What we learned, Thursday 15 April
That’s where I will leave you for tonight. Here’s what we learned today:
- Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, is investigating the death of a 48-year-old diabetic woman in NSW, who developed blood clots after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced that, in line with the US, the last Australian troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn in September.
- On the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, a NSW parliamentary committee recommended ending police investigations of custodial deaths and the Victorian government committed to implementing recommendations from the royal commission.
- The unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 5.6% prior to the jobkeeper wage subsidy ending last month. The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, hailed the news as evidence the government’s Covid-19 recovery plan was working, but acknowledged there were “certainly sectors across the economy – be they tourism, international education and aviation – that continue to do it tough”.
- The new minister for the national disability insurance scheme, Linda Reynolds, signalled the government will pause controversial plans to roll out independent assessments by the middle of the year, but defended the intent of the policy.
- Trailblazing fashion icon Carla Zampatti was farewelled with a state funeral at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. The 78-year-old died after a fall at an outdoor opera performance earlier this month.
- The Australian-born Christchurch terrorist who said he wanted to take the government to court over a lack of access to news and letters in jail and his designation as a terrorist entity has failed to attend the first court hearing on the matter.
- Morrison also slammed the ABC for the “misleading” editing of a story about a dance troupe who performed at the opening of a warship on Sunday. The ABC admitted that it incorrectly edited the clip to suggest the governor general, David Hurley, and senior military officials had been present while the troupe twerked in front of the new ship. The troupe, 101Dance Squadron, also condemned the ABC’s reporting, calling it “creepy”.
Updated
News of the Australian death comes on the same day that Denmark announced it will no longer offer the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of its immunisation program, becoming the first country to drop the vaccine over suspected rare but serious side-effects.
The move comes in spite of strong recommendations from the World Health Organization and European medicines watchdog to continue using the inoculation, as the benefits far outweigh any potential risk.
“Denmark’s vaccination campaign will go ahead without the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the director of the Danish health authority, Søren Brostrøm, told a press conference.
Denmark was the first country in Europe to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca jab in its vaccination rollout, after reports of rare but serious cases of blood clots among those that had received the vaccine.
More than a dozen countries followed suit, but all but a few have since resumed its use after the EMA emphasised the benefits of the vaccine and deemed it “safe and effective”.
Updated
Here is our most recent explainer on the extremely rare but sometimes severe blood clotting which has been seen in some people following vaccination with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Researchers worldwide have been grappling to understand why the clotting syndrome, known as “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” occurs, but evidence is growing that the condition may be linked to the vaccine.
Studies have suggested it occurs in approximately four to six people in every one million. However, higher rates have been reported in Germany and some Scandinavian countries. The risk also appears to be higher in people under 50, which is why the Australian government is no longer recommending the vaccine for that cohort.
Here is the full statement from New South Wales Health relating to the death of a 48-year-old Central Coast woman after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. A reminder that we only know that the TGA is investigating what role, if any, the vaccine may have played:
NSW Health does not speculate on or discuss individual cases, but the death of anyone is always a tragedy and our condolences are with the family and loved ones of the person who has passed away.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is responsible for regulating and monitoring the use of Covid-19 vaccines in Australia.
Monitoring involves detecting and responding to any emerging safety concerns related to Covid-19 vaccines, particularly any adverse events following immunisation. An adverse event following immunisation is any untoward medical event that occurs after a vaccination has been given, which may be related to the vaccine.
A conclusion regarding a causal relationship with the vaccine is not necessary to suspect or report an adverse event. NSW Health is notified when a serious or unexpected adverse event occurs.
NSW Health investigates these events and refers its expert panel findings to the TGA, which is responsible for assessing causality. Many conditions can arise during normal life, whether or not a vaccine is administered, but it remains important to report any new serious or unexpected events so that safety can be appropriately monitored.
Anyone concerned that they are experiencing a serious adverse event following vaccination should see their health care provider in the first instance or dial triple zero in an emergency.
Updated
Health authorities investigate death of NSW woman who developed blood clots after receiving Covid vaccine
Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, is investigating the death of a 48-year-old diabetic woman in NSW, who developed blood clots after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Daily Mail first reported the woman received the vaccine last Friday and developed major blood clots the next day and was put on dialysis.
In a statement, NSW Health said it “does not speculate on or discuss individual cases, but the death of anyone is always a tragedy and our condolences are with the family and loved ones of the person who has passed away”.
Guardian Australia understands the woman’s death is now being investigated by the TGA.
It is not known which vaccine the woman received. Last week the federal government announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine is no longer recommended for people under the age of 50.
It came after advice from Australia’s independent expert advisory panel on vaccines which pointed to a small but potentially increased risk of developing a rare and severe clotting disorder following the AstraZeneca vaccine being administered in those under 50.
The prime minister’s office declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia on Thursday night.
Updated
Channel Nine is reporting that police have surrounded that home in Carramar where a siege is taking place.
A man armed with a knife or machete has been holed up for about five hours. There is reportedly a woman inside the home.
According to Nine, witnesses said a man had been holding the weapon during a confrontation with officers on the front verandah of the home earlier today. He has reportedly been heard yelling “I am not coming out, I am not going back to jail”.
As I told you a little earlier, NSW Police have confirmed the operation is underway but aren’t saying anything else at the moment.
There are reports just breaking that there is siege underway in Carramar, in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The New South Wales police have issued this short statement:
A police operation is underway in Denison Street, Carramar this afternoon.
Officers from Fairfield Police Area Command were called to the location shortly after 1pm.
No further details are available at this stage.
I’ll bring you more on this as it comes.
#BREAKING: An ongoing siege is underway at Carramar, in Sydney's west.
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) April 15, 2021
Details are unfolding, we will bring you the latest at 6.00pm on #9News pic.twitter.com/5Ar5EQBPVc
The clean-up bill for Tropical Cyclone Seroja will stretch into the hundreds of millions, with 126 homes along Western Australia’s mid-west coast rendered uninhabitable.
AAP reports that a total of 170 properties across the region have been destroyed or severely damaged, and another 491 have sustained moderate or minor damage.
Some 250 properties are still to be assessed.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm estimates the cost could be many times that spent on the Wooroloo bushfires which destroyed 86 homes near Perth in February.
“It’d be much more than that... you’re into $100m to $200m – somewhere around there,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Premier Mark McGowan said the damage was extraordinary.
“It was obviously a dramatic event, and many people’s homes, livelihoods, and no doubt some people’s mental health, has been impacted by what’s occurred,” he said.
“It’s really quite extraordinary to see what the cyclone did to some people’s businesses and homes.”
Power is yet to be restored to 13,500 homes and businesses in the area, and phone connectivity is still severed in some places.
“The power poles basically were snapped off on the way through, and so clearly that will take some time to fix,” McGowan said.
Some 36 public school have been cleared to open for term 2 next week, but 10 schools are still being assessed.
The government’s primary focus is finding accommodation for a small group of people rendered homeless, restoring phone and power lines, and safely disposing of any asbestos in storm debris, Klemm said.
Newly appointed Recovery Controller for Cyclone Seroja Melissa Pexton will tour the cyclone-affected areas with the premier and prime minister Scott Morrison on Friday.
The trio will visit Kalbarri, which bore the brunt of the storm.
Up to 70% of properties in the popular coastal tourist town, 580km north of Perth, are thought to have been damaged by the cyclone which hit late on Sunday as a category three storm with winds up to 170km/h.
Seroja is the third disaster in Australia to be declared an insurance catastrophe this year.
Major floods in NSW and southeast Queensland last month have resulted in losses of about $600m from more than 40,000 claims, and losses from the Woorooloo bushfires stand at more than $85m from 995 claims.
More than 700 claims have been submitted to insurers, a figure that is expected to sharply rise as power and telecommunication services are restored in coming days.
The “catastrophe” declaration by the Insurance Council of Australia ensures those claims are prioritised by all insurers.
Assessors will move into affected communities once given the green light by emergency services.
The federal government has made available disaster recovery payments of $1,000 per affected adult and $400 per child, and the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund has been activated, which the public can donate to.
Updated
Experts and doctors have warned that new mass vaccination clinics will do little to aid Australia’s flawed vaccine rollout without greater supply certainty, and may even undermine the efforts of general practitioners.
