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| Australia coronavirus updates live: Frydenberg rules out bailout for Virgin Australia's 'foreign shareholders' – latest news | Australia coronavirus updates live: Frydenberg rules out bailout for Virgin Australia's 'foreign shareholders' – latest news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| As Australia’s infection rate falls, state and federal leaders will discuss lifting ban on elective surgery at meeting on Tuesday. Follow all the latest news, live | As Australia’s infection rate falls, state and federal leaders will discuss lifting ban on elective surgery at meeting on Tuesday. Follow all the latest news, live |
| Somehow, despite not having played a match since March, the NRL has managed to remain deeply entertaining during its hiatus. Yesterday, the league’s chief executive, Todd Greenberg, feel on his sword after months of speculation that he was on the outer. | |
| In this piece, my colleague Nick Tedeschi explains why Greenberg’s cards have been marked since September when he unsuccessfully worked to stop Peter V’landys become the league’s new chairman. | |
| “Already widely regarded as a strongman with enormous political clout and a penchant for imposing his will, the knock on him was that he would struggle to run both Racing NSW and the NRL. Greenberg saw this as an opportunity to assert his power in the game. He canvassed behind the scenes to stop V’landys’ ascension. It was a play that was reckless and ignorant. A train was powering at full steam and he failed to heed the warning.” | |
| The Queensland state development minister, Cameron Dick, is speaking now on the ABC about Virgin Australia. The company is based in Queensland, and the state government there had offered the government $200m in assistance on the proviso it remained based there. | |
| Dick calls it “a very disappointing day”, and says the state government is seeking a meeting with the new administrator this afternoon. | |
| The former union leader and Labor minister Greg Combet will head a new working group aiming to improve safety in workplaces and help resolve industrial relations disputes during the coronavirus crisis. | |
| The National Covid-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC) - a body set up by Scott Morrison last month to give the government advice on reducing the economic and social impacts of the pandemic - has announced a few more details about how it is navigating its task this morning. | |
| Combet was already one of the commissioners on the overarching body, which is headed by Nev Power, but will now also lead the new industrial relations working group. | |
| Guardian Australia reported last week that state-based agencies have already received at least 175 workers’ compensation claims or notifications that relate in some way to Covid-19, prompting fresh warnings that employers must take heed of their employees’ health and safety during the pandemic. | |
| Combet vowed to work closely with unions and employer groups. In a statement issued today, he said the working group would focus on helping employers put in place safe working practices and be ready to respond quickly to any Covid-19 issues in their workplaces. | |
| Combet said the group would also “help employers and employees nip issues in the bud before they can threaten jobs, business livelihoods and the further spread of coronavirus in our workplaces”. | |
| The working group’s members include two former senior members of the Fair Work Commission: Jenny Acton, a former senior deputy president, and Graeme Watson, a former vice president. | |
| Other members are employment lawyer Josh Bornstein, Clayton Utz partner Saul Harben, deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd, and Safe Work Australia acting branch manager Bianca Wellington. | |
| Moving briefly away from Covid-19, Tony Abbott was stopped outside his home this morning and, complete in bicycle riding gear (what do you call it? Spandex?), responded briefly to Malcolm Turbull’s interview on the ABC last night. | |
| He didn’t respond to all of Turnbull’s criticisms, choosing instead to defend his former chief of staff Peta Credlin. | |
| Calling Credlin an “extraordinary person”, he said she “was an important part of the Abbott government”. | |
| “[She was] comparable in my government to someone like Arthur Sinodinos in the Howard government, a fine thinker, a great organiser and she was a trusted colleague and I think she deserves a great deal of credit for what she did,” Abbott said. | |
| Keen for something lighter over lunch? Me too. My colleague Brigid Delaney curated her own three-day isolation arts festival over the weekend. It is a uniquely Brigid piece of writing, which is to say, very funny and good. | Keen for something lighter over lunch? Me too. My colleague Brigid Delaney curated her own three-day isolation arts festival over the weekend. It is a uniquely Brigid piece of writing, which is to say, very funny and good. |
| Donald Trump has announced he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration to the US. | Donald Trump has announced he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration to the US. |
