PoliticsNow: Deregulation, not tax hikes, key to rebound, says Morrison; PM calls veteran suicides royal commission
Scott Morrison has ruled out raising taxes, pledging to focus on deregulation, skills and training to boost the economic recovery.
- Reset, but no advance on vaccine rollout
- PM announces veterans’ suicide royal commission
- NZ bubble just the beginning: Deputy PM
- Labor drops hostility to coal
- Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
- States resist push for home quarantine
Welcome to PoliticsNow, our rolling coverage of the latest in federal politics and the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
National cabinet’s return to ‘warlike footing’ has made no further decisions on the vaccine rollout or a timeline for reopening Australia to the world.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a royal commission into war veterans’ suicide.
Michael McCormack flags further travel bubbles across the Asia-Pacific region as Scott Morrison and Jacinda Ardern hail a milestone day in the pandemic recovery as the trans-Tasman bubble commences. Opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King says Labor will not stand in the way of new coal mines, as the party moves to recast itself as a middle-ground option in the climate change wars.
Stephen Lunn 10.40pm:‘Ageism’ penalising employees earlier
The age at which a person is considered an “older worker” is getting younger, new research shows.
And almost half of Australian businesses admit to a cut-off age beyond which they are reluctant to recruit.
Yet there are more older workers in the workplace now than even three years ago, and employees increasingly expect to retire later, a study by theAustralian HR Institute and Australian Human Rights Commission, has found.
Geoff Chambers10pm:We won’t let inner cities dictate on emissions: PM
Scott Morrison has assured workers in the nation’s regions and industrial heartland they will benefit rather than be penalised by his climate change policies, declaring net zero emissions would not be achieved in the “cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of our inner cities’’.
In an address to the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner, the Prime Minister said the government would not “tax the life out’’ of industries as he framed the May budget as a blueprint for the “next phase of Australia’s economic recovery’’, with major reforms to skills training and services to get the unemployed into work.
Speaking before some of the nation’s leading chief executives, Mr Morrison on Monday night also announced a mass deregulation program to slash annual compliance costs by $430m.
Helen Trinca9.30pm:Amid the ashes, Biggies winners gave hope
Batemans Bay and Mogo are just 10 minutes apart by car — the first is the regional centre for the NSW south coast, the second a tiny hamlet that operates as an afternoon tea stop and shop spot on the way south to Narooma and Bermagui.
The devastating bushfires that surged on New Year’s Eve 2019 and continued into the new year locked the bay town and Mogo in a battle against the elements.
Now 16 months later the two locations are again linked by the announcement of winners in the inaugural Biggies awards celebrating the commitment of business to community service.
The awards announced by the Business Council of Australia on Monday honour an individual, John Appleby, a Coles regional manager based in Bateman’s Bay; and a structures and logistics company, ATCO.
Mr Appleby, who was at Monday’s BCA dinner to receive his honour, kept his supermarket open through the crisis, delivering food to refugees who rushed into the town from beach resorts up and down the coast to shelter at the evacuation centre on the local oval.
As the only supermarket open for three days, Coles fed the community, providing essentials such as bottled water, fresh bread and roast chickens in particular.
Jess Malcolm 8.33pm: Vaccination our top priority: Morrison
Scott Morrison says vaccinating the most vulnerable members of the community is the government’s main priority.
Following the National Cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister said the leaders discussed options to bring forward vaccinations for those aged over 50 in group 2a, as well as open mass vaccination sites as vaccine supplies increase.
He also reiterated that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and recommended for Australians over 50 years old.
“Our vaccination strategy is being delivered at the same time, we continue to implement our national health response and our successful suppression strategy — these have and continue to keep Australians safe during this unprecedented global pandemic,” Mr Morrison said in his concluding remarks at the Business Council of Australia awards in Sydney on Monday night.
“National cabinet reinforced that general practice will continue to be the primary model of rolling out vaccinations for Australians over 50 years of age, with states and territories to consider options to supplement roll out through expanded state vaccination centres.”
“Australia’s comeback is well underway. From the depths of pandemic despair a year ago, we have fought our way back.”
Jess Malcolm 8.30pm: PM announces $120m deregulation package
Deregulation will be crucial to Australia’s recovery, Scott Morrison says, announcing a $120m package to reduce compliance costs for businesses.
the Prime Minister said the funding — to be announced in next month’s budget — will reduce costs for businesses, individuals and not-for-profits estimated at $430m annually.
Streamlining digital services in the health sector, improving electronic monitoring systems and reducing the regulatory burden for business interactions with the government are some of the key changes the government hopes will reduce the regulatory burden on businesses.
“You have to live with this depressing amount of regulation,” Mr Morrison told business leaders in Sydney on Monday night.
“We are determined to take unnecessary regulatory burdens off business to unlock investment and to create jobs.”
“One that I know sounds dreadfully technocratic, but that is very meaningful to people in this room. We are improving the technology neutrality of Treasury portfolio legislation.
“Regulated entities across banking, insurance, superannuation and capital markets will benefit through increased flexibility for regulators to obtain information without prescribing the method of communication.
Mr Morrison said this change will make it easier for businesses to get Australians into jobs.
Jess Malcolm 8.20pm: Morrison rules out higher taxes
The federal government will not raise taxes to achieve its policy objectives, Scott Morrison has vowed.
Australia’s digital future and its energy transition are key pillars fo the Coalition government, the Prime Minister said, foreshadowing more investment into these sectors.
Mr Morrison said the transition to a low-emissions country would be achieved in regional areas.
“We will not achieve net zero in the cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of our inner cities,” he told the Business Council of Australia in Sydney on Monday night.
“It will not be achieved by taxing our industries that provide livelihoods for millions of Australians off the planet, as our political opponents sort to do, when they were given the chance.”
“It will be won in places like the Pilbara, the Hunter, Gladstone, Portland, Whyalla, Bell Bay, and the Riverina.”
“In the factories of our regional towns and outer suburbs. In the labs of our best research institutes and scientists.”
The Prime Minister also said his government is commissioned to reduce its emissions by 70 per cent per unit of GDP on 2005 levels, and half the country’s per capita emissions.
