PoliticsNow: George Christensen urges government to tackle ABC ‘bias’
George Christensen wants the ABC’s stoush with Christian Porter to be the spark that tackles the public broadcaster’s ‘bias’.
- MP urges: tackle ABC ‘bias’
- Hunt caught citing incorrect vaccination figures
- ‘No grounds’ for new Porter probe
- Palmer ‘sceptical’ over mine
- Price to run for Senate
Welcome to The Australian’s coverage with all the political headlines from Canberra and beyond amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Live updates have ended for the day, but the latest Covid-19 updates can be found here
Here are the main points from the day in politics:
• George Christensen wants the ABC’s stoush with Christian Porter to be the spark that tackles the public broadcaster’s ‘bias’.
• Health Minister Greg Hunt has apologised and owned up after he was caught citing incorrect figures regarding the number of aged care workers that are vaccinated and the number of nursing homes across the nation yet to receive a jab
• Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck has been unable to tell a senate estimates hearing how many aged care workers in Victoria had received a jab as he did not have a state and territory breakdown.
• Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has shot down Labor’s push for an independent inquiry into sexual assault allegations against Christian Porter following the withdrawal of his defamation action against the ABC.
• Victorians have been warned to prepare for an extended lockdown as the government weighs reintroducting ‘ring of steel’ travel restrictions. Follow live updates on Victoria’s Covid-19 outbreak here.
Adeshola Ore4pm:MP urges: tackle ABC ‘systemic bias’
Outspoken Nationals MP George Christensen has urged his colleagues to leverage Science Minister Christian Porter’s stoush with the ABC to to tackle “systemic bias” at the public broadcaster.
The former attorney-general discontinued his legal proceedings against the public broadcaster and its reporter Louise Milligan on Monday. The parties agreed no damages would be paid, but the ABC would cover the cost of mediation. The broadcaster has also added an editor’s note which said the ABC regretted if the article was misinterpreted.
In a joint partyroom meeting on Tuesday morning, Mr Christensen said the government should “always strike while the iron is hot” on the issue of “systemic bias” at the ABC, according to Coalition sources.
A party spokesman said at the end of Mr Christensen’s contribution, there was applause from his colleagues in the partyroom.
Mr Porter launched defamation proceeding against the ABC on March 15 over an online article which centred on a historical rape allegation about an unnamed cabinet minister. His lawyers argued the story, published on February 26, was defamatory because Mr Porter was easily identifiable in the report.
Mr Porter later outed himself as the unnamed minister at a press conference and launched the defamation action against the ABC on March 15. He emphatically denied the allegations.
OLIVIA CAISLEY3.10pm:Murphy: I said ‘It’s not a race’ first
Health Secretary Brendan Murphy has conceded he was the first public official to say the vaccine rollout is “not a race,” but said the phrase is no longer helpful or applicable considering the commonwealth vaccination program is now in train.
He said he made the comments in the context of the Therapeutic Goods Association not having to rush the approval process to get Covid-19 vaccines to the public.
“It’s not a race in the sense that we’re not competing against anyone else,” he told senate estimates on Tuesday, explaining the rollout was “something we need to do as quickly as we safely can.”
His warning that the phrase was no longer useful comes two days after Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the vaccination rollout was not a race when quizzed about the sluggish pace of vaccine distribution.
Asked by Labor Senator Murray Watt about how he felt about being “thrown under a bus” by Scott Morrison in question time, Professor Murphy said he didn’t feel like he had been hung out to dry.
When asked about the phrase in question time the Prime Minister said he stood by his comments that Australia didn’t need to rush the rollout, declaring he was referencing a statement first made by Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy.
“I affirm the remarks of the Secretary of Health because all the way through this pandemic, one of the key factors that both our government and the governments around the country and indeed governments in other countries, is that we have always been mindful of the expert advice informing the decisions that we have taken,” Mr Morrison told parliament.
TRADING DAY: ASX retreats from record high
Adeshola Ore2.41pm: ‘Victoria’s had more help than any other state’
Josh Frydenberg says the Morrison government has provided “more support to Victoria than any previous government,” as Labor accuses the Coalition of abandoning the state that has been plunged into its fourth Covid-19 lockdown.
Victoria reported three new coronavirus cases today, as the state’s health authorities warned the snap lockdown could be extended beyond Thursday.
During question time, opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers said Victoria would not be in lockdown were it not for the Morrison government’s “failure on vaccines and quarantine.”
“What kind of Victorian abandons Victorians in their hour of need?” he asked.
Mr Frydenberg said the commonwealth had already provided more than $45bn to families and businesses across Victoria.
“The people of Victoria have received, on a per capita basis, more from the Morrison government than any other state or territory. And we have provided more than $28bn of JobKeeper payments to the people of Victoria,” he said.
