What we learned on 1 June:
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:
- As NSW eased restrictions on Monday to allow up to 50 people in restaurants and cafes, the state recorded three additional cases of Covid-19, bringing the total to 3,098 for the state.
- Victoria announced four further cases of Covid-19 on Monday, as it also loosened lockdown restrictions, including measures that allow 20 patrons to dine at a restaurant at the same time.
- Scott Morrison appeared in Sydney with NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to announce the federal government will invest $1.75bn to build a metro train line to Sydney’s second airport at Badgerys Creek.
- Shane Patton, the Victorian deputy police commissioner, has been announced as the state’s new chief commissioner of police. Patton will start the role when the current chief commissioner, Graham Ashton, leaves in June.
- 432 Indigenous people have died in police custody since 1991, according to Guardian Australia’s latest analysis. Today, the family of 26-year-old David Dungay, a Dunghutti man who said “I can’t breathe” 12 times before he died while being restrained by five prison guards, expressed solidarity with George Floyd’s family, the US man who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis last week.
- The NRL has announced it will review its screening process for cardboard cut-outs of fans at games after multiple crude jokes have been discovered. It comes after Fox Sports’ host Matthew Johns apologised today for a comedy sketch which placed the face of Adolf Hitler into the crowd.
- Rugby Australia has cut 47 of its 142 fulltime staff – about a third of its workers – as it implements a restructure that will save the code $5.5m per year
From me, Elias Visontay, have a great evening.
Updated
For more on the government’s push to prop up the construction sector by providing cash grants for home renovations, my colleague Daniel Hurst has written this report:
The NSW government’s proposal to give public servants a one-off $1,000 stimulus payment if they agree to a 12-month pay freeze has been slammed by unions as insulting, AAP reports.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has been talking with union bosses about the proposal which would see non-executive frontline staff such as nurses, police officers, paramedics and teachers receive a one-off payment in return for accepting a pay pause.
The state government wants to freeze the pay of all public servants due to the economic damage wrought by Covid-19 restrictions. The move is estimated to save $3bn which the coalition wants to reinvest in public projects.
The $1,000 one-off payment would instead cost about $200m with Perrottet arguing it would leave the government with $2.8bn to invest in job-creating projects.
“We are pausing pay rises for politicians and public servants so we can guarantee jobs for people who are in them and create tens of thousands more for those who have found themselves out of work,” the treasurer said in a statement on Monday.
The proposed wage freeze for 410,000 public sector workers could be blocked in the upper house. NSW Labor, the Greens and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party are expected to support a disallowance motion rejecting the regulation when it’s put forward on Tuesday afternoon.
If the disallowance motion passes, the Berejiklian government flagged it will take the matter to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.
The proposal has been slammed by public sector unions including the NSW Teachers Federation whose president, Angelo Gavrielatos, on Monday said the bad policy added “insult to injury”.
Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey says $1,000 “short changes” the people who have been working hard throughout the bushfire crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, and is calling on Perrottet to confirm how long the pay freeze would be in place.
“Let’s get fair dinkum here, if the treasurer has a proposal, a solid proposal – put it on the table ... Don’t play Mickey Mouse with people’s jobs and their lives and their incomes,” Morey said.
Morey said the treasurer should stop thinking about himself and instead focus on “ensuring that workers have money to spend to grow the economy”.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association described the $1,000 payment as an attempt to silence nurses and midwives.
“It’s an insult to the nurses,” general secretary Brett Holmes said.
Updated
Rugby Australia cuts one-third of its staff as part of 'incredibly difficult' restructure
Rugby Australia stood down 47 of its 142 fulltime staff on Monday morning, as it implements a restructure that will save the code $5.5m per year.
The cuts, which will also see 30 contractors and casual workers axed, comes after Rugby Australia reported a $9.4m loss in 2019.
All senior staff who remain with Rugby Australia will have their salary reduced by 5%.
In a statement released on Monday, Rugby Australia noted “over 75% of Rugby Australia’s workforce has been stood down, or on significantly reduced hours since April 1, while senior executive staff have continued to work on a fulltime basis with salary reductions of at least 30% since that date.”
It said all stood-down staff had been receiving the jobkeeper wage subsidy.
Rugby Australia interim CEO, Rob Clarke, calling Monday’s restructure “phase one”, said:
Today was an incredibly difficult day for the organisation with many people affected by changes that are necessary to ensure the viability and sustainability of the organisation as a result of the devastating impacts of the pandemic.
We have delivered the news to staff this morning and told them that Rugby Australia values the contribution of each and every one of them, some of whom have given significant service to Rugby Australia and to the game over many years.
This is a difficult time for a lot of very passionate, hard-working Rugby people and we are committed to helping those people find their next opportunity, whether it be within the game or elsewhere.
Updated
Back on the $721m worth of debts to be repaid to Australians, opposition government services spokesman Bill Shorten is calling for “some form of inquiry” into the robodebt scheme.