Jess Malcolm8.15pm: Skills and training central to budget: Morrison
Skills and training will be key to this year’s budget, ensuring the business sector “will be in the driver’s seat”, Scott Morrison says.
The Prime Minister said the government’s approach to upskill people for jobs through training programs had been a successful way to boost the economy in a downturn, and it would continue to be used in the next budget.
“I have made it plain that our government is prepared to invest more in skills and training, but not merely to fund an unresponsive, supply-driven model geared to providers rather than business and individuals,” he told the Business Council of Australia in Sydney on Monday night.
“We are determined to make our VET system more responsive to the private sector and its needs.”
“Initiates that in just five short months saw 100,000 apprentices and trainees get a job in the middle of a global pandemic.”
Jess Malcolm8.10pm: Rebound defies predictions: PM
Australia has rebounded six months earlier and twice as fast as expected, Scott Morrison says.
He said the fiscal support provided by the federal government, as well as work from the business community had fuelled the recovery.
“In the last 10 months alone, 947,100 Australians have gone back to work,” the Prime Minister said.
“I’ll say it again, there are more Australians in work than before COVID hit.
“Unemployment has fallen to 5.6 per cent, down from the recent peak of 7.5 per cent in July last year.
“It’s lower than it was when we came to government. But we all know that figure doesn’t capture the full extent with the effective unemployment rate hitting 15 per cent at the start of COVID.”
“It wasn’t luck that meant we kept industries operating in a COVID safe way — mining, construction, manufacturing and more — or that we were able to keep our vital supply lines operating, everything from supermarkets to air freight.”
However, Mr Morrison says there is still “no room for complacency” with a long way to go, flagging more “business-led” economic recovery plans in this year’s federal budget.
Jess Malcolm8pm: Morrison lauds achievements in pandemic
Scott Morrison has used his speech at the Business Council of Australia award to celebrate Australia’s success in the pandemic.
Whilst greeting the audience with an jovial “kia ora” to mark the opening of the Trans Tasman bubble, Mr Morrison reflected on difficulties that the country has faced in “the most challenging of circumstances in the last 75 years”.
“The world is in the grip of a raging global pandemic,”the Prime Minister said on Monday night. “More than three million people have lost their lives. There are on average 750,000 cases a day. This is not Australia’s experience.
“If Australia had experienced the same fatality rate as the rest of the OECD, more than 30,000 lives would have been lost.”
Rachel Baxendale7.25pm:Delivery of key Vic transport projects ‘a fail’
The Andrews government has a “tendency to underestimate costs and over-estimate benefits” when conceptualising and approving major projects, Victoria’s Auditor-General has found.
In an analysis of publicly available information on projects costed at $100m or more, Auditor-General Andrew Greaves warned on Monday the government’s tendency to underquote “can have consequences for Victorians, such as delays in obtaining needed infrastructure or increased costs”.
Intended to provide an overview of major projects in Victoria that were reported as new or existing from 2014-15, when Labor came to power, until 2019-20, the dashboard analysis is part of the Auditor-General’s major projects performance audit, due to be tabled in parliament later this year.
Geoff Chambers7pm:Biden puts the climate heat on
Joe Biden’s climate summit will pressure 40 world leaders — including China’s Xi Jinping and Scott Morrison — to have concrete strategies in place ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, as the US elevated climate change to one of its greatest national security threats.
The US President’s two-day virtual summit this week will act as a scene-setter before the UN COP26 conference in Glasgow, starting on November 1, which is considered the most important climate change meeting since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The Australian understands the Morrison government is working on a suite of climate change priorities, which will be supported in the May 11 budget.
With increasing international pressure for China to take greater responsibility as the world’s biggest carbon emitter, Mr Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, secured an agreement with Beijing last week for the superpowers to co-operate in tackling the “climate crisis”.
Under the US-China climate change agreement, the nations committed to “concrete actions in the 2020s”, with a focus on technologies to decarbonise industry and power, through “circular economy, energy storage and grid reliability, CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), and green hydrogen”.
AFP 6.30pm:We'll set China policy, not Five Eyes: NZ
New Zealand says it will not not let the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance dictate its dealings with its largest trading partner, China, in the latest distancing from the US-led group’s approach to tensions with Beijing.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta told the New Zealand China Council on Monday that the Five Eyes — the US, Australia Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand — should not stray from its scope of intelligence-sharing between member nations.
“We are uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes relationship,” she said.
“We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests on a number of issues.”
New Zealand has previously been reluctant to sign joint statements from Five Eyes partners criticising China, including on the crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy movement and the recent arrests of activists in the city.
Officials in New Zealand have not previously addressed the issue but Ms Mahuta said Wellington wanted to chart its own course in dealings with China.
“New Zealand has been very clear... not to invoke the Five Eyes as the first point of contact on messaging out on a range of issues,” she said.
“So we’ve not favoured that type of approach and have expressed that to Five Eyes partners.” The comments come just months after Trade Minister Damien O’Connor urged Australia to show more “respect” to Beijing.
New Zealand officials have also been careful not to directly criticise China’s expanding influence in the Pacific, unlike their US and Australian counterparts.
Ms Mahuta raised the “major risk” posed by high levels of debt in the Pacific but stopped short of calling out China for what some critics have described as its “debt-trap diplomacy” in the region.
Ms Mahuta took over the foreign affairs portfolio after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s re-election last year.
Her remarks further expose the growing divide on Beijing between New Zealand and partners like Australia, and come just days ahead of a planned meeting with her Australian counterpart Marise Payne.
New Zealand recently sealed an upgraded free trade agreement with China. In contrast, Canberra’s robust criticism of Beijing on issues such as Hong Kong and the treatment of Uyghurs has resulted in punitive levies on more than a dozen Australian imports, including wine and barley.
READ MORE:How the West can escape China’s clutches
Rosie Lewis5.55pm:National cabinet backs vaccination drive
National cabinet has agreed “in-principle” to bring forward vaccinations for those aged over 50 and to prepare mass-vaccination sites.
A statement released on Monday evening said: “National Cabinet agreed in-principle to a series of changes to the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy that will be put forward for approval at the next meeting of National Cabinet including options to bring forward the commencement of vaccinations for over 50 year olds under the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy priority group 2a, and the readiness of more state and territory-operated vaccination sites including mass vaccination sites, as vaccine supplies increase.”
