What happened today, 18 February 2021
With that, I will leave you for the day. Here’s a recap of today’s news:
- Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal staffer who alleges she was raped by a more senior colleague in Parliament House in 2019, has announced she has “reengaged” with federal police and will “proceed with a formal complaint regarding the crime committed”.
- A Guardian Australia investigation has revealed that Frank Zumbo, a senior aide to Liberal MP Craig Kelly, continues to work in his role despite multiple young women coming forward to NSW police to allege inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, including an instance of unwanted touching, and despite an apprehended violence order being granted in one case.
- Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has told a senate inquiry that Australian politicians are frightened of Rupert Murdoch – a fear that persisted when he was in the top job. News Corp executives hit back at Rudd when they fronted the media diversity inquiry shortly after, arguing that “democracy is messy” and it relied on “the robust and open exchange of news, views and opinions and a recognition that all people have a right to hear a range of views”.
- Meanwhile, politicians, news providers and civil society groups in the UK and US have rounded on Facebook and said the company’s decision to block all media content on its platform in Australia should hasten moves to bring its powers under control. Facebook may wait up to a week before unblocking some of the pages of hundreds of non-media organisations hit by its news ban.
- The South Australian government has been rocked by a Liberal MP’s shock resignation in the early hours of Friday when he announced he was being charged by the state’s anti-corruption body. Fraser Ellis’ resignation plunges the Liberals, led by the premier, Steven Marshall, into minority government.
- Three members of a Victorian family, two of whom quarantined at the Melbourne airport Holiday Inn, have tested positive to coronavirus a day after the state’s five-day lockdown was lifted.
Have a great evening and weekend.
Updated
Northern Territory chief minister in self-isolation after Covid test
The ABC is reporting the Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, is in self-isolation after being tested for coronavirus.
The NT's Chief Minister Michael Gunner is in self isolation after getting tested for COVID-19. He experienced mild cold-like symptoms earlier today and followed the health advice to isolate and get tested. Mr Gunner spoke at the Bombing of Darwin service today - hundreds attended pic.twitter.com/CwW7lzi84K
— ABC Darwin (@abcdarwin) February 19, 2021
Updated
Brittany Higgins to proceed with formal complaint to AFP
In breaking news, Brittany Higgins has issued a statement saying she has today “reengaged with Australian federal police and will proceed with a formal complaint regarding the crime committed against me in what should be the safest building in Australia”.
Guardian Australia reported on Tuesday that the former Morrison government staffer planned to reactivate a police complaint about an alleged sexual assault by a colleague in the ministerial wing of Parliament House in March 2019.
In today’s statement, Higgins said:
By publicly coming forward with my experience in Parliament House, I’ve sought to achieve two things.
Firstly, I want a comprehensive police investigation into what happened to me on 22/23 March 2019 and for my perpetrator to face the full force of the law.
The Australian federal police have made assurances to me that they will handle this matter thoroughly and transparently. I would also ask that they handle it in a timely manner as to date, I have waited a long time for justice.
Secondly, given my experience, I am determined to drive significant reform in the way the Australian parliament handles issues of this nature and treats ministerial and parliamentary staff more generally.
I expect a truly independent investigation into how my matter was handled inside the government including offices where I worked, and other offices and parties that had knowledge of my circumstances.
I believe that getting to the bottom of what happened to me and how the system failed me is critical to creating a new framework for political staff that ensures genuine cultural change and restores the trust of staff.
In addition to an independent investigation into what happened to me, I demand a significant review into the conditions under which ministerial and parliamentary staff are employed and how we can do better.
Political advisers have very few protections, resources and confidential reporting mechanisms to address any workplace issues. They are not public servants and work in an extremely high-pressure environment. Too often, a toxic workplace culture can emerge that enables inappropriate conduct and this is exacerbated by the disparity in the power dynamics.
How ministerial and parliamentary staff are treated is a bipartisan issue that impacts staff from across the political spectrum and must be treated as such.
The prime minister has repeatedly told the parliament that I should be given ‘agency’ going forward. I don’t believe that agency was provided to me over the past two years but I seize it now and have advised the Prime Minister’s Office that I expect a voice in framing the scope and terms of reference for a new and significant review into the conditions for all ministerial and parliamentary staff. It is important that the reform is real and drives change beyond dealing with just what happened to me, and how the system let me down.
From the outset, I have been driven by my desire to ensure that no other person would have to go through the trauma that I experienced during my time in Parliament House.
I was failed repeatedly, but I now have my voice, and I am determined to use it to ensure that this is never allowed to happen to another member of staff again.
This has been a very difficult and trying week for me, my partner and my family. I would ask please that my privacy is respected as I now deal with the processes I have outlined in this statement. I do not intend to make any further public comment at this time.
Updated
Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp says it will go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at “their own pace” and will also display a banner providing additional information, AAP reports.
In January, the messaging platform informed users it was preparing a new privacy policy, under which it could share limited user data with Facebook and its group firms.
It sparked a global outcry and sent users to rival apps Telegram and Signal, among others, prompting WhatsApp to delay the new policy launch to May and to clarify the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses and would not affect personal conversations.
In India, the messaging app’s biggest user base, Facebook executives fielded questions from a parliamentary panel on the need for the changes, days after the country’s technology ministry asked the messaging platform to withdraw them.
In its latest blog WhatsApp said it would start reminding users to review and accept updates to keep using the messaging platform.
“We’ve also included more information to try and address concerns we’re hearing,” it added.
WhatsApp’s announcement comes as parent Facebook moved to block all news content in Australia on Thursday, facing backlash from publishers and politicians, prompting a senior British lawmaker to label the move as an attempt to bully a democracy.
Updated
Australian arts and cultural organisations and venues are scrambling to plead their case with Facebook to have their sites restored after they were caught up in the social media giant’s blanket ban on publishing news.
More than 250 cultural organisations woke on Thursday to find their Facebook pages had been wiped of content.
They argue they do not meet the social media giant’s loose definition of “news publisher” under the ban, which swept the site of news and news-related links this week.
Many still had not had their sites restored by midday on Friday, with Facebook requiring organisations to appeal its decision by filling out an online form and awaiting the outcome.
Read more:
Attorney general’s department officials before the Senate inquiry on the industrial relations omnibus bill have confirmed that the new wage theft provisions would override state laws.
