PoliticsNow: Scott Morrison says Facebook has ‘unfriended’ Australia
Scott Morrison says the social media goliath’s decision to ban news content will only confirm concerns with big tech companies in other countries.
- Reynolds fails to clarify Higgins timeline
- Frydenberg speaks to Zuckerberg
- Facebook ‘no place for credible news’
- ‘Weak positive’ may be old case
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of news from Canberra amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Josh Frydenberg says Facebook’s ban on news content in Australia is “wrong” and “unnecessary”, but says the Morrison government is committed to legislating its media bargaining code.
The social media giant’s move comes as News Corp struck a global deal with Google and the federal government’s media bargaining code legislation passed the House of Representatives last night.
Victorian health authorities say a man has presented to hospital with a “weak positive” case of COVID-19. The Palaszczuk government’s proposal to use a privately built camp near Toowoomba to quarantine international arrivals is at an impasse.
Paul Garvey9.05pm:Billionaire’s royalty motza ‘saved jobs’
The West Australian government has defended the deal that has seen a company controlled by one of Perth’s richest men collect more than $200m in royalty rebates, saying it was forced to act quickly to save jobs.
The Australian on Thursday revealed that the government’s failure to put an iron ore price cap on its deal that saw Mineral Resources take over the Koolyanobbing iron ore mine near Southern Cross had cost the state hugely in foregone royalties.
MinRes, whose billionaire founder Chris Ellison is the owner of Perth’s most expensive home, continues to have all royalties from the Koolyanobbing mine rebated to it, even though the mine has become wildly profitable off the back of soaring iron ore prices.
WA Mines Minister Bill Johnston told The Australian on Thursday that abrupt closure plans announced by Koolyanobbing’s former owner, US company Cliffs, meant the government had to act in a hurry to secure a future for the mine.
Asked whether MinRes should consider following the path of some major corporations that had handed back their JobKeeper payments and end the royalty rebate ahead of schedule, he said it was a matter for the company.
Agencies8.20pm:One in two South Africans ‘has had Covid’
About half of South Africa’s population is thought to have contracted COVID-19, studies and statisticians say, suggesting the virus has claimed tens of thousands more lives than officially recorded.
The country worst hit by coronavirus in Africa has registered more than 140,000 excess natural deaths since May last year, according to the South African Medical Research Council.
Leading private medical insurance Discovery estimates that about 90 per cent of those fatalities are attributable to COVID-19, pushing the real death toll past 120,000.
Officially, South Africa has recorded close to 1.5 million coronavirus cases, of which just under 48,500 have been fatal.
But statisticians believe those figures are under-estimated. Their findings are broadly consistent with coronavirus antibody surveys, which can detect whether a person has been infected with COVID-19 even after recovery.
A study released last week of almost 5000 blood donors across four provinces found that between 32 and 63 per cent of sampled individuals had contracted coronavirus since the pandemic started — compared with clinically confirmed case rates of 2 to 3 per cent.
Most antibodies were detected in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, both epicentres of South Africa’s second infection wave when it started in December, one month before the study was conducted.
READ MORE:GOP feels Texan rage over blizzards
Ellie Dudley8pm: Virus detected in Melbourne’s east
Fragments of coronavirus have been found in wastewater catchments in Melbourne’s east.
The Victorian Department of Health is urging anyone with COVID-19 who visited the following locations on the stipulated days to be tested.
● Wantirna South and Boronia area (includes parts of Bayswater, Ferntree Gully, Knoxfield and Tremont), from Saturday, February 13, to Monday.
● Carrum Downs and Langwarrin area (includes parts of Skye), from Saturday to Tuesday.
● St Kilda East and Caulfield North area (includes parts of Balaclava, Caulfield and Elsternwick), from Saturday to Tuesday.
While Victoria has recorded no new community transmitted cases of coronavirus for the past two days, the Department of Health is asking everyone “remain alert.”
READ MORE: Facebook pushes nuclear button
Amanda Hodge7.45pm:Myanmar a test for Quad to act
As ASEAN dithers over how to respond to the Myanmar crisis, a meeting of Quad nations is a key test of whether the club of four democratic nations can expand its charter beyond its role as a regional counterweight to Chinaby finding a strong, united position against the coup, analysts say.
Japan, India, Australia and the US were scheduled to meet virtually on Thursday for the first time under the Biden administration, amid a regional divide over how to respond to the Myanmar military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
Indonesia has been pushing hard for a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss the crisis, with little evident success so far as the regional grouping remains split over how to respond.
But with Myanmar coup leaders digging in and a popular civil disobedience movement showing no sign of abating, Lowy Institute Power and Diplomacy Program director Herve Lemahieu said there was a growing risk of the crisis ossifying and even spreading into a geopolitical proxy conflict.
Three of the country’s heavily-armed ethnic insurgent groups have now issued statements against the coup, the most recent on Thursday by the Kachin Independence Organisation – the political wing of one of the country’s largest and most professional insurgent armies.
The Kachin independence army is believed to procure many of its weapons from Beijing.
“This is a moment for the Quad to prove it does more than just function as a counterweight to China but as a club of democracies will stand up for democratic principles and democracies in peril in the region,” Dr Lemahieu told The Australian.
Greg Brown 7.15pm:Labor senators back anti-nuclear energy rethink
Labor senators Raff Ciccone and Alex Gallacher say the ALP should reconsider its long-term opposition to nuclear energy at next month’s national conference amid vast support within the Coalition to lift a ban on the controversial fuel source.
Senator Ciccone, the convener of the Victorian Right faction, said there should be a debate on whether nuclear energy could be an option to help Australia lower its emissions, after The Australian revealed two-thirds of Coalition MPs back lifting the ban. “We have got to look at all options in the lead-up to the national conference,” he said.
Senator Gallacher, from South Australia, said it would make “perfect sense” to lift the ban on nuclear power, given the vast uranium resources in his state. “If you want to advance the climate change agenda, you need firming power and nuclear should be in the mix,” he said. “Slow to build but lasts for a long time.”
AFP 6.25pm:Biden and Netanyahu hold first call
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid any tensions to rest on Thursday AEDT by finally holding their first phone call since the change of administration in Washington.
Mr Netanyahu was one of the last foreign leaders to get a call from Mr Biden, who took office on January 20, despite Israel’s special relationship with the US.
But both sides stressed their close ties during the call, which Mr Biden said at The White House was a “good conversation”.
The White House said Mr Biden registered “support” for a series of agreements brokered by Donald Trump on normalising relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries. And the President “affirmed his personal history of steadfast commitment to Israel’s security and conveyed his intent to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership, including our strong defence co-operation,” a statement said.
Alice Workman 5.40pm:Facebook pushes nuclear button in Cold News War
Has Scott Morrison tried turning it off and on again?
Facebook pushed the nuclear button in the Cold News War, banning the entire world from accessing Australian news five days before the Pfizer vaccine is rolled out. Mark Zuckerberg sure has come a long way since creating a website to rate the hotness of women at Harvard.
