And with that, I will bid you farewell for now. Thanks for reading. Stay well.
Summary
Let’s take a look at some of the main developments from today.
- NSW and Victoria held firm on lockdown restrictions, for now, as Qld announced a relaxation of the rules ahead of national cabinet tomorrow.
- Newmarch House operator Anglicare appointed a special advisor to guide its response to a deadly Covid-19 outbreak at the facility.
- SA recorded its first case in two weeks.
- The NRL said players who objected to vaccines could apply for an exemption to train during the pandemic.
Updated
Let’s briefly go to NSW parliament, where my colleague Naaman Zhou has been watching the video stream of an inquiry into the state’s Covid-19 response.
If you were under the impression that the bizarre behaviour from NSW politicians over the past few days was now over, I regret to inform you that were incorrect.
As Naaman reports, the inquiry today descended into name-calling and accusations that MPs were “winking” at each other during the video conference.
Yes, really.
Read Naaman’s full story below.
NRL paves way for anti-vaxxers to train
The NRL has issued a statement on the brewing stoush over vaccinations.
The league had indicated that players would be required to get a flu shot in order to train during the Covid-19, sparking anger among some players who claim to conscientiously object to vaccines.
In a statement today, the league said players could sign a waiver that would grant them an exemption from the vaccination requirement.
The statement said:
The National Rugby League (NRL) has developed stringent biosecurity protocols that adhere to higher standards than public health orders. These protocols were submitted to governments prior to the return of players to training.
These protocols have been reaffirmed to clubs and players today, including the requirement for flu vaccinations for all players and staff.
The protocols allow for exemptions to vaccinations under compelling circumstances, including requiring players to sign a release. Until an NRL-approved release is acknowledged and signed by players, they will not be permitted to train.
The NRL said 97% of players and applicable staff have been vaccinated.
Clubs have also been advised that biosecurity restrictions would not be eased to accommodate players making or receiving visits on Mother’s Day.
Guardian Australia’s senior business reporter Ben Butler has some news on what’s happening with Virgin.
As Ben reports, the airline’s administrators have stopped issuing refunds and flight credits to customers who cancel their trips.
More details in Ben’s full report below.
Updated
My colleagues Ben Smee and Christopher Knaus has been investigating a company called Promedical and their activities during the pandemic.
In their latest story, they report: Health authorities have fined a Queensland company run by a convicted rapist $63,000 for making false claims that its coronavirus test kits had been approved or endorsed by Australian and US authorities.
You can read their story here.
Sorry to non-sports fans for the repeated sports content, I can’t help that both major codes have gone a bit nuts.
#BREAKING: The NRL will allow players who have a conscientious objection to flu vaccination to sign a waiver allowing them to train and play.
— ABC News (@abcnews) May 7, 2020
Under AFL rules during the pandemic, players are only allowed to train in pairs.
Adelaide players and an assistant coach are under investigation over an alleged rules breach in the Barossa Valley.
— 7AFL (@7AFL) May 7, 2020
Details: https://t.co/Ou5CuUppCk pic.twitter.com/XjC5JB3dKj
But the Age, which first reported this story, says a witness told the paper a “group of Crows players were staying at the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, which is closed to the public, and that players had been running and training in groups”.
Updated
Newmarch House appoints external adviser
Newmarch House operator Anglicare says it has appointed an external advisor in line with a directive from the aged care regulator.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission yesterday threatened to revoke’s the operators license amid the outbreak at the nursing home in Sydney’s west.
Anglicare said in a statement:
Anglicare Sydney today announced that the adviser appointed to Newmarch House is Andrew Kinkade. This is in response to the Notice issued yesterday by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Andrew Kinkade has extensive experience in aged care in Australia and the UK and has been contributing to sector-wide preparations and responses to Covid-19.
He has a track record of managing complex situations and delivering high quality care. It is this background that gives him an understanding of the support that is needed at Newmarch House.
Kinkade was appointed for three months.
Updated
Preliminary modelling from the Brain and Mind Centre predicts at least a 25% rise in suicides, with 30% of those being Australians aged 15 to 25.
“The impacts of unemployment will be greatest among the young,” centre co-director Ian Hickie said, according to AAP.
Professor Hickie said Australia could be facing between an extra 750 to 1,500 suicides per year on top of the more than 3,000 annually.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.
Updated
My colleagues Elias Visontay and Naaman Zhou have an update on the situation at Newmarch House.
They report:
The federal government will pay Aspen Medical – the company contracted to contain Covid-19 outbreaks at Newmarch House and on the Ruby Princess – more than $57m for Covid-19 outbreak response services.
Read their full story below.
Amid the debate about the re-opening of schools, the ACT’s Liberal opposition leader has made some notable comments on Canberra radio.
Responding to news the ACT government planned for a staggered return to face-to-face classes, Alistair Coe appeared to say the coronavirus pandemic was over.
“I’m surprised that the government was not prepared for this, and that the government is surprised that the pandemic has ended,” Coe said on ABC Radio.
“We’re surprised that they need three weeks to get kids back into the classroom.”
The Canberra Times reported that Coe had backed away from the comments by the afternoon. He said he was speaking in the context of restrictions being eased.
There is some more bad news from Newmarch House, the stricken nursing home in Sydney’s west.
