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| Coronavirus Australia update latest: WA residents wake up to loosened restrictions as 1 million download tracing app – live news | Coronavirus Australia update latest: WA residents wake up to loosened restrictions as 1 million download tracing app – live news |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Picnics, boating, hiking, camping and group exercise are back for Western Australians as Queensland also prepares to relax rules. Follow live | Picnics, boating, hiking, camping and group exercise are back for Western Australians as Queensland also prepares to relax rules. Follow live |
| Crossbench senator Pauline Hanson, who made a big deal of laying down on her own property to see if police would arrest her during the height of the lockdowns (despite lying down in the land surrounding your fancy Queenslander property never having been against the rules) is now making it clear she will not be downloading the app, because she doesn’t want the government to have her information. | |
| (Not that they need an app for that – there are the books, plus the never-ending Facebook posts, plus the blog posts, plus the media appearances whenever someone has a camera in the vicinity, plus the billboards, plus she ‘has the guts to say what you’re thinking’, plus the Senate speeches, plus the opinion pieces, plus the skywriting (I assume).) | |
| Anyways, Hanson is still on breakfast TV, for “reasons”. | |
| The Home Affairs Department has spent a total of $90,000 on a series of four contracts for “decontamination services” and “specialist cleaning of areas exposed to Covid-19”. | |
| The contracts went to Kamberra Indigenous Cleaning Pty (Fyshwick, ACT), Asset Restoration Pty Ltd (Minto, NSW), OS Group Australia Pty Ltd (Bankstown, NSW) and GJ & K Cleaning Services Pty Ltd (Collingwood, Victoria). | |
| It was revealed on 13 March that the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, had contracted coronavirus after a trip to the US, and reported that commonwealth offices in Sydney were cleaned by workers in full protective gear as a result. | |
| But the four contracts, all awarded by limited tender, are for periods which start on 27 March, 6 April or 7 April – so it’s unclear if they relate to Dutton’s illness or some other exposure. I’ve asked the department to clarify. | |
| Some good news. | |
| National Australia Bank plans to raise $3.5bn in new capital as it grapples with the impact of Covid-19 crisis on its customers. | |
| The bank brought forward the announcement of its half-year results, revealing profit is down 51% to $1.31bn in the six months to 31 March 2020. That’s a $1bn hit to NAB’s bottom line. | |
| NAB has the largest exposure to small business of the big four banks and is the first to announce a major capital raising to bolster its balance sheet. | |
| But it has also had to balance the needs of its retail investors, many of whom are self-funded retirees and has said it will continue to pay dividend. | |
| The move could trigger a round of capital raisings by banks and highlights how the shutdown of the economic activity is rippling through sectors. | |
| The bank will raise $3bn from institutional investors and a further $500m through a retail placement with its shareholders. | |
| CEO Ross McEwan said the bank’s base-case scenario was based on an 8.4% fall in GDP and unemployment rising to 11%. | |
| He said the bank had modelled for both a V-shaped and a U-shaped recovery, and while he was hoping for a quick V-shaped bounceback, he said “at this stage we don’t know and would be very surprised if anyone did”. | |
| Against the advice of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, it has decided to continue to pay a dividend of 30 cents a share. McEwan said the bank needed to balance returning capital to shareholders while having a strong balance sheet. | |
| Greg Hunt was speaking to the Nine Network a little earlier this morning and said there were 10 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, across Australia. | |
| New Zealand is also seeing its case numbers continue to drop, which is why it is moving ahead with relaxing its restrictions to level 3, which is essentially, what Australia is under now. | |
| In Queensland, just three people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. | |
| Victorian schools look like remaining pupil-free until the end of term two. | Victorian schools look like remaining pupil-free until the end of term two. |
| Queensland schools are pupil-free until at least 22 May (midway through term two) although parents can speak to their school’s principals if they want to send their children back earlier. | Queensland schools are pupil-free until at least 22 May (midway through term two) although parents can speak to their school’s principals if they want to send their children back earlier. |
