What we learned on 29 May:
And that’s where we will leave it for tonight. You can keep up to date with everything happening around the world with our global live blog. Here’s a quick rundown on everything that happened today:
- The federal government has agreed to pay $721m to welfare recipients that it seized incorrectly through the Coalition’s botched robodebt scheme.
- Scott Morrison has announced that national cabinet, the meetings between the government and state and territory heads that have taken place during the pandemic, will permanently replace the Council of Australian Governments (Coag).
- Historian Jenny Hocking has won a landmark high court case in her bid to secure sensitive correspondence between the Queen and former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.
- Alan Jones has turned off his microphone for the last time after taking a final congratulatory call from Scott Morrison and welcoming two of his biggest fans, Tony Abbott and Mark Latham, into the studio.
- Israel wants to introduce direct flights to Australia and waive quarantine requirements for travellers by December, and become a transit gateway for Australians flying to “first mover” European countries.
- Australia is considering allowing Pacific labourers to travel to Australia to work where possible as part of a new foreign aid “policy pivot” that includes the redirection of $280m from Australia’s existing aid budget.
- More than 120 researchers and medical professionals from around the world have written an open letter to the editor of the Lancet raising serious concerns about a large and widely publicised global study that prompted the World Health Organisation to halt several Covid-19 clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine use.
From me, Elias Visontay, have a great evening and weekend.
Updated
Gordon Legal, the law firm leading a class action on behalf of robodebt victims, has said the government’s “$721m capitulation” on Friday is “just the first step”.
James Naughton, a partner at the firm, said in a statement:
We welcome the government’s announcement that it has now conceded that it has to pay back the money it is holding unlawfully.
Our clients do not consider that it is reasonable for the government, having now conceded that it acted unlawfully should unilaterally decide that it can take its time to pay it back and not be responsible to those affected for the loss and damage its unlawful conduct has caused.
Our clients will also want the government to explain to the court why it made this announcement without any consultation with them or the court and has chosen not to address their claims for damages for the distress and inconvenience or the interest they are entitled to receive because the government has had the benefit of their money unlawfully.
In our view any process undertaken will need to be approved by the court to ensure that the rights of those affected, including their right to claim damages and interest are safeguarded. Many of the more than 100,000 people who have now contacted us, have understandably lost faith in Services Australia and the government, and deserve to know how their entitlement to receive their money back is being calculated and administered.
Updated
The Community and Public Sector Union, which represents Centrelink workers, has welcomed the refund of $721m to welfare recipients, but criticised the government services minister for waiting for “the fear of a class action” to act.
The CPSU national secretary, Melissa Donnelly, said:
Our members are experts, they are on the frontline of this work every day, and had they been listened to in the first place they could have saved Stuart Robert $721m.
The government have called this a refinement, let’s be clear, this program was an illegal money grab from vulnerable Australians. The Morrison government needs to do more than announce this late on a Friday afternoon, they need to apologise to those hundreds of thousands of Australians affected by this.
Updated
For more on the $721m in robodebt repayments, my colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes, who has written extensively on the subject, has filed this report:
Updated
Opposition government services spokesman Bill Shorten has slammed Stuart Robert not just over the robodebt scheme, but also his decision to announce the $721m error at a Friday afternoon press conference on the Gold Coast.
He is also calling on Robert to apologise to “the Australians they ripped off”.
The Morrison government has for months been denying its pet scheme is illegal but today that house of make believe has been torn down.
When he put the emergency brakes on the scheme he said it was only “a refinement” affecting a “small cohort”.
This sneaky Friday afternoon take-out-the-trash moment with the minister hiding out on the Gold Coast does not end the class action trial which is just weeks away.
At $721m this is already the biggest class action settlement in Australian legal history – and it is not settled yet.
They will still have to account to the families who lost adult children to suicide because of robodebt, and for the various other harms, stresses and inconveniences caused.
For Stuart Robert, sorry seems to be the hardest word. He should immediately front the Australian public and apologise to the multitude of robodebt victims who have suffered so much because of this scandal.
Updated
Government services minister Stuart Robert says Australians who are owed money by the government won’t “need to do anything in terms of getting a refund”.
He defends his actions as minister, and the ongoing role of debt collecting:
The use of debt collectors is a long standing practice for government over many, many, many years where debt is validly raised and details aren’t available, or the Australian citizen is not engaging with government. It’s a long standing practice of government.
The reason why it’s taken since November when I updated that we’re refining the program and that we would be pausing all debts is it’s taken a while to identify all of the 373,000 Australians. We wanted to get that right.
We wanted to also build out the platforms needed to do a large scale refund, something that government has not generally done in the past.
On the class action against the debt recovery program, Robert says:
It’s a longstanding practice of governments not to comment on anything before the courts...there is a class action before the courts on this matter, I think we’ll leave it at that.
He adds:
This is a program that started five years ago based on the best information at the time. I’ve been the responsible minister for 12 months. As soon as information came to light to show there was a lack of sufficiency I moved quickly to pause all debts and refine the program as you’d expect.
I promised I’d come back to the Australian people with updated information, which I’m doing openly and transparently today.
I’m confident I have the right numbers, and I’m confident I’ve got the right systems to do the refund.
At a press conference on the Gold Coast about the $721m blunder, government services minister Stuart Robert is asked if he should apologise to those affected.
The government started this program over half a decade ago based on the best information at the time ... we’re moving forward with the best information we have.
Updated
To give you a bit of an idea of how such an error occurred, income averaging used an individual’s tax office data of their yearly income and spread it over fortnightly value.
It used this figure to check against the income lodged by a Centrelink recipient in any given reporting period, which meant that those Centrelink recipients who changed jobs or did not earn the same amount of money each fortnight, were forced to pay money back to the government for the weeks where they may have had higher Centrelink payments.
This process drew criticism from those asked to pay back money, with a Melbourne woman winning a federal court case against the government after she challenged her debt.
Interest was also charged on some of the payments.
Updated
Government to repay $721m worth of robodebt errors
In a press release sent out minutes after the post-national cabinet press conference, minister for government services Stuart Robert has said the government “takes its responsibility for upholding the integrity of Australia’s welfare system seriously”.
Refunding of the $721m will begin in July, and comes from 470,000 debts raised using income averaging from ATO data.
From July this year, Services Australia will refund all repayments made on debts raised wholly or partially using income averaging of ATO data. Refunds will also be made for any interest charges and/or recovery fees paid on related debts.