Speaking to Patricia Karvelas on ABC on Monday afternoon, Shorten also said responsibility for the scheme goes further than current government services minister Stuart Robert, naming Scott Morrison and former social services minister, now attorney general, Christian Porter.
I think it goes further than the current minister ... I don’t think the buck only stops with Minister Stuart Robert.
On an inquiry into robodebt, Shorten said:
There should be some form of inquiry, there has been a human toll.
These are poor people. These are vulnerable people. Some people with mental illness. All of a sudden, the government’s chasing you for a debt which you don’t think exists or you don’t know it exists or you can’t remember it exists ... This is a terrible pressure, and it’s been going on for four and a half years
Asked what type of inquiry, Shorten said:
Whatever the form is, I don’t know if it should be a judicial inquiry. I haven’t formed a view, obviously we’ve got to talk, through the opposition, on that.
I do think the parliament needs to talk further about it. It’s not satisfactory, is it, that the government says “my bad – here’s $721m plus” and no one’s responsible.
They raised all the issues around Pink Batts. They’ve never been shy of attacking Labor ... How come no one is responsible in the government for this?
Updated
I’ll be handing over the blog to Elias Visontay for the rest of the evening. Thanks for reading and stay safe.
Representatives of Queensland’s tourism industry have said there is a pent-up demand for intrastate holidays as restrictions ease.
The chief executive of Tourism Tropical North, Mark Olsen, told AAP that the start of internal travel from today will “inject an extra $50m into this economy”.
The chair of Destination Gold Coast, Paul Donovan, said he supports the state border being reopened only when it’s safe to do so.
“Just up the road we have more than 2 million people in Brisbane who we know are looking for a break – they’ll be our first target market,” he said. “Many have already started taking bookings from visitors throughout Queensland who are keen to come and visit the coast.”
Updated
NRL to review screening process for cardboard fans after multiple crude jokes
Fox Sports and former NRL player Matthew Johns have apologised for a comedy sketch where they used the NRL’s new cardboard cut-outs to put the face of Adolf Hitler into the crowd.
As stadiums are empty, the league has launched an initiative where fans can pay $22 to send in photos and have a cardboard cut-out of themselves sit in the stands.
However, multiple people have taken advantage of the scheme to submit childish and offensive jokes.
Over the weekend, a photo of English serial killer Dr Harold Shipman was spotted in the stands – among other potential ‘joke’ cutouts – during the match between Newcastle and Penrith.
Are you actually using a cut out of Harold Shipman @NRL? He murdered over 260 people. Even I find that in poor taste. #NRLPanthersKnights pic.twitter.com/x8GwfZ1MKU
— Matthew Catterall 🇪🇺 (@mxcatt) May 31, 2020
Johns then aired a sketch on Fox Sports which showed a cut-out of Hitler in the stands – though this did not actually happen. Another japester made headlines on Friday for submitting a photo of Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummins, who did appear on TV screens.
The NRL has now announced it will review the screening process for the cardboard cut-outs, to deter other people abusing the process for a cheap laugh.
AAP reports that photos of rugby columnist Peter FitzSimons and former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett are believed to be among those the system rejected.
Updated
We have amended an earlier key event, which linked to a news story where we put the wrong date in the headline and text. It said 432 deaths had occurred since 2008, but that should have been since 1991.
Updated
The Brisbane Lions coach, Chris Fagan, has said that AFL injury rates could rise because the players have been restricted to so few training sessions due to the pandemic.
Teams have been restricted to only two full-group contact sessions this week, and one next week, before games start again.
“Injury rates could go up,” Fagan said. “We don’t know. It’s a great experiment this year to find out. We are all hoping it doesn’t.
“We are doing as much as we can in our programs to mitigate that, allowing good recovery time between sessions, making sure we progress the load gradually and not too fast.”
432 Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia since 1991
If you are following the George Floyd protests today, also read this from Lorena Allam.
Guardian Australia’s latest analysis shows that 432 Indigenous people have died in police custody since 1991.
Today, the family of 26-year-old David Dungay, a Dunghutti man who said “I can’t breathe” 12 times before he died while being restrained by five prison guards, expressed solidarity with Floyd’s family.
The Dungay family are campaigning for the guards to be charged and prosecuted.
Updated
For the 10th day in a row New Zealand has no new cases of Covid-19 and no one is in hospital being treated with the illness, the ministry of health said.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 1,154, with the opposition leader, Todd Muller, pushing for a drop from alert level 2 to level 1, saying there is no sign of community transmission and greater freedoms would stimulate the economy and small business.
A total of 1,481 people have recovered from the virus and only one case remains active, a person not requiring hospital care.
Updated
Jury trials will start back up in some NSW district courtrooms in Sydney’s Downing Centre, Parramatta and Newcastle on 15 June.
But courtrooms are not going to look like they did pre-Covid.
