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As Australia pauses to honour the 15 victims of the horrific Bondi Beach shooting, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued a solemn apology, acknowledging the failure of the state to protect innocent lives in an attack that has shaken the nation and left a lasting scar on its collective conscience.

“I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil,” Albanese said during a national memorial, describing the tragedy as a moment that shattered Australia’s long-held sense of safety and openness.

9News Nigeria reports that the Prime Minister’s remarks came as the country observed a national day of mourning, with flags flown at half-mast, moments of silence observed nationwide, and memorial services held in honour of those killed in the attack.

Albanese said Bondi Beach symbolised more than a popular tourist destination, describing it as part of Australia’s promise to the world as a welcoming and safe society. He admitted that this promise was broken by the shooting, which he said represented an attack on the nation’s shared values.

The Prime Minister called on Australians to respond with unity, compassion and resolve, urging communities to stand together against hatred and violence. He stressed that the tragedy must not divide the country, but instead strengthen its commitment to protecting one another.

The Bondi Beach shooting, which claimed 15 lives, has been described as one of the most devastating acts of violence in Australia’s recent history. The attack sparked widespread grief, renewed debate about public safety, and calls for stronger measures to prevent similar incidents.

As families mourn their loved ones, Albanese pledged continued support for the victims and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring accountability and preventing future tragedies.

Across Australia, the day of mourning served as both a tribute to the victims and a moment of reflection on the nation’s values, as citizens grapple with the reality that a place known for joy and freedom became the scene of profound loss.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

A mass shooting has shaken Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, leaving several people dead and many others injured as panic spread through the crowded beachfront.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening when thousands of people had gathered near the beach to mark the Hanukkah festival. Witnesses reported hearing rapid gunfire as people ran for cover, with families and beachgoers fleeing in fear.

New South Wales Police confirmed that officers responded swiftly to reports of an active shooter, launching a major security operation in the area. Emergency services, including police and paramedics, rushed to the scene, treating the wounded and transporting victims to nearby hospitals.

Eyewitness footage circulating online appeared to show two armed men firing from an elevated position near the beach. Authorities later confirmed that two suspects were taken into custody in connection with the attack, while investigations into their identities and possible motives continue.

Preliminary reports indicate that at least three people were killed, with several others sustaining gunshot wounds. Officials have warned that casualty figures may change as more information becomes available.

The shooting took place during the first night of Hanukkah, a significant Jewish festival, prompting shock and condemnation from community leaders. Prominent Jewish figures described the attack as deeply traumatic, saying the beach had been scarred by what they described as racially motivated violence, though police have not officially confirmed the motive.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, described the incident as shocking and distressing, assuring the public that federal and state authorities are working closely to support victims and ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

Bondi Beach and surrounding areas were placed under lockdown as police secured the scene and conducted searches. Members of the public have been urged to avoid the area and follow official safety instructions.

The incident remains a developing story, with authorities expected to release further updates as investigations continue.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

An Australian university has conferred a degree posthumously to a student who tragically passed away before completing her studies. This decision was made to honor her dedication and commitment to her education, reflecting the university’s values of supporting students in their academic journeys.

Hannah McGuire was reportedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend, who is currently facing trial for this tragic incident. At the time of her death, Hannah was nearing the completion of her teaching degree. In a heartfelt gesture, her mother has revealed how Hannah’s aspirations will continue to be honored, even as her ex awaits trial for the alleged crime.

The student, remembered fondly by her peers and faculty, exemplified perseverance and passion throughout her time at the university. Her family expressed deep gratitude for the recognition of their daughter’s hard work and dreams, emphasizing how meaningful this gesture is during such a difficult time.

University officials stated that the award was not only a recognition of the student’s academic achievements but also a testament to the institution’s commitment to fostering a nurturing environment for all students. The decision to award the degree was made after careful consideration of the student’s academic record and in accordance with the university’s policies regarding posthumous honors.

Friends and faculty members shared memories of the student, highlighting her involvement in various campus activities and her unwavering kindness towards others. The university plans to hold a special ceremony to celebrate her life, allowing classmates and faculty to share their experiences and pay their respects.

This poignant act has sparked discussions about the importance of recognizing the efforts of students who face significant challenges in their educational pursuits. It underscores the belief that dreams should be honored, even in the face of adversity. The university community stands united in celebrating the legacy of the student and the aspirations she held dear.

The awarding of this degree serves as a powerful reminder of the impact one individual can have on a community and the lasting influence they leave behind.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Torrential rain from the remnants of Cyclone Alfred flooded swathes of Australia’s east coast on Monday, as workers battled to restore power to more than 190,000 homes and businesses.

The weather system, which made landfall on Saturday, has battered a 400-kilometre stretch of coast for five days, claiming one life when a driver was swept off a bridge Friday.

Even as the wind and rain eased, authorities issued a string of flood and severe weather warnings across the region, which straddles Queensland and New South Wales.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference in the flood-hit New South Wales city of Lismore that the disaster is far from over.

The bureau of meteorology said the tropical depression dumped 30 centimetres of rain in 24 hours over parts of Queensland’s capital city of Brisbane, as images published in Australian media showed floodwaters swamped some streets in the city and its surrounds, stranding half-submerged cars in the worst-affected areas.

9News Nigeria reports that the wild weather has so far claimed at least one life, after a 61-year-old man’s four-wheel-drive pickup was swept off a bridge Friday in northern New South Wales.

He tried in vain to cling to a tree branch in the river before disappearing into the rapid waters, police said, and his body was found the next day.

In a separate incident Saturday, 13 soldiers were injured and taken to hospital when two army trucks rolled over during a deployment to clear roads near the flood-prone northern New South Wales city of Lismore.

All but one of the troops had been released from hospital by Monday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, has expressed confidence in the ability of the All Progressives Congress, APC, leadership to build the nation, and significantly contribute to Africa’s growth.

Tinubu said this while addressing the APC Caucus meeting at the State House in Abuja, as he reaffirmed his commitment to the Renewed Hope Manifesto of the APC.

The number one citizen, therefore underscored the importance of achieving food sovereignty and not just food security to better reposition the country as the nation with the capacity to reposition the continent.

“We can steer the future of this country and make a difference. I like what is happening around the world. ” It is teaching a lesson that we, particularly Nigeria is a great African country that can build and help Africa to grow,” he said.

“I am a very happy man, the sunny side of this country is on the horizon. Things are getting better, the days of gloom are gone. ”We are looking at the brighter and the sunny side of our country and our people.

He therefore reassured the party members of his resolve to deliver inspite of the misleading, baseless, and pessimistic assertions made by his critics, noting that the challenges confronting Nigeria from regaining some of the policies introduced by his administration.

President Tinubu said the fuel subsidy would have wrecked the country and denied citizens the opportunities of benefiting from the well-intended government interventions.

“Our determination to deliver is unshaking inspite of the cacophony of misguided unfounded and gloomy claims on the stage of the nation made by our detractors.

” They will continue to do it but we are extremely focused,” he said. ” Our strategic repositioning requires us to build on our success and project a forward looking agenda that resonate with the hopes and aspiration of Nigerians.

Tinubu also appealed to the APC Caucus members to further bear with his administration

“I am here promising that we are doing that, I have a commitment to our manifesto progressive ideas and the believe.”

Tinubu commended the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje for the successes recorded in various elections.

“I thank the chairman of our party, Thank you Mr Chairman ,you have earned accolades from various elections

“You are our pride, we have a hardworking individual that have led the party so well and the members of working committee.” President Tinubu added.

Also, Sen. Abdulaziz Yari (APC- Zamfara West) testified during the APC Caucus meeting that the security situation had significantly improved in Zamfara.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales said a mother and her six-year-old child died in a house fire in Sydney’s south-west on Wednesday morning.

NSW Police disclosed in a statement that Emergency services were called to the single storey house in Heckenberg at 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday to contain what it called a well-advanced fire and flames flaring out of the windows.

Firefighters revealed that eight people had managed to escape before emergency services got to the scene, adding that in spite of their best efforts, they were unable to enter the property due to the extreme fire conditions.

It further revealed that once firefighters knocked down the fire, they tragically located the bodies of a 46-year-old woman and the six-year-old child.

NSW Police said that a two-year-old girl and a 50-year-old man were in hospital, both in critical condition. Another 14-year-old girl was also taken to hospital.

The fire brigade spoke of one man and two children sustaining serious injuries. A two-year-old boy, a seven-year-old girl, a 36-year-old man and two women aged 37 and 51 were checked at the scene by paramedics, police said.

Firefighters said it took an hour and a half to completely extinguish the fire, “the home has been completely destroyed.’’

An inquiry has been initiated to determine how the fire started and whether there was a working smoke alarm in the home.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Austria’s Freedom Party ended coalition talks with the conservatives to form the country’s first far right-led government following disagreements over key posts and issues including migration.

The FPOe, which topped national polls for the first time ever in September, has been negotiating with the long-ruling conservative People’s Party, OeVP, since early January.

Cracks therefore appeared since last week, with radical FPOe leader Herbert Kickl insisting his party wants to hold both the interior and finance ministries, demands the OeVP has rejected.

Kickl told reporters that despite intensive efforts, it had not been possible to reach an agreement, adding that he was in favour of early snap elections.

If they been successful, the far right would have led the Alpine EU nation’s government for the first time, though it has previously tasted power as a junior coalition partner.

Now that talks have collapsed, analysts say snap elections are one of several likely scenarios, with the FPOe polling well ahead of its rivals, as Austria’s President Alexander Bellen noting that he would be holding talks with the parties in the coming days, in order to figure how to move forward. Meanwhile, conservative-led efforts to rule without the FPOe following the September vote failed in early January and efforts to form a government hit a record length of time last week.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

The Australian government has announced a plan to tax major digital platforms, including Meta (Facebook), Google, and ByteDance (TikTok), if they fail to establish revenue-sharing agreements with Australian news organizations. Dubbed the News Bargaining Incentive, the policy targets companies with annual Australian revenues exceeding AU$250 million and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025.

The tax will apply to the platforms’ Australian revenue but can be offset if the companies enter into agreements to pay news organizations directly. By offering this offset, the government aims to incentivize tech companies to negotiate with media outlets rather than face financial penalties. While the government does not expect the tax to generate significant revenue, it views the measure as a tool to support quality journalism and ensure fair contributions from digital platforms.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones stated that the policy is designed to encourage tech giants to take responsibility for their role in Australia’s digital ecosystem. “Digital platforms receive huge financial benefits from Australia, and they have a social and economic responsibility to contribute to Australians’ access to quality journalism,” he said. The tax also aims to prevent platforms from bypassing their obligations by removing news content from their services, as Meta had done in the past.

The initiative builds on Australia’s 2021 News Media Bargaining Code, which required tech companies to negotiate with news outlets for the use of their content. However, the new policy seeks to address existing gaps, particularly for smaller publishers who have struggled to secure agreements, unlike larger media organizations.

This decision comes after Meta announced it would not renew deals worth up to AU$200 million with Australian publishers, sparking concerns about job losses and the sustainability of journalism in the country. News Corp Australasia’s executive chairman, Michael Miller, welcomed the government’s move and expressed optimism that the policy would facilitate renewed negotiations with platforms like Meta and TikTok.

Meta has criticized the proposed tax, claiming it unfairly targets the industry and disregards the voluntary nature of publishers posting content on its platforms. A Meta spokesperson argued that the policy fails to reflect how its platforms function, asserting that most users do not engage with news content. TikTok has also expressed dissatisfaction, contending that it primarily serves as an entertainment platform rather than a source for news.

The government intends to legislate the policy in early 2025, with the tax applied retroactively from January 1, 2025. Consultations with the affected companies are expected to finalize the tax framework and its offset provisions, which the government views as critical to sustaining a robust and diverse media landscape in Australia.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

The Melbourne Cup, alternatively known as “the race that stops a nation,” is Australia’s most iconic horse racing event. Celebrated every year on the first Tuesday of November, the 2024 Melbourne Cup marks the 164th edition of this celebrated race, scheduled for November 5 at the historic Flemington Racecourse. With its remarkable history, impressive prize pool, and vibrant atmosphere, the Melbourne Cup attracts thousands of spectators, punters, and fans worldwide. Here’s a complete guide to everything you need to know about this legendary event.

The Basics of the Melbourne Cup 2024

Date and Location
The Melbourne Cup will be held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, with the main race scheduled for November 5, 2024. The main event kicks off at 3 PM AEDT, and the day will feature ten thrilling races, starting with the Darley Maribyrnong Plate at 10:45 AM AEDT.

Prize Money
With a staggering $8 million AUD prize pool, the Melbourne Cup is one of the world’s richest horse races. The winner not only secures a significant portion of this prize but also gains the coveted trophy and the prestigious title of Melbourne Cup champion.

Race Distance
The Melbourne Cup is renowned for its challenging 3,200-meter (approximately 2 miles) distance, which puts both the speed and endurance of each horse to the test, demanding peak physical performance and tactical prowess from jockeys and trainers alike.

Horses and Jockeys to Watch

The Field
In 2024, the Melbourne Cup features 23 contenders following the recent scratching of Athabascan due to health issues. The field is a blend of local and international horses, with several notable runners. Among the top contenders is Vauban, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by jockey William Buick. Vauban’s recent form in the UK and Ireland has made it a strong favorite, and Buick is optimistic about the horse’s chances.

Female Jockeys Make History
The 2024 Melbourne Cup is a landmark event for gender representation, with a record number of female jockeys participating. This year’s race will feature four talented women riders: Jamie Kah, Rachel King, Winona Costin, and Hollie Doyle. Their inclusion highlights the growing diversity and representation within the sport, marking a progressive shift for future Melbourne Cups.

The Atmosphere: Fashion, Festivities, and Fun

Fashion Highlights
The Melbourne Cup is as much about style as it is about racing. Attendees often don their finest attire, and fashion is a significant part of the event. The Birdcage, a premium marquee area at Flemington, is known for celebrity appearances and extravagant fashion displays. This year, high-profile figures like Sir Bob Geldof and Liz Hurley are expected to attend, adding to the glamour and excitement of the day.

Entertainment Beyond the Track
The Melbourne Cup offers a rich array of entertainment options, making it a fantastic day out for everyone. Alongside the races, attendees can enjoy live music performances, fashion parades, gourmet food stalls, and more. This lively atmosphere transforms the race day into a festive experience that appeals to families, friends, and racing enthusiasts alike.

Betting Insights and Tips

How to Bet on the Melbourne Cup
Betting on the Melbourne Cup is a cherished tradition for many Australians. Numerous options are available for punters, including online platforms and on-course betting stations. For those less familiar with betting, a range of resources, including expert tips and form guides, is available to guide them through the process.

Expert Predictions and Odds
As the race day nears, experts share insights and predictions about potential winners. This year, Vauban is leading the pack in terms of popularity, but other horses, such as Onesmoothoperator and Sea King, are gaining traction with their recent strong performances.

Weather and Track Conditions

Forecast for Race Day
Melbourne’s weather forecast for November 5 is expected to be warm and sunny, with temperatures around 26 degrees Celsius—ideal conditions for both racing and spectating. The pleasant weather should make for an enjoyable day at Flemington, allowing attendees to revel in the festivities without concern about rain or poor track conditions.

The Cultural Significance of the Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is more than just a sporting event; it’s a cultural institution in Australia. It unites people from all walks of life in a shared celebration of racing, fashion, and camaraderie. The Cup’s economic impact is equally significant, drawing tourists and generating substantial revenue for local businesses, which look forward to a boost from the event every year.

Controversies and Ethical Considerations

Despite its widespread popularity, the Melbourne Cup is not without controversy. Issues surrounding animal welfare and the ethics of horse racing have been raised in recent years, particularly after incidents involving horse injuries and fatalities. Advocacy groups have called for reforms within the industry to better ensure the safety and well-being of the horses, pushing for a balance between tradition and ethical considerations.

What to Expect from the 2024 Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup 2024 promises a memorable day filled with exhilarating races, bold fashion, and spirited celebrations. Whether you’re an experienced punter or a first-time attendee, the Melbourne Cup has something for everyone. As race day approaches, keep an eye on the horses, jockeys, and expert predictions to make the most of this iconic Australian event.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

Give Us Our Land Back: British Monarch Embarrassed After Outburst in Australian Parliament

British Monarch, King Charles III was embarrassed after an outburst in the Australian on Monday. During King and Queen Camilla’s recent royal visit to Australia, an unexpected incident unfolded, causing embarrassment for the British monarch. The tour, which was meant to strengthen ties between Australia and the United Kingdom, took a surprising turn when Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe launched a public protest during King Charles’ address at Parliament House in Canberra.

King Charles, who was on his first visit to Australia as monarch, had been welcomed with official ceremonies and engagements aimed at reinforcing the historical relationship between the two nations. His itinerary included key events like meeting Australian leaders, laying wreaths at the Australian War Memorial, and visiting Indigenous memorials. However, the royal visit took an unanticipated and dramatic shift after Charles’ parliamentary address.

Senator Lidia Thorpe, a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights, interrupted the proceedings by shouting, “Give us back our land!” “This is not your land, you’re not my king.” Her protest highlighted ongoing tensions between Australia’s Indigenous communities and the British monarchy. Thorpe, who belongs to the Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara people, has a long-standing political stance demanding sovereignty and reparations for the First Nations people of Australia. She has been critical of the British monarchy’s role in Australia’s colonial history and has advocated for the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty over Australian land.

Thorpe’s outburst, although brief, echoed the frustrations of many Indigenous Australians who continue to call for meaningful acknowledgment of the dispossession and systemic discrimination they have faced since British colonization in the late 18th century. The Prime Minister’s security team quickly escorted Thorpe out of Parliament after her protest, but her message had already reverberated across the room and into global headlines.

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been careful to engage with Australia’s Indigenous communities during their visit. One of the key moments of their itinerary was a visit to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander memorial, where they paid respects to the nation’s First Peoples. Additionally, King Charles’ discussions with Aboriginal representatives were intended to showcase his interest in understanding and supporting Indigenous issues, including efforts toward reconciliation. Nevertheless, Thorpe’s protest underscored the persistent divide between symbolic gestures and the demand for substantial action.

Thorpe, a former member of the Greens, has a history of advocating for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She has been a vocal critic of Australia’s existing political structure, including its relationship with the British monarchy, which she sees as complicit in the historical and ongoing injustices experienced by Indigenous Australians. In 2023, Thorpe left the Greens to sit as an independent in the Senate, further amplifying her stance against colonialism and advocating for Indigenous sovereignty. Her political journey has been marked by a fierce commitment to Indigenous rights and a rejection of Australia’s continued attachment to the British crown.

This incident occurred at a time when Australia’s national identity, and its relationship with the monarchy, is under renewed scrutiny. There have been growing calls for Australia to consider becoming a republic, a topic that has gained momentum since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles’ ascension. Although the royal family retains a symbolic role in Australia, movements like Thorpe’s and rising republican sentiments indicate that debates over the nation’s constitutional future are far from settled.

The royal visit, while largely focused on ceremonial duties and reinforcing bilateral ties, has now become a flashpoint for broader discussions about Australia’s history, identity, and future. As King Charles and Queen Camilla continue their engagements in Sydney and Canberra, the protests of Senator Lidia Thorpe serve as a reminder that the legacy of colonization remains a deeply contentious issue in modern Australia.

The King’s itinerary will proceed with further engagements in Sydney, where he is expected to review a fleet of the Royal Australian Navy and attend community events. The Queen will focus on causes such as literacy and domestic violence prevention. Despite these positive engagements, the confrontation in Parliament is likely to linger as a reminder of the unresolved tensions between Australia’s past and present.

This royal visit, instead of solely being a celebration of the bond between two nations, has now drawn attention to the broader debate on Indigenous sovereignty and Australia’s relationship with its colonial past.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

In a surprising turn of events, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks has been released from a UK prison after reaching a plea agreement with US authorities.

The news was broken on WikiLeaks’ official X (Twitter) account where it was tweeted:

“JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE”

“Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.”

“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible.”

“After more than five years in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars.”

“WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people’s right to know.”

“As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.”

“Julian’s freedom is our freedom.”

“[More details to follow]”

Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW also tweeted: “Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU- yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. tHANK YOU. THANK YOU.”

This development marks a significant shift in the long-running legal saga surrounding the controversial figure.

According to sources close to the matter, Assange has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his freedom. The exact details of the plea deal remain confidential, but it is understood that the agreement will result in Assange’s immediate release from Belmarsh Prison in London, where he has been held since 2019.

The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly agreed to drop its most serious charges against Assange, including those under the Espionage Act, which could have resulted in a sentence of up to 175 years if he were convicted.

This unexpected resolution comes after years of legal battles, diplomatic tensions, and heated debates about press freedom and national security. It also follows intense diplomatic efforts by the Australian government, which has been pressuring US authorities for Assange’s release. The Australian-born Assange has been a subject of concern for his home country’s government, which has advocated for his rights and fair treatment.

The international reaction to this news has been mixed, with human rights organizations cautiously welcoming the development while some government officials express concern about the precedent it might set.

There have been intense diplomatic efforts by the Australian government, which has been pressuring US authorities for Assange’s release. The Australian-born Assange has been a subject of concern for his home country’s government, which has advocated for his rights and fair treatment.

Sources indicate that President Biden’s administration has played a crucial role in this development. The President had previously promised to look into quelling the espionage allegations against the WikiLeaks founder, a commitment that appears to have influenced the current outcome.

As of now, neither Assange’s legal team nor U.S. officials have made public statements about the reported plea deal. It remains unclear when Assange will be released or what conditions, if any, will be attached to his freedom.

This breaking story is still developing, and more details are expected to emerge in the coming hours and days.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

In a significant move to support its residents amid rising economic pressures, Queensland, a state in Australia, has announced a substantial budget aimed at alleviating the cost of living. This initiative, led by Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick, involves a $3.7 billion expenditure on new cost-of-living relief measures. The state’s population of approximately 5.185 million will benefit from this pre-election budget, which unapologetically plunges the state into a forecasted $2.6 billion deficit for 2024-25.

The budget includes several measures designed to assist Queenslanders, such as freezing fees and charges, including drivers’ licenses, at a cost of $180 million for the next financial year. Additionally, a six-month trial of 50-cent public transport fares, a 20 percent reduction in car registration fees for one year, and an increase in the stamp duty threshold for first-time home buyers have already been announced.

Queensland’s government has also committed to providing a record $11.2 billion in concessions to families and businesses, with $3.7 billion allocated for new and expanded measures in the upcoming financial year. However, this ambitious spending is set against a backdrop of escalating debt, projected to reach $172 billion by 2027-28, leading to significant interest repayments.

To address the financial implications of this spending, Treasurer Dick announced the formation of a “savings” taskforce aimed at recovering $3 billion over four years. The “Smarter Spending Taskforce” will focus on reducing non-wage expenses, including government travel and reliance on contractors, while promoting flexible work arrangements and virtual meetings. Importantly, this savings drive is not expected to result in public sector job cuts.

Health expenditure is a major component of the budget, with $26.7 billion allocated to Queensland Health for 2024-25. This includes a 10.6 percent increase in operating funding, significantly above the historical average of 6.9 percent. Despite the state’s projected deficits, the government expects improved revenue, notably from coal royalties, which are anticipated to generate $10.5 billion this financial year, although this is expected to decrease in subsequent years.

Mr. Dick emphasized the importance of these measures in balancing household budgets while being mindful of inflationary pressures. Queensland Treasury estimates suggest these cost-of-living measures will reduce Brisbane’s headline CPI growth by around 1.25 percentage points in 2024-25. Despite the financial challenges, Mr. Dick remains confident that the state’s credit rating will remain stable.

Australia-based Nigerian and social critic anonymously responded to the news by highlighting that Queensland’s approach could serve as an exemplary model for other countries grappling with economic difficulties. “This approach by Queensland serves as a potential model for countries like Nigeria facing similar economic hardships,” he said. He suggested that President Tinubu of Nigeria might consider adopting similar strategies to tackle the economic challenges in Nigeria. By focusing on targeted relief measures, the Nigerian government could provide essential support to vulnerable populations while simultaneously managing fiscal responsibilities.

President Tinubu could adopt several strategies inspired by Queensland’s approach to alleviating economic hardships in Nigeria. The key measures include targeted relief through fuel subsidies, increasing the minimum wage, and enhancing support for education and healthcare.

Fuel Subsidies

Queensland’s focus on cost-of-living relief can be mirrored by reintroducing targeted fuel subsidies in Nigeria. Although President Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy to reduce corruption and fiscal burdens, the immediate spike in fuel prices has significantly impacted Nigerians, especially the vulnerable populations​​. Reintroducing a more refined and transparent subsidy system could help cushion the economic blow while ensuring that benefits reach those in need.

Minimum Wage Increase

A significant step would be to increase the minimum wage. Queensland’s commitment to freezing fees and reducing costs can be reflected in Nigeria by boosting the minimum wage to better match inflation rates and the cost of living. This would provide direct relief to workers and stimulate economic activity. Efforts are already underway to negotiate a higher minimum wage in Nigeria, and accelerating these efforts could offer immediate benefits​.

Education and Health Supports

Investing heavily in education and healthcare, akin to Queensland’s budget allocation, could create long-term benefits. President Tinubu has acknowledged the necessity of redirecting funds from subsidies to critical sectors like healthcare and education​. Implementing large-scale programs to improve public health infrastructure and education quality can provide sustainable relief and promote overall economic stability.

Immediate Relief Measures

Queensland’s temporary measures, such as freezing certain fees and providing discounts, could inspire immediate interventions in Nigeria. Initiatives like conditional cash transfers to the most vulnerable households, as Tinubu has begun implementing, should be expanded​. Additionally, reducing taxes and providing grants to small businesses could stabilize the economy and support those most affected by the subsidy removal and economic downturn.

By combining these strategies, President Tinubu can create a more balanced and equitable approach to economic recovery, providing both immediate relief and long-term benefits to Nigerian citizens.

Report by Obinna Ejiannya (9News Nigeria – Melbourne, Australia)

Source: ABC News, Australia

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

A South Australian resident has made history by winning an astounding $150 million Powerball jackpot, the largest lottery prize ever won by a single individual in Australia. This remarkable win surpasses the previous record held by a Sydney nurse who won $107 million in 2019.

The winning numbers for this historic draw were 4, 6, 8, 18, 28, 29, 34, and the Powerball number was 11. A single ticket claimed the entire $150 million jackpot, making it the third-largest lottery prize ever drawn in Australia.

Lottery officials from The Lott confirmed that the winner is from South Australia. The excitement surrounding the draw was immense, with up to half of Australian adults expected to purchase a ticket due to the six consecutive draws without a division one winner.

In addition to the grand prize, nine players, including two from Western Australia, each won a significant sum of $276,036. The two Division Two winning tickets were sold at The Good Grocer Karratha IGA and Midland Gate Lottery Kiosk.

The draw marks the end of a seven-week streak without a division one winner, the last being on January 25. This is only the fifth time in history that the Powerball jackpot has reached $150 million or more.

Anna Hobdell, a spokesperson for The Lott, anticipated high participation, with sales peaking at 6:15 PM on the day of the draw, where 7,455 tickets were sold in a single minute. Matt Hart, another spokesperson for The Lott, highlighted the unprecedented nature of this win, stating, “If just one person takes home this $150 million prize, they’ll make history by becoming the nation’s biggest-ever individual lottery winner.”

While The Lott quickly confirmed there was only a single winning entry, it remains unclear whether the ticket belongs to an individual or a syndicate. Despite the incredibly low odds of winning, statisticians note that the allure of the massive prize draws millions of hopeful participants.

This historic win not only changes the life of the fortunate South Australian but also cements its place in Australian lottery history.

9News Nigeria

9News Nigeria

By Obinna Ejianya (9News Nigeria – Melbourne, Australia)

Today is Mother’s Day here in Australia, and I believe that similar celebrations honoring mothers take place in other parts of the world as well. This presents an opportunity to extend Mother’s Day greetings from Australia to the rest of the world and to emphasize the importance of true love and care for our mothers. Mother’s Day is not limited to biological mothers alone; it is a day to honor all maternal figures who play nurturing roles in our lives, including grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and friends.

(Bible reference: John 19:26-27 – When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.)

In the Bible, John 19:26-27 recounts a powerful example of love for mothers. Jesus Christ, in his selfless nature, demonstrated deep concern for his mother even in his final moments. Knowing that he would soon depart from this world, Jesus ensured that his mother would be cared for by entrusting her to the disciple he loved, John. This act of love reminds us of the importance of cherishing and providing for our parents, even when facing challenging circumstances.

Jesus Christ serves as a perfect example of living a righteous life in a flawed world. His teachings and actions have shown us the path to perfection, and he declared himself to be the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). His love for his mother exemplifies the depth of compassion and devotion that we should strive to emulate.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'” – John 14:6 (NKJV)

According to accounts in the Bible, Jesus had a beloved disciple named John, whom he deeply loved. The Gospel of John portrays this disciple as a close personal friend of the Lord. Alongside Martha, Lazarus, and Mary, John is explicitly described in this Gospel as the one whom Jesus loved (see John 11:3, 5). Furthermore, John’s position at the table during the Last Supper demonstrated not only honor but also a sense of intimacy and closeness.

Recognizing the importance of ensuring his mother’s well-being, Jesus understood the need to entrust her to someone he had tested and trusted. He sought an individual who would faithfully fulfill the role of an earthly son to his mother, Mary.

A lesson derived from this exemplary demonstration of love for a mother is that children should love their mothers, provide for them, and ensure their safety and protection.

Another lesson from the Bible passage in John 19:26-27 is that Jesus Christ deemed John worthy of his trust to the point of entrusting the welfare of his mother to him. It prompts us to reflect on whether our friends can trust us to the extent that they are confident that, should anything happen to them, we would be able to care for their mother or family.

John 19:26-27

“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

Sadly, in today’s society, there are instances where children neglect or abandon their parents, including their mothers. Self-centeredness and a lack of genuine love have contributed to this unfortunate trend. However, the account of Jesus and his mother teaches us the importance of valuing and caring for our parents, regardless of the circumstances. It also highlights the significance of being trustworthy friends who can support and safeguard one another’s families.

On this Mother’s Day, not only in Australia but around the world, let us take the opportunity to rekindle our love and appreciation for our mothers and maternal figures. May we strive to be worthy of the trust placed in us by our friends and loved ones. By following the example set by Jesus, we can work towards a more compassionate and loving world, where mothers are cherished and cared for with utmost respect and gratitude.

By Obinna Ejianya (9News Nigeria – Melbourne, Australia)

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Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider, Optus, recently experienced a nationwide outage that disrupted mobile phone and internet services for millions of customers and businesses. The outage affected various services relying on Optus, including Aussie Broadband, Dodo, and Amaysim. This article delves into the details of the outage, its impact on customers, and the efforts made to resolve the issue.

The outage had significant implications for both individuals and organizations. Mobile phone users were unable to make or receive calls, and mobile internet services were down. Perhaps most concerning was the fact that Triple Zero emergency calls could not be made from an Optus landline fixed-line telephone. However, mobile calls to 000 would work if another carrier was available.

Just before 6 am on Wednesday, disconnection reports were increasingly alarming with almost 9,000 people lodging complaints of their service failures using Downdetector.

As complaints from across the country continue to pour in, many customers said they are unable to start their workday due to connection issues.

The Root Cause of the Outage

On its website early on November 8, Optus said its engineers were investigating a network fault impacting customers. In a statement posted on X (Tweeter), Optus said: “We understand connectivity is important and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Optus has yet to determine the exact root cause of the outage. Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland suggested that the fault may lie “deep in the core” and be “fundamental to the network.” While the cause remains unknown, Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin assured officials that her team was actively working on identifying and rectifying the problem.

Michelle Rowlands said:

“I can’t speculate at this time about whether or not this is something to do with some sort of cyber hack,” she told 2GB Radio on November 8.

“All I do know is that it is impacting on Australians, that customers do want to know what is going on.

“I would urge Optus to get that information out through any channels that are possible and to do that as a priority.”

“Connectivity is essential for Australian consumers and businesses. The impacts of this outage are concerning and has left many Australians feeling anxious,” she posted to X on November 8.

“The Government has sought further information from Optus about this development & when they expect services will be restored.”

Government Monitoring and Customer Communication

The outage prompted government agencies to monitor any issues arising from the disruption. Michelle Rowland’s office constantly communicated with Optus, urging the telecommunications company to be transparent and timely in its customer updates. The need for information was emphasized, as consumers required updates to plan their lives and daily activities.

Efforts to Restore Services

Optus engineers immediately commenced investigations into the network fault impacting customers. The company acknowledged the importance of connectivity and apologized for any inconvenience caused. Despite their best efforts, however, Optus struggled to restore services promptly.

Impact on Public Services

The outage had a ripple effect on various government services. Access to crucial health services, including Service NSW call centers and phone lines across Northern Health’s hospitals, was affected. Additionally, ACT government services, such as Access Canberra contact centers and health service phone lines, experienced disruptions. Public transportation services, including Melbourne train services and the ACT bus network, were also impacted.

Disruption for Commonwealth Bank Customers

Commonwealth Bank customers encountered issues with call centers, but other services such as ATMs, NetBank, CommBank app, branches, CommBiz, and merchant terminals remained unaffected.

The Effect on Individuals and Businesses

The outage caused significant frustration for individuals and businesses alike. Many customers lodged complaints about their inability to start their workday due to connection issues. Police in Castle Hill, NSW, urged drivers to exercise caution on the roads, as access to navigation devices like Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps was disrupted.

Tech Report by Obinna Ejianya (9News Nigeria – Melbourne, Australia)

Source: DA Australia

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The Victorian Skilled Migration Program for the fiscal year 2023-2024 is now accepting applications from both domestic residents in Victoria and international candidates.

Click here for Australia Visa Fees – Complete list of the costs of an Australia visa application

Who Can Apply:

• Eligibility Criteria: Must be under 45, have competent English, and score at least 65 points on the Australian Government’s points test.
• Nomination from Victoria: Required for application.
• Application Process: Involves submitting an EOI to the Department of Home Affairs and an ROI for Victorian nomination.
• Required Documents: Passport, English language test, and Skills Assessment are mandatory. An employment contract and payslips are needed if you are currently working in Victoria.
• Time Limit: Must submit the visa application within 60 days of receiving the nomination.

Skilled Visa Processing Priorities in Australia: What’s New?

The Australian government has outlined specific priorities for processing skilled visa applications. Here’s a quick rundown:

1. Healthcare & Teaching: Top priority is given to professionals in the healthcare and teaching sectors, including roles like medical scientists, social workers, and school principals.
2. Employer-Sponsored Visas: If you’re nominated by an accredited sponsor, your application will be fast-tracked.
3. Regional Area Occupations: Jobs in designated regional areas are also given priority, making it easier for applicants willing to work in these regions.
4. Permanent & Provisional Visas: Applications contributing to the migration program are prioritized, except for the Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa.
5. Other Applications: All other visa applications are processed thereafter.

For more information please visit official website:

Additional Information and Support

The program is expected to conclude in the early part of 2024, with the specific closure date to be announced in due course.

Detailed information about the program, encompassing eligibility criteria and key timelines, will be made available as soon as it is finalized.

Click here for Australia Visa Fees – Complete list of the costs of an Australia visa application

For more info visit https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times/skilled-visa-processing-priorities

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Australia Women’s World Cup team, the Matildas have beaten the French team after the quarter-finals ended in a penalty shoot-out.

Australia scored 7 goals while France scored 6 goals.

This is the first time in history, Australia’s Women’s team qualified for the World Cup Semi-Finals.

Details later..

9News Nigeria (Melbourne, Australia)

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When national life is taken over by social sins, the citizens pursue wealth without knowledge, without character, pleasure without sacrifice and commitment.

The recent presidential election results and the challenges provides an opportunity to ask ourselves question on the extent to which we have sustained the aspirations of our founding fathers. Where did we do the right things?

Are we on course? If not where did we stray and how can we remedy and retrace our steps?”

The focus of this article is on the need for value reorientation in Nigeria as a vehicle for sustainable national development. Particularly, as we search through our conscience with the determination of honest appraisals. It may appear that one of the biggest challenges Nigeria faces is her youths.

I disagree because I believe there’s a bigger challenge for Nigeria than her youths, a challenge that engulfs all her children, and that’s the orientation/mentality of Nigerians.

Even our so called elders ain’t taking the back position. They are at the forefront of sowing discord, disunity, tribal chauvinism, ethnical jingoism and religious intolerance as exemplified by some so-called men of religion and “statesmen” some of us were emphatically opposed to these people. In particular, the Labour party candidate Peter Obi whom powerful supporters like Olusegun Obasanjo an 86 years old man destroyed this country Nigeria and have prevented the emergence of purposeful leadership in Nigeria for their personal aggrandizement and benefits.

Most of the supposedly ‘Statesmen’ are now in their 80s and 90s determine to sow confusion, mislead our children the way they did us, and we say God forbid. What I see now is a continuation of what has always been since the first election in Nigeria; vote, count and dispute the results. Sadly, a country like that would not be attractive to genuine and serious investors. Hence the reasons why we would always have in our midst what the Yorubas called “ARIJE NI’BI MADARU” – those who feed from chaos posing as patriots.

However, we seek to build bridges of hope, freedom and the social contract with the Nigerian people and not with individual. Simply put, the 2023 elections in Nigeria are bringing with them hopes and fears, expectations, and optimism for a better future. Notwithstanding the tension that is building in their minds of our citizens which needs serious attention, re-oreintation and mind restructuring. Ultimately, Nigeria must be peaceful.

I am personally pained that the so-called youths are increasingly unanalytical and oblivious of the idiosycratic characteristics of the entity they have been born and bred in. They see and expect a magical political transformation and transfiguration which has never occurred in history. It is always a courageous insider that has turned against his tribe (as in GREEK TRIBE, I mean) to turn things around. No magic can make it work regardless of what was packaged as a messianic product.

Therefore, the strength, determination and courage of the President-elect Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu through his period of, what I can only define, as tribulation, has impressed me and he looks like the “positive Judas” that would betray the likes of Obasanjo and his tribesmen and women, again as in GREEK TRIBE. However, time would tell.

Let us hope that we have our own Oliver Cromwell moment. To change and reorientate Nigeria would be rough, tough and complex, but this next eight years might lay the foundation. It is important to note that the activities of some clerics preaching divisiveness points to only one thing: there is no antichrist coming from anywhere, the antichrist they so much fear is right in their midst…..Their false prophet GOs (Merchants of faith) who call for war to fulfill their fake prophesies.

In lieu of the above, rewriting the pages of our beautifully imperfect lives matter more than anything else. Therefore, the National Orientation Agency in Nigeria has a lot of work to do but it needs to wake up from its slumber first. Sadly, some divisive thinking are so entrenched, Nigeria cannot be left to the whims of fate. NIGERIA

MUST BE PEACEFUL.

ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS

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The Muhammadu Buhari-led government through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has fined Continental Broadcasting Services Limited, owners of Television Continental (TVC), for airing “hate speech and inflammatory comments” by the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

In a letter dated February 3 and signed by Balarabe Ilelah, NBC director-general, the commission said it monitored TVC’s “consistent” breach of the Nigeria broadcasting code regarding the coverage of activities for the general election.

In a letter dated February 3 and signed by Balarabe Ilelah, NBC director-general, the commission said it monitored TVC’s “consistent” breach of the Nigeria broadcasting code regarding the coverage of activities for the general election.

The commission said “hate speech, inflammatory, derogatory and unfair comments” have been broadcast by the station, adding that the trend had become a house style on TVC.

The commission cited references to a media briefing by Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson of the All Progressives Council (APC) presidential campaign council, as well as comments by Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate.

“On 06/01/23 at 12:29PM, the Joint Media Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council made the following comments while briefing the media.

Festus Keyamo: ‘…Obasanjo and Atiku run a criminal enterprise, an empire of fraud in Abuja. At the same time that Ahmed Bola Asiwaju was toiling hard, beautifully and meticulously to rebuild Lagos, 2 criminals were stealing money in Abuja at the time… they both stole from the SPV account at that time.’

Speaking about the whistleblower, Micheal Achimugu, he said, ‘We suspect that some goons of Atiku Abubakar are planning eliminate him and members of his family.

In fact, my big brother FFK actualy hinted me about something like that yesterday’,” the letter reads.“On 24/01/23 at 03:39PM, during the APC Presidential Rally in Abia State. The APC Presidential Candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu after telling the public to vote APC under the symbol of broom, he went on to make the following comment ‘…You know what you do with the rest of them? They are like lizards, cockroaches and mosquitoes. Just take the broom, wipe them off’.

“On 31/01/23 at 02:37pm, during the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally which held in Anambra State.

The Party’s Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, also made the following remarks: ‘When you hear Atiku use the word Muslim and say ‘Wallahi, Talahi, you know what is in his heart? ‘na lie I lie’. Anytime you hear Atiku say Wallahi Talahi, just reply him say, na lie you lie’.”The NBC also made reference to a comment by Tinubu during the APC rally in Anambra, during which he referred to Peter Obi, presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), as a person who cannot keep promise.

The commission also accused TVC of not giving equal coverage to all political parties.“On 10th October, 2022, your station started its news with 17 minutes of APC news and 1 minutes of PDP story with a video clip that did not play,” the commission added.The NBC, therefore, asked TVC to pay a fine of N2 million within two weeks of the receipt of the letter.

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Nigerian-born International superstar, Burna Boy’s first ever Australian tour has been cancelled after the Australian Department of Home Affairs denied him a visiting visa.

9News Nigeria learnt that the Grammy award-winning star @burnaboygram was due to perform his first headline show in Australia this Friday at the Aware Super Theatre in Sydney.

According to a report by Australian ABC News, the show was overbooked to the extent that thousands of Aussie concertgoers felt disappointed that they were not able to book their tickets for the concert.

Burna Boy was also set to perform at the Gold Coast’s Promiseland Festival on Saturday which has also been cancelled.

Recall that Burna Boy’s unique fusion of afrobeat, dancehall and reggae has seen him previously sell out New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The cancellation of the concert was made known through a joint statement issued by the promoters, Live Nation and The Hour Group.

The statement read in part: “It is with great regret that Burna Boy’s performance at Aware Super Theatre on Friday 30 September has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

“All ticket holders will receive an automatic refund. If your details have changed, or you have any refund enquiries, please contact your point of purchase.”

The spokesperson of the Australian Department of Home Affairs who was contacted on Burna Boy’s visa status said the Department does not comment on individual cases.

“The Department considers visa applications on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesperson said.

“All non-citizens must meet, and continue to meet, the requirements set out in the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994, including identity, security, health and character requirements.”

The Department is able to request police clearance certificates and a character declaration in order to determine visa eligibility.

#9newsnigeria #entertainment #burnaboy #burnaboygram #sydney #Australia

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Indeed the whole world is undoubtedly inundated and immersed in the mourning and celebration of a life well lived by the late British Monarch, her Imperial Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

However, many around the world especially from defunct colonies who have been victims of the British imperial dominance are still nursing animosity and shedding tears, but that of joy following news of the Queen’s death.

A documentary by DW News on Muthoni Mathenge, a Kenyan great grandma who has demanded compensation from Queen Elizabeth for being tortured by the British colonial troops in 1952 has resurfaced thereby casting doubts on the genuineness of the praises attributed to the late monarch.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle, DW News in June 2022, Mathenge asked the monarch to compensate her for the harsh treatment she received from the colonial troops more than 50 years ago. The elderly ex-freedom fighter stated that she wanted the payment to be sent to her directly without involving middlemen.

While Britain was celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of its monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the old Mau Mau freedom fighter wanted to send the queen a message that stated: “Let Elizabeth bring what belongs to me.”

Mathenge noted that she and her husband faced brutal torture during the struggle for Kenya’s independence. She recounted how she was tortured by the British colonial military in 1952 after they stormed her house in search of her husband, a former member Mau Mau rebel group.

“Let Elizabeth bring what belongs to me, no middlemen in between. Let the compensation come directly to me. Let her give me a just compensation because she is the ruler,” urged Muthoni.

Mathenge displayed marks on her right foot as proof that she was tortured with axes by the imperial soldiers during Kenya’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule.

She explained that she reunited with her husband in the forest with the help of her neighbours, but was later recaptured and detained without her husband who never came out of the forest.

Sadly, that was the last time she saw him. “He nursed my wounds, even the ones on my legs. If you take a look at this leg, you can see it had been cut using an axe twice,” she explained while displaying the marks.

In another story quaking the social media space, a Nigerian-born lecturer Uju Anya @UjuAnya has sparked global outrage after she took to her verified Twitter handle to mock late Queen Elizabeth II‘s health condition hours before her death.

Uju accused Queen Elizabeth II of sponsoring the “genocide” that led to her family being displaced.

In another tweet, she referenced the alleged role of the British empire in supplying the Nigerian government with arms and ammunition during the nation’s civil war which spanned 1967 – 1970.

Her post attracted a flurry of reactions including criticisms and backlash as well.

In a series of now-deleted tweets, the Professor fired several damning shots at the British empire and the influential role played by the late Queen of Elizabeth II, hoping that her death would be painfully “excruciating.”

Queen Elizabeth II, died on Thursday, September 8th 2022 at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer. She was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.

She was aged 96 and had reigned for 70 years being the longest-serving monarch. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

In his public speech as the new king, her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.

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A 71-year-old man has miraculously survived a two-truck, head-on collision along a motorway in Sydney’s south-west.

According to a live video recorded by another motorist and shared on 9News Sydney’s social media platform, the two trucks coming from opposite directions collided head-on halting traffic on the busy road.

Emergency services were called to Canterbury Road, Revesby, where they treated the driver before transporting him to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.

The report also stated that the driver of the other truck was uninjured.

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Anthony Albanese leads Labor to Australian election victory

Anthony Albanese is set to become Australia’s next prime minister after leading the Labor Party to its first election victory in more than a decade.

One of the country’s longest-serving politicians, he promised voters “safe change” as he worked to kick out the conservative Liberal-National coalition which has been in power since 2013.

Where ousted Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a self-described “bulldozer”, Mr Albanese vows to be a “builder”.

After the pandemic, which saw Australian states cut off from each other and cities splintered by strict lockdowns, fostering unity is a top priority for the new leader.

“I want to bring Australians together. I want to seek our common purpose and promote unity and optimism, not fear and division,” he said in a victory speech on Saturday night.

So who is Albo?

Mr Albanese has earned a reputation as a defender of Australia’s free healthcare system, an advocate for the LGBT community, a republican, and a passionate rugby league fan.

