What we learned today, Monday 26 October
That’s it for today, thanks for reading all. To recap:
- Melbourne is reopening after 112 days of lockdown, the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced. Most retail will be free to resume trade on Wednesday. More detail will be released tomorrow about conditions for visits between households.
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and other federal ministers welcomed the announcement, after several weeks of criticising Victoria’s cautious approach.
- Victoria recorded zero new cases and no deaths, while NSW recorded only one new locally acquired case.
- Daniel Crennan, the deputy chairman of Asic, resigned after it was revealed he had received almost $70,000 in rental payments that may have exceeded public sector pay limits.
- The Morrison government spent $1.1m of taxpayer money on market research by a longtime researcher for the Liberal party pollster Crosby Textor during the pandemic.
Updated
There are reports that a particularly sacred Djap Wurrung tree has been destroyed in Victoria’s west.
More than 260 Djap Wurrung trees that are 800 years old are slated to be bulldozed to make way for a 12km duplication of the Western Highway between Buangor and Ararat.
The highway is the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide.
I’m still trying to get this news confirmed from Major Road Projects Victoria.
So if you liked the Avatar film, maybe you’d appreciate how it feels when your sacred ancestor trees are torn down by the very government who want to Treaty with us. Absolutely gutted and feel the pain of our ancestors right now 😞 pic.twitter.com/sWt3k36jb3
— Lidia Thorpe (@lidia__thorpe) October 26, 2020
From Canberra, Paul Karp has filed this on the Coalition’s youth wage subsidy. It will create 45,000 “genuinely additional” jobs, just 10% of the 450,000 number boasted by Josh Frydenberg on budget night, according to Treasury.
Updated
Wait, were we supposed to be having a drink or a doughnut? I don’t think they really go together:
Look what I just arrived home to. Well done Victoria. What an amazing State we live in and what an amazing achievement by all. Thank you. 🍩🍺 pic.twitter.com/Kv3vPKwiF5
— 🍩 Chief Health Officer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) October 26, 2020
Updated
Daniel Andrews hasn’t gone for the top shelf there, by the looks of things ...
Today's a good day. pic.twitter.com/66Hk2dmNwk
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) October 26, 2020
Updated
Thought I’d post something from earlier today by my Melbourne colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes about public housing. Expect more of these pieces touching on Victoria’s pandemic recovery in the months to come.
Updated
So what will that poll mean for Michael O’Brien’s leadership of the Coalition in Victoria? Tim Smith is the MP often touted as his replacement, and he called Melbourne a hell-hole today:
'Please go now': Daniel Andrews accused of turning Melbourne into a 'hell hole' - my full interview with @BenFordhamLive on @2GB873 this morning. https://t.co/9HFjN0f0UO
— Tim Smith MP (@TimSmithMP) October 25, 2020
Updated
Some more from that Ipsos poll, which is really something:
- The Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien’s approval rating among Coalition supporters surveyed was 27%.
- Among Coalition voters, only 25% were satisfied and 30% were dissatisfied with how the party had responded to the pandemic.
- There were 858 Victorians surveyed, with 49% saying they were satisfied with the government’s handling of the pandemic and 40% dissatisfied.
- The premier Daniel Andrews’ approval rating dropped to 52% from 70% in another poll taken in September.
Updated
Some reaction to Victoria’s reopening announcement from Melbourne’s lord mayor, Sally Capp:
All Melburnians will welcome today's announcement by the Premier that our city will take a major reopening step on Wednesday. Hospitality and retail can reopen safely and that means cash registers ringing and more Melburnians back to work. (1/2)
— Sally Capp (@sallycapp) October 26, 2020
Updated
Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, has just filed this piece on another taxpayer-funded market research spend during the pandemic by the Morrison government:
Updated
The federal government has underspent nearly $7bn on the defence capital program since the 2016 defence white paper, according to analysis presented to an estimates hearing today.
The underspend has been blamed on a range of things including reallocating some of the funds to meet staff cost “pressures” and to fund the national redress scheme, along with revamping the timing of major projects.
The Labor senator Penny Wong presented analysis, produced by the opposition based on budget papers, indicating there had been a total underspend of $6.7bn (or 6.8%) in the defence capital program between 2016-17 and 2022-23.
Wong said defence spending had been “announced with much fanfare by this government” in the 2016 white paper but the reality was different (adding to a theme that is becoming a major feature of the opposition’s messaging):
“We’ve had big announcements but the delivery has been compromised by failure to actually ensure the budget has been spent on acquiring the capability that has been announced.”
The defence minister, Linda Reynolds, said the government had approved more than 400 defence capability-related decisions since 2016 and was seeking to apply good budget management as projects progressed.
Steven Groves, the chief finance officer for the defence department, indicated about $500m of the reported underspend related to foreign exchange-related adjustments, $600m represented transfers to the Australian Signals Directorate, and $2.5bn related to government and defence priority changes.
That $2.5bn included $900m moved to labour expenses because “we had pressures in other parts of the budget”. Defence reallocated $200m to contribute to the national redress scheme because the government expected it to manage those funds within the overall defence funding envelope.
In terms of rejigging the timing and funding profile of major projects, Groves said the 2016 white paper had featured a “level of ambition” about spending ramping up that had to be adjusted as things progressed.
Updated
Just on Michael O’Brien, an Ipsos poll conducted for the Age found his approval rating was 15% last week. Daniel Andrews’ was 52%.
Updated
This just released press statement from the Victorian opposition leader, Michael O’Brien, slightly dampens things:
Victorians will finally start to catch up to the rest of Australia next month, after almost half a year of lockdowns caused by the Andrews Labor government’s botched hotel quarantine program.
There is much more to do to open up Victoria and today’s belated announcement must only be the start.
The hotel quarantine second wave appears to have been defeated but the cost to Victorians of Daniel Andrews’ failure is immense.
Victorians have paid a massive price for the worst public policy failure in Australia’s history with around 220,000 jobs lost, thousands of businesses closed and almost 800 deaths.
The basic freedoms of Victorians have been taken away by the Andrews Labor government.
The sacrifices we have been forced to make constitute a permanent scar on our state and its people.
The Andrews Labor government caused Victoria’s second wave of Covid-19 by rejecting ADF assistance for hotel quarantine in favour of poorly trained private security.
Labor then prolonged the harsh lockdowns by continual botching of contact tracing and testing.
Too many small businesses have closed forever, too many small businesses were left out of state government financial assistance, too many jobs have been lost in Victoria and too much pain has been endured.
Daniel Andrews has continually blamed Victorians for his incompetence and has failed to take responsibility. He is more interested in protecting his own job than in protecting the jobs of Victorians.
Victoria needs a plan to keep our community safe from Covid-19, but also to turn our focus to getting Victorians back to work to repair the economic damage that’s been done by Labor’s lockdowns.
Only the Liberal Nationals have a plan to reopen Victoria sooner and safer, in a Covid-safe way, and get Victorians back to work.
Updated
Cheers Amy, well said. I just finished a Rooibos tea, but it is definitely a day for the top shelf (mine is not as well stocked as the premier’s, who I’m reliably informed fancies a red).
Updated
What a lovely feeling to be able to hand over the blog having been able to deliver some good news. Nino Bucci will take you through the rest of the day, but first, a small personal note:
I have live blogged most of this year (I usually only do parliament, so running a daily blog has been an experience) and I have to say I can’t remember another day this year where I actually felt lighter at being able to write some words and hit publish.
But writing out Melbourne is opening up actually brought tears to my eyes. I wasn’t locked down, like a lot of you and many of my colleagues (who kept turning up at their computers day after day, despite the drudgery and isolation – and bringing you important stories and covering this blog), I followed along each day from behind this keyboard. But I read your messages, and I saw your pleas, and your determination, and I shared in the despair and the misery and applauded your grit, humour and courage in trying to find the bright side.
To those who did most of these past six months alone – I hope you could feel us behind you. I hope you get to reunite with your loved ones very soon. I hope you can throw yourself into the sea, or run wild in a green space, and bump into people without a screen in the way (Covid-safe of course).
I hope you can soon see your loved ones and breathe the same air and eat and drink at your favourite haunts to your heart’s content. I hope you can get your eyebrows done, and get that tattoo you’ve been drawing on yourself, and buy new underwear and visit that one deli that sat just outside your bubble, but has that cheese you have been dreaming about.
Most of all, I hope you all get to go to sleep tomorrow knowing that come midnight tomorrow night, you get the dose of normal that we have had for long enough now that we have started taking it for granted. It’s not completely the same, but day to day it’s close enough.
I and the Guardian will be with you on this blog until the end. But, as one of the people privileged to have been able to bring you your daily news during all of this, thank you. Thank you for sharing with us, thank you for trusting us, and thank you for giving us an insight into your life.
And tonight, I hope you get on whatever your version of the beers happens to be. I’ll be raising one to you Victoria. Take care of you and see you tomorrow.
Updated
Scott Morrison responds to Melbourne reopening
A statement has just come out from the prime minister’s office:
The commonwealth government welcomes the announcement by the Victorian premier to ease restrictions from 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Victorians have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this point. We thank them for their patience and perseverance.
Today’s announcement is a reflection of the dedication and effort of Victorians – taking the next step to reopen Victorian society and the state’s economy.
After a long winter, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Victorians.
As we said yesterday – Victorians have made great progress in reducing the rate of Covid-19 infections from the second wave outbreak in Victoria.
The new national framework to reopen by Christmas is a clear and transparent, three-step national plan which provides the Australian community and businesses with a way forward where Australians can live and work in a Covid-normal Australia, ensuring that we maintain strong health protections and minimise job losses and mental health impacts.
Under the new ‘national framework’ released last week, Victoria is now moving towards step one – an important step on the pathway to Covid-normal.
Australia has been a world leader in fighting the virus to save lives and to save livelihoods and with today’s announcement, we look forward to Victoria continuing to make progress on the path to reopening and joining the rest of the country at steps two and three in the national plan.
It will be important for the Victorian government to provide even more clarity to Victorians in the coming days and where restrictions do not have a health basis that they are removed quickly.
We congratulate Victorians – this was the announcement that they were expecting and one they have worked hard to achieve.
It is important for Victoria to safely open and stay safely open.
The prime minister and premiers Berejiklian, Marshall and Andrews will continue to take advice regarding hard border restrictions.
The commonwealth government will continue to support Victoria through this crisis.
Updated
DHHS has put out its daily statement for what will forever be known as Victoria’s Doughnut (donut if you prefer, I am not fussed) Day.
Today’s statement:
The Department of Health and Human Services continues to work to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in Melbourne’s northern suburbs with 16,382 tests completed in the area since last Tuesday.
The response from the local community has been outstanding. In the past 24 hours, we have been able to process an additional 3,196 tests from these communities.
In addition to the testing, more than 380 people were contacted over the weekend through an extensive community health program that advised residents in Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik about potential exposures, testing sites and how to access supports including financial assistance.
Testing sites open in northern metropolitan Melbourne today include:
- East Preston Islamic college drive-through, 55 Tyler St, Preston, 24-27 October, 9am-5pm. Open to college staff and families.
- Croxton school, in-home testing for remaining close contacts.
- Broadmeadows Central shopping centre, north car park, Pascoe Vale Rd, Broadmeadows, 9am–5pm.
- Coolaroo respiratory centre, 512 Barry St, Coolaroo, 9am-5pm, people with symptoms only.
- Craigieburn health service, 274–304 Craigieburn Rd, 9am–5pm.
- Melbourne airport, Terminal 4 Level 2 (Mercer Dve exit off Tullamarine Fwy), 9am–5pm.
- Roxburgh Park shopping centre, 250 Somerton Rd, Roxburgh Park, hours TBC.
- Roxburgh Park youth and recreation centre, 75 Lakeside Drive, Roxburgh Park, 9am-12.30pm and 1pm-5pm.
- Western Health – Sunbury respiratory clinic, 29 Timins St, Sunbury, 10am-5.30pm.
- Austin hospital,145 Studley Rd, Heidelberg, 8am–8pm.
- Banyule Health, 21 Alamein Rd, Heidelberg West, 10am–4pm.
- Banyule Health, 14–32 Civic Drive, Greensborough, 9am–4pm.
- Heidelberg West mobile unit aligned to community engagement movements including at Malahang Reserve, 10am-5pm.
- Northland shopping centre, Target car park via Murray Rd, Preston, 9am–5pm.
- CB Smith Reserve, 79 Jukes Rd, Fawkner, 9am–4pm.
- Reservoir leisure centre, 2A Cuthbert Rd, Reservoir, 10am-5pm.
