Coronavirus Australia live news: Scott Morrison defends wage scheme on ‘devastating’ day as jobless rate hits 6.2pc
Scott Morrison has backed the scope of the JobKeeper program, Labor questioning if 600,000 people were missing out as the jobless rate hits 6.2pc.
- PM defends scope of wage scheme
- PM: ‘A tough day for Australia’
- Morrison won’t shift on China
- New home sales lowest on record
- Dutton lashes Qld over ‘dangerous’ Virgin bid
- UN: Economy will shrink by 3.2 pc
- Researchers warned over Chinese hackers
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Scott Morrison has backed the scope of the JobKeeper scheme, Labor questioning if 600,000 people were missing out. Earlier, the Prime Minister said a spike in unemployment, and the loss of almost 600,000 jobs was ‘a tough day for Australia’. The jobless rate rose to 6.2pc in April — the highest since July 2015 — from 5.2pc in March. Economists had tipped a figure of 8.2pc.
AFP 8.50pm France announces $30bn tourism rescue plan
France announced an €18bn ($30bn) rescue plan for its tourism sector, one of the world’s largest, to weather the coronavirus crisis, including €1.3bn in direct public investment.
“Whatever strikes tourism obviously strikes at the heart of France,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said as he announced the measures on Thursday night, underscoring that 95 per cent of hotels in the country are closed.
READ MORE: Pandemic triggers global food crisis
Agencies 7.25pm Japan lifts state of emergency in most regions
Japan has lifted a state of emergency for most of the country, but kept it in place for Tokyo and Osaka.
“Today we decided to lift the state of emergency in 39 (out of 47) prefectures,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a nationally televised news conference on Thursday night.
Mr Abe declared the state of emergency on April 7 for Tokyo and six other urban prefectures and expanded it to the whole country until May 31.
Japan now has more than 16,000 confirmed cases, with about 680 deaths.
READ MORE: You can’t argue with a COVID conspiracist
AFP 6.55pm Vaccine in a year: EU Medicines Agency
A vaccine for the coronavirus could be ready in a year under an “optimistic” scenario, based on data from trials that are underway, the European Medicines Agency said on Thursday.
“We can see the possibility if everything goes as planned that some of them (vaccines) could be ready for approval in a year from now,” Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy, told a video news conference.
“These are just forecasts based on what we are seeing. But again I have to stress that this is a best-case scenario, we know not all vaccines that come into development may not make it to authorisation and disappear. We know also that there may be delays.”
The agency was “a bit sceptical” about reports that a vaccine could be ready as soon as September.
But the Amsterdam-based EU agency played down fears expressed by the World Health Organisation that the virus “may never go away”.
“We have good reason to be sufficiently optimistic that some vaccines will make it,” Mr Cavaleri said.“I would be surprised that if at the end of the day we don’t have any vaccine for COVID-19.”
READ MORE: NRL star Bryce Cartwright allowed to play without flu shot
Richard Ferguson 3.38pm: Morrison defends scope of wage scheme
Scott Morrison has defended the current scope of his $130bn JobKeeper wage scheme after Labor used parliament to question if the nearly 600,000 now unemployed were missing out.
Anthony Albanese and Labor MPs repeatedly asked in question time why a wide range of casuals, gig workers and workers for foreign companies were not eligible for JobKeeper when student casuals are now receiving subsidies higher than their pre-pandemic wages.
The Prime Minister told parliament people now in unemployment who are ineligible for JobKeeper can access the JobSeeker welfare payment of $1100 a fortnight.
“These programs are designed to keep people in jobs,” Mr Morrison said.
“And where those programs are not able to be made available to all those throughout the economy, in addition to the six million who are already supported, then the JobSeeker program is there to support them.
“These two programs work together to provide the economic lifeline Australians need.”
READ MORE: Political battle lines drawn over JobKeeper
Richard Ferguson 3.21pm: Pre-budget sitting weeks added to calendar
Parliament is set to resume to a pre-pandemic normal as the Morrison government added more sitting weeks in Canberra on Thursday.
After originally planning a long break until the October Federal Budget, Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have agreed on six additional sitting weeks from now till the budget.
See the entire sitting calendar here
The parliament will sit two weeks in June (10/6 to 12/6 and 15/6 to 18/6), three weeks in August, and one in September.
After the budget week on October 6, there will be two further weeks in October, one week in November and a final fortnight in December.
READ MORE: Virus debt hard to swallow for Frydenberg
Richard Ferguson 2.59pm: Taylor office cleared, matter closed
Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler asks Energy Minister Angus Taylor why he refused an interview with NSW Police when his office was being investigated for allegedly falsifying documents relating to Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
The Minister and his office were cleared by that investigation.
Mr Taylor denies he refused any interview and says the matter has been closed by police.
“I didn’t refuse an interview with the New South Wales Police, and as the New South Wales Police have said in their responses to questions on notice in the New South Wales Parliament, we replied, answered questions and provided documentation,” he said.
“Now, Mr Speaker, I remind those opposite that they made this political police referral last year and, since then, the New South Wales Police have considered and closed this matter.
“The AFP have considered and closed this matter. And the Commissioner, no less, has said the matter is finalised, full stop. Full stop. So I’m getting on with protecting lives and livelihoods as should those opposite.”
When later asked if he stands by statements that the documents on Ms Moore were downloaded from the City of Sydney website, Mr Taylor says he does stand by those claims.
READ MORE: Why toll has declined during lockdown
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2.45pm: No new Covid-19 cases reported in SA
South Australia has recorded no new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, meaning the state has gone more than a week without the case tally increasing beyond 439.
There is just one active case in the state and one person who has recovered from coronavirus is being treated in the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Premier Steven Marshall announced that a $60 million upgrade to the Repatriation General Hospital would begin in July in a bid to stimulate the state’s economy.
Unemployment statistics released on Thursday revealed that South Australia has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 7.2 per cent, meaning that 40,000 jobs in the state have been lost.
READ MORE: Red-faced retraction over inquiry chief’s pay
Richard Ferguson 2.40pm: Another question on JobKeeper program
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke asks Josh Fryenberg why student casuals are earning more from JobKeeper than ineligible arts workers.
The Treasurer says there is a range of government support for the arts sector and the JobSeeker welfare payment is also available.
“In terms of who (JobKeeper) covers, it was very clear - it would cover full-time workers, it would cover part-time workers, it would cover long-term casuals based on the understanding in the Fair Work Act, as well sole traders and the not-for-profit sector,” Mr Frydenberg says.
“When it comes to the arts sector we’ve announced a couple of initiatives to support that particular sector at this point in time.
“But I would like the House to acknowledge that some six million workers, employees, are covered by the payments based on the 860,000 businesses that have enrolled.
“If you add to that the 1.6 million Australians who are covered by the JobSeeker payment, that’s more than half the workforce. Six million plus 1.6 million - 7.6 million - when you consider that the Australian labour force is today 13.2 million people.”
READ MORE: Cruise ship death takes toll to 22
Rosie Lewis 2.35pm: Labor demands answers on $50m Rex handout
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Michael McCormack is asked by his Labor counterpart Catherine King why regional airline Rex, which employs around 1000 workers, received more than $50m in federal government grants but there was no equivalent for Virgin, which employs almost 10,000 workers.
