Category Archives: Australia news

Coronavirus live update Australia: government to repay $721m worth of robodebt errors as national cabinet replaces Coag

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Refunding to begin in July as national cabinet agrees to meet fortnightly during Covid-19 crisis and then monthly. Follow updates live

Government services minister Stuart Robert says Australians who are owed money by the government won’t “need to do anything in terms of getting a refund”.

He defends his actions as minister, and the ongoing role of debt collecting:

The use of debt collectors is a long standing practice for government over many, many, many years where debt is validly raised and details aren’t available, or the Australian citizen is not engaging with government. It’s a long standing practice of government.

The reason why it’s taken since November when I updated that we’re refining the program and that we would be pausing all debts is it’s taken a while to identify all of the 373,000 Australians. We wanted to get that right.

It’s a longstanding practice of governments not to comment on anything before the courts...there is a class action before the courts on this matter, I think we’ll leave it at that.

This is a program that started five years ago based on the best information at the time. I’ve been the responsible minister for 12 months. As soon as information came to light to show there was a lack of sufficiency I moved quickly to pause all debts and refine the program as you’d expect.

I promised I’d come back to the Australian people with updated information, which I’m doing openly and transparently today.

At a press conference on the Gold Coast about the $721m blunder, government services minister Stuart Robert is asked if he should apologise to those affected.

The government started this program over half a decade ago based on the best information at the time ... we’re moving forward with the best information we have.

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Palace letters: high court rules Queen’s secret correspondence in lead-up to Whitlam dismissal are commonwealth records

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Historian Jenny Hocking wins landmark case after campaigning for release of secret letters between monarch and then Australian governor general Sir John Kerr

The historian Jenny Hocking has won a landmark high court case in her bid to secure sensitive correspondence between the Queen and former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.

The high court on Friday ruled that the commonwealth was wrong to withhold the so-called “palace letters”, a series of more than 200 exchanges between the Queen, her private secretary and Kerr, the then-governor general, in the lead-up to the 1975 dismissal of Whitlam, the then-Australian prime minister.

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‘Harrowing’ Shoalhaven zoo lion attack leaves zookeeper with serious injuries

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The zoo employee, who is in her 30s, was reportedly in critical condition and was being treated by several ambulance crews

A female zookeeper has been attacked by a lion at a zoo on the New South Wales south coast.

Emergency services were called to Shoalhaven Zoo on Friday morning after reports the woman, in her mid 30s, suffered serious face and neck injuries in the attack, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said.

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Coronavirus live news: Paris no longer a Covid-19 ‘red zone’ as France moves into new lockdown phase

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France prepares to enter phase two of lockdown relaxation; South Korean officials re-implement lockdown measures in Seoul; Kenya records highest one-day case rise

France announced further easing of lockdown restrictions on Thursday, with life slowly returning to normal for much of the country, writes Kim Willsher, the Guardian’s Paris correspondent. However, certain restrictions will remain in the Paris area and the overseas territories Mayotte and Guyane for at least the next three weeks.

In a 90 minute press conference, the prime minister, Édouard Philippe, said the Covid-19 figures in the country were better than expected, but urged the French to continue respecting the rules and remain careful and vigilant.

French PM Édouard Philippe has arrived for the press conference on Phase 2 of the easing of the lockdown. (I will be trying to translate and type as he speaks, so please forgive lapses in translation and grammar!).

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has said he would sign an executive order allowing businesses to deny entry to customers who are not wearing masks, the Guardian US coronavirus blog reports.

“That store owner has a right to protect himself,” Cuomo said of the order. “That store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store.”

Today I am signing an Executive Order authorizing businesses to deny entry to those who do not wear masks or face-coverings. No mask - No entry.

Related: Coronavirus US live: Cuomo to sign 'no mask, no entry' order for businesses

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Coronavirus live news: US deaths from Covid-19 have passed 100,000

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Qatar Covid-19 app ‘exposed 1m people’s personal details’; WHO sounds alarm over surge of Covid-19 cases in Latin America

Tom McCarthy writes that one of the key problems facing American efforts to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis is the population’s aversion to vaccines.

Only about half of Americans say they would get a Covid-19 vaccine if available, according to a poll, as a top US government scientist tempered claims by Donald Trump that the United States would be able to invent, manufacture and administer hundreds of millions of vaccine doses by the end of the year.

Related: Just half of Americans plan on getting Covid-19 vaccine, poll shows

Further to our story at 20.29, data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the United States has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, moving past a grim milestone even as many states relax mitigation measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The US has recorded more deaths from the disease than any other country in the pandemic, and almost three times as many as the second-ranking country, Britain, which has recorded more than 37,000 Covid-19 deaths.

