PoliticsNow: Albanese targets women, families and workers in budget reply; Labor’s $6bn childcare package
In his first budget-in-reply speech as Labor leader, Anthony Albanese said Josh Frydenberg’s recovery plan fails to deliver a ‘stronger, fairer and more secure future for all Australians’.
- Albanese to unveil $6bn childcare package
- PM to Albanese: What are you going to cut?
- Senate backs uni overhaul
- Birmingham, Cash promoted
- NSW records 8 local cases
- Victoria records 11 new cases
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of politics in Canberra and around the country. As Scott Morrison calls on Anthony Albanese to say what spending he would cut in his budget-in-reply speech tonight, the Opposition leader is set to unveil a $6bn childcare package. Humanities degrees to increase as Education Minister Dan Tehan’s higher education reforms set to become law. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham will become finance minister and Michaelia Cash will lead the senate from November, Scott Morrison has revealed.
Victoria has recorded 11 new cases today, while NSW logged eight community transmission cases.
Tess Akerman, Greg Brown 10.50pm: Childcare subsidy ‘a win in my book’
Anthony Albanese’s $6.2bn childcare funding package will save families up to $2900 a year as Labor puts female workforce participation at the heart of its agenda.
Under the Opposition Leader’s plan, unveiled in his first budget reply speech on Thursday night, the $10,500 childcare subsidy cap for families earning more than $189,000 will be scrapped.
The maximum subsidy rate, which applies for families earning less than $69,000, will be lifted from 85 per cent to 90 per cent, with Labor stating a long-term aim of applying the maximum subsidy rate for all families.
Greg Brown 10.20pm: Labor vows $20bn to upgrade power grid
A Labor government would establish a new public body that would pour $20bn into upgrading the nation’s energy transmission system, and Anthony Albanese vows the modern energy grid would be “built by Australian workers using Australian suppliers”.
In his budget reply speech, the Opposition Leader committed to establishing a body called Rewiring the Nation to “modernise the grid” in line with a blueprint by the Australian Energy Market Operator. The body would hand out $20bn of cheap finance to the private sector.
Labor predicts that upgrading the grid could bolster the economy by $40bn.
Ben Packham, Will Glasgow 9.50pm: Japan wants our help to get in on Five Eyes
Former Japanese ambassador to Australia Sumio Kusaka has pushed for Australian support for his country to be admitted to the West’s “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network and for Taiwan’s inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Amid plans for Scott Morrison to visit Tokyo later this year, Mr Kusaka is calling for a new era of co-operation to help counter an “aggressive and bullying China” and respond to the US retreat from global governance.
In a piece commissioned by Asialink at the University of Melbourne and published in The Australian, Mr Kusaka says Japan and Australia — already “special strategic partners” — must strengthen the regional order amid the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting trade, sharing intelligence, and working with like-minded partners to “find a path for peaceful coexistence with China”.
Andrew Kidd Fraser 9.20pm: Safe seats await ‘cannon fodder’ candidates
The date of the Queensland election has been set for nearly three years, but with only three days to go until nominations close, both major parties are still to announce candidates for several seats.
The ALP still has to announce candidates in nine seats: the Gold Coast-based seats of Surfers Paradise, Scenic Rim, Broadwater and Mudgeeraba; the Sunshine Coast seat of Maroochydore; Lockyer in the Brisbane Valley; Burnett near Bundaberg, and Callide and Condamine in the state’s west.
All these seats are safe for the LNP, and the ALP often has to get one of their younger city-based members to “fly the flag” in what is often hostile territory.
The LNP claims that it will be running candidates in all 93 seats, but they still need to announce candidates in six seats: Ipswich West, Bundamba and Jordan around Ipswich; Miller, on Brisbane’s southside; Morayfield, on the northern outskirts of Brisbane; and Woodridge, in Logan on Brisbane’s southern outskirts.
Angelica Snowden 8.50pm: ‘Revive the Sydney CBD or face a death spiral’
Sydney’s rooftops and courtyards should be transformed into ¬socially distanced live performance spaces and museums and galleries funded to open late into the night in a bid to revive the CBD, a rescue plan says.
Think tank Committee for Sydney welcomed news that NSW was preparing to lift cap¬acity from one person per 4sq m to two at indoor venues, but in a ¬revival plan for the CBD it warned the city could “death spiral” ¬unless short and long-term ¬solutions were implemented.
Museum of Contemporary Art director Liz Ann Macgregor said she would open the cultural institution later into the night to help kick-start travel to one of the most “important precincts in the CBD”, The Rocks.
“With more funding and support from government or philanthropy, we would love to be operating into the evenings,” Ms Macgregor said.
Dennis Shanahan 8.10pm: Australia-Japan alliance has never been more critical
Australia and Japan face the biggest strategic and economic challenge in balancing our alliances and competing superpowers in the Indo-Pacific since the signing of the post-war agreement in 1957 as the US presidential election is held at a time of unprecedented Chinese aggression.
This is the simple message, less diplomatically expressed, from the highly respected former Japanese ambassador to Australia Sumio Kusaka, who has called for an urgent expansion of the already strong Australia-Japan relationship in the face of China’s “bullying” and US “isolationism”.
It is also why Scott Morrison was considering a personal visit to Tokyo to former prime minister Shinzo Abe and is still considering a quarantine breakout to visit the new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga. It’s why Foreign Minister Marise Payne went to Washington DC, it’s why she went to Tokyo this week to meet counterparts from Japan, the US and India, and it’s why she’s going to Singapore.
Geoff Chambers 7.40pm: Albanese targets women, families and workers
Anthony Albanese’s $26.7bn pre-election manifesto targeting women, families and blue-collar workers will be underpinned by childcare subsidies for mums to get back to work, building Australian-made trains and pumping more renewable energy into the electricity grid.
In his first budget-in-reply speech as Labor leader, Mr Albanese said Josh Frydenberg’s economic recovery plan “fails the test” in delivering a “stronger, fairer and more secure future for all Australians”.
“The budget reflects the government’s character of being guided by short-term politics, not long-term vision. This budget leaves people behind,” Mr Albanese said.