The 59-year-old – nicknamed Albo – was raised in social housing by a single mother on a disability pension. He has often cited his upbringing as the foundation for his progressive beliefs.

Mr Albanese believed his father had died before he was born, but as a teenager he learned his mother had in fact fallen pregnant to a married man – who was very likely still alive – while travelling in Europe.

Three decades later he tracked down Carlo Albanese, flying to Italy to meet his father for the first time, and his half-siblings.

Mr Albanese said his mother, Maryanne Ellery, was determined to ensure he had opportunities that she never did. With her support, he became the first in his family to finish school and go to university.

He has said creating a better world for his own son, Nathan, is the inspiration behind his public life. Mr Albanese separated from his wife of 19 years in 2019 but partner Jodie Haydon joined him on the campaign trail.

MP for 25 years

Mr Albanese has been the Labor Party leader for three years, taking over after the shock election defeat of predecessor Bill Shorten in 2019.

But he has been a Labor Party stalwart since his 20s.

He worked in both federal and state politics before he was elected on his 33rd birthday to an inner-city Sydney seat in 1996.

In 2007, when Labor swept to power under Kevin Rudd, Mr Albanese became the minister for infrastructure and transport.

He remained an influential figure as the party entered a tumultuous period after it replaced Mr Rudd with Julia Gillard in 2010.

When Mr Rudd reclaimed the prime ministership in 2013, Mr Albanese’s backing saw him elevated to deputy prime minister. However he only held the position for 10 weeks because Labor lost the election.

Mr Albanese then put himself forward to be head of the party. Despite being popular among rank-and-file party members, rival Bill Shorten had more support among members of parliament and got the job, becoming Australia’s opposition leader.

But Mr Albanese’s time finally came in 2019, after Mr Shorten lost two elections and was unseated as the Labor leader.

Australia’s next PM

Mr Albanese has been a leading voice of the Labor Party’s left faction, but since becoming leader he has positioned himself more towards the centre.

In the lead up to the election he was at pains to prove he is “not woke” – an appeal to more conservative voters who abandoned the party at the 2019 poll.

This has included walking back his support of more aggressive climate action policies while ramping up tougher rhetoric on China and national security.

He has also backed Australia’s controversial policy to turn back any asylum seekers arriving by boat – something he once publicly opposed.

Mr Albanese has undergone a physical transformation in recent years, losing weight and debuting a new wardrobe, crediting a car crash in 2021 as a wakeup call.

He stayed true to his Labor roots, however, in promising big spending on the country’s troubled aged care sector, cheaper childcare, and reinvigorating the manufacturing industry.

Labor has pledged to hold a referendum on enshrining in the constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament – an advisory body that would give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a role in shaping policies that affect them.

Mr Albanese opened his victory speech by reiterating this promise.

His other key pledge was to leave no Australians behind – referencing his own upbringing.

“It says a lot about our great country that a son of a single mum who was a disability pensioner, who grew up in public housing… can stand before you tonight as Australia’s Prime Minister.”

“I want Australia to continue to be a country that no matter where you live, who you worship, who you love or what your last name is, that places no restrictions on your journey in life.

“I hope that my journey in life inspires Australians to reach for the stars.”

Source: BBC

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After a marathon six weeks of election campaign, today Australians finally head to the polls to decide who will lead the country for the next three years.

Keynotes about Australian Election 2022:

1. Australians are voting in an election that will decide the country’s prime minister and ruling party
2. Polls predict a tight race between incumbent PM Scott Morrison, from the Liberal-National coalition, and Labor leader Anthony Albanese
3. The election will likely be a referendum on Morrison who has led Australia through a pandemic and natural disasters
4. Albanese is campaigning for change – and the rising cost of living and climate change have dominated as two key issues for voters
5. But independents and minor parties could also see a boost, because of public dissatisfaction with the two major parties

It is a crisp morning in New Norfolk in Lyons, Tasmania’s largest seat.

Jordan has turned up to vote as the polls open.

Although he has noticed a lot of election material through his letter box, it has not swayed his vote and the material goes “straight in the bin,” he says.

Voters here have been bombarded with election material this campaign.

Despite the rural seat being held by Labor’s Brian Mitchell by what should be a comfortable 5.2%, both major parties have spent up big trying to win this seat.

Mitchell retained the seat in 2019 after the Liberal candidate crashed out in a racism scandal.

But this year Mitchell is facing criticism himself after inappropriate social media posts about women emerged, making this one of three Tasmanian seats in play this election.

The northern seats of Bass and Braddon are both held by Liberal members on tight margins.

Let’s hear from reporters across the country (Courtesy, BBC News)

We’re getting reports from BBC correspondents and reporters across Australia – so here’s what they’re seeing in some of the most interesting seats as voters come out to have their say.

How keen Adelaide voters blocked traffic… three days early

marginal electorate, Boothby.

With the sitting Liberal Party candidate retiring and a high-profile independent in the race – interest is high here.

So despite election day being 72 hours away, the number of people driving to cast early ballots caused so much traffic chaos, that voters were acting as traffic police to try and keep things moving.

At the church acting as a polling station, a sign promised visitors would “experience the love of Jesus”.

Mainly they were experiencing queues and the love of volunteer campaigners trying to sway decisions.

They may have had some joy. Several of the voters I spoke to said they were only there to avoid the $20 fine faced if you don’t cast a ballot under Australia’s compulsory voting system, and still had not decided who to back.

“Don’t care who wins mate,” a young man called Frank told me.

Others were, mercifully, more engaged. For Ben McCarl, the biggest single issue is cost of living, especially house prices. “I’m looking to buy my first property but it’s so expensive,” he said – though he felt neither of the two major parties had policies that would help.

Some South Australians say they felt ignored this election – with neither Scott Morrison nor Anthony Albanese being regular visitors.

But Ben wasn’t too fussed. “The beauty of Adelaide is it is so small,” he says. “Most of the voters are on the east coast so you can understand why the leaders spend so much time there.”

Do the minor parties actually have a shot?

At governing? No.

At picking up some seats? Definitely.

In the last parliament, there were four minor party MPs and four independents in the lower house, and in the senate the crossbench was 15 members strong.

With voter disenfranchisement with the major parties high, there’s every chance those numbers will grow.

The Greens in particular think they’ll pick up an extra lower house seat, while polls indicate several independents candidates could also win a few.

Meanwhile Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party planned to drop A$70 million (£39m or US$49m) on the campaign. But if last election is any indication, they could still fail to win a seat.

Everyone’s gone off polls… but here’s what they said anyway

After last election, when major polls (wrongly) predicted an easy Labor victory, few are giving them too much weight this time around.

That said, the pollsters say their processes are more robust now. They’re again tipping Labor to win, although the race appears to be getting closer.

On a two-party preferred basis, some have had Labor up by as much as 8%, others as low as 2%.

Polls taken earlier this month before early voting opened had Labor up by 10% to 14%.

However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s disapproval rating remains high. Recent polls still had him as the preferred PM – but only by a couple points.

The basics – what this vote is for, and the frontrunners

If you’re a stranger to Australian politics (or an Aussie who tries to ignore it between elections – no judgement…), you can get up to speed on who is who, what they’re offering and how it all works here with… Our simple guide to this election

The basics are:

• This vote will decide who serves as Australia’s next prime minister and which political group is in power.
• Australians will vote for all the seats in the House of Representatives, and just over half the seats in the Senate.
• The result in the House of Representatives – where the prime minister sits – will decide which party forms the next government.
• One party needs to win at least 76 of the 151 seats there to form a majority government. If it can’t, it must try to win support from independent MPs, or those from minor parties.
• Voting is mandatory for over-18s. More than 17.2 million people – 96% of eligible voters – are enrolled for the 2022 election.

Scott Morrison has been the prime minister since 2018, having taken over from Malcolm Turnbull.

He has been taking credit for adopting a tough closed-borders approach to Covid, which helped Australia achieve one of the lowest death rates globally.

But he’s also facing public perception problems, after criticisms of his character from senior members of his own party and others.

His major challenger is Labor leader Anthony Albanese – one of Australia’s longest-serving politicians who was briefly deputy prime minister under Kevin Rudd in 2013.

We’ve been promised a tight race – but that’s based on polling, which was extremely wrong the last time Australians went to the polls.

So what this day holds is absolutely up in the air.

Welcome to our live coverage of Australia’s election

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Australia’s election! We’ll be bringing you up-to-date reporting from our team across the country, as well as the latest news lines and everything you need to understand why this vote matters – for Australia and the world at large.

The race to decide who Australia’s prime minister will be is predicted to be a close-run thing. As millions of people head out to make their choice, nails will be bitten among Australia’s top politicians – and on the ground, we’re already seeing impassioned voters and the ever-reliable sausage sizzles under way.

If that sausage reference made sense – congrats, you’re Australian. Enjoy this day of democracy in action.

If it didn’t – stick with us and it soon will!

Source: BBC

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Melbourne woman sentenced to time served for ‘brazen’ identity theft bank scam.

A Melbourne woman who used wigs and sunglasses to hoodwink some of Australia’s biggest banks into giving her more than $260,000 belonging to other customers has walked free from court, in a case likened to a “film script”.

Key points:

• Kristel Galvin-Samie posed as other people to withdraw large sums of cash and apply for a home loan
• She was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a community corrections order
• The sentencing judge said she narrowly avoided further jail time for the crimes because of “excellent” steps to overcome addiction

Kristel Galvin-Samie, 35, today appeared in the County Court of Victoria where she was sentenced to time already served over the sophisticated scam, which fed her profound drug and gambling addictions.

The court heard that at the height of her habit, Galvin-Samie was spending about $1,000 a day on poker machines and phone-betting apps, and was using methamphetamines and Xanax daily.

She spent 260 days behind bars while her case made its way through the courts and will now have to complete a two-year community based order and pay a $5,000 fine.

The County Court today heard that Galvin-Samie and her accomplices swindled their victims by using stolen identity documents, including drivers licenses and Working with Children cards, then defrauding the banks.

Judge Michael McInerney said Galvin-Samie’s crimes involved “some pretty amazing criminality”.

“It was brazen, it was substantial,” the judge said.

“I was staggered to say the least … the type of behaviour that could make up a film script.”

He urged her to continue her rehabilitation.

“Ms Galvin-Samie, I don’t have to tell you how close you went to getting further jail,” the judge said.

“Because of the excellent steps you’ve taken over the last 20 months in your rehabilitation and the somewhat remarkable steps insofar as ridding yourselves of drugs … the court’s decided to give you a chance.

“It should be very clear to you that there wouldn’t want to be one more mistake, and I mean one.”

Scammer used work role to source identity documents

Galvin-Samie was a client relationship manager at fleet management company FleetPlus.

In May 2018, Galvin-Samie went to ANZ’s South Melbourne branch with stolen identity documents belonging to a FleetPlus customer and convinced staff to let her withdraw more than $165,000.

In July 2018, she lifted the drivers licence details of another FleetPlus customer to apply for a $40,000 loan, which was approved by BankWest.

In October 2018, Galvin-Samie went to ANZ’s Box Hill branch where she was captured on security footage wearing a blonde wig and swindling $55,000 from the accounts of an unsuspecting customer.

She was arrested in June 2019.

The court heard that after her arrest, Galvin-Samie entered rehabilitation and has stayed drug-free.

The court was told that she has also penned an apology letter to her victims.

“I stand here before the court utterly sorry for the pain I have caused,” the court heard she wrote.

“I started to realise if I did not change, I would die or end up in jail.

“Every day I have been clean, I’ve had to live with the guilt and shame of that impact of my actions. I am truly remorseful.”

Source: ABC News

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A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has responded to Defence Minister Peter Dutton stating a Chinese surveillance ship has been travelling along the WA coast on an intelligence-gathering mission, saying Beijing “always abides by international law”.

Key points:

• Mr Dutton said the ship’s mission was “to collect intelligence right along the coastline”
• Zhao Lijian told reporters Peter Dutton’s remarks were “sensational”
• Australia’s already tense relationship with China has been strained further recently

Peter Dutton said the ship had been tracked along the coastline for the past week and was sighted on Friday morning heading north, about 250 nautical miles from Broome in Western Australia. 

Asked about the ship, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he had no information about the specific situation, but “China always abides by international law and international practice”. 

“The relevant Australian politician should see the relevant situation objectively and calmly, and not make sensational remarks,” Mr Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing.

Mr Dutton had said the vessel’s mission was “to collect intelligence right along the coastline”.

“It has been in close proximity to military and intelligence installations on the west coast of Australia,” he said, adding that the Australian Defence Force had been tracking the spy ship in the past “week or so”.

The Defence Minister, who described the situation as unprecedented, said he was concerned not just about how far south the ship had travelled but also that it had “hugged” the coastline as it headed back north towards Darwin.

He dubbed the matter “very strange” and said he expected the ship was collecting as much intelligence as it could.

Australia’s already tense relationship with Beijing has been strained further recently following China signing a security pact with Solomon Islands.

Source: ABC Australia

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Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton says a Chinese spy ship has been seen near secretive naval facility off Western Australia

May 13, 2022 9News Nigeria0

A high-tech Chinese surveillance ship has been tracked off the West Australian coast, close to a secretive naval communications base that supports American and other allied Read more

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A high-tech Chinese surveillance ship has been tracked off the West Australian coast, close to a secretive naval communications base that supports American and other allied submarines.

Key points:

• Defence Minister Peter Dutton says the ship was being tracked in the past “week or so”
• He says the presence of an intelligence vessel was unprecedented, both in how south it sailed and how close it stuck to the West Australians coast as it headed back towards Darwin
• Mr Dutton denies he is trying to exploit the matter amid the federal election

Defence Minister Peter Dutton has revealed the auxiliary general intelligence (AGI) vessel was closely monitored by the ADF as it sailed past the Harold E Holt naval station at Exmouth.

Mr Dutton said Australia had been tracking the spy ship in the past “week or so” but didn’t put an exact date on the surveillance.

“Its intent, of course, is to collect intelligence right along the coastline,” he said.

“It has been in close proximity to military and intelligence installations on the west coast of Australia.”

The Defence Minister, who described the situation as unprecedented, said he was concerned not just at how far south the ship had travelled but also that it had “hugged” the coastline as it headed back north towards Darwin.

He dubbed the matter “very strange” and said he expected the ship was collecting as much intelligence as it could.

Mr Dutton denied that he was making the revelation to stoke national security fears and to woo votes ahead of the May 21 federal election.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison accused a Chinese warship of a “reckless and irresponsible act” after a laser was shone at an RAAF aircraft as it approached Australia’s northern shoreline.

When asked if he had travelled to Western Australia to make the announcement, Mr Dutton declined to say, citing “operational reasons”.

“I think people understand the difficulty, the reality, of the Indo-Pacific at the moment, the acts of aggression from the Chinese leadership and from the Chinese government,” he said.

“I think Australians deserve to know what is taking place and it is a repeat of a previous practice where we have made the public aware of these activities before.”

The ABC last year revealed the Defence Department had scrapped a contentious proposal to use private security personnel to guard Harold E Holt Naval Communications Station, one of the nation’s most secretive and important military facilities.

Source: ABC News Australia

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The Federal Treasurer is blaming international volatility for grim inflation figures released today that show the sharpest rise in cost of living pressures in more than two decades.

Key points:

• Prices for goods and services rose 5.1 per cent over the past year
• The figures add fuel to the debate between the Coalition and Labor over economic management
• Mr Fydenberg says the figures are a reminder of the current “complex and volatile” economic environment

Prices for goods and services rose 5.1 per cent over the past year — excluding the biggest price moves, so-called core inflation was 3.7 per cent.

That was well above what many economists had forecast, and beyond the Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred inflation range of 2-3 per cent.

The figures, released in the middle of the 2022 federal election campaign, add further fuel to the debate between the Coalition and Labor over economic management and planning.

Speaking in Melbourne, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the data was a reminder of the current “complex and volatile” economic environment.

“Australia is not immune from the international pressures driving up inflation,” he said.

The COVID pandemic has led to major supply chain disruptions which are seeing freight costs increase in some cases by fivefold or more.

“The war in Ukraine has seen a spike in fuel prices, gas prices and commodity prices being felt here at home.”

Mr Frydenberg said the key drivers of the inflation figures were housing, food and transport costs.

“The single biggest increase with respect to fuel prices, up 11 per cent in the quarter and 35 per cent higher throughout the year,” he said.

“This is the single biggest increase in fuel prices since Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait more than 30 years ago in 1990.”

Last month’s budget included a number of temporary measures aimed at easing the cost of living, including a six-month halving of the fuel excise, one-off cash payments for pensioners, and extra tax relief for low- and middle-income earners.

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the surging figures were a “wake-up call” to the federal government about cost of living pressures. 

“We’ve said that there’s a role for cost of living relief in the near term, as Australians are getting absolutely smashed by [the] skyrocketing cost of living and falling real wages,” Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

“Our beef with the government is there are absolutely no plans beyond those temporary cost of living measures to deal with the inflationary measures in the economy.

“It’s quite extraordinary that this government, after almost a decade in office, is entirely bereft of any ideas beyond a plan to get them through the election.”

Later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison turned the inflation figures into a political attack, arguing the Australian economy was faring better than those in other similar countries, and inflation would be worse under Labor.

“The reason that (rising inflation) is occurring, I think Australians understand,” he said.

“But what we have demonstrated by keeping [Australia’s] triple-A credit rating, by having an inflation rate below countries like Canada and New Zealand, points out that we’re a government — the Liberals and Nationals — that can manage these issues and keep as much pressure downward on those rising forces, as opposed to a Labor Party that doesn’t have an economic plan, that can’t manage money, and you don’t know.”

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Tina Rahimi will be the first Muslim woman to box for Australia at a Commonwealth Games, having been called up to the team on Tuesday just four years after her first fight.

Key points:

• Rahimi is one of four women chosen in Australia’s boxing team for July’s Commonwealth Games
• She has a 15-2 win-loss record since her first fight in 2018
• Rahimi will be joined by Kristy Harris, Tokyo Olympian Caitlin Parker, and 37-year-old Kaye Scott, who is competing at her third Comm Games

The boxer from Bass Hill in Sydney, who competes in the 57kg division, is one of eight Games debutants in the boxing team of four women and seven men.

Rahimi, 26, took up the sport for fitness while working as a make-up artist and soon developed a passion, and planned to turn professional, only for COVID-19 and the looming Games to interfere with her plans.

“From the moment I started, I have not stopped. I just loved it,” Rahimi told The Daily Telegraph.

“I was quite good at it and went to a fight night and it really motivated me.

“I felt like I could do it well and started training and had my first fight in 2018.

“I’ve always embraced the physicality. I was never scared to get hit. I even sparred with the boys and I’d get hit by a punch and still come forward.”

With a 15-2 win-loss record, Rahimi has now set her sights on the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this July.

She said being the first Muslim woman to represent Australia in the event could inspire more women and girls from all backgrounds to take up the sport.

“I know that I have the potential and capability to get the gold, so I have really dedicated myself to the sport,” she said.

“It would be a big deal coming from a Muslim background … not many Muslim women have accomplished something like that.

“It’s a big community. I have to wear the hijab to cover my hair and have my arms and legs covered as well, so I do stand out.

“I feel like it would show anything is possible if you put your mind to it. That you can do anything. That just because you dress or look a different way, come from a different religion, that doesn’t mean it should stop you achieving your dream.”

It is the second Australian team announcement for Birmingham, after last week’s confirmation of the weightlifting representatives.

Australia will send 425 athletes to the July 26 to August 8 Games.

Rahimi’s fellow Sydney fighter, Kaye Scott, 37, will become only the second Australian boxer to compete at three Commonwealth Games.

Scott won bronze in the 70kg division at the 2018 Gold Coast Games and will compete in the 69kg category at Birmingham, while Victorian and Tokyo Olympian Caitlin Parker is back after her silver in the 75kg class four years ago.

At 19, South Australian Callum Peters is the youngest member of the boxing team and he will compete in the 75kg division.

Source: ABC News Australia

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Labor has promised to boost foreign aid to the Pacific by more than half a billion dollars as part of its broader election package to bolster Australia’s diplomatic and strategic links in the region.

Key points:

• Labor has committed to increasing aid to the Pacific to counter China’s rising influence in the region
• Half a billion dollars more would be spent to establish climate, defence training and visa programs in the Pacific-
• The PM says elements of the plan show Labor does not understand challenges in the region
• The commitment will see Australian overseas development assistance to the Pacific swell even further from the record $1.85 billion due to hit next financial year.

Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the boost of $525 million over four years would help “address the decade worth of development gains that have been lost due to the pandemic and Coalition cuts.”

“We will work with our Pacific family to support specific projects that deliver real change in areas of health, economic growth, education, climate change adaptation and resilience,” she told reporters in Darwin.

But Labor has not yet revealed its full foreign aid policy for countries outside the Pacific, saying it will reveal that figure before the federal election.

Aid groups have welcomed the promise but have urged the ALP to boost funding to other countries around the globe.

Matt Tinkler from Save The Children said the pledge was “heartening” but stressed the ALP should also ramp up spending in the Middle East and Ukraine.

“These commitments should not come at the expense of vulnerable children facing conflict and crisis elsewhere in the world, such as in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine,” he said.

The aid pledge is one part of a more wide-ranging policy package designed to burnish Labor’s foreign policy credentials and highlight its attacks on the Coalition over the security pact struck by China and Solomon Islands.

The ALP has also promised to develop a new climate infrastructure partnership for the Pacific — although details are so far scant — and overhaul Australia’s Pacific labour mobility schemes, including by effectively abolishing the Nationals plan for a standalone agriculture visa and wrapping it into existing Pacific programs.

It also pledged to reinvigorate parliamentary exchange programs with Pacific Islands countries and establish a new “Pacific Engagement visa” designed to boost permanent migration to Australia from the region.

The new visa would allow 3,000 people from the region to migrate to Australia annually.

Stephen Howes from the Australian National University said the announcement was both “unique” and “very significant” and would set an important new precedent if implemented.

“So far all the labour mobility schemes for the Pacific have been temporary… but this is different in that it allows Pacific Islanders to move to Australia with their families and stay here,” he said.

Professor Howes said the policy seemed aimed at building up Australia’s Pacific diaspora, which remains very small.

“While 3,000 might not sound like a lot those numbers will accumulate – I think you could quickly see this become more important than the temporary schemes.”

Senator Wong said the package would “restore Australia’s place as the partner of choice in the Pacific” and “leverage Australia’s strengths to build diplomatic and strategic capital in the region.”

“We will leverage Australia’s strength, we understand we are in a time of competition so you have to look to your competitive advantage, the power of Australia’s voice, the power of our proximity, the power of our people-to-people relationships and the power of our economic relationships.”

It comes on top of the other elements announced by Labor overnight, including a plan to boost the ABC’s budget to broadcast into the region and set up a new training program for Pacific Island security and military personnel.

The Coalition has scoffed at the announcements, with Foreign Minister Marise Payne saying the announcement “lacked substance” and simply aped existing government programs implemented by the federal government.

“It seems to be a list of continuations, carbon copies and cosmetic changes” she told journalists in Sydney.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also took aim at Labor’s plan to boost funding for the ABC in the Pacific, suggesting it would have little impact on key geostrategic contests in the region.

“They think the way to solve the problem with the Solomon Islands is to send in the ABC,” Mr Morrison told 2GB.

“I mean, it’s farcical when their answer to solving the Solomon Islands program is to have Q&A in Honiara.

“I don’t think that’s a true reflection or an understanding of the challenges that we face. No Australian government has stood up more firmly to the Chinese government’s coercion of our region and Australia and our government will keep doing that.”

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Crowds around Australia and New Zealand have joined the Anzac Day services for Australian and New Zealand forces, 9News Nigeria reports.

Crowds of Australians and New Zealanders came out en masse to commemorate the Anzac Day services at dawn on Monday in honour of their armed forces as the countries’ leaders pointed to new global threats and the war in Ukraine.

With Covid-19 restrictions of the past two years eased, large numbers of people gathered just before the sun rose to observe solemn ceremonies, many held at beaches and war memorials in towns and cities across the two countries.

Anzac Day marks the ill-fated World War I landing of Australia and New Zealand Army Corps troops at Gallipoli, in what is now Turkey, in 1915.

Facing dug-in German-backed Ottoman forces, more than 10,000 Australian and New Zealand servicemen were killed in the Allied expedition.

Anzac Day now honours Australians and New Zealanders who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

“On this particular day, as we honour those who fought for our liberty and freedom, we stand with the people of Ukraine who do the same thing at this very moment,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said as the sun rose over the Northern Territory capital of Darwin.

“Coercion travels our region once more,” he added, in an allusion to China’s growing political and military sway in the Pacific.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Russian invasion of Ukraine made Anzac Day especially poignant.

“The events in Ukraine have been shocking and distressing, and for those who have experienced war in the past, they are surely a grimmest reminder of the devastation it can wreak,” she said.

The annual commemoration comes in the run-up to May 21 elections in Australia, where the conservative coalition government is touting its defence credentials as it trails the Labor Party opposition in opinion polls.

“The only way that you can preserve peace is to prepare for war and to be strong as a country — not to cow and not to be on bended knee and be, you know, weak,” said Defence Minister Peter Dutton.

“Curling up in a ball, pretending nothing is happening, saying nothing: that is not going to be in our long-term interests,” he said in an interview with Channel Nine television.

Dutton said the world was living in a period “very similar to the 1930s” with Russian President Vladimir Putin “willing to kill women and children” and China “through their actions, through their words, on a very deliberate course”.

China announced last week it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, raising concern in Australia and the United States that it may give Beijing a military foothold in the South Pacific less than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from Australia’s coast.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison denied on Monday that his government would make cuts to Australia’s universal healthcare scheme if he is re-elected next month, after the opposition Labor Party raised doubts over its future.

Ahead of the May 21 poll, Labor sees its protection of Australia’s cherished universal healthcare scheme as a key differentiator between it and the governing Liberal National coalition, which bills itself as superior on economic management and border protection.

Labor seized on Medicare as a key issue after Morrison said on Sunday that he would appoint Anne Ruston as health minister if he is returned to office. Ruston several years ago described Medicare as unsustainable.

“This is a health minister, now designate if they’re successful in the election, who we know will undermine Medicare, who has said that the current model is not sustainable,” Labor opposition leader Anthony Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.

Campaigning in Perth to announce investment in two new navy patrol boats, Morrison insisted that there would be no cuts to Medicare if his government were re-elected.

“She (Anne Ruston) said yesterday there would not be any cuts and I would repeat that today,” he told reporters.

Morrison turned attention to asylum seeker policy, saying the new patrol boats would play an “ongoing and important role” in Australia’s border protection capabilities, while also criticising Labor for its past approach on the issue.

“When Labor abolished temporary protection visas in 2008, the armada of people smugglers’ boats came to Australia and that was the launching point, and I note that people smugglers are very aware of my resolve,” Morrison said.

The comments come after Albanese, earlier in the campaign, was forced to clarify Labor’s stance on border protection after mistakenly saying that it aligned with that of the government.

Meanwhile, a new election poll released on Monday showed a turnaround in support for Morrison, with the Liberal leader now ahead of Albanese as preferred prime minister.

Source: Reuters

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Travel agents are crying foul over the loss of multi-million-dollar commissions, soon to be slashed by Qantas and other major commercial airlines.

Qantas was the first airline to announce it was cutting agent commissions from five percent to one percent, Australia’s peak body for travel agents said, with a string of leading airlines including Emirates, Air New Zealand, Hawaiian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and American Airlines soon following suit. Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) boss Dean Long told 9news.com.au the move would pile huge pressure on smaller travel agents already buffeted by the worst downturn in travel since commercial passenger jet travel began.

The change would ultimately lead to a “lower level of competition” in the marketplace, Mr Long claimed, with the move pushing passengers towards buying their tickets online direct from the airlines.”It is unfair,” he said.

The change would ultimately lead to a “lower level of competition” in the marketplace, Mr Long claimed, with the move pushing passengers towards buying their tickets online direct from the airlines.”It is unfair,” he said.

In announcing the change last year, Qantas executive Igor Kwiatkowski blamed it on brutal conditions facing the aviation sector.”Like all airlines, Qantas is working to recover from the biggest crisis our industry has ever faced,” he said.”Maintaining the status quo around our commission structure is no longer viable.”The change to commissions would help Qantas try and reduce various operation costs by $1 billion each year,” he said.”Given the billions of dollars of extra debt and lost revenue due to COVID, these cost reductions are central to our recovery plan.”Mr Long of AFTA said it was “incorrect” for airlines to try and paint a picture that commissions had to be reduced now.”Let’s be honest, airline commissions haven’t cost the airline industry a cent for the last two years, because you only get paid a commission on what you sell.

So the idea that these decisions have to be made at the worst economic trading conditions the travel industry has faced in 100 years is just not correct.”From April 1, Cathay Pacific will be the first airline to hack back commissions, with others initiating their own cutbacks over the course of the year.Qantas will reduce its commissions from July 1.

Source: 9News Australia

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A documentary by SBS Australia has shed more light on the roles played in the history and building of modern day Australia by ten convicts of African descent who arrived in Australia on the First Fleet 200 years ago.

‘Our African Roots’ tells of a forgotten part of Australia’s history, how these Africans were among the first batch of convicts routed from Europe to Australia.

It turns out that when colonists first arrived on Australian shores in 1788, there were indeed ten convicts of African descent among them. It’s a fact that remains largely undocumented in most school history books. It also fails to capture the important role of these convicts and their ongoing significance to Australia’s cultural landscape. There’s a personal frustration with the limited reference to these early settlers for Chingaipe; when her family migrated from Zambia when she was just a child, she struggled to connect with the historical narrative she was taught and recognises the impact this can have.

The SBS Documentary ‘Our African Roots’ Is Set to Rewrite Australia’s History

On Sunday, October 17, SBS will premiere a documentary about Australia’s lost African history. A topic that, despite its importance, is one many people are unaware of.

The sixth stand-alone film in the eight-part Australia Uncovered documentary series will be presented by Santilla Chingaipe, a filmmaker and journalist, and will discuss modern Australia’s history while paying tribute to the people of African descent who have helped build this nation.

Every Aussie is aware of the First Fleet, but what many don’t know is that at least ten African men were on board the ship.

For more than 200 years, Australians of African descent have contributed greatly to Australia’s history, from the Eureka Rebellion to the ANZACs.

Our African Roots is rewriting them into our story, proving that Australia’s origin has always been complex and multicultural.

Chingaipe understands the importance behind sharing these stories, saying: “For me, the mission is personal. If Australia continues to erase the stories of people of colour, does it mean the contributions of contemporary African Australians like me are also in danger of being dismissed or forgotten?

“It’s time we started telling the truth about the history of colonised Australia. These aren’t African-Australian stories; these are Australian stories – and we should know the names of these men and women.”

Tony Jackson, Chemical Media Producer and Director share the same sentiments.

“When a highly respected journalist who is knowledgeable about their subject brings you a story that leaves your jaw on the floor, you know it’s too good an opportunity to miss,” he said.

“It’s been a privilege to work with Santilla to tell such a cracking story. I hope that Our African Roots becomes a staple in our schools and challenges us to think about which tales we choose to tell ourselves as a nation and which ones we leave out.”

The documentary will be available to watch on SBS On Demand with subtitles in five languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.

The series will also be available with audio descriptions for blind and vision-impaired audiences.

Source: TheLatch/SBS Australia

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Health ministers of Australian states have demanded “crisis funding” for hospitals ahead of the plan to eased COVID-19 restrictions and open the country for business and international travels.

Key points:

• State and Territory health ministers have written to the federal government calling for additional hospital funding
• The states fear their hospitals will not cope as COVID-19 restrictions are eased
• The federal government has criticised the call as playing politics

State and territory health ministers are asking for “crisis funding” for hospitals as Australia prepares to ease COVID-19 restrictions.

In a joint letter to federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, all eight jurisdictions have asked for “immediate additional Commonwealth funding”.

“States and territories are under unrelenting strain due to the current COVID-19 demands and the pre-existing trend of increased hospital activity,” the ministers said in the September 30 letter.

“We are entering into the most critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response for our hospital systems.

“All states and territories require immediate additional Commonwealth funding to support the pressures currently on our health systems.

The ministers noted pressures on the hospital system had already been raised formally in meetings and correspondence earlier this year, but no action had been taken.

Threats to keep borders closed unless funding increased

While all states and territories want more, Queensland has been vocal in its push for additional cash.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has threatened to keep the state’s border closed to the rest of Australia until more funding is provided.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued the Commonwealth had already handed over enough money.

“I have confidence they can deal with this,” he told Nine radio.

“And they’ve got to obviously set their priorities and make sure they’re providing the support needed in the hospitals, and if they need to increase funding there from their own, they’re in the same position to borrow money as the federal government.”

Mr Hunt questioned whether the Queensland Premier’s threat was more about politics than funding.

“Queensland has said publicly that their hospitals are prepared,” he said.

“What’s clear here, they wanted to try for more money, they’ve got themselves in a pickle of saying, on the one hand, their hospitals are prepared, on the other hand trying to justify using money as a basis for closing the borders.”

However, Shadow Health Minister Mark Butler said the states had every right to ask for more money from the Commonwealth.

“Business as usual in hospital funding is not going to cut it in a once-in-a-century global pandemic,” he said.

“You just have to look at New South Wales and Victoria to see the degree to which hospitals get to breaking point with the sorts of case numbers you’re seeing down there.”

Letter details funding gap

The state and territory health ministers have for many months argued the long-term funding plan will not be adequate due to pressures on hospitals because of COVID-19.

In their most recent letter, they warned the national funding model would take several years to reflect these costs, leaving it difficult to sustain the system in the meantime.

“The national funding model will take several years for these costs to be reflected in the National Efficient Price (NEP) for activity, creating risks around sustaining services until then,” the letter said.

“We need an urgent, practical, collaborative funding solution until we get to a ‘living with COVID’ point and the national funding model has time to reflect these higher costs.”

The group of eight asked for “immediate funding relief”, including keeping the funding guarantee for a further three years until 2024 and for the Commonwealth to continue paying half of the cost of health care until the middle of 2023.

A spokesman for Mr Hunt argued the current funding model was adequate.

“The Coalition has increased total funding by 71 per cent since coming into Government in 2013, as opposed to 44 per cent by the states,” he said in a statement.

“All Ministers recently signed onto a five year agreement which includes an additional $35 billion in funding. We’ve also invested an additional $6 billion in hospitals funding through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

States say more funding also needed for COVID care at home

The states and territories have also raised questions about how Australians with COVID-19 will be cared for if they are not required to go to hospital.

As restrictions ease, the number of cases is expected to rise, but if people are double vaccinated they are less likely to be hospitalised and can instead receive care at home.

“We need innovative funding solutions to manage the high number of COVID-19 cases that will be managed in the community,” the letter said.

“Most people with COVID-19 have been safely cared for in the community using models such as Hospital in the Home and COVID positive pathways, which are funded by states and territories.”

The health ministers have asked the Commonwealth to help fund home care, mental health crisis clinics and increase financial support for GPs.

Despite the states and territories trying to put pressure on the Commonwealth through a series of letters, and the public demands from Queensland, the Prime Minister is standing firm.

Mr Morrison has made it clear he has no intention of changing the current arrangements.

“We have been showering the states with money over the course of COVID, whether it’s been in JobKeeper or economic supports, including in Queensland, where they haven’t had lockdowns, but we’ve still been providing business support for those affected by their border closure,” he told Nine.

“They [the states] need to get on and run their public hospital system and not … seek to make excuses about it, get on and do their job. They’re responsible for it.”

Source: ABC News Australia

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Australian Immigration has deported controversial British TV celebrity and commentator Katie Hopkins for bragging about flouting hotel quarantine rules.

The Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed that the far-right commentator Katie Hopkins is being deported from Australia after her controversial quarantine statements.

Karen Andrews confirmed that the British media personality, who was axed at the weekend from her upcoming role on Big Brother VIP, had her visa cancelled overnight. In a press briefing, Andrews told ABC News Breakfast: “We will be getting her out of the country as soon as we can arrange that. I am hoping that will happen imminently.”

Newly-released photos show the controversial figure out of hotel quarantine and back at Sydney Airport today, looking downcast as she prepares to fly out of the country.

Hopkins arrived in Australia last week on a “critical skills” visa and was widely reported to be joining the next season of the Channel 7 reality series.

But she quickly attracted criticism for her hotel quarantine rants since arriving in NSW, in which she likened Covid-19 to the flu, compared migrants to cockroaches and said people with dementia should not block hospital beds.

The Home Affairs Minister, Andrews also released a statement this morning, saying Hopkins’ behaviour was “despicable”.

“It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,” Andrews said.

“The Morrison Government will always act swiftly to protect the health and safety of the Australian community.

“All visa holders must abide by the health directions issued by our health officials – we won’t tolerate those who don’t. There’s no place in Australia for visa holders who would deliberately endanger others.

“Entry to Australia brings responsibilities and the community rightly expects better. Those who don’t live up to the standards can expect to have their visas cancelled and to be removed.”

news.com.au understands contestants on Big Brother received an exemption supported by the NSW Government, which approved quarantine for those participating above the quarantine cap.

The Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia issued a statement regarding Hopkins on Sunday afternoon following intense backlash.

“Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP. Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine,” it said.

The Home Affairs Minister said earlier on Sunday that she had asked Australian Border Force to investigate whether Ms Hopkins breached any hotel quarantine rules.

“It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk,” Ms Andrews said.

“I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa.”

A Home Affairs spokeswoman also told news.com.au that Ms Hopkins did not take the place of Australians wanting to return home.

“These travel exemptions were approved based on support by the NSW Government as they met the critical skills category for inwards travel,” she said.

“These travellers did not take the place of returning Australians as their travel was above the hotel quarantine caps.”

Since the news of her arrival circulated, many Australians and ex-pats questioned how Hopkins was allowed to enter the country, given cuts to the number of overseas Australians allowed to return home.

Hopkins had her Twitter account permanently suspended in June last year for violating the social media giant’s ‘hateful conduct’ policy, she was also detained in South Africa in March 2018 for allegedly spreading racial hatred.

Since it was revealed she was in Australia, a petition calling for her removal from the country has been created.

In less than 24 hours, over 22,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Hopkins to return to the UK.

News.com.au asked Channel Seven whether Ms Hopkins was slated to appear on Big Brother VIP, whether the network is paying for her stay in hotel quarantine and whether the network thought it was responsible to have Ms Hopkins on air.

The network’s external public relations coordinator Shoebridge Knowles Media Group director Neil Shoebridge refused to address the questions on Sunday morning.

“We are not commenting on speculation about the cast of Big Brother VIP,” he said.

Victorian MP Andre Giles was one of the first to take aim at the government for allowing Ms Hopkins into the country.

“Now that Ms Hopkins is in Australia, she has begun broadcasting from what she described as “VIP quarantine”, and has explained how she is opening up her hotel door naked without a face mask in a deliberate attempt to breach hotel quarantine security,” he said.

“This is grossly disrespectful to frontline workers who are only trying to keep up safe.”

Her arrival comes just weeks after the Federal Government announced a reduction in the number of overseas travellers arriving to Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison slashed the numbers to reduce pressure on quarantine facilities amid the Delta variant outbreak.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce made it clear that if Ms Hopkins broke the rules of hotel quarantine he would not be fazed in kicking her out of the country.

“I‘m the one who wanted to send home Johnny Depp’s dog so I have no problem sending home someone who wants to flout our laws. If you want to do that, pack your bongo and get out of the country,” he told the ABC.

There was another publication by The Chaser titled: Immigrant Katie Hopkins steals job from Australian racist

Source: ABC News Australia, News.com.Au

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Sydney residents will be in lockdown for another week as Australia’s largest city fights to contain a Covid outbreak.

The New South Wales government said it had made the “difficult decision” as it battles the highly transmissible Delta strain.

A stay-at-home order was issued on 26 June.

But clusters have emerged after some people who were found to be infected left their homes for essentials.

The outbreak of around 330 cases is the worst in the city this year.

A stay-at-home order covering more than five million residents in the Greater Sydney, Wollongong and Central Coast areas was due to be lifted on Friday. It has now been extended to 16 July. Schools will also be closed next week.

The New South Wales government said it recognised the “pain and stress” that lockdown was causing families and businesses.

Yet officials said the daily case rate – with 27 new cases recorded on Wednesday – and low levels of vaccination meant the restrictions needed to be extended.

Less than 10% of Australians are fully vaccinated. A lack of supplies, specifically of the Pfizer vaccine, means many Australians can’t get a jab until the final months of the year.

“What we want to do is give us our best chance of making sure this is the only lockdown we have until the vast majority of our citizens are vaccinated,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday.

“We don’t want to be in a situation where we are constantly having to move between lockdown and no lockdown.”

Australia fights Delta strain

Sydney has been the hardest hit by Australia’s recent outbreak of the Delta variant, though cases have spread across the country.

Leaks of the virus from hotel quarantine last week prompted snap lockdowns of state capital cities – including Brisbane, Darwin and Perth – affecting half the population of the country.

Authorities in those cities have been able to contain the virus and ended lockdowns last week.

Australia has used lockdowns and swift contact tracing to combat outbreaks of the virus when it has breached the nation’s strict border defences.

The nation’s Covid numbers have remained low though, with 910 deaths and fewer than 31,000 cases.

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A Covid outbreak in Sydney linked to the highly contagious Delta variant has grown to 128 cases.

A small number of positive infections have also been recorded in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.

This is the first time in months that cases have emerged in multiple parts of the country at the same time.

State and territory leaders will meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday for an emergency meeting.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Australia is facing “a critical time” in its fight against Covid, as various states shut borders and enforced new restrictions to prevent further spread of the virus.

“I think we’re entering a new phase of this pandemic, with the more contagious Delta strain,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC News on Monday.

The escalation in Covid infections has prompted lockdowns in the cities of Sydney and Darwin, as well as restrictions across four states.

The situation remains most concerning in Sydney, where some 5 million residents are subject to a stay-at-home order.

The New South Wales (NSW) state government on Sunday expanded a lockdown to cover all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong.

Many businesses and venues have been ordered shut.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday reported 18 new cases, down from the 30 reported the previous day. Nearly 59,000 people had been tested in the past 24 hours.

“We have to be prepared for the numbers to bounce around and we have to be prepared for the numbers to go up considerably because with this strain, we are seeing almost 100% of transmission within households,” she said.

While the two cases in Western Australia has been traced to the Sydney outbreak of the Delta variant, clusters in Queensland and the Northern Territory have been linked to people who became infected despite completing hotel quarantine.

The remote Northern Territory recorded four cases on Sunday, prompting a 48-hour lockdown in the capital, Darwin, and two other towns.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia said on Sunday it had contacted passengers and crew on five recent domestic flights, after a crew member tested positive in Melbourne.

The outbreaks have prompted some inter-state and international border closures.

New Zealand paused its quarantine-free travel bubble with all of Australia until at least Tuesday because of the latest outbreak.

The travel corridor between the two neighbours was opened in April. Travel between New Zealand and specific Australian regions has been closed for short periods as outbreaks emerged, but this is the first time the bubble has been shut with all of Australia.

Australia has maintained very low rates of Covid transmission throughout the pandemic due to a closed-border policy, stringent quarantine and swift testing and tracing systems.

It has recorded no deaths this year, but 910 deaths and 30,450 cases overall.

The newer, more infectious Covid variants however, have strained the nation’s defences – with several small outbreaks this year.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has described the Delta variant as a “very formidable foe”.

“No matter what defensive steps we’re taking at the moment, the virus seems to understand how to counter-attack,” he said.

Sydney’s outbreak first emerged two weeks ago in Bondi, the famous beach suburb, before spreading rapidly across the city.

Its origin has been linked to an unvaccinated driver who transported international arrivals from the airport.

The NSW government has urged people to get their vaccine – noting that in one of the Sydney clusters, 24 of 30 people at a party became infected and those who didn’t had been vaccinated.

“If you’re vaccinated, you are much more likely to not be infected with COVID-19,” Mr Hazzard told reporters on Monday.

The recent outbreaks have renewed criticism of the nation’s slow vaccination rollout – which falls under the federal government’s purview.

So far, just under 5% of Australia’s adult population have been fully vaccinated under a phased rollout, and roughly 30% have received a first dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.

However, significant levels of hesitancy have been recorded around the AstraZeneca vaccine due to its link to a rare blood clotting syndrome. Meanwhile, Pfizer supplies have been limited to certain age groups.

Government critics have argued that cities would not need to endure lockdowns if a majority of the population was vaccinated.

Source: BBC

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Several major Australian banks suffered website crashes on Thursday, according to the tracking site Downdetector.

Issues were reported with the sites of ANZ, Westpac, St George, ME bank, Macquarie Bank, Allianz, and the Commonwealth Bank.

Banking apps have also been affected.

Early on Thursday, multiple airlines in the US and Australia also suffered outages – including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Australia.

It’s unclear if the outages are linked.

“We understand that some of our customers are currently experiencing issues accessing our services,” Commonwealth Bank told AFP. “This issue is affecting multiple organisations, including many of the major banks.”

About an hour later, at 16:15 local time, CommBank tweeted that services were starting to return to normal and thanked customers for their patience.

Australian tech commentator Trevor Long suggested that problems with web services company Akamai could be behind the wave of issues.

Akamai provides one of the world’s largest content delivery networks (CDNs).

Earlier in June, an internal problem at another large CDN, Fastly, prompted an hour-long outage at a number of high-profile websites including Amazon, Reddit, and the UK government site.

Source: BBC

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The spokesperson of the China Foreign Ministry said that China will firmly reject any attempt by Australia to intervene in Yang Jun, who is charged with espionage by the Chinese government.

The Chinese FM spokesperson said on Thursday that Beijing has lodged stern representations to Australia over interference in China’s judicial sovereignty.

Chinese newspaper People’s Daily wrote on Twitter @PDChina: “China firmly rejects any attempt by Australia to intervene in the case of Yang Jun, who is charged with espionage, and has lodged stern representations to Australia over interference in China’s judicial sovereignty, Chinese FM spokesperson said Thursday.”

Yang Jun, an Australian national who was detained in China on national security grounds was charged and will face trial by next week amid tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

Chinese-Australian author and democracy advocate Yang Jun, whose pen name is Yang Hengjun, was detained in January 2019 shortly after making a rare return to China from the United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry said then that Yang Jun was suspected of endangering “China’s national security” hence charging him with espionage allegations.