AFP 5.50pm:Week-long lockdown in New Delhi
India’s capital, New Delhi, will impose a week-long lockdown from Monday night, officials said, as the megacity struggles to contain a huge surge in COVID-19 cases with hospitals running out of beds and oxygen supplies low.
The vast nation of 1.3 billion people reported a record high of 273,810 infections on Monday — the fifth consecutive day of more than 200,000 cases.
In Delhi — the worst-hit city in India — 25,500 fresh cases were reported on Sunday, with almost one-third of those tested returning positive coronavirus results.
“Delhi’s health system is at a tipping point. The COVID-19 situation is pretty critical,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a televised address.
“If we don’t impose a lockdown now, we will be looking at a bigger disaster. From tonight there will be a lockdown until next Monday.”
Mr Kejriwal said businesses would be shut and movement around the northern city of 20 million limited to essential services.
The restrictions followed similar measures in other parts of India, including in the western state of Maharashtra, home to financial capital Mumbai, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Social media has been flooded with pleas by desperate families for hospital beds, oxygen supplies and drugs.
READ MORE:First dose of Chinese vaccine fails in Chile
Jess Malcolm5.20pm: Vaccinations pass 1.5m
A total of 1,586,252 vaccines have been administered as part of the federal government’s rollout.
The commonwealth administered 939,626, with 6290 given in the 24 hours up to Sunday night.
The states and territories have given 646,626, with 2794 completed in 24 hours.
NSW has administered the most — 173,852 — followed by Victoria’s 164,045, with 122,865 in Queensland, 76,244 in Western Australia, 28,933 in Tasmania, 46,591 in South Australia, 21,332 in the ACT, and 12,764 in Northern Territory.
A total of 766,741 have been administered in primary-care clinics by the commonwealth, and 172,885 given in aged and disability facilities.
The figures are part of a commitment by the Commonwealth to release daily numbers in a bid to increase transparency in its rollout.
Rosie Lewis4.35pm:Reset, but no advance on rollout as national cabinet meets
Scott Morrison’s first national cabinet meeting held under a new “warlike footing” has made no decisions on the vaccine rollout or timeline for reopening Australia to the world.
The Prime Minister and his state counterparts committed to getting the most vulnerable Australians vaccinated under phase 1a and 1b of the program after Health secretary Brendan Murphy warned the political leaders the country was permanently at risk of a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Australian understands it was also reaffirmed that GPs would be delivering the AstraZeneca vaccine over the next few months and whatever the states did with mass vaccination hubs would be supplementary to their role.
The federal government believes GPs remain the best placed to deliver the AstraZeneca jab.
Bringing forward vaccinations of people aged over 50 is under consideration and the lifting of the international border was discussed, but no plan put forward, noting that COVID was “raging around the world”.
National cabinet will meet again on Thursday.
Charlie Peel4.20pm:Queensland welcomes ‘big reset, Games backing
Annastacia Palaszczuk has dubbed the first of the biweekly national cabinet meetings a “big reset” on the national COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
Speaking in Brisbane after the cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, the Queensland premier said the discussions in the meeting had been “very positive” but left it to Scott Morrison to provide further detail.
“We know how important it is for the vaccine rollout to work and to be successful,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Everyone went into that room with the right attitude.
“I think it’s a big reset on the vaccine rollout.
“I think I’ll let the Prime Minister talk more about that.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the national cabinet had endorsed the Queensland bid to host the 2032 Olympic Games.
“Of course this is still contingent on guarantees that need to be received from the federal government,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“We will be talking extensively about that over the coming weeks because we have very strict timelines we need to meet.”
The Brisbane bid has been given preferred host status by the International Olympic Committee.
Jess Malcolm4.00pm:Victoria moves on mass vaccination centres
Victoria has announced three high-volume vaccination centres will open this Wednesday as part of the state’s vaccine rollout for people eligible in phase 1a and 1b.
The centres will be located at the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and the former Ford factory in Geelong.
Victoria’s Department of Health said the new centres will provide more options for people over the age of 70, in addition to Commonwealth-led general practices.
The government will also lift the pause on the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Wednesday, for people under the age of 50 who choose to receive it.
“Where supply is available, eligible people aged under 50 can also continue to receive the Pfizer vaccine through the pre-existing, successful model of workforce-based appointments, which has already seen over 160,000 Victorians vaccinated,” the statement read.
“Phone bookings are strongly recommended to help ensure people choosing this option can be vaccinated as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
A total of 877 COVID-19 vaccination doses were administered yesterday by state commissioned services across Victoria.
This brings the total number of vaccine doses administered by the department as of yesterday to 164,045.
READ MORE:First-rate recovery depends on rollout quality
Adeshola Ore3.48pm:Labor welcomes ‘begrudging, belated’ royal commission
Opposition defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor says Labor welcomes a royal commission into veteran suicide, but says it’s been announced “begrudgingly” following sustained pressure from the defence community.
The Prime Minister today announced the inquiry which he said could begin to undertake hearings from July.
“We are glad to see the government has made a decision, although it does seem it has done so begrudgingly, belatedly and because of the pressure that has been brought to bear upon them by the veterans’ community, the veterans’ families,” Mr O’Connor said.
Mr Morrison said the government intended to establish both a royal commission and the national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention.
But Mr O’Connor said the government’s legislation for an ongoing commissioner, which failed to pass the Senate in December, had many issues.
“The idea that this significant problem was to be dealt with by a standing commission that did not have the authority, that did not have sufficient independence, did not have the resources and the standing that a Royal Commission has was always flawed,” he said.
He said Labor had been pushing for a royal commission since 2019.
“It is a tragedy that we have seen so many deaths as a result of veterans self harming and suiciding,” he said.
“It’s certainly therefore welcomed that the Prime Minister, belatedly, has chosen to make this decision.”
The Greens said today’s announcement was a “huge win” for Australia’s defence community who had been persistent in their calls for a royal commission.
The party’s veterans spokesman Senator Jordon Steele-John said there was a lot of work to be done to ensure the terms of reference for the inquiry were aligned to the needs of the community.
“Anybody who has spoken with a family that has been touched by suicide will know the pain that they feel and the desperate, urgent need for answers they all share about why so many of our veterans are being driven to take these actions,” Senator Steele-John said.
