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The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

Greg Hunt has ‘absolute belief’ that banning returns from India is legal – as it happened

Health minister Greg Hunt.
Health minister Greg Hunt. Photograph: Luis Ascui/AAP

What happened Monday 3 May 2021

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

Here are today’s main developments:

Updated

It’s been a long few hours, but the final witness at the Australia Post inquiry is giving evidence: the former chair John Stanthorpe.

He was the chair in 2018 when the Cartier watches were gifted. He signed a card thanking the executives who received the watches, but he said he did not remember ever seeing the gifts.

He said he did not sign off on the CEO’s expenses and that when he arrived, he raised it as being strange that the chair didn’t sign off on expenses, and said he was told that as he wasn’t technically an employee, he couldn’t.

Stanthorpe says he supported the four executives receiving some sort of gift and recognition for the work they did, but he says he didn’t learn they were watches until the Senate estimates hearing in October 2020 (two years later).

Stanthorpe says when he left, the board approved a gift for him – a pen.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson asks the value of the pen. She must have missed it when he said it was a Montblanc pen, because when he says “probably a couple of thousand of dollars”, she VERY quickly moves on.

And that’s it – the committee ends its latest Australia Post inquiry public hearing.

The report is due on 17 May – don’t be surprised, though, if Christine Holgate is called back some time before then to give more evidence, given all we have heard.

Updated

Back to that Australia Post inquiry:

Bridget McKenzie is trying to get to the bottom of whether the Australia Post board “failed in its obligations” to meet the standards set out in the Public Service Act, in regards to expectations for gifts and bonuses.

McKenzie says it is the board that set out what gifts and bonuses can be awarded – and it didn’t have a policy on something involving the watches. It was “absent”.

It has since acted and changed the rules. But as McKenzie points out, that all happened AFTER Christine Holgate resigned in 2020 – not in 2018, when she first purchased the watches.

We get to the request from Holgate, through her lawyers, for mediation. Her deadline for that is this Friday.

The board chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, said Australia Post has responded in the first instance that it would be happy to participate in mediation, but the timetable of two weeks was unreasonable.

Updated

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has said comments from some of his Coalition colleagues that the Indigenous voice to parliament called for in the Uluru statement from the heart would create a “third chamber” of parliament were “hugely damaging”.

Bragg was speaking to ABC News on Monday afternoon as he launched his book Buraadja: The Liberal Case for Reconciliation, a response to the 2017 Uluru statement from the heart.

He said:

It’s very important that non-indigenous Australians engage on this topic because it’s very important to our national identity, but also important to all Australians that they get a fair go. And as you know, for the last 250 years for the most part Indigenous people have not had a fair go in Australia.

I’m not sure we have ever really detailed the liberal and conservative arguments for providing more agency and providing more bottom-up control, which is what a voice [to parliament] would do. And I think that has been missing from the debate, and certainly it wasn’t part of the debate when the Uluru statement was released four years ago.

And secondly, I would say that there are mixed views on these things. What I’m hoping to do with this book is to convince more people that there are really strong, as I say, liberal and conservative arguments for giving people more control and agency.

The Uluru statement is a good appeal to patriots – the liberals and conservatives are very much patriotic so I think this is a unifying agenda rather than a dividing agenda.

I would say that in terms of the national institutions, we have a long way to go. There are no statues of Indigenous people in Canberra, no significant Indigenous institution in the triangle. There are no Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flags flying inside the parliament building or permanently in the precinct. So I think there is a long way we can go to further embed that ... in our national life in Canberra.

Speaking about how his colleagues, including Peter Dutton, said the Indigenous voice to parliament would act as a third chamber of parliament, Bragg said:

That was hugely damaging and the campaign that race has no place is also hugely damaging because it is just not true. Even One Nation would accept the need for laws like native title and land rights. There is a lot of misinformation in this area and that is why I thought it was important to write because at least it could unpack some of the arguments. And what I do in the book is set out how the third chamber narrative is totally false, untrue and quite hurtful.

Updated

Nationals senator Matt Canavan has trashed his own government’s proposed $1.7bn expansion of the childcare subsidy to lift the subsidy for families with two children to a maximum of 95% and remove the cap on subsidies for higher income earners.

Canavan, speaking on ABC News, said he had told the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, he did not support the proposal because it did not support families who choose to have parents stay at home to care for their children.

If you are on a really good income, you should look after your children and you should not be expecting people on lower income than you to pay taxes so that you can have someone look after your kids. That is not fair.

There is a broader issue here that I think we need support for families to look after their children, but I do not like how the government here is now starting to tell families or incentivise families to adopt a certain type of care: people with full-time childcare.

If you are a double-income family with two kids, you will pay $50,000 a year less tax than a family with full-time mother or dad. It is totally out of whack and it increases the gap and I would like to see families be funded, not facilities; that we treat people looking after the children and respect their choices, not just try to target one type or one model of care.

I don’t support it because I do not think we should be advantaging one type of parenting over others.

If a mum or dad wants to go back to work after having kids, good luck to them, but if someone was to look after their own kids, we should not penalise them through the tax.

Canavan said his government’s proposal “pushes family apart and does not promote choice in parenting”.

It should be at the centre of any debate.

Updated

Nationals senator Matt Canavan is speaking more about his opposition to his own government’s move to make it a criminal offence for citizens to return home from India.

I think it is wrong.

We have an obligation to help Australians. We did so at the start of the pandemic. Before we knew much about the coronavirus, we arranged flights from Wuhan.

Now we do know a lot about the coronavirus. We have quarantine facilities established around the country and I think we should be doing more to help Aussies come home, not threatening them with jail.

I hope we review this. I know it is only for a temporary period, but the shorter it is the better.

Canavan is asked if he agrees with conservative commentator Andrew Bolt, who today wrote the government’s ban on arrivals from India “stinks of racism”.

Canavan doesn’t got that far, instead accusing the government of “perfectism”.

He explains:

We are trying to make the perfect enemy of the good.

It would add risk to our community but it is in times when you have to sacrifice a little where you reveal who you care about. That is what you do for your family and friends and likewise fellow Australians.

We should accept this slightly higher risk. They would be going into quarantine, of course. We can make sure we have enhanced arrangements. I do not know if it is race-related. I am not so sure about that.

Updated

The environment minister, Sussan Ley, has made a declaration to permanently protect an area on Mount Panorama/Wahluu under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

The declaration, which has been welcomed by the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation, follows an emergency order in March that halted the commencement of works for a go-kart track at the famous motor racing site.

The section 10 declaration will protect the site from the construction of buildings and significant earthworks, while preserving the site’s existing uses for recreation such as camping.

The Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation in 2019 lodged a protection application over concerns a sacred women’s site would be destroyed.

Ley said: “I am satisfied that the area identified at the top of Mount Panorama/Wahluu, one that helps define the iconic shape of the mountain top, is culturally significant and should be protected under the ATSIHP Act”.

She said the declaration covered a reduced area to that previously sought and did not prevent existing motor racing, sporting and recreational activities or other existing public activities on the mountain.

“It acknowledges the cultural significance Mount Panorama/Wahluu has for the Wiradyuri people, in contributing to local Aboriginal narratives, songlines, ceremonies and cultural heritage,” Ley said.

Yanhadarrambal, the corporation’s co-director and public officer, said the declaration was “an important decision for all First Nations people in Australia and for all Australians”.

“The minister has ratified our position with regard to the cultural importance – in particular the intangible cultural heritage of Wahluu Mount Panorama,” he said.

Yanhadarrambal said the corporation was not opposed to the developer, the Bathurst regional council, from finding an alternative site for the proposed go-kart track.

“It is refreshing to see that logic has prevailed,” he said.

“We would also like to reiterate the fact that our action regarding our traditional land, and the minister’s decision, did not and will not have any effect on car racing on the Mount Panorama car racing circuit moving forward,” he said.

Comment has been sought from the Bathurst regional council.

Updated

Liberal senator Jane Hume is asked about her government’s controversial move to make it a criminal offence to enter Australia for citizens who have been in India in the past 14 days.

Hume told the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas the punishments are “a function of the Biosecurity Act” that was introduced with Labor’s support.

The most important thing here is we’re keeping Australians safe.

Karvelas points out the ban from China at the beginning of the pandemic allowed citizens to return on a repatriation flight.

Hume responds:

No one is saying this is an easy decision. In fact, it is a very, very difficult decision to make, but I think Australians realise how fortunate we are to be able to live in a country that is largely Covid free and our economy is back on track.