For the first time, jurors are not going to be required to sit in the jury box, but will instead be spread out across the courtroom to facilitate physical distancing.
In some cases, jurors may even be phoned in from another location to avoid having too many people in courtrooms at the same time. Jurors may also have to go through thermal scanning to check their temperature, and will be asked health screening questions.
It’s unclear what will happen if one of the jurors tests positive for Covid-19 halfway through a trial. Guardian Australia has contacted the NSW district court for clarification.
Updated
Labor MP Stephen Jones has called on Scott Morrison to sack Stuart Robert from the ministry over the “monumental” robodebt bungle.
Morrison said at a press conference earlier today that the government had “great regrets about any pain or injury caused here”. When asked whether Robert, the government services minister, still had his full confidence, the prime minister replied: “Of course.”
But Jones, who is Labor’s shadow assistant treasurer and financial services spokesperson, said Jones had “a trail of destruction behind him” throughout his ministerial career and had “overseen a monumental bungle” over robodebt.
The government announced on Friday that it would repay 470,000 debts that were entirely or partially raised using the discredited “income-averaging” calculations. Robert said the refunds would be received by 373,000 people, cost a total $721m and would include recovery fee charges.
But Jones said Robert should have made the decision to repay those debts six months ago – around the time the government settled a federal court case brought by Victoria Legal Aid and announced it would no longer raise debts without first gathering evidence – such as payslips – to prove a person had underreported their earnings to Centrelink.
Jones said allowing the matter to drag on had caused ongoing stress and anxiety.
He should have fessed up and paid the money back way back then. Why the prime minister hasn’t sacked Stuart Robert I do not know. The prime minister should just move and sack him.
It follows comments over the weekend by the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, that Robert’s career “should be over”.
Updated
Pity the Fair Work Commission – having to decide what to do with the minimum wage during the middle of a global pandemic. Is it freeze wages (a real cut) to try to boost jobs growth, as employers have asked, or boost pay so lower income earners have more spending money (as unions want)?
A few supplementary submissions have been lodged, the most interesting of which are the Australian Retailers Association and the Victorian government.
The association has changed its position from March – when it called for a 1.8% increase – to now call for the minimum wage to “remain at current levels until mid-2021” (that is, 0%). It said:
The Covid-19 crisis has made it economically unfeasible for businesses to absorb additional cost pressures through an increase to the minimum wage and modern award minimum wages. Any increase in costs is likely to have a detrimental effect on employee headcount and/or hours, as well as impact future job opportunities.
However, it is important to recognise that maintaining existing minimum wages does not preclude businesses who have been less affected by Covid-19 from passing on wage increases to their employees.
The Victorian government is calling for a pay rise of “at least” 3%. It also made some interesting commentary about the federal government’s jobseeker ($1,100 a fortnight) and jobkeeper ($1,500 a fortnight) programs.
The Victorian government argued that doubling the rate of Newstart “can be seen as an acknowledgment that the previous levels of Newstart ... were unsustainable to support those seeking work and base consumer behaviour such as purchase of groceries, necessary travel and housing”.
The commonwealth government’s jobkeeper support package is a tacit acknowledgement by the commonwealth that $1,500 per fortnight represents a ‘living wage’ ...
By setting the new payment levels, the commonwealth government has tacitly acknowledged that approximately $1,200 per fortnight is the minimum income required by a single person without dependents.
So, the Victorian government says, the Fair Work Commission should make sure the minimum wage keeps up and the incentive to work is preserved.
Updated
Labor has called on the government to tighten its scheme allowing people early access to superannuation savings after new evidence about some people using the cash for online gambling.
Accenture analysed the debit and credit card data of 13,000 people who withdrew an average of $8,000 under the scheme and found that about one in 10 used the money to gamble, according to reports.
Stephen Jones, the shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services, called on the government to enforce the requirement that the withdrawals went only to those suffering genuine hardship.
At a media conference in Canberra a short time ago, Jones said the government had failed to learn the lessons from the robodebt scheme because it had not put in place proper scrutiny of the superannuation withdrawal requests.
He said allowing funds to go to overseas gambling companies was not in the national interest and it was not in the interest of the people involved.
Everybody loses if this scheme doesn’t work properly.
Earlier today, the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said the government was comfortable with the fact people were “accessing their money when they need it most”.
He said about 1.8 million people had secured early access to a total of $15bn in superannuation funds. He said they included Australians and temporary residents and that said the funds were “their money” and they would use it “for a range of purposes”.
But we’re going through a once-in-a-century pandemic and people do need that extra funding, that extra financial support over and above other government initiatives to help them get through this period.
Updated
South Australia premier Steven Marshall is speaking now from inside a pub. He thanks the people of the state for complying with restrictions, and crows about the state’s success in dealing with the virus.
It was only four or five weeks ago that many people were thinking they might be coming back in July, August or September and here we are on the first day of June and we have got 80 people in pubs in South Australia.