“Women have suffered most during the pandemic but are reduced to a footnote. The best the government can offer is they can drive on a road. And if you are over 35 you have certainly been left behind.”
Wires 7.30pm: Watch live: Anthony Albanese’s 2020 Budget reply
Watch as Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese reads his 2020 budget reply speech live from Parliament House.
Richard Ferguson 7.20pm: PM urges states to spend more on Covid fight
Scott Morrison says Western Australia and other states need to spend more to fight the coronavirus recession, as WA’s Labor government unveils a $1.2bn surplus.
A soaring iron ore price, a larger share of GST revenues and the contentious hard border policy has propelled WA to its unlikely surplus.
The Prime Minister called on West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and other premiers to pour more resources into the COVID recovery, saying the federal government is not the only authority needed to jumpstart the economy.
“The federal government is pouring significant resources to support Western Australia through this coronavirus crisis. And it’s important that the state governments do the same thing,” he told Perth’s 6PR radio.
“And that’s why the Reserve Bank governor was calling on the state governments to put an extra $40 billion into things like social housing developments, local governments and so on,
It really is a matter for the state government, how they achieve that. But they have a very important role to play, it’s just not the federal government that has to get the nation through this crisis.”
READ MORE: Perfect credentials, imperfect response
Tom Switzer 7pm: Upside down view of what should be
Maybe the US presidential tickets are upside-down. Americans might face a less troubling choice if Mike Pence and Kamala Harris were the presidential candidates rather than the actual candidates, who embarrassed America on the global stage last week.
In an encounter characterised by relatively polite disagreements, the 61-year-old Vice-President and 55-year-old California senator defended their party’s agendas, while carefully avoiding the nasty attacks of the first presidential debate. In substance, the candidates echoed the disagreements of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but with a muted tone that seemed aimed at reassuring the public about their respective commitments to civility.
Paul Garvey 6.17pm: WA budget surplus ‘justifies hard border policy’
A soaring iron ore price, a larger share of GST revenues and the contentious hard border policy has propelled WA to an unlikely surplus in 2020, paving the way for a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure splurge ahead of next March’s election.
As the other states and the federal government rack up massive debts as they attempts to weather the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, WA premier Mark McGowan and his treasurer Ben Wyatt on Thursday officially unveiled their plans to use the state’s latest iron ore windfall to splash out on the biggest public infrastructure spend in WA history and another generous wave of household bill relief.
But the government has formally abandoned its long-held goal of reducing the state’s debt in the longer term, confirming it will take on billions in new borrowings in the years ahead.
Mr Wyatt defended the delivery of a budget surplus in the middle of an economic crisis, arguing that the state needed to maintain firepower in case the state experienced a second wave.
“It’s not about how much you spend, it’s how you spend it,” Mr Wyatt said.
Richard Ferguson 5.40pm: Rapid Covid tests may open borders
Australia’s top health officials are considering how rapid coronavirus tests that can detect cases in 30 minutes should be rolled out, as distributors say they can help to open the borders.
As countries around the world invest in and distribute rapid antigen tests — which require only a saliva swab instead of prodding the throat and nose — the Australian Health Protections Principals Committee will consider how these products should be used here.
Pantonic Health directors Sally and Laura Panton — the daughters of David Panton, the long-time partner of former foreign minister Julie Bishop — are among four Australian distributors ready to roll out the anti-gen tests following approvals by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last week.
The tests could be used to help turnaround tests of aged-care workers quicker, and speed up the opening of borders and the return of mass events.
“They are low-cost, easy to use, point-of-care devices that produce results in 10 minutes. Alternatively, results from existing lab-based PCR tests can take days,” Laura Panton told The Australian.
READ the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 5.20pm: 10,000 seasonal workers if foreign nationals allowed in
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says Australia could welcome an extra 10,000 Pacific Islanders and seasonal workers to pick the country’s crops if the states finalise agreements to let the foreign nationals in.
Mr Littleproud said he expected the Morrison government’s more than $50m in budget incentives to get young, unemployed Australians into the regions picking fruit and changes to visas for people doing agricultural work would fill the 26,000 worker shortfall forecast for the horticulture industry by March.
“There’ll be some more announcements soon around visa arrangements,” he told the National Press Club in Canberra.
“Hopefully if the states will approve some of these (Pacific Labour and seasonal worker expansion programs), we’ll get 1000 to 4000 (extra workers) and there’s potentially about 10,000 sitting there.
“We’ve got six of the 10 Pacific countries signed up to it. In terms of the demand, we want every Australian to take these jobs but we understand being practical about it that’s not going to happen.”
Mr Littleproud also accused Queensland of being “parochial” by keeping its border closed to NSW and Victoria, saying it was “stupid” the state wanted overseas workers for the harvest season but would not let in someone from NSW to do the job.
He has previously warned farmers in Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania could miss out on accessing thousands of overseas workers to help pick crops if their governments don’t sign the agricultural workers’ code that allows cross-border movements.
“Queensland has come to us and said ‘we want to bring in seasonal Pacific workers from overseas’ but they will not let a picker from Griffith drive from Griffith to Bowen to pick mangoes unless they isolate for 14 days and pay $2500 for the privilege,” he said.
“But they want to bring overseas workers in and let them isolate on the farm and let them work at no cost. That is not common sense, that is stupidity, and the Queensland government is using borders as a parochial political tool at the moment and they need to get out of the way.”
READ MORE: Helping hand for farms’ backpacker work force
Greg Brown 4.00pm: Albanese to unveil $6bn childcare package
EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Albanese will announce a $6 billion childcare package in tonight’s budget reply speech.
Labor sources say the funding increase, budgeted over the forward estimates, will be part of a focus on improving female employment through the COVID-19 crisis.
Mr Albanese’s office declined to comment.
Opposition childhood education spokeswoman Amanda Rishworth has been contacted for comment
READ MORE: Albanese to reply with pitch for power
Jade Gailberger 3.48pm: By-election scheduled for LNP-held Queensland seat
A by-election in the Queensland federal seat of Groom will be held on November 28, after the resignation of MP John McVeigh.
