Summary
With that, we’ll be closing the blog for today. Thanks as always for reading. We’ll be back with the news as it happens, tomorrow morning.
Here is what happened today:
- A Sydney hotel quarantine worker was diagnosed with Covid-19, raising fears of further infections, as the state declared new hotspots on a range of public transport. Previously, NSW went 25 days without a locally-acquired case.
- Western Australian premier Mark McGowan said he would make a decision on the weekend about whether WA would still open its border to NSW, without quarantine, in light of the new case.
- Scott Morrison called for “open and regular dialogue” with the Chinese government in his first press conference after emerging from 14 days of quarantine.
- Firefighters waterbombed an ongoing bushfire on Fraser Island, which has so far burned more than half of the World Heritage-listed site. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said the fire could continue for another two weeks.
- The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, introduced a new surveillance bill to parliament, which would give ASD and police expanded powers. The president of the Law Council, Pauline Wright, has raised concerns, and said it should not be passed before the end of the year, with only four sitting days left.
- Labor is pushing for additional safeguards in the unrelated Asio bill, but made clear they would vote for the government’s bill.
- The army said it would investigate photos showing SAS soldiers drinking from a Taliban fighter’s prosthetic leg. Photos of the incident were exclusively published by Guardian Australia earlier this week.
- Labor launched an anti-racism strategy, and called for the government to do the same. The strategy would streamline the process to become a citizen, boosting the Adult Migration English Program, and set up a data program to better track ethnic and racial diversity in Australia.
- Hundreds of protesters marched through Sydney’s Martin Place to protest the Santos Narrabri Gas project.
Updated
If you have $10,000 in cold hard cash lying around, then have we got good news for you. The Morrison government has abandoned its plans to ban cash payments of $10,000 or more, after a Senate motion rejecting the plan.
First proposed in 2018 as a means to crack down on the black economy, the ban was unpopular in sections of the Liberal party due to its imposition on personal liberty.
The assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, said:
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on small business and the broader economy. As we progress through to the recovery stage, we recognise now is not the time to impose an additional burden on small business.
The government is implementing a number of measures to tackle serious organised crime, as well as increasing the resources of the serious and organised crime program – a cross-agency program of work comprising the ATO, commonwealth, state and territory policing, and other law enforcement agencies working to disrupt serious organised crime in Australia.”
One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts has claimed credit for the backdown. He said:
One Nation’s resolve and persistence to stand in defending the rights of everyday Australians has won the day. This is a fantastic win for all Australians, particularly rural and elderly Australians where the use of cash is still prevalent.”
Even the government’s own committee inquiry said that the bill was out of step with Australian values and was totally impractical.”
Updated
Army to investigate soldiers drinking from Taliban fighter's prosthetic leg
The defence department says an investigation has been launched into photos showing senior Australian special forces soldiers drinking out of a dead Taliban fighter’s prosthetic leg.
Photos of the incident were exclusively published by Guardian Australia earlier this week.
Updated
A few hundred people at the protest against Santos Narrabri Gas project marching through Martin Place Sydney, organised by Gamilaraay Next Generation pic.twitter.com/DJv3gdvlm9
— Laura Murphy-Oates (@lauramoates) December 3, 2020
Hundreds marched from Martin Place to Sydney Town Hall.
— Rachael Hocking (@Hocking_Rachael) December 3, 2020
They say "Sovereignty was never ceded" and "Santos can f*ck off" pic.twitter.com/ZXjeNSPdRi
Bernard Collaery, the lawyer who is facing jail for allegedly helping the whistleblower Witness K, has been awarded a British free speech prize.
Collaery, who is also a former ACT attorney general, is currently on trial for alleged breaches of national security laws as part of the Witness K case. Witness K, a former intelligence officer, revealed that Australia had bugged its ally Timor-Leste during oil and gas negotiations in 2004. Large parts of the case have been held in closed court.
Today Collaery was awarded the UK’s Blueprint for Free Speech’s international whistleblowing prize. He told AAP on Thursday:
It says something that Britain has to stretch out and it demonstrates that the Australian government is now under further international scrutiny.
As I have been saying for several years, long before this prosecution arose, there is a serious problem with respect to rule of law in our country.
Collaery will give the A$18,000 he won in prize money to his granddaughter Teal, a high school student.
However Ian Cunliffe, a lawyer and former head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s legal section, warned this money could be seized by the federal government. He told AAP:
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them take the view that these are proceeds of crime and that the money ought to be seized.
Updated
Activist group GetUp has criticised the new surveillance powers bill, introduced by home affairs minister Peter Dutton today.
It says it has delivered a petition with 115,000 signatures opposing the bill, which would expand Asio’s powers.
GetUp’s Chandi Bates said the laws were “a serious assault on our democracy and our civil liberties”. She said:
They still allow kids as young as 14 to be interrogated and guarantee more power and less accountability for Peter Dutton and his spy agency Asio.
Instead of doing more to protect whistleblowers and journalism, the Morrison government is pressing ahead with these laws that could see journalists jailed for refusing to give up their confidential sources.
We cannot let these laws be rammed through in the haste of parliament’s final sitting week. These are serious powers that need serious scrutiny in the Senate.
Updated
Hi all, Naaman Zhou here, taking over the blog. Thanks as always to Amy Remeikis.
Draft legislation released by treasurer Josh Frydenberg has left out some of the country’s largest underperforming funds from proposed super reforms.
Ben Butler has the story:
Updated
Naaman Zhou is standing by to take you through the evening shift, so I shall bid you a fond farewell. I’ll be back on Monday morning for the last week of parliament for 2020.
It’s hard to believe it’s here. This year has made every month feel like at least a year in itself, so much has happened it feels like a decade, and yet it also feels like it has motored by. But time is, after all, an arbitrary construct.
Thank you again. Take care of you.
Updated
Just to make clear on the Asio powers bill:
Even though Labor is pushing for additional safeguards – such as keeping a judge involved in signing off on compulsory questioning, rather than just leaving it up to the attorney general – the opposition is poised to vote for the government’s bill.
After Liberal chair Andrew Hastie tabled the PJCIS report this afternoon, Labor’s Mark Dreyfus stood up in parliament to make clear that the report from ALP members is not a dissenting report. Dreyfus said:
There is additional comment from Labor members – because Labor members of the intelligence committee support the passage of this bill and Labor will be supporting the passage of this bill.
There are seven recommendations in the report which Labor very much hopes the government will accept, because all of them will improve the safeguards that are necessary when this parliament legislates for powers that are as extensive as the power that is conferred on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation by this bill.
We would hope to see further changes made, and that’s what the additional comment by Labor members deals with. I say again: the Labor members’ recommendation to this parliament is that the bill should be supported by the parliament.
The word is that it’s likely to be debated next week, the final sitting week of the year.
Updated
Just a reminder that when Tony Abbott signed the China-Australia free trade deal in 2015, he said
What you have collectively done is history making for both our countries, it will change our countries for the better, it will change our region for the better... change our world for the better.”
His post parliament life also involves being a trade adviser to the UK.
So his comments we should be prepared to sacrifice the trade he signed us up to, is well, interesting.
Tony Abbott, the former prime minister who landed the China Australia free-trade agreement, has some thoughts on how Australia should now handle China, which he has written for the Daily Telegraph.
He now says Australia must be prepared to sacrifice trade with China to make the point Australia won’t bow to bullies.
He says Australia needs to continue doing what it is doing – and “calmly and carefully” continue to call out “China’s misbehaviour”.
From the op-ed:
Economically, we have to be ready for China to turn trade on and off like a tap, and to buy from others, even if their price and quality is inferior, because dictatorships are more than ready to inflict some extra costs on their people in order to score a political point.
They might succeed in making us a little poorer but we can never allow them to make us less free.
Still, our wine, seafood, dairy products, coal, gas and iron ore remain valuable and could readily enough be sold into other markets, especially those currently supplied by a future Chinese partner.
Strategically, we need to remember that the best way to keep the peace is to make the price of war too high, even for an aggressive bully.
Without exactly becoming the Israel of the Indo-Pacific, in our own right, we need the capacity to inflict unacceptable damage on any adversary. With our allies, we need China to appreciate that any attack on Taiwan, a liberal democracy of 25 million people, would have dire consequences.
Updated
Law Council calls for closer scrutiny of Asio bill
Further to Dan’s post, the Law Council has also raised its concerns over passing the latest national security bill too quickly:
Law Council president Pauline Wright says that a close inspection of the stated operational case, the criteria, thresholds and process for the issuance of warrants, and the arrangements for independent oversight and review, is needed.
Ms Wright said:
The bill should not, under any circumstances, be called on for debate and intended passage in the remaining four parliamentary sitting days in 2020.
There must not be any repetition of the regrettable circumstances that led to the rushed passage of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth), where multiple post-enactment reviews of that legislation identified a need for major amendments to fix numerous, serious defects.
Of particular concern is the issuing of disruption warrants by members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which the Law Council believes should be issued solely by superior court judges, who are appointed in their personal capacities.
The power to issue disruption warrants should not be conferred on ordinary AAT members, as is proposed in the bill. In this regard, Australia is already an outlier with our Five Eyes counterparts, all of whom have adopted judicial authorisation models for the issuance of surveillance warrants to their security agencies.
The bill will serve only to widen this gap.
Updated
Dave Sharma was asked about Mark McGowan’s warning he will consider the decision to reopen Western Australia’s border to NSW residents without quarantining, after NSW recorded a locally acquired case of Covid today, while chatting to the ABC:
Look, we had one case in NSW. There has been almost one month without any immunity transmission. They are doing genomic sequencing now and I am confident they will find the cause of the outbreak. I do not think we can have a situation where state premiers are opening and closing borders at short notice. It will cause immense disruption to people’s lives.
I have been speaking to people who had their flights to spend Christmas with their families in WA. Let’s keep things in perspective. It is one case.
Updated
Labor has formally raised concerns over the removal of a safeguard on the approval of compulsory questioning as part of the Asio powers bill - a sticking point revealed by Guardian Australia early last month.
As Amy mentioned, the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security has just tabled its report on the government’s Asio powers bill.
That’s the bill that drops the minimum age for compulsory questioning to 14 years, and expands the types of issues adults can be questioned about to include espionage and foreign interference.
The report includes “additional comments” from Labor members of the committee. That’s not technically a dissenting report, but indicates there were some gaps in the consensus that normally is the goal of the committee.
Labor raised a number of concerns, including whether the safeguards designed to protect children function as intended. It is also concerned about the framework for Asio to authorise internally the use of tracking devices.
Guardian Australia reported in early November that Labor was fighting to prevent the removal of a safeguard requiring Asio to get a judge’s approval when subjecting a person to compulsory questioning. Here’s what the Labor report says on that point:
Labor members do not support the repeal of the key safeguard that was created by the Howard government in 2003: the requirement that questioning warrants be issued by an independent issuing authority … The government has not provided sufficient justification for removing the Howard safeguard.
Labor backed the committee’s report, which includes passing the bill, but “further recommend that the bill be amended to retain the Howard safeguard”.
Updated
Fraser Island blaze water bombed with 14 aircraft
Firefighters are continuing an all-out aerial assault on a fire that has scorched more than half of the World Heritage-listed K’gari/Fraser Island, with more than 1.8m litres of water dropped onto the flames.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services’ chief superintendent, Matthew Bilow, told the Guardian the blaze had so far been kept out of rainforest areas and the Valley of the Giants, an area with significant cultural sites for the Butchulla Aboriginal people as well as towering trees more than 1,000 years old. He said:
We have 14 aircraft on the fire right now doing a lot of water bombing to try and suppress the fire.
