Coronavirus Australia live updates: JobKeeper package passes Senate
Fortnightly payments of $1500 will begin flowing to six million Australians after the JobKeeper legislation was passed by parliament late on Wednesday night.
- JobKeeper passes lower house
- Labor’s amendments fail
- PM pushes through wage subsidy
- New death brings Vic toll to 12
- Quarantined children rushed to hospital
- Johnson receiving oxygen in hospital
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. A skeleton session of federal parliament has passed the $130bn JobKeeper wage subsidy package in the lower house. Three quarantined children have been rushed from their hotel to hospital for coronavirus treatment. A plan to expose Australians to COVID-19 in ‘manageable doses’ is being considered, while in the UK, Boris Johnson continues to receive oxygen treatment in hospital as he battles coronavirus.
Richard Ferguson 11pm JobKeeper ‘a psychological boost for our nation’: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has hailed the passage of the $130bn JobKeeper package, saying the wage subsidies will be a “psychological boost for our nation” through the coronavirus pandemic.
“At $130bn, the JobKeeper package is unprecedented in scale and scope, and is like nothing this country has ever seen before.,” the Treasurer said in Canberra late on Wednesday.
“The JobKeeper package — at $130bn — is much more than a material or financial or, indeed, even a practical boost. The JobKeeper package is a psychological boost for our nation.
“Our message is clear to the Australian people. We have your back. And we will do what is necessary to ensure that our nation gets to the other side of this coronavirus crisis.
Richard Ferguson 10.45pm JobKeeper legislation passed by parliament
Fortnightly payments of $1500 will begin flowing to six million Australians after the JobKeeper legislation — the biggest economic rescue package in the nation’s history — was passed by parliament late on Wednesday night.
Labor backed the government in blocking Green and Centre Alliance amendments to the JobKeeper bill in the upper house, after the opposition’s own attempts to expand the scheme in the House of Representatives failed.
The wage subsidy plan passed the Senate unamended with the full support of the upper house.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government’s unprecedented JobKeeper package had been designed to “keep Australians in jobs and keep the businesses that employ them in business”.
The centrepiece of the government’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic was devised in response to mass job losses and business closures across the nation, sparked by the introduction of strict social and health restrictions.
Paige Taylor 5.20pm: Wyatt assures remote communities food won’t run out
Aboriginal Australians minister Ken Wyatt has assured residents in remote communities they do not need to hoard groceries or panic buy following reported shortages at small general stores far from towns.
As hundreds of remote communities across Australia’s north adjust to lockdown, Mr Wyatt said reliable supplies of essential goods, groceries, pharmaceuticals and other important items was a high priority for the National Cabinet during the coronavirus pandemic.
A food security working group would closely monitor supplies.
“I am aware of some community stores not receiving their full order and a limited number of stores having stock issues. This is something that all Australians are experiencing to some extent,” he said.
“People can expect some pressure on stock levels for a couple of weeks, but we are doing everything we can to resolve those issues as they develop.”
Mr Wyatt assured people in remote communities that delivery of food and essential supplies was exempt from travel restrictions to remote areas “and so will continue as normal”.
He has repeatedly asked indigenous people to stay in their communities for their own safety and the safety of their families. “
People can move within designated biosecurity areas, but if they leave and want to come back, they will need to isolate themselves for 14 days,” he said.
“Travelling to other towns and cities could increase the chance of you and your family getting sick and so we are encouraging people to remain in their community.
“The safest place for you and your family is in your own community.”
READ MORE: Senator fears ‘catastrophic’ mine outbreak
Victoria Laurie 4.40pm: Cruise ships told they’re not welcome in Perth
At least six foreign cruise ships are headed towards Western Australia, but the state government says they are not welcome and must bypass Perth and keep going to their home ports.
Cruise ships leaving Sydney and Melbourne with only crew members on board are due to cross the Great Australian Bight, and the McGowan government has been alerted to their movements.
“They are large cruise ships with around 6000 crew members on board those ships,” Premier Mark McGowan said.
The ships have been ordered by the Commonwealth to return home to their ports of origin or nominated destinations like Singapore or Bali.
“They will come past West Australian ports on the way there. What we don’t want to see is six or seven new cruise ships coming to Fremantle or Bunbury or Geraldton or Albany.”
“We’re saying to the Commonwealth we don’t want those cruise ships suddenly coming in here, because it would be very difficult for us to deal with…It is too big a risk to our state and they need to keep on sailing.”
Over 37 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in Western Australia have been directly linked to cruise ships, and all of the six deaths in WA are linked to cruise ship travel.
He said the ships had all been provisioned and refuelled in Sydney or Melbourne. Some of the ships like the Ovation of the Seas previously had large numbers of Covi-19 cases on board, but he was not aware of any currently among the various crews.
“Up until about six weeks ago we were trying to get (cruise ships) to come here,” Mr McGowan said. “Now we don’t want them to come.”
One ship, the Artania, has been responsible for a large number of Covid-19 cases and two deaths in WA. It remains docked in Fremantle with around 400 crew on board, despite all its German passengers leaving the ship.
The number of Artania passengers and crew in hospital stood at 54 but has declined to 34 as they have been discharged into forced quarantine.
But the Commonwealth informed the WA government on Wednesday that it had conducted health checks on 18 more crew members on board, and 13 have since been taken off the ship and put into quarantine.
READ MORE: Wuhan flights start to return to Australia
Victoria Laurie 4.30pm: Review into couple’s ‘inconceivable’ deathbed separation
The harrowing case of a COVID-19 positive couple who were kept separated as she died of the disease will be reviewed, after Premier Mark McGowan described the situation as “inconceivable.”
Health authorities in Western Australia have been asked to review the case of Maureen Preedy, 70, who was a passenger with her husband Barry on the cruise ship Costa Victoria a few weeks ago.
She and her husband were in quarantine in the Crown Promenade hotel on returning to Perth when she fell ill and was taken to hospital.
Her husband, who also tested positive for COVID-19, was not permitted to visit her.
Health minister Roger Cook said on Tuesday that the decision to deny him access to his wife in ICU at Royal Perth Hospital was made on medical advice.
The Preedy’s daughter Simone has said her father would have been at no risk, given he was already positive. “He would have done anything to be there with my mum ... anything they asked,” she said.
The case of the couple, who were married for nearly 50 years, was raised with Mr McGowan on Wednesday.
“It’s extremely sad, a long-standing relationship in which a woman is dying in hospital with her husband unable to go and see her,” he told reporters. “It’s inconceivable really.”
He said he raised the issue with the Director General of Health to see if the situation could be reviewed. “He committed to me that there would be a review of protocols around that.”
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not in the hospitals, I don’t control exactly what they do day-to-day. But I am glad there’s going to be a review because that is a shocking, awful situation for that family.”
READ MORE: Passengers in dark on release
Richard Ferguson 4.20pm: JobKeeper package passes lower house
Scott Morrison’s $130bn JobKeeper wage subsidy package has passed through the House of Representatives.
The plan to hand out $1500 fortnightly payments to more than six million Australians is the biggest financial package ever passed by the Commonwealth parliament.