This story from Christopher Knaus:
Labor senator Kristina Keneally will make her own way to Christmas Island to visit a Tamil family who have been held in immigration detention since 2019, after Peter Dutton cancelled the use of a government aircraft for the trip.
Amy Remeikis has the story:
The fair work watchdog has told the ABC that auditors detected “really high levels” of underpayment and penalty rates during a compliance blitz in Adelaide’s Chinatown precinct.
Speaking on ABC radio today, the fair work ombudsman, Sandra Parker, told ABC Adelaide that inspectors had so far visited about 40 restaurants, cafes and fast-food outlets across Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market.
She said:
Unfortunately, we’re finding really high levels of non-compliance, we’re finding flat rates of pay not being paid, failure to provide awards provisions, weekend penalty rates not being paid.
We’ll be taking some compliance action there and we’ve got more to come.
Updated
Hi I’m back. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. There was a rally held in Perth this afternoon to mark the fact that, as this incredible piece from Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist shows, so much has yet to change. Some photos from the rally here:
Few stills from the Stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - Perth Rally - 30 Years since the Royal Commission - still no justice pic.twitter.com/VxWWOvpK4K
— Jesse Noakes (@JesseSNoakes) April 15, 2021
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And with that I will hand it back to the ever-reliable Michael McGowan to take you through the evening’s news.
Updated
Kristina Keneally has released a statement on her trip to Christmas Island, saying she’s “relieved” to be able to visit the Biloela family:
Relieved to say I will still travel to Christmas Island this weekend to meet the #hometobilo family, after @PeterDutton_MP, at the last minute, cancelled the plane in which I was due to fly for the visit
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) April 15, 2021
Thank you to @VirginAustralia & @AusBorderForce
for making this possible pic.twitter.com/zzeFxy8Qjc
Updated
The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, has met with the prime minister, Scott Morrison, in Perth to discuss how to get public confidence back on track following issues with Australia’s slow Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Khorshid said the issue was not a lack of mass vaccination centres, it was a lack of supply, which meant that even if those centres were established, there would be no stock to supply them. He also said there were not enough doctors and nurses to staff mass centres.
However, it is important to note the UK and US have both attributed the success of their rollouts to a combination of clinics and mass centres delivering vaccines, on top of mobile units of nurses and other qualified health staff going directly to the vulnerable.
Khorshid said that when he spoke to Morrison, he told him GPs must lead the rollout.
Khorshid said:
We’ve underlined a critical role of general practitioners in the rollout, they’re already administering the bulk of the vaccines, right now, as of today in this country. And they’ve got heaps of capacity to administer more, as long as they can get access to those vaccines.
Khorshid added that the most vulnerable would prefer to be vaccinated by their own GP.
I think the best availability for vulnerable Australians right now is actually in general practice. They have thousands of practices to choose from and that number will increase availability of appointments will improve. So I don’t think it’s likely we’re going to see our most vulnerable population, our elderly, in mass clinics.
The AMA needed to get public confidence in the vaccine program back on track, he said, adding that Australia had two safe and effective vaccines in AstraZeneca and Pfizer.
That’s what needs to be fixed, by showing Australians that all our governments are working together to make sure this program delivers the vaccine in a safe way and as quickly as we can. We are one small country in a very big world, and we do not have the right to take vaccines off other countries who are having severe Covid outbreaks and which are experiencing thousands of deaths every day.
Updated
Labor has called on the Australian government to “continue to support Afghanistan’s peace process and development” after the announcement that the 80 remaining Australian troops will leave the country by September.
The Morrison government’s withdrawal plans are in line with the Biden administration’s announcement about US troops.
Labor’s defence spokesperson, Brendan O’Connor, has issued the following statement in response:
Labor today thanks all who have served and are currently serving in Afghanistan following today’s announcement of the withdrawal of our troops.
We acknowledge those who have fought and those who have lost their lives in the Afghan conflict, which has had an Australian presence for almost two decades.
As minister for home affairs I saw first hand the important role the Australian defence force played in building civilian capability when I visited Tarin Kowt in 2010 to be briefed on the AFP training of Afghan national police.
Labor expects the Australian government to continue to support Afghanistan’s peace process and development.
Updated
Support crews are on their way to Western Australia to help with the recovery effort as people line up at evacuation centres to receive vouchers to buy essential items.
The ABC reported that people were waiting in line for up to three hours at a centre in Geraldton and that many in the region were still without power, after tropical cyclone Seroja tore through the state’s mid-west on Sunday.
More than 30,000 homes lost power during the cyclone, with many still reporting that power had not been restored.
There is still no indication when power will return, making recovery efforts difficult. It also limits locals’ access to essential goods, particularly fuel and food.
Cyclone Seroja has been declared a natural disaster, which will make it easier for residents to receive financial support so that people can make emergency repairs and buy essential items.
Photograph: Yvonne McKenzie/Getty Images
Updated
The Queensland health minister, Yvette D’Ath, has urged the federal government to give it more information on how it intends to staff and fund mass vaccination clinics, warning she would be “very hesitant” to use the states own health workers.
The federal government has signalled that it wants to work with states and territories to set up vaccination clinics in the fourth quarter of this year.
But D’Ath said such a move would be pointless without greater supply certainty.
She said:
Until we have lots of vaccine, there’s no point setting up mass vaccination centres. So when we get that extra 20m Pfizer, that would be the time when we go out with mass vaccination centre. But it’s really for the commonwealth to tell us how they want to run those.
We’re open to partnering with them, but they really need to tell us how they funded and how they will be resourced, because you have to find the workforce to do it. I would be very hesitant to pull health workers out of our hospitals to run the mass vaccination centres, because I need them.
Partnering with GPs and pharmacists may be an option, but ultimately this is a question for the commonwealth.
D’Ath said the state understood it would be getting more Pfizer vaccine but that there was little information on how much and when.
Updated
AAP reports that Queensland is preparing to conduct an audit of its personalised protective equipment (PPE) after nurses complained of ill-fitting masks.
It comes after the Queensland Midwives and Nurses Union campaigned for the past year to improve the state of PPE across the state.
Health minister Yvette D’Ath says the government will carry out the audit as required by the state Industrial Relations Commission.
She said:
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union has raised this issue with Queensland Health, and that recommendation is being implemented as we speak.
What this audit is intended to do is identify: are we doing the proper fit-testing on the PPE, and the checking that we should be doing for these health workers?
We are providing the right masks for the work that’s being done. The protocol is that this fit-testing and checking should be done.
If it’s not being done at certain hospitals, that needs to be, and that’s what this audit will identify.
The union welcomed the recommendations for fit-testing of PPE after lodging a formal dispute with Queensland’s industrial umpire on Wednesday.
Union secretary Beth Mohle said it would monitor the audits very closely, and that some members of the union reported they were yet to be properly fit-tested to ensure items such as masks correctly fit their faces.
Queensland Health was required to report back on the audit findings on 27 April, the union said.
Updated
Good afternoon, everyone, and of course a quick thanks to Michael and Matilda for carrying us through another wild day. I’ll be here to pick up the news this afternoon, and as always there’s much to get through, so let’s get stuck in.
Updated
With that, I’m going to hand you over to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani for the next few hours.
ABC apologises for 'incorrect' footage showing dance video
Here’s the full correction statement from the ABC. It says the ABC reporters “initially believed” governor general David Hurley, the chief of navy and the chief of defence were present during the twerking performance because “a government MP had said that they were present”.
It has apologised to the governo general and the chief of navy, and to viewers, for this error.
But, in its statement, it seems to deny the accusation from the 101 Doll Squadron (the dancers) that the way the footage was shot was “creepy”. The ABC said the dance “was shot in a standard manner, from the same position as other parts of the ceremony”.
Here’s the full statement:
ABC News’ original social media video about the Royal Australian Navy’s launch event for HMAS Supply on the weekend featured a performance by dance group 101 Doll Squadron that included cut-away shots showing governor general David Hurley, the chief of navy and the chief of defence observing the performance.
This was incorrect. While the chief of defence was present, the governor general and the chief of navy in fact arrived after the performance.