Weather conditions were not helping, Bilow said, and with no significant rain forecast the fire could burn for another two weeks.
The focus was to steer the fire away from important cultural and ecological sites, he said, as well as saving the Kingfisher bay tourism resort, which is about 2km south of the main firefront.
On Wednesday, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Pałaszczuk, asked the state’s inspector general for emergency management, Alistair Dawson, to examine the response to the blaze, which is thought to have started when a campfire got out of control in mid-October.
Bilow said 90 personnel from QFES, Queensland’s parks service and the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation were fighting the fire, with 38 vehicles on hand.
An estimated 82,000 hectares had burned, he said, which was about half of the island.
Equipment had been brought in to try and widen the narrow sandy tracks to enable ground crews to access the fire.
Water-bombing planes and helicopters were dropping salt and freshwater onto the flames. By 7am Thursday, 1,867,200 litres of water had been dropped.
Bilow said:
The crews are doing a great job, but we certainly have not got it under control.
The next couple of days we have high fire dangers and from early next week the fire dangers get up to very high. Without significant rain on this fire, it’s going to be at least two weeks before it goes out.
Ecologists have said the fire could present a catastrophe for the island if rainforest areas not adapted to fire are affected.
Updated
Labor’s Richard Marles said his party would insist on the amendments passed by the Senate [on the foreign veto bill], moved by Rex Patrick, that was aimed at ensuring that the bill was not excluded from Administrative Appeals Tribunal process.
Marles called on Scott Morrison to “take some responsibility” for foreign relations.
“This legislation may ultimately be about assigning responsibility but leadership on the part of our prime minister is about taking responsibility and it’s time that he did just that.”
The Senate is dividing on that, but government is set to win this division, means it’ll head back to the Senate.
Intelligence committee seeks changes to Asio powers bill
The bipartisan committee on intelligence and security has taken a look at the latest Asio bill and recommended it pass, with a few changes:
The chair of the committee, Andrew Hastie MP, said:
The committee made a number of recommendations. In particular, and to ensure that the committee is able to carry out its oversight role appropriately, it has recommended that the bill be amended to allow the committee to request a written or oral briefing on any matter in relation to any questioning warrant as reported in the annual report prepared by the director general of Asio.
The committee takes its oversight role extremely seriously. The powers of Asio, or indeed any security agency, are not set and forget.
To provide a greater level of safety for children, the committee recommended that the bill 2020 should be amended to require the attorney general to take into account the best interests of the child as a primary consideration in deciding whether to issue a minor questioning warrant
In addition, the committee recommended that:
- The sunsetting time is reduced from 10 to five years;
- The committee may review the operation, effectiveness and implications of the questioning powers ahead of that sunset date; and
- A legal practitioner able to be appointed as a prescribed authority must have engaged in legal practice for at least 10 years and be a Queen’s counsel or a senior counsel.
Labor MPs are on this committee. Which most likely means it will get the support of Labor, if those recommendations are picked up.
Updated
The house is now considering the foreign veto power bill, because the Senate made a few technical amendments. The government is moving that those amendments be disagreed to (as in, it rejects the Senate changes). Labor’s Richard Marles said the foreign relations bill had been rushed to get a headline.
Those final amendments from the Senate are being debated now - it’s expected Labor’s amendments won’t pass.
The House has received a message from @AuSenate, returning the Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020 with amendments. Debate on these amendments is now underway. Streaming at https://t.co/eiKhtP6eyc
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) December 3, 2020
Updated
For those following this story:
"One family of four who have been stranded in Italy for more than five months after their commercial flight to Sydney was cancelled have been told by both the Northern Territory and federal governments they will have to pay $5,000" https://t.co/Xno22vnYEK
— david munk (@davidmunk) December 3, 2020
Chris Bowen is on the ABC talking about Australia’s vaccine timetable (to be distributed from March) and is asked if it needed to come sooner. He says that is up to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, but adds:
We’ve given bipartisan support to every step the government has taken. We haven’t called for the impossible. But I was pointing out months ago that other countries had agreements in place when Australia had none.
And when the prime minister said, ‘well, we’re doing really well, we’re first in the queue,’ I pointed out it just wasn’t true, and it isn’t true.
Now, let me stress: the process should work, the TGA should be given the time to do its job. I’m not calling for the TGA to do anything more quickly than what it’s proposing. They should take their time to do their job, as they see fit. They are the well-respected independent regulator. They have my full respect and support for any decisions they take.
But once they’ve approved the vaccine – whether it is the Pfizer vaccine first or, indeed, another one – it’s incumbent on the government to ensure access for Australians as soon as is possible to as many doses as possible.
Updated
Dan Tehan has released a statement on the government’s plan to develop a “long-term strategy” on international education:
The Council for International Education met today in Canberra. The council consists of six Morrison government ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities and international education experts and practitioners.
Minister for education Dan Tehan said:
At today’s meeting it was agreed that Australia must be ready to seize future opportunities by developing a new strategy for international education to chart a path for the international education sector for the next 10 years across education, research and training.
We must be prepared for more focus on offshore, online and blended learning, and a growth in new models of delivery, such as micro-credentials.
In 2019, Australia hosted more than 750,000 international students, which generated over $40.3 billion in export revenue and supported nearly 250,000 jobs nationally.
While Covid-19 has caused significant disruption to our international education sector, Australia remains a destination of choice for international students because of the high-quality of the education and lifestyle we offer, combined with our strong health response to the pandemic.
Australia’s latest economic data and the development of Covid vaccines are further reasons to be optimistic about the future of international education.
Updated
Murph, Paul and Daniel have taken a look at the wider implications of Scott Morrison’s downshift in language on China at his most recent press conference:
Scott Morrison has renewed his plea for “open and regular dialogue” with Beijing as he brushed off a decision by Chinese social media platform WeChat to censor his post about the growing rift between the two countries.
The Australian prime minister warned on Thursday that it was against China’s interest to maintain a freeze on high-level contact, after the German government joined the list of countries that have publicly backed Australia’s stand, and Joe Biden’s incoming national security adviser also pledged support.
It comes as the Senate passed the Morrison government’s proposed foreign veto laws that would give it the power to tear up Victoria’s belt and road deal with China – a step that could further inflame tensions with Beijing. It cleared the Senate with minor technical amendments and needs to go back to the lower house for approval.
Updated
Mark McGowan says a decision will be made on the weekend over whether Western Australia will still open its border to NSW residents, without the need to quarantine.
Mark McGowan: "If the Chief Health Officer recommends that we delay opening to New South Wales, then that is the decision we will make."
— Jacob Kagi (@kagij) December 3, 2020
Updated
Paul Karp has found the federation chamber debate Katie Allen raised following question time:
Here is the Julian Hill outburst in the fed chamber Katie Allen complained about. Called her an "arch Tory" for representing Higgins, accused her of laughing. Then withdrew unparliamentary language. #auspol pic.twitter.com/ZbkvfxEJq8
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) December 3, 2020
How Mike Bowers saw question time:
The light during question time has really been something this week.
Updated
For those who missed the news when posted earlier in the day (it’s been a busy day, so don’t feel bad), the sacred Djab Wurrung tress earmarked for destruction as part of a Victorian road project will be protected until the matter is heard by a court.
AAP has more detail:
A temporary ban on work near Ararat, in the state’s west, has been extended until February until a full legal challenge - a test of Aboriginal heritage protections - can be heard.
Djab Wurrung elder Marjorie Thorpe is trying to stop duplication works she says will damage six trees important for cultural heritage reasons and the surrounding area of significance.
Other sections of the duplication project have been completed but a 12.5km stretch of the highway - the main route between Melbourne and Adelaide - is being held up.
Victorian authorities say while the challengers have identified six trees of significance they have only earmarked one for removal.
Justice Jacinta Forbes said she accepted that a permanent injunction on any upgrade works was unlikely but noted more limited relief might be possible.
She agreed on Thursday to grant a temporary injunction until a supreme court trial expected to occur in February.
Forbes said there were a number of activities proposed by the state government and road authorities as not being caught up in a complete ban on road construction and associated works.
She said she would hear from lawyers regarding what activities would be covered by the injunction.
Updated
Australia’s airports are calling for aviation workers to be among the first Australians to receive Covid-19 vaccines “due to their exposure to a high number of passengers”.
The calls follow comments from Scott Morrison this morning explaining how coronavirus vaccines will be rolled out across Australia, in response to news out of the UK that a Covid-19 vaccine has been given final approval and its citizens could begin receiving vaccinations next week.
James Goodwin, chief executive of the Australian Airports Association, said the prime minister must also “make it clear whether a vaccine will be mandatory for those wanting to travel overseas and how it will be proven and recognised”.
Goodwin said:
We acknowledge health, emergency services workers and the vulnerable should be at the front of the queue but aviation workers must not be forgotten in the rollout of Australia’s vaccination program.
Airports are critical infrastructure and have been keeping international terminals open to help the government bring Australians home from overseas, highlighting the need for aviation workers to be prioritised for the vaccine.
As vaccines begin to roll out across the globe, the appetite for international travel will increase and aviation workers will need to be protected.
Goodwin also said the government should consider making vaccine doses available for people to purchase if they needed to go overseas before the vaccine program had been fully rolled out to the public.
Updated
Katie Allen just used the end of question time to raise something Labor’s Julian Hill said to her in the federation chamber.
Allen says she was misrepresented, and Hill was assigning characters to her because of her postcode – she is the MP for Higgins – and that it was class warfare.
Tony Smith stops her from going into detail – it is not part of the misrepresented motion practices – but says chamber staff have raised the issue with him, and he has seen the tape and is not happy.
Updated
The speaker reads a statement from Chris Hayes, the Labor MP for Fowler.
You may remember he collapsed in the Federation Chamber in the last sitting. He thanks the doctors in the house– Mike Freelander and David Gillespie – for their assistance, once again, as well as Tanya Plibersek, who stayed with him.
Hayes says his collapse has revealed a serious health issue, for which he will need heart surgery and will be taking a break. He also thanked the paramedics and staff at Canberra hospital.
Updated
Angus Taylor once again goes on a “technology not taxes” spiel, despite no one actually putting forward taxes – and question time, thankfully, ends for the week.
Updated
Anthony Albanese to Stuart Robert:
Did the illegal Robodebt scheme cost lives and cost taxpayers $1.2 billion?
Robert:
The use of averaged income data has been going on for quarter of a century has been a staple part of governments of many persuasions use of raising debt and no amount of posturing by the opposition will change that fact.
None of it. Nothing will change the fact of the data matching bill started in 1990 under Hawke. The minister was Richo.
In 1994 we now average income data was used under Keating. That’s where it began and for quarter of a century, the same process was followed.
To the point where this process has now been found to be insufficient and it’s this government, it is this government, this government who did not invent income averaging. This government who has realised the insufficiency and has paid it back.
The government did not realise the ‘insufficiency’ until multiple warnings were ignored and the court ruled against it, and just moments before a lawsuit was about to be lodged against it.
And out of the goodness of its heart, it decided to not only pay back those who were victimised by robodebt, they also decided to throw in $1.2bn?
That’s apparently the argument, from the man who, during the leadership spill that launched Scott Morrison into the parliament, prayed that “righteousness would exalt the nation”.
Righteousness - the quality of being morally right or justifiable - is something this situation could absolutely do with right now, because what has happened in the chamber all week on this issue is an absolute disgrace.
Bill Shorten to Stuart Robert:
If the government has done nothing wrong on robodebt, why did the government agree to pay $1.2 billion to its victims, including $112 million in compensation?