This was one of the central complaints of the Victorian and Queensland governments, which have more stringent criminal penalties for wage theft.
Officials argued that the existing state regimes “in some respects purport to deal with similar content to the civil penalty provisions of the Fair Work Act”.
As such, there is already a question about how the federal and state regimes interact and there “may be some issues with inconsistency with the current framework” and the state laws “may be inoperative to that extent”.
Officials confirm the bill ensures that “for national system employers and employees there is one approach across Australia”.
The Tl;Dr version is that – yes – the new law will override state regimes, but the department is blaming states for trying to legislate wage theft laws after referring IR powers to the commonwealth in the first place.
Updated
Marise Payne says 'Quad' ministers discussed Myanmar and climate
Marise Payne says she and her colleagues from the US, Japan and India have shared their “serious concerns” about the military coup in Myanmar.
The Australian foreign minister said the phone call with foreign ministers from the countries known as the “Quad” had also discussed broader concerns about “the increasingly complex strategic challenges facing the region, and the growing pressures on rules, norms and institutions”.
Each of the four ministers issued their own statements about the phone call overnight, and while there is a fair bit of overlap, each expresses a slightly different emphasis reflecting their own priorities.
In a statement issued today, Payne said the four ministers had reiterated their serious concerns about the situation in Myanmar “and affirmed our commitment to its democratic transition”.
None of the statements issued by the various foreign ministers flagged any specific new actions on Myanmar, but the Japanese government’s readout was more specific about the concerns.
It said the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, “expressed grave concern for deteriorating situation in Myanmar, and explained that Japan was strongly urging the Myanmar military to immediately stop violence against citizens including shootings, release those who have been detained including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and swiftly restore Myanmar’s democratic political system”.
Motegi also “expressed serious concern with regard to China’s Coast Guard Law, and the four ministers concurred to strongly oppose unilateral and forceful attempts to change the status quo in the context of the East and South China Sea”.
Payne’s statement did not directly mention China – with which Australia is seeking high-level dialogue – but said the group “reaffirmed our commitment to supporting an open, inclusive and resilient region where the rights of all countries are respected and disputes are resolved peacefully, free from coercion, and in accordance with international law”.
Payne said the group had “discussed the importance of deepening our cooperation to address climate change” – something that is known to be a Biden administration priority.
Updated
The auditor general has warned smaller government agencies may only be audited once every 20 years due to Coalition cuts of $6.4m from its annual budget.
Grant Hehir, whose agency uncovered the $27m overspend on land at Western Sydney airport and proved partisan allocation of $100m in sports grants, gave the evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into the Australian National Audit Office on Friday.
ANAO officials revealed that the ratio of senior staff overseeing financial audits had dropped below industry benchmarks. Hehir said this had resulted in increased risk and he would be “uncomfortable” making further cutbacks on financial audits.
Hehir wrote to the Morrison government ahead of the October budget seeking funding to deliver 48 performance audits a year.
The budget contained no extra funding for the ANAO, and continued cuts that the ANAO estimate has amounted to a cut of $6.4m in its annual appropriation since 2013-14, or 8.5%. The number of performance audits is now expected to fall to 36.
Given general government expenditure has increased 68.3%, the ANAO found that its appropriation as a percentage of government spending has fallen by more than 50% over 10 years.
Hehir told the joint committee of public accounts and audit that the ANAO provides “bang for buck” but it was hard to quantify savings to government because audits improve performance across the whole public service.
Read more:
WA is now officially home to the world's biggest dam mural - with the stunning artwork that we commissioned at Wellington Dam now complete.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) February 19, 2021
The pictures look great, but take it from me - this is something you've got to see in person.
Get down to the South West and check it out. pic.twitter.com/Bk90oFNOp4
Australia's retail trade up by 0.6% in January
Relatively high confidence among shoppers and the continued drop in the unemployment rate saw modest retail spending growth in the first few weeks of 2021, AAP reports.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ preliminary figures for retail trade in January showed a 0.6% increase, coming off a 4.1% drop in December.
“There continues to be variations in retail sales between states and territories, as Covid-19 restrictions are tightened or eased in different parts of the country,” the bureau’s Ben James said.
All states and territories rose in January, except Queensland (-1.5%), where a three-day lockdown impacted trade.
Recording a one per cent rise, NSW led the increases as restrictions that began in December were eased during January.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said Queensland would likely rebound in February. “But with both WA and Victoria implementing their own mini lockdowns in February, there will be more disruptions ahead,” he said.
CommSec’s Craig James said super-low interest rates, job gains and job confidence together with the closure of foreign borders and stimulus payments were encouraging people to spend at local businesses.
However, he said there were mixed results across industry sectors. Food retailing led the rises, up 1.8% following a 1.7% fall in December 2020.
“The rises were partially offset by falls in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, household goods retailing, and department stores, which were industries impacted by a three-day lockdown in Brisbane,” he said.
Updated
News Corp executives have promised to make inquiries into concerns aired during a Senate inquiry that Sky News presenter Lauren Southern had promoted the “great replacement” theory.
The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said during questioning that Southern had produced a viral YouTube video in 2017 on the great replacement – the claim that white people were subject to an orchestrated “Great Replacement” by means of non-white immigration.
Speaking under the protection of parliamentary privilege, Faruqi added: “I’m wondering why News Corp has on its payroll a person who promoted a conspiracy theory that ended up inspiring the Christchurch terrorist.”
Michael Miller, the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, said he was not familiar with the video.
Miller said while he was in favour of free speech, there was “no place for hate speech” and he would take the question on notice.
What you are suggesting does concern me.
Later in the hearing, Faruqi asked if Miller’s enquiries “prove Lauren Southern did promote the great replacement theory which inspired a terrorist who killed 51 innocent Muslims, will you take this person off your payroll?”
Miller said:
I’d be considering it. I’d have to discuss it and understand the issue, but if I could take that on notice as well – I have to understand the issue. It concerns me what you’ve said and I take it very seriously.
Southern responded to the comments in parliament by tweeting that her video did not inspire any shooting, “the Christchurch shooter never watched my content and I was not named in the [royal commission] report once”.
She added that she would take legal action. It’s not clear what form that action would take since Faruqi’s comments are protected by parliamentary privilege.
Not only did my video not inspire any shooting, the Christchurch shooter never watched my content and I was not named in the report once
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 19, 2021
I will be taking legal action. https://t.co/z18tJzMviV
Updated
Police in Queensland have provided some more information about the siege that ended in Brisbane earlier.
