a party to either of the conversations.

Q: Why would someone from your office check in with her following the reporting on Four Corners around that issue if it wasn’t because they were aware of it being beyond a security issue?

Scott Morrison:

The point I’m making to you, that is not the recollection or the records of my staff on that matter.

It’s just not. So I can’t really speak more to it than that. I understand that over time, particularly in situations like this, that information can become confused over time about who makes contact and things like that. I accept that, so I make no judgments about that.

In fact, one of things that have concerned me most about this issue is that clearly the trauma that built up over a period of time well after the incident itself as well, and that’s one of the key things that I want to hear from the deputy secretary about how we can ensure that support is immediate, effective and ongoing.

Because on those three tests, particularly the latter one, clearly that support wasn’t provided in a way that supported Brittany.

As I say, that is something that I would expect for my daughter and I should have no lesser expectations for Brittany. And that’s why I’ve taken the actions that I have today.

Updated

Q: Why didn’t the minister tell you, prime minister?

Scott Morrison:

I understand that Minister Reynolds will say something further about this. But I understand that there was a judgment made about the balance of protecting Britney’s privacy at the time and a judgment was made on that basis.

That judgment can certainly be commentated on and be judged, but that was my understanding of who occurred at that time. I want to stress again, that this awful incident, this terrible incident ...

Those who were around Brittany were endeavouring to help her. As I said, with the passage of time, clearly that was not effective. And I accept that.

Updated

Q: Brittany Higgins says there were three senior people in your office who knew about this alleged rape within days of it occurring. And you found out almost two years later. These are people that you talk to on a daily basis.

Why did they not tell you? Were they protecting you? What of the reason for you not being informed?

Scott Morrison:

In terms of the three people, I should stress that the chief of staff of the minister’s office at the time was not in the Prime Minister’s Office.

They came and worked in the Prime Minister’s office at a later time. So they were not there working directly to me or to people in my office.

... I should stress that in relation to my private secretary, there was nothing that was put in front of me, nothing, including phone records or anything else, that suggests that that, indeed, was the case.

So there was an issue of a security breach which was dealt with at the time. And the alleged perpetrator was sacked, removed, quite swiftly, over the security breach. In terms of the allegation of a sexual assault, that was not in front, I’m advised by my office, at that time.

So that matter came later and was being dealt with within the minister’s office. And on an anonymous basis, ultimately.

So that matter was not, at that point, brought to our attention, because the matter then didn’t proceed to a police investigation and that’s why today, I’ve expressed my concern about how these matters didn’t progress to a police investigation, because that would always be my wish, that should that be what Brittany Higgins wanted.

Updated

Q: Prime minister, you said you’re not happy about the fact that the Brittany Higgins matter was not brought to your attention. And I can assure you that people know that. Amongst those people, I assume is defence minister Linda Reynolds. Are people from your office also ... Have they also been spoken to with disquiet?

Scott Morrison: People know. People know. And they should know and these are issues that I would hope would come to my attention. And that is one of the many things that I’ve asked the deputy secretary of the PM&C to look at as we work through the issue that is have to be worked through and we want to make sure that those systems are up to the standard that I would expect.

Q: Will heads roll over this?

Morrison:

I’ve answered the question, thanks.

Updated

Victoria is looking at a purpose-built facility (as is Queensland, and Howard Springs in the NT is being expanded) because the coronavirus is mutating.

Updated

Scott Morrison says the federal government will work with the Victorian government on a purpose-built facility.

But he can’t help adding this:

In New South Wales, they’ve operated hotel quarantine at triple the capacity of when Victoria was actually open.

And they’ve been able to do that quite successfully through hotel quarantine. I note also that the New Zealand government, which doesn’t operate as a federation, have also consistently used hotel quarantine as the most effective way to enable people to come back and for those facilities to also provide an appropriate quarantine period. But we’ll continue to work with states on these issues as they wish to pursue them.

Updated

The TGA has approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for all ages, but recommends for over 65 year olds that they be approved on a case-by-case basis.

The TGA’s John Skerritt says that doesn’t mean there is an upper age limit for the vaccine:

Our approval of this vaccine does not have an upper age limit. While the data for this vaccine in older groups is limited, and that goes back to the original design of the trials, where AstraZeneca targeted their initial trials towards healthcare workers, who are of working age and usually under 65, and only included older people later on. But our analysis of the data gives us no reason to suspect that the vaccine would not be fully efficacious in older groups.

Secondly, the experience in the UK, in the rollout, and we’ve got to remember they have been vaccinating with the AstraZeneca vaccine now for more than a month, and their experience is also of very good results obtained with both of the major vaccines in older groups.

And of course, their rollout has been targeted, not only towards frontline health workers, but towards those in what the British call care homes.

The real-world evidence of the vaccine going well in older groups, and also there’s evidence from blood tests looking at the response of the immune system to these vaccines, that again shows a strong immune response in people over 60, people over 65, and so forth. Yes, more data on a lot of things will emerge as months and weeks and years go by, including the duration, how long the vaccines provide protection for. On the balance of the evidence, we have no reason and we felt there was no reason to limit its use to particular age groups.

