Coronavirus Australia live news: Morrison wins backing for uni overhaul
Centre Alliance have raised the government’s hopes of passing its radical overhaul of uni fees, saying it’s a positive first step.
- Victoria monitoring cases hourly
- PM reveals major cyber attack
- ‘Beijing is being called out’
- Vic to ease restrictions, despite spike
- Global deaths pass 450,000
- Jobless rate ‘closer to 20pc’
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Centre Alliance have raised the Morrison government’s hopes of passing its radical overhaul of university fees. The Andrews government says it is monitoring Victoria’s coronavirus numbers “on an hourly basis” and has not ruled out postponing the planned easing of restrictions on Monday, amid a spike in community transmissions. Australia is under mass cyber-attack from a foreign state targeting all levels of government, industry and business with cyber experts claiming the source of the attack could only have come from China. And a designer drug has been found in computer modelling studies to stop the coronavirus replicating.
Agencies 8.20pm: COVID-19 adds to NT’s economic crisis
The Northern Territory might have so far avoided a health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic but it is causing a fiscal and economic crisis, with the government borrowing $600 million earlier than planned.
The NT government revealed at a public hearing this week it had brought forward $600 million in borrowing in May and June, intended for next financial year. “The Northern Territory Treasury Corporation completed its borrowing program for 2019-20 in February which had contributed to the funding response to COVID19,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.
Before the pandemic hit, the NT was already facing a budget crisis with record forecast deficit and net debt levels this year of $1.049 billion and $5.93 billion respectively.
The independent Langoulant Report found it was in structural deficit and must find $11.2 billion in savings over a decade.
It now expects to spend or forego an extra $408 million as a result of COVID-19, Mr Gunner told the hearing.
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Agencies 6.44pm: Police limit Queensland hotel protest plans
Police have clamped down on protesters blockading a Brisbane hotel in support of asylum seekers detained in the building.
The protest organisers planned to hold a large rally for much of Sunday in front of the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel, where about 120 men are being held. But police successfully applied to Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday to have the gathering limited to two hours.
Concerns were raised over disruptions to traffic and how people would adhere to the COVID-19 health restrictions that currently restrict gatherings to a maximum of 20 people.
Protesters will also only be allowed to congregate on two side streets and not on Main Street as they did last weekend.
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Gerard Cockburn 5.35pm: ATO to crackdown on super rorts
The Australian Taxation Office says it is cracking down on people rorting the early release of super scheme by using system loopholes to dodge paying tax.
A document released by the ATO highlights a weakness within the country’s tax framework in relation to the federal government’s COVID-19 financial assistance measure, which was initially designed to assist Australians facing financial hardship due to the pandemic.
According to the ATO, a super fund member is able to request payment through the scheme at a tax free rate, and in the same financial year make a voluntary contribution from their income at the superannuation tax rate of 15 per cent, which would result in a certain amount of income avoiding the marginal tax rate.
READ MORE: ATO to crackdown on people rorting early super scheme
Rachel Baxendale 5.13pm: Restrictions to lift in Victoria despite new cases
Victoria’s deputy chief medical officer has confirmed a planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions will go ahead on Monday, despite concerns following three days of double digit increases in the state’s COVID-19 case numbers.
Deputy CHO Annaliese van Diemen said health authorities “remain vigilant”, as Victoria confirmed 13 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including two cases linked to a new family outbreak, six linked to known outbreaks, one detected in a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, three identified through routine testing, and one which remains under investigation.
Thursday’s 18 new cases included eight identified through community transmissions and three under investigation.
More restrictions are gradually being lifted from next Sunday, 21 June 11.59pm.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) June 15, 2020
Find out more: https://t.co/CTpfySoZ6r#COVID19Vic #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/SvPTVzk201
There were 21 new cases on Wednesday, although 15 of those were in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Asked whether the Victorian government still intended to proceed with plans to ease restrictions and allow indoor gatherings of up to 50 people from 11:59pm on Sunday, Dr van Diemen said the health department would prefer to have had fewer new cases in recent days.
“Today’s numbers to me are less concerning, probably, than yesterday’s numbers given the known links with most of these cases,” Dr van Diemen said.
