Category Archives: Scott Morrison

Coronavirus live update Australia: Victoria reports 12 deaths and 216 new Covid cases as NSW records seven cases

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Scott Morrison says vaccine will be ‘as mandatory as you can possibly make’. Follow today’s news live

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    • The ABC has announced the 2020 Boyer Lectures to be delivered by the philanthropist and business leader Andrew Forrest will be delayed due to ongoing Covid-19 travel restrictions and border closures.

    The four-part lecture series – Rebooting Australia: How ethical entrepreneurs can help shape a better future – was scheduled to be broadcast on ABC Radio National from 28 November.

    The Crown Resorts casino empire controlled by the billionaire James Packer received more than $110m in jobkeeper payments from the Australian government, propping up the group’s profit.

    Crown’s full-year results, filed today with the ASX, show the $111.3m the group received to pay both working and stood-down employees was almost two-thirds of its profit before tax of $153m.

    This was close to a quarter of the profit before tax the previous year – no surprise, as Crown’s gaming floors largely shut down during the first wave of the pandemic. Crown hasn’t paid a dividend.

    Related: The 'dividendkeeper' shuffle: how jobkeeper payments are flowing to shareholders

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    Scott Morrison’s early talk of ‘mandatory’ Covid vaccine may drive hesitancy, experts warn

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    Health experts say prime minister discussing coercive measures this early risks driving hesitant Australians away

    Experts have warned Scott Morrison’s discussion of a “mandatory” Covid-19 vaccine is pre-emptive and risks driving hesitant Australians away.

    The prime minister announced on Wednesday that a letter of intent had been signed with the British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to supply Australians with the University of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine if it clears clinical trials.

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    Coronavirus live update Australia: Victoria reports 11 deaths and 450 new Covid cases, with 11 in NSW – latest news

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    Australian Defence Force personnel to doorknock close contacts of confirmed cases in Victoria as Western Australia delays easing of restrictions. Follow live

    McGowan describes the WA border case as “our war” with Clive Palmer.

    He says that WA is disappointed that the Commonwealth did not support their submission to have a fresh trial.

    McGowan also announces that the national cabinet today agreed on “a code of practice for the regular testing of interstate freight drivers”.

    He says that new arrangements will come into place next week which means “any truck driver entering WA will have to show evidence of having received a negative Covid-19 test result in the past seven days”.

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    Coalition tweaks jobkeeper scheme again amid Covid second wave in Victoria

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    Ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting, the expenditure review committee signs off on changes that will cost $15.6bn

    The Morrison government has tweaked the eligibility requirements for the jobkeeper wage subsidy only three weeks after cutting the payment in an attempt to save businesses and jobs at risk because of the deteriorating outlook in Victoria.

    Ahead of Friday’s national cabinet meeting, and after new Treasury analysis underscored the hit to the national economy from the second wave of coronavirus infections in Victoria, the expenditure review committee of cabinet signed off on the jobkeeper overhaul late on Thursday.

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    Morrison government asleep at the wheel when it comes to China, Labor says

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    Richard Marles accuses the Coalition of mishandling a relationship that ‘needs to be managed by the adults in the room’

    The Morrison government has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the relationship with China, while its handling of a submarine project has made Australians less safe, the deputy Labor leader has declared.

    In a sharpening of the opposition’s political attack following months of restraint during the coronavirus pandemic, Richard Marles accused the Coalition of mismanaging ties with Australia’s largest trading partner by failing to speak with a single, clear message.

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    New closing the gap agreement commits governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal groups

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    Four priority reforms and 16 socio-economic targets to focus on housing, early childhood and justice

    The new national agreement on closing the gap has been released. The culmination of months of negotiation between Aboriginal peak organisations and governments, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, says it is “built on mutual trust, shared responsibility, dignity and respect”.

    Four priority reforms and 16 socio-economic targets commit federal, state and territory governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal organisations to design and deliver on priority areas such as housing, early childhood and justice reform.

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    NSW minister urges Morrison government not to ‘smash through’ conservation law changes

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    State Liberal Matt Kean calls on his federal counterpart to drop opposition to an independent environment protection authority

    The New South Wales environment minister has called on the Morrison government not to “smash through” changes to national conservation laws and to drop its opposition to an independent environment protection authority.

