Thats a wrap for tonight, and for the week – thanks for joining us
It’s been a long day for a Friday. To recap:
- Australia Post released a statement saying the Cartier watches awarded to senior managers were actually worth nearly $20,000, not $12,000.
- The rolling average for metro Melbourne has dropped to 5.5 cases, after only one new case was reported this morning, with no new deaths. Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to announce the easing of more restrictions on Sunday.
- Qantas announced that the Victoria border closure cost them $100m, but chief executive Alan Joyce said if Queensland opened to NSW soon he expected domestic capacity to improve to up to 50%.
- Scott Morrison held a press conference after a meeting of the national cabinet, outlining a new reopening plan, reviews of the hotel quarantine program and his goal to get 26,000 stranded Australians back home by Christmas.
- Victoria police have pepper-sprayed anti-lockdown protesters gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. Between 200 and 300 protester gathered there, with police arresting 16 and issuing 61 penalty notices for a range of offences. Three police officers were injured during the protest, with one taken to hospital as a precaution.
- Wallabies legend David Pocock announced his retirement.
- Queensland LNP leader hit back at critics calling her youth curfew program racist, saying she found the claims “deeply offensive”.
- Tasmania announced it was easing more restrictions on events, outlining a Covid-19 “framework” that will allow events to host up to 10,000 people.
Good luck to the teams competing this weekend, especially the Panthers. To everyone else, enjoy the weekend!
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I kind of feel a little cheated that this has come through so late, there are so many more questions.
Where did that missing $7,950 go? Why was the $12,000 reported instead? Did they forget how much they cost?
I mean I’m certain I’d remember every cent if I spent nearly $20,000 on watches, but perhaps that’s just me.
Australia Post has released a statement clarifying those infamous Cartier watches actually cost $19,950 in total.
The four watches cost $7,000, $4,750, $4,400 and $3,800, and the purchases were made in November 2018.
The statement also suggests that the board was not asked to approve the purchase of the watches.
Apart from the startling admission of a missing $7,950 from the figure reported earlier this week, it is important to note when this statement was made: at 6.30pm, on a Friday, before the grand finals. Interesting.
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Tasmania eases restrictions
Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein has announced the easing of more coronavirus restrictions, including opening events to up to 10,000 people over the summer.
Gutwein announced a “framework for Covid-19 safe events”, which will allow for three levels of events held after 1 December.
It’ll essentially allow more people to attend events should the organisers ensure they stick to particular restrictions. Gutwein also added that dancing and standing while drinking were, unfortunately, still not allowed.
Public health director Mark Veitch said the framework wasn’t a free-for-all.
“You can’t, for example, have a concert and not control the mixing of people – so a large space and everyone ends up at a very large mosh pit at the front,” he said.
“Say you were having a concert in a field. There are ways you could do that – you could ask people to bring blankets and have people spread out.”
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A little more now on that shift in emphasis away from Middle East deployments.
As reported earlier on the blog, the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, said Australia would reduce its naval presence there so it could deploy more resources to the Indo-Pacific – including ending the annual deployment of a Royal Australian Navy ship to the Middle East.
Australia would not also extend its “time-bound commitment” to the International Maritime Security Construct seeking to uphold security of oil supply routes beyond December this year.
Asked for more detail on the current deployments, defence said: “There are currently no Royal Australian Navy ships in the Middle East region. HMAS Toowoomba was the last ship deployed on Operation Manitou and returned to Australia in June 2020.”
About 20 Australian defence force personnel remain as embedded staff under the command of US naval forces central command in Bahrain. Other additional ADF personnel are deployed for other operations in the Middle East.
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It is still grand final weekend, and what better time to reflect on the Melbourne Storm’s 18-year dynasty.
Will it be champion hooker Cameron Smith’s last game? Will legendary coach Craig Bellamy continue beyond this year? We still don’t know, but it’ll certainly make for a fascinating match-up this Sunday.
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The ACT government has issued a warning on an asthma thunderstorm this weekend.
The statement says elevated pollen levels going into the weekend combined with potential thunderstorms could cause some people to develop asthma symptoms.
People who suffer from hay fever or asthma are being encouraged to stay vigilant. They should avoid going outside, especially during a thunderstorm.
The warning comes as the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for eastern Australia.
Already seeming some #storms kick-off across parts of #NSW, but for most tomorrow is likely to be the main day. Widespread #rain or showers in many places, but within the broader system expect much smaller & localised, but potentially damaging storms https://t.co/Ivhjqcehoh
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) October 23, 2020
Warning are being issued for the possibility of heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and flash flooding affecting NSW and the ACT.
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Back to the United States, and a photo of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is making the rounds showing bruises and a bandage on his hand.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not answer questions about his health, only saying there were "no concerns" despite visible bandages and bruises https://t.co/YHrrDvXO5s pic.twitter.com/hJ47xDimxl
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 23, 2020
McConnell did clarify that there were “no concerns” about his health, but what is going on there?
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Reports of a Brett Sutton cover-up is not backed up by the documentary trail, revealing a less-than-sinister reading of his actions.
The Victorian media have painted Sutton as attempting to prevent emails that contradicted his sworn evidence to be given to the state’s inquiry into hotel quarantine.
But the key document – a letter from the health and human services department’s lawyers, Minter Ellison – is more ambiguous than incriminating.
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A testy exchange in Senate estimates today, after Greens senator Lidia Thorpe asked senator Anne Ruston, families and social services minister, how many “white organisations” receive funding intended for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander communities:
Can't ask legitimate questions about spending funds allocated to Blak communities without offending someone 🙄 white fragility needs to be checked. pic.twitter.com/WYC2av7IDf
— Lidia Thorpe (@lidia__thorpe) October 23, 2020
Earlier Thorpe pointed out that only 67% of the money allocated towards the federal Indigenous advancement strategy goes to Indigenous community organisations.
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I just want to return to the PM’s press conference earlier today where, when asked about corporate culture and the money taxpayers are giving to heads of government agencies, he said the following:
I think it will be important to receive the recommendations of the reports and inquiries that have been initiated, and it may well be that that comes forward. Let’s wait and see. I’m very open to those recommendations. Let’s see. Let’s see. But I think there wouldn’t be a board member of a government agency or a CEO of a government agency that didn’t get my message yesterday. I think they got it with a rocket. And so my advice to them is to get it.
What does the ending there mean? Do these executives now have volunteer to receive said rocket? How should they “get it” if they did not “get it” earlier? Here’s hoping the rocket is indeed received.
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The government has announced it is changing its international development program to develop country-specific Covid-19 development plans worth $840m.
Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne and MP Alex Hawke released a joint statement saying the program, called Partnerships for Recovery, will include 27 response plans tailored to Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific and south-east Asia. They will focus on “economic recovery, health security and stability”.
“Economies have been heavily impacted and livelihoods are being threatened,” Payne said. “Australia stands with our neighbours as we respond to the human, economic and social costs of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our shared prosperity and security across the Indo-Pacific depend on how we work together, today.”
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Curfew plan not racist, says Deb Frecklington
Queensland LNP leader Deb Frecklington finds it “deeply offensive” that critics have called her youth curfew plan racist.
In response she says she represents an Indigenous community, and that her husband works with Indigenous people. Unsure at this stage how that’s relevant to the curfew, but sure.
The LNP has said it will trial a night curfew for teenagers in far north Queensland for six months if it was elected. The plan is apparently aimed at “reducing crime”.
Anyone picked up in breach of the curfew will be fined $250.
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In case you missed the final Biden-Trump presidential debate, here’s the Guardian’s panelists’ verdict:
It was a calmer and more coherent debate than the wild and unwieldy first debate, although it hasn’t set the world on fire in the same way.
The president has attempted to shift the momentum of the race, as Biden slammed him for his handling of a pandemic that’s killed more than 220,000 Americans.
Australia will reduce its naval presence in the Middle East so that it can deploy more resources to the Indo-Pacific region, the Morrison government says.
Today’s announcement flows on from the shift in Australia’s defence strategy, unveiled in early July, when the government ordered the military to focus mainly on Australia’s backyard and flagged a big increase in spending.
At the time Scott Morrison also cautioned the United States not to necessarily expect Australian participation in future coalition efforts in places like the Middle East.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, said “an increasingly challenging strategic environment” was “placing greater demand on ADF resources closer to home”.
“As a result, the Australian Defence Force will reduce its naval presence in the Middle East to enable more resources to be deployed in our region.”
The statement said the changes would include ending the annual deployment of a Royal Australian Navy ship to the Middle East.
It added that Australia would not extend its “time-bound commitment” to the International Maritime Security Construct beyond December 2020. The IMSC was formed last year by a group of countries including the US and UK to uphold security of oil supply routes after Iran was blamed for attacks on tankers.
Despite those changes, the government said the ADF would maintain staff positions with the combined maritime forces, the US naval forces central command, and within joint taskforce 633.
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A review presented to prime minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders today called for a reassessment of the quarantining methods the government is currently employing.
AAP is reporting that the review called on the national cabinet to consider different models of quarantine, including using monitoring bracelets, mobile apps and isolation at home.
Other suggestions included a seven-day hotel quarantine featuring heaving testing, as well as travel corridors.
“It is noteworthy that Australian businesses have indicated willingness to manage quarantine arrangements for essential workers, including through the use of wearable monitoring devices for low-risk travellers to ensure that businesses can continue to operate,” the report said.
The report notes that hotel quarantine, although having served Australia well so far, was difficult to endure, expensive and required a specialised workforce.
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The investigation into the lavish gifts given to Australia Post executives may cost more than the $12,000 spent on Cartier watches.
The two government departments involved in the investigation are looking to hire an external law firm for assistance, something that will not be cheap.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is facing renewed scrutiny today, this time over the allocation of the $250m Stronger Communities Fund.
At a parliamentary committee today, senior ministerial staff are facing questions about the fund, with just a handful of emails between the premier’s office and that of her deputy, John Barilaro, all that is evidence of the allocation of the funds.
The inquiry has heard that documents giving the premier’s approval for millions of dollars in grants were later shredded, and any electronic copies of the notes deleted.
The premier’s former chief of staff, Sarah Cruickshank, said it wasn’t routine practise for the premier’s office to destroy such documents.
Nearly all the grants were awarded to local councils in Coalition-held seats.
Cruickshank was also asked why six grants worth over $40,000 were allocated to the electorate of Wagga Wagga, the electorate of disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire.
The parliamentary committee, chaired by Shoebridge, will follow up on the matter with a subsequent hearing scheduled for 27 November.
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The first two planeloads of returning travellers have arrived in Darwin, with the first busloads arriving at the Howard Springs facility shortly.
They’ll be subject to strict quarantining, including being offered an arm band that’ll allow doctors to monitor their vitals remotely.
The federal government is essentially leasing the facility, paying the Northern Territory government $50m, with the territory saying it will spend that money coordinating the facility and making sure it is cyclone-proof (cyclone season is on the way).
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Wallabies legend Pocock announces his retirement
Sticking with sport for a moment, Wallabies legend David Pocock has announced he is retiring, saying “the time was right” to hang up his boots.
Pocok was capped 83 times over an 11-year Wallabies career, with the 32-year-old saying he will now dedicate his time to activism and environmental conservation.
“There was no one pivotal moment or thing that made me want to retire now, I just had a sense that the time was right,” Pocock told Guardian Australia.
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Cheers Josh. It’s grand final weekend, and I’m extremely excited to see a team from western Sydney competing this weekend (this is my life as a Canterbury supporter now), but there’s lots more going on today. Let’s dive in.
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I am now going to hand over to my colleague, Mostafa Rachwani, who will see you through the rest of the afternoon.
I hope you all have a pleasant evening.
People in South Australia are now also eligible for the federal pandemic disaster payment.
The $1,500 payment is available to workers who cannot work because they need to isolate or quarantine or care for someone with Covid-19.
So far $15.5m has been paid to 10,300 people since the start of August.
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Looks like it is a bigger protest than previous ones have been. As someone in Melbourne, I understand the frustration with lockdown but we are about 48 hours away from (hopefully) much more restrictions being eased.
Today's anti-lockdown protest is bigger than in recent weeks, but from the air it appears to me there are more Police there than protesters @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/YoQ38oTTUj
— Andrew Lund (@andrew_lund) October 23, 2020
Anti-lockdown protest: Better scope of the crowd gathered outside the Shrine. Police powerless to make arrests now. @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/yp3oFAMfuc
— Brianna Travers (@briannatravers) October 23, 2020
Victoria police pepper spray anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne
Police have used pepper spray against anti-lockdown protesters gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, AAP reports.
Between 200 and 300 protesters gathered at the city’s sacred war memorial opposing coronavirus restrictions in the city.
An AAP photographer says police have used pepper spray amid scuffles.
A few people have been arrested.
A man being arrested and filmed by TV crews said, “What are you holding me for? What is the problem with you?”
The protest got under way about 2pm and is the latest in a string of protests against premier Daniel Andrews’ tough measures to control Covid infections throughout the past few months.
