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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay (now) and Caitlin Cassidy (earlier)

Labor criticises $16bn in Myefo mystery spending; record high 1,742 NSW infections; 1,622 in Victoria – as it happened

What happened Thursday 16 December 2021

With that, we’ll end our live coverage for today.

Here’s a recap of today’s major news developments:

  • Four children have died and four have been left critically injured after they fell about 10 metres from a jumping castle that was blown into the air in north-west Tasmania.
  • The Morrison government has set aside an election war chest from $15.9bn in mystery spending in a mid-year budget update that warns of significant economic risks ahead. Coalition pet projects in marginal seats, including the inland rail from Toowoomba to Gladstone, which environmentalists warn would unlock a “carbon bomb”, have been showered with a $2.3bn cash splash.
  • At least 97 people have caught Covid-19 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Sydney, as NSW cases escalate to record levels.
  • A controversial proposal to drill for oil and gas off the New South Wales coast will not go ahead after the federal government announced it would refuse an application to extend an exploration permit.
  • Australia’s best-laid preparations for the second Ashes Test were thrown into disarray before the start of play at Adelaide Oval as their captain, Pat Cummins, was ruled out after being identified as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.

Have a great evening. We’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again.

A controversial proposal to drill for oil and gas off the New South Wales coast will not go ahead after the federal government announced it would refuse an application to extend an exploration permit.

The petroleum exploration permit, known as Pep11, has been held by several different energy providers in recent years and allows for offshore drilling of gas and oil, and seismic testing in 4,500 sq km of water from off Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches up to Newcastle.

Community groups, including Save Our Coast, have been campaigning against efforts to develop the area because of environmental concerns and the impact on whale migration paths.

Read more:

Updated

Two men face life in prison for three execution murders of gang rivals, including mafioso Pasquale Barbaro and another that occurred a metre from the target’s fiancee.

Business student Abuzar Sultani and housemate Siar Munshizada’s three murder convictions can be revealed after the New South Wales court of criminal appeal on Thursday lifted suppression orders covering the case.

The men, aged 32 and 33, were active and high-ranking members of a Rebels bikie gang chapter when they committed a string of murders across Sydney in 2016.

Rebels enforcer Michael “Ruthless” Davey, described by his father, William, last week as the victim of a “cowardly aggressive and sickening” murder, was shot dead in the driveway of his home in Kingswood on 30 March 2016.

Read more:

A Sydney theatre has become a venue of concern for the potential spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

NSW Health have issued an alert to anyone who attended the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Metro Theatre (624 George Street, Sydney) from 9pm onwards on Friday 10 December.

There are at least 97 confirmed cases of Covid-19 associated with the event, and NSW Health said it is likely some of these cases have the Omicron variant of concern.

Anyone who attended is considered a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 7 days.

The NSW Health statement also said:

NSW Health is asking all household contacts of close contacts to get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received by everyone in the household.

NSW Health is urgently contacting 600 people who attended Metro Theatre at this time and checked in via the QR code and is directing them and members of their households to immediately get tested and follow public health advice.

NSW Health is appealing for anyone who attended but did not check in using the QR code to urgently get tested and isolate, and for the community to ensure other potential attendees are aware of this advice.”

Updated

It’s very hard to deny the existence of pork barrelling when stories about it have a lot of meat on the bone.

Political reporter Katina Curtis and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright, from the Nine newspapers, spent two months compiling, cross-checking and analysing data on government grants.

They focused on discretionary grants, overseen by MPs and ministers.

They found that the 19,123 grants overwhelmingly favoured Coalition-held electorates. Coalition seats got three times as much – $1.9bn over the past three financial years compared with about $530m for Labor seats. Other money was thrown at independent seats.

It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing story about how taxpayer money is seemingly being used for political purposes. Previous chapters include the car park rorts, and the sports rorts. Subplots include former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian conceding “we throw money at seats to keep them”.

The federal government’s spin machine went into overdrive. Do their counter-claims deserve traction?

Read more:

The government has set aside an election war chest from $15.9bn in mystery spending in a mid-year budget update that warns of significant economic risks ahead.

But despite the treasurer hailing an “incredible” set of job numbers, which shows Australia’s unemployment rate will fall comfortably below 5% next year, the government is holding off the task of budget repair until “economic recovery is secure”.

“These gains are not yet locked in,” Josh Frydenberg said on Thursday as he announced the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo).

“The pandemic is still with us and we must continue to learn to live with the virus as demonstrated by the recent emergence of the Omicron variant.”

The economic update – potentially the last before the election – shows a combined $15.9bn in expenditure for decisions “taken but not yet announced” and other mystery spending that is not for publication. Treasury officials suggested the spending was split about 50-50 between these two categories.

Read more:

More than 60% of super fund investment options where members can choose how to invest their money fail to deliver good returns, statistics released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) show.

Poorly performing funds in the “choice” sector also tend to have higher fees that eat into their returns, the data reveals.

It is the first time Apra has examined the performance of choice funds, which allow members to choose from a menu of investment options.

The funds contained in the data manage $394bn of retirement savings, which is about 40% of the choice market.

Read more:

The auditor general has called on the Department of Defence to improve its probity measures, in an otherwise positive report on the handling of a patrol boat project.

The Australian National Audit Office published a report (pdf) today about its audit of the $357m procurement of six evolved Cape-class patrol boats. The report - tabled in parliament - said:

“The decision to acquire six new evolved Cape-class patrol boats rather than undertake the life-of-type extension of Navy’s existing Armidale class patrol boats as planned, was made following receipt of an unsolicited proposal from Austal Limited to Defence in September 2019 outlining a leasing arrangement. At the time of receipt, Defence had not planned for or approached the market for this specific capability.”

The audit found Defence’s procurement of the boats “has been largely effective”, and its decision making and procurement activities were “largely effective”.

But the report made one recommendation: for Defence to “develop and implement specific requirements for the management of probity when engaging with industry on unsolicited proposals”. Defence agreed to this recommendation.

The report said Defence “did not assess potential probity risks on receipt of the unsolicited proposal from Austal in September 2019 or introduce additional arrangements to manage procurement probity risk until it commenced exclusive negotiations with Austal in February 2020” - five months after receipt of the proposal.

The ANAO report said:

“It would have been prudent for Defence to consider its probity arrangements for its personnel earlier than it did. Defence records indicate that prior to receipt of the unsolicited proposal, Austal personnel provided Defence personnel with information and modelling relating to the idea of acquiring additional Cape-class boats as an alternative to the Armidale class [extension], to support Navy’s transition to the Arafura class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

While the ANAO did not identify direct evidence of joint development of the unsolicited proposal before it was formally received, and Defence advised that joint development did not occur, in such circumstances care needs to be taken to avoid the perception of joint development of a proposal which may result in procurement action, so as to avoid any perception that potential suppliers enjoy an unfair advantage. Non-discrimination is a key principle of the CPRs [Commonwealth Procurement Rules].”