Mr McCormack concedes Rex has benefited from government assistance but declared Virgin and Qantas were also being supported.
Rosie Lewis 2.25pm: Steggall queries Covid commission transparency
Independent MP Zali Steggall raises concerns about the transparency of the national COVID-19 coordination commission, announced by Scott Morrison during the pandemic.
She points out its membership was not subject to public consultation, there was no transparency about its governance and processes and questions about “apparent conflicts of interests” had arisen regarding some of the members and manufacturing and industrial advice they received.
Scott Morrison says the commission is being scrutinised by a parliamentary committee, insisting there was “normal transparency”. The Prime Minister says the House should be proud of their service.
READ MORE: Uni staff pay cuts to save jobs
Rosie Lewis 2.20pm: Labor attacks Treasurer, PM over $130bn JobKeeper
Labor is really trying to have a go at the government over the JobKeeper program. Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers asks Josh Frydenberg: How much shorter would unemployment queues be today if the government had implemented the JobKeeper wage subsidy earlier and included more groups including casuals?
The Treasurer says the $130bn program is “the most generous and most significant wage subsidy program in the history of this country”.
Treasury has forecast that unemployment is expected to reach around 10 per cent, Mr Frydenberg says. But for the JobKeeper program, it would have been 15 per cent. “So the JobKeeper program and the financial commitments from this government have helped save lives and save livelihoods,” Mr Frydenberg adds.
READ MORE: Josh mad to ignore Keating’s playbook
Richard Ferguson 2.10pm: Dual programs providing ‘economic lifeline’
Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison how many of the more than 600,000 people who lost their jobs in April were not eligible for JobKeeper.
The Prime Minister says people who are not eligible for JobKeeper can access the JobSeeker welfare payment of $1100 a fortnight.
“These programs are designed to keep people in jobs,” Mr Morrison says. “And where those programs are not able to be made available to all those throughout the economy, in addition to the six million who are already supported, then the JobSeeker program is there to support them.
“These two programs work together to provide the economic lifeline Australians need.”
READ MORE: Battlelines drawn over JobKeeper
Richard Ferguson 2.05pm: Labor ‘politicising’ Covid-19 pandemic
Anthony Albanese opens question time by accusing Scott Morrison of boosting the unemployment numbers by excluding some workers from the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme.
The Prime Minister says the Opposition Leader’s claims are not true and accuses him to politicising the pandemic.
“When the Labor Party says they’re engaging in a bipartisan effort, it doesn’t take long, Mr Speaker, for the white-anting to begin,” Mr Morrison says.
“This was a day that this Government anticipated and moved quickly and acted to ensure that both the JobKeeper and the JobSeeker programs were in place. So that then, the blow would be cushioned as a result of the decisions that we took as a government.
“We will be there for Australians. Because the Government knows how to manage money and ensure that those who are in deep need at the moment, Mr Speaker, are in a position to receive that support.”
READ MORE: ‘You can’t argue with a covid conspiracist’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2pm: New move takes pressure off welfare recipients
Federal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has announced that mutual obligation - or the duty for welfare recipients to look for work or undertake training to receive benefits - will remain suspended until June 1.
Mutual obligation, suspended at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, was due to resume on May 22.
Senator Cash said mutual obligation would be phased back in and there would be no penalty for inaction in phase one.
“This should give people confidence that they can pick up the phone, talk to their provider, but if they do not get around to doing that, or there are reasons they are unable to do that, no suspension or penalty will apply.
“We want to see those people go back to work, and that is the job that the government now has in front of it.”
READ MORE: Road toll plummets amid outbreak
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.50pm: ACT continues to register no new cases
The ACT remains coronavirus free, detecting no further cases of coronavirus out of 429 tests conducted on Wednesday.
More than 12,000 tests have been conducted in the territory, with 107 cases confirmed in total. 104 people have recovered and three have died.
ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman encouraged Canberreans to continue presenting themselves for testing.
READ MORE: Challenges demand vigilance
Paul Garvey 1.40pm: AFL clears major hurdle in bid for league return
EXCLUSIVE
The Perth-based AFL clubs have been granted permission to resume full-contact training from Monday week, clearing a key hurdle in the resumption of the football season.
Western Australian police commissioner Chris Dawson wrote to the AFL and the chief executives of the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers late on Wednesday, informing them that they would be permitted to resume full-contact training from May 25.
The clubs have also been cleared to resume training in their gymnasiums from May 18.
But the police commissioner also warned the clubs that it was “almost certain” that WA’s tough border restrictions - which limit non-essential travel into the state and which require anyone entering WA to be quarantined for two weeks - would remain in place for “several months”.
The AFL has indicated that the season is likely to resume around three weeks after all teams are permitted to resume full training. The permission granted to the WA clubs would suggest a restart on the weekend of the 19th and 20th of June, with the Dockers and Eagles expected to play each other in a Western Derby.
WA’s border restrictions and training limitations have proved to be two of the bigger headaches facing the AFL in its plans to resume the season, which was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak after the first round of fixtures.
Both Perth clubs are now considered likely to be based on the east coast for the early weeks or months of the new season.
Teams returning to or visiting Western Australia would be required to spend two weeks in quarantine under WA’s current border rules, although Mr Dawson also confirmed that any club in quarantine would be permitted to carry out full-contact training together while they spend their fortnight in isolation.
WA premier Mark McGowan has been steadfast in his position that AFL clubs will not be granted full exemptions to the current border rules.
The government was a keen supporter of an earlier AFL proposal to base several clubs in a Perth “hub”, but the AFL has since backed away from the plan given the potential financial cost and the country’s success in reducing the number of coronavirus cases.
READ MORE: State over footy in AFL ruling
Graham Lloyd 1.25pm: NZ budget attacked as ‘slush fund’
The New Zealand government has unveiled a $50 billion fund to tackle the Covid19 pandemic taking total emergency funding to $62.1 billion.
Only $15.9 billion of the new fund has been allocated in today’s pre-election budget which has been focused on jobs.
Treasurer Grant Robertson denied the additional funds represented an election year “slush fund”.
He said the balance of the $50 billion fund would be spent over the four year budget horizon “as necessary and as need arises.”
“It will be a roving maul of initiatives”, he said.
A wage subsidy scheme has been extended for a further eight weeks at a cost of $3.2b.
Infrastructure spending of $3b will include investment in 8000 new public homes.
A further $1.6b has been allocated to trades and apprenticeship training and a new $1.1 billion environment package unveiled to fund jobs working on practical projects to restore waterways and improve environmental health.
Mr Robertson said the budget was “the most significant commitment by a NZ government in the nation’s history”.
But he said it was an appropriate response for the COVID19 pandemic.
READ MORE: Second-wave fear as nations reopen
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.30pm: WA students ordered back to school
Western Australia will require all children to return to school from next week as the state implements its four-phase plan for a return to normalcy.
Parents in the state previously could keep their children at home and implement distance learning if they so choose, but with WA recording just one additional case on Thursday, Premier Mark McGowan said it is safe for all children to return to schools from Monday.
