Coronavirus Australia live news: Police warn anti-lockdown marchers after 404 arrests; Frydenberg defends budget after rate cut
Victoria Police is ‘disappointed’ that anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne’s CBD ‘again showed disregard for the safety of the broader community’
- Violence flares in Melbourne
- SA to ease Victoria restrictions
- US-Australia alliance pledge
- No new cases in Victoria
- Agency silenced at inquiry
Welcome to our live coverage of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Violence has flared at anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne. SA will ease border limits on Victoria, Premier Steven Marshall has announced. The US Ambassador to Australia says the two nations will continue to challenge China, regardless of the election result. Victoria has recorded 4 straight days of zero new cases and no deaths. The agency overseeing Victoria’s use of contractors raised concerns about private security contracts and complained Treasury may have left out ‘relevant facts’ in evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry.
Glynis Traill-Nash 9.45pm: No field, but still fashions aplenty
Just as nothing could stop the Race That Stops a Nation, neither would racewear devotees put their fascinators down merely because of a global pandemic.
This year, the annual Fashions on the Field competition took a digital turn, dubbed Myer Fashions on Your Front Lawn.
In the lead-up to the Melbourne Cup Carnival, racewear fans, milliners and designers had submitted their looks to be judged ahead of the event.
On Cup Day, designer Ali Rauf and his label Bird Skin won the Emerging Designer Award, while Stephanie Spencer took home the Millinery Award — remotely, of course.
Rauf won his category on his fourth attempt, with a colour-blocked design that evoked the hues of spring after a long period of lockdown in Victoria.
The fabric was inspired by the work of early 20th century Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny, using finely pleated fabric made at Australia’s only pleating workshop.
Remy Varga 9.15pm: Sun shines on ghost town of Flemington
For the first time in its 160-year history, the Melbourne Cup took place in front of empty stands with owners and punters banished due to the pandemic.
Without the cheers and jubilation of famously boisterous crowds, Flemington Racecourse was as jubilant as a ghost town after Twilight Payment claimed the Melbourne Cup.
In another cruel twist of fate, the sun shone brightly over the track’s famed roses with Melbourne’s temperamental climate delivering the warmest weather in six years.
In a pre-COVID world, the 160th running of the Melbourne Cup would have seen thousands of racegoers on Tuesday. Instead, the lone photographer snapped photographs of empty stands while the odd trainer walked a horse while pop music blasted against the empty concrete.
Damon Johnston 8.45pm: Bets tumble as punters keep distance
Victoria’s coronavirus second wave has claimed another economic victim, with betting on Tuesday’s 160th Melbourne Cup taking a steep dive.
Early TAB figures revealed Victorian wagering on the race that stops the nation fell to $28m, down 17.7 per cent on last year, suggesting the lack of a 100,000-strong crowd at Flemington and concern about the economy hit hard.
TAB outlets reopened only last week after being closed, along with much of Melbourne’s economy, as the pandemic raged through the suburbs.
It’s also believed that social-distancing crowd limits at pubs and retail centres with TAB outlets also helped suppress betting among Melbourne punters.
TAB said preliminary figures showed there was about $100m wagered with its outlets on Tuesday, down 6 per cent nationally.
AFP 8.15pm: Fearing ‘disaster’, Lebanon mulls new lockdown
Lebanon, mired in economic turmoil deepened by the Beirut port blast three months ago, is weighing a second nationwide lockdown to stem a surge in coronavirus cases.
“Today we’re at a very dangerous crossroads,” caretaker health minister Hamad Hassan said, warning that hospitals are running out of intensive-care beds.
“We’re approaching a disastrous situation,” he was quoted as saying by the official National News Agency.
The country of six million people has recorded 83,697 cases of COVID-19 including 652 deaths since February. Around a third of the population are Syrian or Palestinian refugees, many living in overcrowded camps.
A first country-wide lockdown imposed in March was effective in stemming the spread of the virus, and restrictions were gradually lifted as summer beckoned people outdoors.
But then daily infections slowly ticked up again — and they surged after the monstrous Beirut port blast of August 4 ravaged swathes of the capital and overwhelmed hospitals.
Daily new cases have risen from a few dozen in early summer to more than 1000 now.
READ MORE: Grim scenes on US election eve
Ben Hoyle 7.45pm: Virus is behind surge in murders: US police
Police forces in the US are blaming an alarming rise in the murder rate on the effects of coronavirus.
As well as the worst economic slump since the Depression, Americans are also battling a mental health crisis tied to the pandemic. Fear of crime and civil disorder has led to a big increase in gun sales, to first-time buyers in particular, at a time when the spread of coronavirus has forced officers to scale back the community intervention work that helps to mitigate violence.
In Philadelphia there have been 404 killings this year, an increase of more than 40 per cent on this time last year. Los Angeles is on track for more than 300 murders for the first time in over a decade.
Kansas City, Missouri, registered its 151st killing on October 15, breaking its single-year record with 11 weeks of 2020 still to go. Indianapolis had its 180th violent death a week earlier to set its own unwanted annual record.
The records confirm a pattern established in several surveys. In September a report by the non-partisan Council on Criminal Justice found that this northern summer the murder rate rose in 27 US cities. “Homicide rates between June and August of 2020 increased by 53 per cent over the same period in 2019,” the report said.
A preliminary report published by the FBI in the same month found murders up 15 per cent nationwide in the first half of 2020.
Jeff Asher, co-founder of AH Datalytics, collated statistics from 59 cities for the year to date and found that murder was up 28 per cent compared with the same period in 2019.
In Oakland, California, a rise in gun violence had contributed to a 40 per cent increase in murders this year. One of the victims was Aaron Pryor, a 16-year-old star American football player who was shot in daylight on a driveway near his home for reasons that remain unclear.
His coach, Joe Bates, told The New York Times that in a normal year the boy would have been on the sports field, not on the streets.
“It was Covid that really killed this kid,” he said.
The Times
READ MORE: Don’t panic, at day’s end US flag will still fly
Valentine Low 7.15pm: Prince William’s infection secret ‘slightly strange’
Prince William’s decision not to reveal that he tested positive for COVID-19 in April has been described by a royal expert as an unusual “break with precedent”.