Updated

Tasmania’s premier Peter Gutwein has said it is “simply inconceivable” that the jumping castle tragedy occurred during what was meant to be an end of year celebratory period.

Gutwein said:

It’s difficult for me to find words in such tragic circumstances. Four children have passed away. I’m certain that I speak for all Tasmanians in extending my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones of everyone affected by today’s tragedy.

For the five children who remain in hospital, our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their friends during this very difficult time.

On a day when schoolchildren were celebrating at the end of term so close to Christmas, it’s simply inconceivable that this shocking tragedy has occurred.

We stand ready to provide whatever support we can to the families directed impacted, the student, staff and the broader community, and also to our emergency services and our first responders who I know have also been affected very deeply.

I know that this is a strong and caring community that will stand together and support one another. I know they’ll do that with love and kindness to get them through this.

I know this is utterly devastating and heartbreaking for all involved. And as I’ve said I know I speak on behalf of all Tasmanians when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with those five children that are still in hospital. And our sympathies are with those families and friends and loved ones of the four children who have unfortunately passed away.I’ll hand over now.

Gutwein, speaking from Devonport, urged Tasmanians who felt affected by the event to contact mental health support services. The support services Gutwein mentioned were:

Lifeline on 1311 14, The Kids Helpline on 1800551800, The Mental Health helpline on 1800332388, and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Updated

Four children dead after jumping castle tragedy

Tasmanian police have announced there are now four children who have died at the Hillcrest primary school in Devonport.

Darren Hine, Tasmania’s police commissioner, said the four children who have died were in grade 6. Five other children are still in hospital, four of who are in a critical condition.

Police and emergency services were called to the scene around 10:00am this morning after a wind gust had reportedly caused the jumping castle and inflatable balls to lift into the air. Police and emergency services quickly began administering first aid at the scene.

Of the four children, two were boys and two were girls.

On a day when these children were meant to be celebrating their last day of primary school, instead were all mourning their loss. Our hearts are breaking for the families and the loved ones, schoolmates, teachers of these young people who were taken too soon.

Our thoughts are also with those emergency services personnel who attended to try and save these people’s lives.

We’re going to be doing everything we possibly can to support the school community and the community at large.

Counselling will be provided to the school and wider community, and to the “many” who witnessed the event.

Hine added:

The loss of children affect us all and our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the loved ones and the school community. An investigation is under way. The coroner has visited the scene already. We’ll be supplying a report to the coroner in conjunction with WorkSafe Tasmania.

Updated

The Lunar Electric music festival that was to be held in Newcastle this Saturday has been cancelled under a public health order, as Omicron cases in New South Wales surge.

A NSW Health statement released on Thursday afternoon said that the department “considered that the ongoing spread of Covid-19 in the Newcastle area, where the majority of a record number of cases are the Omicron variant of concern, presents too great a risk for the festival to take place this weekend”.

The statement said:

NSW Health has advised the organisers of the festival this afternoon of the cancellation.

NSW Health continues to be concerned about the ongoing spread of Covid-19 in the Newcastle area, where several venues and events have now seen extensive transmission.

NSW Health again asks everyone across the community to continue to be particularly careful and practise Covid-safe behaviours.

The emergence of the Omicron variant is a timely reminder of the importance of booster shots in maintaining a high level of protection against the Covid-19 virus.

We urge people to get their booster dose as soon as they are eligible, to best protect yourself, your loved ones and the community from the ongoing transmission of Covid-19.

South Australia records 24 Covid cases

South Australia has reported another 24 Covid-19 cases with authorities confirming six cases of the Omicron variant have been detected since its arrival last week, reports AAP.

Thursday’s tally follows the 25 new infections on Wednesday which was the state’s highest daily number for more than 18 months.

SA has 108 active infections, with 67 being managed at home and 39 in hotel quarantine.

A staffer working for energy minister Angus Taylor has tested positive to Covid-19.

A spokesman from Taylor’s office has just sent out this statement:

A fully vaccinated staff member on Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor’s team has tested positive to Covid.

The staff member is upbeat about spending Christmas Day in isolation.

Minister Taylor and members of his Canberra ministerial office have undertaken Covid tests. Minister Taylor has returned a negative result.

Parliament House has been notified and ACT Health guidelines are being adhered to.”

New South Wales police have fined a man $10,000 for allegedly breaching a self-isolation direction in the Newcastle area.

According to a police statement, the 20-year-old had been directed to self-isolate at a Newcastle property from Wednesday 8 December, as he was a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.

NSW Police said “it’s understood the man subsequently attended a licensed premises on Wharf Road later that evening, and also attended a private residence in Adamstown on Saturday (11 December 2021)“.

He has since returned a positive test to Covid-19 and is currently self-isolating.

The NSW Police statement follows pleas from health authorities this week for people who attended the Argyle House nightclub on Wharf Road on the evening of Wednesday 8 December to get tested and isolate.

Hundreds of patrons at the nightclub on that evening have since tested positive to Covid-19.

Of the roughly 650 people who attended an event that night, more than 200 have tested positive, making the event one of the highest transmission events in the world.

On Thursday afternoon, police said:

Following inquiries, the man was issued with two Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) totalling $10,000 for the offence of Fail to Comply with Notice Direction s 7/8/9 – Covid-19.

Inquiries are continuing.”

At 4:30pm AEDT, Tasmania’s premier Peter Gutwein will hold a press conference in Devonport to provide an update on the jumping castle tragedy at Hillcrest primary school.

He’ll be joined by Tasmania’s police commissioner Darren Hine and other government representatives.

We’ll bring that to you live here.

The Australian Federal Police has been given a bit of a slap on the wrist by the Australian Privacy Commissioner for trialling Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology without properly considering the privacy implications.

Clearview AI works by sucking up images of people’s faces from social media and other sites across the internet, building a database for its law enforcement customers to search through.

Last month the privacy commissioner, Angelene Falk, found Clearview AI had breached the privacy of Australians by collecting images of them online, and ordered the company to delete all images of people in Australia within 90 days and not collect any more.

In the determination, Falk mentioned police agencies in Australia including the AFP had signed up for trials. Previous reporting on the AFP’s use revealed at least one officer tested the software using photos of herself and another member of staff, while the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation conducted searches for five “persons of interest”.

On Thursday, the information commissioner found the AFP should have conducted a privacy impact assessment, and ordered the agency to appoint an independent assessor to review AFP privacy practises and make changes, and for officers to complete an updated privacy training program.

Falk said:

I recognise that facial recognition and other high privacy impact technologies may provide public benefit where they are accompanied by appropriate safeguards.

But there were a number of red flags about this third-party offering that should have prompted a careful privacy assessment.

By uploading information about persons of interest and victims, the ACCCE were handling personal information in a way that could have serious consequences for individuals whose information was collected.

Clearview AI is appealing the decision made against it in November.

Updated

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has announced a final decision not to reschedule psilocybin and MDMA from schedule 9 prohibited substances to schedule 8 controlled medicines.

