Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW opens pubs and clubs as Payne pushes on with China inquiry call
Pubs and clubs will be able to serve patrons from Friday, with the NSW government ruling they can operate with 10 patrons inside at a time.
- China ‘won’t throw away trade’
- Payne: I handle China policy
- China ignores request for trade talks
- Frydenberg tests negative for virus
- US cans $4bn in Chinese investments
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Foreign Minister Marise Payne says she will continue to press China over a COVID-19 inquiry. Sinodinos says China would not ‘throw away lightly’ its trade relationship with Australia, adding Scott Morrison should be praised for leading the push for a probe into the origins of the virus and let Liberal backbenchers dictate foreign policy.
AFP 8.28pm EU to allow tourism for northern summer
The EU has set out plans for a phased restart of travel this northern summer, hoping to save millions of tourism jobs threatened by the coronavirus pandemic across Europe.
“Today’s guidance can be the chance of a better season for the many Europeans whose livelihood depends on tourism and, of course, for those who would like to travel this summer,” the EU commission’s executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday night.
READ MORE: How to prepare for the next pandemic
Yoni Bashan 7pm NSW pubs and clubs to open
Pubs and clubs will join restaurants and cafes in being able to serve patrons, with the NSW government ruling they can operate with 10 patrons inside at a time from Friday.
Bars and gaming facilities will remain shut for now, but alcohol and meals will be permissible through table service, said NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
The measures, the latest in a string of morale boosting easing of social restrictions, were decided during a meeting of cabinet ministers on Wednesday night.
Mr Perrottet described the measure as “an important first step” in the economic revival of the hospitality sector.
“We want it to be a success, so that as venues transition back from closure they do so safely, both for their staff and their customers,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We realise the smaller venues will be the ones who gain most, but we are working hard to ensure we open in a safe manner and get the economy back up and firing.”
Deputy Premier John Barilaro echoed the remarks, saying the measures would be particularly helpful in regional communities.
“It’s been a tough few months but we are starting to see some wins, first on the health front and now in getting the economy back, and this is welcome news for many regional towns.”
READ MORE: Beijing cracks down on lab security
Olivia Caisley 6.25pm PM’s Department forced to retract pay claim
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has issued an embarrassing retraction after associate secretary Stephanie Foster told a Senate inquiry the executive chairman of the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission was receiving half a million dollars in taxpayer funds.
A Senate inquiry into the Morrison government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday was told former Fortescue Metals chief executive Neville Power, who was appointed to the job in March, was being paid $500,000 for the full-time position over the next six months.
But last night it was revealed this sum was a gross inflation of Mr Power’s allowance. The real figure is $267,345.
“Mr Power’s flights, accommodation and other incidental travel costs are being covered in his role as NCCC Chair. However, he is not receiving a salary,” the department said.
PM&C said it had come to that figure by estimating Mr Power’s travel to and from Canberra would cost $6000 per return trip, with $350 per night for accomodation and incidentals.
“It is expected that Mr Power will perform his duties as chair of the NCCC for a period of approximately six months. This equates to $267,345 (plus GST).”
Earlier at the hearing, when questioned whether remote working had been factored into Mr Power’s remuneration package — given most people had shifted to working from home during the pandemic — Ms Foster confirmed he had “largely been working in Canberra”.
Mr Power is joined on the committee by chief executive Paul Little and deputy chairman David Thodey, as well as Greg Combet, Jane Halton and Catherine Tanna.
The inquiry heard that three of the commissioners were working two days a week, while another works one day a week.
Andrew Liveris, who is a special adviser to the commission, is not paid, but the others receive $2000 a day.
The department said the value of each of the commissioners’ contracts depends on the part-time arrangements each has entered into with the department.
“For Mr Combet, Ms Halton, and Mr Little this is two days per week, the approximate value of each contract is $108,000, paid monthly over the six-month period,” the department said in a statement clarifying the error regarding Mr Power’s salary.
“For Ms Tanna this is one day per week, the approximate value of the contract is $54,000, paid monthly over the six-month period. Mr Thodey is not being paid a daily rate, but the department is meeting his travel expenses.”
READ MORE: Housing market: What’s the worst that could happen?
Greg Brown 5.32pm: Albanese’s birthday wishes for Morrison, Shorten
Anthony Albanese has wished his two of his longtime rivals - Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten - a happy birthday.
The Opposition Leader said he was not aware it was the Prime Minister’s birthday but was quick to offer his best wishes.
Mr Morrison turned 52 today while Mr Shorten turned 53 yesterday.
“I didn’t know it was (Mr Morrison’s) birthday,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.
“That is news to me, if I had known I would have wished him personally during question time.
“It was Bill Shorten’s birthday yesterday and Scott Morrison’s today.
“So happy birthday to Scott.”
READ MORE: Shorten washes hands of isolation for birthday party
Olivia Caisley 5.26pm: Coodinator chief’s salary ‘doesn’t pass pub test’
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has said Neville Power’s $500,000 salary for his role as chief executive chairman of the Morrison government’s COVID-19 Co-ordination Commission fails to pass the pub test.
Speaking on Sky News on Wednesday Mr Albanese said the salary would fail the pub test if the pubs were still open if it weren’t for social distancing restrictions.
The former Fortescue Metals chief executive was appointed executive chairman in March.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet associate secretary Stephanie Foster told a Senate inquiry into the Morrison government’s response to the coronavirus crisis on Wednesday the amount had been calculated to cover Mr Power’s travel between Perth and Canberra, as well as accommodation costs.
Questioned about whether remote working had been factored into Mr Power’s remuneration package, given most people had shifted to working from home during the pandemic, Ms Foster said: “He has largely been working in Canberra.”
Mr Power is joined on the committee by chief executive Paul Little and deputy chairman David Thodey, as well as Greg Combet, Jane Halton and Catherine Tanna.
READ MORE: How to prepare for the next pandemic
Greg Brown 5pm: Foreign Minister says she, PM carefully managing China row
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has rejected claims the tone of the China debate is being led by hawkish Coalition backbenchers, declaring Scott Morrison and herself were “carefully” leading public discourse on the issue.
Senator Payne said Australia would push on with its call for an inquiry into the source of COVID-19 as her handling of the China relationship has come under criticism from Labor.
“I think the tone is being set very carefully by the prime minister and by me in my capacity and other ministers who are engaged on these issues. And I think that we will continue to do that in an appropriate and considered and determined way in Australia’s national interests,” Senator Payne told Sky News.
“It is not necessarily for me to have a public argument with the opposition on these matters even if that is what they want.
“It is a very important relationship but it is important to both countries and I think it is important that we don’t forget that. It is a valuable relationship for Australia, it is a valuable relationship for China.
“And from time to time we do have to deal with differences and Australia will always approach those in our national interests.”
Senator Payne defended the right of government backbenchers to be strongly critical of Beijing.
“Members of parliament from whichever side of the policy they are from have the right and the opportunity to make statements of their own,” Senator Payne said.