The duke was left struggling to breathe when he contracted the virus about the same time as his father and Boris Johnson, it was understood.
Royal biographer Penny Junor said it was “odd” that Kensington Palace had not said anything publicly about it.
Rachel Baxendale 6.45pm: Anti-lockdown protest arrests hit 404
Victoria Police say they arrested 404 people on Tuesday, following violent anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne’s CBD.
“Victoria Police was disappointed to arrest a large number of protestors who again showed disregard for the safety of the broader community and the directions of the Chief Health Officer,” a police spokeswoman said.
“Officers arrested 404 people and are issuing 395 penalty notices for a range of offences including not wearing a mask, breaching public gathering directions, travelling more than 25km from their home, assault police and failing to state their name and address.
“A female senior sergeant was conveyed to hospital with a suspected broken arm following an arrest.
“Victoria Police will not hesitate to fine those who clearly and blatantly breach the Chief Health Officer directions.”
READ MORE: Violent clashes at Melbourne protest
AFP 6.15pm: More lockdowns in Europe as outbreaks grow
Austria and Greece are the latest European nations to impose spirit-crushing curbs to combat the coronavirus surge, with a deadly terrorist attack in Vienna ahead of a partial lockdown compounding the misery.
The virus has infected more than 46 million people worldwide, with more than 1.2 million deaths, and the acute outbreaks in Europe and the US are sparking further alarm about the state of the already devastated global economy.
Austria’s cases in recent weeks have surged well past the levels recorded in the spring, forcing the government to impose a curfew between 8pm and 6am starting on Tuesday until the end of November.
No meetings will be allowed between people from more than two households, and there will be limited curfew exceptions for care responsibilities and essential work travel. Universities and high schools will move to distance learning, but kindergartens and other schools will remain open.
Just hours before the beginning of the lockdown, with people enjoying a final night of relative freedom, gunmen opened fire at multiple locations across central Vienna, killing at least two people.
A two-week lockdown will also come into force on Tuesday in Greece’s second-biggest city Thessaloniki, with flights suspended and everything closed except schools. The restrictions follow localised lockdowns in the regions of Kozani and Kastoria earlier this month.
READ MORE: Vienna gunman an IS sympathiser
AFP 5.45pm: Election in virus-free Palau
Voters in Palau headed to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new president for the tiny Pacific nation, one of the few places in the world to remain coronavirus-free.
President Tommy Remengesau is standing down after serving two four-year terms, during which he kept the country closely allied to Taiwan and the US amid a push by China to increase its influence in the region.
Both candidates vying for the top job — Vice-President Raymond Oilouch and businessman Surangel Whipps Jr — are expected to retain existing foreign policy priorities.
If elected, their goals will be keeping the country of 20,000 coronavirus-free and minimising the economic pain induced by closing borders and shuttering the tourism industry.
Mr Whipps, the favourite to win after recording a strong lead in a preliminary round of voting, has urged Taiwan to provide more support to Palau, one of only 15 nations worldwide that offer Taipei diplomatic recognition.
Mr Oilouch has said aid and investment should be encouraged from all sources, including both the US and China.
“Palau has no enemy,” he said on the campaign trail.
Preliminary results from the election should be known late on Tuesday.
Palau, an archipelago about 1500km east of the Philippines, closed its borders in March to keep out the virus.
It was one of several Pacific island nations to isolate themselves, despite the economic cost, with fears that its poor health infrastructure made it particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.
As a result, the remote island nations and territories of Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are believed to still be free of the virus.
The Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands registered their first cases in October.
READ MORE: Grim scenes on US election eve
Richard Ferguson 5.20pm: RBA has ‘arisen from its monetary slumber’: Keating
Former prime minister Paul Keating says the Reserve Bank has “arisen from its monetary slumber” after the board cut the cash rate to a record low 0.1 per cent.
Mr Keating — prime minister from 1991 to 1996 — lashed out at the RBA back in September for not doing enough to stimulate the economy in the midst of the coronavirus recession.
The RBA has abandoned “its long, fruitless search for the inflation dragon”, he said on Tuesday.
“With much gritting of teeth and after running monetary policy too tightly for half a
decade or more, the governor has announced a fall in the overnight cash and call rate
and a decision by the bank to wade into the long bond market, to push down longerterm interest rates,” Mr Keating said in a statement.
“This, no doubt, is designed to take pressure off the exchange rate, which overvalued,
has cost thousands of jobs and diminished competitiveness over the last five to seven years.
“The bank’s inflation obsession should be moderated by a switch to ‘actual’ and not
‘forecast’ inflation, which the bank has been so wedded to.”
READ MORE: RBA cuts rates to 0.1%, fires QE
Richard Ferguson 5pm: Morrison denounces Vienna attack
Scott Morrison has condemned the terrorist attack on Vienna in a social media video, saying the actions of gunmen in the Austrian capital are cowardly and that Australia stands with Austria.
The Prime Minister reached out to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Tuesday to offer Australia’s support after terrorists shot at Vienna citizens in six different locations across the city, killing three people, including one attacker.
In his video message, Mr Morrison tells any Australians in Vienna to follow the instructions of local officials while the gunmen remain at large.
“Australia condemns absolutely the cowardly terrorist attacks that we’ve seen in Vienna, in Austria, and we stand with the people of Austria as they, even at this time, are working through a very uncertain and fluid situation,” he said in the message.
“I’ve been in contact with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and provided Australia’s condolences, but also our assurance that we stand with them against these acts of terror and we’ll do all we can to support them and all nations and all peoples who are affected by these cowardly acts.
“For Australians who are in Austria, I urge you to follow the instructions of local authorities and you can also ensure you’re updated here in Australia through the Smartraveller website. This remains an ongoing situation and it’s important that everyone do everything they can to stay safe and remain indoors where they’re in an area that is affected by this terrorist attack.”
READ MORE: Vienna gunman an IS sympathiser
Rachel Baxendale 4.45pm: Ease more restrictions, Vic MP urges
Victorian opposition frontbencher David Southwick has called for the Andrews government to further ease coronavirus restrictions and boost the economy following four days with no new cases.