In a statement, Anglicare says three staff members have tested positive to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
They are now self-isolating.
The positive test results were discovered during our rigorous testing regime applied to all staff working at Newmarch House, which is now being conducted every second day.
Anglicare continues to be advised and guided by an infection control specialist and other clinicians, generously provided by government and we are appreciative of their expertise and ongoing support.
We continue to work diligently to contain this virus which has had a devastating effect on residents, families and staff at Newmarch House.
An update to my colleague Anne Davies’ story this morning about NSW deputy premier John Barilaro travelling from his home in the suburbs of Queanbeyan/Canberra to his farm during the lockdown.
NSW police have cleared the Nationals leader of undertaking travel in contravention of the state’s public health orders.
You can read Anne’s full report below.
The WA government is hardening its language on the AFL restart in a sign the state is unlikely to hold matches.
The health minister Roger Cook said today:
The health advice is crystal clear.
There is no confidence the AFL can maintain infection control and prevent infection spread among players and staff under the current proposed model.
There is a risk it could contribute to the further spread of the virus.
WA’s preference is for West Coast and Fremantle to participate in a “hub” outside the state.
Thanks to Josh for his efforts today. I’ll be with you for next few hours. If you want to get in touch, I’m on luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com or on Twitter @lukehgomes.
I am going to hand over to my colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes to take you through the evening.
On the new case, the man only developed mild symptoms of loss of taste and smell on 24 March after he came to Australia, he wasn’t infectious on the flight home.
He didn’t get tested because it wasn’t within the guidelines to get tested at that time. He still quarantined himself as per the rules.
He’s a new arrival to Australia and has only had five close contacts who have all been contacted and are now isolating. None of them have any symptoms.
Why so long? SA’s chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said it can happen, but it doesn’t mean it’s a living virus and risk to the community is low.
This is something we certainly know can happen with Covid-19. For whatever reason the virus can still be shared that long time later. But it’s not active or necessarily what we call viable or living virus.
Updated
South Australia records first new case in 15 days
South Australia has reported one new confirmed case of coronavirus, ending the state’s over two-week streak of no new cases.
The case is a man in his 70s who arrived back from the UK seven weeks ago on 20 March.
Updated
There are no reported incidents of Kawasaki disease in children in Australia similar to New York, McMillan says.
We have heard some reports from overseas about a condition known to occur in children as a consequence of coronavirus and it is called Kawasaki disease. It has also been reported in the UK but there is no reporting in Australia and as we know the number of children actually contracting Covid-19 has been extremely low. That doesn’t mean to say we won’t continue to monitor this situation as the information becomes available, but at this time there is no evidence of that in Australia.
Updated
On the NRL players refusing to get flu shots, McMillan said it’s a matter for their employer if they play or not:
We do know that vaccination is an important part of prevention of disease transmission in this country and there has been a strong platform in our public health program for a long time but they will leave that commentary to them.
Updated
The chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan is providing an update.
She said health officials need to keep their mental health in check too, off the back of the government’s announcement of support for mental health of health workers:
These are unprecedented times and for all of us, our lives have changed so much in recent weeks that it is absolutely normal to feel some sense of anxiety or concern at this time, and that is really normal. No one is immune to that. I have been a nurse all my life and I am not immune to that, and I to have had at times that sense of, what the future will bring and this uncertainty for us all.
Updated
Here’s a report on the alleged superannuation access fraud from my colleague Paul Karp.
NSW deputy premier John Barilaro won't be fined for farm visit
NSW Police say NSW deputy premier John Barilaro’s visit to his farm in Nerriga last weekend was not in breach of the Public Health Act.
“Subsequent inquiries by police from Southern Region revealed that he travelled to the property on Saturday (2 May 2020) and spent the weekend with his family,” NSW Police said.
“He also conducted various maintenance tasks at the property.”
The travel and the stay did not breach the current ministerial directions, NSW Police said.
7News is reporting NSW deputy premier John Barilaro will not be fined for going to his farm.
It's understood @JohnBarilaroMP will not be fined for staying at his farm. Statement from @nswpolice expected shortly. @7NewsSydney
— Alex Hart (@alexhart7) May 7, 2020
Cook said he’s not confident with the AFL’s current approach to restarting the season.
“There is no confidence the AFL can maintain infection control and prevent infection spread among players and staff under the current proposed model. There is a risk it could contribute to the further spread of the virus,” he said.
“Like all footy fans out there, I would love to be able to sit back and watch a game. But WA’s hard border will not and should not be compromised to allow the AFL to resume a home and away season because, from a health perspective, it is just not the safest model.”
He says AFL footy players and their families should see a potential WA hub as an opportunity.
Updated
Some interesting meetings between nations successfully combatting coronavirus taking place at the moment.
I'm told the PM will join another meeting of the group tonight. This is not a new initiative - it looks like the group has been gathering since at least late April pic.twitter.com/Xjwu5Gm0pY
— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) May 7, 2020
Western Australian health minister Roger Cook says the state has recorded its eighth straight day of no new confirmed cases of coronavirus.
There are currently 11 active cases in the state, of which 8 are West Australians.
He’s reiterated that the gains can’t be lost, social distancing needs to be in place, people need to keep washing their hands, and all those associated measures.