“It’s time for all West Australian students to go back to school and go back to the classroom,” Premier Mark McGowan said on Thursday.
The direction applies to children at public, independant and Catholic schools.
Most children in the state have already returned to school, with attendance hitting 84.5 per cent on Tuesday and 85.6 per cent on Wednesday.
Children who have chronic health conditions or have family members that do can be granted an exemption to continue learning from home.
The additional coronavirus case was a woman in her 30s from Perth who is the confirmed contact of another case. There are 554 cases in the state, but only 7 remain active.
READ MORE: Labor split on union’s China stance
Courtney Walsh 1.15pm: No repercussions for AFL players who reject hub
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said Power players who opted out of travelling to a hub to start the season would be treated with respect.
The AFL and various stakeholders including the clubs and players’ union are working through the latest setback to plans for a resumption of the AFL season.
South Australia’s strict stance in relation to quarantine effectively means that the Power and Adelaide Crows will be forced interstate, be it for training or for an initial hub to start the season.
While the decision has caused an issue for the AFL, the league had been modelling this scenario prior to increased hope that charter flights might be able to be used to fly clubs in and out of the state.
Hinkley said Port Adelaide was on the record as saying the club would respect any player who opted out of a hub, which seems a prospect for those with families.
“Our players will certainly get choice in anything that happens in the season … they always have. We will certainly support that,” he said.
During a telephone conference with footballers last month, the AFLPA discussed the prospect of players being allowed to bring families with them into hubs.
Adelaide Crows captain Rory Sloane said he assumed this would still be the case.
West Coast captain Luke Shuey is another who believes that will boost the confidence of players from Western Australia and South Australia if they are forced to travel.
Hinkley, meanwhile, said his immediate focus was learning exactly when and what the Power will be able to do on the training track.
South Australia has banned contact in training until next month, which is another obstacle for the Crows and Power to overcome.
READ MORE: AFL’s June 11 dream fading fast
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.10pm: Qld Premier hits back in Virgin airline furore
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended her government’s decision to bid for struggling airline Virgin Australia, saying she “cannot understand” why Queenslanders would not want it to succeed, assuring thousands of jobs stay in the state.
It comes as Queensland recorded no further coronavirus cases overnight, meaning the total case tally remains at 1052, with 16 cases remaining active.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said the Queensland government would not aim to buy the entire airline, but was in the “best position” to be a partner in a bid, and that he would not be distracted by comments made by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton rubbishing the potential deal.
He also said the state government would ensure that all 5000 Virgin Australia employees were kept on in the event of a successful bid, and shareholders and bond-holders were the ones who would take a “haircut.”
National unemployment figures released today showed that 130,000 Queenslanders lost their jobs in April, pushing the state’s unemployment rate to 6.8 per cent - the second-highest in the country.
READ MORE: The most vexing COVID-19 question
Ewin Hannan 1pm: Labor loses bid to axe enterprise agreement change
The Senate has voted down an ALP bid to kill off a government regulation cutting the consultation period for enterprise agreement changes from seven to one day, after the Coalition agreed any changes would expire after 12 months.
The government’s decision to agree to the One Nation proposal to limit the changes to one year saw Pauline Hanson and Malcom Roberts side with the Coalition and narrowly defeat the disallowance motion by a 30-29 vote.
Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick co-sponsored the Labor disallowance motion which was also backed by Jacqui Lambie and the Greens.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said on Thursday that Senator Hanson agreed not to support Labor’s disallowance motion in return for the government supporting her 12-month proposal.
”This is a reasonable compromise which will ensure that any variations made to enterprise agreements using the shortened access period do not extend beyond 12 months,” he said.
“The government was aiming to ensure employers of people covered by enterprise agreements had the flexibility to rapidly respond to the extreme and urgent workplace challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This need remains necessary. As we start to see some businesses re-open and work towards resuming normal operations, there may be a need to adapt workplaces to ensure social distancing measures to protect employees and customers.
“Some businesses may need to divide their workforce into teams that rotate between working from home and in the office or have a longer span of regular hours in which staff can work.”
He said nine applications which had an access period of less than seven days had been lodged for approval to the Fair Work Commission. While there was no evidence of misuse of the new process, some crossbench Senators raised concerns that changes could extend well beyond the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
READ MORE: China’s actions not that of a friend
Olivia Caisley 12.45pm: Australia being punished for ‘deputy sheriff’ role
The Australian’s Rosie Lewis has asked Scott Morrison to comment on Labor MP Andrew Leigh’s suggestion that Canberra was being punished by Beijing for acting as America’s regional “deputy sheriff’ in pushing for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
It comes as China targeted Australian barley with an 80 per cent tariff and banned beef imports from four Australian abattoirs amid the Prime Minister’s calls for an investigation.
But Mr Morrison brushed off the assertion, declaring Australia has always been proudly independent.
“We’ve always been independent, we have always pursued our national interest and we always will,” the Prime Minister said.
“We will always stand our ground on the values we believe in and the values that we uphold,” he said. “We will always reach out to the rest of the world and seek to deal with them fairly and honestly and openly. And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now.”
READ MORE: Thumbs up for PM, down for US and China
Richard Ferguson 12.35pm: Labor leader refuses to back union call
Anthony Albanese has refused to back the Australian Workers Union’s calls for Australia to stand up to Chinese trade aggression.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon following China’s suspension of meat exporters and threats to slap tariffs on barley producers, AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said: “Australia should resist any attempts to be bullied.”
Mr Albanese said on Wednesday there was “nothing new” in Mr Walton and the AWU’s stance against China.
“That letter could have been written by any AWU secretary since 1891,” he said.
“I haven’t read all the comments to be frank ... there is nothing new about AWU secretaries standing up for jobs in Australia.”
Mr Albanese’s brushing off of the AWU letter came hours after his opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said Mr Walton’s comments were “absolutely right.”
READ MORE: Union backs Morrison on China
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.25pm: Albanese calls for response, not ‘Seinfeld speech’
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has called April’s employment figures “devastating” and has renewed calls for the government to develop a comprehensive economic plan to guide Australia out of the coronavirus pandemic.
The figures released by ABS just moments ago revealed that more than 100,000 Australians lost their jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.2 per cent.
“That is a devastating figure,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Thursday. “The government needs to respond to this. We thought this week ... that we would see a response from Josh Frydenberg of subsequent stance.
“What we got was a speech out of Seinfeld. A speech about nothing...A few press releases collated and a speech which will only be remembered for Josh Frydenberg’s coughing fit.
“In contrast, Labor is looking towards the recovery and looking to how it needs to happen. We are putting forward practical suggestions about JobKeeper and JobSeeker.”
David Rogers 12.20pm: Aussie dollar sinks on economic data
The Australian dollar dived 0.5pc to a 5-day low of 0.6421 after the April jobs data, making it the worst-performing G10 currency today.
While the unemployment rate was much lower than expected, it masked a sharp fall in employment that’s expected to worsen in coming months.
The April’s 6.2pc unemployment rate “doesn’t do justice to the economic destruction”, says Indeed economist Callum Pickering.