When we see the heartbreaking images of people in India, 300,000 cases a day, 90 million people infected and 200,000 deaths, I think we all fear that third wave.

When Karvelas notes that the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, warned the government its directive could cause some citizens stranded in India to die, Hume said:

It is not a decision made lightly and we are trying to help India in any way we can.

She adds:

We don’t want to see anybody charged. We want to see the borders open and for Australians to be able to come home again, and we will do that as soon as we possibly can safely.

Updated

Jane Hume, the minister for superannuation and financial services, has been speaking about the government’s proposed $1.7bn increase to the childcare subsidy, which will see the subsidy for families with two children lifted to a maximum of 95% and remove the cap on subsidies for higher-income earners.

Hume said it’s better than more generous proposals from Labor because the Coalition’s plan “is aimed at lower-middle-income workers and people going back to work, study or doing charity work”.

She is also asked about the government paying superannuation for those taking parental leave where it’s not offered by their employer. Hume said “there is absolutely nothing off the table”.

Updated

After all appearing by videolink last week, earning the ire of the committee chair, Sarah Hanson-Young, the Australia Post board is appearing in person at the inquiry today.

The board chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, is making another opening statement – it’s about his third now – and the TL;DR version is “the board is firmly focused on the future”.

Di Bartolomeo says it is time for everyone to move on:

Australia Post is an organisation that is much bigger than any one person, and as you know, in my earlier evidence to this committee I stated [that] Christine Holgate was a very good chief executive of Australia Post. As a board, we stand by that assessment and genuinely wish her all the best, in all her future endeavours.

I want to be clear: Australia moved on some time ago, and consistent with Ms Holgate’s comments in her resignation letter, we have been fully focused on serving our customers.

Di Bartolomeo also says there are no privatisation plans. He continues:

Before handing over to the questions from the board, I would encourage senators to consider a rational assessment of the evidence provided to this inquiry.

Christine Holgate was a good chief executive of Australian Post. Everyone agrees the purchase of Cartier watches was the wrong call, but the decision did not deserve the intensely critical and very public unilateral external condemnation.

Ms Holgate resigned from Australia Post six months ago, and we have appointed an experienced highly capable replacement. The board did not encourage or pressure Ms Holgate to resign.

The challenges faced in the business are immense, but we are committed to working with our stakeholders to build a sustainable business that can meet the changing needs of our customers. As a board, we remain focused on the future.

There are no plans for privatisation. Instead, our strategy is to invest to grow the business. Our experienced executive team provide a strong leadership, despite the intense public scrutiny.

While our people take great pride in the work, they methodically are getting on with the job. And that’s what we should all do.

Updated

The Human Rights Law Centre is calling for an Australian charter of human rights, noting the lack of such protections has allowed the Morrison government to abandon its citizens in India as Covid-19 rates escalate across the country.

The HRLC executive director, Hugh de Kretser, said the government must facilitate the safe return of citizens from India.

Many Australians are in difficulty overseas as the pandemic continues, and have been prevented from getting home by the flight limits already imposed by the Australian government. The Australian government should support them, not abandon and criminalise them at the worst possible time.

The Australian government has created an unfair system for Australians overseas trying to get home. On the one hand, businesspeople, celebrities, sports people and the rich can travel here, while ordinary Australians face huge barriers.

The Australian government has promised under international human rights law not to arbitrarily prevent Australians from returning home, but it is doing just that. The government should abandon these travel bans and offences, and get people home to loved ones.

Both the universal declaration of human rights and the international covenant on civil and political rights recognise the right of people to leave and return to their own country. But these rights have not been protected in Australian law.

This sorry episode highlights the lack of human rights protections in Australian law. Australia does not have a national charter of human rights to ensure that values like freedom, equality, dignity and respect guide government action. This must change.

Updated

Back to the Australia Post inquiry, where Tony Nutt, an Australia Post board member and former Liberal party president, is appearing.

We are back on the privatisation issue, which Nutt says would not only be bad policy, it would be bad politics.

“If you try and privatise Australia Post, you’ll be in deep doo-doo.”

Then, Pauline Hanson wants to know when, if at all, Christine Holgate told Nutt she had agreed to stand aside (Holgate disputes the board chair’s evidence that she had agree to stand aside. She says she had planned to take leave.)

After about 10 minutes, she gets her answer:

“She didn’t tell me that, she told the chair,” Nutt says.

“You believe she told the chair that?” Sarah Hanson-Young interjects.

“Yes,” Nutt says.

Updated

New Zealand will open a new travel bubble with the Cook Islands on 17 May, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has announced.

The bubble will allow for two-way quarantine-free travel between the two countries, a move that Ardern called “a significant step in both countries’ Covid-19 recovery, and a direct result of both New Zealand’s and the Cook Islands’ successful response to the pandemic”.

Ardern said the bubble would enable families to be reunited, allow New Zealanders to take winter holidays overseas, and provide an important boost to the Cook Islands’ economy.

New Zealand will also be sending enough Pfizer doses to vaccinate the entire Cook Islands population. The country’s prime minister, Mark Brown, said both countries were “continuing to work through final details for the deployment of vaccines to the Cook Islands and expect to provide further details on the vaccine rollout within the next few weeks”.

A key concern had been the potential for New Zealand to export cases to the Cook Islands, which has been Covid-free and has a much smaller healthcare system. Ardern said if there was an outbreak in the Cook Islands, New Zealanders could be repatriated to ease pressure on the country’s health system. “The health and safety of the people of the Cook Islands has at all times been paramount,” Ardern said.

Updated

Just an update on the issues we’re seeing with vaccination bookings in the ACT.

I mentioned a little earlier that the ACT’s new Digital Health Record system, fast-tracked specifically so it could be used for Covid-19 vaccinations, was not recognising people’s Medicare numbers. The problem is obstructing people over the age of 50 from signing up for the record and booking in for their Covid-19 vaccinations.

The ACT government is now saying that, for the system to recognise their Medicare number, people will need to have previously visited an ACT public health facility and “have an existing patient record that matches their Medicare number”.

If no such record exists, the system won’t recognise the Medicare number and won’t allow you to book in for a Covid-19 vaccine.

That is a fairly significant flaw in the system, I would have thought.

The government is instead encouraging this cohort to call its Covid-19 vaccination booking phone service.

The government also says some people are not entering the individual reference number on their Medicare card when signing up for the digital health record, which means their Medicare number is not being recognised.

“ACT Health is working to make this clearer for users,” a spokeswoman said.

“We are working to update instructions on the website and FAQ sheets to make this information easier to understand and more obvious for people.”

At the Australia Post inquiry, Tony Nutt, an Australia Post board member and former Liberal party president, is asked whether he was having two conversations with Christine Holgate.

He says no, he was offering support and advice, as he had been asked. He also denies that he was taking any instruction from the government.

“No one from government was ringing me, or giving me instructions or anything like that,” he says.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asks whether it became inevitable that Holgate would have to stand aside when Scott Morrison stood up in parliament on 22 October and said his if she doesn’t want to stand aside “she can go”, given “there is no higher position of power than a prime minister on his feet in the nation’s parliament”.

Nutt says that over the course of the afternoon “a whole bunch of things happened” that led to his advice that Holgate should stand aside while an investigation was carried out.

Hanson-Young asks him “to be real” and answer the question. “It wasn’t a choice, was it,” she asks.

Nutt says a lot of words but none of them answer the question.

He again says it was a lot of things.

Updated

Some more from the Australia Post inquiry:

Tony Nutt, an Australia Post board member and former Liberal party president, is in front of the committee. He was meant to appear last week, but cancelled as he was unwell.

He says, ahead of his opening statement, that he spent two and a half days being very ill and would have been physically incapable of appearing, so he thanks the committee for their patience.

Nutt moves into his statement. He disputes several things that have been said, including that he was “running the show”. He says Christine Holgate asked him for his support and advice and that’s what he did.

He continues to dispute he was “running the show”.

Let me just pick up the broader theme that I was quote, ‘running the show’, end quotes. Senators, I can assure you that if I’d been directing events, those Cartier watches wouldn’t have been bought two and a half years ago.

He says he also would have had a closer eye on the CEO credit card, and expenditures in that office, and Holgate would have come through the Senate estimates in October 2020 much better.

By lunchtime on 22 October last year, chair, my assessment was the watches, some aspects of the corporate expenditure previously disclosed in the Senate estimates and Ms Holgate’s [incomplete] answers to Senator Kitching, [was that] that day was a problematic cocktail and would need to be dealt with thoroughly, in more granular detail [that] would inevitably emerge over the next several weeks, as more assertions were made and elements of the media were provided with cherry-picked information from people with their own agendas.

