PoliticsNow: Crossbench MPs push Scott Morrison to end India travel ban
Eight crossbenchers have written to Scott Morrison demanding the government revoke the order, as backlash to it continues.
- Crossbenchers push to end India ban
- No rate rise until 2024
- PM digs in over travel ban
- CMO: deaths possible, ban necessary
- Payne slams Beijing debt tactic
Welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live coverage of the latest headlines from Canberra as well as developments in the coronavirus pandemic.
Eight crossbenchers have written to Scott Morrison, demanding he end India’s travel ban. The PM says he has a responsibility to prevent a third Covid wave in Australia, as he defends the move.Paul Kelly’s medical advice over the India travel ban warned Aussies would be stranded but said the measures were proportionate.Insiders have confirmed the ABC remains committed to standing by star reporter Louise Milligan as it defends defamation action from former Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Olivia Caisley11.15pm: $600m for natural disasters aid agency
The Morrison government will move to deliver a key recommendation of the bushfires royal commission by establishing and investing $600m in a new national agency to help communities respond to large-scale natural disasters and improve resilience in the face of climate change.
The National Recovery and Resilience Agency, recommended by last year’s landmark Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, will receive a multi-million-dollar cash injection at next week’s budget for a new program focused specifically on disaster preparation and mitigation.
“The new agency will help communities rebuild and recover from natural disasters, helping many Australians in their greatest time of need, while strengthening our defences against future major disasters,” Scott Morrison said.
Carla Mascarenhas10.30pm:Upper house president chosen
Matthew Mason-Cox has been elected the new president of the NSW upper house in chaotic scenes in state parliament.
Mr Mason-Cox beat Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s pick, Natasha Maclaren-Jones, 23 to 18 votes.
The result - the Premier's pick has lost
— kelly fuller (@kelfuller) May 4, 2021
Matthew Mason-Cox -23
Natasha Maclaren Jones -18
Mason-Cox is new President - promising to honour the conventions of the Westminster system and as Chair and says he will exclude himself from the party room #nswpol
Ms Maclaren-Jones claimed the seat after the house had been in deadlock for almost six weeks over who should replace departing president John Ajaka.
But she was removed from the chair with a vote of no-confidence by Labor and some crossbenchers with Mason-Cox later nominating for the role.
NSW politics is gross and out of control. This is incredibly disrespectful and frankly disgusting that MPs won’t listen to President https://t.co/6aELiJyw01pic.twitter.com/ThCrpua7eO
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) May 4, 2021
READ MORE: Economy primed to go off like a rocket
Stephen Lunn, Angelica Snowden9.45pm: Regions bloom as citysiders vote with feet
Migration to the country’s regions surged last year to its highest point since records began two decades ago, as the pandemic shifted Australians’ views on where they want to live.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show almost 43,000 more people moved to regional areas from cities in 2020 than shifted the other way — and net migration to Melbourne from other states fell off a cliff as the nation’s largest centres struggled with the pandemic and on-again, off-again restrictions.
Regional migration figures reveal 223,100 Australians moved from capital cities to live in regional areas in 2020, while 190,200 went in the opposite direction. The net shift to regions was more than twice the 18,900 recorded in the previous year.
Patrick Commins9pm:Investors dive into property loan hothouse
Speculators are plunging into the nation’s hot property market, as a 13 per cent jump in new lending to investors in March — the sharpest increase in nearly 18 years — drove monthly loan commitments to a record $30.2bn.
A dramatic drop in borrowing costs through 2020 and a much better than anticipated recovery from the COVID-19 recession has triggered a surge in new mortgages alongside booming house prices.
After a pause in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed total new home lending unexpectedly climbed by 5.5 per cent in the month to be up 55 per cent on a year earlier.
Prospective landlords committed to $7.8bn in loans in March — accounting for half of the monthly rise — up 54 per cent versus 12 months before. Owner-occupier new lending lifted a further 3.3 per cent to $22.4bn, a record high.
The data suggests new money going into the property market is increasingly driven by speculators and landlords keen to capitalise on the continuing rise in home values.
Ben Packham8.20pm:China ‘not hell-bent on global rule’: Evans
Former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans says “things could go very badly wrong over Taiwan” but cautions that China is not “hell-bent on some kind of global domination”.
Amid strident rhetoric on China from senior Morrison government figures, including warnings of the threat of war, Professor Evans urged Australian policymakers to avoid “excessive zeal” in their comments on China.
“Partly it’s a matter of not digging any further holes when you’re in one and being very, very cautious about adding to the pile of things that, you know, Beijing has found it difficult to live with,” he told an Asialink podcast.
He said tensions with China over Taiwan could spiral out of control “because that’s something where China manifestly has a huge degree of emotional engagement”.
“It’s an issue where the West will find it difficult not to be drawn into defence of Taiwan if there is a physical assault made upon it,” he said. “I don’t think anyone thinks there’s advantage to be derived from this thing, including on the Chinese side.
“I think the only way forward on Taiwan for Western policymakers is delicate ambiguity, which has characterised policy for decades now.”
Professor Evans, who served as Australia’s top diplomat from 1988 to 1996, said China wanted “to assert its global role and certainly be far more of a rule-maker than a rule-taker”, but it was not “hell-bent on some kind of global domination”.
He said the days were gone when the US could confidently believe it would win anything short of an all-out war with China, but the economic interdependence between China and the West, and “the sheer unmitigated horror and misery”, meant a serious conflict with China was unlikely.
Tom Dusevic 7.55pm: Australia set to party like it’s 1998
Reserve Bank forecasters are catching up to the princely expectations of their private sector counterparts, whose computer models tip rapid falls in the jobless rate this year and an economy whirring in high-speed mode.
Australia’s set to party like it’s 1998.
Ultra-cheap money from the central bank, healthy household balance sheets, fat profits and the tailwind of Canberra’s fiscal largesse will push the economy into overdrive.
The RBA now expects a 4.75 per cent rise in gross domestic product this year, up from its estimate of 4 per cent in February.
The last time we experienced such an expansion was in 1998.At the time treasurer Peter Costello was talking even taller than usual.
Michael McKenna7.15pm: Christensen, LNP dodge queries over $100,000
Queensland’s Liberal National Party is refusing to comment on whether it will bow to retiring federal MP George Christensen’s demands and disendorse him so he can collect a $100,000-plus taxpayer funded payout.
Mr Christensen and acting LNP president Cynthia Hardy both issued near-matching statements on Tuesday saying they would not respond to questions about the move because it related to “internal party matters’’.
LNP insiders said Mr Christensen “hit the f...king roof” over revelations in The Australian on Tuesday that the four-term Nationals MP for the north Queensland seat of Dawson was seeking the payout.
On April 21, the Nationals MP announced he would not stand at the next election.
Mr Christensen had previously nominated for preselection and been approved by the LNP’s candidate vetting committee.
But since announcing his resignation, he has not withdrawn his nomination and his local branch — the Federal Divisional Council for Dawson — last week demanded LNP headquarters overturn its approval and disendorse him.
Richard Ferguson6.30pm: Unis take a swipe at think tanks
Australia’s elite research universities have taken a swipe at the nation’s independent foreign policy think tanks, warning the Morrison government not to let non-university research have a “outsized impact” on diplomacy.
In a submission to a senate inquiry into foreign policy research, Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson calls on the government to boost funding for foreign policy research — including at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne — after serious cuts over the past two years led to foreign policy courses being culled at universities.
Think tanks like the Australian Strategic Policy Institute have been among the leading critics of the university sector’s close relationship with China, ASPI executive director Peter Jennings saying the Go8 needed to catch up in the “competition” of foreign policy ideas.
Ms Thomson in her submission says the non-university foreign policy sector did not face the same academic rigour as the Go8 and that the Morrison government should prevent “low-quality” research from non-university analysts influencing global strategy too much.