“Really, it’s cases that we don’t have known links to that are the biggest concern for us, and there’s fewer of those today than there were yesterday, so that’s a good sign.
“Monday’s restrictions are going ahead as planned, and we will continue to monitor and determine what may or may not come after Monday.”
Asked whether that decision could be revised if a significant number of further cases is identified over the weekend, Dr van Diemen said: “Two days are not going to make a huge difference, to be honest, so the current plan is that Monday we’ll go ahead.”
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Rachel Baxendale 4.25pm: ‘Victoria now the COVID capital of Australia’
Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the state had become the “COVID capital” of Australia.
“We’re seeing outbreaks here that we’re not seeing in any other state,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Some of these are related to returned overseas travellers, and that’s not such a concern because that’s quarantined, but we don’t want to see any clusters, which we’re starting to see come about.
“Now I don’t think this is a reason to stop the easing of restrictions, but it is a reason to be careful, and it is a reason to make sure that all of our contact tracing teams are on full alert so if there’s any indication of a second wave it can be stamped on straight away.”
Mr O’Brien said he was very concerned about any possible postponement of the easing of social distancing restrictions.
“There are a lot of small businesses who are basically on life support at the moment,” he said.
“They’ve been waiting for this opportunity to slowly reopen. If the government pulls the rug out from under them, it could just be the end of them.
“Yesterday we saw Victoria lost 70,000 jobs last month. That’s the worst figure in the country. We really need to make sure our economy does get back to work, but we need to do it safely.”
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Rachel Baxendale 3.20pm: Five hotel security guards among Vic virus cases
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has released new information about the state’s 13 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, confirming they comprise two cases linked to a new family outbreak, six linked to known outbreaks, one detected in a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, three identified through routine testing, and one which remains under investigation.
One previously notified case has been reclassified and removed from the overall total.
The department confirmed in a statement on Friday afternoon that two of the new cases are linked to a family in Keilor Downs and are close contacts of a known case.
This outbreak has not been linked to a previously reported family outbreak in Keilor Downs.
Five of the new cases have been found in contracted security guards working at the Stamford Plaza hotel, where recently returned overseas travellers have been quarantined.
The department said all five had worked shifts over a similar period at the hotel.
“Investigations into potential sources of transmission, testing of staff and follow up discussions with close contacts are ongoing,” DHHS said.
“The Department’s outbreak squad will continue to work closely with the hotel to protect contractors, staff and guests.”
A link has also been established between the Stamford Plaza outbreak and a south-eastern suburbs family outbreak previously reported, with an adult member of the family having worked as a security contractor at the Stamford Plaza hotel.
“Further investigation of this link and all other aspects of these outbreaks is ongoing,” DHHS said.
One of the new cases is a close contact of a known case associated with the Rydges on Swanston Hotel outbreak, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 17.
“The individual concerned was already in quarantine when they developed symptoms,” DHHS said.
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Richard Ferguson 2.40pm: Support for government’s radical uni fee overhaul
Centre Alliance have raised the Morrison government’s hopes of passing its radical overhaul of university fees, saying it is a positive first step towards getting students into job-ready courses.
CA senator Stirling Griff told The Australian that they support the policy in principle, but have concerns that changing course fees alone will not convince enough young Australians to not enrol in humanities and law.
“We haven’t come to a formal position but it’s a positive first step. It’s a good idea to focus study on areas of growth,” he said.
“And it’s good if more students move away from subjects that might be considered more glamorous. We know there are too many law students for the legal job market.
“However, we also know the main driver in choosing courses is not cost. It’s what your parents and your friends and your ambitions drive you towards.
“This policy would need to be part of a package - perhaps a big promotional campaign - to convince young Australians to take up these other subjects.”
The government needs 39 votes to pass legislation in the Senate.
Centre Alliance’s two votes would mean Scott Morrison would only need One Nation or Jacqui Lambie to pass the bill if Labor and the Greens oppose.
READ MORE: ‘Students deserve better’
Max Maddison 2.15pm: Gatherings for 100 as ACT eases restrictions
The ACT will allow gatherings of up to 100 people, as the territory moves to the next stage of easing restrictions.
