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| Covid Australia live update: Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new coronavirus cases, with 10 in NSW – latest news | Covid Australia live update: Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new coronavirus cases, with 10 in NSW – latest news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| South Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry | South Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry |
| Over at the foreign affairs parliamentary committee which is looking at strengthening Australia’s ties with its Pacific neighbours, Save the Children Deputy CEO Mat Tinkler is suggesting Australia embark on a ‘Pacific jobkeeper’ style program: | |
| Australia is pushing the United States to stay involved in UN institutions despite Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of several multilateral bodies, officials have told a parliamentary hearing. | |
| The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provided a small window into the conversations that are occurring behind the scenes with Australia’s top security ally in the Trump era. Despite Scott Morrison’s warning last year against “negative globalism”, the audit he commissioned ended up warning against an Australian retreat from global bodies but foreshadowed a push to reform UN bodies. | |
| Justin Lee, first assistant secretary of the multilateral policy division, said Australia was working to ensure global bodies were fit for purpose, were doing what they were supposed to be doing, were accountable to member states, and had strong independent leadership. Australia also wanted those bodies to have sufficient focus on the Indo-Pacific region, “particularly if we’re making contributions to them”. Australia was working with countries that had concerns about how global bodies were functioning. | |
| “We’ve certainly been continuing to encourage, where possible, strong United States engagement within the system and within multilateral institutions, and of course it has withdrawn from some, but we’re encouraging it to continue to participate in the system overall. | |
| “And [we have] also [been] looking at coalitions with other member states … to support the rules and norms and values and standards that have served us, so we’ve been very active in multilateral institutions to move in behind those and back those.” | |
| Elizabeth Peak, first assistant secretary of the human development and governance division, said Australia’s call for a comprehensive, impartial, independent inquiry into the Covid-19 response was “emblematic of the way Australia has approached multilateral engagement over this period”. That would look at how the World Health Organization had performed its role. | |
| “We’ve seen some good progress in terms of the inquiry. We’re watching it very closely to ensure that the inquiry really does what we want it to do, which is to learn lessons across the board so we can all be better prepared for a pandemic that may occur in the future.” | |
| Earlier today, Gladys Berejiklian was pushing for the Queensland border to open to NSW residents: | |
| South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia also have their borders closed to New South Wales residents. | |
| Meanwhile, the Melbourne Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, has thrown his support behind keeping the jobseeker payment where it is – which includes the $550 Covid supplement. | |
| Incredibly normal Queensland election stuff happening today: | |
| There is a lot of talk about what to do with Australia’s humanitarian and migration programs. | |
| Ames Australia, a migrant and refugee settlement agency, is hopeful by the federal government’s indications it is looking to re-establish its humanitarian programs as soon as it can: | |
| But Scarth also called for economic recovery programs to include newly arrived migrants and refuges already in Australia. | |
| That’s most of what Andrew Liveris had to say. | |
| Check back in – Murph will have a story on that talk soon. | |
| Q: Just on that new form of leader, is Joe Biden that new form of political leader that will persuade voters to vote for him on November 3? | Q: Just on that new form of leader, is Joe Biden that new form of political leader that will persuade voters to vote for him on November 3? |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Further to that first question Andrew Liveris was asked: | Further to that first question Andrew Liveris was asked: |
| Q: In your speech you spoke about the need for a new form of government, a new form of politician. In your mind, how do they differ compared to what we have now? How do they operate differently, and, given your work experience with Donald Trump, is he an example, a good example, of a new form of politician? | Q: In your speech you spoke about the need for a new form of government, a new form of politician. In your mind, how do they differ compared to what we have now? How do they operate differently, and, given your work experience with Donald Trump, is he an example, a good example, of a new form of politician? |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Q: The prime minister has thrown down essentially to the private sector. He has given them seven months to announce new investment in energy to cover the closure of the Liddell plant. What chance do you give the private sector to give them – to announce this new investment in seven months after being shy of new investment not the least because the policy settings around energy have been so unstable? | |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Q: You’ve advised President Obama. You’ve advised Donald Trump. You advise Scott Morrison. Three leaders. But you also have a position in Saudi Arabia to Mohammed bin Salman, not a democratically-elected leader, in fact an abuser of rights, and involved in authorisation the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. How do you align yourself with those? | Q: You’ve advised President Obama. You’ve advised Donald Trump. You advise Scott Morrison. Three leaders. But you also have a position in Saudi Arabia to Mohammed bin Salman, not a democratically-elected leader, in fact an abuser of rights, and involved in authorisation the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. How do you align yourself with those? |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Q: You’ve said China will flex its muscles, there’ll be more Hong Kongs. Taiwan, do you think that will be next? | |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Q: Can I ask you about your comments on China and us being a one-trick pony, and so forth, and the need to separate the mercantile aspect of the relationship with the diplomatic aspect of the relationship. Was I wrong to interpret this, are you saying the government needs to temper its public comments towards Beijing and China and keep them private in the interests of the economic relationship? | Q: Can I ask you about your comments on China and us being a one-trick pony, and so forth, and the need to separate the mercantile aspect of the relationship with the diplomatic aspect of the relationship. Was I wrong to interpret this, are you saying the government needs to temper its public comments towards Beijing and China and keep them private in the interests of the economic relationship? |