Updated
McGowan calls on West Australians to “holiday at home” within the state this year, to boost the local economy.
He says the government will launch an advertising campaign called “Wander out yonder”.
Our hard border means going east on holidays is not an option. Going overseas on holidays is not an option, but you can holiday right here in Western Australia.
McGowan says statistics show West Australians spend more money on trips out of WA than other Australians do when they come into WA.
I couldn’t tell you the number of people I have met who have been all over the world, but never have really experienced the regions of Western Australia. This is their opportunity to spend their money at home and holiday at home.
Updated
Western Australia premier Mark McGowan is giving his daily update now.
He says the state has one new case from overseas, and one new case from a “historical case” who contracted the virus in April but has now recovered.
One new case is a woman in her 30s who has returned from overseas from the Middle East and she has been in quarantine since her arrival home, which was a few days ago. So in one of our hotels currently.
Secondly, there is a historical case, a man in his 40s who got tested. He was in the Kimberley. He was cleared in Prince of Wales in April, but testing has shown that he was positive back at some point in time in the past, most likely back some time in April.
Updated
Some breaking news from Melissa Davey.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has started court proceedings against the “healing church” that promoted a bleach solution as a cure for coronavirus.
The US arm of the same church had written to Donald Trump just days before he also touted bleach as a cure.
Updated
New Victorian police commissioner appointed
Shane Patton, the Victorian deputy police commissioner, has been announced as the state’s new chief commissioner of police.
Patton will start the role when the current chief commissioner, Graham Ashton, leaves in June.
Premier Daniel Andrews praised Patton for “grassroots understanding”, the “passion to improve this organisation”, “common sense [and a] very practical approach”.
Shane Patton has been appointed the new @VictoriaPolice Chief Commissioner.
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) June 1, 2020
The Deputy Commissioner has been at the forefront of the force throughout #covid19 .. now the Premier and @LisanevilleMP have given him the nod to be the boss. @10NewsFirstMelb #springst pic.twitter.com/RJF0V6VPlK
Updated
And more from the former PM:
Turnbull is teeing off on Alan Jones, says he's "vicious, misogynistic, generally disconnected from the facts whenever it suited him" - cites "violent language" towards female leaders including Gillard and Ardern. Says boycotts brought his career to end #turnbulllive #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) June 1, 2020
Malcolm Turnbull is doing a live event with Crikey and the Mandarin – and has made some strong comments about Donald Trump’s handling of the protests against police brutality and systemic racism in the US.
Turnbull says Trump is a “deliberately divisive leader” who “seeks to divide” the US or to “exploit division” that, he says, “far from making America great again, makes America weaker”.
It is terrifying, as someone who loves America, loves the values America represents at its best. [I] can only be appalled at what we’re seeing at the moment.
Turnbull blames the “rightwing populist ecosystem of which the Murdoch media is a bit part of that, it actually plays on that, that’s their business model ... It’s done, I believe, enormous damage.”
Turnbull accuses Trump of “reducing American participation in global leadership”, saying that “America is less influential not least because it seeks to be less influential” by pulling out of global organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the Paris treaty.
History is written by those who turn up. Out of the room, out of the deal.
Turnbull says America’s lack of leadership has left room for China to gain greater influence.
Updated
Thanks to Matilda Boseley for her work today.
We’ve already mentioned the loosening of restrictions that came into effect today in Victoria and Queensland.
In NSW, restaurants, pubs and cafes will be able to seat up to 50 people, effective today. Museums, art galleries and zoos are also now able to open on NSW and Queensland.
In NSW, beauty, tanning, nail and waxing venues will also be able to open, with a 10 person maximum.
That’s where I might leave you for this morning. My esteemed colleague Naaman Zhou will be here to guide you through the rest of this first wintery day.
Updated
Frydenberg was asked if any of the construction stimulus funding would be directed towards the creation of social housing.
Firstly, we recognise the states are partners with us in a number of housing projects and initiatives and we have already announced previous initiatives on social housing. What we do recognise is that there’s a gap in the market here. So we will have more to say in due course.
But what we’re seeking to do is to get people to undertake construction activities, whether it’s a new home or otherwise, that may have not otherwise been the case. And that’s because the economy has taken a hit and they’ve decided to stay on the sidelines.
So what we’re trying to do is to generate more activity at a time when the economy needs it and, of course, more activity means more jobs.
Updated
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has confirmed that an announcement on stimulus spending in the construction industry is imminent.
The housing sector, the construction industry, are vitally important to the Australian economy. There’s more than a million Australians who are employed in construction. Dwelling investment is worth more than $100bn or around 5% of GDP to the economy.
It’s not just the sparkie and the plumber and the carpenter on the building site, it’s also the timber mill, it’s also the appliance manufacturer for the kitchen. It is all the supplier who helps with the materials who go into the bathroom.