Our reporting team initially believed they were present both because they were shown in footage of the event and because a government MP had said that they were present.
The video should not have been edited in that way and the ABC apologises to the governor general and the chief of navy, and to viewers, for this error.
After the defence department confirmed the governor general and chief of navy had arrived at the event after the performance, the reporting was amended. The report that went to air on the 7pm news bulletin on Wednesday night did not include the footage. The online story has also been updated to make this clear.
The ABC’s footage of the dance performance was shot in a standard manner, from the same position as other parts of the ceremony.
Updated
ABC updates footage of dancers twerking at warship launch after backlash
The ABC has released a statement on the story gripping Australia: the twerking warship dancers. The national broadcaster has confirmed the video was edited to incorrectly show the governor general and the chief of the navy watching the dance.
Here’s the statement:
On April 14, 2021 ABC News published a video attached to a story concerning a dance performance at a commissioning ceremony for the HMAS Supply in Sydney. The video included vision of the governor general and chief of navy. The ABC has since confirmed both men arrived minutes after the dance performance finished. The video has been updated to reflect this.
Updated
Morrison has also issued a written statement together with the new defence minister, Peter Dutton, and the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne.
It covers off many of the same details the prime minister outlined in his press conference in Perth, including the key deadline that “the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan by September 2021”.
The government’s statement argues the decision “is consistent with the government’s policy, as set out in the 2020 defence strategic update, to prioritise military resources on our region”.
That was the defence policy update that essentially said Australia should focus on its own backyard rather than military engagements in the Middle East, at a time when competition between the US and China in our region is sharpening.
The Morrison/Dutton/Payne press release observes:
More than 39,000 Australian defence force personnel have deployed on operations Slipper and Highroad, helping to protect the safety and security of the Australian people at home and overseas.
It says the conflict has “exacted an enormous toll on the Afghan people and the complex task of making peace lies ahead”, and that Australia “continues to support the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban”.
We encourage both parties to commit to the peace process and call on the Taliban to cease the violence. While our military contribution will reduce, we will continue to support the stability and development of Afghanistan through our bilateral partnership, and in concert with other nations. This includes our diplomatic presence, development cooperation program, and continued people-to-people links, including through our training and scholarship programs. Australia remains committed to helping Afghanistan preserve the gains of the last 20 years, particularly for women and girls.
Updated
The Australian confirmation on the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan is no surprise, following Joe Biden’s announcement overnight of a timetable to withdraw US and allied troops from the country by September - the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Biden declared overnight that it was time “to end America’s longest war” as he announced that nearly 10,000 US and Nato troops would return home from Afghanistan in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the2001 attacks.
Nato members, including the UK, have said they would join an “orderly, coordinated and deliberate” removal of troops alongside the US. The Nato statement says the withdrawal of Resolute Support Mission forces will start by 1 May.
There are currently only about 80 Australian defence force personnel in Afghanistan for an operation titled Highroad, according to the ADF website. The personnel are there as part of Nato’s Resolute Support mission that trains, advises and helps the Afghan national defence and security forces.
The headquarters of the Australian task group in Afghanistan is at the Hamid Karzai international airport in Kabul.
Updated
That’s about all from Morrison. My colleague Daniel Hurst will have a bit more on the announcement that the last ADF members in Afghanistan will leave in September.
Morrison accuses ABC of 'disrespectful' coverage of twerking warship dancers
Morrison has been asked about ... the twerking warship dancers. He didn’t want to talk about the Brereton report, but he is happy to accuse the ABC of “disrespectful”, “false” and “misleading” reporting over the editing of the footage.
If you haven’t been following this story (where have you been?), the ABC has been accused of editing footage of the launch of a warship on Sunday to suggest a number of dignitaries including the governor general were in attendance while a dance troupe called 101 Doll Squadron danced. The GG has since said he wasn’t there during the dance, and the squadron have accused the ABC of “deceptive editing”.
Here’s what Morrison said:
I am disappointed that this event was so misreported. I think that was disrespectful to the performers to suggest there the governor general or others were in attendance in that way. I think that was very disappointing and I think standards have failed, and so I think obviously defence will look at these matters and make what changes they wish to in the future. I will leave that to them. It is disappointing that Australians were so misled on that issue.
It is clear much of the reporting that we have seen of that matter that has been provided to Australians, in this case by the ABC, was wrong, was false and was misleading.
Updated
One reporter asks whether Australia “could have done better” in Afghanistan, given the reporting on war crimes allegedly committed by some members of the SAS.
Morrison says “today is not the time” to talk about it.
Morrison is getting quite emotional as he talks about Australia’s defence force troops in Afghanistan.
The loss is great. The sacrifice immense, the bravery and courage things we can speak of, but not know of personally. These brave Australians are amongst our greatest ever, who have served in the name of freedom ... We think of their families, their friends, the life they would have lived. But they gave that for others they did not know.
Morrison also acknowledges that the 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan since the 9/11 bombings has “exacted an enormous toll, also on the people in Afghanistan”.
He said Australia would continue “to support the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban”.
We encourage both parties to exit to the peace process that so many Australians have died to provide for. While our military contribution will reduce, we will continue to support the stability of Afghanistan through our bilateral partnership and in concert with our other nations.
Morrison says Australia has been “a steadfast contributor to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan” for the two decades we have been in the country.
Australia has fought alongside coalition and Afghan partners to degrade the capabilities of terrorist organisations, including al-Qaeda. More than 39,000 Australian defence force personnel have deployed ... helping to protect the safety and security of the Australian people at home and overseas.
Safeguarding Afghanistan’s security has come at a great cost to Australia. Since 2001, 41 Australian personnel have lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan. And many more were wounded, some physically, others mentally, and we’ll be dealing with the scars – both mental and physical – of their service for many, many years.
Morrison is reading out the names of those 41 ADF personnel who have died in Afghanistan. He seems to be choking up slightly as he makes his way through the list.
Updated
Final Australian troops to leave Afghanistan in September
Scott Morrison has announced that, in line with the US, the final Australian troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn in September.
Today the government is announcing that Australia will conclude the drawdown of our contribution to the Nato-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Over the past two years we’ve been reducing our military presence in Afghanistan from a high of over 1,500 personnel to around 80 personnel currently. In line with the United States and other allies and partners, the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan in September 2021.
Updated
Scott Morrison is speaking now.
Updated
Now that unemployment has hit 5.6%, treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled he will revisit the budget strategy – which is that the Morrison government won’t tighten fiscal policy until unemployment is “comfortably within” 6%.
Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra that 5.6% was not “comfortably within” 6% and that now is “not the time for austerity”.
The treasurer also noted that the Reserve Bank of Australia and the secretary of the Treasury have said the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment is lower than previously estimated. That is, there is room to continue expansionary fiscal policy to drive the jobless rate down further.
Frydenberg said he would make a speech before budget night that would go to the point of the fiscal strategy – so it sounds like we might get a new target or more detail on how low the government wants unemployment to go.
Updated
Scott Morrison is running a little late on that press conference but it looks like we’re not too far off.
Updated
The treasurer is also asked about that Boston Consulting report which Christine Holgate told a Senate committee earlier this week had recommended a plan to privatise Australia Post’s parcel delivery services. He’s asked what the status of the report is and whether it has gone to cabinet.
Frydenberg plays it with a dead bat.
I’m not going to give you a cheap headline here ... in terms of matters relating to reports and their processes internally being considered, I’ll leave that to the relevant minister.
He’s asked whether he’s in favour of privatising Australia Post services and again doesn’t really answer the question.
Frydenberg:
It’s not about to be privatised.
Updated
Frydenberg does acknowledge that he expects some sectors such as tourism to be hit by the end of the subsidy, but won’t release any numbers on it.
It’s still very early days so I don’t want to be definitive on those numbers as yet. As you know, it just finished at the end of March and we’re still here in mid-April. Let’s wait and see what the ABS numbers for the month of April say and subsequently the month of May.
Certainly there were people who were relying on jobkeeper. There are certainly sectors across the economy – be they tourism, international education and aviation – that continue to do it tough.
Updated
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has been spruiking those positive job numbers we told you about a little earlier. They show the unemployment rate dropped to 5.6% prior to the jobkeeper wage subsidy ending last month.