In a statement, ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said the biggest change in Step 2.2 would be the jump from 20 people to 100 people across all areas. However, venues will still be required to have one person per four square metres.
“We will continue to closely monitor disease surveillance here in the ACT and other jurisdictions as we move forward, and as we plan to implement Stage 3 of the Plan in July,” Dr Coleman said.
“Continuing cases in Victoria and NSW, as well as in many countries overseas, serve as a reminder of the ongoing risk of a resurgence in cases and the need for us to remain vigilant.”
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David Swan 2pm: Telstra on ‘heightened alert for cyber attacks
Telstra boss Andy Penn says his telco is on ‘heightened alert’ following the government’s announcement this morning.
“Our own monitoring confirms what the Prime Minister has said today. We have seen a significant increase in cyber-attack activity in recent weeks and we are on heightened alert for ourselves and for our customers and we are actively managing the risk,” Penn said.
“Cyber security is a large and growing area of risk for the security of the nation, and COVID-19 has increased that risk with so many of people working and studying from home, away from traditional security measures.
“The Australian government deserves real credit for the leadership it is showing on cyber security – it is critical for our national security and economic growth. We continue to work closely with the relevant security agencies and our global partners to monitor and understand these threats to better protect our own data and networks, and those of our customers.
READ FULL STORY here.
MACKENZIE SCOTT 1.10pm: HomeBuilder contract guidelines softened
The three-month contract relating to the construction time frame outlined within the federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme has been softened in a revised set of guidelines released today.
Clarification of the $668m stimulus package, which is designed to kickstart the construction industry, relaxed the three-month clause to give states and home buyers greater leeway with approvals. States will not have the power to grant eligible home buyers more time to gain loan and legal approvals and access state-based grants.
“States may exercise discretion where commencement is delayed beyond three months from the contract date due to unforeseen factors outside the control of the parties to the contract (e.g. delays in building approvals),” the update guidelines read.
Off-the-plan purchases of apartments were also addressed, and will be expected to meet the same three month time frame as detached houses.
Construction bodies have welcomed the expanded guidelines.
Housing Industry Association chief executive of industry policy, Kristin Brookfield, said the clarification has been what buyers and the industry have been waiting for.
“The HomeBuilder grant has already boosted interest in buying a new home or carrying out a renovation project. Builders are feeling positive about the next six months of activity and equally important is the potential the scheme has to generate activity in 2021. The new details will make this interest even stronger,” Ms Brookfield said.
State and territory governments are yet to sign on to the scheme and outline how hopeful home builders can apply. The implementation of the plan may differ from between state and territories.
Buyers will still be expected to meet a set of strict criteria to be eligible for the scheme, including income and price caps.
The change comes in light of claims from Meriton apartment king Harry Triguboff that the scheme was too heavily weighted towards house and land development.
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RACHEL BAXENDALE 12.40pm: Andrews monitoring virus outbreak ‘on an hourly basis’
The Andrews government says it is monitoring Victoria’s coronavirus numbers “on an hourly basis” and has not ruled out postponing the planned easing of restrictions on Monday, amid a spike in community transmissions in recent days.
The news comes as Victoria confirmed 12 new coronavirus cases on Friday, including seven detected through routine community testing and four linked to a quarantine hotel staff cluster.
Thursday’s 18 new cases included at least community transmissions, and there were 21 new cases on Wednesday, although 15 of those were in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Asked whether the Victorian government still intended to proceed with plans to ease restrictions and allow indoor gatherings of up to 50 people from 11:59pm on Sunday, senior Andrews government minister Jacinta Allan said: “We’ve indicated that we’re monitoring the data on an hourly basis.”
“We’re keeping a really close eye on the numbers, taking the careful advice from the Chief Health Officer, and we’ve already had previously announced to the Victorian community what the next stage of restrictions look like, but we are carefully monitoring that,” Ms Allan said.
“We’ll continue to take the advice of the Chief Health Officer, and if there’s any change to those restrictions, we’ll give that information to Victoria community as quickly as we possibly can.”
Mr Allan said the government was still encouraging Victorians to be as careful as possible to avoid transmitting the virus.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has previously indicated it is using a non-quarantine infection rate of fewer than 10 new cases per day nationally as a rough benchmark to determine the timing of the further easing of restrictions.