Updated

At the Australia Post inquiry, Liberal senator Sarah Henderson is asking whether “Labor and the unions” are “wilfully” misrepresenting the BCG report and whether it recommended privatisation of Australia Post.

That’s because one of the “scenarios” (everyone is denying they are “recommendations”) put forward outlines privatisation (and the loss of about 8,000 jobs). Trish Clancy, the managing director of BCG, says the firm did not recommend the “scenario” pathway four, which outlined a wider privatisation, but they did discuss it. So the questioning hasn’t gone exactly how Henderson would have wanted.

Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson wants to know if the people who put the BCG report together looked at the cost of remuneration for executives, before presenting cutting the workforce/shutting down post offices and privatising services (such as parcels) as “options”.

Clancy wants to take it on notice.

Hanson is INCENSED.

“No, you were all involved in the report, you should be able to tell me,” she says.

Henderson jumps in to say Clancy will take it on notice. Hanson wants answers NOW and says so, and Henderson jumps in again to ask Hanson not to reflect on the witnesses.

Henderson is not the chair, by the way - and in the first hearing she went absolutely toe to toe with the acting Australia Post CEO, Rodney Boys, about an unrelated matter regarding the closure of a local post office in her former electorate.

Since then, she has set herself up as the one protecting the government’s interests in this committee, trying to make it clear that there are no privatisation plans for Australia Post with every witness.

The questions move on to the Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, who wants to know why someone would plead public interest immunity in regards to the report, and under what grounds it could fall.

Henderson jumps in again to protest against reflections against witnesses. The actual chair of this committee, Sarah Hanson-Young, then thanks Henderson for her interjections, and says she looks forward to her following suit.

Clancy also told Bridget McKenzie that the BCG report brought “new value and an analysis to bear” on the question of how to secure Australia Post’s future.

Evidence from the board was that the BCG report had offered nothing new.

Updated

Dr Andrew Miller, the president of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Medical Association, has issued a plea for the state government to enforce the wearing of N95 masks for hotel quarantine workers.

At a press conference in Perth, Miller demonstrated how to put on the speciality mask, and said the aerosol protection it offered over standard surgical masks meant it should be used in hotel quarantine to prevent further leakages of the virus from returned travellers.

He said hotel quarantine guards are capable of undergoing an hour-long training session to learn how to correctly wear the masks, and that they should also be working shifts shorter than 12 hours to lower any potential for errors and leakages.

Anyone who tells you that an N95 mask is too difficult to wear does not understand workplace safety, does not understand Covid, and should not be anywhere near running a quarantine system, let alone a quarantine system in hotels, which our premier says are not fit for purpose.

We know that a surgical mask does not protect anyone from airborne spread. It is useful for preventing droplets. And if the public are wearing them out in the community, it is a good idea, it reduces it. But if you’re in the presence of someone with Covid-19, in the same room, breathing the same air, or in a hallway or a lift where they have been and you’re wearing a surgical mask, eventually you’re gonna catch Covid-19.

The longest exposure that these guards have is not in a bus or an aeroplane, it’s not in a lift, it’s in the hallway where they work, where we know already this year that the virus comes out from the room and floats down the hallways.

None of our hotels are set up to prevent that. And I don’t understand why the advice to our health minister is so bad, nor do I understand why our health minister has not researched this himself enough so far to understand that there’s a very strong view in the scientific community, including from the World Health Organization, that aerosol spread is the cause of these outbreaks.

Updated

The Boston Consulting Group is appearing at today’s hearing – you would recognise their name from the “secre” BCG report which suggested “options” for privatising parts of Australia Post.

Christine Holgate says she was against any attempts to privatise the organisation and that is a big part of the reason the board and the government were against her.

The government says there are no plans to privatise Australia Post, and the board has said it wasn’t discussed – beyond the report.

The appearance of BCG at this inquiry has sent shivers down spines of the business community. The report was meant to be secret, and having consultants appear in front of a Senate committee answering questions on issues that the government wants to keep secret has left some people who do this business for a living quite uncomfortable.

Updated

Meanwhile, India has opened vaccinations to all adults in hopes of taming a monstrous spike in Covid infections.

The world’s largest maker of vaccines is still short of critical supplies – the result of lagging manufacturing and raw material shortages. Those factors delayed the rollout in several states.

Only a fraction of India’s population can likely afford the prices charged by private hospitals for the shot. That means states and the federal government will be in charge of immunising 900 million Indian adults.

India’s case total stands at 19.57m according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, with 215,542 deaths recorded. We should have Monday’s daily figures shortly.

You can read more on our Covid global liveblog here:

Updated

Hunt also refers to a seven-fold increase in the positivity rate for arrivals on flights that landed between 15 and 17 April as a reason for the arrival ban from India.

He said while the overall rate of positive cases on arrival had dropped below 1%, the government expected it was to rise to 2% if arrivals from India continued, and that our quarantine capacity has been based on not exceeding that.

Hunt said:

That’s what we have based our quarantine capacity on. We have been able to manage in circumstances where you get increases and decreases in cases. But this is, to the best of my knowledge, the largest positivity rate.

And what you see is a very steep increasing trend, as the chief medical officer has pointed out. And so this (2%) has been the expectation from both the commonwealth and the states, that their systems have been designed to deal with significant numbers.

Updated

Hunt: India ban legal

Greg Hunt has sought to reassure Australians the determination to make it an offence for anyone to enter Australia within two weeks of being in India is legal, following legal experts’ questioning of the ban.

Asked by Guardian Australia’s Paul Karp if the determination under the Biosecurity Act was legal, Hunt said it was “our strong, clear, absolute belief” that it was.

Hunt notes the potential five-year jail and $66,000 fine punishments are outlined in the act, and that the determination is part of ongoing measures made as a result of the declaration of the biosecurity emergency declaration on 18 March 2020.

One of the things here is that we have been very measured. There are many orders which have been put in place, in particular under the Biosecurity Act, nobody has been prosecuted in.

The strong, clear view is that there has been no doubt in any of the commonwealth advice about this measure or other measures.

Updated

The health minister, Greg Hunt, has defended his near-midnight press release to announce the determination to make it an offence to enter Australia from India.

Speaking at a press conference in Hastings, Victoria, Hunt said he signed off on the public health order at about 11.50pm on Friday night, “once we had worked through the evening”.

Hunt said:

That is, sadly, what’s required in a pandemic. But it’s no less than Australians would expect of the government.

We took the medical advice, we worked through the day, we worked through the evening, we worked into late at night. And rather than delay it, we actually published it immediately, within half an hour, I believe, of the decision being made.

This is a temporary pause. At the moment, it sunsets on 15 May. But also there’s been some misinformation in the reporting, unintended, I am certain, and that is that if somebody is outside of India, has left India and has been away for more than two weeks, they can return to Australia.

So, it’s both a temporary ban on people who have been out of India for less than two weeks, because of the incredible rate of positivity, and because of the pressures on the Australian health system.

Updated

The Australia Post debate inquiry’s latest public hearing is under way and comes just as Christine Holgate releases an ultimatum to the government – her mediation offer to try and settle her claims against Australia Post expires at 5pm on Friday.

Updated

Australia’s shortage of hospital beds could be resolved if the federal government did its job and got elderly people and those with disabilities into proper care, Queensland’s health minister has said.

Yvette D’Ath said health ministers from every state and territory voiced serious concerns at a meeting last week about how many hospital beds are being occupied unnecessarily, AAP reports.

She said hospitals nationwide are full of people who should be in care elsewhere, either under the NDIS or aged-care support packages.

“In Queensland, there [are] almost 600 beds – over $5m a week – of people in hospitals who don’t need to be there,” D’Ath said on Monday.

She said the commonwealth had committed to working with the states and territories to resolving the problem.

She said the National Disability Insurance Agency proved last year, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, that it could be done. D’Ath said:

[They] did it very well, moved people out of those beds very quickly, but we’ve gone straight back to the way it used to operate ... We know they can do it. We need the commonwealth to make sure they are supporting people with disabilities, getting them out of hospital and into proper care.

She said federal government action would mean immediate relief for Queensland’s health system.

Updated

National Covid-19 Commission advisory board wound up

The National Covid-19 Commission advisory board has been wound up.

Scott Morrison said that as Australia has “moved past the emergency phase of the Covid-19 response and are now on the path of economic recovery”, these circumstances “make it the right time for the board to conclude its work”.

The advisory board was chaired by Nev Power, who controversially pushed for a gas-led recovery.