Therapeutic uses for MDMA and psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – are currently being explored in clinical trials both in Australia and overseas.

The announcement confirms an interim decision made by the TGA in February.

The decision does not affect current access to the drugs for use in clinical trial settings, and confirmed there was “potential benefit of MDMA in treatment of PTSD”.
It concluded:

Pending the outcome of current clinical research, the scheduling of MDMA could be reconsidered in future applications.”

Responding to the announcement, Dr Martin Williams, executive director of Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine, said in a statement:

Our firm support for the eventual rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA, alongside inclusion on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, is based on the emerging evidence from local and international research demonstrating that these drugs may be used as safe and effective adjuncts to psychotherapy in the treatment of refractory mental illness.”

New Zealand detects first Omicron case

New Zealand has detected its first case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in a Christchurch managed isolation facility.

On Thursday afternoon, the director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said:

This is a person who is in managed isolation in Christchurch.

The person arrived in New Zealand on a flight from Germany via Dubai that landed in Auckland...the people on that flight were transferred to Christchurch on a chartered domestic flight trip with all our usual protocols.”

Bloomfield said:

We fully expected we will find a case of Omicron and in fact, we are treating every border related case as if it were Omicron until proven otherwise. We have good protocols in place that are designed to stop the virus getting across the border.”

Everyone who travelled on the same international and charter flights as the case are being treated as close contacts, as are those staying on the same floor of the MIQ facility.

Bloomfield said health authorities are considering advice over reducing the interval period between second and third doses of the Pfizer vaccine, to help combat Omicron’s spread and effect.

Jim Chalmers, the opposition treasury spokesman, has taken aim at $16bn in mystery spending the Morrison government has included in its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo).

In his response to Myefo, Chalmers said the update shows the government “completely ignores the issues in the economy around stagnant wages and skills shortages and job insecurity and it does absolutely nothing to crack down on rorts and mismanagement”.

Specifically, Chalmers denounced the $16bn in Myefo for decisions taken but not yet announced, and alleged this budget item meant the government is doubling down on “rorts”.

Chalmers said:

It remarkably pours billions of dollars into slush funds.

This is a mid-year budget update which has got lots of complacency, lots of self-congratulation, but nothing in terms of a plan for wages or job insecurity or skills shortages or the other issues and challenges in our economy.

Billions of dollars of your money, stashed away to be spent on the prime minister’s political interests and not on the national economic interests.

Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have learned absolutely nothing from the furore over politically motivated rorts. What they don’t understand is this. You can’t rort your way to recovery.”

Updated

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has accused Scott Morrison of “delivering working Australians a pay cut for Christmas” following mid-year economic and fiscal outlook (Myefo) figures showing inflation will outpace wage growth.

In a statement, the ACTU said that the figures released in Myefo today “proves yet again that Mr Morrison has no plan to address the cancer of insecure work plaguing this country”.

Myefo figures predict wages to grow from 2.25% in 2021-22 to 3.25% in 2024-25. Inflation is projected to reach and stay at the mid-point of the reserve bank’s target range (2.5%) in 2022-23, as noted by my colleague Paul Karp in his Myefo analysis.

ACTU acting secretary Liam O’Brien said:

After years of stagnant wages growth under this Government, Mr Morrison still has no plan to deliver working Australians a long overdue and desperately needed bump to their pay packets. The Government’s own Myefo confirms that real wages will go backwards this financial year.

The Prime Minister’s only real plan for wages is to continue ramping up temporary migration, which will rob locals of opportunities, suppress wages growth and exacerbate the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers.

The Prime Minister has no plan to address the rampant casualisation of Australian jobs. His only response is to continue to peddle his con-job ‘casual conversion laws’, which have been exposed as a cruel hoax on working people.”

Commander Debbie Williams of Tasmania Police has spoken about the tragedy that occurred at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport.

Two children have died and several have been left critically injured after they fell about 10 metres from a jumping castle that was blown into the air this morning at the school’s ‘Big Day In’ celebration to mark the end of the school year.

Williams said:

Tragically I can confirm that there are two deceased children after an incident today at Hillcrest Primary School.

A number of the children have been taken to hospital and some are in a critical condition.

This is a very tragic event and our thoughts are with the families and the wider school community, and also our first responders.

There is no doubt that this has been a very confronting and distressing scene.

Counselling is being made available to the families affected by this in the school community along with the first responders.”

You can read more here:

Scott Morrison has also made some comments about the soaring number of Covid cases in New South Wales and other states.

He points out he is wearing a mask at the press conference (when he’s not speaking) because he’s a casual contact.

The prime minister also stresses that ICU representations should be the more appropriate metric for concern as opposed to case numbers each day.

Morrison ends by urging Australians to get their booster shot.

Government to refuse gas exploration permit off NSW coast

Scott Morrison has announced the government will reject the Petroleum Exploration Permit (Pep) 11, which would see offshore gas exploration off the coastlines between Sydney and Newcastle.

The Morrison government had come under pressure from its own MPs whose electorates sit on the 4,500 sq km of coast which stood to be opened up to offshore drilling of gas and oil and seismic testing.

In announcing the government’s shift, the prime minister mentions Dave Sharma and Trent Zimmerman, whose eastern and north Sydney electorates would have been affected by the Pep 11 permit.

Jason Falinski, another Liberal MP opposed to Pep 11 and whose electorate stood to be affected by it, is also at this press conference today with the PM.

Labor, the Greens and independents such as Zali Steggall whose electorate of Warringah stood to be affected were also opposed to Pep 11.

Morrison said:

I have a keen sense of how it is to live in places like this and how important the ocean environment is. I’m such a passionate advocate of getting plastics out of our waterways and the export waste ban we put into place after we were elected to ensure we can take greater care of these amazing environments we love so much.

But it’s important we do that in a balanced way and we can ensure that people who rely on the resources industry can continue to do so, with confidence. So this is balance and this is a sensible decision. Because at the end of the day, I want to protect this, but I also want to protect people’s jobs.”

You can read more about Pep 11 here, however I should note there have been quite a few developments since this was written, including the New South Wales government writing to resources minister Keith Pitt to express its opposition to it and urge it not be granted.

Updated

Scott Morrison has called the tragic incident in Devonport “unthinkably heartbreaking”.

The prime minister, speaking from Terrigal on the New South Wales central coast, said he had been speaking with Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein throughout the morning. He said that Gutwein is now travelling to Devonport.

Morrison said.

The events that occurred today in Devonport in Tasmania are just shattering.

Young children on a fun day out, together with their families and it turns to such horrific tragedy, at this time of year, it just breaks your heart.

To the parents and families and friends, all who were there, to the other young children there and witnessing these events, I just pray you’ll have great family around you and great friends and you can come through this horrific tragedy.

So [this is] just a terrible tragedy. Unthinkable, horrific accident, a freak accident, that will leave families completely devastated.”

There are reports a second child has also died as a result of the tragic jumping castle incident in north-west Tasmania today.