Therapeutic Goods Administration head John Skerritt.
Therapeutic Goods Administration head John Skerritt. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Brittany Higgins releases statement

Brittany Higgins has just issued this statement in response to the prime minister’s comments today:

I shared my story yesterday because I didn’t want what happened to me, to happen to anyone else.

I note the apology from the prime minister in the media this morning and thank him for this.

The prime minister’s announcement of an investigation into the culture in Parliament House is a welcomed first step, though it is long overdue.

It should not have taken my story, or the story of other victim-survivors to air on national television for the prime minister – or any member of parliament – to take action on workplace sexual harassment, assault or bullying.

A clear path forward is now required – and that includes a comprehensive review to the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act to ensure adequate protections for staff.

There needs to be an independent reporting mechanism for staff where they can confidently and safely make complaints – similar to processes in many other workplaces in Australia and abroad.

Political parties also need to conduct their own internal reviews and establish formal accountability processes. As we all know, this isn’t a problem confined to one side of politics.

Finally, everyone should feel safe to report sexual assault without fear of losing their job.

These incidents shouldn’t have to play out in the media for change to happen.

I would like to extend my gratitude to those who have sent messages of support during this time.

I ask for my privacy to now be respected as I begin to emotionally recover from this difficult period and wish to make no further comment.

Updated

Scott Morrison press conference

It is on the TGA approval:

Our vaccination program is on track.

Our vaccination program has the backing of Australia’s best medical experts and that means that we can proceed along the path that we have set out and I look forward to working with all the states and territories and medical health professionals across the country, those involved in logistics supply chain, to ensure we can get this out right across the country and it’s going to make a huge difference to how we live here in Australia this year, and in the years ahead.

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference in the PM’s courtyard of Parliament House, Canberra this afternoon with Health Minister Greg Hunt and Adjunct Prof. John Skerritt from the Theraputic Goods Administration.
The Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference in the PM’s courtyard of Parliament House, Canberra this afternoon with Health Minister Greg Hunt and Adjunct Prof. John Skerritt from the Theraputic Goods Administration.
Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Josh Frydenberg has announced the amendments to the media bargaining code:

The government will make a number of clarifications and technical amendments that will improve the workability of the code while retaining its overall effect. These improvements will:

· streamline the requirements for digital platforms to give advanced notice of algorithm changes to make them more workable;

· clarify the arbitration criteria so that it considers the reasonable costs of both the digital platform and news media business and amend the legislation to remove any doubt that arbitrated remuneration is to be in the form of lump-sum payments;

· clarify the role of the ACCC, ensuring its focus is on providing factual information to assist the arbitrator; and

· adjust the effect of anti-avoidance provisions so that they take effect from the commencement of the code and ensuring the government’s policy intent of not interfering with existing contractual rights under the code is achieved.

The code will be reviewed by Treasury within one year of its commencement to ensure it is delivering outcomes that are consistent with the government’s policy intent.

Updated

The prime minister will hold a press conference at 12.40pm.

That’s after the TGA approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in Australia.

Updated

Scott Morrison told the Coalition partyroom “we must do better, we cannot have an environment where anyone feels unsafe in their workplace; or a young woman is left in a vulnerable situation”.

He said “bad behaviours will not be put up with” and encouraged MPs and senators to maintain appropriate professional distance from their staff.

Morrison encouraged all MPs to engage in the process led by Celia Hammond on how to improve complaints handling.

Despite widespread blowback to Morrison’s comments as a father of daughters outside the party room, inside, one MP praised the genuine emotion he demonstrated both as the prime minister as a father. Another said the revelation showed sadly the party hadn’t dealt with the cultural issues regarding working in parliament.

Updated

Brett Sutton hails vaccine approvals as 'the beginning of the end of this pandemic'

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton is one of the first to react to the AstraZeneca news:

Who wouldn’t be delighted at the prospect of another vaccine, especially one locally manufactured, that will deliver millions of doses to Australians.

I can’t wait to be vaccinated when my time in the queue comes.

And looking forward to seeing it roll out across the country. I hope it lifts spirits. The mental health anguish of this pandemic has been extraordinary.

It literally represents the beginning of the end of this pandemic as we roll out a vaccine so it is incredibly positive to see that development and know that Pfizer vaccine will start to roll out in our hotel quarantine system, first ports of entry, our aged care and health sector staff and residents is fantastic news.

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton. Photograph: Wayne Taylor/Getty Images

Updated

TGA approves AstraZeneca vaccine for use in Australia

Here is the TGA statement on the AstraZeneca approval:

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has granted provisional approval to AstraZeneca Pty Ltd for its COVID-19 vaccine, making it the second COVID-19 vaccine to receive regulatory approval in Australia.

COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is provisionally approved and included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) for the active immunisation of individuals 18 years and older for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2. The use of this vaccine should be in accordance with official recommendations and given in two separate doses.

“TGA’s regulatory approval allows the second dose to be administered from 4 to 12 weeks after the first. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended that the interval between first and second dose is 12 weeks. However if this interval is not possible, for example because of imminent travel, cancer chemotherapy, major elective surgery, a minimum interval of 4 weeks between doses can be used.