And the fact that employment fell by 594,300 but unemployment jumped by only 104,300 people “obviously doesn’t pass the pub test”.
“Due to methodology, which doesn’t always sit well with reality, 489,800 people simply left the Australian labour force in April,” he says.
“Had the size of the labour force held steady, with everyone losing employment shifting to unemployment, then the unemployment rate would have spiked to 9.6 per cent.”
He notes that Australia’s underutilisation rate jumped to 19.9pc, with the unemployment rate rising to 13.7pc, while hours worked fell by 9.2pc.
“That does a better job, than the unemployment rate, of measuring the economic impact of COVID-19,” Mr Pickering says.
Olivia Caisley 12.15pm: 1.6 million receiving JobKeeper payments
The Treasurer confirms that 1.6 million Australians are now on JobSeeker, while 6 million people are on JobKeeper.
Mr Frydenberg repeats that the wage subsidy packages, which are designed to end in September, are demand driven programs.
“When you’re running a program that is asking of taxpayers, more than $20 billion dollars a month, that’s a big load but Australians are carrying it and they’re carrying their fellow Australians,” Mr Frydenberg says.
“So we will continue to run the program, as we’ve set it out to provide that support on a demand driven basis.”
READ MORE: New home sales lowest on record
Olivia Caisley 12.10pm: Treasurer echoes PM on jobless figures
Scott Morrison is joined by Treasurer Josh Frydenber, who echoes the Prime Minister’s in acknowledging it’s a “tough day” for Australia.
“This is a very tough day, and these unemployment numbers and to hear as the Prime Minister said some 600,000 fewer Australians and the job is heartbreaking,” Mr Frydenberg says. “These are families. These are friends. These are neighbors. These are workmates.”
Mr Frydenberg says Australian have confronted the global pandemic and associated economic shock from a position of economic strength.
“When growth was rising unemployment was falling, the budget was in balance for the first time in 11 years.”
Mr Frydenberg says the economic numbers will get worse before they get better, but says Australians know “the government has their back.”
Olivia Caisley 12.05pm: $130bn JobKeeper plan designed ‘for this day’
Scott Morrison has said his government’s $130bn wages subsidy package, including the Jobkeeper and Jobseeker payments, were “put in place in anticipation of this day” because he knew it would come and more would follow”.
The Prime Minister says a “key component” of the plan is to get the economy moving again.
Olivia Caisley 12.02pm: Morrison: A tough day for Australia
Scott Morrison has kicked off a press conference in Canberra, declaring the spike in unemployment “a tough day for Australia” amid the release of new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest labour force data shows the pandemic has left around 2.7 million Australians, or one in five workers, either without work or on reduced hours.
“A very tough day. Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday. “Every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities. A very tough day. Terribly shocking, although not totally unexpected.”
The more moderate than expected rise in unemployment in April, however, masked a 9.2 per cent plunge in hours worked, as 80 per cent of the near 600,000 drop in employed people were no longer counted in the workforce, ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
Patrick Commins 11.35am: ABS jobless data paints better picture than feared
The COVID-19 crisis has left around 2.7 million Australians, or one in five workers, either without work or on reduced hours.
The latest labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also showed the number of unemployed Australians jumped by 104,500 in April, pushing the jobless rate a percentage point higher from March to 6.2 per cent, the seasonally adjusted statistics show.
The official figures appeared to paint a better picture than feared of the hit to jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the forced shutdown of significant parts of the economy. Treasury forecasts have the jobless rate climbing to above 10 per cent in coming months, and the April labour figures had been expected to be horrendous.
The more moderate than expected rise in unemployment in April, however, masked a 9.2 per cent plunge in hours worked, as 80 per cent of the near 600,000 drop in employed people were no longer counted in the workforce, ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
“This means there was a high number of people without a job who didn’t or couldn’t actively look for work or weren’t available for work”, Mr Jarvis said.
The larger than usual number of those employed and unemployed leaving the labour force drove an “unprecedented” fall in the participation rate of 2.4 percentage points to 63.5 per cent, the ABS said.
The number of underemployed Australians – those who were working but said they would like more hours – surged by 603,300 people, pushing the underemployment rate up 4.9 percentage points to a record high of 13.7 per cent.
The labour force survey was conducted in the first two weeks of April, following the imposition of the strictest social distancing measures from the end of March.
The picture would surely have been worse were it not for the 5.7m workers covered by the government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy program, and who the ABS counts as employed regardless of whether they have been technically shut down.
With many not working but still employed, the Reserve Bank has identified the fall in the number of hours worked as a more accurate measure of labour market activity.
Additionally, some of those who have lost employment in recent weeks and moved to the expanded JobSeeker program may not be classified as unemployed as they are not required to look for work under the temporary suspension of mutual obligation rules.
READ MORE: ASX sheds 1pc on jobless hit
LACHLAN MOFFET GRAY 11.34am: PM, Treasurer to speak at 11.40am | WATCH LIVE
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg will provide an update on Australia’s coronavirus response at 11.40am AEST.
The address by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer can be viewed live and in full on The Australian’s coronavirus blog above.
LACHLAN MOFFET GRAY 11.30am: Italy records first link to Kawasaki disease
Italian doctors have recorded the first link between coronavirus and a mysterious inflammatory condition that has affected some children with COVID-19. In late April the National Health Service issued alerts to medics across the country about an unknown symptom that was affecting children with COVID-19.
The medical chiefs compared the condition to toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory disorder often seen in children that sees a high fever, dry skin and the inflammation of blood vessels and glands.
Between 75 and 100 children in the UK are being treated for the condition and a 14-year-old-boy died of it on Tuesday. Reports of the disease have also emerged from New York City.
Writing in medical journal Lancet on Wednesday, doctors from the Italian city of Bergamo said that the presentation of children with Kawasaki-like disease rose to 10 per month as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, compared to one every three months in the past five years.
Additionally, eight of ten children admitted for the condition — and not coronavirus — at the Pope Giovanni XXIII hospital between February and April contained coronavirus antibodies in their bloodstreams.
The study estimates that the condition impacts one in 1000 children infected with coronavirus.
“The Kawasaki-like disease described here remains a rare condition, probably affecting no more than one in 1000 children exposed to SARS-CoV-2,” the study reads.
READ MORE: Critically ill asymptomatic kids alarm doctors
RACHEL BAXENDALE 11.15am: Cases linked to Melbourne abattoir hits 90
The cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats has now reached 90, after three new cases were detected in workers in the past 24 hours.
The new cases come six weeks after the first case was diagnosed in a Cedar Meats worker on April 2, and almost three weeks after a second case was detected on April 24.
The news comes after Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told 3AW on Thursday said he and the Department of Health and Human Services could have done things differently to contain the Cedar Meats outbreak, which Andrews government Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has described as having been handled “absolutely perfectly”.
One new case in the Cedar Meats cluster has been reclassified, meaning today’s total has risen by two to 90, up from 88 yesterday, despite the three new cases today.
Of the 90 Cedar Meats cases, 64 have been diagnosed in staff members, and 26 in close contacts.
Victoria’s total number of cases has risen by nine on Thursday to 1523, including 119 active cases.