It’s not just Covid-19, he says, we are in influenza season. So far only 20 cases of flu were recorded in the state last month (the lowest on record), compared with 548 the previous April.
Updated
According to Pedestrian, most MPs and senators have downloaded and installed the Covidsafe app.
Greens and One Nation appear to be somewhat united in expressing scepticism about the app, but the Greens are more open to using it in the future, according to the report.
I do find it somewhat concerning that many MPs keep the “Sent from my iPhone” in their signature.
Regional media outlets can now apply for the federal government’s $50 million Public Interest News Gathering (PING) program.
The money can be spent on wages, training, or technology and website upgrades, communications minister Paul Fletcher says.
To be eligible the business will need to not be insolvent, be regional, and demonstrate it is providing public interest journalism to the local community it serves.
The media company can’t be affiliated with a political party, union, financial institution, non-government organisation or policy lobby group.
The grant information can be found here.
Gunner says he won’t open the border on the NT any sooner than the last easing of restrictions because SA can’t guarantee its border with Victoria, and Queensland can’t guarantee its border with NSW. He also says WA had an oubreak in the Kimberley.
NT still has a hard border, which is why it is easier for the NT to ease restrictions.
Gunner says the testing and tracking is also in place, which gives him the confidence to ease restrictions.
He says the national cabinet’s three stages will likely be quite similar to the three-stage process the NT has undertaken in easing restrictions.
NT chief minister Michael Gunner is providing an update.
“A beer and a parmy, that’s the order,” he says.
Pubs in the territory will be open from next week, and Gunner is urging territorians to go local and buy local.
“We have got to get out and we have got to support those businesses that did the right thing.”
He said NT is the test case for many other parts of Australia and the rest of the world in easing restrictions.
“I do genuinely believe we can provide a roadmap out.”
As of 1 May, SA Health has distributed enough Fluad Quad influenza vaccines for everyone aged 65 years +. To cover demand, we have confirmed the purchase of more influenza vaccines. We still have enough in stock to immunise all other groups eligible for the free flu vaccine. pic.twitter.com/82oHM1o8an
— SA Health (@SAHealth) May 7, 2020
Two weeks after departing Port Kembla, the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship has arrived in the Philippines.
South Australian Police issued 16 $1,060 fines to a group of people who were found intoxicated in a home in Port Augusta on Tuesday, in breach of the Covid-19 directions.
Then at 10pm on Tuesday, police in the state’s south-east found four customers at a licensed premises drinking alcohol. The four adults were each fined $1,060, and the business owner was fined $5,060.
A 26-year-old woman was charged with failing to comply with a direction to self-quarantine three times after leaving her home multiple times. She will appear in the Adelaide magistrates court on 30 October.
Updated
The Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association has called for all Covid-positive residents to be transferred out of Newmarch House to hospital:
“It seems this would be a highly effective way, from the residents’ point of view, of dealing with the Newmarch House crisis,” the organisation said.
Updated
Victoria is facing pressure to lift restrictions before Monday, but Daniel Andrews so far has not relented.
.@michaelobrienmp says @DanielAndrewsMP should show compassion and lift restrictions for Mothers Day like the rest of Australia. @abcmelbourne
— Richard Willingham (@rwillingham) May 7, 2020
We will know more after Friday’s national cabinet meeting.
Updated
From today, Victoria will finally begin reporting active coronavirus cases by local government area.
“It is important to understand these cases are recorded according to the address provided at the time of testing and may not reflect where the case currently resides or where they were infected,” the state’s health department said.
Updated
ACT reports no new cases today:
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.
A total of 103 cases have recovered from Covid-19 and have been released from self-isolation.
The ACT has recorded three (3) deaths.
The number of negative tests in the ACT is now 10,371.
Visitor restrictions remain in place for all Canberra Health Services campuses, including Canberra hospital and University of Canberra Hospital and Community Health Centres, as well as Calvary Public and Private hospitals, and National Capital hospital.
Updated
In that press conference a little earlier, Greg Hunt was asked about the antibody testing kits Australia had purchased to screen for Covid-19. There are two broad types of testing conducted for Covid-19.
The primary test relied upon by most nations, including Australia, is PCR testing, which is conducted in pathology laboratories and examines RNA.
Antibody tests check a person’s blood for the antibodies thought to be deployed in response to the virus. Antibody tests return results quickly and experts such as Peter Collignon, of the ANU, say that proven, accurate antibody tests have a role in the overall pandemic response, but should be used to supplement, rather than replace, PCR testing.
Antibody tests have been the subject of a scandal in the United Kingdom, where the government purchased 17.5m tests, before Oxford University researchers found they weren’t accurate enough for use. The government is now attempting to get a refund.
Hunt revealed Australia has purchased 1.5m antibody tests and is still conducting “testing and analysis” to ensure they are suitable for use. He described that approach as cautious and said the government had only purchased a “preliminary sample” of the devices.
When asked if Australia could find itself in a situation similar to the UK, Hunt said: “No. And that’s because we’ve been very cautious and took a preliminary sample. The Australian government went on validated, trusted, high-quality suppliers, but even then, there is a global assessment of antibody testing and our medical authorities have said they want to do more work and on this. Above all else, our message as a government to our medical advisers is safety trumps everything and we’ll continue to follow your advice.”
