PoliticsNow: Scott Morrison, virus expert Jane Halton at odds over quarantine recommendations
Scott Morrison says hotel quarantine review recommendations ‘fully adopted’, despite the report’s author expressing frustrations.
- Covid adviser disappointed in quarantine
- US, UK travel bubble gains pace
- ALP divided over gas
- Price is right for Senate
Welcome to The Australian’s coverage of politics from Canberra and beyond amid the nation’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Live updates have ended but the latest Covid-19 news can be found here
Here are the main points from today’s political news:
• Scott Morrison says the commonwealth has “fully adopted” the recommendations in a hotel quarantine review, despite key Covid adviser Jane Halton saying she is frustrated and disappointed over the national system.
• Josh Frydenberg says he will speak to Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas and “hear him out” after the state called for additional economic support during its extended lockdown.
• Victoria will remain under lockdown for a further seven days until June 10. Restrictions will be eased in regional Victoria but for Melbourne, the current conditions remain in place. FOLLOWlive updates on the latest Covid outbreaks in Victoria and NSW with our dedicated coronavirus coverage here.
Adeshola Ore3.50pm:Labor fails in ‘bungled vaccine rollout’ debate
Anthony Albanese has attempted to suspend standing orders in the lower house over what he says is a “bungled” vaccine rollout in the aged-care and disability sectors.
During senate estimates on Tuesday, the Morrison government revealed it did not know how many aged care workers had received a coronavirus jab.
On Wednesday, the Opposition Leader attempted to suspend parliamentary business to move a motion to debate the federal government’s vaccine rollout in aged care and disability care.
“This Prime Minister won’t accept responsibility for anything,” Mr Albanese said.
Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles said Victoria remained in lockdown because Mr Morrison was “incompetent and negligent.”
The Coalition shut down the attempt.
Rosie Lewis3.20pm: Calls mount for return of wage subsidies for Victoria
The Australian Retailers Association has joined industry calls for a reintroduction of JobKeeper or similar wage subsidy scheme as Victoria’s lockdown is extended by another seven days.
“Victoria can’t do this alone. The federal government has done a great job to keep businesses afloat through JobKeeper and we need them to step up to the plate again,” ARA chief executive Paul Zahra said.
“We believe a reintroduction of a scheme like JobKeeper, which is targeted at those most in need, would be the simplest and easiest measure to implement, given the back-end systems are already known and worked well for a year. The scheme should be targeted – just for those negatively impacted by lockdowns.
“This isn’t just about Victoria. This is about other states and territories who might have to deal with state-imposed lockdowns and restrictions, should new cases emerge in the community. A scheme like JobKeeper should be a lifeline that can be activated when it’s needed.”
Meanwhile, the hospitality industry urged the Morrison government to “step up” and provide a wage subsidy for hundreds of thousands of employees in Victoria unable to work as the lockdown is extended for another week.
“The federal budget did not contain any further wage support or contemplate a 14-day lockdown scenario. Put simply, reminding businesses owners over and over about past stimulus is no answer to the present and future,” Restaurant and Catering chief executive Wes Lambert said.
Mr Lambert said the number of coronavirus cases in Victoria should be manageable and lashed the lockdown as a default response.
“The announcement today is a bitter pill to swallow. Thousands of businesses will keep their doors closed. Hundreds of thousands of staff will go another week without wages, at home, feeling more and more hopeless,” he said.
READ MORE: McCormack fights for Senate seat after backlash
Adeshola Ore3.05pm: PM, virus expert at odds over quarantine recommendations
Scott Morrison says the commonwealth has “fully adopted” the recommendations in a hotel quarantine review, despite the author of the report expressing frustration about the nation’s process for returning travellers.
National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commissioner Jane Halton today said she was “disappointed” the commonwealth had not adopted a best practice approach for returning travellers. Ms Halton’s review recommended that states and territories reconsider a one-size-fits-all approach and said the commonwealth should consider a national quarantine facility to provide surge capacity.
During question time, Anthony Albanese seized on the criticism by Ms Halton and asked the Prime Minister why he had not responded to the report “eight long months” after her recommendations were handed down.