Acting inspector Michelle Piket said there had been a “peaceful resolution” to the standoff that began shortly after 10am on Thursday and ended shortly after 12pm today.
Piket said a 36-year-old man is now assisting police with inquiries, and that a woman and three-year-old child located at the residence of the stand-off are safe and well, and that they were known to the man.
She said the exclusion area that had been closed off around the south Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank has now been lifted and that residents are free to move around.
Police are yet to make any charges in relation to the incident.
Earlier, police denied that shots had been fired at the siege, AAP reported.
Cracks and bangs were heard in the area on Friday morning with some media reporting the sounds as possible gunshots.
However police said those news reports of shots being fired were incorrect, and that a series of loud noises heard in the area were from an unknown origin and were not related to the incident.
The 36-year-old man was known to police and they have visited the home before.
Heavily armed officers in camouflage outfits and helmets were manning barricades around the area they have cordoned off on Friday morning.
Queensland Ambulance Service said paramedics were also on standby as negotiations with the man continued.
Updated
The South Australian government has been rocked by a Liberal MP’s shock resignation in the early hours of Friday when he announced he was being charged by the state’s anti-corruption body.
The office of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption confirmed on Friday it had formally charged Fraser Ellis, the member for Narungga, with 23 counts of deception, relating to 78 fraudulent claims over the alleged misuse of a travel allowance totalling more than $18,000.
The details were revealed in a statement by the commissioner, Ann Vanstone, after Ellis rose in state parliament at just after 2am to announce that he had been charged.
It will be alleged that between 13 May 2018 and 12 June 2020, Mr Ellis made 78 fraudulent claims for the Country Members Accommodation Allowance, totalling more than $18,000.
The Country Members Accommodation Allowance is available to Members of Parliament whose usual place of residence is more than 75 kilometres from Adelaide, and who are required to stay in Adelaide overnight to attend to Parliamentary or other relevant duties. It will be alleged that Mr Ellis claimed the allowance for nights he did not spend in Adelaide.
His resignation plunges the Liberals, led by the premier, Steven Marshall, into minority government, though Ellis is expected to continue to provide support from the crossbench.
Read more:
Updated
A few extracts from exchanges from the Senate media inquiry that’s continuing in Canberra:
Why are some politicians fearful of Rupert Murdoch?
Michael Miller, the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, “That’s a question for them.”
Why does Rupert Murdoch summons future PMs to his residence in New York?
He doesn’t summons future PMs.”
Why do leaders of both major parties visit Rupert Murdoch in NY?
You’ll have to ask them those questions.”
Has Rupert Murdoch ever spoken to you about his political views?
“I haven’t spoken to Rupert in months,” Miller replies, adding that the pair had spoken about the politics and economics of Australian but “we don’t make it a regular conversation”.
Campbell Reid, a News Corp group executive and long-time editor adds:
Very occasionally you’ll get a phone call or a contact from Rupert and he’ll overwhelmingly be asking to understand something that’s occurring in the country.
Updated
Brisbane siege ends, man taken into custody
Police in Queensland have taken a man into custody following a siege that began in Brisbane on Thursday.
Police announced the end to the siege at about 12:20pm local time.
Police have taken a man into custody without incident, further details to follow.
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) February 19, 2021
More details are expected to be made public shortly.
Earlier on Friday, police denied that shots have been fired at a siege involving an armed man, a woman and possibly a boy at a home in southern Brisbane, AAP reported.
The stand-off began at the duplex near Banoon train station at Sunnybank about 11am on Thursday.
The armed man is understood to be related to the woman he’s holding but police won’t confirm reports he’s also holding a five-year-old boy.
Cracks and bangs were heard in the area on Friday morning with some media reporting the sounds as possible gunshots.
Police say those news reports of shots being fired are incorrect.
A series of loud noises heard in the area are from an unknown origin and are not related to this incident.
The man is known to police and they have visited the home before.
Heavily armed officers in camouflage outfits and helmets were manning barricades around the area they have cordoned off on Friday morning.
Queensland Ambulance Service said paramedics were also on standby as negotiations with the man continued.
Updated
Tasmania lifts quarantine rule for Victorians
Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein has just announced that his state will reopen its borders to Victorians, meaning travellers from Victoria will not have to quarantine upon arrival.
The changes will take effect from 12:01am Saturday (tomorrow), when Tasmania will designate Victoria as a low risk area.
However anyone who has visited an exposure site in Victoria will not be able to enter Tasmania.
Gutwein said people who have arrived in Tasmania from Victoria on or after 13 February and have been quarantining, will be contacted by public health officials and told they can leave isolation.
Gutwein said he was sorry for the inconveniences his border policy has caused, but said: “I will not apologise for doing everything we possibly can to keep Tasmanians safe.”
Updated
News Corp executives have denied that their organisation engages in “character assassination” as argued by Kevin Rudd at the Senate media inquiry.
They have also accused Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull of blaming News Corp for their own political failures.
The chair of the committee, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, asked whether News Corp accepted Rudd’s comments that there was an “organised coalition between the Murdoch empire and the carbon lobby” against climate action.
Michael Miller, the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, said that was “an assumption and position put by others”.
Miller said Rudd and Turnbull had chosen to blame Murdoch for their failure to persuade their colleagues and parliament of sensible climate policy, which he described as a “convenient diversion for their own failings”.
Miller accepted, however, that “Australians expect more from companies” when it comes to taking climate action and he had explained to staff that “we need to do more in this area”.
Hanson-Young asked whether the rejected the claim News Corp engaged in character assassinations.
Miller said the real issue was “trolls” and “nameless people” on social media who did not back up statements of claim. Miller said:
I’d say that character assassinations if there are any out there are happening on social media, and I’ve felt that first hand ... I disagree with the word assassination. We ask tough questions.
Hanson-Young asked about the meaning of the Herald Sun headline “Dictator Dan”.
“That he’s telling Victorians how to live … and Victorians weren’t happy about it,” Miller replied, noting that Leigh Sales of the ABC had asked Daniel Andrews about his handling of Covid-19 at a press conference this week.
Hanson-Young asked if it was Twitter trolls that went after the former Australian Human Rights Commission head, Gillian Triggs.