Robert:
I thank the member for Maribyrnong for his comeback question once again.
As we’ve been saying all week, on 19 November last year the government announced that it would be refining its program based on its view that collecting debts using average income data from the ATO was insufficient ... That process had been ongoing for 26 years. For 26 years governments of the day had been using averaged-income data, as I informed the house yesterday...
Shorten:
On relevance, the question was very specifically referring to the landmark class settlement of two weeks ago and the minister well knows that the ... 400,000 people included in that landmark settlement were people who were robodebted between 2015 and 2019, and he’s being irrelevant going back 26 years.
Porter:
The leader of the house on the point of order. Yes, on the point of order, again with respect to standing order 98 and that contribution from the member for Maribyrnong, it appears that he is asking for an expression of a legal opinion.
Tony Smith says Robert needs to address the question or move on.
Robert:
This government didn’t invent income averaging. But the reason why the government ... It was based on the announcement of 19 November last year where the government arrived at the conclusion that the use of income averaging, a practice that had been going for 26 years, was not sufficient.
And as soon as the government reached the conclusion that it was not sufficient despite 26 years of history, the government then sought to repay, as any government would.
The fact that the use of income averaging went back to the Keating days means frankly that this government ended Labor’s use of income averaging. And as part of that, commenced repaying those Australians where an insufficient debt was raised because income average ATO data had been used for quarter of a century.
OMG*.
Once again – the problem was the automation. Income averaging has its issues, but it was the automation. And making people prove they didn’t have a debt when the program, without any checks, said they did. That was the issue.
That was a Coalition government decision. That is why it went to court – and that was only after a series of decisions, as well as the government’s own legal advice, that what they were doing was illegal.
I am really glad this week is ending, because I do not have another day of listening to this in me. And I am very, very, very sorry for anyone who was impacted by robodebt – and now has to listen to the government minister responsible explain how the government “put a stop” to it.
*I’ve changed the language because there is a way to make this point without losing my temper.
Updated
Bill Shorten to Stuart Robert:
Who was the Social Services Minister who announced the illegal Robodebt scheme and who was the Treasurer who announced $2 million in from the illegal Robodebt seem in 2016 and who was the Prime Minister who after 38,000 Australians had to take their own government to get justice
Christian Porter:
I do not believe that understand standing order 98 that those questions which are effectively about ministerial personnel from times past can be considered to be officially connected to the present minister’s duties.
Tony Smith rules the question out of order.
The answer - Scott Morrison.
Clare O’Neil to Christian Porter:
Yesterday the minister confirmed he would not be a party to legal action involving printing company Ovarto which is denying 300 workers redundancy payments.
This will leave them with no income over Christmas while they wait for their entitlement applications to be processed.
Why does the minister only intervene in matters that support cutting workers’ paying conditions and why won’t he intervene to help these workers who face a Christmas with no income.
Porter:
To be fair it’s not correct that we intervene or not intervene on the basis that you have noted and it’s also the case - it’s also the case... It’s also the case that I confirm the Commonwealth Government was not intervening in that some time ago not yesterday in the chamber but I do that cautiously and after receiving advice, often very extensive advice on each matter on a case-by-case basis.
But we do not intervene in each and every case. I can assure you it’s certainly not the case that we make the decision to intervene on that pejorative matter that you raised. We just don’t do that.
Richard Marles to Angus Taylor:
In September the government announced it would support Australia’s four oil refineries. Since then, BP has announced the closure of its refinery with the loss of 650 jobs.
This critical industry can’t wait for ever. When will the government finally deliver on its September announcement so even more workers don’t lose their jobs?
Taylor:
Well thank you, and I thank the member for his question and I acknowledge the keen interest he has in this issue as a local member with a refinery.
The refinery of course is an important employer in his electorate, as are the refineries right across Australia, and we acknowledge the important role they play.
We have been meeting regularly with the refineries since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and we have been very conscious of the significant challenge they have faced.
On the one hand they have seen a sharp reduction for their product, particularly aviation gas, of course, and gasoline, and to a lesser extent diesel.
But they have also been faced with a double whammy of a very sharp reduction in the refining margins. With that in mind, we announced a [payment] several months ago which was included as part of the budget, with a focus on fuel security but also a focus on making sure that we give our local refineries every chance of success – backing our local refining sector through a production payment.
Now, we are seeking through our discussions with the refineries to get that production payment in place as quickly as possible, and we realise the urgency of this.
Indeed, I spoke with management from the refinery today and had very cordial discussions. We have also been in regular discussions with the unions – I spoke with the AWU yesterday and representatives with the refineries on exactly this issue.
We will continue to work with the refineries on a regular weekly basis, often more regularly than that actually, to get this production payment in place. And we look forward to ensuring not only that we have the fuel security this country deserves for our farmers, our tradies, but also that we give those important jobs every chance of success into the future.
Updated
Labor says revelations that the former environment minister Josh Frydenberg proposed amending protections to an area of internationally significant wetland after he was lobbied by a developer and major party donor shows why Australia needs an independent regulator to oversee environmental enforcement.
Labor’s environment spokeswoman, Terri Butler, has compared the now-treasurer’s past proposal in relation to Toondah Harbour to the Jam Land case, in which Frydenberg’s office sought advice about changing protections to grasslands at the centre of an investigation into illegal clearing on a property part-owned by the energy minister, Angus Taylor, and his relatives. Butler said:
Another day, another historic example of Josh Frydenberg trying to change the rules to help his mates.
Guardian Australia revealed on Thursday that Frydenberg wrote to the Queensland government in 2017 about Walker Corporation’s proposed Toondah Harbour apartment and retail complex to suggest the two governments jointly create a proposal to change the boundary of the Moreton Bay Ramsar wetland.
Lang Walker and executives from Walker Corporation met with Frydenberg and senior environmental officials in 2016 and records of that meeting show they raised the potential under the Ramsar convention for part of the wetland to be delisted in the “urgent national interest”. Butler said:
The proponent had previously lobbied Mr Frydenberg about the project
Mr Frydenberg’s 2017 letter indicated that amending the boundaries for the internationally protected wetlands would need to be done by demonstrating ‘urgent national interest’.
A spokeswoman for Frydenberg said:
No environmental approval was provided for the project while the former minister was in the portfolio.
Butler also said: “Mr Frydenberg has history as environment minister.”
Guardian Australia revealed in 2019 that Taylor met with Frydenberg’s office and senior environmental officials to discuss critically endangered and protected grasslands that were at the centre of an investigation into illegal clearing by Jam Land, a company in which he holds shares via his family company Gufee.
The Guardian’s investigation found evidence to suggest that Frydenberg’s office canvassed whether protections for the grasslands could be watered down and whether this could be done without making the decision public.
Both Frydenberg and Taylor have repeatedly stated that their discussions at the time were focused only on the “technical aspects” of the grasslands listing, with Taylor saying he had raised the matter on behalf of constituents in his electorate of Hume and that he “has never asked Mr Frydenberg to change laws governing the clearing of native grasslands”.
Frydenberg said at the time:
Following the briefing and since, no changes to the listing have been made.
Updated
Michael McCormack is also very upset at interjections - but manages a nice dose of patriarchy with his response, when he yells at Catherine King “here she goes again”.
Lovely.
King to TipTop:
This week, Qantas sacked 2,000 workers bringing the total jobs lost to 8.5 thousand. Why is the Minister for Transport congratulating himself when eight and a half thousand Qantas workers have lost their jobs.
If the purpose was to keep employees connected to their employer why has the government allowed quantities to claim taxpayer money and then sack thousands of workers some of who are in the gallery here today.
McCormack:
Thank you, Mr Speaker and I thank the member for Ballarat for her question and acknowledge the Qantas workers in the public gallery. I acknowledge Michael Caine, the secretary of the transport workers union. I am worried about those workers who have lost their jobs. I know what it is like to lose a job.
It’s tough.
It’s very, very tough, and you sometimes - having asked the question, give me the respect to answer your question.
And because of the down turn in the aviation sector hit fastest and hardest. It has been a global pandemic.
Many airline companies right the world have the world have closed. We are very fortunate in this country.
Here she goes again.
At the start of the global pandemic, what we to see was two viable competitive airlines flying domestically at the end as we came out of the back of COVID-19 and I can say that thankfully that’s what we have now.
Now, Virgin came into the pandemic saddled with billions of dollars of debt.
I’m pleased through Bain capital and the assistance that has been provided that they are still flying. Next week Virgin will be flying. Rex will be flying, yes, albeit in a limited fashion but JobKeeper has helped keep these airlines flying.
JobKeeper, the domestic aviation network system scheme has helped these companies fly. The regional airline network scheme has helped those regional aviation companies fly.
And for those 35 towns that would have otherwise not had respiratory devices, face masks, even medical personnel visit them, they were able to get that assistance, thanks through the assistance that was provided. $2.7 billion on a sector wide basis.
Everything that we have done has been on a sector-wide basis and I hope those Qantas workers who don’t have a job,
I hope they are able to return to their places of employment. And Qantas group CEO Alan Joyce, said a change in conditions over the past month has many more people finally able to travel domestically again.
Tony Smith tells everyone to shut up. But in very nice Speaker fashion. Keep in mind McCormack is giving this answer with people who have lost their jobs in the gallery.
McCormack:
Mr Joyce said there has been a rush of bookition as each border restriction showing there’s plenty of travel demand between Qantas and Jet Star there are over...there are over 200,000 fares in Queensland in 72 hours after the border openings. So there’s the message.
There was a very dramatic pause from Greg Hunt in that answer, because if there is one thing he hates, it is interjections when he is speaking.
His latest tactic, as part of the “I am a statesman, cool, calm and collected” theme is to just stare in very “disappointed headmaster at elite boys’ school, where the students have started standing on their desks yelling captain my captain at the strange but charismatic substitute teacher who has taught them to think outside the box” areas.
Updated
Lisa Chesters to Greg Hunt:
My question is to the minister for health. I referred to confirmation today a worker in Sydney has tested positive to coronavirus – who worked at two hotels, only one of which is a quarantine hotel. Given that quarantine is a commonwealth responsibility, why are hotel quarantine workers still working across multiple sites?
Hunt waffles on for a while, and Tony Smith tells him to get to the point:
As part of those responsibilities when we set up the arrangements the prime minister led with the states, they expressly took responsibility, but we had provided the support through provision of the ADF, we have provided support through the work of Jane Halton, former distinguished secretary in this place, and through the chief scientist of Australia.
They have set out the standards expected of individual states responding to and adopting those standards.
So we welcome all of those elements, so the premise of the question is fundamentally wrong ... It is incorrect, in fact.
However, it is important to understand that wherever we are in a situation of engaging with the outside world, on a day when there has been over 600,000 cases in the highest rate of loss of life ever through the pandemic, what we see is that we protect Australians through hotel quarantine. There will be risk associated with that but we have put in place a system which has made Australia the envy of the world.
Updated
In response to Scott Morrison:
[Narrator:] Who is proposing a tax? #qt
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) December 3, 2020
Because no one is.
And also – it’s not binary? This is one of the reasons political discourse is so broken in this country: everything gets narrowed down to an either/or choice when it is a lot more complicated than that and always has been.
Updated
Michael McCormack’s dixer seems to be aimed at Andrew Bolt:
I say to people listening to this watching this: there are jobs in the regions – good, well-paying jobs. Come have a look, come to the regions, you won’t regret it. Great place to live, work and invest.
