PoliticsNow: WA borders in doubt after new Sydney coronavirus case
Christmas plans around Australia are up in the air after a Sydney hotel quarantine worker tested positive to COVID-19.
- ‘US will stand with ally Australia’
- China warns of ‘lasting punishments’
- Labor splits with Coalition on China
- Economy continues post-virus rebound
Welcome to live coverage of the latest news in Australian politics, as well as the nation’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Christmas plans around Australia are up in the air after a Sydney hotel quarantine worker tested positive to COVID-19.
Scott Morrison says he is “disappointed but not surprised” by Anthony Albanese’s claims he is presiding over “a complete breakdown” in China-Australia relations.
The incoming Biden administration has signalled its support for Australia in its current stoush with China over exports and a fake war crimes meme. China pressed its attack on Australia in a new Global Times editorial that warned of “lasting punishments” for its treatment of the country.
Patrick Commins 10.45pm: Economy ‘to recover Covid losses by June’
Blockbuster growth over the three months to September has put the economy on course to regain its pre-pandemic size by the middle of next year — six months earlier than anticipated by the Reserve Bank and Treasury.
The Australian’s analysis of updated CBA growth forecasts in the wake of Wednesday’s national accounts figures — which revealed national output jumped by 3.3 per cent over the quarter — shows real GDP will reach $497.4bn in the June quarter of 2021, eclipsing the $496.9bn recorded in December 2019.
CBA head of Australian economics Gareth Aird said he expected the economy to grow by 2 per cent over the final three months of the year, as Victoria reopened for business, state borders were opened and confidence grew. Mr Aird said quarterly growth would slow to 1.1 per cent over the March quarter before accelerating to 1.3 per cent over the three months to June.
Yoni Bashan 10pm: Revolt to trigger retreat on NSW drug laws
A controversial NSW government proposal to keep drug users out of court with warning and infringement notices is almost certain to be watered down, with Coalition MPs in uproar over the measure and Gladys Berejiklian urging a redraft of the plan to avoid a partyroom backlash.
Cabinet figures told The Australian that the policy, discussed in cabinet on Monday, was unlikely to survive in its current form due to broad opposition across the Coalition‘s conservative and moderate factions.
Several MPs have also questioned the timing of the proposal, given it was raised after parliament ended for the year, close to Christmas, and with no scheduled partyroom meetings until the new year.
Imogen Reid 9.20pm Water everywhere, but no drop to fight the fires
As they contemplate their empty 100,000-litre water tank, Graeme and Robyn Freedman despair at the opportunities they have lost.
If they had been able to catch any of this year’s above-average rainfall, they’d be in a position to fight the grass fires they know are coming. But on New Year’s Eve last year, a bushfire destroyed their house in Wandella on the NSW south coast, wiping out the roof areas and other equipment they used to collect rainwater.
“The problem this year is we have four times as much grass and no water, and the fires themselves have pushed weeds and seeds everywhere — so the overgrowth is huge,” Mr Freedman said.
It’s shaping up as a potentially grave problem for NSW in particular, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
AFP 8.40pm: US blocks imports of Xinjiang ‘slave labour’ cotton
The US will block imports of cotton it says are harvested with “slave labour” in China’s Xinjiang region.
Beijing has come under intense international criticism over its policies in the resource-rich territory, where rights groups say as many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps.
The new rule allows Customs and Border Protection officials to detain shipments containing cotton originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a major paramilitary group already sanctioned by the US Treasury.
“The human rights abuses taking place at the hands of the Chinese Communist government will not be tolerated by President Trump and the American people,” senior Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli said on Thursday.
“DHS is taking the lead to enforce our laws to make sure human rights abusers, including US businesses, are not allowed to manipulate our system in order to profit from slave labor.”
Beijing responded by accusing the USs of fabricating “fake news of so-called forced labour” and attempting to “oppress Xinjiang businesses”.
“Their aim is to constrain and oppress relevant parties and enterprises in China and curb China’s development,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
She denied there was any forced labour in Xinjiang, saying workers in the region “choose occupations based on their own wishes”. Xinjiang is a global hub for cotton, with one study by a labor group estimating that 20 percent of the garments imported into the US contain at least some yarn from the region.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in September that products from Xinjiang forced labour “often end up here in American stores and homes”. Beijing has staunchly defended its policy in Xinjiang, where it says training programs, work schemes and better education have helped stamp out extremism.
But Homeland Security officials have described the region’s training centres as facilities run like a “concentration camp”. The US House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously in September to ban all imports from Xinjiang but the bill has yet to pass the Senate.
The country already bans products made through slavery but the proposed law would issue a blanket ban on products from the region, saying that forced labor is inextricably linked to its economy.
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Rosie Lewis 8pm: Spying reform laws to be unveiled
The Morrison government will unveil plans to reform national security legislation, particularly around telecommunications and surveillance devices, as a major review into the legal framework governing the intelligence community is released.
Attorney-General Christian Porter confirmed that a 1300-page review conducted by former ASIO head Dennis Richardson would be published on Friday, after he was commissioned by the Turnbull government in 2018 to scrutinise intelligence legislation.
There are 190 unclassified recommendations, all but four of which the government has agreed to in part or in principle. About 70 recommendations relate to telecommunications and surveillance devices.
Jared Lynch 7.20pm: $26,000 a day for vaccine advice
The federal Department of Health spent more than $1.2m on consultants advising on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, with one contract equating to about $26,000 a day.
As the Morrison government sets a date for when the first Australians will be inoculated against the virus, The Australian can reveal the Department of Health has recruited external advice regarding the delivery of a coronavirus vaccine.
The advice was sought despite the Therapeutic Goods Administration having yet to approve the four types of vaccines the government secured in a $1.7bn deal.
McKinsey and Company has been the biggest beneficiary, with the Department of Health paying the firm $660,000, or $26,000 a day, for one month’s work, according to government tender documents.
Ben Packham 6.35pm: Hastie condemns Defence over Afghanistan claim
Liberal MP and former special forces captain Andrew Hastie has blasted Defence over its decision to allow the publication of an unsubstantiated allegation that Australian soldiers killed Afghan children, saying it had delivered China an unnecessary propaganda win.
The allegation was not part of the Brereton war crimes report released two weeks ago, but a separate report by sociologist Samantha Crompvoets, which preceded the four-year inquiry by NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.
On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry tweeted a meme by a Chinese artist that seized on the allegation, depicting an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child.