It’s not just news organisations that were wiped. QLD Health, the Bureau of Meteorology, the ACT government, Fire and Emergency Services WA, Disability Advocacy Australia, 1800 Respect, Suicide Prevention Australia, Harvey Norman and Facebook’s own Facebook page were “inadvertently” blocked. Satire sites The Betoota Advocate, The Chaser and The Shovel were gone too.
Read the rest of The Sketch here.
Chris Griffith5.12pm:Zuckerberg’s spectacular own goal a win for news
If Facebook doesn’t display local and international news in Australia, it won’t take long for online Facebook users to migrate to another portal that does; one that could prove lucrative to the news organisations.
The US tech giant’s decision to ditch news should allow real news organisations to flourish in Australia.
Facebook will become the home of fake news and conspiracy theories now it is banning legitimate Australian news sources and even international news from its platform.
Users won’t be able to view or share local and international news content. Globally, sharing links from Australian publishers also will be banned.
So what will be left of news on its platform? Presumably sites that aren’t official news sources. Many of those will be the shonky news sites with fake news and conspiracy theories that don’t qualify as news. They will have more prominence unless Facebook’s rather shaky vetting system catches them.
And just which sites are legitimate news sites? What about our friends at rt.com (Russia Today) with their Kremlin-friendly focus on world events? Will that be classed as legitimate international news or will it make it past the Facebook news gatekeepers?
Richard Ferguson4.30pm:PM says Facebook has ‘unfriended’ Australia
Scott Morrison says Facebook has “unfriended” Australia and that their decision to ban news content will only confirm concerns with big tech companies in other countries.
After health, fire and domestic violence prevention services were caught in Facebook’s ban, the Prime Minister said on Thursday that Facebook’s actions were “arrogant” and he would not be intimidated by its “bullying”.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” he said in a statement.
““We will not be intimidated by this act of bullying by BigTech, seeking to pressure parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code.
“I am in regular contact with the leaders of other nations on these issues. We simply won’t be intimidated, just as we weren’t when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.
“I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith.”
READ MORE:‘A spectacular own goal’
Ben Packham4.20pm:Former Premier lands key US posting
Foreign Minister Marise Payne confirmed former NSW premier Nick Greiner’s widely anticipated appointment, noting his ‘extensive and diverse experience’. Read more here
Eli Greenblat4.10pm:Coca-cola’s numbers reveal a Covid fizzer
Coca-Cola Amatil’s annual profit has more than halved as COVID-19 severely disrupted consumption of soft drinks and bottled water. Read more here
Jack the Insider3.55pm:The cult of Dan is very real, and rampant
The Premier is protected by a praetorian guard of cultists on social media who snarl when he’s asked a tough question. Read more here
Adeshola Ore 3.33pm: Morrison pays tribute to Hannah Clarke
Scott Morrison has paid tribute to Brisbane woman Hannah Clarke and her three children who were murdered almost one year ago.
Friday will mark twelve months since Ms Clarke, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were doused in petrol and set alight by her estranged husband in the Brisbane suburb of Camp Hill.
“All we can do, this year later, is to extend our love to Hannah’s family,” the Prime Minister told parliament.
“The leader of the opposition and I know these issues aren’t about politics.”
“We must do all we can to support those suffering from family violence, working together with the states and territories and in this chamber on the next plan to reduce violence against women and their children.”
Anthony Albanese joined Mr Morrison in commemorating the upcoming one-year anniversary of Ms Clarke and her three children.
“We still see their faces in photographs... we see the love in which they happily embraced one another and we see in their eyes a sense of a future so bright,” he told parliament.
“We in this House have a particular responsibility when it comes to issues of family law... taking actions on these issues, we have an oppurtunity to make a difference.”
READ MORE: Top judge to outlaw ‘coercive control’
Paul Garvey 3.27pm: Quarantine workers priority for WA vaccinations
Hotel quarantine workers in Western Australia will be among the first in the state to receive the coronavirus vaccine when the rollout begins on Monday.
WA premier Mark McGowan announced on Thursday that 5000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in Perth on Sunday. Some 1100 of those will be administered within the aged care system by the commonwealth government, with the remainder to be directed towards frontline quarantine workers as well as staff at airports and ports.
Vaccinations for those workers won’t be mandatory, but will be “very heavily” encouraged.
Mr McGowan said vaccinations would progressively ramp up, with healthcare workers, seniors and critical workers such as police expected to start receiving injections from late March.
But the WA leader won’t be among those getting an early vaccination, with Mr McGowan instead saying he would wait until his age bracket started receiving vaccinations later in the year.
“The first rollout is quite small. We are getting 5,000 vials and I want to make sure those people working in quarantine, those people at the airports and ports, working in aged care get the opportunity first,” he said.
“If I get vaccinated or the health minister, we take the vaccine away from someone and I don’t want to set that example.”
The government will also establish regional hubs in major towns across the state for administering the vaccine.
READ MORE:Superspreaders are older and overweight
Rosie Lewis3.11pm:Morrison sorry if rape accuser feels ‘victim blamed’
Scott Morrison says he’s “sorry” if former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped at Parliament House, feels he has been “victim blaming” as he bolsters support for MPs and staff from next week.
Ms Higgins escalated her row with the Prime Minister on Wednesday over the government’s handling of the matter, accusing him of “victim blaming rhetoric” that was “personally very distressing to me and countless other survivors”.
Asked about her accusation on Thursday, Mr Morrison said: “The last thing I would want to see is to add any further distress to what Brittany is already going through. I am doing everything I can to ensure that that is the case in how we seek to handle these issues. I am very sorry she feels that way.
“I know she must be under tremendous stress over the course of this week. She has shown great courage and great bravery in speaking up over these matters. I have been listening to what she’s been saying and I am seeking to put in place arrangements, whether it is the support of staff who are here in this building here and now and will be feeling, I think, increasingly fragile or vulnerable because of the nature of these events that have arisen this week. The best way I can I think address those comments is to ensure that I am doing everything within my power to try and make this a safer place.”
From Monday, there will be three counsellors at Parliament House for MPs and their staff and a counselling phone service.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore3.02pm: Albanese inaccurate on Brittany Higgins timeline: PM
Scott Morrison says he stands by his timeline of when he became aware of the alleged rape of a former Liberal Party staffer.
The Prime Minister said his office became aware of the alleged assault on Friday, February 12. He said he became aware of the alleged rape on Monday morning when the story broke.
During question time on Thursday, Anthony Albanese pressed Mr Morrison about his knowledge of the alleged incident because Linda Reynold’s former chief of staff, and primary point of contact for Ms Higgins at the time, had previously worked for the Prime Minister and subsequently returned to work with him.
“I do stand by the statement that I have made in this House all week,” Mr Morrison told parliament.
Mr Morrison said Mr Albanese’s suggestion that Mr Morrison knew about the alleged incident because a staff member of his worked in Senator Reynold’s office at the time was “misplaced” and “inaccurate.”
On Wednesday, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, who hired Brittany Higgins after the May 2019 election, revealed she knew as far back as October that year about an incident in the office of Senator Reynolds, now the Defence Minister. Senator Cash, who told Ms Higgins her office had “everything under control” in October 2019, said she had only found out the incident was an alleged sexual assault on February 5 this year.