One of the “reliable” suppliers Australia asked for 500,000 antibody kits was a small, unknown company named Promedical.
The Guardian has published a series of revelations about Promedical in recent weeks, including that it is headed by a convicted rapist, has no prior experience in medical diagnostics, and attempted to manufacture its own unapproved testing devices when a deal to resell products from a more reputable Chinese manufacturer fell through.
None of those 500,000 testing kits has arrived in Australia.
Updated
More than $15bn in stimulus paid out
Jenny Wilkinson, treasury deputy secretary of the fiscal group, has revealed that more than $15bn of stimulus has already been paid including:
- $5.2bn in $750 payments to households
- $7.5bn for cashflow boost to small businesses; and
- $2.4bn of jobkeeper wage subsidies that have been claimed, of which at least $1bn has already been paid and the rest is being processed.
Labor’s Murray Watt suggests that given that $9bn of superannuation has been withdrawn, households have got more from their private retirement savings than the government.
Wilkinson replies that is “not accurate” when you consider jobseeker payments with the coronavirus supplement. But she has no exact no figures on that, which will be tabled by the department of social services.
The dangers of video conferencing as the NSW parliament inquiry into Covid-19 gets more and more fractious.
— Naaman Zhou (@naamanzhou) May 7, 2020
“What was that WINK for?” demands health minister Brad Hazzard pic.twitter.com/GIf1ntrKIw
The insults are really flying in the NSW parliament inquiry into the state’s response to Covid-19.
Robert Borsak, from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party, asks the health minister, Brad Hazzard, whether he will appear before the special inquiry into the Ruby Princess.
On Tuesday, a NSW Health senior epidemiologist, Kelly-Anne Ressler, gave evidence.
Ressler became tearful under questioning by commissioner Bret Walker SC, with Scott Morrison later saying that Walker was “a bit out of line” and too aggressive.
Borsak asks Hazzard just now: “Why were you happy to send Kelly-Anne Ressler in to the inquiry to answer for your mistakes?”
Hazzard replies: “You really have a problem.”
“I didn’t send Dr Ressler,” Hazzard says.
“Clearly you aren’t the slightest bit interested in treating her with any respect. To raise her in this context is entirely inappropriate ... I one hundred percent back all the health staff in the front line”.
He then tells Borsak “your colleagues are good people ... you need to take some lessons from your colleagues”.
Borsak replies: “I do like the fact that I get under your skin. You really do deserve it.”
Hazzard tells him: “You are a numpty”.
The chair, Greens MP David Shoebridge, has to intervene and says “this isn’t doing anyone credit”. Hazzard then clarifies that he has not been called up to the Ruby Princess special commission of inquiry.
Updated
Here are the level 2 alert restrictions for New Zealand, down from level 3:
- Businesses can restart for staff and customers
- Bubbles can cease
- Domestic travel recommences
- Schools and early learning centres can open
- Gatherings both indoors and outdoors are limited to 100 people
- Public places reopen
- Sport and recreation comes back on-stream, including professional sports competitions
- Home gatherings must be kept small
- Hospitality must follow the three S’s – seated, separated, single-server
NZ PM Jacinda Ardern says a decision on whether to bring in level 2 will be made on Monday 11 May, and it could be a phased approach.
In a nutshell, level 2 is a safer normal, designed to get as many people back to work as possible and the economy back up and running in a safe way, made possible only by our collective actions at levels 4 and 3 to beat the virus and break the chain of transmission.
Strong public health measures such as physical distancing, good hygiene and contact tracing will be essential to making level 2 work.
There is a much higher level of individual responsibly required at level 2 to prevent the spread of the virus. Even though the economy will be significantly opened up we still need everyone to remain vigilant and continue to act like you and those around you have the virus.
Updated
Although nobody has been arrested or charged in relation to alleged theft of superannuation, Kershaw has given details of one charge relating to defrauding Covid-19 programs:
“We have established our internal Taskforce IRIS – to target people and organised crime entities who seek to defraud the government’s COVID-19 economic response measures.
A Western Sydney man was arrested for allegedly submitting claims for a range of government benefits, designed to assist members of the community affected by Covid-19 and bushfires. He used assumed 11 identities and 53 fictitious identities to submit 68 claims for government benefits. Total value of claims exceeded $70,000. The arrest resulted in the man being charged with a range of Commonwealth offences, including obtaining a financial advantage by deception (section 134.2 (1) of the Criminal Code)“
The AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, tells the Covid-19 Senate committee that three staff contracted coronavirus overseas and were isolated before they came back into the workforce. The AFP has no active cases.
Asked about the progress of an investigation into AFP recruits who broke social distancing rules, Kershaw reveals that 76 recruits were investigated and 53 were sanctioned, including two who were given show cause notices:
They’ve had the cane well and truly and beyond that.
Updated
NSW Health not informed nurses sent to Newmarch House worked on Ruby Princess
The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, and the chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, have answered questions about Guardian Australia’s exclusive yesterday that two private medical staff who worked on the Ruby Princess were sent into the Newmarch House aged care facility.
Chant says the company, Aspen Medical, did not tell NSW Health that those nurses had worked on the Ruby Princess.