“The flow of public money to non-university think tanks should be closely scrutinised and subject to regular value-for-money evaluations, as this funding is ordinarily not subject to competitive tender, review, or performance appraisal — unlike research funding support to public universities,” she says.
“Steps should also be taken to ensure that low-quality, non-peer-reviewed research does not have an outsized impact upon Australia’s foreign policy.”
Peter Lalor6.05pm:Indian Premier League cricket suspended
The Indian Premier League, the world’s richest Twenty20 cricket tournament, has been suspended for safety reasons as India battles a massive surge in coronavirus cases, organisers said on Tuesday.
“The Indian Premier League Governing Council and Board of Control for Cricket in India in an emergency meeting has unanimously decided to postpone (the) IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect,” a statement said.
Gideon Haigh5.45pm:Lay off Aussie cricketers in India
There are about 9000 Australian citizens in India. Not quite 40 of them are cricketers, coaches, commentators or officials involved in the Indian Premier League. All have now been threatened with imprisonment should they seek to return home.
Yet the emotions they occasion are mixed. Many of the same people who feel some simpatico with the plight of Australians abroad are vehemently of the view that the cricketers have made their own enseamed bed and must lie in it. Why should sportsmen be special? Why should they seek preferential treatment?
Here’s the thing, though: they haven’t been. In fact, precious little had been heard from them until Michael Slater’s execration of Scott Morrison on Monday night.
An exception was Chris Lynn’s loosely-worded thought-bubble on April 27 about departing India on a charter flight, and even then this was not a demand for instant repatriation or for special treatment save in the straightforwardly factual sense that vaccinated cricketers coming from a strictly-quarantined environment would not pose the same threat to biosecurity protocols as others. Lynn also conceded: “I know there are people worse off than us … We are not asking for short cuts and we signed up knowing the risks.”
Carla Mascarenhas5pm:Legality of India ban questioned
The legality of the federal government’s India travel ban has been challenged by Professor Kim Rubenstein.
“Even though we don’t have an explicit statement of citizenship rights in our constitution there is a common-law principle that underpins our rule of law of a citizen’s right of return,” she told Sky News on Tuesday.
The Morrison government legislated the ban under the Bio Security Act, which says it has to be “the least restrictive measure available”, according to Professor Rubenstein.
“This may not be the least restrictive measure available for protecting Australians who are here in Australia in the mainland and Australians overseas,” she added.
“There would be other ways we protect the health of all citizens. It is not an either/or situation.”
READ MORE:No rate rise until 2024, says RBA
Paul Garvey4.20pm:Man in WA tests positive to Covid-19
A man in the south-west of Western Australia has recorded a “very weak” positive test to COVID-19 after quarantining in Victoria.
WA’s Department of Health said the man had tested negative on all his tests while in hotel quarantine in Melbourne after returning to Australia from Poland, but had subsequently been retested in his home town of Collie as part of Vic Health’s follow-up of people post-quarantine.
That test showed a “very weak” positive, which the WA Department of Health said was sometimes seen in people with old, recovered infections.
“WA Health believes the test result most likely reflects an historic infection but out of an abundance of caution has retested the man to clarify his infection status,” the department said in a statement.
“As a precaution, the man’s three closest contacts have been asked to isolate pending further test results, including antibody tests, which are expected back tomorrow.
“We are asking the community not to panic and to be assured that WA Health will advise the community if results indicate this is an infectious case.”
The latest case is the third COVID scare in as many weeks in WA, which up until recently had gone 14 months without a case of community transmission.
The state called a three-day lockdown for Perth over the Anzac Day weekend last month after a man contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine, while last weekend a quarantine hotel security guard contracted the virus and passed it on to two of his housemates.
Adeshola Ore3.55pm:Crossbenchers push for end to India flight ban
Crossbenchers are urging the Morrsion government to revoke its India flight ban as backlash over the biosecurity orders intensifies.
The Morrison government’s flight ban means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment or heavy fines for breaching the restrictions. The ban, under the Biosecurity Act, has triggered heavy backlash from Labor, human rights groups and the Indian-Australian community.
Eight members of the crossbench in the lower and upper house have written a joint letter to Scott Morrison demanding the government revoke the order which penalises the citizens and residents for attempting to travel home, repatriate the up to 10,000 Australians stranded in the country and establish surge capacity quarantine facilities.
Greens leader Adam Bandt, independent MP Zali Steggall, independent MP Bob Katter, independent MP Rebekha Sharkie, independent MP Helen Haines MP, independent MP Andrew Wilkie, independent senator Rex Patrick and Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff have co-signed the letter.
Carla Mascarenhas 3.40pm:NSW plans to manufacture mRNA vaccines
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has brought together the state’s leading experts in mRNA technology as the state looks to create a new medical manufacturing and research industry.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology but Australia currently has no long-form manufacturing capacity.
Ms Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Tuesday met with experts including NSW Chief Scientist Hugh Durrant-Whyte to discuss the capacity of NSW to manufacture mRNA vaccines.
Premier Berejiklian said the pandemic has shown us how the private sector, universities and the NSW Government can work together to produce world-leading technology, new-generation therapies and life-changing research.
“NSW is well placed to provide the advanced manufacturing workforce training, the scientific expertise and the physical location of a future RNA-based manufacturing hub,” she said.
“The state has an established advanced manufacturing capability and is well placed to be the home of mRNA manufacturing in Australia.”
Unlike traditional vaccines which use an inactivated virus, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines teach cells how to make protein that triggers an immune response which provides protection from the real virus.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said RNA technology is projected to be a crucial tool in next generation vaccines, therapies and diagnostics.
“The success of RNA technology in rapidly developing a COVID-19 vaccine is just one early indicator of the potential of this technology to advance medicine,” Mr Hazzard said.
READ MORE:Share vaccines, Harry tells rich countries
Jared Lynch3.25pm: Holgate chided over legal tactics
Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo has hit back at Christine Holgate’s threat of impending legal action over her “unlawful” ousting from the postal service, claiming he has “no idea” what they are meant to be mediating over.
Mr Di Bartolomeo also hit out at Ms Holgate’s legal team, led by high profile lawyer, Rebekah Giles – who is also acting for former Attorney-General Christian Porter is his defamation case against the ABC – for employing “very cute” tactics, setting the state for a potentially costly legal showdown.
“I know that they wanted us to start mediating last week. We didn‘t, because none of those details are on the table,” Mr Di Bartolomeo told a Senate inquiry into Ms Holgate’s departure from Australia Post.
“We‘ve got no idea what we’re actually going to be mediating on … we have said, look, this is unreasonable. We will deal with mediation, by all means, but they’ve been very cute.”
But the legal letter Ms Giles sent to the government and Australia Post lists exactly what Ms Holgate hopes to achieve from mediation.
“It is envisaged that the mediation will cover all issues concerning our client,” the letter, which The Australian has obtained, states.
READ the full story
Rosie Lewis 3.15pm:Gunner stands firm on India travel ban
The number of active coronavirus cases among returned travellers at Howard Springs is steadily decreasing but Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner says medical advice to pause flights from India hasn’t changed.
Mr Gunner is working with Health Minister Greg Hunt and Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly on what the number of active cases will need to be before flights resume, with the pause due to be in place until May 15.
There were 41 cases at Howard Springs last Monday but that has dropped to 35 today.
“I get exactly where the Prime Minister’s coming from. All of us recognise the humanitarian need in India, I want our flights to resume as soon as possible,” Mr Gunner said.
“I think it’s critical we get returning Australians home from India (but) I have to make sure we’re not putting the Northern Territory health system at risk with that caseload. That’s the concern for us.”
The last two repatriation flights to Howard Springs from India on April 15 and 17 had 47 positive cases of COVID-19, with a positivity rate of 13.6 per cent.
