Coronavirus Australia live news: Premier Palaszczuk defends pace of vaccine rollout
Queensland’s Premier hits back amid criticism of a slow rollout compared to other states.
- Premier defends pace of vaccine rollout
- Post-JobKeeper support to be revealed in days
- Doctors revolt over vaccine costs
- Tourism redundancy threat ‘not hot air’
- Build quarantine ‘or face chaos’
Welcome to The Australian’s live rolling coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and the latest in politics. Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended Queensland’s vaccine rollout, amid criticism of its slow pace. Josh Frydenberg says he is ‘days away’ from revealing targeted support when JobKeeper ends. GPs up in arms over vaccine payments and dose numbers have been told the situation will ‘settle down’ as the rollout progresses. More than a third of the country was hit by a major drop in visitor numbers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research, as the tourism industry body warns mass redundancies are just weeks away.
Ewin Hannan11pm: Big pay increases for Setka’s deputies
CFMEU officials working for the John Setka-led construction division received remuneration increases of $49,000 and $61,000 in the same period the militant union leader was under pressure to resign.
Disclosure statements filed with the Registered Organisations Commission show Derek Christopher, the CFMEU’s Victorian construction division senior vice-president received $246,918 in the year last March, a 32 per cent increase on the $185,848 he declared in the previous 12 months.
Elias Sprenovasilis, the union’s Victorian construction division assistant secretary received $240,994 in the same period, a 26 per cent rise on the $191,315 he declared during the previous year.
Paige Taylor 10.15pm:Date-rape drugs not used here: principal
The headmaster of a prestigious Perth boys school Christian Porter attended in the 1980s says the institution is not aware of any allegations of past or present date rape drug use by students.
Hale School headmaster Dean Dell’Oro was responding to claims made by the woman who alleged the Attorney-General raped her in 1988, when as students they travelled to Sydney for a debating competition.
In the unsigned statement she intended to send to police, the Adelaide woman said the “surreal quality” of her memories of the alleged rape led her to “suspect that (Porter) put some sort of date-rape style drug into my drink” while they were at a Kings Cross venue.
“I understand that there are ‘rumours’ about Hale School students using date-rape-style drugs in Perth in the 1980s,” she wrote in the statement.
Hale School is one of Perth’s most prestigious, with alumni including mining magnate Andrew Forrest, late businessman Lang Hancock and current Lord Mayor of Perth, Basil Zempilas.
In a statement, the school said: “Mr Dell’Oro is not aware of the claims made in the statement provided by The Australian. Further, he is not aware of any other incidents involving the use of such drugs.”
Adeshola Ore9.40pm: Royal tell-all may boost calls for republic
Federal parliamentarians who back the republic movement hope Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview will increase the nation’s appetite for an Australian head of state.
Labor republic spokesman Matt Thistlethwaite said the interview highlighted the fact the British monarchy was “completely removed for modern-day Australians”.
He said he hoped the interview would reignite the national debate about the country’s ties to the monarchy.
“If Harry and Meghan can cut ties with the royal family then why can’t we vote democratically,” Mr Thistlethwaite said.
Joseph Lam8.55pm: Four Corners reveals woman who accused Porter
Four Corners has named the woman who made historical rape allegations against Attorney-General Christian Porter.
The ABC show said it was finally able to broadcast allegations it uncovered in November last year.
“At the time, there was an allegation that we were unable to report on,” journalist Louise Milligan said on Monday night.
“Now, after Minister Porter came forward last week, we can finally bring you the story of the untested allegation he has categorically denied.”
“We can finally bring you the story he has categorically denied.”
She added: “The woman’s name was Kate. Four Corners has decided not to use her surname or show her face.”
READ MORE:Coalition turf war in ALP heartland
Joseph Lam8.30pm: Bishop backs inquest over Porter allegations
Julie Bishop says the next logical step in dealing with allegations against Christian Porter is to hold an inquest.
“The challenges of course is that the allegations are historic, that the woman who made the allegations took her own life, and now a serving cabinet minister has been informed that the police investigation is at an end,” the former foreign minister told the 730 program on ABV on Monday night.
“So, there are no answers.”
“I do know, however, that the South Australian coroner is considering an inquest and to me that is the next logical step. It’s within the criminal justice system.
“There are checks and balances and there are statutory powers.
“It has legal standing. And so, that is the next step and I understand from media reporting that’s what the family would welcome.”
READ MORE:Anderson makes comeback with the Nats
Alice Workman7.45pm: $2.1m to charter VIP jets
It’s just plane fun if you’re a politician! The federal government charged taxpayers more than $2.1m to charter VIP jets around the country during the first half of 2020. That’s according to Defence’s latest Special Purpose Flight reports for January 1 to June 29, 2020.