Services Australia has identified 470,000 debts raised wholly or partially using income averaging of ATO data. Refunding of eligible debts will commence in July and will continue through the 2020-21 financial year. The total value of refunds including fees and charges is estimated at $721m.
Services Australia will now put in place the mechanisms needed to start making refunds, including how affected customers are advised of next steps. Consultation will occur with stakeholders, including the commonwealth ombudsman, and clear communication is a priority, so people understand what it means for them.
It is important to note all other income compliance debts will continue to be subject to recovery, ensuring the integrity of Australia’s welfare system.
Robert is holding a press conference at 3.45pm.
Updated
And on that note, I will place the blog in the very capable hands of Elias Visontay.
I’ll be back Monday morning. Have a wonderful weekend, and as always – take care of you.
The national secretary of the key union at Virgin Australia, the Transport Workers Union, has welcomed news big Canadian player Brookfield Asset Management is back in the race to buy the airline.
“Having serious bidders like Brookfield in the mix is a good thing because they bring a serious approach to it,” Michael Kaine told Guardian Australia.
“The more we have in there the better the outcome for workers.”
Kaine also had something to say about a PR blitz mounted by rival bidder Bain and its former diver boss, Mike Murphy, who gave interviews to two national papers yesterday.
Murphy was an Olympic diver who finished fourth at Barcelona in 1992, a performance that if repeated here would once again see him fail to mount the winners’ podium.
“Whatever the bidder, it’s not so much their spruiking that’s important, it’s what they put in place,” Kaine said.
“We’re happy to hear their messaging but it’s what they come up with that’s important.”
Meanwhile, administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said he’ll be spending the weekend whittling the bidders down to a final two.
“The next step in the process is to consider the proposals we receive today over the weekend, with a view to settling on a final short-list of two preferred parties early next week,” Strawbridge said.
“This next phase, which will include further engagement with stakeholders and aircraft financiers as they seek agreements on future terms ahead of binding bids being received, will be just as intense and defined by an ongoing focus to deliver the best possible commercial outcome for creditors, and see Virgin Australia restructured and out of administration as a strong and sustainable airline.”
Mark McGowan is now doing up his own snazzy tweets.
Daniel Andrews is rubbing off on everyone in that national cabinet.
We've just announced the details of Phase 3 of our roadmap for the easing of restrictions, with significant changes coming into effect on Saturday 6 June. pic.twitter.com/Khz3PhZ6Cy
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 29, 2020
Mathias Cormann’s now-regular financial statements update has a lot of Morrison government rah-rah-rah about jobs, so you KNOW things are getting back to what it considers normal.
As for the accounts, well, it’s not so rosy:
The fiscal impact of our historically significant support measures is also temporary, limited to the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years and is not baking material structural burdens into the budget bottom line beyond that period.
Nevertheless, the April monthly financial statements reflect both the impact of the current economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on both revenue and payments as well as the fiscal impact of the additional economic support measures we have put in place since MYEFO 2019-20.
Total payments to the end of April 2020 were $12bn higher than assumed in the 2019-20 MYEFO profile.
These include payments through a range of measures including:
· Boosting cash flow for employers
· Economic stimulus payments – a one-off $750 stimulus payment to pensioners, social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders
· National Medical Stockpile – Purchase of Masks, Other Personal Protective Equipment and Pharmaceuticals;
· National partnership agreement on a joint Covid-19 public health response; and
· Partnership with private health sector to ensure viability and capacity during the Covid-19 response.
The impact of the pandemic on government revenue as a result of related economic parameter variations also remains significant, with receipts nearly $20bn lower than the 2019-20 MYEFO profile.
This is driven by below profile collections across both income and indirect taxes.
The underlying cash balance for the financial year to 30 April 2020 is a deficit of $40bn instead of a deficit to that point of $7.6bn in the 2019-20 MYEFO profile.
Updated
National cabinet press conference
So a little bit of new information in there:
- The national cabinet will replace the Council of Australian Governments (Coag).
- It will meet once a month in ‘normal times’ and continue meeting once a fortnight during the pandemic.
- Leaders will meet face to face twice a year.
- National partnerships will be nutted out by the treasurers, at their meeting, with input from portfolio ministers.
- The states and federal government have struck a new hospital agreement worth $131bn over five years.
- Border reopenings were to be part of stage three, which is not expected to be implemented until July.
Updated
Scott Morrison on the contracting media industry:
Anyone who loses a job, that’s a bad day. And as a government we’re focused on creating jobs, whether it is the media sector and the announcements made by News, I spoke with Michael Miller yesterday, and it is a hard day for those who work in the sector, particularly in rural and regional areas. Whether it is a tradie or anyone else’s job, we want to make sure we can get our economy performing more strongly than it is now as soon as we can so we can create those jobs again.
That response continues:
But, I think there’s been quite an error being made to think that jobkeeper is the only economic support that the government is providing. That’s not true.
There are many, many, many forms of support that the government is providing. And we will target the best measures to do the job that we need it to do and that is to support people, staying in jobs, and getting back into jobs. That’s what’s the most important thing and what we’re focused on and our programs will support that.
We have been doing, and will continue to do, the fiscal heavy lifting that the Reserve Bank governor first said when we were back in Parramatta in March at what was the last Coag meeting. And it’s important that we do that. And states do it with us. And I think $150bn in six months is some pretty heavy fiscal lifting.
The Reserve Bank may have run out of ammo when it comes, largely to what they can do on cash rates, but the commonwealth government in particular has certainly stepped into the breach.
And we’ve done so significantly. And we anticipate that we’ll need to do that for some time. But that doesn’t mean that that requires you to do it in every single measure that we currently have out there. We’ve got a lot of flexibility.
Updated
Scott Morrison gives a very long answer in response to the question on whether or not he will take up Phil Lowe’s advice that the stimulus packages may need to be continued beyond September:
We’ve had lots of advice on these matters and I think it’s important to contextualise all of this.
The government has many measures of support. JobKeeper, Jobseeker, cash flow assistance, targeted to industry sector support. And we are planning to ensure that the economy and jobs get the support they need to get us through this crisis and to get us out the other side.
Jobkeeper and Jobseeker, and how they’re currently framed, have got their legislative timeframe heading out to the end of September.
But it is important to ensure that we come out of this crisis strongly and we continue to create jobs in our economy. And so we’ve always been flexible about how we manage this. But what is important to know is that time goes on, more of the economy gets stronger.
And more of your economy is less in need of those specific supports than it was at first.