“We need to restore confidence, and (Premier) Daniel Andrews should start to think about a race day that stops the nation (today, and) tomorrow, a day that restarts Victoria, and ultimately a day in which people can start to think about how they restore confidence in our great state: confidence in leaving their homes, getting out and about enjoying the wonderful cafes, restaurants surrounds, retail,” Mr Southwick said.
“Daniel Andrews compares Victoria to the United States. We should be in Victoria comparing Victoria to the other states. We should be looking at New South Wales, Queensland and how they’re operating at the moment ... We should be looking at how Victoria and New South Wales has handled the pandemic, how they’re open and Victoria, in many instances is still shut.”
He cited “confusion” over rules banning more than one home visit from more than one household of no more than two adults per day.
“It’s such a contradiction where you’ve got to pick and choose which two people you have over, but you can have thousands of people at Chadstone Shopping Centre. It just doesn’t make sense,” Mr Southwick said.
“Ultimately we need to respect safe practice, but I think one of the things that this pandemic has taught us, is people are acting a lot more responsibly.
“We don’t want a situation where people are opening up and having big parties at home with hundreds of people. That’s not responsible, but certainly when you’re picking and choosing as to whether you’re going to have your mother or your father, or your brother or your sister home in your family, I think that’s pretty tough.”
READ MORE: Violent clashes at Melbourne protest
Rachel Baxendale 4.10pm: Health Minister defends quarantine inquiry
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has said the Coate inquiry into the Andrews government’s bungled hotel quarantine program is “rigorously and thoroughly independent”, after being asked whether he still believes the inquiry is hearing from all relevant witnesses.
The question came after Sky News host Peta Credlin revealed in The Australian on Tuesday that the Victorian Government Purchasing Board repeatedly raised concerns about how private security contracts were awarded for hotel quarantine, and complained that Treasury may have left out what they say are “materially relevant facts” in their evidence to the inquiry.
Asked whether he had confidence the inquiry was hearing from all relevant witnesses, given the Victorian Government Purchasing Board has not been called to give evidence, Mr Foley said: “Justice Coate’s inquiry is rigorously and thoroughly independent, and what an independent inquiry does is completely up to the independent inquiry.”
“Any resources, any support, any assistance that Justice Coate has asked for her inquiry has been provided, and in regards to all the work that that inquiry has undertaken, I’m sure Victorians when they see the final report will be able to express a view on it,” he said.
“In terms of procurement matters, I understand that the government has issued an appropriate statement indicating it’s followed all proper arrangements.”
READ MORE: Questions over inquiry process
Richard Ferguson 3.55pm: Treasurer hits back at Labor attack
Josh Frydenberg has lashed out at opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers for calling the Reserve Bank’s rate an indictment on his budget, saying his Labor critic is akin to a “group three” horse.
Dr Chalmers has called the RBA’s cash rate cut from 0.25 to 0.1 per cent – the lowest interest rates in Australia have ever been – a vote of no confidence in the Treasurer’s fiscal plan.
Mr Frydenberg hit back on Tuesday and said the RBA made clear that their move is in line with the budget.
“Economic recovery is well under way and the Reserve Bank has upgraded the market. This followed positive economic data this week,” he said in Melbourne.
“The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia today to cut the cash rate down to 10 basis points and to target the three-year bond yield at 10 basis points complements the economic support that the Morrison government has provided the Australian economy.
“The Reserve Bank made it very clear in their statement today that their moves today complement what the Morrison government announced in this year’s budget, particularly supporting job creation and our economic recovery.
“If Jim Chalmers was a horse he would be running in a group three and coming last and he would be put out to pasture ... The reality is no-one’s listening to him.”
READ MORE: Rates at historic low
Staff Reporters 3.30pm: Violence erupts at anti-lockdown protest
Violence erupted at an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne on Tuesday, despite the city enjoying its first week of freedom from harsh restrictions since stage four lockdown was implemented.
Police and protesters clashed at Parliament House on Tuesday, with capsicum spray used and protesters forced to the ground and arrested.
The rally started at 12pm in the city centre on Melbourne Cup Day, a public holiday in Victoria.
It escalated to violent clashes in the street in front of Parliament House on Spring Street about 1.30pm.
One man who was arrested claimed police were trespassing as he scuffled with officers telling him to stop resisting.
Another yelled “I can’t breathe” as he was pinned to the ground by five police.
He appeared unharmed as he was led away in handcuffs.
Protesters also turned on the media and chanted, “tell the truth”.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said coronavirus restrictions currently prevented Victorians gathering for protests, despite gatherings of up to 10 people outdoors being permitted.
“The public health orders make it clear that we need to do the things that are safe and are going to keep us open,” Mr Foley said.
“The democratic right to protest is an important right, but an even more important right is to make sure that we stay safe and keep Victoria open.
“There will be a time for protests, but the middle of a response to a global pandemic is not the time.”
Asked why it was legal for 10 people to gather for a picnic, but not for a protest, Mr Foley said: “We want to make sure that the overwhelming majority do the right thing and use the 10-person gathering rule outside for what it’s meant to be: to get together with family and friends and reflect upon the enormous sacrifices we’ve all made.”
“Protests, as we’ve seen globally, risk the spread of the virus. Now is not the time.”
Asked whether there was a difference in epidemiological risk factors between 10 people gathering for a picnic and the same number gathering for a protest, Mr Foley said he was “not an epidemiologist”.
“I’ll have to defer to getting some advice on that,” he said.
— Jack Paynter, Anthony Piovesan, Rachel Baxendale
READ MORE: Protests hit Melbourne
Courtney Walsh 3.10pm: Twilight Payment wins in Cup shock
Twilight Payment led almost from start to finish to snatch the 2020 Melbourne Cup from Tiger Moth and Prince of Arran. Read more here
Rachel Baxendale 3pm: Cox Plate message ‘jarring’ for Victorians
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has conceded the Andrews government sent a “jarring” message to most Victorians when it initially agreed to allow up to 1500 owners, staff and connections of racehorses to attend the Cox Plate 10 days ago, before reversing the decision hours later and subsequently announcing that there would be no such allowances made for the Melbourne Cup.
The decisions were made at a time when weddings were limited to five people and funerals to 10, with those limits now at 10 for weddings and 20 for indoor funerals.