“The Crompvoets detailed unproven rumours of Australian soldiers murdering Afghan children,” Mr Hastie told parliament on Thursday.
“It may have prompted the Brereton report, but its evidentiary threshold was far lower.
“The Brereton report neither rules these rumours in or out. So why are they in the open?
“It has undermined public confidence in the process and allowed the People’s Republic of China to malign our troops.”
Mr Hastie said the propaganda attack was “calculated, deliberate and designed to undermine the political and social cohesion of our country”.
“Australia is seeking to be honest and accountable for alleged wrongdoing by a small number of individuals entrusted to wear our flag,” he said.
“We are owning our mistakes. This is in stark contrast to the People’s Republic of China.
“We are yet to receive an apology from the People’s Republic of China. And I’m not holding my breath waiting for one.”
He also blasted Twitter for its refusal to take down the offending tweet as requested by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“If it wasn’t clear already: we, Australians, alone are responsible for our sovereignty. “Authoritarian regimes actively undermine it. Silicon Valley doesn’t care about it.”
He said Australians needed to stand together, warning “difficult days lie ahead”.
On Monday, General Campbell backed away from his plan to strip the joint unit awards from all special operations task group members, amid pushback by the Prime Minister who said such decisions would be the subject of “extensive and considered deliberation”.
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Ewin Hannan 5.40pm: CFMEU, officials fined $221,000
The CFMEU and two of its Tasmanian officials, including veteran Kevin Harkins, have been penalised $221,000 after the Federal Court found they had contravened right of entry laws and intimidated managers at a Hobart construction site in 2019.
Federal Court justice David O’Callaghan found CFMEU official Richard Hassett, who had not held a valid right of entry permit since December 2018, unlawfully entered the Elizabeth Street project where Vos Construction and Joinery was head contractor in May last year.
On an initial unannounced visit on May 23, Mr Hassett claimed the site had asbestos issues. Five days later, Mr Hassett returned with Mr Harkins, who cited a range of alleged suspected safety contraventions.
When the project manager Brendan Baynes told Mr Hassett he had no authority to be on the site and asked him to leave. Mr Hassett refused and said: “I can do whatever I f..king like”.
Site foreman Jeremy Brown asked Mr Harkins to specify the unsafe equipment to which he wanted to be taken.
Mr Harkins responded “in a loud and intimidating manner, saying words to the effect of: Don’t get smart with me, arsehole. I’m nearly at the end of my career. I don’t give a f..k about what happens to me, but that bloke over there will be onto you (pointing to Mr Hassett)”.
Mr Brown again asked what the safety breaches were but Mr Harkins responded: “You don’t f..king pay me, so I’m not going to tell you”.
The court said Mr Hassett was a “recidivist”; his conduct flagrant and his contraventions deliberate and serious.
Justice O‘Callaghan said it was “nowadays, a notorious fact that the CFMEU is a well-resourced, recidivist offender of workplace laws”.
“No point is served here by adding to the plethora of descriptors of its conduct,” he said. “According to the unchallenged submission of the applicant, the CFMEU has contravened industrial legislation more than 170 times in the two decades prior to the conduct that gave rise to this proceeding, and as this court has said on many occasions, the union regards paying penalties as part of “doing business”.
In the two most recent cases Mr Hassett has been penalised $30,000 with the Court imposing personal payment orders against him requiring him to personally pay his penalties. Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Stephen McBurney said since December 2016, the union’s Tasmanian branch and its representatives have had $615,500 in penalties imposed in five separate cases. Mr Hassett featured as a contravener in all cases.
“A concerning feature of these cases is the wilful disregard exhibited by Mr Harkins, Mr Hassett and the CFMEU for the important right of entry and health and safety protections enshrined in workplace laws,” he said.
Mr McBurney said Mr Harkins knew Mr Hassett no longer had a federal entry permit but facilitated his entry onto site. “When the site occupier enquired about the safety issue, Mr Harkins responded with swearing and intimidation,” he said.
“Regrettably, this is a pattern of conduct repeated all too often on building and construction sites. It is also particularly concerning that the resources of Tasmanian police had to be diverted to attend site to respond to this unlawful conduct.
He said courts had penalised the CFMEU and its representatives more than $12 million over the past four years as a result of proceedings brought by the ABCC.
“The appalling track record of the CFMEU is symptomatic of a business model that perpetuates a wilful disregard for the laws that govern Australian workplaces,” he said.
AFP 5pm: Jewish doctor tweets about patient with Nazi tattoos
A Jewish doctor working with coronavirus patients in California shared his shock about the moment he saw neo-Nazi tattoos on the body of a severely ill man he was treating.
As his team — which included a black nurse and a respiratory specialist of Asian descent — prepared the man to be intubated Taylor Nichols said on Twitter he spotted the Nazi tattoos.
“The swastika stood out boldly on his chest. SS tattoos and other insignia that had previously been covered by his shirt were now obvious to the room,” he tweeted this week.
“We all saw. The symbols of hate on his body outwardly and proudly announced his views. We all knew what he thought of us. How he valued our lives,” said Dr Nichols, who was later interviewed about his experience by various media outlets.
Dr Nichols talked about the conflicting emotions he felt, after months of battling the disease and seeing patients die, while living in isolation to avoid contaminating loved ones, constantly in fear of falling ill himself.
He came in by ambulance short of breath. Already on CPAP by EMS. Still, he was clearly working hard to breathe. He looked sick. Uncomfortable. Scared.
— Taylor Nichols, MD (@tnicholsmd) November 30, 2020
As we got him over to the gurney and his shirt off to switch a a hospital gown, we all noticed the number of Nazi tattoos. 1/
“Unfortunately, society has proven unwilling to listen to the science or to our pleas. Begging for people to take this seriously, to stay home, wear a mask, to be the break in the chain of transmission,” he said.
Dr Nichols said the man — whom he described as older and heavy set, his teeth lost to years of methamphetamine abuse — had begged him to save his life.
“Don’t let me die, doc,” he said, according to Dr Nichols.
The man was admitted to the hospital near Sacramento in the middle of November, already “clearly working hard to breathe. He looked sick. Uncomfortable. Scared”.
“I reassured him that we were all going to work hard to take care of him and keep him alive as best as we could,” said Dr Nichols, admitting he had asked himself how the man might have acted had the roles been reversed.
“For the first time, I recognise that I hesitated, ambivalent. The pandemic has worn on me,” he said. “And I realise that maybe I’m not ok,” he finished his tweet thread.