Victoria has recorded no new cases of coronavirus since yesterday. This is the first time Victoria has experienced a day of zero cases since 9 June.
Updated
And a few more instant reactions:
Great news out of Victoria today. Thank you so much to everyone there for your efforts to keep your State, and our entire country safe.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) October 26, 2020
Australia will never forget the sacrifices you have made, and today we'll all toast your success.
A coffee. Sitting down. With other people.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) October 26, 2020
I can’t even.
Congratulations to Victorians - a long haul (and a contentious one) but your endurance has been repaid today with relief from lockdown and one of the only times a 0-0 result is welcome. 👏👏👏
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) October 26, 2020
Scott Morrison has had time to orchestrate three separate daggy dad PR stunts at Bunnings during the Victorian lockdown.
— Tim Watts MP (@TimWattsMP) October 26, 2020
He still hasn’t found time to thank Victorians for their sacrifices in fighting the COVID-19 second wave for the nation.
And from the former Victorian health minister:
I love my state. This has been so incredibly hard and everyone has sacrificed so much. I’m so very proud and grateful of my fellow Victorians on what you’ve achieved. This is your achievement. ❤️
— Jenny Mikakos #StaySafeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) October 26, 2020
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The Business Council of Australia is happy to hear the reopening news. Sort of.
From its statement:
Today’s easing of restrictions is welcome relief for Victorians and the rest of the country, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.
“This is an important and much needed step in the right direction that will allow people to start getting on with their lives and reopening their businesses.
“We urge the Victorian government to work with business to ensure the state can fully reopen.
“It’s disappointing that many businesses will need to wait until 8 November before they have any certainty about reopening.
“Businesses need a plan now so they have the confidence to restock their shelves, rehire workers and get ready to reopen their doors.
“This needs to be a clear plan with clear dates and milestones and be subject to meeting health targets.
“We cannot afford to have a stop and start approach to restrictions.
“Families also need certainty and hope about their Christmas plans and whether they can be reunited with loved ones.
“If the downward trajectory of case numbers in Victoria continues, business calls on the Victorian government to remove restrictions faster and remove all limits on commerce, activity and movement throughout the state.
“It’s critical we lock in today’s gains by getting the right health systems in place to manage the virus.
“We want to work with the Victorian government on the right policies to get things going again.
“Together we can start the process of rebuilding investment and rebuilding jobs in Victoria.”
Updated
That’s it for the Daniel Andrews press conference.
If I were to make a bold prediction, I think the Victorian premier will see out the week with daily press conferences – there are still some details people need to know, mostly when and how they will be able to see their loved ones again – and then, barring nothing else out of the blue happening, have the weekend off from holding a press conference.
Today was his 116th consecutive press conference – that is not something to celebrate (I still find it hard to believe that the party sent out a congratulatory tweet for the 100th, given the reason why there have been daily press conferences) but I don’t think there is anyone who would begrudge the premier a day or two off from fronting the media.
If he goes through to Friday, that will be 120 consecutive press conferences. Let’s hope all stays as it is (or continues to get better) and we can see an end to the daily events – because that will be another step towards normal for the people of Victoria and in particular Melbourne.
Updated
If I could shout you all one, I would.
Unfortunately, I don’t get paid that much.
So instead, just know I’ll be raising one to you tonight, Victoria.
the culture pic.twitter.com/mfUM4aFIFc
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) October 26, 2020
Daniel Andrews is asked if he would have done anything different in hindsight:
I don’t have hindsight. None of us do.
All we have is hard work and an absolute determination to not listen to the loudest voices, not be pushed to ignore the science, not listen to those who would appeal for us to act out of absolute frustration and nothing more than that.
None of those things work on this. You have to have a strategy and you have to have the character to see it through, no matter what is written, no matter what is said. This is not about politics and not about popularity, it is a pandemic.
I want to take this opportunity to thank every single Victorian who has followed these rules and done an amazing job.
I could not be more proud than to lead a state who has shown its true courage and commitment to each other.
That’s what these last weeks and months have been about, and that’s why we can make these announcements today.
Updated
You’ll also get a decision on Halloween in the next 48 hours – as in, whether or not children will be able to trick or treat.
Updated
Daniel Andrews:
We will come back to you on all of those – racing we will finalise in the next 48 hours. I think those who might be connected to the running of the race, there is a very small number because that’s what’s happening in regional Victoria.
Just before we get into any debate about what didn’t happen last weekend, with parity with regional Victoria, there are some people who are allowed on course, for instance in restaurants within the precinct, they are open, so we have made a big shift.
What was not appropriate last Saturday may well be appropriate this weekend or the weekend after. We just have to work through that and we have not done that yet.
Updated
On the racing carnival, there is a chance that people connected with the race (owners and their connections) could have small gatherings at the races – basically what was announced and then cancelled for the Cox Plate.
But we will learn more in the coming days.
Updated
Daniel Andrews says there were discussions in national cabinet about opening the borders on Friday – that’s the seven out of eight jurisdictions opening up by Christmas.
He thinks that regional Victoria will open to New South Wales and South Australia soon(ish) – it is a decision for Gladys Berejiklian and Steven Marshall – but Andrews says he will be sending the data to the them to make their own decisions.
Updated
Should people be worried about a third wave, or whether or not the state will shut down again (and with it their business)?
Daniel Andrews:
That’s not the way to go about this. We should be alert about this. We should be vigilant. We should know that this has not gone away and that there is no vaccine.
But this is not about being fearful. This is about being confident in the systems and processes in place.
They have, with the hard work of Victorians, delivered these numbers. What’s more, if we all play our part, then yes there’ll be cases, and yes there’ll be outbreaks, but they will be well managed if we all play our part.
So no one should form that view. We can find that Covid-normal and we can lock it in, and we will.
Updated
DHHS has updated its exposure sites:
UPDATED: Exposure sites
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 26, 2020
The exposure sites list now includes:
📍 PTV Bus No. 421(19 October - 21 October)
- 19 October & 21 October: Case travelled from Copernicus Way to Keilor Plains Station (7:30am - 7:45am) pic.twitter.com/E4jGOrAya5
Updated
You must continue to wear masks, Daniel Andrews says, and if you can work from home, you have to work from home.
Life isn’t going back to how it was in January.
Updated
Can Victorians be assured there won’t be a third wave?
Daniel Andrews:
Well, if we all work together, the government plays their part and each and every Victorian plays their part, the rules are still there, I’m trying to get to Covid-normal and I’m confident we can do that in the days and weeks to come.
If we all play a part, I’m confident we can keep this at bay. That doesn’t mean zero every single day. There will be cases. There will be outbreaks.
What the north has shown is through many, many thousands of work by a big team, and all our partners – school principals, faith leaders, everyone – we’ve been able to pull this up with a relatively small number of cases.
I don’t want anyone to get this. It is a partnership. Individual Victorians have to play their part as well. It is not a command and control thing that the government can do it all.
Individuals have to make really good choices too. Whilst we’ve seen some people who haven’t made good choices, we shouldn’t take away from the fact that the vast majority of Victorians own these numbers, they’ve delivered these numbers because they’ve stayed the course and have done everything that has been asked of them. I’m proud of them, grateful to them and am confident they’ll do the rest of that hard work. That’s what will keep a third wave at bay.
Updated
Daniel Andrews comes back:
Can I just say, you can’t change things that have already happened – that’s already happened. But the reason I mentioned the fact that some people have been visiting each other and the reason we are not accepting the notion that we didn’t do everything we possibly could to make sure that family had the best possible information is it is not fair on the thousands of people out there working, delivering zero results and even more because we have the lunchtime batch as well, zero. It’s not fair on them to read down from this outbreak, or any of these commentaries about the fact that it has been not been well handled, it is simply wrong.
They are all out there working as hard as they can and have pulled this up. This is a very clear demonstration that not only are there a lot of them, and they are all working very hard, but they are doing the best work, and they are limiting those outbreaks. Six months ago would it have stopped at this? I don’t think it would have.
There have been changes, improvements, and on the question on why we are still improving, we always have to be improving. The virus is not static, circumstances change and we have to change too. Every day we should be looking for minutes, other things we can do that will make our performance even better, even stronger, and if we can prevent even one extra person from getting this, that’s worth doing.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar:
It is nobody’s fault that coronavirus comes into your community or into your household, into your workplace. This stuff just happens. People follow the rules and if we provide the right response we can contain it very quickly.
I would like to have contained this at six households a week ago. In the end it spread to 11. That is regrettable. There is nothing we could have done that could have prevented that. We have pulled it up where we are now, and we continue to support those people.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar continues:
Everybody has a responsibility, so we worked tirelessly and will continue to do so, anything we can do to improve our communications and improve support for people, as we saw at Broadmeadows, as we have seen in every single response, the number of people deployed to support people in their homes, the number people deployed to talk to people on the streets, to follow people through is immense.
This is a huge public response, not by just people in our department but community health councils, we work with all those parties, so there is a lot of it and rightly so because we want to look after individuals but also make sure we get them sorted quickly and make sure they do the right thing.
So people do have a responsibility, so if you don’t understand what we are asking you to do, please tell us.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar on the confusion with one of the letters – he says there was a lot of communication, and it was not just one letter:
We communicate with far fewer people because we have so few cases left. We communicate persistently with those individuals and by and large the vast majority do the right thing.
We have day-to-day contact with individuals to explain to them what is going on, where they are out, we test them multiple times during their period, so the vast majority of people comply, which is the right thing to do, and if they don’t understand they ask the questions to the people who are keeping in contact.
We will continue to see what else we can do to make it clear, and as the cases come down that may become a bit easier, but we do not accept that in this case or in any other case that we have not been clear about our expectations of people about what those isolations and quarantine means.
Briefly, while we are talking about the northern suburbs, where we have landed over the last few days, as the premier said, 14,000 tests overall across Victoria yesterday and for all of Victoria that has been a really strong and exceptional response.
We conducted a lot of tests, almost 16 one-half thousand people have come forward for testing, and it has been a critical part of how we have managed to pull up this particular outbreak.
A huge spread of people across the northern suburbs really coming forward, which has been a phenomenal community response, and we are very grateful to all the organisations we have worked with.
We still have 39 active cases in that 11-household cluster and we continue to support and monitor those individuals and continue to work with them over the coming weeks ahead as they finish their isolation period.
We also have about 317 close contacts we have tested over the last few days. Those tests were done door-to-door. We had teams out over the weekend contacting these close contacts, making sure they got tested, making sure they have the care and support that they need to have.
We also tested 108 people at the Regis Macleod aged care facility, all staff and residents, and all those tested have come back negative.
This has been a really important community response, there have been many conversations that will continue for many days ahead with a whole range of community leaders to ensure people understand the message and to ensure that people have the support they need to come and get tested, and those have taken a whole variety of formats.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar, who was put in charge of the contact tracing response, is brought to the podium by Daniel Andrews, after a question on the confusion the family who inadvertently sent their Covid-positive child to school said they encountered, over DHHS advice.
We have had consistent and clear information provided to all positive cases. A number of times we have said from the podium over the last few days that there aren’t many members in a particular household, a particular household where there are multiple infections rolling through, that individual communications could be complex and that is why the DHHS team are in contact with individual people every few days to check on health and how they are progressing.
That is a two-way dialogue to make sure people understand what is going on and we are there to answer questions.
It is clear from communication which individual cases are being released in the chain and the individual in question was due for a day 11 test on the Tuesday, which was arranged, but he should not have gone to school on Monday.
Q: Your family has met the Department of Health and Human Services criteria for families in isolation. It does not say that some are free to be released and some are not, it says your family has met the criteria. Who has got it wrong here and why can’t you guys just admit that DHHS got it wrong?
Weimar:
We did not because, and I will not go through every single individual letter that we send to every individual person who is either a close contact or a positive case, I saw those letters, and we send them individually to named individuals. There are eight in that household and there is a chain of almost daily discussions, telephone calls, meetings with people to explain what is going on as part of that wraparound care that we provide. So I am not going to sit here and say we are not explicitly clear about what is happening with individual members of a household.
We set that out clearly and we continue to do so and we continue to do that because it is the right thing to do, to focus on where they are in the chain of transmission.
Updated
Daniel Andrews has very strenuously defended the state’s contact tracing system, as it has now been built.
They have technology that is the best in the country, let’s not be in any doubt about that. Alan Finkel has made that clear. The system we are moving to is one that will be emulated by others and you do not get 4,000 tests-plus done when you have had significant outbreak and they all come back with not a single positive if you do not have a public health response that locks people down, wraps support around them and stops them inadvertently spreading beyond the people who have already got it. In terms of data entry, I am happy to come back to you, but we are focused on positive cases and that is exactly where we should be.