Nearly 750,000 businesses and sole traders have already applied for the wage subsidies, which Scott Morrison hopes will avoid an economic depression.
“JobKeeper will keep Australians in jobs and it will keep the businesses that employ those Australians in business, both now and into the future,” he told the House earlier.
The bill will now go to the senate. The Greens will put up amendments, but Labor will not support them.
READ MORE: Staff risk missing out on JobKeeper wage
Richard Ferguson 3.45pm: Labor’s JobKeeper amendments fail
Labor has failed to get up any of its amendments to the JobKeeper wage subsidy bill, putting it closer to passing parliament.
Anthony Albanese and the opposition wanted to expand the wage subsidies to a range of casuals and visa holders. It also wanted tailored support packages for universities and the arts.
The bill will now go to a final vote in the house of representatives. It will then go to the senate where it is expected to be quickly passed before the end of the day.
The Opposition Leader said earlier today that will not support any amendments in the senate.
READ MORE: PM rallies ‘team Australia’ in virus war
Tim Dodd 3.35pm: Plibersek calls for emergency uni support
Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek called on the federal government to give emergency support to universities in the coronavirus crisis, warning that some were in danger of collapse.
“Universities are worried that both international and local student numbers will continue to fall before the second semester,” Ms Plibersek told parliament on Wednesday in a debate on the coronavirus economic response package.
“There are now genuine fears that, without federal government support, some universities may collapse. This would be a catastrophe.”
She said that the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting global travel restrictions, had led to “income from international students plummeting over recent months”.
She said that international education supported 260,000 full-time jobs and contributed $41 billion a year to the Australian economy.
“It’s the cornerstone of many regional economies – and a provider of 14,000 reliable jobs across regional Australia,” Ms Plibersek said.
She said the government needed to explain why it had not made it easier for universities to access the $130bn JokKeeper scheme which helps employers keep people in work during the crisis.
“Universities tell us that access to JobKeeper payments on the same terms as other not-for-profits would be a big help,” she said.
“If the government doesn’t believe the JobKeeper payment is appropriate for universities, it should explain why – and the Prime Minister should tell Australians what he will do to support universities instead.”
She said the government also needed to work with universities to assist needy international students, many of whom have lost their part-time jobs, because they were “falling through the gaps of the support system”.
READ MORE: Virus takes its toll on students
Victoria Laurie 2.39pm: More cruise-related cases in WA
WA Health Minister Roger Cook has confirmed another 11 cases of COVID-19 in the state overnight, with seven linked to cruise ships. They are all adults between the ages of 23 and 85.
WA’s total number of cases is now 481, with 19,615 people having tested negative and 170 who have recovered.
He says the overnight cruise ship passenger cases bring the incidence of cruise ship-related cases in WA to 37 per cent, or 176, including infected individuals from the Artania which remains in Fremantle port and has been responsible for two deaths.
“There’s a huge impact that cruise ships are having on our overall numbers.”
Minister Cook said the state’s testing criteria will be broadened from tomorrow, allowing any member of the public with a fever or an acute respiratory infection to be tested at designated COVID-19 clinics or regional hospitals and clinics.
“This is a significant development because it will capture a much wider proportion of the public,” he said.
“We now have a much smaller cohort coming from overseas, and we have more reagents and swabs for testing.”
He says there are now 15 cases in the Kimberley region, where half the population is indigenous and fears are held for widespread infection in remote communities.
The new case overnight was a person who had contact with a known COVID-19 case, but was not a health worker.
There have been seven health workers in the Kimberley who have been infected with coronavirus.
READ MORE: Senator fears ‘catastrophic’ mine outbreak
Tim Dodd 2.25pm: University of Sydney to take $470m hit
The University of Sydney vice chancellor Michael Spence told his staff on Wednesday that the COVID-19 virus will cost the institution an estimated $470 million this year.
He said that student numbers are 10 per cent below expected this year, with most of the shortfall due to fewer international students. Domestic student numbers were 4.8 per cent below target while international students, who pay much higher fees, were 16.8 per cent down.
The estimated $470m budget shortfall includes an extra $55m being spent on efforts to mitigate the effect of the virus such as additional cleaning, technology for online teaching and support for students, including those suffering hardship.
However the university can’t be sure how many students it will have in semester 2 this year, so the estimated $470m shortfall could change.
Dr Spence said it was clear the virus would have a long term impact on the university and the recovery would be prolonged.
In March the university announced savings measures including a pause in recruitment, infrastructure investment and a reduction in spending.
Dr Spence said that details of more financial measures would be announced in coming weeks. He said talks would continue with the federal and NSW government and the university would “explore all possible avenues to support our financial position”.
He said he was thankful “to the many colleagues who made an extraordinary effort to move to online teaching and help our students commence or continue their studies with us”.
READ MORE: Two key moves to save the sector
Rachel Baxendale 2.18pm: US reason we can’t relax rules too early: Andrews
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has cautioned against easing social distancing laws too early, warning that US President Donald Trump talked a fortnight ago about ending the shutdown by Easter, and is now presiding over a country where ice rinks are being used as mortuaries, and New York’s Central Park as a field hospital.
Mr Andrews’ comments come after his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday suggested that her state could lift coronavirus restrictions as soon as May 1.
Despite a significant flattening of new COVID-19 case numbers in Victoria in recent days, Mr Andrews warned that any early relaxation could result in the health system being overrun with patients.
“You see those scenes, whether it’s in London or New York or Milan or all around the world, that if this gets away from us there will never be enough hospital beds, there will never be enough nurses and doctors, and we will sadly have that terrible position, that wickedly difficult position where doctors have to choose which patient lives in which patient dies,” Mr Andrews said.
“This is very real and we can’t let that happen here, or at least we have to do everything we can to put that off, and hopefully avoid it, and that’s why this fragile position we’re in now, where we have had some stability come to these numbers, we have had clear signs that our strategy is working, we can’t become complacent, we’ve just got to keep all working together.”
As of Wednesday, Victoria has 1212 coronavirus cases, up by just 21 since Tuesday, compared with 2734 in New South Wales.
Asked for his reaction to Ms Berejiklian’s comments, Mr Andrews said: “I talk to Gladys regularly, all first ministers are working together, I don’t want to necessarily get into a debate about different policy settings.
“I’m not going to sit here and try and crystal ball for every Victorian what the next stage looks like and try and provide definitive timelines, because I think it’s absolutely certain that I would be back up here in just a few days or weeks time having to revise all of those.
“Let’s not give back all those gains by having an Easter like it’s an ordinary year, because it’s not.”
READ MORE: PM flags easing restrictions
Elias Visontay 1.48pm: 11m masks to be distributed to health workers
The government will distribute 11 million personal protective masks to health workers across the country, as Australia reaches a three day rolling average transmission rate of about 2 per cent.
Health Minister Greg Hunt outlined the bolstered mask allocation on Wednesday, as he announced Australia is “consolidating the gains in terms of flattening the curve” and must now focus on eradicating community transmission.
Mr Hunt urged Australians to treat healthcare workers with greater care following “troubling” cases of assaults or threats on staff.