But some sectors of your economy will need them for longer. Now, whether that’s in the measures you’re talking about or in other measures, well, that’s an option for the government to consider.
Updated
WA is bringing back arms day. And chest and back and leg day.
In shorts, shredding is back (along with a bunch of other things). Do you even lift bro?
Phase 3 coming in hot at 11.59pm Friday, June 5.
— Jenna Clarke (@jennamclarke) May 29, 2020
100 gatherings of peeps
300 inside big venues with lots of space
All food businesses can open for seated meals
Beauty therapy
Saunas
Cinemas
Full contact sport and training
Playgrounds
Gyms (including all equipment)
All back
Updated
Would the prime minister be open to NSW starting travel with New Zealand?
Morrison:
The short answer to your first question is, yes. And the states are aware of that.
If we’re in a position to introduce a travel-safe zone between Australia and New Zealand at an early stage and we’re aware of the epidemiology in New Zealand, on the same basis as here in Australia.
And there are health officials have met on that in the past week and Brendan and I discussed that, Prime Minister Ardern and I discuss it regularly and we are progressing it well and for the jobs that will be created in the aviation sector in particular don’t be held up on the decisions Premiers wish to make.
I made it clear today the jobs in Qantas and Virgin, particularly those two airlines but others, that trans-Tasman channel being open is going to mean jobs for the aviation sector and flight attendants and baggage handlers and fuel operators, in the industry that has taken the biggest beating of all. Jacinda Ardern and I agree, the net benefits for our countries opening up to each other again is a strong one and we have both put ourselves in a position to do it.
I can’t see it with other countries, it is still a way off but we are looking forward to that day being sooner or later but I hope in Sydney and Melbourne you can get to the states and territories and Auckland at the same time but we’ll see what happens
There have been 6.1 million downloads of the CovidSafe app
Scott Morrison:
Now, under the three-step plan, it wasn’t until step three that it was envisaged that there would be interstate travel.
Now, whether you have a border or you don’t have a border, formally put in place, step three of the plan, which was expected to be in place in July, is when that was expected to be the case.
Now, I note that all states and territories are working towards that, whether they have borders or not.
But the truth is, and I’m sure, and this was discussed today, that it’s preferable to be able to be in a situation where you don’t have borders as soon as possible because obviously, that means that the tourism industries in particular and particularly with school holidays coming up, might be able to benefit from that travel.
So, I think we’ve got to keep the issue in perspective. We don’t agree on everything. No one does.
It would be a bit weird if they did in a democracy. And we have to bear in mind that in the vast majority of cases the states and territories have worked very well with the commonwealth on these issues and I remain optimistic common sense will prevail on the time table national cabinet has set out.
Updated
Scott Morrison, asked about the border closures, says freight and business travel has continued.
When it comes to tourism, or interstate travel for personal reasons, he says it was never really meant to be an option until stage three, which is planned for July.
Which is what most of the closed states have been saying.
Politician who built career as a pure political animal, now hopes politics can stay out of it:
Where we can focus on an agenda and a clear purpose to create jobs, and I would expect at some point we might be able to nominate, certainly the federal government has a jobs target, and that can be the clear purpose of why we’re meeting together every month.
That’s why we have the broader issue of the federation reform council to once a year deal with those broader important issues like domestic violence and our progress on closing the gap. It’s about managing the agenda.
It’s about managing ourselves and I think it is about valuing what we have been able to create in these aren’t recent months.
We have met more time in the last few months than premiers and chief ministers and the prime minister has met in 10 years. Amazingly, something good has come from that. Much good. And we recognise that and want to preserve it.
Updated
On whether politics will mess up the beautiful friendship of the current national cabinet, Scott Morrison says:
Politics still exists and the environment, the media environment we operate in, which is very interested in conflict, that also exists and that’s just how it is. And we’re all experienced and professional politicians and leaders and we understand that. It is very much up to each of us to value what we’ve been able to establish, I think, in the national cabinet and seek to preserve it.
Updated
So national cabinet will meet, face to face, twice a year.
The rest of the 10 meetings will be over teleconference.
“It is a much more flexible way of working,” says Scott Morrison.
Professor Brendan Murphy steps up:
An interesting statistic, there are only two people left on ventilators in Australia, a long way short of the 7,000 potential that we catered for in the worse-case scenario.
We are doing 30,000 tests a day with a very low positivity rate of 0.05% at the moment. We would still like to do more tests. We would like every person with an acute respiratory problem, cough, cold, to get tested.
It is the way to track the virus.
Today I presented to National Cabinet the national surveillance plan, which is a document that shows how we’re going to track surveillance of this virus in the coming months and that will be published on the Department of Health website and give you full information on all the things we’re monitoring.
I also presented the first report back on the Pandemic Health Intelligence Plan. You’ll recall that that was the plan that we used to convinceb National Cabinet that we were in a fit state to start easing restrictions and that was the basis before people moved to step one of the three-step plan.
That first report really is only on two weeks’ worth of data because most restrictions were relaxed two weeks ago. As the Prime Minister said, it is too early to draw definitive conclusions but we are on track.
All the measures we thought should be stable and in good shape remain in good shape at the moment. But in two weeks, it’s not possible to be absolutely sure - and we do need to watch the data over the next one to two weeks - to make sure that we’re not getting more than the expected small outbreaks that we do expect to see as we relax restrictions.
Left out of that is local government.
And of course, any mention of whether or not we will ever have something resembling that terrible awkward press conference held after each Coag, ever again.
Updated
So it’s all about federation reform. Scott Morrison:
Federation reform issues and responsibilities between states and territories and the Commonwealth will be considered at the National Cabinet because we think that gives Australians confidence. And this really is a job of rebuilding confidence, right across the country. And that includes confidence in our governance and making sure that all governments are works closely together and in particular that we’re doing so to get Australians back into work. The final details of which ministerial groups are set in this area, as I said, the consolidation that takes place in the other areas, that will come in time.
But we’ve agreed on the new structure and we think that will ensure for Australians that get better government, more focused government at a state and federal level.
Scott Morrison:
It’s important that ministers at state and federal level talk to each other but they don’t have to do it in such a bureaucratic form with a whole bunch of paperwork attached to it.
They need to talk to each other, share ideas, but the congestion busting process is simplifying that. That come together to solve issues and move on. They talk because they find value not because of a bureaucratic process.
There are councils that are created under statutes, particularly the Disability Reform Council, the ministers have roles under legislation and there are a number of others but we will look to consolidate and reset those.