Protesters face two separate fines if they attend an anti-lockdown rally at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.
Victoria police assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius has warned they could also fall foul of legislation governing behaviour at the shrine.
Cornelius said the RSL and the shrine have made it clear that any protest on the site is disrespectful to the memory of people who have served their country.
He said the shrine legislation covered behaviour and how people are dressed, adding that anyone who refuses to obey police could be fined about $300.
While lockdown rules have been eased this week, Melburnians can still travel no more than 25km from their homes and are not permitted to have visitors to their home unless for caregiving reasons.
They also can be fined if they gather in groups of more than 10 from more than two households, and must wear masks as well as social distance.
There were scuffles and several arrests last month as police broke up a protest at the shrine.
A website for the Friday protest tells participants: “Daniel Andrews must resign and lockdowns must end. Restore our freedoms now.”
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My colleague Ben Butler has the full Asic story:
The chairman of the corporate regulator, James Shipton, stood aside on Friday while Treasury investigates payments of more than $118,000 made to KPMG for tax advice he received.
Fringe benefits tax of more than $78,000 was also charged on the advice, bringing the total cost to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to almost $200,000.
Treasury is also investigating a $750 a week relocation payment made over two years to Asic’s head of enforcement and deputy chair, Daniel Crennan QC.
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More from Senate estimates, via AAP:
A senior official engaged in negotiations over the Aboriginal flag has described talks with the artist as complex and delicate.
The National Indigenous Australians Agency is locked in discussions with Harold Thomas and the flag’s licensees.
NIAA chief executive Ray Griggs acknowledged use of the Aboriginal flag remains a divisive issue and has pledged to resolve the negotiations in a timely, fair and reasonable way.
“These discussions are complex and delicate, and based on goodwill and trust,” he told Senate estimates on Friday.
“Mr Thomas has asked for these discussions to remain confidential at this point and NIAA intends to respect this.”
The government is negotiating to potentially buy the commercial rights from Thomas and the flag’s non-Indigenous licensees in a move that would allow the design to be freely used.
A parliamentary inquiry has recommended the government establish an independent body with custodial oversight of its use if the artist is willing to part with its copyright.
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Re a chartered flight from Laos with 41 vulnerable Australians that was cancelled because it was not allowed to land in Cairns, Morrison said that was a matter for the Queensland government.
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Morrison press conference summary
Let’s summarise what Morrison announced out of national cabinet:
- New reopening plan
- Federal hotel quarantine review to be released today
- Coag review to be released today
- Recommendations of both have been adopted by national cabinet
- National cabinet to keep exploring alternatives to hotel quarantine including quarantine for international students on campus, and mining workers at mining camps
- Morrison aims to get 26,000 Australians stuck overseas back to Australia by Christmas, but depends on Victoria reopening
- All states and territories bar WA have committed to reopening by Christmas.
- Still 2,800 vulnerable Australians overseas
- Just over 200 active cases of Covid-19 in Australia, and no one in the ICU
- Morrison open to broader review of executive bonuses paid at government-owned businesses.
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That’s the end of the press conference. It’s a bit delayed on ABC because of the US presidential debate. I will pass on the new roadmap when PMO provides it to us.
Morrison is asked if he is equally outraged about the ASIC chair standing aside amid the findings that he was overpaid as he was about Australia Post’s Cartier watches scandal.
Morrison said Shipton has stood aside.
He’s then asked whether he was engaging in the politics of envy around the watches scandal. Morrison said he does not agree.
“I don’t think what we learned yesterday would have passed any test with the Australian public when it comes to a company that is owned by the government,” he said.
Morrison said he’s open to a wider review of public servant executive bonuses, but thinks there wouldn’t be a board member or CEO of a government agency that didn’t get his message yesterday.
“I think they got it with a rocket.”
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Prof Paul Kelly is asked about the commonwealth’s responsibility in aged care and the Covid-19 deaths in aged care.
Kelly says the government is “taking on board” the royal commission’s findings and will report in early December.
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Morrison says he can’t put a timeline on when the international borders will reopen, and the airlines understand that.
“I think what is important is what we are signalling to the community ... We are already moving forward to try and solve these problems, so we are being proactive about it,” he says.
He says at this point in the pandemic with the cases coming under control, national cabinet not needing to have “phone books of announcements” every second day now means they have more time to plan when they meet.
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Morrison says Victoria opening up in the next few weeks would allow for more returning Australians to quarantine in Victoria, and he said it would clear the backlog of more than 26,000 Australians wanting to get home before Christmas.
How long until people can return without being in hotel quarantine but in other quarantine arrangements such as at home? Morrison says it’s part of the review that is being conducted.
“There is no undue haste here. There are risks here ... We want to know what the options are. We want to know if they are safe.”
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Morrison says the federal government is keen to see restrictions ease in Victoria this weekend.
We’re very pleased that those numbers are now where they are and obviously that provides the opportunity to open up again, and I’m sure Victorians and particularly those in Melbourne would like to see that occur and I understand the premier will make some further announcements this weekend. That’s a matter for him to do as he regularly has each week.
And so we’re obviously keen to see that opening up or whether been the hospitality sector or other parts of the economy and the shutdown in Melbourne has had, obviously, a terrible impact.
He says the key to opening up is ensuring the public health system can cope with outbreaks, and all states and territories bar Western Australia had committed to opening the borders up before Christmas.
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Morrison says there are about 2,800 vulnerable Australians still overseas, but 161 have landed in Darwin for their two-week quarantine at the Howard Springs facility.
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Chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly says there are just over 200 active Covid-19 cases in Australia, only 19 in hospital and nobody in intensive care. He said 80% of the cases are overseas-acquired.
“We’re doing extraordinarily well, continuing to do testing whether it’s required and particularly in those geographic areas where cases have been found, or wastewater or sewage testing has shown that there may be cases,” he said.
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Morrison says the recommendations out of the Peter Conran review of the Coag process been adopted by national cabinet and the report will be released later today.
Morrison says it “basically streamlines further” the commonwealth and states relations process.
He said the national federation reform council will meet in December in its new format, and will discuss women’s safety on top of the existing topics.
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Caps on returning Australians will increase next month, Morrison announces. There will be an additional 140 next month in WA and another 150 in Queensland.
All jurisdictions have agreed to flexibility on caps on returned travellers to accommodate the most vulnerable.
He says the national cabinet is also looking at other quarantining measures, including quarantining on farms, for those coming for mining in camps, or on campus for international students.
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Morrison announces a new reopening plan for the economy nationally.
He says the recommendations of the hotel quarantine review conducted by Jane Halton were agreed to by national cabinet and the report will be released later this afternoon.
