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| Coronavirus live update Australia: Victoria records 116 new cases and 15 deaths as NSW reports three new cases | |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Brisbane watches hotspots after youth detention centre outbreak, Victoria’s hotel inquiry continues and politicians gather in Canberra for the first time in 10 weeks. Follow today’s latest updates | Brisbane watches hotspots after youth detention centre outbreak, Victoria’s hotel inquiry continues and politicians gather in Canberra for the first time in 10 weeks. Follow today’s latest updates |
| Daniel Andrews will ask the parliament to extend how long a state of emergency can be called. | |
| It is now allowed to be called for a maximum of six months. The government wants to extend that maximum to a year, because the current one would end on 13 December – and will need to go for longer. | |
| Daniel Andrews is giving an individual update on the funeral arrangements for the family of the 37-year-old electrician who died while working underneath a house last week: | |
| A returned traveller who stayed in hotel quarantine at Melbourne’s Pan Pacific learned on day 10 of his detention that he was not on authorities’ list of guests, an inquiry has been told. Kaan Ofli, a professional MMA fighter, said at a hearing on Monday he had been made aware of the mistake by a nurse who had called the room he was sharing with his partner. | |
| Ofli said: “It was my partner that had answered the call, and she said, ‘No, we don’t have any symptoms.’ And the lady said, “What do you mean by ‘we’ve?’ And she said, ‘Well, there’s two of us in here.”The calls occurred daily but no one had queried why sometimes he was answering the phone rather than his female partner, the inquiry heard. “I guess for the whole 10 days, I wasn’t actually in the system,” he said. | |
| Ofli and his partner had been given fresh air breaks where they had been accompanied by staff who had also apparently not noticed the mistake. | |
| During these breaks in a hotel courtyard, the couple and other guests would take their masks off once outside, Ofli said. “We were social distancing somewhat outside,” he said. “People were still getting quite close to each other and chatting and talking.” | |
| He said security guards had ensured the guests were kept away from the public.But Ofli also said when he saw the guards at the hotel, generally they would have their masks off. “I guess once we were walking towards them, they would put their masks on,” he said. | |
| Ofli had also requested Halal food but was shocked to learn 10 days into his stay that the meat he had been eating did not meet these requirements. “It hurt me,” he said. | |
| Often, the couple were often left without enough food, Ofli said. “We found it humiliating to have to call and plead for the basics.” | |
| The couple had also asked to be tested but had their requests denied because they did not have any symptoms. They left hotel quarantine without being tested. | |
| The inquiry will hear from two security guards later today. | |
| There have been 3,743 cases of coronavirus in aged care in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 1,568 are active. | |
| There are 3,701 active cases of Covid in Victoria. | |
| Just 232 active cases are in regional Victoria. | |
| As we have for the last few weeks, the press conference starts with a breakdown of the latest case numbers and deaths: | |
| Scott Morrison has responded to the Victorian Liberal branch stacking allegations: | |
| The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, has an update on a security guard who was working hotel quarantine who tested positive for Covid: | |
| Of those three new cases, two are in hotel quarantine and one is a close contact of a known case (who had been in self-isolation). | |
| On raising the jobseeker rate permanently, David Littleproud says: | |
| David Littleproud is invoking “forgotten Australians” in his press conference on border issues (which is being held an hour ahead of his National colleagues’ scheduled press conference) and then seems to call for the end of all borders. | |
| Just for regional Australians though, who have apparently “outgrown and evolved” past the “arbitrary lines” on maps. | |
| Daniel Andrews will hold his press conference at 11am. | Daniel Andrews will hold his press conference at 11am. |
| Don’t expect to hear a lot about this *in* parliament –but you’ll be hearing a lot about it *outside* parliament. | Don’t expect to hear a lot about this *in* parliament –but you’ll be hearing a lot about it *outside* parliament. |
| The federal government’s aged care response will most likely be the target of question time today, but that doesn’t mean Labor is going to let the Victorian Liberal branch-stacking story drop – or what it sees as Scott Morrison’s leadership responsibilities. | The federal government’s aged care response will most likely be the target of question time today, but that doesn’t mean Labor is going to let the Victorian Liberal branch-stacking story drop – or what it sees as Scott Morrison’s leadership responsibilities. |
| Mark Dreyfus has released this statement: | Mark Dreyfus has released this statement: |
| The Prime Minister must take immediate action against senior members of his own Government involved in branch stacking and abuse of Commonwealth resources. | The Prime Minister must take immediate action against senior members of his own Government involved in branch stacking and abuse of Commonwealth resources. |
| This is a test for Scott Morrison. This is the test that he himself set when there were allegations about Victorian Labor. | This is a test for Scott Morrison. This is the test that he himself set when there were allegations about Victorian Labor. |
| Anthony Albanese showed leadership by moving immediately to expel from the party the senior Labor figure accused of branch stacking. | Anthony Albanese showed leadership by moving immediately to expel from the party the senior Labor figure accused of branch stacking. |
| Daniel Andrews showed leadership by removing from his front bench those implicated in the scandal. | Daniel Andrews showed leadership by removing from his front bench those implicated in the scandal. |
| The test for Mr Morrison is what leadership will he demonstrate when it comes to the Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party? | The test for Mr Morrison is what leadership will he demonstrate when it comes to the Victorian Branch of the Liberal Party? |
| The determination published by his own government makes clear “Electorate Officers … are employed to assist the Senator or Member to carry out duties as a Member of Parliament, and not for party political purposes.” | The determination published by his own government makes clear “Electorate Officers … are employed to assist the Senator or Member to carry out duties as a Member of Parliament, and not for party political purposes.” |
| Instead, as 60 Minutes and Nine Newspapers have revealed, taxpayer-funded electorate officers were employed within the offices of Federal Liberal MPs for the sole purpose of branch-stacking. | Instead, as 60 Minutes and Nine Newspapers have revealed, taxpayer-funded electorate officers were employed within the offices of Federal Liberal MPs for the sole purpose of branch-stacking. |
| And, it’s clear from the evidence provided by 60 Minutes, Mr Sukkar was aware of, and endorsed this clear abuse of Commonwealth resources. | And, it’s clear from the evidence provided by 60 Minutes, Mr Sukkar was aware of, and endorsed this clear abuse of Commonwealth resources. |
| As former counsel to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption Geoffrey Watson SC declared “I very much doubt that Sukkar can or should remain a minister of the Crown. A minister is a position of real power and thus real trust and you cannot have it in the hands of people who abuse it.” | As former counsel to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption Geoffrey Watson SC declared “I very much doubt that Sukkar can or should remain a minister of the Crown. A minister is a position of real power and thus real trust and you cannot have it in the hands of people who abuse it.” |
| This is a clear test for Mr Morrison – will he follow Anthony Albanese’s lead and act decisively against senior figures within his own party? | This is a clear test for Mr Morrison – will he follow Anthony Albanese’s lead and act decisively against senior figures within his own party? |
| It’s time for Scott Morrison to demonstrate leadership and character and expel all those involved in this scandal, and immediately establish a powerful, independent and transparent National Integrity Commission. | It’s time for Scott Morrison to demonstrate leadership and character and expel all those involved in this scandal, and immediately establish a powerful, independent and transparent National Integrity Commission. |