Summary
With that, we’ll be closing the blog for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with all the latest news.
- The free childcare system will end on 12 July, and Jobkeeper will end for childcare workers on 20 July, the government has announced. From 13 July the childcare subsidy will return, along with new transition measures to support the sector and parents.
- Guards fired tear gas at inmates of Long Bail Jail in Sydney, in what Corrective Services said was to break up a fight. Prisoners then spelled out “BLM” – meaning Black Lives Matter – after being gassed.
- An Indigenous woman is in a critical condition after an incident with a prison guard in Western Australia. A WA Department of Justice spokesman told Guardian Australia she suffered a medical episode on Sunday. The department is investigating allegations that the woman was body-slammed by a guard, and whether the medical episode was linked.
- Australia recorded 5 new cases of coronavirus overnight, including one in an aged care facility in north-east Victoria.
- New Zealand has lifted all domestic restrictions, after the country reached no active Covid-19 cases. International border restrictions are still in place
Thanks for reading and stay safe.
Here’s our full story on the tear gas used at Long Bay Jail today:
Organisers of a second Black Lives Matter protest in Perth are refusing to apply for an exemption to host more than 300 people under coronavirus restrictions,
AAP report:
Co-organiser Tanesha Bennell said no exemption had been sought for the first rally, which drew about 2,000 people.
But the venue for the second event on Saturday has changed to Langley Park to provide people with more space to physically distance.
Protesters are also urged to bring their own water bottles, face masks and hand sanitiser.
In a social media post, co-organiser Jacinta Taylor-Foster said they were doing everything they could to ensure the safety of everyone participating.
“If you are sick and vulnerable, we urge you to stay home,” she said.
“For politicians feigning concern, use the position that you are in now to actually do something about this, so that we don’t have to consistently protest and campaign.”
Updated
The ABC’s reporter at Long Bail Jail has said it is “unclear” what triggered a fight that Correctional Services says occurred, but that at least some of the incident today was related to the Black Lives Matter protests.
It has been reported earlier that “BLM” was spelled out in the yard after tear gas was used.
“It is unclear what triggered the situation,” reporter Jamie McKinnell said.
“From the helicopter shots, we can see some of the inmates were using material or towels to spell out the letters “BLM”... So we can probably say that part of the incident was related to the Black Lives Matter incident.”
New Zealanders will be able to attend the Super Rugby in person – with unlimited crowd sizes – this weekend after the government eased all domestic restrictions.
The opening round of the Super Rugby Aotearoa competition kicks off this weekend.
AAP report:
With no restrictions on crowd size, there is the possibility of sold-out grandstands when the Highlanders host the Chiefs in Dunedin on Saturday and the Blues face the Hurricanes at Eden Park on Sunday in the first round of matches.
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson confirmed tickets would go on sale from Monday.
Jacinda Ardern has said that Australia would need to be “in a similar position” to New Zealand – having no active Covid-19 cases – before a travel bubble could be implemented.
Ardern said today that travel bans would remain in New Zealand even as domestic restrictions are lifted.
“Our border is critical,” AAP report.
“The reason that New Zealanders, as of tomorrow, will be able to move around with freedom that very few other countries in the world have is because we are maintaining those restrictions at the border.”
There is a difference between a single protest and footy season – deputy CMO
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has responded to people drawing links to the protests being allowed and spectator sport not being allowed. He says:
I do understand why that might frustrate people. I would point out, perhaps, we don’t have protests on every Friday and Saturday night of the footy season. There are some substantive differences to it.
The return to stadium sport and spectators is something the Australian health protection principal committee is considering, it is something that we have been discussing. So there may well be a way to do that in a safe, measured way in the coming months.
I guess in principle there is a rather big difference between a single protest and a return to spectator sport in Australia.
Updated
Coatsworth says people who attended Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter protests over the weekend should not be treated differently to other people when it comes to getting tested.
Attendees of the protests are being urged to get tested if they develop any symptoms – but Coatsworth says that’s the same advice for anyone who develops symptoms.
Questions from media continue about the protests on the weekend.
There have not been any questions on the new case in a Victorian aged care home that Coatsworth also announced.
Updated
New case in Victorian aged care home
The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, is speaking now.