Frydenberg says the figures show the government’s recovery plan is working:
Australia’s jobs market, Australia’s labour market, is recovering 4.5 times faster than the experience of the labour market during the 1990s recession. We saw very strong consumer and business confidence numbers earlier this week, with consumer confidence rising to an 11-year high, and this is another proof point of Australia’s economic recovery gaining momentum.
But the figures are from before the end of the jobkeeper, and Frydenberg is asked how we know those people who were on the wage subsidy aren’t now just moving to the lower jobseeker payment. He says the “early data” from the end of program does not suggest “a massive increase in people turning up to Centrelink”.
This was a temporary program. This was an emergency payment, initially for six months, and what we did was taper it down and introduced a two-tiered system. That was the right thing to do. Treasury’s advice to us was that jobkeeper had to come to an end because there were a number of characteristics with that program that would have a perverse impact across the economy, preventing labour mobility, people moving to new jobs, if we had left it in place.
Our political opponents, of course, want to spend an extra couple of billion dollars a month. Of course they want a program like that indefinitely. We recognised it was an emergency payment and it had to end. Now, we will see the full impact of the end of jobkeeper over the course of coming months. But in some of the early data that we are seeing we are not experiencing a massive increase in people turning up to Centrelink.
Updated
Here’s the full statement from dance troupe 101 Doll Squadron, who have accused the ABC of “deceptive editing” over that video of them twerking at the launch of a navy war ship on Sunday. The statement was first reported by Eden Gillespie from SBS’s The Feed.
The sqaudron said:
The 101 Doll Squadron members have been under personal attack on all media platforms since the weekend and we now feel unsafe. The media which purports to support women have been the most virulent. We are very disappointed at the ABC’s deceptive editing of their video piece which cut to guests and dignitaries who were not in attendance and shooting from angles which could not be seen by the audience. We found this very creepy and reflects more on the ABC’s camera operator and their need to sexualise these women and their dance piece for their own gratification.
These are the images appearing in the media and the ABC have a lot to answer for in making us feel threatened and exploited. With Indigenous and multi-racial members from a community-based dance group, the dance itself was made up of choreographic and musical elements that included referencing blessings, the waves of the ocean and our geographical location of where the fresh water meets the sea, to name a few.
It was meant to bring an informal sense of celebration; a gift from one of our community groups to open a modern ship with a modern dance form. A short piece taken out of context in what was a very long day performed before the official ceremony and before the arrival of dignitaries and not part of it.
It was in no way meant to be disrespectful and we are hurt and disappointed it has been misconstrued to appear that way.
Updated
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will hold a press conference in about 10 minutes. He’s speaking from Perth.
My colleague Daniel Hurst has this exclusive on a top United Nations expert in talks with the Australian government about how to expand sanctions against Myanmar’s military regime.
Exclusive: UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar tells @GuardianAus he's advised the Australian govt on expanding sanctions. He says that should include commander-in-chief, whom he described as “the gang leader” responsible for mass atrocities https://t.co/1KDphV5dUD
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) April 15, 2021
Good afternoon! Let’s get straight into it. Yesterday I told you the Christchurch mosques terrorist had applied for a judicial review in the New Zealand high court over his conditions in jail.
Today, we hear that he didn’t show up in court. AAP was there – here’s what they’ve said took place:
The Christchurch mosques terrorist has failed to show at a judicial review hearing he requested to gain access to information from the outside world.
The New Zealand high court was to hear a complaint from Australian-raised Brenton Tarrant on Thursday morning, only for him to back out.
The Australian had requested a judicial review into his prison conditions and into the NZ government’s designation of him as a terrorist entity.
The 30-year-old is serving a term of life imprisonment without parole, and the review would not have had any bearing on his sentence.
A minute published by high court justice Geoffrey Venning following the abandoned hearing revealed Tarrant wanted a review of his access to news and mail.
Justice Venning wrote:
Mr Tarrant advised the prison authorities this morning that he had a complaint about a lack of access to documents and wanted the conference postponed.
If Mr Tarrant does not wish to attend he cannot be compelled.
The hearing was set for 9am NZDT, with New Zealand’s worst modern-day mass murderer to represent himself via phone from prison.
Tarrant is housed in isolation at the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit inside Auckland’s Paremoremo prison, at great care and expense from NZ authorities.
Thursday’s hearing – first requested by Tarrant in February – was to be a preliminary assessment of claims, from which Justice Venning would determine an appropriate way forward.
The court has left the door open for Tarrant to resume his claim, should he wish to.
Thursday’s no-show is not the first time he has made erratic legal moves.
In October 2019, he dropped a bid to move his trial to Auckland, a move many interpreted as an attempt to play with the emotions of the victims of his attack.
Last March he unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty, sparing the bereaved community a lengthy trial.
This week’s hearing was scheduled for the first week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Rosemary Omar, whose son Tariq was murdered by Tarrant at the Al Noor mosque, told Radio NZ the timing was hurtful and probably part of a “cat and mouse” game.
Tarrant was convicted last August of 51 counts of murder for his atrocity, committed in March 2019.
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With that, Astro and I must leave the blog for today. Michael McGowan is here to take over. I mean he is no small kitten that can type, but he will do.
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Due to commitments here in WA, I was very sorry not to be able to join Jenny and @MarisePayne in Sydney today to honour, celebrate and give thanks for the life and contribution of Carla Zampatti to our nation. Carla was a true icon and will be sadly missed.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 15, 2021
Unemployment falls to 5.6%
New figures released today show the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 5.6% prior to the jobkeeper wage subsidy ending last month.
The figures follow February’s drop to 5.8%.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg responded to the news by tweeting:
The Morrison Govt’s Economic Recovery Plan is working.
#BREAKING: The unemployment rate has dropped to 5.6%, with 70,700 jobs created in March - with around 80% of the jobs going to women & around half to young people. The participation rate has also risen to a record high.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) April 15, 2021
The Morrison Govt’s Economic Recovery Plan is working. pic.twitter.com/vrKbVcIrL7
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people employed in March rose by 70,700. This was a surprise to economists and more than had been expected.
Full-time employment fell by 20,800 in the month but part-time employment jumped by 91,500.
The participation rate of those in work or actively seeking employment has also risen to a record high of 66.3%, up from 66.1% in the previous month.
But this could be the calm before the storm, with the impact from the end of jobkeeper expected to show up in April’s number (due on 20 May).
More than 1 million people were estimated to still be on jobkeeper in the first three months of the year, and Treasury estimated many as 150,000 could have lost their job when the program ended.
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Just on that twerking story, Guardian Australia understands the ABC has acknowledged there were accuracy problems with the editing of the video and it intends to issue a correction.
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Dance squad condemns ABC's coverage of navy twerking story
The dance troupe 101 Doll Squadron have issued a statement in response to intense media interest in their controversial dancing performance at a navy event on Sunday.
They have slammed the ABC for the editing of the news clip, which made it seem like army dignitaries were present at the dance rather than arriving afterwards.
We are very disappointed at the ABC’s deceptive editing of their video piece which cut to guests and dignitaries who were not in attendance and shooting from angles which could not be seen by the audience. We found this very creepy.
SCOOP: Just received a statement from 101 doll squadron about their "personal attack". They say they now feel unsafe and are disappointed by ABC's "deceptive editing of this video". pic.twitter.com/ag2F4PjpIy
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) April 15, 2021
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'I hope this does not go and gather dust': advocates respond to NSW inquiry into Aboriginal incarceration
The family of an Aboriginal man who died in custody have said they welcome the report and recommendations handed down during the NSW parliamentary inquiry into Aboriginal incarceration today, but there have been hundreds of recommendations over 30 years that have not been implemented.
Tameeka Tighe, the sister of Tane Chatfield, who died after suffering injuries in Tamworth prison, said that there should also be an independent inquiry led by First Nations people to hold the government to account, and not rely on politicians.
We’ve seen the NSW parliament have an obligation to implement those recommendations for 30 years ... what we need is an independent inquiry led by First Nations people.
Advocates have also backed this sentiment.
Diyan Coe from the Canberra Aboriginal Tent Embassy said:
Their intent seems to be genuine. But I hope it goes all the way.