Later in July 2019, Yang’s lawyer, Mo Shaoping said his client’s family received a notice from Beijing saying that Yang Hengjun was suspected of endangering state security.

Yang was later moved into “criminal detention”, indicating that his case is heading towards prosecution – though that is still “far away”, Mo Shaoping said then.

Previously, the Australian writer was held under “residential surveillance at a designated location” (RSDL), a form of detention that allows the authorities to hold people for serious crimes, such as endangering national security.

“The intensity of criminal detention is greater than RSDL,” Mo had explained.

“Australia continues to have consular access and have again asked that he be granted immediate access to his lawyers,” the spokesman said.

“What I can tell you is that the Chinese state security organs handle this case strictly according to law, and fully protect Yang Jun’s legal rights,” Lu said at a regular press briefing.

Yang’s detention comes amid heightened tensions between Western countries and an increasingly muscular Beijing.

Australia has traditionally been keen to avoid friction with its biggest trading partner, but tensions have escalated over security concerns and Beijing’s growing presence in the Pacific.

Australia banned Huawei from participating in its 5G network in August 2018 over security fears.

Canberra has demanded that Yang be treated “fairly and transparently” and had complained about being notified only four days after his initial detention in 2019, instead of three days as required.

Yang Jun is one of two high-profile Australians detained in China on spying allegations amid escalating tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

Australian Foreign Minister, Marise Payne @MarisePayne confirmed that Yang Jun will go on trial in China on espionage charges by next week, after spending more than two years in detention.

“Despite repeated requests by Australian officials, Chinese authorities have not provided any explanation or evidence for the charges facing Dr Yang,” Payne said.

“We have conveyed to Chinese authorities, in clear terms, the concerns we have about Dr Yang’s treatment and the lack of procedural fairness in how his case has been managed.”

Payne also called for Australian officials to be granted access to the trial, criticising a process that she said had so far been “closed and opaque”.

But the Chinese embassy in Canberra labelled Payne’s comments “deplorable” and said Yang’s rights were being respected.

“The Australian side should respect China’s judicial sovereignty and refrain from interfering in any form in Chinese judicial authorities’ lawful handling of the case,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

Yang, who denies the charges, was arrested on a rare return to China from his home in the United States in January 2019.

Another Australian, TV anchor Cheng Lei has been held since August accused of “supplying state secrets overseas”.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have plummeted since Canberra called for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and banned telecoms giant Huawei from building Australia’s 5G network.

China has already imposed tariffs or disrupted more than a dozen key industries, including wine, barley and coal, decimating exports.

In September, two Australian journalists were rushed out of China after police sought to question them. Beijing has accused Canberra of raiding the homes of Chinese state media journalists as Australia investigates an alleged campaign of covert influence.

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Australia has said it will shut its embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Friday, as the withdrawal of international troops proceeds.

In a statement in Canberra, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison talked of “an increasingly uncertain security environment” in the country.

In the statement, Scott Morrison said Australian diplomats would visit Afghanistan regularly – but would be based elsewhere in the region.

There are fears that the withdrawal of the US-led Nato force could plunge Afghanistan back into a full-scale war.

In April, US President Joe Biden said American troops would leave by 11 September, after 20 years of military involvement in Afghanistan. “It is time to end America’s longest war,” Mr Biden said.

At least 2,500 US troops are part of the 9,600-strong Nato Afghan mission.

Over the past two years, Australia has reduced the number of its troops in Afghanistan from more than 1,500 to about 80.

US and Nato officials have recently said that the Taliban, a hardline Islamist movement, have so far failed to live up to commitments to reduce violence in Afghanistan.

‘Australia remains committed’

The Australian statement was issued jointly by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Tuesday.

“We will close our Embassy building on 28 May 2021,” the document said, adding that “it is Australia’s expectation that this measure will be temporary and that we will resume a permanent presence in Kabul once circumstances permit.

“Australia remains committed to the bilateral relationship with Afghanistan, and we will continue to support the stability and development of Afghanistan in concert with other nations.”

The statement did not say where in the region Australian diplomats would be relocated.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.43.0/iframe.htmlmedia captionIs peace with the Taliban possible? (2019 report)

A deal signed in February last year said the US and its Nato allies would withdraw all troops in 14 months if the Taliban upheld its promises, including not allowing al-Qaeda or other militants to operate in areas it controlled and proceeding with national peace talks.

As a condition of starting negotiations with the Afghan government, the Taliban also demanded the release of thousands of their men in a prisoner swap.

Although the group stopped attacks on international forces as part of the historic agreement, it has continued to fight the Afghan government.

Earlier this month, 60 people, mostly girls, were killed in explosions outside a secondary school in Kabul.

No-one has admitted carrying out the attack in Dasht-e-Barchi, an area often hit by Sunni Islamist militants.

The Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the attack, but the group denied involvement.

Source: BBC

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MELBOURNE: Australia’s Victoria state reported a locally acquired COVID-19 case for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday (May 11), sending authorities searching for the source of the infection.

A man in his 30s, who recently returned from overseas and had completed his hotel quarantine in the state of South Australia, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The infected person started developing flu-like symptoms over the weekend after reaching Victoria last Tuesday, the health department said in a statement. It was not immediately clear when he finished his hotel quarantine.

Australia closed its borders to all but citizens and permanent residents in March 2020, and international arrivals, except from New Zealand, must go through a two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense.

Virus-exposed locations are being identified, while close contacts of the man have been asked to undergo tests and self-isolate.

Neighbouring New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, reported no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases for a fifth straight day on Tuesday as authorities hunt for a missing link in a new infection chain reported last week.

New South Wales last Wednesday reported its first local case in more than a month after a man in his 50s tested positive, tracing the infection back to a returned traveller from overseas.

But officials have not yet located the transmission path between them, raising concerns that the virus could be spreading in the community through undiscovered cases.

The case of the unidentified Sydney man, who later passed the virus on to his wife, prompted authorities to extend social distancing restrictions and mandatory masks in public transport in the greater Sydney region, home to more than 5.3 million residents, until May 17.

Australia’s hardline approach to rein in the virus, with measures including curbs on gatherings, snap lockdowns and speedy tracing systems, has helped keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low. It has reported just over 29,900 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began.

Source: Reuters

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Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group (SGR.AX) on Monday proposed an all-stock buyout of larger rival Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN.AX) that it valued at A$9 billion ($7 billion), vying with two private equity giants for control of the troubled target.

No. 2 casino player Star said it was proposing to give 2.68 of its shares for each share of Crown, and estimated Star shares would be worth A$5 each if the deal went ahead – up from A$3.91 at their last close – implying a A$9 billion sale price.

Just minutes earlier, buyout specialist Blackstone Group (BX.N) upped an all-cash indicative offer to A$8.4 billion, Crown said. Another private equity player, Oaktree Capital Group (OAK_pa.N), has put a proposal to bankroll a A$3 billion buyback of Crown’s founder’s stake.

Star’s move reflects the intense interest in a company with prized tourism and real estate assets on both Australian coasts at a time when its profits and share price have been hit by coronavirus-related border closures and regulatory headaches.

Crown faces the start of one of three state inquiries into its operations later on Monday after another state found it enabled money laundering on its premises, knowingly dealt with tour operators linked to organised crime and disregarded the safety of staff in China who were jailed in 2016 for breaching its gambling ban.

“With a portfolio of world-class properties across four states in Australia’s most attractive and populated catchment areas and tourism hubs, the combined group would be a compelling investment proposition and one of the largest and most attractive integrated resort operators in the Asia Pacific region,” Star chairman John O’Neill said in a statement.

Star would explore a sale and leaseback of some of the combined companies’ property portfolio, releasing cash.

Shares of both companies jumped at the start of trading on Monday as investors took a rosy initial view of the benefits of the proposed tie-up. Crown stock jumped 4.5%, hitting its highest intraday level since January 2020, while Star jumped as much as 10% to its highest since February 2020.

Star’s intraday peak of A$4.30 would value the deal at A$7.8 billion. The jump in Crown shares gave it a market capitalisation of A$8.8 billion.

The Star proposal “has the synergies, and then the sale-and-leaseback provides the firepower to do buybacks to realise full value for both sets of shareholders,” said John Ayoub, portfolio manager of Wilson Asset Management which has shares in both.

Crown, which is 37% owned by its billionaire founder James Packer, said it was assessing the Star approach and the revised Blackstone offer.

A Blackstone representative was not immediately available for comment, while an Oaktree spokesperson declined to comment.

Star has a Sydney waterfront casino near Crown’s new resort tower that it opened in December without permission to offer gambling. Star also has casino assets in tourist-popular Queensland state, where Crown does not have a casino.

Star estimated its proposal could generate cost synergies of between A$150 million and A$200 million a year. Any deal would likely need approval from Australia’s competition authorities.

($1 = 1.2739 Australian dollars)

Source: Reuters

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Coinciding with the Trans-Tasman travel bubble starting today, over the past week there have been murmurings Australia could soon relax its borders further, through mechanisms such as home quarantine or letting in vaccinated people.

But what are the risks?

Here I propose three things we must consider:

• the prevalence of the virus in the country from where travellers are coming, including the strain of virus
• measures taken for the people travelling, including home quarantine and whether travellers are vaccinated
• the percentage of our population who are immune.

Importantly, all these factors matter. It’s not simply a case of needing to ensure all travellers are vaccinated.

The level of infection in the country of origin matters enormously

At around Christmas time, roughly 2% of the UK population was infected. That percentage is now considerably less, but it’s still likely around 1,000 times higher or more than the risk in China and other East Asian countries. The risk is near zero for New Zealand, Taiwan and many Pacific countries.

However, things will change. At the moment the United States seems to be maintaining high infection rates while also rapidly vaccinating the population. This is probably because of more transmissible variants, and society loosening up, offsetting gains from more people being immune. But at some point, perhaps around mid-year, the infection rate in the US should plummet as the percentage of people immune increases to somewhere around 60-80%. All this is to say we can expect infection rates in countries to vary a lot in the next six to 12 months.

Let’s work through an example of the United Kingdom. Assume the UK has another surge of infections such that 0.5% of British people are infected and unaware of it, and could jump on a plane to Australia. Let’s assume we decide to let 10,000 Brits come to Australia each month. So 0.5% of 10,000 would mean roughly 50 infected people arriving per month.

Mitigating the risk of travellers

Of course, we would do more to reduce the risk. We could test people before they get on the plane and when they arrive. Let’s assume that weeds out another 50%, as the other half may be still incubating and not yet testing positive. That’s 25 COVID-positive British people arriving per month.

Next, let’s assume we require all travellers to be vaccinated. That will reduce their risk of unwittingly carrying the virus (through either symptomatic or asymptomatic infection) by between 66% for the UK variant and 81% for “normal” virus for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Data are still sketchy on any infection for Pfizer, but it’s likely 90% or more, given 95% protection against symptomatic disease in Pfizer’s clinical trial. If we assume 80%, we are now down to five infected Brits arriving here per month.

Importantly, the vaccine also reduces both the duration of the disease and its infectiousness, for vaccinated people unlucky enough to get infected. We don’t know by how much as the real-world evidence is still accruing, although animal data on peak viral load and duration of likely infective viral load supports this contention.

If we assume (conservatively in my view) that there is a 50% reduction in duration and 50% reduction in peak infectivity for hapless vaccinated people who still get infected, that is 25% of the risk of passing it on (that is, 50% of 50%).

Therefore, if an unvaccinated person, infected with the UK variant, was going to infect an average of 3.5 people in the absence of any social measures such as mask-wearing, the infected-after-vaccination person would only infect 0.875 other people – a 75% reduction in the reproductive rate. So our remaining five infected Brits are less infectious.

Intensity of quarantine measures for arrivals

Let’s consider the option of home quarantine. We don’t know how effective this will be, because of potential compliance issues.

But the risk of home quarantine breaches can be reduced by technology like ankle bracelets, GPS tracking on travellers’ phones to ensure they stay home, and only allowing home quarantine if any other members of the household are also vaccinated, to give an extra layer of protection.

Let’s assume home quarantine with these extra measures stops 80% of infected people getting out and about in Australia while infectious.

So we are now down to one infected British person who has slipped through per month. But given they are also vaccinated, they’re less likely to pass on the infection. And this risk can be reduced further still by ensuring they’re wearing a mask – although if they “breached” home quarantine rules they may not be likely to wear a mask.

It’s important to remember even “proper” quarantine isn’t foolproof. About one in 250 infected people last year in hotel quarantine caused a leakage.

Is Australia a tinderbox?

Yes. Perhaps only 5% of us are immune. Even if, via the above measures, we get just one infected person a month in Australia – the situation could blow up. Keep in mind the above example assumes we’re only allowing travellers from one country too. More countries means more travellers means more risk – although as above, the risk varies based on the infection rate in the origin country.

You can play with various scenarios in our COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs tool, launched two weeks ago. What you’ll find is that until most adults in Australia are vaccinated, any loosening up of how we respond to the virus incursion is unwise. If contact tracing cannot mop up the inevitable incursions, we’ll still need to use social restrictions, including lockdowns, until the vaccination rollout is complete.

But we can probably think about inching forward to some increased risk once all over-50s are vaccinated (phase 2A), with some modest relaxation of the border. Yet we can never totally escape the risk of outbreaks.

So what can we do now with borders?

First, continue with the Trans-Tasman bubble.

Second, remove or greatly reduce quarantine for vaccinated travellers from many East Asian countries, which present a low risk to Australia. As an example, the average number of known active infectious people in China at any point in time recently is about 250. Let’s assume this equates to about 100 unknown infections at any point in time (that is, people who are not yet symptomatic or detected). For a population of 1.4 billion, that’s a 0.000007% risk of any person in China being infected.

This suggests that for 10,000 vaccinated arrivals from China per month with modified quarantine, the expected number of infected people unwittingly getting out into the Australian population per month is 0.000014. Or, put another way, our above UK example presents 70,000 times the risk of an arrival from China. Given such low risk, it’s hard to justify why university students from China cannot start in time for semester two this year if they’re vaccinated and going into some form of modified quarantine.

Third, we need a national framework to assess the risk. Focusing on one measure alone isn’t wise — you have to look at the whole system. Such a framework can be developed now, at the same time as setting our risk thresholds so policy-makers, airlines and other industries can start planning.

Source: The Conversation Australia

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Millions of working Australians have been dealt a crushing blow about what their pay packets will look like for the next year. Follow this live coverage by News Australia and reporting on 9News Nigeria.

Live Breaking News: Millions of Aussies to have pay frozen

Millions of working Aussies have been dealt a crushing blow about what their pay packets will look like for the next year. 

Australians working in industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic could be dealt another blow with yet another possible delay to a rise in the minimum wage.

The Fair Work Commission is looking at whether to delay pay rises for 2.2 million Australians on the minimum wage across 2021-22 for a second consecutive financial year.

Businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic have called for a 12-month minimum wage freeze or to delay pay increases in the worst-affected industries by up to seven months.

You can read more about this in the blog below where we’ll provide rolling coverage of today’s news. If you would like to follow the royals news, you can follow our dedicated blog.

4h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

Millions of Aussies to have their pay frozen

Benjamin Graham

Australians working in industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic could be dealt another blow with yet another possible delay to a rise in the minimum wage.

The Fair Work Commission is looking at whether to delay pay rises for 2.2 million Australians on the minimum wage across 2021-22 for a second consecutive financial year.

With inflation steadily rising, the decision to freeze the minimum wage will effectively mean the salaries of millions of Aussies will shrink.

Businesses struggling to recover from the pandemic have called for a 12-month minimum wage freeze or to delay pay increases in the worst-affected industries by up to seven months.

At least at 75 per cent of workers on the minimum wage already waited at least three months for a 1.75 per cent rise, while those in hardest-hit sectors didn’t see an increase in their weekly pay packets until February this year – a seven month wait.

They included workers in the accommodation, food services, arts, retail trade, aviation and tourism sectors.

Currently the minimum wage is $753.80 per week, for a 38 hour week, or $19.84 per hour.34m agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

Nazi graffiti spotted in Brisbane playground

James Hall

Counter-terrorism detectives have raided three properties after racist neo-Nazi graffiti was spotted near a playground in Brisbane’s south.

It will be alleged a footpath at the Calamvale District Park was spray painted with racist material, while a neo-Nazi banner was hung from a nearby tree in early February.

Officers from the Counter-Terrorism Investigation Group seized a number of items after carrying out three warrants in Brisbane’s southern suburbs on Friday, but no charges were laid.

Read more1h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

Fundraiser set up to help save boat blaze victim

Benjamin Graham

A friend of a woman who suffered critical injuries after a boat exploded on the Hawkesbury River over the Easter break has described the victim as “beautiful and energetic”.

Slovakian-born Mirka manages an organic retail store and is “loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to”, a friend wrote in a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her ongoing treatment.

Mirka remains in the Royal North Shore Hospital, where she has been subject to multiple surgeries and treatments.

Read more2h agoApril 12, 2021

Hanson lashes PM over Aus Post announcement

Benjamin Graham

Outspoken senator Pauline Hanson has blasted the new appointment of Australia Post boss Paul Graham.

The Woolworths executive was announced as the new chief executive on Monday after Christine Holgate last year resigned following revelations senior leaders were gifted expensive Cartier watches.

But the One Nation leader said the announcement, one day before a probe into the circumstances leading to Ms Holgate being stood down, undermined the inquiry.

Read more from NCA NewsWire2h agoApril 12, 2021

Horror moment drug dealer murders US cop

Natalie Wolfe

The horrific moment a drug dealer ambushed a US police officer, shooting him dead on the side of the road, has been caught on camera.

New Mexico police officer Darrian Jarrott, 28, was conducting a routine traffic stop in February of this year when he was ambushed by Omar Felix Cueva.

Cueva, 39, was pulled over by Mr Jarrott because his window tint was too dark.

Read more3h agoApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

What new NZ case means for travel bubble

Lauren McMah

A new case of COVID-19 in Auckland has cast a cloud over Australia and New Zealand’s travel bubble, just one week before it is due to begin.

It comes just before the start of the long-awaited trans-Tasman travel bubble, with travellers from Australia able to arrive in New Zealand without having to quarantine from April 19.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned last week the two-way travel bubble could pop should an outbreak occur in either country. Australia briefly suspended the travel arrangement amid a small outbreak in Auckland in February.

However, there is no word from either country that next Monday’s opening of the travel bubble will be affected by the new development in Auckland.3h agoApril 12, 2021

Ben Roberts-Smith hits back at 60 Minutes

Rohan Smith

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has released a lengthy statement claiming a bombshell report aired on Sunday night was “not supported by any evidence”.

The report, which ran on 60 Minutes and in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers claimed Mr Roberts-Smith buried hundreds of incriminating photographs from his time in Afghanistan in a lunch box in his Queensland backyard.

It was alleged the USB contained hundreds of lewd images showing soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of an Afghan man was killed by an Australian soldier.12:58 amApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

‘Wrong direction’: Devastating US virus trend

Benjamin Graham

Despite a massive vaccination push in the USA, it is being warned that parts of the the nation are headed in the “wrong direction” as  cases and hospitalisations rise for a third straight week.

In the past week, the US averaged more than 68,000 new cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – that’s up more than 20 per cent since the March 10 seven-day average.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that, as cases have increased, more Americans age 18 to 64 have gone to emergency departments for COVID-19 complications.

Map from CDC showing the level of community transmission across the US.

Particularly badly-hit states include Florida, which has the highest number of reported variant B.1.1.7 cases, according to the CDC, followed by Michigan, which is reporting thousands of new cases daily.

Another state seeing cases rise is Ohio, where governor Mike DeWine said the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions in his state are also rising.

“We’re moving now in the wrong direction,” DeWine said Thursday. “More than half of our counties, 53, have seen increases,” he told CNN.

“We can still turn this around if more people continue to get vaccinated. This is a race. We are in a race. And it’s a life-and-death race.”12:36 amApril 12, 2021HIGHLIGHT

Aus Post appoints new CEO

Benjamin Graham

Australia Post has appointed a new chief executive to replace Christine Holgate, who was ousted late last year after awarding four senior executives Cartier watches worth almost $20,000.

Woolworths’s chief supply chain officer Paul Graham will take the helm in September after more than four decades of logistics experience.

Ms Holgate’s exit has been bitterly contested by her and the postal service. The dispute will be laid before a Senate inquiry on Tuesday, with Ms Holgate and Australia Post chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo to detail their conflicting accounts.12:28 amApril 12, 2021

One overseas case in Queensland

Benjamin Graham

Queensland has recorded one new case in hotel quarantine.

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Tropical cyclone Seroja has ripped across a 1,000km (621 miles) stretch of Western Australia, leaving a trail of damage.

The category three storm made landfall near the town of Kalbarri on Sunday with gusts of up to 170km/h (105mph).

The storm was later downgraded to a tropical low, though strong winds continue to move south-east.

Residents reported smashed houses, fallen trees and downed power lines.

Kalbarri resident Debbie Major said the storm, which hit the resort town around 19:00 local time (11:00 GMT), raged through the night and was “absolutely terrifying”.

“You just thought, this is it. I would have thought that when we opened the door, that there would be nothing around us except that roof,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“We are a small town. Half of it has been flattened.”

Weather authorities said Cyclone Seroja had sustained “uncommon” pace and strength overnight, as it moved from Kalbarri and Geraldton on the coast, and inland across the state’s Wheat Belt.

Several towns in the state’s south-east remain under “red alert,” meaning authorities advise residents to take shelter.

On Monday morning, emergency services agencies said it remained too early to assess the extent of the damage.

They had fielded 175 calls for help in the past 24 hours, a Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman told the BBC. Thousands of homes are said to be without power.

One Kalbarri resident told the West Australian newspaper that he was forced to hide in a pantry with his pregnant wife and their dog.

“I heard a few windows smash and some loud bangs. I went upstairs to check and felt that it was raining. I didn’t look up but I am guessing I have lost some of my roof,” Jason Regan said.

Darius Winterfield, a reporter for Channel 9 news in Kalbarri, lost the roof to his balcony and said the storm “will be devastating for many come first light”.

Before the storm hit, state Premier Mark McGowan warned that the cyclone was “like nothing we have seen before in decades”.

Residents in the affected area north of Perth had been urged to evacuate as the cyclone accelerated towards the shore.

Emergency services opened shelters ahead of the storm’s arrival.

Last month, areas of eastern Australia were evacuated as rivers and dams overflowed in the worst floods in decades, with around 18,000 people displaced.

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Australian and New Zealand residents will be able to travel between the two nations without having to quarantine from 19 April.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move on Tuesday.

Since October, New Zealand travellers have been allowed to enter most Australian states without quarantine, but this had not been reciprocated.

Both nations have since contained Covid outbreaks and kept infection rates near zero.

The countries shut their borders in March last year and brought in compulsory quarantine for returning nationals.

When outbreaks have emerged, both Australia and New Zealand have instated snap lockdowns to halt the virus from spreading.

Ms Ardern praised such aggressive responses as key to opening the travel bubble.

“I cannot see or point to any countries in the world that are maintaining a strategy of keeping their countries completely Covid-free, whilst opening up to international travel between each other,” she said.

“That means that, in a way, you know, we are world-leading.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed Ms Ardern’s decision while noting that his country’s border had been open to New Zealanders for close to six months already.

“We have ensured that both our countries have… not suffered the same types of virus impacts that we have seen in so many other countries,” he said.

“The fact that we can now combine again will mean more jobs, will mean people reunited.”

Australia has recorded 909 deaths since the pandemic began, while New Zealand has reported 25.

How would the bubble work?

New Zealand will bring in “green zone” conditions similar to those that its citizens face entering Australia.

Passengers travelling to New Zealand will be required to have spent the 14 days before the flight in Australia only. Airline crews must have only worked on low-risk routes.

Those with cold or flu symptoms will not be allowed to travel, and all passengers must wear masks and give details to New Zealand authorities of where they will be staying.

Ms Ardern warned that travel arrangements could change “if there is an outbreak” – similar to how Australia has on two occasions briefly halted travel from New Zealand.

But she said New Zealand would view cases in Australia “as a region of our own when making decisions on restrictions”.

If multiple cases of an unknown origin emerged “we would likely suspend flights for a set period of time”, she added.

Other conditions may be brought in too, including pre-departure testing for people from affected areas.

“These precautions are all part of our preparation to keep Covid out,” she said.

“Both countries have had border incursions and I know neither one of us wishes to export Covid to the other country.”

About 1.5 million Australians used to visit New Zealand annually prior to the pandemic – about 40% of that nation’s international visitors.

Ms Ardern said she expected most travellers taking early trips would be going to see family and friends – but added the upcoming ski season would also be an attraction.

Australia’s national carrier Qantas said it would resume 122 return flights to New Zealand per week once the bubble came into operation.

This travel bubble is believed to be the second in the world, after one opened up between the islands of Taiwan and Palau last week.

Australia and New Zealand have also previously raised the idea of separate travel bubbles with low-risk places like Singapore, Taiwan and several Pacific island nations.

Source: BBC

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‘Outrageous’ plan suggested by government MPs will send stranded Aussies to ‘the back of the queue’: ALP

Stranded Aussies have been warned by Labor they could be sent to ‘the back of the queue’ under a plan suggested by government MPs.

Stranded Australians will be sent to “the back of the queue” after government MPs called for more skilled migrants to fill jobs onshore, Labor says.

An inquiry into Australia’s Skilled Migration Program released its interim report on Thursday, recommending quarantine places and flights be set aside for skilled migrants.

Labor MP and committee member Julian Hill said the “outrageous” measure would shunt 40,000 Australians stranded overseas to make way for foreign workers.

“You can see it now, can’t you? Business class up the front of the plane for the migrants that business want to bring in, and cattle class down the back for the few stranded Australians who manage to get on the plane,” he said told parliament.

But Liberal MP and committee chair Julian Leeser played down that fear, saying Australia’s quarantine cap was “regularly adjusted” and keeping Australians safe would remain a priority.

“Skilled migrants would need to come in under the same conditions as any other international arrivals,” he told NCA NewsWire.

The report recommended “urgently” expanding the occupations on the skilled migrants list to include chefs, veterinarians, cafe and restaurant managers, and seafarers.

The Home Affairs Department was also urged to review the list with a view to including other occupations including civil engineers, mechanics, and a range of roles across hospitality and agriculture.

“There are no Australians who can do (those) jobs, apparently!” Mr Hill said.

But Mr Leeser argued evidence heard by the committee “indicates exactly the opposite”, saying the committed had “heard repeatedly that skilled migrants create Australian jobs”.

“If we want to help Australians back into work, skilled migration has to be part of the picture … It’s actually a continuation of the ‘Australians first’ principle,” he said.

“It can seem counterintuitive, but this is about job creation. Skilled migrants grow the economy and drive job creation in Australia.”

The proposals would also suspend a requirement for businesses to pay a skilled migration levy when hiring an overseas worker during the pandemic, and lessen requirements for them to seek out Australians before hiring a foreigner.

Labor argued the proposals were “ill conceived and appallingly timed”, with JobKeeper to expire at the end of the month.

“Astoundingly, when millions of Australians are looking for work, the priority of government members of parliament is to … make it easier for business to bring in foreign workers,” Mr Hill said.

Mr Leeser said a “huge skills gap” had been blown open by COVID-19, which saw around 500,000 temporary visa holders, including many skilled migrants, leave the country last year.

“Labor seems to not have realised that we have been through a pandemic. This is a policy that is entirely about advancing Australia’s interests,” he said.

Mr Hill said Australia’s skills shortage was the result of the government slashing funding to TAFE over its eight years in office.

Source: NEWS AUSTRALIA

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Sydney soccer coach faces 196 charges over bestiality, child and other sexual abuse allegedly filmed and distributed online

A man who faces nearly 200 charges of child sex abuse and bestiality in court has been identified as a western Sydney junior soccer coach.

A western Sydney junior soccer volunteer has faced court over almost 200 charges relating to the alleged sexual abuse of young children that he filmed and shared in a global online network.

Grant Harden, from St Clair, was initially arrested in May 2020 and charged with 44 child sexual abuse offences – including multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years.

He faced a further 152 charges at Sydney Central Local Court on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing young children and filming the abuse for online distribution, as well as bestiality offences.

Harden’s 2020 arrest was part of Australian Federal Police Operation Arkstone, a large-scale investigation into a global online network of alleged child sex offenders.

Operation Arkstone has so far arrested 20 men, who are facing 1026 charges relating to child sexual abuse and in some cases bestiality offences.

The 31-year-old Sydney man when he was arrested in May 2020. Picture: AFPSource:News Corp Australia

The man is facing almost 196 charges of child sexual abuse and bestiality. Picture: AFPSource:News Corp Australia

The operation has removed 53 children from further harm in Australia, but AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said there were more pedophiles out there.

“As a society we still find it too confrontational to talk about child sexual abuse and exploitation, so we must have more conversations with the community and inform them that this crime is more pervasive and widespread than realised,” she said.

“During COVID-19, the prevalence of child exploitation has gotten worse.

“Our officers are continuing to identify alleged offenders through Operation Arkstone and, like today’s additional charges, will ensure every offence is accounted for, whether that person has three or 188 charges laid against them.

“No offence is too small when dealing with child sexual abuse.”

It comes after an arrest on Wednesday of a 31-year-old North Sydney man, who became the 20th arrest of Operation Arkstone.

AFP investigators executed a search warrant at his residence in Willoughby.

He was charged with one count of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service and is due to appear in Downing Centre Court on April 15.

Source: NEWS AUSTRALIA

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Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann has been elected as the new head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Key points:

• Mr Cormann beat a former EU trade commissioner from Sweden, Cecilia Malmstrom
• He described his selection as “a privilege and an honour” that provides “a great platform”
• The Belgium-born 50-year-old will take up the role in May

The 50-year-old will become the first person from Asia-Pacific to lead the Paris-based, 37-nation organisation, and takes the role in the middle of one of the worst global recessions on record.

“It would be a privilege and an honour to take on the leadership of the OECD … it brings together like-minded countries from around the world committed to developing and delivering better policies for better lives,” Mr Cormann said in a statement.

“It provides a great platform for international cooperation and best practice policy development, from the foundation of a shared commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, market-based economic principles and a rules-based international order.”

The climate record of Australia’s longest-serving finance minister grabbed headlines ahead of his appointment.

More than two dozen environmental groups said Mr Cormann shouldn’t have been considered for the top OECD job, citing former statements they said questioned climate change.

But Mr Cormann defended his climate record, saying: “Action on climate change to be effective, requires an ambitious, globally coordinated approach”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Cormann had overcome “great odds” to secure “the most senior appointment of an Australian candidate to an international body for decades”.

“This is a great honour for Mathias who has worked tirelessly over several months to engage with leaders, senior ministers and officials of OECD member nations from Europe, Asia and the Americas,” Mr Morrison said.

“As the global economy recovers from COVID19, the OECD’s role in shaping international economic, tax and climate change policy will be more critical than ever.”

A member of several Coalition governments, Mr Cormann quit parliament late last year to seek the top job.

He emerged as a surprise frontrunner, and beat out fellow top contender, Sweden’s Cecilia Malmstrom, a former EU trade commissioner.

Another eight candidates were whittled out of contention.

Cormann campaigned in government jet while Australians stuck overseas

Mr Cormann said climate change was among the group’s key challenges when he announced his candidacy last year, along with education, skills and “narrowing differences on taxation policy”.

He helped campaign against a carbon pricing system designed to curb emissions in Australia’s carbon-intensive economy, and was a senior member of the government that repealed the scheme in 2014.

Mr Cormann has focused his pitch for the role on the perspective he would bring to the OECD after having “shared my life in equal measure between Europe and the Asia-Pacific”.

Mr Cormann’s campaign attracted controversy in Australia when it emerged he was using an air force jet to criss-cross Europe and make his case to other leaders.

Critics slammed the costly exercise as unwarranted when tens of thousands of Australians were stranded overseas because of a government coronavirus policy capping international arrivals.

Australia’s government said the move was necessary because commercial air travel would have put Mr Cormann at risk of contracting COVID-19.

Party operator who helped Morrison become PM

Born in the Belgian town of Eupen, Mr Cormann speaks German, French and Flemish as well as English.

He studied law in Belgium before migrating to Australia in the 1990s and working his way up the ranks of the Liberal party.

He spent more than a decade in parliament as a Senator for Western Australia.

But he was an influential party operator, and was instrumental in the elevation of current Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Mr Morrison told the National Press Club in early February he nominated Mr Cormann in part because “cooperation between like-minded liberal democracies … has never been more important than it is today”.

“As the world grapples with the recovery from COVID-19, this grouping … has a fundamental role to play in keeping markets open,” he added.

The OECD works to boost economic growth and world trade, and its 37 member nations account for 60 per cent of global economic output.

SOURCE: ABC/AFP

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received the coronavirus vaccine as the country prepares to start inoculations this week.

His jab was televised on Sunday in order to help boost confidence in the vaccine rollout across Australia.

Vaccinations officially begin on Monday and at least 60,000 doses are expected to be administered next week.

On Saturday, small crowds of anti-vaccination demonstrators gathered to protest against the launch.

Mr Morrison was part of a small group of people vaccinated on Sunday along with some frontline health workers and care home residents. Australia’s chief nurse Professor Alison McMillan and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly were also immunised.

Speaking at ahead of his vaccination, Mr Morrison said: “Tomorrow our vaccination programme starts, so as a curtain raiser today we’re here making some very important points; that it’s safe, that it’s important, and we need to start with those who are most vulnerable and are on the front line.”

The first person to be vaccinated in the country was 85-year-old Jane Malysiak.

The first vaccinations in Australia will be the Pfizer vaccine which has been granted approval for use.

Australia’s medical regulator earlier this week also granted provisional approval for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is expected to be rolled out next month. Health Minister Greg Hunt says he will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming weeks.

Both vaccines have undergone extensive safety checks and are already being used in several countries.

Australia aims to inoculate four million people by early March.

The priority groups in the first round include the 700,000 frontline workers in the health sector, border enforcement and care homes, along with the residents of care homes.

Following that, Australians aged over 70, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over 55, healthcare workers, adults with underlying health conditions and emergency services workers will be next.

On Saturday protests were held in cities including Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane against the vaccination rollout.

The rallies on Saturday were joined by a few thousand people in total, according to broadcaster ABC.

In Melbourne, some protesters clashed with police, who used pepper spray and made several arrests.

Australia has recorded 28,920 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.

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A heatwave sweeping south-east Australia has sent temperatures soaring in the nation’s biggest cities and escalated the threat of bushfires.

A large blaze brought an emergency warning to Adelaide in South Australia on Monday, while neighbouring Victoria faced its worst fire risk in a year.

Victoria’s capital Melbourne reached 30C by 07.30 local time (20.30 Sunday GMYT) ahead of an expected 40C maximum.

Temperatures in Sydney were also forecast to exceed 30C for a third day.

Health officials have urged people to stay inside and to avoid physical activity, and for those near bushfires to avoid inhaling smoke.

The blaze in the Adelaide Hills strengthened on Monday on the back of the hot and gusty conditions.

It has so far burnt over 2,500 hectares and is believed to have claimed several houses but has not caused injuries, said South Australia’s Country Fire Service.

Smoke has also settled over Adelaide, obscuring parts of the city skyline and prompting some residents to wear face masks.

South Australia health officials warned the smoke posed a “serious threat” to those with chest and heart conditions.

Since the hot spell began on Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) has issued heatwave warnings for South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland.

The heat is expected to linger until mid-week as the hot air mass tracks east across the country.

‘More hot days compared to previous decades’

After extreme bushfires and heatwaves a year ago, Australia’s summer this year has so far been cooler and wetter. Meteorologists say the conditions are influenced by a La Nina phenomenon.

Australia has warmed on average by 1.4C since national records began in 1910, according to its science and weather agencies.

That’s led to an increase in the number of extreme heat events, as well as increased fire danger days.

“In summer we now see a greater frequency of very hot days compared to earlier decades,” said BoM and the CSIRO in their 2020 State of the Climate report.

The same report noted that 2019 – Australia’s hottest year on record – had 33 days where the national maximum temperature exceeded 39C. That surpassed the total number of days over 39C in the previous six decades.

Heatwaves are Australia’s deadliest natural disaster and have killed thousands of more people than bushfires or floods.

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Police officer threatens to ‘belt the f***’ out of Aboriginal teenagers in Alice Springs watch house.

A police officer has been caught on tape grabbing, shoving and verbally abusing a teenage boy in the Alice Springs watch house, before threatening to “belt the f*** out” of three others.

Key points:

• The NT Ombudsman said the officer’s conduct was inappropriate, but gave no detail about any official response
• NT Police will not disclose the outcome of disciplinary proceedings
• A peak Aboriginal justice group says police should condemn the conduct, and says it has concerns about police culture

Footage obtained by the ABC after a lengthy Freedom of Information battle shows what the public sector watchdog said “substantially exceeded” appropriate police conduct in the handling of a group of Aboriginal boys arrested for stealing a car and leading police on a chase.

The CCTV footage, recorded in March 2018, shows one officer twisting a boy’s arm around his back and pushing him into the charge counter while calling him a “c***” and “a f***ing waste of space”.

The officer then tells the other young people being held he is “in the mood to lose his job” if they refuse to comply with his directions.

The incident took place less than six months after the end of a royal commission into youth justice that was sparked by revelations about the mistreatment of young people in the Northern Territory’s youth detention system.

The NT Ombudsman said two officers involved were the subject of disciplinary proceedings but NT Police say they are legally unable to say what action was taken, if any.

The head lawyer at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, David Woodroffe, called on NT Police to condemn the incident but they refused to do so.

Mr Woodroffe said the footage raised questions about the extent of cultural change after the royal commission.

“It is totally unacceptable,” he said.

“It is behaviour that needs to be condemned at the very highest level at the NT Police, to publicly come out and say, ‘This is not acceptable’.”

‘I’m in the mood to lose my job’

The footage obtained shows the watch house processing of five boys, aged between 12 and 16, after their arrest in relation to the police pursuit of a stolen car.

Several officers are involved asking the boys questions for custody health checks and directing them to remove shoes and clothing.

While two officers are standing over one of the boys at the charge counter and giving orders, the teenager, who has his hands on the counter and is stepping out of shorts, mumbles: “I’d smack you in the head every day.”

That comment prompted the officer on the boy’s right to grab the boy’s arm and twist it around his back, pushing the boy’s head down to the counter, as the second officer asks “did you threaten me?”

“Every day? Every day? Today’s your day you little c***. Don’t f***ing put off to tomorrow what you can do today,” the first officer says.

“You can’t f***ing do it, can you, because you’re a little c***. That’s all you are.”

The same officer tells the boy he’s “a f***ing waste of space” while steering him onto a bench where four others are sitting.

He says: “[Sit the] f*** down, threaten a police officer in a f***ing police station, get knocked the f*** out.”

The same officer then turns and stands in front of the three other young people sitting on the bench.

“Anybody else want to be f***ing smart? I’m right in the mood to lose my job tonight and I don’t mind losing it over belting the f*** out of one of you little c***s.”

A second boy is treated in a similar way a few minutes later.

NAAJA took a complaint about the incident to NT Police and then to the ombudsman.

The agency’s Mr Woodroffe said the conduct captured on tape was disturbing.

“It sends a very concerning message — that this is practice in the Northern Territory by serving police officers,” he said.

Ombudsman investigates, outcome unknown

The incident was mentioned briefly in the annual report tabled last year in NT Parliament by Ombudsman NT Peter Shoyer.

He said CCTV footage from the night “clearly shows two officers substantially exceeding the bounds of appropriate conduct … from the perspective of the force and language used and their treatment” of the young people under arrest.

Mr Shoyer declined to release the CCTV to the ABC, saying he considered his written summary adequate for the purposes of his annual report to parliament.

In the report, Mr Shoyer said two officers were subject to disciplinary proceedings by NT Police.

But the outcome of those proceedings was not included in his report and has never been made public.

A spokesman for NT Police said the Ombudsman’s Act prevents the disclosure of information relevant to the watchdog’s investigation, including the outcome of the proceedings that resulted from it.

Asked by the ABC if that interpretation of the law was correct, the office of the Ombudsman, who is also the NT’s Information Commissioner, said it was unable to say because it may have to arbitrate on that question in the event of an FOI or privacy complaint.

Mr Woodroffe said the outcome should be known so the community, “particularly the Aboriginal community”, could be reassured the response was adequate and the situation wouldn’t be repeated.

NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker declined multiple requests for an interview and to give a response to Mr Woodroffe’s comments.

In a statement, a spokesman for Mr Chalker said the commissioner had set a high benchmark of behaviour for NT Police “since starting [as commissioner] in November 2019”.

The statement said NT Police “are building a force that is professional and displays a culture the community can be proud of.”

Source: ABC NEWS AUSTRALIA

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Tens of thousands of Australians will be forced to spend Christmas away from home, family and friends this year.

Key points:

• 36,000 citizens and permanent residents of Australia, who have registered with DFAT, are still unable to return to the country
• Colleen Ryan has been stuck in Russia and is unsure if the Russian Government will renew her visa beyond February
• Kate Jeffries is trying to return to Australia in time to keep her job

In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he hoped to have “as many people home, if not all of them, by Christmas”.

Since then, more than 43,800 Australians have returned from overseas, including more than 17,000 Australians registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

But for many Australians who’ve been locked out of the country for up to nine months, their hopes of being home for the holidays are evaporating.

At least 36,000 citizens and permanent residents who have registered with DFAT are still unable to return.

The hotel quarantine cap of 6,000 arrivals a week has led to strict rationing of tickets, with many of them going to those who can afford to pay top dollar.

Waiting in Russian winter

In Russia, Colleen Ryan had been excitedly preparing to arrive home on Christmas Day. This week her flight was cancelled.

Instead of Christmas at home, the 60-year-old will be in Sochi relying on the goodwill of the family who had employed her as a private teacher.

In August, her original flight home was cancelled.

“I had to talk my employer into keeping me on when it was difficult to get home, taking reduced wages,” she told RN Breakfast.

In September, she was able to convince Russian authorities to extend her visa until February.

“I am really, really eager to try and get home before then. Especially, because I don’t know whether they will extend it for a second time,” she said.

Ms Ryan has been advised by her airline that she might not get a flight before April.

She has not heard from DFAT about any repatriation flights from Russia.

“I know I am not the only person in Russia trying to get back to Australia. I’m not just asking for myself, I’m asking for many other Australians around the world.

“To me, repatriation is thinking of people in dire need, not people that can afford thousands of dollars.

“To book a flight now, it really has become elitist, you have to have a lot of money or go into a lot of debt.”

Still a chance to make it home before Christmas

A young Australian family trapped in Canada for nine months is still holding onto hope they will be home for Christmas.

Dave and Kate Jeffries, with toddler Mitchell, were on a month-long visit in February to see Mr Jeffries’s mother, who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

“It certainly does concern me that the majority of Australians don’t understand the plight or how hard it has been for those of us who have been stuck overseas,” Mr Jeffries said.

Since March, the family has had multiple flights cancelled and are currently booked on a December 18 flight.

“This is not about getting home by Christmas, we were supposed to be home by Easter,” Mr Jeffries said.

The family feels abandoned.

“When we see the entire Indian cricket team and their families, we see the Australian Open tennis players welcomed in, I’m happy Australia is in a position where we can bring sport back but it should have been us before them. Not us after.”

There’s a lot at stake for the Jeffries family catching next week’s flight.

Ms Jeffries, who is on maternity leave, will lose her job if she can’t be home by February.

Mr Jeffries said despite registering with DFAT, there has been no support.

“Our first response was a call a few weeks ago, it was really odd because I got the feeling he was trying to take us off that list,” he said.

He has this message for the Prime Minister.

“Put in place a queue like other countries have done. Show some leadership, border security and quarantine is a federal issue.

“Stand up for your citizens. Bring us home.”

Health worker stuck in the UK

Susan, a health worker who can’t be identified with her real name for professional reasons, will be spending Christmas in the UK with her Australian partner and two-year-old son after getting trapped there in March.

In ordinary times, Christmas in a quaint English village would be idyllic but the family is running out of money and Susan has been notified by her employer to return by February or lose her job.

On top of that they have the added stress of squatters taking over their home.

“Our house in Melbourne has been sitting empty for months and we had squatters come in,” Susan said.

“I think with the COVID laws in Victoria at the moment we have to go to court to get them removed and I think that’s going to be a difficult process.”

The family left Australia in February for a dream six-month round-the-world holiday.

Upon arriving in the UK in March, Susan contacted the Australian High Commission who advised it would be safer for the family to stay in the UK if they had somewhere to live.

With return flights already booked for September the family rented a home but since September, their flights have been cancelled six times.

Now Susan has gambled on a business class ticket for January. She hopes to return to save her job, get some income and sort out their home before the rest of the family tries to return in March.

Susan has described her experience with DFAT as terrible.

“The emergency hotline that was given on all of the DFAT emails, the phone number doesn’t even get through.”

Expecting more flight cancellations

Melbourne couple Alyse Brown and Geoff O’Connell were working in Cambridge when COVID-19 struck and in September, their return flights home were cancelled.

Stranded in the UK, Alyse was able to extend her visa until March and negotiated with the university, where she was on contract, for additional work.

Ms Brown said she never had faith in the promise that Australians stranded overseas would be back by Christmas, which she described as laughable.

“It was very quickly shot down as a realistic notion with the number of flights that he intended to organise with the number of people that needed to get home,” she said.

“Their main issue was quarantine space and at this point the [Federal] Government hasn’t been able to fix that.”

Ms Brown and Mr O’Connell have return flights booked in February.

“We still expect to be kicked off that one,” Ms Brown said.

They recently turned down an offer of tickets on a repatriation flight that would cost $17,000 for the two of them.

Breaking down in tears she spoke about the stress the couple was under.

“It’s absurdly stressful. There’s rhetoric back home that’s hard to deal with,” she said.

“There’s the sentiment from the Australian public saying: ‘Well, why didn’t you just come home?'”

The couple said the only contact they have had from DFAT was a recent call asking three scripted questions about whether they wanted to return and when.

“The notion that you can’t come back to your home country and that your home country has done its best to shut you out. It’s a bit distressing.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for DFAT said its highest priority was helping vulnerable Australians overseas.

Since September 18, more than 43,800 Australians have returned from overseas, including more than 17,000 Australians registered with DFAT. Of those, more than 3,700 were vulnerable.

Source: AbC NEWS AUSTRALIA

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An Australian social media user has urged the Australian government to deport the current Chinese Ambassador to Australia citing that the he has been a disrespectful guest.