Asked whether businesses could continue preparations to reopen on Monday with confidence, Ms Allan said: “Well, look, it’s Friday morning, and that’s the advice as at Friday morning, but I think as we’ve seen the Premier and the Chief Health Officer and the Minister say previously, that we will monitor this on a daily basis.”
Ms Allan said there was no meeting of the Andrews government’s crisis council of cabinet planned before Monday, but that could change.
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Max Maddison 12.10pm: South Australia opens border to Queenslanders
South Australia made another step in the return towards normality, as Premier Steven Marshall eased a host of restrictions.
As of midnight tonight, South Australia will resume travel with Queensland, with travellers able to visit without quarantine for 14 days, Mr Marshall said. However, the easing of quarantine restrictions only applies for Queenslanders coming to South Australia. Mr Marshall said Qld still has them in place for South Australians.
“Again, I emphasise this doesn’t mean necessarily that South Australians can go into Queensland but we are lifting our State borders and so people from Queensland, whether they be Queensland citizens or whether they are south Australians returning, they will not be required to do that 14 days of mandatory self-isolation.”
The other changes announced were further easings on venue capacities, increasing room limits from 20 to 75, while the upper venue limit moved from 80 to 300.
Aged care facilities will also allow residents to leave and enter as they wish, while also enabling two visitors at a time, including people under the age of 16.
Change rooms at sporting venues will also reopen, while alcohol can be consumed at outdoor sporting events with up to 300 spectators.
“The start date for stage 3 will remain at Monday, the 29th of June. In that group we will allow some further easing of restrictions, in particular gaming rooms will be reopened in pubs and clubs,” Mr Marshall said at a press conference.
The Queensland decision follows an earlier move by SA to lift coronavirus restrictions on people coming from Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
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Geoff Chambers 11.55am: Cyber attack trend ‘will not stop’
Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre chief executive Rachael Falk said cyber attacks were “growing in sophistitication”.
“Regrettably, this is a trend that will not stop. As you heard the PM say, this is a clear call for all Australians to be cyber aware and protected,” Ms Falk said.
“Focusing on attribution is a distraction from the big issue here, which is that the government, businesses and individuals have to be cyber prepared.”
READ MORE: PM’s cyber warning ‘unprecedented’
Richard Ferguson 11.35am: Treasurer in touch with Five Eyes unit
Josh Fryenberg has held his first phone hook-up with the finance ministers of the Five Eyes intelligence network.
The Australian revealed this month that the Treasurer was pushing to expand the Five Eyes remit - Australia, the United States, Great Britain, New Zealand and Canada - to greater economic co-operation post-coronavirus.
“The world is in the midst of a once in a century pandemic and the economic implications for each of our countries are profound,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“In addition to the many multilateral and bilateral discussions we are engaged in, this grouping provides a welcome opportunity for further collaboration on key economic matters.
“During the call, we exchanged views on the various policy responses underway and lessons learnt. We will continue to work together towards ensuring global financial stability and a strong and sustainable economic recovery.”
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau were all on the call.
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Rachel Baxendale 11.25am: Victoria surge puts easing move in doubt
Victoria has confirmed 12 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Friday, including seven detected as a result of community testing.
The continued increase in cases comes after the state’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen said on Thursday that the next stage in relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, due to take place on Sunday night, could be in jeopardy if the state’s new case numbers continued to rise in the next few days.
Victoria’s total number of COVID-19 cases is now 1792, which is an increase of 13 since Thursday, due to the reclassification of one case and the 12 new cases.
Of the 13 cases, one was detected in a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, while four have been linked to a cluster associated with close contacts of hotel quarantine residents at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza hotel.
A further seven cases were detected through routine community testing, and the remaining case is under investigation.
There have so far been 193 cases of COVID-19 in Victoria for which the source is unknown - an increase of one since Thursday.
The number of active cases is 91, with five coronavirus patients in hospital, including two in intensive care.
A total of 635,897 tests have been conducted in Victoria since the pandemic began, 14,671 of which were processed on Thursday.