| The never-ending Ruby Princess saga continues today. The deeply cursed cruse ship is still docked at Port Kembla south of Sydney, and today 49 crew members are being taken off the ship one by one. They’re being taken to Sydney hotels overnight, before being repatriated to their home countries. The crew being taken off today are from the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Ireland and New Zealand. There are still about 1,000 crew who remain on board. About 200 of them have tested positive for Covid-19. | The never-ending Ruby Princess saga continues today. The deeply cursed cruse ship is still docked at Port Kembla south of Sydney, and today 49 crew members are being taken off the ship one by one. They’re being taken to Sydney hotels overnight, before being repatriated to their home countries. The crew being taken off today are from the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Ireland and New Zealand. There are still about 1,000 crew who remain on board. About 200 of them have tested positive for Covid-19. |
| China has accused Australia of “dancing to the tune” of the United States, as Beijing pushed back at calls for an independent inquiry into the origins and handling of the coronavirus outbreak. | China has accused Australia of “dancing to the tune” of the United States, as Beijing pushed back at calls for an independent inquiry into the origins and handling of the coronavirus outbreak. |
| Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, had stressed the need for transparency as she suggested a review to examine how Covid-19 developed into a pandemic. | Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, had stressed the need for transparency as she suggested a review to examine how Covid-19 developed into a pandemic. |
| When asked on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday whether her trust in China had been eroded, Payne said her “concern about these issues ... is at a very high point”. | When asked on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday whether her trust in China had been eroded, Payne said her “concern about these issues ... is at a very high point”. |
| China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang, said Payne’s remarks were “not based on facts”. | China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang, said Payne’s remarks were “not based on facts”. |
| “China is seriously concerned about and firmly opposed to this,” he said when asked by the ABC to respond at his regular press conference yesterday. | “China is seriously concerned about and firmly opposed to this,” he said when asked by the ABC to respond at his regular press conference yesterday. |
| According to the official transcript – which has now been posted online – Geng argued China had acted openly, transparently and responsibly and had not lost any time in reporting the outbreak to the World Health Organisation. | According to the official transcript – which has now been posted online – Geng argued China had acted openly, transparently and responsibly and had not lost any time in reporting the outbreak to the World Health Organisation. |
| And he said the origin of the novel coronavirus was “a serious question of science that should be studied by scientists and medical experts”. | And he said the origin of the novel coronavirus was “a serious question of science that should be studied by scientists and medical experts”. |
| “We hope that the Australian side can treat this issue in an objective, scientific and scrupulous manner,” Geng said. He said China hoped Australia would “do more things to deepen China-Australia relations, enhance mutual trust and help epidemic prevention and control in both countries, rather than dancing to the tune of a certain country to hype up the situation” – an apparent reference to the US. | “We hope that the Australian side can treat this issue in an objective, scientific and scrupulous manner,” Geng said. He said China hoped Australia would “do more things to deepen China-Australia relations, enhance mutual trust and help epidemic prevention and control in both countries, rather than dancing to the tune of a certain country to hype up the situation” – an apparent reference to the US. |
| In the interview with Insiders, Payne had said she shared some of the concerns the US had raised about the WHO. She had said an independent review should look into details “about the genesis of the virus, about the approaches to dealing with it, and addressing it, about the openness with which information was shared, about interaction with the World Health Organization, interaction with other international leaders”. | In the interview with Insiders, Payne had said she shared some of the concerns the US had raised about the WHO. She had said an independent review should look into details “about the genesis of the virus, about the approaches to dealing with it, and addressing it, about the openness with which information was shared, about interaction with the World Health Organization, interaction with other international leaders”. |
| The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released some very sobering jobs and wages statistics measuring the Covid-19 downturn. | The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released some very sobering jobs and wages statistics measuring the Covid-19 downturn. |