“Understandably there are still many in the community who are suspicious of today’s announcement as they have been cast aside and ignored by the Morrison government for so long.”
He said the Morrison government would need to “earn the trust” of the veteran community as it begins the consultation process for the inquiry.
READ MORE: SAS veterans reflect on ‘graveyard of empires’
Jess Malcolm3.45pm:Zero new local transmission cases for South Australia
South Australia has recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, following 2,124 tests.
There were six new cases in hotel quarantine, including a man in his 60s, a man in his 50s, a woman in her 50s, a woman in her 20s and two children.
It is currently treating 19 active cases.
There have been a total of 119,102 vaccines administered in the state.
South Australian COVID-19 update 19/4/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/zxo0A6F1nW
— SA Health (@SAHealth) April 19, 2021
Adeshola Ore2.10pm:‘Strong arguments’ for bringing forward over 50s jab: PM
Scott Morrison says national cabinet will look at bringing forward the vaccination timetable for Australians aged over 50.
The Prime Minister said the issue would be discussed when he meets with state and territory leaders this afternoon.
“There are strong arguments for the bringing forward of over 50s with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is a safe and effective vaccine for those aged over 50,” Mr Morrison said.
It comes after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the nation needed to “crack on” with its rollout, noting there was no issue with anyone aged over 50 having the AstraZeneca shot.
She also called for calm after a 48-year-old NSW woman died from rare blood clotting linked to the AstraZeneca jab. The woman received her vaccination hours before the federal government changed its advice to recommend that people aged under 50 have the Pfizer vaccine rather than the AstraZeneca shot.
READ MORE:Covid vaccines worth the gamble as odds firmly on your side
Ellen Ransley2.00pm:Adelaide’s dedicated Covid medi-hotel up for sale
Two months after Adelaide’s first dedicated medi-hotel for coronavirus patients was opened, the owners have put it on the market.
Health authorities are adamant the sale of Tom’s Court Hotel will not impact on the state’s ability to safely accommodate returning travellers who test positive to the virus.
The 72-bed medi-hotel was opened in February when authorities decided Tom’s Court would accommodate confirmed COVID-19 patients rather than have them isolate in the same building as other returned travellers.
Taxpayers spent an estimated $200,000 to modify the building. Almost 60 specially trained SA Health frontline staff and police work at the facility.
SA Health confirmed the hotel’s owner, Karidis Corporation, had decided to sell its hotel and serviced apartment assets in South Australia, including Tom’s Court Hotel.
Despite this, the facility will continue to support the state government’s mandatory quarantine program.
“The existing agreement between Tom’s Court and the state government will be honoured in this sale,” a SA Health spokesperson said in a statement to the Adelaide Advertiser.
“Tom’s Court will continue to provide its essential services role into the future as an integral part of our mandatory supervised quarantine program.
“We look forward to working with the new owners to continue keeping SA COVID-safe.”
In a statement through SA Health, Karidis Corporation chief executive Gerry Kardis said the sale was part of the group’s “pivot” to other projects in a post-COVID world.
“We have enjoyed working with and applaud the collaborative nature of the teams of SA Health and (SA Police) to deliver an Australian-leading critical piece of infrastructure for South Australian COVID management,” he said.
There are 13 active coronavirus cases in South Australia, all bar one of which are being housed at a dedicated medi-hotel. The remaining patient is in hospital.
READ MORE:Covid death toll passes three million
Adeshola Ore1.39pm:Home quarantine scheme a state, territory decision: PM
Scott Morrison says some states and territories could adopt a scheme allowing vaccinated Australians to return via home quarantine even if some jurisdictions reject the plan.
The Prime Minister’s proposal for a home quarantine system has faced resistance from Western Australia. Over the weekend Mr Morrison flagged that vaccinated Australians could be allowed to return via home quarantine in the second half of the year.
Mr Morrison said he wanted “as much national consistency” in the plan but acknowledged it was a public health matter for each state and territory.
“The Commonwealth is not in a position to direct that in any way, shape or form,” he said.
READ MORE:States resist Scott Morrison’s push for home quarantine for returned travellers
Adeshola Ore 1.30pm: PM defends jab rollout after Premier plea to ‘crack on’
Scott Morrison has defended the pace of the nation’s vaccine rollout after NSW Premier said the nation needed to “crack on” with its vaccine rollout.
Mr Berejiklian today called for Australia to implement a “far less rigid” approach to its rollout, noting there was no issue with people aged over 50 having the AstraZeneca shot.
Mr Morrison said the GP vaccine was helping ramp up the nation’s rollout which has now seen 1.58 million vaccines administered.
“We will vaccinate Australians safely and effectively … we’ll be moving as quickly as we can with the supplies we have to be able to ensure they’re getting to the most vulnerable communities,” he said.
From today, national cabinet will meet biweekly in a bid to ramp up the nation’s administration of vaccines.
READ MORE:Berejiklian wants major change to jab rollout
Adeshola Ore 1.20pm: Opportunity to ‘reset agenda, unite veteran community’
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester, who will lead the inquiry’s consultation process, said the commission was an opportunity to “reset the agenda” and “unite the veterans community.”
“We do understand and we do understand that some people in our veteran community and their families will not heal until we have this royal commission,” he said.
Mr Chester said consultation about the terms of reference of the inquiry would begin today but said the government was not “starting from scratching.”
“The work we’re doing right now is already saving lives every day. We have to keep up that good work but we have to listen to the veteran community and their families and find room for improvement,” he said.
“As we approach Anzac Day, Prime Minister, I join with you in our message that our message to all Australians is all about respect, about respecting and honouring those who’ve served in the past, who serve today and the sacrifices they’ve made and the sacrifices their families have made.”
Adeshola Ore1.10pm: Commission will probe ‘systemic issues’, ‘common themes’
The draft terms of the royal commission will be released later today before consultation begins with states and territories and the veteran community.
Mr Morrison said the scope of the commission would include investigating “systemic issues” and “common themes” in past deaths of veterans. It will also examine issues surrounding veterans who are at risk of suicide, assisting Australian Defence Personnel transition from serving to everyday life and housing and employment issues faced by ex-service men and women.
