New figures show that during the three-month extension about 1.4 million people opted out
More than 2.5 million Australians have opted out of the My Health Record system, new figures show.
The figures, revealed in Senate estimates on Wednesday, show almost one in 10 Australians eligible for Medicare have opted out of the controversial system.
Continue reading...Senate estimates continue, with three senior ministers in Labor’s spotlight. All the days events, live
Ugh. Now that I have wrestled with tech demons, I can tell you that as expected, the motion to suspend standing orders goes down, 69 to 74.
The division is called – to see if Labor can suspend standing orders.
It does not look like the Nationals will be backing it.
Continue reading...Earlier Mathias Cormann admitted he books holidays by calling CEO of travel company, who is also Liberal party treasurer, directly. All the day’s events live
Wayne Swan is on his feet, talking about his career, which included eight election wins and one loss, since 1993. Or as he describes it, enough days to cover almost four continuous years of parliament.
Wayne Swan says yesterday was his 35th wedding anniversary, and two hours ago, he became a grandfather again.
So it’s a good week to be Wayne Swan.
Continue reading...Cyclone delays cleanup after ship runs aground in rough seas near Rennell Island
Solomon Islands authorities are scrambling to clean up an oil spill caused after a bulk carrier came aground about a fortnight ago on a coral reef on the southern coast.
Category 2 cyclone Oma and rough weather had delayed efforts to salvage the ship, MV Solomon Trader.
Continue reading...Items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux found at Shelley beach on NSW mid-north coast
A British tourist and a French tourist are missing at a beach on the New South Wales mid-north coast.
Personal items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux were found by walkers on Shelley Beach, near Port Macquarie, 390km north of Sydney, at sunrise on Monday.
Continue reading...Mike Pezzullo admits department faced ‘urgent’ circumstances when deal done with little known firm Paladin
The head of the department of home affairs concedes bureaucrats awarded a controversial $423m contract to Paladin to provide services on Manus Island because of an “urgent” set of circumstances, but Mike Pezzullo denies he was “desperate”.
Officials from the home affairs department told estimates on Monday they were, in essence, forced to conduct a closed tender process for the contract because the government of Papua New Guinea advised the then Turnbull government in July it could not provide services it had signalled it would provide because it had entered a caretaker period.
Continue reading...I had to gain the confidence that always seemed to come naturally to my partner to release my inner handywoman
Last year my partner and I moved into a new house. The whole exercise was exhilarating – finally, a place we owned – but it also unearthed in me a desperation, a deep frustration. For a long time I’ve wanted to be someone who fixes things, builds things, someone who is capable in practical day-to-day tasks. I own tools, I have ideas and I tinker with my surroundings, but I’ve never felt completely at ease in the tasks that various men in my life seem to take on with no backward glance.
In our just-built house there were so many jobs to do with drills, hammers, caulking guns. My drive to learn by doing was offset by disorientation and self-doubt. I wanted to begin improving our house, but I didn’t know what sort of screws I needed for the curtain rod brackets, or whether I could just drill straight into the plasterboard. My partner, a man, didn’t have much more experience in these things than I did, but approached the situation with a confidence and bluster that only confused me more.
Continue reading...Penny Wong says it’s ‘deeply concerning’ a company with ‘such a poor track record’ was awarded a lucrative sum through closed tender
Penny Wong has indicated Labor will target the Paladin offshore detention security contract in Senate estimates this week, accusing the government of failing to explain why the company was awarded $420m in contracts through closed tender.
The Australian Financial Review has reported that Paladin Group’s $420m of contracts to provide security to refugees on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea was extended by the home affairs department in January after a closed tender process.
Continue reading...Bill Shorten dismisses PM’s comments, saying it’s possible to have strong borders and treat people humanely
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has sent out a fresh message on border security, saying “people smugglers know they won’t get through me and Peter Dutton” but would “have a crack” if Bill Shorten became prime minister.
Morrison said the government had “increased the strength, resource and capability again of Operation Sovereign Borders” after the asylum seeker medevac legislation passed parliament this week, in spite of the Coalition’s best efforts to block it.
Continue reading...High commission urges early redress for Nauroze Anees, citing his ‘uncomfortably prolonged detention’
Pakistan’s high commission has called for early redress for one of its citizens held in “overstretched and uncomfortably prolonged detention” in Australia’s onshore immigration facilities.