Updated
Asked about how confident he is in Victoria’s contact tracing team, Daniel Andrews says:
I would point to the fact today we have zero cases. We have had 11-plus households across the north, not next door to each other, pretty big spread across the northern suburbs. We have had all sorts of complexity to deal with during that, different settings, different chains of transmission, different issues at play, yet we have done more than 4,000 tests and the results are zero.
What that says to me, and what it should say to every Victorian, is that the contact tracing and health response, people working day and night, has pulled this up. It is not just this outbreak, it’s Frankston, Kilmore, Shepparton and the northern suburbs.
Our public health team has done an amazing job. There are some who commentate about these things, that’s fine, but the facts are it’s a big team, it’s a highly motivated team, working extremely hard, incredibly hard, and doing an excellent job, and they will continue to do that.
Because there is a lot at stake.
I’m obliged to make the point that no matter how good contact tracing is, if they do not tell the full story and they leave things out, for one reason or another, or they wait three days with a fever and a scratchy throat before they get tested, if people do not play their part in wearing a mask and wearing it properly, washing your hands, keeping distance and coughing into your elbow, all these things, all these rules are just as important as contact tracing work.
Contact tracing is absolutely effective and these numbers show that for every single person across the state. But we all must play a part as well.
Updated
On the question of why there is a delay in announcing the in-home rules, Daniel Andrews says:
I’m just making the point, the rules are there for a reason, and in-home gatherings can be the most dangerous. Because it’s a perfectly natural thing, people let their guard down, people are happy to see each other, it’s not formal, not like going to a cafe or a restaurant where somebody serves you and you sit a certain distance away, only so many tables, the place is cleaned to industrial standards, it is a very different environment.
I don’t want to labour the point, but you will hear us talk about in weeks and months to come, not just here but everywhere across the world, in-home transmission of this virus is a very big challenge.
We will have rules tomorrow that will allow people to reconnect with those they have missed the most, but, if you want to go beyond those rules, you will need to do it outside. And we don’t think that is unreasonable because outside is 20 times safer than inside.
Updated
Daniel Andrews says the delay in announcing the at-home rules (you’ll be able to visit each other from midnight tomorrow, but you won’t find out how until tomorrow morning) is because they are working on a “simple” model, which is also effective.
Q: What does it mean to you to be able to say zero cases?
Daniel Andrews:
We haven’t had a zero day for a long time – why it is emotional is because people have done a lot, people have done amazing things, extraordinary acts of kindness and commitment and courage, none of this has been easy but Victorians have shown what they are made of, looking out for each other, protecting and caring for each other, but also knowing that this virus does not discriminate. This is not about where you live or what you do for a living, how much money you have in the bank or where your parents were born, this is everybody’s business and challenge, and together, as a united state we have been able to bring this under control. A day of zero cases is an amazing achievement.
And it belongs to every single Victorian who has stayed the course, and done as I have asked, worked with me and my team, a team that is so strong, who are doing first-class work.
You don’t go and test 4,000 people in the northern suburbs and come back zero unless you have good contact tracing and good community engagement.
And that should give every Victorian confidence we can stay on top of this – we are determined to. But it’s not just up to the contact tracers and the political leaders, it’s up to every single Victorian to make the best choices, to understand there is no normal, only Covid-19 normal, and if we are not safe, if we are not smart about the choices we make, then this is a wicked enemy, and called that for a reason, because we are not driving zero every day forever. A zero case number today is not the same as a vaccine against this. We all need to keep our guard up, we all need to be very careful, very careful about how we safeguard this precious thing we have built as a Victorian community, because we have stayed the course, because we haven’t been pushed by the loudest voices into making irresponsible choices.
The decisions we made have given us the numbers we got today, all of us, the sacrifices we have made now we have two lock that in by making smart choices for the future. You will be able to visit people, that won’t be until tomorrow night, and we won’t announce the details of that until tomorrow because, frankly, one of biggest challenges we have settling on a model that is both simple and safe.
The most dangerous place this virus takes is in people’s homes and it’s a function of us all letting our guard down, and hugging and being close to the people we have fundamentally missed the most, grandparents, siblings, dear friends, all of those things we know and understand that is very challenging.
But that will be something you will hear us talk about a lot over weeks and months to come because if it were to take off again, that is where it will happen. The details of that are for tomorrow morning.
This is a day that every Victorian should be very proud of.
Updated
For those who can’t see, Daniel Andrews is wearing the North Face jacket.
Updated
Q: Can I confirm you are saying we can finally get on the beers?
Daniel Andrews:
(pause)
I might go a little higher up the shelf.
Q: Is this quite emotional for you?
Andrews:
This has been a very difficult year. And Victorians have given a lot and I’m proud of every single one of them.
Updated
I’ve said it before – but Daniel Andrews is very, very emotional in this press conference.
There is a lot of pressure being released here.
Andrews:
Fundamentally, this belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team, to bring this second wave to an end. But it is not over.
This virus is not going away.
It is going to continue to be a feature of our lives, it is going to be a feature of our lives every day until a vaccine turns up. These are big steps. We have all given a lot, I’m so proud and impressed and humbled by the contribution that so many Victorian families have made, so many Victorian businesses have made, if this is to mean something we have to take our Covid-19 responsibilities to stay safe, and stay open, to stay safe and stay connected, we have to take those responsibility serious.
It cannot be bending the rules, people on an endless search for loopholes, we are all in this together and just as we have stayed the course, and yes we have stayed apart, but remained fundamentally connected as a strong and united state, we have to be vigilant in the weeks and months to come.
Until a vaccine comes, there is no normal, there is only Covid-19 normal. So much has been given to build this precious thing, and all of us need to make sure that we honour it and value it and protect it, and all the choices we make every single day. I could not be prouder than I am today.
To lead a state that has shown the courage, the compassion, and the character to get this job done.
But it is not yet absolutely finished. Only a vaccine can give us the ultimate protection against this. So we need to be proud today, and optimistic, confident, but we also need to be Covid-19 safe, and I’m very confident that is exactly what Victorians will do.
Updated
The rest of Australia has no idea how Victorians feel or what they went through.
The federal Victorian MPs and the journalists have also had a dose of normality to their lives – travel was allowed for work.
For the vast majority of Victorians, and in particular those in Melbourne, this has been something those of us on the outside can never truly understand.
I am so happy for you Victoria. And proud. And to those in Melbourne who went through an even longer lockdown, I salute you. What you went through – and why – is not something we will forget.
Updated
Daniel Andrews on the longer roadmap:
For the purposes of travel and movement to Covid safety will still be critical, following the rules will still be critical, but that little extra time means that we can align both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria at that time.
Gyms and fitness studios in Melbourne will open on 8 November, maximum of 20 people, 10 people per space, one person per eight square metres. Restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars will move to an indoor maximum of 40 with 10 people per space, outdoor maximum of 70 people with one person every two square metres.
In line with regional Victoria and the alignment of Melbourne and regional Victoria, this is for faith gatherings, outdoors maximum 50 people plus one faith leader, indoors maximum 20 people plus one faith leader.
Further, funerals will move indoors, maximum 20 mourners, outdoors maximum 50 mourners.
There will be some changes to indoor community sport, non-contact sport for 18 and under, and sports capable of 1.5 metre distance and can operate indoors from 8 November.
Indoor pools will be able to open for up to 20 people. That is a flavour of all of those different changes, each of you have a detailed document with you, we will do our best to answer any questions but as is the usual practice, if you have any questions we will take those and get you the precise wording so there is no confusion, there is time to do that because the changes don’t come into effect until midnight tomorrow night and the ones I read out are foreshadowed for midnight on 8 November.
On 8 November we will be able to fully explain to every Victorian, city and country, what the rest of November looks like, and what a Covid-19 Christmas will look like.
We know that longer term roadmap is very important, we will have more certainty and be able to provide more detail if we just wait these next 10 days and then produce those – the more complete picture for the rest of the year – on 8 November. We will have the benefit of having been open for those 10 days and we will be able to complete that picture of what the rest of 2020 looks like.
Updated
Victoria to be 'one state again' from 9 November
The metro-regional border will be scrapped at 11.59pm on 8 November.
The 25km limit will be scrapped at the same time.
Victoria’s ‘ring of steel’ will be pulled down.
Updated
A clearly emotional Daniel Andrews finally gets to give some good news – 116 days after the second wave gripped his state.
I am very pleased to announce that from 11.59pm on Tuesday October 27, all retail will open.
Restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars will reopen as well.
Indoor, there will be a maximum of 20 people, seated, with 10 people per space. Outdoor, a maximum of 50 people with one person per two square metres. Beauty, personal services and tattooing, provided you can wear a mask, will reopen.
There will be a dark opening, that is to say, staff required to make the business ready for trading and, importantly, not just good enough to be ready, must be Covid as well, they are able to attend the workplace immediately, forthwith they are able to do that work to be ready for midnight tomorrow night.
Outdoor community sport for under 18 and outdoor non-contact sport for adults will recommence as well.
The four reasons to leave home will be removed.
The 25km travel limit remains in place and the regional metropolitan border remains in place but I will come back to that in just one moment.
Other major changes: outdoor gatherings remain at a maximum of 10 people, infants under 12 months are not included in the calculation of 10 and gatherings will no longer be limited to just two households - there can be more than two households but the group cannot exceed 10. Weddings will increase to a maximum of 10 people.
Funerals will increase to a maximum of 20 mourners. In terms of faith and religious gatherings and we know how important this has been for many people of faith across the community, indoor there will be a maximum of 10 people plus a faith leader. Outdoor there will be a maximum of 20 people plus one faith leader.
Now, before I talk about the next step, which will be on November 8, I want to talk for a moment about in-home visits. These changes I announce today do not come into effect until midnight tomorrow night.
It is appropriate because dark opening and being Covid-safe and Covid-ready, to give people notice. Particularly given that we have the northern suburbs tests back and they are all zero, basically they are negative with zero cases from that.
In terms of home visits, we will wait until tomorrow to give people a clearer sense of what they will be able to do from midnight tomorrow night.
Updated
Melbourne to 'open up'
Melbourne, take a bow – you did it. From tomorrow – all retail opens. Hospitality reopens. Beauty reopens. You can leave your house.
Daniel Andrews:
But the most important thing today is to acknowledge that with zero cases and so much testing over the weekend, not just in the north but across the whole state, we are able to say that now is the time to open up. Now is the time to congratulate every single Victorian for staying the course.
Now is the time to thank every single Victorian family for being guided by the data, the science and the doctors. Not letting our frustration get the better of us but, instead, proving equal to this wicked enemy.
Updated
I don’t know what it feels like in the room, but Daniel Andrews is either losing his voice, or he is a glass case of emotion. He sounds very emotional as he speaks today:
There are still tests to come back, but they are mainly from people who are, if you like, isolating at home and we are confident that with these numbers and all of them being negative that we in fact can rule out widespread community transmission.
A big problem that we did not know about that would have become even bigger if we had pushed ahead with opening without waiting for test results. I want to quickly run through the numbers of the day because I know people are very keen to hear our announcements about opening up.
Updated
Daniel Andrews press conference
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has good news:
As of this morning, results have been received back by the public health team from laboratories. More had been received as of around lunchtime today and all of those tests were negative.
We took the time to wait to make sure we did not have widespread community transmission in the northern suburbs and I am pleased to be able to say that that is a very significant testing number and many people were tested and those results are all negative.
It was worth waiting, to be sure. It was worth waiting to be absolutely confident, to be sure that our team had their arms around those positive cases and fundamental control of the outbreak, and that is exactly what these numbers show us and I want to thank everyone who got tested. Everyone who worked day and night to make sure that we brought this outbreak under fundamental control and I want to thank everyone who has worked with us day and night, school leaders, community leaders, faith leaders and individual families.
Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
Updated
Question time ends.
Just in time.
Question time resumes.
But attention is turning to Victoria.
There are a lot of MPs checking their phones
Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten have used the division downtime to release this statement:
The government has spent up to $70 million on the Covidsafe app [most of it on marketing] for 17 traces.
This is $4 million dollars per unique contact.
Australia has had 27,520 recorded cases of Covid-19 - presumably having had hundreds of thousands of contacts.
Yet the Covidsafe app has on its own tracked down just 17.
This is despite 7 million Covidsafe app downloads and registrations.