The inquiry will be allowed to hold private sessions due to the sensitive nature of testimonies.
Mr Morrison said he hoped the inquiry would be a “healing process”.
“I think this will be a process that will assist in the comfort that those families have been seeking. And I understand, from listening, that this is a key objective, a key reason why have they sought a commission to be established,” he said.
Mr Morrison said he hoped the inquiry could begin to undertake hearing from July.
He noted that it could take between 18 months to two years for the royal commission to be completed due to the “breadth” of its scope.
READ MORE:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Adeshola Ore12.58pm: PM acknowledges ‘human cost’ of defence deployments
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a long-awaited royal commission into veteran suicide, acknowledging the huge “human cost” of defence deployments.
“We must also understand the long tail of cost. And I just don’t mean the financial cost. More importantly, I mean the human cost. And that cost is most significant when we see it in the death by suicide of our veterans,” the Prime Minister said in Sydney.
Mr Morrison said all Australians wanted to assist the transition of returning soldiers back to everyday life, which he said also put a toll on families.
The Coalition previously proposed an independent and permanent commissioner to investigate veteran suicides, but the legislation failed to receive support in the Senate in December.
Mr Morrison said the federal government remained committed to establishing an ongoing national commissioner to investigate veteran suicides
“I do not want to see there be any delay in moving ahead with examining these issues but also putting in place the permanent arrangements that are necessary,” he said.
Mr Morrison said the government intended to establish both a royal commission and the national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention.
READ MORE:Revelations to ‘knock Aussies off seats’
Ben Packham11.55pm: PM poised to call veteran suicide royal commission
Scott Morrison will shortly announce a royal commission into veterans’ suicide.
The announcement comes after a motion that called on the federal government to establish a royal commission into veteran suicides passed in both houses last month.
Scott Morrison previously said he did not oppose a royal commission, but wanted to legislate an ongoing commissioner to investigate veteran suicide first.
The Coalition previously proposed an independent and permanent commissioner to investigate veteran suicides, but the legislation failed to receive support in the Senate in December.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton said he supported a veteran suicide inquiry and an ongoing independent commissioner.
It comes as Mr Dutton, in his first major decision in the Defence portfolio, confirmed he would overrule Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell’s decision to strip the citations from more than 3000 special forces soldiers in response for the alleged crimes uncovered in the Brereton inquiry.
Senator Lambie called for the Prime Minister to include funding for the royal commission in next month’s budget
“Wake up. We need that royal commission. There is nothing stopping him for calling it today,” she told Sky News.
“I want that royal commission. Call it today.”
READ MORE:Suicide bid fell at final hurdle
Nicholas Jensen10.30am: Home quarantine the path forward: epidemiologist
Deakin University’s chair of epidemiology Catherine Bennett has welcomed the prospect of home quarantine saying it could help open up the country and provide a pathway out of the pandemic.
“If we can move to home quarantine, if that’s something that the states are going to discuss today (in the national cabinet), then it will help develop a pathway forward,” Professor Bennett told ABC this morning.
“It certainly does give us the opportunity to increase the numbers and manage it in a less labour and cost intensive way.”
Professor Bennett said from a university perspective, it would also help the return of international students.
“I am hopeful that by the end of the year, we’ll see more reasons why you can travel and a better ability to manage the numbers of people that could arrive.”
Responding to questions regarding Sydney’s new hotel quarantine cases, Professor Bennett said: “it’s a similar picture across the states … it looks like there is that potential for contamination on the same floor via corridor air which gets contaminated with the doors opening into rooms.”
“Hotel quarantine testing relies on people showing symptoms, but even then, if they do have symptoms, there are one or two days where they’re infectious beforehand,” she said.
“But the good news is that the workers now in hotel quarantine in NSW are all vaccinated, so hopefully that reduces the risk of any of the working staff there being infected and therefore, risk to the wider community as well.”
READ MORE:Vaccines worth gamble as odds firmly on your side
Adeshola Ore10.30am: Call suicides royal commission ‘today’: Lambie
Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has urged the Morrison government to establish a royal commission into veteran suicides immediately after Defence Minister Peter Dutton hinted that an inquiry could be imminent.
Last month, a motion to establish a royal commission into veteran suicides passed in the House of Representatives. Scott Morison had previously said an inquiry could coexist with an independent commissioner, which he remains committed to legislating first.
Senator Lambie said the Prime Minister needed to include funding for the royal commission in next month’s budget
“Wake up. We need that royal commission. There is nothing stopping him for calling it today,” she told Sky News.
“I want that royal commission. Call it today.”
READ MORE:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Nicholas Jensen9.50am:We can do better on vaccines: expert
Infectious diseases expert Sanjaya Senanayake has criticised Australia’s vaccine rollout, saying that we must find ways to accelerate the country’s inoculation program.
“It’s interesting if you look at this globally,” Professor Senanayake told Seven’s Sunrise program. “The countries that have done really badly with controlling COVID-19, like the US and UK, are doing very well with their vaccine rollout … Countries like New Zealand, South Korea and Australia, which have really controlled it well have been very slow with their rollout.”
Professor Senanayake warned that since “we started vaccinating on February 22 we have administered 1.5 million doses … that’s 27,000 doses a day and if we were to maintain that rate, it would take two years”.
“We have to get quicker and we do know that last year we managed to give eight million doses of flu vaccines at a rate of 63,000 doses a day, without doing too much.
“With a concerted effort, whether it’s mass vaccination clinics or optimising the GP pharmacy model, we should be able to do better,” he said.
Regarding the possible link between the AstraZeneca jab and instances of blood clotting, Professor Senanayake said he could understand why people were alarmed, adding “if you don’t know much about medicine or vaccines and risks”.
“In the news you don’t hear 700,000 people got the AstraZeneca vaccine were fine, we only hear if there is a complication.
“You have to remember that COVID isn’t slowing down,” he said.
READ MORE:Fallout from vaccine’s blood clot link
Adeshola Ore9.42am:Dutton flags veteran suicide royal commission
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has flagged that the Morrison government is looking to establish a royal commission into veteran suicide.