READ MORE: Katter, One Nation deal chaos, says Palaszczuk
Agencies 3.30pm: Fly in the ointment at US vice presidents’ debate
Oh to be a fly on the wall — or in the hair — at today’s US vice presidential debate.
Mike Pence received an unwelcome visitor during his showdown with Democrat Kamala Harris when a large fly perched on the vice president’s white hair for two minutes, triggering an avalanche of online commentary.
Pence was discussing the sombre issue of racial injustice and police reform when the winged interloper outmanoeuvred the plexiglas barriers installed to prevent the spread of coronavirus and landed on the man who is just a heartbeat away from the US presidency.
And there it stayed. For. Two. Agonising. Minutes.
A split television screen showed Harris looking at Pence while the fly basked in the spotlight, but it was not immediately clear if she saw it.
Everyone else apparently did.
Social media, perhaps in a collective lull given that the evening was far more civil than the chaotic opening clash between President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden last week, immediately pronounced the fly the winner of the debate.
“OK, this is seriously important debate, but no one is gonna remember anything but that fly,” tweeted a user named Sykersomatic.
“That fly was in Pence’s hair a long time. It should quarantine,” former Missouri secretary of state Jason Kander added, seemingly alluding to the rampant spread of the coronavirus through the White House’s ranks.
Others suggested the critter check into Walter Reed, the military medical centre just outside Washington where Trump spend three nights receiving treatment for COVID-19.
As the online banter snowballed, a new Twitter account, @MikePenceFly___, quickly racked up some 60,000 followers.
Even Biden himself got in on the action, fundraising off the insect drama. “Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly,” the Democratic nominee tweeted. And on cue, the Joe Biden campaign store kicked into gear to offer a “Truth Over Flies Fly Swatter,” for $10. — AFP
READ MORE: Debate courteous but evasive and Who won? Our experts deliver their verdicts
Damon Kitney 3.02pm: Will Packer sacrifice himself for Crown?
It was the moment close watchers of Patricia Bergin’s inquiry into James Packer’s Crown Resorts had been waiting for.
The full and frank exchange on Thursday afternoon between Bergin and Packer at the conclusion of the billionaire’s evidence to the inquiry was intense, forensic and revelatory.
It even prompted Packer, lathered in sweat and looking and sounding weary after another marathon three-hour interrogation about his involvement with controversial junket operators, to crack a joke.
“I think you are underselling yourself,’’ Packer said with a wide smile to Bergin when she mused about the failures over decades to bring about more co-operation between casinos, regulators and law enforcement bodies, to which she replied with a wry smile that she was not known for the trait.
“I think your recommendations are going to be listened to very carefully.”
But when it came to the serious matters of Crown’s governance and how it can salvage its Sydney casino licence from the wreck of this inquiry, Packer was seemingly prepared to sacrifice himself.
READ Damon Kitney’s full commentary on James Packer’s appearance at the Casino inquiry here
Will Glasgow 2.57pm: Payne to further Quad agenda in Singapore
Foreign minister Marise Payne has flown from a high-level Quad meeting in Tokyo to Singapore, as Australia, Japan and the US embark on a co-ordinated diplomatic push in South East Asia to counter Chinese assertiveness.
The Australian foreign minister will meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan during her two day trip.
“My visit is an opportunity to advance Australia’s interests and reaffirm our shared commitment to promoting a stable, inclusive and prosperous region, with ASEAN at its core,” said Ms Payne in a statement.
READ the full story here
Richard Ferguson 2.36pm: Morrison defends hiring credit for younger workers
Scott Morrison has defended the JobMaker hiring credit’s focus on younger workers, saying they have suffered three times more than Australians over the age of 35.
In question time, Anthony Albanese has repeatedly asked why workers older than 35 are not eligible for the $200-to-100 a week wage subsidy, accusing the Prime Minister of leaving middle-aged and older workers behind.
Mr Morrison told the House that the pandemic recession had hit younger workers the worst and his focus was getting them back into work.
“We must not make the mistakes of the past and allow the young people, who lose their job today, become the long-term unemployed of tomorrow,” he said.
“There has been a 6.2% decrease in the number of jobs between those aged 15-34. In contrast, over the same time, the decline in jobs for those aged over 35 has been 1.7%.
“That is, there has been more than three times the impact on those younger workers under 35.
“The effect is even more stark when you look at the hours worked. Over that same time, the number of hours worked by those aged 15-34 has declined by 8.5%. While those aged over 35, the decline has been 2.3%.
“The Liberals and Nationals believe that when people start their working life, on working age, that they shouldn’t be starting in unemployment and on welfare. Mr Speaker, our plan is to ensure that young people get into jobs, and that they are able to experience the benefit of jobs for their full lifetime.”
READ MORE: IOC confident Tokyo Games will go ahead
Richard Ferguson 2.25pm: PM to Albanese: ‘What are you going to cut?’
Scott Morrison has called on Anthony Albanese to say what spending he would cut in his budget-in-reply speech on Thursday night, accusing him of being a “two-way operator.”
The Opposition Leader will use his first budget reply speech to roll out major economic and social policies, including productivity reforms aimed at repairing skills shortages, and to deliver a pre-election pitch to women, young families, blue-collar workers and older Australians.
Labor has also attacked the government repeatedly this week for the size of the nation’s post-coronavirus debt.
The Prime Minister said in question time that if Mr Albanese wants to talk about debt, he must detail how he would pay for any policies he will detail tonight.
“Those opposite are saying here today that the debt is too high, the deficit is too big. That’s what they’re saying.
But they’re also saying that the debt should be greater, and we should spend more … if he wishes to spend more, then he needs to say, Mr Speaker, what he’s going to cut.
“He needs to say what he needs to cut, which roads, which dams, which hospitals, which schools.
The Leader of the Opposition has an each-way bet on everything, Mr Speaker. He would go for a win and a place in a two-horse race, Mr Speaker. That’s what this Leader of the Opposition is about.”
READ MORE: Albanese to reply with policy pitch for power
Staff writers 2.15pm: Who won the Harris-Pence VP debate?