Adeshola Ore2.50pm:Blocking pages an ‘assault on people’s freedom’
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Facebook’s blocking of health and government organisations is an “assault on people’s freedom.”
Some government and charity pages on Facebook are beginning to re-appear after they were wiped by the social media giant’s ban on Australian news content.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the government channels had been wiped because of the “broad definition” of news content in the Morrison government’s media bargaining code.
During question time, Mr Hunt said organisations like Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, Bowel Cancer Australia and Multiple Sclerosis Australia had not had their Facebook pages rectified.
“We expect that Facebook will fix these actions immediately and never repeat them again,” he told parliament.
“This is an assault on a sovereign nation. It is an assault on people’s freedom.”
READ MORE:Explainer — What sparked Facebook’s extreme move
Joseph Lam2.44pm:Nine boss Hugh Marks: Facebook kicks an own goal
Facebook’s decision to ban news in Australia came as “a real shock” to Nine Entertainment Co chief executive Hugh Marks.
The outgoing media chief told Ray Hadley on 2GB he thought media outlets were making ground with the social media giant based on past discussions.
“We thought we were having constructive discussions towards an outcome that was going to be positive for all of us,” he said.
“It seems that behind those discussions all the time [it] was Facebook’s intent to take this action maybe even despite an agreement with us.”
Mr Marks said Thursday’s show just how powerful Facebook is and that reiterates the importance of a media code.
“They are trying to prove how powerful they are. They’ve certainly proven that. The purpose of the legislation is actually trying to deal with that power, so they are kicking a massive own goal,” he said.
“You can’t be a monopoly and expect to escape all regulation, if you’re prepared to pay your part in that society.”
READ MORE: Google, Nine strike $30m news content deal
ROSIE LEWIS 2.39pm: Reynolds again fails to clarify Higgins timeline
Linda Reynolds insists she has “full confidence” in her actions towards her former employee Brittany Higgins, who was allegedly raped in the then defence industry minister’s office, but has failed to clarify what she knew and when about the incident.
After days of questioning from Labor in the Senate, Senator Reynolds said she would “do my best” to provide answers but did not explain exactly when she became aware of the alleged rape and what she knew when she met with Ms Higgins on April 1 in the room where the assault allegedly occurred.
“I became aware incrementally over a period of days of Brittany’s story during private conversations with her and my then chief of staff and via reports from parliamentary authorities,” Senator Reynolds said.
“On Tuesday 26th March, my then chief of staff called Brittany and a male co-worker into separate meetings concerning what at that point appeared to be a security breach involving unauthorised access to my office. The following day, the secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services provided a report concerning the security breach.
“On Monday the 1st of April I met with Brittany and my then former chief of staff. During this meeting I made it clear to Brittany she would have my full support in whatever course of action she decided to take and that she would have full access to counselling services.
“My chief of staff and I moved quickly to ensure that Brittany was given access to the police, should she wish to make a complaint.”
Scott Morrison said earlier this week he was unhappy Senator Reynolds had failed to tell his office or himself about the alleged rape for nearly two years.
The Minister said she and her former chief of staff “at all times” followed the advice of the Department of Parliamentary Services and Department of Finance.
“I have full confidence that my then chief of staff and I at all times acted in what we believed were the best interests of Brittany,” she said.
“Throughout this entire time, my sole desire has been to let Brittany herself determine how this matter would be dealt with.
“At the time this was a difficult, it was a complex and it was a highly sensitive matter. At all times to me, Brittany’s welfare and her right to privacy were paramount to me. For my part, I’m deeply sorry that Brittany felt unsupported at the time of the incident and in the months that followed and in fact the years that followed.
“I’m also deeply sorry that some of my actions and my handling of this matter added to Brittany’s distress.”
READ MORE:Who knew what in corridors of power
Paul Garvey 2.25pm: Facebook behaving like North Korea: McGowan
WA premier Mark McGowan has compared Facebook to North Korea and has called for the United States government to intervene in Australia’s dispute between the social media giant.
An angry Mr McGowan said Thursday morning that Facebook’s decision to bar news websites from its platform in Australia — a move that has also wiped the pages of numerous community and charity organisations, government departments and political candidates — amounted to bullying.
“They are behaving more like North Korea than an American company and I would urge the American government to assist us here,” he said.
“These giants, as Google did the other day, should actually pay for content. If they take content from Australian organisations or Australian journalists, they should pay for it. Otherwise they’re going to destroy their host.
“If all they do is take things for free and post it, they’re just going to destroy journalism in Australia and that’s wrong. They should pay for content, they should be cooperative, and they should resolve the matter in an amicable way. What they are doing is intimidatory, threatening and wrong.”
Among the Facebook pages disabled today were the sites of WA opposition leader Zak Kirkup and WA’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services. Mr McGowan’s own Facebook page was untouched.
Mr McGowan said Facebook’s “dummy spit” could endanger lives by denying important information to the public.
“They’ve taken down sites that advise people of health issues during a pandemic, they’ve taken down the Bureau of Meteorology website which during the bushfire and cyclone season is dangerous,” he said.
“They should reinstate the opposition and indeed every political candidate site.”
READ MORE:Foreign ministers to discuss growing China presence
Adeshola Ore1.47pm:Facebook ban threatens nation’s vaccine rollout: Hunt
Health Minister Greg Hunt said Facebook’s blocking of news content in Australia could threaten the government’s vaccine rollout and called on the social media giant to “start growing up” and focus on prioritising community safety.
“Yes. there is a risk if you cannot have accurate information,” he said.
“I would say to Facebook, think again, you may be in it for the money, but the rest of us are in it for safety, protection and responsibility. This is the moment to return to your origins. Where you were meant to be, as a company, focused on community, engagement, not on the money.”
“Forget the money, start growing up and making sure that you are about community and safety above all else.”
Mr Hunt said he was “profoundly shocked” that Facebook temporarily blocked the pages of government health bodies as part of its sweeping ban on news content in Australia.
“Facebook should fix it and they should address that immediately,” he said.
Government pages on Facebook such as the Bureau of Meteorology and Queensland Health are now beginning to re-appear.
READ MORE: ‘Lockdan’ Andrews — I’ll do it again
Richard Ferguson 1.42pm: Government, charity pages start to reappear
Government and charity pages on Facebook are beginning to re-appear after they were wiped by the social media giant’s ban on Australian news content.
Both the Bureau of Meteorology and Queensland Health have now had their pages restored, following Facebook’s pledge to remove their restrictions.
State health and fire services, political leaders and parties, and charities were among the groups captured by the news content ban on Thursday morning.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the government channels had been wiped because of the “broad definition” of news content in the Morrison government’s media bargaining code.
READ MORE: Family courts merger done, despite lawyer protests
Adeshola Ore1.30pm: Aged-care sites among first to get vaccinated
Health Minister Greg Hunt says 240 aged care facilities will be part of the government’s vaccine rollout from Monday.
“We’re of the expectation that that will be at least 190 towns, and we’ll also have 16 Pfizer hubs.
“These towns cover all of Australia, commencing in Alice Springs,” he said.
“The point of that is that right across Australia, every state and territory, rural and regional, and urban areas will be covered.”
The government’s Pfizer vaccine hubs will include the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne.
Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy said quarantine and border workers were the “single most high-risk group.”
“we’ve seen in recent months and recent weeks, that is where COVID is in Australia at the moment,” Professor Murphy said.
Professor Murphy said state and territory health departments would contact quarantine and border workers about receiving the Pfizer vaccine in the first stage of the rollout.
“In residential and disability care, we are working directly with the operators of those residential and disability care services to work out the logistics of the rollout,” he said.
Professor Murphy said the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine from Monday will be the largest vaccination exercise in Australia’s history.
“This is a really, really exciting time,” he said.
“We are about to start the single-biggest, and most complex, vaccination task in the history of
this nation.
“We are so extraordinarily grateful in the commonwealth to our partners in the states and territories, the vaccination workforce, the logistics and data providers, the aged care operators, who have been asked to do so much.”
READ MORE: Covid variants outpace slow vaccine rollout
Sarah Elks1.21pm: Outrageous: Facebook wipes domestic violence pages
Facebook has wiped the pages of essential services for victims of domestic violence, in a move described by Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman as “outrageous”.
Services such as DV Connect, 1800Respect and a sexual violence counselling service on the Gold Coast have had the content of their Facebook pages deleted, as well as foundations set up by families of victims such as Allison Baden-Clay and Hannah Clarke.
These pages provide critical info & resources for women experiencing DFV, & raise public awareness.
— Shannon Fentiman (@ShannonFentiman) February 18, 2021
Here’s a list of services affected so far:@1800RESPECT@RizeUpAustralia@micahprojects@GCCASV@MenEngage@Redrose48829729#auspol#qldpol
Ms Fentiman said the move was “incredibly outrageous” especially during a pandemic.
“These pages provide critical info & resources for women experiencing DFV, & raise public awareness,” she said.
Sue and Lloyd Clarke, the parents of murdered woman Hannah Clarke, told The Courier-Mail they were deeply upset their Small Steps 4 Hannah page had been blocked.
Mr and Mrs Clarke said they were prevented by Facebook from posting, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of their daughter Hannah’s murder.
“It’s very upsetting,” Mrs Clarke said.
“We were wanting to announce one of our new ambassadors. It’s very, very disappointing.”
READ MORE: Sites, services swept up inn ban
Adeshola Ore 1.14pm: ‘We’re sticking to our guns on media code’
Josh Frydenberg has declared the Morrison government will not back down from its media bargaining code in response to Facebook’s purge of news content in Australia.
“We’ve been sticking to our principles and we have been sticking to our guns,” he said.
The Treasurer spoke to Facebook chief executive this morning Mark Zuckerberg about “different interpretations” about the code.
“With respect to Facebook, they’ve made their actions pretty plain today. We’ll see if we can reach some clarifications and get them back to the table and keep them providing their service here in Australia. But our commitment, our number one commitment, is to legislate this code.”
“The eyes of the world are watching what’s happening here in Australia in real time.”
READ MORE: A breathtaking, dangerous act of corporate arrogance
Rachel Baxendale1.07pm: ‘No time for public health info to be taken away’
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has described Facebook’s removal of news websites and even some public health pages as “beyond regrettable”.
“We need to make sure that credible, reliable, authoritative public health information is readily available in all sorts of platforms, and I’ve asked my team and I was reassured that at least insofar as Vic Health, the department, other credible Facebook sites in Victoria are still running, but I have received reports that Queensland and I think the ACT and a number of other really important sites around the country have had content deleted,” Mr Foley said.
“This is not a time for credible and reliable information to be taken away from the community. We’re going to need those systems of engagement on all sorts of platforms, particularly as we move towards vaccination, and every step should be taken to immediately reinstate those pages.”
Hundreds of thousands of Victorians regularly tune in to Andrews government coronavirus press conferences via the Facebook pages of large media organisations, which were taken down overnight.
“Anything that removes credible, reliable information sources, in the midst of a global pandemic is beyond regrettable and needs to be fixed,” Mr Foley said.
READ MORE: Chris Griffith — Zuckerberg’s spectacular own goal
Joseph Lam1.03pm:NSW, SA record 0 coronavirus cases
NSW recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours to 8pm.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired and no overseas-acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, meaning the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic remains at 4,954.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) February 18, 2021
There were 20,906 tests reported to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/WIj3CpUF1t
The state recorded 20,906 tests bringing the state total to 4,867,114
Meanwhile in South Australia, zero cases were recorded from 6461 tests.
South Australian COVID-19 update 18/2/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/e4B14m8DML or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/1lhwwLAneA
— SA Health (@SAHealth) February 18, 2021
READ MORE: Berejiklian abandons reshuffle amid vaccine rollout
Adeshola Ore12.51pm: Fletcher orders health, emergency pages restored
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says he has ordered Facebook to restore the pages of state health departments, fire and emergency service that have been blocked in the sweeping ban.
“That’s a public safety issue,” he said.
“There is great responsibility that comes with being a platform that, as the digital platforms inquiry said, that has over 17 million Australians visit it every month.”
“We are very clear that we think this is the wrong action by Facebook.’’
Facebook has said it will move to remove restrictions on a range of pages after health services, fire services, political figures, and charities were caught up in its sweeping ban on Australian news content.
Mr Fletcher rejected Facebook’s suggestion that the government’s media bargaining code does not provide the social media giant with “clear guidance”.
Facebook said it would move to remove restrictions on a range of pages after health services, fire services, political figures, and charities were caught up in its sweeping ban on Australian news content. A spokesperson for Facebook said the draft law does not provide “clear guidance on the definition of news content” and subsequently required the company to take a “broad definition”.
“We don’t accept that,” Mr Fletcher said.
“If there’s some misunderstanding, we’re happy to work through and clarify that. But the provisions of the code are very clear.”
“The code is not yet in the law, so it raises an obvious question, why are they doing this now?”
Adeshola Ore12.41pm: Facebook news ban ‘wrong, unnecessary’
Josh Frydenberg says Facebook’s ban on news content in Australia is “wrong” and “unnecessary”, but says the Morrison government is committed to legislating its media bargaining code.
Managing Director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand William Easton on Thursday (AEDT) announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargaining code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
“Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed,” the Treasurer said.
Facebook said it would move to remove restrictions on a range of pages after health services, fire services, political figures, and charities were caught up in its sweeping ban on Australian news content.
Mr Frydenberg said Facebook’s blocking of government and charitable pages was “completely unrelated to the media code.”
Mr Frydenberg said he welcomed the news that News Corp has reached a global licensing deal with Google.
“We want to thank Google for the very constructive discussions that they have been having with stakeholders,” he said.
Mr Frydenberg says he spoke to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg about “different interpretations” about the code.
“We talked through some of those elements. And we’re happy to help clarify some of those issues with Facebook,” he said.
Adeshola Ore12.37pm: ‘JobKeeper coming to an end but labour market resilient’
Josh Frydenberg says the fall in unemployment demonstrates the resilience of Australia’s economy as the country’s post-COVID labour market recovery continues into 2021
Unemployment has dropped to 6.4 per cent in January, from 6.6 per cent, as employment lifted another 29,100 in a sign the robust post-COVID labour market recovery rolled into 2021.