“The recommendations of the Halton report have been fully adopted,” Mr Morrison said.
He pointed to the Howard Springs facility, where the government has provided $500 million in funding to increase its capacity to 2000 beds.
“We are going further in receipt of the proposal by the Victorian government, which we are very, very close to,” he said.
The federal government is currently reviewing a proposal from the Victorian government to build a purpose-built facility to supplement hotel quarantine.
Mr Morrison said he would speak to Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino this evening to discuss the state’s extended lockdown and their proposal for a purpose-built quarantine facility.
“We are moving forward on that issue as well. Mr Speaker,” he said.
Adeshola Ore2.58pm:Vaccinations increase in disability care sector
Scott Morrison says 25 per cent of disability care residents have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
During question time, Labor drew attention to the commonwealth’s rollout in the disability residential care sector, which is part of phase 1a in the rollout.
The Prime Minister said more than 7000 people of the 26,000 Australians with a disability living in residential care had received a first dose by May 29.
“There have been more than 10,000 doses now,” he said.
READ MORE: Lockdowns and the lurch towards institutionalised Covid restrictions
EWIN HANNAN2.48pm: Reinstate JobKeeper for workers: McManus
ACTU secretary Sally McManus called on the Morrison government to reinstate JobKeeper payments for workers during lockdowns, warning hundreds of thousands of Victorians faced at least two weeks with no pay.
With the Victorian lockdown extending, Ms McManus said the absence of support from the Federal Government for casual and insecure workers was “true to form from a government which has cut and run from its responsibilities in the middle of an ongoing pandemic”.
“How long does this lockdown – which was caused by the failure of the Federal Government to secure quarantine systems and roll out the vaccine – have to continue before the Morrison Government will lift a finger to support workers,” she said.
“On the day we have found out that the Federal Government never planned to vaccinate workers in aged care, the very least they could do is support workers suffering through a lockdown they caused in Victoria.”
READ MORE: Economy grows faster than expected
Adeshola Ore 2.36pm: Country ‘rallying together’ around vaccine rollout
Scott Morrison says vaccination rates in Australia have doubled over the past month, as Labor uses question time to target the commonwealth’s rollout in aged care facilities.
The Prime Minister said more than 700,000 Australians have been vaccinated in the past week, indicating the country was “rallying together” around the rollout. But Senate estimates revealed yesterday the government did not know how many aged-care staff had received one or both jabs, as there were several ways that workers may have received it, including through their own GP.
Labor frontbencher Cathering King said at an aged care facility in her Victorian electorate, five residents had missed out on their first vaccine doses because commonwealth contractors arrived without enough supply.
“The residents were told to go to a GP clinic to get them, but the residents are frail and immobile. While it is the government telling people who are frail and immobile to find their way to a local GP clinic for their vaccine?,” Ms King asked.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said all Victorian facilities had now received their first dose, but said he would be pleased to receive details about the centre.
READ MORE: Jack the Insider – How it ends for the anti-vaxxers
Adeshola Ore 1.54pm: Lockdown support: Frydenberg to speak to Victorian treasurer
Josh Frydenberg says he will speak to Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas and “hear him out” after the state called for additional economic support during its extended lockdown.
Victoria’s fourth Covid-19 lockdown has now been extended by seven days in response to the current outbreak. The state’s Acting Premier James Merlino said Victoria had renewed requests for the commonwealth to reinstate a JobKeeper-style payment for residents impacted by the restrictions.
Mr Frydenberg said he would speak to Mr Pallas and “consider his request.”
“I want to understand what his plans are for support through the state,” he said.
The Treasurer said the commonwealth’s health officials wanted to “understand” the rationale behind the state’s new restrictions that will see lockdown measures eased in regional Victoria and Year 11 and 12 students return to face-to-face learning.
The Victorian government has announced an additional $209 million support package for businesses struggling in the lockdown.
Sophie Elsworth1.51pm:New Daily embroiled in super probe
One of the nation’s largest super funds, AustralianSuper, is being examined for allowing its customer data of more than two million members to be handed over to news website, The New Daily.
