Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Insurance companies have lost a crucial test case on whether they have to pay businesses who shut their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic under business interruption policies.
The NSW Court of Appeal says they do, and has thrown out arguments from insurers that coronavirus is excluded from policies.
Meanwhile, a huge chunk of Darwin and surrounds is experiencing a blackout, with the temperature expected to climb to 35C.
Wide spread power outages affecting Darwin and surrounding areas. #DarwinNT Crew responding.
Some 400,000 Australians will share $112m in extra compensation, lawyers say
The Australian government has agreed to a $1.2bn settlement for a class action brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of robodebt victims.
In a deal struck the day a federal court trial was set to begin, 400,000 people will share in $112m in additional compensation, the firm running the action, Gordon Legal, announced on Monday.
Decision sees international students go to the back of the queue while others are given special approval
Greg Hunt has clarified that foreign business people and actors will not be subjected to the “Australians first” approach to international arrivals as Australia struggles to clear a backlog of people seeking to come home.
The health minister suggested that “national interest” exemptions would continue to apply, clarifying that investors will not be barred by the rule that prevents large numbers of international students coming ahead of 36,500 Australians still seeking to return.
Australia hopes 15-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will help reset economic relations with China
Simon Birmingham has urged China to respect the “spirit” – not just the letter – of the new 15-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Australia is hoping the deal, signed on Sunday, will help reset economic relations with China after a rolling series of trade disputes or disruptions widely regarded as retaliation for Australian policies towards China.
PM and premiers meet as Covid-19 cases plummet. This blog is now closed
The day is winding down so we are going to wrap up the blog. Here are the main events:
The rise of rightwing extremism has coincided with the emergence of social media “echo chambers” and easily formed online communities of interest, the head of home affairs has said.
Michael Pezzullo, the secretary of the department, appeared before a parliamentary hearing into social cohesion and nationhood this afternoon.
He was asked about recent testimony from the head of Asio that rightwing extremism now made up 30% to 40% of its priority counter-terrorism investigations. Labor committee chair Kim Carr wanted to know whether Pezzullo thought the trend coincided with the rise or rightwing populist groups in the US and Europe.
Domestically it would seem to me that the groups that are of most concern are those that would either promote or seek others to adhere to a philosophy or an ideology of extra-constitutional action, and worse of course extremist action, and worst of all violent action rather than moderating legitimately held differences of political, ideological, economic views through our democratic process.
Scott Morrison has congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their projected US election win. Morrison spoke about the importance of the alliance between the two countries that was strengthened following the second world war and the value of the US in the Australia-Pacific region. While President Donald Trump is yet to concede, Morrison joined leaders around the world in congratulating Biden
Scott Morrison has signalled he would invite Joe Biden to visit Australia for the 70th anniversary of the Anzus treaty in 2021 as he congratulated the Democrat for winning the US presidential election.
Morrison told reporters that Canberra would continue to deal with the Trump administration during the transition period but looked forward to working with Biden from January.
News Hub reports New Zealand’s US ambassador has commented on the election. As government employees, ambassadors are prevented from indicating political views (despite being political appointments) but it looks like Scott Brown, for one, is feeling confident enough in the result to be a little honest.
‘We need to keep moving forward as we live with Covid-19,’ Gladys Berejiklian says. We’ll also be bringing you Australian reaction to that election, as it happens
Tony Harris has criticised the Morrison government for slashing audit office funding and delaying federal anti-corruption watchdog
Tony Harris, the former New South Wales auditor general, has blasted the Morrison government for cutting funding to the Australian National Audit Office and for moving too slowly to establish a federal anti-corruption commission.
During an appearance before the Senate committee examining the sports grants saga, Harris said he believed there was “a pattern of behaviour that constitutes a goal” of reducing public scrutiny of government activity.
Melbourne lockdown lifted as Victoria records two Covid cases and two deaths. Senate estimates looks at Australia’s response to Doha airport incident. Follow live
Students at the University of Sydney have occupied a building on campus that houses the vice-chancellor’s office, in a protest against cuts to staff in medical sciences.
Approximately 50 students are in the building right now, chanting and asking for the vice-chancellor, Michael Spence, to meet with them.
USyd students are currently occupying the universities administration building, where senior management, including Michael Spence, have their offices. Students are refusing to leave until the university commit to reversing all staff and course cuts. #Auspolpic.twitter.com/dnEBFPXg7l
Daniel Andrews has released a statement on the Melbourne Cup:
I have today advised the Victoria Racing Club that connections of horses competing at the Melbourne Cup Carnival will not be permitted to attend the course.