The Treasurer added Victoria was “not the only state that has gone into lockdown after the end of JobKeeper” and pointed to Brisbane and Perth’s stay-at-home orders in March and April.
READ MORE: Deliveroo tackles concerns with rider safety panel
David Rogers 2.36pm: RBA holds rates steady as focus shifts to July
The Reserve Bank left its monetary policy settings unchanged as expected after its monthly board meeting.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 2.28pm: Wrong vaccination figures my mistake: Hunt
Health Minister Greg Hunt has conceded he made a mistake about the number of aged-care facilities yet to receive a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
On Monday Mr Hunt said there were only six aged care facilities in Australia that were yet to receive a dose. But at Senate estimates the Department of Health revealed the number of nursing homes completely unvaccinated, as of yesterday, was 21.
“I did make an error yesterday. My mistake. My apologies,” Mr Hunt said.
“Nobody else’s fault but mine. The department’s advice was correct and the misreading was my fault.”
Mr Hunt said that as of last night 20 nursing homes had not received a first dose.
Adeshola Ore2.19pm: ‘Not a race’ phrase belongs to Murphy: PM
Labor has used question time to seize on the Morrison government’s claims that Australia’s vaccine rollout is not a race.
Over the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack reiterated Scott Morrison’s claim that getting Australians inoculated was “not a race.”
Asked by Anthony Albanese if he still stood by his comments, Mr Morrison said he was referencing a statement first made by Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy.
“I affirmed his remarks,” he told parliament.
“If those opposite want to play politics with the advice provided by our medical experts,” Mr Speaker, and seek to call into questions made by the secretary...”
Some Victorian Labor MPs including Richard Marles, Mark Dreyfus and Josh Burns have attended question time wearing masks, as the state reported three new coronavirus cases during its fifth day of lockdown.
READ MORE: Vaccinations key to global recovery, OECD says
Rosie Lewis 1.44pm:Victoria’s ‘desperate attempt’ to smear commonwealth
Josh Frydenberg has accused Victoria of running a “pretty desperate attempt to smear us”, after the state government launched a ferocious attack against the commonwealth for rejecting demands for financial assistance.
The Treasurer’s rebuke came as Scott Morrison told the Coalition partyroom his government would not engage in slanging matches “because it doesn’t help anybody”, particularly Victorians struggling through the lockdown.
“What has happened in Victoria could occur in any state or territory at any time,” the Prime Minister said, according to a partyroom spokesman.
“What’s important is we continue to listen carefully to the medical advice and understand ultimately we’re the ones that make the decisions.”
Mr Frydenberg said because it was a short lockdown in Victoria it could be managed at a local level. The lockdown is due to last seven days but the state government has flagged it may have to be extended if cases are not brought under control.
“They ran a pretty desperate attempt to smear us when in reality the numbers tell a very different story,” Mr Frydenberg said, according to a partyroom spokesman.
“Victoria’s received more on a per capita basis than in any other state. We’ve already delivered $45 billion plus to families and businesses, where the state government has delivered $13 billion.”
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas on Sunday said the federal government’s refusal to step up and offer businesses affected by the lockdown support was “nothing short of a disgrace”, following requests for the federal government to offer wage subsidies and match the state’s $250m business support package.
While Mr Morrison said again the federal election would be held next year, he asked MPs to think about what they would say to their constituents and what needed to be delivered to get re-elected.
READ MORE: Cruising high on tourism agenda
Greg Brown1.36pm:McGowan wants ship with infected sailor to sail
WA premier Mark McGowan has urged the federal government to allow a ship docked at Kwinana to set sail, after a sailor from the vessel tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr McGowan on Tuesday said a crew member had left the Allegra chemical tanker on Sunday and headed to a Perth hospital with non-Covid symptoms.
He was subsequently found to have tested positive for the virus, and is now in hotel quarantine in Perth.
Mr McGowan said the Allegra, which has 22 crew on board and is fully loaded and provisioned, is ready to sail for Malaysia but has not received commonwealth approval under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
With a repatriation flight from India due to land in Perth tomorrow, Mr McGowan said he wanted to see the ship leave given the likelihood that other crew members on board may also contract the virus.
“I don’t want to put any more pressure on our hotel quarantine system,” he said.
“I’d like the ship to sail as soon as possible.”
Both the sailor and the health personnel who took him to hospital were wearing full PPE.
READ MORE: WA to entertain Sunday fun
OLIVIA CAISLEY1.16pm: Department takes heat for Health Minister
The Department of Health has jumped to Health Minister Greg Hunt’s defence after he wrongly suggested 70,000 aged care workers had been vaccinated.