READ MORE:A measured response to crisis
Adeshola Ore 3.00pm:Greens to move motion to revoke India ban
The Greens will move a motion in the Senate next week that will call on the government to revoke its India flight ban.
The government’s flight ban, which came into effect on Monday, means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment or heavy fines for breaching the restrictions. The ban, under the Biosecurity Act, has sparked backlash from Labor, human rights groups, the Indian-Australian community and some Coalition MPs.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the criminalisation of Australian citizens and residents returning home from India was “racist” and “possibly illegal”.
“It’s not based on health advice and it must be rescinded immediately,” he said.
“The pandemic needs a health-led response, not a force-led response, where the government criminalises people desperate to return home. There weren’t these threats of jail time when dealing with predominantly white countries.”
“The Liberals are now punishing people for the government’s own failings, abandoning them in a COVID-ravaged country. Morrison must take immediate steps to make sure that people can return home through repatriation flights and safe quarantine arrangements.”
Scott Morrison said the sanctions under the Biosecurity Act would be used “proportionately and responsibly.” Attorney-General Michaelia Cash insisted the government would defend its biosecurity orders in the event that they were challenged.
Mr Bandt said he believed the motion against the ban would have “widespread support” amongst other senators.
Parliament will sit again on Tuesday when the government will hand down the federal budget.
READ MORE:Share jabs, Harry tells rich countries
Patrick Commins2.55pm: No rate rise until 2024: RBA chief
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has maintained that rates will remain at near zero for at least another three years, despite unveiling a sharply upgraded economic outlook which included a forecast that unemployment would drop to 5 per cent by the end of this year, and 4.5 per cent by December 2022.
In a statement following the RBA’s monthly board meeting today, Dr Lowe said “the economic recovery in Australia has been stronger than expected and is forecast to continue”.
The new labour market predictions suggested the key jobless measure would be 1 percentage point lower at the end of this and next year than had been expected in February.
Unemployment dropped to 5.6 per cent in March, showing a labour market recovery that has tracked well ahead of the RBA’s February forecasts, which had the key jobless gauge averaging 6.5 per cent in the June quarter.
Dr Lowe said the ban’s economists had pencilled in “further” upward revisions to growth, with real GDP now predicted to lift by 4.75 per cent over 2021, versus 4 per cent previously, while forecast growth in 2022 was steady at 3.5 per cent.
But the labour market recovery would not spark much in the way of inflation, which Dr Lowe said would now be 2 per cent by the middle of 2023, versus a previous estimate of 1.75 per cent.
READ the full story
Elise Shaw2.35pm: RBA keeps cash rate on hold
The Reserve Bank of Australia board, as expected, has left the cash rate on hold at 0.1pc.
The Australian dollar was trading at US77.41c just before the announcement and stayed steady.
The ASX 200 was up 0.4pc at 7058.90 just before 2.30pm AEST and was at 7056 immediately after the announcement.
READ MORE:Trading Day Live
Eli Greenblat 2.15pm: It’s raining sales for retailers
Shoppers turned on the spending taps in the pandemic last year and haven’t stopped in 2021, filling homes with consumer goods and raining money on retailers.
Foot traffic in premium shopping centres is growing and retail sales in these centres, in selected categories, is also on the rise.
A series of trading updates from major retailers such as Super Retail Group and Nick Scali, as well as mall landlord Vicinity Centres, showed a growing theme of a return of consumer confidence and spending.
The March quarter updates were presented to investors as part of the Macquarie Australia Conference.
Leading into March there were grave fears for the health of the Australian economy, and especially for discretionary retailers, as the multi-billion dollar JobKeeper wages program came to an end.
READ the full story
Patrick Commins2.10pm:Investor home lending hits 18-year high
Speculators are plunging into the nation’s hot property market, as a 13 per cent jump in new lending to investors in March – the sharpest increase in nearly 18 years – drove monthly loan commitments to a record $30.2bn. Read more here
John Durie1.55pm:Angus Taylor’s free market credentials on the line
Angus Taylor’s claim be to a market-friendly minister will be tested by his response to EnergyAustralia’s new gas plant plan. Read more here
Adeshola Ore 1.40pm:Migration ‘crucial to boosting economic recovery’
Senior economist at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia Gabriela D’Souza as told an economic event at the National Press Club that boosting Australia’s migration rate was crucial to bolstering the country’s post-COVID recovery.
Ms D’Souza showed the view that migrants would take jobs away from locals was not backed by research across different countries.
“In research I conducted in 2019, I found that recent migrants had not harmed the outcomes of local workers. To the contrary, an influx of migrants was associated with an increase in the workforce participation of local workers,” she told the Press Club.
She urged the government to establish purpose-built quarantine facilities and pursue home quarantine procedures to allow for more Australians and migrants to enter the country.
“To continue our closed border policy is a threat to our commitment to globalism, especially as other countries begin to vaccinate the populations and open up their borders and welcome migrants,” she said.
No other advanced Western country has put in place such measures. For many of us, our lives are not completely in Australia.”
READ MORE:PM hits back at cricket star’s attack
Rhiannon Down1.25pm:AMA calls for travel ban to be revoked
The Australian Medical Association has called for the government to scrap its decision to criminalise Australians stranded in India from returning home.
AMA president Omar Khorshid has written to Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt advising that every effort be made to repatriate citizens trapped in India, as the “health risk” they face deepens.
“The Australian Government should take all necessary steps to get the most vulnerable home, including chartering commercial aircraft or using defence force capability as needed, and commercial flights should resume at the end of the current pause to allow others safe passage home,” Dr Khorshid said.
“Australians stranded in India need our support and the threat of fines and jail should not be hanging over their heads for wanting to come home.
“The order to fine or jail Australians travelling to their home country is unprecedented and should be revoked today.”
Dr Khorshid said the country’s quarantine facilities needed drastic improvements to handle the influx, calling on the government to establish purpose-build facilities.
“Before the pause is lifted, hotel quarantine arrangements must be improved to ensure minimal risk of breaches, particularly following yesterday’s WHO confirmation that the virus is spread through air, rendering some current hotel quarantine arrangements inadequate,” he said.
“Planning for alternatives to hotel quarantine also must be commenced now, so that Australia is not continuing to rely on imperfect hotel quarantine as the pandemic enters its third year.”
Dr Khorshid will speak with the Indian Medical Association to discuss what assistance Australia can lend to their Indian colleagues.
READ MORE: McGowan backs India travel ban
Robyn Ironside1.20pm: Virgin Australia’s $1.3bn loss amid Covid disaster
Virgin Australia posted a $3.1bn loss in the year ending June 30, 2020 — a period in which the coronavirus pandemic halted flights and the country’s second-largest airline collapsed into voluntary administration.
The massive figure — almost ten times the $315m loss recorded by the airline in the previous year — was the company’s ninth annual negative return in a row.
Documents filed by the airline with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission also show the significant impact of the pandemic on the airline, with flying reduced to just 4.2 per cent of previous levels.
Revenue and income shrank by 22 per cent or $1.3bn, at the same time as expenditure grew by almost the same amount due to the impairment of assets such as aircraft and property.
Federal government assistance in the period totalled $165.8m, compared to the $550m received by Qantas.
The payments to Virgin included $80.5m in the JobKeeper wage subsidy for employees, $55m in relief from aviation charges, and about $30m in subsidies for domestic flights, as well as international repatriation and freight services.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down 1.15pm:Queensland records no new local cases
Queensland has recorded no new case of community transmission and one case in hotel quarantine.
Queensland #COVID19 update 4/5/21
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) May 4, 2021
Queensland has recorded 1 new case of COVID-19 today.