He says there are 5 new cases in Australia overnight, with 2 new cases in Victoria – one is a returned traveller and one is a resident of an aged care facility in north-east Victoria.
He says contact tracing is underway.
Overall, 19 people are hospitalised, three people are in intensive care and two are on ventilators.
Updated
Long Bay jail inmates cite 'Black Lives Matter' after tear gas used
The ABC is reporting that inmates at Sydney’s Long Bay jail spelled out “BLM” – meaning Black Lives Matter – after tear gas was used on prisoners earlier today.
Corrective Services NSW said the tear gas was used after “a number of inmates in one yard began fighting” and “refused to comply with directions”.
Helicopter footage shot after the tear gas was used showed inmates used nearby materials to spell “BLM” on the ground.
One inmate has been taken to hospital after being bitten by a police dog that was deployed.
Indigenous man David Dungay died in Long Bay jail’s hospital in 2015, after guards stormed his cell after he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits. Dungay said “I can’t breathe” 12 times before he died.
Updated
Some more information about the Indigenous woman who is in a critical condition after an incident with a prison guard in Western Australia.
A WA Department of Justice spokesman told Guardian Australia it was investigating allegations that the woman was body-slammed by a guard at Bandyup women’s prison.
The spokesman said that there was an alleged incident on Saturday, then in the morning, the woman suffered a medical episode.
The Department of Justice Professional Standards Division is reviewing it to see what the alleged incident was, and whether there is a connection between that and the medical episode.
The spokesman said the claim there was a body slam came from a third party from outside the prison.
AAP is reporting that the woman is being treated at St John of God Midland Hospital in Perth.
Updated
Tear gas that was used at Sydney’s Long Bail jail is also affecting residents of the suburb of Malabar.
The ABC has also reported that children at a nearby playground were affected and had to be taken inside.
the suburb of Malabar is full of tear gas right now after use on prisoners in Long Bay jail pic.twitter.com/EB7ro2zB2T
— d (@piecehere) June 8, 2020
And here is our full story on the relaxing of restrictions in New Zealand today:
Thanks to my colleagues Luke Henriques-Gomes and Calla Wahlquist for running the blog earlier today.
The ABC is broadcasting live footage from Long Bay jail in Sydney, where tear gas was used earlier today. Corrective Services NSW said it was to break up a fight, and the incident is under control.
The footage shows a lot of black-clad guards in the yard area of the jail.
Updated
With that, I’ll handover to my colleague Naaman Zhou, who will guide you through the afternoon.
New Zealand ditches Covid-19 restrictions, bar border controls
Hours after New Zealand’s health officials announced there were no active cases of Covid-19 in the country for the first time since 28 February, prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced her government would abandon all restrictions except border controls from midnight tonight.
The removal of all domestic restrictions is happening a couple of days sooner than the government initially flagged it might. From tonight, all remaining rules about physical distancing and gathering sizes will end.
“We are ready,” Ardern told reporters at a news conference in Wellington that is ongoing. She praised New Zealanders for having “united in unprecedented ways to crush the virus”.
New Zealand recorded less than 1,500 cases of Covid-19; 22 people died.
But Ardern warned that elimination was not “a point in time” and was cautious about saying the crisis was over for New Zealand.
We almost certainly see cases here again. That is not a sign that we have failed; it is a reality of this virus.
Strict border controls will remain in place; only New Zealanders and their families are currently allowed to enter the country and must stay in government-run quarantine for a fortnight.
Updated
This report is from AAP:
Tear gas has been used on inmates in Sydney’s Long Bay jail after a fight broke out.
The incident is now under control following the brawl, which happened at about midday on Monday, a Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman told AAP.
AAP understands tear gas was used when those involved in the brawl refused to comply with directions.
Updated
Asked what they did on learning today there were no active #covid19 cases in NZ:
— Melissa Clarke (@Clarke_Melissa) June 8, 2020
PM Jacinda Ardern: "I did a little dance."
Dir-Gen of Health Dr Bloomfield: "I did allow myself a broad smile." #nzpol #auspol
Plan to ban dodgy NDIS providers
Dodgy carers and service providers could soon be banned from entering the National Disability Insurance Scheme, reports AAP.