Officials clarified the figures used by Mr Hunt on Monday after it was revealed just 32,833 aged care workers and not 70,000 had been fully vaccinated, declaring there had been errors in their departmental briefing to the minister.
“The discussion around the minister using the number 70,000 yesterday, the department provided those two columns as a cumulative number of 70,000 so that was an error in the department’s briefing,” one official said.
To which Labor Senator Katy Gallager quipped: “So you’re taking the heat for his office getting cranky?”
Department of Health data, tabled to senate estimates earlier on Tuesday, showed just 32,833 of the aged care workforce consisting of roughly 350,000 employees had received both jabs as part of the Commonwealth’s vaccination in-house program.
39,974 workers across the nation have received just one jab through the scheme.
Department of Health Assistant Secretary Caroline Edwards told the hearing vaccination rates would be higher than indicated through the government data as workers may have opted to have received a jab outside of the commonwealth’s program.
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Olivia Caisley 1.07pm: ‘Stop the aged care blame game’
The head of Aged Care and Community Services Australia has called for an end to “blame shifting” between the states and commonwealth, declaring the priority should be urgently administering vaccines to residential and home care workers as Victoria experiences a spate of nursing home outbreaks.
ACSA chair Sarah Blunt said Covid-19 vaccines should be available at convenient workplace locations to increase the number of inoculated workers.
It comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt was caught citing incorrect figures regarding the number of aged care workers that are vaccinated and the number of nursing homes across the nation yet to receive a jab.
“If the Covid-19 vaccine is available at workplaces then we’ll see a significant pick up and improvements to coverage in aged care quickly,” Ms Blunt said. “The main issue right now is not whether the vaccine is mandatory, it’s whether workers can get easy access.”
She called on the government to stop blaming providers or workers when the roll out is its responsibility and said it was crucial everyone worked together to protect the nation’s vulnerable.
“In Victoria in-particular workers right now will be primarily concerned with the immediate health of the older people in their care and also themselves and their families,” she said.
“As we saw in the first covid crisis when governments work together we can achieve effective results. Both levels of government working together to get vaccines to aged care workers is needed now we have community spread.”
READ MORE: Victoria set for five-day jab blitz
Olivia Caisley12.45pm: Federal government slammed for ‘deceptive incompetence’
Opposition aged care services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil has blasted the Morrison government for failing in its vaccination program across the nation’s nursing homes, declaring it must deliver a detailed plan with clear vaccine targets as lives are at risk.
She blasted Health Minister Greg Hunt for getting his figures wrong on Monday when he suggested only six aged care facilities across the nation were yet to receive a dose and indicated that 70,000 workers had received a jab.
Senate Estimates on Tuesday heard there were 21 unvaccinated facilities across Australia, not six, and roughly 70,000 doses administered, not total workers vaccinated.
“Greg Hunt told the public yesterday that roughly 70,000 aged care workers had been vaccinated,” she said. “The truth revealed in estimates by health officials today is that number is less than half - about 32,800.”
Ms O’Neil said less than 10 percent of the aged care workforce had been vaccinated as part of the Commonwealth’s in-reach program.
“The level of deceptive incompetence of this government and the minster responsible for aged care is utterly breathtaking,” she said. “Their negligence in aged care is callous, cruel and dangerous. Victorians in particular right now must surely be disgusted.”
Olivia Caisley12.29pm: Hunt caught citing incorrect vaccination figures
Health Minister Greg Hunt has been caught citing incorrect figures regarding the number of aged care workers that are vaccinated and the number of nursing homes across the nation yet to receive a jab.
On Monday Minister Hunt said there were only six aged care facilities in Australia that were yet to receive a dose and indicated that 70,000 workers had received a jab.
“In terms of workforce, around the country what we have is just over 70,000,” he said. “With a proportionate amount of Victorians that have been identified as aged care workers through the commonwealth in-reach program and approximately a quarter of that 70,000 are Victorians.”
But new Department of Health data shows just 32,833 of the aged care workforce consisting of roughly 350,000 employees have received both jabs as part of the commonwealth’s vaccination program. Across the nation 39,974 workers have received just one jab through the scheme.
In Victoria, which is under lockdown and experiencing outbreaks in a number of nursing homes, just 8000 employees have received two doses through the commonwealth’s in-reach program. Last year’s Victorian outbreak resulted in the deaths of 655 residents.
Department of Health Assistant Secretary Caroline Edwards told the hearing vaccination rates may be higher as indicated by the fresh data as workers may have opted to have received a jab outside of the commonwealth’s program.
“Can we be clear, this is the minimum number based on a single program of four channels,” Ms Edwards said.
She said the department was operating on the proviso there 230,000 workers in the sector.
However, Labor Senator Murray Watt seized on her testimony, declaring the actual workforce was closer to 350,000 when you include those not working in personal care such as chefs and cleaners.