He said the government was “working on options” for the arts sector.
In terms of the arts sector, we also recognise that there is a need there for continued support and we are working on our options. But I also point out that many in the arts sector have been receiving the jobkeeper payment as well as the jobseeker payment.
Updated
Scott Morrison has addressed the government-created debacle of charging unlawful robodebts, which culminated in the commonwealth agreeing on Friday to repay $721m.
At a press conference in Sydney, Morrison said the government services minister, Stuart Robert, still has his full support, but expressed “great regrets about any pain or injury caused here”.
We’re putting this right. Let’s be clear about what the change is here. The income average in principle is one that has been followed by Labor and Coalition governments for a very long period of time. Over the course of dealing with this issue, that principle was not something that could be relied upon. That doesn’t mean those debts don’t exist. It just means that they cannot be raised, solely, on the basis of using income averaging.
I think what all Australians would agree that it’s important that if there are overpayments of welfare or other things like that, then the government has to be diligent about taxpayers’ funds and make sure that we are recover moneys where it’s right to do so. But you’ve got to do it in the lawful way and we will ensure to continue to do that with our projects going forward.
This has been a very difficult project for many but the government is putting it right.
Asked about the need for an apology, Morrison said that due to the legal proceedings, “the time for those sorts of statements are at another time”.
Asked about what he would say to a family who lost a loved one to suicide over robodebt, Morrison said:
The government has great regrets about any pain or injury that has been caused here ... but as I said, those are issues we’re still working through and we’re making it right.
Updated
Interestingly it appears the clock in this pub is still on daylight savings times - a relic of pre-covid days.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg gets the privilege of doing what we all want to this morning. And he gets to call it work. From today Melbourne’s pubs restaurants and cafes will be able to reopen to 20 people @AAPNewswire pic.twitter.com/YFjCptrVQV
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) June 1, 2020
Updated
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian also spoke at the press conference:
This project will create 14,000 jobs in New South Wales – music to our ears. In April we lost 21,000 jobs in New South Wales. We also know that there are so many other of our fellow citizens on jobkeeper. We know we have a job ahead of us of getting people into working, into sustainable jobs.
Having those direct and indirect jobs is fantastic, especially through the partnership of the federal government ... We’re able to start acceleration of the project this year.
As we know, New South Wales has been supporting the federal government efforts in building this project to service a metropolis. It will not only service the airport, but so many people who will call this place home or will come to the airport for work.
Updated
$1.75bn federal investment to build NSW rail line
Scott Morrison is speaking in Sydney now.
The prime minister has announced the federal government will invest $1.75bn to build a metro train line to Syndey’s second airport.
We are getting projects happening now because that’s the job making agenda that Australia needs, that New South Wales needs, and that estern Sydney needs. We couldn’t hope for a better partner in our job-making program than the New South Wales government.
The NSW and federal government will split the funding for this project 50/50.
The prime minister says this additional investment will allow the project to stay on track, allowing the metro line to open when the new western Sydney airport does.
Updated
Three new cases in New South Wales
When it rains it pours, when it comes to Covid-19 case number announcements.
NSW has just released its daily numbers and three more people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. This brings the state’s total to 3,098.
No one infected with Covid-19 currently requires a ventilator in the state, but there is one person still in intensive care.
Today the health department has provided this breakdown of how all the states cases were acquired.
Overseas: 1,793
Interstate acquired: 72
Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case and/or in a known cluster: 865
Locally acquired – contact not identified: 368
Under investigation: 0
Total: 3,098
Updated
Palaszczuk, who is in Cairns this morning, is urging Queensland residents to travel around the state as a way to boost the tourism industry while the state borders remain shut.
I’m encouraging Queenslanders to get out of the house, to get into their car and to book accommodation somewhere in Queensland that you haven’t been before...
There is so much to explore. I don’t know where to begin. But Queenslanders, hop on the internet, do the searches and make sure you explore all that Queensland has to offer.
Updated
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is speaking to media now.
She says there have been no new cases overnight.
Updated
Four new cases in Victoria
Victoria has just released its daily case numbers, an increase of four since yesterday.
One is linked to the outbreak at quarantine hotel Rydges on Swanston in Melbourne, bringing this cluster to a total of eight cases.
A Department of Health spokesperson said in a statement:
Thorough cleaning of relevant parts of the hotel has been undertaken, alongside contact tracing, isolation and quarantine of close contacts. A full investigation is underway to review all possible causes of transmission within the hotel, including looking into links between affected staff and contractors.
Of the other three cases, one was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine and two were from community testing.
The department said there were no new cases linked to any other known outbreaks, including the Keilor Downs family or any aged care facilities.
Updated
And some news from the other side of the bubble:
New Zealand’s new opposition leader, Todd Muller, is calling on the government to explain to Kiwis why the country remains at level two alert after nine days of no new cases.