Earlier today, police in Tasmania announced one child had died and several others were in a critical condition after a wind event caused a jumping castle at Hillcrest primary school in Devonport to lift into the air.

Several children fell from a height of about 10m, around 10am this morning.

We are still waiting for more details from a media conference, however the ABC are reporting a second child has now died.

We’ll bring you more information when we can.

Lots of economic data around today, whether it’s the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook from the Morrison government and the mid-year review from the NSW government. (NSW is about a third of the national economy.)

There are, though, a bunch of ABS stats of interest too, if you happen to like figures and can’t wait for the cricket (with all the tedious stats involved with that).

Anyway, Australia’s jobless rate plunged in November even as people in the ex-locked down states flooded back in. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had already flagged unemployment rate could drop below 5% in the MYEFO preview.

Well, it’s dropped 0.6 percentage points to 4.6%, the lowest level since August’s 4.5%, or near its lowest level in more than a decade. Market economists had been expecting a 5% reading for November, with some such as Westpac predicting it would come in at 5.3%.

Instead of 200,000 jobs being added, the economy added almost twice that, or 366,100.

Importantly, the jobless rate fell even as the participation rate jumped about 1.4 percentage points to 66.1%. Hours worked also increased by 77m.

Such a rise, though, will have economists adjusting their expectations of just when the Reserve Bank will lift official interest rates, while employees will be wondering if they should press harder for more pay.

Updated

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and finance minister Simon Birmingham have been asked a few questions about $16bn in spending for decisions taken but not announced and for measures not for publication.

As my colleague Paul Karp noted earlier in this blog, the budget papers reveal that there is about $16bn of mystery spending over the next four years, which is more than ten times the size of mystery spending last year.

One reporter asked if this money is for a spend-a-thon to win the next election.

Frydenberg said they are provisions for uncertainty, and adds:

They are measures that we expect to eventuate, but at this point, we can’t allocate and confirm to specific programs.

What goes into a contingency reserve can be a number of specific initiatives, including those that are commercial in confidence and therefore can’t be revealed. Issues that may relate to the purchase of vaccines, or other necessary health supports. It can be national security related.”

Guardian Australia’s Katharine Murphy then asks if some of the not for publication costs are related to the cost of cancelling the Naval Group contract (incurred when Australia announced it would purchase different submarines as part of the Aukus agreement).

Frydenberg said the prime minister had said the cancellation costs were in the order of $2.4bn at the time, but adds:

The details around finalising the exit of that contract and ... are being finalised through negotiations. Provisions are made for all of the elements in the defence budget in terms of making sure that funds are available to meet any and all of the likely consequences of that.”

Updated

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has praised Australians for turning out to get vaccinated and those who have “sacrificed so much” over the last two years for contributing to an improved budget deficit outlook.

In delivering the mid-year fiscal and economic outlook (Myefo) on Thursday, which predicts a deficit of $99.2bn in 2021-22 that has improved by $7.4bn since the budget, Frydenberg said “Australians have good reason to be optimistic about their future”.

He also trumpeted the latest unemployment rate which has fallen to 4.6%, and noted the rate is predicted to fall to 4.25%.

Frydenberg said:

Our plan is working. In the face of the largest economic shock since the great depression, working together, we have been doing what has been needed to be done. Australians should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

This result belongs to all Australians who have sacrificed so much over the last two years. It shows that the Morrison government’s economic plan is working. It further confirms the Australian economy is rebounding strongly.”

Updated

Some more on MYEFO:

What could go wrong

In a word: virus. If a new variant of concern emerges requiring more significant health responses, the international border could be closed for another six months, public health orders and precautionary behaviour could drive down spending. The treasury projects this could mean 1% is shaved off gross domestic product in 2021-22, and unemployment about 1% higher. The rebound would instead come in the second half of 2022.

The papers also note that revenue assumptions and nominal GDP are also sensitive to changes in the iron ore price, with a US$10 fall shaving $3.9bn off GDP this year and $0.9bn off tax receipts next financial year.

If the government has to pay higher interest rates on bonds, then debt could blow out by a further 5.4% of GDP by 2032.

$16bn of Mystery Spending

The budget papers reveal that there is about $16bn of mystery spending over the next four years, consisting of decisions taken but not announced or measures for which the cost is not-for-publication. That’s more than ten times the size of mystery spending last year.

The papers make it impossible to calculate the size of the war chest for announcements to be made before the election, by mixing in a bunch of commercially sensitive spending items like vaccine purchases. But a treasury official in the lockup suggested it was about half and half...so, an $8bn war chest for the election.

There will also be $940m more revenue collected due to decisions taken but not announced or not for publication measures.

Debt and Deficit

For a government previously concerned with the debt and deficit disaster, there is still red as far as the eye can see. The deficit is tipped to be $99.2bn in 2021-22, an improvement of $7.4bn since the budget despite the Delta lockdowns. The deficit will still be $57.5bn in 2024-25 (or 2.3% of GDP), and only shrinks to 1.8% of GDP in 2031-32.

Net debt is projected to be 30.6% of GDP at June 2022, rising to a peak of 37.4% in 2025, then down to 35.5% in 2032.

The papers say that despite the economic recovery the government is sticking with the first plank of its budget plan – strong and sustained recovery – so don’t expect austerity measures to try and cut the debt and deficit.

Mid-year budget update at a glance

Forecasts

The budget papers project the size of the Australian economy will grow in real terms by 3.75% in 2021-22 and 3.5% in 2022-23, before easing back to 2.25% and 2.5% in the two final years of the forward projections.

The unemployment rate is tipped to fall to 4.25% in that time. The treasury thinks Australians will be ambitious with their pay demands and bosses generous in a bid to keep workers, because wages are supposed to take off from 2.25% in 2021-22 to 3.25% in 2024-25.

Inflation is projected to reach and stay at the mid-point of the reserve bank’s target range (2.5%) in 2022-23.

Assumptions

The treasury has assumed that with over 80% of Australians aged 16 and above vaccinated currently, rates will climb to more than 90%. So far so good.

But the rest of the assumptions are … a little rosy. The treasury assumed lockdowns are no longer required, with “most domestic activity restrictions” lifted by the start of 2022 and only basic density restrictions in place.

There may be “temporary strengthening of activity restrictions” to contain localised outbreaks – but these short, sharp lockdown-like restrictions are assumed to have no material impact on the outlook.

Remaining state border restrictions are assumed to be lifted by early 2022 and the Omicron variant “is not assumed to significantly alter current reopening plans or require a reimposition of widespread health and activity restrictions”.

Migrants will start returning from 2022, with international students ready to go for the first semester of 2022.

Updated

It’s been a horrible morning for news, so here’s hoping that’s the last of it. We are due to hear from treasurer Josh Frydenberg shortly on the mid-year budget update. Prime minister Scott Morrison was also due to speak an hour or so ago but that’s been delayed - presumably to come.

Elias Visontay will be there to expertly and vivaciously take you through it all.