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Scott Morrison press conference starts
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is holding a press conference after today’s national cabinet meeting.
Morrison first pays tribute to former Labor minister for women Susan Ryan after her state funeral earlier today.
“A remarkable and wonderful Australian, and we thank her for her service.”
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Victoria border closure costs Qantas $100m
Qantas has suffered a $100m hit to its first quarter earnings after several states closed their borders in July in response to Victoria’s coronavirus outbreak, AAP reports.
Chief executive Alan Joyce said on Friday the states’ decisions had delayed Qantas’ recovery.
He had expected domestic services to be operating at 60% of pre-Covid levels.
Yet the border closures, which include Queensland and Western Australia, mean domestic services are operating below 30% of previous levels.
Joyce told shareholders at Qantas’ annual general meeting that if Queensland opened to NSW soon he expected domestic capacity to improve to up to 50%.
“We’re expecting to see a boom in domestic tourism once more borders open up,” he said.
The airline aims to save $600m this financial year to stay viable. It’s cut 6,000 workers, is likely to cut 2,000 ground handling crew and has stood down 18,000 staff.
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All this ASIC drama happened while the chair, James Shipton, was appearing before a parliamentary committee.
ASIC chair James Shipton has stepped aside from his role while a review is undertaken into the remuneration and benefits paid to executive office holders. Shipton made the shock announcement while appearing before a Parliamentary committee hearing on Friday.
— Patrick Durkin (@patrickdurkin) October 23, 2020
ASIC chair stands aside amid review over tax advice payments
Australian Securities and Investment Commission chair James Shipton has released a statement after treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s announcement that the auditor general found Shipton and his deputy, Dan Crennan had been paid over and above their remuneration tribunal defined limit.
The pair has agreed to pay the amount back, but Shipton said he will stand aside while an independent review is conducted:
I have advised the treasurer this afternoon that, in the circumstances, it is appropriate to stand aside pending the outcome of the review. Whilst I believe that I have acted properly and appropriately in this matter, I hold myself to the highest possible standard.
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Scott Morrison to speak at 1.30
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will hold his post-national cabinet media conference at 1.30pm AEST.
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My colleague Ben Butler says Shipton was paid nearly $120,000 for tax advice, plus more than $75,000 in fringe benefits tax. Crennan was paid $750 a week to relocate to Melbourne, paid for two years.
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ASIC chair and deputy to pay back expenses after annual report audit
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair and deputy chair will repay payments they received for advice and for housing expenses that fell outside their remuneration limits.
Frydenberg said the auditor general found payments made to chair, James Shipton, relating to taxation advice, and deputy chair, Dan Crennan QC, relating to housing expenses may exceed the limits set by the Remuneration Tribunal.
The auditor general also found instances where the commonwealth procurement rules were not followed.
Shipton and Crennan have agreed to repay the amounts, and Asic will review remuneration and benefits paid to executives.
Frydenberg said Treasury would also undertake an independent review, to be done by Dr Vivienne Thom, and expected to be completed with the full cooperation of Asic by the end of the year.
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Interim report on a Voice for Indigenous Australians handed to government
An interim report on a Voice for Indigenous Australians has been handed to the responsible minister after dozens of co-design meetings over more than a year, AAP reports.
Three working groups have met more than 70 times since talks began in October 2019.
The 52 members have developed a range of contested models and options.
The co-design and senior advisory groups have finalised their proposals and recommendations.
Ray Griggs, from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, said their interim report captured “robust deliberations” throughout the process.
The report was handed to Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt on Friday.
“This will mark the completion of the first stage of the process,” Griggs told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra.
Public consultations are expected to run until March and Griggs anticipates a final report will be published between June and August next year.
He said Wyatt wanted to push the process along quickly, but would not be drawn on whether potential legislation would be introduced by the end of next year.
“I don’t think I should speak to a legislative timetable but I know the minister is very keen to see this through,” Griggs told the committee.
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Some more news coming out of Senate estimates.
Correction: NIAA has told Senate Estimates that just 67% of the money allocated towards the federal Indigenous Advancement Strategy goes to Blak organisations.
— Lidia Thorpe (@lidia__thorpe) October 23, 2020
That means 33% of that goes to non-Indigenous organisations.
The Victorian health and human services department has put this out about the sewage testing that showed some traces of Covid-19 in Ararat:
Fragments of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes coronavirus, have also been detected in untreated wastewater samples collected in recent days from wastewater treatment plants at Colac, Gisborne, Kilmore and Shepparton where there are known residents with recent infections.
While the test results may not mean there are currently active cases of Covid-19 in these communities, the Department of Health and Human Services has increased testing with local health services and taken further wastewater samples.
People who have had coronavirus may shed the virus or virus fragments for several weeks on used tissues, off their hands and skin when washing, and in their stool, well beyond their infectious period.
The preliminary positive test result from Ararat is not expected, with no known recent cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the area. As with all wastewater testing, it may be because of someone local who is shedding the virus or from a visitor to the area.
While the other positive wastewater test results are in line with recent known cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), the most recent cases in the Colac and Gisborne areas, including New Gisborne, Macedon and Mt Macedon, are nearing the end of the typical shedding period.
Victoria this month increased its surveillance of wastewater. Samples are now taken from 42 wastewater treatment plants across Victoria with additional sites recently at Bacchus Marsh, Bairnsdale, Cowes, Gisborne, Hamilton, Horsham, Kilmore, Melton, Portland and Warrnambool.
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Foreign affairs minister apologises for data breach
Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne has apologised to Australians stranded overseas who had their personal identities inadvertently revealed in a consular email, in what was the third data breach in as many months.
Payne also said she had sought clarification from the secretary of Dfat, after Guardian Australia revealed the latest privacy breach which occurred on Wednesday when the Australian embassy in Paris sent an email to Australians stuck in France who had registered with the department their wish to return home.
All recipients were listed in the CC section of the email, and when Dfat unsuccessfully attempted to recall the email, it sent out a follow-up request asking recipients to delete it from their inbox.
Asked about Guardian Australia’s report by the ABC’s Sabra Lane, Payne said: “It is not an ideal situation at all.”
We know this is an issue that needs to be addressed, and I understand the secretary is taking that up with officials to endeavour to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
It is not something that I like to see. I know that we try to be very careful with people’s personal information, as we should be, and to observe our privacy obligations. And I will repeat my concerns.
I am very sorry that these events have occurred. And as you say, this is the third occasion. I am sorry that they have occurred. I know our officials are trying very hard to support as many Australians as they possibly can overseas. It is important to be careful with people’s private information, and that has absolutely been reinforced to my department.