It comes as the media outlet – owned by industry super fund umbrella company Industry Super Holdings – was forced to apologise and pay costs to Superannuation Minister Jane Hume for an article written by commentator Michael Pascoe.
On Wednesday it was revealed the financial regulator, the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority, is examining AustralianSuper after revelations showed the industry super fund gave their members’ information away to the news website.
Senator Andrew Bragg said the inquiries into AustralianSuper was a good result and criticised the independence of The New Daily publication.
READ the full story here
PATRICK COMMINS12.52pm: Return of JobKeeper for Victoria ‘challenging’
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has said there would be “particular challenges” in reintroducing commonwealth wage subsidies for Victorian workers, saying “regionally specific lockdown responses by states and territories are able to be more effectively targeted than a response like JobKeeper”.
Speaking at a senate estimates committee hearing just minutes ago and not long after Victorians learned they would be under restrictions for a further week, Senator Birmingham refused to commit to federal support for businesses and workers struggling under the lockdown, only saying “we will continue to monitor the situation as it relates to Victoria and respond accordingly”.
“There would be particular challenges, especially for businesses that operate national payrolls that have a presence in Victoria if we were to go down that particular policy pathway” of restarting the JobKeeper scheme, he said.
Senator Birmingham argued it was “more appropriate for states and territories to target support that are separate from the national policy settings”.
“But I appreciate this announcement today (the extension of lockdowns) would be the subject of discussions as we assess what the particular consequences of it are.”
The Australian revealed KPMG modelling that the daily economic cost of the lockdown could be $125 million, while Treasury estimates from September last year suggested the figure of $100 million.
READ MORE: Editorial – Lockdown will be a drag onb economic recovery
Stephen Lunn12.47pm:Nursing homes to get $60m Covid boost
The Morrison government will spend a further $60 million to help nursing homes respond to the threat of Covid-19.
Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt and Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said the additional funding would be made available from this week.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ministers said the funding would be provided to aged care providers to cover additional costs associated with their Covid-19 response from May 28, and will extend through to June next year.
It is in addition to the government’s $17.7 billion aged care package outlined in the recent federal budget, government sources said.
“In response to the current situation in Victoria and the emerging concern in New South Wales, significant efforts are being made to protect senior Australians in aged care, including more resources being made available should they be needed,” the ministers said in a statement.
“The program supports costs including additional or replacement staff, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning and infection control, waste management, and travel and accommodation,” they said.
The funding comes on top of $61.2 million reimbursing providers for Covid-related costs from March last year.
Surge workforce arrangements also remain in place to meet future demand in the event of further outbreaks, the ministers said.
READ MORE:Family of man who visited NSW also positive
Joseph Lam12.25pm: Why Victoria has to run virus ‘down to the ground’
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino has given insight into why Melbourne will continue under lockdown for a further seven days.
Mr Merlino on Wednesday said the current strain of the virus, at the heart of Victoria’s growing 60-case cluster, is unlike anything Australia has seen before.
“What we’re seeing now is something else – something even more serious. At least one in ten current cases have caught this virus from a stranger,” he said.
Statement from the Acting Premier on restrictions pic.twitter.com/8h5l9ova4k
— James Merlino (@JamesMerlinoMP) June 2, 2021
“People brushing against each other in a small shop. Getting a take-away coffee from the same cafe. Being in the same place, at the same time for mere moments.”
“Just walking past someone you’ve never met can mean the virus is jumping to a whole new network.
“And when you don’t know someone – you don’t know their name or where they live – you’re looking for one person in 6.6 million.”
chief health officer Brett Sutton has added to Mr Merlino’s warning, describing the virus as a monster.
“I have to describe it as an absolute beast because we have to run it down to the ground,” he said.
Professor Sutton said the sheer spread of the virus in other countries proved how deadly it could be without taking important steps to curb the virus.
“There are a dozen countries that had no community transmission going into 2021 that have now lost control that have community transmission and will probably not bring it back to a point where they’ve got no community transmission again.”