Ms Edwards said the department was surveying providers for the total numbers of workers vaccinated through other channels such as GPs and state hubs. The data will be published through an online portal on Friday.
It was also heard that 21 nursing homes across Australia and not six as Mr Hunt suggested, are still unvaccinated.
“As of today, there will be six facilities in the whole of the country which require a first dose and that will occur within the coming days,” Mr Hunt said on Monday.
Asked by Senator Watt who in the department advised Mr Hunt of the incorrect figure, Ms Edwards said: “I’m not aware of anyone who gave that information.”
She conceded the vast majority of vaccinations among aged care staff were the responsibility of the commonwealth.
Just 355 people out of the 22,285 Australians with disabilities living in residential care are fully vaccinated, Senate Estimates has heard.
3145 people have had 1 dose.
Greg Brown 11.52am: Labor’s deep divisions on gas exposed
Labor’s division on gas broke out in caucus, with Left faction MPs arguing the party should back a motion by Warringah MP Zali Steggall that would prevent taxpayer support for exploration in the Beetaloo basin.
Victorian MPs Ged Kearney and Libby Coker said Labor should oppose fracking in the basin and spoke supportively of a disallowance motion being pushed by Ms Steggall.
They spoke out after opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King recommended caucus vote to oppose Ms Steggall’s motion, which would strike out a government measure to allocate $50m to help open up the basin.
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten spoke in favour of Ms King’s position and reminded MPs that Labor’s pre-election policy was to support the development of gas as a transitional fuel.
Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon challenged Left faction MPs to provide an explanation of what is actually involved in fracking. He went on to “explain” the process to caucus.
He noted NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner won an election with a policy of supporting fracking.
Lingiari MP Warren Snowdon, meanwhile, warned MPs about saying projects were opposed by indigenous people, based on the claims of anti-gas activists.
READ MORE: Bramston – ‘Labor must regain blue-collar trust’
Richard Ferguson11.24am:Red carpet to be rolled up for PM
Chief of the Air Force Mel Hupfeld is set to clamp down on the use of red carpets at air force base events, after Scott Morrison received a glamorous welcome to the Williamtown RAAF airfield last month.
Air Marshal Hupfeld told senate estimates on Tuesday that the red carpet was rolled out for the Prime Minister due to “protocol creep” and red carpet should only be used for the Royal Family, governors and governor-generals, and foreign heads of state.
“There has been protocol creep ... I’m taking steps to remedy that,” Air Marshal Hupfeld said.
“(We are working to) ensure that the use of state guards is appropriate for ceremonial events. ... my intent is to only use red carpet for regal, vice regal, or (foreign) head of state occasions.”
Air Marshal Hupfeld said Mr Morrison’s office did not request the red carpet welcome at the Williamstown event on May 7, and was not pre-warned the carpet would be rolled out.
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PATRICK COMMINS 11.19am: Compulsory super ‘stopping wage growth’
Were it not for the legislated increases in compulsory super contributions, workers would be getting “small positive” real wages growth over the coming few years, instead of the small falls in pay after inflation as forecast in the May budget documents, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy says.
The legislated increases in the compulsory rate of super contributions will take it from 10 per cent now to 12 per cent in 0.5 percentage point increments each financial year.
Dr Kennedy says his department’s forecasts assume that increases in the super guarantee lower estimated wages growth by 0.8 per cent for each 1 per cent increase in SG. “Roughly speaking, a 0.5 per cent increase (in SG) means wages are less by about 0.4 per cent” than otherwise, he said.
READ MORE:Super package is facing hurdles
Richard Ferguson 11.15am:Diplomats at risk after Kabul withdrawal
Withdrawal of international troops leaves Australian diplomats at “significantly” more risk in Afghanistan and there is not time to work alternatives to moving officials to outside the country, Foreign Minister Marise Payne has told a senate hearing.
It was revealed last month that the Australian embassy in Kabul will decamp to another country in the region rather than move into the United States’s diplomatic compound.
Senator Payne told senate estimates on Tuesday that “mitigation” of security risks in Kabul were not available to DFAT officials given the timeline for military departures.
“A number of options were considered ... ultimately, the advice that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade received was that with the departure of international troops from Afghanistan, the risks to our embassy would significantly increase,” she said.
“That mitigations would not be able to be applied to a security plan that would reduce the system’s risk to an acceptable level given the time available before the departure of key military personnel.”
READ MORE: FIFO diplomacy in Kabul a farce
Ellen Ransley 11.06am:What the nation’s premiers get paid
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will soon be the second highest paid state leader in Australia, after an independent tribunal approved three pay hikes over a year for all state MPs.