    In a significant intervention from a Liberal government minister, Matt Kean questioned his federal counterpart’s rush to introduce draft laws to change the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act while a major review was still under way, saying it was more important to get the detail right.

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    Australian retailers urge government to broaden employers’ power to cut workers’ hours

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    The National Retail Association wants all businesses to have greater flexibility, not just those receiving jobkeeper

    Australia’s retailers are calling on the Morrison government to broaden the power of employers to cut workers’ hours and change duties, as Labor signalled it will oppose the move to extend flexibility linked to the jobkeeper wage subsidy.

    The National Retail Association chief executive, Dominique Lamb, told Guardian Australia the government should consider granting all businesses the flexibility to vary work hours – not just the firms in receipt of the jobkeeper wage subsidy.

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    Coronavirus live update Australia: Morrison to discuss Melbourne Covid-19 outbreak in national cabinet meeting

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    Prime minister will discuss the impact of the pandemic as fears grow over pressure on aged care sector. Follow the latest news and updates

    The AFL roadshow continues with a mini-hub to be created in Cairns, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has confirmed.

    Two yet-to-be named teams will base themselves in the city, and three games will be played at Cazaly’s Stadium. Strict quarantine protocols and the Covidsafe Industry Plan will be rigorously employed, as is the norm these days.

    Three @AFL Premiership games will be played at Cazaly’s Stadium and two clubs will relocate to Cairns temporarily with strict quarantine protocols and the COVID Safe Industry Plan in place. It will inject millions of dollars into the local economy and support jobs. #AFL #qldjobs pic.twitter.com/MiILnH1DjX

    The Australian Education Union says that senior school students and specialist school students should also be allowed to move to flexible learning because of increasing rates of community transmission in Victoria.

    More from AAP:

    Year 11 and 12 students are being taught in the classroom ahead of exams, as are special school students.

    AEU Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said the rigid approach meant some students were missing out and there was additional stress for principals, teachers and support staff.

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    Coalition to overhaul jobkeeper and jobseeker Covid-19 subsidies by cutting support rates

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    Reductions to the coronavirus supplements will start from 28 September and include tighter eligibility requirements

    The Morrison government will reduce the level of income support paid out under the jobkeeper and jobseeker payments from 28 September, and create two payment tiers for the wage subsidy to ensure the rate aligns more closely with people’s pre-Covid income, rather than giving part-timers and casuals a pay rise.

    The overhaul will be unveiled by Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday ahead of an economic statement the government will deliver on Thursday. As well as lowering the rate of both the jobkeeper wage subsidy and the $550 coronavirus supplement in jobseeker after September, the government will tighten the eligibility requirements for both payments – including retesting businesses in October.

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    Coronavirus Australia: Victoria records three more Covid-19 deaths and 217 new cases as PM postpones parliament

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    Australia’s acting chief medical officer warns people in Sydney are not taking precautions ‘as seriously’ as in Melbourne

    Victoria has recorded 217 new cases of Covid-19 and three more deaths, as the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced parliament would be postponed due to the health risks of MPs travelling to Canberra from Melbourne and south-western Sydney.

    Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, described the 217 cases as “a relief” following a record 428 new cases announced on Friday, and a then-record 317 new cases on Thursday.

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    What’s really going on in the Australian economy? – Australian politics live podcast

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    Katharine Murphy sits down with Guardian reporter Paul Karp and Nine senior economics correspondent Shane Wright to discuss the Australian economy and the government’s various stimulus packages. As conditions remain grim, with 992,300 Australians out of work, and the unemployment rate rising to 7.4% in June, how will the government navigate Australia’s recovery?

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    China has only itself to blame for Australia’s move on Hong Kong

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    The Australian government and its partners had no choice but to recognise the new reality in the territory and offer some of its citizens a way out

    I feel sorry for Chinese foreign ministry officials, with whom I have had many good conversations over the years. They have been pushed to lambast Australia and other Western democracies with such frequency that they risk running out of fresh invective, hyperbole and idiom.

    It was inevitable that Chinese diplomats would excoriate Australia after prime minister Scott Morrison’s measured moves this week in response to Beijing’s draconian national security legislation for Hong Kong: offering limited sanctuary to Hong Kongers, suspending an extradition treaty with Hong Kong and heightening the travel warning for the city.