News Corp’s Campbell Reid replied:
It’s not character assassination to closely examine the actions of people in public life. I think at that time Gillian Triggs’ actions were supported by many people and questioned by many people … I regard that as tough scrutiny, I don’t regard that as character assassination.
Updated
Thanks for taking us through the earlier part of the day Matilda.
I’m Elias Visontay, and I’ll be taking you through the rest of the day.
If you see anything you think I should be aware of, you can get in touch with me via Twitter @EliasVisontay, via email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com, and Wickr at eliasvisontay.
And with that, I might leave you in the capable hands of Elias Visontay who will guide you through the rest of the day.
A number of Melbourne suburbs are on high alert today after Covid-19 fragments were found in the waste water.
They are:
- Boronia and Wantirna from 13 to 15 February, including parts of Bayswater, Ferntree Gully, Knoxfield and Tremont.
- Carrum Downs or Langwarrin from 13 to 16 February, including parts of Skye.
- St Kilda East or Caulfield North from 13 to 16 February, including parts of Balaclava, Caulfield and Elsternwick.
Updated
The inimitable Daniel Hurst has been bringing us updates from the media diversity inquiry today, but if you are keen to know more you can read his full report below:
An exclusive from Anne Davies:
A senior staff member in Liberal MP Craig Kelly’s office continues to work in his role despite multiple young women – some as young as 16 – coming forward to NSW police to allege inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, including an instance of unwanted touching, and despite an apprehended violence order being granted in one case.
In September last year police from Sutherland, in Sydney’s southern suburbs, successfully sought an AVO against Kelly’s longtime office manager, Frank Zumbo, whose job included hiring and managing interns and work experience staff.
The proceedings were reported in the local St George Shire Standard in July and September last year and Guardian Australia understands they relate to claims that Zumbo kissed a 16 or 17-year-old intern on the neck.
You can read the full story below:
Updated
Shortly after Kevin Rudd finished giving evidence, News Corp executives fronted the media diversity inquiry to argue that “democracy is messy” and relied on “the robust and open exchange of news, views and opinions and a recognition that all people have a right to hear a range of views”.
Michael Miller, the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, said:
On any given day you will hear people on the ABC highly critical of the views of people on News Corp platforms and those people will be firing back. This is not democracy failing, this is democracy working.
Miller contended that it was outdated to look at the media market through print figures, as Rudd did. Miller said sales of print newspapers had declined sharply and all established media companies have had to follow their audiences online, adding that “we are living in the most diverse news media marketplace in Australian history”.
He said the list of the top ten news websites in Australia “paints a picture of diversity, not monopoly”, with audience numbers biggest for the ABC followed by Nine News and then News Corp’s news.com.au.
The top 10 sites include three sites operated by Nine, two from News along with the sites of The Daily Mail and The Guardian, Seven News and Australian Community Media.
Miller said the Senate’s media diversity inquiry was itself “evidence of our nation’s embrace of free speech” – before taking a dig at Rudd.
A former prime minister’s objections to News Corp that mobilised his social media followers too is in large part why we are here. I respect the former PM’s right to hold his views. I suspect the problem might be that he only respects the views that agree with his.
Miller also rejected concerns about News Corp’s political influence, arguing election results showed the newspapers did not necessarily have the impact the critics say:
If the sloganeering had any truth the governments across the country would be the ones that editors decide are best and people would sing from one tune on the big issues. The absolute reverse is true.
Australia has nine federal, state and territory governments. Four are Coalition. Five are ALP. The latest Newspoll has the Federal ALP and Coalition sitting at 50 per cent each.
What this says is Australians are smart people. They make up their own minds about what media they consume, who they back politically and what they feel about the big issues.
Updated
Brisbane siege enters a second day
A Queensland police spokeswoman has just fronted media to give an update on this Brisbane siege situation.
For “operation reasons” Acting Inspector Michelle Piket couldn’t answer many of the questions but the general gist was that the situation is ongoing, no one has been injured so far, and police are still trying to achieve a peaceful outcome.
Police attended an incident early yesterday morning, and as a result specialist police have been engaged, and are currently on scene...
Police are hoping for a peaceful resolution and a safe outcome for all and we are currently working towards achieving that as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
There has been unconfirmed reports of a series of large loud bangs in the area. This is unrelated to this matter and speculation around this isn’t helpful in us achieving a suitable outcome.
She couldn’t confirm if the armed man had been cooperating with police if other people were still being held inside the home, or give an estimate of how much longer the situation might go on for.
The siege has now been going on for over 24 hours.
Updated
Just back to comments from Gladys Berejiklian and her “penalties” v “incentives” debate on encouraging people to get vaccinated.
The NSW premier says she hasn’t decided whether to enforce it with a public health order.
I have overwhelming confidence that sufficient numbers of people who work in our quarantine system or have the potential to work in the quarantine system will be vaccinated.
While those who decline a vaccine won’t be punished, Berejiklian conceded they may be overlooked for ongoing employment in the hotel quarantine system. She would “watch and see” before deciding on whether to mandate hotel quarantine worker vaccination in a public health order.
These are the men and women who are on the frontline every day protecting the rest of us and I think it’s only fair that people who are in that situation are offered the vaccines first...
My strong preference is that people who have the vaccine are the ones who work in the quarantine system – there are thousands of people from whom we can make sure that’s the case.
That allows us to move forward and reduce the risk for everybody.
Updated
NSW recorded no new locally acquired and two overseas-acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,956. pic.twitter.com/fvv4SIvXHs
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) February 19, 2021
So a few of these “Facebook Top Ten” lists are published each day, but since the platform banned all traditional news content on the site it’s interesting to see what has risen to fill the void.
In this case, it seems to be news adjacent satire pages.
The top-performing link posts by Australian Facebook pages on 18 Feb were from:
— FacebookTop10AU (@FacebookTop10AU) February 18, 2021
1. The Chaser
2. Betoota Advocate
3. Betoota Advocate
4. Betoota Advocate
5. Ozzy Man Reviews
6. The Chaser
7. Betoota Advocate
8. Betoota Advocate
9. The Chaser
10. Betoota Advocate
Back to the South Australia Icac situation, Premier Steven Marshall is speaking now.
Backbencher Fraser Ellis suspended his membership of the Liberal party while he is investigated by the anti-corruption watchdog, pushing the party into a minority government.