The Australian took to her social media account to make the statement in response to news publication by the ABC Australia news network that was titled: “China hits back at Australia accusing Scott Morrison of stoking nationalism in response to fake Afghan tweet.”

She further added that “it is way past time that the current Chinese ambassador to Australia be deported,” and that, “Australia’s response had been curiously accepting and weak.“

She tweeted:

It is way past time that the current Chinese ambassador to Australia be deported.For too long he has been a disrespectful and belligérant guest, and Australia’s response had been curiously accepting and weak. ⁦@ScottMorrisonMP⁩ ⁦@MarisePayne

It is way past time that the current Chinese ambassador to Australia be deported.For too long he has been a disrespectful and belligérant guest, and Australia's response had been curiously accepting and weak. ⁦@ScottMorrisonMP⁩ ⁦@MarisePayne⁩ https://t.co/PzKzMDXKRF

— Lady Fiona 😷 (@Ozecrivaine) December 1, 2020

• 9News Nigeria Reports

The publication on ABC News Australia

Chinese officials accuse Scott Morrison of stoking nationalism in response to fake Afghan tweet

China has hit back at the Australian Government, accusing it of attempting to “stoke domestic nationalism” by demanding an apology for a tweet depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child.

READ ALSO: China Refuses To Apologise to Australia After This Defamatory Tweet

Key points:

• The Chinese embassy says Australia has misread and overreacted to the tweet
• The image was a reference to allegations raised in a review of the ADF
• Australia has demanded China remove the Twitter post and apologise

Beijing has already rejected demands to apologise for the image, which was shared by China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, on Monday.

Now, the Chinese embassy in Canberra has issued a fresh statement accusing the Government of trying to deflect attention from atrocities committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

The embassy has also suggested the Federal Government is trying to stoke nationalism in Australia.

“We would like to further stress the following: The rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of, and overreaction to, Mr Zhao’s tweet,” a spokesperson said.

“The accusations made are simply to serve two purposes.

“One is to deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers.

“The other is to blame China for the worsening bilateral ties.

“There may be another attempt to stoke domestic nationalism.”

Last week China confirmed it would impose a 200 per cent tariff on Australian wine while it conducted an anti-dumping investigation.

“All of this is obviously not helpful to the resetting of the bilateral relationship,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s our advice that the Australian side face up to the crimes committed by the Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, hold those perpetrators accountable and bring justice to victims.”

On the release of the Brereton report into alleged war crimes, the chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, offered an unreserved apology to the people of Afghanistan for soldiers’ actions.

He also said soldiers accused of committing war crimes would be dealt with under Australia’s justice system and other disciplinary action would be taken on a “case by case” basis, but that nothing was off the table.

The embassy also confirmed the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Frances Adamson, had contacted the Chinese ambassador, Cheng Jingye.

“The ambassador refuted the unwarranted accusations as absolutely unacceptable,” the spokesperson said.

Source: ABC Australia

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China has accused Australia of trying to “deflect public attention” from alleged war crimes by Australian solders in Afghanistan.

The comments came a day after Canberra demanded Beijing apologise for tweeting a fake image depicting an Australian soldier murdering an Afghan child.

Beijing also said that Australia was trying to “blame China for the worsening of bilateral ties”.

Relations between the two nations have plummeted to a new low in recent days.

The tweet with the fake image was in response to an Australian Defence Force inquiry which said it found “credible information” that 25 Australian soldiers were involved in the murders of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2009 and 2013.

The findings, now under police investigation, triggered global condemnation.

The doctored image triggered furious reactions in Canberra. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Beijing should be “utterly ashamed” for sharing the “repugnant” image, demanding an apology from China the same day.

On Tuesday the Chinese Embassy in Australia attacked his remarks without offering an apology.

“The accusations made are simply to serve two purposes. One is to deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers. The other is to blame China for the worsening of bilateral ties. There may be another attempt to stoke domestic nationalism,” it said in a statement.

Australia and China are big trading partners but have disagreed on a number of important political issues

“It’s our advice that the Australian side face up to the crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, hold those perpetrators accountable and bring justice to the victims,” the statement added.

Bilateral relations between China and Australia have been deeply strained this year after Canberra led calls for a probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A few months ago the last two correspondents working for Australian media in China were evacuated on the advice of diplomats.

More recently two Australian academics were banned from entering China.

There have also been ongoing discussions about Beijing’s alleged interference in Australian affairs and economic tensions including trade stoppages and tariffs imposed by China on Canberra, including tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine.

Source: BBC News and ABC News Australia

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Does a government have to pass a law to make something compulsory, or can businesses make it a must-have anyway?

The world is about to find out, after Qantas CEO Alan Joyce declared international travellers must have a COVID-19 vaccine to get on a flight.

It looks like the vaccine won’t be mandatory for Australians at home.

But whether people will have access to their favourite goods and services if they don’t get the vaccine is more complicated.

Will the vaccine be compulsory for Australians?

The short answer is no, but it’s clear the Government wants as many people as possible to have it.

In August, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he expected the vaccine “to be as mandatory as you can possibly make it”.

But just hours later, Mr Morrison said that the Government would not make vaccination mandatory for anybody.

“It’s not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine,” he said.

“There are no mechanisms for compulsory … I mean, we can’t hold someone down and make them take it.”

Will it be mandatory for international travellers?

Although Australians won’t have to be vaccinated, it’s becoming more likely that international travellers will.

The Government’s own vaccination policy already notes it could be mandatory for international travellers.

“While the Australian Government strongly supports immunisation and will run a strong campaign to encourage vaccination, it is not mandatory and individuals may choose not to vaccinate,” it says.

“There may however, be circumstances where the Australian Government and other governments may introduce border entry or re-entry requirements that are conditional on proof of vaccination.”

And travel to some countries already requires a vaccine.

For example, the Smart Traveller website tells Australians to carry their yellow fever vaccination certificate when travelling to Brazil, saying “you may need it to enter”.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said today that “early guidance” would be that international arrivals would be expected to be vaccinated or face quarantine.

Mr Hunt’s comments suggest those who can’t have the vaccine, for example those who are immunocompromised, will still be able to travel.

What is the air travel sector doing?

Qantas has declined to elaborate on the comments made by Mr Joyce yesterday.

But Mr Joyce isn’t the only one thinking about changes to international travel.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a group of 297 airlines including Qantas, is calling for systematic COVID-19 testing of all international travellers.

This will record if someone has been vaccinated, and share the information with airlines and immigration authorities.

It’s due to be piloted later this year, ahead of a launch early in 2021.

Simon Westaway, the head of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, said requiring travellers to have a coronavirus vaccination could act as a “circuit breaker” for disruptions across the sector.

He argued Australia should also consider introducing rapid COVID-19 testing at airports, as used in a number of other countries.

“I think rapid testing is really starting to prove its worth, it’s important that authorities give that absolutely full berth,” he said.

“I do think you’re going to need a combination or a suite of really efficient, easy measures to give people confidence in travel, but importantly to have operators and authorities to have that confidence as well.”

What are businesses in Australia planning to do?

A vaccine is unlikely to be available until March, so it’s still too early for many businesses to be considering whether or not they will require customers to have it.

The National Retailers Association hasn’t received any feedback from members or had any discussions yet.

Coach operator Murrays said it was too soon to say if passengers would face vaccination rules.

But the Australian Dental Association said dentists would accept people without vaccinations.

“The fact is, visiting the dentist has always been safe to attend and there is no reason not to visit your dentist,” a spokesperson said.

“So there will not be a requirement for patients to show proof of having had the COVID vaccine — airborne diseases are managed every day in dental practice.

“But we can understand why Qantas wants to introduce a system of proof, as they will have passengers huddled together for long periods of time on flights.”

The AFL and NRL did not respond to requests for comment when asked if fans would face vaccination requirements.

Can businesses discriminate based on the vaccine?

In May, then-chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said employers and workers should turn away sick employees and visitors, and said the Government would “protect” and “defend” them if they did so.

“If one of your colleagues or an employee or a client turns up, you have every right to say, go away, I am not going to let you in.”

The Government has sought to increase the rate of vaccinations in the past.

When he was social services minister in 2015, Scott Morrison introduced the ‘no jab, no play’ scheme which withheld welfare payments from families who conscientiously objected to vaccinations.

On the other hand, it has shown respect to those reluctant to download the COVIDSafe app.

When legislating for the COVIDSafe app earlier this year, the Government included provisions that made it a crime to coerce someone to use the app by refusing entry.

But refusing someone a service because they do not have a vaccination due to medical reason could be illegal under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Paula O’Brien, senior lecturer at Melbourne Law School, is part of a group studying the legal implications of a vaccine for businesses.

“Anti-discrimination law and human rights law are two major areas for businesses to consider when working out a policy on mandatory COVID vaccination,” Dr O’Brien said.

She said hospitals, aged care and childcare facilities had already had to deal with employment issues around vaccination of employees, but COVID-19 was pushing these issues into new realms.

“While some businesses have navigated this around staff before, it’s new to be navigating it around customers,” she said.

Whatever has happened in the past, laws today are more fluid than they have been. An emergency period under the Biosecurity Act is still in place.

This has allowed the Government to overwrite other laws to prevent and control COVID-19, including restricting cruise ships and international travel.

The period was extended in September until December 17.

Will I have to pay for the vaccine?

No, the Government has promised the vaccine will be free and available to Australians in 2021.

But this will come at a cost to taxpayers.

The Government is spending more than $3.2 billion on COVID-19 vaccines.

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The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates to a record low of 0.1 per cent as the bank’s governor confirmed Australia was not out of recession.

Key points:

• The official cash rate is expected to remain at 0.1 per cent until 2024
• Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe says the unemployment rate is likely to peak at 8 per cent and drop to 6 per cent by the end of 2022
• Dr Lowe said the cash rate was very unlikely to drop below zero because it would not help stimulate spending

The cut to 0.1 per cent is down from the previous record low of 0.25 per cent, which was announced earlier this year, and is not expected to increase for at least three years.

Alongside the drop in the official cash rate, the RBA lowered its three-year bond rate target to 0.1 per cent. The new record-low rate will also apply to the bank’s term funding facility.

The central bank confirmed it would buy $100 billion worth of Australian government bonds over the next six months to lift inflation and encourage lending and investment — a measure known as quantitative easing.

Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe stressed the bank was not printing free money for the state and federal governments and the bonds bought by the RBA would have to be repaid by governments at maturity.

“They’ll have to be repaid in exactly the same way as if the bonds were held by others,” he said.

The bond purchases will be bought on the secondary market and split, with 80 per cent to be federal government bonds and 20 per cent state government bonds.

This is in addition to the more than $60 billion the bank has spent since March on buying three-year government bonds.

Other elements of today’s package include:

• A reduction in the target for the yield on the three-year Australian government bond to around 0.1 per cent
• A reduction in the interest rate on exchange settlement balances to zero

Dr Lowe said the measures would help address the high rate of unemployment, which he described as an “important national priority”.

The combination of the RBA’s bond purchases and lower interest rates is expected to help the country recover economically by lowering financing costs for borrowers, contributing to a lower exchange rate and supporting asset prices and balance sheets.

Dr Lowe said the bank was “committed to doing what it can to support the creation of jobs”.

“Encouragingly, the recent economic data have been a bit better than expected and the near-term outlook is better than it was three months ago,” he said.

“Even so, the recovery is still expected to be bumpy and drawn out and the outlook remains dependent on successful containment of the virus.”

Dr Lowe said the RBA would purchase bonds “in whatever quantity is required to achieve the three-year yield target”

Chief economist for BIS Oxford Economics Sarah Hunter said the RBA’s decision to cut the cash rate was as expected.

Dr Hunter said the bank outlining it did not expect to raise the cash rate over the next three years would “provide households and businesses with some certainty over their individual borrowing rates in the near term”.

“The easing that has been implemented so far has already had a significant impact on the housing market; house prices are now trending up nationally and the lending data suggests this will continue in the near term,” Dr Hunter said.

Lowe says cash rate ‘extraordinary unlikely’ to drop further

Dr Lowe said despite some media reports, Australia was not out of recession and said the Reserve Bank had more monetary “firepower” to use if necessary.

But he said dropping the cash rate below zero was “extraordinarily unlikely”.

“While a negative rate might lead to a helpful depreciation of the Australian dollar, it could impair the supply of credit to the economy and lead some people to save more, rather than spend more,” he said.

“We’ve done as much as we can on interest rates and the focus now is really on the quantitative asset purchases.”

Dr Lowe said the announcements on Tuesday were not made earlier in the pandemic because monetary easing was likely to get more traction today than “when widespread restrictions were in place”.

“In earlier months, the usual transmission mechanisms were not working as normal and the challenges facing the country were best addressed by other policy tools.

“However, as restrictions are eased and people have more opportunities to spend, our judgement is that further monetary easing now provides additional support to other policies, including the fiscal initiatives and the RBA’s earlier monetary policy package.”

Dr Lowe also said the cash rate was very unlikely to drop below zero.

Unemployment expected to peak at 8 per cent

Dr Lowe said Australia could expect positive GDP growth in the September quarter despite the restrictions in Victoria.

“In the central scenario, GDP growth is expected to be around 6 per cent over the year to June 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022,” he said.

Official estimates last month put the jobless rate at 6.9 per cent, with 937,400 people out of work.

But the pandemic and various Government support measures mean that number understates the unemployment crisis, with more than 1.5 million people on JobSeeker benefits.

Dr Lowe said the country’s unemployment rate was likely to remain high, but would peak slightly below 8 per cent, rather than the 10 per cent previously expected.

He said it was forecast to drop to 6 per cent at the end of 2022.

The period of high unemployment would result in low wage growth and prices over coming years, Dr Lowe said.

Inflation is forecast to be 1 per cent in 2021 and 1.5 per cent in 2022.

Dr Lowe warned the cash rate would not increase “until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 per cent target range”, which will require wages growth and “significant gains in employment”.

Homeowners eager for rate cut to be passed on by banks

Adelaide homeowners Mark and Verity Riessen are eagerly waiting to see how much of the rate cut will be passed on to them by their lender.

“The last rate cut the RBA passed through, was not passed on to us by our lender,” Mr Reissen said.

The couple bought their home in 2006.

Two lots of refinancing and three children later, they still have another 25 years left on their mortgage, which they’re currently paying off with a variable home loan at an interest rate of 3.2 per cent.

The Riessen’s are preparing to look elsewhere if their lender does not pass on the cut.

“I’ll be looking either to negotiate a lower interest rate or looking to another lender,” Mr Riessen said.

“Our current lender is offering an interest rate to new loans at 0.7 per cent lower than what we’re currently paying, so if we are a loyal customer I would expect our lender to be able to look after their current customers the same way they’re looking after new customers.”

The family’s income has been cut and their expenses have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The move to at-home learning earlier in the year meant the family needed to spend a lot more money on technology for their three children.

“We had to spend a lot more money investing in iPads and things like that, so our kids didn’t miss out.”

Ms Riessen said even the smaller than usual 15 basis point cut by the RBA would help, if it was passed on to them in full.

“Those little bits of money that could come through a lower interest rate can actually make a huge difference.”

Savings accounts take another hit

Finance professional Ankita Gangaramani is trying to save the thousands of dollars she will need for the application and legal fees required to become a permanent resident in Australia.

But with another cut to the official interest rate, she’s probably going to get some bad news from her bank about how much interest she will be able to earn on the money in her account.

Having managed to pay off the $40,000 loan she obtained for a Masters in Business Administration, Ms Gangaramani is now focusing on building her savings while working in the finance sector.

“Building up savings is a time-consuming process,” she said.

“It’s going to be a while before I can collect the amount I need for the permanent residency.”

It will cost about $6,000 in administration and legal fees for Ms Gangaramani’s permanent residency application.

She has a savings account with one of the big four banks, but her interest rate has been steadily falling with each cut introduced by the RBA.

“Earlier, it used to be about a percentage, so one per cent of my total earnings, but now the percentage has obviously fallen,” she told ABC News.

The interest rate on her savings account is now 0.05 per cent.

“It’s really impacted me in terms of the amount of interest I gain on the actual savings that I make, so my money isn’t exactly growing.”

She’s concerned today’s cut by the RBA will mean her interest rate will be slashed even closer to zero.

“Every dollar counts and it’s just not going to be the most ideal scenario for me if the developments are that the interest rate falls even further.”

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If the past few months have been like a long-haul flight, Victorians are now standing in the aisles waiting for the cabin door to open, a little groggy and disoriented, but relieved.

They have every right to be. No other place in the world has tamed a second wave this large. Few have even come close.

It’s not a competition

Comparing different countries’ fights against COVID-19 is not a straightforward exercise, given differences in demography, geography, health system capability and government strategy.

Perhaps most importantly, not every country has tried to get down to zero, or near zero, community transmission.

This may not have been a realistic goal for countries with less border control than Australia.

Also, as Victorians understand acutely, the virus is unpredictable.

Today, as the crisis accelerates in Europe and elsewhere, Victoria’s “zero new cases” are the envy of the world.

But there can be no certainty about where things will be in a few months’ time.

All of this is to say that a favourable international comparison should not encourage complacency.

But it is nevertheless true that Victoria’s efforts are notable on the world stage.

The state’s success has warded off a significant human toll and further economic damage.

As a result, Australia has a much better chance of returning to an approximation of “normal life” in the new year.

Victorians should be proud of these efforts, and the starkly different outcomes in countries that were in a similar position should reassure them that the efforts were worthwhile.

Surfing the second wave: Victoria, Singapore, then daylight

On August 5, Victoria’s seven-day average of daily new cases reached 533, the worst numbers seen anywhere in Australia.

Several other countries had similar numbers around that time, including Canada, Japan, Singapore, and most of Europe.

They had taken different paths to get there; for Europe, these numbers represented a low ebb, not a peak.

But the trajectories after this period diverged even more dramatically.

As the chart below shows, case numbers in several European countries began to accelerate steeply and are now much worse than ever. In contrast, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, and Australia have so far kept case numbers at a moderate level.

But as this next chart shows, there is significant divergence even among these relatively stable countries.

Sweden appears on track to replicate the sharp acceleration seen elsewhere in Europe.

In Denmark and Japan, case numbers remain at a moderate level but are not trending towards zero.

Only Victoria and Singapore, which peaked at around 300, have returned to single digits.

By suppressing their second waves, Victoria and Singapore are well placed to join a small club of countries that have sustained zero or near-zero cases, including New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the rest of Australia.

The dividend for these countries has been economic, not just health-related, as the chart below shows.

Victoria’s lockdown has been long and difficult, but it now occupies a rare and envious position.

As Victorians await new freedoms on the next step towards COVID-normal, they should feel a sense of accomplishment.

Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program and Tom Crowley is an associate at the Grattan Institute. This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

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Drug squad detectives have executed one of the largest cannabis seizures in Australian history – worth more than $40 million.So far 14 men have been charged in relation to the drug bust, which took place over two days last week at three properties on the NSW mid north coast.The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation by Strike Force Harthouse, which was established last November to investigate the cultivation and supply of cannabis across NSW.

Drug and Firearms Squad Commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said the seizure was one of the most significant Australia had seen.”Over the two days, 14 offenders were arrested, and more than 13,000 plants were seized with an estimated street value of over $40 million,” Mr Watson said.”As far as cannabis seizures go, we have not seen one of this size since the 1970’s.”The biggest difference is in 1975 outdoor crops were seasonal, so criminal groups were restricted to one crop a year, whereas these grow houses are weather controlled enabling the harvest of new plants every 12 weeks or so.”

The raids began last Thursday at a property in Minimbah.There, 5593 cannabis plants were seized along with 39 pounds of dried cannabis, worth a combined total of $16.9 million.Police arrested six men, all Vietnamese nationals, including a 31-year-old permanent resident, a 41-year-old who is unlawfully in Australia, a 23-year-old and 27-year-old both currently on student visas and a 38-year-old and a 44-year-old both currently on bridging visas.The group were taken to Taree Police Station where they were all charged with multiple cultivation and supply offences.

The next day, investigators executed two simultaneous crime scene search warrants at properties at Melinga and Moorland and seized 7760 cannabis plants.A further eight men were arrested, also all Vietnamese nationals, including a 31-year-old man permanent resident, three men who are unlawfully in Australia aged 24, 23 and 22, two men on student visas aged 22 and 27 and two men on bridging visas aged 24 and 23.The group were taken to Taree Police Station and charged.All the men arrested were refused bail at Taree Local Court and are due to reappear at the same court in January.

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I can confidently say we don’t have a president In Nigeria

Apostle Johnson Suleman has said that he is confident that Nigeria doesn’t have a President.

Taking to his Twitter handle this morning, the clergy man wrote;

”In same climes,the president by now would had gotten the contacts of the victims families and reached out to them personally. but 48hrs after a black tuesday, President Buhari hasn’t even addressed the nation.h e hasn’t come out to condemn it. I can confidently say we dont have a president.

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Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Claire Ireland has apologized over her comment about the #EndSARS protest.

Claire Ireland had taken to Twitter to advice Australian citizens to avoid the protest and follow the advice of local authorities.

She tweeted:
REVISED MSG: There are ongoing protests in Abuja, Lagos and other locations in Nigeria. Avoid these protests and follow the advice of local authorities

However, after being called out over the tweet, she apologized and stated that she didn’t mean to imply that the protests were violent.

She added:
I would like to apologise for earlier message. We did not mean to imply the protests were violent in general. We respect people’s right to peacefully protest.

Details Below;

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Australia’s ambassador to Cambodia is in hot water for eating an endangered native species of turtle and tweeting pictures of his meal.

Australia’s ambassador to Cambodia is in hot water for eating an endangered soft shell turtle and then tweeting pictures of his meal.

Pablo Kang, who has been Australia’s representative in Cambodia for four years, posted the image of an Asian giant softshell turtle he ate on a provincial visit in the country.

The species of freshwater turtle is regarded in Cambodia as a “high status” food.

It has largely become threatened because of its consumption as a local delicacy in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries where it is a native species.

The species disappeared from much of its former habitat last century and is now considered by some scientists to be endangered or at the very least a threatened species.

After coming under fire for eating a meal of one, Mr Kang deleted the tweet and issued a public apology on Twitter.

“Hello. I have removed my tweet about soft shell turtles & eels, and apologise to all those who took offence,” he tweeted.

“My intent was not to promote these dishes, but to tell people about some of the foods I was offered during my recent provincial visit.

“I certainly do not condone the harvesting of any endangered species for food or other purposes, and will be more careful about my actions in future.”

Pablo Kang, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, is in trouble for eating an endangered native species of turtle and tweeting photos of his meal.Source:Supplied

Mr Kang, an experienced diplomat, apologised and said he would be more careful in future.Source:Suppliedhttps://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1305769066297131008&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fscience%2Fanimals%2Faussie-diplomat-in-trouble-for-eating-endangered-cambodian-turtle%2Fnews-story%2F93f162efef5247396eaba6c41dd669d9&siteScreenName=newscomauHQ&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550pxhttps://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1305769091098058754&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fscience%2Fanimals%2Faussie-diplomat-in-trouble-for-eating-endangered-cambodian-turtle%2Fnews-story%2F93f162efef5247396eaba6c41dd669d9&siteScreenName=newscomauHQ&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550px

The Asian giant softshell turtle is endangered because of people eating it, and is considered a ‘high status’ local delicacy.Source:Supplied

Mr Kang is an experienced diplomat and a former Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu.

His actions drew criticism on Twitter from environmentalists.

Adam Roberts Wildlife tweeted: “Really? Promoting consumption of endangered species and therefore the illegal wildlife trade? Not responsible actions from an Ambassador.”

Sam Leslie tweeted, “All Softshell Turtle species in SE Asia are listed as at least vulnerable, while others are endangered.

“Consumption is the number 1 threat, and demand is in part due to perception that it is a ‘high-status’ food, all the more reckless for an Ambassador to promote!”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1305465744835006464&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fscience%2Fanimals%2Faussie-diplomat-in-trouble-for-eating-endangered-cambodian-turtle%2Fnews-story%2F93f162efef5247396eaba6c41dd669d9&siteScreenName=newscomauHQ&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550pxhttps://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1305454018005614593&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Ftechnology%2Fscience%2Fanimals%2Faussie-diplomat-in-trouble-for-eating-endangered-cambodian-turtle%2Fnews-story%2F93f162efef5247396eaba6c41dd669d9&siteScreenName=newscomauHQ&theme=light&widgetsVersion=219d021%3A1598982042171&width=550px

News.Com.Au

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As many as 70,000 Australians could’ve been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began and gone undetected, a new test has found.

As many as 70,000 Australians could’ve been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began and gone undetected, researchers have predicted.  

A team at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new blood test that captures previous exposure to coronavirus, with initial results suggesting many more Australians have been exposed to the virus than detected.

“Our best estimate is that around 0.28 per cent of Australians – one in 350 – had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 by that time (just before Australia’s second wave of outbreaks),” Associate Professor Ian Cockburn, who co-led the research, said.

“This suggests that instead of 11,000 cases we know about from nasal swab testing, about 70,000 people had been exposed overall.”

The testing was conducted between June 2 and July 17, before Melbourne was struck by the virus again and testing had increased in response to the nation’s second wave.

It measures the antibodies produced by the body after being infected with COVID-19.

Director of The John Curtin School of Medical Research, Professor Graham Mann, said that the test is “another weapon in our armoury to combat further waves of the virus”.

But deputy chief health officer Nick Coatsworth, who also participated in the research, said that the numbers estimated don’t necessarily “correspond to reality”.

“It’s not going to change our policy. We base our restrictions policy on the number of acute cases of COVID-19. That’s diagnosed by PCR and nasal swab, not by antibody tests,” Dr Coatsworth told reporters this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Melburnians attempting to flee their locked down city for regional Victoria could be slapped with a brand new, “huge” $4957 fine. 

Deputy Commissioner, Regional Operations Rick Nugent said the fine would apply to every adult within a vehicle – so if a family was caught breaking the rules, for example, both parents would be slapped with individual fines.

Follow our live rolling coverage below. 

Live Updates

4h agoSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Victorian man charged after trying to enter NSW in taxi

Phoebe Loomes

A Victorian man has been charged after he tried to cross into NSW in the back of a taxi.

The man, who didn’t have a permit to cross the border, had made numerous attempts to enter NSW, and was fined $1000 for crossing the border over the weekend, NSW Police said in a statement.

Just before 10pm last night police at a border checkpoint on the Hume Highway in South Albury stopped a taxi trying to cross into NSW and talked with the driver and passenger.

Their checks found the male passenger, 26, didn’t have a valid permit to enter NSW and had “attempted to cross the border several times previously”.

“Additionally, the man had been given a PIN at Central Railway Station on Saturday (12 September 2020) and instructed to return to Victoria, when he was unable to produce a permit,” NSW Police said.

The man was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station where he was charged with not complying with a noticed direction.

He was granted strict conditional bail and is due in Albury Local Court on October 12.9:31 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

70,000 Aussie virus cases could’ve gone undetected

Natalie Brown

As many as 70,000 Australians could’ve been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began and gone undetected, researchers have predicted.

A team at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new blood test that captures previous exposure to coronavirus, with initial results suggesting many more Australians have been exposed to the virus than detected.

“Our best estimate is that around 0.28 per cent of Australians – one in 350 – had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 by that time (just before Australia’s second wave of outbreaks),” Associate Professor Ian Cockburn, who co-led the research, said.

“This suggests that instead of 11,000 cases we know about from nasal swab testing, about 70,000 people had been exposed overall.”

Picture: Australian National University

The testing was conducted between June 2 and July 17, before Melbourne was struck by the virus again and testing had increased in response to the nation’s second wave.

It measures the antibodies produced by the body after being infected with COVID-19.

Director of The John Curtin School of Medical Research, Professor Graham Mann, said that the test is “another weapon in our armoury to combat further waves of the virus”.

But deputy chief health officer Nick Coatsworth, who also participated in the research, said that the numbers estimated don’t necessarily “correspond to reality”.

“It’s not going to change our policy. We base our restrictions policy on the number of acute cases of COVID-19. That’s diagnosed by PCR and nasal swab, not by antibody tests,” Dr Coatsworth told reporters this afternoon.8:36 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Sutton unaware of major hotel flaw

Natalie Brown

Melissa Iaria, NCA NewsWire

Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton was unaware private security was being used to guard hotels quarantining returned travellers until there were outbreaks, an inquiry has been told.

Professor Sutton says until there were outbreaks, he had no reservations about the quarantine program.

“After the outbreaks, I heard of the allegations about security in the media and, considering the issue now, I can see the risks created by the use of that workforce,” he told the inquiry, via his statement.

Picture: NCA NewsWire/Daniel Pockett

“I was not involved in the making of that decision. Until there were outbreaks, I was not in fact aware that they were using security guards.”

Prof Sutton says he raised the issue of having mandatory emergency accomodation for returned travellers, based on the New Zealand model, in the third week of March, with the key Australian decision-making committee for health emergencies.

But the idea wasn’t progressed.

Read the full story here.7:41 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Cafe owner sues Victorian government

Rohan Smith

Lawyers for the mum trying to overturn Victoria’s curfew say “there has never been a case in the history of this country of this nature” and that the curfew should be quashed immediately.

Barrister Vanessa Plain, acting in the Victorian Supreme Court for Mornington Peninsula cafe owner and aspiring Liberal MP Michelle Loielo, said the matter was “unprecedented” and the decision by the court will have “unique ramifications for the community”.

Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ms Loielo filed a writ in the Supreme Court on Tuesday that argues the Daniel Andrews Government’s 9pm-5am curfew is invalid, irrational and illogical.

Ms Plain said there are questions of “credibility” that the Premier must answer.

“There is serious doubt as to whether there is a legitimate basis for the curfew,” she said.

She said “millions of healthy citizens” were being unnecessarily impacted by the decision to lock metropolitan Melbourne down after dark.

Read the full story here.7:37 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

PM banned from entering Queensland

Natalie Brown

Samantha Maiden

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be banned from entering Queensland for the duration of the state election campaign unless he is prepared to pay $2800 to quarantine for 14 days in a government facility.

Nearly seven weeks after he last entered the sunshine state, there is no sign that the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will lift the border bans before the October 31 election.

Picture: NCA Newswire/Martin Ollman

Queensland’s border ban will effectively stop the Prime Minister, Labor leader Anthony Albanese and any other frontbenchers from entering the state for the duration of the election unless they are prepared to spend a fortnight in quarantine.

Read the full story here.7:09 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Experts back QLD’s call to keep NSW out

Natalie Brown

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) have backed Queensland’s definition of a COVID-19 hotspot – a definition which has resulted in the state’s hard border stance.

The expert health panel sent state premiers its proposed definition of a hotspot today.

In a copy obtained by 7 News, the AHPPC’s statement defines a “COVID-Free Zone as an area that has no locally acquired cases that pose a risk to the community in the previous 28 days”.

Picture: Tertius Pickard/NCA NewsWire

The definition, which will be discussed at National Cabinet this Friday, means NSW will continue to be classified as a hotspot, with residents banned from entering Queensland.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian this morning said Queensland’s potential plans to adopt a 14-day no community transmission benchmark before reopening roads was simply swapping an “impossible” threshold with a “highly unlikely” one.

“At this point in time, NSW doesn’t have any hotspots,” Ms Berejiklian said told reporters.

“We have cases which are concerning [and] we have unknown cases in the past that we’re trying to chase as well. But if you look at the overall picture and what we’re up to, there wouldn’t be a reason why those borders should still be in place.”

The NSW leader said it was wrong to “make decisions based on one case or two cases” because it often took several days to test the genomics.6:41 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

CHO commends ‘titantic effort’ of Victorians

Natalie Brown

Deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth is speaking now, and has commended the “titantic efforts” of Victorians in fighting the virus.

“The numbers are clearly improving on a national level and most pleasingly in Victoria and the 7-day rolling average of course dipped below 50 cases per day – 49.6, came in just under 50,” Dr Coatsworth told reporters.

“But very positive news and a testimony to the titanic efforts of the Victorian community in Melbourne and surrounds under the Stage 4 restrictions and regional Victoria as well.

“And certainly pleasing to see that some of those restrictions that regional Victorians have been living under are starting to be lifted.”

Dr Coatsworth said Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic – despite Victoria’s second wave – “remains an exemplar for the world and testimony to our public health units, the tireless work of our public health professionals, the adaptabilities and flexibility of our test trace isolate systems and of course the capacity of our healthcare system”.

“One of the best in the world and one that has been able to provide care for Australians when and where they need it if they suffer from COVID-19,” he said.6:09 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Deputy CHO to give COVID-19 update at 3:30pm

Natalie Brown

Deputy chief health officer Nick Coatsworth is set to give a national coronavirus update in just under 30 minutes.

In terms of new cases today, Australia has had just over 50 – with 42 in Victoria, 10 in NSW and one in Western Australia.

We’ll bring you the key details from Dr Coatsworth’s update here.

Picture: David Gray/Getty Images5:57 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Hundreds of jobs to go at ANU

Natalie Brown

Australian National University announced today that 465 jobs will be lost due to the financial impacts of COVID-19.

Some 250 staff have planned to or already accepted voluntary redundancies, with a further reduction needed of 215 positions.

The university said it will need to save $103 million each year up until 2023, having already saved $13.5 million from deferred pay rises.

“The changes required are painful, and the changes we make must leave the University in a state that will allow us to thrive in the years to come,” ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt told staff today.

“The stark reality is: we need to save money, and this will mean spending a lot less, both on our non-salary expenditure, but also on salaries.

“This is not a course of action we wanted to take, but it is our only viable option going forward if we want to remain a sustainable, stable university.

“The need for our University and its mission is clear, and we must make sure we can deliver on that mission, and not be a hollowed-out shell of our former selves.”5:37 amSeptember 16, 2020HIGHLIGHT

Victorian outbreaks with highest number of active cases

Natalie Brown

Victoria’s DHHS have released their daily breakdown of the state’s coronavirus cases.

Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest number of active cases include:

• 12 active cases are currently linked to Footscray Hospital (13 cases total)
• 10 active cases are currently linked to Bulla Dairy Foods in Colac (20 cases total)
• 9 active cases are currently linked to Vawdrey Australia Truck Manufacturer (64 cases total)
• 8 active cases are currently linked to Wydinia Kindergarten in Colac (16 cases total)
• 5 active cases are currently linked to Dandenong Police Station (15 cases total)

Of the 991 active cases in Victoria overall, 948 are in metropolitan Melbourne – which is under stage 4 restrictions – and 37 are in regional Victoria – which is under stage 3 restrictions.

All eight of today’s deaths – six of which occurred prior to yesterday – are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities.

The average number of cases diagnosed in the last 14 days for metropolitan Melbourne is 49.6 and regional Victoria is 3.5.

The total number of cases from an unknown source in the last 14 days is 81 for metropolitan Melbourne and one for regional Victoria.

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The Curry-Kenny clan, one of Australia’s most famous families, spent 40 years in the spotlight before having to break the news their beloved firstborn had died.

Ever since Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny began to dominate Australia’s sporting scene in the late 1970s, the golden couple found themselves under a spotlight they knew they were never going to shake.

Throughout the past 40 years, the couple embraced their time in the limelight, turning their fame and the lifestyle millions of Aussies aspired to into a multimillion-dollar empire.

But on Monday night, the former couple were forced to step into the spotlight again, sharing news no parent ever wants to deliver.

In a joint statement on Monday, Ms Curry and Mr Kenny revealed their beloved oldest daughter Jaimi had died in hospital that morning.

Jaimi, 33, had “lost her battle with a long-term illness and passed away peacefully in hospital this morning in the company of loving family”.

RELATED: Family and friends pay tribute to Jaimi

Jaimi Kenny (right) with her mum and two siblings Jett and Morgan.Source:Supplied

News.com.au understands the 33-year-old had been receiving treatment for an eating disorder for years at Sunshine Coast private clinic End ED.

In a heartbreaking Instagram post the next morning, Ms Curry said she could “barely breathe” after losing Jaimi.

“Our hearts are broken and the pain is unbearable but we cherish every wonderful moment we got to share with our treasured and so loved first child,” Ms Curry said on Instagram.

In the years before Jaimi was born, in June 1987, Ms Curry and Mr Kenny were regarded as one of Australia’s most famous couples.

Their beachside lifestyle, constant drive to succeed and athletic prowess elevated the couple to a level of fame not really seen in Australia today.

Their fame was so intense the couple even had to hire police to control the crowds at their 1986 wedding.

Grant Kenny and Lisa Curry at their wedding in April 1986. Picture: News LimitedSource:News Corp Australia

A year later Jaimi was born, with media already dubbing her Australia’s next athletic star and a “water baby”.

“She can do what ever she wants and is welcome to participate in any sport at all,” Mr Kenny said just hours after Jaimi’s birth.

“And if she doesn’t want to take part in any sport, then that’s fine with us.”

While Ms Curry was only 24 when she gave birth to Jaimi, she was quickly back in the pool, making what some regard as the most remarkable comeback in Australian swimming history.

At the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, Ms Curry won four gold medals and one silver and hit personal bests in all her races.

Jaimi, then two years old and sitting in her mum’s arms, made headlines at the games when she declared: “Mummy, you’re a freak.”

Lisa Curry with Jaimi after winning gold in the 100m butterfly in Auckland. Picture: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

It was after the Auckland Games that Ms Curry became known as Australia’s “supermum”, starring in dozens of commercials and occasionally sharing the spotlight with blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jaimi.

Four years later, the Curry-Kenny clan grew by one more when Lisa gave birth to a daughter Morgan, who danced for the Moulin Rouge in Paris at the age of 20.

And four years after that, the couple rounded out their family with a son named Jett, who has gone on to become an Ironman, model and TV personality.

The family went from success to success, applying their enviable work ethic to business and building their brand.

When their 23-year marriage ended in 2009, their company the Curry-Kenny group was valued at almost $80 million and included a popular clothing brand, numerous lifestyle products and a successful aviation group.

Curry Kenny Aviation was later sold for a reported $70 million.

At its peak, in 1999, the Curry-Kenny development company was responsible for a series of multimillion-dollar projects from Noosa to Alexandra Headland.

“People see us being successful but they don’t realise it’s through hard work, not luck,” Ms Curry said in 1999.

“We had no formal training in pretty much anything we did, and we realised pretty early in life that we weren’t going to be earning money from endorsements for very long,’’ Mr Kenny said a year later.

“The decision to be involved in business was a conscious one, but the evolution from that to what we’re doing now was just based on opportunities.”

And their drive for success spread to their kids.

By the age of 14, Jaimi was competing in national swimming competitions, telling media she wanted to “compete for Australia one day”.

Jaimi, then 14, with her mum at Sydney Aquatic Centre in April 2002. Picture: Mark EvansSource:News Corp Australia

Three months later, she earned fourth place at nationals in the 100m breaststroke after only a year of serious training.

“I found a video one day of Mum racing — I watched it over and over again,’’ Jaimi said after the race.

“They were all different races from when she was about 20 to 30. I knew after watching the video I wanted to swim seriously too.

“It’s good having Mum (to support me) because she knows what she is talking about. She knows how it feels to train and to race.

“I don’t worry about our family name. I’m just like any other swimmer only I haven’t done as much work as some others just yet.”

Jett was also successful athletically, competing in Ironman competitions, just like his dad, by his early 20s.

“Growing up in the younger ages of surf lifesaving, it was definitely an advantage having my genetics and I’d say it still is,” Jett told The Courier-Mail in 2018.

“There’s no denying that … (but) I definitely understand that hard work needs to be put in.”https://www.instagram.com/p/B6nASA3BQs7/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12&wp=1280&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au&rp=%2Fsport%2Fsports-life%2Fjaimi-kenny-dead-inside-the-guarded-lives-of-the-currykenny-family%2Fnews-story%2Fd3d801d6ddb541316596eb5605cb59aa#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A5333.374999998341%7D

Mr Kenny, according to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is regarded as the best surf lifesaver of all time after he famously won the junior and senior Ironman titles in 1980 at the age of 16.

Four years later, Grant won the bronze in kayaking at the 1984 Olympics.

And Morgan, the couple’s middle child, earned a spot in the prestigious Moulin Rouge chorus in Paris only three years after she started dance lessons.https://www.instagram.com/p/CCnzB3ChmFJ/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12&wp=1280&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au&rp=%2Fsport%2Fsports-life%2Fjaimi-kenny-dead-inside-the-guarded-lives-of-the-currykenny-family%2Fnews-story%2Fd3d801d6ddb541316596eb5605cb59aa#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A5302.239999999074%7D

But the pressure of fame and the effect the spotlight could have on Ms Curry’s kids always seemed to be at the forefront of her mind.

“You do get more security conscious, especially when you have children,” Ms Curry said when Jaimi was still a toddler in the late 1980s.

“Jaimi is pretty recognisable with her blue eyes and blonde hair, and we have had a couple of incidents we would prefer not to have had.

“It’s just not necessary to have her (Jaimi) involved in the publicity.”

And as recently as May this year, Ms Curry spoke about her kids growing up in public life again.

“Growing up in a public life, obviously has its ups and downs, the kids get drawn into that,” Ms Curry told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

“We have discussed the ups and downs of public life, but we are very private as well … we are guarded in what we say and do.”

The three kids only occasionally spoke about feeling the pressure of fame.

Jett told The Courier-Mail he first felt the sting of public scrutiny when he was 11 at a state surf carnival that had to be cancelled due to bad weather.

“The next day there was a photo on the back pages of the paper of me with mum and dad walking out of the beach and I was crying – I was crying because I wanted to keep going, not for any other reason,” Jett said.

“When you’re that age, you’re wondering, ‘Why am I in the paper?’ I don’t think I could understand why it was me and why they (the photographers) would do that.”

The Curry-Kenny family at Morgan’s wedding.Source:Supplied

Jaimi had also been getting help for “troubles”, including anxiety, since the age of 14.

Ms Curry retired from swimming in 1992 and competed surf boat rowing and world championship outrigger canoeing before doctors diagnosed her with a potentially deadly heart condition in 2008 and ordered her to slow down.

She was also fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) – a pacemaker and defibrillator in one that detects abnormal heart rhythms and delivers a shock to restore normal heartbeat — and arrived home from hospital, flanked by Mr Kenny and Jaimi.

Lisa Curry arriving home from hospital with Grant and Jaimi.Source:News Limited

Ms Curry and Mr Kenny officially divorced in 2017, to allow Lisa to marry her partner Mark Tabone.

Jett walked his mum down the aisle when they married in May 2018 in a small and intimate ceremony at their Sunshine Coast property.

Mr Tabone, best known for being an Elvis impersonator, also does Lisa’s hair after spending two decades as a hairdresser.

Mr Kenny also moved on following their separation.

Dubbed the “worst kept secret in showbiz”, Mr Kenny had a brief relationship with radio star Fifi Box before she gave birth to a girl named Trixie in April 2013.

Box confirmed Trixie’s paternity in April 2016 when she posted photos of Mr Kenny in a jumping castle with the three-year-old to celebrate her birthday.

“Dad sees (Trixie) quite a fair bit – whenever he is travelling he’ll usually go in from Europe, into Melbourne to see her,” Jett said in 2018.

“He’s there a fair bit and has a lot to do with her. I don’t get to Melbourne all that often but when I’m down, I’ll catch up and see her every now and again.”

And their blended family always seems to have worked.

Jaimi was often photographed babysitting Box’s daughter and her half-sister over the years, lovingly taking care of the youngster.https://www.instagram.com/p/BQZ9rfqFKpB/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12&wp=1280&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au&rp=%2Fsport%2Fsports-life%2Fjaimi-kenny-dead-inside-the-guarded-lives-of-the-currykenny-family%2Fnews-story%2Fd3d801d6ddb541316596eb5605cb59aa#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A5198.339999999007%7D

Hundreds of friends and family continue to pay tribute to Jaimi following her death on Monday.

In a deeply personal tribute, brother Jett said “I may not have been the best brother to you all the time, I know you thought you weren’t being the big sister I needed all the time, but I do know we loved one another unconditionally all the time”.

And Morgan admitted “it still doesn’t feel real that you are not here”.

“I am grateful for you. There is no one like you. I love you so much and will forever miss you. Rest now beautiful sister. You will never be forgotten,” she added.

If you or anyone you know need help or support for an eating disorder or concerns about body image, please call Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 334 673 (ED HOPE)

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Calls for changes to JobSeeker as employers struggle to fill vacant positions

A million people are out of work in Australia but there are still some jobs that no-one wants to apply for. One boss is blaming JobSeeker.

Tim Buckley’s landscaping business has bounced back so strongly he is now hiring more staff but it’s harder than ever to recruit workers despite record unemployment.

Mr Buckley is the managing director of Landscape Solutions, a company that employs about 450 people in Australia and another 250 in New Zealand. He believes the problem is the high rate of JobSeeker being provided to the jobless at the moment.

“Traditionally it’s always been hard to find staff in Sydney, but this is next level hard,” Mr Buckle told news.com.au.

“Once the JobSeeker and JobKeeper came in, we saw a massive increase in difficulty in trying to find people.”

Like many other businesses, Landscape Solutions took a hit when the coronavirus pandemic saw lockdowns introduced across the country.

While their revenues declined by 15 to 20 per cent, it wasn’t enough for the business to claim JobKeeper payments and they had to stand down about 25 staff.

Fortunately they managed to bounce back and now have more work than before. They have hired back their staff and are also looking for more workers.

“We’re now looking to expand again but can’t find people to fill the roles,” Mr Buckle told news.com.au.

“The landscape industry offers the lower end of wages, and the gap between JobSeeker is so close, there’s no incentive for someone to go to work.”

Mr Buckle said the toughest place for them to fill roles was in Sydney. It currently has more than 20 roles available in NSW, most of these are in Sydney. They include apprenticeships as well as roles that don’t require any experience.

Mr Buckle said the most difficult role to fill was for a “trade assistant”, which is an unskilled role that involves mowing, gardening and landscape labouring.

“This tells me that’s linked to the JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments,” he said.

The trade assistant role pays about $25 an hour and so a full-time employee can earn just under $1000 a week before tax. This equals about $785 a week after tax, which is only about $200 more than the current unemployment benefit of around $550 a week.

“We’re just getting no applicants,” he said. “We are getting one or two applicants for each job role at best, previously we might have got 30, 40.”

He said the expenses of getting to and from work could also add up to about $100 once tolls were factored in.