This case was overseas acquired and detected in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/mzGoUYV4fF
Adeshola Ore1.05pm: ‘Invest beyond childcare’: economist
A leading economist has urged the Morrison government to use the federal budget to invest in a range of “caring responsibilities” and services.
Over the weekend, the government unveiled a $1.7 billion childcare package that will help cut fees for working families with two or more children. The scheme will increase the childcare subsidy to a maximum of 95 per cent for the second and subsequent children in care and save an average of $2200 a year for about 250,000 families.
Senior Economist at BIS Oxford Economics Sarah Hunter told an economic event at the National Press Club that the government needed to invest beyond childcare in sectors such as aged-care.
“We have also had a conversation around childcare, there are other things we could tackle, other caring responsibilities,” she said.
“Childcare is great. I have a daughter, that is great for me, but what about in 20 years time when I have to worry about my mother and father.”
“Services are becoming more important. We do not need to invest as much capital in factories as we did in the past, but we have to care very much about ourselves.”
Chair of Women in Economics Network Leonora Risse said the government needed to support workers in female-dominated sectors that had been hardest hit by the pandemic, to transfer their skills to other industries.
Dr Risse said the government had not applied a gender lens and targeted support at the beginning of COVID, resulting in women being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“We saw childcare workers withdrawn early from support, and that’s 95 per cent female, it’s inconsistent with gender equality goals,” she told the National Press Club.
“What should the government be doing? They should be far more innovative and adaptive and not necessarily try to prop up demand that is not there but support these workers transfer their skills. Portability is extremely important to look for other opportunities and for workers to be supported in that way.”
“The general lens of innovation and adaptability would serve the total workforce well for us to rebound.”
READ MORE: Government unveils childcare package
Rhiannon Down1.00pm:Khalil joins pile on over India ban
Labor MP Peter Khalil has blasted Scott Morrison for the government’s India flight ban and failing to meet his promise to bring stranded Australians home by Christmas.
“Never before in our federation, our democracy, has (it been) made illegal for Australian citizens to return home,” he said on Sky News.
“It’s outrageous and a distraction from the fact Morrison has failed. He over promised and under delivered, he said he would have all Australians home by Christmas and completely failed on his own bench mark.”
Mr Khalil also said although he understood why commercial flights had to be stopped in light of the crisis in India, it was unacceptable that the government couldn’t organise charter flights to rescue its own citizens.
“(The pause on flights) is going to happen if you have a serious situation and commercial airlines will make their decisions,” he said.
“That’s another issue why aren’t we repatriating our people like the US, UK and many other countries have done.
“There has been a complete pushing away of responsibility (for quarantine) with the Morrison government pushing all the risk to the states and territories, who have done a fairly good job.
“But when is he going to step up? When he is going to be the Prime Minister of Australia and stop playing political games?”
Adeshola Ore12.30pm:Distressed woman on knees to PM over Africa family
A distressed woman has fallen to her knees and begged Scott Morrison to help her family in Africa shortly after a press conference in central Queensland.
Breaking: Woman falls to her knees and prays to the Prime Minister begging he help her family in Africa. Happened after he finished his press conference in Rockhampton #7NEWS#auspolpic.twitter.com/cv7kUa16IS
— Jennifer Bechwati (@jenbechwati) May 4, 2021
After the Prime Minister finished addressing the media in Rockhampton, the woman knelt down and told the Prime Minister “everyday my people are being killed.”
“I go through trauma everyday,” she said.
“I’m alone in this country. I can’t go home to visit family.”
Video footage shows Mr Morrison kneeling down beside her as she wept in distress and begged him to help her.
Mr Morrison told the woman the government was bringing “many people across under our refugee program for Africa”.
This woman named Lillian fell at the feet of the PM today, desperate for help for her family that live in Cameroon. Her partner says she wants to highlight many horrific human rights issues. pic.twitter.com/Cm1MbIu2Bw
— Kath Sullivan (@KathSully) May 4, 2021
Mr Morrison was in Rockhampton for the Beef Australia 2021 event. He used the trip to unveil the government’s more than $400 million biosecurity boost that will be included in next week’s federal budget.
The Australian understands the woman is from Cameroon and wanted to speak to Mr Morrison about the genocide in the nation and the plight of her family.
Queensland MP Michelle Landry is helping the woman and will pass on information she is given to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
READ MORE: Slap down for Beijing’s ‘debt trap’ diplomacy
Rhiannon Down 12.15pm:Steggall stands by ‘racist’ attack on PM
Independent MP Zali Steggall has stood by her comments that the flight ban against India is racist and called for stranded Australians to be repatriated.
Ms Steggall hit back at Scott Morrison’s suggestions that the travel ban was the same as the one imposed against China at the start of the pandemic because of the severity of the penalties, with no efforts to organise charter flights.
“I have no issue with stopping flights because that’s the question of preventing the influx of numbers,” she told Sky News.
“The question is are we repatriating Australian citizens now? That is the vast distinction with what happened with the flights from China and what’s happening with India.
“At no point with the flights from China did the Australian government announce that there would be a five year jail penalty for people trying to return from China.
“They did not make the same order, the government did not make an order, that Australian citizens returning from China would face a five year penalty and $66,000 fine so with respect, it is not the same reaction by the government.”
Ms Steggall urged the government to organise a swift evacuation for Australians stranded in India, saying the end of the pause on flights on May 15 was too far away.
“It’s too late, it’s too slow, people are in life threatening situations now and the numbers have been escalating rapidly for days now,” she said.
“The situation has been dire for some time, the government should have emergency evacuation flights ready very promptly.”
READ MORE:Democracies unite in face of world’s challenges
Adeshola Ore 12.05pm:PM: Question marks over Vic quarantine hub funding
Scott Morrison says the federal government is assessing the Victorian government’s proposal to build a purpose-built quarantine facility but says question marks remain about the funding of the centre.
Last week, the The Victorian government confirmed plans for a purpose-built quarantine hub in Melbourne and called on the Commonwealth to pay for its construction.
The Prime Minister said the commonwealth welcomed the “detailed and comprehensive” proposal.
“There are question marks as to the investment that the Commonwealth would be required to put in place but we will look at that in good faith,” he said.
Labor has attacked the government for not establishing dedicated remote quarantine facilities.
But Mr Morrison rebuffed the suggestion and pointed to the Howard Springs facility which is set to more than double its capacity this month.
“We all have responsibilities here. The Commonwealth, I should stress though, the Holton review recommended that we establish a national resilience facility for quarantine and we have. It’s called Howard Springs.”
“It is coming at a cost to the federal taxpayer of half a billion dollars.... I won’t have it said that the Commonwealth is not doing its fair share of heavy lifting when it comes to putting those facilities in place.”
“We have done that. This is where we will be bringing those Australians home from India.”
READ MORE:Victoria quarantine hub needs federal cash
Adeshola Ore11.50am:Can’t be complacent: PM digs in over travel ban
Scott Morrison says he has a responsibility to prevent a third Covid wave in Australia, as he defends the government’s India flight ban.
The government’s flight ban, which came into effect on Monday, means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment or heavy fines for breaching the restrictions. The ban has sparked backlash from the Labor, human rights groups, the Indian-Australian community and some Coalition MPs.
Mr Morrison said the pause was necessary to ensure that repatriation flights could start again in mid-May.
“We are already seeing in Howard Springs the number of confirmed cases starting to come off. This is what we want to see over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
He said the restrictions were necessary due to the acceleration of infection rates in travellers returning from India.
“We didn’t see the same high rates of infection in those flights coming at earlier times,” he said.
“We can’t be complacent in this country. Just because we can put 100,000 people in the G to watch a game of footy on Anzac weekend doesn’t mean that this pandemic is in any way, shape or form over. The pandemic is raging. My government will take the steps necessary and the actions necessary to protect Australians so we can also bring more Australians home safely.”