We want to stream line those endless meetings so we can bring it back to one focus: Creating jobs out of the back of this crisis and ensuring the federation is focused on that job just like we have been focused as a National Cabinet on managing the country through our federation through this national crisis of COVID-19. So, that is an exciting new agenda for our federation.
Updated
Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management will re-enter the race for ownership of Virgin Australia, Guardian Australia has learned.
The group, which was favoured by unions and parts of Virgin’s management, dropped out of the race over uncertainty about issues including how the airline will bridge a four to six week gap between a sale and new ownership being approved by creditors during which it will have no cash.
Indicative bids close today and administrators from Deloitte will then whittle the race down to two players.
Scott Morrison on the new, permanent, national cabinet:
The National Cabinet will be driven by a singular agenda, and that is to create jobs. It will have a job-making agenda. And the National Cabinet will drive the reform process between state and federal cooperation to drive jobs. It will drive a series of ministerial cabinet subcommittees, if you like, that will be working in each of the key areas, and in addition an initial list of areas and that will be further consulted on with the states. So in rural and regional Australia, on skills as I was talking to the National Press Club just this week on energy, housing, infrastructure, population migration and transportation and having a healthy workforce and a healthy community to support a strong economy.
The National Cabinet will continue to work with a laser-like mission focus on creating jobs as we come out of the COVID crisis and we work into the years into the future.
The National Cabinet will work together, with what is known as the council and federal financial relations, that is basically the meeting of treasurers. They met today.
Those treasurers will take responsibility for all the funding agreements for the states and the Commonwealth.
The treasurers will bring them together, consulting with the portfolio ministers but being responsible for all the agreements.
National cabinet to continue
Coag is dead. Long live the national cabinet.
Scott Morrison says the leaders will continue to meet as they have been, every two weeks at the moment, and then, every month as life moves on from the pandemic crisis.
A new hospital agreement has been struck, Scott Morrison says:
Today, an agreement that will see an investment by the commonwealth of an estimated $131.4bn be made in a demand-driven public-hospital funding model to improve health outcomes for all Australians to ensure the sustainability of our health system now and into the future.
The new 20-25 national health reform agreement provides an additional $34.4bn in funding to public hospitals from July 1 this year. This is in addition to the over $8 billion in investment made by the Commonwealth during the COVID-19 response.
There is also as part of our agreement, a funding guarantee to all states and territories to ensure no jurisdiction is left worse off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and guarantees the Commonwealth’s funding contribution for public hospitals over the next five years.
Now, this agreement, importantly, includes funding to provide life-saving immuno therapies to Australians suffering with conditions, in particular cancer, the carte cell therapies. These can cost half a million in treatment. That’s what you can do when you can guarantee the essentials that Australians rely on and the economy is what enables us to provide that support.
Updated
'The risk remains great'
Scott Morrison is putting the brakes on any suggestion the pandemic is over in Australia:
What are the expectations? Are our expectations of zero cases? No.
That has never been our expectation, nor our goal. Eradication? Elimination?
These are not the goals that we have.
If it’s achieved as a by-product then well and good. But the fact that a case or a group of cases may present is not something that should restrict moving ahead and getting progress on implementing the three-step plan and bringing Australia’s economy back to a COVID-safe environment in which jobs can be restored and livelihoods can be restored.
The second point I’d make is this: that is the risk remains great and always has been. Australia’s success can lead some to think that perhaps the risk was never there in the first place? But that is not true.
We only need to look at countries as sophisticated as ours, as developed as ours, with health systems as strong as ours, who have death rates 100 times of what has occurred in Australia.
So, we would be foolish to think that we were immune or that we are immune.
And as a result, the three-step plan, keeping the balance between the health management of the crisis and the economic management of the crisis in balance, continues to be the balance that the National Cabinet seeks to achieve and I believe is achieving.
But it is still too early to work out if life can continue as a ‘new normal’.
Scott Morrison:
I want to thank, again, all the premiers and chief ministers – sure, from time to time there are points of difference and frustrations and things I have no doubt that Australians would like to be moving faster than they are.
But we outlined a plan and we’re implementing that plan. The premiers are getting on with that plan and we still have an enormous amount of work to do in the months that are ahead.
And that is to both manage, as always, and suppress, the virus, and to ensure that we can reopen our economy. And our economy is reopening.
We continue to receive the information and the data that is showing an improvement and an economy that, while it has been severely impacted when compared to economies overseas, which have been subject to far more onerous restrictions than Australia, not just on the health front but on the economic front, is fairing much better.
So, when we assessed where the plan was at today, we also took advice from the AHPPC, the expert medical panel and Prof Murphy, and the full health impacts of the first step of that plan, it is still too early to make a judgement what the health results of that are and it will be a week or two before we can see Australians move out of their homes, go back into work places and slowly go into playgrounds and schools are all these things they have been looking forward to doing for so long.
Updated
First national cabinet in two weeks
Scott Morrison acknowledges it is the first national cabinet in a fortnight – and there are slides!
He says Australia has made faster progress than anyone could have anticipated back in March.
Updated
Those border closures were obviously a pretty big discussion point during the first national cabinet meeting in two weeks.
Steven Marshall says South Australia will be keeping its borders closed for now:
There was extensive discussion with regards to the borders, and it’s probably no surprise to anybody that there was no agreement across this issue.
But what we are doing at the national cabinet level is continuing to discuss this issue, and looking to provide greater certainty going forward.
So, we know, in South Australia, that we have the transition committee, which has been established.
And they are looking very carefully at the easing of the borders. It’s likely to be done in an incremental way in South Australia.
It’s likely to be done with those jurisdictions with low or no numbers, and certainly those jurisdictions with no community transmission, before we would look to opening up our borders more broadly.
In terms of international borders, there has been no decision taken whatsoever with regards to the easing of our national borders.
Now, we’ve said right from day one that we are interested in potentially the Australia-New Zealand bubble at some point in the future. That will ultimately be a federal decision rather than a national cabinet decision. But that’s not something which we have arrived at a position on.
Updated
South Australia to allow up to 80 people in pubs from Monday
South Australia, which still has closed borders, has decided to allow pubs and clubs to open up to up to 80 people from early next week.
Steven Marshall:
As we know South Australia has led the way in many areas. In fact, as of Monday, we will have up to 80 people in our pubs, clubs, restaurants here, and cafes here in South Australia. We’ve led the way in terms of education. We’ve led the way in terms of intrastate travel, lifting the bans on elective surgery, and on dentistry, and we have been trying to do what we can to safely open up our economy as quickly as possible.