“The gap is only about $200 a week and the unemployed also get a few other benefits, especially if they have families,” he said. “If there is only a $200 difference, some may think ‘why go to work?’.

“I do think it will change if the payment drops off in October but what happens between July and October?”

A Senate inquiry that reported in April this year found that previous levels of Newstart payments, which provided unemployed about $270 a week to live on, were inadequate and that some people were likely living below the poverty line.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the government doubled the payment and renamed it JobSeeker. There are reports the government won’t return it to pre-COVID-19 levels, although the details have not yet been confirmed.

While Mr Buckle acknowledged that it would be hard to survive on the previous unemployment payment of about $250 a week, he didn’t understand why the rate had been doubled for those already unemployed when the pandemic hit.

“My position is, when we’ve got 10 to 20 per cent underlining employment, surely we should be getting more applicants?” he said.

“JobSeeker should be cut down so people are actively encouraged to find work.”

The Morrison Government is due to announce changes to the JobSeeker payment this week, as well as the JobKeeper payment, which is a higher payment that keeps people attached to their workplaces.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Monday the government would be changing the JobKeeper scheme, with new measures to apply from late September.

News.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden reported eligibility for the JobKeeper payment is set to be tightened and the payment would be reduced to about $1000 a fortnight, from the current payment of $1500.

However, the payment would be extended to Christmas instead of finishing in October as previously announced.

Mr Buckle said changes were also necessary for JobSeeker.

“I don’t know the answer but I think something has got to change,” he said.

“I’m not against support for some industries such as tourism, they’ve got to have some sort of assistance because they are going to have long-term structural problems for their businesses, which is terrible.”

But Mr Buckle said the higher JobSeeker payment appeared to be discouraging people from finding work.

“Unfortunately for us, we’d love to pay more but the market says that’s the rate. Clients won’t pay more than that,” he said.

Last week it was revealed that Australia had recorded the highest unemployment rate for 22 years.

Labour figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australia’s June unemployment rate rose to 7.4 per cent, a 0.3 percentage rise on the previous month.

It was the highest monthly unemployment rate since November 1998 and prompted Mr Morrison to label the fiscal pain caused by the pandemic as Australia’s “COVID-19 economic recession”.

The number of jobless rose by 69,300 people to a total of 992,300. Mr Morrison said in May that about 1.5 million people were receiving the JobSeeker payment.

The decision to phase out the JobKeeper wage subsidy over months rather than have support “fall off a cliff‘’ in September follows a second lockdown in Victoria.

charis.chang@news.com.au | @charischang2

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The footy world has been left “devastated” by the news former Richmond player Shane Tuck has been found dead on Monday at the age of 38.

The Australian Football League (AFL) community has been rocked by the news that former Richmond player Shane Tuck has been found dead today at the age of 38.

AFL great Shane Tuck has died on Monday, Hawthorn Football Club president Jeff Kennett has confirmed.

The devastating news has rocked the AFL community.

Tuck is being mourned by wife Kat and children Will and Ava.

He played 173 games with Richmond from 2004-2013.

The loss of Shane Tuck is being particularly felt at Hawthorn where his father, Michael Tuck, cemented a legacy as the VFL/AFL games record holder and his brother Travis also played.

Tuck is also cousins with Geelong superstar Gary Ablett Jnr.

He was famously drafted by Hawthorn in the 2000 Rookie Draft, but didn’t make his AFL debut until 2004 when he was re-drafted by Richmond as a mature-age recruit through the 2003 National Draft.

Hawthorn released a brief statement on Monday afternoon to extend their condolences to the Tuck family.

Hawks president Jeff Kennett said in the statement: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Shane.

“There are few words that we can express at this time, other than to convey our devout sadness and sympathy to the Tuck family.

“The Board of Directors, Past Players and Officials Association, management, staff and players of Hawthorn Football Club extend their sincerest condolences to Shane’s parents Michael and Fay, his wife Kat, children Will and Ava, and the extended Tuck family.”

Richmond also released a statement from chief executive Brendan Gale.

“We’re incredibly saddened by the news of Shane’s passing, he will be missed enormously by everyone,” Gale said.

“We send our deepest condolences to Shane’s family and loved ones – his wife Kat, children Will and Ava, parents Michael and Fay, and the extended Tuck family.

“Shane was a warrior on the field, giving everything to the team each week, and a humble, fun-loving person off the field.”

The Tigers will also wear black armbands in honour of Tuck when they play the GWS Giants in Sydney on Friday night.

Tuck turned to boxing after retiring from footy in 2013 and had a series of professional fights, including in front of a massive crowd at the Adelaide Oval on the undercard of Danny Green’s re-match with Anthony Mundine in 2017.

He decided to hang up the gloves at the end of 2017 after a draw with Steve Roberts at the Melbourne Pavilion, finishing his career with a record of three wins (one via knockout), one draw and one loss.

Shane Tuck defeated Ivan Kolar in Adelaide.Source:News Corp Australia

He played his junior footy with the Dandenong Stingrays. After failing to break through into Hawthorn’s starting side he moved to SANFL club West Adelaide where he made his senior debut.

His form with West Adelaide won him a re-call to the AFL with the Tigers where he went on to kick 74 goals.

He said after retiring that he found it difficult to deal with the spotlight and the constant comparisons with his father.

“In the early days I did find it a bit of a burden,’’ he said in 2014.

“Everyone was saying “oh, you’re going to be as good as your dad’ and putting massive expectations on me.

“When I was young I didn’t think I could reach the heights of the old man and as a kid you don’t really think straight sometimes.

“I let things like that affect me too much and it was a burden. It was only when I got older that I really learnt to be proud of dad for his achievements.”

SHANE TUCK’S SPORTING CAREER

AFL career:

Son of Hawthorn great Michael Tuck and brother of Hawthorn player Travis Tuck

Drafted: 24th in 2000 Rookie Draft by Hawthorn, 73rd in 2003 National Draft by Richmond

AFL Debut: 2004

Final game: 2013 Elimination Final Richmond Vs Carlton

Games Played: 173

Goals Scored: 74

He finished in the top 10 in Richmond’s annual best and fairest award seven times

Boxing career:

Boxing Debut: 2015

Boxing Record: 3-1 (1 Draw)

FOOTY WORLD PAYS TRIBUTE TO SHANE TUCK

Shane Tuck at the MCG.Source:News Limited

Former teammate and Richmond star Jack Riewoldt led the tributes for Tuck during a scheduled radio appearance on SEN.

“To have the news drop today that the man that we know and love known as Tucky has passed away, it’s really hard to put it into words. It’s a really sad day for the football club,” Riewoldt said just minutes after the tragic news was first reported.

“He became a cult figure. People loved him. He was obviously the son of a very famous footballer, but you could see he was brought up to be respectful. He would always have the time to talk to people. He was a people’s person.

“He was an absolute crowd favourite. He did things that Richmond people loved. He was hard. He was tough.

“You always walked taller when you had Shane Tuck playing next to you.

“He was one of those players you’d love to spend time with because there’d always be a story to come out of it … he was a footballer’s footballer.”

Richmond legend Kevin Bartlett also posted a devastated message on Twitter.

“So saddened by the passing of Shane Tuck,” Bartlett wrote.

“We had some lovely conversations in the past as I was an admirer of the way he played with such commitment. When my daughter worked at Richmond she would always say he was the nicest person. Thinking of the Tuck family. RIP Shane.”

Tuck’s former coach Terry Wallace described Tuck as a “very, very loveable person”.

“I coached 99 games at Richmond and there was only one player who played in all 99 games alongside of me and that was Tucky,” Wallace told SEN Radio on Monday.

“It’s just devastating news and I feel so much for the family, his teammates and those around him.

“He was such a lovely guy. I couldn’t speak more volumes about him. He was the typical country lad.

“Such a loyal guy, he couldn’t have been any more loyal to me.

“A very, very, very loveable person and one of the great characters around that football club at the time.

“During my time there it wasn’t easy but Tucky just kept fronting up week in, week out and doing what he did.”

The tragic news has left footy commentators devastated.

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Australians have been slowly emerging from Covid-19 lockdowns since the federal government announced a three-stage plan in May to ease restrictions across the country, but at the end of June some suburbs of Melbourne have returned to a stage three lockdown after localised outbreaks.

It is up to each state and territory to decide when and how far they will relax restrictions.

Here we try to answer some of the most common questions people have about the laws, based on the information current as of 30 June.

The federal government has said that by July all states and territories will remove attendance caps for indoor venues and instead abide by the four square metres per person rule. For venues with 40,000 seats or less, attendance must not exceed 25% of capacity.

These answers should not be treated as legal advice. This article will be updated as new restrictions are announced, implemented, or repealed.

Here, you can find the official state and territory restriction guides for NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT.

Melbourne coronavirus outbreak: What are the new rules and do they apply to me?

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced on 30 June that parts of Melbourne are going to move back to Level 3 Restrictions, following massive surge in coronavirus cases.

If you live in the following suburbs, these new restrictions apply to you:

• Postcode 3012: Brooklyn, Kingville, Maidstone, Tottenham, West Footscray.
• Postcode 3021: Alban Vale, Kealba, Kings Park, St Albans.
• Postcode 3032: Ascot Vale, High Point City, Maribyrnong, Travancore.
• Postcode 3038: Keilor Downs, Keilor Lodge, Taylors Lakes, Watergardens.
• Postcode 3042: Airport West, Keilor Park, Niddrie.
• Postcode 3046: Glenroy, Hadfield, Oak Park.
• Postcode 3047: Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana.
• Postcode 3055: Brunswick South, Brunswick West, Moonee Vale, Moreland West.
• Postcode 3060: Fawkner.
• Postcode 3064: Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Mickleham, Roxburgh Park and Kalkallo.

If you live in these areas, you are going to be in lockdown until July 29.Advertisement

There are only four reasons you can leave your house: for work or school, for care or care giving, for daily exercise, and for food and other essentials. You cannot leave your postcode except for work. Likewise, you can only travel into these areas for work you have to do in person, or to provide or receive care.

Schools in these postcodes remain open at this stage, but Victoria is currently at the start of school holidays so we don’t know if this will change by the time they return to the classroom.

This also means that businesses and facilities in these postcodes that have been able to reopen, such as beauty parlours, gym, libraries and swimming pools – are going to have to close again. Cafes and restaurants will only be allowed to open for take-away and delivery.

Andrews said police will be patrolling through communities, giving out on-the-spot fines to those outside of their home for anything other than the four permitted reasons.

Andrews also said he has asked the Prime Minister to divert international flights to other cities for the next two weeks.

If you don’t live in any of the above listed suburbs, the following rules laid out in this explainer will apply to you instead.

How many people can I have over at my house?

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New South Wales – Currently 20 people from different households can visit. There is no limit to the number of guests you can have over per day, as long as there are no more than 20 at a time and guests can stay overnight.Advertisement

Victoria – You can have up to five guests in your home, reduced to a total in-home gathering size of 20. The Victorian health department says you can have more than one set of visitors over per day, but that you should “be considered and use common sense”. You are allowed to have people stay over at your home.

Queensland – Up to 20 adults from different households are allowed to visit another home. The state government has tentatively announced that, from 10 July, up to 100 people may be allowed to gather in your home (for those of you who have homes big enough to accommodate 100 guests).

Tasmania – You can have up to 20 visitors over.

Western Australia – Since 27 June, you can have as many guests over as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres.

South Australia – There is no limit on how many guests you can have over, as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres and you keep a 1.5 distance from those you with whom don’t regularly associate.

Northern Territory – There is no limit on how many people can gather indoors or outdoors, but you must keep 1.5 metres between you and anyone with whom you don’t live.

ACT – There is no limit on household visitors.

How many people can gather outside?

New South Wales – Currently public gatherings of up to 20 people are allowed. From 1 July community sport for children and adults will return in full, including contact sports.Spectators and participants will have to abide by the 4 square metre rule (the NSW government amended the public health act on 12 June to abolish the 500-person upper limit). Sports organisations must adapt competitions to meet this rule, in line with local government guidelines.

Victoria – Up to 10 people can gather outside for recreational purposes, or to engage in activities like hiking, jogging and other non-contact sport.

Queensland – Up to 20people can gather outside. The plan is that from 10 July,up to 100 people will be allowed to gather inside and outside.

Tasmania – Up to 500 people are allowed in an undivided outdoor space.

Western Australia – There is no limit on the number of people allowed at public gatherings.Advertisement

South Australia – There is no limit on the number of people allowed, as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres.

Northern Territory – There are no limits on gathering in the NT, but you should maintain physical distancing.

ACT – Up to 100 people can gather together outdoors.

Can I visit someone in an aged care facility?

Please note that in every state, all visitors must have received this year’s flu vaccination, unless they have a documented medical contraindication to receiving the vaccine. Visitors cannot enter an aged care facility if they have recently been overseas, been in recent contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19, or are feeling unwell.

New South Wales – NSW Health provides guidelines for residential aged care facilities. Residents should only have one daily visit with a maximum of two visitors (immediately family or close friends), no large group visits or gatherings, and all visits should be short and take place in the resident’s room, outdoors or a specified area (instead of a communal area).

Victoria – Residents of care facilities, including aged care, can have up to two support visits each day, for up to two hours. The two visitors can go together, or in separate visits that total two hours. Those under the age of 16 can only visit if the resident is receiving end-of-life care or if they are in the company of an adult.

Queensland – Residential aged care residents can have one visit per day, for up to two hours. A maximum of two people can visit for the purpose of providing care and support.

Tasmania – As of Monday 22 June,residents in aged care facilities can have multiple visits of two people, with no restrictions on the length of visits or the total number of visitors they receive in a day. Residents are permitted to go outside on trips, and hairdressers can be allowed in. Children under 16 can also be allowed in.Additional visitors are allowed for the purpose of end of life support, or if needed to reduce distress and confusion given a residents’ medical condition.

Western Australia – Each resident in an aged care facility can have one care and support visit a day, with up to two visitors at a time. Only immediate social supports, like family members and close friends, professional help or advocacy services can attend.

South Australia – Residents can have one visit per day. Up to two people can visit them at the same time for the purpose of providing care and support. As of 20 June, children under the age of 16 years can visit, and aged care facilities can approve additional visits if this is appropriate or necessary.Advertisement

Northern Territory – Residents can have up to two visitors at a time, and visits should be kept short. Children aged 16 years and under are not allowed to visit those in aged care facilities, except for special circumstances.

ACT – Residents can have one visit per day, of up to two people, for the purposes of providing care and support. Visits cannot last more than two hours. Those aged 16 years or younger can only visit on compassionate grounds for the purpose of visiting a resident at the end of life.

Can I eat at a restaurant, cafe or pub?

New South Wales – Yes, up to 50people can dine-in at cafes, bistros, and restaurants, as long as there are four square metres of space allowed per person. Pubs, registered clubs and casinos, and cellar doors that serve food are also allowed to open their dining areas. However, alcohol can only be purchased with food, or to takeaway. A maximum of 10 people are allowed per booking. However, gatherings for or immediately after a wedding are allowed up to 20 guests. Gatherings immediately after a funeral or memorial service are allowed to book for up to 50 guests as long as the venue can accommodate that many people. All diners must provide their name and contact details, including a phone number or email address, to allow for contact tracing. Food courts can also reopen. From 1 July, the number of people allowed inside an indoor venue will be determined by the one person per four square metre rule.

Victoria – Yes,cafes, restaurants and other hospitality businesses like RSLs and bowling clubs are able to seat up to20 patrons in an enclosed space (find out what constitutes an enclosed space here). There canonly beone customer per four square metres and tables must bespaced at least 1.5 metres apart. Venues arealso required to keep the first name and phone number of every customer to help with contact tracing, if necessary. Alcohol will only be available to purchase with meals. From 12 July ,the number of diners allowed will increase to 50. Food courts will still only be able to offer delivery and takeaway. Under stage 3 rules, expected to be introduced in July, a venue’s attendance limit will require four square metres per person.

Queensland – Yes, restaurants, cafes, pubs, registered clubs, RSL clubs and hotels (with a Covid-Safe Checklist) can seat up to 20patrons at any one time, as long as they can allow four square metres per person. Places in the outback are allowed up to 50 locals (who must show proof of residence) at any one time. Casinos areallowed to seat diners, but bars and gaming will have to stay closed. From 10 July,up to 100 people will be allowed to dine in. Food courts will be allowed to reopen. Under stage 3 rules, expected to be introduced in July, a venue’s attendance limit will require four square metres per person.

Tasmania – Up to 250 are allowed in an undivided space, as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres. Up to 500 people are allowed in an undivided outdoor space, density requirements also permitting.Advertisement

Western Australia – Yes, cafes and restaurants (including in pubs, bars, hotels, casinos, clubs) can open to up to seated diners, with one person per every two square metres. Venues are allowed to serve food and alcohol to non-seated patrons. There is no requirement for businesses to maintain a patron register.

South Australia – Yes, as of 29 June, restaurants, cafes, pubs, food courts, nightclubs and casinos can open, as well as standing hospitality venues. There is no limit on the number of people allowed, as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres. Drinking at a bar, or while standing, is allowed. Communal food, like buffets and salad bars, are not permitted.

Northern Territory – Yes. All businesses areallowed to reopen as long as they have a Covid-19 plan. The two-hour limit hasbeen lifted, meaningnight clubs can reopen. You will be able to purchase alcohol from a bar. Licensed gaming activities, including TAB, will start again.

ACT – Yes, restaurants, cafes and other hospitality venues offering seated dining can host up to 100 patrons in each indoor or outdoor space, as long as there is one person per four square metres. This limit excludes staff. Bars, pubs, and clubs can serve alcohol in groups of up to 10 seated patrons, without a meal. From 10 July, food courts will be allowed to open to seated patrons.

How far can I travel on holiday within my state?

New South Wales – There are no limitations on travelling within the state, including for a holiday.A number of caravan parks and camping grounds have also reopened.

Victoria – There are no restrictions on how far you can travel within the state, unless you live in one of the Melbourne postcodes currently under Level 3 lockdown restrictions (see list at the start of this explainer). You are allowed to stay in a holiday home or private residence, and tourist accommodation, including caravan parks and camping grounds, where there are no shared communal facilities.

Queensland – You areallowed to travel anywhere in Queensland for recreational purposes, other than in certain designated remote communities. Camping and holiday accommodation sites, including caravan parks, are allowed to open.

Tasmania – There is no limit on where you can go within the state.

Western Australia – Residents are allowed to leave their homes for recreationalactivities including picnics, fishing, boating or camping. Recreationaltravel to mostnearby regions is now allowed, except to some remote Aboriginal communities.Advertisement

South Australia – There are no restrictions on travel within South Australia. Some Aboriginal communities across the state have chosen to close access to their townships and lands to non-essential outside visitors. Non-essential visitors to these communities have to quarantine for 14 days and be granted permission.

Northern Territory – There are no restrictions on travel within the Northern Territory.

ACT – There is no limit on where you can travel.Quick guide

Can I holiday in another state?

New South Wales – Residents are allowed to leave NSW, and visitors don’t need to quarantine. Since 1 June, anyone in Australia has been able totravel to regional NSW for a holiday.

Victoria – There are no restrictions on leaving or entering Victoria. Since 1 June, overnight stays at tourist accommodation, caravan parks and camping grounds without communal facilities, have beenpermitted. Some state premiers are recommending you don’t travel to Victoria though, given the current outbreaks in Melbourne.

Queensland – No, entry into Queensland is prohibited unless you have applied for and been granted an exemption. But Queensland is set to open its borders from 10 July, as long as case numbers remain low.

Tasmania – All non-essential travellers to Tasmania, including returning residents, must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Non-Tasmanian residents must carry out their quarantine in government-provided accommodation.

Western Australia – You cannot enter Western Australia unless you are granted an exemption on application. There is no date for when the interstate border will reopen.

South Australia – People from Queensland, WA, the NT and Tasmania can enter South Australia without having to quarantine for 14 days. But people from NSW and Victoria will have to – until20 July, whenthe quarantine requirement will be lifted for all domestictravellers.

Northern Territory – Unless you have been granted an exemption, anyone entering the Northern Territory must complete 14 days of mandatory self-quarantine. International arrivals still have to undertake a Government-mandated and supervised quarantine, and are required to pay $2,500 per person, or $5,000 for a family of two or more, to cover the cost. The NT will open its borders to domestic travellers on 17 July.Advertisement

ACT – There are no border restrictions.

How many people can attend a wedding or funeral?

New South Wales – Up to 20 people, plus the couple, those conducting the wedding, the photographer and the videographer, are allowed at weddings in NSW. Those attending will have to provide their name and contact details for contact tracing, if necessary. There is now no limit on the number of people allowed to attend a funeral, as long as there are four square metres per person if held indoors.

Victoria – How many guests you can have depends on whether you are hosting the ceremony at home or elsewhere. If it is held at a venue, the celebrant, couple being married, and 20 people will be allowed to attend a wedding. Up to 50 people will be allowed to attend a funeral, in addition to the officiant and funeral staff, as long as there are four square metres allowed per person. But if a wedding or funeral is held in a home, only 20 people in total will be allowed to attend (including the celebrant and couple/ officiant and staff). Under stage 3 rules, expected to be introduced in July, attendance limits will require four square metres per person.

Queensland – Up to 20people can attend a wedding. Funerals can have up to 100 guests from 16 June. The next of kin at funeral services is required to collect contact information for all attendees and keep the list for at least eight weeks to facilitate contact tracing, if required. A maximum of 100 people should be allowed to attend weddings from 10 July.

Tasmania – Up to 250 people can gather in an undivided indoor space, and up to 500 people can gather in an undivided outdoor space. In both cases, the number of people present must also not exceed one person per two square metres.

Western Australia – There is no limit on the number of people who can gather together, as long as there is no more than one person per two square metres.

South Australia – Weddings can have up to 75 attendees, not including the celebrant, venue staff or any other person required to facilitate the wedding. Up to75 can also attend a funeral. This excludes those officiating the funeral or any staff required to carry out the funeral. If the ceremony involves food or drinks, no shared utensils can be used. Social distancing must be observed.

Northern Territory – There is no limit on the number of attendees.

ACT – Up to 100 guests can attend weddings or funerals, as long as there is no more than one person per four square metres.Under stage 3 rules, expected to be introduced in July, attendance limits will require four square metres per person.

Can I go to church?

New South Wales – Yes, 50 people can attend religious gatherings and places of worship, as long as the four square metres physical distancing rule can be observed. The states chief health officer has urged congregations to reconsider activities that might spread the virus-like group singing and passing round of collection baskets.From 1 July, the number of people allowed inside indoor venues will be determined by the one person per four square metres rule.

Victoria – Yes, places of worship can open for private worship or small religious ceremonies of up to 20 people, plus the minimum number of people reasonably required for the service, is allowed in a single, undivided indoor space. There must be four square metres per person. At least one hour should be allowed between services or ceremonies to reduce the risk of crowds.

Queensland – Yes, up to 20people can visit a place of worship or attend a religious ceremony. This number will increase to 100 people from 10 July.

Tasmania – Yes, up to 250 people can gather in an undivided indoor space, as long as there are two square metres per person.

Western Australia – Yes, and attendance is only limited by the two square metre rule.

South Australia – Yes, and attendance is only limited by the two square metre rule.

Northern Territory – Yes, but you can only be there for less than two hours. There is no limit on how many people can attend a place of worship at the same time.

ACT – Up to 100people, the four square metre rule permitting, can attend religious ceremonies and places of worship, not counting those conducting the ceremony.

Are schools back in session?

New South Wales – Yes, all students went back to school full-time on Monday 25 May.

Victoria – Yes, as of 9 June, all students have returned to the classroom.

Queensland – Yes, all students are back at school as of Monday 25 May.

Tasmania – Yes, as of 9 June, all students have returned to the classroom.

Western Australia – Yes, all students returned on 18 May. Parents and visitors are also now allowed on school grounds. Events and activities such as assemblies, excursions, choirs, exams, sports training and swimming classes can resume, in line with distancing requirements. School libraries can also open for up to 100 people in a shared space at a time. From 27 June, all gathering limits, including the 100/300 rule, will be removed.

South Australia – Yes, they reopened for term 2.

Northern Territory – Yes, since 20 Aprilall NT students have been expected to physically attend school.

ACT – Yes, all students have returned to school as of 2 June.

Can I shop for clothes and other ‘non-essential’ items?

New South Wales – Yes.

Victoria – You are only supposed to shop for necessary goods and services. Most businesses are also required to keep a record of names and contact details of customers in case contact tracing is later required.

Queensland – Yes, retail shopping for non-essential items is back on.

Tasmania – Yes, you are allowed to leave your home to use businesses or services that are allowed to operate, which includes retail stores.

Western Australia – Yes.

South Australia – Yes.

Northern Territory – Yes.

ACT – Yes.

Are salons, spas and other beauty services open?

New South Wales – Hairdressers and barbers can open, but must allow four square metres per person within the premises and should minimise personal contact with the customer. Nail, waxing, tanning, and beauty salons can open to 10 customers at a time. There can only one person per four square metres (including staff) on the premises, and providers must have a Covid-19 Safety Plan. Tattoo and massage parlours areallowed to reopen, with restricted numbers.

Victoria – Hairdressers and barbers are allowed to be open, but they are required to take your name and contact details should contact tracing become necessary. Beauty therapy, spray-tanning, waxing and nail salons, spas and massage parlours and tattoo and piercing services are able to reopen. Up to 20 customers areallowed on one premise, subject to the four square metre rule. Providers will still need to log customers’ contact details.

Queensland – Yes, beauty therapy and nail salons, tanning salons, tattoo parlours, spas, and non-therapeutic massage parlours (with a Covid-Safe checklist) can open to up to 100 people on site.

Tasmania – Yes, hairdressers and barbers can open. Beauty services and day spas can reopen withno cap on the number of people allowed inside, as long as there is one person per four square metres. Saunas and bathhouses will be allowed to open from 13 July.

Western Australia – Yes, all beauty services, including nail, tanning and waxing salons, as well as saunas, bath houses, wellness centres, float centres, spas and massage centres may reopen, for up to one person per two square metres.

South Australia – Yes, hairdressers and barbers, along with beauty salons, nail and tattoo parlours, non-therapeutic massage providers, spas, saunas and bathingcan open, as long as the total number of people on site doesn’t exceed one person per two square metres.

Northern Territory – Yes, hairdressers, and nail, massage and tanning salons, tattoo and piercing parlours and any other beauty services can open.

ACT – Yes, hairdressers and barbers are allowed. Beauty therapy businesses, including nail salons, tanning and waxing services, day spas, including massage parlous and tattoo businesses areallowed to reopen to up to 100 people, but cannot exceed oneperson per four square metres, including staff. They must keep a record of customers to enable contact tracing, if needed.

What about cinemas, entertainment venues, museums and libraries?

New South Wales – Museums, galleries and libraries areallowed to reopen to guests, as long as four square metres is allowed per person and they have a Covid-19 safety plan. Groups and tours aren’tallowed to run, and all library returns will go through a 24-hour quarantine. National Trust and Historic Houses Trust properties can open, as long as they follow the four square metres rule (including staff). Indoor cinemas and theatres must stay closed. From 1 July, the number of people allowed inside indoor venues will be determined by the one person per four square metres rule. For venues with 40,000 seats or less, attendance must not exceed 25% of capacity.

Victoria – Galleries, museums, national institutions, historic sites, amusement parks, zoos and arcades are allowed to open up to 20 customers per separate space, with four square metres per person. Drive-in cinemas arealso allowed to recommence food and drink operations. From 12 July , the number of people allowed in these venues will increase to 50 per separate space. Up to 50 customers will be allowed to watch a film per cinema at movie theatres. Customers not from the same household will have to sit at least 1.5 metres apart, and the four square metre rule will apply. Concert venues and theatres will be able to reopen to 50 viewers per separate space. From 20 July, electronic gaming at pubs, clubs and casinos will restart, per social distancing requirements.

Queensland – Libraries, along with museums, art galleries, and historic sites, canhave 20 visitors at a time. Indoor cinemas, concert venues, theatres, arenas, auditoriums, stadiums, nightclubs, outdoor amusement parks, zoos and arcades are set to reopen on 10 July. All venues will be allowed to host up to 100 people at a time on site.

Tasmania – Up to 250 people can attend each undivided space in indoor recreational facilities, such as libraries, arcades, play centres, cinemas, museums, national institutions, historic sites, and galleries, the two square metre rule permitting. Up to 500 people are also allowed per undivided outdoor space.

Western Australia – Community facilities, libraries, galleries, museums, theatres, auditoriums, cinemas, and concert venues can all reopen, along with Perth Zoo, wildlife and amusement parks, arcades, skate rinks and indoor play centres. All venues can have as many people, as long as there is one person per two square metres. The two square metre rule only includes staff if the venue holds more than 500 patrons. There is a 50% capacity cap on major sport and entertainment venues, such as the Optus Stadium, HBF Park and RAC Arena. All events are allowed, except for large scale, multi-stage music festivals. Unseated performances can go ahead at concert halls, live music venues, bars, pubs and nightclubs, and the casino gaming floor will be allowed to reopen under temporary restrictions.

South Australia – Libraries, community and youth centres, cinemas, theatres, galleries and museums can have one patron per two square metres. Indoor play centres, arcades and amusement parks are also allowed to open. Swimming in public pools is allowed.

Northern Territory – Public libraries, art galleries, museums, zoos, cinemas and theatres, music halls, nightclubs, amusement parks, community centres, stadiums, sporting facility and similar entertainment venues can open.

ACT – Up to 100 people are allowed at cinemas and movie theatres, indoor amusement centres, arcades, outdoor and indoor play centres, betting agencies, outdoor amusements and attractions, community and youth centres, galleries, museums, national institutions, libraries historic sites and zoos. There can only be one person per four square metres throughout the venue. Organised tour groups of up to 20 people (excluding staff) will be permitted, as long as they run for less than two hours. Audiences must remain seated at live performances.

Can I go to the gym? What else can I do for exercise?

New South Wales – Gyms, fitness centres and studios (like dance studios) are allowed to open for up to 10 people per class, and a maximum of 100 people per venue.Indoor pools and saunas will also be allowed to reopen, with restricted numbers. Up to 10 people can gather in public, meaning that outdoor boot camps and non-contact sports are allowed. You can use outdoor gym equipment in public places, with caution, and engage in recreational activities like fishing, hunting and boating. Up to 10 people can swim in outdoor pools at a time. You can contact your local council to see if parks and beaches are open in your area; most historic sites and some beaches in national parks have been closed.From 1 July, children’s community sport competitions will be allowed to restart.

Victoria – No: gyms, yoga studios, and fitness classes, and indoor personal training are prohibited. Up to 20people can gather outside for activities like hiking, jogging , bike riding, canoeing, kayaking and other non-contact sports. Outdoor boot camps of up to 20people plus the trainer are also allowed. Outdoor swimming pools can have 20 patrons per enclosed space and three swimmers per pool lane.Playgrounds, outdoor gums, and skateparks have also been open since 26 May. As of 22 June, indoor sports facilities, like gyms, can open up to 20 clients at a time, per separate enclosed space, as long as the four square metre rule is followed. Only 10 people areallowed per group per activity. Children areallowed to compete in contact sport, but non-contact sport will also be allowed for all ages. Skiing is also permitted now. . Adults can begin training for contact sport from 13 July and begin playing from 20 July.

Queensland – Yes, gyms, health clubs, yoga studios and community sports clubs can reopen to 20 people at a time. Up to 20 people can gather outside, play non-contact sport, and participate in outdoor group training and bot camps. Parks, playgrounds, skateparks and pools are open to up to 20 people at a time.The state government plans to increasethis number to 100 people from 10 July.

Tasmania – Yes, up to 250 people are allowed in an undivided indoor venue, as long as there are two square metres per person. A multi-purpose Outdoor gathering limits have increased to 500. Full contact training and full competition sport (contact and non-contact) is allowed, as is the sharing of equipment, change rooms and other facilities.

Western Australia – Gyms, health clubs, and indoor sports centres can reopen for up to one person per two square metres. Gyms can operate unstaffed but must undergo regular cleaning. Contact sport and training can also recommence, and playgrounds, outdoor gym equipment and skate parks can be used.

South Australia – Yes, gyms and indoor fitness classes can operate, subject to the one person per two square metres rule. Outdoor and indoor training and competitions for non-contact is allowed, as is the use ofgolf courses, tennis courts and public gym equipment.

Northern Territory – Yes. Gyms, fitness studios, and indoor training activities like Cross Fit are allowed to operate. You can also officiate, participate and support team sports, like football, basketball, soccer and netball.

ACT – Yes. Indoor gyms and fitness centres are allowed to reopen to up to 100 people in any enclosed space, as long as there is only one person per four square metres. Patrons are allowed to take part in circuit training, individual weight training, and use gym equipment. That includes yoga, barre, pilates, and spin facilities, boot camps, personal training, swimming pools, organised sport activities, and dance classes. Up to 20 people can take part in outdoor bootcamps and other non-contact training or sport. Full contact training for sport, dance and martial arts, as well as circuit training, is allowed.Communal facilities, such as change rooms, can reopen if a risk assessment has been done and a strict cleaning regime has been put in place.

Who decides if I am breaking the new laws?

Generally, enforcement will be left up to the discretion of police officers.

States have expressed different approaches, for example, the ACT says it will be issuing a warning in the first instance, while Victoria has adopted a more hardline attitude to those break social distancing rules.

NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller said he would personally review all physical-distancing fines issued in the state.

“If I think it’s unreasonable, it will be withdrawn immediately and we’ll make personal contact with the individual,” he said.

What are my options for challenging a fine?

Not all states have specified this, however, it appears these fines can be appealed using the same process as other fines issued by police.

Information on how to lodge an appeal should be available on your state or territory’s government website.

• Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation at the date of publication. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted in line with Guardian editorial policy.

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Sam Newman, the controversial football figure, will no longer appear on the Channel 9 network following recent backlash.

John Noel William Newman better known as Sam Newman, is an Australian media executive and radio and television personality.

The recent backlash caused by Sam Newman has seen the former AFL player and the Channel 9 network part ways.

Newman tweeted out the news that he and the network had “mutually” agreed to split following severe backlash over his comments about George Floyd and ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.

Throughout his time in the media, Newman has raised eyebrows with comments he makes and acts he pulls off on the air.

“Let’s see how this gets reported. Can’t wait. The 9 network and I have MUTUALLY decided that, in the station’s best interests, I withdraw form appearing on their programs – forthwith. And, for me, the last 35-odd years have been fantastic. Really!” Newman tweeted.

His latest comments through the week however seem to have brought his longstanding run with the network to an end.

“Sam Newman announced today that he would no longer appear on Nine. The decision was made mutually and amicably,” a statement from Channel 9 read.

“We thank Sam for his service with Nine over several decades. His contribution to The Footy Show was paramount to the enormous ratings success the show enjoyed over many years.”

The 74-year-old was a mainstay on the Footy Show since it first went to air back in 1994, but he came under heavy fire when he unleashed an explosive rant about George Floyd while also taking aim at LeBron James.

Sam Newman’s latest comments have brought an end to his long-running Channel 9 relationship.Source:Supplied

While describing Floyd’s death as “disgraceful”, Newman suggested the pedestal he was being put up on as the face of the Black Lives Matter movement was wrong because of his history.

“George Floyd … is piece of s***,” Newman said on his podcast You Cannot Be Serious. “He has been in jail five times, he held up a pregnant black woman with a knife, he’s a drug addict, he’s a crackhead and he’s a pornstar.”

“He’s dead because of the police brutality and it never should have happened. But I am telling you who George Floyd is, now they’ve made a monument about him and he’s a piece of shit”.

The comments ignited a furious response on social media, with Channel 9 copping heavy criticism to let the man go.

Rosie Thomas, the co-founder of Project Rockit, a youth-driven movement against bullying, hate and prejudice, tweeted to Channel 9 saying “it’s time to #StandDownSam hate is not commentary and it’s definitely not footy”.

She linked to an online petition started by Democracy in Colour calling for Newman’s long association with the broadcaster to end.

A poll on if Channel 9 should sack Newman was ran earlier on Friday and received over 16,000 votes. 63 per cent of those votes said Newman should not be fired.

News of his departure from the network was met with happiness across social media.

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The PM has put Australia on alert – but the damage could already be done, with “cyber bombs” planted in our system that are impossible to detect

Politicians don’t get it. Our militaries are only just beginning to confront it. An all-out cyber assault has the potential to do as much damage as a nuclear strike. Or worse.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison this morning took the unusual step of addressing the nation. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds was standing beside him.

The country was under attack, the Prime Minister announced. But it wasn’t by land, air or sea. Instead, it was on the digital front. And this “malicious” and “state-based” assault was being made against multiple fronts.

“This activity is targeting Australian organisations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organisations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure,” Morrison said.

He refused to identify the source of the attack: “What I can confirm is there are not a large number of state-based actors that can engage in this type of activity.”

But the Prime Minister also declined to speculate on its objectives.

He did reveal, however, that he considered it severe enough to mobilise Australia’s “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance with Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“We have some of the best agencies in the world working on this, and that means that they are putting all of their efforts into thwarting these attempts,” he said.

Most significantly, the Prime Minister said the attacks were ongoing.

Disturbingly, cybersecurity experts say there is little we can do to defend against them.

Any state-based attacker could be seeking weak spots within Australia’s digital networks for future exploitation. It could be retrieving sensitive information. It could be corrupting vital data. It could be planting malicious code “cyber bombs” among critical infrastructure systems.

It could be all these things.

“Those who are engaged in this are not doing this to help us,” Morrison said.

ANU National Security College researcher James Mortensen says the Prime Minister’s response should be interpreted as a political, economic or security event.

“I’m generally hesitant to view cyber issues as their own domain,” he says. “The information, systems and access that is compromised in these attacks have a real-world value.”

And Flinders University national security analyst Dr Zac Rogers says the invisible damage could be immense.

“Computer networks have been structurally vulnerable to attack from the beginning,” the Jeff Bleich Centre for the US Alliance in Digital Technology research lead says. “The attack surface – the number of different ways malicious code can penetrate networks – is simply too large to defend against”.

While detecting and preventing intrusion has been emphasised, little has been done to identify what actually happened.

“These methods have no impact on ‘zero days’ – malicious code that sits undetected in systems,” Rogers says.

Most cybersecurity efforts are focused on defending critical infrastructure such as financial systems, transport networks, electricity grids, essential services utilities and government services.

Attacks on these systems could disrupt – and even kill – on an enormous scale.

But these attacks could also bring down governments and whole societies.

“Manipulation of the information environment, in general, has been a secondary consideration,” Rogers says. And that means the facts, figures and opinions used in policy and decision-making could have been compromised.

“Until attacks and intrusions are ‘weaponised’ – used to affect direct material and personal harm – cyber will remain by definition a grey zone,” Mortensen says.

Cyberattacks are cheap. They’re ambiguous. They’re deniable.

“They are an easy and low-risk way for states like China, Russia and Iran to dish out pain on a global stage,” Mortensen says. “I’d say those states have a vested interest (at least at this stage) in ensuring that their cyber actions remain cheap and ambiguous, at least so that their targets don’t see any value in escalating the tension.”

But Dr Rogers says their true target may be less visible than power networks or telecommunications systems.

And much more vulnerable.

“While the nominal targets of this attack are unidentified, the deeper target is the institutional trust that enables Australia’s open democratic system to function,” Rogers says.

“The disrupter has an operational advantage, but its advantage is magnified into a strategic threat only if open trust-based societies and their institutions fail to understand the deeper threat. Democratic resilience is about understanding trust as a strategic resource.”

And destroying trust in democratic institutions has been a consistent objective of authoritarian states seeking to sell their own strongman model of governance.

That involves exploiting social media algorithms.

That involves manufacturing serious breaches in privacy.

That involves sustained manipulation of news and information.

Most importantly, even failed attempts at these objectives end up serving their purpose – to undermine trust.

“We need to understand what trust is made of – or at least what conditions it requires to exist,” Rogers says.

The threat is a society overwhelmed with paranoia. Which is why state-backed information attacks target the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law, government accountability, and the rigour of scientific processes.

“The threat of an enemy at the gates can pale in comparison to the damage done by the monster under the bed,” Rogers says. “The irony of the age of information would be that it could herald the end of influence.”

THE BEST MEANS OF DEFENCE

Australia isn’t experiencing an all-out cyber assault.

Instead, it is a series of probing attacks.

The Prime Minister said an increasing accumulation of targeted strikes over “many months” that had revealed the presence of a co-ordinated campaign.

“This has been a constant issue for Australia to deal with and so I wouldn’t say that there has been any one event or any one instance,” he said during the address.

He did not reveal what it was that had prompted him to make the early morning public announcement.

“There is nothing in the government’s announcements that is indicative of a shift in the cyber domain – same vectors, same targets, same’ usual suspects’,” Mortensen notes. “It might be reasonable to expect that the scale of the attacks and the emphatic nature of Morrison’s response is demonstrative of an uptick in the severity or intensity of these attacks.”

Which is why, he says, his actions need to be seen in economic or political terms.

Australia is being probed for its weaknesses. What happens when our enemies find them?

But what the Prime Minister did reveal, Rogers says, was the ongoing failure of the “defend the castle” model of cyber defence. Instead, he says, networks must be rebuilt from the ground up to be secure and resilient.

“The paradigm shift is to data-centric security – building defence into the data itself,” Rogers says. This includes the use of encryption systems and digital technologies like blockchain.

But the threat isn’t just malicious code. It’s also about compromised hardware.

“Military-level cyber defenders now talk about ‘assured computing on untrustworthy components’ – techniques to be certain of system function without certainty about the components,” he says.

GREY ZONE SCUFFLE

The presence of the defence minister at the Prime Minister’s address was an apparent attempt to emphasise the national security significance of the situation. Ms Reynolds said the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Department of Home Affairs had issued an advisory outlining how organisations and institutions could “detect and mitigate” the digital assault.

“I remind all Australians that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility of us all,” Reynolds said.

The national security issue surrounding hacking can’t be emphasised enough, according to the PM.
The national security issue surrounding hacking can’t be emphasised enough, according to the PM.Source:News Regional Media

But Mortensen doesn’t see the words of either the Prime Minister or defence minister as an escalation.

“I don’t think Morrison’s emphatic response, nor the scale of the attacks are indicative of any shift in the online environment; instead, they are far more indicative of an interstate relationship that is struggling to stay civil,” he says.

“Technology gives states like China and Russia the opportunity to express their disappointment with others in a far more visceral way than traditional diplomacy allows, all while minimising any cost or impact they might incur.”

And such acts will sit firmly in the ‘grey zone’ of international conflict until physical harm is done.

“Attacks on critical infrastructure, elections, and military systems has generally been informally considered the red line,” Rogers says.

Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @JamieSeidel News.com.au

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An Australian historian has been granted access to hundreds of letters between the Queen and the governor-general who dismissed Gough Whitlam.

A decade since finding them in the archive, historian Jenny Hocking hopes to finally lift the lid next week on a box of letters between the Queen and the governor-general who dismissed Gough Whitlam.

The High Court has ruled the 211 letters should be accessible to the public and ordered the National Archives to reassess Professor Hocking’s request to read them.

The judgment handed down on Friday comes after a four-year legal battle, and a decade since Prof Hocking first sought access.

Professor Jenny Hocking on Friday. Picture: James Ross/AAPSource:AAP

She says the archives must now release them immediately.

“I would anticipate that the archives is more than ready to have those documents available for me … next Monday and I’ll be able to sit down and start going through them,” she told reporters in Melbourne.

“I would be horrified if they did (deny access) given the four-year legal case.

“Unless it has the Queen’s medical details in it, you would expect them to be released.”

Gough Whitlam was dismissed from the office of the Prime Minister in 1975.Source:News Corp Australia

The so-called palace letters between Buckingham Palace and Sir John Kerr about the time of the 1975 dismissal had been deemed personal communications by the National Archives of Australia and the Federal Court.

That meant they couldn’t be released until 2027, and only then with the permission of the Queen.

Access was sought to the 211 letters. Picture: Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

But a majority of the High Court’s full bench has ruled they are in fact commonwealth property.

“A ‘Commonwealth record’ within the care of the archives must be made available for public access once the record is within the ‘open access period’,” the judgment from Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and Justices Virginia Bell, Stephen Gageler and Patrick Keane says.

In the case of the letters, that period is 31 years after creation, meaning they should have become public in 2006.

Governor-General Sir John Kerr at a ceremony in Canberra in 1974. Picture: File PhotoSource:News Corp Australia

Justice Geoffrey Nettle made a dissenting judgment, saying the letters should not be deemed commonwealth property simply because Sir John held public office.

Prof Hocking said the ruling could have implications for other correspondence between the Queen and governors held in state archives.

It has been hailed by the Australian Republican Movement as a win for Australian sovereignty.

“These letters provide a crucial historical context around one of the most destabilising and controversial chapters in Australian political history,” chair Peter FitzSimons said.

“The Palace has claimed it had no involvement in the (dismissal) decision. This will put that to the test.”

Labor also welcomed the decision, saying Australians deserved to know the full history, and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called for the letters to be released as soon as possible.

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China’s state media says Australia should “be well prepared to be abandoned at any time” by the United States, after a TV appearance by the Secretary of State sparked a diplomatic storm.

The Chinese government-owned Global Times newspaper urged Australia to side with China, drawing on recent remarks from Mike Pompeo that the US could “simply disconnect” from us at any time.

“Obviously, what is on the mind of Pompeo and his likes is only US self-interests, and Washington is not going to foot the bill for the lost Australian jobs,” the article says.

“Australia is already in a passive position in the face of wavering US policy. Canberra is forced to pick a side between Beijing and the Washington even when it is loath to jeopardise its relationship with China.”

On Sunday, Mr Pompeo spoke to Sky News Australia about a proposal by the Victorian state government to work with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“I don’t know the nature of those projects precisely, but to the extent they have an adverse impact on our ability to protect telecommunications from our private citizens, or security networks for our defence and intelligence communities, we will simply disconnect, we will simply separate,” Mr Pompeo said. “We’re going to preserve trust in networks for important information. We hope our friends and partners and allies across the world, especially our Five Eyes partners like Australia, will do the same.”

The remarks raised eyebrows in Canberra, and prompted the US embassy in Australia to issue a statement making clear the US had “absolute confidence in the Australian government’s ability to protect the security of its telecommunications networks and those of its Five Eyes partners”.

China’s state media says Australia should ‘be well prepared to be abandoned at any time’ by the United States. Picture: Andrea Verdelli/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Based on Mr Pompeo’s comments, the Global Times report said “Australia should realise that the US views it only as a lackey”.