The proposed new powers follow the death of South Australian woman Ann Marie Smith.
Smith, 54, who had cerebral palsy, was left in squalid conditions while under the care of the NDIS and later died in hospital.
NDIS minister Stuart Robert is planning to introduce the proposed powers to federal parliament within the next two weeks.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission would be able to draw on sources outside the scheme to determine a ban, including a worker’s history at aged- or child- care centres.
A blacklist already exists of people banned after working in the NDIS, but the updated powers would stop risky operators entering or re-entering the scheme.
People with Disability Australia spokeswoman El Gibbs said the new powers would be the first step towards improving safeguards in the NDIS.
Updated
Labor lashes childcare 'snap back'
Labor’s childcare spokeswoman, Amanda Rishworth, is criticising the government’s return to the child care subsidy – and away from free childcare.
She is painting the change as a “snap back”, saying:
The government had a number of options on the table. And they chose none of them.
They chose not to change the CCS percentage, not to look at which groups might really need free childcare. Like I said, there was a range of proposals on the table, and they chose none of them.
Rishworth sidesteps questions on what exactly Labor would do, saying: “I’m not the minister.”
This could well act as a handbrake on the economy. If women and families are not able to access affordable childcare, how are they going to get back to work? How are they going to actually participate in the economy?
Updated
The Greens’ education spokeswoman, Mehreen Faruqi, says ending free childcare is the wrong move.
“Ending free childcare is a huge mistake,” she said in a statement.
Thousands of families that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis will now have to make some very hard choices.
We know that a significant proportion of families currently accessing free childcare will now be forced to reduce their work days or completely remove their little ones from care.
Let’s be honest: it will mostly be women who are forced out of work now. Ending free childcare is an anti-women move.
Australian childcare fees are some of the highest in the world. We need a radical revamp of the whole system, and it starts with looking at how we make childcare free for good. Childcare is an essential service.
Updated
Global coronavirus cases top 7 million
Known cases of Covid-19 worldwide have passed 7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
For an international perspective on the pandemic, you can follow our global live blog with my colleague Helen Sullivan.
Updated
We will hear Labor’s response to the childcare announcement at 12.30pm from its spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth.
Updated
Samantha Maiden points out that the PM said recently that jobkeeper would last six months. Today we learnt it will be switched off for childcare centres from 20 July (counting backpay, it began 30 March).
Here’s the PM guarantee on JobKeeper lasting for six months: “you can count on that) (I’m not criticising removing JobKeeper if there’s other assistance I’m simply saying Hello! Pay attention to what he says and how you phrase your questions pic.twitter.com/hwatDiMUbB
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) June 8, 2020
Updated
Pressed on whether he concedes the changes will still put financial pressure on some people, Tehan says the childcare system needs to be “sustainable into the future”.
Asked by Daniel Hurst for the value of jobkeeper that is being removed by the government, Tehan says: “We are still working that out.”
But he concedes the “business continuity payment” will be less than the current jobkeeper payments the sector is currently receiving.
The flipside, of course, is that some providers that were not eligible for jobkeeper will get these continuity payments.
Updated
Tehan is asked how will reintroducing childcare fees help people who’ve lost their jobs. He says:
This is something that we have discussed with the sector at length and what we have done is, through the changes that we have made to the activity test, that will help us deal with that issue.
So what that will enable parents who have lost their work to do is to be able to get access to support because of those changes we have made to the activity test.
Updated
Childcare changes – and end to free care – announced
The temporary free childcare system will end on 12 July, the Morrison government has announced.
The system, introduced at the height of the pandemic, was due to expire in late June, but the government had previously kept the door open to extending it, depending on the health and economic situation.
In recent times, though, the government had signalled it would expire soon because of increases in childcare attendance.
The education minister, Dan Tehan, said the temporary early childhood education and care relief package had “done its job and would be turned off on 12 July”.
From 13 July the childcare subsidy would return, along with new transition measures to support the sector and parents as they moved back to the subsidy, the government said in a statement.
Jobkeeper would cease for the childcare sector from 20 July. Instead, the government would pay childcare services a transition payment of 25% of their fee revenue until late September.