“I think that the message that was attendant to that was jarring for most Victorians, and that in a position where for very good reasons we restrict gatherings around, weddings, funerals, family gatherings, I think there’s issues of making sure that Victorians are seen to support the regimes as we change the rules, as we make sure that we take the careful cautious steps to a COVID-safe summer, that those measures need to be in place,” Mr Foley said on Melbourne Cup Day.
“I want to thank the racing industry for the extraordinary work that they’ve done over the course of the pandemic. They have not missed a single race meeting, and that is an extraordinary effort, and whilst I’m sure crowds will one day return, they will return as part of a careful, cautious reopening.”
Asked what the cost to the Victorian economy was of not having a normal Cup Day, Mr Foley said: “The cost of making sure that Victoria stays safe and cautiously and carefully reopens far outweighs, the benefits of that far outweigh the costs of, as unfortunate as it is, making sure there are no crowds at the Cup.”
Asked whether he was concerned about large crowds gathering at venues such as Footscray Park because they could not gather at Flemington to watch the Melbourne Cup, Mr Foley warned Victorians that police, health department authorised offices and council rangers would be out in force.
“We want people to gather outdoors in groups of up to 10, but we also want them to do it safely, and I’m confident that the overwhelming majority of Victorians will do that,” he said.
“If there is a small number that don’t, I just point out that there’s fines of up to ($1652) for individuals, and they will be enforced.”
READ MORE: Boilover in Melbourne Cup
Richard Ferguson 2.45pm: Rate cut ‘a vote of no confidence’
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers says the Reserve Bank’s Cup Day interest rate cut is a “vote of no confidence” in Scott Morrison’s post-pandemic economic recovery agenda.
The RBA has reduced the cash rate to 0.1 per cent from 0.25 per cent – the lowest the interest rate has ever been in Australian history.
Dr Chalmers said on Tuesday that the rate cut and the introduction of a form of quantitative easing showed the government’s October budget was not doing enough to boost the economy.
“It’s a vote of no confidence in the Morrison government’s handling of this recession and their handling of the Budget,” he said in Brisbane.
“By taking these steps, the Reserve Bank has obviously concluded that the Morrison Government has not done enough in their Budget to support the economy and to support jobs
during this very difficult period.
“It makes no sense whatsoever for the Morrison Government to be cutting JobKeeper and other forms of economic support at the same time as the Reserve Bank, and others, say that more, not less, needs to be done.
“The Reserve Bank has been forced to do more because the Morrison government is not doing enough.”
READ MORE: Interest rates hit new record low
Rachel Baxendale 2.20pm: ‘Surveillance testing’ set to widened
Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar says the state’s “surveillance testing” program of testing asymptomatic workers in high risk environments such as aged care facilities, hospitals, abattoirs, food manufacturing plants and distribution centres will be expanded to other groups including security guards and cleaners in coming months.
“At the moment, our focus is very much around health services, aged care and the food supply industries,” Mr Weimar said.
“We know that those have seen significantly high levels of COVID transmission in the past four to five months. That’s where our first focus is at.
“We’re now starting to look at some other sectors including security and cleaning, and we’ll work with peak bodies in those sectors to see how we might take that forward.”
Mr Weimar said other key aims were ensuring statewide testing coverage from both a demographic and geographic perspective.
He said the reopening of hotel quarantine in Victoria would be another “risk” for his testing and tracing team to manage.
Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus cases resulted from infection control breaches by security guards in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
“Obviously the government will make its own announcements around hotel quarantine going forward, but that we’ll have to manage that over the coming months, that will be another risk for us to manage, but we’re very confident from the point of view of testing, and if I look at the willingness of Victorians to come out and get tested and do the right thing, it’s pretty good, and I think that gives us confidence that we can stay on top of this in the way that we have been over the last few months,” Mr Weimar said.
He indicated routine testing would be introduced for hotel quarantine staff.
“Certainly there’ll be a testing wrap-around of any kind of hotel quarantine environment, both people who are being quarantined as well as people who are working in that space,” Mr Weimar said.
“We have the capacity to do that. That’s what we’ve built over the last few months. I would expect to use it.”
Asked whether such testing should have been in place when hotel quarantine was initially set up, Mr Weimar said: “Oh, look, (that’s) before my time, not part of my brief.”
Mr Weimar was only appointed to his current role in September.
READ MORE: ‘Aussie John’ taps out of the business
Rosie Lewis 2pm: Palmer’s lawyers open challenge to borders
Western Australia should have opened up to states including Queensland with a “low and acceptable” risk of bringing in COVID-19, Clive Palmer’s lawyers have argued, in evidence that was frequently questioned by the High Court justices.
Mr Palmer’s spokesman claimed the mining magnate was in Canberra while his constitutional challenge to WA’s border was being heard in court but he has not yet made an appearance and his mobile phone is turned off.
Appearing for Mr Palmer before the full bench, Peter Dunning QC was asked by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel to speak up and admitted at one point in the first day of proceedings he had expressed his evidence poorly.
Mr Dunning referenced findings by Federal Court judge Darryl Rangiah, who in August said WA’s border was the most effective measure at keeping out COVID-19 but there would be a low or very low risk to its people if it opened to other states that had no community transmission for 28 days.
While Queensland, where Mr Palmer lives, was in an uncertain category in August due to recent cases Mr Dunning said it would now be classed as “low” risk.
Mr Dunning conceded Justice Rangiah accepted WA’s border had protected the population unlike any other measure – such as face mask wearing – but those other measures were “acceptable” when applying a “precautionary principle”.
Chief Justice Kiefel asked Mr Dunning what approach the court should take in deciding at what point in time it was testing whether the border was valid, given the facts surrounding coronavirus cases and community transmission in various jurisdictions have changed substantially since August.
Mr Dunning said the court should consider the case with the same facts laid out by the Federal court “subject to any relevant changes”, which was that Queensland was now deemed a low risk state.
Section 92 of the constitution states that movement and travel between Australian states “shall be absolutely free” but exceptions have been made, including to deal with a public health emergency.
WA Premier Mark McGowan announced on Friday his state would open up to South Australia, Queensland, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania from November 14, which constitutional lawyers said may make Mr Palmer’s case trickier to argue.