Dr Nichols later told the San Francisco Chronicle that when he saw the hate symbols tattooed on the man’s body, “I didn’t feel compassion for him in that moment.”
Working in a hospital which treats many people who are homeless or drug addicts during a raging pandemic, he added, had taken its toll.
Dr Nichols said he did not know whether the patient with the Nazi tattoos had died, but said he had done everything he could to save his life before moving on to the next patient.
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Charles Bremner 4.15pm: French to quarantine skiers
France is to impose seven days of quarantine on travellers who return from Christmas ski holidays in Switzerland, Spain and other countries as President Emmanuel Macron tries to stop people going abroad to beat the local ban on downhill skiing.
Amid French anger over Switzerland’s decision to allow the season to go ahead, Prime Minister Jean Castex admitted that compulsory isolation was the only way of enforcing Mr Macron’s promise of “restrictive and dissuasive measures” to stop the French heading to neighbouring slopes. The quarantine will also apply to foreign skiers entering France from other destinations.
No other details of the quarantine have been announced but it is assumed to mean isolation at home or in an officially approved venue.
France was disappointed that Switzerland, Austria and possibly Spain had turned a deaf ear to French, German and Italian calls for a Europe-wide closure of winter sports resorts, the Prime Minister said.
Returning travellers will be subject to random frontier checks and ordered into isolation. They will also have to produce negative tests. “I will continue to protect my fellow citizens by stopping them (from) going and getting infected,” Mr Castex said.
Mr Macron’s pledge to stop foreign skiing was ridiculed by opposition leaders and the media. The conservative Republicans Party said that the president was living in “loonyland . . . trying to impose a health dictatorship”.
Marine Le Pen, of the National Rally, said France could not keep out terrorists and illegal migrants “but as if by magic, we can control the frontiers to stop the French using Swiss ski tows”.
A cartoon in Le Monde showed police stopping a Frenchman skiing into Switzerland while a shady-looking man with suitcases of cash was entering unhindered. Le Point news site suggested that Mr Macron should appoint a “high commissioner for ski boots”.
The Times
READ MORE: UK accused of vaccine speed over safety
Ellen Ransley 3.32pm: WA borders in doubt after NSW virus case
Christmas plans around Australia are up in the air after a Sydney hotel quarantine worker tested positive to COVID-19.
WA was set to open its borders to NSW and Victoria on December 8, provided there was no outbreak before then, but the emergence of a community transmission case in Sydney has the state on edge.
Premier Mark McGowan announced this week that many Australian families who had been separated for eight months under WA’s strict border closures would be reunited by Christmas, but warned he would not hesitate to reinstate the hard border if required.
Today, he said the government was awaiting advice from chief health officer Andy Robertson, who was seeking further information from NSW.
Mr McGowan said he expected to make an announcement over the weekend.
“I realise this is very disruptive to many people and very problematic to many people because they don’t know what’s happening,” he told reporters.
“But at the same time, we have to make decisions that are based upon health advice.
“The NSW government is confident they have it under control, but we want to see and make sure that the evidence supports that before we make a final decision.”
Mr McGowan said the situation was obviously concerning and worrying.
“If the (WA) chief health officer recommends that we delay opening to NSW, well then that is the decision we will make,” he said.
“We don’t have enough information at this point in time to make that decision, but we expect to get more information over coming days.
“I think it shows that our cautious approach has been right.”
Asked whether it would affect Victoria too, Mr McGowan said the situation would be monitored.
“We’ll just see how big it is, how many people are involved (and) whether they have it under control before we make a final decision,” he said.
WA moved from a hard border to a controlled interstate border last month, but was forced to close to South Australia one day later after an outbreak.
All other travellers can visit WA without quarantining but must complete a G2G Pass and be screened on arrival.
NSW was on track to hit the 28-day milestone this Friday, but the emergence of the case on Thursday morning could put the state back to square one.
Authorities are investigating how a woman, who works at two hotels in Sydney, one of which houses returning international travellers, acquired the case.
Meanwhile, Queensland’s borders will remain open to New South Wales. — With Angie Raphael, NCA Newswire
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Graham Lloyd 2.58pm: Great Barrier Reef outlook downgraded to critical
A United Nations report has downgraded the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef to “critical” as climate change replaces invasive species as the biggest threat to World Heritage sites around the world.
Images of the reef were used to highlight the tri-annual report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature which gives a stocktake on World Heritage properties.
The report acknowledged Australian government efforts to safeguard the reef through the Reef 2050 plan but said the trend remained bleak.
A critical status was applied to only a handful of properties, mostly in Africa.
Others areas included East Rennell in the Solomon Islands, Tropical rainforests in Sumatra and the Everglades National Park in Florida.
The report said climate change was now the biggest threat to natural World Heritage with one third of sites impacted.
The outlook report builds on previous reports from 2014 and 2017 to track whether the conservation of the world’s 252 natural World Heritage sites is sufficient to protect them in the long term.
It finds that climate change has overtaken invasive species as the top threat to natural World Heritage.
Threats to the Great Barrier Reef included ocean warming, acidification and extreme weather.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 2.35pm: Labor presses Morrison over super
Labor has used question time to press the Morrison government on the liquid asset waiting period for its early access superannuation scheme.
During question time on Thursday, Anthony Albanese accused the federal government of pocketing a budget savings from the superannuation of unemployed Australians.
“The government, on the one hand, encouraged people to take $20,000 out of their super, but now on the other hand wants to use that to make them wait six months and deny them up to $10,600 in payment when they don’t have a job,” he said.
Government Services Minister Stuart Robert said the early superannuation amount was only included in a person’s liquid assets calculations if they accessed it before they were unemployed.
“Any use of the amount to repay a debt before becoming unemployed would not be part of the person’s liquid assets on the day the person became unemployed,” he said.
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Rosie Lewis 1.30pm: Albanese reveals his strategy to deal with China
Anthony Albanese says his strategy to ease tensions with China is to get into government and diversify our trading partners, while declaring Labor is “at one” with the Coalition over a Chinese official’s “disgusting, provocative” tweet.
The Opposition Leader on Wednesday accused Scott Morrison of presiding over a “complete breakdown” of relations with Beijing, in a rare bipartisan divide on foreign affairs.
But on Thursday he said he stood with the government on standing up for Australian values.
“My arguments have been very consistent. All Australians stand in repudiating the disgusting, provocative tweet done by the representative of the China foreign affairs department. We are at one with the government,” Mr Albanese said.