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris gave as good as they got as they clashed over key issues, including the President’s virus diagnosis.
READ the verdicts from our experts Troy Bramston, Tom Switzer, Greg Sheridan and Cameron Stewart
John Durie 2.05pm: New blow to bid to protect fuel refining
The federal government was hoping business investment would drive the Australian COVID recovery, but days after the budget and a few weeks after Energy Minister Angus Taylor moved to protect the nation’s fuel and refining industry, Ampol has flagged the potential closure of its Lytton refinery in Queensland.
It’s early days yet but Ampol boss Matt Halliday says the operation is under review with a decision due by June next year.
READ John Durie’s full story on the Ampol refinery here
Richard Ferguson 1.22pm: Radical uni fee overhaul set to become law
Scott Morrison’s radical overhaul of university student fees has been agreed to by the senate, all but guaranteeing it will become law.
From next year, the cost of post-pandemic job creator subjects like maths and science will be slashed, while the price of law and humanities degrees will go up by as much as 113 per cent.
Education Minister Dan Tehan secured the first successful passage of the Coalition’s higher education reform agenda in seven years through a deal with Centre Alliance – which will see South Australia’s universities get more student places and Commonwealth funding.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation also backed the Job-Ready Graduates package. It will now go back to the House of Representatives to agree to amendments made by the government and Centre Alliance.
It wasn't like I chose not to go to uni. I don't remember ever making that choice. Growing up like I did, where I did, you didn't see it as an option.
— Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) October 7, 2020
Uni was for other people. Other people who don't live in public housing, with dads who don't drive trucks. pic.twitter.com/W4soKOJ1sy
Labor, the Greens, and independent senators Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick all opposed the university reforms.
READ MORE: Lifeline for unis to save research
The Mocker 1.03pm: Distasteful hate circus after Trump diagnosis
Four days after announcing he and First Lady Melania Trump had contracted coronavirus,
US President Donald Trump returned to the White House after being discharged from the
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He also tweeted that he was “Feeling really
good”. This is a terrible outcome, apparently, and we should all be infuriated.
Loathing one’s political enemies is one thing. Wishing them dead or hoping they won’t recover is entirely another.
READ The Mocker’s full story on Donald Trump’s Covid diagnosis here
Charlie Peel 12.47pm: Katter, Hanson to swap preferences in state election
Katter’s Australian Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation have announced they will swap preferences, likely boosting their chances of winning seats in the Queensland election.
Ms Hanson also ruled out working with Labor to form government in the event of a hung parliament.
The conservative minor parties will list each other second on how-to-vote cards distributed to voters on October 31.
Both leaders reminded voters that their how-to-vote cards were only a guide and encouraged voters to list parties in their own preferred order.
KAP leader Robbie Katter said the preference deal reflected the “failure” of Labor and the LNP in regional Queensland.
“For far too long the major parties have continued to sell off our assets, pushed green ideology and failed to invest in regional job-creating mega-infrastructure projects,” Mr Katter said.
“Queensland can’t afford another four years of major party dominance, we know it doesn’t work, enough is enough, times up.”
Mr Katter said his decision had been influenced by the LNP’s call to preference the Greens ahead of Labor.
“We can’t risk the Greens grabbing a seat, it’s a major threat to the future of North Queensland,” he said.
“Both the LNP and Labor are Brisbane based parties and the evidence of this is beyond clear.
“Stronger minor parties means politicians have to actually fight for your vote in order to make a difference.”
Ms Hanson said her preference deal with KAP would shift the election focus onto regional Queensland, where both Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and LNP leader Deb Frecklington are campaigning.
“There has always been a synergy between One Nation and Katters, particularly when it comes to regional matters like our strong support for coal mining and our farming sector,” she said.
“For the first time in political history, we’re seeing Labor and the LNP preference the Greens, which most regional Queenslanders are horrified at the thought of.
“Regional Queenslanders are crying out for proper representation at this election and if the Katters can help One Nation secure seats and vice versa, that will be a significant win for the regions, particularly those in the western and northern parts of the state.”
READ MORE: You’ll have to do better, Katter tells ALP
Cameron Stewart 12.05pm: WATCH LIVE: Pence, Harris face off in VP debate
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris debate each other in Salt Lake City, Utah. It will be the most watched VP debate in decades, particularly after the chaotic first presidential debate.
Sarah Elks 12.04pm: Palaszczuk now on ‘high alert’ over NSW cases
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will not rule out reopening Queensland’s borders to NSW on November 1, but says she’s on “high alert” after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told her residents to be “on high alert”.
Ms Palaszczuk, touring Townsville on day three of the election campaign, admitted she had not spoken to Ms Berejiklian for “two or three weeks,” but insisted the pair had a good working relationship.
“We are going to be looking at those (NSW) cases, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Premier of NSW has to say,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She quoted Ms Berejiklian telling NSW residents to “continue to be vigilant and continue to be on high alert”.
“Now that puts me on high alert,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“If the NSW premier is on high alert about those cases, I’m on high alert. Of course, we hope that NSW gets on top of those cases, very, very quickly.”
Queensland recorded zero new cases overnight, has just four active cases and conducted 6729 tests.
Of her relationship with Ms Berejiklian, Ms Palaszczuk said she thought they spoke “two or three weeks ago, from memory”.
“I’m always happy to speak to her, she hasn’t made an effort to contact me, I’m more than happy (to have her contact me),” she said.
Ms Berejiklian has criticised Queensland’s strict rule – 28 days of no community transmission and no unlinked cases – saying it would be impossible to meet.
But Ms Palaszczuk said it had been possible for other states.
“It’s happened in Tasmania, it’s happened in SA, it’s happened in WA before, and it’s happened in Queensland,” she said.
“I’m the Premier of Queensland, and my job is to keep Queenslanders safe, if the NSW Premier is saying she’s on high alert about these new cases, I’m on high alert.
Asked whether that meant she would rule out November 1 as the reopening date, Ms Palaszczuk said: “I’m not ruling anything out … there is another 24 hours for them to look at where those cases have come from”.