Three of the new cases were detected in return travellers in mandatory hotel quarantine, while one was found after a patient presented at hospital.
The remaining five were linked to outbreaks, including two at a McDonalds restaurant in the northern Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, and the three at Cedar Meats.
The total number of cases attributed to the McDonalds cluster had now reached eight, including four staff members and four of their household contacts.
Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll remains 18, with no deaths in recent days.
There are nine people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19, including six in intensive care.
There are 164 cases which have been acquired in Victoria with no known links to overseas travel or other cases, 24 of which remain under investigation.
More than 289,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Victoria.
READ MORE: The Sketch — Secrecy-obsessed bureaucrats are giving public scrutiny the elbow
BEN PACKHAM 11am: Pacific nations praise China for its ‘transparency’
Beijing claims Pacific countries have “commended China for its open, transparent and responsible” approach to dealing with coronavirus.
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang addressed counterparts from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati on Wednesday.
Despite the global battering of China’s reputation for its early cover-up of the virus, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Pacific leaders praised Beijing’s response to the pandemic.
“The Pacific Island Countries commended China for its open, transparent and responsible approach in adopting timely and robust response measures and sharing its containment experience,” the Ministry said.
“Both sides shared the view that the virus, which respects no borders, is a common enemy of humanity.”
It said Pacific leaders affirmed their commitment to closer cooperation in the post-coronavirus world, “so as to bring about greater progress in China-Pacific Island Countries relations”.
READ MORE: Simon Benson — Morrison is playing a long game with China
LACHLAN MOFFET GRAY 10.50am: Official admits: abattoir should have closed sooner
Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton has said the Cedar Meats abattoir, linked to a cluster outbreak of 90 cases of coronavirus, should have been closed sooner.
The Melbourne-based abattoir has seen 64 staff and 26 external contacts infected since coronavirus was detected at the facility on April 2.
“I think there’s always stuff to improve,” Dr Sutton told 3AW on Thursday. “I took a precautionary approach, I recommended that it shut and go to absolutely skeleton staffing five minutes after I heard about the third linked case.
“It’s pretty clear that it’s been an explosive outbreak. I think even two linked cases is probably enough to shut a place down.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have waited for a third case, maybe in these settings we should shut an entire place down.”
READ MORE: Victorian health chief ‘agnostic’ over Cedar Meats case
LACHLAN MOFFET GRAY 10.30am: Dutton: We won’t stop defending our values
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the Australian government “has done nothing more than stand up for our values” in pursuing an independent global inquiry into the origins of coronavirus in China and declared the government’s position on the matter will not change.
“As the government has pointed out, particularly to family members who have lost loved ones during the COVID pandemic (and) want answers and legitimately have questions to ask and they need to be answered in a transparent way,” he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“Australia’s done nothing more than stand up for our values and we will consistently do that. I think that’s very important.
“The Prime Minister, I think, has been resolute in standing up for Australians in relation to this matter. And that won’t change.”
However, Mr Dutton denied that the push for the independent inquiry was harming Australia’s relationship with China in relation to law enforcement.
“From my perspective, we have a very close working relationship, particularly in the law enforcement space,” he said. “We work closely with our Chinese counterparts. That will continue. It’s in China’s best interests and it’s in our best interests as well.
“I will let others comment in relation to other aspects of their portfolio responsibility.”
READ MORE: Union backs Morrison on China
Richard Ferguson 10.10am: New home sales lowest on record
Sales of new homes in Australia have fallen to their lowest levels on record, with the Housing Industry Association finding a 23 per cent drop since the coronavirus pandemic struck in February.
A survey of the 100 biggest home builders in the country have found that COVID-19 restrictions have pummelled the construction sector as consumers cancel sales at a rate four times higher than during the 2008 global financial crisis.
HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said the rate of COVID-related cancelled new home sales would lead to a more than 50 per cent fall in the volume of new builds in the foreseeable future.
“In March, new home sales fell to their lowest level on record and they fell further in April,” he said.
“In parallel, the number of cancellations of projects now exceeds 30 per cent - this is more than four times the typical rate of cancellations.
“During shocks such as the GFC or the 2018 credit squeeze, the cancellation rate peaked at 17 per cent.
“In net terms, this equates to a contraction of more than 50 per cent in the volume of new building work in the future and this will begin to be felt across onsite activity in the second half of 2020.”
The sobering economic data comes as the April jobs report is set to show the initial damage of the pandemic on employment.
READ MORE: ‘Open borders to interstate tourists’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.00am: Melbourne Macca’s cluster grows
A further two cases of coronavirus have been linked to a McDonald’s restaurant in Melbourne’s north, bringing the total number of cases linked to the cluster to eight.
McDonald’s Australia CFO Andrew Gregory told 3AW in Melbourne this morning that the two new cases are close contacts of previously confirmed cases among employees of the Fawkner restaurant.
100 employees who worked at the location during the risk period have been tested for COVID-19, but a number are still awaiting their results.
“It’s still possible, unfortunately, over the coming days … that we will get a small number of positives,” Mr Gregory said, adding that it was still “unclear” how the virus got into the restaurant.
The location was closed after a second worker tested positive but has since reopened and is being staffed by McDonald’s employees from other stores.
Victoria recorded a further nine cases of coronavirus overnight, bringing the state’s total to 1523.
Of the new cases, three of them were linked to the Cedar Meats abattoir, two to the McDonald’s in Fawkner, and three were in returning travellers.
The Cedar Meats cluster is now connected to 91 cases and the Fawkner McDonald’s to eight.
READ MORE: New cases in Macca’s cluster
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.50am: Dutton lashes Qld over ‘dangerous’ Virgin bid
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has intensified his criticism of the Queensland government’s decision to bid for struggling airline Virgin Australia, saying the decision is “dangerous” and if the bid was successful, the airline would be “back on the market in six months.”
“They can’t run a train system,” Mr Dutton told 2GB on Thursday.
On Wednesday Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said the state would make a bid to purchase the airline out of voluntary administration through the Queensland Investment Corporation, in an effort to keep the airline’s head office in the state and to keep a second national carrier operating at full capacity.
Mr Dutton on Wednesday criticised the bid - dubbed “Project Maroon” - on Twitter, saying the government is too indebted to launch such a bid.
Premier Palaszczuk has almost bankrupted Queensland, and now in the middle of a crisis they want to buy an airline. It is laughable. She “leads†a government which is corrupt and chaotic.
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) May 13, 2020
On Thursday Mr Dutton said the bid could be a “con” or a “political stunt” designed to drum up support for the Labor Palaszczuk government ahead of the state election in October, but if it wasn’t, it’s an even worse idea.
“If they are genuine - don’t forget the premier, every credit card they have is maxed out,” Mr Dutton said.
“And yet they are saying they want to spend billions, borrow more... to put into an airline during one of the most significant downturns in the world’s history.
“I mean, Richard Branson is not proposing to wade in like the Queensland government is doing
“I think Premier Palaszczuk needs to come out and say ‘this was a bad idea’ and drop it...it’s just fanciful.”