Marshall would not comment on the investigation today:
I’m not going to comment on the charges. His made it clear that he will be suspending his membership of the Liberal party. He is not a member of the Liberal party. I’m just getting on with the important jobs that are in front of us at the moment.
The premier said Ellis would not be nominated as a Liberal candidate in the next election.
You can’t be a candidate if you aren’t a member of the party and Fraser Ellis isn’t a member. He is suspended, he suspended his membership.
Updated
An update on the siege situation at a home in southern Brisbane.
Police have denied that shots have been fired at the incident, which involves an armed man, a woman and possibly a boy.
Cracks and bangs were heard in the area on Friday morning with some media reporting the sounds as possible gunshots.
Police told AAP those news reports of shots being fired are incorrect.
A series of loud noises heard in the area are from an unknown origin and are not related to this incident.
The standoff began about 11am on Thursday at a house near the Banoon train station at Sunnybank.
The armed man is understood to be related to the woman he’s holding but police won’t confirm reports he’s also holding a five-year-old boy.
The man is known to police and they have visited the home before.
Updated
We have been speaking a fair bit today about these text messages that allegedly show a Liberal staffer talking to Brittany Higgins after she was allegedly raped inside a ministerial office, discussing how he would help her and speak to another staffer from the prime minister’s office about the situation.
These texts are important as the prime minister has repeatedly stated that no one from his office was aware of the alleged rape until earlier this week. After this report, Morrison remained firm that he knew nothing about the allegations, and was told that everyone in his office was also unaware. He said there would be an inquiry into exactly who knew what and when.
This was reported by News.com.au politician editor Samantha Maiden, and have not been independently verified by Guardian Australia. She published screenshots of the text conversation on Twitter this morning.
NEW: Text messages Brittany Higgins says prove Prime Ministers’s office knew @newscomauHQ https://t.co/4qsJIG84I8 pic.twitter.com/pWXoeguRff
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) February 18, 2021
Flags in NSW are being flown at half-mast to honour Cobar mayor, Lilliane Brady, who is being farewelled with a state funeral in her central western town, reports the AAP.
Brady, the town’s beloved and feisty matriarch, was the state’s longest-serving female mayor when she died earlier this month at the age of 90.
She was renowned for her no nonsense approach and dogged fundraising for those in her 4,000 strong community, as well as a contempt for bureaucracy during her nearly 23 years as mayor.
She sat on the local council for 40 years and planned to retire in September.
Her funeral service will take place at Drummond park in Cobar today.
Updated
Hostage negotiators were on Friday morning continuing efforts to persuade an armed man holed up in a Brisbane property since Thursday morning to surrender.
Police say the standoff at the property, near Banoon train station in Sunnybank, started about 11am on Thursday.
They won’t confirm media reports the man is holding a five-year-old child hostage but said on Thursday evening there were a number of people still in the home.
The man is known to police and officers have visited the location before.
“Police are concentrating on coming to a peaceful resolution to the incident,” acting inspector Mick Ackery said. “Specialist police are making all attempts to engage with the person in the house.”
You can read the full report below:
Updated
And now to the question nagging at the minds of Guardian readers: how are the share prices of Australian media companies faring during the Facebook news ban?
It’s a bit of a mixed bag. Shares in Nine Entertainment, which in addition to its TV network owns the former Fairfax mastheads (the Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Financial Review) fell 4.66% yesterday, and are down another 0.56% in early trade this morning.
Another TV network with print interests, Seven West Media, which owns the West Australian and WA regional mastheads, rose 1.89% yesterday but this morning has almost gone back to where it was before Faceaggedon, dropping 1.39% in trade so far.
Its regional affiliate, Prime Media Group, shed 3.7% yesterday and is flat in early trade today.
Australia’s biggest media outlet, News Corp, dropped just 0.57% yesterday and the same so far today.
But Southern Cross Media, which owns the Triple M and Hit radio networks as well as regional TV broadcasting, fell 4.9% yesterday and is off another 2.15% this morning.
These kinds of rises and falls aren’t even particularly unusual in the media sector, which is turbulent at the best of times.
And some of the media companies that, anecdotally at least, rely the most on Facebook traffic, such as Daily Mail Australia, aren’t listed anyway.
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Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, seems pretty confident that theses three news cases pose no infection threat to the public.
The three cases are from the same family. Two parents and a child. Two members of that family were previous residents of level three at the Holiday Inn at Tullamarine airport and were primary contacts for that particular outbreak.
One member of the household, who was not at the Holiday Inn, was considered a secondary contact and had been isolating from other family members. All three had negative tests – multiple negative tests between the 10th and 12th of February. All have been quarantining at home during their infectious periods.
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Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, is speaking now about these three new locally acquired cases.
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Prime minister Scott Morrison has again denied that he was made aware of the 2019 alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office until earlier this week.
News.com.au reported this morning on a series of text messages from a Liberal party staffer telling Higgins about a conversation he had with a prime minister’s office staffer about the alleged rape on her behalf. This has not yet been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia.
Morrison:
I set out in the parliament this week the timetable of when I am advised my office knew about it. I knew about it on Monday.
It shattered me, did absolutely shattered me. The many ramifications of this but, frankly, the one that shattered me the most was just the sheer humanity of what has occurred here. That was deeply distressing, as I am sure it was for everybody when they were first confronted with this news.
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And inevitably questions have now turned to Facebook and the wiping of all news content for Australian users.
Morrison seems to be categorising the wiping of several key government and public health Facebook pages during the news blitz as “a threat”.
I would just say to Facebook, this is Australia. If you want to do business here, you work according to our rules.
The idea of shutting down the sorts of sites they did yesterday, as some sort of threat, I know how Australians react to that and I thought that was not a good move on their part. They should move quickly past that, come back to the table and we will sort it out.
Our record as a government is resolve. We have demonstrated that before. I have worked with other organisations before, threats are made and that is not a good way to deal with this government.
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In case you were curious, Morrison says he will be getting vaccinated “very, very soon.”
This is, in part, to raise public confidence that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective.
He says NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian will be getting the AstraZeneca jab for the same reason.
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Frydenberg and Zuckerberg have spoken this morning
So treasurer Josh Frydenberg has spoken to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg again this morning and ... well it doesn’t seem like much has changed.
Today I had a further conversation with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) February 18, 2021
We talked through their remaining issues & agreed our respective teams would work through them immediately. We’ll talk again over the weekend.