Nearly half of that price tag was spent on the RAAF taxi service for MPs, first deployed on March 22 last year during the original COVID lockdown.
There were 138 bespoke Canberra Bubble™ trips — flying pollies from Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, the Gold Coast, Darwin, Armidale, East Sale, Albury, Devonport, Alice Springs, Launceston and Rockhampton — costing Quiet Australians $1.05m across four months.
Greg Brown 7pm:Coalition turf war in battle for Hunter Valley
Morrison government MPs have launched a turf war in the NSW Hunter Valley, with Liberals urging the Nationals against running candidates in the region to give the larger Coalition party the best chance of winning over Labor’s traditional heartland.
Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who represents the government in the Hunter Valley, said the Nationals should decline to contest the seats of Hunter, Paterson and Shortland, saying the Liberals were a better chance of unseating Labor MPs Joel Fitzgibbon, Pat Conroy and Meryl Swanson.
“It is important we put forward the best candidate rather than have a territorial debate over it,” Senator Hughes said.
“The Liberal Party has been doing a lot of work in that region and has a substantial party structure and network.
“The Liberal Party should run in all of those seats.”
AFP6.17pm: Hong Kong leader praises China’s ‘patriot’ plan
Hong Kong’s leader on Monday praised China’s plan to ensure only “patriots” remain in politics, denying the move was a purge of the opposition.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam ruled out any need to consult the public on the changes, as they were decreed by Beijing.
Legislation to vet all election candidates in Hong Kong is currently being discussed by China’s rubber-stamp parliament and is expected to be adopted on Thursday.
China has said only those deemed “patriotic” will be allowed to stand. Critics say the radical overhaul of the city’s already limited democratic system will demolish what remains of the pro-democracy opposition and ensure only loyalists remain, an argument that Lam rejected on Monday.
“The improvements to the electoral system are not designed to favour someone, it is designed to ensure that whoever is administering Hong Kong is patriotic,” Lam, a pro-Beijing appointee, told reporters after returning from the gathering in Beijing.
“The decision is timely, necessary, lawful and constitutional, and the central authorities’ leadership and decision-making power are out of question.” Authoritarian China promised Hong Kong would keep a degree of autonomy and certain freedoms when it reverted from British colonial rule in 1997.
The city has a partially elected legislature and China also promised to one day grant residents universal suffrage.
Critics had for years complained freedoms were being steadily eroded. Beijing then ramped up the dismantling of the financial hub’s democratic pillars in response to huge and sometimes violent democracy rallies that paralysed the city throughout 2019.
Will Glasgow5.40pm:Soaring iron ore price undermines China ban
Australia’s exports to China hit a record high in January and February as the elevated iron ore price continued to undermine Beijing’s sweeping trade retaliation campaign. Read more here
Will Hamilton5.30pm:Investors warned over property credit risks
Record low interest rates and a strong recovery as the economy moves out of Covid have seen a lift in the Australian property market. Read more here
The Times5.15pm:Russians spreading fake vaccine claims
Russian agents have mounted a sophisticated disinformation campaign in the US to exploit fears over coronavirus vaccines. Read more here
Angelica Snowden4.45pm:Victoria sets up sexual harassment taskforce
The Victorian government will establish a task force to scrutinise reporting of workplace sexual harassment across all industries. Read more here
Adeshola Ore4.30pm:McCormack welcomes prospect of Anderson return
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said he was “buoyed” that former Nationals Leader John Anderson would run for a NSW Senate seat.
“Attracting the calibre, experience and values of a candidate such as John Anderson demonstrates why, in our 101st year, The Nationals continue to be the party for regional, rural and remote Australians,” he said.
“John Anderson was one of our nation’s finest Deputy Prime Ministers and his continued confidence in the ability of The Nationals to deliver for our regional communities is a vote of confidence in our party’s future.”
READ MORE:Former deputy PM plans comeback
Wall Street Journal4.15pm:Electric vehicles fail to catch on with buyers
Car dealers say they are struggling to square the industry’s enthusiasm with shoppers’ reality. Read more here
Tom Whipple 4.00pm:SA virus variant gives other strains immunity
People infected with the South African variant of Covid-19 gain strong immunity to the previous strain even if the reverse is not true, a study has found.
The findings suggest that an updated vaccine could have “backwards compatible” protection and that we may not need to change the vaccine repeatedly to keep up with the virus.
“It’s not a done deal this virus is going to be coming in different shapes every year,” Alex Sigal, of the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, said. “It might be cornered.”