Prime minister Morrison has said: “Downloading the app is like putting on sunscreen to go out into the sun. It gives us protection as a nation. It protects you, it protects your family, it protects your loved ones, it protects our health workers, and it protects your job.”
Morrison’s marketing of the Covidsafe app is wildly inconsistent with its delivery.
No one would use sunscreen with this level of effectiveness.
Updated
For those interested, Daniel Hurst was working yesterday and saw the Tony Burke interview on Sky.
It included this interesting tidbit:
Where I sit in the chamber, I’m not far from the table at all. And I can hear a lot of the banter between Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison. The other day, right at the end of question time, because Scott Morrison can get pretty angry by the end of question time, he looks across at Anthony just before he leaves and says, “I’m not afraid of you.”
Now, that’s not the sort of thing that you say when you’re feeling relaxed. And you think of the different times you’ve heard someone say that they’re not afraid of someone – I’ve never heard them say it unless they’re feeling some pressure?
Updated
Tony Burke gets in to try again: “The culture comes from the top, they treat taxpayer money like it is their own” – and Christian Porter once again gags debate.
Updated
The count is going the government way.
Meanwhile, Daniel Andrews should be speaking very soon.
Leave is denied, so the Labor leader tries again (and gets out the line designed just for the TV coverage):
The watch is ticking on the need for a national integrity commission, Mr Speaker, and the rot starts at the top.
Debate is gagged and the House divides. (Labor will lose.)
Updated
Labor moves to suspend standing orders
Anthony Albanese interrupts the question to move to suspend standing orders, to discuss this motion (there is almost half the alphabet here, so stay with me):
That the House - notes the Morrison government is weighed down by scandal and integrity issues, including
(a) the corrupt sports rorts scheme with colour-coded spreadsheets,
(b) airport reports in which the government paid $30 million for a piece of land worth $3 million,
(c) stacking the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with Liberal mates,
(d) paying a Liberal party mate and former Crosby Textor pollster more than $1 million for taxpayer-funded research, recommending Peter Crone for a contract,
(g) Australia Post spending $20,000 on Cartier watches,
(h) reports the assistant treasurer used taxpayer-funded staff to branch-stack,
and
(i) the minister for energy being involved in too many scandals to count.
(2) therefore condemns the prime minister for treating taxpayers’ money as though it is his own.
Updated
David Littleproud just proved it was possible to talk about policy important to regional and rural electorates and represent the National party without sounding like a wet sponge. And without a forced homily, or attacking the opposition.
No one is after personality here. Just competence. It is possible.
Updated
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Why is the prime minister “appalled and shocked” at the behaviour of a government employee who spent $20,000 of taxpayers’ money on Cartier watches, when the prime minister himself and ministers sitting behind him have repeatedly shown they draw no distinction between taxpayers’ interests and their own political and private interests when spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars?
Morrison:
I just reject the assertion that has been made by the leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker ... It is a desperate tactic from a very desperate man, Mr Speaker, that’s lost the confidence of those who sit behind him, and he comes in here, Mr Speaker ... and just seeks to throw mud as some way of saving himself.
Updated
There is a bunch of Richmond talk.
Moving on.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister: is the reason why the Morrison government hasn’t introduced legislation for a national integrity commission because of the corrupt sports rorts scheme, the Leppington Triangle land scandal, stacking the AAT with Liberal mates, the Liberal mate paid more than $1 million for market research, wasting $20,000 on Cartier watches, and the minister for energy’s involvement in countless scandals – too many to mention?
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, the presumption of the question is false. Mr Speaker, what we’ve seen today, I think, is a very good commentary on what’s happening in this chamber. The government is focused on the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 recession. Saving lives. Saving livelihoods, Mr Speaker. Protecting Australians at a time of their greatest crisis. And the Labor party comes in here to throw mud around. That’s the contrast, Mr Speaker. An opposition focused on politics. A government focused on the welfare of the Australian people and the good government on this country ... I digress, Mr Speaker. We know the leader of the opposition has been focused on trying to get “likes” on Facebook as well*.
I wonder if he’s getting “likes” up in Hunter, Mr Speaker. I wonder if the member for Hunter has responded to the 4-day, 10,000 blitz on his advertising to see if he might get a few “likes” in the Hunter. I don’t think there’s too many “likes” up there for you, mate.
*This from someone who has posted about buying an inflatable shark for Christmas.
Updated
Labor’s Louise Pratt is probing what sort of assumptions the attorney general’s department has made about how many insolvent companies are going to need taxpayers to pick up their unpaid wages bill.
The estimate is that there will be claims for 34,000 employees this financial year, requiring taxpayers to fork out $468m. But these estimates were done in April and are already out of date, because stimulus measures have saved many businesses from insolvency.
By this stage in the financial year, the department expected 9,000 claims but has received only 1,400.
Last year, $162m was paid out for unpaid wages at a rate of 1,031 claims a month. That is down to 469 claims a month this year.
Labor’s Murray Watt says there is a “tidal wave coming” but the government is “delaying the inevitable” with changes that make it “virtually impossible” for companies to go insolvent.
One also shudders to think what happens when jobkeeper runs out.
Labor’s Tony Sheldon is querying why migrant workers don’t get access to the fair entitlement guarantee (the unpaid wages safety net), as recommended by the migrant workers’ taskforce.
They’re considering it, apparently.
Updated
Some mirth from defence estimates:
During an exchange about the cost and timing of the future frigate program, an official refers in passing to the step “design productionisation”, prompting Penny Wong to remark with a smile:
Wow, that is a good word isn’t it – design productionisation. Did you make that up?
“No I didn’t make that up,” the official replies.
(Wikipedia describes productionisation as “the process of turning a prototype of a design into a version that can be more easily mass-produced”.)
Updated
Peter Dutton thanks a member of his own government for his interest in what the government is doing.
The bar is pretty low, ladies and gentlemen.
Richard Marles to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the Prime Minister: Evidence at Senate Estimates today confirms that long-term Liberal mate and former Crosby Textor pollster Jim Reid received more than $1million in government contracts at the behest of the Prime Minister’s department. So why does the PrimeMinister treat taxpayers’ money as his own?
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, all these arrangements are done by the department, Mr Speaker, through the appropriate processes.
Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison:
Will the test “If you’re good at your job, you’ll get a job” apply to these 70 Liberal mates who’ve been appointed to jobs that pay up to $496,000, including former Liberal senator Barry Humphries, Helen Kroger, Nationals MP Deanne Kelly, Liberal MP Karen Macnamara, Liberal senator Grant Chapman, Liberal senator Stephen Parry...
Dreyfus runs out of time to list the 70. The government side starts yelling that he didn’t ask a question and Tony Smith originally agrees but then reviews the question and says there was a question of sorts at the beginning.
Christian Porter:
I thank the member for the sort-of question. With respect to the AAT, of course, the purpose of the AAT is that its members – part-time and full-time – are often lawyers, but not always.
They have a wide variety of specialty skills, including engineers; people with medical experience, people with administrative experience.
There has been a long history of members and former members of this parliament who have sat on the AAT from both sides of politics, and that list is equally as long from the other side of politics.
The purpose of having people who have had political experience both in state parliaments and in federal parliaments is they are well-versed in administrative law and well-placed to make decisions on those matters.
Tony Burke:
Yeah, I’d seek leave to table a list of 70 members with a wide variety of factions in the Liberal party.
Leave is not granted
Updated
Helen Haines, the independent member for Indi, has expressed hope that several government members will support bringing on her bill for an Australian federal integrity commission. Haines - who presented her bill to the lower house this morning, as flagged in our preview story - said she had worked with MPs from across the political spectrum to refine her bill, including putting in place safeguards to protect the rights of innocent people.
She hopes Coalition insiders will push internally for the government to allocate debate in the chamber for the bill
Asked how many Coalition members had expressed support to her, Haines said about half a dozen MPs had come to her to talk to her about the issue, but it was up to them to reveal themselves.
Haines’ proposed body, called the Australian federal integrity commission, would allow public hearings when in the public interest and allow any member of the public to make referrals.
Haines was joined at the press conference in parliament’s Mural Hall by independent MPs Zali Steggall and Andrew Wilkie, Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie and the leader of the Greens in the Senate, Larissa Waters.
Steggall said the public was “getting very cynical about why, after this long, there is no accountability” and she noted the budget included record amounts of spending:
I have a deep fear that we’re going to see record amounts of pork-barrelling and misspending.
Waters noted the Senate had already passed a bill to set up the Greens’ version of an integrity commission, but said her party did not mind whose name was on the bill. She backed calls for the government to bring on debate in the House about either of the two bills.
Updated
The government says it understands that Hekmatullah, the former Afghan soldier convicted of murdering three Australian soldiers in 2012, remains incarcerated in Qatar.
In defence estimates, the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, has been asked about Australia’s diplomatic outreach to the US and Afghan governments over the continued detention of Hekmatullah.
The family of the three Australian soldiers – Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Private Robert Poate and Sapper James Martin – have previously described as a “crushing blow” reports that Hekmatullah could be one of the prisoners released as part of an historic peace agreement between the US and Taliban.
Reynolds said Australia’s position was that Hekmatullah had committed “heinous” crimes and should never be released.
She said her latest advice was that on 10 September Hekmatullah was transferred, with five other detainees, from Afghanistan to Qatar and that he remained incarcerated.
Reynolds said she had made “many representations” in writing and over the phone, as had Scott Morrison and Marise Payne. But she said any clarity about whether Australian had secured assurances would have to be provided by Payne, as it was a diplomatic matter.
Updated
The main points of reference you’ll be interested in are below:
Specifically the investigation will determine:
- The facts around an incident involving the provision of wristwatches to Australia Post staff in late 2018;
- The role of the then Australia Post chair and board, and the managing director and chief executive officer in the incident;
- Whether there are other instances in Australia Post inconsistent with appropriate behaviour for a GBE [government business enterprise] that require further investigation;
- Whether this incident or other instances (including the actions of those involved) are consistent with:
- the obligations of directors and chief executives of GBEs; and
- the efficient, effective, economical and ethical expenditure of money and use of public resources.
- The extent to which Australia Post’s governance arrangements and management culture, in particular in relation to gifts, rewards and expenses, including personal expenses of executives:
- supports the efficient, effective, economical and ethical management of resources;
- meets the expectations of the public around the leadership and governance of Australia Post as a public institution; and o require further investigation or review.
A report is to be provided to government within four weeks of the investigation commencement.
Updated
Paul Fletcher is once again talking about how quickly the government moved over the Cartier watch bonus issue (if only it moved as quickly as other issues – but you know).
Updated
Daniel Andrews will hold his press conference at 3.15.
Updated
Milton Dick, with his very serious face on, wants Paul Fletcher to tell him why an Australia Post outlet had a LNP corflute in the window.
He comes prepared with photos of the corflute in the window.
Fletcher says he is unaware of it, but that if they tell him which Australia Post, he will investigate (his office will investigate) and he will return with an answer.
Updated
Ahead of question time, the member for Herbert, Phil Thompson, did some campaigning for the LNP in a 90-second statement.
He brought up the tired argument that crime is out of control in Townsville and only the LNP would deal with it (so far, its suggestion has been a curfew. In areas which would disproportionately impact Indigenous kids. Yup.)
Anyways, if this doesn’t help convince you ...
Updated
Andrew Leigh was kicked out of the chamber for heckling Josh Frydenberg during his first answer on what he knew about the Asic drama, and when.
Mightn’t mind being kicked out of #QT, if only Frydenberg would explain to Australians why he kept the misuse of taxpayer funds secret from taxpayers. #auspol https://t.co/h6UDOlqWBE
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) October 26, 2020
Updated
Josh Frydenberg is now taking a dixer on how much the Victorian lockdown has cost.
Just Victoria.
Scott Morrison is talking, in answer to a question from Adam Bandt, about how the Liberal-National government “smashed” its emissions target.
“Because that is what LNP governments do,” Morrison says.
I thought he was going to say “smash thing” but he catches himself.
We set out a plan to achieve a target, and then we go and achieve it, whether that was 1.5 million Australians prior to the Covid-19 recession that were able to get back into work, or delivering the tax reform which ensured that Australians could keep more of what they earn. All of these commitments we set out – and we have steadily gone about meeting them. And the same is true for 2030. We have set out and stuck to our 2030 target, and we will meet it and we will beat it, Mr Speaker. That is what we will do. Because that is our form.
He then begins to smash up Labor for not having a 2030 target. (There is no point Labor having a 2030 target, because by the time of the next election, things will have moved so far that there won’t be a lot anyone can do to change course.)