Mr Morrison said the government was constantly reviewing the pause of flights and was planning for repatriation flights to commence on May 15 when the pause is due to end.
He said the alternative was preventing people entering from “third countries” such as Doha and Japan.
“That would have prevented other Australians coming home,’ he said.
Mr Morrison said the restrictions under the Biosecurity Act would be used “proportionately and responsibly.”
“Those sanctions have been in place now for 14 months and we haven’t seen the extremes of those sanctions being required,” he said.
“I think it would be very remote circumstances that would see them imposed.... they’re imposed seriously because we need to prevent people coming who have been in India during the last 14 days because the risk of infection that they’re bringing is very high.”
READ MORE:‘Deaths possible but ban necessary’
Paul Garvey11.40am: WA Premier to decide over restrictions on Thursday
Western Australian premier Mark McGowan will decide on Thursday whether Perth’s remaining COVID requirements will be extended after the state recorded another day without any community transmission.
No further cases of spread of the virus have been recorded since a hotel security guard and two of his housemates tested positive on Saturday.
Dozens of potential exposure sites linked to the latest cluster have been identified to date. The vast majority of those are restaurants briefly visited by some of the infected people while they worked as food delivery drivers, and WA health authorities believe they pose little public risk.
Of 79 close contacts identified to date, some 49 have so far returned negative tests. Another 429 casual contacts have also been identified.
Mr McGowan said the government would announce on Thursday whether public masks requirements and crowd restrictions will continue beyond Saturday.
“If we need to extend it, we will announce that later this week,” he said.
“Obviously mask-wearing has a degree of discomfort and it can be a bit annoying, but on the other hand it does keep us safe and it’s far better than other measures we can put in place.”
WA has so far opted against calling another lockdown in response to the latest cases. Mask requirements were already in place at the time the man and his housemates became infected, which Mr McGowan said had reduced the likelihood that the virus had spread into the community.
The Perth Glory’s A-League soccer game will go ahead on Wednesday night without a crowd, and Mr McGowan said he supported the move by the Fremantle Dockers to shift their AFL fixture against the Brisbane Lions - currently scheduled for Perth’s Optus Stadium on Sunday - to Brisbane.
“We can’t give them exact certainty until late this week. Let’s imagine on Thursday or Friday we say you can’t have a crowd when earlier this week they could have made a decision to go to Brisbane,” he said.
“In these times and in this environment, you’ve got to do practical things that you otherwise wouldn’t do.”
READ MORE: Truckies threaten to disrupt retailers
Adeshola Ore11.25am: Biosecurity package for ‘ring of steel’ border
Scott Morrison says the federal government’s biosecurity package will invest in Australia’s “ring of steel” border to protect the agriculture industry.
The government has unveiled a $370 million boost for biosecurity, to be included in next week’s federal budget, to fund programs that will help prevent diseases and pests from entering Australia. The package will be used for trial technology to screen incoming travellers for biosecurity risks and an advertising program to boost public awareness
Speaking in Rockhampton, Mr Morrison said COVID had revealed the importance of strengthening Australia’s border protection.
“It is the same when it comes to African swine flu or lumpy skin disease or any of these types of things which can be absolutely devastating to our agricultural sector and particularly our beef and cattle producers that we see on display here,” he said.
“That $371 million covers things like new 3D x-rays and screening, boots and paws on the ground when it comes to detection dogs and others which are keeping secure our agricultural industries.”
“It is also involving a partnership between the states and territories and the Commonwealth because should there ever be a breach, how we deal with any outbreak within the country is also incredibly important as the further rings of containment.”
READ MORE:Biosecurity boost to safeguard agriculture
Adeshola Ore 11.20am:Cash defends ‘necessary pause’ in India flights
Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has defended the government’s India flight ban, saying the restrictions are part of a “necessary pause” to keep Australians safe.
The Morrison government’s flight ban means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment. The ban has triggered heavy backlash from Labor, human rights groups and the Indian-Australian community. But Mr Morrison flagged that the likelihood of anyone facing imprisonment or heavy fines for breaches were “pretty much zero.”
“To be very clear, this is all about keeping Australians safe,” Senator Cash said.
“The Prime Minister has also made it clear that, to date, no-one has been prosecuted. We take these decisions very seriously.”
Senator Cash said the government expected flights from India would resume on May 15.
“This is a pause on flights to ensure that the quarantine system has that necessary capacity to cope with the next lot of returning Australians, bearing in mind that what we are seeing in India, when you have in excess of 300,000 cases of COVID per day,” she said.
READ MORE: India nears 20m Covid cases
Rhiannon Down 11.15am: NSW records zero new local cases
NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours, and seven cases in hotel quarantine.
The numbers bring the total number of cases in NSW since the start of the pandemic to 5306.
Some 5601 tests were received compared with the previous day’s total of 7920.
NSW Health administered 3984 vaccines on Monday, bringing the total number of vaccines delivered in the state to 677,262.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) May 4, 2021
Seven new cases were acquired overseas to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,306. pic.twitter.com/dB0cTs03t5
Remy Varga 10.55am: Merlino: Andrews recovering well, walking a lot
Acting Premier James Merlino says he is in regular contact with Daniel Andrews who is recovering after falling at a holiday home in the Mornington Peninsula in March.
Mr Merlino said the out-of-action Victorian Premier was walking a lot, which was a positive sign.
“I’m in regular contact with Dan and he’s going well,” he said on Tuesday.
“His recovery is going well and he’s walking a lot, which is the most important thing.”
“I engage with Dan on a personal level first and foremost to see how his recovery is going and on the big issues that are coming before government.
“But in terms of day-to-day operations of government, we’re trying to get him to focus on his recovery as much as possible.”
Mr Andrews is unlikely to return before June after he fractured his T7 vertebrae and cracked several ribs.
Mr Merlino also said Victoria was engaging with the Commonwealth after the state unveiled plans for a new hotel quarantine facility that requires approval and millions in funding from the federal government.
Mr Merlino said Victoria had yet to receive a response for the proposed facility in the far north suburb Mickleham, which is next to an existing quarantine centre for animals.
“We haven’t had an official response back from the government but there is constant engagement between the Victorian Government and Commonwealth Government on these proposals,” he said.
READ MORE: Build of quarantine hub needs federal cash
Rhiannon Down10.52am:Victoria records 105pc increase in vax doses
Victoria has reported a 105 per cent increase in the number of vaccine doses from a week ago, after the state opened 15 mass vaccination centres on Monday.
It comes as the state recorded zero cases of community transmission and one case in hotel quarantine.
Some 6923 vaccine doses were administered in the state in the past 24 hours and more than 13,000 people rang the booking hotline enquiring about receiving a vaccine.
Reported yesterday: No new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 3, 2021
- 6,923 vaccine doses were administered
- 14,325 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/Z7OElyNTxx
The Department of Health said 14,325 tests had been received in the same period.
Our thanks to all who attended a vaccination centre yesterday. The number of reported doses is a 105 per cent increase from the same day last week. Over 13,000 Victorians called our booking hotline yesterday - you can too, by calling 1800 675 398.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 3, 2021
Adeshola Ore 10.50am:Canavan: we’ve lost brotherly love for citizens
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has ramped up his criticism of the Morrison government’s India flight ban, warning that Australia has been taken over by “public health bureaucracy.”
The government’s flight ban, which came into effect on Monday, means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment. The restriction has sparked backlash from the Labor, human rights groups, the Indian-Australian community and some Coalition MPs.
Senator Canavan has broken ranks with the government this week and attacked the ban, urging the government to help Australians stranded in India. On Tuesday, he said Australia had lost its “brotherly love” for its citizens.
“We’ve allowed ourselves to get so focused on one particular issue, that we’re starting to lose our humanity on other problems. There are other things in life that are more important than just dealing with this global pandemic,” he told Sky News.