READ MORE: ‘We know who the cyber attacker is’
Geoff Chambers 11.15am: Cyber security agency issues warning
The Australian Cyber Security Centre has warned companies, institutions and governments to be alert and urgently enhance “the resilience of their networks” after confirming the “sustained targeting” of Australian organisations by a “sophisticated state-based actor”.
The ACSC said the “copy-paste compromises” were linked to the state-based actor’s heavy use of proof-of-concept exploit code, web shells and other tools “copied almost identically from open source”.
The cyber security agency said the actor had been “identified leveraging a number of initial access vectors, with the most prevalent being the exploitation of public-facing infrastructure — primarily through the use of remote code execution vulnerability in unpatched versions of Telerik UI”.
“Other vulnerabilities in public-facing infrastructure leveraged by the actor include exploitation of a deserialisation vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), a 2019 SharePoint vulnerability and the 2019 Citrix vulnerability,” the updated cyber security advice said.
“The actor has shown the capability to quickly leverage public exploit proof-of-concepts to target networks of interest and regularly conducts reconnaissance of target networks looking for vulnerable services, potentially maintaining a list of public-facing services to quickly target following future vulnerability releases.
“The actor has also shown an aptitude for identifying development, test and orphaned services that are not well known or maintained by victim organisations.”
The ACSC said they had identified the cyber attacks after “the exploitation of public-facing infrastructure did not succeed”.
“When the exploitation of public-facing infrastructure did not succeed, the ACSC has identified the actor utilising various spearphishing techniques.”
These included links to credential harvesting websites, emails with links to malicious files or with the malicious file directly attached, links prompting users to grant Office 365 OAuth tokens to the actor and use of email tracking services to identify the email opening and lure click-through events.
“Once initial access is achieved, the actor utilised a mixture of open source and custom tools to persist on, and interact with, the victim network. Although tools are placed on the network, the actor migrates to legitimate remote accesses using stolen credentials. To successfully respond to a related compromise, all accesses must be identified and removed,” the advice said.
“In interacting with victim networks, the actor was identified making use of compromised legitimate Australian web sites as command and control servers. Primarily, the command and control was conducted using web shells and HTTP/HTTPS traffic. This technique rendered geo-blocking ineffective and added legitimacy to malicious network traffic during investigations.
“During its investigations, the ACSC identified no intent by the actor to carry out any disruptive or destructive activities within victim environments.”
The ACSC is urging companies to implement measures including “prompt patching of internet-facing software, operating systems and devices” and the “use of multi-factor authentication across all remote access services” including web and cloud-based email, collaboration platforms, virtual private network connections and remote desktop services.
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Ewin Hannan 11am: Minimum wage earners get a lift
The raise for 2.2 million workers will be staggered across different industries depending on how they have been impacted by the COVID-19 increase. Read more here
Max Maddison 10.50am: Victorian case spike ‘a concern’
The number of community transmissions in Victoria is a “concern”, says Australian Medical Association President Tony Bartone, as he highlights the next fortnight as “critical”.
With 12 of the 18 cases recorded in Victoria yesterday from community transmission, Dr Bartone said the numbers were exactly what “we don’t want to see”.
“But certainly eight, 10, a dozen, double-digit community transmission cases is a concern and will potentially may point to more so down the track so we’ve got to watch the next few days carefully,” Dr Bartone told television program Today on Nine. “The next week or two will be critical.”
Dr Bartone said it was vital that people continued to observe social distancing measures, even as restrictions were eased over the coming weeks.
“All these things will help us. If you have symptoms, don’t go to work. Those simple
things will make sure we can continue to lift the restrictions,” he said.
READ MORE: Infections won’t slow reopening
Richard Ferguson 10.30am: Labor attacks uni funding overhaul
Labor has blasted the Morrison government’s university fee overhaul, as opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek says hiking prices of arts and law courses will hurt families.
Humanities students will face a massive fee hike while those studying maths, teaching and nursing will have course costs slashed under a comprehensive university funding shake-up to be announced by Education Minister Dan Tehan on Friday.
“Scott Morrison wants students to foot the bill for his Government’s uni changes, with fees for some degrees more than doubling,” she said on Friday.