Last month, a motion to establish a royal commission into veteran suicide passed in the House of Representatives. Scott Morison had previously said an inquiry could coexist with an independent commissioner, which he remains committed to legislating first. The Coalition previously proposed an independent and permanent commissioner to investigate veteran suicide, but the legislation failed to receive support in the Senate in December.
Mr Dutton told Sky News he supported a royal commission as well as an ongoing independent commissioner.
“The Prime Minister has been strongly supportive of a royal commission and that ongoing process. We’ll have something to say about that very soon,” he said.
It comes as Mr Dutton, in his first major decision in the Defence portfolio, confirmed he would overrule Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell’s decision to strip the citations from more than 3000 special forces soldiers in response for the alleged crimes uncovered in the Brereton inquiry.
READ MORE:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Nicholas Jensen9.20am:No local cases, four quarantine cases in Victoria
Victoria has recorded no local cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, with four new cases detected in hotel quarantine.
Yesterday there were no new local cases and 4 new case acquired overseas (currently in hotel quarantine).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 18, 2021
- 877 vaccine doses were administered
- 7,915 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/0xmnS54Kvl#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/dsdUZEqezf
Victorian health officials received 7915 test results yesterday and are currently monitoring 14 active cases.
Yesterday health officials administered 877 vaccine doses, bringing the state’s total to 164,045 inoculations.
Adeshola Ore9.13am:Dutton ‘can’t understand’ Victoria’s Anzac Day limit
Defence Minister Peter Dutton says he cannot understand the decision by the Victorian government to limit its Anzac Day march to just 5500 people.
The restricted Anzac Day celebrations will take place on the same day about 75,000 AFL fans will flock to the MCG. The decision has caused an uproar by veterans, with some criticising what they see as double standards for public events.
“It’s just a situation I can’t understand,” Mr Dutton told Channel 9.
“Most veterans would say exactly your pint: how can you have 30,000 or 75,000 at a footy game, but the numbers are restricted for an Anzac Day ceremony?”
Mr Dutton urged veterans to complete the required pre-registration for the event so “as many people as possible” could celebrate.
“It’s important for those vets to come together with their mates and be proud of their service,” he said.
READ MORE:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Nicholas Jensen9.11am:No new virus cases in Queensland
Queensland has recorded no cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Monday 19 April â coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 18, 2021
⢠0 new cases
⢠25 active cases
⢠1,518 total cases
⢠2,403,776 tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,442 patients have recovered.#covid19pic.twitter.com/VOeUYU5pSb
There were 3199 test results received across the state in the past 24 hours, with health authorities monitoring 25 active cases.
Queensland has recorded seven COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Adeshola Ore9.05am:Medal decision for soldiers who have ‘done the right thing’
Defence Minister Peter Dutton says reinstating Meritorious Unit Citations for special forces veterans who served in Afghanistan reflects that the “vast majority” of soldiers have “done the right thing”.
The Australian has reported that Mr Dutton has overturned a decision made by Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell to strip citations from more than 3000 special forces soldiers as punishment for the alleged crimes uncovered by the Brereton inquiry. Veterans will now retain their citation unless convicted of war crimes or sacked for poor conduct.
“It’s a decision that talks to our respect for those that receive the unit citation. The one per cent of people who have done nothing wrong will be held accountable for that but for the 99 per cent, these are people that have stood up in our country’s name, they’ve defended our country’s name,” he told Channel 9.
“The vast majority of people have done the right thing. They have protected our country.”
Mr Dutton said he wanted this year’s Anzac Day to focus on the original Anzacs as well as commemorate Australians who have fought in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“They’re wonderful Australians and we really honour them this Anzac Day,” he said.
NSW Liberal MP Dave Sharma said the decision by General Campbell appeared to be an “act of collective punishment”.
“There should be a due process. There should be the presumption of innocence,” he told Sky News
READ MORE:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Adeshola Ore8.49am:trans-Tasman bubble a ‘win-win’ milestone: PM
Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern say the commencement of the two-way trans-Tasman bubble is a testament to both country’s successful management of COVID.
From today, New Zealanders and Australians can travel between the two countries without a two-week stint in hotel quarantine at either end. A one-way bubble allowing New Zealanders to enter some Australian states without undertaking hotel quarantine had been in place since mid-October.
The Prime Minister said the bubble was a “win-win” milestone that would help boost the economies of both countries.
Ms Ardern said the travel corridor marked a “significant step” for both countries’ reconnection with the world.
“It is truly exciting to start quarantine-free travel with Australia. Be it returning family, friends or holiday makers, New Zealand says welcome and enjoy yourself,” she said.
Australia and New Zealand are exploring future travel bubbles with Pacific countries.
READ MORE:NZ, you beauty: your guide what to see
Nicholas Jensen8.35am:Australia’s rollout unlikely to end before May 2022: expert
Top infectious disease expert Marylouise McLaws has urged the federal government to accelerate its vaccination program, saying the country is unlikely to be fully vaccinated until May next year.
“It’s very difficult to keep the economy going while keeping us healthy,” Professor McLaws to Nine’s Today program. “People like myself are looking at it from an outbreak management perspective only, not the economy and not people wanting to see their families.
“If we want to open up, we need at least 85 per cent of people to get a vaccine because we won’t be able to allow home quarantine if it’s done without certain requirements, such as home kits for testing so that you can test and show the authorities.”
Professor McLaws warned that home quarantine and vaccination certificates do no offer the same degrees of protection as hotel quarantine.
“You will need extra tests and you also need a bracelet that shows you’re not leaving home, because while everybody does want to have home quarantine, not everybody’s going to comply,” she said.
Regarding the government’s vaccination timetable, Professor McLaws said she remains concerned about the pace of the rollout.
“At the moment I think the realistic goal is May or June next year.
“We’ve now started to pick up with the AstraZeneca injection, which is about 46,000 injections per day, we will be able to get everybody vaccinated by about May next year. When the Pfizer comes in they will have to really pick up their pace at about 80,000, even 100,000 injections per day.”
READ MORE: Oriel: Vaccines worth the gamble as odds firmly on your side
Adeshola Ore8.23am:‘Stand up in Balmain and spruik coal’
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has challenged Anthony Albanese to spruik coal in inner-city electorates as the party seeks to dilute its hostility towards the sector.
The Australian has reported that opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King said Labor would not stand in the way of new mines, as the party attempts to reset its position in the climate change wars.
