Good morning. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews “assumes the worst” over latest Covid-19 positive infection, Perth’s north-eastern edge remains on high bushfire alert, and all the fallout from the parliament corridor confrontation between Craig Kelly and Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek. That, and more, for your Thursday.
Mandatory Covid-19 mask rules have been reintroduced in Victoria after a 26-year-old worker at an Australian Open quarantine hotel tested positive to coronavirus. It has not yet been confirmed if the man has contracted the highly infectious UK strain of the virus, but the premier isn’t taking any chances, tightening restrictions to levels in place at the start of January. The move has created scheduling chaos in the lead-up to the Australian Open, but Daniel Andrews maintained the event would still go ahead. Meanwhile, in contrast to the US or UK, a respected social survey has found Australia’s response to Covid-19 has been marked by resilience and optimism, although Australians under 24 have responded less optimistically, with the research also suggesting the cohort is the worst-affected by the pandemic.
The federal opposition has urged Facebook to monitor Liberal MP Craig Kelly over “outlandish claims regarding Covid-19”, including accusing chief medical officers of “crimes against humanity”, in social media posts. Labor wrote to the social media giant on the day Scott Morrison finally distanced himself from the outspoken backbencher after Kelly clashed with Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek in front of television cameras. Morrison told parliament that Kelly’s advocacy of unproven Covid therapies did not “align with my views, or the views and the advice that has been provided to me by the chief medical officer”. The member for Hughes still has some supporters in the Coalition government, with fellow conservatives George Christensen and Matt Canavan declaring he should not be silenced.
The bushfire-ravaged region of the Blue Mountains has not received a cent from NSW’s $177m economic recovery plan, with the member for the safe Labor region, Trish Doyle, accusing the state government of distributing funding on “pure politics, not on the basis of need”. Twenty-four projects worth a collective $5.45m were all rejected by the Coalition government, with mayor Mark Greenhill fuming: “How on earth did we not get one project up out of that prospectus?” An estimated 80% of the region’s world heritage area bushlands were damaged in last summer’s fires, but a spokesperson for the minister responsible for the program – deputy premier, John Barilaro – accused the Greens and Labor of “politicising the projects”.
Australia
A New Zealand doctor working in emergency in Melbourne has called Australia’s visa policies “madness”, after being advised he and his partner must leave the country during the global pandemic to meet visa requirements.
Industry Super Australia has launched a social media blitz in support of an increased rate of superannuation, warning older Australians “you might have to sell your family home to fund your retirement” if a Liberal backbencher revolt over the issue were to be successful.
Single-use Covid-19 masks could be used as a road-building material, university researchers have suggested, in a bid to reduce the amount of landfill generated during the pandemic. According to the study, 93 tonnes of mask waste could help construct 1km of two-lane road.
As the Perth hills blaze continues to burn out of control, a father-and-son team recall their extraordinary battle to save their home. Steve and Danny Curtis had a pact to flee if the flames grew taller than the treetops. But Steve couldn’t go through with it.
The world
The former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has been tasked with forming a new Italian government, after the collapse of the ruling coalition led by Giuseppe Conte. The man dubbed “super Mario” said he was confident “unity will emerge” as the nation looked to set aside its recent political turmoil.
Civil disobedience continues in Myanmar, with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi facing a two-year prison sentence for the “illegal” possession of walkie-talkies. Health workers in 70 hospitals across the nation have conducted acts of organised defiance.
A British academic has detailed his remarkable flight from an Iranian prison, involving smuggling himself over the nation’s notoriously treacherous mountains in a daring escape.
Canada has named the far-right Proud Boys group a terrorist organisation, alongside al-Qaida and Isis, amid growing concerns over the spread of white supremacist groups in the country.
Recommended reads
It seems counterintuitive that amid weak ongoing economic indicators Australian house prices appear set to boom, once again. But if there’s one policy on which Labor and Liberal governments can find bipartisan support, it’s in looking after home owners, Greg Jericho argues. “Overall housing finance in December was 31% above where it was 12 months earlier, and this suggests that house prices around the country are set to rise faster than they have any time in the past decade” – all thanks to policies like the homebuilder grant designed to prop up the sector.
Eschewing gritty high-octane crime fighting, when “girl next door” Maggie Doyle flirted with fellow police officer PJ Hasham, an Australian classic was born. Blue Heelers, Nathan Jolly writes, was “high on human drama and sudsy, as soaps should be”. It found success in the vein of A Country Practice, or Home and Away, as a warm-hearted Aussie show, set in a tight-knit community. And while some of the sexual politics has dated, the quiet dignity of this police procedural hasn’t faded.
Of all the obsessions to develop during Melbourne’s 2020 lockdowns, Josh Taylor never imagined his would be with “closing my rings”. But the nag factor of his Apple Watch Fitness+ app proved just the ticket, even if there was a “very Apple” hint of cultishness to it all. “Watching videos on YouTube made it easy to give up halfway through, when a trainer proposes a ridiculously complex move that is not designed for a tall person in a small apartment.”
Real life can produce some of the funniest moments in life. But for everyone else, there’s the internet. And from Steve Smith’s most humiliating moment (spoiler: it’s not Sandpaper Gate) to the internet legend that is Guy Goma, Sam Taunton compiles his 10 funniest things on the internet.
Listen
Australian politics and “dark money”. This week the annual data on federal political donations was released, but due to Australia’s lax donation laws, millions of dollars cannot be connected. On this episode of Full Story, Christopher Knaus and Laura Murphy-Oates unpack the flaws in the donation declaration system.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Over 60 warm-up matches ahead of the Australian Open have been cancelled, due to a coronavirus-positive infection for a worker at one of the tournament’s quarantine hotels. Over 600 players, officials and staff will now isolate until they return a negative test.
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has ruled out using a 48-inch driver, as golf contemplates introducing a 46-inch cap amid concerns that technology is boosting the distance players can strike the ball from the tee.
Media roundup
Firefighters say the blaze threatening the Perth Hills is at a “critical” stage, reports the ABC, with wind gusts of up to 70km/h buffeting the area. The fire has destroyed 71 houses and covers an area of more than 11,000 hectares. NSW public health officials have been accused by senior doctors of covering up avoidable deaths, claims the Sydney Morning Herald, including a man who died from an infected toenail after he was turned away four times. And Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has dismissed concerns over price bubbles, writes the Financial Review, despite soaring house prices and a bullish market.
Coming up
Daniel Andrews is expected to outline the next steps after the quarantine hotel guard tested positive on Wednesday.
And if you’ve read this far …
He’s a doll you don’t easily forget. The knife-wielding doll, Chucky, was made infamous in horror films such as Child’s Play, haunting audiences since 1988. But in what public safety officials in Texas are claiming was “a test malfunction”, a missing person’s description of Chucky was sent to recipients across the state: via a mobile phone alert. Three times.
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