“Whether it’s verbally or by coughing on them, by threatening to transmit the virus. And I have advice from the Attorney-General’s department...the deliberate transmission of COVID-19 is an offence under the general criminal laws that apply in every state and territory.
“The most serious of these offences may carry maximum penalties up to imprisonment for life if somebody was to take a step which led to the death of a healthcare worker if it were a deliberate transmission.”
Mr Hunt said there were 5977 confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia on Wednesday, with 49 deaths. He said there were approximately 300 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, with just under 100 in intensive care, with just under 40 of those requiring ventilators.
Mr Hunt said the 11 million masks would be distributed immediately, with seven million to hospitals, 1.7 million to aged care facilities and 2.3 million to primary health providers including general practices. 160,000 masks will be distributed to respiratory clinics, 75,000 to Indigenous communities, and 500,000 to pharmacy workers.
READ MORE: Senator fears ‘catastrophic’ mine outbreak
Angelica Snowden 1.42pm: Two new cases in ACT
ACT Health reported two new cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total in the territory to 99.
Both cases are males aged in their 60s and 70s.
A total of 47 people have recovered from COVID-19 and have been released from self-isolation.
READ MORE: Crisis looms just beyond our borders
1.40pm: Herd immunity, flatten the curve explained
The terms ‘herd immunity’ and ‘flatten the curve’ are being used frequently by politicians and medical experts during the coronavirus pandemic. But what do they mean?
Angelica Snowden 1.39pm: Aussies stranded in Peru to fly home next week
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says an emergency flight from Peru will evacuate the remaining Australians who could not depart on a private charter last week.
“There will be one flight from Peru tomorrow I am very pleased to say out of Lima, Cusco and Iquitos,” Senator Payne told 2GB.
“They are then going to bring passengers from Santiago to Melbourne,” she said.
“It’s an enormous challenge moving around Peru at the moment so it is important that we can pick up passengers from those other locations.”
Ms Payne also said that about 210 Australians have confirmed a seat on a flight from Cambodia, expected to depart from Phnom Penh on the weekend.
About 100 Australians stranded on the COVID-19 stricken Greg Mortimer cruise off the coast of Uruguay will also return home on a chartered flight.
“The vessel is dealing with a high infection rate we have already had Australians and members of the crew taken off who were hospitalised in Montevideo.”
Senator Payne said the government was working hard to finalise the charter flight as soon as possible and ensure they fly home as many Australians as possible.
“I would hope that is as close to all of them as possible,” she said.
The Foreign Minister advised all other Australians still stuck overseas to be careful and follow the rules of the country they are in.
READ MORE: Staff missing out on JobKeeper wage
Richard Ferguson 1.23pm: MPs have trouble with social distancing
MPs in Canberra have a bit of trouble with social distancing as they come in and out of the House of Representatives.
Government members were spotted bunched up close together and chatting as they entered the House for Scott Morrison’s statement on the $130bn JobKeeper package. They were certainly not 1.5m apart.
Coronavirus does not pass easily when people are walking past each other in doorways and corridors. The risk of being together for long periods is why MPs are sitting so far apart in the chamber.
But supermarkets across the country are keeping ordinary people apart in queues, just to make sure.
The Australian understands that the medical doctors in the House - including Liberal Katie Allen - will be keeping a closer eye on MPs social distancing entering the chamber from now on.
One Liberal MP said that they were being kept apart before the doors opened and they were being briefed by Leader of the House Christian Porter, before it descended into a free-for-all.
READ MORE: Infected doctor saw Aboriginal patients
Sarah Elks 1.19pm: ‘We don’t want to end up like the US or US’
Queensland’s top health bureaucrat says the state could end up like coronavirus-ravaged Spain or Italy if it attempts to develop herd immunity to the disease.
Asked what he thought about the idea of attempting to develop herd immunity to COVID-19, Queensland Health Director General John Wakefield indicated the risks to the health system were great.
“Herd immunity requires a significant proportion of the population to have got the disease, and then come out of the other side, and in order to do that, certainly we don’t want to end up in that situation like the UK, like the US, like Spain, like Italy, to develop herd immunity,” Dr Wakefield said.
“We’re trying to save lives and we’re trying to make sure our hospital system is not overwhelmed when people need to use it, and we’re being very successful, and that’s going to put us in a very good position to learn from what’s happening overseas and to inform government to make the right decisions for Queensland.
Dr Wakefield said Queensland currently had over 800 intensive care unit beds in both the public and private sector that could be used for the coronavirus pandemic, with the capacity to increase that by another 400.
“We’re working through that now, but our current modelling suggests we won’t need that many,” he said. “But we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
Queensland has recorded 943 coronavirus cases. Currently, 35 are being treated in hospital and 11 are in intensive care.
READ MORE: Fear reality of worst-case models
Ben Packham 1.17pm: PM requests test kits from South Korea
Scott Morrison has spoken to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, asking to import test kits and medical devices from the country which has led the world in “flattening the curve”.
The Yonhap news agency said the Prime Minister and Mr Moon also resolved to hold a virtual bilateral summit later this year.
President Moon said his government would “actively consider” all possible support for Australia.
The report said Mr Moon raised the need for the two countries to continue “essential cooperation and exchanges” as major trading partners, despite the pandemic.
He asked Mr Morrison to allow South Korean business people into Australia under “under certain conditions”.
The leaders also discussed the successful repatriation of 1000 South Korean residents of Australia, and a dozen South Korean aid workers who were evacuated home via Australia from the Solomon Islands.
South Korea has used mobile phone tracking apps to trace coronavirus infections, and has conducted widespread testing of its population.
According to the World Health Association, South Korea has had 10,331 COVID-19 cases, and 192 deaths.
Australia has recorded 5956 cases and 45 deaths.
READ MORE: Subs, frigates ‘will be delivered on time’
Sarah Elks 1.15pm: Qld restrictions in place for ‘at least six months’
Queensland will not consider loosening restrictions for at least six months, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
Ms Palaszczuk said she was not considering a NSW-style lifting of restrictions.
“There’s no talk of easing restrictions at this stage,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said Queensland would continue restrictions and aggressively contact tracing patients, as recommended by the WHO.
“This is about saving lives,” she said.
While she would not comment on NSW’s plans, Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland had no plans to follow suit.
“There’s no discussion at this present point in time about easing restrictions, let me make it very clear,” she said.
“We’ve only just begun this journey. If we’re going to flatten the curve, I need everybody to be listening and doing the right thing. So as the Prime Minister said, as I’ve said, today the Health Minister has also said, we are looking at six months here of these types of restrictions, in terms of social distancing, isolation, quarantining, to flatten the curve.”
“If we don’t flatten the curve, everyone would have seen the modelling referenced by Professor Murphy (the federal Chief Medical Officer) where you had that massive spike up. That would have meant tens of thousands of deaths just in QLD alone. That’s what I’m trying to prevent.”
Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland would stay the course, revealing that if the state did not flatten the curve, initial modelling had suggested that 30,000 Queenslanders could have died before restrictions were introduced.