The country added 59,000 full-time jobs in the month, the seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, but part-time employment dropped by 29,800.
“This shows the remarkable resilience in the Australian economy and in the Australian labour market,” the Treasurer said.
“Yes, JobKeeper is coming to an end in March. But the Australian labour market will continue to be resilient as we taper off those payments.”
Joseph Lam12.04pm:Fix this urgently: Queensland Health page blocked
In 2020, Queensland Health’s Facebook page was clicked almost 5000 times daily, with 1.2 million impressions and 89,000 engagements from users.
A week out from Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Facebook is a key tool for spreading information, but today’s ban could severely hinder that.
Communications Executive Director Branch Robert Hoge said while Facebook wasn’t Queensland Health’s only means of reaching people, “it’s a significant one”.
“We are in the process of rolling out the first phase of our COVID-19 vaccine program and social media is a key tool with which to communicate this information,” he said.
“The decision to block access to our content could hinder our ability to communicate to high-risk groups.”
Mr Hoge said Facebook had done well to remove conspiracy theorist Pete Evans but today’s decision was not right.
“I applaud Facebook for taking action against anti-vaxxers, Pete Evans and other peddlers of harmful views and conspiracies, however they got this one wrong,” he said.
“While our social media platforms have a better reach than many news services, and are more reliable, we are in fact not a news service.
“Facebook should fix this urgently.”
READ MORE:Pete Evans banned from Instagram
Richard Ferguson12.02pm:Senator accuses Facebook of ‘corporate terrorism’
Independent senator Rex Patrick has accused Facebook of “corporate terrorism” and says he will still be backing the Morrison government’s media bargaining code.
Senator Patrick joins crossbench colleague Stirling Griff in standing by the current bill and making its passage through the senate next week easier.
“Facebook’s actions this morning were grossly irresponsible. My position on the bill has not changed,” Senator Patrick told The Australian.
“What has happened today demonstrates unequivocally that further regulation is required in the Wild West Web. I absolutely support what the Government is doing in respect of supporting public interest journalism.
“However, the government will now need to step up and give assistance to help businesses, charities and organisations that have been affected by this morning’s act of commercial terrorism.”
Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland called the current code “unworkable” but still supports the principles of the bill, and said Josh Frydenberg must get back into negotiations with Facebook.
READ MORE: News Corp in global deal with Google
Sarah Elks11.58am:Sort out Facebook ban, Queensland Premier tells PM
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has demanded Prime Minister Scott Morrison “sort out” Facebook’s ban on Queensland Health and the Bureau of Meteorology’s pages.
Ms Palaszczuk said her department was speaking directly to Facebook to communicate it was “absolutely vital and critical” that people still have access to Queensland Health and BOM information through the social media service.
“I’m very concerned to learn reports today, especially that our QLD Health website was being impacted, as was the Bureau of Meteorology. I think the federal government needs to sort this out quickly. You can’t have vital information not (getting to people),” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“It needs to be fixed up, and it needs to be fixed up today…I hope the Prime Minister will see sense and sort this issue out quickly.”
READ MORE: Outrage as emergency sites, state services in Facebook ban
PATRICK COMMINS11.48am: Unemployment drops as labour market recovers
Unemployment has dropped to 6.4 per cent in January, from 6.6 per cent, as employment lifted another 29,100 in a sign the robust post-COVID labour market recovery rolled into 2021.
The country added 59,000 full-time jobs in the month, the seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, but part-time employment dropped by 29,800.
Underemployment – which measures those working fewer hours than they would like – dropped sharply from 8.5 per cent to 8.1 per cent.
The number of employed Australians was 12,939,900 in January – still below the nearly 13m in March prior to the pandemic.
The official jobless rate peaked at 7.5 per cent in July, although the figure would have been almost twice as high were it not for JobKeeper, which kept employees attached to employers even if they had no work.
The Reserve Bank has predicted the post-COVID-19 trend of falling unemployment could stall and even briefly reverse come April after the end of JobKeeper, but that it will drop to 6 per cent by the end of this year.
The unemployment figures come as the big banks reported 91 per cent of loans granted payment deferrals at the height of the pandemic have now resumed repayments. The Australian Banking Association said 5 per cent of deferred business loans and 13 per cent of deferred housing loans are yet to resume repayments.
From the four major banks, 78,556 loans remain deferred, the ABA said – of which, 60,562 are housing loans, 11,263 are business loans, and the remainder a mix of personal loans and credit cards.
READ MORE:Unemployment rate drops to 6.4 per cent
Richard Ferguson 11.45am: News ban firms key crossbencher’s resolve on bill
Key senate crossbencher Stirling Griff says Facebook’s sweeping ban on Australian news content has “firmed” his resolve to support the Morrison government’s media bargaining code.
Labor and some senate crossbenchers are now calling on Josh Frydenberg to reconsider the mechanics of the code after Facebook’s ban also caught state health and fire services.
With the media bargaining code set to be debated in the senate as early as next week, Senator Griff - who holds a crucial upper house vote - told The Australian that Facebook’s actions have only strengthened his support for the laws.
“If anything Facebook’s actions firms the resolve of Centre Alliance to push this through parliament, it does not weaken it one bit,” he said on Thursday.
“What Facebook is effectively saying here is ‘we’re the boss’.
“If anything we need further enhancements to the bill to ensure these social media entities tell us annually what they’re doing with data they collect from the public. “
Adeshola Ore 11.41am: ‘Mega-millionaire making decision about Australia’
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has lashed Facebook, saying its ban of news content in Australia leaves Australians without access to reliable information about the COVID pandemic.
Facebook blocking health information in the middle of a global pandemic is utterly irresponsible.
— 💚🌠Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) February 17, 2021
Mark Zuckerberg, a mega-billionaire is censoring what news and information Australians can access.
Managing Director, Facebook Australia and New Zealand William Easton on Thursday (AEDT) announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargaining code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
“This big mega millionaire is making decisions about whether Australians get access to news, or indeed access to health information,” she told Sky News.
“We’re in the middle of a pandemic, a global pandemic, and Facebook has said to their users we’re not going to allow you to access basic health information.”
Joseph Lam11.34am: Ban ‘encourages fake news over reliable news’
News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says Facebook’s Australian news ban was a disappointing outcome that ‘encourages fake news over reliable news’ and demonstrates the social media giant’s extraordinary market power.
He said News Corp, publisher of The Australian, would continue discussions with the social media giant as it had done over several months despite the organisation’s disappointment with the ban.
“While we are disappointed in Facebook’s moves today, we have had months of discussions with them to date, and we will continue to do so,” Mr Miller said in a statement.
“This is a move that clearly encourages fake news over reliable news and demonstrates the extraordinary market power Facebook holds.”
On News Corps’ new global deal with Google, Mr Miller said the decision would help keep journalism sustainable.
“This is an important step that recognises the true value of the unique content that we create,” he said.
“We appreciate Google recognising and remunerating creators and copyright owners, which is a vital step towards a more secure future for Australian journalism and original reporting, and our role in keeping communities informed.”
Mr Miller said he looked forward to sitting down with Google in the coming weeks.