I would suggest sending certain people to one area in Australia and then shutting the borders, so we could forget about them, but we already do that. We mostly just locked out the wrong people.
Updated
Scott Morrison gets a question on what Australia plans on doing regarding climate change and 2030 targets by Adam Bandt (the transcription service misses the question).
Morrison has obviously been waiting for this question because he is very energised over it. He says:
We will participate in that program, it will a great opportunity to correct the mistruths spoken by the leader of the Greens and are often presented – because Australia, as a country that has made commitments and kept them and has beaten commitments when it comes to reducing emissions for this country, as the minister for emissions reduction reported to the house only this week.
Australia’s emissions have fallen 16.6% below the year June 2005, and 18.9% from June 2007, when they peaked, those are just the facts. It’s also true we have beaten the Kyoto targets we set by some 459 million tonnes. It is also our government’s policy as I already had the opportunity to convey that we believe the future is getting to net zero emissions by technology, not by taxing.
Because, if and when is not the question, the ‘how’ is the question. And if you don’t know how to do it, you will never get there, and you will never achieve it. This is the practical contribution Australia brings to the table.
And the engagements we have entered into with countries like Japan, around hydrogen, what the member opposite may want to consider is if you want to achieve those sorts of goals, you have to be able to produce hydrogen at a rate of $2 a kilo, that’s a target that actually reduces your emissions. And that is the specifics our government is pursuing to make sure [of] a net zero emissions future.
So this is a government committed to practical action – getting things done, working with other countries to achieve that because it’s not good enough for advanced economies like Australia to achieve the things we are achieving... in New Zealand the emissions have only fallen by 1% compared to our over 16% – I should say our 1% compared to the 13.5% on the previous comparison. And Canada has fallen by zero so Australia is pulling its weight, making its contribution, and we will continue to do that, so long as we have the opportunity to do so, which we look forward to doing.
The leader of the Greens should stop talking Australia down.
Updated
So, if you accessed your $20,000 superannuation before you were unemployed, and it is still sitting in your bank, you have to spend it, or wait six months for government benefits.
Anthony Albanese to Stuart Robert:
Has the government, on the one hand, encouraged people to take $20,000 out of their super, but now on the other hand wants to use that to make them wait six months and deny them up to $10,600 in payment when they don’t have a job. Why does this government want to pocket a budget saving from the superannuation of people who lose their job?
Robert:
As I have been doing all week, the government clearly rejects the assertions of the leader of the opposition.
Just for the benefit of the house, superannuation benefits as a whole are not included in the liquid asset waiting period. This is important.
So if someone accesses their super early and that amount is included in liquid assets, it may be included in the liquid asset waiting period calculation, depending on when they accessed their superannuation.
For example, if a person gains early access to an amount from the superannuation account before the day they become unemployed, the amount is included in the calculation for the person’s liquid asset waiting, to the extent that the amount continues to be part of the person’s liquid assets.
Any use of the amount to repay a debt before becoming unemployed would not be part of the person’s liquid assets on the day the person became unemployed.
If a person gains early access to an amount from the person’s superannuation after the day the person becomes unemployed or incapacitated, then the amount is not included in the calculation of the person’s liquid assets for the purpose of determining the length of any applicable liquid asset waiting periods.
Updated
Scott Morrison gets a dixer and it’s all about how amazing the government’s response to Covid-19 has been.
He runs out of time, though, before he gets it all out.
Updated
Linda Burney to Stuart Robert:
Can the minister confirm that the cost to a single person of the half year waiting period for a payment like jobseeker can be up to $10,600? Can the minister confirm that super withdrawn early is counted as a liquid asset which can trigger a half-year waiting period when they don’t have a job?
Again, that is a yes
Robert:
I can only assume the member is speaking with respect to the liquid asset waiting period in relation to her question. I note my previous answer and mentioned that 95%- 97% of people will not be subject to at. Or liquid assets, regardless of their source, form part of the liquid asset waiting period, so on average right now, the 13-week liquid asset period, an individual Australian has $74,000 in liquid assets.
That is what the average is right now, noting that those liquid assets also exclude a house or a car. As we move from 13 to 26 weeks, which is the bill in front of the house, the liquid asset waiting period will only impact those who have a greater capacity to support themselves, based on those numbers.
Updated
The government tries to give Stuart Robert a win, by giving him a dixer on International Day of People with Disability.
But it’s Stuart Robert. So who can actually take him seriously? He twists whatever he wants to fit whatever narrative he needs.
Updated
Question time begins
The last 90-second statement goes to Tim Watts. He has about 40 seconds before QT. It’s about wanting a “prime minister of substance” while welcoming back Scott Morrison to QT.
Linda Burney gets the first question. It’s to Stuart Robert, as the minister representing Anne Rushton.
Can the government confirm that Australians who withdraw their super early and have it in the bank are now subject to liquid assets waiting period for payments like jobseeker, and the government wants to extend that waiting period to half a year?
The answer is yes, but Robert is taking his sweet time getting to that.
For the benefit of the house, the liquid asset waiting period is a period where people must wait before being paid an allowance if they have funds above the maximum reserve, after the date they ceased work or study, or at a date of claim. It varies from one to 13 weeks at present, and is applied as whole weeks, and the maximum reserve amount available to a customer is to be used as calculated.
The vast majority, about 95% to 97% of people, do not have a liquid asset waiting period applied, so on average, people who fulfil the full 13 weeks on average, they’ve got about $74,000 in liquid assets. And a liquid asset does not include a house or a car, and in many circumstances – and I’m sure the member will be interested in this – the liquid asset waiting period can be waived where the customer would be in severe financial hardship ... People do not need to spend any specific amount of the liquid assets before they are allowed onto payments.
Speaker Tony Smith tells him to get on to it.
Robert:
The bill before the house that the member refers to will increase the maximum length of the waiting period from 13 to 26 weeks, the maximum length, noting that the current period from zero to 13 weeks is a scale and 95 to 97% of Australians...
Smith tells him to get on with it again.
Robert does not want to address the question, so he goes back to what he was talking about. Smith tells him to address it or resume his seat.
Robert:
The liquid asset waiting period applies to all cash held by Australians, regardless of source, because it deals with liquid assets.
The new maximum 26-week period will only apply to single people with no dependent children with total liquid assets of $18,000 or more, or $36,000 or more for all claimants, noting that 95 to 97% of Australians, regardless of the form of liquid assets – that excludes their house or their car – will actually apply to them.
So that is a yes.
Updated
It’s been at least three days without any Qantas news in here, so here you go (via AAP):
Qantas boss Alan Joyce expects the number of people flying overseas will not improve until mid-2021, when a significant part of the world’s population has been vaccinated for the coronavirus.
But the airline expects its domestic capacity will be back up to almost 70% of pre-Covid levels in December and close to 80% by the end of March next year.
Joyce on Thursday said he expected distribution of a vaccine would determine how soon customers returned to international travel.
The UK has become the first to approve Pfizer’s vaccine, which will be distributed from next week. England’s health service says most jabs will be given between January and April. The US could approve two vaccines before Christmas. Joyce said:
We’ll need a vaccine for international travel to restart properly.
He expected the Australian government would require vaccination for anyone wishing to visit Australia, other than New Zealanders, or face two weeks’ quarantine. He said:
We think a vaccine is going to be a requirement here. That means a vaccine is going to have to be available.
The chief executive said the aviation industry was talking with governments about which vaccines would be considered acceptable.
The airline was setting a course to “recovery mode” after a traumatic year during which it slashed thousands of jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Qantas would begin repairing its balance sheet in the second half of fiscal 2021 as domestic borders reopened, costs continued to fall and freight and passenger traffic increased, Joyce said.
If all went as planned, and there were no more material border closures, the airline believed it could be close to breaking even on an underlying earnings basis after last year’s loss.
We’ve seen a vast improvement in trading conditions over the past month as many more people are finally able to travel domestically again.
Earlier this week, Qantas announced plans to outsource about 2,000 positions. The jobs affected are at 10 airports around the country and impact ground operations workers including ground crew, aircraft cleaners and baggage handlers. Job losses across the group as a result of the crisis and associated border closures account for about 8,500 of its 29,000-strong pre-Covid workforce.
Updated
Just so you know.
Under the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 introduced into parliament today they'll just be able to log into your Spotify account and see your top played. https://t.co/xuCmqyLjHi pic.twitter.com/k0Fzd78v88
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) December 3, 2020
Updated
If you have the time, go grab something fortifying - it’s the last QT of the week, and the first one Scott Morrison will be there in person for, so it is going to be an ordeal, one way or another.
AAP has compiled what Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt said about when MPs would receive the vaccine:
Federal politicians could receive a coronavirus vaccine to shore up public confidence in its safety once the medicines regulator approves one.
Health minister Greg Hunt has discussed the issue with his opposite number, Labor’s Chris Bowen.
Hunt told reporters in Canberra:
None of us want to be jumping the queue, we’re quite acutely aware of that. But nor do we want to show any lack of confidence.
Hunt said a group of MPs and senators from all side of politics could be put forward on a voluntary basis as a demonstration of the vaccine’s safety. He said:
I would be very happy to take any vaccine that the medical regulators deemed safe for Australia.
Prime minister Scott Morrison said he was keen to see federal parliament function normally. He said:
Obviously immunisations can assist that but all through this we have been very disciplined in hearing the medical advice, listening to it very carefully and evaluating that.
He said that once the head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, John Skerritt, approved a vaccine, he would be happy to receive it. Morrison said:
If Professor Skerritt gives it the tick, then I’m happy to take the jab.
Updated
You may remember the government, including Peter Dutton and his departmental head Mike Pezzullo, went on a crusade discrediting Annika’s story which pointed to these changes.
The bulk of the story was right. It always was.
Dutton releases new spy bill
This morning the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, introduced the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 which gives police extra powers to crack down on illegal activities on the dark web, as foreshadowed when the government released its cyber security strategy in August.
The bill creates three new types of warrants:
- Data disruption warrants enabling the Australian federal police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to disrupt data by modifying, adding, copying or deleting in order to frustrate the commission of serious offences online
- Network activity warrants to allow agencies to collect intelligence on serious criminal activity being conducted by criminal networks; and
- Account takeover warrants to provide the AFP and the ACIC with the ability to take control of a person’s online account for the purposes of gathering evidence to further a criminal investigation.
I’m writing an explainer that will detail the threshold for when the powers can be used and the limited safeguards on their use.
In the meantime, I thought it was worth noting that this is the legislation that Annika Smethurst’s reporting on Australian Signals Directorate spying powers exposed, which resulted in her house being raided.
As the explanatory memorandum makes clear, the ASD has a power to help the AFP and ACIC with “cryptography, and communication and computer technologies, and other specialised technologies”. It said:
ASD providing assistance of this kind may be useful to the ACIC or AFP during the execution of, or analysis of information obtained under, network activity warrants.
So, by breaking into networks and attempting to identify participants in suspected criminal activities under this new type of warrant, the ASD would be spying on Australians, which was previously only allowed in exceptional circumstances.
Updated
Sometimes the Senate does good.
aaah 4zzz - where would our uni days have been without it https://t.co/GrjaI88COz
— Lenore Taylor (@lenoretaylor) December 3, 2020
Updated
Ed Husic has also been sent out to give Labor’s line on the government’s handling of China:
Q: Do you think the government’s dropped the ball on the management of this with China. I mean most people would think that they’ve caused a lot of the problems, but they appear to be incredibly angry with Australia.
Husic: Yeah, they do and I think if I can use the term it’d be good to calm the farm. That’d be dialling down the hostilities and sort a way through. In terms of the government, I was stunned to read a quote of the agriculture minister from back in October, where he suggested that it’s not up to the government to determine where companies sell their product and if they choose to sell it all in one market, it’s on them.