READ MORE: Glimpse of hope on city’s deadliest day
Rachel Baxendale 1.14pm: 1300 jobseekers hired by Victorian government
The Andrews government has hired almost 1,300 people who had been looking for a job as a result of the coronavirus shutdown, with thousands more to be taken on in coming months according to state Jobs Minister Martin Pakula.
Mr Pakula said more than 60 people had taken up new roles with Foodbank, helping to prepare care packages for vulnerable Victorians.
Foodbank has received a government grant to employ the new workers.
Mr Pakula said about 450 jobseekers have found work in roles connected to the quarantine program for returning international travellers – including transport operations,security and cleaning – while others are working in call centres, including
as part of coronavirus contact tracing efforts, help lines and administration.
“We are also putting the call out to businesses – if you need workers, we can match you with staff quickly,” Mr Pakula said.
“Free online courses in cleaning, food hygiene, first aid and other important skills are also now available to people who have lost their jobs and are registered with Working for Victoria – so they’re ready for the call-up to work.”
Mr Pakula said more than 2,500 workers were expected to find jobs through the $500m “Working for Victoria” scheme by the end of next week.
The fund is part of the Andrews government’s $1.7bn coronavirus economic survival package.
READ MORE: Taking bad viruses with the good
Sarah Elks 1.13pm: Fines issued for Sunshine Coast hotel party
Five people have been fined by police for hiring a Sunshine Coast hotel room and having a party, in a “reckless and blatant” disregard for pandemic restrictions.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the Maroochydore locals had been reported by hotel managers last night.
More than 200 fines have been issued.
Of Queensland’s 943 cases, 35 are in hospital and 11 are in intensive care.
Commissioner Carroll said people would be randomly pulled over by police to check where they were going.
READ MORE: Team Australia is missing key players
Richard Ferguson 1.11pm: ALP call to support arts, entertainment industry
Labor are now calling for an independent support package for Australia’s arts and entertainment industry, as live shows and film productions are closed down during the coronavirus pandemic.
“(The opposition) calls on the Government to recognise that the Australian arts and entertainment sector needs a specific, tailored, fiscal response package to ensure its ongoing viability, given the structure of the JobKeeper payment has been designed in a way that leaves many workers in the sector ineligible,” the amendment reads.
Opposition arts spokesman Tony Burke has been calling for an arts support package for several weeks.
READ MORE: Revealed: push to let virus infect us all slowly
Sarah Elks 1.01pm: Queensland Premier sends warning to southerners
Queensland has recorded just nine new cases of coronavirus, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned southerners not to come to her state for the Easter break.
Stradbroke, Fraser and Moreton islands will all be closed for the long weekend.
The state’s total has increased to 943 positive cases of COVID-19.
Ms Palaszczuk announced $5.5m for domestic violence services to help women and children, including extra funding for the DV Connect telephone helpline, crisis accommodation and an awareness program.
“If you are a woman who is feeling vulnerable at the moment please don’t hesitate to call DV Connect,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
READ MORE: Wuhan flights start to return to Australia
Richard Ferguson 11.54pm: Treat casuals like every other worker: ALP
Anthony Albanese is now moving for casuals who have been with their employer for less than a year to be covered by the JobKeeper wage subsidies.
Labor will push a number of amendments to the $130bn package today, but will ultimately pass the bill.
“(The legislation) not that casual workers deserve to be treated with the same respect as every other worker who faces losing their job because of this pandemic,” the amendment reads.
“(Labor) calls on the Government to provide the JobKeeper payment to the 1.1 million casual workers who have worked for their employer for less than a year”.
The Opposition Leader eill push more detailed amendments once the bill gets to a third reading in the House.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson ‘will be back leading us soon’
Angelica Snowden 11.42pm: Pompeo’s ‘productive’ phone call with Morrison
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about a “productive” phone call with Scott Morrison.
Had a productive call with Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP about coordinating efforts to respond effectively to the #COVID19 pandemic. U.S.-#Australia cooperation has been key to overcoming many shared challenges - that is equally true for the situation we face today. #mateship
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) April 8, 2020
Mr Pompeo said the pair discussed “coordinating efforts” to tackle common challenges raised by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Had a productive call with Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP about coordinating efforts to respond effectively to the #COVID19 pandemic,” Mr Pompeo tweeted.
“U.S. - #Australia cooperation has been key to overcoming many shared challenges - that is equally true for the situation we face today. #mateship.”
READ MORE: India unveils unique isolation wards
Matthew Denholm 11.20pm: Premier hopeful Tasmania can emerge first from crisis
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has slapped down talk of removing coronavirus restrictions as early as next month, but kept alive hopes his state can emerge first from the crisis.
Mr Gutwein would not endorse his NSW counterpart’s suggestion that social distancing rules could be lifted as early as May 1.
“If we were NSW at the moment, we’d have over 200 cases, so I think that’s a bold prediction from their Premier in terms of removing some of the restrictions,” Mr Gutwein said.
“We will take this one day, one week, one month at a time. We’ve now got three weeks left to go in terms of the restrictions that are in place. I am hopeful that we can lead the country out of this because we moved first and we put in place controls.
“But what I need is for Tasmanians to work with us because the only way that we will be able to lift restrictions at some stage in the future and be able to lift them before the rest of the country is if everybody follows the rules, does their bit to ensure that as a community, as a state, we all get through this together.”
Mr Gutwein said he was “greatly concerned” about a worsening outbreak focused on Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital, where 12 staff have been infected with the virus.
He said a hard lockdown of Burnie had been “discussed” and warned people in the region they would risk the lives of loved-ones if they ignored stay-at-home laws, calling on local leaders to back his stance.
The state has had 98 COVID-19 cases, with nine further cases recorded overnight. Three people in the state – all aged in their 80s and all recent passengers on the Ruby Princess cruise ship – have died as a result of the virus.
READ MORE: The looming virus crisis just beyond our borders
Rebecca Urban 11.00am: Dinner parties, video gamers targeted
Video gamers and friends gathering for a dinner party are among the latest to be fined by police in Victoria for breaching the state’s strict isolation laws.
In the past 24 hours, Victoria Police conducted 835 spot checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services across the state as part of Operation Sentinel, issuing 114 fines.
Seven people were issued infringements after gathering at a house for a dinner party, as were a group of three friends who were playing a video game in a lounge room despite not residing together. Another four people were fined after being found walking the streets seeking drugs.
Police have also fined people for gathering in parks.
Under the new laws aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus, people are only permitted to leave their homes for essential purposes, such as shopping for essentials, exercise, seeking medical care or travelling to work or education that cannot be done at home. On the spot fines for individuals are $1652 and almost $10,000 for businesses.
Bikies are also among those fined by Victoria Police recently for breaking social distancing laws.
Police say their Echo Task Force attended the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang clubhouse in Sunshine West on Tuesday night.
“Seven men and two women were found socialising at the clubhouse and were issued $1,652 fines for breaching the directions of the Chief Health Officer and provided directions to move on,” a Victoria Police spokesman said.
READ MORE: Household hot spots next wave
Richard Ferguson 10.50am: Labor pushes to expand eligible casuals
Labor will push changes to the JobKeeper bill to expand the number of casuals and visa holders eligible for wage subsidies.