Provisional approval of this vaccine is valid for two years and means it can now be legally supplied in Australia. The approval is subject to certain strict conditions, such as the requirement for AstraZeneca to continue providing information to the TGA on longer term efficacy and safety from ongoing clinical trials and post-market assessment. COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has been shown to prevent COVID-19 however it is not yet known whether it prevents transmission or asymptomatic disease.

You can find the rest here.

A nurse prepares a dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Amazonas State, Brazil.
A nurse prepares a dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Amazonas State, Brazil. Photograph: Michael Dantas/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Jacinda Ardern is holding a press conference in New Zealand where she appears to be absolutely lashing the Australian government over its decision to strip a dual Australian-New Zealand citizen of Australian citizenship, after they were declared a wanted suspected terrorist by Interpol:

We will have more on this soon

Daniel Andrews comments on the same issue:

We all have jobs to do. But, please. Everyone in the community needs to know that this stuff these people are wearing isn’t PPE. They have been given PPE and have it on.

What they are doing is not wanting to be identified. Nor should they feel compelled to be identified.

We can put up screens, absolutely.

And you guys can make decisions.

Back at the Victorian press conference, and the head of Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria, Kate Cassar, is explaining the steps authorities are taking to make sure the hotel quarantine guests who are being transferred from the Holiday Inn facility have their privacy protected (they’re being moved because there has been a burst pipe in the hotel):

I would make it very clear that we have really nervous residents who don’t want their privacy displayed on the news.

This is why they are taking those steps and our PPE requirements for guests leaving is a surgical mask and hand sanitiser. It is really distressing for them.

These will be really slow operations and every time we move one person, terminal cleaning, and then another person. It will take a lot of time and we ask the media to be respectful of their privacy.

No one wants to be scattered on the news tonight. That is why they are taking the steps.

... We tried to options this morning, including one with a shield and we moved sky buses to block media from taking photos of our community members. Please be mindful of this. That is why they’re doing it and create other help issues. These are sick people [and] need to be transported as quickly as we can.

Updated

Sally McManus has responded to those changes:

Here are those IR amendments Paul reported on - changes to the better off overall test, are goneski

The bells are ringing for the start of the parliamentary proceedings.

We’re all going to need some extra strength to get through today.

Updated

The Labor caucus agreed to support the media bargaining code.

The most contentious piece of legislative business was the mitochondrial donation issue.

The government has promised to bring forward a bill to allow DNA donations to treat mitochondrial disease.

The shadow health minister, Mark Butler, said Labor will allow its members a conscience vote. There were three contributions – one challenging how the conscience vote had been determined, one supporting it because different people will come to different conclusions about the bill.

A third, from Mike Freelander, an MP who has treated children with the disease, encouraged Labor to push the government to bring the bill on.

Anthony Albanese backed a conscience vote, explaining that nobody should have to choose between their genuinely held commitment to their faith and being a Labor MP.

Albanese said there is a “real opportunity” for Labor to gain seats in Queensland, spruiking his industrial relations policy including the principle of same job same pay in labour hire.

According to Albanese, TV cameras followed him in Cairns and not the tourism minister, Dan Tehan, because the government had nothing new to announce.

On the Brittany Higgins revelation, Albanese said the allegations were “terribly distressing” because parliament should be a “model workplace”.

Labor’s updates to its own code of conduct is being finalised by MP Sharon Claydon today and will go to the national executive on Friday next week.

Tony Burke, the shadow industrial relations minister, said that even if the government drops the exception to the better off overall test, the issues with the omnibus bill “won’t go away”.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says the government is also looking at facilities which are not yet open, or whether something could be fast tracked to suit the purpose.

But international arrivals will not be returning on Thursday night, even if the lockdown is lifted.

The Victorian premier gives a little more detail on the dedicated quarantine facility he is talking about:

The issue here is not so much, I think, the prefabrication of a number of cottages or dwellings, whatever you might call them.

They can be done relatively quickly and they’re done off site. It will be about services, water, power, sewerage, all those sorts of issues.

Again, we’ll have updates and we’ll have them in good time. It’s not a small undertaking.

It’s not a zero risk undertaking.

But it has a lower risk than what shared facilities in the centre of Melbourne where even if people are separated, they’re still sharing the same space.

That’s not to say it’s unsafe in any way, but it’s at one risk level.

We think by building this purpose-built facility, we can get the risk level down further.

We’ll have some conversations with the Commonwealth and the private sector about how this can be a partnership and a joint venture, whatever you want to call it.

The key point is that hotel quarantine costs a lot, no matter where you put it.

The real issue here is getting this done safely, getting as many people home as we can safely, acknowledging it’s not the 2020 virus. It’s different, whether it’s a South African, or UK strain or whatever the next strain will be and particularly given that we’re so close to the vaccine being rolled out.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says authorities will be watching the next 24 hours but that there are “very promising” signs ahead of the last day of the scheduled lockdown.

But he can’t say whether or not it will be lifted, as planned, as yet.

Jeroen Weimer has given an update on the contact tracing:

We have 589 household and social primary close contacts across the Holiday Inn cases.

We have now 499 hotel quarantine staff and residents, all of whom are in isolation.

We have 1,189 primary close contact linked to the exposure sites including the swimming pools and all the other public exposure sites we’ve talked to in recent days and 1,191 primary passenger and close contact who have been frequently messaged.

We’re aware of their status.