“One of our basic values is the importance of free speech. I would ask any parliamentarian to be considered in the approach they take on whatever issue might come before the parliament.
“But the values of a liberal democracy, of which we are part, are pretty fundamental. In fact that is not qualified, they are fundamental.”
Richard Ferguson 4.15pm: Trade Minister defends Bishop amid ‘friendly fire’
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has slapped down Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’s attacks on former foreign minister Julie Bishop.
After Ms Bishop called on the government to do more behind the scenes to convince China to support an independent COVID-19 inquiry, Senator Fierravanti-Wells called the ex-Liberal deputy an “airhead.”
“Another air-head comment from the ‘couch’. We had six years of ‘Instagram diplomacy’ that ignored CCP skulduggery and ‘debt trap diplomacy’,” the Senator tweeted.
Senator Birmingham said while he did not agree with Ms Bishop’s comments to Nine Newspapers, he said his current Liberal colleague’s language was not appropriate.
“I don’t agree entirely with some of the comments Julie made overnight, but I certainly don’t concur with the remarks of Senator Fierravanti-Wells there. Our government has taken a firm and consistent line over many years in relation to our policy settings,” he told ABC News.
“We’ve done so consistent with defending Australian values and rejecting our national security. Julie and other ministers in different incarnations have played an important role in setting those policies.
“I don’t think that’s an appropriate approach in terms of public discourse at any time.”
My speech in @AuSenate last night. Australians expect their Government to show the necessary political fortitude to focus on those issues in our control, namely a Plan for Reparations from #CCP & a Plan to #DecouplefromChina No 'business as usual' with CCP post #WuhanVirus pic.twitter.com/9iJboM3yBw
— Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (@Senator_CFW) May 13, 2020
READ MORE: Bishop questions weapons rhetoric
Agencies 4pm: NSW moves to protect frontline workers
NSW parliament has passed three emergency bills in response to the coronavirus pandemic, including changes to ensure frontline staff who contract COVID-19 are better protected under workers’ compensation laws, AAP reports.
The coalition government on Tuesday introduced the bills amending about 40 Acts to help tackle the pandemic.
The legislation, which passed both houses on Wednesday, includes a payroll tax exemption for JobKeeper payments to stood-down workers and changes to annual and long-service leave laws.
Public health orders will now be able to compel people who have the virus or been exposed to it, to undergo testing or medical examination. The legislation will also see changes to workers’ compensation arrangements due to an amendment passed on Wednesday.
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Agencies 3.30pm: NRL star fined over social distance breach
Penrith star Nathan Cleary has been fined $1000 by NSW police for breaching social distancing laws that resulted in his severe sanction by the NRL, AAP reports.
Cleary was originally cleared by police of breaking coronavirus restrictions when he was photographed with friends at his house.
Five women received $1000 police fines for flouting government protocols. However, after video emerged of Cleary in TikTok videos with the same group, the NRL slapped him with a two-game ban and $30,000 fine for being “untruthful” in dealings with the integrity unit.
Cleary originally received a $10,000 fine, 60 per cent suspended, as well as a suspended one-match ban after initial league investigations. It has since been alleged the Panthers halfback had left his home during the day in question in contravention of the state’s COVID-19 measures. That has prompted NSW police to interview Cleary again on Wednesday and issue him with a fine.
READ MORE: Eddie urges calm as AFL restart stalls
Richard Ferguson 3.10pm: Childcare funding measures ‘incredibly important’
Opposition early childhood spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth asks Scott Morrison how many people have missed out on childcare spots because it has spent $5bn less than it budgeted for.
Education Minister Dan Tehan responds for the Prime Minister and says the government has moved to support childcare throughout the pandemic.
“We are providing $1.6 billion for free childcare this quarter. 1.6 billion supporting around 1 million families. And, importantly, because it is calibrated to work with JobKeeper as well, we’re also providing $1 billion to the through JobKeeper.
“That means we have $2.6 billion supporting 13,000 services and their staff to stay open and be employed.
“And that has been incredibly important because if you look at what is happened around the world, there has not been that type of assistance provided and so we stand, we stand, compared to every other comparison internationally, as a gold star in protecting our childcare sector through this pandemic.”
Olivia Caisley 3.05pm: Power’s pay packet for Covid role revealed
The executive chairman of the National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commission, former Fortescue Metals chief executive Neville Power, is being paid $500,000 for the six-month full-time role, a hearing into the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis has revealed.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet associate secretary Stephanie Foster told the COVID-19 Senate inquiry on Wednesday the amount was calculated to cover Mr Power’s travel and accommodation costs. Most of the other commissioners are being paid a day rate of $2000.
Three of the commissioners are working about two days a week, while another works one day a week.
Paul Little is chief executive, David Thodey is deputy chairman and the other commissioners are Greg Combet, Jane Halton, Paul Little and Catherine Tanna.
Andrew Liveris is a special adviser to the commission and is not paid.
Richard Ferguson 3pm: Morrison swats away sport rorts question
Deputy opposition leader Richard Marles asks Scott Morrison why he told the House of Representatives that then-sports minister Bridget McKenzie had the authority to approve controversial sports grants.
Mr Marles says the audit office has now said it was expected Senator McKenzie - who lost her cabinet spot over the sports grants saga - would write to the Prime Minister to approve grants.
Mr Morrison says he stands by his many statements that the sports minister approves grants.
“It may be inconvenient for the opposition that that is the fact that that is the fact,” he says.
“The only authority sought from the Prime Minister ‘s office and for myself was in relation to announcements.”
Richard Ferguson 2.55pm: Frydenberg accuses Labor of talking down economy
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers asks Josh Frydenberg if he wants to “snap back” to a pre-coronavirus economy which was already suffering from low wages growth.
The Treasurer says the minimum wage has risen every year since the Coalition won power in 2013 and accuses Dr Chalmers of being irrelevant.
“The member for Rankin is getting angry because he is irrelevant to the debate,” Mr Frydenberg says. “He has been talking down the economy before the crisis and he is now talking down the economy through the crisis and he will be talking down the economy after the crisis.
“The Australian people understand and trust the Coalition to manage the economy better than Labor ever will.”
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Richard Ferguson 2.50pm: Housing taxes ‘still Labor policy’
Opposition housing spokesman Jason Clare asks Housing Minister Michael Sukkar if the government will develop a housing and construction stimulus package during the pandemic.
Mr Sukkar says the housing industry has been supported by the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme and new support for apprentices.
“What I would say to the shadow minister is - what the industry does not need - what it absolutely does not need - are Labor’s housing taxes which are still your policy,” he says.
“We have already, as I say, brought forward demand by the first home loan deposit scheme, a scheme that the Labor Party also opposed albeit for about an hour.
“The national housing finance investment corporation which has delivered over 1500 new dwellings just this year, supporting our community housing providers.
“So we have got ahead of the curve. We have made these investments, we are supporting the businesses in the industry and the million people that work in it and we will continue to provide that support.”