Now they’re rushing to come up with some sort of trade diversification strategy.
But really, we’ve had a minister in David Littleproud, who’s taken a bit of a hands off approach or tried to dust off blame, which isn’t good enough. We need a range of ministers undertaking a leadership role to repair the relationship and get exports moving. We’ve got economic growth and jobs that are increasingly appearing that are on the line and we’ve just got to find a way through.
Q: In the past, one of the ways to do that has been holding like a trade fair by going to different areas and using Australia’s diplomacy to open up not just new markets, but also to show our products. Has the government not been active enough in that space?
Husic:
I think they can undertake a range of things but before we get to that point, in respect of holding trade fairs and the like, there are serious issues that need to be resolved in respect to the relationship. I’ve said previously and some of my colleagues have said Bob Hawke would pick up the phone to his counterpart, John Howard could do likewise and Scott Morrison needs to do it now. I think a lot of people are hoping that that will be achieved.
Updated
Scott Morrison was also asked if the recession was over, given the positive growth in the September quarter:
Well technically, these recession has obviously concluded, but that is of no comfort to those who are still trying to go back into job. The comeback of the Australian economy is under way, that is recognised not just by the national accounts, but by the government of the Reserve Bank and many other commentators both here and overseas. That is understood. But the humility of the government is necessary in understanding that there is still a long way to go, and there are many Australians are still out of work, there are some Australians who have recently lost their jobs as the economy goes through this next transition. It is our objective, if they have lost jobs in one area, that we will do everything we can to get them into jobs in new areas as the economy opens up. It is not an easy path ahead of us, it is a challenging path ahead of us, and we will negotiate those challenges in the same way that we have successfully to this point in time.
Updated
Richard Marles disputes that Labor has not supported the government on its response to China. He says there needs to be a way to move forward, though (which the prime minister obviously agrees with, given we just saw him attempt to lower the temperature through his answers at that press conference)
Marles:
Our relationship with China is really important. The starting point of Australia’s foreign relations needs to be about our own national interest, about who we are and what we stand for. And from there, it’s about making sure that you have a set of guiding principles about how we relate to all countries, and particularly a country as significant as China and that we do the diplomacy right. I’d make this point; that in respect of the tweets, which were issued this week by China, which really were outrageous, and I haven’t seen anything like it in my experience of foreign relations, it was very important that the country speak with one voice. And that’s why we’ve given complete support to the way in which the prime minister appropriately reacted to this.
Q: So, what’s the government done wrong in its handling with the relationship with China?
Marles:
Well, it’s important that we’re having a discussion about this. Because our relationship with China is fundamentally important. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs that are at stake here. But can I also make this point; that on this day and in this week, given what China did with those tweets, it’s really important that we retain our focus on the response to that specifically. And that’s why we’ve given the government complete support in relation to that. I’d also make this point, you know, what we’ve been saying in relation to the government’s handling of China, which is a completely appropriate discussion to be involved in, is one we’ve been doing for a long time, much more than a year now. And it’s about making sure that we get, you know, diplomacy right, and that we get the relationship in the best place it can be. A point the government itself has been making this week. But I think, most importantly, right now is that we are responding with unity in respect of these tweets, and that’s what we’ve shown.
Updated
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has defended allowing hotel quarantine employees to work across several hotels, as authorities race to understand how a cleaner at one quarantine hotel contracted Covid-19.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant also acknowledged thousands of commuters who have caught trains and light rail in Sydney should be getting tested immediately and self-isolating, until health authorities issue further advice.
The new case worked at the Ibis hotel Darling Harbour on 27 November, and Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour on 28, 29 and 30 November.
She began presenting symptoms on Saturday, which were mostly signs of fatigue, but was only tested on Wednesday night. After her test returned a positive result, her family she lived with presented for testing late last night, with all five returning a negative result.
Asked about preventing quarantine workers from working across more than one hotel, Berejiklian said her position had not changed because the worker would still be able to spread the virus in their social life:
“A worker in our quarantine system, and there’s thousands of them that do shifts … they have a life outside of their jobs and they are as at risk of unknowingly spreading the disease if they go to a restaurant with a lot of people, if they go to a wedding or other event.”
Chant also said the new case was wearing a mask on her more than hour-long daily commute from Minto to the Darling Harbour hotels she worked at, and said the call to get tested and immediately self-isolate applied to:
Light rail:
Friday 27 November Convention to Central: 4.01pm-4.11pm
Saturday 28 November Convention to Central: 3.14pm-3.29pm
Sunday 29 November Convention to Capitol Square: 3.58pm-4.09pm
Sunday 29 November Capitol Square to Central: 4.55pm-5.03pm
Monday 30 November Central to Convention: 6.39am-6.54am
Monday 30 November Convention to Central: 3.10pm-3.26pm
Train:
Friday 27 November Minto to Lidcombe: 04.55am-5.52am
Friday 27 November Central to Lidcombe: 4.12pm-4.49pm
Saturday 28 November Central to Lidcombe: 3.31pm-4.32pm
Sunday 29 November Central to Lidcombe: 5.05pm-5.44pm
Monday 30 November Lidcombe to Central: 6.14am-6.37am
Monday 30 November Central to Minto: 3.28pm-4.20pm
Updated
It’s the international day of persons with disabilities.
Bill Shorten attended an event in parliament held to highlight the day.
And a former Labor candidate, Ali France, shared one of her stories. Ableism and discrimination exists as an every day occurrence for people with disabilities.
I’ve questioned whether 2 tell this story as theres a sense of shame in it.
— Ali France (@alifrance5) December 2, 2020
A terrible sinking feeling that in some way I may have been at fault, I embarrassed my kids, I couldve done things differently.
But today on #IDPW #IDPW2020 its worth telling. 1/14#disability
NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant said testing sites had been established for staff – but she thinks complacency had been creeping into the community when it came to the virus:
I want to say that a number of the media have raised this issue and a sense of going complacency amongst our usually fantastic community across NSW. I share that concern and complacency may have been creeping in and this one case is a tiny reminder to us all that we need to take this very seriously.
We are in the middle of a one-in-100-year worldwide pandemic, and I know we’re welcoming back Aussies who have been overseas into our quarantine hotels. We know the risk and that is accepted but … that means there is no room for complacency.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian press conference
Gladys Berejiklian has held a press conference after a woman tested positive for Covid in Sydney – she works as a cleaner at one of the hotel quarantine hotels:
In a pandemic we expected there to be additional cases and sure enough after 8pm last night, we have become aware after testing that a woman who works at at a quarantine hotel has acquired the disease.
An investigation is still ongoing to determine how the disease was acquired but this is a good warning that we have to maintain our vigilance.
Apart from that, there were not any other cases but nine identified in hotel quarantine and as I said yesterday, the hotel quarantine is robust and has served us well but when you are welcoming 3,000 Australians back every single week and when we know the rate of infection is increasing in all parts of the world, that we have to remain ever vigilant.
We have received numerous updates late last night and this morning and we are absolutely confident that the NSW team is on top of what they have to do and they have taken a number of steps to ensure we have maintained the spread of the virus as much as possible.
We have asked for any information around community and suburbs transport rates and other locations impacted to come forward for testing and we ask everybody to take that advice.
This is a very serious situation but one at this stage we feel we are managing.
In relation to the easing of restrictions on Monday, the best and most recent advice is there is no change to what we are proposing to on Monday however stress this is an evolving situation and if an any time of the day I get alternative advisable not hesitate to take that.
Updated
The sass is strong in Melbourne today
In case you’re interested, a few years ago I left Melbourne and moved to...*checks notes*...the Dandenongs.
— Chief Health 🍩fficer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) December 3, 2020
Summary
Victoria Health has a new mask campaign.
Recognise any of these half-masked attempts? We've all spotted them, make sure you're not one of them. Where you are required to wear a face mask, make sure it is fitted and covers your nose and mouth. Don't be half-masked.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 3, 2020
More on the importance of masks: https://t.co/YIAeQhXZNx pic.twitter.com/OaMCeQUUpH
Updated
The lecterns have a new addition – the Australian government website.
Updated
Is Scott Morrison or anyone from the government making representations to Twitter to have the original tweet which sparked this diplomatic war of words taken down?
Morrison:
We have made our views clear on that and they can make an explanation of their action if they choose to make one. What is important as the Australian government has made its views very clear on these issues but what is most important is, despite the events in different months and weeks and indeed years, Australia remains committed to constructive and open and regular dialogue at a leader and ministerial level to address the tensions are clearly there in the relationship. It is inner interest to do that, in the Chinese government to do that. Our national interests have been clearly articulated and our position is clearly understood.
And on the proposed movie on the man responsible for the Port Arthur massacre, Scott Morrison says:
I must say, I am unnerved about the revisiting of the Martin Bryant case.
It is a long time ago and it seems like a few days ago, even such was the horror of that day, it has scarred us as a nation deeply, so people will make films, it is OK in this country, that is fine, we think that is a good thing, even if it unnerved our prime minister or many others, that is the society we live in.
But I hope when this is done, and for those who choose to see it, we will remember the victims, and their families, and the torment that they have endured for all these many years since the wonderful work that has been done in this area, no greater than the incredible courage and strength of John Howard and Tim Fischer, who set this right. Australia leads in so many areas, it is why Australia is so respected and supported around the world, why people are so easily able to commend Australia, because we know what our faults are and we deal with them openly and transparently.
But when it comes to challenges that we face, we can find them and we find the way through and we do it together. This year has been another example of that, and as this year comes to a conclusion, I have never been more proud of Australians that I am now.
Updated
Asked about Bridget Archer’s condemnation of the cashless welfare card (which the government is trying to make permanent) Scott Morrison says:
I spoke to Bridget again today and thanked her for her honesty, for her sincerity, because that is why she is the member for Bass. That is why she is here. All my members are like that. They know they can walk into my office at any time and raise issues, and do, and I think giving each other the space in our party room and the respect that comes with that is the reason why the Australian public is seen the government the most united we have seen of any government for a very long time. So I am going to continue to follow that practice and trust and respect my members And that will be my approach.
What is Scott Morrison’s message to the Chinese people and those with Chinese heritage in Australia?
My message, which has been made public not just on WeChat but also 60,000 Australians have the opportunity to read that, it was a message of thanks and appreciation for the amazing contribution made by Australians of Chinese heritage to this country.
I have consistently mentioned what happened in February, I remember being down in Box Hill in February, going down the main street and speaking to some local businesses there, and speaking to the local Chinese Australian community there, and they were already practising the self-isolation and social distancing and many other behaviours so essential, that prevented the first wave in Australia being as mild as it was in comparison to other countries, and I have a deep appreciation of that.
They played a critical role in Australia’s health success, and as a result our economic success.
So any Australian of Chinese heritage in Australia, I know wants only to feel as valued as any other Australian, because we are the most successful multicultural immigration nation on Earth. It is not debatable, it is not arguable, it is a fact. And we are proud of that. Whatever nationality or ethnicity an Australian comes from, that is all part of the greater strategy story of the great Australian journey, and I said to remind our Chinese Australian family, as part of a great Australian family, as how appreciated they are as a member of the family.
Updated
Scott Morrison can’t say whether Victoria’s Belt and Road deal with China will fall under the ‘you can’t do it’ of the new foreign interference laws being debated in the parliament.
Q: Given the events of the recent seven days, are you prepared to hazard a guess as to what China’s endgame is?