“Kiwis have made enormous sacrifices to flatten the curve, but if their efforts still aren’t enough to move to Level 1 then the Government must explain why,” Muller said in a statement.
“It has been more than a week since the last confirmed case of Covid-19. There are fewer cases now than there was before any restrictions were put in place.”
Muller accused the government of sending “mixed messages” and said the coalition partners weren’t aligned – a reference to comments by the deputy PM, Winston Peters, urging a downgrade to level one immediately:
Businesses on the brink of closure have been left in limbo too long. It’s time for the Government to be clear about what conditions need to be met for the move to Level 1.
Level 1 should mean businesses can return to full capacity, transport networks can resume without constraints, marriages can be properly celebrated and loved ones can be appropriately mourned.
The sooner small businesses know what Level 1 will look like, the easier it will be for the backbone of our economy to start repairing itself.
Updated
Some good news from South Australia: all the homes damaged by summer’s devastating bushfires have now been cleared of debris.
More than 450 properties can now undergo repair or reconstruction work, reports AAP.
About 25,000 tonnes of waste and debris has been removed from the affected areas including Kangaroo Island, parts of the Adelaide Hills, York Peninsula and the south-east, with the $12.9m cost shared by the state and federal governments.
“Cleaning up after a bushfire can be a very emotional time and we wanted to make sure there was one less thing to worry about so we committed to clear sites to allow the affected communities to begin rebuilding at no cost to homeowners,” said the federal drought and emergency management minister, David Littleproud.
On Kangaroo Island, the scene of the largest fires that burnt through more than 200,000 hectares, 220 properties were cleared, while in the Adelaide Hills, 227 properties were impacted.
Updated
Continued from the previous post:
Morrison – who has faced calls for months to help the arts and entertainment sector – said one of the challenges for the sector was to get capital moving again because it had to draw down on it so significantly during the crisis. The government was looking at “getting those sectors of the economy moving again as soon as they can”.
He explained that the government was shifting focus from the big, economy-wide schemes to support particular sectors that needed extra help.
So we’ve gone from the big, big, broad strokes of jobkeeper and jobseeker, but as time goes on, we’ll be able to narrow it in and focus more on those sectors which need that longer term support.
The government has been resisting calls to expand eligibility for the jobkeeper wage subsidy after revelations it would cost $60bn less than initially forecast.
Morrison will be in western Sydney later this morning to announce that the government will fast-track funding for the Sydney metro western Sydney airport rail link.
Updated
Fourth round of stimulus could include cash grants for home renovations
The Morrison government is planning to roll out a fourth round of economic stimulus, hinting it could include cash grants for home renovations and support for the struggling art and entertainment sector.
Scott Morrison said the government was looking at ways to help the residential building sector because of predictions of a drop-off in construction activity in the last months of 2020.
In an interview with 2GB, the prime minister was asked about a report in the Australian newspaper that the government was considering a housing stimulus package that would extend grants to include home renovations as a way to help tradespeople weather the slowdown. According to the report, limits or conditions may be placed around the types of renovations that could be covered by the scheme.
Morrison said the government was not yet ready to announce the details of the plan, but the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, had been “doing some good work with some of the states as well who are interested in working on those issues”. While saying he wanted to ensure local contractors got work through renovation projects, Morrison indicated the government was “more interested in larger projects and new home builds and things like that”:
And we’ve been looking closely at the entertainment industry as well. I was having some good discussions with people in the entertainment industry on the weekend about what we can be doing there more specifically.
Updated
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has started federal court proceedings against the Australian chapter of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing after it advertised a solution containing bleach as a cure for Covid-19.
My colleague Melissa Davey reported on this company last month after it was fined more than $150,000 for multiple allegedly unlawful advertising offences.
At that time the company was ordered to remove the advertising in question. It did not and, as a result, the TGA is seeking to obtain a court injunction restraining the company and its director, Charles Barton, from advertising or supplying the “cure”.
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This news could have some serious implications for Australian media, who could be held responsible legally for the comments others make on their social media pages.
The former Northern Territory youth detainee Dylan Voller, whose mistreatment in Don Dale youth detention centre prompted a royal commission into youth detention, pursued defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media, Nationwide News and Sky News for comments left by readers in the Facebook comments sections of articles relating to him.
The media sites involved include the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian, Sky News, The Bolt Report and the Centralian Advocate.
#BREAKING: Media outlets including the Herald have lost their appeal against a decision holding them responsible for the allegedly defamatory posts of readers on Facebook: https://t.co/xsLDc1d29C
— Michaela Whitbourn (@MWhitbourn) May 31, 2020
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It looks as though Australia might be hanging with the big dogs again this year.
Scott Morrison has told Sydney radio station 2GB that Donald Trump is keen for Australia to attend the G7 summit. “We’re expecting an invitation there,” he said.
Morrison attended last year’s G7 meeting as a guest of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
“It’s a good opportunity to deal with a lot of like-minded countries,” the prime minister said.