READ MORE: CBA positioned to ‘weather the storm’
Richard Ferguson 2.45pm: Treasurer says welfare, JobKeeper helping workers
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke asks Josh Frydenberg why workers for foreign-owned companies are not eligible for JobKeeper wage subsidies.
The Treasurer says people who cannot access JobKeeper can access the boosted $1100 a fortnight welfare payment.
“We very much understand the difficult circumstances that businesses and workers right across the country are facing with this coronavirus pandemic,” Mr Frydenberg says.
We set out very clearly what were the criteria for eligibility under that program including for full-time workers, for part-time workers, for long-term casuals based on a definition in the Fair Work Act
“Some people will be eligible for the JobKeeper program, others will be eligible for the JobSeeker program.”
Richard Ferguson 2.40pm: Support for university sector ‘very substantial’
Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asks Josh Frydenberg why university staff cannot access JobKeeper wage subsidies when students with casual jobs are now getting more than their pre-pandemic wage.
The Treasurer says universities can apply for JobKeeper if their turnover falls by 30 or 50 per cent, depending on their size.
“We also made the decision as a government to provide the Commonwealth grants to the universities to ensure that they are receiving money equivalent to what their enrolments would have been preCOVID,” he says.
“That’s some $18 billion. We will see government support for the university sector over this year, that’s very substantial indeed.”
READ MORE: Concerns over ‘mystery virus’
Richard Ferguson 2.30pm: Labor ‘politicising’ coronavirus, bushfires
Scott Morrison asks Anthony Albanese how he can be trusted with the COVID-19 recovery considering lingering problems in bushfire-hit communities.
The Prime Minister defends his record on bushfire recovery, and accuses the Opposition Leader of trying to politicise both the coronavirus and bushfire crises.
“$2 billion was set aside to support the work of the national bushfire recovery agency, Mr Speaker. That fund was intended to acquit some $500 million by the June 30 of this here. We estimate that that figure will exceed over $1 billion by June 30 this year,” Mr Morrison says.
“Small business support grants of some $10,000 have now been provided to over 170,000 small businesses affected across the bushfire affected areas.
“Primary producer grants have been provided to the tune of some $127 million to primary producers who are affected by these arrangements.
“If the Leader of the Opposition wants to these things, that is a matter for him”
READ MORE: US sends in bombers as show of force to China
Richard Ferguson 2.20pm: Morrison has concerns over dispute with China
Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon asks Scott Morrison what he is doing to protect meat exporters and barley farmers who have been suspended or slapped with tariffs by China.
The Prime Minister says the government is reaching out to Chinese authorities over both trade disputes, and that he has confidence that they will continue to support the China-Australia strategic partnership.
“We hold concerns for the way this issue is being progressed at this point in time. This is a matter that the government has been raising now for a considerable period of time. In fact I have done so on several occasions in my direct meetings with the Premier (Li Kewaing).
“Let me be clear about one thing. Australia stands firmly behind our agricultural producers and we stand firmly about where we see the role of the Australian economy in the broader world.
“We have great confidence in our outlook as a trading nation and we engage with all partners in good faith with the purpose of ensuring the increasing global trade.
“That is the basis for our relationship with the Chinese government when it comes to a comprehensive strategic partnership it works across many different areas and has been a highly successful agreement. From time to time there will be differences in views and we will progress them constructively in the national interest, always in the national interest.”
READ MORE: The US movement to ‘cancel the rent’
Richard Ferguson 2.10pm: Albanese presses PM on ‘snap back’ prediction
Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison if he stands by previous comments that the economy will “snap back” after the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister says he has faith in Australian workers and businesses to find ways to recover.
“I have every confidence in Australian businesses, Mr Speaker, and it’s more than confidence in Australian businesses to rebuild on the other side of this crisis,” Mr Morrison says.
“I have confidence of businesses being at the centre of our economy and the regrowth that we will see in our economy that will support the incomes and livelihoods of Australians. Not just now but in the decades into the future because - as Liberal and Nationals - we have never believed that government should be at the centre of the economy.
“I have confidence in this country and I believe this country will bounce back and bounce strongly under the leadership of this Government.”
Mr Morrison told question time on Tuesday that his “snap back” comments earlier this year were before the full economic damage of the pandemic became apparent to him, Treasury and the Reserve Bank.
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Richard Ferguson 2.05pm: New funds for mental health top $669m
Opposition health spokesman Chris Bowen opens question time by asking Health Minister Greg Hunt if he will increase the cap on Medicare mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Hunt says the government has already invested $669m in mental health since the pandemic began.
“It doesn’t have to be confined to the particular mechanism which the member outlines. What we have opened up with telehealth is a much broader ability to access services,” he says.
“On top of that, there was a $74 million investment focusing on support services for people, mostly online or through Telehealth, through organisations such as the Black Dog Institute for Healthcare Workers, Origin for Young People, Lifeline, Kids Line, so many other different support groups and in particular Beyond Blue has led the coronavirus activity.”
Geoff Chambers 1.50pm: China won’t ‘throw away’ trade with Australia: Sinodinos
Arthur Sinodinos said China would not “throw away lightly” its trade relationship with Australia and Scott Morrison should be praised for leading the push for an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia’s ambassador to the US said while both nations were keen to diversify their relationship, the “mutual benefit” of trade ties with China remained “very important to us”.
Mr Sinodinos said Australia would not be taking a “backwards step” on pursuing a global inquiry into COVID-19.
“I think what the Prime Minister was doing, was by going out publicly and saying look we think this is a good idea he was channelling constructively the anxiety in the Australian community about what had happened, how did it happen, where do we go from here and sending a message to the world that we should think constructively about the way forward,” Mr Sinodinos told 2GB.
“He was prepared to take a leadership role and an advocacy role and it’s good to see an Australian Prime Minister on the world stage doing that. I think we should be proud of that and it shows that we’re prepared to go out there and fight for things that we think are in the interests of not just Australia but of the world.”
Mr Sinodinos said China would “do better to go on the front-foot and accept that there should be a review and co-operate with the review”.
“We’re hopeful at the World Health Assembly in a few days that when the EU puts up a resolution about this that that will get supported and we would hope that the Chinese would support that resolution on the review as well,” he said.
Mr Sinodinos said it was unfortunate that China felt they had to “go on the defensive” because other countries, including the US, were looking at running inquiries into their own responses to COVID-19.
The former senator and chief-of-staff to John Howard said Australia would deal with trade issues on their merits.
“We value the relationship with China. The trading relationship, it’s very important to us. But we also have to make our way through this pandemic. We’ve got to walk and chew gum at the same time.
“Our experience in the past has been whenever we’ve had disputes with China the trade relationship has always, more or less, sailed through them because we’re quite important to each other particularly in areas like the resources trade.
“And while both countries want to diversify their relationship, so they don’t want to be so concentrated in their trade with each other, the fact of the matter is there’s a lot of mutual benefit that comes from the relationship we’ve had. And that’s not something that I think the Chinese would throw away lightly either.”