I reiterated Australia remains committed to implementing the code.
They talked through the issues and agreed their teams would now work through them.
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So a lot of the questions this press conference are surrounding when we are going to get approval from the TGA for the domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccine.
Now that might seem a bit confusing since we got approval for this drug earlier in the week but, actually, that was only for the AstraZeneca doses we are importing from overseas.
So although CSL in Melbourne is pumping out doses at an impressive rate, we are going to have to wait a bit longer before we can use them.
Morrison says this approval could come next month:
Prof Skerritt outlined that on Monday and that is in his hands. We hope that will occur next month.
At this point, that is completely in their hands. I can assure you I won’t be doing anything that would seek to place any undue pressure on them going through the proper medical process that they should follow. That is so important.
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So Berejiklian has expanded on those possible “incentives” and they ... well, they honestly sound very similar to the penalties.
That will be up to private organisations. I presume airlines might say they would want people vaccinated when they are going on international flights.
There could be some hospitality venues that may be able to ease restrictions further if patrons are vaccinated. There is a range of options. I don’t want to speculate.
Rather than penalising people who don’t get the vaccine, we should be considering incentives. It may not be government-led.
I mean at least offer them a “I’m vaccinated” bumper sticker!
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NSW could offer incentives for getting the Covid-19 vaccine
Berejiklian has been asked how the state will approach the vaccine rollout. She said she wasn’t sure that penalising people who opt not to receive that vaccine would be the way to go but said she would consider offering incentives.
I’m completely happy and comfortable for there to be incentives for people to take the vaccine. I think that’s a positive way to do it rather than penalise people who don’t take the vaccine, I’d like incentives for people who do take the vaccine.
I know there are a minority in the community who don’t feel it’s good for the community but the vast majority of residents will welcome the vaccine’s arrival and appreciate what it can do in our fight against Covid.
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Morrison has been asked if international border will open once the vaccine roll out is complete.
I’ve always been confident about taking one step at a time when it comes to managing the virus. I’m confident that as we move through the vaccination process, we can significantly change how things are down here in Australia and the very suggestion you’ve made is very possible but I have never got ahead of myself on this, on the science.
I think it is a reasonable expectation that as time goes on, as the vaccination rolls out across the world and here in Australia, you should rightly expect that things will change and how we manage the virus. Why? Because the risk of someone getting seriously ill is addressed.
There are plenty of viruses that are dealt with here each and every day. And we don’t have the sort of controls that we have in place to protect against those virus in the community that we do for Covid so I think you can expect to see that normalise as time goes on.
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Kevin Rudd has told the Senate’s media diversity he was fearful of the Murdoch press throughout his prime ministership and that fear only ended when he left politics.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege at Parliament House in Canberra, Rudd said everyone in Australian politics was frightened of Rupert Murdoch, arguing that the “Murdoch mob” was seeking “compliant politicians”.
Rudd said politicians were fearful of facing a “systematic campaign”.
Everyone’s frightened of Murdoch. They really are. There’s a culture of fear across the country.
He said the unspoken word about Murdoch in Parliament House “is it’s not in your personal political interests ever to go after Rupert Murdoch or Lachlan Murdoch because they’ll get ya.”
Rudd said this culture of fear about the Murdoch media monopoly was “just dead wrong for any democracy”.
The truth is as prime minister I was still fearful of the Murdoch media beast.
When did I stop being fearful? Probably when I walked out of the building in 2013.
Rudd said he had had many discussions with Malcolm Turnbull over this culture of fear in recent times.
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Berejiklian and prime minister Scott Morrison are in NSW today to announce which hospitals will begin the vaccine roll out process in the state.
Berejiklian says Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney will be one of the first hospitals to get doses of the jab:
We are all extremely pleased and excited that the vaccine rollout will commence on Monday here in New South Wales and RPA will be one of three hundreds [medical centres] where, within the course of three weeks, 35,000 frontline workers in quarantine and throughout our health system will receive a vaccination.
Morrison hasn’t missed an opportunity to compliment his Liberal sate counterpart:
The work that I’ve seen here is as impressive as anywhere you will find it believe around the world. I’ve said on many occasions I’ve never felt more proud to be an Australian but I’m very proud of my home state too.
I’ve got to say, Gladys. The leadership you’ve shown, together with Brad and the whole team, but particularly the health professionals and workers here in New South Wales, have done, I’ve got to say, I think, the best job in the world.
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Hello all Matilda Boseley here, thank you so much to Josh Taylor for holding the fort.
NSW premier Glady Berejiklian has just stepped up to speak alongside the prime minister, I’ll bring you all the updates shortly.
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Greens co-deputy leader Larissa Waters has said she will move to set up an independent inquiry into how Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape was handled by the government.
I will move this motion on Monday, to set up an independent inquiry into who knew what, when about Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape and the coverup of the bungled process that ensued. And how to make sure it never happens again. #auspol pic.twitter.com/8EjDj2w4VD
— Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) February 18, 2021
Kevin Rudd has also raised concern about the impact of the potential building of an “alternative political ecosystem out there on the far right”.
The former prime minister, appearing before the Senate inquiry into media diversity, asked the committee to play a video in which Sky News host Alan Jones interviewed a guest who promotes the conspiracy theory known as “the great reset”. In the video, played to the committee, the guest warns viewers of “a coup by the globalist elite” and that “this is our world war 3, it’s not the world war we expected”.
Rudd tells the committee he has seen how Murdoch’s Fox News in America had seen “the most unfounded conspiracy theories become gospel truth”. And he notes the storming of the US Capitol building on 6 January by Trump supporters who believed unfounded claims that the election had been stolen.
What I worry about in this country is that Sky News is becoming the vehicle for the Fox News-isation of Australia.
Rudd says it’s not just broadcast but the Sky News online presence “is huge”. He asks “what happens with this ecosystem” in Australia in the next five to 10 years.
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Kevin Rudd is rattling off his concerns about the Murdoch press to the Senate inquiry into media diversity.
He says that in the 19 most recent federal and state elections over the last decade, the Murdoch media “campaigned viciously for one side of politics” and against the other.
Rudd makes a generalised comment: “I believe monopoly has a real danger of encouraging over time corruption.”
He cites the “bad old days in Queensland” prior to the election of Wayne Goss in the early 1990s “where it’s a case of you scratch your back, I’ll scratch yours”.