A 2 per cent increase will come into action from September this year. This will be followed by another 2.25 per cent increase from March next year, and a further 2.5 per cent hike in September 2022.
Premier Palasczuk’s salary will increase from $399,955 to about $427,500 by September 2022, still below the annual salary of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who takes home $441,439 a year.
FIND OUT how the salaries compare to premiers in the rest of Australia’s states inthe full story here
Adeshola Ore 10.50am: Rape allegations agains Porter ‘not dealt with’
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says historical rape allegations against Science Minister Christian Porter “have not been dealt with”, as Labor calls for an independent invesigation following the withdrawl of his defamation case against the ABC.
The former attorney-general confirmed on Monday that he would not proceed with the legal action he launched in March and said he would contest the next election.
Mr Dreyfus said “we’re back where we were” before Mr Porter launched the defamation proceedings almost three months ago.
“Now that Mr. Porter has abandoned his defamation proceeding there will never be the legal proceeding, the court case that the Prime Minister used as an excuse when he fobbed off questions about the allegations against Mr. Porter,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“We need to be very clear about this, these allegations have not been dealt with. They have not been investigated. The matter simply can’t be brushed away by Mr. Morrison.”
He said an independent investigation would confirm if Mr Porter was “fit” to serve as a cabinet minister.
But Finance Minister Simon Birmingham shot down Labor’s push for an independent inquiry into the sexual assault allegations against Mr Porter.
Mr Porter launched defamation proceeding over an ABC online article, published in February, which centred on a historical rape allegation about an unnamed cabinet minister. His lawyers argued it was defamatory because Mr Porter was easily identifiable in the report.
Mr Porter later outed himself as the unnamed minister at a press conference and launched the defamation action against the ABC on March 15. He emphatically denied the allegations.
The parties agreed no damages would be paid, but the ABC would cover the cost of mediation. The ABC has also added an editor’s note which said the ABC regretted if the article was misinterpreted.
OLIVIA CAISLEY 10.24am:Aged care vaccination facts elude minister
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck has been unable to say who is responsible for vaccinating aged care workers.
During a heated exchange Senator Colbeck was questioned by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher about who was in charge of the rollout.
“Are you responsible, yes or no?”,” she asked, to which Senator Colbeck replied: “It’s not a yes or no answer.”
Senator Colbeck said it was a “combined” program between the commonwealth and the states.
Earlier, he was unable to provide a figure about how many workers in Victoria had received a jab because he did not have a state and territory breakdown.
“We don’t have compiled data...,” Senator Colbeck said. “We’ve been working on developing the portal to achieve that... all of this work predates what’s happening in Victoria.”
This was seized upon by Labor as more than 80 per cent of infections among elderly residents during Victoria’s second wave last year came from aged care workers.
Overall, approximately 70,000 aged care workers out of the 240,000-strong sector, have received a jab.
It comes as it was revealed that eight in ten Covid cases among aged care residents in Victorian facilities last year were transmitted by staff.
According to the commonwealth’s original vaccination timeline all aged care workers and residents should have been inoculated by now.
Senator Colbeck said he believed 38,700 workers had received the first dose across Australia and 31,610 had received the second dose.
Last year Senator Colbeck was forced to apologise for his failure to know how many elderly Australian residents had died from COVID-19 while in aged care.
Last year’s Victorian outbreak resulted in the deaths of 655 residents.
Data from the Department of Health shows 84 per cent or 146 of the 174 Covid-19 patient zero infections in Victorian aged care facilities came from staff.
“Approximately 84 per cent (146) of the 174 COVID-19 outbreaks in Victorian residential aged care facilities,” the response to a question on notice says. “In some of these cases, the source of staff member’s COVID-19 infection remains unknown, but in others they have acquired it from a known source in the community, household contact or another workplace.”
READ MORE:Lunn – Most vulnerable let down again
PATRICK COMMINS 10.20am:Treasury bets on three lockdowns per quarter
Treasury has calibrated its economic forecasts assuming three, short lockdowns per quarter this year. Speaking at an estimates committee hearing in Canberra this morning, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy was at pains to say this was not a prediction, but just as “a mechanical way” to model the hit to the economy ahead of broad-based vaccination by the end of this year. The lockdowns were assumed to be limited to a week at most, and contained to metropolitan areas. Where lockdowns extend beyond these parameters, “that would have a downside impact on growth,” Dr Kennedy said.
The budget assumes that international borders will slowly open from the middle of next year. And that presumes “not only is the vaccination program effective” but all other measures, such as testing and tracing, continue to improve. And it’s that combination that “allow us to manage the virus without resorting to lockdowns”.
READ MORE: What the nation’s premiers get paid
Will Glasgow 10.16am: China blasts Morrison, Ardern unity
Beijing has lashed out at Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison for making “irresponsible remarks” after the Tasman leaders demonstrated their broad alignment on China policy at a leaders meeting in Queenstown.