READ MORE: China’s trade intimidation risks economic self-harm
Rachel Baxendale 1.43pm: Growing virus cluster at Melbourne McDonald’s
A McDonald’s restaurant in Melbourne’s north which was allowed to remain open for 24 hours after a worker tested positive to COVID-19 has now been linked to six cases of coronavirus.
The growing cluster linked to the Fawkner McDonald’s has prompted further questions about the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ contact tracing practices.
It comes after Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told Victorian parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee’s coronavirus inquiry on Tuesday that DHHS had not initially alerted workmates of a Cedar Meats worker diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 24 to warn them to isolate and get tested, because the worker told them he had “no close contacts” because he had not been working in close proximity to others at the Melbourne abattoir.
This was despite the worker having been at work in the abattoir’s boning room, to which dozens of cases have since been linked.
As of Wednesday, there are 88 COVID-19 cases linked to Cedar Meats.
DHHS confirmed on Wednesday two new cases had been detected as part of the McDonald’s cluster in the past 24 hours, bringing the total linked to the cluster to six, with 92 McDonald’s employees now having been tested as a precaution.
The first case linked to Fawkner McDonald’s was confirmed on Thursday April 7, but the restaurant was not closed until a second linked case was identified the following day, because the worker had not worked at the outlet since April 30.
“McDonald’s closed the restaurant to undertake a deep clean. All close contacts of confirmed cases have been contacted by the department and will remain in quarantine for 14 days,” DHHS said in a statement.
The Fawkner McDonald’s is expected to reopen in coming days with staff from other outlets.
“I am quite sure that facility will only reopen when it is safe to do so,” Jobs Minister Martin Pakula told a press conference on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Ball in premiers’ court to reopen quickly
Richard Ferguson 1.14pm: Palaszczuk urges PM to defuse trade war
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has sounded the alarm on a potential trade war with China, saying the Morrison government needs to resolve tensions to protect Queensland jobs.
The Premier spoke as three abattoirs in her state were suspended from exporting meat products for China. She joins WA Premier Mark McGowan in calling for a rapid easing in tensions.
Ms Palaszczuk said on Wednesday that she will write to Trade Minister Simon Birmingham urging him to solve the beef dispute soon.
“China is an incredibly important trading partner to Queensland. Let me say that again: China is an incredibly important trading partner to Queensland,” she said in Brisbane.
“Most of our trade goes to China. What trade means is jobs … In relation to our beef industry, it is thousands of jobs: 18,000 jobs.
“What I am concerned about is the potential for a trade war to erupt and to damage Queensland’s exports, to damage Queensland’s reputation, and to damage Queensland’s jobs and livelihoods
“But I really would like this issue resembled as quickly as possible … I’ll be writing to the Trade Minister.”
READ MORE: China’s trade intimidation risks economic self-harm
Rachel Baxendale 1.00pm: Victorian Treasurer defends Belt and Road deal
Victoria’s Treasurer has blamed “inelegant interventions” and a “use of language” to “vilify China” for the country’s decision to suspend beef imports from four Australian abattoirs and threaten tariffs on Australian barley.
Defending the Andrews government’s Belt and Road deal with the Chinese government as he faced questions at Victorian parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee coronavirus inquiry, Treasurer Tim Pallas said Victoria’s relationship with China “benefits all Victorians, from farmers exporting their produce to our universities and beyond”.
China on Tuesday moved to suspend imports from four large abattoirs, located in Queensland and NSW, following news Australia will push for a global independent probe into the origins of COVID-19 at the World Health Assembly this week.
Earlier this week, China threatened to impose severe tariffs on Australian barley exports.
Mr Pallas claimed the federal government had struck “similar arrangements” to Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China.
“The only difference is we’ve made our arrangements public,” Mr Pallas said.
Asked whether Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement should be paused pending the outcome of an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus, Mr Pallas said: “Absolutely not”.
“The inquiry, and of course there does need to be an inquiry into this pandemic event, but I think the idea of vilification of any single nation in this context, I think, is dangerous, damaging and probably irresponsible in many respects,” Mr Pallas said.
READ MORE: Victoria Treasurer defends Belt and Road deal with China
Graham Lloyd 12.51pm: Ardern flags big-spending, jobs-focused budget
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has forecast a big spending values budget focused on jobs.
Ms Ardern said Thursday’s budget was not “business as usual” and would be a “tailored solution to a unique situation”.
In her daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Ms Ardern set out the government’s objectives and values for a budget that will set the contest for a September election.
“We believe when times are hard you don’t cut what you invest,” Ms Ardern said.
She said expenditure must provide value for money but “cuts to essential services would be not only immoral but economically wrong”.
Ahead of the budget, the NZ government has already outlined a big boost to health spending and pay equity for early childhood teachers.
As part of the COVID-19 response, benefits have been increased for those who have lost jobs.
“We will not let our team of five million fall when the times get tough,” Ms Ardern said.
“Instead we will strengthen the blanket of support that government is here to provide,” she said.
Ms Ardern said the best asset for New Zealand’s recovery was the strength of the government balance sheet and triple-a credit rating.
“Our number one priority is jobs and that is why this will be a jobs budget,” she said.
“Our plan is to invest to create jobs and get the economy going again,” she said.
READ MORE: NZ passes Australia in dramatic reopening
Patrick Commins 12.46pm: 99pc drop in overseas arrivals in April
There were 99 per cent fewer overseas arrivals in April versus the same month last year, as Australia closed its border and international travel ground to a near standstill.
Early, provisional data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – part of a series of more timely statistics designed to provide a more timely measure of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – showed that of the 22,000 arrivals, 15,000 were returning Australians.
That compared to 1.7 million overseas arrivals in April 2019.
READ MORE: Overseas arrivals drop by 99pc
Paige Taylor 12.32pm: Six active cases in WA, Rottnest quarantine continues
The number of people with coronavirus in Western Australia has fallen to six including one in intensive care.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said a total of 538 people had recovered from COVID-19 in WA. Another nine had died, all of them from cruise ships.
Mr McGowan told reporters the holiday island of Rottnest, 22km off Perth, would continue to be closed to the public and used as a quarantine station. He said it was possible more Australians would want to return home and those people would need somewhere to isolate for 14 days. Later on Wednesday, 200 Australians were due to complete their quarantine on Rottnest Island and they would be ferried to the mainland. They arrived from South Africa two weeks ago.
READ MORE: ‘Serious risk of second wave’
Rosie Lewis 12.31pm: Senate may force JobKeeper extension
The Senate may force the Morrison government to extend the JobKeeper payments to universities and foreign entities, with Centre Alliance declaring the move would be a win for Australian workers.
Labor senator Tony Sheldon is set to move a disallowance motion in the Senate on Wednesday night that would open the $130bn scheme to the higher education sector and companies owned by a foreign entity, such as the thousands of aviation workers employed by Dnata.
The air services provider is owned by the Emirates Group.
“We’ll support that disallowance (motion), we’ve made the decision to do so,” Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff told The Australian.