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AAP reports the Aboriginal Hostels company providing housing for Aboriginal people does not have any Indigenous senior staff.
Chief executive Dave Chalmers has set a target of 66% Indigenous staffing levels by the end of next year, but under questioning from Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy, he conceded it would be difficult.
“Frankly we have been in a steady decline from the high some decades ago of 80% Indigenous staffing,” he told Senate estimates in Canberra on Friday.
“It’s just been a gradual decline and I intend to arrest that.”
Chalmers, who was appointed chief executive earlier this year, said he and the chairman were acutely aware the agency’s executive did not have Indigenous representation.
“That will be something that we can’t remedy in the short term because the recruiting has already taken place and we have people in place for a number of years,” he said.
“But I would be looking to ensure that we have opportunity for senior executives, as well as across the organisation, so we are better represented.”
Aboriginal Hostels Limited was established in 1973 to provide accommodation for Indigenous people away from home to study, work or receive medical treatment.
It runs 47 hostels across the country and was allocated $40m in this year’s federal budget.
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On the bonuses that aren’t blingy watches.
In just the year to June, Australia Post paid $1.95 million in bonuses to 35 of its executives earning over $520,000 a year. That’s 648 Cartier watches - or 162 times the total Cartier watch spend. (Or about 27,850 Casio watches...)👇 https://t.co/S8mmcqJmhh
— Anthony Klan (@Anthony_Klan) October 23, 2020
We will probably be in a bit of a news lull while national cabinet is meeting and the US presidential election debate is on in about 25 minutes.
You can follow the debate in our other live blog here.
Restrictions in New South Wales have also eased today with 30 people allowed to gather outdoors, group bookings at hospitality venues extended from 10 to 30 people, and up to 300 allowed at places of worship.
Staffing regulations at gyms have also been relaxed: a safety marshal is required only when more than 20 people are working out.
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The consumer watchdog says it’s received more than 10,000 complaints regarding travel bookings during the pandemic, AAP reports.
In some cases, travel agents are providing partial refunds but withholding thousands of dollars which they say are needed to cover their costs.
A parliamentary economics committee on Friday heard there had been a six-fold increase in total complaints during the Covid period, many relating to travel services.
In relation to travel bookings, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is not taking its normal “enforcement” approach, but rather decided to work with travel agents and tour operators to ensure consumers either get a full refund or some of their money back.
ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said the main concern of the watchdog was misrepresentations made to consumers that they are not entitled to any refund.
We’ve seen examples of retrospective changes of terms and conditions by some companies.
She said it was not the ACCC’s position that all customers must get full refunds.
Terms and conditions often do allow for withholding of exactly the sort of deduction or commission or labour cost as long as it is reasonable and appropriate.
ACCC chair Rod Sims said post-pandemic there would be an opportunity for a broader look at the issue.
Some have suggested a redress scheme that would sit over the top – some other countries have got that – (but) we haven’t turned our minds to that.
Updated
New South Wales reports no new locally acquired cases
New South Wales has reported seven new cases of Covid-19, all in hotel quarantine. There were no local cases reported.
NSW has reported no new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 23, 2020
Seven cases in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine were also reported, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,181. pic.twitter.com/XsOFGqlY9n
Updated
Australia’s Future Fund – a taxpayer-funded investment fund designed to grow the country’s wealth – invested $50m in the failed (and much-mocked) video streaming site Quibi.
The investment was revealed this morning by the Australian Financial Review and the Washington Post, following the news that Quibi will shut down after only six months.
Quibi attracted a string of negative reviews, and low subscriber numbers, with a model that only commissioned films and shows shorter than 10 minutes.
One episode, directed by respected horror director Sam Raimi, was particularly mocked for its flat acting and strange concept, focusing on a woman who had a golden arm.
Australia’s taxpayer-funded future fund invested $50 million in the company that made this pic.twitter.com/KPVWeQCaZ3
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) October 22, 2020
Quibi raised $2bn in funding in total and a Future Fund spokesman told the AFR that “As Quibi winds down we’ll be receiving capital back”.
The Future Fund has more than $4.3bn to invest in venture capital. “It’s in the nature of venture capital that some investments don’t work and some produce outsize returns,” a spokesman said.
Updated
Notes over council funding to Berejiklian 'shredded and deleted', committee hears
Notes given to New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian regarding millions in disputed council funding were shredded, and their digital versions deleted, in what was “not routine practice”, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Two senior staffers to Berejiklian are testifying before the NSW parliament public accountability committee today about the Stronger Communities fund, where more than 95% of $252m in grant money was given to coalition seats, according to the NSW Greens.
The committee heard that Sarah Lau, a senior policy adviser to Berejiklian, sent two emails regarding the grants that said “The premier has approved” and “The premier has signed off further funding”.
But Lau said that this was just “a turn of phrase” and Berejiklian did not “approve” the funding.
I would say my use of the term ‘approve’, and I think the other email I might have said ‘sign off’, it was a turn of phrase, I was using. It would have been more accurate to say she confirmed she was comfortable with the proposed projects.
The truth is, she was not approving any payments under the grants program. As I have mentioned earlier, that was not a role that she had under the program.
Lau said she gave Berejiklian a “working advice note” about the funds, and the premier “indicated on that note that she was comfortable”. She said she could not recall what Berejiklian wrote, but it was likely that she just ticked the note, or circled it.
After the premier indicated she was comfortable...I sent emails recording that...I then disposed of those working advice notes...in line with my normal record management practices.
She said the notes were likely shredded.
She was asked by the chair of the committee, Greens MP David Shoebridge, whether digital versions existed.
Lau said the notes were created on Word and they are “no longer available”, and she believed she had deleted them “as part of her normal record keeping process”.
Shoebridge then asked Sarah Cruikshank, who was Berejiklian’s chief of staff at the time, if this was routine practice.
Cruikshank said: “No I would say it is not.”
Updated
We can bring you more details now of the letter the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, sent to the conservative Liberal senator Eric Abetz likening him to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
This, of course, comes amid ongoing tensions in the relationship between China and Australia.
The one-page letter, dated yesterday, is in response to a letter Abetz sent to the ambassador on 19 October. Abetz is the chair of the Senate foreign affairs, defence and trade legislation committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the Morrison government’s proposed foreign veto powers which are widely expected to target international agreements such as Victoria’s Belt and Road deal with China.
The ambassador began his letter by saying he wanted to share with Abetz a Chinese proverb that “A Mind of Malice does not present sense or truth”.
Those who made malicious allegations against China in their submissions and during the recent public hearings were notorious for their longstanding anti-China stance. Everything about China is twisted in their eyes and minds.