South Australian premier Steven Marshall says one of the issues discussed at national cabinet today, was the advice from the expert health committee on wearing masks:
One of the issues which was discussed was the wearing of masks. It was decided that this would become something going forward that would be up to individual commuters, it would be a matter of choice.
It’s still not the strong advice of AHPPC to wear them or to not wear them, but people should be offered the choice of wearing them.
Whether that be on an airline or whether it be on public transport. But the strong position of the AHPPC is that this cannot obfuscate people’s responsibility to not get on to public transport if they are unwell.
Many people put on a mask, they put it on incorrectly, and so we’ve got to be very, very clear - if you are unwell, you must stay home. You must observe all of the hygiene matters. These are also not thrown out the window because you are wearing a mask. So, the position on that is very clear.
The ACT has recorded no new cases. Again.
In fact, it has reported no new cases for so long, ACT Health has decided to no longer put out daily updates, unless something changes.
There have been no new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours. The ACT’s total is still 107.
The number of negative tests in the ACT is now 17,267 with 305 test results received in the past 24 hours.
Updated
Local government demands national cabinet voice
The nation’s local government associations have come together (a tougher ask than you would know) to call on the federal and state governments to give councils a seat at the table, if national cabinet continues.
Everyone from Scott Morrison down has expressed interest in continuing the national cabinet - which is just Coag, but non-political and competent - and local governments believe they need to be part of the conversation.
Which, given they have to enact a lot of the decisions, makes sense.
From the release:
Local government leaders from across the country have united to call on prime minister Scott Morrison and first ministers to ensure they do not leave councils and their communities in the
dark at a time when it has never been more important to ensure all three levels of government are working together.
Councils are currently represented at COAG via the Australian Local Government Association under a long-standing agreement.
Local Government Association of Queensland President, Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said this arrangement must transfer to National Cabinet should it replace COAG going forward.
“National Cabinet is a powerful body making decisions that affect communities across the country. Councils, as the level of government closest to the community, must be in discussions
when decisions are being made,” Mayor Jamieson said.
New South Wales Local Government President, City of Sydney Councillor Linda Scott urged State and Territory leaders to advocate on behalf of local government and their communities to
ensure their representation is not diminished.
Cr Scott said the Covid pandemic had shown just how important local leadership and the essential services local government provides, from the local main street to the local park and pool, are.
“Local governments deliver - at the forefront of every disaster and as the backbone of every nation-building program,” Cr Scott said.
Updated
There we go - 1.45pm
It’s in the main committee room, which is the least fancy of the prime minister press conference locations, so it can’t be a big one.
We should hear from the prime minister very soon
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg might think government support can be withdrawn from much of the economy in September, but outside the Canberra bubble businesses are still running into strife.
Retailer PAS Group, which employs about 1,300 people and owns brands including Review, Fiorelli and Jets swimwear, has called in administrators from PwC to restructure the business.
It said it would continue to trade while in administration, telling the ASX:
While the board is of the view that the company is solvent, given the issues as a result of unfavourable financial market conditions, the Covid-19 crisis and the challenges of restructuring in that environment, it felt that administration was the best way to affect change while protecting all stakeholders.
PAS Group enters voluntary administration with the strong desire to restructure the group and allow it to continue operating strongly and sustainably into the future.
Updated
With the great lockdown gradually easing, a lot of people are finding the transition back to “normal” life, whatever that looks like now, difficult.
Just remember – you are not alone in that. It’s a little overwhelming going from an environment you completely control, back into one with so many variables. Particularly if your brain chemistry already leaves you prone to experiencing increased anxiety.
But what you are feeling is valid. And completely normal.
AAP has had a look at some of those feelings:
Mental health professionals are now looking to the post-isolation stage, which could cause as much anxiety for many, just as going into lockdown did.
The Autism Awareness Australia chief executive officer, Nicole Rogerson, said while autism is different for everyone, there have been additional challenges to come with it during isolation.
For school-aged children, the lockdown and subsequent school closures were very challenging for children who either didn’t understand the change or who struggled with the indefinite nature of the timing of the lockdown.
Some children might have liked the reduced demands of school and social situations but many also found great anxiety with the change of routine.
Rogerson said for adults with autism, the social isolation was welcomed by some.
The shared anxiety of Covid uncertainties has been difficult for many. The return to work, with the ongoing threat of an invisible virus, is very stressful for individuals with autism.
The chief executive of national mental health charity SANE, Jack Heath, said as Australia went into lockdown their online forums spiked, with participant numbers doubling from 3,000 to 6,000 per week in March.
Heath said many of the problems were around existing mental health issues being amplified and it was important to meet these long-term needs after isolation.
As restrictions ease, Heath said it was understandable for people to be feeling anxious given how uncertain times are.
Heath’s advice is to reach out for help and take stock of any positives to have come from isolation.
Do a list – two, three, four or five things that were positive and take that with you moving forward.
The lead clinical advisor at Beyond Blue, Dr Grant Blashki, also expects many may find coming out of isolation overwhelming.
When Beyond Blue launched it’s coronavirus specific support service on 9 April, it received 6,300 emails and more than 180,000 visits to the website, Blashki said.
The kinds of issues presented were around isolation, pressure-cooker households with lots of kids, unemployment and stress about infection – things that will not simply go away as lockdown ends.
Blashki said as people begin to re-enter society, for anyone feeling anxious it is important to be gentle with yourself and set some ground rules when it comes to communication with others.
Re-engage in small steps, catch up with people who aren’t too full-on and in smaller groups – go out for a coffee, not to a party if it’s too much.
Autism Awareness Australia: 1300 900 681
SANE: 1800 187 263
Beyond Blue coronavirus hotline: 1800 512 348
Updated
Indigenous affairs minister concedes constitutional recognition won't happen this term
Ken Wyatt has conceded that his hopes of a referendum on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australia in this term of parliament (by 2022) are not likely to be realised.
The minister for Indigenous affairs said:
Our first priority is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all Indigenous Australians throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
We have also been progressing work on the development of an Indigenous voice, and the refresh of the Closing the Gap agreement. Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is too important to rush, and too important to fail.
I have always said that a referendum would be held when there was broad consensus on the wording, and when it had the best possible chance of success. The last time such a question was put to the Australian people was in 1999. We can’t afford to have constitutional recognition defeated and off the agenda for another 20 years because we rush this process.