I can confirm that 99% of new primary close contact we identified on 12 February were notified by contact tracing teams within the 48-hour national benchmark.

That’s following a 99.8% figure the day before.

So we’re continuing to see very high levels of follow-up by our contact tracing teams and I’m so grateful to the teams for all the hard work that they are doing and the percentage over the week is 99.5%.

We’ve sent just under 850,000 text messages to people across various suburbs alerting them to the various exposure sites we have and encouraging them to watch for symptoms and get tested if they have any doubt at all.

There is some more good news for Victoria:

Victoria working on purpose-built quarantine facility

Daniel Andrews says the cabinet is working towards a purpose built quarantine facility and has become scoping out locations:

We are actively pursuing and examining the construction of a purpose-built quarantine centre, a centre that would serve to replace in at least significant measure – maybe not entirely but in significant part – the work of inner city hotels.

This will be based in large part on the Howard Springs model.

People would be in the same location but not sharing the same spaces, so they’re not under the same roofline.

It would be a cabin-style, village-style environment, where there would be fresh air, where there would be not zero risk but lower risk.

That work is ongoing and a delegation of senior officials will to the Northern Territory as soon as is practicable to see firsthand how the Howard Springs facility is set up. In talk being some interstate colleagues overnight, I think there is a compelling argument for this, not just in Melbourne, not just in the Northern Territory.

I know the Queensland government are working in partnership with the around a facility of similar structure.

The two obvious candidates – Avalon airport, you’ve got space and you’ve got an international terminal and of course Melbourne airport as well.

We will pursue both of those, do that work, it’s well and truly under way and we will report progress as that happened but I think we do have to have a proper conversation at a national cabinet level about what we can do, what further can we do to reduce the risk particularly in light of this UK strain and all that we know about that so when we have more to say about that work, then obviously, we’ll make announcements but that’s our intention.

It’s more than just scoping it.

We are going to get on and build a facility. It’s just a matter of how big it is and the more precise details of where but Avalon and Melbourne airports are standout candidates and I’m very grateful to them for the partnership and work they’ve already done with us. We’ll update as and when we need to.

Updated

Daniel Andrews:

I don’t want to be celebrating the fact that we have additional cases.

You’d always prefer no new cases, but it is fair to say that with just two contained additional community cases today, this strategy is working.

We are well-placed to be able to make changes tomorrow night.

As I said yesterday, I’m not in a position to definitively commit to that, because these next 24 hours will, of course, be crucial.

However, with a relatively small number of new cases, the excellent work that our contact tracing teams have done, the work of lab technicians and so many other people, we are very well placed, but we won’t know and we won’t be able to make a final call on that until some time tomorrow.

Daniel Andrews press conference

The Victorian premier has stepped up.

He’s going through the numbers - 23,950 tests found two confirmed cases of known contacts (as well as another two people in hotel quarantine)

It is very good news that the cases are already linked - the two people had been isolated, and were not “unexpected positives” although they had tested negative just a few days ago.

They remained in isolation despite the negative test results.

All people who attended the Sydney Road Coburg function are being re-tested.

The Greens believe they have support in the Senate for two amendments to the Coalition’s bill changing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation rules.

They think they can remove the provision allowing the CEFC to fund loss-making projects, restoring the current test that energy projects must turn a profit. That’s to prevent lending to gas projects.

They also believe they have support to restore the board’s independence in making lending decisions, so the minister cannot dictate which projects get loans.

A third amendment to prohibit lending for coal and gas projects is not expected to succeed.

The Greens are concerned the government has relisted a bill to merge the family and federal circuit courts because it now has One Nation and Rex Patrick on board to pass it.

Updated

Scott Morrison has announced Liberal backbencher Celia Hammond will be working on the review of the process for workplace allegations.

The Australian, in 2019 when Hammond was undergoing preselection, published part of a speech Hammond had made in 2013:

The article reported it was hoped Hammond had modified her views since her 2013 stance:

In her 2013 speech, Ms Hammond­ acknowledged she had benefited from an earlier generation of women that had fought for equal rights. “As I always say to my mother, we are thankful for all those women who have gone before us who’ve given us that choice and that opportunity,” she said.

Ms Hammond said feminism had discouraged young women from aspiring to be stay-at-home mothers. “One of the results of the militant feminist movement is to say you want to be a mother, to say you want to stay home, that you want to look after the house and raise the children, is not an acceptable life goal,” she said.

She also worried about the sexual­ freedoms afforded to younger women.

“I have never known a single woman who has been able to have a premarital casual sexual encounter or that sort of relationship, who hasn’t actually — whether they acknowl­edged or knew it at the time — not been searching for something more,” she said.

“What they’re being sold is a pup.”

That expected change to the government’s IR bill reported by Paul there, shows Labor’s campaign had started to bite.

Better off overall test exemption removed from government's IR bill

Guardian Australia understands that the Coalition will remove the two-year exception to the better off overall test from the industrial relations bill.

Attorney general Christian Porter has presented an amendment to the omnibus bill in the Coalition party room on Tuesday, removing the exception to the better off overall test for Covid-affected businesses.

Employers and union groups had expected the government to ditch the clause that pay deals can leave workers in Covid-19 affected businesses worse off overall compared with the award.