“We however have been pointing out that the relationship with China isn’t something that’s deteriorated this week, it’s been there for a period of time that deterioration. The government, we have said, needs to have a strategy to deal with that. Part of the strategy is diversification of our trading partners. One of the things we’ve seen under this government is a concentration towards China to the point whereby 48 per cent of our exports go to one country.”
“Our strategy (to fix relations with China) is to get into government.”
READ MORE: Kirby — Will China ban our iron ore next?
Rosie Lewis 12.54pm: Liberal MPs reject cashless bill
Scott Morrison has declared that the Coalition is the most united in a long time because his colleagues “have room to breathe”, after several Liberal MPs rejected a government bill that will make cashless debit card trial sites permanent.
Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer warned the bill invited people to look at their fellow Australians as “other” or “less than” as the government attempts to push it through federal parliament next week.
Victorian Liberal MP Russell Broadbent said he had an underlying problem with the cashless debit card but it was up to the executive arm of government to decide what was the best policy.
“I have general concerns about the efficacy of singling out communities for a cashless debit card,” he said.
The government’s bill also transitions 26,000 people in the Northern Territory and Cape York onto the card.
Designed to reduce welfare-fuelled alcohol, drug and gambling abuse, the debit card, established under the Abbott government, allows people to buy groceries and pay rent but does not work at bottle shops or gambling venues, and it cannot withdraw cash.
READ the full story here
Patrick Commins 12.36pm: Australia’s trade surplus lifts in October
There’s no immediate sign of damage to overall export earnings from Chinese trade aggression, after Australia’s trade surplus lifted $1.6bn to $7.5bn in October.
No surprise that the solid monthly boost was dominated by a $1.7bn - or 14 per cent - surge in metal ore shipments, according to the seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The figures showed the value of exports of goods and services in October rose $1.8bn, or 5 per cent, from a month before to $35.7bn, while imports lifted $178m, or 1 per cent, to $28.3bn..
With foreign borders closed, the trade data is really about changes in the value of merchandise.
There was an 8 per cent lift in rural goods exports to $3.5bn, and also an 8 per cent increase in non-rural exports, to $25bn - a figure dominated by the abovementioned metal (iron) ore component.
With stories of customs duties slowdowns in China and ships stuck outside ports, coal sales dropped 2 per cent to $3.2bn.
The effect of the pandemic can be seen in the fall in exports versus the end of 2019, alongside a much larger fall in services - both in and out of the country.
Relative to the end of last year, export earnings are down by 12 per cent, with goods 4 per cent lower and services down by 41 per cent, on Westpac calculations. Imports are 20 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels, with goods exports off by 8 per cent and services 58 per cent lower.
READ MORE: China scares region into silence
Max Maddison 12.22pm: NSW Premier’s warning on easing restrictions
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the hotel quarantine worker who tested positive is “very serious situation”, warning that while the easing of restrictions will continue on Monday, she won’t hesitate to change course.
After 26 days without community transmission in NSW, Ms Berejiklian said the incident was a “stark reminder of what can occur in a pandemic”, while cautioning the public to expect more cases.
“This is a very serious situation but one at this stage we feel we are managing,” Ms Berejiklian told a press conference on Thursday morning.
“In relation to the easing of restrictions on Monday, the best and most recent advice is there is no change to what we are proposing to do on Monday. However, I stress this is an evolving situation and if at any time of the day I get alternative advice, I will not hesitate to take that.”
With health officials awaiting genomic testing to return, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the source of the infection remained under investigation, but warned the virus could still be spreading throughout the community.
“She may have acquired it through that (hotel quarantine), great, but we need to keep an open mind and confirm it is not representing the strain circulating in NSW,” Dr Chant said.
“We are testing people within that hotel who we found were positive, again to narrow down how the transmission event could have occurred if that turns out to be the source, as I have indicated, it is always important early on to be very open and consider all possibilities when it comes to COVID.”
READ MORE: Hotel worker breaks NSW’s 25-day streak
Max Maddison 11.55am: US Covid hospitalisations exceed 100,000 per day
COVID-related hospitalisations in the US have exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, data from the COVID Tracking Project shows, as the nation struggles under the weight of soaring daily case numbers.
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.4 million tests, 196k cases, and 2,733 deaths. There are 100,226 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US —the first time hospitalizations have exceeded 100k. pic.twitter.com/8QSKujBGao
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) December 3, 2020
With confirmed cases approaching 200,000 per day — the 195,695 cases reported on Wednesday was a single-day record — hospitalisations have soared, over a third higher than the previous peaks in May and August.
Daily deaths have also increased to levels not seen since the virus reached US shores, reaching a single-day record of 2733 on Wednesday.
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Richard Ferguson 11.47am: Film about Martin Bryant ‘unnerving’
Scott Morrison says he is “unnerved” by the decision to make a film about Port Arthur Massacre killer Martin Bryant.
The makers of the Bryant biopic — being filmed in Geelong for Nine-owned streaming service Stan — has faced a significant backlash from Tasmanians who feel the film tarnishes the memories of those killed.
The Prime Minister said on Thursday that while he was unnerved by the decision to make the film, he would not seek to see the project halted.
“I must say, I am unnerved about the revisiting of the Martin Bryant case. It is a long time ago and it seems like a few days ago, even such was the horror of that day,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra.
“So people will make films, it is OK in this country, that is fine, we think that is a good thing, even if it unnerves our Prime Minister or many others, that is the society we live in.
But I hope when this is done - and for those who choose to see it - we will remember the victims, and their families, and the torment that they have endured for all these many years.”
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Richard Ferguson 11.32am: Albanese taking each-way bet on national security: PM
Scott Morrison says he is “disappointed but not surprised” by Anthony Albanese’s claims he is presiding over “a complete breakdown” in China-Australia relations.
After a concerted campaign of criticism against the Prime Minister’s handling of China by Labor frontbenchers, Mr Morrison said the Opposition Leader was taking an “each way bet” on national security.
“In relation to Mr Albanese, I am disappointed but not surprised. You cannot have each way bets on national security,” he said in Canberra,
“What Australia does protect international interests. That is really all I have to say about that matter.
“Australia’s policies and plans, the rules that we make for our country are made here in Australia according to our needs and our interests and we will continue to do that.
“But I simply make this point, following on from my media conference earlier this week, and that is that my position and my government’s position is to seek constructive engagement. The relationship with China is a mutually beneficial one.”