“The possibility that the US will not come to Australia’s rescue when needed is nothing new,” it said. “While the US maintains its global hegemony by running roughshod over the interests of its allies, it does not offer any rewards.”

The report concluded by accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of “not taking the interests of people in each state seriously”, after the PM said the federal government had never supported Victoria’s involvement in the trillion-dollar project.

“Boosting employment and economic opportunities is one of the essential tasks for every government, especially local governments. As the US tries to block Victoria’s BRI deal, what alternatives does the US offer?”

It’s just the latest in a series of targeted messages from the Chinese government.

Yesterday, the same newspaper warned Australia to “distance” itself from the US amid growing tensions between the two countries, saying it would be “extremely dangerous” for Canberra to get involved in a “new cold war”.

“If the Trump administration plunges the world into a ‘new Cold War’, forcing China to take countermeasures against the US and its allies, it would be extremely dangerous for Canberra to become a player in a diplomatic club led by the US, given Australia’s high dependence on the Chinese economy,” the article said.

“Once Australia is regarded as a supporter of the US in a ‘new Cold War’, China-Australia economic ties will inevitably suffer a fatal blow.

“Australia’s economic deterrent force is much smaller than the US’, so China to some extent will enjoy more room to fight back against Australia with countermeasures if Canberra supports Washington … it means Australia may feel more pain than the US.”

The debate over trade has intensified as the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic becomes more pronounced.

The US, which is closing in on 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, is trying to pin the blame squarely on the Chinese Communist Party, while Beijing says the Trump administration is trying to keep it from becoming a global power.

Meanwhile, there have been reports China is considering targeting more Australian exports, with Chinese authorities reportedly drawing up a list of potential goods including dairy, wine, seafood and fruit, which could be subject to tariffs if relations continue to sour.

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Who owns Australia? You’d be surprised to learn that the billion dollar barons of our farmland are a Canadian government worker super fund, a New York teacher insurance fund and an Australian pastoral giant backed by a Dutch pension fund.

These three groups, the Canadian PSP Investments, the New York Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and Macquarie Agriculture own a total of 6.3 million hectares of our agricultural land, AgJournal has revealed.

While the largest owner of Australian land by size is Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting – with 9.7 million hectares – the hectares owned by the top three are worth more than $7.4 billion.

Country by country, the UK is the biggest foreign investor in Australian farmland, owning 10.2 million hectares, followed by China with 9.2 million and then, each owning two or more million hectares, the US, the Netherlands, the Bahamas and Canada.

This means that 52.6 million hectares out of Australia’s 385 million of agricultural land is foreign-owned, representing 13.6 per cent.

The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA CREF), with its subsidiary Nuveen, own 71 properties in prime crop farming regions in four states.

These include land in Jondaryan and the Darling Downs, Queensland, Moree and Warren, NSW, and Watheroo and Gnowangerup, WA.

AgJournal described the group as the biggest global investor in agriculture, owning 850,000ha worldwide, with 286,000 hectares in Australia worth more than $1.7b.

Aerial of 1.22m ha Brunette Downs station owned by 200 year old Australian Agricultural Company.Source:News Limited

Cotton picking at Twynam Cobran Station, near Carrathool NSW, which is owned by New York-based teachers fund TIAA-CREF.Source:News Limited

Almond trees in bloom near Robinvale on the Murray River, south east of Mildura, where Canadian pension fund PSP Investments owns 12,000 ha of plantations.Source:News Limited

Macquarie Group’s Macquarie Agriculture owns $2.7b in agricultural assets, including cattle, sheep and crop lands which produce thousands of tonnes of beef, wool and livestock annually.

Through three groups, Paraway Pastoral company, Lawson Grains and Viridis Ag, Macquarie oversees 4.7m ha of land, backed by investors including The Netherlands’ Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP.

The largest single owner is the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, or PSP Investments, which manages superannuation funds for workers such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

PSP, in part, achieved its supremacy over Australian farmland by taking over Australia’s fourth-oldest company, Webster Limited, which owned 340,000 ha and 153,000 megalitres of water.

It also bought almond plantations in northern Victoria and 90,000 megalitres of water, cropping and cotton businesses in NSW, a Victorian vineyard and cattle interests.

The fourth biggest owner of Australian ag land is Rural Funds Group which has 692,182ha worth $950m producing beef, cotton, macadamias, almonds and wine.

Next, in fifth place, is Warrakirri Asset Management worth more than $800m cropping and dairy farming on 160,000 ha.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is next, worth up to $800m of cattle land.

Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart owns the most land at 9.7m ha but is topped by five other companies including two foreign groups by worth.Source:Supplied

Aerial of sheep in Louth, Australia, part of Australia’s 385m ha of agricultural land, of which 52.6m ha are foreign owned. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty ImagesSource:News Regional Media

The 1.22m ha Brunette Downs in the NT, owned by the seventh biggest agricultural land owner, the Australian Agricultural Company.Source:News Corp Australia

This includes Rinehart’s purchase of a majority stake in Australian-Chinese consortium Outback Beef, which in 2016 bought the iconic Australian business S Kidman and Co.

The 196-year-old Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) owns seven million hectares of Queensland and Northern Territory beef country.

It is almost half-owned by Bahamas-based British billionaire and currency trader, Joe Lewis.

Another 19th century company, the North Australian Pastoral Company (*NAPCO) founded in 1877, owns $650m worth of mostly Queensland cattle country.

Among the others in the top 20 owners of Australian agricultural land are the Hughes family premium beef holdings worth more than $400m.

Owned by Peter and Jane Hughes and their sons, they now farm Wagyu beef for international markets.

Another family-owned concern by Peter and Jane Harris, Peter’s brother Malcolm Harris and their families own significant pastoral and irrigation lands in NSW and Queensland.

One of Australia’s biggest sheep and cattle producers, Jumbuck Pastoral Company founded in 1888, now owns 4.9m ha worth $350m.

The Williams Cattle Company owns 4.7m ha and the Brook Family owns 3.5m ha.

Mungadal Station, at Hay.Source:News Limited

Macquarie Agriculture owns Mungadal.Source:News Limited

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A cartoon in a Chinese Communist Party-owned newspaper is certain to stir already existing tensions between Australia, the US and China.

Chinese state media has published a cartoon depicting Australia as a subservient and mad “yes man” to the US as relations continue to sour with Beijing.

China Daily, controlled by the Communist Party, shared the cartoon by controversial artist Luo Jie that was captioned: “Yes man to one, liar to all.”

It showed Australia riding a donkey and taking orders from US allies in a reference to the story of Don Quixote.

The story by Miguel de Cervantes, published in the 1600s, revolves around the character of Sancho Panza who acts as a squire to Don Quixote.

Australia is calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The calls have been backed by US President Donald Trump but China has only agreed to investigate how it handled the outbreak in Wuhan in January.

Another Chinese government-owned newspaper, Global Times, wrote that Australia “is already in a passive position in the face of wavering US policy” and “Canberra is forced to pick a side between Beijing and Washington even it is loath to jeopardise its relationship with China”.

The relationship between the US and China continues to deteriorate as experts warn of a new cold war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Premier Li Keqiang arrive for the second plenary session of China’s National People’s Congress. Picture: Roman Pilipey/APSource:AP

An editorial published by China Daily last week called remarks from Washington “racist” and “out of tune with what the world badly needs in the fight against the novel coronavirus”.

“They arouse hate toward a particular country and people from a particular continent,” the editorial read.

“From calling the virus the ‘Wuhan virus’ or ‘Kung fu virus’ or even ‘Chinese virus’ to fabricating the story about the virus leaking from a Chinese lab, senior officials from Washington have shown no restraint in expressing their racial animosity.

“It is despicable and ugly for US politicians to make such hateful remarks. They should be held accountable for the rise of racism in the US against members of the Asian-American community.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Canberra on Sunday. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAPSource:AAP

“Racism has long been a social problem in the US. But for senior US officials to appeal to racism to divert people’s attention from the grim situation at home reveals not only how prevalent it is but also the extent of their own failure to do a good job in responding to the virus.”

The Don Quixote cartoon is the latest in a long line of provocative illustrations in China Daily.

The newspaper’s archives include a recent cartoon depicting US authorities firing a machine gun towards China while an elderly citizen begs for help as coronavirus takes it toll on her.

The caption reads: “Sorry, no time.”

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Parents have been told to take their kids home from a popular school in Sydney’s east where there has been a confirmed coronavirus case. 

Parents have been told to take their kids home from a popular school in Sydney’s east where a Year 7 pupil has contracted the coronavirus. 

Waverley College in Sydney’s east texted parents this morning after a case was confirmed overnight and pictures show police escorting children from the school today.

“Urgent advice: a member of the Senior Campus has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation,” the text read. “As a precaution, we ask that you collect your son immediately.”

It comes just one day after students across the state returned to classrooms full-time.

Despite the scare, there’s good news today as more than 6500 people have recovered from the deadly virus, meaning there is just 484 currently infected. We haven’t seen the numbers this low since March 17.

Australia has recorded a total 7124 cases of COVID-19, with 3090 in New South Wales, 1610 in Victoria, 1057 in Queensland, 439 in South Australia, 564 in Western Australia, 226 in Tasmania, 107 in the Australian Capital Territory and 30 in the Northern Territory.

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Virus lockdown has sparked a rise in online gambling, and there are fears billions of Aussie dollars are going to illegal, offshore player-run sites.

Australia’s online gambling scene has reached new heights since casinos closed in late March, and experts fear billions of Aussie dollars are lining the pockets of illegal online game operators.

“I average $3000-$4000 a week,” said Daniel*, from Sydney, who runs unregulated gambling tournaments online.

He told news.com.au he makes six figures “easy” from the illegal practice — and that was before the COVID-19 crisis.

Since pubs and clubs closed their doors from lockdown regulations, Australians have saved $1.5 billion not using poker machines, according to the Alliance for Gambling Reform.

However, this doesn’t take into account online gambling, which has spiked massively in the last month.

Recent data from Google Trends shows searches for “online casinos Australia” and “online poker” have quadrupled since the pandemic was declared.

The biggest spike was recorded on March 22, the same day that thousands of clubs and gaming facilities were forced to close their doors in response to the Federal Government’s stage one lockdown.

Sitting behind his computer screen, profiteer Daniel has noticed more gamblers coming to his website than ever before.

“The raw amount of people playing online poker has at least doubled, maybe tripled,” he said.

“Because of COVID-19 they’ve been forced to find these online options. Now that the casino is closed, the market kind of shifted from live to online.”

Even though he had to cancel a holiday, COVID-19 has most definitely had a silver lining for Daniel and others like him.

“Mainstream, regulated online poker sites actually became illegal in 2017,” he said.

“So people wanting to play online have to go through unregulated/player run sites, like mine.

“It’s helped me economically, running the tournaments.”

A general view is seen of Crown Casino in Melbourne, Thursday, April 16, 2020. Crown Resorts has stood down 95 per cent of its workforce – more than 11,500 staff – after coronavirus restrictions affected its casinos in Melbourne and Perth. Michael Dodge/AAPSource:AAP

MEET THE ONLINE GAMBLERS

Malcolm Trayner used to go to casinos all the time but he’s turned entirely to virtual poker since COVID-19 started.

Like Daniel, he’s also observed a staggering amount of online poker players.

“Suddenly when COVID-19 hit it was next level,” he said.

“For people running these sites, their income is going to rapidly increase.

“More people (playing online poker) increases the prize pool, increases the potential money,” he said. “Which means when you do win, you win a lot.”

But with more players comes more chance of losing.

Indeed, Mr Trayner hasn’t made any money in the past few weeks, having been on a losing streak.

“It’s a little bit hard because I’ve been on a bad run for the last month,” he said.

Malcolm Trayner is playing in a live tournament in this photo from 2018. However, he has had to turn entirely to online gambling amid coronavirus lockdowns.Source:Supplied

PRO GAMBLERS ARE ALSO PROFITING (MOSTLY)

As a pro poker player, Mr Trayner remains optimistic and believes he’s just having a “short-term downswing”.

“This massive increase (of players) in the field has increased the variance so pro tournament players have to be wary of a short term downswing,” he said.

However, he believes in the long term, gambling professionals have a good chance to turn a profit.

“More players means the online poker pool is generally softer, and more profitable for the pro players,” he said.

“All these people are doing it recreationally and they don’t play poker full-time.

“So many pro players I know have made $80-100k+ just in the last month.

“For the vast majority of poker pros, it (the COVID-19 pandemic) has been a good thing.”

Mr Trayner pointed news.com.au towards a graph of one of his poker pro friends, who has been raking in cash since COVID-19 started.

Mr Trayner pointed news.com.au towards a graph of one of his poker pro friends, who has been raking in cash since COVID-19 started.

Last year, news.com.au reported on Mr Trayner’s staggering winnings as a result of his pro player lifestyle, which paid for his rent months at a time.

Mr Trayner expects to be making similar profits soon in this COVID-19 “open season”.

THE EXPERT SPEAKS OUT

Dr Rebecca Jenkinson, manager of the Australian Gambling Research Centre, said Australians are the biggest per capita gamblers in the world.

“And a lot of that money will be going to unlicensed providers, especially now,” she told news.com.au.

“Around the world, these offshore operators pop up in all different places.”

While there are a lot of profiteers inside Australia like Daniel, there are a lot more outside the country who are scraping in the big bucks.

“Certainly a lot of activity outside of Australia,” Dr Jenkinson said.

“These people are very much looking to attract the Australian market. Some of the websites have kangaroos or emus on them so they look regulated.”

Las Vegas has shut down all its casinos and its iconic strip is like a ghost town.Source:AP

London police wait outside a casino ensuring it stays closed during the lockdown.Source:AP

Dr Jenkinson said it’s not just poker that has her worried about Aussie dollars going down the drain — it’s all kinds of gambling, including sports wages and online poker machines.

“These websites want to look like they’re legal, just by the images they use or the name of the site.

“So as a result, a lot of people might be unaware they’re using an unregulated site.”

Although all online poker sites are unregulated, she encouraged people to use government regulated sites for other types of gambling.

“There’s a list of providers that people can look into if they want to gamble,” she said.

“ACRA has a list of a number of licensed operators.”

Dr Jenkinson said it was a possibility that the entire $1.5 million saved by the closure of casinos could have since been spent on online gambling. There’s no way to be sure because not all of it is reported.

However, she said this staggering loss of money was a small possibility, adding: “I don’t imagine it would get up to that level,” she said.

“And most of that money will be going to licensed providers like sports anyway.”

Poker machines might not be accessible, but that hasn’t stopped people going online.Source:News Corp Australia

Online poker site runner Daniel is confident that his income will stay much the same even after the pandemic passes.

“I think that online poker will (stay) at a high level for a long time even after COVID-19 dies,” he said.

“Once people are introduced to the online scene they’ll see that it’s more convenient.

“You can get gambling apps on your phone and stuff like that. People will keep playing.”

Dr Jenkinson agrees. However, unlike Daniel, she doesn’t view it as a good thing.

These high levels of online gambling “might be sustained after we return to normal,” she said.

“I certainly think people who’ve set up an account will keep that account.”

If the government acts fast, they might be able to tamp down Australian gambling habits, according to Dr Jenkinson.

“I would really like to use this opportunity to work as a community and reduce levels of gambling and gambling-related harm,” she said.

If this article has brought up any issues for you, please don’t hesitate to contact Gambling Help on 1800 858 858 or visit the website.

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tor Jessica Marais was rushed to a hospital in Sydney on Saturday following reports she was in poor health.

Packed to the Rafters star Jessica Marais has been taken to a hospital in Sydney.

Emergency crews were called to her eastern suburbs home around midday on Saturday following reports the 35-year-old actor was in poor health.

Two police cars and an ambulance arrived at the house before she was taken to the emergency department of the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick for examination, according to The Daily Telegraph.

NSW Police confirmed they assisted a 35-year-old female, but gave no further information.

“About midday today police ­attached to Eastern Beaches attended a unit in Beach St to assist NSW Ambulance with a 35-year-old female patient,” a spokeswoman said.

Marais’ representatives could not be reached for comment.

Jessica Marais was taken to a hospital in Sydney on Saturday. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Emergency crews were called following reports she was in poor health. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Multiple people reportedly witnessed the incident, with one describing Marais as appearing “clearly distressed”.

“It was really hard to watch as she was in a really bad way,” the witness told The Daily Telegraph.

“They helped her down the stairs before putting her on the gurney in the ambulance … It was a hectic scene.”

She was expected to appear in a rebooted Packed to the Rafters series this year, but abruptly quit the production in February citing “personal reasons”.

“Jessica Marais has decided to step away from the new series Back to the Rafters for personal reasons,” a statement from her management read.

“She thanks everyone involved on the show for their ongoing support and love, especially her ‘Rafter’s family’, and sends them her very best wishes for the production.”

Marais won the Logie for Most Popular Actress in 2018. Picture: Dylan RobinsonSource:News Corp Australia

Marais also quit her role on Channel 9’s Bad Mothers amid concerns for her health in 2018.

Marais has previously spoken about her battle with bipolar disorder.

“There’s a history of bipolar in my family and I was diagnosed at one point with bipolar. I’ve had cognitive therapy training, so I choose not to be medicated,” she told The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2014.

Marais has a seven-year-old daughter, Scout.

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Detectives are hunting a Porsche driver who fled the scene of a horrific crash that killed four police officers in Melbourne tonight.

Police a hunting a Porsche driver who fled the scene where four police officers were killed after a truck crashed into them during a roadside stop.

The accident happened on the Eastern Freeway, near Chandler Highway in Melbourne, about 5.40pm after officers two officers pulled over the Porsche for speeding. The officers then decided to impound the Porsche.

Two more officers arrived in an unmarked car for backup, not long before a large, refrigerated semi-trailer crashed into all four of them, leaving behind a scene of “utter carnage” and making “considerable contact” with the Porsche.

The truck was from a commercial chicken poultry business in Melbourne.

The victims are two male constables, one female senior constable and one male senior constable. It is believed one of the officer was new to the force, while the others were more “seasoned and experienced”.

The male truck driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

One of the cars was left trapped under the truck.

At least 16 emergency services vehicles were at the scene.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said they did not believe the driver of the Porsche was injured and he decided to flee the scene on foot. He said the Porsche had been driving at excessive speed on the freeway which caused police to pull him over and it wasn’t unusual to impound a vehicle under that offence.

His identity and whereabouts is yet unknown.

He said that if driver was watching his press conference: “I strongly suggest that he get himself down to the nearest police station.”

It is not yet known whether the truck crashed into the officers on the eastern freeway intentionally. He is in hospital under police guard and police expect him to be there “for some time”.

Blood samples will been taken to test for alcohol or drug use.

Commissioner Ashton said it was believed the truck driver suffered a medical episode at the scene and after the crash.

“We don’t know at this stage what caused him to drive the truck into our police members,” he said.

“We just don’t know.”

“The truck has also made considerable contact with the Porsche.

“This is a real tragedy and so tonight will be spent notifying loved ones of our four officers.

“A very tragic night indeed we’re having to respond to.”

A witness told the Herald Sun the accident site was horrific.

“It was carnage,” they said.

“There were civilians trying to run around and help, it was horrible.”

The newspaper said about seven people and an off duty doctor and paramedic were the first on the scene to help.

Commissioner Ashton said it the largest single loss of police lives in one incident in the history of Victoria Police.

He said police will spend the evening with the difficult task of notifying loved ones and to take care of close colleagues of the fallen, describing it as a “tragedy”.

“It’s a very tragic night for Victoria Police and again highlights dangers that go with the every day nature of police work,” he said.

“Our thoughts are with families of officers who lost their lives tonight.”

Police are expected to release more information in a press statement on Thursday morning.

Premier Daniel Andrews said tonight four families’ hearts were breaking.

“Our hearts are breaking with them,” he said.

“We grieve alongside them – just as we grieve with every member of Victoria Police and every member of our emergency services family.

“In the coming days, formal investigations will tell us why – how – this could possibly have happened.

“But one thing is already clear – though we may not yet know their names – we will always call them heroes.”

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the accident was an “unimaginable tragedy”.

“I am thinking of the entire Victoria Police family who are going through a deeply distressing time right now,” she said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and loved ones of those who have been taken from us far

too soon.

“Policing is difficult and challenging work and we are reminded yet again of the bravery of all of our police officers in keeping Victorians safe.

“The Victorian Government grieves with you and we are thinking of you.”

The Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said they were “shocked and immensely saddened” by the accident.

“This is a brutally sad reminder of the danger police face in the course of their service, every minute of every shift,” he said in a statement.

“We mourn their loss, we grieve with their families and colleagues and we will never forget them.”

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KEY POINTS:

• Scott Morrison was filmed delivering a private online prayer session to families
• But the prime minister’s heartfelt prayer was soon deleted from a Christian site 
• He asked people to ‘pray for Australians’ and asked god to help with COVID-19
• Mr Morrison is an evangelical Christian who attends Horizon church in the Shire
• He said his faith was giving him support, and even compared himself to Moses 
• Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

Scott Morrison has asked for ‘prayers for Australians’ in a leaked video posted on a Christian website in which he appears to compare himself to Moses.

The Prime Minister, an evangelical Christian, led a heartfelt prayer for the nation, saying Australia could ‘rely on and trust in God’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

As he began reciting verses from the Bible, Mr Morrison discussed the story of Moses as he compared it to trying to steer the government through the crisis.

Speaking about national cabinet meetings, he said: ‘There are decisions we’re taking now, which is to extends the borders as far and wide as we can. We have to get it right, it has to work.

‘It is a moment like when Moses walked down to the sea and held up his staff, and on they went. There are moments of great faith in all of this.’

In the Bible, Moses led the embattled Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea to safety.

Mr Morrison explained that having a strong faith was giving him ‘enormous encouragement’ in his own decision-making skills.

He is known to attend the Horizon Church in his home area of Sutherland Shire with his wife Jenny, 52, and two daughters Abbey, 12, and Lily, 10.

The private prayer session was filmed on a viewer’s phone and uploaded to YouTube. 

It briefly appeared on Christian website Eternity News but was deleted.

‘As a Prime Minister I have to take my decisions on the basis of very strong advice and exercise the best judgement I possibly can,’ he said in the six-minute clip.

‘And my faith gives me an enormous encouragement in how I can make those decisions and try and do that the best way I can.’

Mr Morrison, who has been attending emergency meetings with ministers and state premiers daily during the crisis, admitted that the ‘world is largely in trauma’.

He went on to ask for prayers for those suffering with ‘the deepest of heartache and the deepest of shock’.

As of Wednesday evening, there were 4,862 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 21 deaths in Australia. 

The video begins with the prime minister saying how people can ‘always just trust in God, and rely on him for the strength they needed’.

He then said: ‘I would ask that people pray. Thank you for your prayers, pray for all Australians everywhere, everyone affected by this. 

‘People are going through the deepest of heartache, the deepest of shock. 

‘The world is largely in trauma at the moment, with the scale and pace of what is unfolding. 

‘It’s incomprehensible, even just a month ago, what we’re now seeing today. It’s so important that we just remain focused going forward.’

After the unprecedented shutting of thousands of businesses across Australia, Mr Morrison also extended his prayers to those who have lost their livelihoods.

Economists fear the country could be plunged into a recession, with thousands out of work and the queues at Centrelink growing by the day.  

‘I pray that we will restore our streets with people in them,’ he went on.

‘Businesses open again, Australians going about their lives again – returning to their jobs, returning to their livelihoods.What precautions should we take amid the coronavirus pandemic?Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMuteCurrent Time0:00/Duration Time2:08FullscreenNeed Text

‘Returning to normal times in our schools for our children, so they can learn and get to the other side of this.’ 

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 4,862

New South Wales: 2,182

Victoria: 968

Queensland: 781

Western Australia: 392 

South Australia: 367  

Australian Capital Territory: 84

Tasmania: 69

Northern Territory: 19

TOTAL CASES:  4,862

RECOVERED: 416

DEAD: 21

In tough new coronavirus restrictions introduced over the weekend, only two people are allowed to gather in public spaces.

The limit doesn’t apply to workplaces, schools or households, but has left many businesses with no option but to close their doors.  

In the video, he spent some time discussing the hardships Australians were facing, as well as asking for prayers for his fellow politicians, before leading his own prayer.

But he said that even having a strong religious faith doesn’t change the everyday difficulties people are facing – but that a ‘fellowship with God’ can help.     

‘It doesn’t change what you face every day,’ he said.

‘That’s real, every day, but to have that confidence, to have that assurance, to have that encouragement – not just through that direct fellow with god but the broad fellowship with Christians around the world.’

He then quotes from two verses of scripture, one from Psalm 34:17-19, which talks about god ‘delivering the righteous from all their troubles’.

But the prime minister is quick to remind viewers that ‘none of us are righteous’ – saying there’s ‘nothing worthy amongst any of us’.

‘The righteous person may have many troubles but the lord delivers him from them all,’ he read.

‘But we know none of us are righteous, we all know that. 

‘We all know that we fall into the open arms of the grace of god.

‘There’s nothing particularly worthy amongst any of us. It is his grace which sustains us.’ 

SCOTT MORRISON’S CORONAVIRUS PRAYER FOR AUSTRALIA

‘Heavenly father, we commit our nation to you. 

‘In this terrible time of great need and suffering for so many people. 

‘And we do this also for the entire world, places far from this country there are people suffering even more, going through tremendous hardship, crying out, we pray you’ll hear their voice. 

‘Pray you’ll deliver them, that you’ll send them peace and that you’ll send them comfort and you’ll send them strength in this time of great, great need.

‘Father, give us strength here in this country. Give us wisdom, give us judgement, give us encouragement. 

‘Let your peace reign, let your love shower this nation in this time. 

‘And let your people, let those you trust in you, Lord, be instruments for your love, for your compassion, for your justice, for your mercy, for your grace. 

‘Let us be lights, Lord, in a time of great darkness. 

‘May you lift us up in this time, may you strengthen us and encourage us and in all things, Lord, may you shine upon all of us at this time as we seek your grace, we seek your strength and we seek your favour. 

‘We pray this in Jesus’ name. We pray also for our leaders, my colleagues in parliamentary roles, doesn’t matter what party they’re from. 

‘I pray particularly for my colleagues in the cabinet, ministers making difficult decisions each and every day. 

‘And I especially pray for my colleagues in the national cabinet, premiers and chief ministers, faced with terrible challenges that were unthinkable only a few days ago as they become realities. 

‘We pray that you’ll keep the national cabinet strong and united and that we may be able to face each day and each challenge with unity and purpose. 

‘I pray all of these things, Lord, as we praise you always. 

‘May your kingdom come, may your will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven and bring peace to our world and to our nation. 

‘In Jesus’ name we pray.’

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eople in NSW can cop fines or jail time if they go out under strict new measures announced last night, but there are 16 reasonable excuses according to the law.

Anyone in NSW who leaves their house without a “reasonable excuse” can now cop six months in jail or an $11,000 fine under strict new measures announced last night.

There are 16 “excuses” for leaving home in total, including attending weddings (of five people or less) and funerals (of 10 people or less), moving house, donating blood, legal obligations and accessing public services such as Centrelink.

The NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement Order 2020) makes it unlawful to leave your place of residence unless it’s for an essential purpose – obtaining groceries, exercising, medical or compassionate care, and working or studying that cannot be done from home.

Other states and territories have released their acceptable reasons for leaving the house, which can excuse people from hefty fines. Queensland’s list includes attending a court date, and the ACT and Victoria appears to have the strictest measures, with only four and five acceptable excuses.

Around Australia, gatherings of more than two people are banned in public places, unless they are members of the same household or it’s an essential work or study-related gathering, and most states and territories are enforcing this with fines.

In NSW, under the Public Health Act, individuals face fines of up to $11,000 or can be sent to prison for six months – or both. They can also be fined another $5500 for each day the offence continues.

Corporations that fail to comply are liable for a $55,000 initial fine and $27,500 for each day the offence continues.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian this morning stressed people should stay inside.

“Do not leave your home unless you absolutely have to,” she said.

“Do not gather more than two people outside or inside your home apart from your family and make sure you take every social distancing precautions when you’re out and about.

“The number of cases acquired through community transmission is increasing.

“It is really important for us, at this stage of the virus, for us to maintain that level of control and containment as much as possible.”

There are 2032 cases in NSW now, with an outbreak among backpackers in Bondi.

“We want to see fewer people have to go to hospital. We want to see fewer people die,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“But we know, unfortunately, as has happened around the world, that the cases will continue to increase and the more we can slow it down, the better it is for all of us and the more lives that we will save.”

Ms Berejiklian said no one wanted to have to issue on-the-spot fines to people.

“But lives are at stake, and all of us have to accept that the world is different,” she said.

‘REASONABLE EXCUSES’ TO BE OUTSIDE IN NSW

1. Obtaining food or other goods or services for the personal needs of the household or

other household purposes (including for pets) and for vulnerable persons

2. Travelling for the purposes of work if the person cannot work from the person’s place of residence

3. Travelling for the purposes of attending childcare (including picking up or dropping another person at childcare)

4. Travelling for the purposes of facilitating attendance at a school or other educational institution if the person attending the school or institution cannot learn from the person’s place of residence

5. Exercising

6. Obtaining medical care or supplies or health supplies or fulfilling carer’s responsibilities

7. Attending a wedding or a funeral

8. Moving to a new place of residence (including a business moving to new premises) or between different places of residence of the person or inspecting a potential new place of residence

9. Providing care or assistance (including personal care) to a vulnerable person or providing emergency assistance

10. Donating blood

11. Undertaking any legal obligations

12. Accessing public services (whether provided by Government, a private provider or a non-Government organisation), including social services, employment services, domestic violence services, mental health services, and services provided to victims (including as victims of crime)

13. For children who do not live in the same household as their parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings — continuing existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children or siblings

14. For a person who is a priest, minister of religion or member of a religious order going to the person’s place of worship or providing pastoral care to another person

15. Avoiding injury or illness or to escape a risk of harm

16. For emergencies or compassionate reasons.

There are only limited reasons people can go out.Source:News Corp Australia

QUEENSLAND

Other states have their own rules in place.

In Queensland there’s eight essential reasons people are allowed to leave. These are:

1. Obtaining food or other essential goods or services

2. Obtaining medical treatment or other healthcare services

3. Engaging in physical exercise, either alone or in the company of no more than one other person; or in the company of a family group who ordinarily live in the same household

4. Performing work on behalf of an employer that is engaged in essential business, activity or undertaking, and the work to be performed is of a nature that cannot reasonably be performed from the person’s principal place of residence

5. Visiting a terminally ill relative or to attend a funeral

6. Providing assistance, care or support to an immediate member of the person’s family

7. Attending any court of Australia or to comply with or give effect to orders of the court

8. Attending a childcare facility, school, university or other educational institution, to the extent care or instruction cannot reasonably be obtained in the person’s principal place of residence.

VICTORIA

In Victoria there’s only five reasons people can leave.

1. To obtain necessary goods or services

2. For care or other compassionate reasons

3. To attend work or education

4. For exercise.

5. For other reasons including an emergency, by law and if they’re moving.

TASMANIA

The island’s states reasons are much the same as all the others.

But there is more scope for exceptions, with families allowed to visit each other’s homes, couples able to stay at each other’s houses, and people who live alone allowed to have visitors.

This is Tasmania’s list of reasons:

1. Shopping for supplies

2. Undertaking personal exercise

3. Attending medical or healthcare appointments or for medical treatment

4. Seeking veterinary services

5. Providing social support or care to another person

6. Attending school or study, if unable to be done at home

7. Attending work, or volunteering, if unable to be done at home

8. Performing essential maintenance, or security inspections, of other premises owned or occupied, by the person.

9. Attending another location if the person has a reasonable excuse, in the opinion of the director of public health.

ACT

In the Australian Capital Territory there are a few reasons people can leave.

Police are first issuing warnings if people break the rules. You are allowed to leave if you are:

1. Shopping for what you need – food and necessary supplies

2. Medical or health care needs, including compassionate requirements

3. Exercise in compliance with the public gathering requirements

4. Work and study if you can’t work or learn remotely

NT AND SA

These states aren’t enforcing the two person gathering rules and have a 10 person limit.

Social distancing rules must still be followed.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The state isn’t fining people for leaving home for non-essential reasons but they are still being asked to stay home.

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SYDNEY/MELBOURNE (9News Nigeria) – Australia reported a sustained fall in the rate of new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, but officials urged people not to become complacent and stressed the need for further strict social distancing policies.

To ensure compliance, state authorities enacted sweeping powers to impose hefty fines and potential jail terms for anybody breaching rules that include a ban on public meetings of more than just two people.

Health Minister Greg Hunt reported there were about 4,400 coronavirus cases nationally, with the rate of growth in new infections slowing from 25-30% a week ago to an average of 9% over the past three days.

Of those, 50 people were in intensive care and 20 were on ventilators, Hunt said. The death toll stood at 19.

Based on the completion of more than 230,000 tests, the death rate for Australian cases was below 1%, significantly under the 10% being reported by some other countries and suggesting “early promising signs of the curve flattening,” Hunt said.

“By having what we believe is the broadest and widest testing program in the world … at this stage our numbers indicate that we are at the global forefront, we have a good picture of where we’re at,” Hunt said in a televised media conference.

“In these most difficult of times, with these most difficult of measures, that none of us had ever dreamt we would ever be involved in, you have risen to the occasion,” he said. “To those Australians who are at home, to those Australians who are isolating or in quarantine, I want to say thank you.”

Still, Hunt stressed that it was too early for Australians to breathe a sigh of relief and the new social distancing measures were crucial.

State officials had earlier warned that the slowing infection rate might have have more to do with fluctuations in testing numbers, given there was less access to doctors over the weekend.

“What we need to consider is the community-to-community transmission that we might not even know about,” New South Wales (NSW) state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in Sydney.

Public health orders enacted on Tuesday vary from state to state but generally include penalties of some kind for people flouting rules that include restricting public gatherings to just two people and the closure of outside gyms and parks.

People will still be able to leave their homes for valid reasons such as to visit a doctor, buy food and exercise while adhering to the social distancing rules.

NSW, the country’s most populous state, is responsible for a little under half of the national infections and most of the death toll of 19. It introduced fines of up to A$11,000 (5,516 pounds) in NSW and the potential of a six-month prison term for anybody found breaching the rules.

In Western Australia state, people who ignore self-isolating orders could be fitted with an electronic tracking device.

FINANCIAL STIMULUS

Authorities said on Tuesday they wanted to increase testing, especially in places of COVID-19 clusters such as Sydney’s Bondi area, which drew attention earlier this month after people ignored social distancing rules and flocked to the beach.Slideshow (10 Images)

Like all affected countries, Australia’s financial and jobs markets have been roiled by COVID-19, prompting the government to unveil several stimulus packages.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a tweet on Tuesday that 113,000 businesses had registered interest in a new A$130 billion ($80 billion) six-month wage subsidy.

The “job keeper” allowance brought the country’s coronavirus-related stimulus so far to A$320 billion (160.47 billion pounds), or about 15% of Australia’s gross domestic product, as economists forecast the its first recession in almost three decades.

Reporting by Jonathan Barrett, Sonali Paul, John Mair and Melanie Burton; Editing by Jane Wardell

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Federal Government departments will be dismantled and top leaders dismissed as part of a major shake-up of the public sector.

Key points:

• Five heads of departments will lose their jobs as Scott Morrison overhauls the public sector
• The Prime Minister will merge some department and cut the overall number from 18 to 14
• He insists the changes are to better deliver services rather than cut costs

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has moved to stamp his authority on the bureaucracy, with the number of departments cut from 18 to 14.

The overhaul will see the merger of some departments — including the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources with the Department of Environment — in a move Mr Morrison insists will cut bureaucratic red tape and lead to better services.

The ABC earlier today revealed the bureaucracy, particularly within the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, was braced for an overhaul.

Mr Morrison said five heads of departments would lose their jobs in the changes, which take effect on February 1.

He said there would be no changes to his ministry.

Which departments are merging?

The changes include the creation of:

• The Department of Education, Skills and Employment: a merger of the Department of Education and Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business.
• The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: a merger of the Department of Agriculture and environment functions from the Department of the Environment and Energy.
• The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources: a merger of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, energy functions from the Department of the Environment and Energy and small business functions from the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business.
• The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications: a merger of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and Department of Communications and the Arts.
• The Department known as Services Australia, formerly Human Services, will be established as a new executive agency within the Social Services Department.

Ten departments will remain untouched.

“Having fewer departments will allow us to bust bureaucratic congestion, improve decision making and ultimately deliver better services for the Australian people,” Mr Morrison said.

But CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly said the creation of “super departments” would not increase efficiency.

“The experiences in the [Australian Public Service], where there has been the creation of a super department with the Department of Home Affairs, has been negative, in terms of people’s staff experience and the service delivery in that agency has been affected,” he said.

Will staff be losing their jobs?

Secretaries Daryl Quinlivan (Agriculture and Water Resources), Kerri Hartland (Employment and Skills), Renee Leon (Human Services), Mike Mrdak (Communications) and Heather Smith (Industry) will be out of jobs by February 1.

The Prime Minister insisted the changes were not designed to cut costs.

The ABC earlier today revealed Mr Morrison intervened at the 11th hour to block more than 100 water staff from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources who were slated to be relocated to the Department of Infrastructure.

Senior officials were largely in the dark over the overhaul and there are reports secretaries didn’t get the chance to provide advice on the proposal.

Staff at the departments being merged are expected to retain their positions.

However, Mr Morrison has flagged further changes could be announced as early as next week.

Sacked public servant returns

Mr Morrison chuckled when he announced Andrew Metcalfe would return to the public service as the new head of the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.

Mr Metcalfe was previously the boss of the Department of Agriculture but lost his job when the Coalition came to power in 2013.

“Since then, he has been a partner at EY. He will bring considerable public policy leadership experience to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and to the secretaries board,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Metcalfe’s relationship with the Prime Minister dates back to his time as the boss of the Department of Immigration from 2005 to 2013, during which Mr Morrison served as the Opposition’s immigration spokesman.

When he lost his job in 2013, Labor alleged it was because of his tenure at the Immigration Department.

Sources the ABC has spoken with have said he was well placed to return to lead the new department at a time when drought continued to ravage the country.

Flood agency overhaul

As part of today’s restructure, Mr Morrison has expanded the North Queensland Livestock Flood Recovery Agency led by Shane Stone.

It will become a national agency, providing assistance to those dealing with drought, as well as recovering from the Queensland floods. 

“It’s been one of our challenges in the drought,” Mr Morrison said.

“A number of times when I’ve spoken to people in communities and they’ve said ‘I wasn’t aware that that program was in place, I wasn’t aware that you’d increased the funding for that program’.

“And what Shane and his team have been able to do in Queensland, I want to see them do across the drought-affected parts of this country.”

The new National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency, will sit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and report to Drought Minister David Littleproud.

Source: ABC News Australia

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Rugby Australia has apologised to Israel Folau as part of a confidential settlement reached over the former Wallabies player’s sacking.

Key points:

• Folau was suing Rugby Australia for $14 million over his sacking
• Rugby Australia and Folau have apologised to each other as part of an out-of-court settlement
• A joint statement said Folau’s controversial social media commentary was based on “genuinely held religious beliefs”

Folau’s contract was terminated by Rugby Australia in May after he posted to social media that homosexuals, among others, would go to hell.

Folau then took legal action against Rugby Australia, demanding $14 million in compensation and an apology for what he claimed was unlawful dismissal.

Mediation talks between Folau and Rugby Australia began at the Federal Court in Melbourne on Monday but were suspended after 12 hours.

Today, ajoint statement from Rugby Australia, NSW Rugby and Folau confirmed a settlement had been reached after talks resumed via teleconference.

“While it was not Rugby Australia’s intention, Rugby Australia acknowledges and apologises for any hurt or harm caused to the Folaus,” the statement said.

​”Similarly, Mr Folau did not intend to hurt or harm the game of rugby and acknowledges and apologises for any hurt or harm caused.”

Folau and his wife Maria published a video on Folau’s website thanking supporters and the Australian Christian Lobby for their “thoughts and prayers”.

Folau said he started legal proceedings to protect the “rights of freedom of speech and religion”.

“We now look forward to the Federal Government enacting the legislation necessary to further protect and strengthen these rights for all Australians,” he said in the video.

YOUTUBE: Israel Folau posted a video calling for federal legislation to protect religious freedoms after the settlement.

Folau ‘does not condone discrimination’

Folau is a hardline Christian who also recently claimed fatal bushfires were God’s punishment for legalising abortion and same-sex marriage.

He held a prayer circle with supporters outside court before talks began on Monday.

The statement said Folau’s social media post “reflected Mr Folau’s genuinely held religious beliefs” and he did not intend any harm or offence.

“Mr Folau wants all Australians to know that he does not condone discrimination of any kind against any person on the grounds of their sexuality and that he shares Rugby Australia’s commitment to inclusiveness and diversity.”

The Australian Christian Lobby, which donated $100,000 to Folau’s cause and set up a crowdfunding campaign, said the case set “a clear precedent for every bureaucrat, manager, or person in a position of power, that they cannot ruin someone’s career because they don’t like what they believe”.

“Israel Folau’s case was everyone’s case, demonstrated by the huge outpouring of financial support from so many Australians,” it said.

But LGBTIQ rights campaigner Rodney Croome, from advocacy group just.equal, said Rugby Australia should not have had to make an apology.

“It simply applied the same codes of conduct that apply to all rugby players and should apply across all sporting codes,” Mr Croome said.

Folau should instead apologise to gay Australians, many of whom grew up being told they were “sick” and “sinners”, he said.

“To then be told by someone of the stature, the profile, the celebrity of Israel Folau that, again, there is something wrong with us and we are going to hell just reinforces the negative messages we have had our whole lives,” Mr Croome said.

The financial details of today’s settlement have not been released.

Folau, a former rugby league and AFL player, last week said the Wallabies would have done better in the 2019 Rugby World Cup if he had been playing.

“I want to be clear that I only share passages from the Bible as a gesture of love,” he said in a video posted on his website.

Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said the Folau legal settlement showed that when brought together, parties could resolve their differences.

“What it really demonstrates for us is that we don’t need a heavy-handed religious discrimination bill to hand, I guess, more ammunition to religious groups and institutions and wind back rights for others,” she said.

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Australia has controversially repealed a law which allowed sick refugees held offshore to be treated in the country.

The government’s push to scrap the “medevac” law – passed by opposition MPs in February – has drawn criticism as cruel and inhumane.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued the law had presented a “national security” risk.

At least 12 people have died under Australia’s offshore detention policy.

Since 2013, the nation has sent asylum seekers arriving by boat to detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Canberra has defended the controversial policy by arguing that it stops deaths at sea and disrupts human trafficking.

What was ‘medevac’ about?

It followed public outrage about the health crisis of detainees – including children – on the islands of Nauru and Manus Island (PNG). There were reports that children as young as 11 were attempting suicide.

That led to the passage of the medevac bill – the first time in decades that a government had lost a vote on its own legislation in the lower house.

Experts have repeatedly warned of inadequate medical facilities on the islands, while the UN has previously described the camp conditions as “inhumane”.

The medevac law allowed for doctors to evacuate ill people to Australia for urgent medical treatment.

The government said as a result of the medevac law, 135 refugees were brought to the mainland for treatment this year.

It argued the law had been a “border protection” risk and was a “loophole” for refugee advocates to bring asylum seekers into Australia.

“[The] weak and bad medevac laws must be repealed in order to strengthen our national security again,” said the government’s Senate leader, Mathias Cormann.

In opposing the repeal, opposition MPs said the government was “devoid of a heart”.

“This will deny sick people treatment. It will deny sick people the opportunity to see a doctor,” said Labor Senator Kristina Keneally.

Opinion polls had shown that 62% of voters supported the law.

How did the government succeed this time?

It secured the support of a key independent lawmaker, Jacqui Lambie, to get the numbers in the Senate on Wednesday.

Ms Lambie argued the law “was not a national security threat”, but said it gave too much discretion to doctors.

Opposition senators accused the government of “secrecy” in striking the last-minute deal.Image captionAustralia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) said the law posed a risk to national security

“Members of the cabinet of Australia are coming in to vote on a deal they haven’t even seen,” said Penny Wong, the Labor opposition’s Senate leader.

A Greens senator, Nick McKim, said the vote was “a dark day for the majority of Australians who support the medevac legislation”.

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One of Australia’s most acclaimed cultural exports, Clive James, has died in England aged 80.

Key points:

• Rising to fame as a writer, James later became a prominent television broadcaster
• His daughter referred to him as “a showman and a recluse at the same time”
• He died at his home in Cambridge on Sunday

He had been diagnosed with leukaemia and emphysema in 2010 and since then, had been telling the world of his impending death.

A statement on his website confirmed he died at home in Cambridge on Sunday (local time) and a funeral was held on Wednesday.

United Agents✔@UnitedAgents

United Agents on behalf of Clive James’ Family announce the following statement.

1,98512:00 AM – Nov 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy772 people are talking about this

The ‘Kid from Kogarah’, a prolific wordsmith with an acerbic intellect, colossal vocabulary and passion for poetry, always retained a fondness for his Australian heritage, despite five decades of British residency.

Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK, George Brandis, paid tribute to “an intellectual giant”.

“He was unquestionably the greatest Australian poet of his time; as well as being a witty and incisive critic and a hugely gifted man of letters,” Mr Brandis said in a statement.

“He combined a true scholar’s erudition with a good-natured scepticism that was very Australian.

“Mr James was a good friend of Australia House and he will be missed by Australians and British people alike.”

‘A showman and a recluse at the same time’

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James’s sharp wit infiltrated households throughout the world as he entertained thousands with his newspaper columns and multiple radio and television programs.

In a career spanning 50 years, James also published poems and essays, memoirs, literature and song lyrics.Follow this story to get email or text alerts from ABC News when there is a future article following this storyline.Follow this story

New Republic once observed that when James died, it would be as if a plane had crashed with five or six of England’s best writers aboard.

His daughter Claerwen referred to him a “a showman and a recluse at the same time”.

James will quite likely be best remembered for his hilarious and insightful first autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, which he described as “a dream of Australia which shows Australia as a dream”.

However, as death approached, James’s offerings became those of a man reconciling his fate.

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Rather than fade away, his illness seemed to inspire within him an urgency to capture every idea and thought.