In China’s first official response to the meeting, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin scolded the two prime ministers for raising concerns about Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea in their joint statement.
“We have taken note of and are deeply concerned over the relevant statement,” said Mr Wang at a briefing in Beijing on Monday evening.
“The leaders of Australia and New Zealand, with irresponsible remarks on China’s internal affairs relating to Hong Kong and Xinjiang as well as the South China Sea issue, have made groundless accusations against China, grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs and seriously violated the international law and basic norms governing international relations,” he said.
“China firmly opposes this.”
READthe full story on China’s reaction here
Ben Wilmot10.05am: Home price boom powers on
The rampaging housing market is powering through concerns about a resurgent coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne, with home prices rising nationally by 2.2 per cent in May.
Housing markets around the country are seeing the benefits of low interest rates and easy credit with May’s rise even stronger than in April when home prices lifted by 1.8 per cent, according to CoreLogic’s national Home Value Index.
But the May rise was weaker than the 32-year high recorded in March, when values surged 2.8 per cent, as affordability concerns start to put a brake on some markets.
Dwelling values were split with Sydney up 3 per cent in May and Melbourne rising 1.8 per cent. Brisbane was up 2 per cent and Adelaide rose by 1.9 per cent.
Perth homes increased in value by 1.1 per cent, while Hobart leapt 3.2 per cent and Darwin was up 2.7 per cent. Canberra rose 1.7 per cent.
CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless said growth conditions remained broadbased both across the country and in different home price levels.
READ the full story here
Richard Ferguson10.00am: Costing, timeline on submarines still outstanding
The French company behind Australia’s future submarines is still to give the Morrison government its final timeline and costs and there is no firm date for that schedule.
Members of the Naval Shipbuilding Expert Advisory Panel told a senate estimates hearing on Monday that French-based Naval Group – who are building the Attack-class subs – will deliver the final master schedule to its Australian counterparts “sometime in 2021”.
The Australian revealed last month that Defence Minister Peter Dutton is planning an intervention to ensure Australia is not left exposed by the late arrival of new French-built submarines, with fast-tracked and comprehensive rebuilds of the navy’s six Collins-class boats now seen as vital.
On Tuesday, Naval Shipbuilding Expert Advisory Panel member Ron Finlay told Labor senator Kimberley Kitching that the final schedule for the Attack-class boats are still being developed in France.
“My understanding is that the management of the integrated master schedule will be transferred to Australia to Naval Australia sometime in 2021,” Mr Finlay told the senate hearing.
“The requirements that are being developed at the moment, then feed into a schedule, so at the moment, it’s a very high level, very broad date for events in the future.
“As the requirements are refined ... that will be developed in France as I understand it, and then transmitted to Australia.”
READ MORE: Collins upgrade to plug submarine gap
PATRICK COMMINS9.53am:56,000 workers lost jobs as JobKeeper ended
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has called on Australians to get the jab as soon as they can, saying “we cannot take our recovery for granted” and that it is of “utmost importance that Australians get vaccinated when their turns come”.
“The key issue is suppressing the
virus,” Dr Kennedy said.
Speaking in a Senate estimates committee hearing this morning, Dr Kennedy also said around 56,000 workers on JobKeeper lost their jobs over the first four weeks following the end of the wage subsidy scheme.
But this wasn’t a major stumble in the context of 400,000 people typically moving in and out of the labour force each month.
And it was well below the 100,000-150,000 estimated earlier this year.
“I expect many of those to gain employment in coming weeks”, Dr Kennedy said, noting that the data “give us confidence the labour market has the underlying strength to help workers transition off JobKeeper”.
Given the “unprecedented” nature of the recession and recovery, “the speed at which (consumer) prices and wages (grow) remains a key source of uncertainty”.
“They (wages) could respond more quickly if we start to see a mismatch in the skills employers are looking for” and workers’ skills.
READ MORE:Compulsory vaccine calls as costs to business climb
OLIVIA CAISLEY9.40am:Aged care residents ‘declined to take vaccinations’
A little over half of aged care residents in Victoria have received their second Covid-19 dose, Senate Estimates has heard, as the state battles another surge in cases within nursing homes.
Department of Health Associate Secretary Caroline Edwards said 44,333 residents had received one vaccine and 25,319 were fully vaccinated.
“It’s also important to note that people declined to take vaccinations in aged care for a number of reasons,” she said.
“One because they are not comfortable with a vaccine for some reason, but also there are people who are ill at the time, or who may be approaching end of life and they or their families decide not to have vaccination as an additional intervention at that late stage of their life, and we respect all those decisions.”