In a statement, the prime minister said “Australia has come a long way since I announced the board on 25 March 2020”:

A hallmark of our response to Covid-19 has been the way we have listened to a wide range of trusted, expert voices. The board provided a real-time business perspective on critical aspects of our Covid-19 response.

They used their experience and networks to help with troubleshooting in the crisis management phase of the pandemic, helped businesses safely reopen with CovidSafe plans, and provided a business perspective to help inform our policies for economic recovery.

I want to thank the chair of the board, Mr Nev Power, and each of the current and former commissioners for their work. They answered the call for their country when they were needed and have worked hard to support the government’s plans for managing the virus and economic recovery.

Updated

CMO: Australians could die because of India ban

The medical advice that the chief medial officer, Paul Kelly, provided to the health minister, Greg Hunt, about making it a criminal offence for anyone to enter Australia if they have been in India in the past 14 days has been made public.

In the letter sent on Friday, Kelly warns the government the absolute ban on Australians returning home from India could cause deaths “in a worst-case scenario”.

However Kelly’s letter largely backs up the government’s reasoning on the ban, and recommends the determination to give Australia’s quarantine system time “to recover capacity”.

The ban began as a pause on all direct flights from India and was bolstered on Friday night when the government announced it would make it a criminal offence under the Biosecurity Act for anyone to enter Australia via indirect routes – punishable by up to $66,000 and five years in jail. The law came into effect from today.

Earlier this morning, Kelly said he did not give specific advice to jail arrivals from India.

However, in his letter, he acknowledges he was providing advice for a determination to make it an offence to enter Australia from India. The punishments of potential jail time and fines are outlined in the law, as opposed to being punishments specifically recommended by Kelly.

Kelly also noted the action would be “appropriate and adapted to the purpose, no more restrictive or intrusive than required in the circumstances, and is applied in a manner that is no more restrictive or intrusive than required in the circumstances”. This follows legal experts in recent days questioning if the action was proportionate – which is a requirement of the law.

Kelly wrote:

Due to the high proportion of positive cases arising from arrivals from India, I consider a pause until 15 May 2021 on arrivals from India to be an effective and proportionate measure to maintain the integrity of Australia’s quarantine system.

This measure will likely allow the system to recover capacity, which is a critical intervention in preventing and managing the spread of Covid-19 in Australia.

Given the proposed limited duration of the determination, I am satisfied this meets the criteria that such an emergency requirement is in place for only as long as necessary.

I wish to note the potential consequences for Australian citizens and permanent residents as a result of this pause on flights and entry into Australia.

These include the risk of serious illness without access to healthcare, the potential for Australians to be stranded in a transit country, and in a worst-case scenario, deaths.

I consider that these serious implications can be mitigated through having the restriction only temporarily in place, ie a pause, and by ensuring there are categories of exemptions.

Updated

Linda Reynolds has declined to answer questions about the “lying cow” comment that led her to apologise and reach a settlement with Brittany Higgins.

Facing parliament for the first time since she took medical leave, Reynolds, now the NDIS and government services minister, told a Senate estimates hearing that discussing the matter could “potentially compromise” ongoing investigations by the Australian federal police.

“I’m disappointed but not surprised you’ve raised the matter in this way,” Reynolds told Labor’s Nita Green.

Reynolds said she was making a statement to the AFP and assisting with their inquiries.

Asked why she called Higgins a “lying cow”, Reynolds would only say the matter had already been canvassed in the Senate and noted she had reached a settlement with the former Liberal staffer.

Green argued that in fact Reynolds had never addressed that specific question in parliament.

But Reynolds claimed it went to the “heart of the AFP investigation”. “That is where it rightly should sit,” she said.

AFP officials have previously told parliament that they were concerned that probing the matter in parliament could interfere with their investigation.

Reynolds thanked the prime minister, Scott Morrison, for his support and for remaining in touch with her while she was in hospital and on leave.

Updated

Payne to travel to Europe and US for meetings

Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, is about to fly to London, Geneva and Washington over the next fortnight.

The trip’s Washington leg will represent the Australian government’s first ministerial, in-person consultations with the Biden administration, she said.

Payne issued a statement saying the overall aim of the trip is to meet with close allies and partners “to further Australia’s interests in the Covid-19 period and beyond”.

The trip will begin with a visit to the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday. That will include a meeting with the foreign and development ministers of the G7 countries, “as well as additional invitees Australia, India, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and the chair and secretary general of Asean”.

Payne describes this event as “a major strategic discussion ahead of the G7 leaders’ meeting in June”, to which Australia has also been invited. She says the group will discuss “critical issues on advancing open societies and promoting global democratic values”. The agenda also includes “how to ensure equitable vaccine access availability and the promotion of prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific”.

Apart from the combined meeting, Payne said, she will hold one-on-one talks with the other invited foreign ministers. She will meet with senior ministers of the Johnson government to discuss the UK’s recent blueprint for a tilt to the Indo-Pacific region. She will meet in London with her French and Indian counterparts to discuss strengthening ties among the three countries.

Payne said she will then travel to Geneva for talks with international organisations “on the global response to Covid-19 and key humanitarian and human rights issues”.

That will be followed by a trip to Washington, where the talks “will focus on the work of Australia and the United States individually and together to support the resilience of the Indo-Pacific region, as we address the Covid-19-induced health and economic crises, and intensifying strategic competition”.

That last line is a reference to the increasingly tense relationship between China and the US.

Updated

Thanks for taking us through the day so far Matilda.

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

If you see anything you think I should be aware of, you can get in touch with me via Twitter @EliasVisontay or via email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com.

With that, I shall depart for the day. The fantastic Elias Visontay is stepping in to take you through the rest of the day’s news.

Updated

No local Covid-19 cases in NSW today.

The Australian Capital Territory is experiencing technical problems with its new digital health system, which are preventing Canberrans from booking in for their Covid-19 vaccination.

The ACT fast-tracked the development of its new Digital Health Record system to allow it to be used in the Covid-19 vaccination process.

But the system is failing to recognise users’ Medicare numbers, preventing them from registering for a digital health record and making a Covid-19 booking. Users are instead directed to use the government’s phone vaccination booking system.

But that system is overloaded, leaving callers with long wait times.

An ACT government spokeswoman confirmed the problem to Guardian Australia:

We are aware of an issue regarding Medicare numbers and the MyDHR and are working through this. In the meantime, people can call the Covid-19 booking line phone number ...

Due to strong demand, we are experiencing high call volumes and are working through these as quickly as possible. If there are long queues, please call back at another time.

The booking line is open 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday. All eligible Canberrans will be given an appointment. We ask you to be patient and understanding with our staff.

Updated

Negative test for fleeing crewman in Qld

A man who fled a livestock carrier at a port in Townsville without undergoing quarantine has tested negative to Covid-19.

The man was detained on Monday after being “temporarily unaccounted for” when he and 11 others crew refused to re-board the Polaris 3 on Saturday.

The Australian Border Force released a statement this morning:

The ABF is working with Queensland authorities on the safe quarantine and detention of the individuals.

All 12 men have had their visas cancelled “as a matter of course”.

(It’s worth remembering there is a huge conversation going on at the moment about the treatment of commercial seafarers during the pandemic.)

The Panama-flagged ship has departed Townsville and is bound for Jakarta, online tracking data shows, reports Nick Gibbs from AAP.

The risk of infection in the local community is considered “extremely low” and there is no indication anyone on board the international vessel had been recently exposed to the virus.

A Queensland Health spokesman said on Monday:

Eleven crew members have been tested so far and all are negative. One further crew member has returned a negative test result as of this morning ...

We are providing support to protect the Townsville community, and ensure the health of officers from the agencies involved and the vessel’s crew.

People who fulfil “relevant visa criteria” can be granted permanent protection in Australia, the ABF said.

Each case is assessed on its individual merits, with the safety in particular countries being a factor of consideration.

Queensland police referred all questions to the ABF.

Updated

Here the (non-flexing) photo of the premier getting the jab:

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan receives the vaccine

Updated

So the WA premier, Mark McGowan, and the health minister, Roger Cook, have rolled up their sleeves for the AstraZeneca vaccine today, and seem to be using the opportunity to flex?

WA Premier Mark McGowan and Western Australia Health Minister Roger Cook pose for a photograph after receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccination in Perth, Monday, May 2, 2021. West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has received a coronavirus vaccination

Cook is really going for it!

WA Premier Mark McGowan and Western Australia Health Minister Roger Cook pose for a photograph after receiving their first dose

Why is there a frame now?! Why are they still flexing!?