The G7 is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK.
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The NSW decision to reopen poker machines has been criticised by the NSW Council for Social Service, Wesley Mission and the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
The groups say they “have major concerns for a lack of preparation by the NSW Government to manage the risks associated with people being exposed to gambling again after a nine-week enforced break”.
Other states have opted to keep the pokies closed for another month.
“NCOSS remains extremely concerned about the harmful impact this form of gambling causes to individuals and the broader community, especially at such a vulnerable time,” said the council‘s chief executive, Joanna Quilty:
This decision to reopen poker machines is not a solution to addressing concerns around social isolation, it is a recipe for disaster and our members will no doubt be left to pick up the pieces.
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Guardian Australia has spent the past week examining aspects of the federal government’s response to coronavirus, investigating problems with jobkeeper, the childcare support package, and the potential economic impact of the sudden cessation of stimulus.
The Australian government has handed major pathology companies lucrative Covid-19 contracts through limited tenders, shielded their closed collection centres from takeover, provided large subsidy increases after industry lobbying, waived normal registration fees and promised to provide additional assistance outside jobkeeper. This report comes from Christopher Knaus:
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Queensland is also gearing up for more intrastate travel. Queenslanders can now holiday anywhere in the state, but, much to the disappointment of NSW, outsiders are still not allowed in.
Several Queensland cities and towns, including the Gold Coast, are reliant on tourism from other states and territories, but the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has been steadfast that state borders will remain closed.
This is in part due to the persistent low-level community transmission in Victoria and NSW.
We're opening Queensland for Queenslanders. Here’s a quick guide to what’s changing from tomorrow at noon. https://t.co/SqGYiangpX #covid19 #qldjobs pic.twitter.com/Qqn3DAI9pi
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) May 31, 2020
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South Australia’s premier, Steven Marshall, is encouraging residents to plan their next holiday inside the state. Notably, he is not asking any outsiders to join in, with mandatory 14-day quarantines still in place for anyone entering SA.
Restriction have been relaxed in the state today. Venues can have up to 80 patrons, provided they are contained to groups of 20 in separate rooms or areas.
Welcome Back! That’s the message from our regions & tourism operators as we launch a new campaign to reboot SA’s tourism sector. Now’s the perfect time for South Australians to plan a trip within our amazing state. Where will you head? #WelcomeBack #RegionsMatter #SouthAustralia pic.twitter.com/Jf6OQH4o63
— Steven Marshall, MP (@marshall_steven) May 31, 2020
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Just on Scott Morrison’s comments to 2GB earlier about the US riots.
He said: “As upsetting and terrible that the murder that took place – and it is shocking, that also just made me cringe – I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia.”
Australia has its own history of institutional violence against vulnerable groups, as Lorena Allam reports.
The family of David Dungay, an Aboriginal man who said “I can’t breathe” 12 times before he died while being restrained by five prison guards in a Sydney jail, said they have been traumatised anew by the footage of US police killing George Floyd.
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Here’s what Gladys Berejilklian told 2GB earlier.
We’re working through the list, and can I be so bold as to suggest that I will be saying something publicly about that this week.
What we need to do is make sure everybody’s safe, everybody reopens in a Covid-safe way and that’s our mantra ...
There’s two things that we want to say something about in the near future and that’s children’s community sport, but also gyms and studios. I will say something about that in the very near future.
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Announcement of NSW gyms and children's community sport expected this week
Sydney fitness junkies rejoice, it seems there might be an announcement on gyms coming soon.
And there's a scoop!
— 2GB 873 (@2GB873) May 31, 2020
Gladys Berejiklian tells Ben she intends to make an announcement on gyms, dance studios and children's community sport in the near future.
"Can I be so bold as to suggest we'll be saying something publicly about that this week." https://t.co/AVObmMUBQv
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From noon today, you can have up to 20 people from different households can visit or gather in your home, business or a public space. More info on our roadmap: https://t.co/nYWoByb9FO #covid19 pic.twitter.com/yjXnlbVKfB
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) May 31, 2020
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Scott Morrison has told the Sydney radio station 2GB he does not believe violent protests in the US will bring change.
The US has been gripped by violence, with protests boiling over after George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer, now charged with murder, knelt on his neck while he was under arrest.
The Australian prime minister said the footage from the US was disturbing.
“I saw a good meme on the weekend – Martin Luther King didn’t change anything by burning anything down or by looting any shops,” he told 2GB on Monday.
(King’s quote, “in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard”, has become a rallying cry in the US protests.)
Morrison said video of the officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck was awful.
“As upsetting and terrible that the murder that took place – and it is shocking, that also just made me cringe – I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia.”
He discouraged Australians from joining similar protests planned for later in the week.
“There’s no need to import things happening in other countries here to Australia,” he said.
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The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has announced plans to establish a “Pacific humanitarian pathway” to help combat global supply chain disruptions in the Oceanic region.