“Yes, there would be risk to us bringing Australians home from India. But isn’t that when you prove who you care about and what you care about when you have to make a sacrifice?”
READ MORE:Threat to returning Aussies another test
Rhiannon Down10.45am:Perth transmission risk low: AMA chief
Medical experts say the risk of transmission from two Perth food delivery drivers remained low, as WA anxiously awaits today’s COVID-19 figures.
Some 76 venues were listed as exposure sites on Monday after the two drivers, who were the housemates of a hotel quarantine guard, worked several shifts while infected.
Anyone who had food delivered from the outlets, which included a number of popular fast food restaurants, were also urged to get tested.
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said despite the high number of hotspot locations, the chances of transmission in these settings was slight.
“It is hopefully quite a low risk situation despite the very large number of sites which at first glance is alarming,” he told Channel 9’s Today.
Dr Khorshid said he remained hopeful about today’s case numbers as Perth residents continued to abide by health restrictions, including wearing masks.
“What the Premier has acknowledged is the fact that West Australians were social distancing,” he said.
“The fact that we’re all wearing masks under the response to the last breach of quarantine means that there’s just no need to go straight into a snap lockdown.
“But it does rely on all West Australians who become symptomatic and particularly those who have been to those sites to make sure they get tested.”
READ MORE: Hotel guards ‘don’t wear masks in hallways’
Remy Varga 10.40am:Victoria quarantine legal bill ‘price of getting answers’
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino says the more than $12 million the state government spent representing itself at the 2020 hotel quarantine inquiry was the price of getting answers.
It comes after reports in The Australian that the state’s legal bill at the inquiry was double the cost of the budget allocated to the inquiry headed by former judge Jennifer Coate, which was $5.7 million.
When asked on Tuesday about the mounting legal bill, Mr Merlino said the most important thing was the inquiry delivered answers.
“These are proceedings, legal representation is a cost,” he said.
“The most important thing is the questions were answered, improvements were made in terms of the cost of our hotel quarantine system.
“Yes legal advice and legal representation comes at a cost [but] I think ultimately improvements to our hotel quarantine system, getting the answers to the questions required.”
The inquiry did not establish who made the decision to use private security companies at quarantine hotels, which is considered a pivotal failing that allowed the virus to seed into the community.
Poor infection control among guards is believed to have sparked the second wave that claimed the lives of 801 people and sentenced Melbourne to months in lockdown.
READ MORE: Vic hotel quarantine legal bill soars to $12.3m
Remy Varga10.35am: Merlino: National curriculum debate ‘shrill, disappointing'
Victorian Education Minister James Merlino has called for a “mature conversation” on the national curriculum after proposed reforms unveiled last week triggered intense debate.
The proposals released by Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority gave Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives greater prominence than the study of the humanities.
Mr Merlino said the debate around the proposals was disappointing and disrespectful to educators.
“As soon as something is out we have this shrill public debate around the culture wars and I just think we’re better than that,” he said.
“I hope that over the next few weeks we can improve the tone of the public debate and actually talk about what’s important for our teachers and our students.”
Mr Merlino on Tuesday announced the Victorian government would spend nearly $150 million in establishing the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, a new statutory authority aiming to enhance the quality of teachers in the state.
READ MORE: Indigenous studies in, humanities out
Adeshola Ore 10.25am: Travel ban could damage India relations: Albanese
Anthony Albanese has warned the Morrison government that Australia’s strategic relationship will be damaged by its India flight ban.
The flight ban, which came into effect on Monday, means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years of imprisonment. The ban has sparked backlash from the Labor, human rights groups, the Indian-Australian community and some Coalition MPs.
“We hear a lot of discussion about China and about the difficulties and our relationship with China and how we need to improve relations with the quad, that includes, of course, India, Japan and the United States,” the Opposition Leader said.
“It is very difficult to see how the relationship with India has been improved in recent days as a result of this government’s actions.”
Mr Albanese also criticised the government for not establishing quarantine centres in remote locations, noting that state premiers had been arguing for appropriate facilities since last year.
“They are things that will keep Australians safe and what we have in order to hide the failure of the government in those areas is a macho announcement just days ago that the Prime Minister says won’t actually be implemented in an interview this morning,” he said.
“We need leadership in this country on national quarantine facilities.”
Mr Albanese also accused the government of dragging its feet on the expansion of the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory which is set to double its capacity this month.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong also warned that Australia’s India flight ban would have strategic consequences.
“We are not behaving in a way that I think is consistent with that national interest, which is to have a deep and secure friendship with India,” she told Sky News.
READ MORE:Covid bubble hits cricketers for six
Adeshola Ore10.10am:Aussie citizenship must mean something: Albanese lashes PM
Anthony Albanese has urged the Morrison government to deploy military assets to repatriate Australians stranded in COVID-ravaged India.
The Morrison government’s flight ban means Australians trying to enter the country from India could face up to five years imprisonment. The ban has triggered a heavy backlash from Labor, human rights groups and the Indian-Australian community.
“It’s alright for ministers to take planes to Europe, to travel around and to try to get votes, but we can’t use those assets to bring Australians home?,” he said.
“The Australian passport and Australian citizenship must mean something. And if it doesn’t mean that you have a right to come to Australia, then what does it mean?”
Mr Allbanese also lambasted the government for walking back on its threats of fine or jail time after Mr Morrison today said the chances of the penalties being imposed for breaches were “pretty much zero.”
“What they have done is threaten people and then withdraw the threat and say, it was just a bit of rhetoric and I don’t think there is any chance of it being implemented or in the Prime Minister’s own words, pretty much zero chance of its own policy being implemented,” he said.
READ MORE: India nears 20m cases
Rosie Lewis 9.45am:Kelly’s advice: Deaths possible but ban necessary
Medical advice relied on by the Morrison government to impose restrictions on travel from India warned there could be deaths and Australians could be left stranded without access to healthcare but concluded the emergency measures were necessary, effective and proportionate.
The advice, prepared by Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and released by the government on Monday, comes amid a deepening political stoush over the restrictions which threaten significant fines and prison sentences for those who attempt to evade them.
The advice was handed to Health Minister Greg Hunt on Friday, after which it became illegal for anyone who had been in India in the preceding fortnight to arrive in Australia. The government had stopped flights but Australians were still able to enter through third countries.
“Due to the high proportion of positive cases arising from arrivals from India, I consider a pause until 15 May, 2021, on arrivals from India to be an effective and proportionate measure to maintain the integrity of Australia’s quarantine system,” Professor Kelly wrote. But he warned of “potential consequences for Australian citizens and permanent residents as a result of this pause on flights and entry into Australia”.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down9.20am: Shorten urges leaders to calm rhetoric over China
Bill Shorten has called for the government to calm the rhetoric when it comes to discussing rising tensions with China.
The former opposition leader said Australia needed to decide where its position on China sat,
amid increasing concerns over the Port of Darwin and as one of the nation’s top military commanders told his troops that conflict with China was likely.
In a briefing with Special Forces soldiers, Major General Adam Shand said Canberra and Beijing were already engaged in “grey zone” warfare against Australia and they must plan for the likelihood of actual conflict, Nine Newspapers report.
Alluding to Major General’s remarks, Mr Shorten told Channel 9’s Today: “I don’t know if this was a particular internal military briefing. The politicians have to keep the rhetoric in check, though. Sure, the military guys, men and women, prepare for different scenarios.
“I’m probably less concerned with what they say in their own areas but I do think we need to start working out what our relationship with China is.”
Mr Shorten also accused the government of hypocrisy in Australia’s relationship with China, which remains one of Australia’s greatest trading partners.
“The budget is coming down next Tuesday, all the iron ore the Chinese are buying will be used to say how good our economy is.