Mr Dutton also said that financing the deal through the QIC was “dangerous” as it would expose the superannuation money of Queensland public sector workers to significant risk.
“I think it is dangerous, and it should be called out,” he said.
“Premier Palaszczuk, she might be a nice person, but she’s incompetent.”
READ MORE: Queensland bid laughable: Dutton
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.35am: Global economy to shrink by 3.2 per cent: UN
The United Nations has forecast that the coronavirus pandemic will shrink the global economy by 3.2 per cent in 2020, the largest contraction since the Great Depression.
The World Economic Situation and Prospects Report released on Wednesday said the world’s economic output will be slashed by almost US $8.5 trillion over the next two years, eliminating four years of gain.
At the start of 2020 the UN had forecast a 2.5 per cent rate of growth for the year.
But UN Chief Economist Elliot Harris told journalists at the report’s launch that the global economic outlook has changed “drastically” since January.
“With the large-scale restrictions of economic activities and heightened uncertainties, the global economy has come to a virtual standstill in the second quarter of 2020,” he said.
“We are now facing the grim reality of a severe recession of a magnitude not seen since the Great Depression.”
The report says nearly 90 per cent of the world economy is under a form of lock-down, “the most severe restrictions on movement and goods in recorded history.”
Mr Harris said more than 34 million people may fall below the extreme poverty threshold of US $1.90 a day.
“This will only intensify discontent and instability in many parts of the world,” Mr Harris said, adding that the economic impact of the virus had to be minimised by governments.
“The balance between saving lives and saving jobs is as difficult as it is necessary to strike,” he said.
“How quickly and effectively the international community will be able to contain the public health and socio-economic fallout of the pandemic will determine whether and how soon the world can return to pre-crisis levels of economic activities.:
READ MORE: Trading Day: Markets sink on grim outlook
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.15am: Property a buyers’ market: Berejiklian
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said the NSW property market will be a buyers’ market “for the next little while” following a report by the Commonwealth Bank released yesterday that forecasted an 11 to 30 per cent drop in property prices.
“For every downside there’s an upside, so for those who want to get into the market for the first time - it will be a buyer’s market for the next little while,” Ms Berejiklian said.
There’s always a positive and a negative for every economic circumstance.”
Ms Berejiklian also said a decision has not yet been made on whether she would block a planned 2.5 per cent pay raise for public sector workers, but said the state was supporting their employees at a time when many private sector employees have been stood down or had the hours reduced and many other states have frozen or reduced employee wages.
“As a government we’re doing everything we can to support all of our workers, whether it’s our police, whether it’s our cleaners, whether it’s our bus drivers,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said the government has abandoned plans of a surplus to invest billions in the health system to tackle the pandemic.
“Because of the pandemic, because we put health and safety first, we have invested extra billions of dollars in our health, in our emergency and frontline services and extra cleaners,” she said.
READ MORE: Free beer a vote getter
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.05am: Howard: next few months will be much harder
Former Prime Minister John Howard has issued a piece of advice to the current federal government: support your leaders, because the next few months will be even more difficult to manage than the pandemic.
Speaking to broadcaster Alan Jones on Thursday, Mr Howard said that he had “every faith” that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg would “hold fast” as they navigate a global economy in shambles to return Australia to normalcy.
“I will say to all of their colleagues; you must hold fast with them,” Mr Howard said.
“Because the next two or three months are going to be much harder for the government than the last two or three months.”
Mr Howard that the government was in essence a victim of its own success, with the public likely to expect the country to exit the coronavirus pandemic with as much finesse as it was handled at its peak.
“The expectations are going to be so high,” Mr Howard said, adding that the public will expect “we can have everything back.”
However, Mr Howard also praised the Australian public’s conduct throughout the pandemic, saying he admired the “forbearance” of The Australian public.
“Our egalitarianism has come through. We’ve accepted that we all have to be in this together,” he said.
Mr Howard also praised the National Cabinet for providing balanced, politically inclusive leadership throughout the crisis.
READ MORE: States target PM on diplomatic stoush
Richard Ferguson 9.00am: Wong backs AWU support for PM over China
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has backed the Australian Workers Union’s calls for the Morrison government to “hold its nerve” against Chinese trade aggression.
The Australian revealed today that in a letter sent to Scott Morrison following China’s suspension of meat exporters and threats to slap tariffs on barley producers, AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said: “Australia should resist any attempts to be bullied.”
After ramping up her attacks on the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s handling of the China relationship, Senator Wong on Thursday said the AWU were “absolutely right” to urge the Prime Minister to defend international trade rules and Australian sovereignty.
“The AWU’s letter is absolutely right. We should be looking to our national interest. We should be making sure we continue to assert our national interest when it comes to Australian jobs and Australian sovereignty,” she told ABC radio.
“The AWU makes a very reasonable point that all countries should play by the rules when it comes to international trade. That is our position and it is the right position.”
Senator Wong this week has accused the Foreign Minister and Mr Morrison of letting anti-China Coalition backbenchers dictate the relationship and bumbling the initial call for a global inquiry into COVID-19.
READ MORE: Union splits from Labor to support PM on China
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.30am: Berejiklian unmoving on 10 person limit
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has refused to back down on lifting the ten person limit on patrons in restaurants and cafes that will come into force on Friday.
“You can have up to ten people to dine in a venue, that’s it,” she told reporters on Thursday.
Hospitality operators have criticised the limit for being too restrictive, with most venues unable to profit off a small number of customers.
However, Ms Berejiklian said the NSW government would be willing to listen to industry and urged them to be proactive in developing their own regulations in line with federal government directives.
“If industry, or any other organisation is proactive, and puts a strong case to us, we are all ears,” she said.
“We want to make sure we keep as many jobs as possible going in NSW.”
Ms Berejiklian took an optimistic view of the economic consequences of the coronavirus, noting that consumer confidence in the state is the highest in the country.
She said that certain consequences of the pandemic, such as lower house prices, could provide an opportunity to potential buyers.
“There’s always a positive and a negative to every economic circumstance.”
READ MORE: Don’t take away job payments
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.25am: NSW Police cracks down on virus cyber crime
NSW Police Minister David Elliott has announced an 80 per cent increase in staffing levels at the NSW Police fraud and cyber crime unit in a bid to combat higher rates of fraud occurring amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Eight additional officers will be hired on top of the ten that staff the unit.
Mr Elliott said the increase in cyber policing capacity was especially important for elderly and vulnerable Australians, a number of which have been defrauded attempting to buy PPE through alternative channels.
“One thing that has seen quite a disturbing increase in incidents are those who are seeking to purchase PPE materials because they may feel slightly distressed,” Mr Elliott said.
“Make sure when you are doing business with someone online they are who they say they are.”
“The police can only do so much - take ownership of your internet safety.”
READ MORE: Golfers have come a fair way
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.15am: Four cases in NSW on eve of reopening
NSW has recorded just four new coronavirus cases out of more than 9700 tests on the eve of the greatest relaxation in restrictions since the pandemic began.
On Friday pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes will be able to seat ten patrons, households will be allowed to receive five visitors and groups of up to ten will be able to gather outdoors.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that of the four new cases, one was located in regional northern NSW.