The man, a 32-year-old who arrived in 2007 on a student visa, has been refused ministerial intervention in his case, despite acting as the primary carer for his partner. He is among the growing cohort of people inside detention on section 501 “character test” deportation orders.
Continue reading...The Southport State high school had to have paramedics come out three times during the day
A Gold Coast high school has had to call paramedics three times in one day after four girls became ill from an unknown prescription drug.
It’s not known if the Southport State high school girls took the drug together or at different times throughout the day.
Continue reading...Focus for year ahead will be on ‘providing drought refuges and avoiding irreversible loss of species’
The outlook for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin, particularly in the north, is extremely challenging and there will be almost no scope for environmental flows for the remainder of the 2018-19 year unless it rains, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has warned.
It says the focus will be “on providing drought refuges and avoiding irreversible loss of species”.
Continue reading...Joint committee calls for further review of bill stripping terrorists of citizenship, as PM hands down Closing the Gap report and Coalition keeps up medical transfers scare campaign. All the day’s events, live
The attorney-general’s office released the transcript of his interview with Kieran Gilbert on Sky News this morning.
It includes this exchange between Christian Porter, as the first law officer and Gilbert:
Chris Bowen and Mark Butler have held a press conference to blast the government for dumping the big stick.
Labor doesn’t support this policy but the Bowen/Butler argument is the government did, and this is yet another energy policy that has now bitten the dust. The government says it will take the policy to the coming election, and seek a mandate.
Continue reading...Youssef heard the shots that killed his boyfriend. Resettled in Australia, his is one of four stories told in a new documentary
“I tried to escape, and then one of them hit me. Hazem never allowed anyone to lay a hand on me.”
Youssef’s breath shortens with each word, his face disguised from the camera as he relives the moment his partner sought to shield him from a group of men on a Baghdad street.
Continue reading...Labor, the Greens, Tim Storer, Derryn Hinch and the Centre Alliance vote in favour of the refugee transfer legislation. This blog has now closed.
That is where we will leave you today. It’s been a big week and after the last few days, I think we all need a bex and a lie down.
Obviously, for me, when I say bex, I mean vodka, but insert whatever self-care aid is necessary.
From the valedictories
Continue reading...Plaintiff’s lawyers wanted to suspend case after argument about his identity came unstuck in Canberra high court
The high court has rejected an attempt to reopen a controversial ruling which effectively enabled indefinite immigration detention in Australia.
The full bench in Canberra took the highly unusual step of delivering an immediate judgement, after a tumultuous day which saw the plaintiff’s lawyers seek to stop them hearing the case and have it sent back to a single judge for reassessment.
Continue reading...Hailed for mobilising the global football family, the SBS commentator now says ‘we are just warming up’
On 7 December, 10 days after the Australian refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi was arrested at Bangkok airport, the former Socceroos captain Craig Foster sent a letter to the president and secretary general of Fifa reminding them that they had a human rights policy.
“I am sure that all in our global football family are delighted that Fifa have committed to the protection of basic human rights across its global football activities,” he wrote.
Continue reading...Key crossbencher Kerryn Phelps indicates she would consider Labor’s changes to the medevac legislation. All the day’s events, live
The PMO has released the transcript of Scott Morrison’s doorstop this morning:
JOURNALIST: Prime minister, if you lose the medevac bill today, why should you not drive to Government House and call an election?
You may remember from Luke’s report yesterday, that David de Garis declined to answer how he found out about the AWU raid. Looks like shiz is about to get reeeal interesting in the federal court.
Justice Bromberg has ruled Michaelia Cash's former media adviser David De Garis will have to give evidence about who tipped him off that federal police were set to raid the AWU's offices. #auspol
Continue reading...Labor has been holding talks all day and has agreed on three principles. All the day’s events, live
And that is where we are going to call it quits tonight.
But fear not – we’ll be back in about 12 hours. It is going to be that sort of year, me thinks.
Scott Morrison and Marise Payne will hold a press conference at 8.45 tonight to talk about Hakeem al-Araibi.
Refugee Bahraini footballer returning to Melbourne after extradition case dropped
The refugee Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi has boarded a flight to Australia after Thai authorities withdrew an extradition case against him.
Thai authorities said the Bahraini government had decided to end its pursuit of Al-Araibi, who fled Bahrain in 2014 before being granted permanent residence in Australia, where he has lived since.
Continue reading...