Qantas forecasts loss exceeding $1.1bn

Qantas has forecast a loss of more than $1.1bn from a lockdown-plagued half year but says it has made inroads in reducing debt, AAP reports.

The carrier on Thursday blamed months of coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions from the Delta outbreak for the estimated first-half loss in underlying earnings. The earnings are due in February.

Qantas leaders were happier to talk about improving travel demand, and a $802m Sydney land sale, which have helped reduce massive pandemic debt.

The executives expect net debt will be $5.65bn by the end of December.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said customers were booking domestic and overseas travel, despite concerns about the latest virus variant.

The news of the Omicron variant had a clear impact on people’s confidence to book international trips in particular, but we haven’t seen large numbers of cancellations. Many customers have strong intentions to travel if their border and quarantine settings are right, and in the past few days we have seen intakes improve.

Joyce said the focus next year was making sure the business was cash-flow positive.

We just need to generate cash. For us, 2022 is not about making money. It’s about generating positive cash flows and repairing the balance sheet by building revenue. We’re near the debt target we set for ourselves.

The airline has slashed thousands of jobs since the pandemic began as bookings spiralled due to virus rules.

The carrier also revealed it has chosen Airbus planes for its domestic narrow-body fleet after a tender. Forty planes from the Airbus A320neo and A220 families will be ordered by the end of the financial year. The value of the deal was not revealed. Joyce said the planes were quieter and produced fewer carbon emissions.

ASX shares in the company were down 1.75% to $4.78 at 11.35am.

Updated

In more news coming out of Victoria, major collision investigation unit detectives are looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of a Drouin man who fell from the back of a utility tray overnight.

The 21-year-old man was in a ute driving along Silbys Road in Darnum at about 10.15pm when the incident occurred. He was airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but sadly died a short time later:

At this early stage it appears four males and a female, all believed aged in their late teens to early 20s, were involved in the incident.

Detectives are investigating one youth may have been travelling on the bonnet of the ute, two in the tray and another two inside the cabin.

Police have spoken with the other people involved and a crime scene has been established.

A 20-year-old Darnum woman was interviewed by police and has been released without charge pending further investigation.

Detectives will remain at the scene.

Updated

Six people injured in Melbourne crash

Six people are being treated by paramedics after a car crashed into a Northcote shop in Melbourne’s north earlier this morning.

Police are currently on the scene. Emergency services were called to the Northcote Plaza shopping precinct just before 11am, after a car drove into the Suzanne Grae clothing store.

Victoria Police:

Ambulance paramedics are treating six pedestrians which were struck by the vehicle. Their injuries appear to be non life-threatening.

The driver of the vehicle, who also sustained non life-threatening injuries, is currently assisting police at the scene with their enquiries.

Police have partially evacuated some occupants of the Separation Street precinct to allow for structural assessment.

The incident isn’t being treated as deliberate.

Updated

Child dies in jumping castle incident

Absolutely awful news coming out of Tasmania. One child has died due to the jumping castle incident at Hillcrest Primary School. There will be a media conference at 1pm.

A statement from police:

Emergency services remain on the scene at Hillcrest primary School in Devonport after a wind event because a jumping castle to lifted into the air. Several children fell from a height of about 10m, around 10am this morning and are currently receiving treatment.

Sadly one child has died, and a number of others are critical. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those involved. No further details about the fatality can be released at the stage for privacy reasons. Several helicopters are responding to the incident to transport patients, please avoid the area to allow emergency services to respond.

Updated

Patrick Cummins out of Adelaide Test

7Cricket has provided official confirmation Cummins will not play in today’s Ashes test. Smith will captain, and Neser will make his debut. What a whirlwind!

Read the full story here:

Updated

Images are emerging of an incident at a jumping castle in Tasmania. Police have asked people to avoid the area.

Updated

As noted earlier in our blog, NSW treasurer Matt Kean has a few challenges, given the Covid disruptions blowing out the budget deficit.

A couple of other things came out of this morning’s gathering. One is that the budget projections, including a return to surplus (fingers crossed, and more) by 2024-25, do not imply a change to the treatment of stamp duty.

That’s understandable since the budget can only work on current policies. Kean’s predecessor Dominic Perrottet, who is now premier, had called for a switch from stamp duty to a land tax as part of a major fiscal reform.

Let’s just say that as premier, some of that reforming zeal has dissipated, and it no longer looms as a priority.

Watch this space, though, for a major policy soon that will be aimed at increasing participation in the workplace, particularly for women.

Kean, meanwhile, has retained his enthusiasm for the environment and climate action. He told a breakfast hosted by the Business Council of Australia:

Make no mistake, the biggest thing that will determine our nation’s prosperity and our future is our ability to grab the enormous opportunities that are coming as a result of these huge global megatrends.

“The carbon risk that is posed to the communities like the Hunter and the Illawarra is significant, and that’s coming whether right-wing shock jocks like it or not,” Kean said, using words we don’t hear very often from either major party in federal politics:

We need to make sure that we are managing that risk but also setting ourselves up to grab these huge opportunities ... the gold rush will look like a blip if we can get on board the green energy transition.

Kean is also the state’s energy and environment minister, and it will be interesting to see how much of those portfolios he retains after the coming cabinet reshuffle.

Updated

The Australian’s Peter Lalor is reporting Patrick Cummins will be out, Steve Smith will be made captain and Michael Neser of the Adelaide Strikers will take his place in today’s Ashes test following reports Cummins was listed as a close contact of a confirmed Covid case.

Premier Steven Marshall earlier said SA Health was “working with” Cricket Australia.

I only just heard the news about Pat Cummins while I was in the launch this morning ... He’s our captain, a great player, but of course SA Health are going to have to work through those issues with Cricket Australia. We haven’t got too much hours now until the first ball is delivered.

Updated

Unemployment rate drops to 4.6%

Updated

A senior Victorian police officer who misused his position to involve himself in historical sexual offence investigations into associates of his church acted “wholly inappropriately”, the state’s anti-corruption commission has found.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission found that former Victoria Police Superintendent Paul Rosenblum drafted a letter, intended to be signed by an alleged victim of a sexual offence, requesting police take no further action with its investigation, and accessed and disclosed police information to people associated with or involved in the investigation without authorisation.

A special report into Rosenblum was tabled by Ibac in parliament on Thursday.

The Ibac commissioner, Robert Redlich QC, said that while Rosenblum was driven by a genuine desire to support his church associates through a difficult period, his actions were wholly inappropriate and represented a clear conflict of interest.

Redlich said:

His actions also risked undermining community confidence in the independence and integrity of Victoria Police. His seniority further exacerbated the seriousness of his conduct.

In April 2019, Rosenblum resigned from the force while under investigation. He was charged by Ibac in October 2019. In March 2021, he pleaded guilty to unauthorised access of police information and was sentenced to a three-month adjourned undertaking with no conviction recorded.

He was also ordered to make a $10,000 contribution to Beyond Blue and a $10,000 contribution to the Blue Ribbon Foundation.