Scott Morrison:
I can tell you what Australians and game is, that is something I have control over. I do not have control over the ultimate objectives of other nations. What I have control over is what Australia’s objectives is, and our objective is to have a happy coexistence, as I described earlier, one that has a mutually beneficial relationship, which can and has been and can be again achieved through our comprehensive strategic partnership, where we stand on the partnership which provides the opportunities for top-level dialogue. And to abide by the rules-based international trade system, and to of the issues presented in that way. That, I believe, will lead to greater stability in the region, it will lead to greater prosperity in China and Australia mutually, I do think it is in both of our interests. Our objective is to see that achieved, and I would invite others to show that objective and I would hope that would be there is also.
Updated
Q: Some of the criticism has been about the government tone with China. What we do through foreign interference law, to the banning of Huawei. Are any of those things up for negotiations?
Scott Morrison:
I have been clear on Australian position on those issues. I should stress that Australia’s policies and positions have been consistent for decades.
Certainly, under this government and they follow on from many of the positions held by the previous government and what has changed is obviously circumstances and events and the environment that has developed over many years and that means that we simply continued to work to have opportunities for constructive engagement but Australian interests are very clear and I think Australians understand that my government will always be very patient and clear about those interests.
We know what they are. We feel very strongly about them but that is a different to any other country around the world and what we need is the opportunity for leaders and ministers to engage directly and that is something we have always sought and will continue to do so and we will see what opportunities present.
I think these events are an opportunity I think for us to get together and discuss these issues but clearly Australia’s national interests will remain out national interests and I have no doubt that the Chinese government, as part of the relationship with Australia, their interests will remain in theirs.
Updated
Q: Anthony Albanese said you [oversaw a] complete breakdown of the relationship with China. The foreign relations bill is fussing in the Senate today and do you think that China will see that as another poke in the eye?
Scott Morrison:
In relation to Mr Albanese, I am disappointed but not surprised. You cannot have each way bets on national security what Australia does protect international interests.
That is really all I have to say about that matter.
Australia’s policies and plans, the rules that we make for our country are made here in Australia according to our needs and our interests and we will continue to do that but I simply make this point, following on from my media conference earlier this week, and that is that my position and my government’s position is to seek constructive engagement.
The relationship with China is a mutually beneficial one.
It supports both our countries, it is good for both of our countries, and it is good for the interests of both countries to constructively engage and Australia has been very clear and consistent as sought to be respectful and continued to do that and seek opportunities for constructive engagement.
Q: In the party room, issues were raised about the application of compulsory register and they intimated it would supercharge the anti-vaxx movement. Given you have been labouring safety, what is the government proposing to do to counter this information from activists?
Scott Morrison:
I was not in the party room meeting this week but I had a good and full report and I understand there were a lot of contributions in that debate and that is the nature of our party room. It was very much about how helpful these sorts of registers can be for parents and getting the balance right again under this question is really important. There are lots of different views that you have to take into account and ensure that you are focused and getting the best health outcomes for Australians.
Updated
Will Indigenous Australians be considered among the “vulnerable” Australians who will receive the vaccine first?
Greg Hunt:
The medical expert panel is considering the appropriate place for Indigenous Australians in the rollout and they have total freedom to recommend and whatever that recommendations are in relation to the priority then we will be adopting those.
Updated
While the prime minister is still talking, I’m just going to update you on NSW Health alert.
Here are the public transport routes and times to watch out for:
Light Rail:
- Friday 27 November Convention to Central at 4:01pm – 4.11pm
- Saturday 28 November Convention to Central at 3:14pm – 3.29pm
- Sunday 29 November Convention to Capitol Square 3:58pm – 4.09pm
- Sunday 29 November Capitol Square to Central 4.55pm – 5.03pm
- Monday 30 November Central to Convention 06:39am – 6.54am
- Monday 30 November Convention to Central 3.10pm – 3.26pm
Train:
- Friday 27 November Minto to Lidcombe 04:55am – 5:52am
- Friday 27 November Central to Lidcombe 4.12pm – 4.49pm
- Saturday 28 November Central to Lidcombe 3.31pm – 4.32pm
- Sunday 29 November Central to Lidcombe 5.05pm – 5.44pm
- Monday 30 November Lidcombe to Central 06:14am – 06:37am
- Monday 30 November Central to Minto 3.28pm – 4.20pm
The Centre for Disease Control in the US has recommended cutting the quarantine period down to seven or so days.
Scott Morrison says it is an issue the national cabinet revisits with the expert health panel in Australia quite often – but there has been no recommendation to change it here.
Updated
Scott Morrison stays well away from any criticisms on states closing borders.
One of the immediate lessons of the Queensland election is that there was a “miscalculation” on the border talk by the LNP – residents of Queensland quite liked the border closure. Pauline Hanson suffered for her open the border messages too. That message has filtered through to Scott Morrison and the federal team, and he has backed well away from it.
Updated
TGA chief Professor John Skerritt is asked about whether the UK is acting as the world’s “guinea pigs” with the vaccine:
I would not want to use the word guinea pigs with the UK, we all have friends family and relatives in the UK, and we are deeply concerned about the situation there.
Essentially, these vaccines were developed so quickly because of, again it is an overused word, the unprecedented investment of billions of dollars and governments across the world is essentially at risk, supporting companies and researchers to be able to do several steps at once, because we know that often vaccines fall along the wayside, they do not meet particular steps, I governments across the world stepped in and said we will put up $100m that were related to pilot manufacturing and so forth.
The second reason is that it became the main area of focus for researchers and companies, most major companies, we have never seen an area of health where globally in one era everyone moved to focus on one thing.
Thirdly we were able to do what we learned from Sars and very similar conditions, things like the Pfizer vaccine came out from some of these early development. In that sense we are building on a lot of knowledge about safety and so forth.
Our situation as a prime minister said is different from the UK, what will enable, let us say late January or February, we will not only have the data from the clinical trials of 10,000 to 40,000, but we will also have the real-world experience of several hundred thousand people having had the vaccine.
That will enable us to know whether or not people who have had multiple sclerosis as certain conditions, it will improve the quality of advice that we can give to Australian.
There is no regulatory process or law in Australia for an emergency use authorisations similar to the UK or the US, as the prime minister has indicated, Australia’s situation, thanks to the efforts of everyday Australians and governments, is very different from the UK.
Updated
Treasury officials, in undertaking budget forecasts, worked under the assumption the international border would not be open until the second half of next year.
What about the international border? How long will that remain closed for?
Scott Morrison:
On international borders we’re still some time away from that, my priority at the moment is getting Australians home, and some time ago back in September there were 26,700 Australians who were registered, and I said we needed to get that many people home, we actually have got 40,000 people home since that time.
We have set up additional quarantine facilities, both in the Northern Territory as well as in Tasmania, with raised caps, we have one additional flights, we have put $60m of support to Australians in need all around the world, and that has been a great team effort.
I want to thank the consular staff that supported that initiative, the airlines in particular, the cooperation of the state premiers and chief ministers and health ministers and police ministers, who have been deported for how we operate all of these arrangements, and particularly states like Tasmania and Northern Territory who have had to do this from scratch and set this up.
That is the focus now, but as the world becomes vaccinated, and as Australia becomes vaccinated, those opportunities arise, we already have travel from New Zealand, we already are looking at the ways that we assessed potentially save countries for green light travel, we have not activated any of those, but we’re working on making sure that we know, and have a good process for determining, what countries that could be and I’ve had discussions with Japan about that, but we [are] still some time away from that and I would not like to raise expectations. Health first because that is underpinning our economic success.
Updated
Scott Morrison is then asked about companies, like Qantas, who will require proof of vaccination:
The legislation that has been introduced and forms part of the plan to address these very issues, I am very keen, globally, and I raised this in my discussion with the European Union commissioner last week, from isolation at our annual virtual summit this year, there is, I think, a great need for working together globally to ensure that there is a common set of recognitions around vaccine.
That is going to be very important, because in countries around the world there is going to be different vaccines, in Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, potentially across Europe, China and so on.
So it is important that there is a common understanding globally about vaccines, and their efficacy, and what will satisfy standard.
Because that will otherwise mean that John [Skerritt] and all of his equivalents around the world will have a more difficult are.
We have indicated that we are very happy to engage in such a global effort, and I think we have a lot to contribute in that area, because we’re quite well in this area being one of the world’s leading immunisation nations and we have one of the strongest regulatory systems anywhere in the world.
Updated
It is “unlikely” that children will be at the front of the Australian vaccination queue, given the virus doesn’t impact them as much as it impacts older people.
The head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Professor John Skerritt, gave an update on where the vaccines are in terms of approval for Australia:
We have not got complete data on any of them because the, globally, these companies are still assessing their final data. That is why in the UK, the decision is what has turned an emergency authorisation and not a full regulatory approval.
We will, when the final data is in for safety and efficacy and I’m hoping it will be in the coming weeks but we are at the mercy of the companies, work through the summary and unfortunately my staff have been told to put away their swimsuits and towels and to work as quickly as we can but also in significant depth.
With parallel teams of doctors, scientists, toxicologists, engineers, facility inspectors, pharmaceutical industry experts, looking at the data which runs into the tens of thousands of pages if you were to print it out.
We are still hopeful but if we receive a full submission in the next week or so, late January, beating up they were, well ahead of the March date the government has mentioned, that we will be in a position to approve one or to make.
I’ve been asked which of the three courses are leading the race but it changes by the date and it often depends on the progress and completion of clinical trials run globally.
The other thing that is important to know is that globally, there are many hundreds of vaccines under development and about a dozen that are in reasonably late stages.
And we also, confidentially, have been talking to many of those companies because this government, as did many other governments globally, did the sensible thing of investing in a range of technologies stop while the early results from several technologies are very promising, it will give us and more importantly healthcare professionals a range of options.
Updated
Morrison continues:
Our Covid-19 situation at the moment I would describe as very stable with the protections in place to ward against and still with any outbreaks as they arise, as we have seen in recent weeks and months. But that said, as we move into the vaccine, our first priority is that it be safe. It must be safer [for] Australians and that is what they would expect of us. So the vaccination policy has been established, it has been agreed by cabinets and it has also been endorsed by the national cabinet.
The vaccine strategy is now in its advanced stage of preparation and that will further be considered by the cabinet, the federal cabinet, we are working with the state and territories closely and the rollout plans that extend from that strategy.
Updated
Scott Morrison then talks about the national vaccination strategy:
You will be aware of the reports this morning in New South Wales, I’ve been in touch with the premier this morning and you will be speaking later today, but as always, I have great confidence in New South Wales governments testing and tracing capabilities.
They are the gold standard not just in this country but anywhere around the world.
They have dealt with these issues in their stride before while keeping their economy open. 6.8% growth in New South Wales along with Queensland, both of them have strong tracing and testing regimes in those states which enables us to remain open safely.
But the other challenge as we work past these last few months has been to prepare Australia for a vaccine.
The arrangements have been put in place to secure an access to four vaccines, all of which are proving to be very promising. But they still have stages to pass in the months ahead and that is why professor joins us here this morning.
As is the case with the vaccine and the many other challenges we face, we have got to get that balance right and we will implement the vaccine here in Australia according to Australian needs and Australian conditions and the challenges and opportunities we have here.
Updated
Here is Greg Hunt’s announcement:
The Australian government is continuing to improve Australia’s world-leading vaccination program through the Australian immunisation register amendment (reporting) bill 2020, which enters parliament today.
This bill supports and builds upon the longstanding action of the successive governments to ensure that Australians have access to safe and effective vaccines and that we maintain world leading immunisation rates.