Since 2010, he published eight books, including a translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Sentenced to Life, a collection of poems described by the New York Times as “harrowing” and “gravid with meaning”.

Until mid 2017, he was penning a weekly column for The Guardian called Reports of My Death in which he wrote about “life, death and everything in between” in an amusing deadpan style.

Writing almost to the end, an autobiographical anthology called The Fire of Joy was finished a month ago and will be published in 2020, according to his website.

Poetry was first and lasting love

Of all his contributions to literature, James’s greatest passion was for poetry.

He published five collections of verse and wrote lyrics for musician and close friend Pete Atkin.

“Writing song lyrics is my favourite form of writing anything,” he told The Guardian in 2008.

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He and Atkin collaborated for 40 years, with James making his vocal debut in 1975 singing a rendition of the Telly Savalas hit, If.

In an interview in The Australian in early 2015, James described how his fertile mind worked.

“An idea comes in the head like a tiny meteorite that’s been roaming about in space,” he said.

“It comes in and hits you right in the head. The idea!

“The word needs capital letters all the way through! The IDEA is everything.”

As his health deteriorated, James continued to write yet more emotive poetry, illuminating literature and incisive criticism.

Japanese Maple, a heartfelt poem released in 2014 and based on the tree given to him by his daughter, detailed his revelations about life and death.

As expected, he treated the subject with dignity, elegance and grace.

YOUTUBE: Pete Atkin and Clive James talk together

His last poetry collection, Sentenced to Life, published in April 2015 was described by The Independent as “essentially, a love letter to Australia”.

James was working on a collection of literary reflections, to be entitled Latest Readings, at the time of his death.

In 2013, motivated by his declining health, he finally published a translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, a project which had been a decade in the making.

Kogarah kid’s childhood of hijinks

Born Vivian Leopold James on October 7, 1939 in Kogarah, a suburb of Sydney, his mother later gave him the choice of a new first name.

He settled on Clive after watching a Tyrone Power movie at the Saturday matinee.

An only child, James never knew his father, who survived imprisonment in a Japanese POW camp only to be killed in a plane crash on his way home from World War II.

The death of his father and its effect on his mother’s happiness had an immense impact on James, who regularly referred to his father’s tragic demise.

YOUTUBE: Clive James and Robert Hughes 1959 YouTube

“I was witness to the full force of human grief, and I was six years old and there was nothing I could do about it. And I think that probably marked me for life,” he said in a 2007 interview.

In the first volume of his memoirs, James wrote about his lack of paternal guidance and his subsequent amusing but hair-raising childhood escapades.

He not only detailed the antics of his fatherless youth but the subsequent stress inflicted on his widowed mother, and admitted to a self-destructive streak in a 2012 interview.

An ardent smoker, he once filled a hub cap with cigarette butts in one day.

After leaving Sydney Technical High School, James studied psychology at Sydney University, where he edited the university’s student newspaper.

He soon became associated with the Sydney Push, a group of liberal-thinking intellectuals and, aged 22 and uncomfortably aware of his mother’s proximity, he fled to London.

The lure of swinging London

London in the 60s was a far cry from Sydney, and James lived a bohemian existence alongside fellow Australian émigrés Robert Hughes and Germaine Greer.

While studying at Cambridge University, he began contributing to various undergraduate periodicals and his writing soon came to the attention of London’s literary editors.

He also found himself president of Footlights, the university’s amateur theatrical club.

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In 1972, The Observer newspaper hired James to write a weekly column of humorous and scathing television reviews, which ran for 10 years.

It was during this time that James first appeared before the cameras, gradually becoming a renowned television presenter while also writing and hosting numerous TV series and specials.

These included Clive James on Television, Fame in the 20th Century and the pioneering travel program series, Postcards From … .

Monty Python star Eric Idle called James his “pal at Cambridge” and said it was “savage news” to hear of James’s death, coupled with the death of theatre director Jonathan Miller, announced on the same day.

“To lose one friend is bad, but two reeks of carelessness,” he wrote on Twitter.

James retired from television in 2001 to focus on his writing, and began presenting a weekly BBC Radio 4 broadcast, A Point of View.

It gave him the opportunity to deliver pithy reflections on issues ranging from politics to pop culture in a series of vocal “essays”.

“The secret of criticism is to know what your real feelings are before you try to express them,” he once said.

Declining health did not slow him down

Despite his declining health, James did not abandon his career — just redefined it on his terms, from the comfort of his home.

Most recently, he had focused his creative abilities on his personal website, a platform for his cultural critique of art, music, poetry and literature.

It was here also that James showcased his series Talking in the Library, a collection of interviews with charismatic individuals held in his home.

While maintaining his website and attending multiple medical appointments, he also continued to write a weekly television column for The Telegraph in London.

But it was not all literature for the multi-lingual James who was a fan of Game of Thrones, Formula One racing and art.

Tango dancing, another great love, led him to Buenos Aires to learn the technique before installing a dance floor in his flat in London.

An unlikely Lothario, James had a deep admiration for women, an interest which resulted in his being evicted from the family home in 2012 following revelations of an eight-year affair with a former model.

“I realised that being a married man was the centre of my existence and the anchor,” he told Kerry O’Brien in a 2013 interview.

“I’m not built for it. I’m built to be Ulysses — not physically perhaps!”

PHOTO: Clive James at the 1995 Melbourne Cup, photographed by Rennie Ellis (National Library of Australia: Rennie Ellis)

James addressed the affair in a poem titled Lecons des Tenebres (Lessons of Darkness) that was included in his 2015 book of poetry, Sentenced To Life.

“Far too casually I broke faith when it suited me, and here I am alone and now the end is near,” he wrote.

After the publication, he admitted to the BBC he “was a bad husband” and apologised for his mistakes.

“I mustn’t be too facile about it or actually talk too much because I have a pact with my family that they’ll execute me if I do,” he said.

“But yes, I could’ve behaved a lot better and [I’m] sorry I didn’t.”

James made his last stage appearance at London’s inaugural Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts in June 2014, and shared his effusive wit and humour — and the true poet within — with his audience.

“The poetry I write now, I think, is quite a lot more penetrating and sensitive than my earlier work — because it needs to be,” he said.

“Inevitably you start saying goodbye. I like to think that I hit a sort of plangent tone of threnody, a sort of Last Post, a recessional tone.”

He joked about his frequent hospital visits, and said his illness provided “terrific material” for his poetry and allowed him to see that he had had a lucky life.

James was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1992, a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2010 and an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013.

He is survived by his wife Prue Shaw and two daughters, Claerwen and Lucinda.

“As I begin this last paragraph, outside my window a misty afternoon drizzle gently but inexorably soaks the City of London. Down there in the street I can see umbrellas commiserating with each other. In Sydney Harbour, twelve thousand miles away and ten hours from now, the yachts will be racing on the crushed diamond water under a sky the texture of powdered sapphires. It would be churlish not to concede that the same abundance of natural blessings which gave us the energy to leave has every right to call us back. All in, the whippy’s taken. Pulsing like a beacon through the days and nights, the birthplace of the fortunate sends out its invisible waves of recollection. It always has and it always will, until even the last of us come home.” — closing paragraph of Unreliable Memoirs.

Topics: death, arts-and-entertainment, books-literature, community-and-society, television, music, poetry, journalism, united-kingdom, kogarah-2217

First posted earlier today at 12:34am – Souce : ABC News Australia

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About 25,000 households are still without power across Sydney and the Blue Mountains, after an intense burst of wild weather caused large blackouts yesterday.

Key points:

• Ausgrid said it had to clear more than 1,500 “hazards” before repairs could begin
• Some people in Gordon and Mount Colah have been told they could go a second night without power
• Yesterday, wind gusts of about 90km/h were recorded in Sydney

Ausgrid spokesman Jonathon Hall said the damage from yesterday’s storm resulted in the largest power outage the network had seen in recent years.

“Some of the damage we have seen to the electricity network is severe and that’s even to our high voltage network as well,” he said.

The main impacted areas are in Sydney’s north, including the Lower North Shore and Upper North Shore.

Ausgrid said some customers in these areas should prepare for another night without power.

On Tuesday night, fallen trees toppled onto cars and homes in the suburbs of Gordon and Kilara, causing significant damage.

Ausgrid said it had to clear more than 1,800 dangerous hazards including fallen power lines before repairs could begin.

PHOTO: A tree branch tangled between power lines in Gordon. (ABC News: Lily Mayers)

“Customers should prepare for another possible night without power as we rebuild damaged sections of the electricity network,” Ausgrid said.

Mr Hall said traffic lights in some areas would also be impacted.

Yesterday, winds of about 90 kilometres per hour swept through Sydney.

It was so intense some residents described the storm, which hit Gordon and Kilara on the Upper North Shore the worst, as a “mini tornado”.

The electricity provider said it was sourcing extra crews from Newcastle and the Central Coast to help restore power.

“All planned jobs on the network which don’t relate to storms have been cancelled to allow crews to focus on the storm repairs,” Mr Hall said.

PHOTO: This trampoline found a new home during yesterday’s storm. (Twitter: @marty386)

Students from some schools in Sydney’s north were told to stay home today after the wild storm damaged buildings and cut their power.

The NSW Department of Education said Karonga Public School and Lindfield East Public School were closed today.

Parents at Davidson High School and Mimosa Public School were told they could keep their children at home due to the clean-ups on school grounds.

The NSW State Emergency Services (SES) said it was still working through a large backlog of calls for help.

SES spokesman Andrew Richards said hundreds of its personnel were out cleaning streets along in the Northern Beaches and Upper North Shore.

“Our crews will be coming out and removing a lot of those trees from access, such as driveways and roads,” he said.

Source: ABC News Australia

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Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer quits amid pressure over money laundering scandal

Westpac’s chief executive Brian Hartzer will step down in the wake of allegations the bank committed 23 million breaches of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws.

Key points:

• Mr Hartzer will depart the bank next week with a full year’s $2.7 million salary, but with his unvested bonuses not paid
• Amongst the bank’s alleged breaches is a failure to adequately monitor the accounts of a convicted child sex offender who was regularly sending money to the Philippines
• Westpac chair Lindsay Maxsted will also leave the bank in the first half of next year, while current chief financial officer Peter King takes over as acting CEO

Mr Hartzer will depart the bank on December 2, but has been given 12 months’ notice and will be paid his full $2.7 million salary for the period.

However, his so-far unvested short and long-term bonuses will not be paid and he will not be eligible for any future bonuses.

Westpac was sued by the financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC, which last week applied to the Federal Court to issue fines against the bank.

Each breach could attract a civil penalty between $17 million and $21 million.

Mr Hartzer’s abrupt departure follows pressure from all quarters in the wake of AUSTRAC’s decision to pursue charges over the bank’s deficient oversight of its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing obligations.

The breaches listed by AUSTRAC included the failure to adequately monitor the accounts of a convicted child sex offender who was regularly sending money to the Philippines.

While Mr Hartzer survived an emergency board meeting on Friday, pressure from political leaders and shareholders forced the bank’s hand.

Hartzer had to go to avoid AGM ‘massacre’

In a statement to the ASX this morning, Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted said the board accepted the gravity of the issues raised by AUSTRAC.

“As was appropriate, we sought feedback from our stakeholders, including shareholders, and having done so it became clear that board and management changes were in the best interest of the bank,” Mr Maxsted said.

Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Allan Fels said there was a culture within banks of profits, commissions and executive incomes being put ahead of customers and the public.

Because of the allegations raised by AUSTRAC, Mr Fels said there would have been “a massacre” at the bank’s annual general meeting on December 12 if Mr Hartzer had chosen to stay.

“He had to go and he had to go quickly,” Mr Fels told ABC Radio Melbourne.

‘Don’t overcook this,’ Hartzer reportedly told staff

Only this morning, Mr Hartzer had given every indication he would tough-out the crisis rapidly enveloping the bank.

He was quoted in News Corp Australia publications as telling staff the scandal was “not an Enron or Lehman Brothers”, adding mainstream Australia was not overly concerned so “we don’t need to overcook this”.

The report also noted Mr Hartzer also apologised to senior management about the need to cancel staff Christmas parties this year as it would “not look good if we have our staff whooping it up with alcohol”.

Current chief financial officer Peter King will take over as CEO while the bank searches for a replacement.

Mr Maxsted also confirmed he would bring forward his retirement to the first half of 2020.

Mr Hartzer’s departure continues the rout of senior bankers in the scandal-plagued Australian banking sector, with three of the “big four” losing bosses in events directly related to their bank’s systemic misconduct.

CBA’s Ian Narev left early last year in what he called his “early retirement” in the wake of the record $700 million fine from AUSTRAC, also over money laundering breaches.

NAB’s chief executive Andrew Thorburn and chair Ken Henry exited earlier this year, just days after the banking royal commission report had been tabled.

Both men came in for a harsh rebuke with commissioner Kenneth Hayne noting he had doubts that NAB had learned from its past mistakes, and criticised Mr Thorburn’s characterisation of the fees-for-no-service scandal as “nothing more than carelessness”.

Only ANZ’s CEO Shayne Elliott, who took over from Mike Smith in 2016, has so-far survived.

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Shares bounce, but big problems loom

Investors generally welcomed the Westpac’s about-face on Mr Hartzer with shares rebounding 1.5 per cent this morning, having shed around 7 per cent, or $6 billion, since AUSTRAC announced the Federal Court action last week.

However, the bank is far from out of the woods in terms of a shareholder and customer backlash and now faces the prospect of class actions over its large capital raising earlier this month, as well as big corporate clients leaving.

Westpac went to shareholders earlier this month asking for an extra $2.5 billion to shore up its capital buffers, while creating flexibility for dealing for “potential litigation or regulatory actions”.

Investors taking up their entitlements would now be more than 10 per cent underwater on their investment.

The scandal also could have serious implications for its customer base with the Victorian Government, one of its biggest accounts, confirming it that had written to the banks expressing grave concerns.

The Victorian Government does all its banking through Westpac. Its current contract is due to expire in September next year.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the tender process for the new contract had not yet opened, but he was concerned by the scandal.

“They are very serious matters and you would certainly hope, all Victorians I think would hope, that Westpac have taken those matters seriously,” Mr Andrews said.

It is understood that it is hard to break that contract, but if there are formal findings made against Westpac that breach specific clauses, the Government could be in a position to terminate.

Mr Maxsted accepted the bank’s actions may cost it customers.

“There may be customers who leave, but I hope … when talking to our people, they will realise our genuine remorse and mistakes made were not about deliberate neglect,” Mr Maxsted told an investor and media conference call.

A ‘failure of leadership’, Labor says

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Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the behaviour of Westpac under Mr Hartzer was “nothing short of disgraceful” and there had been “a failure of leadership”.

“Brian Hartzer had no option but to resign after the extremely serious and appalling revelations of what has gone on in Westpac over a period of some years,” Mr Chalmers said.

“People need to be accountable for the behaviour of companies under their leadership.

“I think the Australian people rightly expect a high standard of their corporate leaders, they will welcome this decision today.

“But it doesn’t end there, there are a whole range of steps that Westpac clearly needs to take to clear up their act.”

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg welcomed Mr Hartzer’s departure, which he learned of prior to the announcement.

“The alleged breaches that have been levelled at Westpac are very serious, both in terms of the numbers of those alleged breaches, but also the nature of them,” he said.

“I’ve had conversations with Westpac and … those discussions were constructive. I made clear the seriousness of those issues, but also the bank itself and the board itself has been having many meetings – including with its own shareholders — and, in a conversation this morning with the chairman he told me, before the public announcement, of what was to take place.”

Mr Frydenberg said Mr Hartzer’s remuneration was a decision for the bank.

“And the board will be facing the shareholders on December 12,” he said.

“These are going to be pretty difficult days, not just for the board and for the management of Westpac but, no doubt, for its thousands of employees across the company.

“But it will get through it, and it will continue to play a vitally important role in our economy.”

Source: ABC News Australia

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The pilot of a water bombing helicopter has walked away with minor injuries after crash landing while battling a blaze at Pechey, west of Brisbane.

Key points:

• Queensland’s firefighters are most concerned about the Darling Downs, Scenic Rim and Granite Belt regions
• More than 80 fires are burning around Queensland
• Hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to return by the weekend

Paramedics said the helicopter, operated by McDermott Aviation, “landed heavily” just before 2:00pm.

The pilot, who is in his 70s, has been taken to Toowoomba Hospital in a stable condition.

Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio said the incident is unfortunate but has not hampered any fire fighting efforts.

“We’re very thankful to those skilled pilots who go out there and help us control fires when need be and our thoughts are with all concerned,” he said.

Conditions are worsening in parts of Queensland following an unfavourable wind change, with more than 80 fires burning around the state.

Three communities have been told to leave immediately, Pechey, Kilkivan — west of Gympie — and those living on the Noosa North Shore, where a bushfire burning near Beach Road “could have a significant impact on the community”.

PHOTO: Waterbomber aircraft flies over Pechey bushfire near Hampton, north of Toowoomba on Queensland’s Darling Downs. (ABC News: Nathan Morris)

Another nine “watch and act” warnings are in place for other fires burning across the state.

Water bombing aircraft were attempting to extinguish the Noosa North Shore blaze while firefighters attacked it from the ground.

Leesa Downey manages the local campground and raced from Gympie in a bid to protect her property but was stopped by police.

PHOTO: Residents at Noosa North Shore have been told to evacuate with a large bushfire burning in the area. (Supplied: Tim Mandeville)

“I was on my way over there but I was five minutes too late,” she said.

“The campground is closed for renovations at the moment but all our furniture and everything is stored over there.

“It is just watching the smoke get worse and wondering exactly how close it is to my house is a bit concerning. But we just have to wait and see and hope,” she said.

PHOTO: Several horses and a rider were stranded on the beach as a bushfire burned in distance at Noosa North Shore. (Supplied: Helen Warburton)

Craig Studwick was evacuated this morning from his Noosa North Shore home for the second time in just a matter of days.

He said he was worried for his home and belongings.

“But as long as you’ve got your family and everything you need, you just get out, got the kids and animals, and photos are all downloaded, everything else is replaceable.”

Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington said it was incredibly frustrating.

“I’m sorry to say it’s the third fire that has started up on North Shore, so I’m told this morning, which might lead one to assume that it wasn’t an act of nature shall we say,” Councillor Wellington said.

The threat from a fire close to the highway at Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, has been downgraded.

At 3:00pm it was burning near Reisers Road and George Street, to the west of the Pacific Motorway.

It is understood the Beenleigh Marketplace was evacuated as a precaution.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned there was an unfavourable wind change this afternoon, with a dry gusty wind now sweeping west, south-westerly across the Darling Downs, parts of the south-east coast, and up to Wide Bay and Burnett districts.

PHOTO: Smoke in the hills surrounding Spicers Peak Lodge on Queensland’s Scenic Rim. (ABC News)

There is a severe fire danger in those areas, and pockets of possible extreme conditions have been foreshadowed for the far east of the Darling Downs and western Lockyer Valley.

Authorities also reminded locals the Cunningham Highway has been closed.

Staff at the five-star Spicers Peak Lodge resort on Queensland’s Southern Downs evacuated this morning as a bushfire approached. Guests were asked to leave on Monday.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.VIDEO: Plane dumps water on fire at Lake Mary (ABC News)

“We’re hopeful that the buildings will be protected but sadly it’ll be the loss of wildlife and the flora there on this beautiful property … we also have 600 head of cattle there as well,” he said.

PHOTO: Firefighters Craig Partridge and Ken Dudley take a rest under a tree after fighting a bushfire at Pechey, north-east of Toowoomba on Queensland’s Darling Downs. (ABC News: Elly Bradfield)

Weather conditions making things difficult

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Victoria Dodds said weather conditions were making things difficult for firefighters.

“We’ve got really hot, we’ve got really dry and got really windy conditions in some places, temperatures are going to be six to eight degrees above average, and this is all ahead of a wind change,” she said.

“It’s that wind change today that’s really adding real complexity to the forecast and it will make conditions really challenging for our firefighters on the ground.

“Tomorrow there’s a bit of an easing in the situation … but nevertheless, we don’t have any significant rainfall on the horizon.

“So, particularly with that complex wind change today, it’s really important to keep up to date with the latest weather forecasts.”

Source: ABC News Australia

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A Qantas A380 has been grounded after a door on the plane was almost ripped off in a hangar during a routine maintenance check at Sydney Airport.

A door on a Qantas A380 was almost torn off the plane after it rolled into scaffolding in a hangar following a routine maintenance check at Sydney Airport on Friday.

The damaged A380 “sustained some damage inside the hangar” during maintenance, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Flight QF7 from Sydney to Dallas on Saturday afternoon and return flight QF8 that was due to leave Dallas on Sunday (AEST) have been cancelled because of the incident.

“We are working to minimise impacts to our customers and we apologise for any delays,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement.

Passengers who had their flights cancelled have been re-booked on unaffected services.

The damaged A380 has joined two other grounded aircrafts undergoing refurbishment in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi, The Herald reports.

It is expected to take at least two weeks for the damaged plane to be fixed.

A door on a Qantas A380 was almost torn off the plane after it rolled into scaffolding in a hangar.Source:Supplied

This comes just days after the airline confirmed three of it 737s would be taken out of service for repairs after they were found to have hairline cracks in the “pickle fork” — the part that attached the plane’s fuselage to the wing structure.

The discovery of the cracks came during an inspection of 33 of the airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft.

“We believe we can minimise the impact on customers,” Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David said this morning.

“We will have to make minor schedule changes. We don’t believe they will be significant. We are confident we can minimise the impact to our customers. We are confident we will get the aircraft flying by the end of the calendar year.”

It will take engineers at least two weeks to fix the damaged A380.Source:AFP

Source: News Australia

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A week before the federal election, one of most senior figures in the conservative leadership of the Sydney Anglican church made a revealing ― some might even say prophetic ― comment. Canon Bruce Morrison of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral in Parramatta told the Sydney Morning Herald that he supported Labor’s economic policies, but he could not vote Labor because of its apparent lack of commitment to religious freedom.

His comments highlight the extraordinary opportunity Labor had, but missed, to build relationships with religious communities ― relationships that have been neglected ever since Kevin Rudd won the 2007 federal election.

Here was an out and proud Christian conservative willing to support what was arguably the most redistributionist policy in the ALP’s recent history. But because the party was vague, even slippery, on the rights of faith-based schools to teach their doctrine and ask their staff to embody the school’s values, Labor lost the vote of Bruce Morrison and, quite possibly, tens of thousands like him.

In the same article Lyndal and Chris Parfoot said their local member, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, was “not generous enough towards refugees.” But the couple still voted for Dutton because the Liberals were closer to them on “family values.”

Only a mug would claim religious freedom was the defining or decisive factor in the surprise re-election of the Coalition government. Only the naïve would say it had nothing to do with the swing to the Coalition in key marginal seats.

Sociologist Andrew Singleton of Deakin University has crunched some data about one specific faith group, Pentecostal Christians. In Forde, Leichhardt and Bonner ― three marginal Queensland seats retained by the government, in some cases on swings of more than seven percent ― the number of Pentecostal Christians is 50 to 80 percent higher than the state average, which is about 2,400 per electorate. These were not “Adani” seats, where the proposed coal mine was the decisive issue. In the NSW seat of Lindsay, the number of Pentecostals is more than 50 percent higher than the state average. Labor lost on a swing of almost seven percent.

True, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a Pentecostal, giving him a running start with voters from this fast-growing Christian community of about 270,000 around the country. But the Prime Minister’s faith, and the traditional social values its embodies, resonates with the broader community of evangelicals and Catholics who attend church regularly.

Western Sydney is Labor’s ethnic heartland, where the “No” vote in the same-sex marriage ballot was between 55 percent and 70 percent. Last Saturday, there was an average five percent swing against the ALP. Some of these voters were Eastern Rite Christians, others Muslims, others Hindus and Buddhists.

God or Labor?

So how does the ALP deal with this fractured relationship with religious voters, not just Christians?

No one expects Labor politicians to fake a religious identity they don’t hold or wear only lightly. They do expect Labor will respect their rights ― enshrined in the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which Labor legend “Doc” Evatt helped draw up ― to believe, to manifest these beliefs in private and public, and to educate their children according to these beliefs. In a pluralist democracy, that’s a pretty modest demand.

Labor, and the broader left, need to understand that you cannot celebrate multiculturalism without supporting religious freedom. Internal ALP research shows that the best indicator of a person’s willingness to vote Labor is how recently they migrated to Australia. The census tells us that the best indicator of how religiously observant a person is, is how recently they migrated to Australia.

In recent years, several Labor MPs have shared with me their expectation that second-generation migrants will grow out of their religion. Apart from the condescension, it’s probably a forlorn hope. Young Muslim Australians, for example, are often more religious ― more proud of their faith and its capacity to guide their lives ― than their parents.

How, then, should Labor begin its dialogue with faith communities?

At very least, with sincerity, accepting the right of religious Australians to maintain their values, no matter how unfashionable they may seem to the cultural left that influences modern Labor. They must not present conservative Christians with false moral choices. They mustn’t confuse conservative Christians with political conservatives. Above all, they must not make faith communities choose between Labor and the God they worship.

Regardless of the merits of the issue, Labor’s political position on same-sex marriage ― all in favour, no open dissent from any MPs ― sent the wrong message to many Australians who voted “No.” It told the roughly 20 percent of people who lean left on economics, workers’ rights and public services, but hew to traditional values on the family and sexuality, that there was no longer a place for them in Labor’s fold.

I know of eight to ten Labor MPs and senators who wanted to vote against same-sex marriage in the parliament ― that is, to use Labor’s long-standing rule and vote according to their consciences on moral issues ― but were silenced and pressured by the leadership, warning they would be “on the wrong side of history.” That may be so, but they would have been on the side of many Labor voters.

Learning from Obama

Look at where this strategy has left the Democratic Party in the United States. In 1992, it banned Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey from addressing its convention. Casey was for unions, civil rights, progressive taxation, public education and universal health care. He was a classic “New Deal” Democrat. But he was also pro-life, based on his social justice Catholicism. Silenced by his own party, Casey grew estranged from the Democrats, along with millions of working class, union and ethnic Catholics. The Democrats thereby turbo-charged a culture war that over thirty years has weakened their grip on the congress, governorships and state legislatures, where so much consequential law is made. Both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama lost Democratic control of congress just two years into their eight-year terms, seriously weakening their presidencies.

Counterintuitively, Barack Obama offers a lesson to Labor. At the 2016 presidential election, just 19 percent of white evangelicals voted for Hillary Clinton. But eight years earlier, Obama won 26 percent of their vote. Evangelicals helped him carry Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina, and almost win Missouri. They helped deliver him the biggest victory for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

As his brilliant young adviser on faith issues, Michael Wear, explained in his memoir Reclaiming Hope, Obama did something revolutionary for a modern Democrat: he talked to evangelicals ― with candour and respect. He never promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn abortion rights, but he found enough common ground to agree that abortion, even when necessary, was sad, and that a good society does all it can to make abortion unnecessary. He pitched himself to young evangelicals concerned about “creation care.”

Even before Obama courted evangelicals, Labor frontbencher Kevin Rudd was reaching out to faith-based voters. Having told the ABC’s Geraldine Doogue in 2003 that he was “an old-fashioned Christian socialist” ― consolidating a Labor tradition with left-leaning Catholics and Protestants ― he went one critical step further. After the 2004 election saw the brief but consequential rise of the Family First party and Senator Steve Fielding, Rudd went to the evangelicals and Pentecostals with a simple question: what do you get from Family First, and the Coalition to which they direct preferences, that you don’t get from Labor? He established a faith and values working group in the ALP caucus.

Kevin Rudd himself is a Catholic who turned to high church Anglicanism by means of the Uniting Church, and he never claimed to “speak” evangelical or Pentecostal. But his serious outreach showed those communities that Labor did not hold them in contempt, but regarded them with respect.

Then, on the eve of his thumping defeat at the 2013 election, Rudd went on ABC’s Q&A program. In response to a question from a pastor ― asked more in sorrow than anger ― about why Rudd had changed his position on same-sex marriage, Rudd tried to humiliate the man, almost spitting the word “mate” at him. But he could have shown generosity towards a fellow Christian, explaining that he had read his Bible and examined his conscience and arrived at a different conclusion.

Labor’s mistake

And so we come to Bill Shorten and his handling of faith issues during the 2019 election campaign. When religion came up in the second debate, he was respectful but non-committal. By the third debate, the issue had gone from abstract to concrete, after the sacking of footballer Israel Folau for comments deemed homophobic. Shorten was evasive. While Scott Morrison said unequivocally that he believed in religious freedom, Shorten was all “on the one hand this, on the other that” ― ultimately suggesting the issue was best handled by lawyers at the Law Reform Commission.

By the final week of the campaign, he made an ill-judged intervention, demanding the Prime Minister discuss his views on gay people and hell. Maybe Shorten’s advisers thought it would wedge Morrison, forcing him to renounce a core belief or unmasking him as a homophobe. Labor senator Penny Wong didn’t help when she demanded Morrison disendorse Liberal candidates who opposed same-sex marriage, especially given almost four in ten Australians shared that view. It looked desperate.

Almost as desperate were the Labor campaigners in the Victorian seat of Chisholm, who thought they had nailed the Liberal candidate Gladys Lui. She had described aspects of transgender and “intergender” theory as “rubbish.” Labor lost the seat, which on a margin of about two percent should have been a gimme.

Labor does not need to win a majority of the “Christian vote,” if such an undifferentiated block even exists. But it should not give faith-based voters a reason to vote against the ALP purely on the basis of religion.

ALSO READ | Australian Labor Party blames strategy, leader’s unpopularity for last election defeat

Lessons for Labor

The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) is a valuable, if neglected, document. Taken every five years, it is the biggest survey outside of the census. And it tells a story of great potential for Labor.

Inside the churches, you will find a disproportionately high number of: women; people involved in the caring professions, such as nurses, doctors, teachers and social workers; volunteers for both religious and secular organisations; donors to both religious and secular charities; and university graduates. Most churches ― including evangelical and Pentecostal congregations ― are not bulging with wealthy, avaricious, tooth-and-claw capitalists. They are people whose faith affirms their work and whose work affirms their faith.

Congregations are places of “binding capital” ― bringing together people of common values ― and “bridging capital.” Worshippers are also likely to be involved in Parents and Citizens Associations, sports clubs, Rotary clubs, environmental groups and unions. (You would be surprised how many teachers’ and nurses’ union reps you might encounter at church.)

The NCLS shows 41 percent of people who are regular worshippers votes for the Coalition compared with 26 percent for Labor. But how many skew towards the Coalition because they believe Labor is hostile to their faith? How many would be like Canon Bruce Morrison, open to voting for the ALP and its egalitarian economic agenda if not for fears about religious freedom?

Speaking honestly and respectfully with communities of faith is not about notches on the belt, nor about vacuuming up the religious vote. It is about telling people of faith, so integral to a multicultural Australia, you don’t have to face false moral choices. You don’t have to choose between Labor and God.

Andrew West is the host of The Religion and Ethics Report on RN. He covered politics for more than a decade for major newspapers, wrote the biography of former Labor premier and foreign minister Bob Carr, and in the mid-1990s was an assistant adviser to a Labor minister.

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KPMG report says we’re at a ‘turning point’ for the big four banks in Australia

It is called corporate “confession” season for a reason: financial reports lay bare sometimes painful truths about a company’s operations.

Key points

• All big four banks have announced a decline in earnings for this year
• The banks have re-allocated spending towards compliance, regulatory and customer remediation costs
• A reports says the “competitive landscape is set to benefit Australian consumers”

This morning, the National Australia Bank was the last cab off the rank to report full year earnings.

With its full-year profit of $4.8 billion, down 13.6 per cent, it joined ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac in announcing a big decline in earnings.

KPMG’s Major Australian Banks Year End Analysis Report finds the big four banks reported a combined cash profit after tax from continuing operations of $26.9 billion, down 7.8 per cent on FY2018.

The words used by the bank bosses to describe the year just gone include “disappointing” and “messy”.

PHOTO: NAB interim chief executive Philip Chronican presided over a 13.6 per cent drop in full-year profit, down to $4.8 billion. (ABC News: Ross Nerdal)

That’s a fair assessment.

Following the global financial crisis, the banks faced years of both international and domestic pressure to shore themselves up — mainly with tighter lending standards and capital buffers (more cash on their books).

But here at home, the banking royal commission really lit the fuse for what major global consulting firm KPMG is calling a “turning point for the majors”.

Very simply, revenue is falling and costs are rising, according to KPMG strategy partner Hessel Verbeek.

“The majors’ profits are down significantly as a result of shrinking margins in a low-interest-rate environment and higher costs, including refunds to customers, in the aftermath of the royal commission,” he said.

Banking challenges could be boon for consumers

The kicker is KPMG sees no end in sight to this profit squeeze.

“The ongoing effects of the majors’ customer remediation programs continue to negatively impact financial results, which are routinely called out as ‘notable items’ within their cash profits,” the consultancy firm reported.

The most brutal conclusion, however, was a recognition that the banks’ poor past behaviour and the need for processes to fix that will set them back years in terms of their overall evolution.

“There is a continued trend of re-allocating investment spend towards compliance, regulatory and customer remediation costs, forcing investment and resources away from enhancing technology and digitalisation priorities,” KPMG said.

Fellow accounting firm EY paints an equally sobering outlook for the banks in their new report on the sector, said the firm’s Oceania banking and capital markets leader Tim Dring.

“There’s no doubt that 2019 has been a tough year for Australia’s major banks and the storm clouds show no signs of abating,” he said.

“Declining profits and margins have seen the banks cut dividends and preserve capital as they batten down the hatches and brace for further challenging conditions ahead.”

The upside, the report suggests, will fall to banking customers.

With the introduction of an open banking regime, as well as the continued growth of international banks and non-bank players, banking competition for the consumer dollar is set to heat up.

EY’s analysis is that the entire financial community is struggling its way through much-needed change.

“With the rapidly approaching introduction of open banking, the next few years will usher in changes that will fundamentally shift the Australian financial services landscape,” Mr Dring said.

Practically speaking, it should mean lower fees and reduced costs of mortgages for Australians, or as KPMG puts it: “The competitive landscape is set to benefit Australian consumers.”

Source: ABC News Australia

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Australian Labor Party election review blames strategy, adaptability and former leader, Bill Shorten for defeat

Labor lost the federal election in May 2019 because of three overriding reasons, according to the party’s official campaign postmortem: weak strategy, poor adaptability and an unpopular leader.

The much-anticipated campaign postmortem, undertaken by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson, finds Labor went into the contest with no documented election strategy that had been discussed, contested and agreed across the campaign organisation, the leadership and the wider Labor party – and there was no body empowered to discuss and settle a campaign strategy or monitor its implementation.

Adding to the organisational debacles, the review says frank internal discussion was not encouraged. It says the campaign “lacked a culture and structure that encouraged dialogue and challenge, which led to the dismissal of warnings from within the party about the campaign’s direction”.

The review notes new spending policies were worked up on the hop, with policies “appear[ing] to have been decided by a combination of the leader and his office, a shadow expenditure review committee and an augmented leadership group” – and there was no overarching strategy to inform the messaging.

Chris Bowen says Labor must counter ‘identity politics’ and be angry on behalf of working people

It says Labor’s national secretary seemed to have been taken by surprise by the number and size of the policy offerings that were announced during the campaign, and there was no campaign committee.

“Unsurprisingly, the Labor campaign lacked focus, wandering from topic to topic without a clear purpose,” the review notes.

It says the spending announcements, totalling more than $100bn, drove the unpopular tax policies and exposed Labor to a Coalition attack “that fuelled anxieties among insecure, low-income couples in outer-urban and regional Australia that Labor would crash the economy and risk their jobs”.

The review finds that low-income workers swung against Labor and the party’s “ambiguous language on Adani, combined with some anti-coal rhetoric, devastated its support in the coal mining communities of regional Queensland and the Hunter Valley”. It notes Labor lost support among Christians, particularly devout, first-generation migrant Christians.Advertisement

On the flip side, higher-income urban Australians concerned about climate change swung to Labor “despite the effect Labor’s tax policies on negative gearing and franking credits might have had on them”.

The review is extremely cautious in the language it uses to describe then leader Bill Shorten’s contribution to the loss. It says Shorten had a net negative favourability rating of minus 20 while Morrison’s was minus four, and observes Shorten’s lowest ratings were in Queensland and Western Australia while Scott Morrison’s worst rating was in Victoria.

It says both the Coalition’s and Clive Palmer’s campaigns trained their guns on the unpopular leader, and the interaction between Labor’s expansive policy offering and the doubts about Shorten became a “lethal combination”.

“Labor lost the election because of a weak strategy that could not adapt to the change in Liberal leadership, a cluttered policy agenda that looked risky and an unpopular leader,” the review says. “No one of these shortcomings was decisive but in combination they explain the result”.

Shorten moved early on Thursday to get in front of the review before it was unveiled. He said on Twitter: “Were the universe to grant re-runs, I would campaign with fewer messages, more greatly emphasise the jobs opportunities in renewable energies, and take a different position on franking credits.”

Shorten also reminded his colleagues he wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m personally committed to continue contributing in public life, serving my constituents, the people of Australia – including people with disabilities and the vulnerable – for the next 20 years”.

As well as identifying organisational and cultural problems, and the vulnerability created by the unpopularity of the leader, the review blasts the advertising and digital campaigns, and says Labor’s ground game needs improvement. It also goes to the quality of polling and deficiencies on how the research was used.

It notes some major strategy decisions were made without reference to research, “which left research to focus on the tactical implementation of decisions already taken” and it notes that Labor struggled to process internal research that ran counter to its expected win.

It says multiple research methods were not subjected to robust debate that could have resolved inconsistencies among them and it says the track poll used during the contest “was persistently less optimistic than the published polling, but inaccuracies in the overall research program led Labor to believe it was slightly ahead when it was, in fact, behind”.

The review makes 26 recommendations, including pursuing legislation capping individual political donations, and legislation for truth in political advertising – both in response to Palmer’s impact on the contest. Palmer outspent McDonald’s, Toyota and Coles spruiking his United Australia party in the year leading up to the federal election, and spent more than $8m on saturation advertising in the final week of the contest

The review says given the party’s experience with fake news during the campaign, where claims the party would implement a death tax if it won the election were in wide circulation on social media platforms, Labor “must develop a comprehensive strategy for message defence and combating disinformation, which should include full-time resources dedicated to monitoring and addressing false messages”.

It says without compromising the party’s support among progressive voters “Labor should broaden its support base by improving its standing with economically insecure, low-income working families, groups within the Christian community and Australians living in regional and rural Australia”.

It recommends the party stick with its core values and principles, including action on climate change, and pursue “the language of inclusion, abandoning divisive rhetoric, including references to the big end of town”.

Source: Australian News – (The Guardian)

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How police busted a multi-million-dollar ‘ghost college’ scam

The phone call that ended Bobby Singh’s $2 million fraud against the Federal Government lasted four minutes and 38 seconds.

Key points:

• Bobby Singh was the owner of private college St Stephen Institute of Technology
• Mr Singh ran it as a “ghost college” as part of a multi-million-dollar scam
• Mr Singh was sentenced to six years in prison

On July 1, 2015, Mr Singh was greeted by a cheerful auditor from the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA).

“Good morning Mr Singh … I’m calling because I’ve been asked to conduct a compliance-monitoring visit of your premises,” ASQA auditor Kate Owen told Mr Singh on the phone.

“From time to time, we actually like to come and visit a provider on the site, have a look at some documents … some of the things that you’re required to keep under the legislation.”

Mr Singh was the owner of private college St Stephen Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

Mr Singh nodded, responding that he was happy to help. He hung up the phone. Within moments, he called Mukesh Sharma, an associate who ran another college, the Symbiosis Institute of Technical Education.

He told Mr Sharma to get ready. An audit was about to take place.

What Mr Singh and Mr Sharma did not realise was that federal agents had been listening the whole time.

Mr Singh’s phone had been tapped. Every call was being monitored and logged.

This single call would spell the end of a multi-million-dollar scam they had been running against the federal government, reaping more than $2 million in subsidies for students.

And it would expose what is known as a ghost college.

A new opportunity

Mr Singh is, by all accounts, a charming man.

In sentencing Mr Singh to jail, Judge Michael O’Connell acknowledged he had shown “a great deal of drive and initiative in many legitimate respects”.

He arrived in Australia at the age of 18 in 1999, and quickly moved into a range of entrepreneurial ventures.

He ran a security business in 2003. In 2005, he began working as a subcontractor to Australia Post, arranging teams of delivery services across Melbourne.

It was a wildly successful venture. Court documents reveal it made more than $17.5 million while it operated.

In 2011, Mr Singh found himself in a new business: he took ownership of a registered training organisation called the St Stephen Institute of Technology.

Mr Singh saw this college as a new kind of opportunity.

Lavish lifestyle sparked suspicions

PHOTO: Police seize a Ferrari from the home of Bobby Singh in Balwyn. (AFP Media)

When the ASQA auditor called Mr Singh in 2015, federal agents had anticipated it would send him into a panic.

Detective Superintendent Danielle Woodwardand a team of agents had been watching Mr Singh and his colleagues closely for at least six months, after a tip-off relating to their national police certificates.

They spotted a number of signs that indicated something unusual might be taking place.

Mr Singh was living in a lavish mansion, with an expensive Ferrari. The source of this wealth was unclear.

His colleges were in odd locations and appeared to have much less activity than would have been expected from colleges with hundreds of students enrolled.

PHOTO: Mukesh Sharma ran the Symbiosis Institute of Technical Education. (Supplied)

Mr Singh began preparing for the compliance visit from ASQA.

7.30 has obtained dozens of telephone intercepts and hours of surveillance video that show how this scam was undone.

On the day the audit was announced, Mr Singh made several phone calls instructing the members of his syndicate — Mr Sharma and Rakesh Kumar — to begin preparing the colleges for the audit, by making assessment records.

He tells one of the members of the syndicate: “No-one does it in [the] correct way. No college has that, you can go to any college.”

In one critical intercept, one of Mr Singh’s associates tells him: “We know that we are doing ethically and legally wrong.”

But it was not just Mr Singh’s phones that were tapped.

On a day like July 5, 2015, there were six classes scheduled across the day.

With six classes running, you would expect dozens of students walking in and out of the college. But this was not the case.

Federal agents had covertly installed a surveillance camera inside the lobby of the St Stephen college.

Footage from the same day shows just a cleaner entering the premises. No students are visible.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

Across days of these surveillance tapes, not a single class was taught in accordance with the timetable that was given to ASQA.

On 20 of the 23 days the surveillance device was active, only three days showed any students attending the college.

On the three days they did attend, none remained for the duration of the timetabled class.

“In essence, there was no teaching and there was certainly no students that were involved in any sort of actual education,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

The only day of significant activity occurred shortly after the call announcing the audit.

“What we saw … was a whole lot of computers and paperwork coming into the actual institute,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

“But then the computers actually weren’t networked, they weren’t connected to anything. So they basically just brought in all this material to comply … with the compliance visit.”

The particular type of scheme is known by some who work in the vocational training sector as a “ghost college”.

“It’s an organisation that ticks all the boxes in terms of its appearance,” Larissa Kernebone, a former ASQA auditor who now works as a consultant to training organisations, told 7.30.

“It looks like a training college, when in fact students are not really doing their training, they’re actually out working or doing something else with their time.”

And Mr Singh’s was slowly unravelling.

Plagiarised assessments had same mistakes

PHOTO: Two assessments have the same answers and matching spelling errors. (Supplied)

In August 2015, police decided to execute search warrants on Mr Singh’s home and at each of the two colleges.

What they found inside the two college spaces were largely empty rooms, with little signs of life.

“What we found was two vocational education systems that had incredibly meticulous records for students that didn’t fundamentally exist,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

What they did find were thousands of pages of documents that formed part of the elaborate sham.

The colleges had “sets” of answers, with plagiarised answers pre-prepared to be filled out on different student assessments.

When federal agents analysed thousands of the documents, they were able to identify the exact same answers filled out for different students — even with the same spelling mistakes.

PHOTO: The same spelling errors appear on these assessments from Symbiosis and St Stephen. “Chief” has been used instead of “chef”. (Supplied)

“The plagiarism … actually had spelling errors in it … they’d write in ‘chief’ instead of ‘chef’,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

The work involved in plagiarising all of these student assessments was extraordinary.

“It probably would have just been simpler to actually educate people,” she added.

How the scams worked

PHOTO: Detective Superintendent Danielle Woodward says the outcome for some students has been devastating. (ABC News)

Police alleged there were two parts to Mr Singh’s scam. Fee-paying international students could undertake study with private training colleges.

“They were making money, easy money,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

“They take that money, and then basically tell the students that you don’t have to come [in], just give us your money, and we’ll just give you the certificate.”

The outcome was devastating for some of those students.

“They come out to Australia, they paid a lot of money to get their certificates … and they’re basically fake,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

“And that’s not what our country is about. So I think it had a huge impact.”

The revelations about Mr Singh’s scheme were a major scandal at the time, and contributed to the decision to freeze funding levels for the VET system by the federal government and greater oversight of training organisations.

VET funding has now been substantially tightened up.

The second part of the scam involved domestic students. The Victorian Education Department also provided subsidies for students enrolled in training courses.

“The domestic students, most of the time, had no idea or even enrolled,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

Haripal Chahal had recently become an Australian citizen when he received a knock on his door from two federal police agents in August 2015.

PHOTO: Haripal Chahal was shocked to learn his identity had been stolen. (ABC News: Paul Farrell)

“I was shitting my pants mate, I was shitting my pants,” he told 7.30 at his home in northern Melbourne.

“I was really afraid. I thought maybe they’re here to deport me or something.”

The two agents — who Mr Chahal stresses were incredibly polite and friendly — began asking him about his qualifications, and what college he went to.

“I showed them all the documents, all the certs, cert three, cert four and the diploma, but they said, ‘Have you done any other courses?'” he said.

Mr Chahal had never heard of the college they were asking about: the St Stephen Institute of Technology.

Mr Chahal was shocked to be shown documents from inside Mr Singh’s college that appeared to contain his signature and identification details, enrolling him in courses.

He has no idea how his identity was stolen, but speculates it could have been a petition at an Indian community event.

“I was very disappointed because it gives a bad name to the community as well,” he said.

He was one of more than 40 students who later gave evidence against the syndicate in court.

“I was happy to give all the information I had … I had nothing to hide,” he said.