READ MORE: Facebook to become Fakebook
Richard Ferguson11.13am: Facebook moves to reinstate non-news pages
Facebook is moving to remove restrictions on a range of pages after health services, fire services, political figures, and charities were caught up in its sweeping ban on Australian news content.
The Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Capital Territory and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA also fell victim to the ban on Thursday morning.
WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup and Victorian Labor are among the political figures and institutions that have also had their social media posts wiped.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the bans across the spectrum were due to the media bargaining code not providing the social media giant with “clear guidance” but restrictions will be lifted soon.
‘Government pages should not be impacted by today’s announcement,” she said.
“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted.
“However, we will reverse any Pages that are inadvertently impacted.”
SA Health and NSW Fire and Rescue are among those who have approached the social media giant to have their pages reinstated.
READ MORE:Outrage as emergency sites, services swept up in ban
Joseph Lam11.08am: Facebook ‘spitting the dummy’ over media bill
Facebook has spat the dummy with a clumsy approach to handling new media bargaining codes, says the executive director of the Australian wing of a global initiative which counters digital threats to democracy.
RESET Australia’s Chris Cooper said Facebook’s response on Thursday showed a stark difference between itself and Google in their approach to new laws.
“Facebook is essentially spitting the dummy. Google did work with the government,” he said.
“Facebook are much more clumsy in their approach.”
Facebook has given up on trying to stop the spread of misinformation online. #auspol
— Reset Australia (@ausreset) February 17, 2021
Facebook has blocked access to reliable and trusted news in the middle of a global pandemic.
— Reset Australia (@ausreset) February 17, 2021
They do not care about Australians. #auspol
Mr Cooper said the ban came at a time when critical emergency and health service pages was crucial.
“It really just highlights what little regard Facebook has for the Australian people,” he said.
Adeshola Ore 11.02am:Brittany’s had every level of support: Dutton
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says there has been “a lot of support” offered to the former Liberal Party staffer who alleges she was raped in Parliament House, as the government faces scrutiny over its handling of the alleged incident.
On Wednesday, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, who hired Brittany Higgins after the May 2019 election, revealed she knew as far back as October that year about an incident in the office of Linda Reynolds, now the Defence Minister. But she said she only found out the incident was an alleged sexual assault on February 5 this year.
Mr Dutton said Senator Reynolds and Senator Cash had offered “every level of support and comfort to Brittany” including offering to accompany her to make a police report.
“There’s no complaint that Brittany has yet made to the Australian Federal Police... it’s obviously the case that police can’t commit to an investigation until a complaint by the alleged victim has been made so it’s a difficult situation,” he told 2GB radio.
Senator Cash said she offered to go with Ms Higgins to both Mr Morrison’s office and to the Australian Federal Police and assist her in raising the issue.
READ MORE: Who knew what about Brittany Higgins in the corridors of power
Adeshola Ore 10.30am: ‘Door open to media code tweaks’
Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland says Josh Frydenberg has “left the door open” to tweaks to the government’s media bargaining code after Facebook banned Australians from sharing or viewing news on its platform.
Facebook Australia and New Zealand William Easton on Thursday (AEDT) announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargaining code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
The government’s media bargaining code passed in the House of Representatives last night and is expected to be debated in the Senate next week.
“We don’t actually know what will be put before the Senate,” Ms Rowland told Sky News.
“I think he (Josh Frydenberg) has left the door open to perhaps something different going before the Senate.”
Earlier today, the Treasurer said he had a “constructive” conversation with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg this morning and said the government wanted to “work through” the tech giant’s remaining issues with the proposed law.
READ MORE: Labor strategy to counter cyber-thugs
Joseph Lam 10.16am: Facebook blocks itself, but not Google
As government, emergency and health services find themselves in the crossfire of Facebook’s news ban, so has its own page.
Australians who search for the social media giant’s own page this morning will find Facebook has made “no posts yet”.
While the ban was intended to hide and prevent local and international news from being shared by Australian Facebook users and publishers, dozens of official pages have had their content hidden.
While Facebook has considered itself news wiping its own page of content under its news ban, the only other search engine in the media bargaining code has walked scott free,
Google, who just signed partnerships with several media companies, was free to boast about its new deals on facebook on Thursday.
Its was alive and well on Thursday, with fresh posts about partnerships with Seven West Media and Junkee Media.
FOLLOW Live tech news updates at The Download
Richard Ferguson10.10am:WA Liberal leader silenced with election just weeks away
Facebook’s sweeping ban on Australian news content has led to Western Australian Liberal leader Zak Kirkup losing all of his social media posts, just four weeks out from the WA state election.
WA Labor Premier Mark McGowan — the heavy favourite to win the election on March 14 — still has a fully operational Facebook page in a move likely to incense the opposition.
Mr Kirkup is the first major politician to be censored by Facebook’s move against sharing news content from Australia.
News outlets, state health and fire services, and the Bureau of Meteorology have all seen their Facebook posts wiped.
READ MORE: Heat for Liberal leader over coal
Joseph Lam10.05am: ’We’ve seen a big gun come out and get fired’
Former Facebook chief executive Stephen Scheeler said with hundreds of billions of dollars at stake, Facebook has pulled the “big guns” out on Australia.
The Former Facebook Australia and New Zealand chief said on Sky News on Thursday that “Facebook is not being a good corporate citizen” and that the social media giant had “gone beyond normal negotiations”.
“Clearly Facebook believes this issue in Australia is a big enough battle they have to win so in order to scare the horses,” he said.
“We’ve seen a big gun come out and get fired.”
Mr Scheeler speculated a similar incident with a Chinese social media platform would garner even more outrage.
“If this was a Chinese company not an American one doing the same thing we’d be up in arms saying it was an attack on democracy,” he said.
Facebook must feel undervalued in the media bargaining code proposed by the Australian government, he said.
‘The way the arbitration mechanism is set up that Facebook is not valued high enough,” he said.
“In the short term it’s a problem, in the long term it’s a bigger problem.
“I think Facebook may eventually regat this day.”
READ MORE: David Swan — Facebook abdicates responsibility to become ‘Fakebook’
Adeshola Ore9.57am:No plans to tweak media legislation
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says the Morrison government will not make tweaks to its proposed media bargaining code after Facebook banned Australias from sharing or viewing news in response to its news media bargaining code.
Senator Bragg said the government would not back down from its legislation which passed in the House of Representatives last night.
“I don’t think we’re going to have any changes in our plans.,” he told Sky News.
Senator Braggs, who was part of the six-person Senate standing committee which scrutinised the government’s media bargaining code, added he was not surprised about Facebook’s decision.
“Throughout the senate committee process, I have to say, Facebook didn’t exactly cover itself in glory... they effectively said news was of no value to them,” he said.
READ MORE: AI enhances phones for the blind
Adeshola Ore 9.52am:‘Cordial’ Zuckerberg has issues with media code
Josh Frydenberg says he had a “cordial” and “constructive” conversation with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg this morning after it banned Australias from sharing or viewing news in response to its news media bargaining code.
Facebook Australia and New Zealand William Easton on Thursday (AEDT) announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargaining code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
The Treasurer said Mr Zuckerberg recognised the “importance of the Australian market”
“We’ve talked about the importance of paying for original content and its commitment to the code,” the Treasurer said in Canberra,” he said.