Sigal, who conducted the research, said that one explanation was that the E484K mutation, which scientists believe helps the virus to evade previous immunity, may turn out to be an evolutionary mistake. “It’s possible that these mutations actually make the virus more visible to the immune system,” he said.
The research, published before peer review, used blood samples from people infected in both waves of South Africa’s pandemic. They were tested against both the old variant, which caused the first wave, and the new variant largely responsible for the second.
READ MORE: Build quarantine centre ‘or face chaos’: Wagners
Ewin Hannan3.15pm:Union demands ALP reverse support for demerger laws
The Electrical Trades Union has declared the Coalition’s union demerger laws will leave a “cancerous legacy”, and urged the ALP to reverse its support for legislation allowing the breakup of the CFMEU.
The ETU’s divisional executive also called on the ACTU, which did not publicly criticise the laws when they were passed last year, to campaign to have the legislation repealed “immediately”.
ETU national secretary Allen Hicks told The Australian that ACTU secretary Sally McManus and ACTU president Michele O’Neil addressed the executive last week, telling delegates they had “a strategy in place to deal with (the legislation)”.
Mr Hicks said he also raised his concerns directly with Labor leader Anthony Albanese.
“This demerger bill will leave a cancerous legacy,” he said. “The union movement needs to stand up and call on the government to repeal it.”
The Australian revealed in December that CFMEU mining division general president Tony Maher held talks with Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter about the proposed laws. Mining division delegates resolved last week to break away from the union.
Mr Hicks said “the future of the union movement must not be determined on whim in a deal with Christian Porter”.
A resolution passed by the ETU executive condemned Mr Maher’s “secret backroom deal” with Mr Porter which it said “sets working Australians and unions back decades”.
READ MORE:ACTU pushes for Porter probe
Staff Reporters2.45pm:Aviation sector set for post-JobKeeper help
Sky News is reporting that the federal government is set to announce aviation grants (tied to flights operating and seats being offered) and interest-free loans to businesses who are already on JobKeeper, to replace the scheme when it ends on March 31.
It’s estimated Australia’s aviation sector has shed more than 11,000 jobs since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of most international arrivals and wreaked havoc with domestic air travel.
Robyn Ironside2.25pm:Qantas tries to block staffer’s move to Virgin
Qantas is going to court to try to stop a former executive from starting work with Virgin Australia in May. Read more here
Lachlan Moffet Gray1.55pm:Analysts say RBA may need rates rethink
Analysts at Nomura have joined Westpac in upgrading their full year GDP guidance to 4.5 per cent and say the RBA may have to be more flexible on its cash rate guidance.
Alongside the GDP increase the analysts believe employment could fall to 5 per cent by the end of 2022 and inflation could reach 2 per cent, touching the lower bounds of the RBA’s medium-term inflation target.
“We nevertheless think that pressure on the RBA is slowly building, amid a continuing recovery and strengthening housing market,” the analysts wrote.
“We think it may need to weaken its unusually-extended forward guidance on the cash rate over coming months, and will decide, around mid-year, not to extend its YCC (yield curve control) policy to the November 2024 ACGB.”
Greg Sheridan1.45pm:Former Deputy PM plans parliamentary return
Former Nationals leader and deputy PM John Anderson will put his name forward for preselection to become the party’s Senate candidate at the next federal election. Read more here
Ellie Dudley1.25pm:WA reports two new cases in hotel quarantine
Western Australia has recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19, and two in overseas arrivals.
The two men who tested positive, one in his 30s, the other in his 50s, are in hotel quarantine.
WA has vaccinated over 7840 people, with 968 receiving the jab yesterday.
Adeshola Ore12.55pm:Payne backs Reynolds over sick leave absence
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has defended her colleague Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ extended sick leave, as Labor calls for the minister to resign.
On Sunday, the Defence Minister announced she would take another month off work — avoiding the next parliamentary sitting week and scrutiny by Senate estimates. Senator Payne is the acting minister for the defence portfolio.
Senator Reynolds’ extended leave risks further stalling key government defence decisions, as Senator Payne takes take charge of the troubled $90bn submarine program and the ADF’s response to the Brereton’s war crimes report.
“If a senior executive at any business finds themselves dealing with a significant health challenge for a period of time, my experience and my understanding is that that individual is given the opportunity on medical advice to deal with that issue,” Senator Payne told reporters in Sydney.
“I think that same respect and that same acknowledgment should be extended to Minister Reynolds in these circumstances... It won’t be the last time that a person in public life has to deal with a health issue.”