Morrison:
This leader of the Labor party can’t even sign up to an emissions reduction commitment in 2030. He can’t do it.
I’ll tell you why he can’t do it, Mr Speaker. Because I could go through those opposite and I’ll get at least 2030 different targets, Mr Speaker. I could get 2030 different targets.
This leader of the Labor party, Mr Speaker, when it comes to his commitment on this issue, it’s a blank space. It’s an absolute blank space, Mr Speaker.
Updated
Michelle Rowland to Paul Fletcher:
My question is to the minister for communications: how many of the eight non-executive members of the Australia Post board are either former Liberal politicians or candidates, or former senior officials of the Liberal party?
Fletcher starts by talking about how quickly the government moved to have Australia Post boss Christine Holgate step aside while an investigation was carried out into the Cartier watch controversy.
Asked about relevance, he says that “I’m asked about political appointments” and starts listing ones Labor did – from 2008.
He is shouted down from the other side and there is another point of order on relevance. He says he has completed his answer.
Michael Sukkar, meanwhile, has to pretend like everything he hears coming out of Fletcher’s mouth is hilarious, given his position in the chamber and the camera.
It’s a better performance than that answer.
Updated
Nothing says never-ending Monday like a Michael McCormack dixer answer.
Excuse me while I go squeeze out the wet sponge in the work kitchen. It has more substance.
Updated
Scott Morrison has taken a dixer on how great Australia has done during the Covid crisis.
The House gets rowdy at this point:
The comprehensive coordinated approach across all governments around this country, Mr Speaker, brought together by the national cabinet - which again, last Friday, recommitted seven out of eight states and territories, Mr Speaker, to have Australia open by Christmas.
To have Australia open by Christmas. So Australia may open up safely and, importantly, stay safely open, Mr Speaker.
These are the objectives that we are working to. The surveillance systems. The quarantine systems, the isolation systems, the testing, the tracing, the response capacity, Mr Speaker. And indeed the app plays a part in that role as well, Mr Speaker.
Of course it does, Mr Speaker.
All of these things are keeping Australians safe. They’re saving lives. They’re saving livelihoods, Mr Speaker. That is what our government has been doing to respond to the single greatest threat Australians have seen in generations.
That’s because the Covidsafe app has been as successful as my acting career. In that it hasn’t been.
Updated
Question time begins
And it is straight into it.
Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg:
Why did the Treasurer claim the auditor general’s concerns about Asic’s leadership were only brought to his attention last Thursday?
Frydenberg is ready – he comes with a written answer:
I made clear on the 22nd of October I received detailed correspondence from the auditor general of Australia regarding payments made on behalf ASIC chair, Mr James Shipton and deputy chair Mr Dan Crennan QC.
This letter followed an email received from the Australian National Audit Office on 15 September, saying: “The auditor general will be writing to you ... under section 26 of the Auditor-General Act regarding payments.”
The ANAO is working on key personnel can disclosures to be included in the annual report, and we will write to you once this has concluded.
As Treasury confirmed to Senate estimates this morning, their advice has been consistent throughout that I should await the letter from the auditor General, after which they would provide advice. I accepted that advice.
Following receipt of the letter from the auditor general on the 22nd of October, I received advice from Treasury later that day recommending that I direct the secretary of the Treasury to appoint an independent reviewer to undertake an independent review into the findings of the ANAO financial statements audit. The independent review will be undertaken by Dr Vivian Thom, the former director general of intelligence and security, and is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Following the review, Treasury will advise me on its findings and any further course of action that may be appropriate.
The email of the 15th of September from the ANAO, the letter from the auditor general of the 22nd of October, two letters from the ASIC chair to me – both dated the 16th of October – relating to the concerns raised by the ANAO, as well as my three letters to the chair and the deputy chair of ASIC, and the auditor general, have all been tabled at my request this morning at estimates.
The chairman of ASIC, Mr James Shipton, notified me last week that he was standing down. Today, Dan Crennan provided me written resignation, effective immediately. ASIC provides a vital role as Australia’s corporate financial services and market regulator. The auditor general has raised important matters which the government is acting on.
Updated
We are about 15 minutes out from the fourth-last question time of the week (I find counting down an easier way to handle them, psychologically speaking).
Judging from today’s estimates performance, it looks like accountability will be the topic of the day.
I’d suggest having a read of some of Murph’s posts on the polling company for a refresher.
Updated
Coincidentally, this is exactly the face I most remember my teachers pulling following one of my regular “why...?” speeches.
Followed by my parents’ faces once my report card lobbed.
Updated
I will always take any opportunity to remind you to stay hydrated.
Updated
Independent senator Rex Patrick is asking now about the Covid vaccine assumption in the budget.
Luke Yeaman says to formulate the assumption, the Treasury looked at the international evidence about availability (when credible global economic bodies were projecting coronavirus vaccine availability) and spoke to colleagues in the Department of Health.
The assumption landed on was a vaccine would be available towards the end of 2021. Yeaman says the Treasury did not look at the details of the various vaccines under development.
He says what the department was trying to forecast was when confidence would return to the economy because the health crisis was contained. That could be because of a vaccine. It could be rapid testing. Patrick wants to know what percentage of the population was assumed to be vaccinated.
Yeaman says the Treasury didn’t consider percentages. He says again the health department was “happy” with the vaccine assumption. Yeaman says the relevant metric is successful containment of community transmission because that success will promote confidence that will in turn promote economic recovery.
The Liberal senator James Paterson then dives in to clarify some elements of the evidence a few minutes back about the Resolve Strategic contract (I covered this earlier today).
Paterson invites the Treasury officials to confirm that Jim Reed’s research was not political.
The officials concur. “It was not political,” the deputy secretary Roxanne Kelley says. Paterson asks if it is true that major campaigns are required to be preceded by market research. The officials concur again.
Research has to be done to inform the advertising.
Paterson again invites the officials to confirm that the Reed research informed a number of campaigns.
Kelley says it informed a number of campaigns. (Obviously some sensitivity around this contract.)
Updated
There is some time before Daniel Andrews’s 116th consecutive press conference.
Don’t be surprised if there is a pathway to having restrictions eased announced.
Premier’s presser conference won’t be before 2:30pm today @abcmelbourne #springst
— Bridget Rollason (@bridgerollo) October 26, 2020
Marise Payne said she has asked for a full report on what happened to female passengers aboard a Qatar airlines flight from Doha to Sydney on 2 October, after the women were allegedly assaulted following the discovery of an abandoned premature baby at the airport (the baby survived and is in care).
Anthony Albanese was asked about it this morning as well:
The reports are really disturbing. The idea that women could be subject to these very intrusive searches is, in my view, an absolute disgrace. The Australian government should be demanding answers from the Qataris, the airline, but also the government that would have regulated the airports.
I’m familiar with these issues. Indeed, the CEO of Qatar Airways has a role at the airport in Doha as well. And there is a real concern here. The government needs to really make the strongest possible protest to the government of Qatar. But also, anyone who has heard those reports will be thinking with just a great deal of sympathy. And our hearts go out to the women impacted by this. This is incredibly intrusive behaviour.
Q: What do you mean by the strongest possible protest? What should the government be doing?
Albanese:
I will be asking for a proper briefing as to the details. I’ve heard the reports. But in my view, it is completely unacceptable. The government has a relationship with Qatar. It is in a position to regulate a range of activities. And I would have thought that it needs something other than just strong words.
Updated
Andrew Giles spoke in parliament a little earlier about the government’s silence on senator Eric Abetz’s demand that three Chinese-Australians denounce the CCP – apropos of nothing.
Abetz said it was about Australian “values”.
We’ve heard that one before.
Some of Giles’s speech:
In evidence before Senate estimates last week, the race discrimination commissioner, Chin Tan, confirmed there had been a:
“… substantial rise in race activities – more in terms of some communities – particularly Asian communities”.
This demands a strong response from the Morrison government.
There is no vaccine for racism. But racism is a virus, a virus that we as policy-makers must do something to tackle and ultimately eliminate. Especially when we have voices in the media spreading fear, hate and division.
The Morrison government should join Labor in supporting a new, national anti-racism strategy. A racism strategy aimed at both changing attitudes and empowering communities, so we really are all in this together.
We must all stand up for multiculturalism and multicultural communities.
The acting minister has lately been talking about the importance of social cohesion. He should recognise the threat his colleagues’ conduct is to this. He should think about the signal his silence is sending. He should think about his responsibilities – to Chinese Australians and every Australian.
So should his boss.
Updated
One of the reason’s Queensland Labor is feeling like things are so “grim” is because of the feeling no one is listening – no messages are getting through.
Queensland has had no cases of Covid for long enough that it doesn’t feel like a crisis any more, so the incumbency-in-times-of-crisis message isn’t hitting. In that way, the government has been a victim of its own success.
There aren’t a lot of policies, but the LNP is offering people a $300 reimbursement on their rego. THAT is a message people are hearing.
So Labor is looking at losing all three Townsville seats, plus Cook, plus Keppel, plus South Brisbane, plus Aspley – and that is just the obvious ones. With votes to UAP and PHON falling, those voters are returning to the LNP.
Just don’t be surprised if the LNP manages to win government, despite being nine seats behind, is all I am saying. This is Queensland. It is never predictable.
With one week to go before #QLDVotes, just under 900,000 postal votes have been dispatched (26.6% of enrolment) and just under 670,000 pre-polls cast by Sunday (19.8%). https://t.co/WUsrqfpc5J pic.twitter.com/btSStyBSU7
— Antony Green (@AntonyGreenABC) October 26, 2020
Updated
The Green senator Nick McKim wants to try to land a point in Treasury estimates that wealthy people are more likely to save their tax cut than spend it. One of the Treasury officials at the table, Luke Yeaman, says tax cuts are stimulatory.
Yeaman says “at the margin” higher-income households save more than they spend compared with people on lower incomes with higher marginal propensity to spend, but over time the stimulus flows through to the economy.
How long will the savings ratio remain at record highs, McKim wonders?
Yeaman says: “The situation this time around is quite different to the GFC.” Households and businesses are certainly saving but there have been “limited opportunities to go out and spend”.
He says once those opportunities return and consumer confidence returns, the spending will likely return.
There will be an acceleration and a rebound, Yeaman says. McKim wonders whether high levels of household indebtedness might constrain the rebound. Treasury officials say possibly at the margins.
Updated
Greg Sammut, a defence official, says the majority of Australia’s submarines in operation will be the new attack-class submarines from around 2042 onwards, “based on a nominal drumbeat of a delivery of one boat every two years”.
At that time there would be six new attack-class submarines in operation and four of the older but updated Collins-class submarines.
Sammut said the particulars were “still yet to be decided by government” but that was a basis for planning.
Penny Wong asks whether that means 2040 is the earliest possible date for the majority of subs in operation to be the newer ones. Sammut replies:
No, it could be earlier if we increased the drumbeat.
Asked when Australia is likely to have all 12 submarines fully operational, the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, at first indicated:
My understanding is on the current schedule it’ll be in the mid- to late-2040s.
Reynolds later clarifies that her “clear understanding is it is the 2050s”.
Sammut says the date is 2054 for all 12 submarines, based on the aforementioned drumbeat (one delivered every two years).
Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells asks whether it would have taken so long if Australia had simply bought the submarines “off the shelf”.
Sammut says it’s a hypothetical, prompting Fierravanti-Wells to tell him to “cut the Sir Humphrey answer”.
Updated
(Continued from previous post)
Gallagher wants to know why the value of the contract keeps getting bumped up. Kenna says they didn’t know at the beginning what the scope of work would ultimately be. The contract has been amended four times in $50,000 increments.
These increments, Kenna says, paid for focus groups to test the ads. Over the course of the contract there were 16 virtual focus groups, more than 7,000 randomly selected people participating in online surveys, and 30 in-depth interviews, she says. A broad spread of the population was sought, she says.
Initially, the testing focussed on people receiving the jobkeeper or jobkeeper payments – people as well as businesses. The in-depth interviews were with businesses, checking the efficacy of materials.
This is a big research project. Kenna also confirms that final reports from the research went to the Treasury, the treasurer’s office and the prime minister’s office.
She’s not sure if all the material went to both offices. (It was confirmed last week the prime minister’s office was given access to a separate $500,000 research project by Resolve Strategic).
Gallagher asks whether the committee can have access to the research and the survey. Kenna takes that on notice. The contract went for four months and is now finished.
We have completed work on that campaign.
Updated
The Labor senator Katy Gallagher has moved on to taxpayer-funded advertising.