Anthony Albanese tells the house that while he will ultimately pass the bill, he will continue to argue for an expansion of JobKeeper even if his amendments fail.
“Employees in exactly the same circumstances may be treated differently, depending on the size and the structure of the company, or the business that they work for,” he said.
“Payments will be defined not by what has happened to the worker, but who they work for. And the structure of the company and the way they deal with their business activity statements.
“There are over one million Australians who are casual workers, who will not be eligible for the JobKeeper program.
“For example, we acknowledge that under the existing legislation, the Treasurer has a capacity to make changes to who is eligible for JobKeeper payments on an ongoing basis. And we say to him that we will continue, if we are not successful today, to argue the case.”
Labor will not back any Green or crossbench amendments to the JobKeeper bill in the Senate.
READ MORE: Andrew Creighton writes: Tip your waiter but this is ridiculous
Richard Ferguson 10.40am: PM pushes $130bn wage subsidy package through
Scott Morrison is pushing the $130bn Jobkeeper wage subsidy package through parliament, calling on MPs to leave ideology at the door.
A skeleton parliament is meeting in Canberra to pass the wage subsidies. Labor plans to push amendments, but the opposition will ultimately back the bill in any form.
“Our sovereignty is demonstrated by the quality of life we afford Australians, with world-class health, education, disability, aged care, and a social safety net that guarantees the essentials that Australians rely on,” Mr Morrison told the House.
“We will not surrender this. And above all, our sovereignty is sustained by what we believe as Australians, what we value and hold most dear, our principles, our way of life, a way of doing things.
“We will never surrender this. So make no mistake, today is not about ideologies. We check those at the door. Today is about defending and protecting Australia’s national sovereignty”.
READ MORE: Staff missing out on wage
Angelica Snowden 10.10am: Ruby Princess passenger dies, taking toll to 15
South Australia Health says a woman who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship died this morning after contracting COVID-19. The 62-year-old woman was from metropolitan Adelaide and died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. It is the second death in South Australia from COVID-19. The death toll from the Ruby Princess is now 15.
READ MORE: Criminal investigation begins as Ruby Princess death toll mounts
Richard Ferguson 10.05am: Skeleton session of federal parliament starts
A skeleton session of federal parliament has now started to pass the $130bn JobKeeper wage subsidy package. Labor is expected to put up amendments to the JobKeeper bill, but has promised to ultimately support the government’s bill in any form.
Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese are set to address the House of Representatives this morning. Question time will be held today and the Senate will meet from 1.55pm.
READ MORE: Staff risk missing out on JobKeeper wage
Angelica Snowden 10am: Queensland confirms deal with Rex Airlines
The Queensland Government has confirmed a deal with Rex Airlines so rural and remote Queenslanders can continue to access essential air travel. The news was confirmed in a tweet by Labor Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey. “Rural and remote Queenslanders will continue to have access to essential air travel as we fight to contain #COVID19,” Mr Bailey tweeted.
BREAKING: QLD Government has locked in deal with regional aviation operator @RexAirlines so rural and remote Queenslanders will continue to have access to essential Qld air travel as we fight to contain #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/vmpGeOv7W2
— Mark Bailey MP (@MarkBaileyMP) April 7, 2020
READ MORE: Virgin’s plea: help us across the bridge
Richard Ferguson 9.55am: PM to deliver ministerial statement to Parliament
Parliament will open its sitting at 10am with the Prime Minister Scott Morrison to deliver a ministerial statement to the House | WATCH LIVE ABOVE
Anne Barrowclough 9.50am: Prince Andrew accuser tested for coronavirus
The Australian woman who accused Prince Andrew of having sex with her when she was a teenager is being tested for coronavirus in a Brisbane hospital.
Virginia Roberts-Giuffre posted a photograph of herself on Twitter in a hospital bed wearing a mask and wrote: “I’m so scared right now, having trouble breathing, fever & cough.”
I’m so scared right now, having trouble breathing, fever & cough. Getting tested for Covid-19 praying it’s not positive 🙠🦋 pic.twitter.com/GfAzxut82Q
— Virginia Giuffre (@VRSVirginia) April 7, 2020
She added: “Getting tested for COVID-19, praying it’s not positive.”
Prince Andrew denies having “any form of sexual contact or relationship” with Mrs Roberts-Giuffre, adding “any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation”.
READ MORE: Verona virus sparks love from afar
Elias Visontay 9.30am: Plibersek: concern for ‘front line’ casual teachers
Opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek has expressed concern that some casual teaching staff who were “part of our frontline response to the virus” when schools were kept open to care for the children of essential workers, will not be eligible for $1500 a fortnight wage subsidy payments.
Ms Plibersek’s comments come as the opposition confirmed it will not stand in the way of the $130 billion JobKeeper legislation when parliament sits on Wednesday, after Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government would not accept any amendments to its legislation.
“What we’re worried about are the very very many workers who miss out on this,” Ms Plibersek told Sky News.
“Well over a million casuals will miss out on this because they haven’t been with the same employer for the required amount of time. In my own portfolio I’m very worried about casual teaching staff and casual university and TAFE staff as well.”
She said while some states and territories have said they will support casual teaching wages in state schools, “very distressed” casual teachers in non government schools were contacting her with concern.
“For example non-government schools, we know that one diocese in the New South Wales Catholic system has already let 300 teachers go. There’s one school in Queensland that’s let 100 casual teachers go.
“Many of these are people who have been working with that system or in that local area for years or in some cases even decades
“I’ve been contacted by a lot of very distressed teachers, many of them I have to say are mums who are returning to work after a few years out of the workforce caring for children, they go back as casuals,
“We have depended on them in the lead up to the schools reducing the number of students on campus in all those weeks when COVID-19 was a health threat, we were asking casual teachers to walk into classrooms and to be part of our frontline response to the virus, and now when they need us we’re turning our backs on them. It’s just not fair.”
Ms Plibersek also said about 240,000 university staff across Australia would benefit from the JobKeeper scheme but may not be eligible.
READ MORE : Staff risk missing out on wage
Rachel Baxendale 9.25am: Victoria woman dies, state toll 12
A woman in her 80s has died in a Victorian hospital, bringing the state’s coronavirus death toll to 12.
There have now been 1212 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Victoria – an increase of 21 since Tuesday.
There have been 101 community transmissions – or infections not linked to overseas travel or other known cases – up from 93 on Tuesday.
There are 45 people in hospital, including 12 in ICU.
More than 60,000 Victorians have been tested and 736 have recovered.
Ben Packham 9.15am: Pacific Island nations activate crisis response
Pacific Island Forum nations, including Australia, have activated crisis provisions in a regional security pact to respond to the coronavirus pandemic as an “extended family”.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Wednesday joined PIF counterparts in a teleconference which resolved to fast track a humanitarian response under the forum’s Biketawa Declaration on regional security.
The declaration cements Australia’s key role, as the wealthiest PIF nation, in supporting under-resourced island nations in tackling the health and economic crisis.
The meeting’s chairman, Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe, said the unprecedented COVID-19 emergency required forum nations to work together.