READ MORE: Stronger military links with US part of China solution
Richard Ferguson 11.28am: Politicians may volunteer to take jab first
Politicians on both sides of parliament could volunteer to take the coronavirus vaccine to prove to Australians it is safe and effective.
Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Thursday they are both willing to sign up to volunteer as a part of a drive to encourage Australians to take the vaccine once it is approved.
“I had this discussion on Chris Bowen on the basis that none of us want to be jumping the queue but nor do we want to show any lack of confidence,” Mr Hunt said in Canberra.
“The honest discussion I have had with Chris Bowen is that they may be some from both sides — but not as a class, there is no medical exemption — but maybe some of us who on both sides
and indeed all sides of the chamber are put forward on a voluntary basis as demonstration.
“And I would be very happy to take any vaccine that the medical regulators deemed safe for Australia.”
The Prime Minister said he agreed with Mr Hunt and was keen to see MPs get vaccinated so parliament can work at its full capacity.
“My view is the same and we will follow the medical advice on that issue like all other Australians,” Mr Morrison said.
“I am happy to take the jab.”
Richard Ferguson 11.16am: Vaccine may be approved before March deadline
Australia could see a coronavirus vaccine approved before Scott Morrison’s March 2021 deadline.
Therapeutic Goods Administration chief John Skerritt says if submissions come in soon from leading vaccine producers, a rollout could begin in late January at the earliest.
“We have not got complete data on any of them because these companies are still assessing their final data,” he said in Canberra.
“When the final data is in for safety and efficacy — and I’m hoping it will be in the coming weeks but we are at the mercy of the companies. Unfortunately my staff have been told to put away their swimsuits and towels and to work as quickly as we can.”
Richard Ferguson 10.56am: Australia won’t follow UK on vaccine
Australia will not follow Britain and make an emergency authorisation of a coronavirus vaccine now, Scott Morrison confirms.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration will stick to its current timeline to authorise any vaccine early next year.
The Prime Minister said on Thursday that Britain has its own COVID-19 challenges and we wanted to ensure any vaccine is safe.
“Our first priority is that it be safe. It must be safe for Australians and that is what they would expect of us,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra.
“The vaccine strategy is now in its advanced stage of preparation and that will further be considered by the Cabinet, the Federal Cabinet, we are working with the state and
territories closely and the rollout plans that extend from that strategy.
“The UK will need to deal with their situation and their circumstances in their way. Of course they should, and it has been a consistent theme around the world that each nation has had its own set of unique challenges.”
READ MORE: UK accused of vaccine speed over safety
Max Maddison 10.15am: Former French president dies of Covid
Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing has died due to COVID-19.
Mr Giscard, who served as France’s leader during his presidency from 1974 to 1981, died on Wednesday night at the age of 94. He had been in hospital since November 16.
He was known as one of the central figures in European integration and for his modernisation of French society.
During his tenure as President, his goverment legalised abortion and divorce by mutual consent, while he worked closely with West German chancellor Helmut Schmidt, helping lay the framework for the European Monetary System.
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Scott Gullan 10.05am: Melbourne gets green light for Australian Open
The Australian Open will start on February 8 under strict COVID testing procedures for the world’s best tennis players.
Superstars Roger Federer and Serena Williams, plus their entourages, will begin arriving from January 15 and go into a two-week quarantine where they will be able to train as long as they provide a negative test result upon arrival in Melbourne.
After weeks of negotiations with the Victorian State Government, Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley confirmed via e-mail on Wednesday afternoon that the opening Grand Slam of 2021 had been given the green light. — NCA Newswire
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Rachel Baxendale 9.56am: Victoria hits 34th straight day without new virus cases
Victoria has recorded its 34th straight day with no new know cases of coronavirus, and its tenth day with no active cases.
Yesterday there were 0 new cases and 0 deaths. There are no active cases. There were 10,094 test results received, thanks to all who were tested #EveryTestHelps and you're helping Victoria #StaySafeStayOpen https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/0ThThfpDeu
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 2, 2020
The numbers come after 10,094 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Thursday.
READ MORE: Hotel worker breaks NSW 25-day streak
Adeshola Ore 9.51am: ‘Completely appropriate’: Marles backs PM on China
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles says the Morrison government’s response to Australia’s relationship with China has been “completely appropriate”.
It comes after Anthony Albanese accused Scott Morrison of a complete breakdown of the Australia-China relationship. A number of Labor frontbenchers also attacked the government’s stance towards China on Wednesday.
But Mr Marles said the Labor party had supported the government’s response to the tweet.
“Since the tweet was posted by the Chinese official, the response from the Australian government has been completely appropriate. It’s what the Australian government needed to do.”
“We’ve been supporting that with total unity in terms of the way the country needed to speak with a single voice.”
READ MORE: Editorial — Labor opposition falls for China trap
Adeshola Ore 9.30am: WeChat censor of PM ‘threat to free speech’
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles says WeChat’s censoring of Scott Morrison’s post to Chinese Australians is a threat to free speech.
On Wednesday night, people were blocked from viewing the Prime Minister’s post on the Chinese-owned platform. Earlier this week, Scott Morrison used the app to appeal to Chinese Australian diaspora amid rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
“Freedom of speech is fundamental to our society. It’s a key part of how we expect the media to operate and there does need to be a conversation of what this step means,” he told Sky News.
READ MORE: Durie — China still the giant behind Australia’s economy
Max Maddison 9.11am: Virus vaccines may be crime gang target, Interpol warns
Global police organisation Interpol has warned organised crime networks could target coronavirus vaccines.
In a statement, Interpol issued an orange notification, warning criminal syndicates could advertise, sell and administer fake vaccines, in addition to the “falsification, theft and illegal advertising of COVID-19 and flu vaccines”.
“Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives,” Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said today.
“It is essential that law enforcement is as prepared as possible for what will be an onslaught of all types of criminal activity linked to the COVID-19 vaccine, which is why INTERPOL has issued this global warning.”
READ MORE: AFP set for dark web attacks on crime
Max Maddison 8.56am: Prince Harry links coronavirus to climate change
Prince Harry has linked coronavirus with climate change, suggesting Mother Nature is punishing humanity for “bad behaviour”.
In a streamed conversation about the environment, Prince Harry called for more action on global warming, The Guardian reports.
“Somebody said to me at the beginning of the pandemic, it’s almost as though Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms for bad behaviour, to really take a moment and think about what we’ve done,” he said,
“It’s certainly reminded me about how interconnected we all are, not just as people but through nature. We take so much from her and we rarely give a lot back.”