“Yet, on the other hand, we’re saying there could be conflict any time soon. I think there is a division between what we’re saying in some quarters and elsewhere.”
READ MORE:Port owners’ push for ‘dominant China’
Adeshola Ore9.00am:Wong: vaccinate stranded Aussies
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong says the Morrison government should consider vaccinating Australians stranded in India who are barred from entering the country.
The Morrison government’s flight ban means Australians citizens returning from India could face heavy fines and up to five years in jail for trying to enter the country.
Senator Wong told the ABC the government was providing Labor with a briefing today on vaccinating Australians in India.
“In addition to fixing up the situation we’re in, in terms of coming up with a plan that respects the rights of Australian citizens, we should be providing as much support to India as we are able to. We’ve given bipartisan support to whatever the government can provide,” she said.
“We should be looking at is there a way we can provide vaccinations for those Australians who are stranded.”
Rhiannon Down 8.45am:PM hits back at ‘blood on your hands’ accusation
Scott Morrison has hit back at accusations of heartlessness in a tense exchange with Karl Stefanovic, and as Michael Slater accuses him of having blood on his hands over the hard ban on travel from India.
“If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home,” Slater wrote on Twitter. “It’s a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out (our) quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect.”
If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect
— Michael Slater (@mj_slats) May 3, 2021
Stefanovic also hit out at the “heartless” India travel ban on Channel 9’s Today program, prompting Mr Morrison to defend the decision to impose fines and even jail time for Australians who return home from India.
Mr Morrison said it was a “hard decision” that was constantly under review.
“We have seen a rapid escalation rate in people travelling out of India that puts enormous pressure on our quarantine system,” he told Stefanovic.
“We need to make sure we can bring people home from India. It’s a pause to May 15.
“We’re reviewing it regularly.”
Mr Morrison repeated his claim that the likelihood of any fines being issued were low, saying it was merely a temporary measure to prevent the arrival of the virus on Australian shores.
“I think the likelihood of anything like that occurring is pretty much zero,” he said.
“This is a measure which ensures that we can keep Australia safe at this time. And we can get more Australians back safely.
“I mean, frankly, if we had not put these measures in place and we saw the rates of increase of the virus coming through on these flights, putting stress on our quarantine system, breaking out across the country and seeing a third wave.
“Then equally you would have told me pretty bluntly, I suspect, that I failed Australia.”
Slater, who became stranded in India and has since been reported to have fled to the Maldives, called for the government to think of those suffering in India, as the outbreak grips the country, in a furious attack.
“So please stop the abuse and think of the thousands dying in India each day. It’s called empathy. If only our government had some,” he said.
READ MORE:How travel ban could backfire
Adam Creighton8.20am: Florida scraps all Covid restrictions
lorida Governor Ron DeSantis has scrapped all remaining Covid19 restrictions, shoring up his position as a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, and contradicting President Joe Biden’s “health advice”.
Governor DeSantis, who courted controversy for refusing to lockdown the state’s 21.5 million people during the recent winter surge of Covid19 cases, said he would overturn all restrictions immediately.
“I think that’s the evidence-based thing to do,” he said. “Folks saying they need to be policing people at this point: if you’re saying that you’re really saying you don’t believe in the vaccine, in the science, in the data,” he added.
Donald Trump’s former chief of staff and former Congressman Mick Mulvaney told The Australian Mr DeSantis’s handling of the pandemic had assured the 42 year old governor prime position at this early stage.
“You have to give him credit. He’s earned a spot at the top of potential 2024 field exactly the way leaders should: by proving they can handle a crisis,” Mr Mulvaney said.
“I imagine a lot of other Governors — Republicans and Democrat — are wishing they had handled COVID as well as Florida did,” he added
DeSantis’ repeated decisions to end restrictions early or not introduce them at all, have failed to produce the disastrous results many health experts had warned of.
In late March Rochelle Walenskey, President Joe Biden’s top health adviser, warned of “impending doom” across the US if restrictions were lifted.
Florida’s COVID-19 death toll was 35,300 yesterday, putting it 28th in the 50-state union in terms of deaths per capita, just ahead of California, the biggest state, which has been under various forms of lockdown since March last year and isn’t due to reopen fully until June 15th.
“While I know some people will accuse him of playing politics, if you ask Floridians, they are pleased with how he has balanced public health and the economy,” Mr Mulvaney said.
Daily new COVID-19 cases peaked above 15,000 in early January before falling steadily to below 6,000 by late February, where they have broadly remained.
The similarity of outcomes in Florida – along with other states that have opened earlier than advised, Texas and Georgia, and South Dakota – and states with far stricter rules have puzzled experts.
“If you get the vaccine just know the reason you get it is because we want to be able to have people enjoy themselves,” Governor DeSantis said.
While more than 43 per cent of Americans have been vaccinated against Covdi19, one of the highest shares globally, the pace of new vaccination has slowed in from a daily peak of 3.4 million in mid April to 2.4 million last week.
Florida’s changes will come as a shock to some in Victoria, where face masks, introduced in July last year, remain compulsory on flights, public transport, and in Perth, recently subject to a third lockdown since the pandemic began, after a single new case of Covid19 emerged.
Mr DeSantis’ latest move highlights the growing divide between Democrat states and the Biden administration on the one hand, and other Republican states which have started removing restrictions.
In March Mr DeSantis slammed as “insane” President Biden’s suggestion states might have to lock down again. “I can tell you, that ain’t happening in Florida. We are not going to let him lock down Florida,” he said.
Mr DeSantis has also taken aim at big tech, blasting Google last month for “Orwellian censorship” after it took down video of DeSantis and Stanford scientist Jay Bhattacharya questioning the benefits of forcing children to wear masks.
READ MORE: Adam Creighton:Is the world finally getting sick of Covid madness?
Adeshola Ore8.10am:Travel ban just chest-beating: Wong
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has slammed the Morrison government’s India flight ban, labelling it a “chest-beating announcement”.
The Morrison government’s flight ban, which means people could face up to five years in jail for attempting to return from India, has been heavily criticised by the opposition and some Coalition MPs. But Scott Morrison has played down the likelihood of people being imprisoned and said the laws would be used responsibly.
“This morning, the Prime Minister said there’s zero chance of these penalties being imposed. Well, we’ve got a simple question, and I think many Australians do too well. Why did you announce it?,” Senator Wong told the ABC.
“If there is a zero chance of these penalties being imposed is the only reason you announced it to get a tough headline that’s now blowing up in your face? That’s not a way to handle this global pandemic.”
“I don’t understand why Greg Hunt decided he put a press release out in the middle of the night, with these sorts of threats, which the Prime Minister now says were empty. I can understand why the Indian community feel as they do.”
Senator Wong urged the Morrison government to create a quarantine plan that “respects the rights of Australian citizens.”
READ MORE: India calamity has sick caring for the sicker
Adam Creighton7.55am: Is the world finally sick of Covid madness?
Men think in herds, go mad in herds, while they recover their senses slowly, one by one, Charles Mackay, author of the 19th-century classic Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, famously wrote.
As more of us recover our minds and sense of proportion at the 15-month mark of this “once in a century pandemic”, we should be thankful for living in a federation. Where pockets of sanity emerge, local political leaders can respond, setting an example for other jurisdictions. Federations allow the “return to normal” faster, and the option to move for those who can’t wait.
At least half of all US states have ignored the Biden government’s “health advice”, tearing up restrictions, highlighting rampant fearmongering and the stupidity of many COVID regulations. The new head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, President Joe Biden’s top source of COVID-19 “health advice”, Rochelle Walensky, in late March forecast “impending doom” and a “fourth wave” for the US if states removed restrictions.