Treasury deputy secretary Roxane Kelly says $15m has been set aside for an ad campaign, “Our Comeback”. The campaign launched on 14 October. There’s no spend to date available because the campaign has just launched.
Shannon Kenna, communications director at Treasury, says the tagline of the campaign (our comeback) was “one of the concepts put forward by the advertising agency”, which is TBWA Melbourne.
Gallagher notes there was some unusual language in correspondence between Treasury and the officials-level advertising campaign finance committee within government – language from Treasury assuring the advertising committee that the ads would not use government slogans. Kenna says:
We reassured them as part of the discussion that it wound’t be happening.
The Treasury official suggests those kinds of conversations are not unusual. She says Josh Frydenberg’s office was briefed on the advertising campaign. They weren’t at every meeting with all the consultants.
Gallagher wants to know what work was done to inform the campaign. By work she means research.
The questions now go to the Resolve Strategic contract. (This is the $500,000 contract held by Jim Reed, a former Crosby textor operative.) Kenna says Reed was engaged by limited tender “due to the urgency of the situation”.
She says Treasury made the decision to engage Reed. He was recommended to Treasury by PMC because Resolve Strategic was “doing research into community attitudes and awareness around Covid. They were seen to be directly engaged in an area where we needed research. It was deemed appropriate to engage them.”
Kenna says Treasury was coordinating closely with PMC throughout and it “came up” in discussion that Resolve Strategic would be suitable for that purpose.
We didn’t actually have time to look more widely.
Updated
Greg Sammut, the general manager of the Defence Materiel Organisation’s submarines group, has told defence estimates the first new attack-class submarine is planned to be operating by 2035.
He said the number of older Collins-class still operating at that time would be subject to a government decision on the number of those being extended
Labor’s Penny Wong wants to know why the government has not yet made a decision on the number of Collins-class submarines that will undergo “life of type extension”.
The defence minister, Linda Reynolds, starts by criticising Labor’s performance when it was in government.
That prompted Wong to shoot back: “How long have you been in government?”
The committee chair, Eric Abetz, interjected: “Not long enough.”
(The answer from Reynolds - who is joining by video link - is “because we will do it at the right time” and “we will make it when we are ready to make it”.)
Updated
Over in defence estimates, officials have sought to pre-empt questions from Labor’s Penny Wong, who will be pursuing answers over the blowout in the cost of Australia’s future submarines acquisition.
It was revealed earlier this year that the out-turned cost will be $89.7bn (up from the original talk of at least $50bn).
The defence department secretary, Greg Moriarty, made an opening statement that sought to “clarify answers” previously given to the Senate about defence’s knowledge of the likely cost. He said at the time officials told Senate estimates in 2015 of an out-turned cost of $50bn, that was before the outcome of key decisions including the process to determine the builder were made.
Moriarty said the government’s 2016 defence white paper committed to acquisition of a fleet of 12 regionally superior submarines. He said the integrated investment program released at that time foreshadowed an approximate investment “of greater than $50bn out-turned over the time period 2018 to 2057”. He revealed, however, that the classified version of the integrated investment program at that time included a figure of $78.9bn. On why that higher figure was not released, he said:
It was not released due to commercial sensitivities, noting the government was yet to consider the outcomes of the competitive evaluation process and decide the build location.
Moriarty said a recent response to a question on notice from the Department of Finance “has been interpreted to mean defence was aware in October 2015” that the cost was $78.9bn - but “this was not the case”. He said it predated the decision that 12 submarines would be acquired and that they would be built in Australia.
In August, Labor’s defence spokesman, Richard Marles, signalled the party was going to take a more assertive role in critiquing what he called the government’s mismanagement of the future submarine program. He argued the Coalition’s handling of a submarine project had made Australians less safe.
Updated
One Nation senator, Malcolm Roberts, is very upset the federal government intervened in the Rosatto case to prevent misclassified casual employees “double dipping” by claiming entitlements of permanent employees.
Roberts said the affidavit sworn by the attorney general’s department is “inflammatory and wrong” by claiming the decision could apply to casuals Australia-wide, such as cafe employees. He insists it “doesn’t apply to every casual employee” but only those who have been “abused” by being misclassified as casuals.
Roberts has a particular concern about this issue because he believes employees in the coal industry, particularly in the Hunter in NSW, have been misclassified.
He’s fruitlessly trying to get the department to rule out a bill to wipe out retrospective claims for entitlements.
Back at the Treasury estimates, Steven Kennedy has departed and the Labor senator Katy Gallagher is asking officials whether the department has done any modelling on the employment effects of the stage three tax cuts.
“No senator, we haven’t,” the official says.
(Before the budget there was a lot of speculation that the government would bring forward both stage two and stage three of the tax cuts. In the end only stage two came forward. Stage three involves flattening the tax brackets, with the lion’s share of the benefit going to high-income earners.)
The official says it is possible that analysis was done when the government introduced stage three in last year’s budget to take effect from 2024, but it wasn’t done for this budget.
Updated
The Law Council has joined the chorus of people and organisations calling for the government to get a wriggle on with the federal integrity commission legislation.
From its statement:
The Law Council president, Pauline Wright, says that by delaying the release of the draft bill, the government is falling behind Australia’s obligations as a signatory of the UN convention against corruption, which includes developing policies in relation to anticorruption.
Ms Wright said:
It has been almost two years since the government announced that they would establish a commonwealth integrity commission to strengthen integrity arrangements across the federal public sector.
Corruption has many corrosive effects on society. It undermines democracy and the rule of law as well as being capable of distorting market forces.
The government should not delay the release of the exposure draft any longer. The Covid-19 pandemic is no excuse for postponing this important measure.
Although the Law Council strongly supports the establishment of a commonwealth integrity commission, there are concerns with the government’s proposed model, as foreshadowed in the previously released consultation paper.
These concerns include the establishment of two separate divisions, one for the public sector and one for law enforcement, both with differing scopes of powers and definitions to the term “corrupt conduct”.
Ms Wright said:
The Law Council considers that the powers between the public sector and the law enforcement divisions of the proposed commonwealth integrity commission should be aligned.
A commonwealth integrity commission dealing with law enforcement and the public sector should not deal with complaints regarding judicial officers. To ensure the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, the Law Council has long pressed for a stand-alone federal judicial commission to be established to consider complaints regarding the conduct of members of the federal judiciary.
While the Law Council understands the legislation is with the attorney general, and given there was $100 million set aside in the 2019 budget, it remains unclear what is preventing the release of the Exposure Draft.
Updated
Stepping away from the daily political grind for a moment: anti-nuclear weapons campaigners are celebrating the news that a new UN treaty banning nuclear weapons will come into force.
It’s prompted fresh calls for Australia to consider signing up, with Gem Romuld, the director of ICAN Australia, saying:
“It’s high time the Australian government followed New Zealand and most other countries in our region in signing and ratifying this treaty which will soon become international law.”
At the weekend Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons – the test for triggering its entry into force in 90 days. Other supporters of the treaty – which includes undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons –- include New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico and the Vatican.
But it has not been signed by the declared nuclear-armed states including the US, Britain, France, China and Russia (for more background see our global report from the weekend).
Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, called on “all the other world leaders to act with courage and join the right side of history”.
The Greens senator Jordon Steele-John issued a statement today describing the milestone as “an historic day in the ongoing campaign for peace” and said: “There is no excuse for Australia’s continued abstinence.”
The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese – who has a history of campaigning against nuclear weapons – issued a cautious statement with Penny Wong yesterday saying the party welcomed the “significant milestone” and shared “the ambition of a world free of nuclear weapons”.
Outlining the Labor party position – which includes some high hurdles that are unlikely, in practice, to be met – Albanese and Wong said:
Labor has committed to signing and ratifying the treaty after taking account the need to ensure an effective verification and enforcement architecture, interaction of the Treaty with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and achieving universal support.
The Australian government has said it does not support the “ban treaty” because it believes it would “would not eliminate a single nuclear weapon” and “ignores the realities of the global security environment” and “would be inconsistent with our US alliance obligations”.
Updated
Labor’s Murray Watt has asked the federal government’s legal bill for intervening in a few high-profile industrial relations cases. He discovered:
- Intervening in the Rossato case in the federal and high courts cost $420,000. In that case, the attorney general, Christian Porter, joined on the side of employers to argue that an employee paid a casual loading should not be eligible to “double dip” on entitlements by claiming annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, compassionate leave and public holidays. The federal court found that misclassified casuals who were in fact permanent workers are eligible for both sets of entitlements.
- Intervening in the Mondelez case cost $310,000. In that case, Porter and Mondelez won in the high court, arguing the rate to compensate employees for 10 days of paid annual leave should be calculated based on a worker’s ordinary hours, not their usual shift pattern (which can be much higher in terms of the number of hours).
Updated
For those wondering when Daniel Andrews will be holding his daily press conference, don’t worry too much about the delay.
We have seen them later in the day when they have been crunching data. Given the decision yesterday to delay announcing when restrictions would be eased (which were to begin days after the announcement) I’d say there is a bit of number reviewing going on.
NSW records one new locally acquired coronavirus case
NSW records one new locally acquired case.
It’s the first Covid case of the day – but it has been linked to a known cluster and the patient has been in isolation.
From NSW Health:
There were 7,447 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with 12,465 in the previous 24 hours.
While it is not unusual for weekend testing numbers to be lower, if we are to ensure NSW continues to detect cases as soon as possible and prevent onward transmission, it is vital that members of the community continue to come forward for testing.
NSW Health continues to appeal to the community to be tested right away if anyone has even the mildest of symptoms like a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could signal COVID-19.
Of the four new cases to 8pm last night:
- Three were acquired overseas and are now in hotel quarantine.
- One was locally acquired and linked to a known case.
The one new locally acquired case is a household contact of a previously reported case linked to the Oran Park community cluster. They have been in isolation. There are now 23 cases linked to this cluster.
Updated
A text message from Mineralogy – Clive Palmer’s company – has been sent around, asking people to “Stop Labor’s 20% death tax”.
Labor has not proposed a death tax. In fact the only commentary around a death tax has been refuting that one exists in response to this sort of campaigning.
It was one of the issues identified in the last federal campaign – a rumour took hold that Labor was in support of a death tax, was pushed on social media and taken up by opponents who vowed to fight the non-existent tax policy. And here we are again.
Neither Labor nor the LNP have proposed a death tax in the Queensland election.
Updated
'It’s reflecting poorly on all of us'
Labor moves on to the controversy about the Leppington triangle. Steve Kennedy was the secretary of the Department of Infrastructure at the time the controversial land purchase took place. (This is the Western Sydney airport issue – officials paid $30m for land valued at $3m.)
Kennedy says he was “surprised and concerned” by the findings in the ANAO report, including the criticisms of the department’s processes.
The ANAO said officials conducting the land purchase kept senior decision makers in the department and the ministers office out of the loop.
Kennedy says it is hard to provide information to the ANAO that hasn’t been provided to you.
So there was no way for you to have known the information in the financial statements was inaccurate, Katy Gallagher asks?
Kennedy says he is waiting for the independent inquiries before forming a view.
He says there are concerning comments about the quality of the department’s systems. “They concern me,” he says.
“I was the secretary.”
Kennedy says officials worked hard on those transactions and “it’s now reflecting poorly on all, of us ... the ANAO has done its job and it’s now up to us to respond.”
Gallagher asks did he know the Leppington land purchase was under way?
“I was aware in broad terms,” he says. “I wasn’t across it in detail.”
Kennedy then asks himself a question (bit rare in a Senate estimates hearing, witnesses grilling themselves): why did I sign off on financial statements that proved to be inaccurate?
Gallagher is glad the secretary gets to the nub of the issue.
Kennedy says he signed the statements because he was at that point heading to Treasury and he didn’t want to leave his successor with unsigned financial statements.
“I didn’t appreciate the significance of this matter,” he says. He knew there were some issues and he would have been advised to that effect by the department’s chief operating officer.
“I did sign off but that will be one of my other reflections – whether I should have chosen to wait until that exercise had been complete, but I felt I was starting a new job in Treasury and I had to be responsible for the year that I had just seen and a huge amount of activity goes on in that department and it was my responsibility to sign it off, so I chose to sign it off.”
Updated
Labor has moved on in Treasury estimates to recent developments at the corporate regulator, Asic.
The chairman, James Shipton, stood aside on Friday while the Treasury investigates payments of more than $118,000 made to KPMG for tax advice he received.
Amy has let you know that the deputy chair, Daniel Crennan, has resigned this morning.