The hearing continues.
READ MORE: Concerns raised over hotel quarantine measures
Rachel Baxendale 1.50pm: Virus ‘absolutely’ still in Vic community
Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar says he believes there is “absolutely” still coronavirus in the Victorian community which hasn’t shown up through testing, despite four consecutive days with no new known cases.
“We’re really encouraged by a number of days of zero cases (but) none of us believe(s) that we’re over this,” Mr Weimar said.
“We still believe that there are significant levels of COVID cases out there in the community.
“We have to continue to be very alert to those, and if we can ensure that we manage those outbreaks really quickly, then we can continue to ease off the restrictions.”
Asked whether he was saying there were cases in Victoria that weren’t showing up through testing, Mr Weimar said: “Absolutely”.
Mr Weimar made reference to Victoria’s most recent “mystery” case, for which there is no known source, which was detected in a person in Deer Park, in Melbourne’s west, last week.
He said the local community and all close contacts and secondary contacts had been isolated and tested, with no subsequent positive results, including at schools attended by the case’s younger siblings.
“I think if you see the fact that we still have the Deer Park case that cropped up last week, we’re doing the genomics on the moment to see where that came from, but it’s a bit of an unexpected development that we hadn’t seen coming,” Mr Weimar said.
“I’m confident we’ve got (38) active cases that we know about. There will be other cases out there in the community. They may be asymptomatic. They may be at a very low level, they may not be.
“It’s our job to be really vigilant, but that’s why for all of us Victorians, we can’t now get into a mindset that says, ‘oh well, it’s probably over, so now I don’t need to bother getting tested any more’.
“The aim is aggressive suppression, and if you look at the scale of the testing operations, if you look at our test, trace and isolate system, if you look at the way we manage outbreaks, we’re all about aggressive suppression.
“We are not heading for elimination. None of us should think that we’ve just dealt with it. There’s a long way to go.”
READ MORE: What comes after EFTPOS?
Ben Wilmot 1.20pm: Listings pick up in Spring property surge
Sydney and Melbourne are leading a late spring charge of property listings as vendor expectations lift. Read more here
Angelica Snowden 12.50pm: SA announces border easing with Victoria
South Australia premier Steven Marshall has announced an easing of COVID restrictions with Victoria, including relaxing self quarantine requirements and scrapping weekly COVID tests for border communities.
Mr Marshall said families will be able to reunite in time for Christmas after he declared in two weeks time, anyone from Victoria will be able to travel to South Australia and complete their two-week isolation period at home.
Previously, only essential workers, residents and students could return to the state.
Residents living in border communities will also no longer need to have a weekly test to continue cross border travel in a fortnight. A 70km buffer zone will remain in place.
“We are constantly looking at that buffer zone and whether we can increase it,” Mr Marshall said. “Victoria has been doing extraordinarily well and has got on top of the issues in their state,” he said.
He also announced patrons at pubs and clubs will be able to stand when they visit venues in two weeks.
“I think South Australians will be delighted in a couple of weeks time they will be able to have a beer at the pub with their mates,” he said.
QR codes will be implemented across the state the support COVID contact tracing.
Mr Marshall said restrictions could be eased further if there are no cases of community transmission for 14 days, but authorities would wait to see how the relaxed “mobility restrictions” play out.
READ MORE: Axis of hate barracking for Biden
Rachel Baxendale 12.40pm: ‘Significant’ testing done in Victoria
Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar said 232,000 people had been tested across Victoria over the past fortnight, including 187,000 in Melbourne ad 44,000 in the regions.
“If I look at the last two weeks, those numbers are really significantly up on the previous two week period, and what it shows is that people are determined to do the right thing, and I thank every single one of those 232,000 individuals who went forward to get tested,” Mr Weimar said.
“It is only by continuing to keep our surveillance out there, by continuing to make sure that people who do have a runny nose, sore throat or any of the other symptoms, that they come forward quickly to get tested and a quarter of a million people did that, and that’s a key part to keeping the case numbers at the fantastically low level that we are today.
Mr Weimar said 96 per cent of test results were being returned within 24 hours, with a third returned within 12 hours.
“We continue to do a lot of work on the pathology lab and testing environment to continue to get results back quicker to people,” he said.
Mr Weimar said management of the northern suburbs outbreak, which includes 42 cases across 12 households, East Preston Islamic College and the Croxton Special School, was going “incredibly well”, with Day 11 testing almost complete for positive cases.
“We have detected no new cases now over the last 5-6 days around the northern suburbs, so we are very much seeing the tail end of that particular outbreak, and my thanks again – over 40,000 tests across the northern suburbs over the last 10-11 days that have gone through that testing program,” he said.
“We’ve seen consistently high levels of people presenting in those five northern LGAs, and that’s been a big part of turning it around and making sure that we jump on top of that as quickly as we have with Shepparton and the previous outbreaks that we’ve seen.
“We’re pleased to confirm that both the schools will be opening again soon and children will go back to school and can go back to some normality in the northern suburbs.”
Mr Weimar said sewage surveillance was continuing at 43 sites across the state.
“All the ones we expect to be green are green at this point in time, and that’s a key part of our early warning system to ensure that if there are traces of COVID still out there in our community, we’ll have another way of detecting the earlier signs,” he said.
READ MORE: IR reform has been ignored
Angelica Snowden 12.20pm: Sydney restaurant hits back at criticism
A Sydney restaurant at the centre a NSW public health alert has defended its COVID-19 management practices and claimed they were “insulted” by the media after a staff member and diner contracted the virus at the venue.
Jasmins1 Lebanese restaurant in Liverpool released a series of pictures on social media this morning to declare they have a QR code check in system, a log in book and temperature testing.
“This is unfair on any business that are applying the rules of covid to be insulted like this on the news,” the restaurant said in a post on Facebook.
In another post the restaurant said it supported the health system “to keep us all safe”.
“We are co-operating with the health unit,” the restaurant said in a post.
After an infectious customer dined at the restaurant on October 25 NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant yesterday said contact details were not left by all patrons.
“It’s been quite concerning that we have had difficulties getting from premises, (details of) people who were attending those premises,” Dr Chant said.