“I’ve said all along, NSW is in school holidays, we’ll be watching that very closely over the next couple of weeks.”
Ms Palaszczuk rejected Ms Berejiklian’s allegation she was “making every excuse” to keep the border closed.
“No, not at all. I want to see the day where all of Australia opens up, but for that to happen we need to make sure that community transmission is under control.
And on Ms Berejiklian’s claim QLD’s COVID-19 response hasn’t been properly tested because the borders have been shut, Ms Palaszczuk again rubbished the suggestion.
“I say you only have to look at the record of Queenslanders. It’s Queenslanders who have responded to everything we’ve asked them to do,” she said.
“ (Dr Jeannette Young)’s health advice has kept Queenslanders safe. That’s my job, that’s my job, to keep Queenslanders safe.”
She said Dr Young spoke to her NSW counterpart on an almost-daily basis.
Imogen Reid 12.00pm: Healthcare worker’s social event at centre of NSW cluster
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said a healthcare worker included in the new Liverpool Dialysis cluster hosted a social event in her home.
“Of that cluster, we had one person who hosted a social event at her home, and that was a female in their 30s, who is also a healthcare worker at Liverpool Hospital,” Dr Chant said.
“The healthcare worker did not have symptoms, so it’s very important to remember that in any reporting. In terms of her, two household contacts have become infected, a male in his 80s and a female in their 60s.
“And then two people who attended the social event have also become cases. That’s a lady in her 30s and another lady in their 50s.”
Dr Chant said the party was traced as the source of infections after the woman in her 50s presented for testing.
Dr Chant said a further two cases have been identified as healthcare workers.
“If I now go to the second cluster that we have been investigating, you might recall yesterday that we identified that there were two cases – one, a gentleman in their 50s, and the second, a female in their 50s,” Dr Chant said.
“What has subsequently transpired is a household contact of the gentleman in his 50s is actually a co-worker of the lady in their 50s. And they are both healthcare workers who work at a private healthcare clinic.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the clusters made up of healthcare workers shows how “important it is for everybody to do well in the way that they manage PPE.”
READ MORE: Berejiklian slams venues amid NSW virus spike
ROSIE LEWIS 11.44am: PM makes assurances on JobMaker hiring credit
Scott Morrison has refused to say if he will strengthen the eligibility test for his wage subsidy scheme targeting unemployed Australians aged up to 35, insisting it is already designed to ensure an employer can’t reduce an older employee’s hours or replace them with several new, younger workers.
The union movement has warned the $4bn JobMaker hiring credit program “was open to rorting” and incentivised employers to take on younger, casual workers over older Australians who will not be eligible for the subsidy.
While an employer must show their headcount and payroll has increased compared to September 30 by taking on the subsidised younger worker, the unions say the business could still employ several Australians aged 35 and under and reduce existing workers’ hours or remove them altogether.
Asked if he was willing to bolster the eligibility test to specify an older worker could not be replaced by younger workers or have their hours reduced, the Prime Minister said: “That is exactly what the hiring credit is designed to do, to ensure that it is not abused.
“We have a very strong track record of enforcing the integrity of our measures. Youth unemployment rate is more than double what the national unemployment rate is.
“An Australian starting out their working life on welfare is a sentence of disengagement from Australian life. And I don’t want to see any young people start out their working life on welfare. I want them in a job. I know their parents want them in a job. I know their grandparents want them in a job.”
Under the government’s plan, which would run for 12 months, an eligible employer would receive $200 per week for hiring a person aged 16-29 or $100 per week for someone aged 30-35, with a maximum benefit of $10,400 per new position created.
The new employees must work at least 20 hours per week.
The bill setting up the JobMaker hiring credit scheme leaves it open to Josh Frydenberg to establish the rules setting out which employers will qualify for the payments, the employees who will receive the payments, the amount and timing of the payments and obligations for recipients of the payment.
Mr Morrison said some groups would “try and set young people against older people, women against men, jobs in one sector versus jobs in another sector” but he wanted to unite the country.
READ MORE: Workers ‘keen’ to get back to office
Remy Varga 11.33am: Mystery cases ‘more concerning than daily tally’
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Allan Cheng said he was concerned with the recurrent mystery cases, which he said was more important than the daily case numbers.
He said the data just needed to be reappraised everyday.
“I think we just need to look at the figures every day, I think as we’ve seen this is an unpredictable disease,” he said.
Professor Cheng said chance played a huge part when numbers fell to the low levels currently seen in Victoria.
He said the most recent mystery cases were detected in Dandenong, Altona North, Blackburn, Moreland, Wyndham and Maribyrnong.
READ MORE: Editorial — Reforms for not-so-super funds
Yoni Bashan 11.06am: Eight new NSW cases as two clusters emerge
Eight new cases of community transmission have been identified in NSW overnight, five of which have been linked to a known cluster.
12 new cases of #COVID19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 8, 2020
Of the 12 new cases:
- 4 are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine
- 8 are locally acquired (3 of these cases were announced to the public yesterday, and are included in today’s numbers) pic.twitter.com/NKLXGKmJlv
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the remaining three cases are linked, however their source has not been identified.
During a press conference on Thursday, Ms Berejiklian also admonished venues that were not doing enough to maintain COVID safety protocols, which assist contact tracing efforts.
“Some businesses are not doing enough to be COVID safe,” Ms Berejiklian said. “I have no patience anymore for businesses that aren’t doing the right thing. We can’t have a few people let down the whole community.”
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the cases of transmission had been traced to two emerging clusters, including one at Liverpool Hospital.
A healthcare worker at the hospital, a woman aged in her 30s, hosted a social event at her home while she was asymptomatic, leading to two household contacts – a man in his 80s and a woman in her 60s – becoming infected. A further two attendees at the social event also became infected with the virus.
The second cluster has been traced to a private healthcare clinic. Dr Chant said a tentative link exists between this cluster and the Liverpool cluster via one of the women who attended the social event.
“We are obviously investigating whether they’re linked,” she said. — With Imogen Reid
READ MORE: Europe struggles to contain new spikes
Remy Varga 10.59am: Six new Victorian cases linked to fresh outbreaks
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says six of Thursday’s 11 new cases are linked to new outbreaks.