Mr McCormack said if Labor was “committed to coal” it should “say so in the inner-city areas”.
“I’d like Anthony Albanese to stand up in Balmain, in his actual electorate and other those words that were uttered by Madeline King,” he told Sky News.
“Say so where it’s, perhaps, not convenient to do so. If they say it in Balmain, Newtown or Marrickville in front of all those city people then I’ll believe Labor. I’ll believe they’re committed to coal. I know, you know, and everybody else knows that Labor are not.”
READ MORE:Labor drops hostility to coal
Nicholas Jensen7.59am:We must open other travel bubbles: Deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has welcomed the opening of the Australia-New Zealand travel corridor, saying that it will encourage politicians to consider how it can launch other travel bubbles across the Asia-Pacific region.
“We can, we will and we must open other bubbles,” Mr McCormack told Sky News this morning. “But we will do it based on the best possible medical advice, so whether that’s Singapore next or one of the Pacific Island nations … we’re in those early preliminary discussions as the vaccine rollouts happen.
“We want to make sure that we get international travel back to some sort of normality while taking the best possible medical advice.”
Asked when travel to the US or Britain would likely resume, Mr McCormack said it was too soon to provide a reasonable timeline. “We don’t want to get into a situation where we have to close things down,” he said. “We will take baby steps.”
Mr McCormack said Australia remains “the envy of the world”, reiterating Scott Morrison’s statement on Sunday that the country was in “no rush”.
Responding to the prospect of home quarantine, Mr McCormack said it was a question that would be discussed by the national cabinet and in consultation with the country’s health experts.
READ MORE: Tourism seeks Asia bubble after NZ launch
Nicholas Jensen7.20am:Study finds variant risk to Pfizer jab
An Israeli study has found that the South African variant of COVID-19 can break the protection provided by the Pfizer vaccine, but insists the shot remains highly effective against the virus.
The research compared almost 400 people who had tested positive for the virus, after they received one or two doses of the vaccine, against the same number of unvaccinated patients with the disease.
It matched age and gender, among other characteristics.
The South African variant was found to comprise approximately 1 per cent of all the COVID-19 cases across all the people studied, according to the study undertaken by Tel Aviv University and the country’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit.
However in patients who received two doses of the vaccine, the variant’s prevalence rate was eight times higher than those who were unvaccinated.
The study suggests the vaccine is less effective against the South African variant, compared with the original COVID-19 variant and the so-called UK variant of the virus.
“We found a disproportionately higher rate of the South African variant among people vaccinated with a second dose, compared to the unvaccinated group. This means that the South African variant is able, to some extent, to break through the vaccine’s protection,” said co-author Professor Adi Stern.
In an update to the study, the researchers said that within the group of people who received two doses, all of the infections occurred within a week to 13 days after the second shot.
None of them tested positive for it 14 days or more after the second dose.
“This may imply that there is a short window of susceptibility to the South African variant, limited to the immediate two weeks after the second dose – but we cannot be confident that this is indeed the case.”
The study was released in early April, but is yet to be peer reviewed.
The researchers cautioned that study had taken a small sample of people infected with the South African variant because of its rarity in Israel.
READ MORE:Paused vaccine given go-ahead
Nicholas Jensen7.00am:US administers 209 million vaccine doses
The US has administered 209,406,814 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 264,505,725 doses, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Sunday.
The figures are up from the 205,871,913 vaccine doses the CDCP said had gone into arms by April 17 out of 264,499,715 doses delivered.
The health agency said 131,247,546 people had received at least one dose while 84,263,408 people are fully vaccinated.
The figures released by the CDCP includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, as well as Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine.
On Tuesday US federal health agencies recommended pausing the use of J&J COVID-19 vaccine for a few days after six women under age 50 developed extremely rare blood clots after receiving the shot.
A total of 7,779,273 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term US care facilities, the CDCP said.
READ MORE: Oriel: Vaccines worth the gamble as odds firmly on your side
Nicholas Jensen6.54am:trans-Tasman travel bubble begins
Two-way travel between Australia and New Zealand commenced last night, with the first flight from Australia scheduled to arrive in Auckland this morning at 9.20am AEST.
Air New Zealand will commence with 30 flights across the Tasman on Monday, carrying more than 5000 people.
Qantas has scheduled 25 flights, Jetstar four flights and Virgin Australia has said it will consider starting flights in the next few months after reassessing flight schedules.
Australians will be allowed to travel to New Zealand on so-called “green zone” flights without seeking an exemption from the current travel ban.
Under the bubble arrangement, Australians and New Zealanders will be able to travel between both countries without undertaking a 14 day period of quarantine.
As well as wearing a mask on the flight, travellers will also be asked to download and use the NZ COVID-19 Tracer app.
Passengers must not have tested positive to COVID-19 in the 14 days before departure, or be waiting on a COVID-19 test result. Moreover, travellers cannot have been in a designated COVID-19 hotspot or transit through another international flight.
At the airport passengers will transit through special zones to ensure no contact with travellers from other parts of the world who must undergo quarantine.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the opening of the travel corridor marked an exciting milestone in Australia’s pandemic recovery.
“It’s been nearly 400 days since you could travel without having to go into quarantine internationally,” he told Sky News this morning. “People are dusting off their passports to travel, and we have over 100 (flights) this week, they’re travelling on 15 different routes, and the flights today are for business class, and economy.”
Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding international travel, Mr Joyce said the Qantas fleet was prepared and will be ready to go by October.
“We’re hopeful that we can get more bubbles like this, like Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Singapore. That would be very good with more people and more benefits to tourism.”
Travellers are not required to have had a COVID-19 vaccine in order to use the bubble.
On Sunday Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared this “milestone is a win-win for Australians and New Zealanders, boosting our economies while keeping our people safe and just in time for Anzac Day”.
READ MORE:Tourism seeks Asia bubble after NZ launch
Nicholas Jensen6.34am:‘Overwhelmed’: New Delhi records 26,000 new cases
India’s capital New Delhi has recorded almost 26,000 COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hours, with approximately one in three people tested for the virus returning a positive result.
New Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwa reported the alarming figures yesterday, while urging the federal government to provide more hospital beds to combat the crisis.