Rudd says media monopolies also “destroy alternative media voices” and he is unhappy about a decision to shut down regional newspapers during the Covid-19 crisis last year. He says another reason to have a royal commission is “my deep and abiding concern for climate change”.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege, Rudd says Rupert Murdoch “is a climate change denialist”.
Since Rudd first introduced legislation for a price on carbon in 2009, Rudd says there has been “this rolling systematic campaign” against climate action. He cites an “organised coalition between the Murdoch empire and the carbon lobby”.
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South Australia's government forced into minority
South Australia’s first-term Liberal government has been forced into a minority government after MP Fraser Ellis suspended his Liberal party membership as a result of charges filed following an investigation of the state’s anti-corruption body.
ABC has reported Ellis told the parliament at 2am after a marathon debate and the passage of abortion legislation that he had been charged following the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) investigation into country members’ accomodation allowance.
Ellis has maintained his innocence, but repaid $42,130 he claimed under the scheme while staying in Adelaide.
He is suspending his membership of the Liberal party while the case he intends to fight proceeds, reducing the number of seats held by the party down to 23 out of 47.
Victoria names three hospitals to get first Pfizer vaccine doses
Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, has announced the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be delivered to frontline workers at three hospitals commencing next week, AAP reports.
Foley announced Austin Health, Monash Health and Western Health will be the first to deliver doses of the vaccine from Monday.
He said hotel quarantine workers, airport and port workers, high-risk frontline health staff and aged care staff and residents will be first in line for the jab.
“Our priority is to support the commonwealth to make sure that the vaccine is administered to workers at the highest risk of contracting Covid-19 as quickly and safely possible,” Foley said in a statement on Friday.
“Whether they work in hotel quarantine, at the airport or a specialist Covid ward – we need to keep Victorians most at risk of infection safe, while they continue to keep Victorians safe.”
The vaccine will be administered at dedicated hospital facilities, in hotel quarantine settings, at Melbourne airport and through mobile outreach teams.
The federal government has allocated 12,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Victoria in the first week of the program.
About 59,000 doses are expected in the first four weeks.
Two doses of the Pzifer vaccine are required at least three weeks apart and it must be stored and transported at -70C.
Rhonda Stuart from Monash Health told reporters earlier this month the hospital had two freezers “ready and waiting” to store up to 180,000 doses.
Six other hospitals will also become vaccination hubs as more doses become available. They are Albury-Wodonga Health, Ballarat Health, Barwon Health, Bendigo Health, Goulburn Valley Health and Latrobe Health.
Foley said the Barwon Health hub will begin its public sector residential aged care program next week, “trialling an outreach model to be implemented across regional Victoria”.
Barwon Health will also vaccinate port of entry workers in Portland, in the state’s south-west.
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Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has begun giving evidence to the Senate inquiry into media diversity.
The inquiry, chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, is not quite the royal commission into the Murdoch media that Rudd has been campaigning for, but does give him a forum to raise his concerns about media concentration in Australia.
Rudd, appearing before the Senate environment and communications reference committee, introduces himself as “Kevin Michael Rudd, former prime minister of Australia, citizen of the commonwealth”.
“The reason I’m here, senators, is because more than half a million Australians signed a petition,” he says, noting that’s “quite a large number”.
He says the site crashed multiple times shortly after the e-petition opened. Rudd says the petition is “a big call from the Australian people” to look deeply and carefully at media diversity – for future of democracy.
He says the Murdoch media has sought to discredit his position.
Rudd still wants a royal commission. It should look not just at the Murdoch monopoly but also the emerging monopolies of Google and Facebook, he says.
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Kidd was asked whether the government was sticking to the timetable for all Australians to be vaccinated by October, because that would mean we would have one of the fastest vaccination rollouts in the world. He said we are sticking to the current timetable:
Yes. So we’re not changing the time frame at all. And, yes, this is the largest mass immunisation program we’ve ever had in Australia. But Australia, of course, has been doing incredibly well at so many levels throughout this pandemic, and we do expect to be able to roll out the vaccine.
As you know, we’ll be rolling it out initially through hubs which have been set up by the states and territories to vaccinate those initial frontline workers in healthcare, quarantine and the borders. But we will be using our extensive network in Australia of places where people normally get vaccines – our general practices, our pharmacies.
And, of course, in addition, we have this flying squad of 500 nurse immunisers who will be travelling right across the country, delivering the vaccine to residents and staff of aged care facilities and disability facilities. So, huge logistics behind us but we have a very tried and tested system for immunising our population, and that’s what we’re utilising.”
He indicated we would be able to keep up with other countries, with regards to supply of syringes and phials, too.
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Hi there, Josh Taylor taking over for Matilda for a little while.
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd is on ABC News Breakfast at the moment, and he was asked about the three new cases in Victoria. He noted they were isolating, and said we should wait for the daily update from Victoria later this morning.
On Facebook pulling news in Australia just before the vaccine rollout commences in Australia, Kidd says people should seek out information on the vaccine from a wide variety of sources:
80% of Australians, at least, are intent on getting the vaccine at the moment, and a number of other people are still wondering or wavering. And it’s very important that people get as much information as they can so that they can make an informed decision.
So, yes, access to social media sites, the health.gov.au website, the sites for the states and territories, is very important. But also if people need to talk to somebody, talk to your trusted medical adviser, talk to your GP about the vaccine, and get their advice about whether it’s appropriate and safe for you.
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So that means the Holiday Inn cluster has grown to 22, but also it’s worth noting that a dribble of new cases was always expected by health authorities.
A huge number of people have been placed in two weeks of isolation across Melbourne and Victoria, and as long as the positive cases stick to that group who have been safely out of the public during their infectious period there notionally shouldn’t bee too much risk to Victoria’s lockdown-free status.
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Three locally acquired Covid-19 cases in Victoria
Victoria recorded three locally acquired cases of Covid-19 on its first day out of lockdown, but the department was quick to confirm that all have been directly linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak “and have been quarantining at home during their infectious period.”
Yesterday there were 3 local cases reported and 0 in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested: 21,292 test results were received. #EveryTestHelps. More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W #COVID19Vic #Covid19VicData pic.twitter.com/opcvwvhfSJ
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 18, 2021
Hobart’s popular winter festival Dark Mofo will return this year but organisers say its long-term future is uncertain, AAP reports.