| NSW is working on a face-to-face rostering system, but also is primarily, remaining pupil-free for at least the first half of term two (which in NSW starts today). | NSW is working on a face-to-face rostering system, but also is primarily, remaining pupil-free for at least the first half of term two (which in NSW starts today). |
| Gladys Berejiklian: | Gladys Berejiklian: |
| Dan Tehan has announced another $27m will be spent on grants to keep childcare centres open. | Dan Tehan has announced another $27m will be spent on grants to keep childcare centres open. |
| The government is paying 50% of operating costs for childcare centres, as well as providing the wage subsidy, while giving parents free childcare for six months. | The government is paying 50% of operating costs for childcare centres, as well as providing the wage subsidy, while giving parents free childcare for six months. |
| But some centres are still struggling to stay open. | But some centres are still struggling to stay open. |
| For those which have more students than they did, but less funds, grants of up to $10,000 can be awarded to cover immediate costs: | For those which have more students than they did, but less funds, grants of up to $10,000 can be awarded to cover immediate costs: |
| One of the MPs Chris Bowen was talking about there, who have said they won’t be downloading the app, is Barnaby Joyce, which had the immediate affect of making app opponents question their stance. | One of the MPs Chris Bowen was talking about there, who have said they won’t be downloading the app, is Barnaby Joyce, which had the immediate affect of making app opponents question their stance. |
| On the question of privacy, Chris Bowen said the government needs to release the source code (so people can check what is at the back end of the app, or whether or not any extras are included) but that downloading it was a personal decision: | On the question of privacy, Chris Bowen said the government needs to release the source code (so people can check what is at the back end of the app, or whether or not any extras are included) but that downloading it was a personal decision: |
| Chris Bowen has downloaded the app – here he is talking to ABC radio this morning: | Chris Bowen has downloaded the app – here he is talking to ABC radio this morning: |
| We have had a few messages from people who have phones connected to international app stores (something impacting expats and backpackers and travellers who may have bought and set up their phone overseas but use an Australian SIM) who are unable to register their phone with the tracing app. | We have had a few messages from people who have phones connected to international app stores (something impacting expats and backpackers and travellers who may have bought and set up their phone overseas but use an Australian SIM) who are unable to register their phone with the tracing app. |
| Greg Hunt says there are people who will look at that (some countries have made the app they have used internationally available. Australia’s is locked to the Australian app store) | Greg Hunt says there are people who will look at that (some countries have made the app they have used internationally available. Australia’s is locked to the Australian app store) |
| This is a very important story – there are so many people who need a few extra thoughts during this pandemic. | This is a very important story – there are so many people who need a few extra thoughts during this pandemic. |
| How many people does Greg Hunt want to download the app? | How many people does Greg Hunt want to download the app? |
| As of 6am, Greg Hunt says, 1.13 million Australians have downloaded the tracing app. | As of 6am, Greg Hunt says, 1.13 million Australians have downloaded the tracing app. |
| Peter Dutton has been Duttoning all over the place since coming back to work. | Peter Dutton has been Duttoning all over the place since coming back to work. |
| Last week he attacked the Queensland government for not opening up schools fast enough (it announced some weeks ago parents who needed to send their kids to school could, with the pupil-free status to be re-examined on 15 May), which went against what Scott Morrison had been saying as part of national cabinet. | Last week he attacked the Queensland government for not opening up schools fast enough (it announced some weeks ago parents who needed to send their kids to school could, with the pupil-free status to be re-examined on 15 May), which went against what Scott Morrison had been saying as part of national cabinet. |
| Morrison, when asked about Dutton’s attacks, said he was speaking as a Queenslander. | Morrison, when asked about Dutton’s attacks, said he was speaking as a Queenslander. |
| There is an election in Queensland in October, but I am sure that has absolutely nothing to do with it. | There is an election in Queensland in October, but I am sure that has absolutely nothing to do with it. |