That is because it was opposed by most if not all of the crossbench and experts had backed union and Labor warnings it would lead to pay cuts. This appears to be the only change the Coalition has made to the bill.

Updated

Just back on the full federal court ruling on the youngest daughter of the Tamil family from Biloela who are currently being held in detention on Christmas Island.

The judgment today essentially upholds the lower court’s decision that Tharnicaa was denied procedural fairness in the handling of her potential visa application.

Then immigration minister David Coleman sought a brief on the issue in May 2019 but didn’t come to a conclusion, which the government had sought to argue was a decision against her. The family wasn’t told this was something the government was considering, so it was a denial of procedural fairness.

The full court has described how the government handled the case as “Kafkaesque.”
But the ruling does not clear the way for the family to be released into the community in Australia.

Ultimately it is a decision of the immigration minister to do so, the court didn’t have the power to make that decision.

It does mean, however, the family cannot be sent to Sri Lanka. There’s a possibility both the government and the family will seek to appeal the case to the High Court, so it still has a while to run yet.

The lawyers for the family are calling for the government to release the family into community detention. Kopika and Tharnicaa are the only two children being held in immigration detention in Australia.

Updated

The legal fraternity has come together to protest against the merger of the family court with the federal court.

From the joint release:

More than 155 stakeholders in Australia’s family law system have now signed an Open Letter to the Attorney-General opposing the Government’s flawed bill to abolish the specialist, stand-alone Family Court.

These signatories represent a range of professions and community organisations who work with Australian families and include 11 retired Family Court and Federal Circuit Court (FCC) judges, in addition to former Chief

Justices the Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC and the Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC.

The merger bill would collapse the Family Court into the generalist, chronically under-resourced and over-burdened FCC. The bill was listed without warning overnight as the first item of Government business on Tuesday, despite not being included on the Government’s draft legislative program for the Senate this week.

Stakeholders have called for three years for the merger not to be passed out of concern it would have devastating impacts on families, result in a loss of structural, systemic specialisation and dismantle the appeal division.

Updated

The Victorian premier Daniel Andrews will hold a press conference at 11.15am with the whole crew – chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton, head the of Covid-19 response, Jeroen Weimar, and the hotel quarantine commissioner Emma Cassar.

Sky News’s Laura Jayes reported she had spoken to Brittany Higgins this morning, and Brittany had told her the only two people at a ministerial level who had contacted her since she raised her allegations were (former minister) Christopher Pyne and Darren Chester.

Updated

AAP has an update on the Holiday Inn quarantine hotel:

Thirty-one guests of the Holiday Inn on Flinders Lane are being moved after sprinklers were activated on the hotel’s fourth floor at the weekend, resulting in damage to half the eight levels.

The hotel is a “hot hotel”, meaning it accommodates returned travellers who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are presenting with symptoms, as well as those with complex medical needs.

Along with staff, they will be transferred to the Pullman Albert Park Hotel, which previously housed international arrivals in town for the Australian Open.

“(It) was assessed by ventilation experts and determined as the most suitable hotel within CQV’s current hotel stock to accommodate symptomatic and positive residents,” a COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria spokeswoman said.

“Strict infection prevention and control measures will be followed during the transfer to ensure the health and safety of residents, staff and the community.”

Updated

Will Labor support the amendments Josh Frydenberg has taken to the party room over the media bargaining code bill, once it is part of the legislation?

Maybe. It hasn’t seen them yet.

Michelle Rowland talking to Sky News:

We are yet to see what those amendments are, and we know that over the past couple of weeks the government has been sending out quite a number of signals. We’ve seen reports about what some of those potential amendments might be, and we’ve had the Senate inquiry report come down on Friday. Now, some of the amendments have been described as “major”, like changing the way the designation of the particular services is done; in the case of Google, switching from Google Search to Google News Showcase. It could potentially be the way the arbitration is proposed to be conducted. At the moment, it is a binding final offer arbitration, which Google said was a red line for them to stay in Australia. We haven’t actually seen what those amendments are, we will need to scrutinise them, but very clearly commercial deals are being done in the absence of regulation, and that is certainly welcomed.

Updated

In case you didn’t see it yesterday, Victoria Health have added to their exposure sites:

The following exposure sites were added on 15/02/21

  • BonBon Bakery, Broadmeadows (Tier 1)
  • Sacca’s Fruit World, Broadmeadows (Tier 1)
  • Broadmeadows Central (West side of shopping centre, fresh fruit and meat section), Broadmeadows (Tier 3)

Priya and Nades have released a statement through their lawyers following the federal court decision:

“Thank you to everyone in Australia for the support and love that they have shown us. We are very grateful. It helps us stay strong. We just want to go back to Biloela. We need our little girls to be safe. Every day, they ask when can we go home?”

Biloela family to remain in Australia for now after federal court decision

The Tamil family from Biloela have had another reprieve with the full bench of the federal court dismissing the commonwealth’s appeal on an April 2020 judgment that Tharunicaa was not given procedural fairness when then immigration minister David Coleman considered lifting a bar preventing her from applying for an Australian visa.

The decision will not mean the family is released into community detention out of Christmas Island, but means they will not be removed from Australia while the legal process is still ongoing.

