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| Coronavirus Australia update latest: NSW to relax restrictions to allow two adults to visit a household – live news | Coronavirus Australia update latest: NSW to relax restrictions to allow two adults to visit a household – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Bondi reopens for swimming and surfing but the beach itself remains closed given the area boasts the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Australia. Follow live | Bondi reopens for swimming and surfing but the beach itself remains closed given the area boasts the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Australia. Follow live |
| Also, just a point to keep in mind – Australia won’t know for sure if all the measures have been successful or not until restrictions are relaxed and the nation avoids a second wave. | |
| I just need to check if Greg Hunt announced another death of someone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 | |
| As of 12.30pm today, 2.4 million Australians have downloaded the covid tracing app. | |
| The health minister is giving an update on the nation’s “sentinel testing” regime: | |
| Mark Butler spoke about Angus Taylor this morning: | |
| The latest department of health update is out: | |
| On perspective, a colleague just showed me this: | On perspective, a colleague just showed me this: |
| Perspective really can be everything: | Perspective really can be everything: |
| Simon Birmingham is up and speaking about the growing tensions between Australia and Beijing’s ambassador, after the ambassador told the Australian Financial Review on Monday that Chinese consumers may rethink purchasing Australian products if Australia continues pursuing an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus and China’s response. | Simon Birmingham is up and speaking about the growing tensions between Australia and Beijing’s ambassador, after the ambassador told the Australian Financial Review on Monday that Chinese consumers may rethink purchasing Australian products if Australia continues pursuing an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus and China’s response. |
| Australia’s foreign affairs secretary Frances Adamson has officially expressed the government’s displeasure through diplomatic channels. | Australia’s foreign affairs secretary Frances Adamson has officially expressed the government’s displeasure through diplomatic channels. |
| Birmingham says Australia won’t back down: | Birmingham says Australia won’t back down: |
| The Royal Australian College of GPs has responded to the hydroxychloroquine claims: | The Royal Australian College of GPs has responded to the hydroxychloroquine claims: |
| RACGP president Dr Harry Nespolon: | RACGP president Dr Harry Nespolon: |
| Just in case you saw this on your social media: | Just in case you saw this on your social media: |
| This is interesting | This is interesting |
| Temporary visa holders have been one of the groups who have missed out on any assistance from the government during this pandemic, leaving individual jurisdictions to fill the gap. | Temporary visa holders have been one of the groups who have missed out on any assistance from the government during this pandemic, leaving individual jurisdictions to fill the gap. |
| This is the ACT’s contribution: | This is the ACT’s contribution: |
| What we know about east coast schools: | What we know about east coast schools: |
| NSW: staggered return from 11 May. | NSW: staggered return from 11 May. |
| Queensland: review pupil-free school mandate around 15 May. | Queensland: review pupil-free school mandate around 15 May. |
| Victoria: Pupil-free school mandate likely to stay in place until at least June, while increased community testing is carried out. | Victoria: Pupil-free school mandate likely to stay in place until at least June, while increased community testing is carried out. |
| Meghan Quinn, deputy secretary of the macroeconomic group, told the Covid-19 inquiry that around 160,000 people applied for jobseeker between 21 March and the end of that month. | Meghan Quinn, deputy secretary of the macroeconomic group, told the Covid-19 inquiry that around 160,000 people applied for jobseeker between 21 March and the end of that month. |
| Labor’s Murray Watt, seizes on that to argue that 160,000 people lost their jobs after restrictions on pubs bars and other businesses and the announcement of jobkeeper, on 30 March. | Labor’s Murray Watt, seizes on that to argue that 160,000 people lost their jobs after restrictions on pubs bars and other businesses and the announcement of jobkeeper, on 30 March. |
| Quinn replied “that’s correct” but argued that jobkeeper has already boosted consumer and business confidence. | Quinn replied “that’s correct” but argued that jobkeeper has already boosted consumer and business confidence. |
| Earlier, Jenny Wilkinson defended the month gap between jobkeeper’s announcement on 30 March and the government reimbursing employers on 1 May. | Earlier, Jenny Wilkinson defended the month gap between jobkeeper’s announcement on 30 March and the government reimbursing employers on 1 May. |