“They have some remaining issues with the code, even though it’s been a lengthy conversation to date about it. Let’s see if we can work those through.”
READ MORE: Zuckerberg bans Australians from viewing news on Facebook
Joseph Lam 9.38am:Outrage as emergency sites swept up in ban
Facebook’s move to prevent Australian publishers and users from sharing or viewing news content has claimed some unexpected casualties, such as emergency service and government sites.
The Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Capital Territory and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA have also fund themselves falling victim to the ban.
Facebook’s users have expressed alarm about the potential harm it could cause during the middle of the pandemic as well as bushfire and flood season.
At least eight bushfire alerts and a further eight incidents have been listed on the Emergency Services website in the past 24 hours but Australians may struggle to find this information as Facebook’s content ban turned social media pages sharing crucial information blank.
On Thursday several emergency services and government Facebook pages had their content wipe, effectively removing urgent flood, bushfire and pandemic notices from Facebook.
READ the full story here
Jared Lynch 9.33am: Covid vaccine ‘on time’ as CSL profit soars
CSL has reiterated its commitment to deliver the first batches of a locally produced COVID-19 vaccine to the Australian government in the next six weeks, and says it has almost completed clinical trials for hyperimmune therapy to treat people with serious complications from coronavirus.
CSL is producing more than 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine at its facilities at Broadmeadows and Parkville, with the first two million doses expected to be delivered in late March.
It comes as the company’s net profit surged 44 per cent to $US1.81bn ($2.34bn) in the six months to December 31, while revenue jumped 18.8 per cent to $US5.6bn.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore8.57am:Work with Facebook, Labor urges government
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher has urged the Morrison government to resolve negotiations with Facebook after its banned Australias from sharing or viewing news in response to its news media bargaining code.
This morning, Facebook announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargaining code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
So @Facebook has blocked access to our website. We are not a news organisation. Australian workers can not now find out about their rights at work via @Facebook. This is disgraceful & needs to be reversed immediately pic.twitter.com/588Qf1JbuD
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) February 17, 2021
Senator Gallagher said the federal government had prematurely congratulated itself for the proposed bill which passed in the House of Representatives last night.
“I think it’s over to them now to work with Facebook and try and resolve this,” she told Sky News.
“The legislation has been withdrawn from the Senate this week, it was due to come to the Senate. So there’s obviously something going on behind the scenes..”
Meanwhile opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers says the Morrison government’s announcement of an early win over technology platforms was nothing but premature.
Mr Chalmers said that Josh Frydenberg’s announcement of the tech win exposed questions that need to be answered.
“In many ways, he’s right,” he said, referring to Mr Frydengberg’s announcement on Wednesday.
“He shouldn’t have declared premature victory when there is still lots of questions to be answered and still lots of mess to be cleaned up.”
Mr Chalmers said removing credible news from people during a pandemic will have repercussions.
“This will have consequences for people who are trying to access health news during a pandemic,” he said.
“We don’t want to see people denied access to the news that they need.”
Labor MP Michelle Rowland said the Australian government owes an explanation to the Australian people.
“The fact is some 40 per cent of Australians now access their online news through search and social media,” she said.
“Those people will be missing out. It is incumbent on this government to explain where it goes from here.”
Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie urged the Morrison government to resolve negotiations with Facebook.
“I would ask that both those ministers go back to the table, have another discussion with Facebook,” she told Sky News.
Senator Lambie said the ban would have detrimental consequences for local journalists.
“If I was treasurer, I’d be going back to the table fairly quickly, because this is really gonna hurt Australian journalists out there, they’re already hurting.” she said.
“If they can’t share their stories far and wide, we’re going to have issues and I think we’re going to lose more of them and we’ve already lost enough over the last four or five years.”
READ MORE: Nine in line as Google does deals
Joseph Lam 8.50am:Facebook removes access to vital info: ABC boss
Australian Broadcasting Corporation managing director Director David Anderson has highlighted that one of the world’s largest social media platforms has removed access to vital information in the middle of a pandemic.
It's not just news pages... pic.twitter.com/PdhsWAfob5
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) February 17, 2021
Mr Anderson said Facebook’s decision to ban Australian users from viewing and sharing news on its platform called for discussion.
“Despite key issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic having ongoing effects on all Australians, Facebook has today removed important and credible news and information sources from its Australian platform,” he said.
Mr Anderson said the ABC would meet with Facebook on Thursday to discuss future operations.
‘We will continue our discussions with Facebook today following this development.”
READ MORE: Google fined over misleading hotel ratings
Joseph Lam8.43am:Social media platform ‘trying to bully Australians’
Matt Canavan says Facebook is clearly trying to bully Australians into abiding by laws only it agrees with.
The Senator on Sky News on Tuesday said it’s about time Australians banded together to build their own platform rather than buckle to a multinational company.
“Clearly Facebook is trying to bully Australian Parliament into approving laws only it approves of,” he said.
“There’s no way the Australian Parliament should be bullied or pushed around by a multinational company.”
Mr Canavan said an American company should not dictate Australian news.
“If Facebook is going to treat Australians like this, to bully or threaten us, go to other sources,” he said.
“I don’t think we should buckle to this kind of bullying and threatening behaviour.
“Maybe it’s some time some high-tech Australians create a social media platform. Let’s create that and flock to that.
“I don’t really want Americans in charge.”
Adeshola Ore8.36am: Frydenberg calls Zuckerberg for ‘constructive discussion’
Josh Frydenberg says a pathway with Facebook remains open after the site banned Australians from viewing or sharing news on its platform.
On Twitter, the Treasurer said he had a “constructive discussion” with Mark Zuckerberg this morning. He said Mr Zuckerberg raised “a few remaining issues” with the government’s new media bargaining code which passed in the House of Representatives last night.
“We agreed to continue our conversation to try to find a pathway forward,” he said.
This morning, I had a constructive discussion with Mark Zuckerberg from #Facebook.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) February 17, 2021
He raised a few remaining issues with the Government’s news media bargaining code and we agreed to continue our conversation to try to find a pathway forward.
The Treasurer had already met Mr Zuckerberg and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai at the weekend by virtual communication.
Mr Fletcher and Mr Frydenberg are expected to hold a press conference later in the day.
The decision by Facebook comes after News Corp reached a historic three-year global licensing deal with Google which will see content from its publications worldwide including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US, The Times of London, The Sun and News Corp Australia publications including The Australian, Sky News and metro dailies, shared in Google News Showcase.
READ MORE: Facebook vs Apple gets personal
Joseph Lam 8.05am: Facebook’s credibility under a cloud: Fletcher
Paul Fletcher says Facebook’s decision to stop Australian publishers and users from sharing or viewing news content sends a strong message about its credibility.
As Australians woke to blank newsfeeds this morning, the Communications Minister said the government would continue to engage with the social media giant which has taken the measure in response to the federal government’s proposed media bargaining code.
“Facebook needs to think very carefully about what this means for its reputation and standing,” Mr Fletcher told the ABC.