Currently, not all vaccine providers make a record in the Australian Immunisation Register (the AIR) when a vaccine is administered, which means that individuals or health professionals may not have access to vaccination history. This information could be vital in an emergency, when undertaking medical treatment and in managing an individual’s health and wellbeing.
The effect of the amendments in the bill is to ensure all vaccination providers report vaccines given, including any Covid-19 vaccine, to the AIR.
These changes will ensure that every Australian can access their vaccine history through this safe and secure register and support the administration of Covid-19 vaccines and other lifesaving vaccines, including those against the flu and meningococcal.
While the government strongly supports immunisation, it is not mandatory. Vaccination will remain voluntary and individuals will retain the fundamental choice to choose not to vaccinate.
Updated
Scott Morrison press conference
He’s back, and in the prime minister’s courtyard. The first order of business appears to be an attempt to neutralise Labor’s “why are you celebrating the economy when people are hurting” line. The second, will be about China, presumably.
This has been a very hard year. For so many Australians. While it is not getting any easier, the challenges aren’t getting any lesser but the way we deal with things in Australia is we always seek to do them very much in our own Australian way.
A key part of doing that is always working hard to get the right balance.
There is no doubt the problems we face are complex, they are difficult, they have many dimensions. They cannot be simplistically explained or dealt with.
And I understand that Australians get that too. They know there aren’t easy fixes to the challenges we face as a country and they expect governments to wrestle with the pressures that are facing our country and seek to strike the right balance to get that right.
Updated
This was after the Djab Wurrung Directions tree was felled to make way for a road.
Breaking: A Supreme Court justice has extended an injunction on the felling of trees deemed sacred to Djab Wurrung Traditional Owners along the Western Highway. It will be in place until a full trial of the matter is heard in February.
— Timna Jacks (@TimnaJacks) December 2, 2020
Updated
The Queensland election was a very expensive exercise in failure for Clive Palmer – and it might yet prove to be even more costly, as AAP and the Australian report:
The Electoral Commission of Queensland wants to know if Clive Palmer is a property developer to determine if “compliance action” is needed over his political donations.
The businessman and his companies made 31 donations to his United Australia party totalling $3.8m during October’s state election campaign.
It is illegal for developers to make political donations in the state with the ECQ seeking clarity about Palmer’s ownership Palmer Leisure Australia, which The Australian reports has lodged development applications.
The commission applied on Wednesday for the supreme court to declare whether if Palmer’s company is a property developer.
“There are particular features of the definition of property developer which, in the circumstances of this corporation (Palmer Leisure Australia Pty Ltd) and its activities to date, led the commissioner to consider it was prudent to seek a declaration from the court as to whether the corporation is a property developer, before considering whether any compliance action was necessary,” the ECQ told AAP in the statement.
“As the matter is before the court, no further comment will be made.”
The electoral commission’s guidelines explain that it can only be determined if a person or entity is not a prohibited donor.
The laws state that donations from prohibited entities will be collected by the ECQ as a debt to the state.
That debt is doubled if a recipient “knowingly accepted” a donation from a banned entity.
The commission also warned of potential legal action “which could result in serious penalties, including imprisonment”.
Updated
Scott Morrison will hold a press conference at 10.40am.
Updated
And he’s back in the chamber.
Updated
This is lovely story which I think we all need today – a young woman paid off $16,000 in lay-bys at a Gold Coast toy store.
From ABC Gold Coast:
An anonymous ‘Santa’s helper’ has paid off all the lay-bys at a toy store on Queensland’s Gold Coast, totalling more than $16,000, with customers surprised and emotional with the gesture of Christmas goodwill after a tough year.
Staff at Mr Toys Toyworld at Burleigh Waters said a woman came into the store with two others at lunchtime last Thursday and paid the outstanding balances on more than 80 lay-bys in the lead-up to Christmas.
Employee Maddie Gillespie said she had never witnessed such an act of generosity.
Updated
Germany joins other nations in criticising China, saying Tweet 'disconcerting'
Over the past 48 hours we’ve seen a number of countries (France, Britain, America, New Zealand) swing to Australia’s defence after the Chinese foreign ministry posted a digitally created image depicting an Australian soldier cutting the throat of a child in Afghanistan.
Guardian Australia approached the German government for comment on the imbroglio. A spokesperson for the federal foreign office in Berlin has provided this response:
We were disconcerted by this tweet. Spreading such material on official social media is unacceptable. The Australian government is facing up to its responsibility to investigate alleged crimes by its special forces in an exemplary manner.
Proceedings have been initiated to hold those responsible to account. This goes to show that Australia takes human rights and the investigation of alleged crimes seriously and – contrary to others – we very much respect Australia’s approach.
Updated
Labor to launch anti-racism strategy
Morning all.
Labor is releasing a multicultural statement this morning that calls for an anti-racism strategy (like Julia Gillard’s 2012 initiative “Racism: it stops with me”), streamlining processes so it is easier for people to become citizens, boosting the Adult Migration English Program, and a data program to better track ethnic and racial diversity in Australia.
The statement released by the shadow minister for multiculturalism Andrew Giles says:
“Australia is stronger when everyone can be part of our economic, political and social life. We need a renewed focus on community initiatives that foster social inclusion, participation and equality of opportunity. Ensuring existing services are adequately serving the needs of diverse communities and effectively removing barriers to economic, political and social participation is critical.”
The statement says Labor’s multicultural engagement taskforce (formed to consult with communities about gaps in existing programs and services) will report its findings next year.
The statement criticises the Morrison government’s record, arguing the October budget contained “nothing on settlement services, nothing on social housing, nothing on culturally appropriate aged care, nothing for temporary visa holders, nothing for a national anti-racism strategy, and nothing to clear the citizenship backlog created by the Liberals”.
Updated
Victoria reports no new Covid cases
Victoria has had no new cases.
The delay in reporting the numbers had more than one brow starting to get a little sweaty, apparently.
Phew. Had me going there for minute...😉 https://t.co/aKpTsZBoxI
— Chief Health 🍩fficer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) December 2, 2020
Updated
Darwin has started a trial program for international students – but it is still an issue for the nation – researchers think they have the answer:
A new study finds Australia's large, purpose-built student accommodation could solve the problem of quarantining thousands of returning international students. @RMIT @ResearchRMIT https://t.co/s3Gqbx38e3
— The Conversation (@ConversationEDU) December 2, 2020
Updated
This is the most unsurprising result in the history of elections. (Groom is the safest LNP seat against Labor in the country.)
You could put a Hills Hoist with a LNP badge up as the candidate in Groom and it would get elected.
Speaker @TonySmithMP is currently informing the House that he has received a writ certifying the result of the Groom by-election. Mr Hamilton will now be sworn in as the Member for Groom. https://t.co/QAWtzYrGLF
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) December 2, 2020
Updated
Question time will be the Scott Morrison hour today – more so than usual. He could only take one dixer because the audio and visual tech wasn’t great and there was a bit of a delay, meaning there was no usual back and forth. Labor, for the most part, left him alone.
But he would have many, many words saved up and today I fear, we are going to hear them. Many words, many times, with “comeback” being the favourite.
Sigh.
Updated
Jim Chalmers, talking to ABC radio RN, gave an indication of where Labor would be headed today now they have the prime minister back in the chair in front of them and not beaming out from a screen:
Repeatedly, yesterday and today, we’ve welcomed the rebound in GDP growth. But it would be misleading your listeners and the Australian people more broadly if we were to do what Josh Frydenberg seems to do, to pretend that this one-off September quarter GDP figure makes up for substantial weakness still in the jobs market in particular. This is a point that the Reserve Bank governor was making yesterday. There is still substantial weakness in the labour market. The government doesn’t expect unemployment to come down to an acceptable level for some years now. We need to be cognisant of that. We need to focus on that. We can’t declare victory too early. We need to make sure that this recovery is supported so that people aren’t left behind.
Updated
Victoria Health has the numbers coming - but its social media team have this thing sorted out
Numbers are on the way, Victoria. We know you're hooked on them, so are we. We will get them to you as soon as we can. Thanks. 😊
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 2, 2020
Scott Morrison is out of quarantine.
After only releasing pictures taken by his “official photographer”, the PMO allowed news organisations to send along their own staff to capture the prime minister leaving the Lodge after his two-week quarantine.
It’s the first time a prime minister has attended parliament virtually, so it is worth recording the history. Having the PMO release sanitised “candid” shots of the PM exercising and wearing shorts beneath his business shirt and jacket in an attempt to stoke the image he’s just a “daggy dad” (this is the same guy who once sledged Bill Shorten for his “ill-fitting suits”), was just propaganda.
Updated
The NSW cabinet is considering a proposal to decrimalise the drug ice being used for personal use, in an attempt to actually address the issue. For example, rather than just straight to court for the first offence, people would receive a warning, then fines, and only receive a charge if found four times with drugs in 12 months.
Kristina Keneally was asked about it on Sydney radio 2GB and she is not a fan.
I’m not a health expert and it’s been a while since I’ve been in charge of the New South Wales police force, but I really think we need to listen to some experts here. And I’m not yet convinced that what I see on the front page of the Tele is the right way forward. I am highly concerned about the decriminalisation of drugs in countries overseas, and the message it sends to young people, particularly on developing brains, and the use of drugs like marijuana on an adolescent brain. So, I would strongly urge the cabinet to slow down and listen to some experts.
But I do also want to make a point here – a key component to stopping drugs is border control. And we’ve got, you know, the WA police commissioner criticised the ABF for a ‘great shortage’ of border controls to stop drugs reaching our shores. In Defence, our Australian defence forces have raised concerns, so it’s a multi ... What my point, I suppose, is there is a ... There’s got to be a multi-level government solution. It is not one silver bullet here.
Many experts have pointed to the “war on drugs” having failed and criminalisation doing nothing to minimise harm. However identifying people in need of help can work to actually address the issues. It takes time, therapy and work. But its better than just throwing people into a court cycle they rarely get out of it and which doesn’t work to fix the underlying problems.
Updated
Brad Hazzard is now speaking to the ABC about the positive Covid test result in Sydney overnight:
Well, look, up to 8pm last night, we were going to be announcing today that we had 26 clear days. And we have technically had 26 clear days of any community transmission here in New South Wales. But late last night – and then I think I received an email about 1:22am, just to confirm there’s a lady who works at two hotels in Darling Harbour in Sydney, who had tested positive.
So, one of those hotels is the Novotel, which is a police quarantine hotel. So, Health doing in New South Wales what they do, and have been doing for 10 months, and doing all the genomic testing and so on.
But the good news is they’ve tested her family of five and they’re all clear, so that’s a good, positive start, or a good outcome. Because they’re negative! And so we’ll see how we go today.
Updated
Bridget Archer, a Coalition backbencher from Tasmania, broke ranks to speak out against making the cashless welfare card permanent yesterday.
Her position has been supported by the Greens, who have never supported the card. The government is trying to make it permanent at trial sites – which have been chosen in areas where there is a large Indigenous community – despite no evidence it has had any benefit.
The Government does not have the evidence to make the #CashlessDebitCard permanent and now their backbenchers are speaking up about it.
— Rachel Siewert (@SenatorSiewert) December 2, 2020
The desperate pursuit of this card is rooted in ideology, not evidence.
The senate must reject this racist bill. https://t.co/R5spopfHPk
Updated
WeChat has taken down Scott Morrison’s post defending Australia on the Chinese social media site, saying it “distorted historical events”. Twitter has not taken down the tweet which sparked the row, despite Morrison’s demands it did so.