“The Biketawa Declaration recognises that in times of crisis, all actions must be taken on the basis that all members of the forum are part of the Pacific Islands extended family,” he said.
“This, I believe, is the Pacific way.”
He said the move would help secure humanitarian support from regional, international and development partners in a fast and efficient manner.
“This could include expediting medical assistance, expediting customs clearance of medical supplies, and facilitating diplomatic clearances for chartered flights and commercial shipping,” Mr Kofe said.
READ MORE: Signs of life may soon return
Angelica Snowden 9.00am: Interstate travellers to be targeted at Easter
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said police would concentrate on roads in metropolitan and regional NSW to ensure everyone adheres to strict social isolation rules this Easter.
“It’s important that over this weekend we continue the good work and continue to isolate, as frustrating as that may be,” Mr Fuller said.
He said police will warn interstate travellers in caravans to go back home once before fining them for breaching COVID-19 public health orders this Easter long weekend.
“The big focus will be on our country roads, backstreets, our main highways, the caravan parks right across country NSW,” he said.
“Police will be patrolling those, people will be given one opportunity to pack up and go back to your home state.”
He said most people who were fined in the last 24 hours for breaching public health orders received multiple warnings.
“The reality is that some people just don’t get the seriousness of it,” he said.
Mr Fuller wished well the Australians returning home after being quarantined in the Swissotel for two weeks.
“I think it’s a small step forward in terms of the isolation … as on Sunday we start to see thousands of people come home from Sydney hotels,” he said.
“It’s a wonderful thing for all those Australians and we thank them for their patience and for protecting the safety of the people of NSW.
READ MORE: Households hotspot in next wave
Angelica Snowden 8.55am: NSW hospitals double intensive care capacity
In her briefing this morning, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state’s hospitals have doubled their intensive care capacity.
“We now have more than 1,000 beds with the staff members required, with the ventilators [and] the other equipment required,” Ms Berejiklian said.
She said the state is aiming to quadruple capacity.
“We’ve doubled our capacity and our aim is to triple and quadruple our capacity so that our hospital system is well prepared for what awaits us down the track. And that is something that we’re working hard on behind the scenes, and it’s positive news,” she said.
The NSW Premier announced the launch of an app called Service NSW that will provide daily updates on coronavirus after the success of the ‘Fires Near Me’ app used throughout the bushfire season. It will also send text messages with updates on COVID-19 in the state.
On schools she said she would have more to say about whether schools would operate in term 2 “in the next little while” and that she did not want to pre-empt future arrangements.
READ MORE: Taking bad viruses with the good
Elias Visontay 8.45am: ‘Fair subsidy scheme reflects challenges’
Josh Frydenberg has defended the government’s $130 billion wage subsidy as “a very fair system”, as casuals who have not worked for the same employer for more than 12 months and other workers look set to miss out on the $1500 a fortnight payment.
The Treasurer’s comments come as parliament sits on Wednesday to pass the legislation, with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann ruling out the possibility the government would accept any amendments moved to expand the scheme’s eligibility.
“We believe that it is a very fair system that we’ve laid out, it’s a substantial system, a very generous system,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC News.
“But it does reflect the significant economic challenge that the country faces at this time.”
Asked whether he was concerned the scheme would see workers who ordinarily earned less than $1500 a fortnight have their wage bumped up, Mr Frydenberg said “I think that it is very Australian to ensure that it is a flat payment, and no-one is getting paid more because they’re on a higher income”.
“What we have tried to do is adopt an approach which has a flat payment, which uses the existing tax system, which will be much more efficient and effective to implement, and will get the money into people’s pockets sooner rather than later.
“The measures will be rolled back when it is safe to do so in terms of the health advice that’s coming to us and the subsequent economic impact that it is having.
‘Today is one of the most important days in the history of the Australian Parliament as we come together across the political divide to save millions of Australian jobs.”
Asked about the difficulties posed by parliament not sitting for the next four months, Mr Frydenberg said: “this is truly a national crisis that we face, an economic and a health crisis simultaneously.”
“It’s effectively like fighting a war on two fronts and I believe that the Australian people are with us as we go forward. The Parliament will meet as required to pass important legislation just as we did a few weeks ago.”
READ MORE: PM opens door to rebooting economy
Elias Visontay 8.40am: Labor to move amendments on wage subsidy
Anthony Albanese has confirmed Labor “won’t stand in the way” of the government’s $130 billion wage subsidy when government sits to discuss the legislation.
The Opposition Leader’s comments come after Finance Minister Mathias Cormann earlier on Wednesday categorically ruled out the prospect of the government accepting any amendments to the legislation.
However Mr Albanese said the opposition will still move second reading amendments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate over its concerns the $1500 a fortnight payments – which will be implemented via changes to the Fair Work Act – can force workers to take leave.
He said Labor was also concerned the legislation didn’t cover about one million casuals who haven’t worked for the same employer for 12 months, as well as temporary visa holders, NDIS workers, charity workers, local council workers and arts and entertainment workers.
Mr Albanese said: “Once we’ve dealt with the second reading we will have in detail amendments about our major concerns” but said it will not move them in the senate.
He said despite Senator Cormann’s comments the government will not accept amendments, the “last time parliament sat we did secure support for an increase in the job seeker payment to 230,000 additional recipients” for some students and younger Australians.
“There can’t be any change to legislation without government support, and we’re not going to get into a circumstance whereby you have a standoff potentially between the Senate and the House and the JobKeeper payments not take place, because workers need those payments, businesses need those payments,” Mr Albanese told ABC Radio National.
“I think the Australian public would look very unkindly if this Parliament couldn’t get business done today.
“We won’t stand in the way of that package, we said that from day one...Our job is to argue for improvements, but it’s not to be blockers.
Mr Albanese also said a cross party senate select committee to oversee the government’s COVID-19 response will be chaired by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher, and will provide interim reports before it delivers its final report in June 2022.
READ MORE: Relief terms for residential tenants
Angelica Snowden 8.25am: Berejiklian: Social distancing ‘part of lives’ until vaccine
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed social distancing will be a “part of our lives” until a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, but stressed that restrictions could be relaxed.
“I am proud of the way the community has stepped up,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“That gives us confidence in the community when we make decisions about lifting restrictions down the track.”
While the Premier said restrictions could ease, she warned that it would certainly mean an increase in cases and deaths.
“Restrictions will be based on health advice as to whether or not we lift restrictions,” she said.
“But over time you relax a restriction, more people will get sick and more people will die.”
The NSW Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant said there were only 48 new cases overnight and reported no new deaths in the state.
There are now 2,734 confirmed COVID-19 cases in NSW.
Ms Chant said the trend in new cases was “stabilising”.
READ MORE: Easter could undo hard work
Elias Visontay 8.15am: ‘No amendment accepted’ for wage subsidy scheme
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has declared the government “won’t be accepting any amendments” to its $130 billion wage subsidy scheme when a pared-back parliament sits on Wednesday to discuss the legislation.
Senator Cormann also said larger businesses with a turnover of more than $1 billion who don’t meet the higher threshold of a 50 per cent reduction in business should take it upon themselves to strike deals with unions over enterprise agreements to allow changes to workers’ hours to help the business survive.