He said there were 14 mystery cases in metropolitan Melbourne, with 0 in the regions.
He said one new case in Mitchell Shire was linked to the Kilmore cluster with another in Mildura that is suspected to be a false positive.
“It’s not the detection of a positive case that’s the problem,” he said.
“It’s about the spread of this virus without us knowing.”
There are 17 Victorians being treated for the disease in hospital, with one in intensive care but not requiring a ventilator.
He said 500 Victorians in the Kilmore region had come forward for testing.
Mr Andrews says he will “have more to say” on restrictions easing in the days to come, stressing any decision will be driven by medical advice and case numbers.
Under Victoria’s original road map out of lockdown, metropolitan Melbourne was scheduled to transition to step three on October 19.
But Mr Andrews on Wednesday said he was unable to offer any certainty to lockdown weary Victorians on when restrictions would ease.
“I know that’s frustrating, I know that’s challenging but we will have more to say in the days and weeks to come about what the rest of this year looks like,” he said.
“You only get one chance to take these safe and steady steps and I and all the team.... are determined to do this in a safe way, in a steady way, so we aren’t pinballing in and out of really onerous restrictions throughout the summer and well into 2021.”
Under the new road map, Melburnians will be able to visit each other’s homes and move freely when the state records zero mystery cases over a 14-day period, as well as seeing a rolling daily average of less than five cases over two weeks.
Mr Andrews said a call on easing restrictions would be made on October 18, the day before the state was scheduled to transition to step three under the original road map.
When asked if there might instead be a partial easing of restrictions, Mr Andrews said everything was “on the table”.
“The best and most important thing to do is wait these next few days until we get to the 18th and make that call at that point,” he said.
“I just want to reassure Victorians that everything is on the table but only those things that are safe will be chosen.”
READ MORE: Vaccine time frame backs key forecasts
Richard Ferguson 10.29am: Birmingham, Cash to be promoted in mini-shuffle
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham will replace his colleague Mathias Cormman as finance minister from November, Scott Morrison has revealed.
Once Senator Cormann leaves office at the end of the year, Senator Birmingham will take over both the finance portfolio and the leadership of the government in the senate.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash will become the government’s deputy leader in the senate.
I have worked with both Simon and Michaelia over many years and I’m pleased to be able to appoint them to these very important roles within the government,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra.
“That will ensure the strong continuity of what the government is doing, the implementation of our budget.”
READ MORE: JobMaker will not be rorted, Frydenberg says
Richard Ferguson 10.25am: PM nominates Cormann for OECD leadership role
Scott Morrison has nominated outgoing Finance Minister Mathias Cormann to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Prime Minister says Senator Cormann is suited to be secretary-general of the OECD because of his seven-year run as finance minister, his support for free markets, and his ability to boost Asia-Pacific nations in the elite group of nations.
“The OECD is the gathering and a gathering, I would say, that is more important than I think it’s ever been during its time, because it brings together the liberal democracies and market-based
economies of advanced countries all around the world,” he said in Canberra.
“And our view is – and I know and in my many, many discussions with the leaders of those countries that form the OECD – that we want a global economy in the future that will grow on the basis of those market-based principles.
“Mathias’ 7-year experience as our longest-serving Finance Minister, Belgium-born, French-German and Flemish to boot, I think ideally equips him for the challenging role of the Secretary-General of the OECD.”
Senator Cormann thanked Mr Morrison for nominating him for the secretary-generalship of the OECD, saying he can make a real difference to the global group.
Senator Cormann will go up a swath of international candidates – including Estonia’s president Kersti Kaljulaid – for the leading global economic job.
“The OECD is without any doubt one of the most consequential international economic policy and governance bodies in the world today. Through its work over the past six decades, it makes a difference to the lives, the daily lives, of billions of people all around the world,” he said in Canberra.
“As we confront the economic impact of the global COVID recession, this is going to be a particularly important time in the history of the OECD.
“I believe I can make a real difference. I believe I bring a combination of the right skills and experiences and perhaps a rare perspective to an organisation made up of 38 nations from Europe, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.”
READ the full story here
David Rogers 10.23am: Share market jumps to fresh five-week high
Australia’s share market jumped to a fresh 5-week high in early trading after strong gains on Wall Street.
The SP/ASX 200 index rose 0.8pc to 6086.8 points, its highest level since September 4th.
Gains were broad-based with all sectors except Real Estate in the green.
Technology was strongest with Zip Co up 4pc after its partner QuadPay hired PayPal’s former head of sales.
Netwealth rose 4.3pc after reporting a strong inflow of funds under administration.
The biggest contributors to strength are BHP, CSL, ANZ, Westpac and Macquarie, with gains of 1-2pc.
READ MORE at Trading Day
Richard Ferguson 9.58am: Foreign partners must have a ‘crack at learning English’
Scott Morrison says foreign partners of Australians must have a “decent crack” at learning English if they want to stay, as the government comes under pressure over tough new migration laws.
Partner visas will only be awarded to those who pass the English-language test for the first time.
The Prime Minister said the policy – which has been criticised by Labor – is actually pro-migrant as those partners applying for visas will be given government help to learn English.
“They don’t have to pass the test before they come into Australia but once they get here they have to make a reasonable effort to learn the language at a basic level.
“We don’t think that’s unreasonable. It’s not stopping anyone from coming. It’s saying that once you’re here we will support you through the English-language classes we provide.
“You have to have a decent crack … It’s pro-migrant but it’s also pro-Australia.”
READ MORE: Savva — It’s a budget Labor would have delivered
Imogen Reid 9.51am: PM on Palaszczuk: ‘Is she for jobs or what?’
Scott Morrison has responded to the Queensland Premier’s threat to keep its border with NSW closed if the state’s contact tracers fail to track three mystery cases that were reported overnight.
Speaking to Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham, the Prime Minister questioned whether Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was serious about getting Queenslanders back to work.
“Well is she for jobs or what? That’s what I’d say, simple as that,” Mr Morrison said.