| The ABS found that from 14 March to 4 April, jobs were down 6% and pay down 6.7%. Accommodation and food services (-25.6%), arts and recreation (-18.7%) and mining (-8.4%) lead the way on job losses in that period. | The ABS found that from 14 March to 4 April, jobs were down 6% and pay down 6.7%. Accommodation and food services (-25.6%), arts and recreation (-18.7%) and mining (-8.4%) lead the way on job losses in that period. |
| Unsurprisingly, accommodation and food services, and arts and recreation services also lead the way on pay cuts – down 30.1% and 15.7% respectively. The very young and very old were both hit on job numbers: employment of over-70s was down 9.7% and those under 20 down 9.9%. | Unsurprisingly, accommodation and food services, and arts and recreation services also lead the way on pay cuts – down 30.1% and 15.7% respectively. The very young and very old were both hit on job numbers: employment of over-70s was down 9.7% and those under 20 down 9.9%. |
| The young were hit even harder when it comes to pay, with wages down a whopping 12.7% for those under 20, and 9.1% for those aged 20-29. | The young were hit even harder when it comes to pay, with wages down a whopping 12.7% for those under 20, and 9.1% for those aged 20-29. |
| Women have also been hit disproportionately by pay cuts. Payments to women decreased by 7.0% while payments to men decreased by 6.4%. | Women have also been hit disproportionately by pay cuts. Payments to women decreased by 7.0% while payments to men decreased by 6.4%. |
| And that’s that. So, just to quickly recap that whirlwind 15 minutes. | And that’s that. So, just to quickly recap that whirlwind 15 minutes. |
| The federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, seems to have ruled out a bailout for Virgin Australia, at least for now. But the government has appointed former Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore to act as a kind of emissary to deal with the administrator. Frydenberg said the government wants two airlines operating in Australia, but that he wants a “market-led solution”. | The federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, seems to have ruled out a bailout for Virgin Australia, at least for now. But the government has appointed former Macquarie chief executive Nicholas Moore to act as a kind of emissary to deal with the administrator. Frydenberg said the government wants two airlines operating in Australia, but that he wants a “market-led solution”. |
| At virtually the same time, Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah said the aviation industry was going through an “unprecedented” challenge and that “the oxygen supply of our business was cut off” by Covid-19. | At virtually the same time, Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah said the aviation industry was going through an “unprecedented” challenge and that “the oxygen supply of our business was cut off” by Covid-19. |
| He said he took comfort in the government’s comments, and was confident the company would come out of administration “leaner, stronger and fitter”. The new administrator, Vaughn Strawbridge, said there was no plan to force workers to take redundancies at this point and that Virgin would continue to operate at its current reduced scale. | He said he took comfort in the government’s comments, and was confident the company would come out of administration “leaner, stronger and fitter”. The new administrator, Vaughn Strawbridge, said there was no plan to force workers to take redundancies at this point and that Virgin would continue to operate at its current reduced scale. |
| Strawbridge is asked how long Virgin can keep operating at its current reduced capacity before the money it has runs out. | Strawbridge is asked how long Virgin can keep operating at its current reduced capacity before the money it has runs out. |
| Scurrah says Richard Branson “cares deeply” about Virgin. | Scurrah says Richard Branson “cares deeply” about Virgin. |
| Strawbridge says “in excess of 10 parties” have expressed interest in Virgin. | Strawbridge says “in excess of 10 parties” have expressed interest in Virgin. |
| The Virgin Australia administrator Vaughan Strawbridge is speaking now. He says Deloitte is “not planning any changes to the operation of the business”. There are “no plans to make any redundancies” of Virgin’s remaining staff and “wages will continue to be paid”. | The Virgin Australia administrator Vaughan Strawbridge is speaking now. He says Deloitte is “not planning any changes to the operation of the business”. There are “no plans to make any redundancies” of Virgin’s remaining staff and “wages will continue to be paid”. |
| He says there has been an “extraordinary amount of interest in the business and in the restructuring of VirginAustralia”. | He says there has been an “extraordinary amount of interest in the business and in the restructuring of VirginAustralia”. |
| Scurrah says Virgin is “very focused on making sure we preserve as many jobs as we can to provide as many jobs for the existing Virgin Australia Group workforce”. | Scurrah says Virgin is “very focused on making sure we preserve as many jobs as we can to provide as many jobs for the existing Virgin Australia Group workforce”. |