During the transition period, childcare fees would also be capped at February levels. Services would also need to guarantee employment levels to protect staff who moved off jobkeeper.
The existing activity test would also be eased until early October, supporting eligible families whose employment had been affected by Covid-19.
“These families will receive up to 100 hours per fortnight of subsidised care during this period,” the statement said.
Updated
Tehan says the government expects to pay $2bn in child care subsidy in this quarter.
The activity test – which sets out the number of hours a person must work or study to qualify for the subsidy – will also be eased until 4 October.
“These families will receive up to 100 hours per fortnight of subsidised care during this period,” he says.
Updated
Dan Tehan says:
The government has taken the decision that the temporary childcare package, which includes free childcare, will end on July 12.
From the 13 July, childcare fees will return, along with new transition measures.
He says the government will stop paying jobkeeper to childcare providers from 20 July.
“Instead, the government will pay childcare services a transition payment of 25% of their fee revenue during the relief package reference period, the fortnight ending March 2.”
Updated
Free child care to end 12 July
We are waiting for Dan Tehan to stand up at this press conference this morning.
He will provide more details, but the headline is that 12 July will be the end date of free child care.
Breaking: Fed Gov free child care scheme to end on July 12. @theheraldsun #auspol pic.twitter.com/L8NeknfNJU
— Tamsin Rose (@tamsinroses) June 8, 2020
Updated
Covid update: NSW
Three new Covid-19 cases have been diagnosed overnight, NSW Health says.
It brings the total number of cases in the state to 3,112.
“Two of the new cases today are travellers in hotel quarantine,” NSW Heath said in a statement. “The third case is under investigation.
“There are currently 66 Covid-19 cases being treated by NSW Health, and none are in intensive care.
“In NSW, 2,724 people have recovered from Covid-19.”
Before today, the state had recorded two days with no new coronavirus cases.
Droves of women are reporting first-time family violence in Australian research showing Covid-19 lockdown has been a flashpoint for abuse, AAP reports.
The Monash University study released on Monday found an increase in the frequency and severity of violence against women in Victoria during coronavirus lockdowns.
Almost 170 Victorian practitioners who have spent the past two months supporting women experiencing violence, contributed.
First-time family violence reporting by women rose by 42%, the study found.
Fifty-nine per cent of respondents reported Covid-19 had increased the frequency of violence against women, while half reported the severity of abuse had increased amid virus lockdown measures.
Some perpetrators allegedly weaponised the virus, spreading rumours that women had Covid-19 so nobody would come near them to help.
Updated
NZ is Covid free
Travel bubble, Kiwi friends?
#BREAKING No new active Covid-19 cases. Our last case has RECOVERED!!!https://t.co/wpKKgHHTDz
— nzherald (@nzherald) June 8, 2020
Covid-19 update: Victoria
Two new Covid-19 cases were reported overnight in Victoria, authorities say.
One of those cases was a resident aged care facility in Bright, in the state’s north east.
The 25 remaining residents are now in quarantine.
The two new infections takes the total number of cases to 1,687. There are currently 71 active infections, with seven people in hospital. Two of those people are in intensive care.
A statement from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services said 1,595 people had now recovered after testing positive to the coronavirus virus.
“Of yesterday’s cases, one was detected in returned travelers in hotel quarantine,” the department said.
Of the aged care resident who rested positive in Bright case, the department said: “The person is currently being isolated in hospital where they were transferred for an unrelated condition.
“About 25 remaining residents of Hawthorn Village in Bright have been placed in quarantine and contact tracing has begun.
“The families of residents have been advised of the situation.”
Dr Brett Sutton, Victoria’s chief health officer, said it was vital those who attended Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter protest and develop symptoms get tested
He said: “Our clear advice was not to attend last Saturday’s protest as thousands of people flooding the city in close contact was a risk.
“If you attended and go on to develop any symptoms, no matter how mild - it is critically important that you go and get tested.”
We are expecting a press conference from the education minister, Dan Tehan, at 11.30am.
Tehan is likely to announce changes to the system as the government’s temporary free childcare system comes to an end. It was announced at the height of the pandemic.
Updated
Aboriginal woman in hospital after prison incident: report
There are reports an Aboriginal woman is fighting for life after she was allegedly body slammed by a prison guard at Bandyup prison in Western Australia.