“The other day, she’s saying she’s all for jobs. Well, being for jobs means you’ve got to balance the risk that you face, like the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is. They’re managing to basically keep cases to an incredibly low level. They’re doing a great job with the testing and tracing regime and dealing with outbreaks, getting NSW open. Queensland can do the same thing.”
Mr Morrison said the number of people back in jobs in NSW since the peak of the COVID recession has increased by 70 per cent, whereas in Queensland it has jumped by just 44 per cent.
“We need Queenslanders back in jobs … but for that, you’ve got to be open,” Mr Morrison said.
READ MORE: LNP vows to bolster integrity watchdog
Remy Varga 9.47am: Andrews to address media at 10.30am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Martin Foley are scheduled to provide an update on the state’s coronavirus crisis at 10.30am.
READ MORE: Push for Crisp to face inquiry again
Ewin Hannan 9.30am: Wage subsidy is ‘age discrimination’
Vicki Mackay, forced on to JobSeeker after the collapse of the major events industry, switched off Josh Frydenberg’s budget speech in distress when he announced the government’s new wage subsidy scheme would be confined to workers aged 35 or younger.
“Being 46, I was very upset,” she said. “When he mentioned 35, I just couldn’t listen anymore. I had hoped there would be a subsidy for employers hiring people off JobSeeker but now I find it doesn’t apply to me at all.”
At this time of year, Ms Mackay would usually be backstage, managing the production of major events, including international tours or audio equipment at musical events, but COVID-19 has decimated her industry and despite decades of experience and an array of skills, she has been unsuccessful in applying for jobs ranging from project co-ordinator to receptionist and delivery driver.
She has another interview this week and is prepared to accept a wage equivalent to the current JobSeeker rate.
“A lot of us (are) going for jobs and my age is going to be a factor if there are two of us going for the job,” she said.
“The person who is younger is going to get the job before me because they are going to be subsided. I just don’t see why there has to be an age cap. I’m 46. I can’t retire. I can’t go on government benefits. They don’t want me on JobSeeker. I can’t get a pension but now I’m doubly affected.”
Ms Mackay lives in the family home she grew up in Melbourne’s Lower Templestowe, having bought out her sister’s share after their parents died.
She fears she might be forced to sell the property if she can’t get employment by next March when JobSeeker is due to fall back to a lower rate. “You’re not supposed to be discriminated against because of age when going for a job but this is going to a factor on the employer deciding which of two prospective employees they’re going to hire, and it’s got nothing to do with skills or the actual job.” — with Tessa Akerman
READ MORE: Stimulus fails older workers and those in aged care
David Rogers 9.08am: Trump’s Covid drug company ‘cure’ shares surge
Regeneron Pharmaceutical shares jumped 3% to $6.09 in after hours trading after US President Trump said its antibody therapeutic was a “cure” for COVID-19.
“I think this was the key. It was unbelievable. I felt good immediately … we are trying to get it on an emergency basis. I’ve authorised it … it just made me better. I call that a cure …”, Mr Trump said in a tweet.
READ MORE live ASX updates in Trading Day
Cameron Stewart 8.53am: Trump ‘symptom-free’ as eyes turn to VP debate
President Donald Trump has been free of COVID-19 symptoms for 24 hours and has not had a fever in four days, his doctor says.
“The president this morning says ‘I feel great,’” doctor Sean Conley said in a brief update.
Mr Trump tested positive last week and was hospitalised at the Walter Reed military medical centre late on Friday evening, returning to the White House on Monday evening.
“His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” the doctor’s statement said.
The latest update comes just hours ahead of the scheduled live debate between Vice-President Mike Pence and Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris.
These Vice Presidential candidates face off on stage in Salt Lake City at 11.30am on Thursday (AEDT) in a very socially distanced way, with the distance between them increased from 7 to 12 feet along with a plexiglas barrier.
“His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” the doctor’s statement said.
WATCH the Harris-Pence debate live here from 11.30am AEDT
Remy Varga 8.37am: Victoria records 11 new cases, zero deaths
Victoria has recorded 11 new cases and no new deaths.
Metropolitan Melbourne’s rolling 14-day average has fallen to 9.7, which is still almost twice the threshold limit that must be reached before restrictions can be eased.
Yesterday there were 11 new cases & no deaths reported. Our thoughts are with all affected.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 7, 2020
The 14 day rolling average is down in Metro Melbourne. Further data will be available later today
Info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/e1JmTpiYEL
READ MORE: Backlash forces dumping of arrest powers
Imogen Reid 8.14am: Queensland ‘making up excuses to keep border closed’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has accused the Queensland government of making up excuses to keep the border closed.
Queensland issued NSW a 48-hour deadline to track down the source of three new mystery coronavirus cases, or the state would refuse to reopen its border on November 1.
Ms Berejiklian told 2GB’s Ben Fordham the attitude of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was unjustified and unacceptable.
“I just think the Queensland government is really just thinking up every excuse it can as it goes along and I don’t think that’s acceptable,” she said.
“What is unjustified, is the attitude of the premiers of WA and Queensland, I don’t think it’s acceptable. I think to just have this blinkered view that you’re not part of a nation, you’re not part of Australia, is a dangerous one.”
Ms Berejiklian said WA and Queensland have been living with a false sense of security by keeping their borders shut.
“They haven’t really been tested. They haven’t really had the difficult circumstances NSW has had to deal with,” she said.
“We’ve had that proximity to the Victorian border, I mean Queensland has had NSW as a buffer.”
Ms Berejiklian told Sunrise she is yet to have any conversation with Ms Palaszczuk on the borders, saying she does not believe the Queensland Premier will listen to what she or Scott Morrison says on the issue.
“I don’t think the Premier will listen to anything I or the Prime Minister says,’’ she said. ”She has her own agenda.
“She really cares about what she wants to do. When she has something set in her head, she’s doing it.
“I hope the Queensland government appreciates the impact their decisions are having on so many other people including those from NSW.
READ MORE: Cases bust NSW winning streak
Imogen Reid 7.40am: Chalmers reaffirms support for tax cuts
Jim Chalmers has again indicated Labor will back the Morrison government’s income tax cuts, but said the opposition will need more time to consider the business measures proposed in the omnibus bill.