Earlier, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was no room “room for complacency”.
A staff member also contracted coronavirus and prompted NSW Health to issue an alert for anyone who visited the venue at the following times to get tested and self isolated immediately.
• Monday 26 October, 4pm – 9pm
• Saturday 31 October, 3pm – 8pm
• Sunday 1 November, 9am – 1.45pm
READ MORE: Walmart dumps robots for humans
Rachel Baxendale 12pm: Victoria’s active cases halved in a week
Victoria now has 38 active cases of coronavirus – down from 87 a week ago and 49 on Monday.
There have been no recent deaths, with the state’s death toll steady at 819.
As was the case on Monday, two people remain in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, neither of whom are in intensive care.
A total of 3,216,016 tests have been processed in Victoria since the pandemic began, including 12,832 in the 24 hours to Tuesday.
As was the case on Monday, there are two health workers in Victoria with active cases of the virus.
There have now been a total of 20,345 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Victoria since the pandemic began.
Holding the fourth consecutive press conference at which Premier Daniel Andrews has not been present after 120 straight days of addressing the media during Victoria’s second wave, Health Minister Martin Foley hailed a fourth consecutive day with no new cases as a “substantial achievement by the people of Victoria.”
“The message that I have for Victoria is reflect and enjoy today,” Mr Foley told media assembled on a sunny Melbourne Cup Day at the St Kilda Botanic Gardens in his inner bayside electorate of Albert Park.
“The sacrifices that the people of Victoria have made are outstanding, but the price of a COVID-safe summer is eternal vigilance: making sure that you wear masks, making sure that you stay socially distanced, sanitise, wash our hands, congregate in groups of no more than 10 outdoors and follow the rules when it comes to one family and adults visiting one other family per day.
“Making sure that Victorians are safe, stay safe and stay open is our shared challenge over the weeks and months to come, and I’m sure that having sacrificed so much, Victorians will continue that effort.”
READ MORE: Gai Waterhouse blasts Andrews over Cup limits
Angelica Snowden 11.35am: Another community transmission in Sydney
A COVID cluster in Sydney’s south west is growing after one case of locally transmitted coronavirus was reported in NSW overnight.
WATCH: Dr Jeremy McAnulty provides a #COVID19 update for Tuesday 3 November: https://t.co/5Ozd0GsxXO
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 3, 2020
The latest case – a staff member at the Jasmin1 Lebanese restaurant in Sydney’s south west – is linked with the Hoxton Park outbreak which has risen to seven cases.
The latest case was reported last night when NSW Health issued a public health alert for the venue.
The restaurant at 375 Macquarie Street will remain closed until further notice.
A further two cases were reported in returned overseas travellers and identified in hotel quarantine.
READ MORE: Cup fans go the social distance
Richard Ferguson 11.15am: Morrison sends support to Vienna
Scott Morrison says Australia stands with Austria as its capital Vienna comes under attack from terrorists.
Deeply shocked by the awful terror attacks in Austria. The situation remains fluid and details of the attack are still not clear. I have contacted Austrian Chancellor @sebastiankurz to convey our thoughts, condolences and assurances to the Austrian people.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) November 3, 2020
Australian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called on people in Vienna to stay home as some gunmen are still on the loose after they attacked citizens in six locations across the city.
The Prime Minister has reached out to Mr Kurz to offer his support and said Australians and Austrians will stand firm against terrorism.
“Deeply shocked by the awful terror attacks in Austria. The situation remains fluid and details of the attack are still not clear. I have contacted Austrian Chancellor @sebastiankurz to convey our thoughts, condolences and assurances to the Austrian people,” he tweeted.
“We pray for, and stand firm with, our Austrian friends against acts of violence, terror and intimidation, and all they seek to undermine.”
READ MORE: Terrorists target Vienna
Angelica Snowden 11am: Queensland reveals three new virus cases
Three new COVID-19 cases were reported in Queensland overnight, all of which were overseas acquired and detected in hotel quarantine.
Today’s new cases were all acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 2, 2020
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted the latest update and confirmed none of the new cases were contracted locally.
There are six active cases in the state.
Richard Ferguson 10.45am: US-Alliance will continue to challenge China
US Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr says the United States will back the US-Australia alliance and challenge China whomever wins the presidential election on Wednesday.
Both US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have taken an aggressive stance towards China and are expected to keep a heavy military presence in Australia.
Mr Culvahouse Jr – appointed by Mr Trump in 2019 – said the record number of Republican and Democratic US congressmen and senators who visited Australia last year showed the alliance is above politics.
“It is clear that the commitment to the alliance is strong, it’s bipartisan,” he said in Canberra.
“It’s enduring, and it will continue in that regard, regardless of the outcome.
“If there is no change in administration, China policy will stay the same. And I doubt there will be many changes if there is a change.”
Mr Culvahouse Jr will spend Election Day in Newcastle, where he will receive briefings at RAAF Williamtown on the incoming fleet of joint strike fighter jets.
READ MORE: Time to tip Trump in history’s bin
Agencies 10.40am: Europe lockdowns tighten amid spike in casese
Germany has Monday led a tightening of coronavirus restrictions across many parts of Europe as daily COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
The virus has infected over 46 million people worldwide with more than 1.2 million deaths and the acute outbreaks in Europe and America are sparking further alarm about the state of the already devastated global economy.
To curb the spike in Germany – Europe’s biggest economy – Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to citizens to help achieve a “turnaround” by respecting a new round of shutdowns from Monday until the end of the month.
Germans will not be confined to their homes, but bars, cafes and restaurants must close, as well as theatres, operas and cinemas.
On November 2, 12 097 new COVID cases were confirmed in the country with 49 deaths.
Frustration over the economic and social cost of lockdowns has led to protests in parts of Europe, with some leading to violent skirmishes, notably in Spain and Italy as well as Czech capital Prague and the eastern German city of Dresden.
In Italy, the first European country to impose a lockdown during the first wave, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resisted pressure for new national stay-at-home orders in favour of an approach targeting the hardest-hit regions after 29,905 new COVID cases were reported on Monday.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under fire for a looming second lockdown in England, with employers warning it would deal a “devastating” blow to business.