The questioning in the NSW parliament inquiry into Covid-19 is becoming increasingly fractious as MPs talk over each other, made worse by the technical delays of video conferencing.
Labor’s Penny Sharpe asks why staff from Aspen Medical were “allowed to walk into Newmarch” and what testing they were given.
Hazzard says: “The question shows a profound lack of understanding of the NSW health system ... NSW Health has no control over those matters.”
Chant says: “Aspen would have employed those nurses and would have been requested to provide those nurses. There is no barrier to healthcare staff who worked with Covid-positive patients attending other places providing there is no breach in their PPE.”
She adds that Aspen employed 30 staff to check if other staff were wearing PPE.
Chant also told the inquiry: “We would not have been told where those nursing staff [for Newmarch] would have been sourced from.”
“The assertion you are making that they somehow introduced the virus into the facility, I am happy to follow that up,” she says. “Aspen would have been responsible for their staff wearing PPE, and they would have been deployed in accordance with the need.”
Sharpe raises that one Aspen employee “was stood down for not wearing PPE”. Hazzard tells her: “Lets not go blaming staff.” Sharpe says she isn’t blaming staff.
The inquiry continues.
Updated
On whether Victoria should ease restrictions in line with other states so Victorians can see people, or take part in outdoor sports, Greg Hunt said each state would have its own response but the national cabinet would set the rules in its meeting tomorrow:
What we hope comes out of national cabinet tomorrow, and what I expect, is a clear roadmap out, with clear stages, and then each state will be able to judge and we’ll support each of the states as they make their judgments of their own circumstances and readiness to go to easing restrictions.
Updated
Hunt says from today the Black Dog Institute’s online e-health mental health hub is available to health workers.
He also says 3,000 scholarships have been awarded through the Australian College of Nursing, and 2,500 have completed training to return to the workforce.
There have also been 20,000 enrolments for nurses to upgrade their ICU skills; more than 27% have completed this training.
More than 624,000 health workers have completed infection-control modules.
Updated
Hunt announces many more masks:
In terms of the health support, 40m masks from the national medical stockpile will be made available now on top of the over 34m masks to date, which have been made available. That will include 35m masks between now and the end of May for our hospitals.
It will include 1.5m additional masks for our aged care workers, and 3.5m masks for our primary healthcare workers, including 2m for general practices with a specific focus, obviously, on the doctors and the nurses, but we’ll also include 220,000 for respiratory clinics, 660,000 for pharmacy, 500,000 for allied health workers and 120,000 for Indigenous health workers.
Updated
Australia’s call for an independent international inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 is continuing to earn it the ire of the Chinese government. Scott Morrison has this week written to all G20 leaders seeking support for an inquiry.
The state-owned Global Times does not hold back here:
Australia maintains a political prejudice against China and other Asia-Pacific countries due to its long-term “identity crisis.”
It has chosen to play the blame game alongside the US amid the pandemic and spread a “political virus” which will only narrow its economic recovery path after the outbreak.
Australia is a typical dual character country which tends to seek interest and commit disturbance simultaneously.
With massive trade and economic ties with Asia-Pacific countries, it, however, often has a hostile attitude toward some South Pacific countries.
China, as the world’s second largest economy, has been the largest trade partner for Australia. Although it has been harvesting profits from its trade with China, Australia still constantly chooses to sabotage the bilateral relationship.
Updated
Good morning everyone, Josh Taylor here, taking over the blog for the next little while.
Greg Hunt is giving a press conference.
The Victorian meatworks outbreak, the health minister says, it is a reminder that spikes and outbreaks will happen going forward and it’s important we test and contact trace and have a rapid public health response.
Updated
768,000 employers enrolled in the jobkeeper wage subsidy program
More from the indefatigable Paul Karp:
Treasury officials have told the Covid-19 Senate inquiry that as of Wednesday 768,000 employers are enrolled in the jobkeeper wage subsidy program, covering up to 5 million workers.
Some 900,000 businesses expressed interest – so obviously some have opted not to take part, largely due to cashflow problems.
The $130bn program delivers $1,500 fortnightly payments to up to 6 million workers. Officials have stressed the program is “demand-driven” and they did their best to estimate how many would be eligible.
The deadline to receive payments for April has been extended to 31 May, and officials note businesses can join at any time in the six-month timeframe.
The ATO has said it has been flexible on the 30% turnover decline, to account for startups and companies that underwent a restructure or acquisitions that would make the comparison between 1 March 2019 and 2020 inappropriate.
Updated
NSW has updated its Covid-19 figures. Just three new confirmed cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
The state has had 3,044 confirmed cases, which has led to 46 deaths, while 2,643 patients have recovered. And more than 271,000 have been tested across the state.
There are now 121 Covid-19 cases being treated by NSW Health. This includes 10 people in intensive care units, with eight of those requiring ventilators, and 80% in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.
Of the three new cases, two have come from staff at Anglicare’s Newmarch House aged care facility. There is now a total of 68 cases, in 31 staff and 37 residents linked to that facility. Sixteen residents have died.
NSW Health is urging people with symptoms, including mild symptoms to be tested to ensure as many cases of Covid-19 in the community are identified as quickly as possible.