Covid-19 has presented many challenges. Infortunately a referendum is unlikely in this term of government. This is too important to rush and too important to fail. And I don’t want this to fail.
Updated
Also from the ABS’s latest Covid report:
The survey also found that one in eight Australian adults (13%) provided unpaid care to a vulnerable person outside their household because of Covid-19. Around three in five people provided this care on at least a weekly basis (61%).
Family members were the most common recipients of this unpaid care (80%) and shopping was the most common activity for which assistance was provided (80%).
A further 23% of Australian adults said they needed to increase the level of unpaid care for a vulnerable person within their household because of Covid-19.
Updated
Nature is healing, so cruise ships are returning.
Naturally.
Oceania cruises has unveiled its new advertising campaign to entice people back aboard – it’s going with “remember the future”.
Updated
This should also not come as a surprise:
Women did the hard yards - 46% of women said they stayed home to care for kids compared to 17% of men. Parents also reported issues - 58% difficulty concentrating, 49% feeling lonely, 33% feeling anxiety.
— Shane Wright (@swrighteconomy) May 29, 2020
Updated
Schools closing was a bit of a chicken-and-an-egg situation.
In the end, states closed the schools because parents weren’t sending them.
The ABS has the data on just how many kids were kept home:
Three in four parents kept children home due to COVID-19https://t.co/d1bI2SI3zo
— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) May 29, 2020
Updated
New Zealand has reported it has just one (known) active case of Covid in the whole country.
#BREAKING NZ's active Covid-19 cases: ONEhttps://t.co/ekdSjNChQW pic.twitter.com/Td5f9URa7n
— nzherald (@nzherald) May 29, 2020
Updated
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has this morning responded to Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe’s warning that he doesn’t want the government to “withdraw the fiscal stimulus too early.”
Frydenberg had a different emphasis on that evidence, telling Channel Nine’s Today show:
Well, the governor yesterday had a number of important things to say. Firstly, he said it was very good news that the government will be spending $60bn less on jobkeeper as a result of the economy being stronger than we first thought. Secondly, he said is was very sensible that we are doing a review at the midway point of the jobkeeper program. And thirdly, he said that due to the economic uncertainty that we find ourselves in, it is really too early to say what additional support should be given.
Frydenberg dropped some hints about the way forward in terms of economic stimulus:
I can tell you that the jobkeeper program is estimated to have around 3.5 million people on it, it will cost around $70bn, so it’s the biggest spending program of its kind Australia has ever seen. And it’s legislated out to September. We know that there will be some sectors that will continue to need support, for example tourism, as the international borders remain closed. Also, construction in the housing sector will be important to give support and we are thinking through those options. But as for additional measures, it is right now too early to say.
Updated
As a sidenote, our Pacific neighbours are more than capable of creating their own content, so we should probably be looking at funding that, rather than forcing them to endure repeats of propaganda like Border Force.
Labor isn’t too happy with the government’s Pacific TV plan. Michelle Rowland and Pat Conroy say the lukewarm reception to the plan shows its failings:
While the Morrison government has been cutting the ABC and diminishing Australia’s soft power, China has been making significant investments in its global media footprint and growing its reach and influence in the region.
The ABC is Australia’s national and international broadcaster and is underutilised in the region as a result of successive Liberal National government budget cuts. These cuts forced the cessation of shortwave radio and cuts to ABC international media services that have seen China move in on.
The recent ABC submission on strengthening Australia’s relationship with countries in the Pacific region (April 2020) sets out a host of ways in which, with greater resourcing, the ABC’s public diplomacy role could be strengthened.
If Morrison wants to demonstrate his commitment to the Pacific, he must bolster the ABC – which is massively underfunded compared to its foreign counterparts – and he cannot ignore Pacific voices.
Everybody needs good neighbours, and it is well past time that Australia stepped up its efforts in the Pacific.
Updated
National cabinet should be finished in the early afternoon, so we’ll bring you any decisions then.
Updated
Over in the States, Trump is obviously focusing on the most important issues – Twitter factchecking his tweets.
Updated
Shadow arts minister Tony Burke was on Radio National this morning renewing Labor’s calls for a federal arts rescue package in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
There’s a few different ways the government could cut a rescue package but they can’t continue to do nothing in this area.
Since the Covid-19 crisis hit Australia full throttle in early March, the federal government’s emergency support for the arts sector has comprised a $27m support package targeted to regional arts funding and Indigenous arts organisations, and the Australia Council repurposing $5m of its existing funding for quick-release grants for artists.
The federal offerings to support the industry pale in comparison to many of the states, particularly Victoria, where the Andrews government has committed a total of $51.1m in funding across major institutions, the small to medium sector, individual artists, festivals and music.
Burke noted the complexity of arts infrastructure and the diversity of jobs within it, focusing particularly on contractors working show-to-show, receiving sporadic payments that would complicate jobkeeper and jobseeker arrangements.
As Ben Eltham wrote for the Guardian this week:
The flaws in jobkeeper’s design are also acute in the cultural sector. Much of the employment in arts and culture is short-term and casual, and for these workers the 12-month eligibility rule for jobkeeper has been particularly cruel.
Burke said he was “relaxed” about the actual mechanisms by which a federal rescue package could be administered, suggesting forward contracts, agent relationships and the duration of ongoing work in an industry could be structures used to help disperse a tailored package.
It’s not only the artists themselves, we also need to make sure the venues still exist on the other side of this. There’s a complexity to this industry that means it does need a tailored approach.
Updated
The fake crowd noise was a lot to deal with. But rugby league is back.
Updated
Siri, show me Australia’s leadership:
The Prime Minister and his Deputy talk rebuilding the economy.........while working on a Disney Princess jigsaw puzzle at the Lodge. #7NEWS #auspol pic.twitter.com/ezg0tAbNtO
— Jennifer Bechwati (@jenbechwati) May 28, 2020
You can read about that decision here:
Updated
Some more good news:
Letters between the Queen and the governor general who dismissed Gough Whitlam should be released, the High Court has ruled.
The judgment handed down on Friday comes after a legal battle by historian Jenny Hocking, who says keeping them secret only fuels public distrust.
The so-called palace letters between Buckingham Palace and Sir John Kerr about the time of the 1975 dismissal had been deemed personal communications by the National Archives of Australia and the federal court.
(AAP)
Updated
Angus Taylor has released the latest greenhouse gas data:
Today the Morrison government released the December 2019 quarterly update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
In 2019, emissions fell 0.9% or 5.0m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) to 532.5 Mt CO2-e.