Last night Mr Kejriwal said less than 100 critical care beds were available in the city populated by more than 20 million people, as social media was inundated with people complaining about lack of beds, oxygen cylinders and drugs.
“The bigger worry is that in last 24 hours positivity rate has increased to around 30 per cent from 24 per cent … The cases are rising very rapidly. The beds are filling fast,” Mr Kejriwal told a press conference.
In another statement, the city said it had informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “the dire need of beds and oxygen”, with beds now being set up in schools.
New Delhi is among the worst hit cities in India, where a second wave of infections is overwhelming its health infrastructure.
Gasping for air, two men wearing oxygen masks share a bed in a government hospital in Indiaâs capital New Delhi, victims of the countryâs growing COVID-19 crisis.@reuters
— Doctorstory Nepal-सà¥à¤µà¤¾ नॠधरà¥à¤® हà¥l (@DocstoryNepal) April 16, 2021
From reporting under 10,000 new daily cases earlier this year, daily infections crossed 200,000 on Thursday pic.twitter.com/hCeJzZMUmf
Across the country, India reported 261,500 new cases on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.8 million, second only to the US.
Deaths from COVID-19 rose by a record 1501 to reach a total of 177,150.
Criticism is also mounting of Prime Minister Modi’s handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and rallies continue to be attended by thousands of people.
India’s government relaxed many of its lockdown curbs at the beginning of 2021, although some regions, including New Delhi and Maharashtra, have retained local restrictions.
While Mumbai remains under curfew, New Delhi has permitted cinema halls to operate at 30 per cent capacity, with people allowed to move freely during weekdays.
Amid reports of an acute shortage of oxygen and essential medicines, Mr Modi has ordered authorities to ramp up production of COVID-19 vaccines at all costs.
READ MORE:Covid death toll passes three million
Nicholas Jensen6.15am:Fauci predicts US will resume J&J jab rollout
US chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci expects the health regulators will end their temporary pause on distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, suggesting the decision should come before the end of the week.
“My estimate is that we will continue to use it in some form. But I doubt very seriously if they will just cancel it. I do think that there will likely be some sort of warning or restriction or risk assessment,” Dr Fauci told NBC’s program, Meet the Press.
Last week US health regulators recommended the J&J vaccine be paused following reports of six cases of rare brain blood clots in women, out of approximately seven million people who have received the jab across the country.
The advisory panel of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is set to meet on April 23 to discuss and review their decision.
However, Dr Fauci said he does not know what the final decision will be, but he predicts there will be a resumption in the J&J rollout.
“I don’t know if there have been further cases. We will know that by Friday, and I would be very surprised if we don’t have a resumption in some form by Friday,” he said.
Dr Fauci also suggested a timeline for when children could be vaccinated.
“I would be surprised if we didn’t have the high school kids being able to be vaccinated by the fall term … I think by the time we get to the first quarter of 2022, we will be able to vaccinate children of virtually any age – hopefully before then.”
READ MORE:Old Trump gang is getting back together
Rosie Lewis6.00am:States resist push for home quarantine
Scott Morrison faces resistance from the states as he seeks their approval for a bolstered home quarantine system and tries to prepare the country for essential travellers heading overseas by Christmas.
With national cabinet returning to a “warlike footing” on Monday, meeting twice a week to get the delayed vaccine rollout back on track, Health Minister Greg Hunt also revealed there could be onshore manufacturing of mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna to protect against COVID-19 within a year.
He said there was “very high interest” from CSL and a wide range of other companies, which he would not name because of commercial disclosure requirements. He said the government was already working on a business case after Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews declared an mRNA manufacturing plant could “absolutely” be built here.
The Prime Minister has begun laying the groundwork to get state premiers and Australians used to the idea of travellers going overseas for work, medical or compassionate reasons and using home quarantine on their return.
Amid warnings there could be more than 1000 new coronavirus cases each week once international borders are lifted, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, who has had the toughest domestic border conditions in the country, said his government would “need a lot of convincing to move away from (hotel quarantine) for anyone but the most compassionate cases”.
“We are a strong supporter of formal, secure quarantine. It’s a good system to keep returning Australians in secure, supported accommodation,” his spokeswoman said. “The issue of international borders … is the federal government’s responsibility and is yet to come to national cabinet, but we are always guided by the health advice.”
Ben Packham5.46am:Dutton pulls rank on ADF medal ban
Australia’s special forces veterans who served in Afghanistan will retain their Meritorious Unit Citations unless convicted of war crimes or sacked for poor conduct.
Peter Dutton, in his first major public decision in the Defence portfolio, will officially overrule Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell’s decision to strip the citations from more than 3000 special forces soldiers as a “collective punishment” for the alleged crimes uncovered by the Brereton inquiry.
Mr Dutton will announce the move on Monday – just a week out from Anzac Day – declaring “99 per cent of our ADF personnel serve, and have served, our country with distinction”.
Mr Dutton told The Australian the nation would remember the original Anzacs on April 25, “but my focus will be on those who have returned from recent conflicts”.
“We honour these young men and women and they will be wearing their unit citation medal with pride,” he said.
“Almost 40,000 honoured our country with their service in Afghanistan and Iraq and I couldn’t be more proud of their sacrifice. We honour them and their loved ones this Anzac Day.”
Greg Brown5.30am:Labor drops hostility to coal
Opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King has said Labor will not stand in the way of new mines and believes Australia will export coal beyond 2050, as the party moves to recast itself as a middle-ground option in the climate change wars.
Ms King, a West Australian MP who took over the resources portfolio in January, said she is up for the challenge of taking on the perception in Western Australia and Queensland that federal Labor is not supportive of the resources industry.
When asked whether Labor supported the coal sector, Ms King said “you bet it does,” and stressed her belief that Australia would continue to export the resource past 2050.
“It is a major export. It is in our top three in any given time at the moment,” Ms King told The Australian.
“For so long as international markets want to buy Australian coal, which is high quality, then they will be able to.”
Ms King said Labor was “absolutely not supportive one bit” of a push by Malcolm Turnbull for a moratorium on new coalmines, while adding there would also be “huge opportunities” for mining companies as the growth of low-emissions technologies increased demand for lithium, copper and nickel.
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