This is particularly important in several new areas following a locally acquired case. These include Blacktown, Canada Bay, Cumberland, Inner West, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith Local Government Areas.
All areas of concern for community transmission in NSW are publicly available and listed here.
The locations of Covid-19 clinics are available here.
Updated
Police investigate John Barilaro for driving 125km to his second property
Today the NSW parliament is holding an inquiry in the state government’s response to Covid-19.
To start, the health minister, Brad Hazzard, is asked about the deputy premier, John Barilaro, who admitted yesterday to travelling 125km to a second property at the weekend.
Labor’s Walt Secord asked Hazzard whether Barilaro was being “hypocritical”, especially after he criticised the former arts minister Don Harwin, who resigned after travelling between his Central Coast beach house and his Sydney residence.
Secord also said the NSW deputy police commissioner had confirmed today that Barilaro would be investigated.
“He [Barilaro] said he drove 125km to build a cubby house,” Secord told the inquiry. “That was his reason. I don’t see how a cubby house is essential work ... don’t you think he should be brought to account?”
Hazzard said he “doesn’t have a response”:
I am here to answer questions on public health. I will not be drawn on that as it is under investigation by the police, as you just told me ... We are here to answer questions on keeping the public safe and you are only interested in playing politics.
Updated
Reece Kershaw, the Australian federal police commissioner, has given further details about the superannuation fraud investigation:
- The matter was referred to the AFP on 1 May
- There are an estimated 150 victims
- Police have executed five search warrants
- Police have frozen $120,000 of funds in some bank accounts
- There have been no arrests
Earlier, Kershaw gave an opening statement in which he said the AFP has detected an increase in communication in child abuse forums, including a doubling of child abuse material on the dark web in February and March compared with last year.
Updated
The Australian Taxation Office is up before the Senate Covid-19 committee, and the commissioner, Chris Jordan, has confirmed this ABC report that “some limited fraudulent activity has been identified and immediately acted upon” by the ATO in relation to early access to superannuation.
The government has allowed people struggling with financial responsibilities during Covid-19 to access $10,000 this financial year and the same amount next year.
Jordan says the fraudulent activity is “now an operational matter with colleagues at the AFP” and does not give further details in his opening statement.
He said early super withdrawals had now reached $9bn, with been “no serious problems” but the ATO “won’t be dropping our guard”.
Peak superannuation bodies wrote to the assistant minister for superannuation, Jane Hume, calling for more protections against fraud including verification of bank account details between MyGov against member account details held by the financial institution.
Updated
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, is speaking to the media in Melbourne.
The state has 14 new cases of Covid-19, 13 of which are confirmed to be linked to the Cedar Meats abattoir (seven workers, and six close contacts of workers). The origin of the 14th case is still being investigated.
Victoria now has 1,454 confirmed cases. Eight people remain in hospital, six of those are in intensive care.
Andrews has stressed the importance of the testing regime and warned against lifting restrictions – Victoria’s are the now the strictest in the country – too early:
I want to thank every single Victorian who has presented to get tested. I can confirm we’ve done 106,000 tests in the last week and a half. With ramping up over the first few days, pretty much in the last week that we’ve had 106,000 swabs taken. That’s 1,806 extra tests yesterday.
Victorians across the board, we are so proud, we’ve asked you to come forward to get tested and we encourage you to keep coming forward to be tested even with the mildest symptoms. Those tests will give us the confidence that there is not more of this virus out in the community than we perhaps think. That surveillance work, that checking is really, very, very important.
Andrews said he understood public frustration with continuing restrictions, and said no one in government was happy at having to impose them to protect public health:
The last thing we want to do is to ease off any of those restrictions without a sense of confidence that we are truly on top of this and that our case numbers aren’t just a function of low levels of testing, but they are in fact the function of a really big testing program.
There are parts of the world that let off restrictions very early – they thought they had beaten it, turned out they hadn’t.
They now have even stricter lockdowns in place than they ever had, before they let their frustrations get the better of them, perhaps, and changed the settings. Nobody is enjoying these settings, I understand that, but it is ... important to stay the course on this, not just to do what we want to do, but to do what is ... in the interests of every single Victorian family, every single Victorian business.
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The federal government has welcome the ACT’s announcement of a plan for a return to school for all students in the territory.
The ACT deputy chief minister, Yvette Berry, announced a phased return for students to classrooms over the next four weeks, beginning with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and years 1,2,7, 11 and 12 students.
The federal minister for education, Dan Tehan, has applauded this:
Students get the best education in the classroom, learning from their teacher, so today’s announcement by the ACT government is welcome news for students, parents, teachers and principals.
Learning outcomes for vulnerable, poor, remote and Indigenous students suffer the most from remote learning, so the move back to classroom teaching will be most welcome for them.
Our government has taken a consistent position to follow the expert medical advice and the expert medical advice has been consistent that schools are safe for students and teachers with the right protocols in place.
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Tasmania’s premier, Peter Gutwein, has reported that one new case of Covid-19 was detected in that state late last night. It was the only new case in Tasmania in the past 24 hours. The state now has has 224 cases, 41 of which remain active.
Gutwein said that after the national cabinet meeting Friday he would announce Tasmania’s “roadmap” for the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, with a particular focus on which businesses might be able to resume operations and in what modified form.