“It’s all about supporting Australians to remain in work. This is not dishing out money to foreign entities for them to siphon off and use elsewhere because it is simply to help keep Australians in work.
“I don’t think the foreign entity part of it makes any difference to this. Whether they’re foreign-owned, Australian-owned, half foreign-owned, 90 per cent Australian and 10 per cent owned by the UK, it doesn’t matter one little bit.”
Labor will require the support of the Greens and four Senate crossbenchers to succeed in moving its disallowance motion and so far has the votes of the Greens and two Centre Alliance senators locked in.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, who controls two Senate votes, and independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie are considering their positions.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the Morrison government would not start making JobKeeper payments to businesses owned by foreign governments and pointed out universities, which have lost a huge chunk of their income from international students, already received ongoing public funding.
READ MORE: JobKeeper scheme needs major fix
Richard Ferguson 12.27pm: I handle China policy with PM: Payne
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has pushed back at claims she has vacated the China debate and let Liberal backbenchers dictate foreign policy.
Senator Payne has come under criticism from Labor for not appearing regularly in the media, with Anthony Albanese saying she has failed to properly discipline anti-China MPs.
The Foreign Minister told Sky News that she and Scott Morrison were in charge of China policy, and said it was not her job to debate that policy with the Opposition.
‘That tone has been set by the Prime Minister, by me in my capacity, by other ministers who are engaged on those issues,” she said.
“We will continue to do that in an appropriate, considerate, and determined way in Australia’s national interests.
“It’s not necessarily for me to have a public argument with the Opposition on these matters, even if that’s what they want.”
READ MORE: There can be no backdown in face of Beijing trade baloney
Matthew Westwood 12.20pm: Adelaide gallery first to eye reopening
Adelaide’s grand cultural institutions on North Terrace are to be the first in the country to reopen after COVID-19, with the Art Gallery of South Australia planning to welcome visitors from June 8.
AGSA director Rhana Devenport says the gallery has been given dispensation from the Marshall government to allow more than 20 people inside, as the state relaxes its lockdown measures.
READ MORE: Gallery first to eye reopening
Ben Packham 11.55am: Spies advice ‘threat to national economy’
Australian China Business Council CEO Helen Sawczak has accused the Morrison government of damaging the nation’s relationship with China and says hard line advice from security agencies is threatening the nation’s economic wellbeing.
In strident comments during a web discussion with Huawei’s Jeremy Mitchell, Ms Sawczak said national security concerns were undermining Australia’s dealings with its biggest trading partner. “There has been a lot of talk about national security concerns and that they should override our economic interests,” she said. “Well if the spooks were managing our economic interests this country would go down the gurgler.”
Ms Sawczak said national security interests were important “but not to the detriment of our economic interests”.
As China moves to slap trade sanctions on Australian beef and barley, she blasted Australia’s move to call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus without international backing as “a weird strategy”.
“To go out like a shag on a rock little Australia demanding an inquiry and insinuating blame was probably not a great foreign policy move,” Ms Sawczak said. “It is of great concern when the government does not handle China diplomatically.”
She said Australian ministers needed to be able to pick up the phone with Chinese counterparts to deal with difficulties in the relationship. Australia should avoid “politicising” the economic relationship with China by raising thorny issues behind closed doors, she said.
“National security concerns and global humanitarian issues like pandemics are really important issues, but let’s not play it out in the public arena,” Ms Sawczak said.
She said she felt sorry for Australia’s foreign policy bureaucrats who were “at the whim of their political masters” amid a politicised bilateral relationship.
READ MORE: Julie Bishop questions PM rhetoric
Agencies 11.45am: De Niro labels White House response ‘Shakespearean’
Hollywood star Robert De Niro has reopened his feud with Donald Trump, saying the president “doesn’t care” how many people die from coronavirus. The Oscar-winning actor, 76, is one of Trump’s most vociferous critics and has now taken aim at his handling of the health crisis. More than 82,000 people have died in the US, according to Johns Hopkins University, more than any other country.
During an appearance on the BBC’s Newsnight, De Niro described the situation at the White House as “Shakespearean,” saying “you’ve got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around”.
“It’s like Shakespearean the whole thing†– actor Robert de Niro on how the coronavirus outbreak is being handled in the US#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/k64t3Mhcl9
— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) May 12, 2020
De Niro added: “It’s appalling, it’s appalling. He wants to be re-elected, he doesn’t even care how many people die.” Challenged by Newsnight host Emily Maitlis that Trump’s fanbase would disagree, the actor said: “No, he doesn’t care for those people. And the people who he pretends to care about are the people he has the most disdain for because he couldn’t care less about them.
“They might like to tell themselves or delude themselves, but he doesn’t care about them.” De Niro is isolating at his home in New York, the state hardest hit by the pandemic.
READ MORE: Isolation Room — Something for Kate’s ‘ode to the black swan’
Olivia Caisley 11.30am: Murphy: kids safe at school despite mystery illness
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has said the Morrison government is still confident children can return to school despite an outbreak of a mystery coronavirus-related illness linked to Kawasaki disease among school-aged children overseas.
Professor Murphy previously told a Senate coronavirus committee hearing on Wednesday he had commissioned urgent advice on the mystery deadly inflammatory disease that has been reported by doctors in New York and the UK, apparently linked to coronavirus in children.
“We’re pretty confident that children don’t seem to transmit very well within the school environment and we are also pretty confident that those that get the virus don’t get significant illness, now with the Kawasaki element that’s when you’ve got a really, really large outbreak,” Professor Murphy said. “So the risk in schools is probably more from adult to adult interaction and teachers in the staffroom as we well as parents and teachers at the drop off.”
Professor Murphy said the association between COVID and Kawasaki was not yet clear, however there had been no cases linked to COVID in Australia.
“It is something we are watching,” he said.
Asked whether children with smart phones should also download the Morrison government’s COVIDSafe app, Professor Murphy said they were focusing on adults installing the contact tracing tool. “We are not really focusing on that, we are very happy for them to do it, but it’s the active adults, particularly the younger, fitter people … who we know from all the international evidence they will spread the virus.”
READ MORE: Mutant strain of virus spreading
Matt Coughlan 11.20am: Fierravanti-Wells: make China pay reparations
Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has demanded Australia be paid “reparations” from China over coronavirus.
The former Pacific and international development minister also urged Australia to diversify trade relationships and decrease its reliance on China. She wants the lease of Darwin’s port to a Beijing-linked company reviewed, while also warning against predatory investment.
“I am concerned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is taking advantage of the pandemic to further its insidious debt-trap diplomacy by taking advantage of economically stressed nation-states through the Belt and Road Initiative,” she said.
Senator Fierravanti-Wells took a swipe at former foreign minister Julie Bishop after she urged calm and considered diplomacy with China
Liberal senator James Paterson took aim at Australian universities’ reliance on international students, particularly from China. “Relying on students from China disproportionately is not the same as being reliant on any other country,” he told the upper house.