READ MORE: Lockdown extended another seven days
Ben Packham11.56am: Defence weighs Plan B to Future Submarines
Defence secretary Greg Moriarty says the government has been considering “plan B” alternatives to the Future Submarine “for quite some time”, in case the program faltered.
“I have certainly thought more about this issue over the last 12 months, because it became clear to me that we were having challenges with the Attack-class program over the last 15, 12 months,” he told Senate estimates.
His comments represent the clearest yet from Defence of problems with the Future Submarine program, and the possibility the government might cut the program and pursue another option.
He said some of the possible “capability pathways” were alternative submarines, but some were not.
He said he was not prepared to discuss what options were on the table, but said they did not include the German option from TKMS.
READ MORE: Collins upgrade to plug submarine gap
David Rogers 11.53am: Economy expands rapidly with 1.8pc rise
Australia’s economy expanded faster than expected in the March quarter as unprecedented fiscal and monetary policy stimulus continued to fuel a strong rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The economy rose 1.8 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms compared to the December quarter, exceeding a 1.5 per cent rise expected by economists.
Year-on-year growth of 1.1 per cent also beat the consensus estimate of 0.6 per cent.
December quarter growth was revised up to 3.2 per cent on quarter and minus 1 per cent on year, a little stronger than growth of 3.1 per cent and minus 1.1 per cent first recorded.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the rise in growth reflecting the continued easing of Covid-19 restrictions and the recovery in the labour market.
The terms of trade rose 7.4 per cent to its highest level since December quarter 2011 amid stronger export prices, particularly for iron ore and LNG, contributing to a 3.5 per cent rise in nominal GDP.
Domestic final demand contributed 1.6 percentage points to GDP growth, while private investment contributed 0.9 percentage points and household consumption contributed 0.7 percentage points.
Private investment rose 5.3 per cent in the March quarter to be 3.6 per cent higher through the year, the first through the year rise since June quarter 2018.
Both business and housing investment increased, were supported by government initiatives and improved confidence, with an 11.6 per cent rise in machinery and equipment marking the strongest increase since December quarter 2009.
READ the full story here
Joseph Lam11.40am:Christmas Island best solution for quarantine: McGowan
Mark McGowan says the fact that Covid-19 was transmitted from one traveller to another in hotel quarantine in Perth speaks volumes about Australia’s quarantine system.
“It just goes to show that hotel quarantine was not built for these purposes,” the Western Australia Premier said on Wednesday.
Mr McGowan said the federal government will face the same issues of potential virus transmission unless a purpose-built facility is built.
“The best solution is obviously the commonwealth using a remote location for these purposes, next to an international airport but so far they have steadfastly refused to do so,” he said.
“Unless the government wants to build something next to a major international airport, unless they want to open Christmas Island to it, there is no easy alternative.”
“We are looking as we speak at what is out there but no solution is perfect. The best solution is as I have suggested, which is to use Christmas Island which is actually purpose-built.”
READ MORE:$440m of coal stranded on ships amid China ban
Adeshola Ore 11.13am:Morrison government ‘ignoring’ quarantine report
Labor has seized on a key Morrison government adviser’s frustration with Australia’s quarantine system, as the opposition seeks to blame the commonwealth for Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.
National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commissioner Jane Halton, who conducted an inquiry into the nation’s hotel quarantine schemes, said she was “disappointed” the commonwealth had not adopted a best practice approach for returning travellers. Ms Halton’s review recommended that states and territories reconsider a one-size-fits-all approach and said the commonwealth should consider a national quarantine facility to provide surge capacity.
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said he could understand Ms Halton’s frustration.
“She gave this government a report, months ago, warning about some of these things which have unfortunately eventuated,” he told Sky News.
“It’s been clear to Jane Halton, and to all of the rest of us for some time, that hotels are not sufficient to quarantine people. They’re built for tourism. We now know, even in WA, in South Australia for this outbreak in Victoria and elsewhere, that hotels are not as good as purpose-built facilities. And that’s what Jane Halton’s been saying for some time.”