CNN had already slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s “head scratching, anti-science decision” in March to abolish mask mandates. “Neanderthal thinking”, Biden chimed in. Since then, deaths from or with COVID-19 have plunged in Texas from 100 a day to zero, and cases have fallen by 50 per cent.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down7.45am: Morrison denies India travel ban is racist
Scott Morrison has hit back at accusations that the travel ban with India is racist, denying the infection rate was on par with the UK and US.
“It’s the same accusation that was made against me when I shut the borders to mainland China,” the Prime Minister told Channel 7’s Sunrise.
Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP has confirmed the India travel ban will come to and end on May 15 and that Australians stranded in the coronavirus-ravaged nation will be offered seats on repatriation flights. pic.twitter.com/qWgfeHQUQW
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 3, 2021
“We all know the wisdom of that decision. Particularly in hindsight.
“It’s not true to say the infection rate is the same, but the infection rate that matters is the infection rate of people who are coming in on the actual planes into our quarantine.”
Mr Morrison said the number of positive cases in the Howard Springs facility was over 80 when the decision was made, stretching the facillity’s capacity. The government has previously announced a $500m upgrade to boost the facility’s intake from 400 travellers a week to 1000.
“Thus the urgency here, we needed to take a pause to make sure we could put Australia in a stronger position to bring people home,” he said.
Howeer he confirmed the ban wuld end on May 15, and stranded Aussies would be offered seats on repatriation flights.
READ MORE: Indian cricketing bubble hit for Covid six
Rhiannon Down7.25am:‘One step at at time on Darwin port’: PM
Scott Morrison has refused to be drawn on speculation the government will rip up a lease agreement for the Port of Darwin with Chinese company Landbridge, amid growing security concerns.
“We will just take this one step at a time,” the Prime Minister told Channel 7’s Sunrise.
“And I’m not presuming anything that would be advised to us by defence and security agents, we will receive their advice in due course, and I’m sure they’ll present many
options as they always do.”
Defence is currently reviewing the $500m, 99-year lease of the port on the orders of the national security committee of cabinet, amid concerns it could pose a national security risk.
Mr Morrison said he was waiting on the official advice of the review before making any decision. Any move to tear up the port lease would come at considerable cost to the taxpayer and also further infuriate Australia’s strained relationships with the Chinese government.
“I’m not jumping to the next step, this is a matter for our security and defence agencies to advise if there’s been any change in the security status of those port arrangements,” he said.
“I should stress it’s not the entire port area of Darwin — for some time I was up in Darwin just last week, and it’s one section, it’s not where our military and defence facilities are, that’s in another area.
“So the defence parliament will give us that advice (and we) can and will consider it and the potential implications and make our judgement.”
READ MORE:Peter Jennings — ‘We need Darwin Port in Australian hands’
Rhiannon Down7am:New York workers protest push to return to office
Orders from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio for 80,000 municipal workers to return to the office in an effort to revive the city have been met with protests.
Employees gathered outside City Hall over the weekend to protest the orders, saying they were being put at risk by the decision.
It comes after 14 months at home for the workers, after COVID ravaged the city peaking at almost 20,000 cases a day in January this year.
Over 80,000 City workers are returning to the office today. On behalf of the city you serve, I want to thank you for all you’ve done and all you’ll continue to do as we fully reopen. pic.twitter.com/ZX6sEHigVE
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 3, 2021
Mr de Blasio said the decision was designed to bring life back to the streets of New York again.
“We have to take it to the next level,” he said. “We have to really spur a strong recovery.”
The workers demanded proof that they were less effective working from home than in the office.
“There is no question in my mind that people get a lot more done in person,” Mr de Blasio said.
READ MORE:Adam Creighton — Is the world getting sick of Covid-mania?
Rhiannon Down6.45am:Argentina’s ‘millionaire’s tax’ pays for Covid relief
Argentina has raised more than $2bn to pay for medical supplies and relief for small businesses to help them survive the pandemic, through a new “millionaire’s tax”.
Some 12,000 millionaires have been targeted by the new revenue raising measure, with 80 per cent paying their dues so far.
The tax is the result of new laws passed in December which legalised the new “solitary contribution” for citizens whose assets exceeded 200 million pesos, the equivalent of $2.1m.
“The resources generated will be essential to face the health and economic emergencies presented by the pandemic,” federal tax authority head Mercedes Marco del Pont said.
About 3000 millionaires — including football superstar Carlos Tevez — have failed to pay the tax, with 200 contesting it in court.
Argentina continues to battle high rates of infection recording 11,394 new cases in the past 24 hours, down from it’s all-time high of 29,472 on April 16, according to Johns Hopkins University.
READ MORE:How the mega-rich are sailing away from the pandemic
Steve Jackson5.10am:ABC stands firm in Porter defamation battle
ABC insiders have confirmed the public broadcaster remains committed to defending star reporter Louise Milligan in its high-stakes legal battle with Christian Porter over allegations it defamed the former attorney-general in an online article revealing a senior politician had been accused of historic sexual assault.
The public broadcaster has until Tuesday evening to file its defences in the Federal Court. Mr Porter sued the ABC and Ms Milligan after the story appeared on February 26.
Although not named, Mr Porter, 50, claimed he was easily identifiable as the cabinet minister accused of raping a young female acquaintance — now deceased — as a teenager during a school debating trip to Sydney in 1988. He strenuously denies the allegation. He publicly outed himself less than a week after the article was published but claims by then he had already suffered severe reputational damage.
His legal team last month raised “concerns” about publication of the allegations and accused Milligan of deleting social media posts that could affect the case. The ABC denied Milligan deleted any relevant material.
READ MORE:Sharri Markson — Risky legal battle was Christian Porter’s only option
Ben Packham5am:Payne blasts Beijing’s ‘debt trap diplomacy’ tactic
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has attacked efforts to “buy influence’’ and “pick off’’ individual countries in a diplomatic rebuke aimed at China ahead of two weeks of international talks with some of the world’s biggest democracies on strengthening global security.
Senator Payne, who will visit London for G7 Plus talks before high-level meetings in Geneva and the US, said the benefits of free and open societies had “never been clearer’’.
Her comments, in an opinion article for The Australian, follow a warning by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China was acting “more repressively” and “more aggressively” as it pursued greater global influence.
As Beijing’s Belt and Road deals have saddled developing nations with potentially unsustainable debt, Senator Payne said Australia would work with “indispensable” international partners to show “the demonstrable improvements” that democratic values could deliver to people’s lives.
Read the full story, by Ben Packham and Will Glasgow, here.
Peter Lalor4.45am:Australia’s star cricketers may be trapped in India
Australian cricketers at the Indian Premier League were shocked to learn of two positive COVID-19 cases within the biosecurity bubble, with some desperate to leave but most resigned to being trapped in the country, which is experiencing a humanitarian disaster.
Two Indian members of the Kolkata Knight Riders side, which includes Australia’s Pat Cummins and Ben Cutting, were confirmed as COVID-19 positive on Monday.
Former Test opener Michael Slater, who escaped from India to the Maldives at the weekend, launched an attack on Scott Morrison on Twitter for making it an offence, punishable by jail or a fine, for anyone to enter Australia if they had been in India in the past 14 days.
Indian cricket authorities reluctantly cancelled last night’s game between KKR and the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise which is coached by Simon Katich and includes Australian players Glenn Maxwell and Dan Christian.
If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It's a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect
— Michael Slater (@mj_slats) May 3, 2021
Read the full story here.
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Hunt says Jewish community deserves a national parliamentary apology
Former health minister Greg Hunt will call on the Albanese government to make a national parliamentary apology to Australia’s Jewish population for the rise of anti-Semitism.
‘National apology needed on anti-Semitism’
Former health minister Greg Hunt will call on the Albanese government to make a national parliamentary apology to Australia’s Jewish population for the rise of anti-Semitism.