Payne says this will help ensure the transportation of humanitarian and medical supplies within the Pacific during the pandemic. She said:
As a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia is doing its part to operationalise the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway including through the implementation of protocols for freight and passengers that minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
This aid will include $5.5m to the World Food Programme, including $4m going towards air transport and logistics services, the delivery of humanitarian and critical medical supplies, and assessments of the impact on food security.
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For once there might actually be a bigger story than Covid-19 today: the now-global protests against the police killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in the US. You can check out coverage of the protests here, including those within 100 metres of the White House:
But make sure you hurry on back. We have a big day of Australia’s coronavirus news ahead of us.
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Andrews didn’t provide many details on the significant outbreak in Melbourne’s north-west that has caused 100 school students to self-isolate after two schools had children test positive last week:
I’ll let the chief health officer provide a fuller update later on today. That’s a serious outbreak. All outbreaks are serious.
The important point to note is that the prime minister made this point, Brendan Murphy and myself, said that as we open up, we will see positive cases.
That’s why so much testing is important. And my message to your Victorian viewers this is morning – if you have even the mildest of symptoms, come forward and get tested.
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Victorians urged to keep working from home if possible
Speaking of Victoria, the premier, Daniel Andrews, is speaking to the ABC now, doubling down on his “work from home” message:
One of the biggest challenges that the chief health officer has identified is literally hundreds of thousands of people coming back to the office, pressing lift button, sharing bathrooms and kitchens. Not necessarily maintaining social distancing.
And then, of course, there’s the issue of how they get to work. If everyone tries to cram in on public transport, well, we won’t have any social distancing maintained at all ...
So if you have been working from home, you have to keep working from home.
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Now today is the first day Victorians will be allowed to enjoy a strong cup of coffee at their local cafes. If you are enjoying the first morning back out for breakfast, shoot me a photo on Twitter.
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Just on the NSW wage freeze, the president of the state’s Teachers Federation, Angelo Gavrielatos, told ABC that the $1,000 bonus wasn’t acceptable.
Our teachers in NSW have not received a pay increase since November 2018. We had finalised negotiations for pay in March and then our pay for teachers was struck with the wage cap. It’s unacceptable.
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There is a bit of news to unpack from the papers today.
The Daily Telegraph and Syndey Morning Herald are reporting that NSW public servants may get a one-off $1,000 stimulus payment after the government of the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, decided to freeze their pay for 12 months.
The treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, called union leaders on Sunday night with the offer, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The wage freeze for 410,000 public sector workers is facing a tough battle to get through the upper house. The government wants to freeze pay rises to include the entire NSW public service and MPs, citing the economic hit brought on by the Covid-19 restrictions.
The freeze would save about $3bn, which would be reinvested in public projects.
Berejiklian has said public sector jobs would otherwise be at risk. She said frontline workers had received 2.5% annual pay rises since the Coalition took office in 2011.
The Australian has reported the federal government is considering giving householders cash grants for home renovations under a multibillion-dollar stimulus package to boost the economy.
The measure will be considered by a cabinet expenditure review committee meeting this week.
But there would be limits on the type of renovations that could be undertaken under the plan, which could be worth up to $4bn.
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Coronavirus restrictions eased around Australia with 'cautious approach'
Matilda Boseley here to take you through the morning.
The big thing to look out for today is that Australians will experience more freedom as much of the country enters a new phase of Covid-19 restrictions.
The more flexible restrictions – which differ across the states – will mean more movement in public places, including pubs, cafes and restaurants. But authorities continue to urge the public to practise safe hygiene and social distancing measures.
From midday, Queenslanders will be able to travel statewide, while pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes will be allowed to seat up to 20 people. The state’s strict border closure will remain in place.
NSW pubs, beauty salons and museums reopen, and holiday travel inside state boundaries will also be permitted.
In Victoria, libraries, galleries, museums, places of worship and beauty clinics are among the venues that will be allowed to reopen to no more than 20 people.
In South Australia, venues can have up to 80 patrons, provided they are contained to groups of 20 in separate rooms or areas.
Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth says the lifting of restrictions is a balancing act between the socioeconomic benefit from their removal and the public health risk. He told reporters in Canberra on Sunday:
We’re taking a deliberately safe and cautious approach. Most importantly we’re taking the time to gather the data over the coming weeks to determine whether it’s safe to move to the next round of lifting restrictions.
Almost 7,200 Australians have tested positive to Covid-19 with more than 1.45 million tests conducted. Some 478 virus cases remain active across the country, while the death toll sits at 103.
More than 62% of Australia’s Covid-19 cases have been acquired overseas since 22 January.
A three-year-old child is one of three new cases in Western Australia, but all were in quarantine after returning from overseas, while one of the cases from the Al Kuwait livestock ship has been hospitalised. The ship has accounted for 20 of WA’s 28 active cases.
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