Dr Chalmers said the Morrison government had ignored Ms Halton’s recommendations.
“The consequences of that are these kinds of lockdowns that we’re seeing in Victoria right now,” he said.
READ MORE:Penberthy – Trumpian effort but failures exposed
Ben Packham11.07am:Army forced to use ‘interim’ battle system
The army will be forced to use an “interim” battle management system for up to three years following a pause on the use of an Israeli-designed system over “architecture and control” risks.
Defence officials told Senate estimates that taxpayers had spent $1.44bn on the Elbit Battle Management System – which had never been deployed on operations – before its use by the army was suspended in April.
Under questioning by Labor frontbencher Penny Wong, Defence officials were evasive on whether the system had presented a security risk, saying instead that it had failed to achieve ICT accreditation.
“It is not accredited for use on the network,” Chief of Army Rick Burr said.
“It needed to be removed. Once it runs out of accreditation it is no longer able to be used on our system.”
Chief information officer Stephen Pearson said: “We have not found a back door in the system senator.”
However, he said issues emerged with system patching, affecting “who can access it”.
“There are a range of architecture and controls we assessed were not there,” Mr Pearson said.
Lieutenant General Burr said the army had implemented an interim system based on a system used by Danish system – Sitaware HQ – which was already used by army headquarters.
He said the system would be in use for “up to three years” until a replacement could be found.
READ MORE: Budget’s productivity blind spot under fire
Joseph Lam10.57am: ‘Follow advice on purpose-built quarantine’
Labor spokesman Mark Butler says the federal government needs to stop its “sit back” approach toward the pandemic and take responsibility for Australia’s hotel quarantine programs.
“The Prime Minister in particular, it is not his job to sit back and wait for proposals to come forward,” Mr Butler said.
“The commonwealth is responsible for quarantine and they have received advice after advice on purpose-built facilities.”
Mr Butler said the sheer cost of lockdowns should be enough to motivate the government to consider purpose-built quarantine facilities.
“We also know that this pandemic is not going away anytime soon and we know, from advice, that there is always the risk of future pandemics so we should spend a dime now to prevent these regular breaches from hotels built for tourism and not quarantine and be prepared for this to take time to settle.”
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Stephen Lunn10.53am: ‘Like aged-care vax program never existed’
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation in Victoria has called for the resignation of the aged care services minister Richard Colbeck over his handling of the vaccination of the aged care workforce.
ANMF Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said the government nearly three months ago promised aged care workers would be vaccinated in their own facilities, but now Senator Colbeck can’t provide data about the number of workers who have received their first or second dose.
“It’s like their promise to vaccinate the aged care workforce through an in-reach program in the facilities never, ever existed,” Ms Fitzpatrick said, “Was it only ever a vaccine-dregs-for-staff arrangement?”
‘Don’t blame staff for not being vaccinated when you never told them you had no intention to vaccinate them at their workplace,’ she said.
‘We’re calling on Senator Colbeck to resign. We need a minister who gets things done with a sense of urgency, care and respect for the residents and the dedicated staff.’
Senator Colbeck told Senate Estimates on Wednesday that evidence from overseas since the initial plan was proposed had revealed staff and residents of aged care facilities shouldn’t be vaccinated at the same time. It was decided after receiving that advice to change the plan, he said.
READ MORE: MP in court for ‘bottom slap’
Paul Garvey 10.45am:Former treasurer joins energy company board
Former Western Australian treasurer Ben Wyatt will join the board of Woodside Petroleum, in what will be his first major corporate directorship post politics.
Mr Wyatt, who retired from office at WA’s state election in March, will become a non-executive director of Woodside effective immediately.
He had already joined the boards of the West Coast Eagles and the Telethon Kids Institute in recent months.
Mr Wyatt was the first Indigenous treasurer of any Australian parliament and has long been highly regarded in the corporate world.
Woodside chairman Richard Goyder said Mr Wyatt’s background in treasury, finance and Indigenous affairs would bring a “unique dynamic” to the board.