“On the income tax cuts for lower and middle income earners, we’ve been calling for those to be brought forward for some time so we do support their passage,” Mr Chalmers told Sky News.
“We want to be able to support it, now, we intend to support it, but we got it at 3.30 on a Tuesday afternoon.
“There’s a stupendous amount of money associated with it. So I think people expect the responsible opposition to work through it, to understand all the legislation. There’s a lot of complexity in some of these changes, so we are inclined to support it.
“Unless anything pops up that surprises us we will support it.”
To ensure the $17.8 billion income tax cuts take effect as quickly as possible, Mr Chalmers wrote a letter to the Australian Taxation Office to back the plan.
“What happens is the tax office needs to know that the parliament will be passing those tax cuts in order to start the work to get them into people’s pockets,” he said.
“So what I did yesterday, I wrote to the tax office commissioner formally and said Labour would be supporting that and that gives the tax office the green light so hopefully we can get that money into people’s pockets and circulating through the small businesses and shops and the border economy.”
READ MORE: It’s a budget Labor would have delivered
Imogen Reid 6.50am: Venue alert after three cases emerge in NSW
NSW Health has added two new locations to its earlier list of alerts after three new cases of COVID-19 in the community surfaced today.
One of the new cases attended the Ripples restaurant in Milson’s Point on Saturday 3.
NSW Health is alerting the public to new locations visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19. One confirmed case attended Ripples restaurant in Milson’s Point on Saturday 3 October from 8pm to 10.30pm. pic.twitter.com/EOr2eMGPbQ
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 7, 2020
NSW Health is contacting recording guests of the restaurant, but is advising that a small number of walk-in diners in the restaurant during this time were not recorded and there is a potential for exposure.
All diners who were in this restaurant at that time are considered close contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days from 3 October and stay isolated for the entire period, even if a negative test result is received.
A separate alert has also been issued for the Mazda Artarmon repair centre on Campbell Street between 7.30am and 9.30am on Friday 2 October. Anyone who attended it at that time are considered casual contacts and should immediately isolate and get tested if they develop the slightest symptoms of COVID-19.
READ MORE: US pounces on Aussie vaccine tests
Patrick Commins 6.35am: ‘Open borders, purse strings’
Fresh from unveiling the biggest-spending budget in living memory, Josh Frydenberg has said his government is prepared to do still more to support the economic recovery should it falter, as he doubled down on his push for the states to carry their fair share of the fiscal burden and urged them to reopen their borders.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, the Treasurer expressed his frustration that the states had not committed to more stimulus measures of their own.
“I would ask the states to spend more,” he said, quoting Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, who has said the states can afford to collectively spend an additional $40bn over the coming two years.
“There’s talk in Western Australia of a surplus,” Mr Frydenberg said. “I mean, we’ve just run the biggest deficit. So I would say to all state premiers and all state treasurers: please dig deep, support your communities, spend more through this crisis, and share some of that burden.”
READ the full story here
Andrew Kidd Fraser 6.00am: Miners baulk at attack on Greens
BHP and Origin Energy have suspended their membership of the Queensland Resources Council in protest against its aggressive targeting of the Greens in the state election campaign.
The move came after the QRC, the peak body for the mining industry in Queensland, revealed it would be running a “put Greens last” campaign in inner-city Brisbane where the party has its best chance of picking up more seats than the one currently held.
While BHP and Origin are the only resources companies to have given the QRC notice of their intentions, other businesses are believed to be considering their position because of the campaign.
The QRC campaign includes a billboard on Brisbane’s Story Bridge urging motorists to “Vote Greens last” and will also involve a targeted letterbox drop in inner-city electorates over the next few weeks.
Under Greens policy, mining companies would pay royalties of up to five times higher than they are now, rising from a projected $18bn over the next four years to $73bn.
But some mining companies, conscious of their public image, do not wish to be associated with any direct political lobbying. While the Greens are unlikely to form government, it is possible that their support may be necessary in the event of a hung parliament, and the QRC is concerned that the price of this support may be at least partial adoption of some of the party’s policies.
READ the full story here
Geoff Chambers 5.45am: Albanese to reply with policy pitch for power
Anthony Albanese will use his first budget reply speech to roll out major economic and social policies, including productivity reforms aimed at repairing skills shortages, and to deliver a pre-election pitch to women, young families, blue-collar workers and older Australians.
The Opposition Leader, who is preparing to fight an election at the back end of next year, is expected to push an alternative jobs and training strategy and the use of local products, labour and research to drive a modern manufacturing sector and support nation-building defence industry and infrastructure projects.
In his Thursday night speech, Mr Albanese will outline Labor’s “vision” to lead Australia’s post-pandemic recovery and shift the party to a more policy-focused agenda ahead of the ALP national platform being finalised next year.
The Australian understands there will be a major announcement on childcare.
Attempting to frame Labor as a credible economic manager, Mr Albanese will position the Opposition’s priorities as childcare, aged care, the better delivery of infrastructure, defence industry and manufacturing, social housing, a more generous welfare safety net, renewable energy, research and science.
READ the full story here
Rosie Lewis 5.30am: JobMaker won’t be rorted: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has been forced to defend his $4bn wage subsidy scheme, as employers rejected Senate crossbench and union claims the program was “open to rorting” and could be used to replace older workers with cheaper young casual workers.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the JobMaker program would become “JobReplacer” if employers were able to cut the hours of part-time workers or lay off existing casual workers and replace them with unemployed people subsidised by taxpayers.
With employers able to claim a double subsidy of $400 a week if they take on two low-paid young casual workers rather than $200 a week for an eligible full-time employee, ACTU president Michele O’Neil said the program was “really open to being rorted”.
She said the government should insert a condition that existing employees could not be displaced by subsidised workers.
Independent South Australian senator Rex Patrick said he wanted to know what safeguards were in place to make sure the program was not abused, as JobKeeper had been in some cases, while One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also cautioned that it would “only lead to more rorting by those who wish to game the system”.
READ the full story here
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