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| Coronavirus Australia update: Daniel Andrews to address allegations of branch stacking by Victoria MP – politics live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Premier expected to address allegations of branch stacking by a minister he once described as a ‘very good friend’. Follow the latest updates live | |
| Queensland has recorded no new cases of Covid in the last 24 hours. | |
| Laguna Street primary school in Sydney’s south is still closed, after a teacher tested positive. Those students will switch to online learning while the school is closed | |
| Anthony Albanese talked a little about where his Ceda speech will be going, while speaking to the ABC this morning: | |
| Mike Bowers is at the national press club, where Scott Morrison and then Anthony Albanese will address the Ceda State of the Nation event. | |
| Via AAP: | |
| Officials are doing everything they can to help an Australian man sentenced to death in China for drug smuggling. | |
| Karm Gilespie, 56, was sentenced in the Guangzhou intermediate people’s court on Saturday and has just 10 days to appeal the verdict. | |
| Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has highlighted the need for diplomacy in the case, rejecting assertions the penalty may be politically motivated. | |
| “What we need to do is be very careful, and what we need to do is make sure that anything that’s said about this matter doesn’t affect Mr Gilespie’s cause and cases in any way, shape or form,” he told the ABC on Monday. | |
| “We want to make sure that we give him every available assistance and we are, through the proper processes.” | |
| Gilespie was arrested in 2013 with more than 7.5kg of methamphetamine in his check-in luggage as he was about to board an international flight from Baiyun airport, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. | |
| The court also ordered all of his personal property be confiscated. | |
| Meanwhile, travel expenses are once again raising eyebrows. | Meanwhile, travel expenses are once again raising eyebrows. |
| Obviously the most important issue facing the country right now. | Obviously the most important issue facing the country right now. |
| Anthony Albanese also says that as a Victorian minister, it is up to Daniel Andrews to act: | Anthony Albanese also says that as a Victorian minister, it is up to Daniel Andrews to act: |
| Anthony Albanese says preselected MPs are safe under his leadership (we are not naming the individual for legal reasons). | Anthony Albanese says preselected MPs are safe under his leadership (we are not naming the individual for legal reasons). |
| Anthony Albanese doesn’t detail what “swift action” is, and says he will leave that to Daniel Andrews: | Anthony Albanese doesn’t detail what “swift action” is, and says he will leave that to Daniel Andrews: |
| The Labor leader is speaking to ABC News Breakfast about serious allegations of branch stacking which aired overnight: | The Labor leader is speaking to ABC News Breakfast about serious allegations of branch stacking which aired overnight: |
| Excuse me while I go steel wool my eyes | Excuse me while I go steel wool my eyes |
| AAP has some more on the State of the Nation: | AAP has some more on the State of the Nation: |
| The prime minister is expected to tell the Ceda State of the Nation summit that 15 major projects, worth more than $72bn in public and private investment, will be accelerated. | The prime minister is expected to tell the Ceda State of the Nation summit that 15 major projects, worth more than $72bn in public and private investment, will be accelerated. |
| They include the inland rail project between Melbourne and Brisbane, the Marinus underwater power cable between Tasmania and Victoria, and South Australia’s Olympic Dam extension. | They include the inland rail project between Melbourne and Brisbane, the Marinus underwater power cable between Tasmania and Victoria, and South Australia’s Olympic Dam extension. |
| Emergency town water projects in NSW as well as road, rail and iron ore projects in Western Australia are also on the list. | Emergency town water projects in NSW as well as road, rail and iron ore projects in Western Australia are also on the list. |
| In all, the projects are expected to generate 66,000 direct and indirect jobs. | In all, the projects are expected to generate 66,000 direct and indirect jobs. |
| It comes after NSW and Victoria announced at the weekend their plans to ease a tranche of restrictions. | It comes after NSW and Victoria announced at the weekend their plans to ease a tranche of restrictions. |
| NSW will scrap a 50-person limit at indoor venues, including pubs and restaurants, from 1 July and move to the one person per four square metres rule. | NSW will scrap a 50-person limit at indoor venues, including pubs and restaurants, from 1 July and move to the one person per four square metres rule. |
| The state’s cap on funeral attendances has been lifted, effective immediately. | The state’s cap on funeral attendances has been lifted, effective immediately. |
| Welcome to the beginning of the last sitting week before the winter break – and your MPs are just packing it full. | Welcome to the beginning of the last sitting week before the winter break – and your MPs are just packing it full. |
| While Scott Morrison talks “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects, as the federal government puts $1.5bn on the table for “small-priority” projects to get things moving, deregulation is once again on the table. | |
| Never let a crisis pass without cutting some more red tape. | Never let a crisis pass without cutting some more red tape. |
| Kickstarting infrastructure is not new – you may remember before the Covid-19 crisis, pushing the states to spend on infrastructure was the big plan to kickstart the economy as it slowed, even before the pandemic ground everything to a halt. While the “back in black” mugs were for sale in the Liberal party gift shop, the treasurer was trying to move the states into fast tracking construction in an attempt to stave off some less-than-pretty figures. | |
| Then, it was a capacity issue too – there are only so many big drills to go round. Which is why the immediate focus is on smaller projects. | Then, it was a capacity issue too – there are only so many big drills to go round. Which is why the immediate focus is on smaller projects. |
| Morrison will outline his plan at the Ceda “State of the Nation” event later this morning. A little later Anthony Albanese will respond at the same event. Online, of course – things aren’t that back to normal. | Morrison will outline his plan at the Ceda “State of the Nation” event later this morning. A little later Anthony Albanese will respond at the same event. Online, of course – things aren’t that back to normal. |
| Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Victoria, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, to respond to serious claims of branch stacking aired overnight. That’s going to take up some of Albanese’s time too, with some federal spillover in the joint Age and 60 Minutes story. | |
| We’ll cover that, plus everything else that happens today, as political life returns to normal – within the Covid new-normal. | |
| You have me, Amy Remeikis and Mike Bowers, as well as Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp and Daniel Hurst in Canberra, and everyone else in the Guardian brains trust. | |
| I’ve had two coffees and am hunting for my third, so this should be fun. | I’ve had two coffees and am hunting for my third, so this should be fun. |
| Ready? | Ready? |
| Let’s get into it. | Let’s get into it. |