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    China accuses Australia of ‘gross interference’ after offer of safe haven for Hong Kong visa holders

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    Prime minister Scott Morrison cancels extradition treaty citing the new national security law as ‘a fundamental change of circumstances’

    China has accused Australia of “gross interference” after Scott Morrison granted a range of visa holders from Hong Kong a five-year extension and suspended an extradition treaty with the city.

    The prime minister announced on Thursday that Australia would allow a range of visa holders to stay in the country for longer and then offer them a pathway to permanent residency – but has stopped short of creating a special humanitarian intake for Hongkongers fearing persecution under the new national security law.

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    Chaotic world order and rising tensions with Beijing push Scott Morrison to overcome fear of ‘negative globalism’

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    The Australian government has realised that strengthening international institutions is preferable to the alternative – relying on Trump or Xi

    Last October, Scott Morrison continued a proud Australian political tradition and admitted that – despite being prime minister – he has only a passing interest in international affairs.

    Days after returning from a lengthy visit to Washington, Morrison explained, almost apologetically, that his various foreign travels had been forced upon him by the unfortunate intrusion of global events. “My instincts and passions have always been domestic,” he said in a speech to the Lowy Institute. “I am not one who naturally seeks out summits and international platforms.”

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    Coronavirus Australia update: NT blocks people from Covid hotspots and Virgin Australia bidder Cyrus Capital pulls out – live news

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    State’s chief minister says people from areas with spikes in cases will be quarantined at their own cost; Bain Capital remains only bidder for embattled airline. Follow live

    Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath spoke to media earlier, urging residents to comply with quarantine orders.

    Although we are so fortunate in Queensland to have so few active cases, the fact is, as of today, we have almost 3,000 people in people on quarantine orders. About 880 of that people are in hotels but over 2,000 are quarantining in their homes.

    It is absolutely critical that those people remain at home for the 14 days that they are quarantining, that they are not allowing people into their homes and they are not leaving their homes for any reason other than to be tested for Covid.

    In response to a twelve-year-old student at Camden High School in NSW testing positive to Covid-19, the state’s health department has set up an additional Covid pop-up testing clinic at Camden Hospital.

    The clinic will have walk-in testing with no bookings required and the clinic will be open over the next three days between 10am and 4pm.

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    Labor calls for royal commission into Coalition’s robodebt scheme

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    Opposition says inquiry could investigate scheme’s human cost, including reports some victims took their own life

    Labor has called for a royal commission into the robodebt program, heaping pressure on the Coalition to accept some form of independent inquiry into the unlawful scheme that some families claim led victims to take their own lives.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and frontbenchers Bill Shorten and Mark Dreyfus argued a royal commission was needed to probe the creation and administration of the debt recovery scheme, which saw Centrelink send at least 470,000 unlawful demands for money over four years.

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    Can Australia resolve its trade tensions with China? – Australian politics live podcast

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    This week Katharine Murphy talks with the Australian trade, tourism and investment minister, Simon Birmingham. They discuss the challenges of economic recovery after the bushfires and coronavirus, and address the escalating trade actions from China. Will Birmingham appease an angered Beijing and reverse China’s tariffs? Or will the relationship see a continued decline in civility?

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    Australia coronavirus update: major cyber attack under way as Victoria records 12 new Covid-19 cases – live news

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    A sophisticated state-based actor is targeting all levels of government and companies in a range of sectors, PM reveals. Follow live

    Also, the Five Eyes finance ministers met. Given what their operatives do, a meeting seems superfluous, but ok.

    Today Australia hosted a call with the Finance Ministers of the “Five Eyes” nations – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.

    It was the first of what will be regular calls among the countries to discuss the economic issues associated with COVID-19.

    I guess when you don’t have the Global Times, you have to be a little more overt in your silent diplomacy.

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    Australia is under cyber-attack from ‘state-based actor’, Scott Morrison says

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    Australian prime minister says widespread assault on political and private sector organisations has been going on for months but is increasing in frequency and scale

    A wide range of political and private sector organisations in Australia have come under cyber-attack carried out by a “sophisticated state-based cyber actor”, the Australian government has revealed.

    Scott Morrison disclosed the far-reaching attacks at a media conference in Canberra on Friday, while his defence minister declared that malicious cyber activity was “increasing in frequency, scale, in sophistication and in its impact”.

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