Tomorrow, after national cabinet, I’ll be outlining Tasmania’s way forward, and the roadmap that we’ll be taking.
One thing that I do want to make clear, though, is that we have to expect that we will see, with increased testing, positive cases bubble up. And we need to remain ever vigilant and maintain our discipline.
In Tasmania, as I said, we will continue to march to the beat of our own drum.
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Newmarch House operator to appoint an external adviser today
Anglicare Sydney, the operator of the Newmarch House aged care home in Sydney where 16 people have died from Covid-19, will appoint an external adviser to oversee the home’s response to its ongoing outbreak.
Newmarch House had been given until 5pm to appoint the adviser or it risked losing its licence to operate.
In a statement, the organisation said:
Anglicare Sydney has received a Notice from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission requiring us to appoint an external adviser to support Anglicare management to meet its regulatory obligations, during the Covid-19 outbreak at Newmarch House.
Anglicare will be making this appointment today.
The new adviser will be appointed by Anglicare for a period of three months. The adviser’s role does not extend to any other Anglicare residential aged care facility or any other Anglicare government funded program.
Anglicare Sydney is confident with the support of the adviser and the Commission issues at Newmarch House will be resolved expeditiously.
Residents and families can be assured that this will mean we will have additional expertise to support us during this extremely difficult time.
The impact of the Covid-19 on Newmarch House has been unprecedented for residents, families and staff. All our energy and focus is dedicated to containing the spread and the impact of this devastating virus.
More on Queensland.
The relaxation of restrictions (just in time for Mother’s Day) is designed to allow one household to visit another. And this can happen multiple times a day, with different households visiting.
The press conference focuses on the nuts and bolts of how this might work.
The state’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, gave the example of a family visiting grandparents in the morning, and another family group visiting in the afternoon. That will be allowed. There is a limit of five visitors going to a household, but no limit on the number of people living at the visited household.
It’s about five people –maximum – of one family group, one household group, going to another household group.
One household going to another household. You can split it up. So, I’m sure there’s a lot of mums out there who’d love to see one household in the morning and another in the afternoon and another in the evening.
That could happen. But they can’t all go at the same time.
So it’s about one household with another household.
Some further updates on Queensland’s active cases from the health minister, Dr Steven Miles:
There are just eight patients in hospital right now. Three of them are in ... intensive care. All of them are receiving ventilation.
Those low numbers are what allows us to continue to ease those restrictions and I’m sure mums right across the state will celebrate the fact that on Mother’s Day they’ll be able to welcome their families in single-household groups to visit them.
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Up to five visitors allowed in Queensland homes from Sunday
Annastacia Palaszczuk has an update on her state. Only two new cases of Covid-19 have been detected overnight. Both are on the Gold Coast:
That takes our total cases to 1,045. We only now have 50 active cases in Queensland. So that number keeps coming down. Once again, over 125,000 tests have been conducted.
And there’s a Mothers’ Day reward for Queenslanders!
Now, of course, this Sunday is Mothers’ Day. And because Queensland has been doing such a great job, from Sunday, we will be allowing up to five members to visit a household right across Queensland. So that is great news for families.
The five visitors must be from the same household. The rationale behind it is allowing family groups to visit. And multiple groups can visit a house over the course of a day.
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By the way, just a quick update on the political stoush unfolding in NSW over the Eden-Monaro byelection.
The two frontrunners for the Liberal seat have now quit, with infighting in the party dominating headlines.
The federal president of the National party, Larry Anthony, told ABC radio this morning that candidates need to “pull their head’s in” as their responsibility is to the nation.
Look, politics is is a rough game, and people are ambitious, that’s just the reality ...
A lot of these private conversations, they should not be in the public. And as I say, a day is a long time in politics and weeks almost a lifetime and we’ve seen it now, with two very good candidates putting their hand up in the NSW government, and who chose not to.
You can read what Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, thinks of the Nationals’ conduct at the moment, here:
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The NSW deputy premier spent last weekend “on the farm” despite telling the public not to travel. John Barilaro said travelling to his second property 125km away did not breach lockdown rules.
Anne Davies has the full story:
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Two of NSW’s new cases are Newmarch House employees
Two of those three new Covid-19 cases in NSW in the past 24 hours are from Newmarch House aged care home in western Sydney.
They were identified as part of the daily testings all staff must undergo when entering the facility.
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NSW lockdown laws unlikely to be eased by Mother's Day
More news from NSW’s daily press conference: Gladys Berejiklian says it’s unlikely there will be any extra easing of lockdown laws in NSW by Mother’s Day.
I want to manage expectations and say if national cabinet does suggest easing of restrictions, they won’t be able to be made in time for Mother’s Day.
We will be able to visit them. Two adults and children at any one time and of course that can happen multiple times a day as long as everybody is careful.
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Newmarch House has until 5pm to appoint independent adviser or risks having licence revoked
Another thing to look out for today, the Newmarch House aged care home has been given until 5pm to appoint an independent adviser to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents, or it risks having its licence revoked.
Anglicare’s Newmarch House has been hit hard by Covid-19, 16 residents have now died and 29 staff and 37 residents have been infected.