The pair with a frame saying 'Roll up for WA'

Updated

Here is the full story on the chief medical officer’s comments this morning, from Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst and Sarah Martin:

Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, says he did not provide specific advice to the government around fines and jail time for people returning home from India, but provided health advice on “how to keep Australians safe”.

The Morrison government says its controversial decision to criminalise returns to Australia from India as the country battles a Covid-19 humanitarian disaster was “entirely founded in the advice of the chief medical officer”.

But Kelly drew a distinction on Monday morning, saying “our advice was the public health advice about the situation” and “I didn’t advise anything in relation to fines or any of those other matters”.

Under biosecurity regulations enacted to manage the pandemic, the health minister has sweeping powers, including scope to determine biosecurity emergencies.

You can read the full story below:

Updated

NBN technicians walk off the job

NBN technicians around the country have walked off the job over work conditions including claims of pay cuts, reports Liv Casben from AAP.

The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union said 200 of its members had met in Sydney’s west on Monday and voted to take immediate industrial action, with others dialling in from around the country.

The CEPU national president, Shane Murphy, said the members cited ongoing issues with the NBN, pay cuts and a “shambolic” dispatch system as the source of their frustrations.

Murphy said NBN’s contracting arrangements had left subcontractors out of pocket:

It comes on top of $77m worth of bonuses paid [to NBN executives] at the same time they’ve got their delivery partners cutting the pay rates of contractors, having a dispatch system that’s delaying contractors from servicing their customers, which affects the amount of jobs they’re doing and their take-home pay.

He expects well over half of the technicians who subcontract to the NBN to take part in the action across the country, with some 500 technicians supporting it:

The numbers are continually growing by the minute, as [subcontractors] become more aware of the action taken by the majority of their mates ...

These small business owners simply can’t afford to go to work. It’s an appalling situation in particular on a government project and there needs to be an inquiry by the parliament.

Technicians cancelled appointments across the country on Monday and want to meet with NBN Co management, he said.

There are between 600 to 800 technicians working for the NBN across the country but it’s unclear how many have walked off the job and when they will return to work.

NBN Co has been contacted for comment.

Updated

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, says the state’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy is being staggered to stop the system from being overwhelmed, reports AAP.

There are nearly 3 million people in NSW over 50 who are next in line to be immunised.

Hazzard spoke to Nine’s Today show this morning:

If they all got on the phone at the same time frustration would be supreme ...

What I would want to stress, though, is that in the first instance people with a GP should go to their GP ...

Obviously most of us over 50 ... have some sort of health issue and it is far better that you be able to talk to your GP.

People 50 and older will from Monday be able to get immunised at a few commonwealth-run respiratory clinics across Sydney

But the state-run mass vaccination facility at Sydney Olympic Park won’t open until next Monday – and then just for those eligible under phase one of the vaccine rollout: frontline workers and their families.

Hazzard is encouraging people 50 or older to wait until 17 May to get a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine from their GP.

Updated

Cook:

I am disappointed that we haven’t had a better rollout of [vaccines for] aged care residents and disability care residents as well, but that’s the responsibility of the commonwealth government.

My understanding is that they are now making better progress and they are assuring us that they will get to everyone as soon as possible.

Updated

Health Minister Cook has been asked how WA is placed when it comes to stock of the Pfizer vaccine:

It continues to be a precious commodity. We have got stocks of the AstraZeneca vaccine in our state-run facilities, and those stocks are building in the GP networks. CSL is starting to ramp up production now. We expect any limitations in relation to supply to be overcome in the coming week to a fortnight ...

What we have seen is a really high level of interest from the public in relation to the AstraZeneca vaccine. And there’s a reason for that. Because they would have read the articles, the evidence, and they would know that it’s a very safe vaccine.

We have a very, very small number of adverse events, which are part and parcel of any vaccine rollout program. So, I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to get yourself vaccinated. We’re not safe until we’re all safe. And the vaccine will be an important part of our arsenal in the fight against Covid-19.

Updated

WA health minister won't make N95 masks mandatory for quarantine guards.

Gosh, this press conference is confusing, but the crux of it is that Cook’s being asked why security guards were still patrolling floors where it was known there were two positive Covid-19 cases.

Cook:

Because we maintain guards on floors where we do have positive cases, but we moved them away from the doors or the rooms associated with those positive cases.

Reporter:

How far away was the guard?

Cook:

I don’t have that information. But obviously, that’s information we’ll get as a result of the inquiry ...

Reporter:

It is time for N95 masks?

Cook:

It’s not ... We have had advice from AHPPC that do not recommend N95 masks. For one to effectively wear N95 masks requires fit testing and an element of training.

It requires a person not to touch their face and [for the mask] not to be worn for a long period of time. So, security guards have shifts of 12 hours. You couldn’t use an N95 mask over that period.

It would be too long in terms of wearing an N95 mask or even a number of them. The infection control is actually reduced.

So, the expert advice – national advice in relation to the security guards in quarantine situations – is to wear a surgical mask and a face shield.

Updated

Roger Cook has been asked if WA authorities know whether the traveller from the US and the travellers from Indonesia might have interacted and therefore transferred the virus:

I don’t have those details. My understanding is they arrived on the same day, and they were ... on the same floor of the hotel. So, there’s – I guess, you can imagine, a couple of opportunities where it may have had the opportunity.

Updated

Roger Cook has been asked why heath authorities are so sure this outbreak wasn’t caused by airborne spread, and therefore, problems with ventilation:

Because we believe that both the traveller from Indonesia and the traveller from the US were infectious when they entered the hotel. So there is some other movement which actually led to it.

Updated

The WA health minister, Roger Cook, has detailed the current “working theory” for how this second hotel quarantine outbreak occurred:

I’ve got a working theory that it’s as a result of the other traveller from the US.

There’s another traveller as part of that cohort that was on that floor that day from Indonesia who also has the US variant. So, it would suggest that it was a spread from that particular individual.

As you know, security guards are kept away from the doors of any rooms where we know we have positive patients – positive travellers. But in this particular case, the security guard was required to be in the proximity of the lift and potentially via that or by buttons and so on – that’s an opportunity for the transmission to have occurred.

We will continue to monitor – to examine that situation to get better understanding. And every time we have an incident like this, and every time we have a successful quarantining arrangement, we learn from it and make sure that we continue to tighten the arrangements to make sure there’s no spread of the disease.

Updated

McGowan to consider Covid-19 restrictions over the coming days

Some were expecting concrete announcements out of today’s press conference on whether WA’s Covid-19 restrictions would be extended in light of the new hotel outbreak, but Mark McGowan says those decisions will be made in the coming day:

All of these restrictions are due to expire at midnight on Friday night/12.01 Saturday morning.

We will review over the course of the coming day, particularly in light of test results how things are going as to whether or not we can expire some of those restrictions at that point in time.

At this point in time, we’re requesting everyone wear masks, everyone do the right thing. Where you can, make sure you put in place the appropriate precautions for yourself and your families and most of all, use common sense.

Updated

Mark McGowan says the infected hotel worker has the US variant but denies the hotel where transmission occurred has ventilation problems:

Now, in relation to the genome sequencing result for “Case 1,001”.

He has proven positive to the US variant, which is identical to the person who visited from the United States and was transferred to the hotel on the same day as Case 1,001 was working.

So, we expect he acquired the virus from that person. We don’t know how. The advice we have is at this point in time it was not related to ventilation issues in the hotel.

Updated

Mark McGowan:

Now, related to “Case 1,01” and his contacts. We have the following update.

There are 58 close contacts that have been identified. Of those, 26 have returned negative test results. Seventeen of the 58 were from the cooking class.

We’re awaiting results from the remaining but all are in quarantine and will be in for the next 14 days, for the full 14 days.

There are 217 casual contacts, so far 43 returned negative results. Casual contacts are required to get tested immediately and quarantine until they return a negative test result.

Updated

No new local cases in WA

WA premier Mark McGowan is speaking now.

He says there have been no new local Covid-19 cases today.

The Department of Health is facing questions at a Senate estimates spillover session this morning.

Brendan Murphy, secretary of the department, says so far there have been 46,500 doses administered to aged care workers.

That’s from a total of about 366,000 aged care workers, though the aged care services minister, Richard Colbeck, says the figure also takes in some disability workers.

On the rollout for aged care workers, Murphy says they are “just starting to ramp that process up”.

That includes opening up the state and territory Pfizer vaccination clinics to aged care and disability staff.

Updated

Victoria's vaccine booking service overwhelmed with calls

Well, the lines out the front of the mass vaccination centres in Victoria might be slightly underwhelming but it looks as though that doesn’t mean people aren’t keen to get the jab.