READ MORE: Walter Russell Mead — Europe’s cultural tribes at war over member status
Adeshola Ore 8.50am: Rebound figures ‘don’t make up for labour weakness’
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has warned that the September economic rebound figures do not make up for weakness in the labor market.
National accounts figures released on Wednesday confirmed the Australian economy recorded its strongest quarter of economic growth in 45 years, with a 3.3 per cent expansion.
Mr Chalmers said the federal government needed to be focused on unemployment figures which it did not expect would drop for years.
“It would be misleading to pretend that this one-off, September GDP figure, makes up for what is substantial weakness in the jobs market,” he told the ABC.
“It’s hardly surprising when it’s measured against the horrific June quarter we had before that and also when you consider that the economy reopened in most of the country in that period and that’s a key driver of those numbers we saw yesterday.”
READ MORE: Recovery to roll on as Victoria stops its drag
Robyn Ironside 8.45am: Qantas flags return to 80pc capacity
Qantas remains on track for a substantial loss in the 2021 financial year but will start making repairs to its balance sheet in the next six months following the devastating impact of COVID-19.
In an upbeat market update, the airline forecast a return to 80 per cent of pre-COVID domestic capacity early next year, following strong demand for flights on the back of border reopenings.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce said the airline would be at close to 70 per cent of capacity in December which was “very positive compared to where we’ve been”.
“Between Qantas and Jetstar there were over 200,000 fares sold for flights to Queensland in the 72-hours after border reopenings with Sydney and Victoria were announced,” Mr Joyce said.
“We’re also seeing people book several months in advance, which reflects more confidence than we’ve seen for some time.”
He warned they were still a “long way off anything approaching normal” and no significant international flights would take place before the 2022 financial year.
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Richard Ferguson 8.42am: PM leaves Lodge after 14 days in quarantine
Scott Morrison has left quarantine in the Lodge for the first time in 14 days and will attend question time in person on Thursday.
The Prime Minister went into isolation in Canberra last month after his major trip to Japan to meet its new prime minister Yoshihide Suga and sign a major defence agreement.
Mr Morrison has been appearing at question time and held various press conferences in self-isolation with mixed technical results. He also took part in the ASEAN and G20 global summits from The Lodge via videoconference.
After leaving quarantine, Mr Morrison can expect questions from Labor on why his personal photographer Adam Taylor was in self-isolation with him.
Photos of the Prime Minister’s quarantine experience have included Mr Morrison on an exercise bike, and wearing a suit jacket with shorts and thongs while video-conferencing.
Anthony Albanese attacked the arrangement in parliament on Wednesday.
Max Maddison 8.35am: Public transport warning over infected Sydney quarantine worker
NSW Health minister Brad Hazzard has urged people who travelled from south-west Sydney into the city over the weekend to monitor for symptoms, after revealing the infected hotel quarantine may have used public transport while infected.
Health authorities are on high alert after a hotel quarantine worker from Minto contracted the virus, snapping the state’s 25 day streak without a case. Mr Hazzard said she had travelled by train and light rail from Minto to Darling Harbour from last Friday to Monday
“I’m quite confident that we’ll find out exactly what the sources were. Usually genomic sequencing takes about 24-48 hours. And that will give us the clarity as to where it’s come from. Whether it was the hotel or whether it was from some other source,” Mr Hazzard told Nine’s Today Show.
“But in the meantime, I will just say that if you don’t mind. That she travelled from Minto. She lives in Minto, so south-western Sydney. If you live around that area and have any symptoms, please go and get tested.”
Mr Hazzard said he was notified in the early hours of Thursday morning, and said the lady had been interviewed late in the night to get an understanding of who her close contacts might be.
However, he downplayed the severity of the incident, saying with travellers returning from “virus infested areas”, we should expect there will be more cases.
READ MORE: Economic rebound weakest in OECD
Adeshola Ore 8.25am: Labor ‘out of step with Australians on rebound’
Josh Frydenberg says Labor has downplayed the resilience of the economy after the opposition accused the Morrison government of congratulating itself on a premature economic victory.
The Australian economy grew by 3.3 per cent in the three months to September, with household consumption helping to lift the country out of its first recession in three decades.
The Treasurer said Labor’s response to the rebound was not matched by how Australians felt.
“They have been, unfortunately, talking down the resilience of the Australian economy,” he told Nine.
“That being said, there are a lot of Australians who are doing it tough. And we will continue to support them as we did from the start of this crisis, through this crisis, right to the end of this crisis.”
READ MORE: Creighton — ‘Recession’ definition as silly as it gets
Adeshola Ore 8.00am: Australia ‘will keep to vaccine timetable’
Josh Frydenberg says Australia will stick to its original COVID-19 vaccine timetable, as Britain became the first country to approve Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.
Ten million doses are expected to arrive in Britain within days. Australia has a deal with Pfizer to purchase 10 million doses of its mRNA vaccine, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration here working with overseas regulators to fast-track its approval.
The Treasurer said the UK had been hit by a larger number of coronavirus cases compared to Australia.
“We are conducting our own regulatory approval processes and we expect them to conclude by the end of January with the rollout of a vaccine that is safe and effective by the end of March,” he told the ABC.
“That is our timetable. We’re sticking to it.”
Mr Frydenberg said the federal budget predicted that if the vaccine was approved by the middle of next year it would boost the Australian economy by $34bn.
READ MORE: UK accused of vaccine speed over safety
Max Maddison 7.45am: Quarantine worker breaks NSW’s zero cases streak
NSW’s 25 day streak without a case of coronavirus has been broken after a woman working in a Sydney hotel was diagnosed with the virus, NSW Health minister Brad Hazzard said.
Mr Hazzard asked people who worked at the Ibis and Novotel hotels to monitor for symptoms and self isolate, after a woman who worked at a police quarantine hotel recorded a positive test.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed one new case of COVID-19 in Sydney.https://t.co/OL6CUvL6CT
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) December 2, 2020
“We had up until 8pm to last night, we would have been saying today is a 26 day without any cases, but we now have one case,” Mr Hazzard told Seven’s Sunrise.
“This particular lady worked in hotels in Sydney. She worked at the Novotel and the Ibis at Darling Harbour. One of those is a police quarantine hotel, so we are doing all the investigations.”