Here is the response of the Anglicare chief executive, Grant Millard:
We acknowledge the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission have, [yesterday] afternoon, taken regulatory action, including appointing an independent adviser to provide additional support to Newmarch House.
Since the outbreak, we have had generous support of providers in the aged care sector, including commonwealth and NSW governments, and various agencies.
While the outbreak at Newmarch House has proved very challenging for all involved, the situation has substantially improved. We will continue to collaborate with key stakeholders as we work through the continuing challenges in the coming weeks.
Our primary concern remains the health, wellbeing and safety of our residents, their families, and our staff.
You can read yesterday’s Guardian Australia story here:
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NSW confirms three new Covid-19 cases
Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed NSW has only had three additional Covid-19 cases overnight. The premier said all three were close contacts of known cases.
There wasn’t any community-to-community transmission in those three cases.
That’s a great result. If you compare that to a month ago, NSW was conducting a third of the number of tests with over 50 cases a day on average.
It is a wonderful improvement and I want to say thank you to everybody.
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All ACT kids in classrooms by June
The ACT deputy chief minister, Yvette Berry, has announced a plan to return children to classrooms over the next four weeks.
Here is the breakdown:
From Monday 18 May, week 4 of term 2
- All preschool, kindergarten, year 1, 2 and 7 students will return to their usual school for on-campus learning.
- Year 11 and 12 students will attend a combination of on-campus and remote learning.
- To support teachers to return to schools, children of teachers may also attend their usual school.
From Monday 25 May, week 5 of term 2
- All year 3, 4 and 10 students will return to their usual schools.
From Tuesday 2 June, week 6 of term 2
- All students in years 5, 6, 8 and 9 will return to their usual schools, meaning all year groups will have returned to on-campus learning.
- Remote learning will remain available for students with chronic health conditions or compromised immune systems.
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Still on Cedar Meats, Sally McManus said achieving safe physical distancing in some industries will require government regulation.
With meatworks, they are competing against each other. If one of them implements social distancing and slow downs, it costs money – they’ve all got to do it.
You’ve got to take away the reasons for employers not to put in physical distancing ...
Most employers will do the right thing, but we can’t leave it up to individual choice and the randomness of that. It has got to be enforced and it has got to be strongly backed in law.
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The secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sally McManus, has once again called for paid pandemic leave after the outbreak at the Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats:
One of the big problems is that we have got workers, low-paid workers and they are casuals, labour hire workers – they depend on that money and they say, “I’ve got a scratchy throat,” they are more likely to just soldier on rather than go get tested than to be positive and out of the workplace for two weeks.
That’s why we think there should be paid pandemic leave for all workers for this period of time while we’ve got this pandemic. It is the only way to make sure that people aren’t suffering an economic disincentive to put their hand to say.
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Today it’s looking as though the talk of the town will be the great reopening. Lockdown laws are slowly easing and the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has suggested he wants large sections of the economy back up and running in July.
But if more of us are heading back to the office, what exactly does it take to have a Covid-19 safe workplace?
My colleague Justine Landis-Hanley tries to answer just that in this report:
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We start the morning with a bit of a throwback. The former prime minister Kevin Rudd is chatting to ABC News Breakfast.
Rudd says an inquiry into the origins of the virus and how the WHO handled the crisis is necessary but says Australia has gone about it the wrong way:
If you’re serious about a proposal like this, the first law of diplomacy is you bring a whole lot of other countries around with you to co-sponsor the proposal.
I notice from events of the last several days, it was only after the statements by Mr Morrison and foreign minister Payne that they decided to correspond with the G20 governments in order to try and pull together some support.
So, if you’re serious about these things. The first lesson is you build up the diplomatic coalition in support of it and then you announce it, not the reverse way.
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Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in Australia. You have me, Matilda Boseley, with you for this morning.
We have woken up to some good news and bad news.
First up, in potentially good news for universities, the head of a committee advising the federal government on overcoming the coronavirus crisis says Australian universities could organise charter flights to bring in foreign students to help prop up the country’s higher education system.
“There’s an opportunity here for the universities to work with government to provide safe processes to get those students either in a holding pattern overseas, but then to expedite those visas, get those international students back here as quickly as we can,” Nev Power, who heads up the government’s Covid-19 coordination committee, told the Australian Financial Review.
The businessman suggested the students would undergo coronavirus tests before departing and on arrival and be put in quarantine for two weeks in Australia.
In not-so good news, research from the Australian National University shows Australians have suffered a $102bn blow to household income and one-quarter of people believe they will probably lose their jobs in the next year. You can read more on that from my colleague Paul Karp here.
In overnight developments around the world:
- Spain has extended its state of emergency, with the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, saying that abruptly ending nearly eight weeks of lockdown would be “unforgivable”.
- The UK will consider easing its lockdown from Sunday, while its complacent attitude to the pandemic draws criticism from around the world.
- Cases in Iran are again rising, topping 100,000, after restrictions on movement were eased.
- China has said it will not invite international experts in to investigate the source of Covid-19 while the pandemic is still raging.
- Sweden has recorded almost 3,000 deaths from Covid-19, a figure the state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell called “a horrifyingling large number”.
- At least 90,000 healthcare workers globally are believed to have been infected, the International Council of Nursessays, noting that the the true figure could be as much as twice that.
OK, let’s get started.
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