Ms Edwards was texted the figures after she did not have them at her disposal when asked by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher for the latest numbers.
Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy confirmed no new aged care cases had been added to the nine recorded overnight.
Of the 910 coronavirus deaths recorded in Australia, 685 have been aged care residents.
READ MORE: Shanahan – PM may be unable to dodge this bullet
Finn McHugh 9.34am: Marles joins call for fresh Porter inquiry
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles has joined mounting calls for an independent inquiry into the Christian Porter rape allegation after the former attorney-general dropped his defamation case against the ABC.
Mr Porter confirmed on Monday he would not proceed with the action, launched three months ago, insisting he would contest the next election.
Mr Marles said the development meant the “cloud” hanging over Mr Porter had not been lifted, demanding Prime Minister Scott Morrison launch an independent probe into the matter.
“The government was touting this (defamation suit) as the means by which there would be some form of independent inquiry,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
“At the end of the day there Christian Porter is not a private citizen, he’s a member of the Australian cabinet.
“They’re very serious allegations. There is a cloud there, which should be resolved for everyone concerned, not the least of whom is Christian Porter himself.
“Again, Scott Morrison needs to act.”
Mr Morrison in March said he would “not indulge” an independent inquiry, which he argued would establish a two-tier legal system. – NCA Newswire
READ MORE:US, UK ‘travel bubbles’ on horizon
Robert Gottliebsen 9.25am: Chilling events for Australia’s defence
The latest China warning to Australia that our defences are “weak” coincides with a disturbing Senate economics references committee report on our submarine fiasco.
In addition the American aircraft carrier the Ronald Reagan will sail from our region to the Middle East this northern summer. That means the US won’t have an aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific for months.
Together, these events are chilling.
China’s English language mouthpiece Global Times warns: “Australia’s military is too weak to be a worthy opponent of China, and if it dares to interfere in a military conflict for example in the Taiwan Straits, its forces will be among the first to be hit.
“Australia must not think it can hide from China if it provokes….Australia is within range of China’s conventional warhead-equipped DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile.”
While it is clearly part of China’s propaganda barrage, there is no doubt the DF-26 rocket can reach northern Australia and presumably the China warning would cover any war in Taiwan.
READ Robert Gottliebsen’s full commentary here
Ticky Fullerton9.01am: High hopes for UK free trade agreement
Australia has two very important trade imperatives: to bring China to heel over the punitive action it has taken across Australian agriculture and to secure a free-trade agreement with the UK that will be Britain’s first FTA since Brexit. Both countries are in a sprint for the upcoming G7 talks in Cornwall, England where Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison expect to sign an agreement in principle.
The outcome of both the Chinese and British imperatives will be felt by farmers and agribusinesses right across Australia, be it upside or downside.
The government is taking China to the World Trade Organisation for its 80.5 per cent tariffs on Australian barley and is working hard to shore up international support.
In an interview for the Australian’s Global Food Forum on Tuesday, Trade and Investment Minister Dan Tehan says the support of New Zealand for Australia, given just ahead of Scott Morrison’s visit, is building momentum.
READTicky Fullerton’s full story here
Adeshola Ore8.43am:Colbeck ‘unaware’ of more aged-care Covid cases
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck says he is not aware of any further coronavirus cases in Victorian aged-care centres.
There are now three new Covid-19 cases linked to two aged-care homes in Victoria, including a 99-year-old resident who has been hospitalised.
The federal government’s plan to stop aged-care staff working at more than one nursing home to prevent the spread of Covid-19 was halted in November, allowing the latest Victorian cluster to jump between at least two Melbourne aged-care centres.
Senator Colbeck said he remained “comfortable” with the vaccine rollout.
“Everybody would’ve liked to have done it faster but logistically, we’ve done it as quickly as we possibly could,” he told the ABC.
READ MORE: Lax rule for workers puts elderly at risk
Ben Packham 8.34am:Morrison, Ardern polar opposites of one mind
Politically, Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern are polar opposites, yet they are also astute politicians who know the Australia-New Zealand relationship is bigger than both of them.
There is no doubt New Zealand has sought to differentiate itself from Australia in Beijing’s eyes.
The Ardern government saw the breakdown in Australia’s relationship with China as a mistake Wellington must avoid at all costs. New Zealand’s milk imports are, after all, far easier for China to replace than Australian iron ore.
So it’s unsurprising that rookie Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta expressed a reluctance for New Zealand to join Five Eyes statements condemning Beijing’s human rights record.
Rookie Trade Minister Damien O’Connor sought to chart a similar path when he said Australia should “show respect” and be more “cautious” when criticising China. The statements placed New Zealand in good stead with Beijing, with Chinese state media praising the Ardern government’s “very positive” behaviour and declaring the country stood to gain from Australia’s loss.