Updated

As mentioned before, the prime minister was asked about his statement that he needed to speak to his wife and imagine it was his daughters, before receiving “clarity” on Brittany Higgins’s allegations.

Here was what Tegan George asked:

TG: You said this conversation hit home when you had it with Jenny and thought about it as a husband and a father. Shouldn’t you have thought about it as a human being? What happens if men don’t have a wife and children? Would they reach the same compassionate conclusion?

Well, look, in my own experience, being a husband and a father is central to me, as a human being. So I just can’t follow the question you’re putting.

TG: Didn’t you think yesterday, as a leader of this country, that it was important? You had to think about it as a father?

Morrison:

I did. And I said so yesterday. In reflecting what I said last night – I hadn’t seen her account until last night. I had events and other things I was dealing with until late last night and I had the opportunity at that point to see it.

I had discussed it with Jenny. She had seen it and we discussed it. That’s how we deal with these things. I think Australians know that I’m pretty honest about these matters and I seek to deal with them as humanly a way as possible and my family helps inform that, as I suspect it does most people.

Updated

Josh Taylor will have news for you very soon on this

The prime minister was asked what happens when men don’t have women in their life, by Tegan George from Network Ten.

Here was what he said:

Jenny and I spoke last night, and ... she said to me: ‘You have to think about this as a father first. What would you want to happen if it were our girls?’

Jenny has a way of clarifying things. Always has. And so as I’ve reflected on that overnight and listened to Brittany and what she had to say.

There is going to be a lot of talk about this today.

And it is not the first time the prime minister has invoked being a father to daughters when discussing an issue or trauma related to women.

And he is by no means the only man to do it.

So it needs to be said:

Women should not need to be someone’s daughter to have their stories listened to.

By saying you imagined what it would be like if it was your daughter and then decided to act, you’re also saying you may not have acted if you didn’t have a daughter.

That it took your daughter’s face in place of the woman whose story is in front of you to act.

That, without that link, you would not have had “the clarity” needed to take action.

What then, if the prime minister had sons? Or did not have a wife who asked him “What would you want to happen if it were our girls?”

I do not have children. And yet, I do not need sons, or to think about the men in my life to have empathy for men who have been scarred by battle, or childhood abuse, or mental health issues, or assaults or even just unrealistic expectations.

And yet, all too often, we hear from leaders “as a father of daughters” as a precursor as to why they are taking action, want change, or just extend their sympathy.

Can we not expect action from childless men, or those with boys? Are women only deserving of empathy when they are wearing another daughter’s face?

It may seem a harmless statement, one designed to relate.

But the flip side of those harmless statements is devastating and speaks volumes about how far we have to go before we take any of these issues seriously.

Updated

The NSW gambling regulator has formally decided that James Packer’s Crown Resorts is not fit to hold a licence to operate a new casino at Barangaroo in Sydney.

This follows a scathing report tabled in NSW parliament last week that found Crown facilitated money laundering and junkets that brought high-rollers to its existing casinos in Perth and Melbourne were connected to organised crime.

Crown’s just made a statement to the stock exchange:

MELBOURNE: Crown Resorts Limited (ASX: CWN) (Crown) announced that it has received a letter from the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) which says that, having regard to the contents of the Commissioner’s report of the inquiry under section 143 of the Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW) (Act), it presently considers that Crown Sydney Gaming Pty Ltd (Crown Sydney Gaming) is no longer a suitable person to give effect to the Restricted Gaming Licence in New South Wales and the Act, and that Crown Sydney Gaming has breached clause 14(a) of the VIP Gaming Management Agreement (VIP GMA)

and has given Crown a notice to this effect.

ILGA has commenced the consultation process contemplated under the VIP GMA and has invited Crown Sydney Gaming to address ILGA in relation to its present view.

Updated

Some more detail on that process:

Updated

Scott Morrison continues:

Then there is the issue of the matter of the investigation and the police matter that needs to be attended to.

And that has always been the view of those who have had knowledge of these matters, that that matter should proceed to that level – and it should.

And, of course, the police would get every cooperation, and should get every cooperation.

But there are issues that Brittany raised about why that may not have been progressed.

Of course, we want to respect the agency, particularly of women, in these situations to make their own choices about how they wish to proceed. But the options must be there for them, and they must feel they’re there for them.

That is incredibly important. So, there are a number of things we can do immediately, and I’ll be speak being this in our party room today.

The first of those is we must continue to address the environment of this place. Now, I believe over the last few years, since this occurred, there have been changes and there have been improvements.

But I’m not naive enough to think – and I don’t think any of you are, or anyone else in this place is naive enough to think – that that is not a position of vulnerability that can still occur, whether it’s here or, frankly, in so many other workplaces around this country.

So, I hope Brittany’s call is a wake-up for all of us from that point of view.

Updated

Scott Morrison press conference

The prime minister is addressing the allegations Brittany Higgins raised yesterday:

I said yesterday in the parliament that we had to listen to Brittany. I have listened to Brittany. Jenny and I spoke last night, and ... she said to me, “You have to think about this as a father first. What would you want to happen if it were our girls?”

Jenny has a way of clarifying things. Always has.

And so as I’ve reflected on that overnight and listened to Brittany and what she had to say, there are a couple of things here we need to address.