The Victorian health department says it had received 5,000 calls to its vaccine booking service before 9.30am.

Updated

And of course, Ray Hadley has closed out the interview with:

Well done, we’re lucky to have you. Thanks so much.

I need another coffee.

Updated

Scott Morrison:

I would just implore all Australians, and Australian residents as well, with family and friends in India, who have Indian heritage, and I want to thank them for their patience, and their understanding.

With these decisions I know there’ll be plenty of people who will try to tell them all sorts of things about this about what it means, it only means that we’re trying to keep Australians safe.

And as Australians, we’re all in this together*. And, and it’s very tough for them and I thank them for their patience and their understanding and we’re going to do everything we can to help both great friends in India as a country, but more specifically, Australian citizens and residents and their families.

*Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Updated

OK, I swear I’m trying really hard not to be too sarcastic about this interview, but come on! Look at this question Ray Hadley just threw Scott Morrison’s way.

Hadley:

I’ve said publicly and I’ll repeat it again: I think these people have come from India to settle here are among the best immigrants we’ve ever had. They’re productive, they’re hardworking, they’re decent and, I’ll tell you what, they also, they understand.

2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley
2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

I’ve had about 12 emails this morning from different parts of the country. People who have been here for over 10 years, 14 years, 50 years from India and they say the same thing: “We are doing the right thing.” And these are people who have mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles and siblings in India, and they understand all of that.

The one thing they’ve been asking me, and I’ll ask you now. Obviously, it’s down to the chief medical officer. This is a pause until the middle of his mouth. Obviously, you’ll review it at the middle of the month and see what the next step is, is that the case?

Wow, can’t wait to see how Morrison copes with that one!

Morrison:

Yeah, that’s the case. We’ll be reviewing it before then too, with Greg Hunt and the chief medical officer, and we will continue to do that.

We’ll do it, this week, we’ll do it the following week. This only needs to be there in place for as long as it needs to be there to keep Australians safe.

Updated

Ray Hadley has very kindly reminded Scott Morrison that the WA premier is backing the decision to halt flights from India, despite being Labor.

Here’s Morrison’s response to that hard-hitting journalistic curve ball:

As the South Australian premier and as the New South Wales premier. I mean, we’re all just, you know, working to do what’s right for the health interests of Australians.

We’re deeply, deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in India and that’s why we’re sending 1,000 non-invasive ventilators with we’re sending million surgical masks, we’re sending 100 oxygen concentrators ...

So we were standing with our Indian friends. As the great partners of Australia but Australian citizens registered within there, the best way I can effectively get them safely home is by doing what I’m doing right now*.

I’m disappointed that the Labor party has chosen to politicise this once again and make those claims. I mean, we’ve seen that right across the pandemic and that’s very disappointing.

I mean, I’ve had more cooperation, out of the state premiers of both political persuasions, because we’re all leaders of governments who understand our responsibilities. I have clear advice from the chief medical officer that this is a decision that is supported and should take, and that all the way through, and that’s kept Australia safe.

*Others have argued the best way Morrison could help them get out of the country would be, you know, getting them out of the country, but maybe that’s a little too politicised

Updated

Morrison:

I’m going to restore those repatriation flights, we will get them running again once we can safely bring people back to Australia.

And that’s how the Australian community I know will continue to support those repatriation flights when they have the confidence that they know we can do it safely.

Morrison defends criminalising people who return from India

OK, I see why Scott Morrison chose Ray Hadley’s program to discuss the controversy:

Hadley:

The only thing I’d say to you is my view was, you waited a bit long, and you finally did it.

But there was no criticism from the federal Labour party in Australia when [Victorian premier Daniel Andrews] did the same thing a month ago, in New Zealand no criticism at all no racism allegations against her.

Morrison:

You know we’ve both made decisions, which we believe are right for our own countries, but there’s no politics or ideology in a pandemic, and I’m constantly taken aback by those who seek to inject it into it*. It’s got nothing to do with politics. This is a virus, it doesn’t care whether you’re Labor, Liberal, it doesn’t care.

*Hmmmmmmmm.

Updated

Scott Morrison’s message seems to be “yeah, I said we CAN throw people in jail but I promise we probably won’t”, which seems, well, tenuous:

Yes, I understand the measures have strong sanctions with them but we’ve had the Biosecurity Act in place now for over a year, and no one’s going to jail.

There hasn’t been any irresponsible use of those powers that they use very, very carefully, and I can assure people that they will be used appropriately and responsibly. In these circumstances, but things to keep Australia safe during this pandemic, this is another very difficult decision.

Updated

A strong unbiased start from Ray Hadley here:

I’ve spent the morning and most of late last week defending your position in relation to this, and all I pick up and read over the course of the weekend is “you’re racist, your government’s racist and everyone else’s racist” but can you elaborate on why you’re not racist?

And Scott Morrison is rolling with it:

The same accusations were made against the government over a year ago when we close the borders to mainland China, and that was one of the most important decisions we made as a government. I mean, there was a raging pandemic, and we need to just continue to make decisions that are in the best interests of Australia.

Updated

Looks as though Scott Morrison is about to chat publicly about these new Indian travel penalties on his favourite radio station in the country, 2GB.

Updated

Ten news have this great graphic about all the places in Victoria you can go to get your AstraZeneca jab if you are aged 50 and over.

Some centres you can just saunter on in, others you should call ahead and book.

Updated

Lots of positives stories about booking in for the jab coming through! Seems, at least for the moment, that there are plenty of slots open in a number of states.

WA exposure sites

We are about to hear from WA premier Mark McGowan but, while we wait, why don’t we get up to date on potential exposure sites in the state.

If you were at one of the following restaurant locations below, during the specified times, you must get tested and complete the full 14 days of self-quarantine, regardless of your test result.

  • Joondalup: Thai Thyme (restaurant with seating), Lakeside Joondalup shopping centre, Joondalup Drive, 22 April, 6.30pm-8pm
  • Morley: Kung Fu Kitchen, 129 Russell Street, 21 April, 6pm-8pm
  • Northbridge: City China Garden, 20 April, 5-8pm
  • Northbridge: Good Fortune Roast Duck House, 19 April, 5pm-8pm
  • Northbridge: Fortune Five All Day Dim Sum & BBQ, 18 April, 8-9.30pm
  • Kardinya: Kitchen Inn, 19/17-23 South Street, 18 April, 12pm-2pm
  • East Victoria Park: Anything La Corner, U5-6/910 Albany Highway, 17 April, 5.30pm-8pm

If you have been at any of the following locations at the specified times you must get tested and isolate at home until you receive a negative result.

  • Nollamara: Pharmacy 777 – 84 Hillsborough Drive, 30 April, 4-5pm
  • Mirrabooka: Mirrabooka Mosque: Masjid Al Taqwa, 30 April, 1.15pm-2pm
  • Madeley: Puma – 186 Wanneroo Rd, 30 April, 11.45am-12.15pm
  • Banksia Grove: Liberty Fuel, corner of Porrecta Link and Pinjar Rd, 30 April, 10am-10.30am
  • Wanneroo: Brookside medical centre, 30 April, 8am-9am
  • Nollamara: Pharmacy 777 – 84 Hillsborough Drive, 29 April, 6pm-7pm
  • Balcatta: Coles – Prime West Northlands shopping centre, 29 April, 4.30pm-5.15pm
  • Scarborough: Caltex – 74 Scarborough Beach Rd, 29 April, 1.15pm-1.45pm
  • Victoria Park: All Night Pizza Cafe, 28 April, 10pm-12am
  • Joondanna: Agha Juice cafe, 28 April, 6.50pm-8pm
  • Morley: Event (Greater Union) Cinemas – Galleria shopping centre, 28 April, 6.45pm-7.15pm
  • Balcatta: Coles – Prime West Northlands shopping centre, 28 April, 2pm-3pm
  • Balcatta: Smokemart – Prime West Northlands shopping centre, 28 April, 1.30pm-3.15pm
  • Balcatta: Northlands Fresh – Prime West Northlands shopping centre, 28 April, 1.30pm-3.15pm
  • Westminster: Spudshed – Stirling Shopping Centre, 28 April, 1.30am-2.30am
  • Westminster: Spudshed – Stirling shopping centre, 27 April, 5.15pm-6pm
  • Victoria Park: Swan Taxi office building, Victoria Park, 27 April, 1.50pm-2.45pm

Updated

Health secretary says criminal penalties were 'built in', not specifically recommended

The secretary of the federal heath department, Brendan Murphy, has confirmed that the medical advice to the government on pausing travellers from India did not include specific recommendations on criminalising breaches.