Ms Ardern, however, has a growing domestic political imperative to take a harder line on China, with many voters urging a more principled stance on Beijing’s economic coercion.
READBen Packham’s full analysis here
Daniel Sankey8.00am:‘No grounds’ for new Porter inquiry
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has shot down Labor’s push for an independent inquiry into sexual assault allegations against Christian Porter following the withdrawal of his defamation action against the ABC.
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus yesterday said the conclusion of the lawsuit meant there was “no excuse to refuse to hold an independent inquiry into these allegations”.
But Mr Birmingham told Sky News this morning that “independent police forces and independent courts were the places that such allegations ought be determined”.
“There’s not been grounds for any other change in approach aside from backing the independence of our police forces and the independence of our courts in that regard,” he said.
“The ABC has put clarifications up as a result of the settlement that was reached with Christian Porter. It’s paying parts of his legal cost, that’s a matter between him and the ABC.”
READ MORE:ABC warns against reporters saying Christian Porter lost
Greg Brown 7.30am:Palmer ‘sceptical’ on mine approval
Clive Palmer says he is “sceptical” that his long-planned thermal coalmine in the Galilee Basin will go ahead because the political environment in Australia made it difficult to develop new coal projects.
He said it was a “sad thing for Australia” that the Waratah mine was being stymied by legal challenges from activist groups and cast doubt on whether the project would eventuate.
“I’m sceptical because if you take the Galilee Basin, for example, and you disregard my interests in the Galilee Basin, there are other projects there too.
“They have been pursuing approvals for 15 or 16 years. So that gives us a bad name. You should at least get a no in that timeframe,” he said.
“It can certainly go ahead for commercial reasons. But the environment in Australia is not to develop coal. And I am 67 now and relatively comfortable, I can get most of my financial and business needs met regardless. It is a sad thing for Australia.
“The environment to get approvals and government support, it seems to have gone. But if you take coalmining royalties off the Queensland government, they are bankrupt, they are in liquidation. That is the reality of it.”
Mr Palmer did say he was confident of getting approvals for a proposed metallurgical coalmine near Rockhampton.
READ the full story here
Rosie Lewis7.00am: Fight looms as Price runs for Senate
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the outspoken deputy mayor of Alice Springs, will compete against Nationals senator Sam McMahon for the Country Liberal Party’s coveted Senate spot, setting up an ugly preselection stoush within the Coalition.
In her first public comments confirming her nomination for the Northern Territory Senate seat, held by Senator McMahon since the 2019 federal election, Ms Price said she respected her colleague’s work but had decided to run for the sake of the Territory.
“It is nothing personal at all,” Ms Price said. “I have the respect of many Coalition members, both Nationals and Liberal, and I know I can bring … a wealth of knowledge across many different areas, including the plight of marginalised Indigenous Australians.”
The looming preselection contest, on June 26, places pressure on Nationals leader Michael McCormack to hold onto the seat for the junior Coalition partner.
Nicola Berkovic6.30am:Don’t say Porter lost, ABC staff told
The ABC has warned its journalists not to suggest Christian Porter “lost” his high-stakes defamation case over historical rape allegations, after the former attorney-general dropped his legal pursuit of the public broadcaster and its reporter Louise Milligan.
Mr Porter, now Industry Minister, said he would recontest his seat at the next election and remain in cabinet after the ABC agreed to include a statement that noted the broadcaster “did not contend that the serious accusations could be substantiated” to either a criminal or civil standard.
Mr Porter — who launched the lawsuit in March, claiming the broadcaster had published false allegations and was motivated by malice — said it was a “humiliating backdown for the ABC, no matter what way they want to spin in”.
But the ABC said it stood by the importance of its article and denied it had expressed regret about the report.
In updated legal advice circulated on Monday and obtained by The Australian, the ABC’s lawyers wrote: “Do not suggest that CP has ‘lost’ the case, just that he has ‘decided to discontinue’.”
That is in addition to earlier guidance that warned staff not to discuss the allegations on talkback radio and said any publications referring to information that suggested the rape had in fact occurred had to include an equal amount of information suggesting it did not occur. The ABC, which said it stood by Milligan, will have to compensate Mr Porter for part of his substantial legal costs but will not pay him any damages.
READ the full story here
Burke mulls cancelling visa of academic who called Oct 7 ‘a celebration’
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is considering the visa status of a US-based academic who attended Monday’s Hizb ut-Tahrir-associated rally in Sydney, praising the Houthi rebels and saying Hamas's attacks were a day of 'growth' for Palestinians.
Israel a ‘miracle’, says Labor senator
Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill has condemned the rise of anti-Semitism, as politicians from both sides of politics paused to commemorate October 7 in Canberra.