“They’re effectively saying, on our platform, there will not be any information from organisations which employ paid journalists, which have fact checking processes, editorial policies. They’re effectively saying any information that is available on our site does not come from these reliable sources.”
Even satire news sites weren’t spared from Facebook’s decision with Betoota Advocate, The Chaser and The Shovel all falling victim to the ban.
Mr Fletcher told Ben Fordham on 2GB that Facebook’s decision has sent a very strong message about its credibility.
“The decision they’re taking (it) seems is that what they want to do is remove credible news sources from the platform,” he said.
“It basically says to Australians if you’re looking for credible news, Facebook isn’t the place to look for it.”
The proposed media legislation, which passed in the House of Representatives last night, aims to force tech giants to negotiate with media companies and compensate them for publishing their content.
“We continue to engage with all relevant parties including Facebook,” Mr Fletcher told the ABC.
The threat of government regulation drove Google to strike a global deal with News Corp and a series of 11th-hour commercial deals with Australian news publishers including Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media, just days before the mandatory media bargaining code is expected to become law.
“We welcome the fact that these very significant commercial deals have been announced,” Mr Fletcher said. — With Adeshola Ore
READ MORE: News Corp in global content deal with Google
Joseph Lam 7.38am: Biden makes ‘downpayment’ on tracking virus variants
Joe Biden has pledged US $200m ($258m) toward tracking and researching COVID-19 variants as they emerge.
The US President described the money as a “down payment” which would be used to better identify new variants as well as increase sequence jumping from about 7000 to around 25,000 per week.
Starting this week, our Administration is:
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 16, 2021
- Increasing weekly vaccine shipments to states to 13.5 million doses — a 57% increase from when I took office.
- Doubling our direct shipments to local pharmacies.
We’re working hard to get America vaccinated quickly.
The money arrives as Britain’s B117 variant continues to spread wildly in the US, crossing 42 states and accounting for 1277 cases.
The US has reached 27.8 million COVID-19 cases which resulted in just shy of half a million deaths.
READ MORE:US Covid-19 caseload passes 25 million mark
Joseph Lam 7.10am: Facebook bans news for Australian viewers
Facebook has banned Australian users from viewing or sharing local and international news content on its website.
The decision arrives after News Corp reached a historic three-year global licensing deal with Google which would see content from several of its publications worldwide including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US, The Times of London, The Sun and News Corp Australia publications including The Australian, Sky News and metro daily in Australia shared in Google News Showcase.
Social media giant Facebook on Thursday AEDT announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content citing that Australia’s proposed media bargain code “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
Facebook claims it was left with two options. “It has left us facing a stark choice: Attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia,” it said in a statement.
“With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”
READ the full story
Anne Barrowclough 6.50am: ‘Patient X’ calls for inquiry into Vic hotel quarantine
‘Patient X’, the man at the centre of the latest Victorian outbreak, has called for a federal inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine system, exclusively telling Sky News Premier Daniel Andrews misrepresented what “actually happened.”
The man is accused of spreading COVID-19 through his use of a nebuliser at Melbourne’s Holiday Inn.
Patient X told Sky News host Peta Credlin, Mr Andrews made him the reason for Victoria’s hotel quarantine breach and subsequent lockdown.
The man, who has a partner and daughter, says he declared he had asthma and a nebuliser multiple times to quarantine staff both before and after he tested positive.
As he was being moved to a medihotel after testing positive, he said his asthma was worse and he was using a nebuliser.
“One of the nurses said I could use it, but essentially I need to declare when I’ve used it,” he said.
CQV Head Emma Cassar and Mr Andrews had both denied there were any records the patient declared his nebuliser.
“I really felt that the way it had been presented by Daniel Andrews was misrepresenting what actually happened,” Patient X said.
He said there “needs to be a federal inquiry” into hotel quarantine in Victoria.
“We need someone outside the state of Victoria to look into this.”
READ MORE: Tests await bloodied, unbowed Andrews
Charlie Peel6.00am:Airport camp in danger of stalling
The Palaszczuk government’s proposal to use a privately built camp near Toowoomba to quarantine international arrivals is at an impasse, with the federal and state governments unable to agree on who would run it if it went ahead.
Despite support from tourism, tertiary education and agriculture industry bodies, the mooted alternative to using inner-city hotels for quarantine is floundering over the lack of basic details about how it would operate.
Businessman John Wagner has offered to build the 1000-room facility next to his Wellcamp Airport at his company’s own cost and charge the government a capped fee per person staying in the accommodation, which would be refunded by the user.
The Palaszczuk government, which first raised the idea and asked Mr Wagner to make a submission about what the facility would look like and the cost to government, has not provided details to the commonwealth about how it would operate, federal sources said.
That included a lack of detail on operational management, and critical health, security and safety details.
The plan did not include contingencies for people in quarantine who tested positive for the virus. On Wednesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said travellers diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Toowoomba quarantine hub would be taken by ambulance to a Brisbane hospital.
The Palaszczuk government’s proposal to use a privately built camp near Toowoomba to quarantine international arrivals is at an impasse, with the federal and state governments unable to agree on who would run it if it went ahead.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down5.30am: ‘Weak positive’ case may be old infection
Victorian health authorities say a man has presented to hospital with a “weak positive” case of COVID-19.
The man from the Twin Parks Aged Care Facility in Reservoir in Melbourne’s north, was a positive case from August last year and the low positive may be the result of past infection.
“This case has not been added to the numbers as it is still under investigation,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
“The result is thought to represent persistent shedding from a previous infection. He has no links to cases at the Holiday Inn.”
The case was retested on Wednesday and will be reviewed by an expert panel.
Staff and residents at the Twin Parks Aged Care Facility have been tested as a precaution.
The state recorded zero COVID cases on Wednesday, after a mammoth effort for health authorities to contain an outbreak linked to The Holiday Inn quarantine hotel.
Several states and territories have already begun to lift their border restrictions, which were thrown up just over a week ago as Victoria hurtled towards lockdown.
NT: Melbourne is no longer considered a hot spot city and travel from the two states resumed from 6pm (AEDT) on Wednesday.
SA: Regional Victorians will be allowed to travel to SA from midnight, though Melburnians will be forced to wait until next Tuesday.
WA: Travellers from Victoria will be permitted to enter WA without an exemption from midnight on Saturday.
Tasmania: Victoria will return to “low-risk” status from midnight on Saturday, pending no further COVID-19 cases in Victoria that are considered a public health risk.
READ MORE:Tourism’s $8bn bid to stay afloat
Bojan Pancevski 5.15am: Covid variants outpace vaccine rollout
The spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants is accelerating in Europe, outpacing an already-slow vaccine rollout and forcing governments to extend and possibly tighten restrictions on civil society and businesses to prevent a new surge in infections before the end of the region’s winter.
A shortage of vaccines in the EU — only 4.8 per cent of Europeans have been vaccinated since late December — means the continent hasn’t even started the race against virus mutations that many experts say will define health policy in coming months and years.
Most European countries are experiencing a steady decline in infections following months of lockdowns, yet the spread of the new variants first identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil — known as B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 respectively — is accelerating, meaning these viruses are rapidly gaining ground under cover from the overall declining numbers.
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