Anne Weldon added:
I hope this does not go and gather dust.
And Gwenda Stanley stated:
We do not have another 30 years to be waiting around. We want justice now and action now.
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Aboriginal legal service group calls out Victorian government inaction
Just back to that statement from the Victorian government on Indigenous death in custody. In this, the government said they “can do better” and “will do better,” committing to implementing the recommendations of the royal commission, 30 years on.
The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has issued a scorching response via Twitter thread:
The statement you make when you intend to continue locking up 10-year-old Aboriginal children, when you’re happy to take mothers away from their families when you are happy to continue the never-ending cycle of incarceration ...
The government hide behind treaty talks and the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission. These processes are important, but they’re no excuse for the Victorian government to avoid its responsibilities to do something now.
Why do we have to wait for reform, for monitoring, for independent oversight and how many lives will be lost to the justice system in this time?
Well, we know what the Victorian government can do today to stop the over-incarceration and death in custody of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
We can raise the age [of criminal responsibility] to at least 14, repeal Daniel Andrews’ lethal bail laws and establish a Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner to immediately provide much-needed oversight and monitoring of the justice system.
We don’t need another royal commission on Aboriginal experiences in the justice system, what we need is immediate policy and legislative change.
The statement you make when you intend to continue locking up 10 year old Aboriginal children, when you’re happy to take mothers away from their families, when you are happy to continue the never ending cycle of incarceration#RCIADIC30years #springst https://t.co/9EFILBqQiT 1/15
— VALS (@thevalsmob) April 15, 2021
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Colin Chatfield, the father of Tane Chatfield, who died after suffering injuries in Tamworth prison, has welcomed the new report into Indigenous death in custody today.
However, he said that the royal commission’s recommendation to remove hanging points, made 30 years ago, still hadn’t been implemented. Tane Chatfield was found unconscious in his cell in 2017.
The hanging point recommendations were made again today and previously by the coroner looking into Tane’s death.
Colin Chatfield said today:
The hanging points are still in Tamworth prison ...
If they can’t get the hanging points out, tear the prison down.
He told reporters:
Let our children come home ... what about my son’s son? My grandson, he’s suffering at night. All I want to do is comfort him, hug him, it tears me apart to let him know your daddy is gone, they killed him, he’s not coming back.
He does not know what his own father’s voice sounds like.
He said of the report today:
I feel good. It’s something we’ve been fighting for a long time.
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Australia to coordinate with US on Afghanistan troop withdrawal
We asked the Australian Department of Defence about how Joe Biden’s announcement of a timetable to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan will affect the small number of Australian military personnel currently in the country.
Signalling that Australia would act in line with the US and other partners, a Defence spokesperson provided us with the following brief statement:
Any decisions around Australia’s contribution in Afghanistan will be made in close coordination with the government of Afghanistan, the United States and our other partners. Australia does not comment on coalition partner involvement in Afghanistan, or matters related to the decisions of other governments.
There are currently only about 80 Australian defence personnel in Afghanistan for an operation titled Highroad, according to the ADF website. The personnel are there as part of the Nato Resolute Support mission that trains, advises and helps the Afghan national defence and security forces. The headquarters of the Australian task group in Afghanistan is at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Biden declared overnight that it was time “to end America’s longest war” as he announced that nearly 10,000 US and Nato troops would return home from Afghanistan in the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Nato members, including the UK, have said they would join an “orderly, coordinated, and deliberate” removal of troops alongside the US. The Nato statement says the withdrawal of Resolute Support Mission forces will start by 1 May.
Australian forces have suffered 41 combat deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, plus an Australian who was killed while serving for the British military.
Estimates of civilian deaths in Afghanistan differ. A monitoring project by the London-based group Action on Armed Violence has tallied 49,039 deaths and injuries from explosive violence in Afghanistan between the beginning of 2011 and the end of 2020, with about 58% of these being civilians. That group began monitoring such deaths in 2011, 10 years into the conflict, so the true number is likely much higher.
You can see the full story of Biden’s announcement here:
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Australian airlines confident despite vaccine program delays
Australia’s major airline bosses have been out and about today discussing the looming reopening of the trans-Tasman bubbles. Overall the CEOs seem fairly unfazed (at least outwardly) by the delays to the Australian vaccination program, or still sky-high Covid-19 numbers overseas.
Virgin Australia announced it would be hiring 150 new cabin crew, bringing back 220 employees from its other operations, and had finalised arrangements to reintroduce 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft to top it all off.
The embattled airline also plans to return to 80% of the its pre-pandemic domestic capacity by mid-June, says CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.
Today, we are operating around 850 weekly return flights, and as we approach the June school holidays we will add another 220 return flights per week.
This comes as Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said all Qantas and Jetstar domestic crew were now back at work. Domestic activity is expected to reach 90% of pre-pandemic levels later in the year, andthe airlines are prepping for their first quarantine-free flight to and from New Zealand.
Joyce said (somewhat optimistically) he expected international travel to resume in October:
As the recent lockdown in Brisbane showed, airlines and many other sectors remain vulnerable to snap travel restrictions until Australia’s vaccination rollout is complete ...
The vaccination program is absolutely key to restarting international flights in and out of Australia.
While there have clearly been some speed bumps with the vaccine rollout, we are still planning for international flights to resume in late October.
Joyce said the first international ports beyond New Zealand would depend on Covid case numbers and restrictions imposed by governments.
There are clearly a lot of countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, that have had tight control over Covid.
He listed Singapore, Japan and Taiwan as having good potential.
But [we are also] actively looking at the Pacific islands because there are real good opportunities for places like Fiji.
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NSW records no new local Covid cases
No new local Covid-19 cases in NSW today, but yikes, nine in hotel quarantine!
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 15, 2021
Nine new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,167. pic.twitter.com/Pj3VY16op9
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Back to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the high level of Aboriginal incarceration:
Labor MP Adam Searle is asked if the recommendations are “watered down” or if they do not go far enough.
He says:
Any journey to a better place has to start somewhere. We have chosen these 39 recommendations as the start ...
We are saying at the 30-year mark – start today at these steps.
Green MP David Shoebridge says it is expected the Greens will face criticism on the left and the Coalition face criticism from the right.
All of us are going to have hard conversations with our stakeholders.
He says these recommendations have been chosen as “practical” aims that can be passed.
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Just back to that press conference from the Queensland premier:
Annastacia Palaszczuk spoke to the media a little earlier this morning. She was asked about the idea of setting up mass vaccination clinics, which appears to be winning some support from the federal government.
She says the government has “always had that on the agenda if needed,”
So that’s something that we’ll be discussing at national cabinet.
As I said yesterday, we don’t have any papers yet so I can’t really comment on what’s on the agenda if you don’t have any papers.
The premier is also asked about plans to set up a dedicated quarantine hub in the state, at the Wellcamp airport, near Toowoomba. The plan would require federal sign-off. Palaszczuk says the state government still hasn’t had an answer from the Commonwealth.
We are still waiting on an answer from the federal government. It’s a very simple question: do you support it, yes or no? Do you support the international flights coming in? We can’t proceed otherwise.
Today the state government also lifted the requirement for Queenslanders to wear masks in public. That restriction was lifted earlier than expected.
Palaszczuk says it’s a testament to the hard work of Queenslanders.
It’s the tremendous work that Queenslanders have done. I can’t be more proud, I mean honestly. When you have these outbreaks, you don’t sleep and you get very concerned, but everyone stepped up, everyone did what they were asked to do and it means we can go back to the way we were.
NDIS independent assessment rollout paused
The new NDIS minister, Linda Reynolds, has signalled the government will pause plans to roll out independent assessments to the scheme by the middle of the year.
Reynolds told the Australian on Monday she would not make “any decisions” on legislation to enact the assessments until “the trial is finished and we’ve had a good opportunity to examine the feedback”.
Under the existing timetable, the mandatory assessments with government contracted allied health professional would begin by the middle of the year. Participants currently provide reports from their own treating specialists to be assessed for the scheme.
Reynolds’ comments mean the current timetable is all but impossible, given the pilot of the assessments is still ongoing and the agency says its results will be available “later this year”
She told the Australian:
Once I’ve received that feedback and the trial has concluded and we can assess the feedback of the trial, it is then a matter of making sure we have the best process (for assessment of eligibility), one that is fair and equitable and has appeal mechanisms.