“A couple of years ago, Scott Morrison cut uni places. Now he expects people to be grateful he’s reversed some of those cuts. Even after today’s announcement, thousands of Australians will still miss out on uni.
“There’s double the number of Year 12s who want to go to uni next year, but the Liberals refuse to open up enough places for them.”
READ MORE: Funding revamp revealed
Kieran Gair 10.10am: Tenant ‘assaulted’ over unpaid rent
Police have charged two men after they allegedly assaulted a tenant and held the cash-strapped 24-year-old man against his will when he was unable to pay his rent due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The tenant and a friend arrived at a rental property on Clifton Reserve, at Sydney’s Surry Hills, about 3.30pm on Wednesday and were met by the property owner and another man.
The tenant told police he owed back-rent after getting into financial difficulties, but believed he’d negotiated a payment plan with the property owner.
Police allege the tenant was met at the property by the two men who threatened then assaulted him and prevented him from leaving the premises until he had paid the outstanding rent in full.
A 56-year-old man – who police allege is the property owner – was arrested about 10.30pm on Wednesday and was charged with detain person for advantage. He was refused bail overnight and appeared in Central Local Court on Thursday, where he was granted condition bail. He is scheduled to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on August 13
A 57-year-old man, believed to be the property owner’s friend, was arrested when he presented himself to Surry Hills Police Station about 5pm on Thursday; he has now been charged with take/detain in company with intent to obtain advantage occasioning actual bodily harm.
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Joe Kelly 9.55am: ‘Very clear the PM is calling out Beijing’
Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings told The Australian it was “very clear” that China was behind the cyber attack and that Scott Morrison was calling Beijing out.
“I think you’ve got to sort of go through a checklist of factors, which is not just the capability issues that Morrison talks about but also the interest and intent. The Russians could do it. The North Koreans could do it, but neither of them have an interest on the scale of this. They have no interest in state and territory government or universities,” Mr Jennings said.
“So that leads me to conclude that the only country that has got the interest to go as broad and as deep as this and the only country with the sophistication and the size of the intelligence establishment to do it, is China. That’s very clear.
“I think you can sort of attribute 95 per cent of confidence to it being China.”
Mr Jennings said the Morrison government was “saying publicly to China ‘we know’ and in a sense putting a bit of pressure on them.”
“China will read this very clearly as Australia saying ‘we know’. They are very sensitive to public naming and shaming on this issue.”
READ MORE: Military on high alert
Richard Ferguson 9.45am: Morrison says only a few capable of such attack
A major cyber attack has yet to breach the personal data of Australians, but Scott Morrison says only a state-based actor with “significant capabilities” could undertake the attack.
The Prime Minister has refused to say China – who have been behind a number of large-scale cyber attacks in the past – are responsible for the attack.
Mr Morrison informed Anthony Albanese and the national cabinet of premiers and chief ministers of the attack on Thursday night.
“The advice I have is that the investigations conducted so far have not revealed any large scale personal data breaches,” he said in Canberra.
“Australia doesn’t engage lightly in public attributions and when and if we choose to do so is always done in the context of what we believe to be in our strategic national interests.
“What I can confirm is there are not a large number of state-based actors that can engage in this type of activity and it is clear, based on the advice that we have received, that this has been done by a state-based actor, with very significant capabilities.”
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Richard Ferguson 9.35am: Update your protection: Defence Minister
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds is calling on all Australian businesses to update their protective software and secure their internet access as a major cyberattack targets Australian businesses.
All levels of government, health services and businesses are currently being targeted by a state-based cyber actor.
“Firstly, patch your internet facing devices promptly, ensuring that any web or email servers are fully updated with the latest software,” she said in Canberra.
“Secondly, ensure you always use multifactor authentication to secure your internet access, infrastructure and also your CLOUD-based platforms.
“Thirdly, it’s important to become an ACSC (Australian Cyber Security Centre) partner to ensure you get the latest cyber threat advice to protect your organisation online.”
READ MORE: Beijing deceit must be challenged
Richard Ferguson 9.20am: PM reveals state-based cyber attack
Australia is under mass cyber-attack from a foreign state targeting all levels of government, industry and business with cyber experts claiming the source of the attack could only have come from China.