“We won’t be accepting any amendments today and the scheme that we’ve put forward is very fair, it will provide support to 6 million working Australians,” Senator Cormann told ABC Radio National.
Senator Cormann said council workers – who are not covered by the $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper payments – are the responsibility of the states, and did not meet the scheme’s objective of keeping “as many businesses in business as possible through this difficult period”.
“Councils are very much creatures of state governments, they are organisations that are entirely subject to the jurisdiction of state governments and state governments do have responsibilities in this space,” he said.
He also said eligibility would not be further extended to some visa workers who are not covered, saying the government previously “strongly encouraged them to go home”.
“Our welfare system and our support systems here are residency based and for those visitors who are not able to support themselves either through work through savings or through accessing the superannuation … they should explore (their) options to return home.”
Responding to concerns from companies not covered by JobKeeper, Senator Cormann said: “pick up the phone, talk to the unions, talk to the employees and reach agreements on how best to manage through this period.
“The legislation in parliament today will not provide a blanket exemption from our industrial relations laws for everyone that is very much focused on facilitating the efficient operation of the JobKeeper payment framework.”
READ MORE: Retail landlords face battle over lease terms
Angelica Snowden 8.05am: Kelly: Hopes sick quarantined kids recover quickly
Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said he could not provide any further information about the three children rushed to a Sydney hospital this morning.
“I’m not going to comment on those particular children but of course this is something we’re continuing to see,” Mr Kelly said on the Today Show.
Professor Paul Kelly, Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, addresses reports of health officials easing social distancing restrictions to gradually expose every Australian to coronavirus. #9Today pic.twitter.com/vITFxUnD6H
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 7, 2020
“We are seeing new cases every day, and, unfortunately, others dying in Australia,” he said.
“So children are not immune to the virus completely. We have found, though that they seem to be less affected, and less likely to be affected with the virus. But, yes, for those three kids, I hope they will recover quickly.”
Mr Kelly said “quite a few” people now have COVID-19 after they returned from overseas travel and quarantined in hotels.
“There’s been quite a few that have come back from overseas, and again, it vindicates why we took that action,” he said.
“That’s really been the main reason why the curve has been flattened so much over the last week or so … firstly, the closure of the borders and then secondly really mandating people to stay and take seriously those social distancing rules.”
The professor said there were no instances of person to person transmission in hotels.
He said social distancing should stay in place to prevent further spread of coronavirus, despite the NSW Premier saying rules could be relaxed.
“So at this stage, we’re very clear, the social distancing and other measures that have been introduced are absolutely vital to continue at this point. We are not yet out of this epidemic,
and so whilst of course we need to plan foreign the future at the moment, nothing changes,” he said.
Mr Kelly said Australia was not considering ‘herd immunity’ as a way to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE: Push to let virus infect us slowly
Angelica Snowden 7.55am: Leigh: Don’t include bushfire grants in subsidy claims
Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities Andrew Leigh says charities should not have grants they received for bushfire relief counted as part of their income to ensure more of their employees can claim the JobKeeper wage subsidy.
“The charities are asking for the grant income to be excluded from their revenue calculations,” Mr Leigh said.
“When you’re asked how much has your revenue dropped it shouldn’t be taken into account that they have just been given a grant to do important work in the community,” he said.
“That ought to be put to one side if they had a massive drop in revenue.”
The Labor MP said some charities were concerned they would have less than a 15 per cent drop in revenue to qualify for the scheme due to the additional income they received from other grants.
“Charities are to our community what banks are to our financial sector,” he said.
“They are absolutely critical at a time when we are under stress.”
He said they hope the government will take into account the different types of work they do when deciding if they qualify.
“The charities want a different approach to their tied grants,” he said.
READ MORE: RBA details bad and ugly. There’s not much good
Elias Visontay 7.40am: Tehan: There will be no Year 13
Education Minister Dan Tehan has reiterated there will be “no mass repeating” for Year 12 students whose final exams are affected by COVID-19.
Mr Tehan also foreshadowed an uptick in university demand in 2021, revealing the government has been in talks with the university sector on measures to help it cope with COVID-19-related issues.
“We want to make this year as normal as we possibly can,” Mr Tehan told ABC News.
“There will be no mass repeating, there will be no Year 13. You will get your ATAR for 2020, so you can go on and realise your dreams.”
“We will take into consideration things like digital divide and where there has been a large impact, for instance, if COVID-19 has had a large impact on a region or a particular school, then we will take that into consideration but every state and territory is committed to ensuring that students will get an ATAR for 2020.”
Victoria has already announced that its second term of schooling would be conducted entirely remotely, however Mr Tehan said all states and territories have agreed to keep schools open for essential workers and other parents who need their kids cared for.
On assistance for universities, Mr Tehan said “we think there will probably be increased demand next year for university”.
“Discussions have been very fruitful, where universities are engaging incredibly well with the government and we will have more to say on this over the coming days.”
READ MORE: Hours slashed for ‘virtual learning’
Adeshola Ore 7.35am: Three quarantined children taken to hospital
Three children in quarantine at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel have been rushed to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after experiencing coronavirus symptoms.
Masked emergency workers moved the children into ambulances at 10pm Tuesday evening.
The family are believed to have been moved to a separate hotel.
The Hilton is one of the hotels in Sydney where international arrivals are required to quarantine for fourteen days.
The emergency comes as the first group of 288 Australians quarantined at the nearby Swisshotel were released on Wednesday morning, under a police operation to ensure their departure is quick and seamless.
READ MORE: Detained doctors free to go home
Tim Dodd 7.25am: Uni vice-chancellors take pay cuts
University vice-chancellors have taken temporary pay cuts as their institutions have been hit by massive revenue losses due to the collapsing international student market.
The chiefs of UNSW, the University of Queensland, the University of Western Australia, La Trobe University and Charles Sturt University have all volunteered to take pay reductions of up to 20 per cent during the crisis.
The university representative body Universities Australia, conservatively estimates that university revenue losses this year will be up to $4.6 billion. UNSW alone projects that it will fall short of budget by $600 million.
READ MORE: University revenue dives, VCs take pay cuts
Elias Visontay 7.15am: More than 700,000 businesses register for wage subsidy
More than 700,000 businesses have registered their interest in accessing the government’s $130 billion wage subsidy since it was announced last week, according to Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar.
His comments come on the morning of a pared-back day of parliament sitting specifically to pass the JobKeeper scheme, which will provide a $1,500 a fortnight payment to employees, to be paid by their employers so they are connected to their place of work throughout the pandemic.
“I think early indications with over 700,000 businesses nominating that they will be seeking the JobKeeper scheme indicates that this is providing and will provide the support that businesses need to stay connected to their employees and workforce but importantly to keep that essential business structure together during this very difficult time...We are throwing everything at this,” Mr Sukkar told Sky News.
Mr Sukkar said “no one knows” when social and economic restrictions will be lifted, and, despite promising trends in Australia’s infection curve: “We can’t be complacent, certainly not with the Easter weekend coming up, that is a very critical time for us to make sure that we lock in the gains we’ve made.”