Bleak outlook for students

PHOTO: Detective Superintendent Danielle Woodward says the AFP continues to look closely at the vocational training sector. (ABC News)

Mr Singh was sentenced to six years’ jail for his role in the scheme.

Rakesh Kumar and Mukesh Sharma, who were key players in the syndicate, were both sentenced to five years.

Mr Singh’s wife, Rekha Arora, was also found guilty, and was released on a good behaviour bond for a period of three years.

The outcome for some of the international students who attended the college has been bleak.

“They get basically scammed,” Detective Superintendent Woodward said.

PHOTO: Bobby Singh was sentenced to six years in prison. (Supplied)

“To be given a certificate, which is now worth nothing to them, they’ve lost their money.

“That goes back overseas to their homes and to their families. And so that really damages our reputation.”

Ms Woodward says the AFP will continue to look closely at the vocational training sector.Follow this story to get email or text alerts from ABC News when there is a future article following this storyline.Follow this story

Today, ASQA is cancelling far more training organisations than it has in the past, but some providers are successfully challenging decisions in the administrative tribunal.

Ms Kernebone says there are still sinister forces at work behind some existing colleges.

“When I began consulting, I was engaged and working with a very significant RTO [registered training organisation],” she said.

“They gave me a lot of information, I observed, and had calls from the CEO to tell me that ASQA was on their door knocking.

“My perception of this RTO was that they needed to be shut down immediately. And my perception was that they needed to be referred to the federal police. And this RTO continues
to operate.”

An ASQA spokeswoman told 7.30 in a statement it had only had its decisions varied or set aside on 11 occasions.

“Having strengthened our risk-based approach to focus our activities on those considered more likely to be non-compliant, it follows that the proportion of adverse decisions would increase,” they said.

Watch this story tonight on 7.30. – Source: ABC News Australia

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Australia’s Ash Barty has claimed the biggest winner’s cheque in tennis history, beating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 to win the WTA Finals title and a $US4.42 million ($6.4 million) prize packet.

Key points:

• Barty is the first Australian woman to win the season-ending showpiece tournament since 1976
• She is also the first Australian woman since rankings were introduced in 1973 to finish the year as world number one
• She banked more than $US10 million in winnings in 2019

The cheque could have been even bigger, at $6.8 million, had she gone through the tournament undefeated, but a first-up loss to Kiki Bertens in the round-robin stage cost the world number one a few hundred thousand dollars.

The 23-year-old is the first Australian woman to win the season-ending showpiece tournament since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won the crown for a second time in 1976.

It capped a superb week in Shenzhen for Barty, who, in addition to claiming the fattest winner’s cheque in tennis history — for male or female competitors — also became the first Australian woman to end the year as world number one since rankings were introduced in 1973, and pushed her annual prize money beyond $US10 million.

PHOTO: Ash Barty is the first Australian to win the season-ending showpiece tournament in 43 years. (Reuters: Aly Song)

Perhaps unsurprisingly in a battle between the best servers in the tournament, Barty and Svitolina traded service games through the first set of the decider, until the Australian finally broke in a lengthy 10th game to take the first set 6-4.

Things were back on serve through the first two games of the second set, before a series of errors and a double fault by Barty handed Svitolina a break, but the Aussie put the set back on parity at 2-2 with a break of her own and held her serve to love to lead 3-2.

The French Open champion appeared to be on a roll as she broke again on the back of Svitolina’s first double fault of the match to reach 4-2, but Barty could not hold her serve in the next game and the match was back on serve once again.

It looked like the run of breaks would continue when Barty replied to reach 15-40 in the next game, only for Svitolina to rattle off three straight points to have advantage, but the rollercoaster continued as Barty fought back to take the break before powering through her service game to hold to love and take out the tournament in style.

“It’s been the most incredible year for me,” Barty said at the trophy presentation.

“Congratulations to Elina and your team, you’ve had an exceptional year.

“You’re one of the toughest competitors on the tour and I know we’ll have many, many more battles in the future.”

PHOTO: Both players traded service games to start the match, until Barty finally broke to win the first set. (AP: Andy Wong)

It was Barty’s first win against Svitolina after five straight losses in their clashes since 2017.

Barty started that year ranked 271st in the world, a year after returning to tennis from a brief hiatus as a cricketer with the WBBL’s Brisbane Heat.

Her first WTA title in February of 2017, in Kuala Lumpur, suggested the Queenslander was ready to make good on the promise shown by her 2011 junior Wimbledon championship, when she was just 15. She reached the Birmingham and Wuhan finals and, despite not making a big splash in any of the majors, it was enough to end the year as the 17th-ranked player on the women’s tour — a jump of 254 places from January 1.

Barty effectively consolidated the next year, making an early final in Sydney before going out in the third round of the Australian Open, then losing to Serena Williams in the second round at the French Open. She won the Nottingham title in the lead-up to Wimbledon, but again fell in the third round at SW19.

A strong finish to the year with another title in Zhuhai allowed her to finish on a career high ranking of 15, before her stellar 2019.

This year she won titles in Miami and Birmingham, but her crowning achievement was her breakthrough major at Roland Garros in May and the world number one ranking was waiting a month later.

The final two majors of the year were perhaps slight disappointments, with fourth-round exits failing to elicit the same excitement as her Paris run, but the year-ending China swing saw her reach a semi-final in Wuhan and a final in Beijing before her record-breaking win in Shenzhen.

Source: ABC News Australia

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China is hungry for Australian beef, but every second kilo shoppers buy could be fake

The Chinese appetite for beef has reached unprecedented levels, with Australian exports to China up 73 per cent on last year, making it our biggest export market for beef.

Key points:

• In September, China was Australia’s biggest export market for beef
• Experts say meat fraud is rife and difficult to track
• A Brisbane-based company is using blockchain to securely track the origins of exported beef

Chinese consumers are prepared to pay hundreds of dollars a kilogram for the right cut of steak from a country they trust, but often don’t get what they think they’re buying.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that every second kilogram of beef sold in China under the banner of being Australian isn’t Australian beef.

PwC agribusiness leader Craig Heraghty said it was notoriously difficult to put a finger on the exact meat fraud figure.

“Based on clients we have spoken to who are selling red meat into that market, based on distributors on the mainland and based on discussions with feedlotters serving the Chinese market, we have come up with that estimate — and it’s probably a lowball estimate,” he said.

PHOTO: China’s appetite for Australian beef has almost doubled over the past 10 years, but ‘fake steaks’ are becoming increasingly common. (ABC Landline: Pip Courtney)

Warwick Powell, founder of Brisbane-based company Beefledger, said China-based industry insiders were developing a view that for every 10 kilograms of beef sold, 1 kilogram is actually what it claims to be.

It either doesn’t originate from the country it claims to come from, is not the cut of meat it claims to be, or is not beef at all.

“It could be pork, duck breast or horse,” Mr Powell said.

Katherina Li, founder and chief executive of Beijing-based e-commerce platform Liberty Post, agrees food fraud is a big problem undermining consumer confidence in China.

“There is a very high risk of fake product by using cheaper products that pretend to be Australian beef,” she said.

“It’s a well-known tactic here.”

PHOTO: Former Hong Kong financier Warwick Powell now heads Beefledger. (ABC Landline: Prue Adams)

Using tech to combat fraud

Mr Powell’s company is launching a blockchain program in China later this month to ensure customers buying Australian beef can be confident they’re getting what they’ve paid for.

“We are putting the systems in place that minimise the risk of ‘fake steak’ being delivered,” Mr Powell said.

He said the high-tech system will verify all aspects of the beef supply chain from the feedlot to the fork.

With support from Food Agility, a co-operative research centre funded by the Federal Government and industry, Beefledger is employing a digital system using ‘smart contracts’ to replace forgeable letters of credit.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.VIDEO: How blockchain is used for agriculture (ABC News)

Information about cattle location, health, transport and processing is uploaded into the Beefledger blockchain interface at every point in the supply chain.

“Blockchain is a decentralised technology that stores data through a consensus process where many people are involved in affirming the data and it is very, very difficult to change or alter it afterwards,” Mr Powell said.

He said new technologies do much more than track provenance though.

“We can secure data to track the conditions of transport, more accurately predict shelf life and use-by dates and connect consumers with producers,” he said.

“We can also encourage members of the supply chain to do the right thing by offering incentives through newly established cryptocurrencies.”

PHOTO: Cattle are fitted with smart tags, which capture information to be added to the blockchain leger. (ABC Landline: Prue Adams)

Anyone in the Beefledger community can participate in the network by purchasing BEEF tokens.

Beefledger, which sent its first batch of beef to China last year, will showcase its high-tech system in a six-city roadshow in China from November 18.

It’s a timely launch. Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping called for faster development in blockchain and cryptocurrency in China.

“In China, we believe blockchain technology is the future for tracking food and fighting fraud,” Ms Li said.

“That’s why we are pleased to have Beefledger products on our platform.”

PwC’s Mr Heraghty praised companies trying to give honest information to verify origins and authenticate meat but had a warning.

PHOTO: Through blockchain, everyone in the supply chain is supposed to add as much data as possible, including photographs and their metadata. (ABC Landline: Pip Courtney)

“The weakest link in the chain is not blockchain or any technology, the weakest link is the piece of sticky tape that puts the label on the package,” he said.

Where there is human involvement, there can still be a substitution.

“You have to think like a fraudster and see where you can copy a label or a QR code,” Mr Heraghty said.

“I’m not talking about Beefledger here, but the illusion of traceability is a worrying trend I see.”

Source: ABC News Australia

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Climate change protesters have clashed with police in violent scenes outside an international mining conference in Melbourne.

Key points:

• Protesters were arrested for alleged offences including failing to obey police directions and assaulting a police horse
• Two police officers and a protester were taken to hospital for treatment
• Protesters accused officers of violent tactics, but police defended their actions as in line with training

Police arrested 47 people outside the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, where the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) is being held this week.

About 250 demonstrators were met by more than 300 police at the venue on the Yarra River.

Police used pepper spray on some protesters, and used horses to force the demonstrators away from the entrances to the building.

Victoria Police Acting Commander Tim Tully said the majority of arrests were for offences relating to failing to obey police directions or intentionally obstructing emergency workers and the footpath.

Two people were arrested for assaulting a police horse.

PHOTO: Protest leaders accused police of “aggressive and intimidating” tactics.
(AAP: James Ross)

Acting Commander Tully said four officers were injured while making arrests, and two of them were taken to hospital for a dislocated finger and minor head injuries.

A female demonstrator was also taken to hospital. Acting Commander Tully said officers were investigating if she was injured by a police horse.

PHOTO: Paramedics took an injured woman to the Alfred Hospital. (ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier)

A protester, Paul, said the woman, a 23-year-old from Chile, was injured when a police horse backed onto her.

“I was standing beside her, one of the police officers had sprayed me, then threw her back away from me, and then the horse reared up and stepped on both of her legs,” he said.

“Both legs have been broken, definitely — she’s got no feeling in her legs, she can’t move her toes.”

Authorities have not confirmed her injuries.

PHOTO: The protesters’ aim is to shut down the conference. (AAP: James Ross)

Another man was treated at the scene for a cut to his head.

Acting Commander Tully defended the actions of officers and said any action taken today was “appropriate” and “in line with training”.

“We’ve shown a hell of a lot of discretion, a hell of lot of tolerance,” he said.

Video taken by protesters and published on Twitter showed an officer using a baton on protesters but Acting Commander Tully said he was not aware of any officer using the weapon.

Protests are expected to continue throughout the week and police warned people to avoid the area until the mining conference ends on Thursday.

PHOTO: Officers used pepper spray to disperse demonstrators. (AAP: James Ross)

Emma Black, a spokeswoman for the Blockade IMARC alliance, said police had employed “some incredibly aggressive and intimidating tactics” in response to the protesters.

“We’re the non-violent ones. The police have been incredibly violent this morning,” Ms Black said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

“Some of my friends have been thrown to the ground, people that were just standing around doing nothing.”

She said the protesters belonged to more than 20 organisations and included unionists, environmentalists and animal rights activists.

“Our aim is to shut down the conference, to stop mining executives and investors getting into the building, and so far I think we’re doing a good job of that.

“We’re making noise, we’re getting the voice out there.”

Conference organisers said the event brought people together to “share knowledge and exchange ideas related to innovation, sustainability, safety and job creation”.

“IMARC is aware of protestors at the conference,” it said in a statement issued yesterday.

“We work in an inclusive industry and we welcome a diverse spectrum of views at the forum.

“Just as those outside have the right to protest peacefully, the 7000 experts from across the globe have the right to meet to discuss meaningful, achievable ways to make mining safer, more sustainable and beneficial to communities around the world.”

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack described the protesters’ behaviour as “disgraceful”, saying they were merely craving media attention.

“They absolutely want to have their Facebook and social media statuses updated by this sort of thing,” he told ABC News Breakfast.

“Mining and resources provide a lot of money, particularly for the welfare payments a lot of those people are no doubt on.”

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

One of the conference attendees, Alex Arbuthnot, a dairy farmer from Sale, said the protesters should not block access to the venue.

“Everybody’s entitled to their protest,” he said.

“When I was a student I protested too. All I want to know is how do I get into the conference. They have their right to protest but they should not blockade.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

“I come from a town where our top farmers and miners have worked side by side for 50 years, and my sons and daughters work in the mining companies.”

Conference attendees were later able to enter the venue.

Earlier, protesters blocked traffic outside the venue on Clarendon Street.

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien called for the reintroduction of police move-on powers to stop what he described as “protesters taking over Melbourne”.

Mr O’Brien said protests were becoming a daily occurrence in the city and he felt sorry for people who were just trying to get to work.

“They [move-on powers] were important powers that gave police the flexibility to let people protest of course, but also keep Melbourne moving,” Mr O’Brien said.

Source: ABC News Australia

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Several out-of-control bushfires in eastern Australia have destroyed a number of buildings and homes, officials have said, issuing emergency warnings.

Three out-of-control bushfires in northern New South Wales (NSW) have been upgraded to emergency level, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on Tuesday, adding the bushfires were spreading quickly.

The “very dangerous” blaze burning in Rappville area, has already destroyed homes and buildings, RFS said, asking residents to take shelter and protect themselves from the heat of the fire.

Firefighters are battling high temperatures and low humidity, along with strong winds, creating more spot fires.

RFS spokesman Greg Allan said there would “probably be no reprieve until on Wednesday.”

Another bushfire nearby in Drake, which has been burning for weeks and is currently over 66,000 hectares in size, is “spreading quickly” and is out of control on the south-eastern side, RFS said.

Also, residents living in the Kildare Road and Tenterfield area have been advised to seek shelter as an out-of-control blaze approached, with ground crews being supported by aircraft to slow the spread of fire and protect homes, RFS said.

In another state, Queensland, a massive fire in south-eastern Lockyer Valley, 80 kilometres west of Brisbane, has claimed at least one house, according to local broadcaster ABC.

“The fire is expected to have a life-threatening impact on the community,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) said.

Temperatures in the Lockyer Valley reached 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Also, gusty winds are fanning another dangerous bushfire threatening the township of Thornton, which began last week due to a lightning strike in Glen Rock State Forest, QFES said.

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Richmond has swept to victory in the AFL grand final, extinguishing GWS hopes of glory with a dominant 89-point win at the MCG for the club’s 12th flag.

GWS was hoping to complete a fairy tale finals turnaround to win the flag from sixth but after the Giants kicked the first goal of the day, they then conceded the next 11.

Out-tackled, out-performed, out-scored — it was a dirty day for the Giants, as a terrific Tigers outfit made it two flags in three years with a 17.12 (114) to 3.7 (25) victory.

Jack Riewoldt led the way for Richmond with five goals, while GWS had no multiple goalkickers.

AFL✔@AFL

THE TIGERS HAVE WON THE PREMIERSHIP!

FT: @Richmond_FC 17.12 (114) defeat @GWSGIANTS 3.7 (25).#AFLGF

3005:04 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy166 people are talking about this

The biggest gamble of grand final day came 90 minutes before the bounce, when the teams came out with GWS skipper Phil Davis still listed.

Davis was seriously limited when he injured his calf and shoulder in the preliminary final win over Collingwood.

The shoulder got better, but Davis appeared to be limping when he did a light fitness test shortly before 1pm.

The Giants’ skipper looked proppy all day, and while he got 15 disposals, he struggled to make an impact in defence and contain the Tigers’ rampant forward line.

GWS had beaten the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane before prevailing in a preliminary final over Collingwood.

But there were concerns over whether they would have the legs to run out four quarters against a Richmond side that had been shifting through the gears with wins over Brisbane and Geelong.

There were plenty of storylines going into the game, with huge attention on debutant Marlion Pickett, who became the first debutant in a VFL/AFL grand final since Collingwood’s Keith Batchelor in 1952.

It took more than 20 minutes for the first goal of the game, as Jacob Hopper kicked an inside out ball high for Jeremy Cameron to outmark Dylan Grimes, outside 50 on the left.

He went back and kicked it truly to give the Giants a five-point lead.

The Giants seemed to weather the storm, and after the goal they looked to take a lead into quarter-time.

But the Tigers were still putting immense pressure on GWS.

With just over a minute left in the first term, Richmond forced a turnover on the wing, Jack Riewoldt pounced and drilled a ball to Martin, who took a mark inside 50, drawing a huge roar from the Tiger Army.

He ran round and kicked the goal to put Richmond ahead. Then in the dying seconds the ball came forward again and Daniel Rioli booted another on the siren, and suddenly the Tigers led by seven points at quarter-time.

More to come.

AFL grand final: Richmond Tigers v GWS Giants at the MCG, live blog – 9News Nigeria

Live updating Notify me if I’m away (experimental)  What is this?New post added

• • Richmond 17.11 (114) def
  • GWS          3.7 (25)
• IT’S TIGER TIME AGAIN! RICHMOND WINS THE GRAND FINAL BY 89 POINTS!
• Congratulations Richmond, the runaway premiers of 2019!AAP It was an absolute drubbing in the end, a performance of almost unprecedented power, pace and precision. It was Richmond at its absolute best, and in truth it would not have mattered who the Tigers were playing today. They were on another level, and when the whips have cracked this season, their best has been too good for the rest of the AFL. It wasn’t a grand final for the purists, but it was fun to watch purely for the flatly ridiculous footy the Tigers were playing. These will be serious celebrations on Punt Road, and this is a serious football team. Among the best of a generation.

• 2 minutes ago (Updated: 2 minutes ago)Fair trophy cabinet this bloke is building. AAP Dean Bilton 2 minutes ago(Updated: 2 minutes ago)
• 9 minutes ago (Updated: 9 minutes ago)AFL✔@AFLPREMIERS #AFLGF185:54 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee AFL’s other TweetsDean Bilton 9 minutes ago(Updated: 9 minutes ago)
• 10 minutes ago (Updated: 10 minutes ago)”It was sweet, was’t it?” That’s Dustin Martin speaking to Channel Seven about Marlion Pickett’s third-quarter goal. You know what was sweeter? THIS.Ethan@ethan_meldrumMarlion Pickett taking an extraordinary amount of piss out there. #AFLGF1033:58 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy31 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 10 minutes ago(Updated: 10 minutes ago)
• 15 minutes ago (Updated: 15 minutes ago)Richmond FC ✔@Richmond_FCFamily 855:47 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee Richmond FC ‘s other TweetsDean Bilton 15 minutes ago(Updated: 15 minutes ago)
• 18 minutes ago (Updated: 18 minutes ago)AAPDean Bilton 18 minutes ago(Updated: 18 minutes ago)
• 20 minutes ago (Updated: 20 minutes ago)Here you go – Marlion Pickett got four Norm Smith votes on debut. You wouldn’t read about it.AFL House✔@AFL_House2019 Norm Smith Medal Voting
  
  15 – Dustin Martin, Richmond – 33333
  6 – Bachar Houli, Richmond – 222
  4 – Marlion Pickett, Richmond – 211
  3 – Jack Riewoldt, Richmond – 111
  2 – Dion Prestia, Richmond – 2265:43 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee AFL House’s other TweetsDean Bilton 20 minutes ago(Updated: 20 minutes ago)
• 21 minutes ago (Updated: 21 minutes ago)In a league of his own.AFL✔@AFLTwo premierships
  Two Norm Smith Medals
  One Brownlow
  
  The only player to have ever achieved that. #AFLGF3415:26 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy96 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 21 minutes ago(Updated: 21 minutes ago)
• 24 minutes ago (Updated: 24 minutes ago)Richmond FC ✔@Richmond_FCBROTHERS #AFLGF #gotiges2415:27 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy37 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 24 minutes ago(Updated: 24 minutes ago)
• 27 minutes ago (Updated: 27 minutes ago)AFL✔@AFLYELLOW AND BLACK!#AFLGF1565:19 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy49 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 27 minutes ago(Updated: 27 minutes ago)
• 33 minutes ago (Updated: 25 minutes ago)COTCH AND DIMMA LIFT THE CUP! THE TIGERS ARE PREMIERS AGAIN! Channel Seven  Dean Bilton 33 minutes ago(Updated: 25 minutes ago)
• 35 minutes ago (Updated: 35 minutes ago)Now Damien Hardwick. To the Giants, you’ve been incredibly brave to get through the adversity you have. It wasn’t your day today, but you’ll be back. To Brendan Gale and Peggy, you are superstars. To our wonderful playing group, you are simply stunning as a playing group. And to the Tiger Army, we’ll see you at Swan Street. And then Cotchin RETURNS to the mic because he forgot to thank the fans. First blooper of the day.

Source: ABC News Live, 9NEWS, NEWS AUSTRALIA

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Tony Abbott tells rally proposed abortion laws are ‘effectively infanticide on demand’

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has told an anti-abortion rally in Sydney that the proposed bill to decriminalise abortion is “effectively infanticide on demand”.

Key points:

• The rally was held to oppose abortion decriminalisation laws which passed the lower house last month
• Mr Abbott and Mr Joyce spoke out against the legislation at the rally
• The bill is is due back before the NSW Upper House this week

Thousands joined the rally to oppose the bill which is due back before the NSW Upper House this week for amendments to be debated.

Among them was former federal Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who has repeatedly weighed into the debate over the contentious bill.

Mr Abbott was scathing in response to the Berejiklian Government allowing the private member’s bill to come before the parliament, saying it was not what it was elected to do.

“The first serious legislation that the new Government puts into this parliament, is for the most radical abortion laws in this country,” he said.

He claimed the bill was based on “a lie” because “whether we like it or not abortion has been decriminalised in this state for up to sixty years.”

He described it “as a licence for sex-selection abortions, and late-term abortions” and said it was “effectively infanticide on demand”.

PHOTO: Protestors rally against the abortion legislation in Sydney. (ABC News: Ashleigh Raper)

“You don’t have to be a Catholic, you don’t have to be a Christian, you don’t have to be an evangelical, you don’t have to believe in anything other than the basic decency of every other human being to think that we should never have infanticide on demand.”

Mr Joyce labelled the bill “animalistic” and said it failed to recognise the rights of the unborn child.

“There is not one person here who was not born … there comes a time when there are two people, and two people have rights and those rights must be respected otherwise society is destroyed,” he told the rally.

“If you want to kill someone, how do you do it? You dehumanise them, you give them another word, you don’t call them a person … well I’ll call them a fetus.

“Where does this animalistic process stop? This is the slavery debate of our time.”

The anti-abortion rally came the day after a much smaller rally for supporters of the bill was also held in Hyde Park.

Source: ABC News

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Paul Cronin, once one of the most recognisable faces on the small screen, with a list of hits including The Sullivans, has passed away.

Australian actor Paul Cronin, once one of the most recognisable faces on television, has died in Melbourne at the age of 81.

The small screen legend, famed for playing Dave Sullivan in the acclaimed series The Sullivans, was surrounded by his loved ones when he passed away last night.

Cronin won five TV WEEK Logie Awards over the span of his long career, which included a long list of credits in much-loved series like Matlock Police, The Flying Doctors and Homicide.

His daughter Susanne told The Herald Sun on Saturday that the family was immensely proud of his achievements, both professional and personal.

“He was the most wonderful father, he was protective, he would have done everything for his girls. We loved him so much, he adored mum so much,” she said.

Paul Cronin with Lorraine Bayly, Susan Hannaford, Andrew McFarlane and Richard Morgan in The Sullivans.Source:News Corp Australia

Norman Yemn, Lorraine Bayly and Paul Cronin in the The Sullivans.Source:News Corp Australia

She and sisters Katherine, Jules and Jane were by his side on Friday evening during his final moments, she said.

Cronin was left devastated by his wife Helen’s death in 2013. It was his lifelong companion, who he “still called his bride after 50 years of marriage”, who encouraged his leap into show business, she revealed.

“The story goes he was watching TV one night with mum and he said ‘I reckon I could do that’, and she said, ‘why don’t you?’,” Susanne told the newspaper.

“He got a walk on role in one of the Crawford Productions and then he got Matlock and the rest is history.”

Paul Cronin had a long list of credits and starred in a number of Aussie TV hits.Source:News Limited

Prior to that, Cronin had been working as a semi-trailer truck driver and a draftsman after moving to Melbourne from his home state of South Australia, where he has earnt a name for being a champion gymnast.

“We’re so proud of what he achieved in his career. He was determined to follow through on anything he set his mind to. He wanted to start a football team and he did it with the Brisbane Bears.”

Paul Cronin was five TV WEEK Logie Awards over his career.Source:News Corp Australia

Cronin lobbied the AFL — a code he adored — for a licence to establish a team in Brisbane in 1986 and was president of the Bears for its first two years.

In a statement today, Brisbane Lions chairman Andrew Wellington expressed his condolences to the club’s inaugural leader.

“We at the Brisbane Lions are saddened by the passing of Paul Cronin,” he said.

“Paul played an important role in bringing AFL to Queensland through leading the consortium that established the Brisbane Bears.

“A national Australian Rules football competition exists today because of the passion and energy of people like Paul and we are very grateful for his contribution to this legacy.”

Lions players facing the GWS Giants tonight will wear a black armband in honour of Cronin’s contributions to the game.

South Australian MP Frank Pangallo took to Twitter to pay tribute to the icon, who he’d crossed paths with “many times”.

“Above all else he was one of the most affable and genuine people you could meet in show business,” he wrote.

“A loss but what a legacy.”

Source: News Australia

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Hundreds of people have rallied in Melbourne calling for more rights for refugees and an end to discrimination.

Former refugee footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi has called on the prime minister to help others like him at a rally in Melbourne.

The Bahrain-born 25-year-old has travelled a rocky road, including a stint in a Bangkok jail, to realise his dream of a life in Australia.

“I have a small message to this government, you have given me citizenship here as a refugee but there are dozens of people here. Please Scott Morrison help these people,” Mr Al-Araibi told hundreds of activists in Melbourne on Saturday.

His detention sparked the “Save Hakeem” campaign to return him to Australia and he became the star defender for the semi-professional Pascoe Vale Soccer Club.

“If we’re united together we can change,” he told the crowd.

Other attendees included federal politicians Ged Kearney from Labor and Greens leader Richard Di Natale.

The Labor politician was moved to tears after a man, whom she said was mentally ill, became upset and threw his papers on the ground at the rally claiming he was a refugee.

“Of course his mental health is poor, of course. Anyone put through anything like that would be unwell,” Ms Kearney said.

She also apologised for Labor’s federal election loss and said if they had won, treatment of refugees would be different.

“I’m sorry we didn’t win the election and this is one of my greatest regrets, we would have put an end to indefinite detention,” the Labor MP told the crowd.

“There would be no more horrible temporary protection visas, no more horrible fast-track.”

The Greens leader said the rally was about supporting people stuck in an unfair system who came to Australia fleeing war and persecution.

“It’s about those 30,000 innocent people who have fled persecution who want to contribute to Australia and this government is turning their back on them,” Mr Di Natale said.

He told reporters Peter Dutton’s comments about “anchor babies” was disgraceful.

“That sort of language is designed to divide Australian people, the sort of language we expect of racists and the far right,” he said.

The rally is one of several taking place around the country including at Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Source: News Australia

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Canadian police said today they believe two teenage fugitives suspected of killing a North Carolina woman, her Australian boyfriend and another man took their own lives amid a nationwide manhunt.

The Manitoba Medical Examiner completed the autopsies and confirmed that two bodies found last week in dense bush in northern Manitoba province were indeed 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky. A police statement said they appeared to die by suicide.

McLeod and Schmegelsky were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia lecturer whose body was found July 19 along a highway in British Columbia.

They were also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found July 15 along the Alaska Highway about 500 kilometres from where Dyck was killed. The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the US, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, the woman’s older brother said.

A manhunt for the teenage suspects had spread across three provinces and involved the Canadian military. The suspects had not been seen since July 22, and their bodies were found near Gillam, Manitoba — more than 3,200 kilometres from northern British Columbia.

Police said in a statement McLeod and Schmegelsky were dead for a number of days before they were found, but said there were strong indications they had been alive for a few days after they were last seen.

Two guns were located, and authorities are working to definitively confirm that the firearms are connected to the murders in British Columbia.

The British Columbia Prosecution Service said criminal charges don’t move forward if the person who has been accused is proven dead.

Police said items that were found on the shoreline of the Nelson River proved key in helping locate the suspects. Specialized teams began searching high-probability areas nearby, and on Wednesday morning, the two bodies were found within one kilometre of the objects.

The deaths of the three victims had shaken rural northern British Columbia and Manitoba.

Schmegelsky’s father, Alan Schmegelsky, said last month that he expected the nationwide manhunt to end in the death of his son, who he said was on “a suicide mission.”

McLeod and Schmegelsky grew up on Vancouver Island and worked together at a local Walmart before they set off on what their parents thought was a trip to Yukon for work.

They were originally considered missing persons and only became suspects later.

Police were investigating photographs of a swastika armband and a Hitler Youth knife that Schmegelsky allegedly sent online to a friend on the video-game network Steam.

Alan Schmegelsky said his son took him to an army surplus store about eight months ago in his small Vancouver Island hometown of Port Alberni, where his son was excited about the Nazi artifacts.

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Bulked-up tax returns will start flowing as soon as next week after the Coalition’s much touted $158 billion income tax plan passed Parliament.

Crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and Centre Alliance offered the final crucial votes the Federal Government needed to pass the legislation, which retrospectively offers tax cuts for the last financial year.

Labor, having failed to amend the tax plan, ultimately supported the passage of the plan in the Senate, while the Greens voted against it.

The legislation passed 56 to 9, with One Nation abstaining and crossbencher Cory Bernardi absent.

The result prompted claps from Coalition senators and heckles of “shame” from the Greens.

The change means more than 10 million Australians will receive a tax cut up to $1,080.

The legislation will head to the Governor-General for royal assent, paving the way for the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to begin applying it to tax returns for the last financial year.

Senator Lambie had held out offering her support until early this morning.

She wanted more money for social housing in Tasmania and said she was willing to support the tax cuts “in good faith”, under the expectation the Government would meet her demands in the next six weeks.

“I’m not saying everything about this bill is perfect and I’m not saying that it’s going to fix every problem people are experiencing,” Senator Lambie said.

“I’m just saying that if you ask me to choose between helping someone and helping nobody then I know what I’m going to choose every single time, just as sure as day follows night.”

PHOTO: Penny Wong urged the Government to amend the tax package to bring forward the second stage. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Labor fails to amend the Coalition’s plans

Labor has long argued it wanted to amend the bill, to bring forward the second stage and delay the third stage, which includes longer-term structural changes, for future consideration.

The Opposition’s leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, led the charge to amend the legislation, but Labor ultimately failed when it was unable to convince enough crossbenchers to support its measures.

Labor ultimately voted for the full package the Coalition had put forward.

“Because every Australian, apparently apart from some members of the Government, knows that the economy’s struggling and that the economy does need stimulus,” Labor leader Anthony Albanese said.

PHOTO: Deputy Labor Senate leader Kristina Keneally speaks with Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff on July 4, 2019. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

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9News Nigeria

The level of immigration to Australia had the centre stage for the better part of the last year with the Government announcing some of the most significant changes seen in the recent years, including slashing the permanent intake for the first time in nearly a decade.

Some of the most significant changes to Australia’s immigration system in recent years are going to take effect this year.

Immigration cap lowered

Following months of posturing on the issue of growing congestion in Sydney and Melbourne, the Federal Government announced in March this year that it will cut back Australia’s annual permanent immigration intake to 160,000. The intake has been capped at 190,000 since 2011 but the actual intake fell to just over 162,000 in 2017-18 for the first time in over a decade.

The impact of the overall cut will be absorbed by Skilled Independent visas that allowed people to live and work anywhere in Australia. The annual quota of this subclass has been slashed from over 43,000 to nearly 18,000 – a move that has temporary residents in Australia worried that it might force a prolonged temporary residency period on them.

The government said the cap will be maintained for the next four years.

Australians more positive on migrant rates

New regional visas

The government also announced an increase in the number of visa places for regional Australia with 23,000 skilled visas being reserved for those willing to live and work in the regions.

The two new provisional regional visas to be introduced in November this year – Skilled Employer Sponsored Visa and Skilled Work Regional Visa will have 9,000 and 14,000 places respectively within the annual immigration cap of 160,000.

Sky News Australia✔@SkyNewsAust

.@AlanTudgeMP: Not only are we easing off on the migration rate overall, but we’re providing 23,000 geographically restricted visas anywhere outside the big capitals.

MORE: https://bit.ly/2Y92aRh  #AMagenda97:52 AM – Mar 20, 2019See Sky News Australia’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy

Visa holders of these subclasses will be required to spend at least three years in regional areas in order to become eligible to apply for permanent residency, instead of two years. A new regional permanent visa will be introduced in 2022.

International students will be able to access an additional year of post-study visa if they study in an educational institute in the regions, outside of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and southeast Queensland.

Extra points for skilled migration

Visa applicants sponsored or nominated for these regional visas will have the benefit of five extra points towards their points test.

The government has also announced an additional 10 points for applicants with a skilled spouse and for those without a spouse. There are extra points for qualifications in STEM subjects as well. 

New parent visa

The new Temporary Sponsored Parent visa applications are being accepted from 1 July 2019. The visa – first promised ahead of the 2016 federal election – is being made available this year after the legislation it was tied to passed through the federal parliament in October last year.

The new visa is linked to a sponsorship framework under which Australian citizen or permanent residents have to first apply to become approved sponsors. Once they are approved as sponsors, their parents will be able to apply for the visa that will allow them to stay in Australia for a continuous period of up to five years with a single opportunity for renewal. The total number of visas issued is capped at 15,000 per year.

Citizenship changes abandoned

According to media reports, the Federal Government has abandoned the legislation that would have made migrants to wait longer and prove they have competent English proficiency before they could apply for Australian citizenship.

Shamsher Kainth@shamsherkainth

Changes to the #Citizenship law all but shelved. ⁦”We’ve experienced some serious frustrations from Labor Party who can’t make up their mind on these things,” says ⁦@ScottMorrisonMP⁩ #auspol ⁦@SBSPunjabi⁩ ⁦@SBSNews⁩ ⁦@SBSNews⁩67:42 AM – Mar 15, 2019See Shamsher Kainth’s other TweetsTwitter Ads info and privacy

After the Bill passed through the House of Representatives, it was struck of the Senate notice paper in October 2017 due to a joint opposition by the Greens, Labor and some crossbench senators.

Since then, the government had softened its stand on English requirements, scaling it down to ‘moderate’, but couldn’t get the required support to pass it in the Senate. Last month, The Courier-Mail reported that the government will not follow through with the changes.  

Source: SBS Australia

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MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (9News Nigeria) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked his fellow Pentecostal churchgoers on Sunday after a miraculous election victory that defied years of unfavourable opinion polls and bruised a Labor opposition that had been widely expected to win.

Morrison’s Liberal-led conservative coalition has won or is leading in 76 seats, the number needed to form a majority government, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. Slightly more than three-quarters of the roughly 17 million votes have been counted.

A jubilant Morrison hugged community members after an early Sunday service at the Horizon Church in Sydney’s southern suburbs, from where he was first elected to parliament in 2007.

“You don’t get to be a prime minister and serve in that capacity unless you first are a member of your local electorate,” he said.

He drew cheers later on Sunday when he arrived in the stands to watch his team, the Cronulla Sharks, in a rugby league match in his beachside electorate.

Morrison told raucous supporters late on Saturday, who had earlier seemed resigned to defeat, that he had always believed in miracles.

The result drew comparisons with Republican Donald Trump’s victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the first world leaders to congratulate Morrison.

“Congratulations to Scott on a GREAT WIN,” Trump said on Twitter before calling the Australian leader..

Jacinda Ardern, the progressive prime minister of neighbouring New Zealand, also called to congratulate him, saying that Morrison “understands us”.

Opinion polls in Australia had all pointed to a Labor victory. So strong was the expectation the government would fall that one betting agency even paid out bets on a Labor win days before the election.

Morrison, who emerged as an unlikely leader after Liberal party infighting last year, cast himself as the candidate who would work for aspirational voters and the tactic seemed to strike a chord.

PAINFUL LABOR LOSS

If the coalition fails to secure at least 76 seats, it will need to rely on support from independent politicians, such as maverick conservative Bob Katter, or small parties to govern.

Labor conceded defeat even with several seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives too close to call and millions of early votes still to be counted. Its leader, Bill Shorten, said he would step down.

Senior Labor figures began lining up on Sunday for the leadership after the centre-left party lost what some commentators called an “unlosable” election.

Labor campaigned on a platform of reducing inequality through tax reform, higher wages, better public infrastructure and faster action on climate change but Shorten, a former union leader, was never seen as a popular leader.

“You know I really don’t like what [Shorten] stands for, although I like what the Labor party stands for,” voter Rob Harb told Reuters at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.

Tanya Plibersek, Shorten’s deputy, said she was considering running for the leadership. Veteran Labor figure Anthony Albanese announced he would run after calling the defeat “devastating”.

“What you see is what you get with me, for better or worse,” Albanese told a news conference. “I am a bit rough at the edges, but I think that Australians don’t want someone who just utters talking points.”

Attempts by populist and far-right parties to win influence in the upper house Senate largely fell flat.

Fraser Anning, who sparked outrage when he blamed Muslim immigration for the New Zealand mosque shootings that killed 51 people in March, lost his Senate seat in Queensland state.

Fraser Anning, who sparked outrage when he blamed Muslim immigration for the New Zealand mosque shootings that killed 51 people in March, lost his Senate seat in Queensland state.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer, who spent tens of millions of dollars on a campaign aimed at disaffected voters, also failed to secure a place, although his campaign against Labor likely had an impact on the overall result.

Morrison’s coalition defied expectations by holding onto a string of seats in the outer suburbs of Australia’s largest cities, as well as in the resources-rich states of Queensland and Western Australia and the small island state of Tasmania.

Reporting by Lidia Kelly in MELBOURNE and Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by James Redmayne; Editing by Paul Tait

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9News Nigeria

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has swept to a sensational win over Bill Shorten in a shock election result that keeps the Coalition in power.

Scott Morrison has swept to victory in a sensational federal election result that defied the polls and cements the Coalition’s power.

The Coalition is on track to win government, fending off Labor and Bill Shorten’s efforts to take over as prime minister.

As it stands, the Coalition is headed to form a minority government at least, but could still reach the 76 seats needed to form a majority government.

LIVE RESULTS: Seat-by-seat results

The bombshell triumph comes after repeated polls placed the ALP ahead of the Morrison government, and the Prime Minister’s demise appeared assured.

Swings to the Coalition in Queensland turned the election on its head as early figures suggested the Government could hold on.

Election experts said there would be no clear government tonight.

Labor scrutineers told news.com.au older voters have punished the party for its higher-taxing agenda. States where the economy is not thriving – such as Queensland, WA and country areas – have backed the Liberals’ agenda focused on the economy and jobs.

“A bold agenda is now dead forever in Australia,” a Labor scrutineer says as it became clear the election was turning against Shorten.

As the votes came in confidence began to grown among Liberal surpporters. At the official Liberal Party function in Sydney exuberant young Liberal supporters were heard chanting that the Liberals were “an election winning machine”.

“Labor used to be party for the workers, now it’s a party for people who don’t work,” one said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pulled off a stunning victory. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

Although former PM Tony Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggall, the Wentworth by-election result was reversed, with Liberal Dave Sharma reclaiming the old seat of Malcolm Turnbull from the woman who defeated him in October, Dr Kerryn Phelps.

But the swing against Labor in Queensland was devastating.

The Australian’s columnist Troy Bramston says Labor figures are “stunned and shocked” at the result currently unfolding, which pretty much nobody expected.

“It looks like a diabolical night for the party,” Bramston said.

ABC political editor Andrew Probyn says Labor sources are telling him their chances have been “killed” by the Coalition’s preference deals with Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Results then began flowing in from the west.

Labor’s Anny Aly has held on in the West Australian seat of Cowan while Patrick Gorman has also retained the seat of Perth.

The Liberal Party was won Swan, with Steve Irons being re-elected.

And Attorney-General Christian Porter has won his tough race in Pearce. Fellow minister Ken Wyatt has held on in Hasluck.

Labor gained Chisolm in Victoria. That’s the seat former Liberal Julia Banks held, before deciding to contest Flinders instead. Health Minister Greg Hunt defeated her there.

The Nationals have held Cowper, fending off Rob Oakeshott.

And Liberal MP Lucy Wicks has retained Robertson.

In the days before the eleciton news.com.au’s State of the Nation survey placed the Coalition ahead, however, with about 32 per cent saying the Coalition would get their vote, compared to 26 per cent for Labor.

Mr Morrison has also consistently beaten Mr Shorten in the polls as preferred PM, at 58 per cent in the State of the Nation survey compared to 42 per cent for Mr Shorten.

Labor has repeatedly beaten the Coalition in Newspoll surveys, but its leader’s approval ratings trailed behind. Last week’s poll showed only 38 per cent of respondents thought Mr Shorten would make the better PM to Mr Morrison’s 45 per cent, although 51 per cent backed Labor to 49 per cent supporting the Coalition in the two-party preferred vote.

The result is a massive blow for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, whose party had been ahead in almost all recent polls. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas CochSource:AAP

It was a tight race, but the news is a huge blow for Mr Shorten, who had worked hard to rehabilitate his image and appeared to grow in confidence during the campaign. His second election failure is almost certain to spell the end of his leadership, while Mr Morrison will be relieved he has helped the Coalition edge over the line to return for a third term in government.

Mr Morrison’s landmark achievement has up-ended almost all commentators’ predictions, proving polls and general consensus are not always correct, following a pattern of recent global surprises — including the UK’s Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US President.

The Prime Minister repeatedly emphasised the Coalition’s strength on the economy, promising income tax cuts and lower bills while playing down the threat of climate change.

Mr Morrison was a controversial Immigration Minister under Tony Abbott after the 2013 election, implementing Operation Sovereign Borders before becoming Social Services Minister in a 2014 reshuffle. The MP for Cook in New South Wales was promoted to Treasurer when Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister in 2015, and stepped in as the compromise candidate after a Peter Dutton challenge in August 2018.

But it seems he has been underestimated. After nine months in the job, Mr Morrison has been given the seal of approval by Austral

-News Australia

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9News Nigeria

A dramatic swing in Queensland has changed the election landscape significantly. It’s a result that seemed unthinkable just a few hours ago.

Welcome to 9News Nigeria’s live update, rolling coverage of the federal election results.

After an exhausting five-week campaign, Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten are finally learning the Australian people’s verdict. Follow this story for live updates throughout the evening as we learn who will run the country for the next three years.

LIVE UPDATE

Shock result looms as election turned on its head

Shannon Molloy

Sam Clench

The mood in the Liberal campaign has shifted dramatically over the past hour.

A Coalition source tells news.com.au that the swings to the Coalition in Queensland have changed the landscape significantly.

There’s now a growing confidence that Scott Morrison’s government can hold on. It’s a result that seemed unthinkable just a few hours ago when polls closed on the east coast.

ABC political commentator Barrie Cassidy says a Liberal minority government is now a real possibility.

Unless pre-poll votes swing it back Labor’s way, Cassidy believes the Opposition will struggle to reach the number of seats required to form government.

“More likely (a) Coalition minority or even at a pinch, majority,” he said.

Here’s a quick runthrough of the key seats we’ve called recently.

Corangamite has fallen to Labor. Liberal Sarah Henderson was dealing with the smallest margin in the country.

The Liberals have taken Lindsay, the seat held by Labor’s Emma Husar.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has seen off the challenge of Julian Burnside in Kooyong.

Liberal Fiona Martin has retained the hotly contested seat Reid.

The Liberal National Party’s Michelle Landry has retained Capricornia in Queensland.

Ms Landry in particular is performing really strongly, with a current projected swing of 12 per cent towards the LNP.

That’s not the kind of outcome anyone was expected. Not least Ms Landry.

“We have worked extremely hard and obviously Adani and coal has played a big part in that and Labor are really hemorrhaging votes to One Nation,” Ms Landry said.12m agoMay 18, 2019HIGHLIGHT

Liberals take back Turnbull’s seat

Sam Clench

The Wentworth by-election result has been reversed, with Liberal Dave Sharma reclaiming the old seat of Malcolm Turnbull from the woman who defeated him in October, Dr Kerryn Phelps.

Results are starting to flow in from the west as well.

Labor’s Anny Aly has held on in the West Australian seat of Cowan while Patrick Gorman has also retained the seat of Perth.

The Liberal Party was won Swan, with Steve Irons being re-elected.

And Attorney-General Christian Porter has won his tough race in Pearce. Fellow minister Ken Wyatt has held on in Hasluck.

Labor has gained Chisolm in Victoria. That’s the seat former Liberal Julia Banks held, before deciding to contest Flinders instead. Health Minister Greg Hunt defeated her there.

The Nationals have held Cowper, fending off Rob Oakeshott.

And Liberal MP Lucy Wicks has retained Robertson.

Follow all the seat-by-seat results live here.

18m agoMay 18, 2019

Sam Clench

Our election experts say there will be no clear government tonight, and Labor is extremely unlikely to win. On the current numbers, it certainly will not be able to form a majority.

Early figures from Western Australia, whose seats are now crucial, are showing a swing towards the government.

Labor scrutineers tell news.com.au older voters have punished the party for its higher-taxing agenda. States where the economy is not thriving – such as Queensland, WA and country areas – have backed the Liberals’ agenda focused on the economy and jobs.

“A bold agenda is now dead forever in Australia,” a Labor scrutineer says.   

Channel 10’s political editor Peter van Onselen agrees has made a similar assessment.

He says there is a “95 per cent” certainty the Coalition will win the election with either a minority or majority government.