The West Australian newspaper reported late last night the woman was at St John of God hospital in a critical condition.
The paper reported allegations that inmates witnessed her being “body slammed” on Saturday. She was then taken to hospital a short time later, it said.
A WA Department of Justice spokesman told the newspaper: “The corrective services commissioner is aware of the allegation and has referred the matter to the Department of Justice professional standards division for review.”
An Aboriginal woman is in a critical condition after allegedly being body slammed by a guard in a WA prison. @sunriseon7 pic.twitter.com/R22Ox1tsRd
— Matt Tinney (@Matt_Tinney) June 7, 2020
Updated
A response to Mathias Cormann from the Greens senator Rachel Siewert. Cormann said the Black Lives Matter protesters were “selfish”.
“Fifty-four First Nations peoples have died in custody since 2008 in Minister Cormann’s home state of WA and I haven’t seen him say anything about that,” she said.
“At least 432 people have died since the royal commission into deaths in custody, no government can claim to have done a close to adequate job at pursuing justice for First Nations peoples.
“This has to be a wakeup call. The commonwealth has to show leadership and ensure an end to deaths in custody.
“It’s the same vicious cycle, a royal commission or committee is held, truth is told, credible, tangible solutions are offered and governments cop out.
“The fact is governments don’t like their failures being highlighted and this lack of justice is a massive failure of Australia’s governments.”
Updated
Parents and visitors are now allowed on school grounds in Western Australia as the state government moves to lift more coronavirus restrictions, AAP reports.
Under the changes from Monday, events and activities such as assemblies, excursions, choirs and examinations can resume providing schools abide by a limit of 100 people indoors and 300 people outdoors.
School camps will also be permitted for up to 100 people.
“Thanks to the hard work and diligence of school staff, parents and students, we’re able to make these changes and get schools closer to their usual operations,” the WA education minister, Sue Ellery, said.
In other changes under the phase three guidelines, sports training and swimming classes can recommence and senior students can engage in work placements as long as employers are complying with Covid-19 guidelines.
Canteens can also provide a dine-in service for up to 100 people and school libraries can allow 100 people in a shared space.
Updated
Thanks to Calla for her work this morning – and a nod to her use of unusual abbreviations.
I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Get in touch by email luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com or on Twitter @lukehgomes.
I am going to hand over to m’colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes who will take you through the morning.
A Victorian police officer is under investigation for using his boot to pin down a 42-year-old man during an arrest in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford on Saturday.
The investigation by the professional standards command followed the airing of footage on Channel Seven, which drew a comparison with the killing of George Floyd.
AAP reports that five police officers attended the arrest, after receiving reports that a man was “behaving erratically”
From AAP:
It was believed he had been making threats to passers-by and damaging property while armed with a hockey stick, police said on Monday.
The man then allegedly locked himself inside the Johnston Street business.
Officers used capsicum spray during the arrest and the man was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
He appeared in court on Sunday, charged with various offences including theft, riotous behaviour and resist arrest.
Citizenship ceremonies can now be conducted in person again, AAP has reported.
For the past few months citizenship ceremonies have been conducted online, but councils can now choose to conduct ceremonies in person, or online.
Acting immigration minister Alan Tudge said:
The government is also working to resume citizenship testing and interviews in the coming weeks so we can have people moving through all stages of becoming Australian citizens.
Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy was on Channel Nines’ Today show this morning, and she was asked what she thought of Mathias Cormann’s comment that the Black Lives Matter protesters were “quite irresponsible”.
She said:
Well that’s his opinion and I will tell you mine, Karl and my opinion is this, that we have way too many deaths in custody, way too many people incarcerated in terms of First Nations people and this was an opportunity by leaders across Australia, Aboriginal leaders, non-Aboriginal leaders, not politicians.
They were people who came together, pulled all sorts of people together. They had police involved in Queensland, for example, giving out masks. They had hand sanitisers. People in many of these marches were trying to keep their distance. This issue of First Nations people dying in custody is what is reckless in this country and irresponsible and that’s where this focus was all about.