Scott Morrison this morning revealed that Australian organisations were actively being targeted by a “state-based cyber actor” but would not name the country believed to be behind the “malicious” cyber raid.
“What I can confirm, with confidence, based on the advice, the technical advice that we have received, is that this is the action of a state-based actor with significant capabilities,” the Prime Minister said.
“There aren’t too many state-based actors who have those capabilities.”
Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings told The Australian it was “very clear” that China was behind the cyber attack on Australia, and that Mr Morrison was calling Beijing out.
The Prime Minister said in Canberra: “This activity is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of Government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure.
“We know it is a sophisticated state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting and the trade craft used.”
READ MORE: This fight set to get nasty
Richard Ferguson 8.55am: Scott Morrison set to face the media
Scott Morrison is due to get up in Canberra to make an unexpected short statement on national security.
Sky News is reporting that the Prime Minister may discuss a “significant’ cyber attack.
Government sources have confirmed to The Australian that the matter is security-related and the Prime Minister will only take two questions.
Agencies 8.15am: WHO eyes virus vaccine this year
The World Health Organisation hopes hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine can be produced this year and 2 billion doses by the end of 2021, its chief scientist says, AAP reports.
The WHO is also drawing up plans to help decide who should get the first doses once a vaccine is approved.
More than 8.40 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and 449,032 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Denmark’s government said on Thursday it will allow entry to citizens from most European countries with a low number of COVID-19 infections from June 27 — two months earlier than originally planned.
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Max Maddison 8am: Beijing virus outbreak ‘under control’
Chinese health authorities claim the Beijing coronavirus outbreak has been brought “under control”.
At a press conference, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said while cases wouldn’t go to zero overnight, they would begin to decline.
“The epidemic in Beijing has been brought under control,” said Dr Zunyou, according to a Reuters translation. “The trend will persist for a period of time, but the number of cases will decrease, just like the trend that we saw (in Beijing) in January and February.”
The city reported 21 cases on Wednesday, down from 31 the day before. The outbreak has been linked to the Xinfandi wholesale food market, with health authorities finding severely contaminated meat and seafood.
READ MORE: China will turn nasty to save face
Agencies 7.40am: Pope’s travel plans put on hold
Pope Francis has no plans for trips abroad this year, the Vatican said Thursday, with the coronavirus pandemic presenting too high a risk for the elderly pontiff to travel, AFP reports.
Francis’s diary had been practically empty in any case, with only one official trip scheduled before the virus hit Italy and the Vatican: a day trip to Malta at the end of May, which was cancelled.
The 83-year old had been formally invited to visit Iraq, Cyprus, Indonesia and Montenegro. He had also expressed an interest in visiting South Sudan, where he has personally interceded in efforts to end the civil war there.
But Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists none of those would be happening in the near future, for “the Holy Father has no foreign trips planned this year”.
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Max Maddison 7.15am: Kennett: Real unemployment rate is 20pc
The “real” jobless figure is around 20 per cent, says former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, as he calls the ongoing closure of state borders “economic vandalism”.
As the economy rapidly approaches the end of the Job Keeper wage subsidy program in September, Mr Kennett said the country needed to “get busy again”.
“We’re running out of time and the jobless figure is not the one you have quoted. The real jobless figure is around 20 per cent. There have been hundreds of thousands who have simply jumped out of employment and are not looking for employment,” Mr Kennett told television program Sunrise on Seven.
With the country facing dire economic circumstances, Mr Kennett said premiers needed to immediately open up their states.
“But the reality is we do want to open, we have to manage this virus, understanding that when we close our borders, when we put these restrictions in, we are turning Australia into a social welfare state, totally,” he said. “Economic vandalism equates with keeping the borders closed.”
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Max Maddison 6.55am: Global death toll passes 450,000
Global fatalities passed 450,000 overnight, as the total number of confirmed cases approaches 8.5m, Johns Hopkins University says.
The figure for coronavirus-related deaths stands at 450,835. The US, with 118,175 fatalities, represents more than a quarter of the total figure, and over double the next country, Brazil which has 46,510.
The number of official confirmed cases currently stands at 8,410,682. However, Johns Hopkins University’s figures, which relies on official government data, is likely to understate the number of confirmed cases and fatalities.