The government has determined that next week is not a suitable time for gatherings of that nature.*
A federal government investigation into the scandal may cost more than the lavish gifts purchased in November 2018
Four Cartier watches given to Australia Post senior managers were worth nearly $20,000 in total, $8,000 more than the organisation’s chief executive told a parliamentary hearing this week.
Christine Holgate told Senate estimates on Thursday the watches, purchased in 2018 as a reward for the executives, were worth about $3,000 each.
Today’s meeting between federal, state and territory leaders will focus on removing social and border restrictions to jumpstart the economy. Follow live
In just the year to June, Australia Post paid $1.95 million in bonuses to 35 of its executives earning over $520,000 a year. That’s 648 Cartier watches - or 162 times the total Cartier watch spend. (Or about 27,850 Casio watches...) https://t.co/S8mmcqJmhh
We will probably be in a bit of a news lull while national cabinet is meeting and the US presidential election debate is on in about 25 minutes.
Officials are unable to say how much was spent on taxpayer-funded campaigns based on surveys by a longtime researcher for the Liberals
Officials from the Department of Finance have acknowledged that taxpayer-funded research undertaken by Jim Reed, a long-term researcher for the Liberal party pollster Crosby Textor, fed into two publicly funded advertising campaigns relating to economic measures launched in response to the pandemic.
But officials told the estimates committee they were unable to quantify or disclose the budgets for the two taxpayer-funded advertising spends.
A school student in Melbourne’s north tested positive to coronavirus, putting the suburbs of Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg on high alert. Follow live
Australia Post is up in the communications estimates committee hearing - that starts at 9
NSW has reported just one locally acquired case - another six are in hotel quarantine.
Scott Morrison says focus must be on public health crisis, despite passing more than 90 other bills this year
Scott Morrison claims the sustained pressure of managing the coronavirus pandemic has prevented the government from landing its longstanding commitment to establish a national anti-corruption body.
With controversy over the Leppington triangle land purchase continuing to reverberate, and questions being raised over contact between the deputy prime minister Michael McCormack and the disgraced New South Wales MP Daryl Maguire, Labor on Wednesday confronted the government over its persistent failure to establish a federal anti-corruption body.
Budget estimates continue with Australia’s coronavirus response on the agenda. Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry will reconvene for an extraordinary session while in NSW testing rates drop below 7,000. Follow all the latest updates
Keith Pitt, bless him, attempts a dixer on the Queensland resources industry which LNP candidates in central and north Queensland can cut up and put on their facebook page for three people to look at, but the dixer isn’t the right question, so he can’t use his zinger, or get his time back.
Neither can we.
Steve Burt, he is a typical driller, he is big, he’s bearded, he is rough as hessian underwear to be honest
Catherine King to Michael McCormack:
The Australian audit office told Senate estimates last night that it provided AFP on 10 July potential evidence about potential defrauding of the Commonwealth.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Whilst I appreciate this is the subject of many inquiries being made by Senate estimates, as you would expect, this is an inquiry, the Australian Federal Police are looking into it and the ANAO has referred this matter to the AFP, as has the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure.
And, of course, an independent investigation is also going into the matter, being conducted by the Commonwealth Ombudsman Dr Thomas, the former Inspector-general of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Dr Vivienne Thom.
Melburnians can now travel up to 25km and spend more time out of the house; and federal parliament resumes with Senate estimates. This blog is now closed
In the off chance you aren’t completely fed up with Covid-19 data, the federal health department has been publishing a weekly snapshot of how each state is going.
This is an interesting tool for assessing the success of contact tracing in various states, especially as the case load in Victoria continues to drop.
Scott Morrison, who is temporarily stuck in Queensland, expects overseas arrival numbers to rise within weeks
A national cabinet meeting due to discuss a plan to bring back thousands of additional Australians stranded overseas has been postponed, after the prime minister himself became stranded in Queensland with “technical problems” grounding his RAAF plane.
Scott Morrison, speaking in Cairns on Thursday, confirmed that more citizens stuck overseas due to Covid flight caps would soon be able to return home with increased repatriation flights and use of the Howard Springs quarantine facility near Darwin.
Scott Morrison has declared the government will deliver all the big-spending elements of Tuesday night’s budget even if the rosy assumptions underpinning the economic statement turn out to be wrong.
As the government embarked on the traditional media blitz to sell the budget, the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, was preparing to use Thursday night’s budget reply speech to outline elements of new childcare policy and a commitment on energy.