“The Chinese Communist Party rules China in an authoritarian way and its values are very different from ours.”
South Australian Liberal Alex Antic accused China of dictating terms on crucial goods, saying Australia needed to ramp up manufacturing to reduce reliance on its biggest trading partner.
“The CCP’s efforts in arranging for companies linked to the regime to ship tonnes of medical and personal protective equipment back to China sounded the alarm bells for many,” he told parliament. “It has trained a spotlight on the need to return manufacturing to Australia and, in the process, the need to shore up our national security and sovereign interests.” — AAP
READ MORE: Paul Kelly — Ball is in premiers’ court: we must reopen, and quickly
Natasha Robinson 11.15am: Urgent advice sought on deadly inflammatory disease
The nation’s chief health officer has commissioned urgent advice on the mystery deadly inflammatory disease that has been reported by doctors in New York and the UK, apparently linked to coronavirus in children.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy will brief national cabinet this week on the inflammatory syndrome that doctors in New York have reported has afflicted about 100 children, killing three of them.
New York’s state governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the deaths of the three children – a five-year-old boy, a seven year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl – on Tuesday.
The inflammatory disease being seen by doctors resembles Kawasaki disease, which causes potentially deadly inflammation of the blood vessels. A 14-year-old British child died this week of the new illness, which has also been observed in a small number of cases in other countries in Europe.
US doctors are calling the illness Paediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome and believe it is associated with COVID-19. The illness causes prolonged fever, severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea or vomiting, difficulties breathing, racing heart rate and lethargy and confusion.
Children in New York were presenting with the illness four to six weeks after being initially exposed to coronavirus. While Kawasaki disease affects a small number of children in Australia each year, similar cases of inflammatory disease linked to COVID-19 have not been observed in Australia.
However, Professor Murphy has asked the nation’s top paediatric experts to provide advice on the inflammatory illness, which he will present to national cabinet on Friday.
There have been 164 cases of COVID-19 in school-aged children aged between five and eighteen years in Australia. The disease generally causes only mild illness in children.
READ THE FULL STORY here.
Tiffanie Turnbull 11am: Free beer to help outback Qld pubs reopen
Outback pubs and clubs are set to open their doors for the first time in weeks and the beer tab will be picked up by one of Queensland’s best known breweries. The iconic XXXX Brewery has donated 3000L of liquid gold to regional venues hard hit by drought and COVID-19 lockdown.
It follows moves to re-open parks, playgrounds and barbecues, as the state takes giant strides toward reopening following a streak of no new coronavirus cases. One new diagnoses was recorded overnight, with only 18 people yet to recover of the 1052 cases recorded in Queensland.
Road trips are also back on the agenda from Saturday with residents allowed to travel up to 150km from home — increasing to 500km for those in the outback. Parks and beachfronts will be reopened along with many skate parks, outdoor basketball courts and sports fields, for groups of up to 10 people. Despite the gradual easing of social distancing restrictions, authorities continue to urge people with respiratory illness symptoms to get tested. The state’s Chief Health Officer, Jeannette Young, has also previously urged Queenslanders to get their flu vaccination before employees begin to return to offices across the state.
The low rate of coronavirus cases across the state is likely to lead to further restrictions being eased. Up to five people from the one household are currently permitted to visit another home. From Saturday, up to 10 people will be able to gather outside at weddings, pools and for exercise. Kindy, Prep, and students from Years 1, 11 and 12 returned to the classroom this week, with other years expected to return to school from May 25. — AAP
READ MORE: Editorial — Reopening schools a milestone
Richard Ferguson 10.50am: Neumann: PM must get talks with China on track
The local MP for two abattoirs punished by China this week has blasted the government’s handling of the Sino-Australian relationship and says it is now hurting workers in the regions.
Labor MP for Blair Shayne Neumann, who has the Kilcoy and Dinmore plants in his seats, told The Australian that Scott Morrison needs to work more closely with industry and unions to get talks with China back on track.
“This is very troubling for my electorate and it will have a big impact on regional Queensland,” he said. “The government should do better in managing the relationship with China. As recently as the last week, we have had Liberal backbenchers acting like they are our foreign policy and trade representatives.
“These are difficult issues. The government should be working with the opposition, with industry, with the unions, to better manage this relationship so these trade issues don’t keep happening.”
READ MORE: China’s trade intimidation risks economic self-harm
Olivia Caisley 10.30am: CMO Murphy appears before Senate hearing
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has restated that international travel will be one of the last measures to be lifted amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
“I cannot see border measures materially changing for some time and that presents a huge problem for the nation,” Professor Murphy told a Senate select committee on COVID-19 in Canberra on Wednesday. Professor Murphy also said he would be “very surprised” if the total case numbers across the world did not reach the 20 million mark over time.
Also appearing was Scott Morrison’s top adviser Philip Gaetjens, who told Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick he did not see the “hypocrisy” of denying FOI requests for early coronavirus briefings while also demanding Beijing to be more transparent.
When asked by Labor Senator Kristina Keneally whether decisions of the National Cabinet needed to go to Cabinet for endorsement, Mr Gaetjens took the answer on notice.
READ MORE: Peter van Onselen — JobKeeper scheme needs major fix
Rachel Baxendale 10.15am: Positive cases linked to Cedar Meats increase
The number of COVID-19 cases linked to Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats has risen to 88, after Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services attributed three previous diagnoses to close contacts of workers. The three cases are not among seven new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Victoria since Tuesday.
Two cases have been reclassified and removed from Victoria’s tally, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 1,514, 110 of which remain active.
Nine Victorians are in hospital with COVID-19, six of whom are in intensive care.
There have been 164 cases of coronavirus in Victoria with no known link to overseas travel or another known case.
Victorian authorities have conducted 273,000 COVID-19 tests, including 14,000 on Tuesday.
Victoria Police issued just two fines in the 24 hours to 11pm on Tuesday, ahead of social distancing rules relaxing to allow up to five guests in private homes and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 from 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Police conducted 667 spot checks on Tuesday, and have done more than 43,000 checks since March 21.
The new Cedar Meats cases come after Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told Victorian parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee’s coronavirus inquiry on Tuesday that the Department of Health and Human Services had not initially alerted workmates of a worker diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 24 to warn them to isolate and get tested, because the worker told them he had “no close contacts” due to not having been working in close proximity to others.
This was despite the worker having been at work in the abattoir’s boning room, to which dozens of cases have since been linked.
READ MORE: Health chief ‘agnostic’ over Cedar Meats case
Richard Ferguson 10am: Albanese: Where is Foreign Minister Payne?
Anthony Albanese has lashed out at the Morrison Government’s handling of China, saying Coalition backbenchers have been leading foreign policy instead of Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
The Opposition Leader supported an independent global review into COVID-19, but backed comments by his foreign policy spokeswoman Penny Wong that more groundwork should have been done before the government announced its push.
But Mr Albanese aimed his comments directly at Senator Payne and called on her to discipline anti-China backbenchers.