Elsewhere in Europe Portugal faces a lockdown from Wednesday and Austria announced it will follow suit. France is preparing to tighten restrictions further after it imposed a second shutdown last week.
Hospitals in the Swiss canton of Geneva meanwhile warned surging emergency cases there may force them to decide to admit one Covid-19 patient over another.
And Greece announced a two-week lockdown on its second largest city of Thessaloniki that will include a suspension of flights to and from the city.
Slovakia, which has embarked on a controversial campaign to test its entire population, said two thirds of the country was tested on the weekend. About one per cent of results were positive.
France’s scientific council said that in the absence of a vaccine further outbreaks in Europe are likely.
“We might thus have several successive waves during the end of winter and spring 2021,” it said.
— AFP
READ MORE: Europe plans post-Covid future
Cameron Stewart 10.30am: Trump continues last-minute campaign blitz
With less than 24 hours to go before the US goes to the polls, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are in their final campaign sprint. Follow our live US election blog here
Jared Lynch 10.15am: Will ex-Virgin chief land AusPost role?
Outgoing Virgin boss Paul Scurrah has emerged as one of the leading candidates to replace Christine Holgate. Read more here
Rosie Lewis 9.45am: JobMaker review plan comes under fire
Tax commissioner Chris Jordan will be able to review potentially dodgy activity that disqualifies a business from receiving the Morrison government’s youth wage subsidy, but his powers fall short of a formal arbitration process being demanded by the unions.
Treasury has released detailed draft rules for the $4bn JobMaker hiring credit scheme but the small business sector warned they were too complicated and left an employer at risk of doing the wrong thing or saying an employee was eligible when they were not.
It would be left to the commissioner to decide if the business should lose its subsidy payments. Employers’ actions would also be subject to the Age Discrimination Act and Fair Work Act.
Philippa Brown, who has headed Treasury’s JobKeeper division, said if an employer increased the wages of their supervisors or themselves while splitting a number of jobs into two or three to meet the additional payroll and headcount threshold that would be of concern to Mr Jordan.
“These general anti-avoidance provisions in the legislation, what that allows the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) to do is look beyond the pure form of an arrangement to the substance of it and I think that should provide significant integrity,” she told a parliamentary committee on Monday.
Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said the union movement was concerned the JobMaker guidelines contained no provision that guaranteed workers access to any form of redress or formal arbitration.
“We are not reassured by Treasury references to the general protections provisions in the Fair Work Act which have been read down now to the point of unworkability,” she said. “This needs to be rectified by the addition of a provision, similar to that which exists in relation to JobKeeper-related matters, which provides access to arbitration at the Fair Work Commission for affected workers.”
An employee can qualify for the subsidy if they are aged 16-35 and have been on JobSeeker, youth allowance or the parenting payment for at least four of the 12 weeks immediately before their new job starts.
It will be up to the employee to declare to their employer they meet the pre-employment conditions and a false or misleading statement may be liable to criminal penalties.
The employee me also be jointly or severally liable for any overpayments made to a business where it occurred because the employer reasonably relied on a statement they made.
Universities, which were not eligible for JobKeeper, can receive the hiring credit but relatives of the business or a shareholder in the company will be excluded.
READ MORE: Family courts at ‘breaking point’
Angelica Snowden 9.15am: Business told to crack down on customer details
NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello has defended the state’s contact tracers as doing “incredibly well” amid frustrations some venues are failing to record customer details correctly.
Mr Dominello said the majority of businesses are doing the right thing, but those which were not would have “the book thrown at them”.
“We’re going to up the ante when it comes to inspections, particularly around those that do the QR codes because if they don’t have the QR code at the front door God knows what they’re doing at the back,” Mr Dominello told the Today Show.
“(NSW Health are) doing an outstanding job but the reality is, businesses have to play their part,” he said.
“They have to make sure that as customers come in, they get their QR codes signed off so it makes it easier for health in the event of an outbreak.”
The NSW state government would consider making use of QR codes mandatory, Mr Dominello said.
Queensland opened its borders to NSW residents outside of greater Sydney from 1am this morning.
But Mr Dominello urged the northern state to open its borders to everyone in NSW because authorities have a “good track record” of dealing with community transmission when it occurred.
“We’re one country here in Australia,” he said. “We’re protected by the ocean ultimately and we should be opening up the borders as soon as possible.”
READ MORE: Cup fans go the social distance
Angelica Snowden 8.45am: Sydney restaurant under fire amid positive case
A staff member who worked at a restaurant in Sydney’s south west has tested positive to COVID-19 after health authorities called out the venue for failing to keep visitor details correctly.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant yesterday called out the restaurant, Jasmins Lebanese restaurant in Liverpool, after contact tracers found it difficult to track down visitors in connection with a positive case who dined at the venue on October 25.
NSW Health issued a public health alert for the venue on Monday night and advised anyone who dined or worked at the restaurant at the following times is considered a close contact if present for more than one hour.
Monday 26 October, 4pm – 9pm
Saturday 31 October, 3pm – 8pm
Sunday 1 November, 9am – 1.45pm
Anyone who attended for less than one hour during the above times is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms.
The latest case will be counted in today’s NSW COVID count.
READ MORE: Push to set work from home rules
Daniel Sankey 8.35am: Early drama on Covid-hit Melbourne Cup day
A shock late scratching has shaken up the Cup field ... but our experts have still zeroed in on two key chances. Follow our Melbourne Cup live blog here
Rachel Baxendale 8.20am: Sutton: ‘no red flags’ in latest virus numbers
Melbourne’s 14-day daily average is now 1.9 – the same as Monday and down from 2.2 on Sunday.
The number of cases in Melbourne for which contact tracers have been unable to establish a source of infection has risen from one on Monday to two on Tuesday for the most recent fortnight for which the statistic is available – spanning October 18 to October 31.
However, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton tweeted on Monday that this was expected but not a cause for alarm.
“We have three cases still under investigation from the last week,” Professor Sutton tweeted.
“There are no ‘red flags’ with these cases, with all close contacts testing negative and two of the cases possibly historical or resolved.
“Will probably add to our #mysterycases but doesn’t materially change risk.”