Did the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, seek advice from Treasury when the Australian National Audit Office flagged this issue? Not at that point, is the answer from a Treasury official, Meghan Quinn. Steven Kennedy says he spoke to Frydenberg’s chief of staff on 28 September about the issue flagged by the ANAO.
Some correspondence has been tabled at the committee this morning about the interactions between the players.
The Labor senator Jenny McAllister is trying to unpick who did what when. “There was a series of conversations ... flowing from the September 28 discussion,” Quinn says.
Quinn says the initial advice to the treasurer was to wait for the final advice from the ANAO. Was there thought given to an independent inquiry, McAllister asks?
Quinn says they were waiting for a final arbitration from the ANAO. After that, further advice was provided on 22nd October.
Treasury said an “independent review” would be advisable in the circumstances.
She says Frydenberg learned Shipton would step aside on 23 October, just before the Asic chair announced his intentions publicly.
McAllister notes that Crennan said last week he wouldn’t resign. What has changed between Friday and Monday, she asks?
Mathias Cormann refers McAllister to Crennan’s statement. Was Crennan asked to resign?
“Not to my knowledge,” Cormann says.
After a couple of minutes, Cormann says he can confirm Shipton wasn’t asked to resign.
Updated
In other news, Marise Payne says the Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been visited recently by the Australian ambassador.
Dr Moore-Gilbert has been moved out of an Iranian prison.
Updated
The matter has been reported to the AFP – it is unclear what jurisdiction they have to investigate it, though.
Updated
Marise Payne says she has “never in her life” heard a story like the one female passengers on the Qatar airlines flight went through.
This is an extraordinary incident and I have never heard of anything occurring like this in my life to yes, the airport at Doha I have used on many occasions and it obviously is a large international airport. I think we have made our concerns very clear to the Qatari authorities at this point, pending the arrival and availability of their report and I want to be confident that they are very well aware on our views of the matter.
Updated
Marise Payne is speaking on Jen Bechwati’s story:
Australia has taken the occurrence seriously and taken up directly with Qatari authorities. We have been liaising with both Qatari authorities here in Australia and in Doha.
We are awaiting a report from the Qatari authorities and I understand that inquiries are still taking place with those people affected by this occurrence and we also understand that the matter has been reported to the AFP and that matter, anything further on that as a matter for the federal police to this is a grossly, grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events.
It is not something that I have ever heard of occurring in my life, in any context, we have made our very clear to Qatari authorities on this matter.
Updated
Marise Payne is about to hold a press conference.
The foreign minister is notoriously media shy, so this is a rare event.
Labor’s Murray Watt is asking Attorney General’s Department officials about this press release from Matt Canavan and George Christensen confirming that the government will provide a clear and certain statutory definition and universal and strengthened access to casual conversion.
In the release, the attorney general, Christian Porter, is quoted as saying:
I intend to have legislation in the parliament this year that addresses the two major issues surrounding casual employment, being the uncertainty around the meaning of casual employment and an employee’s ability to access casual conversion.
Both of these issues are interrelated and must be properly considered and reformed at the same time, through a clear and certain statutory definition and universal and strengthened access to casual conversion so employees can choose the form of work that suits their needs.
The officials confirm that they have provided a draft bill to Porter for industrial relations changes, intend to conduct consultation, adding that the timeframe to bring legislation this year is “tight” but doable.
Watt expresses scepticism that a definition of casual – which has plagued the common law for decades – will be so easily achieved.
It’s curious that before this spell of questioning, Malcolm Roberts asked if during the pandemic is “the right time to be making sweeping changes to IR” – suggesting scepticism also from One Nation.
Updated
Mike Bowers was in the chamber as Helen Haines introduced her bill on behalf of the crossbench.
And here is what the chamber looked like as she did it.
Updated
Back in Treasury estimates the Green senator Nick McKim is asking about the gender dimensions of the downturn and the budget. Steven Kennedy says the recession has hit women harder than men.
The impacts have been “uneven in gender terms, but that’s changing”, Kennedy says.
“The gender impact appears to us to have lessened quite a bit.”
The Treasury secretary says the department remains concerned about the impact of the recession on young people because they have lost work and employment opportunities but these haven’t rebounded as yet.
Updated
Attorney General’s Department officials have confirmed that a definition of casual employee and preventing backpay of conditions for misclassified workers are likely to feature in the industrial relations reform package.
Under questioning from the One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, the deputy secretary, Martin Hehir, said we “need to get a definition of casual employees right” and ensure the “current uncertainty is dealt with effectively”.
He said roundtables were confidential but both Scott Morrison and Christian Porter had said they were “looking to find ways to capture workers who are genuinely casual” and ensure that for “those who aren’t casuals to allow them a process to convert or identify them upfront”.
Roberts asked about backpay of entitlements if a worker was misclassified as a casual and then was later found to be permanent.
Hehir noted the federal court case of Rosatto – who was found to be entitled to backpay – but said the case was under appeal to the high court.
The government has “sought to appeal to ensure that where someone received loading intended to compensate for the [national employment standards], intended to compensate for leave and redundancy [entitlements], that they shouldn’t be able to be claimed”.
Updated
The Labor senator Katy Gallagher is asking about the business incentives in the budget (which have a revenue forgone cost north of $29bn) – including the full expensing measure.
Steven Kennedy says these investment allowances, which have deployed in Australia since the GFC, work. In revenue terms, investment allowances net out over time. There’s a big initial cost to the budget but then revenue returns.
The finance minister Mathias Cormann, says: “You recoup all of it eventually.”
Kennedy says this recession hasn’t disrupted the flow of credit. This isn’t a banking crisis. This is an economic shock caused by the government shutting down the economy to safeguard public health.
He says it’s hard to predict how the economy will recover because this is a new kind of recession to manage, but he says he suspects there is a “demand impulse” out there (I think he means pent-up demand – people waiting to spend and invest and hire once the restrictions end).
Kennedy says it is possible because of that suppressed impulse that the economy could roar back more rapidly than normal – but it all depends on the health side. If the pandemic isn’t contained then nothing roars back.
Gallagher asks what new information the government is waiting on before it decides whether to reduce the jobseeker payment again after Christmas.
Kennedy’s answer is quite interesting. He says the government needs to consider the adequacy of the payment (which has been an ongoing debate about Newstart). He characterises this as “the structural position”.
He says the Treasury needs more information about the labour market before providing its final advice to the government.
Kennedy notes that it has been a useful contribution to supporting demand in the economy to have people on low incomes given money to spend.
(Sounds as though the Treasury secretary doesn’t think it would be a brilliant idea for the Newstart payment to return to where it was pre-crisis.)
Updated
Helen Haines has put in her bill.
Member for Indi @helenhainesindi has introduced Australian Federal Integrity Commission Bill 2020 https://t.co/xWWsa9eotR #auspol pic.twitter.com/bg8ZGSPPcP
— Political Alert (@political_alert) October 25, 2020
Updated
Queensland records no new Covid cases
Queensland has recorded no new cases of Covid.
Updated
I mean, he’s not wrong?
Ireland, which had similar daily case numbers to Victoria when it went into its second-wave hard lockdown, has now seen case numbers of more than 1,000 a day.
If Victorians had listened to the rantings of @TimSmithMP we’d be heading for the horrors of the second wave pandemic 🦠 sweeping through Europe, USA, UK etc. meaning more deaths, more shutdowns, more businesses and jobs lost. https://t.co/spqepNf64y
— Brendan O'Connor (@BOConnorMP) October 25, 2020
Updated
For those watching the Groom LNP pre-selection, the split vote meant a victor came up the middle – knocking off both favourites – David van Gend (for the conservatives) and Rebecca Vonhoff (for the commonsense brigade)
The mining engineer Garth Hamilton won pre-selection in the government’s safest seat (against Labor) in the nation, meaning he just won himself a job for life (if he so wishes/doesn’t screw it up).
Updated
The Actuaries Institute has looked at Australia’s mortality data and found that deaths are down across the board – as lockdowns and social distancing saved us from more than just Covid.
From the Institute’s statement:
Mortality data for June shows death rates are significantly lower across Australia, with reduced levels of respiratory illness, including flu and pneumonia, and also death from other causes including dementia.
Jennifer Lang, Convenor of the Actuaries Institute’s COVID-19 Working Group, said in an Update paper that includes the latest mortality data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, that deaths were significantly lower than predicted through June.
“It is clear that lockdowns and other COVID-19 control measures have created great hardship for many in Australia,” Ms Lang said.
“And there will surely be medium and long-term consequences for physical and mental health and the economy.
“However, these measures have not only saved very many Australians from COVID-19 disease and death, they have also reduced deaths from a number of other causes.”
And from the paper:
Overall the various non pharmaceutical measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the period up to the end of June across Australia (lockdowns, social distancing measures, wearing of facemasks, etc) have almost certainly reduced mortality from other causes across Australia, with deaths during June being 400 lower than the bottom of the likely range.
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The Labor senator Katy Gallagher asks about jobs figures attached to the jobmaker program. Were the various policies agreed and then the job estimates came after that?
Steven Kennedy says there’s significant uncertainty around the economic shock, and programs are designed to “flex with the shock”.
He says the job estimates attached to programs like jobmaker are an “iteration”.
It’s hard to predict how programs will work in an economic shock like the one we are in, he says. “I won’t pretend it’s a precise science,” the Treasury secretary says.
“The government is going to have to remain very alive as to how it will continue to respond. The government is going to have to be nimble. It’s an iterative process.”
He says when it comes to estimating how many jobs will be created as a result of various programs, “we’ve not built it up on a mechanical bottom-up basis”.
He says the Treasury is working towards “a full employment objective” but he says there’s a lot of dislocation in the labour market.
The hope is unemployment peaks at 8% (which he says would be a comparatively good result in the circumstances). He says the objective is to drive the unemployment rate as low as possible consistent with maintaining persistent low inflation.
Gallagher asks whether Treasury’s advice was reflected in the October budget measures.
Kennedy says yes, it was. “I can’t tell you if [the policy design] is optimal, but it does represent our advice ... and it reflects our collective experience going through the GFC.”
Asked whether the government should have spent more, whether there should be more stimulus, Kennedy emphasises again there is room to move if more fiscal support proves necessary but the current spend is “proportionate” to the circumstances.
“There is no set and forget on fiscal policy”. (It’s interesting how much Kennedy is emphasising this point this morning: we might need to spend more.)
Gallagher asks whether it is wise to withdraw jobseeker and jobkeeper given all the unknowns? Kennedy says it is “still my judgment that jobkeeper should taper in March”.
The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, says the economy has to “adjust to the environment we are in”.
He says some businesses will not adjust to the new environment. “If we didn’t allow that adjustment to take place the economic recovery would be slower and weaker.”
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Josh Frydenberg has responded to Asic deputy chair Daniel Crennan’s resignation:
The Government has received and accepted the resignation of Mr Daniel Crennan QC as the Deputy Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The Government thanks Mr Crennan for his service and the important work he has undertaken during his time as Deputy Chair.
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Here is a little more from Steven Kennedy’s opening statement to budget estimates, as reported by Murph – it’s on how he sees the budget moving forward:
Lower receipts and additional spending in response to the Covid‐19 pandemic have resulted in a sharp rise in debt.
While this will lead to a higher debt‐to‐GDP ratio, Australia’s fiscal policy remains sustainable and debt will remain low compared with most advanced economies.
Borrowing costs are expected to remain low for some time, making it easier to service debt than in the past.
The current and projected debt levels would enable additional targeted and temporary fiscal support measures to be adopted should they be required.
Strong economic growth will make it easier to service debt by directly expanding the size of the economy relative to the amount of outstanding debt. Holding other factors constant, the debt to GDP ratio will fall when nominal GDP increases.
In addition, when growth is sufficiently high and borrowing costs sufficiently low, it is possible to reduce debt as a share of GDP, even without running budget surpluses.
This is evident over the projection period, where nominal GDP growth makes a significant contribution to stabilising the debt to GDP ratio.
Nevertheless, in the longer term balanced budgets serve governments well. They encourage the careful application of the necessary trade‐offs that all governments need to make in forming quality public policies.
These include trade‐offs associated with how any structural increases in spending will be financed.
Once this discipline is lost, there are consequences not only for economic policy but for the democratic process.
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If ever there was a time to look up Dan Murphy’s opening hours, it is now.
Hopefully, we've done it! A real achievement that will help Australia open-up internally! Of all the places that have seen off a second coronavirus wave, only Vietnam and Hong Kong have done as well as Victorians https://t.co/epgYweEmAN via @ConversationEDU
— Prof. Peter Doherty (@ProfPCDoherty) October 25, 2020
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'The pandemic is far from over,' says Treasury secretary
Morning all. Steven Kennedy, the secretary of Treasury, is appearing at Senate estimates this morning.