READ MORE:Reynolds absence casts cloud over government
Ellie Dudley12.30pm:Palaszczuk defends slow pace of vaccine rollout
Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended the pace of Queensland’s vaccine rollout, saying it is “being done in consultation with the Commonwealth.”
The state’s rollout has been criticised for being slow in comparison to others, after 6300 Queenslanders were vaccinated with the Pfizer jab last week.
Ms Palaszczuk, however, said the matter was not raised during national cabinet last week, asking reporters not to “disrespect the process.”
“We want to get it right, we want it to be rolled out smoothly, and of course we are making sure that the people have the adequate training to do this,” she said.
“It is very important, if we want to see more strength in our economy nationally we need to make sure that people are taking up the vaccine.”
Queensland opened the first two AstraZeneca hubs in Logan and Bunderberg today.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state was “adapting very quickly” to fluctuating vaccine shipments from Canberra.
“In some cases ... we’re getting triple what we expected and they have to last us for a few weeks because they can’t necessarily guarantee [what] we’re going to get each week,” she said.
READ MORE:China sees rebound in exports
Matt Logue12.15pm:Covid fears cut short Aussie’s NBA star turn
Australian star Ben Simmons has been forced to miss the NBA All-Star game after having his hair cut by a barber who tested positive to COVID.
Simmons’ dreams of a third NBA All-Star appearance were dashed on Sunday when league officials ruled him and Philadelphia teammate Joel Embiid out of the annual clash.
The two had contact with a barber who has since tested positive for coronavirus.
The barber, located in the Philadelphia area, tested positive after undergoing additional testing on Sunday because of an inconclusive positive test.
The NBA is desperate to avoid the potential disaster of a COVID outbreak while its best two dozen players are all gathered in the same city and had no choice but to keep the 76ers stars out of the game, which started at noon on Monday AEDT.
Both Embiid and Simmons travelled by themselves on private planes on Saturday night and had no exposure to other players or people in the Atlanta bubble.
Simmons reacted to the situation by opening a bottle of Penfolds wine.
The pair has remained in quarantine, which is the protocol for every All-Star participant.
— NCA NewsWire
READ MORE:How tourism can be saved
Adeshola Ore11.45am:Police chief: Rape claim ‘would have struggled’
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says a historic rape claim against Attorney-General Christian Porter may not have proceeded even if the victim was alive.
Labor and the Greens have pushed for Scott Morrison to launch an independent inquiry into the allegation after NSW Police last week closed the case due to “insufficient admissible evidence. Hours before her death, the alleged victim withdrew her statement to police.
“It is not impossible but almost impossible to proceed with a matter like this without the victim,” Mr Fuller told 2GB radio.
“The matter itself, even with the victim, probably would’ve struggled to get before a court. These are challenging matters, particularly when they’re historic.”
Mr Porter has denied the rape allegation against him.
READ MORE:Media show trial is not the answer
Adeshola Ore11.25am:Post-JobKeeper support to be revealed ‘within days’
Josh Frydenberg says the Morrison government will unveil targeted post-JobKeeper support in “a matter of days” ahead of the wage-subsidy expiring at the end of the month.
The Treasurer has been touring Queensland and met tourism businesses in Cairns.
The Australian has reported that more than a third of the country was hit by a major drop in visitor numbers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said businesses were already planning mass redundancies because of the uncertainty of what help would be offered after the end of March.
“We’re still finalising those details but it’s a matter of days,” Mr Frydenberg said in Cairns.
“We’ve put in place the JobKeeper program. That ends in March. We’ve got other programs continuing to roll out with support. But we’re also looking at other measures.”
READ MORE: Gupta’s house of cards teeters
Ellie Dudley11.10am:NSW Covid-free streak hits 50 days
NSW has recorded no new community transmitted cases of COVID-19, marking a 50-day streak for the state.
One new case was found in a returned traveller, leaving NSW with 55 active cases.
A total of 10,092 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, up slightly from yesterday’s number of 9727.
Adeshola Ore11am:Albanese says PM needs to call Porter inquiry
Anthony Albanese says the historic rape allegation against Attorney-General will continue to play out in the media if Scott Morrison does not launch an independent investigation into the claim.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has broken ranks and backed an independent inquiry into the 1988 rape allegation against Mr Porter. Mr Joyce said it would be a “more dignified and sustainable way to go forward.”
Mr Porter has emphatically denied the allegation he raped a 16-year-old girl during a debate competition at the University of Sydney in 1988 when he was 17.
On Monday, Mr Albanese repeated Labor’s calls for an independent inquiry into the allegation after NSW Police closed their investigation due to “insufficient admissible evidence.”