Mr Sukkar also said a national code of conduct between landlords and tenants and land tax changes, would bring further help to businesses and individuals, but that it was a matter for the individual states and territories to pass the measures into law.
“The principles of the national code (between landlords and tenants) mean that if you’re a tenant who is in financial distress as essentially defined by the JobKeeper program so your turnover has at least reduced by 30 per cent.
“This is a framework to bring property owners and tenants together to make sure that everybody is wearing a little bit of the pain that there’s a moratorium on evictions so a business can’t be evicted during this time but equally that the tenant is required to adhere to the terms of the lease and not end the lease early...We don’t want businesses coming out the other side of the pandemic carrying loads and loads of accumulated debt so to speak.”
READ MORE: Staff risk missing out on JobKeeper wage
Angelica Snowden 6.50am: Hopes global hotspot cases are peaking
Former coronavirus hot spots including China, Italy and Spain have reported a slowing of new cases in a sign the virus could be peaking in some regions.
Restrictions in Wuhan where most of China’s more than 82,000 virus cases and over 3,300 deaths were reported have been gradually relaxed as the number of new cases steadily declines. The latest government figures reported Tuesday listed no new cases and the lockdown has ended.
Italy’s death toll from the coronavirus epidemic has risen by 604 to 17,127 but the country also reported the lowest increase in new infections in almost a month.
Italy’s commissioner for fighting the COVID-19 virus appealed to Italians ahead of the Easter weekend not to lower their guard and to abide by a lockdown now in its fifth week.
Spain saw a slight rise in the number of recorded deaths and coronavirus infections to 13,800 and 140,000 respectively.
Health officials attributed the uptick to a backlog of reporting new data over the weekend.
London is not seeing an acceleration in the number of cases of COVID-19 but it is too early to tell whether the coronavirus outbreak is peaking, the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance says.
Britain’s coronavirus-linked death toll jumped again by 786 on Tuesday, taking the country’s virus toll to more than 6000.
The health ministry said the total number of confirmed infections rose to more than 55,000, from 270,000 people tested, but government experts estimate that many hundreds of thousands of people are infected.
In Iran, authorities struggling to battle the virus announced Tuesday they would expand testing to asymptomatic people, but didn’t say how many test kits they have available or provide other details.
Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that with active screening of such cases, there are expectations that the virus and COVID-19, the illness it causes, can be brought under control by mid-May.
There are nearly 109,000 confirmed cases across the Middle East, with more than 4,600 fatalities.
The death toll in the US from COVID-19 has now far surpassed that of the 9/11 terror attack that killed 2,753 people in the city and 2,977 overall.
New York City’s death toll from the coronavirus rose past 3,200 Tuesday, eclipsing the number killed at the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
The U.S. leads the world in confirmed cases with more than 386,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
READ MORE: India unveils unique mobile isolation units
Adeshola Ore 6.30am: Quarantined Aussies start journeys home
Almost three hundred Australians quarantining in a Sydney hotel have begun their journeys home after 14 days in self-isolation.
On Wednesday morning, police officers ushered passengers from the Swissôtel in Sydney’s CBD onto coaches.
All travellers were required to undertake a final health check before being released from the hotel.
The 288 passengers were passengers on the stranded Norwegian Jewel cruise ship before they were repatriated home to Australia two weeks ago.
They were the first group of Australians to be quarantined in a hotel ahead of the Public Health order which began on March 29.
The order requires all international arrivals to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks. The next repatriation operation will begin on April 11.
READ MORE: Liner probe begins as toll mounts
Anne Barrowclough 6.15am: Trump: The WHO really blew it
Donald Trump has lashed the World Health Organisation over its response to the coronavirus, accusing the organisation of giving the wrong advice on international travel bans because it is pro China.
“The WHO really blew it,” Mr Trump tweeted, suggesting that the US would reconsider its funding for the international health body
The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2020
“For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric,” he wrote. “We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?”
Mr Trump’s tweet came as New York recorded its highest daily death toll, with 731 new fatalities, taking the state’s overall toll past 5000.
READ MORE: US braces for worse as death toll surges
Jacquelin Magnay 5.30am: Cabinet ‘shocked’ at Boris Johnson’s coronavirus battle
Boris Johnson remains in a stable condition in intensive care and is receiving oxygen treatment for coronavirus as caretaker leader Dominic Raab made optimistic claims the prime minister would be ‘’back leading us in very short order’’.
In a touching address on Tuesday evening, Mr Raab, the foreign secretary, said it was worth remembering that Mr Johnson’s serious illness — the first to a serving prime minister in over a generation — has been a shock to those in cabinet as well as across the country.
“He is not just the PM, he is not just a boss, he is also a colleague and is also our friend; all our thoughts with (Mr Johnson’s fiancee) Carrie and his whole family,” Mr Raab said.
“I’m confident he will pull through because if there is one thing I know of this prime minister, he is a fighter, he will back at the helm leading us through this crisis in very short order.”
The Queen has sent Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds her very best wishes.
Mr Johnson is not on a ventilator and is breathing on his own, but his admission to intensive care on Monday night, 11 days after first contracting the virus, indicates that he may be in hospitalised for many days yet. If the virus gets into the lungs, coronavirus patients are usually in hospital for at least ten days. If his condition worsens further and he is intubated, the odds of Mr Johnson pulling through plummets to around 50 per cent.
5/5 - Global comparison of deaths due to #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/dPw7ua1ocK
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 7, 2020
Read the full story here.
Agencies 5.15am: Wuhan’s 11-week coronavirus lockdown at an end
The lockdown that served as a model for countries battling the coronavirus around the world has ended after 11 weeks: Chinese authorities are allowing residents of Wuhan to once again travel in and out of the sprawling city where the pandemic began.
As of just after midnight Wednesday, the city’s 11 million residents are now permitted to leave without special authorisation as long as a mandatory smartphone application powered by a mix of data-tracking and government surveillance shows they are healthy and have not been in recent contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus.
The occasion was marked with a light show on either side of the broad Yangtze river, with skyscrapers and bridges radiating animated images of health workers aiding patients, along with one displaying the words “heroic city,” a title bestowed on Wuhan by president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Along the embankments and bridges, citizens waved flags, chanted “Wuhan, let’s go!” and sang a capella renditions of China’s national anthem.
READ MORE: Hayfever paranoia a symptom of coronavirus crisis
Yoni Bashan 5am: Plan to expose us to virus ‘in manageable doses’
A long-term strategy to ease social-isolation restrictions and expose Australians to COVID-19 in manageable doses, without overwhelming the public health system, is being considered by the country’s chief health officials and some NSW government ministers.
As infection rates continue to fall across the country, The Australian has learned suppression strategies may eventually be eased — if only slightly, and in a staggered form — as part of an effort to expose healthy Australians to the disease to lift immunity rates.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, which provides advice to the National Cabinet, had been modelling scenarios for how to deal with COVID-19 if a vaccine is not developed. Some NSW government ministers are agitating for the state to recalibrate social-distancing measures currently in force. Some believe that not only are they damaging the economy, but they are viewed as unsustainable if the virus were to continue through the rest of 2020.
Read the full story here.
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