Morrison’s team signed the prime minister up to the site ahead of the 2019 election. He was asked then, if he was concerned about censorship on the platform, given the CCP’s control.
Here is what Morrison said then (as found by the ABC’s Stephen Dziedzic).
Doorstop on the election trail, April 2019 : pic.twitter.com/MjkJWNE87Y
— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) December 2, 2020
Updated
NSW Health has issued its official alert on the new Covid case – it is not connected to the fragments which were found in the wastewater:
NSW Health was notified late last night (2 December 2020) of a new case of Covid-19 in a person who works at a Sydney hotel complex which provides hotel quarantine for returned travellers.
The source of this new infection is under investigation. Urgent genome sequencing is underway to determine whether this is an infection acquired in the community or through work at the hotel quarantine facility. These results are expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Five household contacts of the case were identified and all have tested negative for Covid-19. They will self-isolate for 14 days.
Staff who worked at the hotel complex whilst the case was potentially infectious are asked to get tested and self-isolate until updated advice is received from NSW Health.
The relevant dates are:
- Ibis Hotel Darling Harbour Friday 27 November 2020
- Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour Saturday 28, Sunday 29, Monday 30 November 2020.
As a precaution, NSW Health is also conducting wider testing of staff at the hotel complex.
The person, who lives in south-western Sydney, travelled from Minto to Central and on the Light Rail from Central to Darling Harbour on a number of occasions whilst potentially infectious.
NSW Health will be asking people who travelled on the same services to get tested immediately and self-isolate, until further advised by NSW Health. The route and line details will be provided later today.
NSW Health issued an alert last night regarding a sewage detection in the Riverstone catchment. This case does not reside in that catchment.
Updated
Brad Hazzard told the Seven network he was made aware of a woman, who works at a quarantine hotel, testing positive for Covid at 1.22am.
We had up until 8pm to last night, we would have been saying today is a 26 day without any cases, but we now have one case. She worked at the Novotel and the Ibis at Darling Harbour.”
The woman is believed to work as a cleaner. Her family have so far tested negative.
Updated
Fraser Island is still on fire.
The fire, which started seven weeks ago, has burned across more than 80,000 hectares. Residents of the island’s village, and the nearby resort have been put on high alert.
Updated
Jake Sullivan is the incoming national security advisor to the US.
The Australian people have made great sacrifices to protect freedom and democracy around the world. As we have for a century, America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values.
— Jake Sullivan (@jakejsullivan) December 2, 2020
Updated
Looks like the “comeback” marketing strategy has worked. It has appeared in headlines and morning television today.
The government has churned that word out at least 28 times each question time, in an attempt to get its bang for buck (it came from market research no one is allowed to see and has formed the basis of a $15m advertising campaign) so there will be plenty of pleased faces around the government wing today
"This is the economic recovery Australians have worked very hard for and as long as the virus is kept under control the recovery will continue to gain pace".
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) December 2, 2020
Treasurer @JoshFrydenberg speaks about Australia's great COVID comeback after the economy jumped 3.3%. #9News pic.twitter.com/UDOS8ecROG
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That breaks NSW’s 25-day streak of no locally acquired cases.
Don’t panic about border closures just yet – the standard set by Queensland has been over unlinked cases.
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NSW hotel quarantine worker tests positive for Covid
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed a positive case of Covid – a woman, working at a quarantine hotel, has returned a positive result.
Health Minister @BradHazzard confirms a woman from Minto has tested positive for Covid-19 after working at 2 Sydney hotels.
— Ben Fordham Live (@BenFordhamLive) December 2, 2020
1 of those is a quarantine hotel.
She is believed to be a cleaner.
All residents in Minto must watch for symptoms and get tested if they develop. #NSWpol
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[Cont from previous post]
Hua Chunying:
You mentioned the US State Department deputy spokesperson accused China of “human rights abuses” in Xinjiang. We made clear the truth many times. Here I’ll just briefly stress it again. So-called “human rights abuses” in Xinjiang or “persecution of ethnic minorities” are centenary lies made by extremist anti-China forces, and Australia and the United States played disgraceful roles in this. A case in point is that the Australian Strategic Policy Institute fabricated “proof” and made various sensational lies time and again, which were all exposed by facts.
A press conference was recently held by Xinjiang authorities where they revealed how ridiculous ASPI’s allegations on “concentration camps” are. ASPI identified all buildings with outer walls as “detention centers” in its report Documenting Xinjiang’s Detention System while they are in fact civil institutions.
For example, the “detention center” of Turpan city mentioned in the report is actually a local administrative building; the “detention center” of Kashi is, in fact, local high school buildings and nursing homes.
They are all marked on Google Maps and Baidu Maps. Besides, according to Australian media reports, the US Department of State offered ASPI a funding of as high as AU$1.37 million over the previous fiscal year, representing a 367 percent increase year on year, and all the funds were directed to research projects attacking China.
Such apparent lies and slanders are still being cited by some US and Australian officials when they hurl accusations against China, which is an absurd act beneath them. We hope all parties can steadily enhance mutual understanding of each other, view each other correctly and try the best to view others as cooperation partners rather than rivals. But the bottom line is: no rumors and slanders.
When they talk about rejecting disinformation, they should set an example by proving to the world that they haven’t spread any disinformation about China.
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China accuses Australia of hypocrisy over 'values'
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has held a press conference, where Australia was once again a topic, as the Chinese government continued to defend itself:
Australia said its aim was to uphold the country’s values. So what are these values?
Are the disclosed crimes committed by some Australian soldiers in Afghanistan consistent with Australia’s values?
Is it in line with Australia’s values that some of its soldiers killed civilians and children while allowing no comment or criticism?
Is it in line with Australia’s values that they on the one hand fabricate facts to launch smearing attacks against others while, on the other hand, not allowing other to comment on their erroneous and bad deeds?
If you have obviously done something wrong and bad, but refuse to accept any criticism and even try to shift the blame to others, how can you ever convince people that you know what you’ve done wrong and that you will correct the mistakes?
I noticed some people across the world have said: what’s the real reason behind their anger? Is it triggered by the photo?
Of course not. This is what really irritates them: how can the Chinese have the right to point out their bad deeds or make comments about them? They have been trying their best to promote their values of “democracy, human rights and freedom”, but what they have done either tramples on democracy, human rights and freedom, or reflects typical “double standard” and hypocrisy.
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Covid traces found in sewage in Sydney's north-west
Victoria Health did a “get tested” callout after Covid traces were found in the waste water of Colac.
NSW Health is doing the same thing for Sydney’s north-west:
NSW Health is calling on people in Sydney’s north-west to get tested if they have even the mildest Covid-19 symptoms, after the state’s sewage surveillance program detected traces of the virus at a sewage treatment plant in Riverstone.
Fragments of the virus that causes Covid-19 have been detected in samples taken on Sunday 29 November from the sewerage system that drains parts of Riverstone, Vineyard, Marsden Park, Shanes Park, Quakers Hill, Oakville, Box Hill, The Ponds, Rouse Hill, Nelson, Schofields and Colebee.
Detection of the virus in sewage samples could reflect the presence of known cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in recent weeks in the area served by this sewage treatment plant. However, NSW Health is concerned there could be other active cases in the local community in people who have not been tested and who might incorrectly assume their symptoms are just a cold.
Particularly in light of the easing of restrictions on gatherings announced [yesterday], it is important that people in these areas be aware of any symptoms of illness, and immediately isolate and get tested should even the mildest of symptoms appear. Cold-like symptoms, including a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, tiredness, fever or other symptoms could be Covid-19.
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Following on from Lisa’s story, there was this one yesterday from Adam Morton and Graham Readfearn, in case you missed it:
The British president of the next major UN climate change summit has pointedly thanked Australia’s states and territories for backing a goal of net zero emissions by 2050 while urging unnamed others – including the Morrison government – to join them.
In a speech to an Australian audience on Wednesday, Alok Sharma, the president-designate of the COP26 summit in Glasgow and a member of Boris Johnson’s Conservative cabinet, said more than 120 countries had announced carbon neutrality or net zero emissions targets and urged others to follow.
In a clear reference to the Morrison government’s resistance to 2050 target, Sharma said: “I would like to thank Australia’s states and territories, which have all made commitments to reach net zero by 2050. And I urge all of you who have not already done so to join the race to zero campaign.”
Oh wonderful. The committee which advises the Unesco world heritage committee on nature has found five Australian world heritage sites, including the Great Barrier Reef, have deteriorated. The reef has moved from “significant concern” to “critical”, which as Lisa Cox reports, is the most urgent status:
The outlook for five Australian world heritage sites including the Great Barrier Reef, the Blue Mountains and the Gondwana rainforests, has deteriorated, according to a global report that finds climate change is now the number one threat to the planet’s natural world heritage.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the official advisory body on nature to the Unesco world heritage committee, has found in its world heritage outlook that climate change threatens a third of the world’s natural heritage sites. The outlook has been published every three years since 2014.
It finds the conservation outlook for the Great Barrier Reef has worsened from “significant concern” to “critical” – the most urgent status under the IUCN system. The reef suffered its third mass coral bleaching in five years during the 2019-20 summer.
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Good morning
Welcome to the last sitting day of the week – and the fifth last of the year.
All eyes are turned outward this morning – but towards the UK this time – with the UK announcing that its expert panel has authorised the Pfizer vaccine and will begin rolling out its use from next week.
We are not going earlier than March though. As Luke Henriques-Gomes reports:
The rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine in Australia is still expected to start in March, Greg Hunt says, despite the UK announcing it will start vaccinating its most vulnerable citizens from next week.
The UK government last night revealed it had become the first western country to license a Covid vaccine, with 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be available next week.
But Hunt said in a statement last night:
Our advice remains that the timeline for a decision on approval is expected by the end of January 2021, and our planning is for first vaccine delivery in March 2021.
The health minister said he had spoken to the Australian chief executive of Pfizer last night, who indicated the company “remains on track for vaccine delivery once it is approved for use in Australia by the independent regulator”.
He said the Pfizer vaccine was one of four the government had bought for “a total projected supply of 134.8 million units”:
In addition we will have access to up to 25.5 million units under the international COVAX facility. Safety is our number [one] priority and Australia is well placed both for a thorough, but rapid safety assessment and early rollout of a free, voluntary but entirely universally available Covid-19 vaccine program. Today is an important step for the world.”
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, told the ABC’s 7.30 program finding a vaccine would boost the economy:
We actually had one scenario that if a vaccine was rolled out across the country six months earlier than expected – and the expectation was by the end of next year – then that would be worth $34bn to the Australian economy. There is definitely an economic uplift in the event that we find a vaccine.
The latest Productivity Commission report into Indigenous disadvantage (it is released once every four years) is out today.
Our Indigenous affairs editor, Lorena Allam, has looked at the report:
Rates of Indigenous imprisonment, suicide and self-harm have risen over the past four years, and the number of Aboriginal children being taken into out-of-home care has tripled, according to the Productivity Commission’s four-year report on overcoming Indigenous disadvantage.
But the commission also found areas of early child development, economic participation and some aspects of health and education have improved.
The commission said that where outcomes have not improved, they need to be understood as structural and systemic barriers that work against the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
And Scott Morrison is officially out of quarantine. He will walk out of the Lodge in a little bit and will appear in parliament as usual.
We’ll bring you all the day’s political events (and a little more) as they play out. You have Amy Remeikis and Mike Bowers with you today, along with Murph, Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst and the entire Guardian brains trust.
It will absolutely be a four-coffee day. Maybe a five. Let’s see.
Ready?
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