“It is entirely appropriate that any examination of these issues be consistent with the principle that people are innocent until proven otherwise,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“Any examination of what has occurred over the last two weeks would suggest that it is obvious that there is a need to examine these issues independently because if not it will be examined through questions like the one I have just received.”
READ MORE:Nothing has been learned from Pell fiasco
Adeshola Ore10.45am:‘Accountability, transparency’: Labor’s pay gap proposal
Anthony Albanese says Labor’s proposal to force companies to publicly disclose their gender pay gaps will improve accountability and transparency.
On International Women’s Day, Labor unveiled a policy initiative that would require companies with more than 250 employees to publicly report their gender pay gap. Labor will also strengthen the capacity for the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in low paid and female dominated industries and prohibit pay secrecy clauses.
The Opposition Leader said the requirement for companies to report their pay gaps publicly would be phased in over four years.
“We know that overseas it has made a substantial difference already. In the UK, for example, where the reporting has happened, in its first two years we have seen a closing of the gap as a direct result of that transparency,” Mr Albanese said.
“We are not advocating for the state coming in and determining specifically what wage individuals are paid, but the first step is accountability and transparency.”
The national gender pay gap is currently 13.4 per cent for full-time workers.
READ MORE:Corporates need to step up for women
Ellie Dudley10.21am:No new local cases in Queensland
Queensland has recorded no new cases of locally-transmitted COVID-19, and five in overseas arrivals.
All overseas acquired cases were detected in hotel quarantine.
A total of 3832 tests have been conducted over the past 24 hours, leaving the state with 30 active cases.
Rosie Lewis10.18am:Labor to grant a pair for Porter
Labor has confirmed it will grant Attorney-General Christian Porter a pair when parliament returns next week if he remains on leave for his mental health.
Mr Porter last week identified himself as the cabinet minister accused of rape in 1988 and has vehemently denied the allegation.
Opposition manager of business Tony Burke told The Australian: “Labor will provide a pair as we always have when someone is genuinely on sick leave.
“We have never behaved the way Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison did when they constantly threatened pairs for MPs who had genuine reasons to be absent.”
The Prime Minister has already lost his working majority on the floor of the House of Representatives and has to rely on the support of the Speaker in the case of a tied vote, after rebel MP Craig Kelly defected from the Liberal Party to the crossbench.
If Labor had refused Mr Porter a pair and he was not back in parliament next week, Mr Morrison would have needed to win over one lower house crossbench MP to pass legislation without the opposition’s support.
READ MORE:Mitchell: ABC learned nothing from its Pell mistakes
Adeshola Ore10.16am:Suspending Myanmar military aid sends message: Sharma
Liberal MP Dave Sharma says the federal government’s suspension of military aid in Myanmar will send a strong message to the country’s military junta in response to last month’s coup.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the escalation in Australia’s response to the February 1 coup and condemned the use of lethal force and violence against civilians.
“We’ve called upon them now for a number of weeks to do certain things: to release Sean Turnell the Australian academic who’s been detained there, to release Aung San Suu Kyi, to not use lethal force against protesters but they’ve not been doing any of those things,” Mr Sharma told Sky News.
“I think in that situation it’s right to signal our own view that this country is heading in the wrong direction. … it’s important we move incrementally, we move slowly but we move decisively and that’s what we’ve done here.”
Australia has suspended its military aid program with Myanmar and redirected development aid to humanitarian needs, amid escalating security crackdowns against protesters by the country’s military junta.
READ MORE:Payne suspends military aid to Myanmar
Finn McHugh9.34am:Doctors revolt over vaccine costs
Doctors in revolt over COVID-19 vaccine payments and dose numbers have been told the situation will “settle down” as Australia ramps up its rollout.
GPs have complained low payments and smaller-than-expected dose numbers will not cover their costs as they administer the vaccine.
A group of GPs has threatened to withdraw from the vaccination rollout, some claiming they have received just 50 doses per week despite requesting 200 per day.
But Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Karen Price said the COVID-19 vaccine was particularly “complicated” given it was administered in two doses and required staff training.
She said many clinics planned their finances around receiving a high volume of doses but hoped the situation would “settle down” as the rollout progressed.
“What has happened here is that we have got a low volume to start with,” she told Today on Monday.
“This is really a way of testing procedures, making sure everything will go along OK.
“So given it is the first week of the rollout and CSL haven’t got up to full speed ahead yet, I think it will settle down as we get going.”
Adeshola Ore8.55am:Porter investigation a ‘dignified’ path: Joyce
Former National party leader Barnaby Joyce says an independent inquiry into the historic rape allegation against Attorney-General Christian Porter is a more “sustainable and dignified” path, as political pressure builds on the government to investigate the claims.