It follows months of sustained campaigning from disability groups, as well as Labor and the Greens, who view the assessments as a way to cut access to the scheme and package sizes.
Sally Aurisch, the acting CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, said:
We welcome reports that NDIS minister Linda Reynolds will pause a plan to force people with disability to submit to compulsory assessments to access support, but want to see much more detail about what that means for the future of the NDIS.
There has been widespread opposition to the proposed model from people with disability, our families and community, and it is heartening the new minister has listened to those concerns.
Labor’s NDIS spokesman, Bill Shorten, said:
Minister Reynolds has announced a delay in the so-called “independent” assessments, but it does not go far enough.
The assessments plan is an anti-disability monster and as the new Liberal gatekeeper of the NDIS she needs to put a stake in its heart – not just delay it.
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Still on the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the high level of Aboriginal incarceration:
Nationals MP Trevor Khan, who is on the committee, said the recommendations are “not pie in the sky” and are “deliverable”.
Khan said he had not yet spoken to the government about the report yet because it was confidential until today, but he is confident.
We have sought to track a middle ground here that is deliverable.
He says the 30-year gap should “supercharge” political will.
“It’s not a complete guarantee ... [but] we should deliver an outcome”.
Labor MP Adam Searle:
The ball from today is in the governments court.
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More from the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the high level of Aboriginal incarceration:
Greens MP David Shoebridge, the deputy chairperson of the committee, says today is the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into deaths in custody, and its recommendations still have not been fully implemented.
You can understand [families’] anger ... because parliaments across the country have not had the wisdom to implement them.
He says that all state parliaments should be held to account whether the laws change over the next 12 months.
Come back 12 months from today and judge us on whether these 39 recommendations have been implemented.
Searle adds that the report was agreed to by a wide range of MPs from all parties.
“None of the recommendations in this report are controversial,” he says.
He says that all the recommendations could “easily” be made by the state government.
We could have made 400 recommendations.
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NSW Greens announces byelection candidate
Upper Hunter Shire councillor Sue Abbott has been announced as Greens candidate for the all-important Upper Hunter state by-election.
Launching her campaign ahead of the locals heading to the polls on 22 May, Abbott says she is the only candidate committed to building a prosperous post-coal future for the region.
The Berejiklian government is desperate to hold the marginal seat, facing the prospect of running a minority government for nearly two years until the next state election.
The byelection was called after Nationals MP Michael Johnsen resigned at the end of March, accused of raping a woman in 2019, which he denies.
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The NSW state MPs who today released a multi-partisan report into Aboriginal deaths in custody are speaking at parliament now.
Among 39 recommendations, it has asked that police no longer investigate themselves, and the age of criminal responsibility be raised.
The report recommends that the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) – the independent police watchdog – investigate instead.
The chair, Labor MP Adam Searle, said that the Lecc was not the first choice “but the best choice currently available to government”.
He said the standing committee of the attorney general looked like it was itself moving towards raising the age of criminal responsibility.
Labor MP Penny Sharpe said “the real test” is whether something happens after this report.
The answers have been long discussed for 30 years.
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FYI, there is two of us running the blog this morning. Myself and budding young journo, Astro.
New @GuardianAus live blogger on deck! pic.twitter.com/kecpJSJhPd
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) April 15, 2021
One of the world’s most influential climate scientists Michael E Mann says John Kerry and US climate negotiators are not going to be “fooled by the smoke and mirrors the Morrison government appears to be employing to distract from their clear record of inaction on climate”.
Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Scott Morrison, to a virtual summit on the climate crisis next week – an event coinciding with Earth Day.
Ahead of next week’s summit, Australia’s ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, said he had conveyed Australia’s desire to work with the US to promote investment in low-emissions technology to Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry.
Sinodinos told Nine newspapers on Wednesday the Biden administration believed climate action was a “politically fraught issue” for Australia, but the Morrison government could “use that fact as a chance to explain why we’ve taken the approach we have to climate change and why policies such as carbon pricing and carbon taxation have fallen by the wayside”.
You can read the full report below:
The Queensland premier is querying the viability of twice-weekly national cabinet meetings, one day after backing them:
— @MartySilk (@MartySilkHack) April 14, 2021
"It's going to be a big task to try and get everybody at the same time in the same place because the jobs premier's are pretty busy."
Some updates from Carla Zampatti’s state funeral:
An exquisite spray of white orchids adorn the casket as it’s carried into St Mary’s Cathedral. @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/KPMzSMJ2GL
— Airlie Walsh (@AirlieWalsh) April 14, 2021
Former PM John Howard also attending Carla Zampatti’s State Funeral. @2GB873 pic.twitter.com/7v76h4jKio
— Clinton Maynard (@ClintMaynard2GB) April 15, 2021
Jenny Morrison and @MarisePayne arrive at St Mary’s Cathedral. @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/BhEcFnOje2
— Airlie Walsh (@AirlieWalsh) April 15, 2021
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Just four days to go until the trans-Tasman bubble officially begins.
The Qantas Departures board ticks over ahead of next week’s NZ travel bubble. It’s been more than a year since the airline froze international flights. pic.twitter.com/9FYjagwRdI
— Charles Croucher (@ccroucher9) April 15, 2021
NSW rideshare driver charged over forcing passenger to touch him
In Sydney, a rideshare driver is accused of forcing a female passenger to touch him sexually.
The man has been charged and is expected to face court today.
Police says the 31-year-old woman was a passenger in the car. The incident occurred in the city’s north-west just before midnight on 25 March, when the driver allegedly placed her hand on his genital area.
The woman left the car, reported the incident to police and the driver was arrested at Castle Hill Police Station the next day.
The 32-year-old man was charged with inciting another person to sexually touch them without consent.
He was granted conditional bail to appear in Parramatta local court on Thursday.
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Carla Zampatti farewelled in Sydney
Sydney’s A-listers are turning up one more time for trailblazing fashion icon Carla Zampatti, who is being farewelled with a state funeral at St Mary’s Cathedral, report AAP.
The 78-year-old doyenne of the Australian fashion industry was a perennial on the Sydney social scene and widely admired for her sartorial elegance as well as her savvy business sense.
Her funeral today morning will be livestreamed and the general public is invited to attend, along with the elites from the nation’s fashion industry and business circles.
The fashion pioneer died in hospital last month, a week after falling and hitting her head at a performance of La Traviata at Mrs Macquarie’s Point in Sydney.
For more than 55 years she was a passionate advocate for Australian fashion with her designs’ trademark elegance and tailoring stamping an indelible mark on the notoriously volatile industry.
Born in Italy, she was a role model for Australian women in business and a generous benefactor of the arts and the next generation of designers. She created clothes for ordinary women, although movie stars, models and prime ministers often favoured her creations.
Zampatti was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1987; she was also made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2009. In 1980 she was Australian Businesswoman of the Year and in 2008 she was awarded the Australian Fashion Laureate Award – the highest honour in the Australian fashion industry.
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Governor general was not present for navy twerking performance
It’s just been confrimed the governor general arrived post-twerking.
I can’t believe that was a sentence I was just paid to write.
I contacted the Navy on Sunday regarding the dancers at the HMAS Supply commissioning. They finally got back to me yesterday to say the dancing happened “prior to the arrival of His Excellency the Governor General” pic.twitter.com/xYUUoJNEnB
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) April 14, 2021
Possible twerking update from Osman Faruqi?
Update on the navy/dance video. My understanding is that the footage shared by the ABC has spliced different elements of the dance with reaction shots to create the impression the dignitaries were reacting to the twerking. Apparently the reaction shots are from an earlier dance.
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) April 14, 2021
The dancers say the dance was choreographed to reflect the local community of Wooloomooloo, and the focus on the twerking which was for less than 20 seconds at the end, after the main performance, is upsetting.
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) April 14, 2021
Victoria commits to implementing royal commission recommendations on Indigenous deaths in custody
The Victoria government has released a statement for the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody handing down their recommendations.
It was a seminal moment in our nation’s history. It was supposed to lay out a clear path to reconciliation, and to justice reform. It was supposed to save lives.