But he said the Biosecurity Act had existing legal sanctions “built into it”.

Murphy has been giving evidence to a spillover session of Senate estimates hearings in Canberra today. The big topic so far has been the controversial move by the government to use the Biosecurity Act regulations - announced close to midnight on Friday night – to impose penalties including fines and jail time for anyone who tries to return home from India.

Murphy said the chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, had provided advice to the minister for health, Greg Hunt, on the need to temporarily pause people coming back from India, including the use of a determination under the Biosecurity Act. While there was no specific recommendation around criminalisation, the act had existing sanctions for breaches built into it, Murphy added:

The advice, as I said before, was around the use of the Biosecurity Act to protect Australia from people coming back from a high-risk country. There was no specific advice on criminalisation.

Members of the Senate committee have asked the government to table the medical and legal advice provided to Hunt. Murphy has taken the matter on notice. He said the government would consider whether the legal advice may have legal privilege attached to it.

Updated

Matt Canavan slams new criminal penalties for returning Australians

Nationals deputy Senate leader Matt Canavan has come out this morning to slam the government’s (in fact, his government’s) decision to impose fines and potential jail time on those who attempt to return home from India:

We should be helping Aussies in India return, not jailing them. Let’s fix our quarantine system rather than leave our fellow Australians stranded.

Updated

Hmmm, doesn’t seem like older Melburnians are rushing to get the jab this morning.

We saw a similar underwhelming response when hubs opened up to all those 70 and over several weeks back.

Updated

Seems that smog is starting to clear in Sydney.

Updated

Aged care minister Richard Colbeck has been asked why the government decided to stop travellers from India from arriving in Australia rather than ramping up federal quarantine facilities:

It wouldn’t matter how to what scale, you build a quarantine system there is always going to be a capacity limit to it.

A decision was made for a period of time to limit the movement of people, to ensure that our systems could cope. I think it is an appropriate, and a sensible decision for Australia to take so that we can appropriately manage and don’t place undue stress on all of our systems.

Updated

Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy and aged care minister Richard Colbeck are fronting a Senate estimates committee this morning.

Colbeck has been asked about the new sanctions on returning Indian citizens, saying “there is not a specific sanction in relation to [India]”, but said those sanctions were a result of the Biosecurity Act being enacted:

Suggesting there’s been a deliberate criminalisation of people’s movement is a mischaracterisation. The government is concerned at stress being placed on the hotel quarantine system.

Updated

Queensland reports no local Covid cases

Another (locally) Covid-19 free day in Queensland.

Updated

New Zealand sorry for India Twitter request

New Zealand has apologised for using Twitter to source oxygen tanks for a critically ill worker at its high commission in New Delhi, reports Ben McKay from AAP.

The official “@NZInIndia” account kicked off a puzzling exchange on the social media website on Sunday.

In a tweet since deleted, it appealed to the youth wing of an opposition political party for assistance finding the lifesaving gas. India is now suffering through a pronounced wave of Covid-19, with the NZ high commission in lockdown.

The Twitter appeal led to local politician Srinivas BV responding, bringing oxygen tanks to the door of the high commission – only to find them closed. Srinivas tweeted:

Please open the gates and save a soul on time.

The high commission is then shown accepting two tanks in a subsequent video posted by Srinivas.

On Monday morning, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said the high commission had used an improper way to source the gas.

They should have been using the normal channels and protocols.

Ardern confirmed that the tweet had been sent on behalf of an unwell locally based staff member. It’s understood the tweet was the result of sheer desperation, given their deteriorating condition.

The high commission deleted its tweet and responded with a new post, saying:

We are trying all sources to arrange for oxygen cylinders urgently and our appeal has unfortunately been misinterpreted, for which we are sorry.

Last month New Zealand placed a suspension on international travellers from India – including its own citizens – because of its soaring infection rates.

It then reclassified India as a “very high risk” category nation, which restricts international travellers to Kiwi citizens and immediate families.

New Zealand has also categorised Pakistan, Brazil and Papua New Guinea as “very high risk”.

Updated

We are expecting a press conference with Western Australia premier Mark McGowan in the next hour or so, where we should learn what Covid-19 restrictions will be sticking around while health authorities work to contain a small hotel outbreak.

A masked dog walker in Perth yesterday
A masked dog walker in Perth yesterday. Masks have become mandatory after a security guard in his 20s who worked at the Pan Pacific Hotel between 24 and 26 April tested positive for Covid. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Updated

Retail billionaire Solomon Lew has bowed to political pressure and will return some of the jobkeeper subsidy received by his Premier Investments empire.

In a statement, Premier said its board, where Lew is chair, had decided to “refund the net jobkeeper benefit of $15.6m to the Australian Tax Office”.

But it did not disclose the total amount of jobkeeper the company received – as we’ve previously reported, industry sources estimate it could be as much as $100m.

The company said it had previously “quarantined” the $15.6m “to fund the wages of employees who may be stood down under future state government mandated Covid-19 lockdowns”.

It said it had used the money to pay staff during the snap lockdowns in Queensland and Western Australia:

Critically, following the lockdowns and upon reopening, increased trading from the combined states has fully offset the cost of supporting our teams through these lockdowns ...

Therefore, the ‘jobkeeper 1’ funds were ultimately not required to support our teams.

Lew’s empire has been under intense pressure to repay jobkeeper after its profit surged during the pandemic and it paid tens of millions of dollars in dividends to Lew. You can read our previous coverage here:

Updated

Paul Kelly declined to commit to any specific numbers when it comes to the ramping up of the Australian vaccination program but says daily doses of AstraZeneca will increase:

As many people as possible. I really encourage anyone over 50 to have a look at the checker online or to phone us to see where you can get the vaccines from the state and territory-run clinics, but also GPs will be starting from today. Many of them have rolled up to commence earlier than expected.

There are already 136 GP respiratory clinics available throughout the country and 400 GPs as well have put their hands up and more later this week. So that information is on the website.

GPs would really encourage them to call out to their own patients first and get them booked in over the coming weeks. We are going to see a major increase in people taking the vaccine, I’m sure.

Nurses draw up doses from a multi-dose vial of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Claremont showgrounds in Perth
Nurses draw up doses from a multi-dose vial of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Claremont showgrounds in Perth last week. WA has opened two new vaccine centres, including one at Perth airport. Photograph: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Updated

Paul Kelly says that it was considerably easier to block flights from Papua New Guinea when cases peaked because most flights to Australia were direct.

He says this is why the government decided criminal penalties were required for those returning to India:

It was relatively easy to work with airlines and restrict the number of airlines coming in and the caps.

For the Indian people, it’s slightly more complex because there are a range of other third countries that people could fly through so that was why we have taken that action.

As related to the PNG situation, the government has stopped the facilitated flights or paused them at least for a couple of weeks into the Northern Territory. And similarly with direct flights.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly.
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly is justifying the proportionality of these new criminal penalties the government has imposed on those attempting to return to Australia from India:

Whatever is brought into place is proportionate to the risk and can we just be clear about that – we were faced with a quarantine system under stress. We have seen again in Perth the breach of quarantine which has led to a case or three cases now in the community.

We have seen particularly in the Northern Territory that over 70% of the positive cases which was far and above the maximum almost over seven times more than what we had planned for in Howard Springs in relation to positive cases in that facility putting great stress on the medical authorities there ...

Host Madeleine Morris:

OK. So why when then is it proportionate to ban and fine and jail Australians returning from one country when it wasn’t proportionate when the US had similar caseloads?

Kelly:

Very early on in the pandemic when we were getting cases from all over the world and then we introduced the hotel quarantine system for that reason, they were coming from many other countries, and we coped with that. But soon half that, we did actually set this limit of 2% of positivity rates and have well below that for well over a year now except for two occasions, one is now and that’s been very clearly related to people returning from India.

Updated

Kelly is being pressed on exactly what advice was given to the health minister.

Host Madeleine Morris:

Just to be clear, under that Act, that was brought in by the health minister rather than you because they are saying that they have implemented this on the basis of medical advice?

Kelly:

Of course. And they must do that. The Act is very explicit that the minister must be satisfied by those things that I mentioned, that whatever is brought into place is proportionate to the risk.

Updated

Paul Kelly says jail time for returning Aussies was decided 'by law' not from explicit health advice

Greg Hunt said new fines and jail times for Australian citizens returning from Indian were brought in on the basis of Paul Kelly’s health advice.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has been asked exactly what this advice was.