Another of the cases was a staff member of Werrington public school, which has been closed for cleaning.
The final two cases were overseas acquired and locally acquired respectively.
Eight patients are in ICU, with six on ventilators.
Ms Berejiklian urged residents of the state to remain vigilant when restrictions ease and to act as though everyone around them has coronavirus.
“Don’t assume, because you’re out and about with people you know, that you can relax on the social distancing,” she said.
“You can’t. Be careful when you’re near surfaces. Avoid touching surfaces. Avoid any physical contact, of course, but just be careful.”
READ MORE: NSW reopens pubs and clubs to revive economy
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.55am: McCormack: Qld welcome to bid for Virgin
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has said that the government still wants a market based solution to the Virgin Australia problem, but has conceded the Queensland government is welcome to make a bid for the troubled airline.
The Queensland Labor government yesterday revealed it would be making a bid for the airline, which collapsed into voluntary administration in April as the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel.
The Queensland Government has announced plans to bid for a stake in struggling airline Virgin Australia.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 13, 2020
Deputy Prime Minister @M_McCormackMP joined Sam to discuss.
More on this story: https://t.co/R6Y57U9Ge2 pic.twitter.com/CNQhVr0B4O
“I said all along it needs to be a market led solution,” Mr McCormack told Sunrise on Thursday.
“The Queensland government, they are welcome to make a bid, but I think it should be a market led solution, not a government led solution.”
Mr McCormack said that many parties are interested in the airline beyond the 19 that have already registered interest, and more contenders may enter the fray before the preliminary bidding period ends on Friday.
But the Deputy Prime Minister did not say if he preferred an Australian operator emerge as the ultimate victor, only saying that “I would like to see a commercially viable airline come out of this.”
Premier Palaszczuk has almost bankrupted Queensland, and now in the middle of a crisis they want to buy an airline. It is laughable. She “leads†a government which is corrupt and chaotic.
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) May 13, 2020
Mr McCormack refused to be drawn on comments made by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Wednesday that slammed the move by the Queensland government as “laughable”.
READ MORE: Queensland in bid to buy Virgin
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.45am: Christensen asks China envoy to front inquiry
Nationals MP George Christensen has sent a letter to Chinese ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye requesting his appearance before an inquiry into Australia’s economic dependence on China, which is being conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Group, which he chairs.
Mr Christensen has requested the presence of the ambassador - who last month warned that Chinese consumers may boycott Australian products because of Scott Morrison’s push for a global independent inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus in China - as he believes China has questions to answer.
“I note recent comments you have made in the media regarding boycotts and also recent actions by the PRC government affecting Australia’s barley and beef exports to the PRC,” the letter reads.
“Given this, you may consider appearing before a future hearing of the inquiry to explain the current policies and attitude of the PRC regarding its economic relationship with Australia.”
The inquiry - dubbed the “China inquiry” by Mr Christensen and the bipartisan committee - was established in February.
Speaking to radio station 2GB on Thursday Mr Christensen said the bullish tactic was done because “there’s only two ways to handle the relationship” with China.
“You either state your own claim and be an independent, sovereign, nation - or you be a lacky.”
Mr Christensen accused China of using trade as a way to bully and coerce other countries and slammed the private sector of putting “profits before patriotism.”
“I, quite frankly, am sick of hearing that.”
READ MORE: China’s $17bn threat to farmers
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.35am: Berejiklian to update on virus response at 8am AEST
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will give an update on the coronavirus response in the state at 8am AEST.
The press conference can be viewed in full on The Australian’s coronavirus blog.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.20am: ‘Safe for cafe means safe to see your doctor’
Australian Medical Association President Dr Tony Bartone has urged Australians to start seeing their doctor again, warning that a general fear of contracting coronavirus at a doctor’s office could lead to many Australians developing illnesses that go undiagnosed.
“We’re going to see a lot of delayed presentation through illnesses and other health conditions that haven’t been managed, that haven’t presented for their usual care, or indeed haven’t been diagnosed in the first place,” Dr Bartone told ABC news, adding that it leads to “further complications and obviously the need for increased intervention, increased management and increased therapy.”
Dr Bartone said doctors around the country are ready and waiting for patients.
“Our waiting rooms are cleaner than ever, you might say,” he said.
“Infection control has been ramped up to the nth degree.
“Social distancing measures are in place. We triage patients before they present to the clinic - we have separate entrances for respiratory cases.
“If it’s safe enough to catch a tram, safe enough to go to the supermarket, if it’s safe enough to go to even cafes and restaurants in groups of 10, it’s certainly safe enough to go see your doctor.
“Don’t put off seeing them because obviously you are putting your health at risk.”
READ MORE: Bar’s open but there’s a limit to the fun
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.20am: Buzzfeed to quit Australia, UK
Online content juggernaut BuzzFeed has announced it will cease news production in Australia and the UK “both for economic and strategic reasons,” diverting resources towards the US market.
Founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti, the company became famous as an online content aggregator before growing in popularity for its highly-shareable “listacle” articles and viral content.
In the last decade it has become a global media company with news operations that have at times rivaled traditional media companies.
In a statement, a representative for the company said: “both for economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period.”
“Therefore, we will notify staff in the UK and Australia that we are not planning to cover local news in those countries.
“We will be consulting with employees on our plans regarding furloughs and stand-downs in these regions.”
The company will retain some employees who cover news with a global audience: social and celebrity news, as well as investigative pieces.
READ the full story here.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.00 am: Manafort released over virus fears
Paul Manafort, the disgraced former chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, has been released from prison to serve the rest of his sentence in his home as concerns of the effect of coronavirus on prisoners grow.
Manafort was convicted with numerous tax and financial fraud offences as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and was hit with a sentence of seven and a half years in 2018.
The 71-year-old was let out Wednesday morning from FCI Loretto, a low-security prison in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney, Todd Blanche. Manafort, jailed since June 2018, had been serving more than seven years in prison following his conviction.
His release comes as prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates before a potential outbreak in the system. They argue that the public health guidance to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.
Controversially, Manafort did not meet qualifications set by the Bureau of Prisons for potential release in the pandemic.
Under the bureau’s guidelines, priority is supposed to be given to those inmates who have served half of their sentence or inmates with 18 months or less left and who served at least 25% of their time.
However, the bureau has discretion about who can be released. Manafort’s lawyers lobbied for his release arguing that he was “high risk” due to his age and pre-existing heart conditions. Manafort was reportedly hospitalised in December in relation to these conditions.
Manafort will join other high-profile figures from the special counsel investigation drama in being released from prison like former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti.
The Bureau of Prisons has been hit with accusations of releasing only white-collar criminals - but Kathy Hawk Sawyer, a senior adviser at the Bureau of Prisons who formerly led the agency, said in interview in late April that to “suggest that we are only identifying high profile white collar inmates for home confinement, is absurd.”
A Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said more than 2,400 inmates have been moved to home confinement since March 26, when US Attorney-General William Barr first issued a home confinement memo, and more than 1,200 others have been approved and are in the pipeline to be released.