Emissions are now 13.7% below 2005 levels (the baseline year for the Paris Agreement).
Emissions for the December quarter 2019 also fell 0.5% or 0.6 Mt CO2-e on the previous quarter, on a seasonally adjusted, weather normalised basis.
Updated
Scott Morrison phoned in for Alan Jones’s last day on radio, where the Sydney radio 2GB shockjock allowed himself one last humblebrag with a prime minister:
Morrison:
How are you? Have you had a good morning?
Jones:
Oh well, it’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest with you. It’s a bit overwhelming, but I never imagined it was like this. But people are very kind, as you know, and I think they’re very fair.
Morrison:
Well, they’re very appreciative, mate, of the 35 years. I mean, people who are listening to you over the last few years or longer than that. It’s an extraordinary career by any estimation. And beyond that, there’s a broader contribution to public life on so many issues, which your program this morning is rehearsing all of those.
But can I recall one on behalf of the grateful members of the Southern Districts Rugby Club. Back in 2007, I was running for parliament and that year the then-New South Wales rugby union was trying to boot Southern Districts out of the premiership, together with Penrith and who are sadly … sorry, not Penrith, Illawarra and Penrith. And you stood up with us and, I mean, you came out to the club and you’ve been to the club many times since then.
And Southern Districts has gone on from strength to strength since then and so I’m sure all of them would want me to pass on to you, mate, our thanks for that.
But there are so many stories like that everyone can tell. Some were at a big national global scale, but some of them are just saving a great footy club. So, mate, thanks very much, and Jenny and I want to wish you all the best for your future.
Updated
The entire direction as sent out by the Victorian premier:
Update on directions on continuing to work from home pic.twitter.com/3eHyh9j6dt
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) May 28, 2020
Updated
Victorians ordered to continue working from home
If you have been working from home in Victoria, you have to continue working from home. It is no longer a request
Our message is very clear: if you have been working from home - you must keep working from home.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) May 28, 2020
From today, it will become part of the Chief Health Officer's formal direction – and it's up to all of us to make it happen.
The nurse’s trip to Malaysia in late March has also only recently been disclosed. The woman tested positive for Covid on 14 May, but made a sightseeing trip to Blackwater in the second week of May. She has told authorities she did not leave her car.
Nathan Turner is believed to have been showing Covid symptoms before the nurse’s trip to his town, but authorities are trying to work out how he contracted the virus.
Dr Jeannette Young says contact tracers are going through all possibilities:
I don’t have any of the specifics because the story has changed so many times – I think it is best that we wait for the investigation and we sort it out. The most important thing here is that if anyone, anywhere in the state, has any symptoms – no matter how mild – that they come forward and get tested. That way, we will manage, no matter what information we get from different people.
The testing is the most important thing we can do.
Updated
Queensland Health trying to 'untangle' nurse's changing story
Queensland’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeannette Young, says contact tracers are now trying to work out the exact movements of the nurse – who said she stopped in Blackwater but did not get out of her car – given the changing story:
That’s part of the investigation that’s currently being finalised, and it’s very, very important that we’re able to do that and get some additional information from that individual, because her story has changed over the time frame.
Q: What’s changed?
JY:
That’s all part of the investigation. What’s changed? I can’t – that’s part of the investigation. She gave us one story and then, subsequent to that, we’ve found out additional information. So we need to try and untangle and sort that through. That’s very, very important. But the good news is that no resident in the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre contracted the virus. That is very, very good news.
Updated
Melbourne school closed for cleaning following two Covid cases
Via AAP:
A school in Melbourne’s north-west has closed after a student tested positive to coronavirus, a week after a teacher was confirmed to be infected.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said on Friday that Keilor Downs Secondary College will be closed for cleaning after a student tested positive.
The student probably was infectious on-site on the 26th of this month and was notified yesterday,” he told reporters.
The student was associated with a cluster of five members of a household who tested positive to the virus on Thursday.
There is no evidence of a link between the student and the staff member who had tested positive last Friday, as the teacher had no exposure to the school site, authorities say.
A St Albans Secondary College student and six students at Taylors Lakes Secondary College have been identified as close contacts of the infected student, who attended a VET class while infected.
Those students, as well as any other known contacts, will also enter quarantine.
There were seven new Covid-19 cases recorded in the state on Friday, with three discovered through routine testing, two in returned travellers in hotel quarantine and two cases under investigation.
Updated
Steven Miles is holding Queensland’s daily press conference with that state’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeannette Young.
In light of the conflicting stories from the nurse who worked in Rockhampton while ill, including while waiting for her (eventually positive) Covid test to return, Miles says it is crucial people be honest during the contact tracing time:
Today marks two weeks since the confirmed case at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre. That two-week period is normally what we would consider the safe incubation period. In that time, we’ve performed 1,500 tests on Rockhampton locals. All of them have come back negative.
The investigation is underway, but it is great news that we can declare that that outbreak is over, with just that one case – quite an incredible outcome. It’s also been a very good test for our rapid response capability. That capability will be handy to us in the future when we have future cases.
I want to finally say that, when our public health officials contact you, no matter what it’s about, it is incredibly important that you are honest, truthful and fulsome in what you tell them. Lives are literally at risk. Our public health officials are doing their best to keep Queenslanders safe and it is incredibly important that, if they contact you, you tell them the truth.
Updated
The contact tracing in Blackwater, where 30-year-old Nathan Turner died on Tuesday, later testing positive for Covid-19, continues to be a nightmare.
There have been no cases of Covid-19 in Blackwater, leaving authorities scrambling to work out how Nathan contracted the virus.
AAP has more:
A nurse who might have spread coronavirus to a Queensland town did not tell investigators she’d recently been to Malaysia.
Authorities are investigating how a man in the small town of Blackwater became infected with Covid-19 before his death on Tuesday.
Nathan Turner, 30, had not left his central Queensland community since February.
Anxiety in the town is high with three fever clinics now operating, and sewage to be tested, to determine if there is any local transmission.
Authorities are investigating potential sources of Turner’s infection.
They include whether there are any links to an infected Rockhampton nurse who went on a sight-seeing road trip to Blackwater during the coronavirus lockdown.
Queensland Health has said the nurse made the trip in the second week of May, before she tested positive for coronavirus on 14 May.
The next day, chief health officer Jeannette Young said the woman had shown symptoms for the illness from 5 May and was believed to be infectious from 3 May.