"I would say to Mathias Cormann and The Prime Minister, pull together a National Cabinet to reduce the high rates of incarceration and Aboriginal deaths in custody." - Senator @Malarndirri19 speaks on COVID-19 second wave fears after nationwide Black Lives Matter rallies. #9News pic.twitter.com/o6bXpIbzkB
— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) June 7, 2020
From AAP:
Socceroos goalkeeper Mitch Langerak is facing a stint on the sidelines after testing positive for coronavirus at J-League club Nagoya Grampus.
Langerak, 31, did not report any symptoms but became the second player at the Japanese club to become infected, the J-League club confirmed.
Teammate and striker Mu Kanazaki registered a positive test result on Tuesday.
Subsequent to Kanazaki’s positive test another 19 players were tested at the club.
On Saturday, Grampus announced players would be sent home and club facilities disinfected. Another 26 individuals at the club then underwent tests at their request.
Langerak produced the only new positive test result.
In March, Vissel Kobe defender Gotoku Sakai tested positive for the virus, but he has resumed practising with teammates after making a full recovery.
The J-League top flight is set to resume behind closed doors on July 4 following a roughly four-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Langerak joined the Japanese top-flight club in 2018 after a lengthy stint in Germany.
He has played eight matches for the Socceroos since 2013 but has been largely a back-up to No.1 keeper Matt Ryan.
A thought:
I believe former Prime Minister Keating said no to any honours because he said it was a public service and one should not seek reward for public service. A man for all seasons.
— Prof Dr M Davis [-0-] (@mdavisqlder) June 7, 2020
Meanwhile, in Queensland, more than 250 people have been tested for Covid-19 after a 24-year-old man travelled form Melbourne to Brisbane while infectious.
The man, who was going to work as a fruit picker in Bundaberg, socialised with friends and family in Brisbane before travelling on to Bundaberg and checking into shared accomodation to work at a strawberry farm.
Some 147 tests were conducted at a pop-up clinic at the farm worker accomodation and to date 57 have returned negative results, including 15 who socialised with the man in Brisbane. The results for the remaining tests are expected today.
Said Queensland chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young:
These are early days and we have much more work to do before we can be confident there has been no further transmission.
Morrison retains record high approval rating: Newspoll
Scott Morrison has maintained his record high approval rating, the latest Newspoll published in the Australian this morning shows.
Morrison’s approval rating is at 66%, and his disapproval rating has fallen a point to 29%, the highest prolonged approval ratings for a prime minister since the early days of Kevin Rudd’s first prime ministership.
The two-party preferred figure remains unchanged at 51-49.
Although the poll shows that support for the Coalition dropped a point to 42% while Labor’s primary vote dropped a point to 34%. The primary vote for the Greens rose two points to 12%, while support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation lifted one point to 4%.
Morrison was also ahead of opposition leader Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister, with 56% to Albanese’s 26%.
Albanese’s personal approval rating dropped three points to 41%, and his disapproval rating lifted one point to 38%.
The poll was conducted between June 3 and June 6, based on 1,512 online interviews of voters. It has a 2.5% margin of error.
Updated
Dodson was also asked about the destruction of a rock shelter in Juukan Gorge near Tom Price in the Pilbara, despite significant archeological evidence showing it had been occupied for at least 46,000 years.
He said that “some heads will have to roll” at Rio Tinto, for failing to properly implement its monitoring of and consultation about cultural heritage sties with traditional owners. Rio Tinto has apologised, but not said it was in the wrong.
But Dodson said the federal government could have acted to stop the destruction, after lawyers for the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples sent an 11th hour plea to federal Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt.
Dodson said:
The commonwealth could have issued an injunction for that activity to stop and they failed to do that.
He said that Wyatt, who referred the matter to environment minister Sussan Ley, should bear some responsibility:
The palming off by the minister of Aboriginal Australians to [Ley] … he’s a West Australian, he knows now draconian the Aboriginal Heritage Act is in Western Australia ...
They have just failed in their duty. They have failed to act in a way that could give Aboriginal people any confidence that the federal crown and the state crown have any interest in their welfare and their cultural values.
Updated
Dodson: without a voice to parliament, people will protest to 'get their points across'
Western Australian senator and Labor’s spokesman for reconciliation, Patrick Dodson, is also speaking on Radio National.