So our advice was the public health advice about the situation and the situation which has developed is that we’ve all seen the scenes in India and my heart goes out to all Indians, anyone in India ...

To understand the Biosecurity Act, what was asked for was public health advice, and once a decision is made by government as it was done on Friday night, there is another section of the Act which talks about what happens if you breach those things. So that is in the Act itself, I didn’t advise anything in relation to fines or any of those other matters, that is the law.

Nurses wait for people to be inoculated with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine in a hospital in Bengaluru, India. With cases crossing 400,000 a day and more than 3,500 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid-19 crisis is intensifying.
Nurses wait for people to be inoculated with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin vaccine in a hospital in Bengaluru, India. With cases crossing 400,000 a day and more than 3,500 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, India’s Covid-19 crisis is intensifying. Photograph: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

Updated

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly is speaking on ABC News Breakfast now.

I’m having a few people writing in saying that despite the official Australian eligibility for vaccination changing today to include everyone aged 50 or over, they are still finding it nearly impossible to get a booking for the AstraZeneca jab.

Shoot me an email on matilda.boseley@theguardian.com and tell me how you have gone booking in.

Updated

Dutton's department reviews Port of Darwin's lease to Chinese company

The Australian government has taken a step towards potentially cancelling the long-term lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company, in line with a signal sent by Scott Morrison last week.

The Department of Defence is now reviewing the matter, defence minister Peter Dutton has confirmed in an interview with the Nine newspapers, published today.

Dutton said cabinet’s national security committee – which is chaired by Morrison and includes senior ministers – had asked the defence department to “come back with some advice, so that work is already under way”.

It follows concerns by both sides of politics about the Northern Territory government’s decision in 2015 to grant a long-term lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company, Landbridge. The company did not respond to a request for comment last week.

In response to a question about whether forced divestment of the port was on the table, Dutton told the Nine papers the government needed to wait for the advice and “we can look at options that are in our national interests after that”.

The comments come after Morrison’s visit to the NT last week, when the prime minister hinted that the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin could be reconsidered on security grounds. When asked about the port, Morrison said he would take seriously any advice from the defence department or security agencies “about the national security implications of any piece of critical infrastructure”.

Dutton – a conservative who has been making waves since being appointed defence minister a month ago – and the government are increasingly adopting tougher rhetoric on China, which we explored in this piece last week.

Dutton also used the Nine interview to defend his remarks that the risk of war over Taiwan could not be discounted, saying China had been “very clear about their strategy, their approach and their desires and so pretending it’s not being said or turning a blind eye to it is not in our national interest”.

Defence minister Peter Dutton
Defence minister Peter Dutton. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Victoria reports no locally acquired Covid cases

Would you look at that! No local Covid-19 cases in Victoria today.

Updated

Peter Gutwein still planning to resign if Tasmanian Liberals don't win majority

Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein says he will still follow through on this promise to resign if the Liberal party doesn’t win a majority government. The final seats in the state elections are still up in the air this morning as postal votes are counted.

The Liberals need two more seats to win a majority but both now have independents putting up a valiant fight in the vote count:

I made that commitment. I think one of the reasons why Tasmanians have worked with me so well over the last 12 months as we dealt with coronavirus here, is that they understand that I’m a man of my word. Should we not get that 13th seat, I’ll stand my word, simple as that.

Tasmanian Liberal leader Peter Gutwein enters the tally room with his wife Amanda Gutwein-Burke for the Tasmanian election in Hobart on Saturday night
Tasmanian Liberal leader Peter Gutwein enters the tally room with his wife Amanda Gutwein-Burke for the Tasmanian election in Hobart on Saturday night. Photograph: Chris Crerar/AAP

Updated

Paul Kelly has also been asked to justify why flights were never banned from the US or UK despite their own huge Covid-119 spikes.

He says these peak occurred early on in the pandemic* and that it was not yet considered that reducing flights could decrease problems in hotel quarantine.

*It wasn’t that early. The UK’s highly contagious variant crisis was only a few months ago

Updated

No medical advice suggesting jail time for Australians returning from India

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has confirmed there was no medical advice given to the government suggesting they impose criminal penalties on Australian citizens in Indian returning home, although he did advise that the number of returned travellers be reduced.

He has just spoken on ABC radio.

Updated

Just one-third of surveyed Australians believe the Morrison government needs to do more to help citizens stranded overseas, according to a new poll gauging the country’s pandemic response.

The results of the Lowy Institute poll, released on Monday, are likely to entrench the sense of abandonment among about 36,000 Australians who are registered with the government as wanting to return home.

But with the federal budget looming on 11 May, the poll also finds strong community support for helping Australia’s Pacific neighbours vaccinate their populations against Covid-19.

About 83% of the 2,222 respondents said Australia should help Pacific island countries to pay for such vaccines. About 60% believed Australia should do the same for south-east Asian countries.

Community attitudes to the plight of stranded citizens were measured with a question asking whether the federal government had done too much, not enough, or about the right amount to bring Australians home from overseas.

You can read the full report below:

Always worth a reminder.

It’s a foggy old day in Sydney this morning so be careful on the roads. The Bureau of Meteorology says it should lift in about an hour.

Looks like we are expecting to hear from chief medical officer Paul Kelly soon on ABC. It was his medical advice that prompted these new penalities for Australian citizens in India returning home.

Hopefully, we can get some more clarity on exactly why the government believes the threats to Australians are so great.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly.
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Almost half the women murdered by an intimate partner in Queensland had previously been labelled by police as the perpetrator of domestic violence, research shows.

As the Queensland police again reckon with the brutal consequences of family violence – the deaths of Gold Coast women Doreen Langham and Kelly Wilkinson, who both repeatedly sought help – they have acknowledged and pledged to address systemic failings in their response.

But there are already concerns among experts and women’s advocates that police are resisting the need to look too deeply within, in the face of research last year into the misidentification of victims that found “racism, poor relationships with local communities, misogyny, and the patriarchal culture of the police service” were ongoing concerns.

The research by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety was prompted by figures from 2017 that of the 27 women murdered by an intimate partner in Queensland, 12 had been previously identified by police as the perpetrator in a domestic dispute and issued with a restraining order or formal charge.

You you read Ben’s full report below:

Updated

Good morning! It’s Matilda Boseley here, ready to kick off the news week.

Now, while I’m still a way off the jab, I have no doubt that a decent section of the people reading this right now have woken up, suddenly eligible for a vaccine.

Yes, from this morning every Australian over 50 years old is now able to book in for a dose of AstraZeneca as Australia’s vaccine rollout truly begins to ramp up.

All those eligible can organise to get their jabs with their GP, and in several states, such as Victoria, mass vaccination hubs will also be opening their doors. (Sorry NSW boomers – and older Gen X: while your doctor can give you the jab, your mass vaccination hubs won’t expand their booking criteria to you for three more weeks.)

If you are getting vaccinated tweet me a photo on Twitter @MatildaBoseley and I’ll share your good fortune with the blog! (And be quietly jealous, as my 24-year-old self has all but given up on being vaccinated in 2021.)

Some of the big names rolling up their sleeves today include Western Australia premier Mark McGowan and health minister Roger Cook.

Speaking of McGowan, this all comes as the WA government weighs up the prospect of an extended period of mask-wearing as contact tracers race to contain the latest outbreak and avoid another coronavirus lockdown.

McGowan yesterday confirmed no new locally acquired Covid cases had been detected, after a hotel quarantine security guard and two of his housemates tested positive – the second minor hotel outbreak in as many weeks.

Sunday’s AFL western derby between West Coast and Fremantle at Optus Stadium was played with empty stands, nightclubs were closed and Perth and Peel residents were ordered to return to wearing masks indoors and outdoors.

McGowan flagged that face coverings might become “a longer-term measure in coming weeks”:

And that is unfortunate because I know how uncomfortable and difficult it is but that may be one of the measures that we put in place to provide additional protection.

A number of high-risk locations have been released as contact tracers continue to work through the movements of the three infected men but so far all 16 “high-risk” close contacts have returned negative tests.

Some other things worth looking out for:

  • The federal government is standing firm on its threat to jail travellers trying to return from India.
  • Tasmania’s Liberal party is edging closer to forming a majority government but the final seat tally from Saturday’s election may not be known for a week.
  • Western Australia is facing growing calls to stop locking up children as young as 10, with a new report exposing the dire over-representation of Aboriginal youth in custody.
  • More than 50 health and medical groups have penned a letter to Scott Morrison, senior members of his government and Labor MPs to reduce decarbonise the healthcare sector by 2040.

And remember if there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.

Updated

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