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Max Maddison 6.45am: WHO condemns ‘reckless’ celebrating fans
Thousands of Italian football fans celebrating their team’s victory have drawn the ire of the World Health Organisation, who condemned the celebrations as “reckless”.
Playing behind closed doors, the Naples-based Napoli triumphed over Juventus in penalties in the Coppa Italia final, resulting in roughly 5000 fans pouring onto the streets.
Ranieri Guerra, the WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Strategic Initiatives, compared the celebrations to a notorious Champions League match in February, which is thought to be among the main factors contributing to soaring cases in Italy’s worst-affected region.
“I wouldn’t like that to happen again,” said Dr Guerra. “Seeing those images hurts”.
Italy has recorded 333 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
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Agencies 6.20am: US job losses point to prolonged recovery
Three months after the viral outbreak shut down businesses across the country, US employers are still shedding jobs at a heavy rate, a trend that points to a slow and prolonged recovery from the recession, AP reports.
The number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits barely fell last week to 1.5 million, the government said Thursday. That was down from a peak of nearly 7 million in March, and it marked an 11th straight weekly drop.
But the number is still more than twice the record high that existed before the pandemic. And the total number of people receiving jobless aid remains a lofty 20.5 million.
The figures surprised and disappointed analysts who had expected far fewer people to seek unemployment aid as states increasingly reopen their economies and businesses recall some laid-off people back to work. The data also raised concerns that some recent lay-offs may reflect permanent losses as companies restructure their businesses, rather than temporary cuts in response to government-ordered closures.
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Agencies 5.50am: Italy records hundreds of new COVID cases
Italy has recorded 333 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, two-thirds of them in the hardest-hit Lombardy region, bringing the total in the epidemic to 238,159, AP reports.
Another 66 people died, for a total of 34,514, the civil protection agency reported on Thursday.
The regions of Piedmont and Emilia Romagna had the next highest numbers of new infections, at 31 and 32, respectively, while all the other regions were single digits or zero new cases.
Authorities have said the actual number of infections is likely to be higher as only those with severe symptoms, people hospitalised, health workers and nursing home residents have been regularly tested.
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Stephen Lunn 5.10am: Victoria presses ahead with easing of restrictions
Despite recording almost two-thirds of the nation’s COVID-19 cases since the start of May and 39 in the past two days alone, Victoria looks set to press on with plans to further ease coronavirus restrictions from Monday.
Of a national total of 21 new cases on Thursday, Victoria recorded 18, NSW two and Queensland one.
Six of the new Victorian cases were returning travellers, who are quarantined. Eight were community transmissions, the category of most concern to health officials.
The cases included a childcare worker, a child from another childcare facility, and a person who attended the Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne’s CBD on June 6, the third positive case from the protest.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the spike in community transmission cases was concerning. “Obviously I’m concerned about the increasing number of cases in the past few days,” she said. “I just want to reiterate the message to Victorians, take this issue seriously.”
Read the full story, by Stephen Lunn and Rachel Baxendale, here.
Natasha Robinson 5am: Designer drug able to stop virus replicating
A designer drug has been found in computer modelling studies to stop the coronavirus replicating.
Researchers from Monash University studied the effects on the novel coronavirus of a drug that was designed in the wake of the first SARS epidemic in 2003.
They found that the drug, known as alpha-ketoamide 13b, blocks one of the key proteins needed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to replicate.
Tom Karagiannis, a researcher from Monash University’s Central Clinical School, said a supercomputer identified the effect of the drug on blocking the replication of SARS-CoV-2.
Read the full story here.
Chris Griffith 4.45am: Artificial intelligence used for instant COVID-19 test
Researchers at Monash University and two Chinese institutes have developed a test for COVID-19 that they say can offer instant verification.
It involves conducting a lung CT scan and has to be done in-house. But they say the results can be delivered in less than a minute and the test will particularly suit people who fall ill and go straight to hospital.
The researchers say they have trained artificial intelligence to interpret a lung CT scan to find evidence of the virus’s impact. They say a key step in controlling the infection is to quickly identify positive cases and treat patients appropriately.
Read the full story here.
Additional reporting: Stephen Lunn
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