“Mr Wyatt’s proven strategic leadership, demonstrated across his diverse ministerial portfolio, will be an important contributor to the Woodside board as we execute our growth priorities and pursue the energy transition,” Mr Goyder said.
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Stephen Lunn10.32am:No new Victorian cases in nursing homes: Murphy
No nursing home residents or staff are among the six new Victorian Covid-19 cases, a senate estimates committee has heard.
Federal health secretary Brendan Murphy said while the Victorian government would soon provide details about the new cases reported overnight, he was aware none were related to aged care.
“There are no other aged care related infections,” Professor Murphy said. “All other tests have been negative in aged care.”
Professor Murphy said the situation in aged care in Victoria remained that two care workers had been infected, along with one resident who remained in hospital.
READ MORE: ABC apology to judge over Porter tweet
David Ross 10.07am: Pandemic no hindrance to home loan repayments
The impact of the pandemic has barely made a dent in home loan arrears, ratings agency S&P Global Ratings said.
The Standard & Poor’s Performance Index (SPIN) for Australian prime mortgages shows a fall to 0.94 per cent in March from 1.03 per cent the same time last year.
The ratings agency concluded household balance sheet resilience, bolstered by government stimulus measures and low interest rates, had allowed many borrowers to build up repayment buffers, pay out debts and continue to make payments.
Mortgage deferrals have declined precipitously, averaging less than 0.5 per cent in March, which S&P expects will translate into a small number of borrowers shifting to formal hardship programs.
The ratings agency said the latest Victorian lockdowns would be unlikely to impact home arrears as the mortgage exposure to casual workers was “insignificant”.
“Some self-employed borrowers in affected sectors might face cash-flow pressures, depending on the duration of the lockdown,” the agency said.
“This could affect arrears in nonconforming transactions, given their higher exposure to self-employed borrowers.”
READ MORE: Home price boom powers on
Adeshola Ore 9.35am:Breaches due to ‘absence of best practice in quarantine’
One of Scott Morrison’s key advisers on coronavirus says she is frustrated the federal government has not adopted a “best practice” national quarantine system.
National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commissioner Jane Halton conducted an inquiry into the nation’s hotel quarantine schemes for the Morrison government. The review recommended that states and territories reconsider a one-size-fits-all approach and said the commonwealth should consider a national quarantine facility to provide surge capacity.
Victoria’s current outbreak, which has plunged the state into its fourth Covid-19 lockdown, is linked to a hotel quarantine breach in South Australia.
Ms Halton said recent breaches in hotel quarantine were due to an “absence of best practice.”
“I’m disappointed that it certainly appears that we don’t have continual adoption of best practice right across the system,” she told the ABC.
“To say that I’m disappointed about that I think is the minimum, I would say.”
The Morrison government committed $500 million in last month’s budget to enable the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory to increase its capacity from 850 to 2000 for returned travellers.
The former Health Department boss said she welcomed the government’s expansion of the Howard Springs facility, but found it “perplexing that it’s taken us so long.”
The Morrison government has been supportive of a proposal by the Victorian government for a purpose-built quarantine facility, but says it will be “some months” before it is functioning.
“I also think it’s good that we’re hearing positive signs that there may well be an agreement with Victoria,” Ms Halton said.
READ MORE: Paul Kelly – Blame, rollout blunders a national failure
Robyn Ironside9.11am: Rex uses customer complaints to attack Qantas
The bitter feud between Qantas and Rex has stepped up a notch after Rex took out full page advertisements highlighting public discontent with the Flying Kangaroo over refunds.
The ad uses dozens of social media posts made about Qantas to emphasise problems with the refund process during the Covid crisis which has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.
Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said in contrast, they had refunded every passenger who had requested their money back for an eligible fare bought before April 1, 2021.
The ad suggested Qantas could owe as much $1bn to passengers caught up in Covid-related flight cancellations.
Throughout the pandemic, Qantas has strived to manage a huge number of travellers disrupted by border closures and lockdowns, by offering refunds, rebookings or travel credits.