He was travelling and did not attend a protest on Saturday, and said he hoped there would be no transmission of Covid-19 from the gatherings. But he said deaths in custody were a real, present threat to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and not a sign of a lack of care by Aboriginal people and other activists about the coronavirus threat.
I have lost a nephew recently ... he still has to come back from Perth. Family are distraught about that. It’s affected everyone and I don’t think it’s responsible to describe people as uncaring.
Dodson said the dismissal of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, particularly the request for a constitutionally-enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament, meant many felt they had no option but to protest.
I think the Aboriginal community feel very much disconnected and uncared for in society, particularly since the Uluru Statement … there’s no real progress taking place in the deaths in custody arena, and then we have the awful and disgraceful destruction of ancient sites in Western Australia.
Unless there is a voice to parliament, he says, “then you are going to have people defying the odds, as it were, to try and get their points across”.
Updated
Trade minister Simon Birmingham has told Radio National that he thought the timing of the Black Lives Matter protests this weekend was “incredibly unfortunate” but acknowledged, when pushed by host Fran Kelly, that the timing was sparked by the alleged murder of George Floyd by US police officers and therefore not of the protesters’ choosing.
Said Birmingham:
The timing was unfortunate and I accept that events that occurred in the US were not in the control of the protest organisers … nonetheless there would have been other ways of trying to create the kind of movement of symbolism that people sought without coming out in a mass gathering.
He suggests something like the driveway lights on Anzac Day.
A mass gathering, he says, shows a “lack of regard for the other Australians who have been making sacrifices” during lockdown, but adds that he “understands the sentiment” of the protesters.
Updated
In other news, Tony Abbott has been made a companion of the order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday honours.
It’s the top gong. Abbott was awarded it for his contributions to border control and the Indigenous community.
Other former Liberal politicians Bronwyn Bishop, Philip Ruddock, former NSW premier Mike Baird, former Victorian premier Denis Napthine were made officers of Order of Australia, the second highest honour.
Bishop was awarded the honour for “distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the people of New South Wales, and to women in politics”.
Marcia Langton, the foundation chair in Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, was also made an officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to tertiary education, and as an advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
Langton said she was:
... very pleased to accept [the award] because it is a way of turning the tide on the historical racism and low expectations that typified an older Australia, and one which I hope we can leave behind.
More on this from Elias Visontay here.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee will meet today to discuss “stage three and beyond” of lifting the lockdown restrictions.
The deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said the AHPPC would take into account the potential spread of the virus at the large protests on the weekend. About 30,000 people gathered in both Melbourne and Brisbane and an estimated crowd of 20,000 gathered in Sydney in solidarity with US protests over Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd, and to protest the number of Indigenous deaths in custody in Australia. Hundreds more gathered in smaller cities and towns.
Kelly told AAP:
At the moment, it won’t change how we are viewing those processes, but in particular states it may do, depending what happens in relation to [any] cases that crop up.
The protests have seen business owners place increased pressure on state governments to open up lockdown restrictions, according to a report in the Australian. Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett told the Oz:
Don’t tell me after thousands of people attended the rally, we couldn’t have had thousands of people at the footy on the weekend social distancing.
We need to open up the borders. We need to start moving.
Protesters at all rallies were told to wear face masks and remain 1.5m apart whenever possible. Face masks and hand sanitiser were distributed at entry points to the major rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The order to wear masks was almost universally obeyed.
Victoria’ deputy chief health officer, Annaliese van Diemen, told reporters yesterday that she was “hopeful” Victoria’s case numbers continue to trend downwards. She said:
If we have no outbreaks in general in [the next] two weeks, and we continue to trend downwards, we will see that as a positive in terms of low levels of community transmission.
Stage three restrictions could see gatherings of up to 100 people permitted, employees returning to their workplaces, and interstate travel.
Some states are going slightly off book: in Western Australia gatherings of up to 100 people have been permitted since midnight on Saturday, and the premier, Mark McGowan, has maintained his insistence that the hard border between WA and the rest of the country will not lift.
As of last night, there have been 7,260 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia and sadly 102 people have died.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering: today is Monday.
Updated