Instead, too many Aboriginal Victorians are still dying in custody. Too many Aboriginal Victorians are in custody in the first place ...
We are pursuing a Treaty to recognise and celebrate the unique status, rights, cultures and histories of Aboriginal Victorians, and finally close the gap in outcomes.
Importantly, the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission, afforded the full powers of a royal commission, will investigate both historic and contemporary injustices, in a holistic way, so we can continue to make meaningful, systemic and lasting change.
The recommendations of the royal commission are just as important today as they were 30 years ago – and we will implement them, alongside our partnership with community under Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja – the Aboriginal Justice Agreement Phase 4.
We can do better. We will do better.
The Victorian government has released a statement on the 30th anniversary of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody: pic.twitter.com/ykAUdV0Nyu
— Benita Kolovos 🐯 (@benitakolovos) April 14, 2021
I mean it sounds great on paper, but it’s worth remembering that Victoria still has the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 10 years old. Meaning children in primary school can notionally be locked up.
This has been something Indigenous activists have been fighting to change for years, but the government has yet to act.
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Queensland record no new local Covid cases
Speaking of Queensland, they have recorded no local cases of Covid-19 overnight.
Thursday 15 April – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 14, 2021
• 0 new cases
• 43 active cases
• 1,509 total cases
• 2,385,131 tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,397 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/9mLMswsyvT
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Has my bullying of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s media team actually worked?
I mean this graphic design is still pretty bad but at least it isn’t bafflingly bizarre any more. Still, SIP!
BREAKING: We're investing $20 million to keep taps flowing in the Southern Downs by unlocking new water sources, upgrading critical infrastructure and laying the groundwork for the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline. pic.twitter.com/EcPP2muUA9
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 14, 2021
Oh and also the government will commit $20m in funding for waterways infrastructure work in the Southern Downs.
Hmmm, a $20m price stage seems pretty low for meaningful infrastructure change.
Although as Palaszczuk’s later tweet says:
Since 2017 we’ve committed $1.2 billion to water infrastructure across this state, supporting almost 2,300 jobs in regional Queensland.
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Boatie missing in Brisbane's Moreton Bay
A man has been missing in Moreton Bay for at least 16 hours after police believing he fell off his boat.
On Wednesday afternoon, 26-year-old Trent Riley’s small aluminium boat was found empty and motoring along uncontrolled off Mud Island, near the Port of Brisbane.
Water Police and Volunteer Marine Rescue searched bay with more than 10 boats three helicopters were unable to find him overnight.
They resumed the hunt this morning.
Police say at the time he went missing he was wearing a long-sleeved grey fishing shirt, black jeans, black shoes and a bucket hat.
Riley is described as Caucasian, about 183cm tall, with a “proportionate build” and brown hair.
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Trio wanted over fatal attack at Vic party
Police are searching for three gatecrashers wanted over the fatal assault of a teenager at a party in Melbourne’s southeast last month, AAP reports.
Jason Langhans, 17, died in hospital on Saturday following a fight at a 16th birthday party at a home in Tooradin about 2.30am, 21 March.
Homicide detectives believe the trio, who were not invited to the party and were not known to most of the people attending, arrived with a guest towards the end of the night.
As guests were leaving and milling out the front of the home, they got into a confrontation with another guest who had asked them to leave.
It is believed Jason was in the vicinity of this confrontation when he was hit in the head with what police described as a “thin implement best described as a screwdriver”.
The 17-year-old was given first aid at the scene and was driven home, where his condition deteriorated and an ambulance was called. He was taken to hospital but died more than three weeks later.
The trio involved in the fight were chased from the property before they disappeared into the grounds of nearby rural properties.
Police believe another fight occurred on the grounds of one of these properties.
They have spoken to a number of guests from the party but are appealing to anyone with further information to come forward.
In particular, detectives are seeking information about the offenders, the second altercation that occurred, and the type of weapon used on Jason.
The three men of interest are believed to be of driving age and are not from the surrounding area. They all wore dark clothing to the party.
- The first man has been described as approximately 170cm tall, with dark, short-cropped hair.
- The second man is also approximately 170cm tall, with wavy black hair, which was brushed across his face.
- The third man is also described as 170cm tall, with a dark short crew cut. Police believe he will have had visible injuries to the left side of his face.
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I’m bringing this one back for some morning cheer.
Here is Calla Wahlquist and my story about a man who found a live baby snake in his Aldi lettuce.
Now you might be thinking “meh, I’ve already seen that story on TV”, but don’t look away, because our article has an exclusive interview with the man who found the snake!
It looked quite at home in the lettuce and after it had exhausted itself looking around it went back inside the lettuce and fell asleep.
All this and more in the story below:
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Kristina Keneally has accused Peter Dutton of cancelling her trip to Christmas Island where she was to visit a Tamil family from Biloela who have been detained in the detention centre since August 2019.
The Labor senator said she had been granted permission by Australian Border Force at 4.50pm to visit the detention centre next week and she tweeted she was looking forward to meeting Priya, Nades and their children.
The @AusBorderForce have confirmed I can visit the Biloela Family next week when I’m in Christmas Island
Looking forward to meeting Priya, Nades and the girls#hometobilo https://t.co/dAH4tQu5PC— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally)April 14, 2021
But Keneally said just 22 minutes after receiving permission from the ABF on Wednesday, she had received an email saying the “defence minister has determined that the special purpose aircraft can no longer be made available for the committee’s travel”.
“Dutton cancelled the trip,” she tweeted underneath the timeline of events.
You can read the full report below:
Can you believe Victoria is still saying they are going to build their own Howard Springs style quarantine village to stop hotel quarantine outbreaks?
I mean I just assumed they were just going to pretend they never promised that. Although then again, now the vaccine rollout is looking like it will last well into 2022, maybe they will actually be able to build it before the pandemic is over.
Act Premier @JamesMerlinoMP says Govt has received and read the business case and advice from DPC re alternative quarantine system. When I asked him “has @AvalonAirportAU got the gig,” Mr Merlino said “Good Try, Simon,” citing announcements shortly. @10NewsFirstMelb #springst pic.twitter.com/GV1A90gqiN
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) April 14, 2021
Climate experts call for net zero by 2035
Climate experts are calling for much stronger emissions-reduction targets for Australia to ensure global warming remains well below 2C, Rebecca Gredley from AAP reports.
Global temperatures are about 1.1C higher than the pre-industrial era average and the Climate Council expects 1.5C of warming to occur during the 2030s regardless of whether large amounts of greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere.
The council has looked at the latest science and observations to recommend aiming for net zero emissions by 2035.
A midway target of reducing emissions by 75% on 2005 levels by 2030 is also recommended in the Climate Council’s new report released on Thursday.
The Climate Council was set up after the Abbott government abolished the Climate Commission in 2013.
Climate scientist Will Steffen was a member of that commission and now conducts research for the Climate Council.
He concedes the new targets are a “hugely challenging goal” but says Australia has the necessary building blocks and the relevant technologies are advancing.
Steffen says 15 to 20 years of temperature rise has been locked in, with every tenth of a degree of warming a considerable concern.
We are stressing the Earth’s system at an extraordinary rate,.
He is particularly concerned about the rate of sea-level rise, forest dieback and thawing permafrost.
The 1.5 and 2C warming limit goals are central to the Paris agreement, which say those caps are needed to prevent more devastation to the environment.
Nations have been asked to resubmit their emissions-reduction targets ahead of a major United Nations climate conference this November, to be held in Glasgow.
Australia’s goal under the Paris agreement is to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% on 2005 levels by 2030, a target scientists have long said is not ambitious enough.
As well as the boosted targets, Steffen says the government should not expand the fossil-fuel industry.
That’s an absolute must.
He says a plan should be created to support fossil-fuel workers as the economy shifts to clean energy.
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Victoria records no new local Covid cases
No local Covid-19 cases in Victoria again today (day 48 I believe).
But it looks like hotel quarantine cases as well and truly back now that international flights have returned to the state.
Reported yesterday: no new local cases, 5 acquired overseas .