The ambassador did not name which witnesses before the inquiry he had in mind, but the public hearings have heard from critics of the Chinese Communist party such as Clive Hamilton and Drew Pavlou.
Cheng then appeared to turn his mind to Abetz’s controversial tactics at a separate inquiry into issues facing diaspora communities, where the senator last week urged three Chinese-Australians to publicly and unconditionally condemn “the Chinese Communist party dictatorship”.
Having said that, I have to point out that your recent assertions on China at the Senate are far off the mark, which have the smack of Geobbel’s tricks. It is appalling and outrageous, deserving condemnation. It’s my hope that you would look at China and our bilateral relationship in an objective and rational manner without tinted lens or bias. I also hope you could do more to help improve the relationship on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, rather than making it more difficult to the detriment of the interests of both countries.
Abetz told the Australian newspaper – which first reported the contents of the letter – that the “unattractive belligerent and indeed aggressive tone of His Excellency’s response confirms why so many in the Chinese diaspora live in fear of the Chinese Communist dictatorship even here in Australia”.
Updated
Andrews says he will get to watch the second half of the AFL grand final on Saturday, because in the first half he will be in meetings deciding what restrictions will ease for Sunday.
He predicts it’ll be close but Geelong will beat Richmond by one goal. And that’s the end of the press conference.
Andrews can’t say where chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton is today. He had yesterday off, and he hasn’t been in the press conference since Monday.
Sutton has not made an appearance at the daily presser since the hotel quarantine inquiry released letters that showed he did not think emails should be provided to the inquiry indicating he was included in a 27 March response to the federal government that explained private security would be used in hotel quarantine.
Sutton has said he did not absorb the information at the time.
Andrews denied it is unusual for Sutton to not appear at the press conference for the past few days, and said Sutton would be at the press conference on Saturday.
Updated
Andrews says two mystery cases will drop off the 14-day number on Saturday, and one will drop on Sunday. So barring any other outbreaks, Victoria will be down to seven mystery cases on Sunday when the announcement around restrictions easing will occur.
Updated
Andrews has a go at people who are protesting the restrictions again today. He says it is still against the CHO orders to protest.
You should stay at home. Protests don’t work against this virus and potentially put at risk all the good work we are done.
We want to get the place open and make announcements on Sunday. If people are out protesting, that does not help.
Updated
Andrews is asked whether stores should have a QR code login system for registering people who visit. He says pen and paper can work (and did for the Kilmore cafe outbreak) but he thinks there will be more QR code systems over time.
Worth noting New South Wales has its own QR code system that restaurants and other venues can use.
“Everything is on the table” Andrews says on whether hospitality limits could be extended further than planned, and the 25km limit could be dropped.
He says he the Sunday restrictions easing announcement will lay the groundwork for what the next few weeks of easing of restrictions will be like, but he rules out having suburb-specific rules for places with outbreaks because the nature of Melbourne is people work and live across a number of suburbs.
Daniel Andrews says it is his intention for international flights to resume coming to Melbourne before the end of the year, but says it will depend on the report of the hotel quarantine inquiry (currently due 6 November).
There will be – we know there are a significant number of Aussies who are overseas and want to be home by Christmas and I’d very much like to have them flying direct into Melbourne, those that need to come to our state, flying direct.
Updated
Meanwhile, South Australia has issued a health warning for Meningococcal.
HEALTH UPDATE: MENINGOCOCCAL CASE pic.twitter.com/AkTf20R8Sv
— SA Health (@SAHealth) October 22, 2020
The new positive case linked to the northern Melbourne school has had very few contacts outside of the house, Weimar said.
Weimar says now that active cases are at 100, the state is able to manage the active case numbers, and the Department of Education is working at communicating quickly with those schools where students test positive.
Why did it take so long? Weimar says the vast majority of people required to isolate have done that, but the misunderstanding with a close contact child attending school when they should not have means they’ve had to re-evaluate how it is communicated to people that they need to isolate.
Updated
Is it an order for those 800 people to isolate? Weimar says yes.
So if we go back to how we now approach these kinds of outbreaks, so we have identified primary contacts. Primary contacts are required to isolate and they will be tested, we will be contacting them directly, we have contacted them directly, and we will be testing them and this work is ongoing. Their secondary contacts are also required to isolate. Generally that tends to be the people living in their household as is the case of the 83 or so close contacts we have at East Preston Islamic College.
Their families, around 400 people in total, are being required to isolate. We are 390 additional secondary contacts from other close contacts that we are working through in this wider outbreak.
Updated
Victoria has now done testing of sewerage in 42 locations, and on Tuesday found traces of Covid-19 at Ararat. A pop-up testing clinic has been set up at the East Grampian Health Service for people to get tested if they have symptoms.
Weimar says in other locations where traces of Covid-19 has been found in sewerage, they haven’t found any additional cases.
We tested around 15% of the population in both Anglesea and in Apollo Bay, we in the end did not find a definitive case of coronavirus. But this is what – what the surveillance testing identifies for us is – it is a warning sign that says that either somebody has travelled through the area who has been shedding the virus, it may be an old case in the community or somebody who has come back from an another part of the state, but it may be a new case.
Updated
800 people asked to isolate after East Preston Islamic College outbreak
Department of Health and Human Services deputy secretary Jeroen Weimar says the advisory notice on the Broadmeadows community housing block has been lifted, and the residents can travel as freely as the rest of Melbourne in line with the current restrictions.
But he says people across northern Melbourne should continue to monitor symptoms.
A total of 6,500 tests were conducted in northern Melbourne.
On the East Preston Islamic College outbreak, Weimar says there are 83 families connected to the outbreak, and about 400 close contacts to them, and 390 secondary contacts. So currently around 800 people being asked to isolate.
Updated
There were 19,428 tests yesterday.
Eight people are in hospital and none are in the ICU.
There are just two active cases in regional Victoria, both in Shepparton.
There are now just five active cases in aged care settings.
Andrews says Victoria is “very well placed” to announce significant easing of restrictions on Sunday.
We are very well placed to make some significant announcements on Sunday and they will be a testament to the absolute determination of the Victorian community to see this thing off, to do it properly and to make sure we got the numbers to such a low level that we have every reason to expect we can keep them low. Fixing the health problem and then moving on to deal with the important economic and very personnel challenges that this pandemic has made clear.
This is a good number. This is a very clear sign that the strategy is working and that we are well placed to be able to have more to say about a program to steadily open up those safe and steady steps towards that Covid normal summer, a Covid normal Christmas and a 2021 that is vastly different to 2020.