READ the full story here
Robert Gottliebsen8.55am:Is Dutton the most important person in cabinet?
Australians are suddenly realising that Peter Dutton as defence minister has become arguably the most important person in the cabinet.
Reader reaction to my commentary on Tuesday on the China taunts directed to the poor state of our defences had one common theme --- a plea to Peter Dutton to get us out of this mess which longer term is set to exceed Covid-19 in importance.
Dutton has gone from a seemingly vanquished person after he lost the leadership battle to Scott Morrison to a potential national hero, at least in defence circles.
READ Robert Gottliebsen’s full commentary on Peter Dutton here
Joseph Lam8.40am:US, UK travel bubble idea gains pace
Tourism Minister Dan Tehan has hinted that Australia is looking to form travel bubbles with the US and the UK.
Pointing to the success of the New Zealand travel bubble, Mr Tehan said the government was actively assessing Australian’s travel options.
“Six weeks now we have had a two-way travel bubble and it is working very well,” he said.
“We do want to see whether we can extend to Pacific Island countries when it is safe to do so and then potentially, places like the US and UK.”
However, Mr Tehan said before a bubble is formed with the US and the UK, the government would need to see infection rates drop in both countries.
“You have got to remember at the moment there is about 3000 active cases or over 3000 active cases in the UK and the US each day so still a long way to go there for them in dealing with the virus and obviously once they can get on top of that, we can start looking at these things.’’
READ MORE: US, UK travel bubbles on horizon
Adeshola Ore 8.37am: ‘Alarm’ at lack of knowledge on vaccine numbers
Labor’s aged care spokeswoman Clare O’Neil says Australians should be alarmed that the Morrison government does not know how many aged care workers have received a coronavirus vaccine.
Victorian aged-care and disability-care workers will be fast-tracked in a five-day state government vaccination program starting on Wednesday, as the state prepares for its lockdown to be extended. Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck told senate estimates on Tuesday he government did not know how many aged-care staff had received one or both jabs, as there were several ways that workers may have received it, including through their own GP.
“It should terrify every person in this country that the Aged Care Minister cannot tell us how many aged care staff have been vaccinated,” Ms O’Neil told the ABC.
“This is a government that committed to vaccinate all aged care staff by March and the best information that we have to date is that it’s somewhere between eight to nine per cent of aged care workers who have been fully vaccinated.”
The Victorian MP, who is currently locked down in the state, said the federal government had “dropped the ball” on its vaccination rollout in aged care homes.
Concern over the vaccination of aged-care workers has risen after a carer at the Arcare Maidstone in Melbourne’s west tested positive on Saturday as part of the latest outbreak.
READ MORE: Health chief’s warning on rollout message
Adeshola Ore8.25am: Mandate aged-care worker vaccines: AMA
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid has urged the nation’s expert medical panel to recommend mandated vaccines for aged-care workers.
The Morrison government has asked the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to review its advice on mandating vaccines for aged care workers, following Victoria’s outbreak which has seeped into nursing homes.
“The AMA generally is cautious around mandatory vaccination, but when it comes to front-line workers who are actually looking after other people who are really vulnerable and there is none more vulnerable to COVID than aged care residents, mandatory vaccination is a good idea,” Dr Khorshid told the ABC.
“It is something that I have actually already written to the Chief Medical Officer and the Health Minister about in the last day or so indicating the AMA’s support for mandatory vaccination in aged care.”
Victorian aged-care and disability-care workers will be fast-tracked in a five-day state government vaccination program starting on Wednesday, after the Morrison government revealed it does not know how many nursing home workers in Australia have had the jab.
READ MORE: Dusevic – Vaccines save both lives and livelihoods
Joseph Lam 7.55am: Workforce casualisation ‘led to aged care multiple jobs’
ACTU President Michele O’Neill says the federal government’s support of casualisation had led to aged care workers having to hold multiple jobs to support their families.
Appearing on Sky News on Wednesday Ms O’Neil accused the federal government of being “asleep at the wheel” and said it “needs to step up”.