Updated

Two hours and 23 minutes (AEST) until the Ashes. No word yet on Pat Cummins but SA Water is absolutely raring to go:

Updated

NSW treasurer Matt Kean has defended his state’s mid-year budget projection despite a cloud hanging the state’s accounts because of a wrangle over the treatment of $40b of rail assets, as explained here.

After a breakfast speech, the new treasurer (who has had just over two months in the role) was asked if the figures in the review could be trusted since the auditor general Margaret Crawford is so far refusing to sign off on the state’s 2020-21 finances.

Kean’s mid-year review, for instance, has lifted the expected deficit this fiscal year to $19.5b, up from the budget’s forecast last June of an $8.6b shortfall. Thank the Delta Covid strain and the lockdowns for most of that blowout.

Anyway, the NSW government is still projecting a surplus by 2024-25. Why the rail assets matter is the changed treatment of payments into equity injections after RailCorp was turned into the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE).

Kean, though, said he had “full confidence” in both sides of the standoff – ie his treasury department and the audit office.

“We’re working through some very complex accounting issues and as a former auditor myself, I know that this is exactly the type of process that we go through to ensure that the people of New South Wales can have confidence in the state’s finances,” he said, adding: “I’m confident that these issues will be resolved very shortly.”

Kean was expected to be keeping an eye on the state’s upper house inquiry into TAHE, which was expected to start at 10.30am with a renewed grilling by committee members of treasury secretary Mike Pratt.

A power surge, though, has held up proceedings, as has partial streaming that has only been working for those within the NSW parliament. Officials are trying to fix the feed and may postpone the start until noon, and anyone watching will have to do it from parliament itself.

Updated

Queensland chief health officer John Gerrard expects Covid cases to continue to rise across the state. Details on the cases will become “increasingly complex” and as time goes by “details will change on how we present the data”.

Another four potential cases are currently under investigation.

Gerrard:

12 of the cases mentioned by the minister were linked to interstate travel, all fully vaccinated. One case was detected in the community, locally acquired and at this stage we have not identified a link for that particular patient.

Two cases are known contacts of another case or cluster, one on the Gold Coast and one in the Darling Downs region. One was vaccinated and one was partially vaccinated. We’ve got one patient who was potentially infected for three days but there’s contact tracing proceeding. Three cases are linked to overseas travel and detected in quarantine, one in home quarantine and two in hotel quarantine. One had travelled from Doha and two had travelled from Africa.

Updated

Three Omicron cases detected in Queensland

It has been confirmed that the Townsville traveller who was on two confirmed flights that were listed as exposure sites had the Omicron variant of the virus.

Yvette D’Ath:

I can advise that we have results back on genomic sequences and we have identified three Omicron cases here in Queensland. One is the Townsville gentleman, who had been on those two flights that we had listed as exposure sites. Thankfully, this person has had limited exposure beyond known flights and the airport.

The other one is a female from Rochdale South, who we have previously reported had been in Newcastle. She was infectious in the community in Queensland on 12 and 13 December. And the third one is an international aircrew who has not been out in the community.

Updated

More on the cases detected in Queensland.

Of the 22 new cases, 18 have been infectious in the community, two have been detected in home quarantine and two have been detected in hotel quarantine and arrived from overseas.

One of the positive cases visited an aged care facility and has since tested positive. The aged care facility is in Holland Park and staff and residents are being tested.

Health minister Yvette D’Ath:

Those detected in the community are located in Brisbane south, Brisbane north, Darling Downs, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville, West Moreton and Wide Bay regions. Most of those people have been infectious in the community between one and seven days. The source of the virus for the majority of those people is primarily interstate travel but some, of course, are overseas as well. We have 67 active cases now.

Updated

Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein is up now, discussing the incident at Hillcrest primary school:

I’ve been made aware of an incident at Hillcrest primary school this morning, which involved a jumping castle and which unfortunately got away in high winds. People have been, as I understand it seriously injured and we currently have all the relevant emergency services on site. I understand there are serious injuries involved.

As further information comes to hand, we will obviously provide it. But as this involves a primary school, Hillcrest primary school, my thoughts are obviously with the people involved, but obviously the parents of the children that have been injured, and with the emergency services, but as we receive further information on what I understand is a very serious matter, we’ll provide that as the day progresses.

Updated

Quite a sizeable number of New South Wales cases today are in the Hunter New England catchment. Some 267 are in Newcastle, and 213 are from Lake Macquarie.

Queensland reports 22 new cases

There have been seven new locally acquired cases reported in Queensland, and 12 cases acquired interstate. There have been three new cases acquired overseas.

Updated

The light rail will return in a limited capacity to the inner west of Sydney from February, with a full service to come from mid year.

Updated

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, says she warmly welcomes Joe Biden’s nomination of Caroline Kennedy to be the ambassador to Australia.

Responding to the US president’s announcement overnight – which is still subject to US senate confirmation, and which was widely speculated months in advance – Payne issued a statement:

Ms Kennedy has a distinguished career in law, the arts, education and philanthropy. If confirmed by the United States Senate, she would bring deep political networks in Washington and a keen understanding of our Indo-Pacific region, including from her time as US Ambassador to Japan. She would be the second woman to serve in the role. Ms Kennedy’s nomination comes as we mark and celebrate the 70th year of the ANZUS Treaty. Our Alliance has never been more central to the interests of both countries. As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and I discussed last week in Liverpool, we look forward to having a Senate-confirmed Ambassador in place in Canberra in light of the scope and scale of the shared challenges we face.

Payne said she acknowledged and thanked chargé d’affaires Mike Goldman for his ongoing engagement. He has been serving as the most senior diplomat at the US embassy while the ambassador post is unfilled.

Updated

James Merlino out touting Victoria’s high achievers while simultaneously reassuring the youth that everything is ultimately meaningless – (except for Pat Cummins’ Covid status).

Updated

Tasmanian children seriously injured in jumping castle accident

Police and emergency services are responding to an incident at Hillcrest primary school in Tasmania “involving a jumping castle and wind” that has caused serious injuries. A rescue helicopter is on its way to the scene.

The department of health has described it as a “major incident”. It is being reported several children have fallen from a height of about 10 metres after the jumping castle lifted into the air.

Updated

If Pat Cummins is a close contact of a confirmed Covid case, “must stay in quarantine until the date provided” by SA Health, according to its website. The match is less than four hours away.

Updated

Pat Cummins reported to be a close Covid contact in lead-up to Adelaide Test

This is an an absolute disaster for fans of Test cricket. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Pat Cummins has been identified as a close contact of a positive case, just hours before the first day of the Adelaide Test is due to go ahead.

Updated

Albanese:

I’ll say this to the prime minister - there might be a divide on this street depending upon what side you’re on over whether you have access to support from the Federal Government for discretionary grants. But I pay the same rate of tax on that side of the street as you do on this side of the street. And that’s why this is corrupt. That’s why this has to be called out. That’s why this has to be stopped.