Updated
Daniel Andrews press conference starts
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is providing his daily update.
The one new case in Victoria is a parent from the East Preston Islamic College. Currently no contact has been established between this new case and the current northern metropolitan outbreak.
Asymptomatic testing will now be offered to all members of the East Preston Islamic College community to ensure any possible links and cases are identified.
Today is the state funeral for first female Labor minister, and first female minister for women, Susan Ryan.
Today all national flags in the ACT will fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for the State Funeral of the Honourable Susan Maree Ryan AO (1942 - 2020). pic.twitter.com/d9hDI9Bu9P
— Australian Parliament House (@Aust_Parliament) October 22, 2020
The public holiday in Victoria today is technically for the AFL grand final tomorrow, but obviously that isn’t happening in Victoria this year – it’s in Brisbane. So today is a ‘thank you’ day.
Thank you to all Victorians for helping us get through this together.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) October 22, 2020
Thank you to frontline workers for your dedication, resilience and hard work.
Thank you to everyone working hard behind the scenes across the state.
Thankyou. #ThankYouDay pic.twitter.com/VID4Cel2fy
Updated
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is holding a press conference where he made the point I did earlier about the other bonuses.
The extraordinary revelations that on Scott Morrison’s watch people got delivered $3,000 Cartier watches to the value of $12,000, that’s on top of the enormous bonuses that have been given. And it’s also on top of, if we look at government owned enterprises, the NBN has given over $1m of bonuses to its executives. This government has an Australia Post board that is a Liberal swamp of failed Liberal politicians, and Liberal connected people.
You have Mike Ronaldson, a former senator and member of the House of Representatives. You have got Tony Nutt, a former director of the Liberal party, in different states, and nationally. You have got Bruce McIver, former head of the Queensland LNP. Deirdre Wilmot, former advisor to the West Australian premier. I don’t know why South Australia missed out. It’s beyond belief these senior Liberal functionaries are on the board and Paul Fletcher and Scott Morrison found out about this because of questions from Labor in Senate estimates.
He pointed out the bonuses were given out while postal services were cut back. ABC cut away when he started talking about childcare, but I will follow up if we hear anything more.
Updated
Estimates is still on today, by the way.
Happy Friday everyone! It's another #estimates day here in the #Senate, and two committees are meeting from 9 am to hold cross portfolio hearings: one into Indigenous matters https://t.co/YvYD54kSsx; and the other into Murray Darling Basin Plan matters https://t.co/9fETi4idNs
— Australian Senate (@AuSenate) October 22, 2020
We will bring you some updates from those sessions when we can.
The Victorian premier Daniel Andrews will hold his daily press conference at 10am AEST.
National cabinet will meet later this morning.
It’s not a new iPhone day without the usual queues, even during a pandemic.
Coronavirus not stopping queue at Sydney Apple Store for iPhone 12. First guy in line has been here since 1130 last night pic.twitter.com/pIZGvdwPVp
— Daniel Van Boom (@dvanboom) October 22, 2020
Victoria police will use drones to make sure people aren’t in violation of Covid-19 restrictions and having gatherings on AFL grand final day tomorrow, AAP reports.
Melburnians are not allowed to have friends or family visit their home to watch Saturday’s Richmond-Geelong decider, while regional Victorians can only have two people over plus any dependents.
Assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius confirmed that police will use drones to monitor for illegal public gatherings and insists they won’t “be hovering over people’s pizza ovens in their backyards”.
But Liberty Victoria vice president Julia Kretzenbacher is still not satisfied their use would be “proportionate” with Covid-19 health guidelines.
“It’s quite a significant incursion on people’s privacy,” Kretzenbacher told 3AW on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a Victorian health department staffer is now subject to a police investigation over a leak of the state’s Covid-19 roadmap the premier initially dismissed as “out of date”.
Updated
China's ambassador to Australia compares Abetz to Goebbels
China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, has likened Liberal senator Eric Abetz to Joseph Goebbels, AAP reports, saying his tactics smack of Nazi propaganda.
Abetz has offended many Chinese Australians by demanding people denounce the Chinese government.
Foreign minister Marise Payne is displeased with the inflammatory comparison.
“Nazi comparisons, frankly, rarely contribute very much of use to any discussion and this would be no exception,” Payne told ABC radio on Friday.
But she declined to criticise Abetz for demanding the denunciations.
We are always prepared for robust debate and robust exchange in Australia including from our members of parliament.
But my personal view, and I think it is one which the prime minister has expressed before, is the only pledge we expect Australian citizens to make is the pledge that they make when they become an Australian.
Updated
Looks like the watches debate will continue. It is interesting, because a lot of executives of government companies (I’m looking at you, NBN Co) make many many more thousands of dollars per year in cash bonuses but it doesn’t get nearly as much push back from the government as $3,000 watches.
"This gifting of expensive watches is completely unacceptable ... this type of behaviour is not tolerated, not accepted, and should not occur in the future."
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) October 22, 2020
— Minister @Birmo on the Australia Post story #auspol pic.twitter.com/hopeyj9ay3
Victoria records one new case
Some good news for Friday. Victoria has recorded one new case of Covid-19 and no deaths.
The rolling average for metro Melbourne is now down to 5.5. So close to the 5 average for easing restrictions. The mystery cases is still at 10, but we were told yesterday it would be a couple of days before more mystery cases within that 14-day window would drop off.
Yesterday there was 1 new case & no loss of life reported. The 14 day rolling average is down in Melb & regional Vic, and cases with unknown source stable. There is more info here and also later today https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/VlVc1EZlpm
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 22, 2020
Updated
In the question and answer section of the online address to the Australian Public Health Conference, Prof Brett Sutton responded to online criticism and some of the disinformation and misinformation online.
People are “precious about the lockdown and that’s understandable,” Sutton said. He said people had been awfully and personally affected by the lockdown and had very personal experiences of it, which they were sharing online. But he added:
I do return to the fact that as scientists, as empiricists we have to speak to what the evidence is saying. I think we have to recognise that there is no absolute clear, right, single pathway. We’re all trying to find the best way through this. But we have to be frank and fearless in the advice that we give and stick to that expert, broad input from from the public health community. But the fact that we were dealing with a novel coronavirus, a newly emergent disease where we’re all learning as we went along ... that just opened up the entire world to kind of an armchair commentary with definitive statements about what to do, what not to do, hydroxychloroquine can cure everyone. So much commentary was in retrospect, patently wrong. And I do think that’s part of the miscommunication that you need to acknowledge the uncertainty, but also reference the evidence that is emerging the evidence that you do have, and stuff that goes into your decision making.