Related: US passes 100,000 coronavirus deaths as states relax lockdown measures

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Coronavirus live news: WHO sounds alarm over surge of Covid-19 cases in Latin America

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Longest official mourning period in Spain’s democracy; unrest grows in UK PM’s party over Dominic Cummings lockdown breach; WHO says Americas are new Covid-19 epicentre. Follow the latest updates

There have now been 118,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the 54 nations of Africa, according to the World Health Organization’s regional office for the continent.

So far, about 48,000 people in Africa who have tested positive for the virus have recovered, while 3,500 have died, according to the latest updated from WHO African region on Wednesday morning.

Over 118,000 confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent - with more than 48,000 recoveries & 3,500 deaths. View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/V0fkK8dYTg pic.twitter.com/W1hbvugno1

Hi, this is Damien Gayle taking the reins of the live blog now, bringing you the latest headlines and stories, and the best of the Guardian’s coverage, from the coronavirus pandemic around the world.

If you have any comments, tips or suggestions for coverage please drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@gmail.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.

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WA premier admits state was told of sick ship crew but criticises federal government email

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Mark McGowan says initial email from the agriculture department did not raise red flags about coronavirus

The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has been forced to acknowledge that his state’s health department was notified of sick crew members on board a live export vessel before it docked in Fremantle, but remains critical of the federal Department of Agriculture for not “backing up” such a significant message with “at least a phone call”.

The admission came after the federal agriculture minister, David Littleproud, defended the actions of his department in response to McGowan’s claim on Tuesday that he discovered sick crew were on the ship Al-Kuwait that day only by word of mouth from dock workers. Littleproud released an email showing a department worker had notified WA Health on Friday about three sick crew members.

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Hopes fade among Queensland property owners left in limbo by Mayfair 101

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Chris Lower and wife Margie, who has stage four cancer, have made plans that depend on their deal with the investment firm

Earlier this year, Margie and Chris Lower cleaned out their tiny corner of tropical paradise in Mission Beach, preparing to hand the keys of their fisherman’s shack to investment firm Mayfair 101.

Margie, who has stage four bowel cancer, had wanted to be closer to hospitals for medical treatment and family. She imminently needs about $60,000 from the sale of their home to pay for a course of immunotherapy.

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Malka Leifer can be extradited to Australia, Israeli court rules

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Momentous ruling comes six years after extradition request first filed for alleged child sex abuser

An Israeli court has ruled that the alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer is mentally fit to stand trial and can be extradited to Australia, where the former Melbourne headteacher is wanted on 74 sexual assault charges.

The pivotal ruling comes six years after Australian police first filed an extradition request, and follows dozens of hearings and setbacks in a dramatic court saga in Jerusalem that has deeply strained relations between Israel and Australia.

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Coronavirus live news: Putin says Russia past peak of outbreak despite highest daily death toll

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WHO warns of second peak as global cases pass 5.5m; Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar denies picnic with friends was rule breach; world health leaders urge green recovery

I’m handing over to my esteemed colleague Kevin Rawlinson shortly, so I’ll leave you with a summary of today’s main global developments on the coronavirus pandemic:

A diplomatic rift has broken out between Tanzania and the US. The East African nation said it had summoned the top official at the US embassy to object to an advisory that warned of “exponential growth” of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Tanzania’s divisive leader John Magufuli has repeatedly played down the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic, appearing to model his response on the early approach taken by Donald Trump in the US.

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Man charged with murder over death of four-year-old Brisbane girl

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A 43-year-old man was due to appear in court on Tuesday after the death of the child in the suburb of Cannon Hill

A 43-year-old man has been charged with murder following the “sudden death” of a four-year-old girl in Brisbane.

A crime scene was declared in Bent Street, Cannon Hill, in the city’s east around 9.30am Monday.

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Boris Johnson’s senior adviser refuses to apologise for lockdown breach – as it happened

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Dominic Cummings will not resign; WHO drops hydroxychloroquine from global study into experimental coronavirus treatments. This blog is now closed

We’ve fired up a brand new blog at the link below – follow me there for the latest:

Related: Coronavirus live news: WHO drops hydroxychloroquine trial as Mexico death toll questioned

The White House on Monday issued a statement amending the timing of the start of new restrictions on travel from Brazil to the United States to 11.59pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, 26 May.

The White House announced on Sunday that it was restricting travel from Brazil to the United States, two days after the South American nation became the world’s No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases.

In its original announcement, it said the restrictions would come into force on 28 May.