Mr Hazzard asked anyone who worked at the Ibis on Friday the 27th, or the Novotel on Saturday the 28th, Sunday the 29th or Monday, 30 November, to self isolate and monitor for symptoms until they could be tested.
Despite the setback, Mr Hazzard said it was unlikely to delay the easing of restrictions in NSW.
“I doubt it very much because NSW has taken a very open policy right along and we have a fantastic public health team that manages these things extremely well.
“We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic … Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, said that she anticipated that we would have more cases.”
READ MORE: Business reluctance to invest damaging: Lowe
Max Maddison 7.30am: ‘No way’ military chiefs didn’t know of abuses: Lambie
Senator Jacqui Lambie says it’s “absolute rubbish” high ranking Australian Defence Force figures knew nothing about the war crimes raised in the Brereton Inquiry, and warns attitudes towards the pending coronavirus vaccine are “hit and miss down in Tasmania”.
After serving with the Australian army, the Tasmanian senator said she didn’t believe that the military’s top brass were oblivious to the abuses laid out in the inquiry findings, saying the “truth will come out in the end”.
“I can tell you after ten years in the army and what I’m hearing. Evidence will come out eventually. I just don’t believe that. There is just no way you could not know what was going on,” Senator Lambie told Nine’s Today Show.
“Look, we had some issues with the resistance to interrogation with what was going on back in 2014 and there were bits and pieces that I was hearing, myself, out of that. So I just do not believe there is just no way that the brass did not know. I think that is absolute rubbish.”
In addition, despite several leading vaccines facing regulatory scrutiny over the coming months, levels of vaccine scepticism have remained high across the globe, and Senator Lambie said she was thankful the UK had agreed to “play the guinea pigs”.
“I can tell you it’s a hit and miss down in Tasmania. You have 50 per cent going, ‘oh, hasn’t been tried and tested long enough for these vaccines, Not sure I really want to put my hand up and take it’. So, I think this will be very, very interesting,” she said.
“And we haven’t seen whether there’s going to be any unintended consequences out of it.”
READ MORE: China aggression scares regional neighbours
Richard Ferguson 7.05am: Which China grievance will Albo appease?: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has slammed Labor’s split with the Coalition on how to handle China, asking which of Beijing’s grievances Anthony Albanese is willing to appease.
The Opposition Leader has accused Scott Morrison of overseeing a complete breakdown of Sino-Australian relations and a number of Labor frontbenchers attacked the government’s stance towards China on Wednesday.
The Treasurer on Thursday said Mr Albanese should say whether he was ready to muzzle free speech or water down foreign interference laws in response to China’s demands.
“If the Labor Party wants to play politics with this, it’s only fair they explain which of the 14 grievances that China has listed that they would back down on?” Mr Frydenberg told ABC News.
“When it comes to a free press, that goes to the heart of our identity and our society. When it comes to a democratically elected parliament and the ability of MPs to speak their mind, that’s also at the heart of our democracy.
“When it comes to foreign investment and putting in place of protections for the national interest, I’m sure they have bipartisan support and other elements of national security and foreign interference.
“What we have done is try to defend and preserve and enhance the national interest as you’d expect us to do.”
A document leaked from the Chinese embassy in Canberra last month detailed 14 issues Beijing claims has resulted in the deterioration in the Sino-Australian relationship, including unflattering media coverage of the Chinese regime and the comments of hawkish MPs.
READ MORE: Labor abandons unity on China
Max Maddison 7.00am: WeChat censor’s Morrison post to Chinese Australians
WeChat have censored Scott Morrison’s post to Chinese Australians, on the grounds it “involves use of content that incites misleads, has non objective facts” or “fabricates societal/historical issues”, as the stoush between China and Australia continues apace.
On Wednesday night, people were blocked from viewing the Prime Minister’s post, instead met with a message which said “Unable to view this content because it violates regulations” in English before continuing in Mandarin.
“Involves the use of inciting, misleading, or contrary to objective facts, text, pictures, videos, etc.,” the WeChat warning said. “Fabricate social hot spots, distort historical events, and confuse the public.”
Mr Morrison had attempted to use WeChat, a messaging service owned by Tencent but subject to heavy Chinese Communist Party censorship, to communicate directly with the Chinese Australian diaspora.
In a WeChat post on Tuesday night, Mr Morrison paid respect to the contribution “Chinese migrants and Australians of Chinese background” had added to the country.
“The post of a false image of an Australian soldier does not diminish our respect for and appreciation of our Chinese Australian community or indeed our friendship with the people of China,” he said.
It is uncertain whether the post was blocked due to a directive from Beijing, or due to significant reader complaints.
The development adds another chapter to the growing and controversial role of the social media giants in politics, after Twitter refused to take down the tweet from China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, instead marking the image as “sensitive” on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Albanese out of line on China
Max Maddison 6.40am: US cases leap to more than 178,000
The US has seen another jump in daily case numbers, while Brazil has seen a dramatic uptick, as the World Health Organisation warns there won’t be enough vaccines to prevent a surge of infections in the next six months.
With new confirmed cases in the US still hovering well above 150,000, the 178,395 cases reported on Tuesday was well above the nation’s seven-day moving average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths and hospitalisations have also grown by over 30 per cent in the last two weeks.
In Brazil, daily confirmed cases once again surpassed 50,000 on Tuesday, with the country’s seven-day moving average rapidly increasing across November and early December. The Jair Bolsonaro led country has had 6,386,787 cases, and 173,817 deaths since the outbreak reached Brazil in late-February.
On Wednesday, the WHO”s leading emergency expert Mike Ryan said he didn’t believe there would be sufficient quantities of the virus to prevent ballooning infection rates early next year, as he called on people to continue with social distancing measures and other measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.
According to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker, 64.2m people have been infected since the pandemic has begun, with 1.49m COVID-related deaths.
READ MORE: China’s aggression scares Asian region into silence
David Ross 6.30am: Sydney suburbs on alert after traces found in sewage
A warning has gone out for Sydney’s north-west after sewage testing discovered traces of COVID-19 at a treatment plant in Riverstone.
The samples, taken on 29 November, come from a system that drains parts of Riverstone, Vineyard, Marsden Park, Shanes Park, Quakers Hill, Oakville, Box Hill, The Ponds, Rouse Hill. Nelson, Schofields, and Colebee areas.
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – RIVERSTONE
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 2, 2020
The discovery of #COVID19 virus fragments in sewage at the Riverstone treatment plant has prompted renewed calls for residents to get tested.