“It’d be pretty handy if we heard more from the Foreign Minister instead of people like (Nationals MP) George Christensen,” he said while campaigning in Eden-Monaro.
“The Foreign Minister and the government need to take control of this and exercise a little bit of discipline because that is clearly Australia’s national interests.
“Australia must always stand up for its national interests … but we do have to make sure that when it comes to diplomatic issues that the groundwork is done.’’
READ MORE: Adam Creighton — Australians must be the most risk-averse group of people in the world
Adeshola Ore 9.40am: Twitter allows staff to work from home indefinitely
Twitter has become one of the first major tech companies to allow employees to work from home indefinitely, signalling a shift in working culture prompted by the coronavirus outbreak.
The social media company is not planning to reopen its offices before September, but has said employees can choose whether or not to return to the office.
The company has not disclosed the number of employees who will be able to work from home indefinitely.
Tech giants like Facebook have allowed most of their employees to work remotely until the end of this year.
Last week, Google said it has asked employees to take a day off on May 22, to address work-from-home related burnout during the pandemic. — With Reuters
READ THE FULL STORY here.
Agencies 9.20am: Julie Bishop under fire: ‘another air-head comment’
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has copped an extraordinary spray from a former colleague after urging calm and considered diplomacy with China.
Ms Bishop said Australia’s call for “weapons inspector” powers to investigate the coronavirus is “inappropriate”, and suggested the government should have built international support before calling for an independent COVID-19 inquiry.
“There may well have been some shortcomings of the diplomatic approach,” Ms Bishop told an online Lowy Institute forum on Tuesday night.
Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who was a junior minister to Ms Bishop, was absolutely scathing.
“Another air-head comment from the ‘couch’. We had six years of ‘Instagram diplomacy’ that ignored CCP skulduggery and ‘debt trap diplomacy’,” she tweeted.
@Gallo_Ways Another air-head comment from the ‘couch’. We had 6 years of ‘instagram diplomacy’ that ignored #CCP skulduggery and ‘debt trap diplomacy’! #auspol
— Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (@Senator_CFW) May 12, 2020
Ms Bishop, who served as foreign minister for six years, said there was “no doubt” there should be an independent investigation into the coronavirus. But she said that only the UN Security Council could compel a country to accept international inspectors on its soil, which China would veto as a permanent Security Council member. — AAP
READ MORE: Bishop questions China approach
Adeshola Ore 9am: Government ‘working around clock’ to ease China tensions
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the government is working “around the clock” to respond to Chinese authorities and save Australian farming jobs. The country has imposed an import ban on four Australian abattoirs, signalling an escalation in Beijing’s trade war tactics. It comes a day after the country flagged plans to introduce an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley.
The trade minister has said the suspensions are due to “highly technical issues”, dating back more than a year and has argued they should be considered separate to the COVID-19 investigation. Senator Birmingham said Australia was seeking to have “the most respectful and engaging relations” with China.
China has suspended imports from four major Australian abattoirs after Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded an independent inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus outbreak.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 12, 2020
Trade Minister @Birmo joined Sam to discuss.
More on this story: https://t.co/zYhak4fGcr pic.twitter.com/AVmMPTzKgq
“You always have occasional bugbears that come up in a trading relationship as a result of technical issues or breaches or claims of practices like dumping,” he told Sunrise. “In this case, we completely reject the idea that our barley is anything other than the most efficient and productive in the world. That’s why they produce large volumes, good competitive prices and high quality for export.”
He said Australia was always seeking to expand its export relationships to take advantage of new trade opportunities.
READ MORE: Gottliebsen — We’re not always the good guy
Richard Ferguson 8.35am: Beijing stonewalls Australia talks request
Chinese authorities have so far ignored attempts by the Morrison Government to reach out and discuss trade tensions over barley, meat, and other potential exports under fire.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham confirmed on Wednesday morning that his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan has not responded to his requests for a meeting, as Australian industries scramble to respond to Chinese trade aggression.
“I have asked for a discussion with my counterpart, that hasn’t happened as yet but we will keep those lines of communication open,” Senator Birmingham told the Nine Network.
“I can’t tell you why it hasn’t happened. I’m open, ready and willing to meet and discuss whenever we can.
“I can’t make any other country respond. I can only control the way in which we approach these issues as an Australian Government, and we approach our positions from a position of policy strength and certainty, defence of our values and interests, but respectful engagement with partners whether it be China or any other country.”
READ MORE: Great brawl with China risks trade war
Adeshola Ore 8.25am: Ruby Princess death toll climbs to 22
NSW health authorities have confirmed the death of a former Ruby Princess passenger, the cruise ship’s 22nd fatality.
The state’s chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said an 81-year-old woman who had tested positive to coronavirus died overnight. The woman contracted the virus on the cruise ship which docked on March 19.
Twenty of the Ruby Princess deaths have been Australians and two were overseas passengers.
The state recorded six more cases of coronavirus in the past twenty-four hours, with three understood to be from community transmission.
Dr Chant said two of the new cases were close contacts of a nurse of the Newmarch House aged-care facility, which is at the centre of an outbreak that has been linked to 16 coronavirus deaths.
Ms Chant said there was a PPE breach that led to the nurse’s infection. The two close contacts, who had also worked at the facility, were in isolation when they tested positive to COVID-19.
A further two cases from the Cronulla area had been previously deemed inconclusive from testing.
One case remains under investigation and the sixth was acquired overseas.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian stressed that the public needed to remain vigilant when the state’s restrictions ease again from Friday.
“It’s really important for all of us to take that extra precaution. As we know there will be many more people out and about and many people out for recreation as opposed to other reasons.”
The state conducted more than 8000 COVID-19 tests on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Defence expo expelled
Richard Ferguson 8.15am: ‘See what happens’ on China boycott
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says Australia will have to “just see what happens” to exports which could be targeted by China, as he tries to downplay the notion of a trade war.
Industry leaders across a number of sectors – including seafood, wine and dairy – are now scrambling to prepare for China potentially imposing the same restrictions it has put on beef and barley in recent days, as the Chinese Foreign Ministry ramped up its attacks over Australia’s push for a global inquiry into the origins of coronavirus.
The Finance Minister said each trade issue with China had to be dealt with on its own merits, and would not say if he expected any other export markets to come under pressure.
“This anti-dumping inquiry (into barley) has been going for 18 months, since well before the coronavirus crisis,” he told the Nine Network.
“Let’s just see what happens. We’ll continue to deal with these things one by one.
“We have always committed to the best possible relationship with any and every country – including with China, in particular with China.”
READ MORE: China trade intimidation risks economic self harm
Adeshola Ore 7.50am: Antibody tests too inaccurate for use
Antibody tests ordered by the federal government are not accurate enough to be used in the fight against coronavirus.
The tests purchased by the government were intended to be distributed after they arrived in March. Antibody blood tests, also called antibody tests, check your blood by looking for antibodies, which show if you had a previous infection with the virus.