Earlier this morning, Albanese was touting Labor’s plan to establish an independent National Anti-Corruption Commission:

Anthony Albanese turns to federal government grants funding:

I want to welcome you to Hammond Park in Ashfield. We’re in the electorate of Reid. Just across the road there is the electorate of Grayndler. They are very similar communities. You can’t tell the community based upon what side of the road you’re on, but for this government that looks at the electoral map, they’re very different in terms of the approach.

On this side of the road, you have some $14.8m of community infrastructure funding from this government through the grants. On the other side of the road in my electorate of Grayndler, you have $700,000. So if you live on this side of the road, you are more than 20 times more likely to get government support than if you live just across the road in the same suburb ...

This is a bankrupt government. It’s a government that has lost its moral compass ... imagine how bad they would be if they got a fourth term ... it is just extraordinary the action that has been taken. And every day, we get a reminder of why we need a national anti-corruption commission.

Updated

More from Anthony Albanese’s doorstop in Ashfield, which began with his welcoming of Caroline Kennedy as Joe Biden’s nominee to be US ambassador:

Caroline Kennedy is, of course, from a famous family, as JFK and Jackie’s daughter. But she also has served as a diplomat to Japan in the region and is a powerful figure in the Democratic party of which, of course, the Australian Labor party has particularly good relations. So I welcome this nomination ...

We’ve always had good relations with the United States. They’re our most important ally. But in addition to that, we have a lot of work to do in the future. A lot of work on climate change where President Biden’s vision is similar to the vision that I have and that an incoming Labor government would look forward to working on climate change as an important national security issue in the Indo-Pacific region.

Updated

Good news for our fine NZ friends:

Updated

The US embassy Canberra is up and about:

Updated

Meanwhile, Anthony Albanese is out and about at Hammond Park in Sydney’s Ashfield this morning, hitting out at federal government grants funding.

Albanese’s seat of Grayndler received $718,000 in grants over three years. While neighbouring Liberal-held Reid, a highly marginal seat, received almost $14.8m in discretionary grants, including money to a Presbyterian school to create a breeding pond for native turtles.

Updated

Over in the world of weather, a number of flood warnings have again been issued for the Lachlan River.

The competition regulator says it won’t oppose a $40bn merger of BHP’s oil and gas assets with pure play fossil fuel company Woodside.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said the regulator had looked closely at the deal because it combines two of the four biggest suppliers of natural gas to the domestic market.

The review focused on gas supply in WA, where the two companies compete.

Sims:

We found that post-acquisition, Woodside would continue to face competition from a range of suppliers of domestic gas, including major producers Chevron and Santos, and from several other smaller suppliers including Shell and ExxonMobil. Woodside’s share of domestic gas after the acquisition will be approximately 20%. In Western Australia, gas exporters are required to reserve the equivalent of 15% of their export production for the domestic market, ensuring that domestic gas will continue to be available from Woodside and BHP Petroleum’s export assets, and from a range of other competitors.

The deal will clear out most of BHP’s carbon-intensive assets – after the merger, it will be left with the Mount Arthur thermal coalmine in NSW, which it is trying to sell, and some coking coal assets in Queensland.

Updated

There’s been another exposure site in Newcastle:

Over in Brisbane, health minister Yvette D’Ath and chief health officer Dr John Gerrard will hold a press conference at 10am AEST.

Updated

Victoria police have just released their latest Crime Statistics Agency data.

There was a 10% decrease of overall offences in the 12 months to September 2021 compared with the previous year.

Burglaries decreased to their lowest levels in 10 years – in large part due to residents spending more time at home. Robberies were also at a record 10-year low, dropping by 26.6%, and theft decreased by 14.5%.

In drug-related offending there was a 16% decrease for drug dealing and trafficking, and drug use and possession reduced by 18.4%. Opportunities to obtain drugs via festivals, clubs and so forth in part explained the drop, but the detection of offences related to cultivating and manufacturing drugs increased by 15.4%.

In more sombre news, family violence order breaches rose by 7.8%, and stalking, harassment and threatening behaviour was also up, by 10.6%. More than half of all assaults were family violence-related.

Updated

Meanwhile, there are some sizeable waiting times for Covid tests in the ACT. Holt, Kambah and Nicholls are reporting the shortest waiting times, if you’re in need of getting tested.

Updated

More on Joe Biden’s nomination of Caroline Kennedy, from Daniel Hurst.

It had been widely speculated that Biden was considering nominating Kennedy but the move was only confirmed on Wednesday evening US time. As with all such moves, the nomination is subject to confirmation by the US senate, so she will not be in place right away.

Announcing the nomination, the White House cited Kennedy’s experience as ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. The appointment comes at a time when Australia and the US have been deepening their military ties amid increasing concern about what they see as China’s more assertive conduct.

Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne discussed tensions across the Taiwan Strait during a meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken in the UK on Saturday.

Meeting on the the sidelines of a G7 foreign and development ministers’ meeting in Liverpool, Payne and Blinken also “agreed on the importance of having a senate-confirmed ambassador in place in Canberra as soon as possible in light of the scope and scale of shared challenges we face”.

Without an ambassador in place in Canberra, senior diplomat Mike Goldman has been serving as the US embassy’s chargé d’affaires. The ambassador under the Trump administration, Arthur Culvahouse, left Canberra in January in line with convention.

Updated

NSW records a record 1,742 new cases

New South Wales has reported a record 1,742 new Covid cases. Numbers were expected to rise overnight but have jumped significantly in the past two weeks. There have been no deaths.

Updated

Victoria records 1,622 new cases and nine deaths

Victoria has reported 1,622 new Covid cases and, sadly, nine more deaths.

Updated

Clinical epidemiologist Nancy Baxter was on ABC Breakfast earlier warning that the Omicron variant would spread incredibly quickly without restrictions. She said 25,000 cases could arrive in New South Wales “sooner” than the end of January that health minister Brad Hazzard predicted:

We don’t need to look outside of Australia. We can look in Australia and see what is happening in New South Wales. About a week ago they had 200 or so cases and yesterday they had 1,300 or 1,400 cases and today I hear it is going to be higher. We don’t need to look outside Australia to see how quickly it has grown.

I am not a modeller, I just want to say that but if it is doubling every two to three days and we are already over 2,000 today in New South Wales, I have no idea where this could go, given that we are relaxing things.

When you look at Europe and Canada, they are increasing their restrictions, not decreasing them now that they are seeing Omicron coming. There is nowhere else in the world that has decided to say we have this new variant coming that seems to spread much faster, so let’s relax restrictions.

Updated

Here is the full White House statement on Kennedy:

Caroline Kennedy served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2013-2017. She played a critical role in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II culminating in the historic visits of president Obama to Hiroshima and prime minister Abe to Pearl Harbor. She advanced the realignment of U.S. Forces in Okinawa, promoted women’s empowerment in Japan, and increased student exchange between the U.S and Japan. In 2017, she founded the International Poetry Exchange Project to virtually connect students in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and the Bronx through the power of the spoken word. In November 2021, she was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun, the highest honor for which foreigners are eligible, for her efforts to strengthen the US-Japan alliance.