The same nurse had continued to go to work at a state-run Rockhampton aged care home while she had symptoms and was awaiting the test results.
Heath minister Steven Miles has said the nurse was unlikely to have infected Turner in Blackwater.
The minister said she’d claimed not to have exited her car while in Blackwater. He also noted Turner had developed symptoms before the nurse’s trip.
But new details have emerged about her travel history, including an undisclosed trip to Kuala Lumpur in late March.
A spokesman for the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland, which is representing the woman, has told the Australian the nurse wasn’t required to offer up information about her Malaysia trip, and “it was irrelevant”.
“The only questions she was asked was about her movements before she was diagnosed,” the newspaper quoted the spokesman as saying.
The spokesman also gave different dates for the nurse’s visit to Blackwater.
He said she went there on 11 April, before Turner fell ill in early May.
The spokesman said the nurse had self-isolated for 14 days after returning from Kuala Lumpur.
“Our member finishes her self-isolation on April 10 and the next day she went to a lookout to see the sunrise, and then drove into Blackwater, took a picture and left,” he told the newspaper.
A Queensland Health spokesman has not commented on the discrepancy in the dates.
Updated
The Australian War Memorial will re-open from 1 July:
As the ACT moves to ease COVID-19 restrictions, the Memorial will reopen to the public in accordance with a COVID-safe business plan and ACT Government-recommended measures to prioritise staff and public safety.
Visitors will need to book free, timed tickets to visit the Memorial to ensure social distancing can be maintained on site. Separate free, timed entry tickets to attend the Last Post Ceremony will also be made available.
NSW restrictions on weddings and funerals relaxed
A little more from AAP on the changes to NSW’s restrictions:
NSW will ease coronavirus restrictions on religious services, weddings and funerals from Monday, when measures to increase pub and restaurant patronage come into effect.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday said in a statement that from June 1, up to 20 people could attend weddings, 50 at funerals and 50 at places of worship.
However, strict social distancing guidelines would continue to apply.
“We know how important these services are to individuals and families but as we ease restrictions further, we must remember to keep one another safe,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It is crucial that worshippers remember to follow health advice. This is particularly important for people with co-morbidities aged over 50 and people aged over 70.”
The government had been wary about adjusting the restrictions on places of worship after observing COVID-19 outbreaks in churches and church choirs overseas.
But state religious leaders pushed for the relaxation after the government last week announced up to 50 people would be allowed to dine in restaurants, pubs and cafes from June 1.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant outlined the risks requiring management.
“Places of worship will be asked to find alternatives to practices that might spread the virus, like singing, sharing books and even passing around the collection plate,” Dr Chant said on Friday.
“Communal singing and chanting should not occur because of the high risk of transmission.”
Updated
Dutton signals jobkeeper may be extended
The government has been laying the breadcrumbs for extending jobkeeper for a week or two now.
Here is Peter Dutton on the Nine network this morning:
Well, ultimately that’s a decision for the prime minister and for the treasurer. But I think clearly the government has shown we have been able to implement the jobkeeper, double the payment that was otherwise paid to people who are unemployed through the jobseeker payment and we want businesses to recover. We want jobs to be at the centre of every decision we make.
So I think we are flexible and we will look at the way in which we could help businesses and people get back to a normal way of life. But there is a way to go yet as we know.
Updated
This seems about right
BREAKING: Legendary music promoter Michael Gudinski tells @BreakfastNews he doesn’t expect to see an international music act touring Australia until at least March 2021. #covid19aus
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) May 28, 2020
Marise Payne, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Dominic Raab and Mike Pompeo have come together to release a statement on Hong Kong.
I cannot even begin to imagine how many hours went into each word. Probably one of the reasons it took so long.
The foreign ministers (and equivalents) statement reads:
Signatories to this statement reiterate our deep concern regarding Beijing’s decision to impose a national security law in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has flourished as a bastion of freedom. The international community has a significant and long-standing stake in Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. Direct imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong by the Beijing authorities, rather than through Hong Kong’s own institutions as provided for under Article 23 of the Basic Law, would curtail the Hong Kong people’s liberties and, in doing so, dramatically erode Hong Kong’s autonomy and the system that made it so prosperous.
China’s decision to impose the new national security law on Hong Kong lies in direct conflict with its international obligations under the principles of the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration. The proposed law would undermine the One Country, Two Systems framework. It also raises the prospect of prosecution in Hong Kong for political crimes, and undermines existing commitments to protect the rights of Hong Kong people – including those set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
We are also extremely concerned that this action will exacerbate the existing deep divisions in Hong Kong society; the law does nothing to build mutual understanding and foster reconciliation within Hong Kong. Rebuilding trust across Hong Kong society by allowing the people of Hong Kong to enjoy the rights and freedoms they were promised can be the only way back from the tensions and unrest that the territory has seen over the last year.
The world’s focus on a global pandemic requires enhanced trust in governments and international cooperation. Beijing’s unprecedented move risks having the opposite effect.
As Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity are jeopardised by the new imposition, we call on the Government of China to work with the Hong Kong SAR Government and the people of Hong Kong to find a mutually acceptable accommodation that will honour China’s international obligations under the UN-filed Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Updated
The Courier Mail reports Nathan Turner, who died at his Blackwater home on Tuesday, and then later tested positive for Covid-19 (he had not previously been tested) and his partner held a party at their home four days earlier.
The 30-year-old had been showing respiratory illness symptoms for some time before his death. He had what authorities describe as a “complicated” medical history. His partner has also been showing symptoms and is in isolation.
Queensland Health authorities are now trying to test the 20 guests, to ensure a Covid outbreak has not hit central Queensland.
Updated
Good morning
Another day, another restriction relaxation.
This time, up to 20 people will be able to gather at weddings and up to 50 people will be able to attend a funeral in New South Wales, from Monday.
Queensland will announce its stage two on Sunday.
The ACT will move to gatherings of up to 20 people (a room, depending on its size) from Saturday.
Little freedoms people probably won’t take for granted (for at least six months) are slowly returning.
The national cabinet will meet again today for the first time in two weeks. Don’t be fooled by the border barney the leaders have been engaged in – when it comes to national cabinet, they manage to get their shiz together.
And it’s Alan Jones’s last day on radio. How can you be mad on a day like that?
We’ll bring you all the days events as they happen. You have Amy Remeikis at the blog helm until 3pm and the entire Guardian brains trust at your disposal.
Ready?