A report, from the Australian Acadmy of Science commissioned by Health Minister Grent Hunt, said the finger prick and antibody tests were not suitable for “widespread deployment” in Australia.
“For as long as the prevalence of COVID-19 is low in Australia and available serological tests are not approaching 100 per centspecificity, serological testing to measure the prevalence of COVID-19 will not be meaningful,” the Rapid Research Information Forum said.
READ MORE: Virus toll on mental health
Adeshola Ore 7.25am: British Rail worker dies after being spat on
A British Rail ticket office worker has died from COVID-19 after being spat on while she was working at Victoria Station in central London.
Belly Mujinga, 47, was working with a colleague when a member of the public assaulted them, spat and coughed over them and said he had the novel coronavirus, according to the transport union.
The number of virus deaths continues to fall in UK. On Tuesday, the country recorded 627 hospital deaths, bringing the total number to 32, 692.
In Russia. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has tested positive for coronavirus. The announcement comes after a new surge in coronavirus cases which puts Russia at the second-highest number of infections in the world after the United States. Russia now has 232,243 recorded cases and 2,116 deaths according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
India has reopened parts of its huge rail network with the running of a limited number of trains. The country is considering easing its lockdown of its 1.3 billion people The announcement led to a mad rush for online bookings on Monday as more than 45,000 people purchased train tickets within hours of the start of sales.
Passengers were allowed to enter the stations only if they were asymptomatic and cleared thermal screening. They are required to maintain social distancing on board and are given hand sanitisers when they enter and leave.
READ MORE: Bishop questions ‘weapons’ rhetoric
Cameron Stewart 7.00am: US health experts warn of ‘suffering, death’ in 2nd wave
The Trump administration’s health experts have warned of another wave of ‘suffering and death’ that will set back hopes of an economic recovery if US society is reopened too fast.
The sombre warnings about the ongoing threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic contrasted sharply with the more upbeat assessment given the previous day by Donald Trump.
In testimony to a Senate health committee, the country’s leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned of a ‘serious risk’ of a second outbreak if states tried to open up their economies before meeting benchmarks such as sustained falls in infection rates.
“My concern is that if some areas – cities, states or what have you – jump over those various checkpoints and prematurely open up, without having the capability of being able to respond effectively and efficiently, my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” Dr Fauci said in testimony given via video.
“There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control, which in fact, paradoxically, will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery,” he said.
His warning was echoed by Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who told the committee “We are not out of the woods yet. We need to stay vigilant with social distancing. It remains an imperative.”
READ MORE: Second wave fear as nations reopen
Richard Ferguson 6.45am: Frydenberg tests negative for COVID-19
Josh Frydenberg has tested negative for coronavirus, after a coughing fit interrupted his landmark economic statement to parliament.
The Treasurer self-isolated on Tuesday afternoon following his economic statement – which replaced the budget he was due to hand down that day – when he started to suffer from a dry throat.
Yesterday I was tested for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution on the advice of the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. This morning I received the result of the test which was negative.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) May 12, 2020
On Wednesday morning, Mr Frydenberg was given the all clear.
“Yesterday I was tested for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution on the advice of the Deputy Chief Medical Officer,” he tweeted.
“This morning I received the result of the test which was negative.”
READ MORE: Virus debt hard to swallow
Adeshola Ore 6.30am: Eased Victorian rules ‘not a dinner party invitation’
Victorians are waking up to life under eased coronavirus restrictions. People can now invite five friends or family members over, attend mass or play golf.
Premier Daniel Andrews has urged people to be cautious, warning it is “not an invitation to host a dinner party every night of the week”.
As part of the new rules, up to 10 people can gather outdoors and partake in recreational activities such as golf, fishing and hiking, as well as attend mass and group support services such as Alcoholics Anonymous, so long as social- distancing rules are observed.
Ten guests are also allowed to attend weddings while funerals may have 20 mourners indoors or 30 outdoors. The changes will be in place until the end of May.
On Tuesday Victoria confirmed students in prep, grades 1 and 2, years 11 and 12, and at special schools will be allowed back in the classroom on May 26. From June 9, students in years 3 to 10 will also return to face-to-face lessons at government schools.
Victoria is the last state to relax the restrictions on schools, as coronavirus cases continue to rise. — with AAP
READ MORE: Editorial — reopening schools a milestone
Kevin Freking 5.15am: US cans plan for $4bn in Chinese investments
The Trump administration has directed the US federal employee retirement fund to scrap its plan to place more than $4 billion into Chinese investments, a move that comes as the president continues to target Beijing for not doing more to stop COVID-19 from spreading around the world.
Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World. Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don’t blame them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020
The administration has given the board overseeing the Thrift Savings Plan until tomorrow to comply with the president’s directive.
National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and the president’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien wrote a letter Monday to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia calling on the retirement fund’s board to keep money out of Chinese equities. The letter warned that such investments presented significant national security and humanitarian concerns because they operate in violation of US sanction law and helped China bolster its military and oppress religious minorities living in the country.
Mr O’Brien told Fox Business Network’s Varney & Co overnight (AEST) that several billions were going to be invested in Chinese military companies or surveillance state companies.
“We thought that was risky for US national security but we also thought it was risky for the investors, because those companies don’t have to comply with the same … rules that you’d have to if you were listed on the stock exchange,” he said.
Mr Scalia followed with a letter to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board asking it to forgo its plan to move money into the Chinese equities.
The Trump Administration has marshaled every resource at its disposal to fight the Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/yXqiPbClSu
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 11, 2020
READ MORE: Editorial — China’s trade intimidation risks economic self-harm
Geoff Chambers 5am: Beijing calls for mutual respect in bilateral relations
Beijing has accused Australia of launching an inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic for political reasons, declaring that “mutual respect and equality” must form the basis of bilateral relations amid industry fears an escalating trade clash could damage the $153bn export market to China.
Threats from China to impose tariffs on Australian barley exports and the suspension of meat exporters have also fuelled speculation Beijing is preparing a series of “retaliatory measures” to increase economic pressure on the Morrison government.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last night claimed the crackdown on four abattoirs in Queensland and NSW was not linked to the communist nation’s fury with Canberra even as it escalated its attack on Scott Morrison’s calls for a global investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 4.45am: ‘Strong case for extending JobKeeper’, Lib MP says
A growing number of Liberal MPs are calling on the Morrison government to stop paying businesses JobKeeper money if they no longer require help, while demanding the program be extended beyond September to those suffering ongoing financial hardship.
The internal push to overhaul the $130bn scheme came as some Liberal and Labor MPs asked for special consideration for thousands of airport employees, who work for the foreign-owned air services provider Dnata, to receive the $1500 fortnightly payments. Australian and foreign governments and their agencies are not entitled to JobKeeper money.
Far north Queensland Liberal National Party MP Warren Entsch, whose electorate of Leichhardt takes in the badly-hit tourist destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas, said there was a “strong case” for extending JobKeeper for some industries.
Read the full story here.
Additional reporting: Ben Packham
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