Prior to her time in Japan, Kennedy was at the forefront of education reform efforts in New York City, creating public private partnerships to promote arts education, school libraries, and performing arts spaces. She served as the CEO of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the NYC Department of Education from 2002-2004, vice chair of the Fund for Public Schools from 2002-2010, and served on the Board of New Visions for Public Schools.

An attorney and author, Kennedy has published 11 New York Times best-selling books on law, civics, and poetry and serves as the Honorary President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. She is a director of the Carnegie Corporation and a member of the Board of Advisors of the International Rescue Committee.

Updated

Caroline Kennedy appointed as US ambassador to Australia

The White House has announced that Joe Biden has picked Caroline Kennedy to be ambassador to Australia. Kennedy is the only surviving child of John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Onassis.

She previously served as ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration.

Updated

More on treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s mid-year budget, to be released today.

AAP reports that Frydenberg claims 1m jobs will be created over the next four years as a result of the Morrison government’s economic strategy.

Economists expect the mid-year budget will see an improved budget position against the backdrop of a rapidly recovering economy. Deloitte Access Economics expects deficits will have improved by $103bn over the four-year budget estimates.

This would see the 2021-22 budget deficit reduced to $91.1bn from $106.6bn forecast in the May budget, and to $61.8bn in 2022-23 rather than $99.3bn.

This could be Frydenberg’s last major economic showpiece should prime minister Scott Morrison head to the polls in March rather than May, and before the 2022-23 budget planned for 29 March.

Frydenberg:

Saving jobs and creating jobs is a top economic priority. It’s a pathway to a stronger economy, an improved budget bottom line while being fundamental to a healthy and prosperous society.

Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek pushed back against the estimated jobs figure, saying there was no use in creating 1m jobs if there are no skilled workers to fill the positions, imploring the treasurer to invest further in tertiary education.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten added that any wage increase announcement must be taken with a large grain of salt. He told Nine:

Mr Frydenberg is telling some Christmas fairytales about wages. For the last eight years wages have basically been in the toilet, they haven’t increased at all. Whenever the government says they are going to go up, they don’t go as far up as the government promises.

Frydenberg is touting a new wave of economic activity off the back of tax cuts and business investment incentives as the baton is passed to the private sector to create more jobs and secure the recovery:

Business and consumer confidence is up, job ads are at the highest level in 13 years. Very strong investment coming from businesses big and small – a sign that people have confidence in our economic recovery.

Forecasts in the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook are expected to see the unemployment rate cut to 4.5% by the June quarter of next year compared with the estimate of 5% in the May budget. By the June quarter 2023 it is estimated to be 4.25% rather than the 4.75% predicted seven months ago.

If achieved, this would represent the first time since before the 2008-09 global financial crisis that Australia has sustained an unemployment rate of below 5%, and only the second time since the early 1970s.

Updated

The Canberra Raiders have been struck by Covid:

Josh Frydenberg is doing the rounds this morning:

Updated

It’s well worth reading this story from reporter Christopher Knaus this morning. Almost 3,000 children have been hit with fines of up to $5,000 for minor Covid breaches in New South Wales.

Back in Victoria, the Peel Hotel owner Tom McFeely has been on Today after his venue was visited by a positive Omicron case:

What people often forget is when you have staff isolating, there’s not that many staff out there. The hospitality industry right now is pretty shortstaffed. When you’re instructed your staff have to isolate, that effectively means you have to close.

Updated

Federal finance minister Simon Birmingham is appearing on RN Breakfast ahead of today’s midyear budget update, which will show unemployment will be below 5% by mid next year:

Updated

Victorian students receive Atar results

In Victoria, some 65,000 VCE and VCAL students are receiving their Atar results this morning after completing year 12 amid statewide lockdowns and a global pandemic – no small feat.

Some 50,723 students are receiving their VCE – a 98% completion rate, while 14,066 are receiving their VCAL. Some 13,935 students have received at least one study score of 40 or more out of 50.

Updated

Speaking of borders, Labor MP Bill Shorten appeared on the Today show this morning urging state leaders to be cautious about closing off to states with rising Covid cases in light of the Omicron variant’s spread:

I really expect and hope that the borders won’t close and that plans will go ahead. What we need to recognise is Omicron is different to Delta ... we need to accelerate the booster shots right now ... we’ve got to adjust our plans but not wreck Christmas.

Updated

NSW budget deficit blows out to $19.5bn

There’s more evidence of the cost of the Covid pandemic to government finances this morning, with NSW treasurer Matt Kean unveiling his state’s mid-year review at a Sydney breakfast hosted by the Business Council of Australia.

The key number is the more than doubling of the projected budget deficit for this the 2021-22 year to $19.5bn, compared with $8.6bn forecast when the budget was laid down in June.

That was the same budget then treasurer and now premier Dominic Perrottet declared at the start of his budget speech: “NSW is back.” At that time, Delta was clustering in Sydney and within days the state was locked down.

Kean says NSW is “continuing to bounce back from one of the biggest economic shocks the state has faced in generations, with the government’s targeted support measures and strong vaccination rates helping our economy successfully recover”.

Despite that much bigger projected deficit, Kean is still forecasting the budget will return to surplus by 2024-25, “with the impact of the Delta outbreak largely contained to the current financial year”.

Let’s see how the Omicron variant plays out, with health minister Brad Hazzard predicting yesterday the state could be reporting 25,000 new cases a day by the end of next month.

And it remains to be seen whether that return to surplus includes a contribution from the Transport Asset Holdings Entity. This is the financial vehicle at the centre of a standoff between Kean’s Treasury department and the Audit Office. Which side of the ledger will Kean side with is worth keeping an eye on.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning everyone. It’s nine days until 25 December and all I want for Christmas is an end to the pandemic. But Covid is continuing to dominate the news.

It’s Caitlin Cassidy here and we’re watching Victoria this morning, where some restrictions are to ease today as, concurrently, case numbers are expected to rise. Unvaccinated people will now be allowed into retail stores – where masks will remain compulsory – and deep cleaning requirements will be lifted for gyms, workplaces, theatres and cinemas.

New South Wales is also bracing for today’s Covid numbers after recording a high 1,360 new cases on the first day of eased restrictions. Health minister Brad Hazzard yesterday warned case numbers could reach 25,000 by the end of January.

Further south, Tasmania has declared all of Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Geelong as high-risk Covid areas after increases in case numbers, including the Omicron variant of concern.

It comes just a day after the state reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers. People coming from designated high-risk areas must return a negative test in the 72 hours before arriving and present proof at the border.

And another royal has tested positive to Covid. Denmark’s Princess Mary is isolating in a wing of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. It has not been detected among other members of the family.

It’s shaping up to be a busy day, so let’s dive in.

Updated

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The Guardian - US
The New Anaconda Movie, Which Sucks, Has Exactly One Redeeming Quality
Gotta look on the bright side.
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