| She said it took “two weeks to land the rules and two weeks for employers to apply” which “was in our mind the earliest we could roll out a program like this”. | She said it took “two weeks to land the rules and two weeks for employers to apply” which “was in our mind the earliest we could roll out a program like this”. |
| That exchange finished with this: | That exchange finished with this: |
| Andrew Leigh: Can you see any situation in which a tenant was unable to pay, the landlord claimed on insurance policy and it was then within reasonable community expectations that the insurance company went back and sued the tenant for the unpaid rent? | Andrew Leigh: Can you see any situation in which a tenant was unable to pay, the landlord claimed on insurance policy and it was then within reasonable community expectations that the insurance company went back and sued the tenant for the unpaid rent? |
| Robert Whelan: | Robert Whelan: |
| Over in the insurance committee hearing, Labor’s Andrew Leigh has asked whether insurance agents for landlords will chase tenants who have not paid their rent during the Covid crisis. | Over in the insurance committee hearing, Labor’s Andrew Leigh has asked whether insurance agents for landlords will chase tenants who have not paid their rent during the Covid crisis. |
| The from the Insurance Council’s Head of Risk and Operations Karl Sullivan and council CEO Robert Whelan is not overly reassuring: | The from the Insurance Council’s Head of Risk and Operations Karl Sullivan and council CEO Robert Whelan is not overly reassuring: |
| Leigh: Now as the crisis passes, the insurers will in legal terms be able to recover the unpaid rent from tenants. Is it your understanding that Insurance Council members will seek to pursue tenants for unpaid rent under these situations? | Leigh: Now as the crisis passes, the insurers will in legal terms be able to recover the unpaid rent from tenants. Is it your understanding that Insurance Council members will seek to pursue tenants for unpaid rent under these situations? |
| Sullivan: That is a matter for individual insurers, but they don’t have a relationship necessarily with the tenant. They have a relationship with the landlord, so I imagine that is a discussion they will have with the landlord to determine how much has the landlord been able to recoup and can that be offset against any loss of rent claim that’s been made. | Sullivan: That is a matter for individual insurers, but they don’t have a relationship necessarily with the tenant. They have a relationship with the landlord, so I imagine that is a discussion they will have with the landlord to determine how much has the landlord been able to recoup and can that be offset against any loss of rent claim that’s been made. |
| Leigh: Are you encouraging your members to pursue tenants? | Leigh: Are you encouraging your members to pursue tenants? |
| Whelan: No, we’re not encouraging them to do so, but it is up to individual insurers to make their own arrangements with their relationship with the landlord. But it’s really again around community expectations as well. But they are contracts at the end of the day that have been entered into, and the insurers are abiding by those contracts and so too the tenants should be as well. | Whelan: No, we’re not encouraging them to do so, but it is up to individual insurers to make their own arrangements with their relationship with the landlord. But it’s really again around community expectations as well. But they are contracts at the end of the day that have been entered into, and the insurers are abiding by those contracts and so too the tenants should be as well. |
| Leigh: It hardly seems in the spirit of things though. There’s a range of rent moratoriums that are being put in place as a result of Covid-19. Landlords are suffering some of that pain, and are then turning to their insurer, and you’re telling me you think it would be alright if the insurer then went back and sued the tenant? | Leigh: It hardly seems in the spirit of things though. There’s a range of rent moratoriums that are being put in place as a result of Covid-19. Landlords are suffering some of that pain, and are then turning to their insurer, and you’re telling me you think it would be alright if the insurer then went back and sued the tenant? |
| Whelan: No, what I’m saying is they need to take into account the community expectations and the degree to which they’re able to absorb that is really their own individual decisions. That’s something that the company must take onboard themselves and decide themselves. It is down to the individual companies to make those decisions. We encourage and provide information to them, but at the end of the day it’s an individual company decision to make. | Whelan: No, what I’m saying is they need to take into account the community expectations and the degree to which they’re able to absorb that is really their own individual decisions. That’s something that the company must take onboard themselves and decide themselves. It is down to the individual companies to make those decisions. We encourage and provide information to them, but at the end of the day it’s an individual company decision to make. |