“The pandemic is far from over,” Kennedy says in his opening address, noting that continued vigilance will be required to ensure Australia meets the challenges of the crisis.
The pandemic has led to a profound global economic shock, he says. Kennedy notes the second wave of infections in many countries.
Of the current recession Kennedy notes it is a “truly novel economic shock”. GDP in Australia contracted by record percentage in the last quarter.
Effective unemployment peaked at 15%. Kennedy says the economy is, however, rebounding.
He says there’s a two-speed economy (not his words, but that’s what he’s describing) – with some states experiencing near normal conditions and Victoria still in lockdown.
Kennedy notes that higher income households in the main experienced no significant change in their fortunes in the opening months of the pandemic, whereas lower income households experienced a 20% increase in income (presumably due to the income support through jobkeeper and jobseeker).
He says the government has delivered $257bn in direct support through the crisis. Kennedy says the Treasury forecasts unemployment to have a six in front of it by 2022, but he says the lessons of previous recessions is that labour markets can take longer to recover.
He says the pandemic is reshaping the global economy. Some businesses will close and never reopen. Some jobs will be lost permanently. Many transactions will move online.
Kennedy acknowledges debt is high in Australia now but he says the environment of low borrowing costs means there is more headroom for the government to fund another round of fiscal stimulus should that be required – Kennedy characterises this as “additional targeted and temporary fiscal support measures to be adopted, should they be required”.
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Over in health estimates, the Covidsafe app is getting a workout, as predicted:
Health Department officials tell #Estimates the Morrison Government’s COVIDSafe app has had 7 million downloads & registrations... but only has detected 14 unique cases.
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) October 25, 2020
That number hasn’t changed since Health’s last appearance at the Covid Committee on 29 September #auspol
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Here is Daniel Crennan’s statement:
Full statement from Daniel Crennan QC pic.twitter.com/QHZczafVwj
— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) October 25, 2020
Daniel Crennan resigns as Asic's deputy chair
The regulator’s deputy has resigned after a review into his moving costs.
Daniel Crennan says he was intending to retire in July 2021 but “in the current circumstances, I have decided that it is in the best interests of Asic for me to resign now”.
We’ll have some more on this.
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The good people at About the House have the day’s Reps’ events all mapped out for you.
Good morning Twitter. Today’s sitting will begin with Private Members’ Business. This morning, @helenhainesindi will introduce bills on a Federal Integrity Commission and Parliamentary Standards. pic.twitter.com/AZDJ12Td7p
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) October 25, 2020
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Not sure where they would have gone, while in lockdown, so perhaps they just don’t want Tim in their bubble?
(The Melbourne MP Tim Smith is again calling a Sydney radio station to make his point, where he might reach “fans” but not voters.)
Victorian Liberal MP @TimSmithMP - "Melbourne is a hellhole. So many of my friends have left or are wanting to leave. Daniel Andrews has wrecked the joint". #auspol #SpringSt
— Ben Fordham Live (@BenFordhamLive) October 25, 2020
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Meanwhile, another of 2020’s crossover events is continuing along nicely:
Kevin has done well to get this petition going. I doubt it will result in a Royal Commission and Murdoch’s print monopoly (since 1987) is only part of the problem. But I have signed it and encourage others to do so. https://t.co/TbY7vW3MSu pic.twitter.com/oyykAMWq5q
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) October 24, 2020
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Anthony Albanese also called into Sydney radio 2GB this morning.
He was asked about the Kevin Rudd-led push for a royal commission into the Murdoch-owned media. He said a lot of words, without really saying whether or not he supported it:
I just think that yes, there is some element of unfairness in some media coverage, as Labor leader, I cop that all the time. When it happens, I think you call it out.
The Eden-Monaro byelection was an example of that whereby, if you picked up your Sunday papers, you would have thought that the Liberal party won instead of losing that byelection at a time when they should have been favourites, when all the conditions were going their way with the retirement of a long-serving, loved member in Mike Kelly.
It is a bit like picking up the paper this morning and hearing of a Penrith victory, it just wasn’t the case.
But you just get on with life, basically, and deal with it. I’m just not sure how a petition would advance.
The government is unlikely to respond and say, “We’re going to have a royal commission into News Limited,” because they get a petition.
So, I think that is quite right and within his rights. Kevin Rudd, certainly in 2013, copped a very hard time from the media, the tabloids in particular had front pages day after day that were hostile to Labor.
I remember, I was the deputy prime minister at the time, but I’m not sure that the petition will achieve its objective.
But we’re in a democracy. So, it’s a good thing that people talk about these issues.
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Jim Chalmers went on the front foot this morning.
Here is some of what he had to say at doors:
We’ll see all these words today from [Josh] Frydenberg in particular, but also the prime minister, getting all hot and bothered about the state government in Victoria which is having to make some really difficult decisions.
We’d rather see from the government here in Canberra, an effort to stand with and to get behind Victorians and not just climb all over themselves to bag the state government, to try and distract from the federal government’s own failures. Obviously, we don’t want to see Victoria locked down for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
Obviously, we want to see the health advice followed so that we don’t have subsequent outbreaks which would be devastating for the state economy of Victoria but also for the national economy. We need to recognise that.
The prime minister says that the announcement yesterday from premier Andrews was profoundly disappointing. Let me tell him what’s profoundly disappointing. It’s profoundly disappointing that jobs were lost in every state and territory on the last available figures, in the same fortnight that the prime minister and the treasurer withdrew jobkeeper support from the economy.
It’s profoundly disappointing to see hundreds of deaths in aged care, some of them preventable if the federal government took responsibility and had a plan.
It’s profoundly disappointing to see the prime minister point the finger and shift the blame to distract from his own failures to uphold basic standards of ministerial accountability and ministerial standards.
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This is also excellent news – so far all the tests completed on those potentially linked to the northern Melbourne cluster have come back negative.
From DHHS:
Nearly 15,000 tests since last Tuesday (October 20) are providing the best possible insight into the movement of coronavirus in the northern metropolitan suburbs.
Victoria’s commander of testing and community engagement Jeroen Weimar said in addition there were no new cases linked to the northern metropolitan outbreak.
“This is one of the best outcomes we could hope to see, but the only reason we’re able to see it is because such a large number of people across the northern suburbs have taken the time since this outbreak was first identified to get tested,” Mr Weimar said.
“We have results for the 2,100 people who got tested yesterday and there are hundreds more samples going through the labs over the course of the day. Their commitment is a massive contribution to identifying what we hope are the very few remaining cases of Covid-19 in Melbourne.
“Testing continued into the evening last night and we expect to see those results come through today. Testing in these five communities will continue to be a focus.”
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Anthony Albanese’s team had this ready to go.
Congratulations, Victoria.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 25, 2020
This is a huge milestone – and it belongs to you. pic.twitter.com/s5uCAXVFAH
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The Sydney radio 2GB host Ben Fordham thanked Greg Hunt “so much” for “all you have done for us” at the end of their interview this morning, to which Hunt replied:
You know, all thanks is due to the public and to our health workers. And we’re getting there, we’ll continue to get there.
But today is a day when we respectfully but categorically call on the Victorian premier to fulfil his side of the bargain and to allow Victorians to begin to regain their lives and to take the New South Wales approach.
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The metro Melbourne rolling 14-day average has dropped to 3.6 cases a day, with the latest data.
In regional Victoria, that number is 0.2.
That brings the state’s rolling average to 3.8.
Updated
Victoria records ZERO cases and no lives lost
Meanwhile, this is excellent news.
Yesterday there were no new cases and no lost lives reported. Cases with unknown source are down, as is the 14 day rolling average in Melb, this remains stable in regional Vic. There is more info here: https://t.co/eTputEZdhs#COVIDVicData pic.twitter.com/CcLKzwPQHk
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 25, 2020
The issue has always been the incubation period though – the latest cases may have caused infections which we won’t see for another week or so. Hence, the caution. But still, today’s figures are worth celebrating. Well done, again, Victoria.
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The federal health minister Greg Hunt was on Sydney radio 2GB this morning, where he was speaking on the Melbourne restrictions:
So two things. One, Victoria had very clear targets. The commonwealth definition of a coronavirus hotspot for the chief medical officer of Australia is a rolling average of 10 cases.
We are well below that. The Victorian definition was a 14-day rolling average of less than five cases. They met that, they passed it. And yet, for whatever reason, there was a decision to defer again.
And the only reason we can identify is that they don’t have confidence in their own contact tracing system. And if that’s the case, then the premier needs to be absolutely clear. But that’s not the case, then there can be no cause for further delay today.
The last time Hunt spoke about what Victoria should do, Daniel Andrews came out (verbally) swinging. Today is not going to be any different, I feel.
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Yup. Everyone is having a totally normal one.
"Hey Dan, how about we just have the Melbourne Cup as well? Like give up on that one as well." 🏇
— Jamie Travers (@JamieTravers) October 25, 2020
Colourful language on Victoria from former DPM @Barnaby_Joyce
"There's no point mate. You couldn't run a chook raffle in a pub. Find another job." 🍗 #auspol pic.twitter.com/MfwlMgwStP
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Meanwhile, Helen Haines is continuing the crossbench push for a national integrity commission.
As Daniel Hurst reports:
The Morrison government is expected to come under pressure over its delay in progressing a national anti-corruption commission this week, with an independent MP introducing her own bill and Labor likely to intensify its question time attack.
Declaring the government’s pandemic-related excuse “does not cut the mustard at all”, the prominent independent MP Helen Haines told Guardian Australia: “There’s nothing so delicious as a scandal and boy, we’ve had a feast, haven’t we?”
Haines, the member for the Victorian seat of Indi, will introduce her bill to parliament on Monday morning and is urging the government to allocate time for debate in the near future.
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Expect this story to get a bit of attention this morning.
First broken by Jennifer Bechwati at the Seven network, it has led to strong words from Dfat.
🚨UPDATE: Hamad International Airport now say the abandoned premature baby survived and confirm it asked the Australian women to “assist in the query”
— Jennifer Bechwati (@jenbechwati) October 25, 2020
DFAT says the treatment of the women was “offensive and grossly inappropriate” #7NEWS #auspol https://t.co/c8eJ12tfel
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The federal battle over the Victorian situation is continuing this morning in Canberra.
"It's very disappointing that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg seem more intent on bagging the state government of Victoria than recognising the good that Victoria and Victorians in getting on top of this second outbreak."
— Jamie Travers (@JamieTravers) October 25, 2020
Shadow Trreasurer @JEChalmers #auspol pic.twitter.com/1qjOfwFP8j
There is some hope that restrictions in Melbourne could be eased midweek – but it will all depend on how the latest is handled.
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Just on the Queensland election, Ben Smee has written up a piece on some of the seats to watch.
The three Townsville seats, plus Cook and Keppell, are looking very shaky for Labor to hold, as does Aspley, South Brisbane and McConnel. If they all fall, there goes Labor’s majority in the parliament.
The only prediction worth paying attention to in any Queensland election is that it is unpredictable.
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Good morning
Welcome to the ninth-last week of the year.
It starts, as so many have lately, in Victoria, where Melbourne remains under restrictions. Daniel Andrews had said as recently as Friday that there was cause for optimism but, with a new cluster of cases in the city’s northern suburbs, a very cautious approach is being taken to any reopening.
The family whose child went to school while infectious have spoken to the Age and said they were cleared by Victoria DHHS to leave isolation, and there were no specific instructions for any of the family members to remain in isolation. There will be more questions on that.
In parliament, the House of Representatives will sit and estimates continues – it is Treasury’s time under the spotlight, so expect more questions on the Asic expenses controversy after Friday’s shock revelations that led to James Shipton standing aside, pending an investigation.
It is also Health’s time – not only will there be Covid updates but also some questions on the Covidsafe app, which was meant to be like “sunscreen” but hasn’t lived up to the hype (what a surprise).
Elsewhere, the Queensland election has entered its final week of campaigning, with Labor facing serious losses in the north and far north – the election is anyone’s at this stage. Queensland is always hard to pick, being three distinct electorates in one, and the only safe prediction is to be prepared for any outcome.
We’ll bring you all the day’s events as they happen. You have Amy Remeikis on the blog and the rest of the Guardian brains trust at your disposal. It’s going to be a four-coffee day. I can feel it. Winter has made a last gasp here in a dreary Canberra, so hot cups of something won’t be far away.
Ready?
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