The first of those is it shatters me that still, in this day and age, that a young woman can find herself in the vulnerable situation that she was in. Not her doing.

And we have to do more, whether it’s in this workplace or any other workplace in the country, to ensure that people can work safely in their place and be at their best and do what they went into that job to do.

Brittany talked it being her dream job. We are all privileged – whether it’s members of parliament, the people who work in our offices, indeed, those who work in the gallery and get to do what we do in this place – it is a privilege.

And we should be able to go about that important work safely. There should not be an environment where a young woman can find herself in such a vulnerable situation. That is not OK.

Updated

There also needs to be an independent body looking at complaints.

Always look on the bright side of life, I suppose.

Updated

And here is the line the government took:

Gas prices have continued to fall sharply further easing pressure on Australian households and industry, according to the latest Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Gas Inquiry report.

The ACCC Gas Inquiry 2017-2025 January 2021 report found prices offered by producers and retailers for 2021 supply in the domestic market fell significantly over the first half of 2020, representing a significant shift in market pricing.

Prices offered by gas producers fell sharply from $8-10/GJ in late 2019 to $6-7/GJ in mid-2020. Over the same period, prices offered by retailers fell from $8-14/GJ to $6-8/GJ.

Average prices agreed under gas supply agreements (GSAs) for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers also fell below $8/GJ. This marks the lowest quantity-weighted average prices for GSAs since 2016.

The ACCC report also confirms that there will be sufficient supply to meet export and domestic demand through 2021.

Updated

The ACCC’s latest gas inquiry is out.

Here is how the ACCC described it:

Gas prices fell significantly during the past year, driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. While lower gas prices are providing some relief to manufacturers and other gas users on Australia’s east coast, prices were still higher than export parity, the ACCC’s latest gas report reveals.

The report, released today, highlights that these lower prices may not last, and that the risk of a supply shortfall remains. While east coast gas supply is expected to meet demand during 2021, a shortfall of as much as 30 PJ may arise by 2024 in the southern states, while the broader east coast gas market faces the risk of a shortfall in 2026.

“The fall in gas prices is very welcome news for major gas users who, like many other Australian businesses, have faced enormous challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“It is concerning that the risk of a gas supply shortfall in Australia’s southern states continues, despite this having been a looming issue for some time.”

“There are new sources of supply and related infrastructure that could be brought online to avoid a potential shortfall. It is crucial that investment decisions are made now to ensure there’s enough supply, and to provide downward pressure on future price rises,” Mr Sims said.

The fall in gas prices has been in part driven by record low oil and LNG spot prices exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

China’s policy on coal burned to make electricity is a “key uncertainty” in trade of the fossil fuel, BHP says.

The company also says uncertainty about China’s attitude towards metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, has “spiked”.

Ships carrying Australian coal banked up off the Chinese coast late last year after authorities refused to let them come to port – an action widely interpreted as being due to increasing trade tensions between the two countries.

“Trade flows are adjusting to account for the available opportunities,” BHP told the ASX. “The industry faces a difficult and uncertain period ahead.”

Coal is unloaded in China’s Shandong province
Coal is unloaded in China’s Shandong province. Photograph: Wang Kai/AP

Coal has also hit BHP at the bottom line – but because of its poor prospects in the future as the world moves away from burning the stuff.

BHP’s half-year profit, out today, plunged 20% to US$3.9bn, largely due to it slashing the value of coal assets including its NSW coalmine, Mount Arthur, by US$1.6bn.

The company is trying to sell the mine, which produces thermal coal for electricity production.

Meanwhile, the main commodity BHP produces, iron ore, is going gangbusters. The price has gone through the roof and, as a result, BHP’s profit from its actual operations was up 17%, to US$9.75bn.

Updated

A woman who flew to Western Australia from Victoria has been arrested for allegedly leaving the house where she was supposed to be undergoing 14 days of self-quarantine.

The woman arrived in WA on 7 February, four days before the border slammed shut to Victoria. All new arrivals from Victoria were required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

WA police allege that on Sunday 14 February the 22-year-old left the place where she was self-quarantining, in breach with the directions under the Emergency Management Act 2005.

She was refused bail and is due to appear before the Perth magistrates court today.

Updated

The Labor MP Peta Murphy used her 90-second statement in parliament yesterday to demand that an independent body be established within the parliament to deal with complaints.

Asked whether there was an issue with the parliamentary work culture, Murphy said today:

I think it’s a systemic problem and a cultural problem. I think it’s what we’ve seen in workplaces around the world and in Australia, that when there are power imbalances and no processes to deal with them, then incidents will happen. We need to not only show and behave in a way that Australians expect us to, we need to make sure that Australians are confident that there are processes in this place to hold people to account when they don’t.

Updated

Victoria records two new locally acquired Covid cases

Both were known household contacts of an established case.

Updated

People on jobseeker, along with representatives from the community sector, are headed to Parliament House today, to plea with the government to a) give some certainty to the unemployment payment rate and b) put it at an almost liveable amount (don’t hold your breathe on that one).

The Covid supplement, which started at $500 a fortnight and has been dropped to $150 a fortnight, runs out at the end of next month. The government has been dripping out its plans, briefing out that the rate won’t return to the old rate of $40 a day but won’t be the same rate it is now (about $50 a day).