We have three cases still under investigation from the last week. There are no 'red flags' with these cases, with all close contacts testing negative and two of the cases possibly historical or resolved. Will probably add to our #mysterycases but doesn't materially change risk.
— Chief Health ðŸ©fficer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) November 2, 2020
Regional Victoria has not had a case for more than a fortnight.
The number of active cases statewide was 49 on Monday.
Victoria has now had 20,345 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 819 deaths, all but 19 of which occurred as a result of breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program in late May and early June.
While retail and hospitality businesses have reopened after a 111-day stay-at-home lockdown was finally lifted last Wednesday, strict capacity limits remain, as does a 25km travel limit for Melburnians, and a prohibition on travel between Melbourne and regional Victoria, both of which are set to be lifted from 11:59pm on Sunday.
READ MORE: Migrants give Melbourne the cold shoulder
Rachel Baxendale 8.10am: Another day of zero new cases for Victoria
Victoria has notched up its fourth consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases and no deaths, almost a week after being released from stay-at-home lockdown.
Once again, there were zero new cases and zero lives lost in the last 24 hours. The 14 day average remains at 1.9 and there are 2 cases with an unknown source. More info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/KeHXtcoFfZ
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 2, 2020
Angelica Snowden 7.30am: WHO lauds Australia’s Covid response
A WHO expert says Australia’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic has been “impressive” and urged state governments to “build trust” with their constituents and allow them to move as freely as possible.
Margaret Harris said many countries have struggled with an overly cautious approach to COVID containment amid criticism over Annastacia Palaszczuk’s hard border closure between greater Sydney and Queensland.
“The critical thing is building a bit of trust and also knowing using the science,” Dr Harris told the Today Show. “Look at how you can track people, how you can test people … What you can do to make it possible to allow people to move appropriately without letting the virus spread unnecessarily,” she said.
Dr Harris said Australia showed the world “what could be done” to contain the spread of COVID but at the cost of a “big price”.
“As a society you have put up with a lot, you have really paid a big price,” she said.
“So now capitalise on that price, keep getting the numbers down, get your tracking and tracing really working and get everybody in the country to understand that they have a part to play.”
READ MORE: ‘Palaszczuk pensioners rewarded border action’
Rosie Lewis 6.30am: Border move could spell trouble for Palmer
The WA Premier’s decision to remove his state’s hard border from next week could make Clive Palmer’s High Court challenge trickier. Read more here
Patrick Commins 5.30am: Race on to cash in on low interest rates
A mix of record low borrowing costs and government incentives has sparked a boom in new lending and building approvals. Read more here
Peta Credlin 4.40am: Agency silenced in quarantine inquiry
The government agency overseeing Victoria’s use of contractors repeatedly raised concerns about how private security contracts were awarded and complained Treasury may have left out “materially relevant facts” in evidence presented to the hotel quarantine inquiry.
The Victorian Government Purchasing Board sent a series of letters and emails to Treasury in September disputing whether relevant material was provided to the inquiry investigating failures of the hotel quarantine scheme, and pointing to failures to obtain mandatory procurement accreditation by the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.
It was the Jobs Department that engaged private security contractors — contrary to standard procurement processes. The use of poorly trained private security contractors, instead of police and the Australian Defence Force, has since been blamed for the spread of the virus out of Victoria’s hotel quarantine program, an outbreak which has led to more than 800 deaths.
The purchasing board told Treasury that it “had not been approached to provide relevant evidence, or a witness statement” to the hotel quarantine inquiry and expressed concern that it had been given no input into the statement that Treasury did provide to the inquiry.
A Treasury official — not on staff with the purchasing board — did make a submission but was not called to give oral evidence. The statement made no reference to issues with the Jobs Department’s procurement process.
The purchasing board said this Treasury statement had overlooked the key fact of “the failure of the (Jobs Department’s procurement) accreditation process”.
It told Treasury that “the lack of accreditation of (the Jobs Department) is a materially relevant fact that may, or may not, be of interest to the inquiry”.
Read the full story here.
Glynis Traill-Nash 4.30am: Frocked up to frolic on the front lawn
Like some 100,000 others on Melbourne Cup Day, Olivia Molly Rogers usually finds herself frocked up at Flemington to spend the day surrounded by fillies and finery, but this year’s audience-free event will see Rogers and fiance Justin McKeone celebrating the race that stops a nation at home.
“We’re still getting dressed up,” Rogers said. “We’ll be set up at home, we’ve got a nice big TV and we’ll make it feel as much like the races as we can.”
She said the easing of lockdown restrictions was perfectly timed to meet up with a small group of family or friends for the occasion: “It’s the perfect opportunity to get out of trackies and activewear and feel good about yourselves.”
A speech pathologist and Miss Universe Australia 2017, Rogers is the ambassador of Myer Fashions on Your Front Lawn — the annual Fashions on the Field competition’s digital pandemic pivot.
Winners of the Emerging Designer Award and Milinery Award will be announced online on Cup Day, and men’s and women’s national winners will be announced at Thursday’s Oaks day.
Some novelty categories — Mad Hatters, Cup Week Costumes, Family Ties and Lounge In Style — have been added so everyone can get involved at home.
Read the full story here.
Ewin Hannan 4.15am: Bid to set rules for working at home
The ACTU will devise a new claim on behalf of white-collar employees working from home, as a union survey finds a majority of people working remotely are struggling to achieve balance between their work and home life.
Members of the ACTU executive will meet on Wednesday to discuss the new claim and the results of the survey, which was commissioned by the peak union body after the COVID-19 pandemic saw an explosion in the number of people required to work from home.
The survey, which sought insights into workers’ attitudes to working from home ahead of remote work becoming a more permanent feature of the labour market, found 55 per cent of respondents were having problems achieving a healthy separation between work and home life. The Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work estimates up to two million workers could feasibly work full-time from home as of today, and estimates the number could eventually rise to four million, or 30 per cent of the workforce.
Read the full story here.
More Coverage
‘Unsettling’: Dutton’s call on ‘terror’ caravan
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has called for an independent assessment of a communications breakdown involving the PM over a failed Sydney terror plot.
Student Ombudsman staff trained in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia
The new conflict resolution service expects students to escalate issues about racism, discrimination and gender-based violence.