The virus fragments were detected through the state’s ongoing sewage surveillance program. pic.twitter.com/ozAYdYosy7
The positive detection of COVID-19 in the samples, after days of no confirmed cases in NSW, could suggest a case of someone from recent weeks or a carrier of the virus who is not aware.
The detection comes as the NSW government announced plans to further relax restrictions and social distancing measures.
Authorities are cautioning people who may have cold-like symptoms, including a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, tiredness, fever or other symptoms to get tested for COVID-19.
After testing people must remain in isolation until a negative result is received.
READ MORE: Andrews minister fails to condemn vile tweet
Jacquelin Magnay 6.25am: UK accused of vaccine speed over safety
Brexit has been credited with enabling the United Kingdom to fast-track a rollout of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine as early as Monday – the first country in the world to begin mass vaccinations for the coronavirus – but it has drawn swift condemnation from German politicians amid accusations of speed over safety.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Times Radio that the country could “move faster” to approve the vaccine because it was no longer part of the EU.
“Until earlier this year, we were in the European Medicines Agency. But because of Brexit, we’ve been able to make a decision to do this based on the UK regulator ... and not go at the pace of the Europeans who are moving a little bit more slowly,” Mr Hancock said.
Across the Channel there appears to be a delay so that all 27 member states are prepared for a united vaccination campaign.
We're preparing now so we are ready to roll out vaccines as soon as they have gone through all the safety and regulatory checks. pic.twitter.com/4Kwy9qKEwL
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 30, 2020
The German health minister Jens Spahn said Germany wanted all European countries to be able to roll out the vaccine at the same time and to create an atmosphere of confidence in the vaccine. This was despite the European regulator having begun studying the vaccine – developed in Germany by a Turkish immigrant husband and wife team – several weeks earlier than the UK.
“We have member states, including Germany, who could have issued such an emergency authorisation if we’d wanted to,” Mr Spahn said. “But we decided against this and what we opted for was a common European approach to move forward together.’’
Mr Spahn explained the EU delay was to create confidence.
“The idea is not that we’re the first, but the idea is to have safe and effective vaccines in the pandemic and that we can create confidence, and nothing is more important than confidence with respect to vaccines,” he said.
In Australia, the regulator Therapeutic Goods Administration is expected to grant approval by the end of January. Health minister Greg Hunt said he expects the first Australians to begin receiving the first batches of Australia’s order of 10m doses in March.
The EU regulator, European Medicines Agency (EMA), defended its relative caution, insisting it had a more thorough vetting process of the vaccine than the UK.
The EMA said it would decide by December 29 whether to approve the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
German MP Peter Liese, a member of Angela Merkel’s ruling party even claimed the UK’s regulatory approval was “problematic’’ and recommended “that EU Member States do not repeat the process in the same way’’.
READ the full story
Richard Ferguson 5.30am: ‘US stands with Australia’: Biden security adviser
The incoming Biden administration has signalled its support for Australia in its current stoush with China over exports and a fake war crimes meme.
Scott Morrison has received support from Five Eyes allies and beyond after he called out Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian’s posting of a fake photo depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to an Afghan girl’s throat.
Joe Biden’s designated national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Thursday that the US under the new president would stand with Australia.
The Australian people have made great sacrifices to protect freedom and democracy around the world. As we have for a century, America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values.
— Jake Sullivan (@jakejsullivan) December 2, 2020
“The Australian people have made great sacrifices to protect freedom and democracy around the world,” Mr Sullivan tweeted.
“As we have for a century, America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values.”
READ MORE: Peter Jennings — Stronger military links with US part of China solution
Ben Packham 5.15am: Beijing sees no reason to ‘appease Australia’
China pressed its attack on Australia in a new Global Times editorial that warned of “lasting punishments” for its treatment of the country.
The newspaper, regarded as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, said in an editorial that Beijing saw no reason to continue “appeasement of Australia”, declaring that the Morrison government was “not a ruling team that is serious and trustworthy in relations with China”.
#Opinion: Australia Oct trade data may not show real damage caused by tensions with China. True cause for alarm: window of opportunity closing for Australian economy burdened by recklessness of politicians. https://t.co/Q8jlimUL74
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 2, 2020
“If Australia’s values do not include respect for a country with a population of 1.4 billion, Chinese society will help the Australians establish such a concept, regardless of how long it will take. We have enough patience,” it read.
A perfect picture of hypocrisy/Global Times Cartoon pic.twitter.com/o64bN19QWr
— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) December 2, 2020
Australia’s relationship with China plunged to its lowest point in 50 years on Monday, when Chinese Foreign Ministry deputy director-general Zhao Lijian shared a tweet — which the Prime Minister called “repugnant” and “appalling” — suggesting Australian soldiers were child killers.
Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, &call for holding them accountable. pic.twitter.com/GYOaucoL5D
— Lijian Zhao èµµç«‹åš (@zlj517) November 30, 2020
READ MORE: James Kirby — Is Australian iron ore next on China’s hit list?
Ben Packham 5am: Morrison presiding over ‘China breakdown’: Albanese
Labor has split with the Coalition over China in a rare divide on foreign affairs, accusing Scott Morrison of presiding over a “complete breakdown” of relations with Beijing.
Anthony Albanese, describing the publication of a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to an Afghan child’s throat as “disgusting and offensive”, warned the federal government it needed to “work on the relationship” with China.
It was “extraordinary” that senior ministers were unable to reach their counterparts in Beijing, the Opposition Leader said.
Mr Albanese’s comments were part of a wider strategy, reflected in talking points instructing MPs to shift the focus onto the government
Read the full story here.
Patrick Commins 4.45am: Economy continues its post-coronavirus rebound
Australia has bounced out of its first recession in three decades to record its strongest quarter of economic growth in 45 years, as easing COVID-19 restrictions and massive government stimulus sparked a surge in consumer spending.
The economy jumped 3.3 per cent over the three months to September supported by a record lift in household consumption, powering a larger than expected rebound from the 7 per cent collapse in GDP growth in the June quarter.
NSW and Queensland led the national comeback from the deepest downturn in 100 years, while Victoria’s economy contracted 1 per cent as it battled to contain a second wave of COVID-19.
Ahead of the JobKeeper wage subsidy ending in March, Treasury is hopeful a faster recovery than forecast in the October 6 budget will get more Australians back to work and move businesses to pre-COVID economic activity.
Read the full story, by Patrick Commins and Geoff Chambers, here.
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