He said that it had been “exhausting” and his colleagues and family had been “unbelievably supportive”.
It’s been a really significant burden for so many for so many people in my public health team.
I think we’re all cognisant that that’s, you know, that’s just a small part of a challenge for the whole of Victoria and we need to support each other in the broader sense. There’s a whole Victorian community who’s suffered through this together. And some have had such an awful burden to bear, I think, and for the workforce we’ve just put our nose to the grindstone and and being totally focused on the task, but it is exhausting.
Updated
On Thursday night the chief health officer of Victoria, Prof Brett Sutton, gave an address to the Australian Public Health Conference, speaking about the frontline experience of Covid-19 in Victoria.
He presented alongside Prof Devi Sridhar, the Chair of Global Public Health and Edinburgh University Medical School.
Sutton spoke briefly about the importance of strong leadership in a pandemic, telling attendees: “I hope I played my role in that space.”
I think the critical elements for me have been listening and learning... It is never a case of a single individual having the answers. It is never the case of a single individual being able to make those decisions in a vacuum I have had literally thousands of people in supporting my decision making, and I have been explicit in reaching out as broadly as I can for the critical voices, for the supportive voices, for the innovative ideas, and for all of the new and challenging perspectives that must be brought because we need to mobilise the very best of our team. And we need to regard the team as all of the Victoria, Australia and indeed the global public health community.
Sutton also spoke about public health communication, and the need to tailor messages to different audiences throughout a pandemic. He said risk communication is critical and needs to be engaging to multiple different parts of the community; one message for all people is not good enough.
I think they all need an honest and authentic voice. I think that needs to speak to the things that are working the things that are not working... the things we know, the things we don’t know, but also be motivating where fatigue is so real, where a crisis that would have been tough for a month has been going for nine months. It needs to take people on a journey that they can remain engaged with.
Sutton’s leadership has been under question in recent weeks following his appearance at the hotel quarantine inquiry when he said he had no knowledge of the decision to use security guards in hotel quarantine. The Age revealed last week an email chain showing Sutton had authorised a response to the federal government in March which said Victoria would rely on private security at quarantine hotels.
Sutton has been asked by the inquiry to provide an affidavit answering questions raised by the newly-released emails.
Updated
Today also marks the second and final debate between US president Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Joe Biden. That will likely take up much of the air time today, after Trump released an unedited 60 Minutes interview ahead of its air date. He walked out of that one.
And amid reports a Dutch hacker was able to log into his Twitter account by guessing his password as ‘maga2020!’
You can follow all the updates on our other live blog here.
Updated
Today is also the second and last day of final submissions from counsel assisting in the two-year-long aged care royal commission. AAP has this:
The inquiry was told on Thursday an estimated 50 elderly people were sexually assaulted in aged facilities per week in Australia.
Lawyers have submitted 124 recommendations, including mandatory staffing ratios and new laws to protect the rights of elderly people, which will be considered ahead of a final report due in February.
It is proposed from July 2022, residential care providers must have nurses and other personal care workers dedicate at least 215 minutes to the average resident per day.
Commissioner Lynelle Briggs said the federal government should, as part of approving services, ensure the boards of aged care providers have the right culture.
“We will need to see providers championing the reforms we propose,” she said.
“We need to nudge providers along to take their leadership responsibilities more seriously and make them accountable.”
Updated
Here is AAP’s report on today’s national cabinet meeting:
Prime minister Scott Morrison will push to increase the weekly cap of 6,000 international arrivals when he chairs a national cabinet meeting on Friday.
More than 32,000 Australians remain overseas.
Morrison imposed the weekly incoming passenger cap to ease pressure on hotel quarantine.
Foreign minister Marise Payne wants states and territories to steadily increase their quarantine capacities.
“We would hope that it does gradually increase through the states and territories as they are able to deal with quarantine,”Payne told ABC radio on Friday.
It also wants Victoria to restart its quarantine scheme after bringing a second wave of coronavirus under control, given Melbourne was Australia’s second-largest international entry point.
The federal government has organised a burst of repatriation flights for vulnerable Australians.
The first flight from London will arrive in Darwin on Friday before the 161 passengers are taken to Howard Springs.
Senator Payne said the government had eight chartered flights in planning.
One will take off from New Dehli in India next week and another from Johannesburg in South Africa.
An in-depth review of the state-by-state schemes will be examined by national cabinet.
Former health department boss Jane Halton began her review in July and wrapped up on 30 September.
Halton has examined the way clinical, hotel and security staff were trained in infection prevention and control.
She also investigated evidence of community cases linked to international travellers in hotel quarantine.
As well, she looked at the management of suspected and confirmed cases, provision of support services, management of vulnerable people and cultural diversity, and making more capacity available.
Updated
Victoria’s head of contact tracing, Prof Euan Wallace, is on ABC RN Breakfast talking to Dr Norman Swan.
He says in that northern Melbourne outbreak, the contact tracing team has “put a ring around it” in terms of “making sure that we keep that fire break between cases and contacts on the rest of the community”.
He says the outbreak is mostly between and within households, and households that know each other. He indicates that again it seems as though households were mixing when that is against the rules.
Wallace is talking up the improvements on the contact tracing system, including there now being 12 metro and regional hubs for tracing that are more embedded in the local communities, and he said some of the commentary around the contact tracing team has been “unjust”.
Updated
Good morning
Hello and welcome to Friday. Josh Taylor here on the liveblog for you until this afternoon.
There is a bit of anxiety in Victoria today as a potential outbreak from a school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne could put at risk the run of low case numbers in the state over the past week.
Premier Daniel Andrews has insisted everything is being thrown at it, with around 500 people who are close contacts or close contacts of close contacts currently isolating and awaiting test results. It’s a public holiday in Melbourne today for the AFL grand final which is not being held in Melbourne tomorrow, but we are expecting the usual daily press conference today.
Ahead of the announced easing restrictions on Sunday, Guardian Australia has learned the Victorian government is seeking out intelligence firms to identify workplaces at risk of breaching Covid-safe rules.
There is a national cabinet meeting today, where the focus will be on removing the restrictions and getting the economy restarted.
The first returned travellers on a Qantas flight subsidised by the government is currently on its way from Darwin.
In federal politics, outgoing minister for finance, Mathias Cormann, has been spruiking a green recovery as part of his pitch for the job of secretary general for the OECD.
The Australian embassy in Paris has accidentally revealed the email addresses of people looking to get home by failing to put them in a BCC field of an email, the third such incident in recent months.
There will likely be some more wash up from Senate estimates this week today, potentially around Australia Post and those watches, but until then, let’s get into it.
Updated