| Leigh: I think we can be pretty sure about what the community sentiment would be on this. I’m just surprised that the Insurance Council doesn’t have an approach to it, that you’re essentially taking this hands off, ‘it’s up to our members’ approach to what could turn out to be quite a serious problem. | Leigh: I think we can be pretty sure about what the community sentiment would be on this. I’m just surprised that the Insurance Council doesn’t have an approach to it, that you’re essentially taking this hands off, ‘it’s up to our members’ approach to what could turn out to be quite a serious problem. |
| Whelan: Well, I wouldn’t quite characterise it like that. We do monitor the situation and feed back what we believe are the issues that insurers should be taking into account when they are making these sorts of decisions. So it’s not that we’re absent in this discussion. We are participants in it obviously, because we want to make sure that the industry’s reputation is held high. So that’s an expectation on our behalf. And there’s also a code of practise, which they’re expected to abide by, which goes to issues around financial hardship and people in vulnerable positions. And that has some quite strong requirements on those particular companies to be able to abide by that code of practise. And that’s entered into voluntarily by Insurance Council members and they are required to abide by, they are held accountable … | Whelan: Well, I wouldn’t quite characterise it like that. We do monitor the situation and feed back what we believe are the issues that insurers should be taking into account when they are making these sorts of decisions. So it’s not that we’re absent in this discussion. We are participants in it obviously, because we want to make sure that the industry’s reputation is held high. So that’s an expectation on our behalf. And there’s also a code of practise, which they’re expected to abide by, which goes to issues around financial hardship and people in vulnerable positions. And that has some quite strong requirements on those particular companies to be able to abide by that code of practise. And that’s entered into voluntarily by Insurance Council members and they are required to abide by, they are held accountable … |
| Treasury official, Robert Jeremenko, has had a go at Industry Super Australia for quoting a “significantly larger” estimate of the impact of withdrawing superannuation early than government figures. | Treasury official, Robert Jeremenko, has had a go at Industry Super Australia for quoting a “significantly larger” estimate of the impact of withdrawing superannuation early than government figures. |
| Liberal James Paterson said the ISA is advising a 30-year-old withdrawing $20,000 from super will see a $97,000 hit to their retirement income, whereas Asic’s Moneysmart website suggests it is $43,000. | Liberal James Paterson said the ISA is advising a 30-year-old withdrawing $20,000 from super will see a $97,000 hit to their retirement income, whereas Asic’s Moneysmart website suggests it is $43,000. |
| Jeremenko explains the “major reason” for the discrepancy is that ISA has used nominal figures rather than real. | Jeremenko explains the “major reason” for the discrepancy is that ISA has used nominal figures rather than real. |
| He said: | He said: |
| “Those figures that ISA quote do not use today’s dollars. That is inconsistent with what Asic has told super funds, the advice they have provided to anyone who is making statements about the impact [of super withdrawals].” | “Those figures that ISA quote do not use today’s dollars. That is inconsistent with what Asic has told super funds, the advice they have provided to anyone who is making statements about the impact [of super withdrawals].” |
| Jeremenko said it makes more “intuitive sense” and is more “appropriate” to use “today’s dollars” to estimate the effect of the withdrawal at some point in the future. Jeremenko said using nominal figures “gives a larger [perceived] hit to retirement balances” but doesn’t comment on ISA’s motives. | Jeremenko said it makes more “intuitive sense” and is more “appropriate” to use “today’s dollars” to estimate the effect of the withdrawal at some point in the future. Jeremenko said using nominal figures “gives a larger [perceived] hit to retirement balances” but doesn’t comment on ISA’s motives. |
| New Zealanders can once again order takeaway, with the country moving into its level three restrictions – which is essentially what most of Australia is under now. | New Zealanders can once again order takeaway, with the country moving into its level three restrictions – which is essentially what most of Australia is under now. |
| Jacinda Ardern says 75% of the economy will be back up running again under the lessening of restrictions: | Jacinda Ardern says 75% of the economy will be back up running again under the lessening of restrictions: |
| New Zealand has paid out $10bn in wage subsidies. | New Zealand has paid out $10bn in wage subsidies. |