Over the weekend, Mr Joyce called for an inquiry into allegations levelled against the Attorney-General instead of a “salacious” inquisition.
“I’m at odds with my colleagues but I think that is a more dignified and sustainable way to go forward,” he told Channel 7.
Mr Porter has denied allegations he raped a 16-year-old girl during a debate competition at the University of Sydney in 1988 when he was 17.
READ MORE:Mitchell: ABC learned nothing from its Pell mistakes
Adeshola Ore8.33am:Minister’s hopes for Parliament House inquiry
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says she hopes a workplace inquiry into Parliament House will implement guidelines about how MPs should report sexual assault and other criminal conduct.
The Morrison government has appointed sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins to lead the review into the workplace at Parliament House and its process of handling allegations of sexual harassment and assault. It established the inquiry in response to the 2019 rape allegation by former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins.
On Sunday, Ms Jenkins said MPs should not automatically report sexual assaults to the police, despite the head of the AFP warning parliamentarians about the risks of failing to report crimes.
“Of course, the agency of any victim needs to be respected. I can’t imagine the trauma that victims must have gone through,” Senator Ruston told Sky News.
“I think Kate Jenkins will provide us with a great opportunity to have a look at our workplace and make sure that we’ve got the best possible procedures in place, so that we’ve got the best workplace in Australia, because we do need to lead by example in Canberra.”
READ MORE:Claire Lehmann: Rape is (mostly) not about power and the patriarchy
Ellie Dudley8.28am:Victoria records 10th straight day of no local cases
Victoria has reported no new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19, and one in an overseas arrival.
This marks the 10th day in a row with no community cases for the state.
While Victoria is currently not accepting international arrivals, the case found in hotel quarantine has been confirmed by the health department to be an air crew member.
Over the past 24 hours, 9993 tests were conducted leaving Victoria with five active cases.
Ellie Dudley8.20am:Keneally calls for Reynolds to resign
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Kristina Keneally has called for Linda Reynolds to resign, after the Defence Minister extended her medical leave amidst rape allegations against another government employee from her former staffer Brittany Higgins.
Ms Reynolds also called Ms Higgins a “lying cow” the day the allegations were made and has since issued an apology to her staff and Ms Higgins.
Ms Keneally said Ms Reynolds’ position as Defence Minister should not be maintained.
“I am floored that any minister could say an alleged rape victim, that they are a lying cow and think that there are no consequences,” she told ABC Radio National.
“Linda Reynolds should not and must not stay in this portfolio. If she does not go then the Prime Minister needs to take leadership and make a decision here.”
Ms Keneally also questioned Mr Reynolds’ capacity to continue as Defence Minister due to obvious medical concerns.
“She needs to be able to turn up to the parliament, and answer questions,” she said.
“If she is not well enough to do that, then we have to seriously ask, is she available to do the job as Defence Minister? This is a key national security portfolio.”
READ MORE:Ministers out of action: IR, defence stall
Ellie Dudley8.14am:PM consulted ‘appropriate colleagues’ on Porter: Payne
Womens Minister Marise Payne has said Scott Morrison consulted “appropriate colleagues” before deciding there would be no independent inquiry into rape allegations against Christian Porter, but would not confirm that he consulted her.
The Prime Minister and the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, along with an array of Liberal MPs have been adamant an independent inquiry into the accusations would undermine the rule of law.
“He has made decisions in relation to that in consultation with appropriate colleagues,” Ms Payne told ABC Radio this morning.
“I’m not going to go into the details of my private conversations with the prime minister.”
She added that there are “principles” and “well established legal processes” that are in place to handle these matters, adding that the NSW Police closed the investigation.
“It would be unprecedented if we moved to establish an inquiry of this nature based on an allegation,” she said.
“It would mean any person in Australia in any role in any job could be put in the position of ignoring the rule of law.”
READ MORE:Oriel: Media show trial is not the answer for victims of rape
Jenny Strasburg7.55am:Austria halts shots from batch of AstraZeneca vaccine
Austrian authorities said Sunday they have suspended the use of one batch of COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca PLC as a precautionary measure, after reports of a death and an illness among vaccine recipients. Neither event has been shown to be linked to the vaccine, the authorities added.
The reported death was from severe coagulation disorders in a 49-year-old woman, and a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary embolism and is recovering, Austria’s Federal Office for Safety in Health Care said. Both women received shots in the country’s Zwettl district from the same batch of vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, but no connection has been shown to the vaccine, the agency said.