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Frydenberg’s changes to shareholder class actions smack of ‘cronyism’, lawyers say

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The move has been made using emergency Covid-19 powers and favours company directors, they say

A surprise move by treasurer Josh Frydenberg to make shareholder class actions harder has been slammed by lawyers as cronyism that gives company directors the green light to hide bad information from investors.

“If bad directors take advantage of this change to lie to shareholders and people whose savings are in superannuation, the treasurer will share responsibility,” Jacob Varghese, the chief executive of law firm Maurice Blackburn, told Guardian Australia.

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‘We will simply disconnect’: Mike Pompeo and the Australian TV appearance that caused a diplomatic storm

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A comment by the US secretary of state about Victoria’s belt and road project has ricocheted through Parliament House and the US embassy

When US secretary of state Mike Pompeo popped up on Australian television over the weekend it was not to be interviewed by the national broadcaster or indeed one of the main TV channels.

Instead he chose to appear on a fringe show with a relatively tiny audience hosted by a self-styled “outsider” who loves Donald Trump’s tweets almost as much as he loves railing against “the left”.

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Global report: US suspends travel from Brazil as schools reopen in parts of Australia

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Chile’s president says hospitals are ‘very close to limit’, France records lowest number of daily Covid-19 cases since March, India restarts domestic flights

President Donald Trump has further limited travel to the US from the world’s coronavirus hotspots by denying entry to foreigners coming from Brazil, which is second to the US in the number of confirmed cases.

Trump had already banned certain travellers from China, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland and, to a lesser extent, Iran. He has not moved to ban travel from Russia, which has the world’s third-highest caseload, approximately 20,000 fewer than Brazil’s.

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Western Australia storm: 50,000 homes without power as state battered by wild weather

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Remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga whip up 100km/h wind gusts, dust storms and heavy rain as Perth and state’s south prepares for onslaught

Some 50,000 homes in Western Australia are still without power as the state continues to be battered by wild weather for a second day in a row, in a “rare event” described as a “once-in-a-decade” storm.

The state has experienced the wildest autumn weather in years, as the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga collided with a cold front and trough, whipping up gusts of about 100km/h.

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Australia’s ‘failing’ environmental laws will fuel further public health crises, Nobel laureate warns

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Bushfires and Covid-19 highlight connection between human health and natural world, states letter by almost 200 doctors and scientists

Leading health professionals, including a Nobel laureate and a former Australian of the Year, say the government must put human health “front and centre” in a new generation of environment laws in the aftermath of the Covid-19 and bushfire crises.

The Nobel prize-winning immunologist Peter Doherty and the epidemiologist and former Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley are among 180 professionals who have warned the government that Australia’s “failing” environmental laws will fuel further public health crises.

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Coronavirus live news: Austria’s president apologises for curfew breach

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France asks citizens to avoid foreign trips; US likely to impose travel restrictions on Brazil; Afghanistan cases top 10,000

The Daily Mail - usually one of Boris Johnson’s supporters in the press - has called on the prime minister to sack Dominic Cummings, trailing its headline with the following:

In the clearest way, Dominic Cummings has violated the spirit and letter of the lockdown. Boris Johnson says he ‘totally gets’ how the public feels about this. Clearly he totally doesn’t. Neither man has displayed a scintilla of contrition for this breach of trust. Do they think we are fools? For the good of the government and the nation, Mr Cummings must resign. Or the prime minister must sack him. No ifs. No buts.

The White House has announced it is prohibiting foreigners from traveling to the US if they had been in Brazil in the last two weeks, two days after the South American nation became the world No. 2 hot spot for coronavirus cases.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the US, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the new countries.

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Labor calls on Josh Frydenberg to front Covid-19 inquiry to explain jobkeeper ‘$60bn black hole’

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Penny Wong says treasurer should have ‘the courage’ to take responsibility for error as Coalition faces calls to expand wage subsidy

Labor will attempt to pressure the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, to appear before the Senate’s Covid-19 inquiry to explain the “$60bn black hole” in the jobkeeper program.

The move comes as the Morrison government faces growing calls to expand the wage subsidy to cover a wider group of workers, after revelations on Friday that the six-month program is now expected to cost the budget $70bn rather than $130bn.

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Entire Western Australia coast to be battered by ‘once-in-a-decade’ storm

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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Mangga expected to bring 100km/h winds, heavy rain and massive waves along a 3,000km stretch of coast

A massive “once-in-a-decade” storm is expected to hit Australia’s entire west coast on Sunday and Monday, bringing potentially dangerous conditions and prompting authorities to place defence force units on standby.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm – the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Mangga combined with a cold front – represented an “unusually widespread severe weather event”.

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