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 14, 2021
- 3,565 vaccine doses were administered
- 17,040 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKHFvv#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/S9FPd5Q9dx
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I don’t want to be a bummer, but something tells me the public reaction would be quite different if a female federal political correspondent twerked on national TV.
The twerking has reached breakfast TV @CUhlmann @TheTodayShow #MediaWatch pic.twitter.com/gdVicToSJe
— Media Watch (@ABCmediawatch) April 14, 2021
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OK, sorry this is international news but I’m absolutely obsessed with it. Here is a truly amazing report from the AFP (the French news wire service Agence France-Presse, not the Australia federal police):
Is it a bird? Is it an iguana? No, it’s a croissant!
Polish animal welfare inspectors on Wednesday reported their bafflement at being called out about a dangerous-looking animal lurking in a tree – only to find out it was a croissant.
The Krakow Animal Welfare Society said in a post on Facebook that the organisation had received a desperate call from a local resident in the southern Polish city about the sighting.
The caller was reported as saying:
It’s been sitting in a tree across the house for two days! People aren’t opening their windows because they’re afraid it will go into their house.
It’s brown, it’s sitting in a tree.
The animal welfare workers suggested that it could be a bird of prey but the caller said it looked more like an iguana, although she could not find the word and initially called it a “lagoon”.
Still, the inspectors visited the area and eventually saw the object in a lilac tree, noting it had “no legs or head”.
We already knew that we could not help this creature ... The mysterious ‘lagoon’ ... turned out to be a croissant.
The society said it hoped the incident would not discourage others from reporting their animal welfare concerns, pointing out that it had gotten calls about abandoned cats and dogs and even fish.
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There are the angry fathers posting on crowdfunding sites, railing against their former partners for “stealing” their children and asking for donations to pay a family lawyer.
They may have been denied legal aid, so they post photos to Facebook of themselves and their children in happier days, pleading for help to be reunited by the courts.
Then there are the vigilantes who think of themselves as online paedophile hunters, many of whom also believe in QAnon, and name and abuse parents involved in custody battles on social media, making all kinds of shocking, unfounded allegations against them.
These posts are breaking the law. Publishing information which identifies the participants in a family law proceeding, is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of a year in prison.
But breaches of section 121 of the Family Law Act are rarely prosecuted, or even referred for prosecution.
You can read the full story below:
Apryl Day, daughter of Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Tanya Day, who died in police custody in 2017, spoke on ABC News Breakfast this morning.
She says the prime minister’s office declined activists and families request to meet with him.
We actually hadn’t agreed to meet with us. That call was rejected, I think office about a month ago. We are still calling on him to meet with us.
We’ve got over 20,000 signatures and we’re still calling on the public to support our families. It really comes down to the demands that the family have written, that our campaign is family-led, family governed.
And it addresses things like implementing all the royal commission recommendations, police not investigating their own, all those sort of things that are relevant to our family cases and what’s already been recommended in the royal commission.
"It's completely ruined our family. We're still in that grief. We're still in that trauma."
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) April 14, 2021
30 years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Apryl Day speaks about the impact of the death of her mother Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Tanya Day in police custody. pic.twitter.com/KPbf8Dk5oP
If you want to read more from Apryl, I today’s story below:
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Baby found dead at Perth school
Police in Western Australia are investigating after an 11-month-old baby was found dead at a school in Darch, a suburb in northern Perth.
The ABC is reporting the baby’s body was found at Kingsway Christian College last night.
Emergency services were called to the scene and detectives from the major crime division had launched an investigation.
We will likely get more information throughout the day.
More to come.
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Christchurch mosque terrorist is challenging lack of access to news and correspondence
We are now permitted by a judge in Auckland, New Zealand to say that the Christchurch terrorist’s complaints about his conditions in jail relate to his lack of access to news and letters.
Rules were tightened around his correspondence after photos of a letter he wrote to a supporter was posted on a message board aligned with white supremacists in 2019.
The Australian man made the complaints in a letter to a New Zealand court on 27 February this year, just before the second anniversary of the terrorist attack.
Because he didn’t attend his court hearing this morning – he was due to participate by phone from jail – the matter has been postponed indefinitely. Because he was the one requesting a judicial review of his prison conditions and his official designation as a terrorist, the hearing couldn’t proceed unless he was there.
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Gladstone mayor Matt Burnett to run for Labor in federal seat of Flynn
The election may still be a year or so away, but the campaign has well and truly started.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is in Gladstone in central Queensland this morning to announce the party’s candidate for Flynn.
Labor thinks the seat, held by the Liberal National party’s Ken O’Dowd is one it can win – with the right candidate – and it thinks it has that with popular Gladstone mayor Matt Burnett. I’ve alluded to Burnett being the preferred candidate a few times in recent stories (and on Politics Live) but this makes it official.
Queensland will be a hard slog for Labor to win back – and at this stage, the main focus is returning the primary vote to something which will ensure the state delivers the party two senators again (the historic lows at the 2019 election saw Labor slip to just one Senate quota) but there are a couple of target seats, and Flynn, a resources seat, is one of them.
Burnett won the mayoralty of Gladstone – one of the biggest regions in Flynn – with almost 73% of the primary vote. He has remained an exceptionally popular figure and is known locally for his advocacy of local issues.
I understand it took some time for Albanese and the federal Labor team to convince Burnett to run and he had previously resisted. But Albanese proved persistent, personally making the case to the mayor more than once, and now they have him over the line.
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If you want to read more about Labor’s new election promises to reduce Indigenous over-incarceration, can I recommend this report from Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist.
And while you are there, check out their feature marking 30 years since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody handed down its recommendations, where they speak to the families who are still fighting for justice.
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Christchurch terrorist fails to attend a court hearing
The man jailed for life for a 2019 terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch failed to attend a court hearing this morning to begin processing complaints he has registered, understood to be about his conditions in jail and his designation by New Zealand’s government as a terrorist entity.
Brenton Tarrant, a 30-year-old Australian man, was last August jailed for life without the chance of parole for the murder of 51 Muslim worshipers at Al Noor and Linwood mosques on 15 March 2019, the attempted murder of dozens more, and a terrorism charge.
He remains at a maximum-security prison in Auckland where he is in solitary confinement. On Thursday, he was due to attend a phone conference from jail, the first step he had requested.
He did not attend. No further details can be reported for now, but after a memo from the presiding judge this morning, the Guardian, which attended the hearing, will be able to report more details.
Justice Geoffrey Venning said the hearing could be relisted in future.
Some of his surviving victims and the bereaved families noted that the court appointment had become public on the first day of Ramadan, a holy month of spirituality and fasting for Muslims.
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Welcome to Thursday
A very good morning to you all. It’s Thursday and, honestly, we should be congratulated for making it through the news week this far.
It’s Matilda Boseley: why don’t we jump into the morning’s biggest headlines.
Today marks 30 years since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody handed down its recommendations and in that time at least there have been at least 474 more deaths.
Labor says if they win government, they will allocate more than $90m over four years for justice reforms to reduce the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the number of Indigenous deaths in custody.
Labor’s Indigenous affairs spokesperson Linda Burney said federal leadership on justice reinvestment was needed to tackle the root causes of crime and recidivism.
Guardian Australia’s Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist report that the opposition’s plan centres around a national justice reinvestment program with funding for more than 30 communities to design programs focused on rehabilitation, family and domestic violence, and school retention, with the aim of diverting those at risk away from the justice system.
The responsibility would be shared equally with state and territory governments, Burney said, with a national Indigenous justice reinvestment unit set up to support and monitor their progress.
There is also some good news for Queenslanders waking up this morning, with Covid restrictions easing from 6am.
This comes two weeks after Brisbane’s snap lockdown, as state health authorities successfully fought to contain two outbreaks of the highly infectious UK variant.
Masks are no longer mandated anywhere in the state except for in airports or on planes.
Although Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk recommended people still wear masks in settings where social distancing cannot be maintained.
From Thursday, people will also be allowed to stand and dance at restaurants, pubs and clubs, and all outdoor gatherings will be allowed without restrictions. Stadiums, theatres and cinemas can operate at full capacity and gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed at private residences.
Visitors will also be allowed back into hospitals, aged care facilities, disability facilities and prisons across greater Brisbane.
With that, why don’t we get right into it. If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com
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