“Why is the government not working day and night to ensure we have income support for people who need it and to ensure we have an effective vaccine rollout?” she asked.
Ms O’Neil said when the federal government stopped its support program in November, workers were forced to take on multiple jobs. Without shift guarantees, casual workers had no choice but to look for other work “because they’re not given enough shifts, hours and pay to be able to feed their families and look after themselves”, she said.
“I think there should be very clear income support so they can work at just one site. We need to make sure that money goes to workers.”
READ MORE:Jabs blitz for aged, disability workers
Greg Brown7.35am: Blow-up over gas sees Labor divided
Labor’s division on gas has erupted in a meeting of federal MPs, with Left faction members opposing taxpayer support to open up supply from the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.
The debate during Tuesday morning’s caucus meeting saw former leader Bill Shorten warn his party against opposing gas developments, saying “in the long term we may move from gas, but in the short term we need it”.
Mr Shorten, whose 2019 election prospects were hit by the party’s ambivalence over the Adani coalmine, warned colleagues the environmental activists who pressured the party over Adani “had now moved onto gas”.
He reminded MPs the party took a policy to the last election that would have seen $1.5 billion of taxpayer funds being used to unlock gas supply in the Beetaloo and Bowen basins.
“Two years ago we had a policy which we took to the election that gas would be a transition fuel as we increase renewables,” he said, according to Labor sources.
The policy stoush kicked off when opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King recommended caucus vote against a motion that would strike out government funding to help open up the Beetaloo Basin.
Ms King told caucus hydraulic fracking had been used in WA since 1958, and the Beetaloo development would support jobs “from high-level geologists right through to the cooks and cleaners who end up working on the site”.
A motion being pushed by independent MP Zali Steggall would disallow $50 million being directed towards research and development for gas drilling in the basin.
While a caucus vote endorsed Ms King’s recommendation, Labor MPs Ged Kearney, Libby Coker and Graham Perrett argued taxpayer funds should not be used to help develop gas.
Ms Coker, the member for the regional Victorian seat of Corangamite, referenced an International Energy Agency report that found there was no need for new gas fields to meet a zero-net emissions by 2050 target.
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Rhiannon Down 7.00am: Beijing ‘wine war’ headed to WTO
The Morrison government could bring a fresh World Trade Organisation action against China over punishing wine tariffs in a matter of “weeks”, opening a new source of trade tension with the Asian superpower.
Any move would come on the heels of recent WTO action by the federal government challenging China’s steep tariffs that were slapped on Australian barley exports, Trade Minister Dan Tehan said.
Speaking at The Australian’s Global Food Forum in Sydney on Tuesday, Mr Tehan welcomed New Zealand’s decision this week to stand by Australia as it prepared to take on its biggest trading partner on the global stage, saying the move helped back a rules-based trade system.
“The important thing is that the New Zealand Trade Minister has come out and said that he wants to take this action because he wants to back the WTO and the rules-based system,” he told the forum, which was presented in partnership with Visy.
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ROSIE Lewis 6.30am:Nats rebel Price insists she’s right for Senate
A defiant Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has declared she wants to fight for all Northern Territorians and particularly marginalised Aboriginal women and children, as she faces resistance from within the Coalition to her bid to be elected to the Senate.
Ms Price’s nomination as a Country Liberal Party candidate for the prized NT Senate seat has sparked criticism from some government MPs, who insist she should not be contesting a seat that is already held by Nationals senator Sam McMahon.
There are concerns the seat would go to the Liberal Party if Ms Price won the preselection contest this month, which would all but guarantee her election.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said Ms Price was “an excellent person” and he admired her work but she should run in one of the territory’s marginal lower house Labor-held seats of Lingiari or Solomon.
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ACT may as well not ‘bother with democracy’: Carnell
Former Liberal ACT chief minister Kate Carnell has lashed out after Labor won a seventh term in the nation’s capital and the Liberal Party confronts 27 years in opposition.
BCA seeks $10bn housing reform fund
The Coalition is also calling for construction workers to be placed on the immigration skills priority list as the Albanese government faces mounting pressure on housing.