As of Tuesday, 2,818 federal inmates and 262 prison staff members had positive test results for COVID-19 at federal prisons across the country. Fifty inmates have died.
READ MORE: Thumbs down for US, China
Jacquelin Magnay 6.50am: ‘Heartbreaking. We can’t call this school’
Pictures have emerged of French children, just three and four years of age, playing alone in large 2m squares in a nursery schoolyard, isolated from each other and from the perceived perils of coronavirus.
Nurseries and schools reopened in stages in France this week after an eight week lockdown but pictures taken in the northern French town of Tourcoing, on the Belgium border, reveal young children being confined to chalked areas to play by themselves well away from their friends.
“I can’t get over this,’ said historian Laurence De Cock, who posted the picture on Twitter. ‘This image is heartbreaking. We can’t call this “school”.
Lionel Top, a TV journalist with the BFM news channel, took the photo on Tuesday and said the children had been told to stay in their zones.
“The children play, dance, jump, laugh together ... but from this square,” he wrote.
As the UK begins a slow easing of measures, with some people going back to work and schools forecast to open in a month in a staggered way there are demands that everyone should stay two metres distant at all times: in parks, in schools, in shopping queues, in the street. France is a couple of weeks ahead but their example has starkly shown what is ahead for British children.
So what is the science underpinning such social distancing measures especially for children?
Nottingham Trent University sociology professor Robert Dingwall, is on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag),which advises the UK government. He told BBC Radio the 2m distance, which is now dictating every facet of life across the continent was conjured up out of nowhere.
“There’s never been a scientific basis for two metres, it’s kind of a rule of thumb. But it’s not like there is a whole kind of rigorous scientific literature that it is founded upon,’’ he said.
Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said questions remain about how far the virus spreads through sneezing.
”For me, the question is not how far the germs can travel, but how far can they travel before they’re no longer a threat. The smaller the germ particles, the lower the risk that they might infect somebody who would breathe them in or get them stuck in their nose or their mouth,” Pottinger told USA Today.
“The biggest threat—we think—with the coronavirus is actually the larger droplets. Droplets of saliva, snot, spit. Droplets that almost look like rain, if you will, when someone sneezes. Those droplets are large enough that gravity still acts on them. Usually, within about six feet of leaving somebody’s body, those larger, more infectious droplets will drop to the ground. That’s where the six-foot rule comes from.”
READ MORE: Back to the future v here and now.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.25am: Ousted health chief warns of ‘darkest winter’
Dr Rick Bright, the ousted former head of a US government department tasked with coordinating aspects of the coronavirus response will on Thursday tell Congress that the Trump administration was unprepared for the virus and the country will face “unprecedented illness and fatalities” if a better response plan is not implemented.
The former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Dr Bright filed a whistleblower complaint earlier this month asserting he was ousted due to his vocal opposition of the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus.
He also asserts that US officials were “dismissive” about his earlier warnings about a critical shortage of PPE in the country.
Now the House Committee on Energy and Health have asked him to testify. It comes as the number of coronavirus cases in the US surpasses 1.381 million with 83,356 associated deaths.
In his testimony - which was released Wednesday - Dr Bright will say that the US faces their “darkest winter” if they fail to further coordinate their response.
“Our window of opportunity is closing,” he will say.
“If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities.”
“Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history.”
Dr Bright will also say it is “painfully clear” the US government was not adequately prepared.
“We missed early warning signals and we forgot important pages from our pandemic playbook,” he will say.
READ MORE: Beijing crackdown on lab security
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.05am: Sydney school closes as staff member tests positive
A school in Sydney’s west will be closed on Thursday for cleaning after a member of staff tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement, NSW Health advised that Werrington Public School will be closed for at least one day while a comprehensive clean of the school and contract tracing is undertaken.
The department said staff and students who are close contacts of the infected staff member have been advised to self-isolate. An update will be provided later on Thursday as to if the school will reopen on Friday.
“Staff and students who are identified as a Close Contact will be contacted and advised they should self-isolate for the required period of time,” the statement read.
“The safety and wellbeing of our staff and students is of paramount importance to us at all times. As such we will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure that all necessary health advice is adhered to.”
Students will learn from home until the school reopens.
READ MORE: Youth mental health grows national wealth
Anne Barrowclough 6.00am: Virus ‘may never go away’: WHO
The World Health Organisation has warned that coronavirus may “never go away,” instead becoming endemic in global communities.
The WHO’s emergencies expert Mike Ryan said in an online briefing it was useless to predict when the disease would disappear and governments should instead concentrate on controlling it.
Media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/euggX435FQ
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 13, 2020
“It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan told an online briefing.
“I think it is important we are realistic and I don’t think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear,” he added. “I think there are no promises in this and there are no dates. This disease may settle into a long problem, or it may not be.”
READ MORE: Stay alert to prevent more problems
Agencies 5.15am: Virus researchers warned over Chinese hackers
Organisations conducting research into COVID-19 may be targeted by computer hackers linked to the Chinese government, according to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Neither agency cited any specific examples overnight (AEST), but they warned that institutions and companies involved in work on vaccines, treatments and testing for the novel coronavirus should take additional security measures to protect data and be aware of the potential threat.
“China’s efforts to target these sectors pose a significant threat to our nation’s response to COVID-19,” said a statement from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “This announcement is intended to raise awareness for research institutions and the American public and provide resources and guidance for those who may be targeted.”
It comes amid heightened tensions between the two countries over the source of the outbreak and Trump administration complaints that China did not adequately alert the world to the danger posed by the new coronavirus.
The warning also echoes long-standing US complaints that China has engaged in the wholesale theft of technology and trade secrets to build its economy.
READ MORE: Adam Creighton — ‘China punishing Australia to warn world’
Yoni Bashan 5am: NSW pubs, clubs allowed to open on Friday
Pubs and clubs across NSW have been given the go-ahead to reopen their doors and serve patrons from Friday, but venues will only be allowed to operate with 10 customers inside at a time as long as they are seated at a table.
Bars and gaming facilities will remain shut for now, but alcoholic drinks and meals will be sold to seated customers in keeping with social distancing measures.
The NSW government signed off on further easing of restrictions across the hospitality sector late on Wednesday, a decision that dovetails with already-planned moves to permit restaurants and cafes to house up to 10 customers at a time from Friday.
But many venues are unlikely to open their doors to indoor customers on Friday, opting to continue operating as bottle shops until restrictions are eased further and it becomes financially viable for them to entertain more than 10 patrons at a time.
Read the full story here.
Geoff Chambers 4.45am: ‘Australia should resist attempts to be bullied’
One of the nation’s most powerful unions has urged the Morrison government to “hold its nerve” in defence of Australia’s sovereignty, as China targets exporters in a pressure campaign against nations supporting a global investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Countering criticism of the government from Anthony Albanese and state Labor governments, the Australian Workers’ Union has told Scott Morrison not to “capitulate” to the communist state’s gaming of international trade rules.
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon following China’s suspension of meat exporters and threats to slap tariffs on barley producers, AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said: “Australia should resist any attempts to be bullied.”
Read the full story from Geoff Chambers and Simon Benson here.
Additional reporting: Patrick Commins
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