Updated

Katharine Murphy has the latest Guardian Essential poll:

A significant majority of Australians think the Morrison government should keep the border closed until after the pandemic is under control globally, and most voters think Canberra should be responsible for managing quarantine for returning travellers, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The latest survey of 1,109 respondents suggests voters have adopted a fortress Australia disposition as concerns are heightened about more virulent variants of Covid.

Some 71% of the survey think the border needs to remain shut until the public health crisis has passed and 62% agree with the statement: “It should be the federal government’s responsibility to protect Australia’s international borders and manage the hotel quarantine system.”

Updated

In case you missed it yesterday, people from NSW, or who have visited NSW, can now enter Western Australia again.

WA has kept its hard border with Victoria. It won’t revisit that decision until Wednesday night, when Victoria’s five-day snap lockdown is due to end.

We probably won’t know if that lockdown will be extended (really hoping not) until tomorrow.

Updated

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has vowed to counter the “malicious activity” of politically motivated arbitrary detention as Australia joined with more than 55 countries to support a Canada-led initiative on the issue.

The move comes just over a week after Chinese authorities confirmed the formal arrest of the Australian journalist Cheng Lei, and follows a long-running campaign by Canada to raise the plight of two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were taken into custody in China more than two years ago.

Speaking at a video conference organised by the Canadian government this morning, Payne said Australia would “hold countries to account for their international commitments and their obligation to comply with international laws and practices”.

Marise Payne
Marise Payne: ‘The practice of arbitrary detention is against international law.’ Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Without mentioning China by name, Payne said:

Today Australia stands with more than 55 of our international partners in our strong support for universal human rights and reiterates our resolute opposition to the use of arbitrary detention, arrest and sentencing to influence state-to-state relations. The practice of arbitrary detention is against international law. States must uphold all of their international human rights obligations, and that includes those owed to foreign and dual nationals within their jurisdictions …

We will continue to work with our international partners to counter this malicious activity.

Payne added that the Covid-19 pandemic “should not be used as a pretext for reducing or removing access to justice and consular assistance for people in detention”.

Updated

The NSW police minister, David Elliott, has already spoken to Sydney radio 2GB this morning, demanding that Jodi McKay resign, so NSW politics has well and truly healed.

Updated

The NSW Labor leader, Jodi McKay, has denied providing a letter of support to Tamil man who sought an Australian visa after being jailed for indecently assaulting a child.

Nine Newspapers reported on Monday evening that McKay had provided the “letter of support” for the man’s bridging visa application, which was included in evidence before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The man – who Nine said was convicted in 2017 of two counts of the indecent assault of a 13 year-old-girl and sentenced to 12 months in jail – was unsuccessful in his appeal to obtain a bridging visa.

Jodi McKay
Jodi McKay, the NSW Labor leader. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

McKay said she had written to the tribunal to correct the record, stating that the letter was not a “letter of support”:

Media reports tonight have referred to a letter signed by me and included in documents tabled to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The letter signed by me on 27 August 2018 was incorrectly characterised in public exhibits as a “letter of support”.

I categorically deny the suggestion I provided a letter of support to the individual in question.

I did not advocate on the individual’s behalf, nor did I express any support for his case.

As is clear in the letter itself, my electorate office passed on documentation from a constituent to the Tribunal.

I have today written to the Tribunal identifying this error and requesting clarification of the public record.

Updated

Good morning

It’s day two of the sitting week, which means it is party room meeting day, which means most of the action, as usual, will be taking place outside of the chamber.

If you missed yesterday, Brittany Higgins’ allegation she was raped by a colleague in Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office in March 2019 dominated almost everything.

Scott Morrison was asked about the allegation during question time. He is at a teal ribbon breakfast event for ovarian cancer this morning, where he will no doubt be asked again.

We will bring you any updates as they happen.

Morrison wasn’t with Greg Hunt yesterday to announce the first shipment of vaccines had arrived in Australia – despite taking centre stage with almost all other vaccine announcements.

But the government is hoping the vaccine arrival will provide the space for some good news, as it prepares for the first jabs to begin on 22 February.

That comes at the same time as news that a new Covid variant has been found in Australia. They don’t know a lot about it yet – it’s also turned up in Denmark and the UK – but it appears to be more contagious and could “blunt” some of the protections offered by a vaccine:

That is to be expected – take the flu, for instance. There are plenty of variants of that, and not all of them react as strongly to the vaccine as others. Still, it’s a reminder that we have a lot to learn about this virus, even as we learn to live with it.

The disability royal commission also reconvenes today. The Greens senator Jordon Steele-John fought for more privacy protections for those giving testimony. Steele-John has been instrumental in both getting this royal commission to happen and keeping attention on it within the parliament and out.

We’ll also learn a little more about the media bargaining code, plus learn what the Nationals decided to do about the non-existent 2050 net zero commitment, and the non-existent mechanism to get there, given that party MPs are already threatening to cross the floor on something that doesn’t exist.

You have the Canberra crew of Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst and Paul Karp, and of course Mike Bowers is out and about causing all sorts of good trouble.

Amy Remeikis will guide you through most of the day, helped along by more coffee than is advised to be consumed. Huzzah for Tuesday.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Updated

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