“Currently, there is no evidence of a causal relationship with vaccination,” and the health conditions aren’t among known or expected side effects of the vaccine, the agency said in a statement on its website. It added that investigations are under way “to be able to completely exclude a possible connection.” The Austrian authorities said they so far haven’t found the two women’s conditions or similar blood clotting noted anywhere else in any side-effect reports related to the vaccine internationally.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca said the company is in contact with Austrian authorities and is supporting their investigation. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has been shown in trials and real-world analysis to be safe and effective and has been approved for use in more than 50 countries. Batches of the vaccine are subject to testing for quality and uniformity before they are released for use.
“There have been no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine,” the AstraZeneca spokesman said.
Documented reactions to the vaccine have been largely mild or moderate and have included soreness in the arm near the injection, tiredness, fever and headache, typically not lasting more than a few days.
The Wall Street Journal
READ MORE:Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 jab
Ellie Dudley7.18am:Extended leave ‘sensible’ for Reynolds: Ruston
Families and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston has said it is “sensible” for Defence Minister Linda Reynolds to extend her medical leave.
Ms Reynolds on Sunday released a statement saying she would be extending her leave for a pre-existing medical condition until April 2, on the advice of her cardiologist.
Ms Ruston described her illness as a “very serious medical condition” that must be controlled.
“It is sensible that she takes her doctor’s orders and takes the necessary time for her to be able to get her medication right before she comes back,” she told the ABC.
Another minister currently on leave – Christian Porter – is expected to return in a few weeks.
Despite widespread calls for an independent inquiry into the rape accusation for the Attorney-General, Ms Ruston maintained that Mr Porter “should be judged by the same law” as everyone else.
“We have one rule of law in Australia,” she said.
“It’s the rule of law that we all need to be ruled by it. It shouldn’t be any different for anybody, whether they be the Attorney-General or you or me or anybody else in the public.”
Ms Ruston said “everybody will be happy” if the coroner in South Australia undertakes an investigation into the death of the alleged rape victim.
READ MORE:Ministers out of action: IR, defence stall
Ellie Dudley6.35am:GPs call for greater vaccine transparency
Tensions over the transparency of the federal government’s vaccine rollout have risen, with general practitioners claiming they are “not able to plan ahead”.
The AstraZeneca rollout will commence nationwide today as Australia has acquired 300,000 doses internationally with another 500,000 on the way.
More than 4500 GP clinics have been enlisted to administer the COVID-19 jabs.
However, Brisbane GP Maria Bolton said the “biggest frustration” for doctors has been the lack of clarity on the number of doses they will receive.
“We have been preparing for it for a while but the biggest frustration we have at the moment is uncertainty over when these vaccine doses will arrive and what we will get the second week,” she told Today.
Dr Bolton said her clinic had been given 50 doses for the first week of the rollout, but clinics across Australia are losing money as they await further information.
“It is like putting on a concert,” she said.
“Basically we have the performers which are the vaccine doses. We have the public that come and see the concert and then you have the staff around the concert.
“At the moment we cannot put on a concert without losing money because we don’t know
how many performers we are getting or when they are coming.”
However, Dr Bolton said there was no risk of practitioners pulling out of the program.
“We have been here since the beginning of the pandemic and we all want to participate,” she said.
READ MORE:Keep cap on vaccine GPs: medical groups
Michael McKenna6.03am:Voucher boost for suffering tourist mecca
Queenslanders will be given a $200 voucher to spend on holidays in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef under a Palaszczuk government scheme to help boost business in COVID-hit tourist destinations.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk unveiled the scheme on Sunday and left the door open to offering the vouchers in other tourist towns struggling with the loss of overseas visitors.
Queensland would normally have 2.7 million overseas tourists visit during the year, worth $6bn to the state’s economy.
Ms Palaszczuk announced the scheme as she continued her attack on the federal government for failing to agree to extend JobKeeper for certain industries beyond this month.
Under the voucher scheme, Queenslanders will have three days to apply for one of 15,000 vouchers that will cover up to 50 per cent of a booked tourism experience, to the value of $200.
Ticky Fullerton5.40am:Time to refocus on equality after Covid set women back
The 2021 theme of International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge, which seems purpose-built for the current uprising against sexual harassment and worse against women.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is fighting to keep his job, and in Australia, not one but two government ministerial careers are on the line. There is something else we should doing on International Women’s Day.
We should be taking stock of what has happened to the status of women in Australia and all over the world after 12 months of the pandemic.
And leaders — business and political — should be thinking very hard about how the drive for gender equality in the workplace can get back on track.