The solstice event will be held in a shortened format from 16-22 June after it was called off in 2020 due to coronavirus.
Dark Mofo has previously courted controversy for installing inverted Christian crosses at the Hobart waterfront and using a bull carcass and blood in a performance piece.
The festival is dropping all sponsorship because of its “detrimental effect” and so it can pursue a “cultural agenda free from restraint”.
This year is the last of Dark Mofo’s five-year funding agreement with the state government, while Hobart City Council has withdrawn financial support.
Creative director Leigh Carmichael made the announcement:
It’s with some trepidation that we announce Dark Mofo will descend in 2021 ... Our patrons will be pleased to know they can expect a typically grim and gloomy affair.
While our future is a little uncertain, we are optimistic that there is enough gunpowder in the barrel to propel us into 2022.
The event program will be revealed in April.
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Anthony Albanese has come out hard against Facebook this morning, telling the internet giant to “grow up” after they blocked all news content to Australian users.
Albanese:
Well, quite clearly, Facebook’s behaviour has been reprehensible. The idea that you block emergency service sites and others is quite shocking.
It’s not in Facebook’s interests either, it must be said. They’ve done a great deal of damage to their reputation. And businesses rely upon their reputation.
So, I’d say it’s in Mr Zuckerberg’s interests, and Facebook’s interests, to basically grow up, to accept that governments have a right to determine the regulatory framework in which businesses operate.
They need to recognise as well that the basic principle which people are talking about achieving here – that people be paid for news content – is a reasonable principle if we’re going to keep journalism going in this country.
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Albanese was then asked if the Australia public should take the prime minister’s word that his office was not aware of the alleged rape until recently.
The opposition leader wasn’t convinced:
Well, it’s just not credible. And they would say that, wouldn’t they?
And, frankly, I believe Brittany Higgins when it comes to the incident and tragedy. She’s been incredibly brave in coming forward. And, as a result, of course, pays a price.
It would have been an incredibly difficult week for Ms Higgins. And she deserves, at the very least, the respect of straightforward answers about who knew what, when, and what the response was, and why it was so inadequate.
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Albanese say it is 'incomprehensible' that the PM's office wasn't aware of the alleged Higgins assault
The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, says it is “beyond belief” that the prime minister’s chief of staff was unaware of the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins. The prime minister has claimed no one in his office was aware.
Albanese is speaking to ABC News Breakfast now:
Here you have text messages clearly indicating that it was raised with the prime minister’s office, and the response from the prime minister’s office saying that he would raise it with the chief of staff. And, frankly, it’s beyond belief that it wouldn’t then be raised with the chief of staff, at least.
This occurs in April of 2019. Of course, two weeks after the reported sexual assault. But, of course, also one month before the federal election was held. And it’s just incomprehensible that the prime minister’s office, given a reported sexual assault had occurred 50m from his office, wouldn’t have then had a discussion about handling the issues, and about what needed to be done in terms of a response.
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On Brittany Higgins, the department which oversees Parliament House has confirmed incident reports after the alleged sexual assault of the former Liberal staffer 2019 were not handed to police until two weeks after the incident.
Guardian political editor Katharine Murphy and reporter Christopher Knaus confirmed the security incident report from the Department of Parliamentary Services was withheld initially from the Australian federal police, despite multiple requests, and was only provided after the police escalated inquiries.
News.com.au have also reported this morning on a series of text messages from a Liberal party staffer telling Higgins about a conversation he had with a prime minister’s office staffer about the alleged rape on her behalf. This has not yet been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia.
We can expect Scott Morrison, who has insisted he wasn’t told about the rape allegation until the story broke on Monday morning, to get questioned about this.
You can read Katharine Murphy and Christopher Knaus’s full report below:
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Josh Frydenberg was also asked about the alleged rape of Liberal staff Brittany Higgins.
The treasurer refused to be drawn into a discussion on whether he would have personally told the prime minister if it were his staff.
I know you’d like me to get into a series of hypotheticals. I wasn’t involved in that situation. What I do know is Linda Reynolds cares very deeply about this issue, about her staff and always being there for them and that’s what she tried to do through this process. But obviously she’s also made an apology because there was a sense that that support wasn’t provided.
Journalist:
Do you believe Brittany Higgins?
Frydenberg:
Of course, I believe Brittany Higgins and I also believe the prime minister and I also believe Linda Reynolds and I believe that the support needs to be provided to Brittany but also we need to improve the culture within Parliament House and that’s where our focus is.
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Treasurer to speak with Zuckerberg again this morning
The federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has just appeared on ABC News Breakfast and discussed his conversation with Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg yesterday.
We spoke yesterday morning but then we were subsequently in contact and we agreed to talk later this morning. We’ll see where those discussions go and we can find a pathway going forward.
Yesterday’s actions by Facebook were unnecessary. They were heavy-handed. They’ve generated a very strong reaction here in Australia and this code is going to be very important in terms of protecting Australia’s national interest but also protecting public interest journalism in this country.
This is about Australia’s sovereignty. We’re in a world where there has been a revolution in the digital economy. We’re conscious of that. That’s why we commissioned the ACCC to conduct this ground-breaking report. If this was so easy, Michael, other countries would have done it before, so we’re trying to succeed where they have failed.
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Good morning, Matilda Boseley here to see off the week with you.
If you see anything that you think I should be aware of or should be in the blog, send me a message on Twitter on @MatildaBoseley or email me on matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
I would suggest you share the blog on Facebook but ... oh wait, I guess that’s not an option anymore.
That’s the big news today, Facebook censoring all news content to all Australia users, and blocking Australian news content globally.
This was a response to the federal government’s proposed media code, which would force the platform to pay local media companies for content.
Scott Morrison is standing firm on the law. He made this statement on his Facebook page:
Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing.
These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of big tech companies, who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them.
They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.
This move from the internet giant has been slammed internationally, the chair of the UK’s digital and culture committee, Julian Knight, labelling it “crass” when talking with the ABC, and accusing the platform of “bullying”:
I think Facebook should be ashamed of their behaviour. And it’s turned the clock back several years in terms of relationships between governments around the globe and social media platforms.
On this issue, I think that we’re all in this together.
I think Australia is being singled out by Facebook so that effectively it can show the rest of the world that Facebook is willing to take unilateral action in the same way.
Well, with that why don’t we start the day? There is plenty to get through.
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