The setbacks for women are everywhere. Take the frontline in health, where the physical and mental toll on nurses, so many of them female, has been horrific. In Britain in January, over 50,000 NHS staff were reported as off sick with COVID. Numbers in developing countries are unknown. Writing in the British Medical Journal last month, David Berger, an Australian GP emergency doctor based in Broome, said that at least 3000 healthcare workers in the US died between March and December 2020, and in Britain that number is believed to be over 850.
“Shall we persist in cajoling and manipulating healthcare workers ‘up the line to death’, or shall we pay them the respect they deserve and do whatever it takes to accord them a safe, dignified, caring workplace? How have healthcare workers allowed this to happen?” asked Dr Berger.
At a household level in Australia, statistics confirm the anecdotal evidence that COVID has increased inequality.
The double whammy of cuts to lower-paid service jobs and the abrupt closure of childcare and schools left women with the bulk of the mopping up.
Rosie Lewis5.05am:Tourism redundancy threat ‘not hot air’
More than a third of the country was hit by a major drop in visitor numbers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research prepared for the tourism sector, which is using the data to push for more support when JobKeeper payments expire.
Josh Frydenberg, who is touring Queensland after landing in Cairns on Sunday, is not expected to outline the government’s economic support plans while in the state and said significant numbers of people have already come off the wage subsidy scheme. “More than 70 per cent of those who were on the program in Wide Bay, Townsville, Mackay, Isaac and the Whitsunday regions (have come off JobKeeper), more than 65 per cent of those who were on JobKeeper on the Sunshine Coast and 55 per cent of those in Cairns,” the Treasurer said.
“This is a marked improvement on last July when Queensland’s unemployment was the highest in the country.”
With three weeks to go before JobKeeper is due to expire, Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said businesses are already planning mass redundancies because of the uncertainty of what help would be offered after the end of March.
The research, compiled by Stafford Strategy for the Transport and Tourism Forum — a separate industry body — found 34 per cent of the country experience a 40 per cent or greater loss of visitors to last September compared with the previous year.
Michael McKenna4.45am:Build quarantine ‘or face chaos’
The billionaire family behind a proposed purpose-built quarantine centre in regional Queensland has called for an end to the “politicisation” of the project, as university chiefs predicted it could prove to be a lifeline to the lucrative foreign student market.
Businessman John Wagner, whose property and infrastructure company wants to build the centre beside its privately owned Wellcamp airport outside Toowoomba, said the federal and state governments needed to put aside their differences and assess the project.
Mr Wagner has said the 1000-bed camp could be built within 14-weeks, and run by the state government, and would be modelled on the Howard Springs quarantine centre outside Darwin.
But since first flagging the proposal more than six weeks ago, the state and federal governments have been at loggerheads.
The Wagners have said they would pay for the construction of the accommodation, which would be modified to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19 from travellers to staff, and charge the government for each traveller. The traveller would then reimburse the government.
Last Friday Scott Morrison tried to blame the Palaszczuk government for ongoing delays in the assessment of the project, saying the federal government had yet to receive a “firm costed proposal” to consider.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk responded by saying the Wagner Corporation had provided “all the details” for the project and that the federal government had refused to give any indication of whether it would consider or fund the centre.
Adeshola Ore4.37am:Jab deliveries to rise despite Italy’s ban
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australia will soon be delivering more than 500,000 COVID vaccinations a week, despite the Morrison government being behind in its inoculation targets.
On Sunday, Mr Hunt announced the federal government would enlist more than 4500 GP clinics to administer COVID jabs to ramp up its national vaccine rollout.
More than 81,000 Australians have been vaccinated in the first fortnight of the rollout, including more than 23,000 aged-care residents. The government has fallen well behind its initial target to vaccine 80,000 people a week.
It is also aiming to have four million Australians vaccinated with their first dose by early April.
“We will soon be delivering well over 500,000 vaccinations a week, while making sure we have the contingency for second vaccinations, and that will continue to grow and that is a wonderful outcome for Australians,” said Mr Hunt, who on Sunday was vaccinated alongside Julia Gillard.
He said some states and territories would bring forward their commencement of the phase 1b stage, which includes elderly Australians and people with underlying health conditions.
Doctors will be brought in for phrase 1b of the rollout, which will begin on March 22.
Additional reporting: Finn McHugh
Pro-Gazan pianist and MSO open to mediation
Jayson Gillham is suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the Federal Court, with a trial likely to be scheduled in March next year if mediation fails.
RBA leaves all options on the table in inflation fight
Despite keeping interest rates on hold at its September meeting, the RBA left the door open for additional tightening in its efforts to tame inflation, minutes show.