| Andrew Liveris: | Andrew Liveris: |
| Andrew Liveris has moved to the Q and A section of the press club address: | Andrew Liveris has moved to the Q and A section of the press club address: |
| Q: You’ve outlined the transition that the country needs to make but the reality is the transition you’ve outlined is a very costly one. If taxpayers are to bear the costs of that transition through subsidies or for advanced manufacturing, don’t we need to be very explicit about who is bearing the costs of that transition? Also if I may, how does the re-industrialisation of Australia and increasing the supply of gas which you admit is a fossil fuel get us to net zero to 2050? | Q: You’ve outlined the transition that the country needs to make but the reality is the transition you’ve outlined is a very costly one. If taxpayers are to bear the costs of that transition through subsidies or for advanced manufacturing, don’t we need to be very explicit about who is bearing the costs of that transition? Also if I may, how does the re-industrialisation of Australia and increasing the supply of gas which you admit is a fossil fuel get us to net zero to 2050? |
| Liveris: The two parts to your question, in none of the recommendations made yesterday or the announcements did I see the word “subsidy”. It is a redirection of funds. That’s a key part of the plan. It’s left the private sector to negotiate the contracts, because private sector has not done a good job. International companies can sit on basins in this contrary and sit on them at prices. | Liveris: The two parts to your question, in none of the recommendations made yesterday or the announcements did I see the word “subsidy”. It is a redirection of funds. That’s a key part of the plan. It’s left the private sector to negotiate the contracts, because private sector has not done a good job. International companies can sit on basins in this contrary and sit on them at prices. |
| In fact, if you give the private sector a trajectory like a hub and like access to demand - i.e, the demand you can put in place - and you say that demand can underpin a power station or two, why you wouldn’t you do? No new taxes. Secondly, gas is roughly 60% of the emissions of coal. Switching to gas will automatically bring down the percentage of coal we burn. | In fact, if you give the private sector a trajectory like a hub and like access to demand - i.e, the demand you can put in place - and you say that demand can underpin a power station or two, why you wouldn’t you do? No new taxes. Secondly, gas is roughly 60% of the emissions of coal. Switching to gas will automatically bring down the percentage of coal we burn. |
| We sell gas to Tokyo, or to Beijing, or to any other part of Asia and we import products back that you’re paying a premium for because we’re not making them locally. | We sell gas to Tokyo, or to Beijing, or to any other part of Asia and we import products back that you’re paying a premium for because we’re not making them locally. |
| Q: What I don’t understand is how increasing the supply of a fossil fuel, even one that has less emissions than coal, lines us with Australia’s obligations under international climate agreements to reduce emissions? | Q: What I don’t understand is how increasing the supply of a fossil fuel, even one that has less emissions than coal, lines us with Australia’s obligations under international climate agreements to reduce emissions? |
| Liveris: Go study the US numbers, go study the UK numbers and the numbers in Europe - they’ve all decreased because of the introduction of gas to fuel. The very short answer to a very long question. | Liveris: Go study the US numbers, go study the UK numbers and the numbers in Europe - they’ve all decreased because of the introduction of gas to fuel. The very short answer to a very long question. |
| New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has said Sydney airport will take an extra 500 arrivals per week, up to 2950, on the condition that other states double their caps. | New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has said Sydney airport will take an extra 500 arrivals per week, up to 2950, on the condition that other states double their caps. |
| She said she had reached an agreement with prime minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday, however both Queensland and Western Australia will need to double their intakes for NSW to increase theirs. | She said she had reached an agreement with prime minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday, however both Queensland and Western Australia will need to double their intakes for NSW to increase theirs. |
| “I was given an assurance [by Morrison] other states would also take that load and on that basis I was very pleased to do our bit,” Berejiklian said. | “I was given an assurance [by Morrison] other states would also take that load and on that basis I was very pleased to do our bit,” Berejiklian said. |
| However it appears unclear if Berejiklian’s conditions will be met, as Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan responded to Michael McCormack’s demand for states to increase their arrival caps, by instead calling for the Commonwealth to use its own quarantine facilities. | However it appears unclear if Berejiklian’s conditions will be met, as Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan responded to Michael McCormack’s demand for states to increase their arrival caps, by instead calling for the Commonwealth to use its own quarantine facilities. |
| And spokesman for Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Guardian Australia Queensland would need the federal government’s support to take more arrivals into its hotel quarantine. | And spokesman for Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Guardian Australia Queensland would need the federal government’s support to take more arrivals into its hotel quarantine. |
| The education minister, Dan Tehan, has been speaking at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia event - and he boldly predicted growth in the international student market. | The education minister, Dan Tehan, has been speaking at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia event - and he boldly predicted growth in the international student market. |
| He said: | He said: |
| “One of the things we have been able to do is manage the pandemic. From everything I’m hearing and seeing from international students, the demand is still there ... We will see new growth purely from the way we’ve been able to handle the pandemic. | “One of the things we have been able to do is manage the pandemic. From everything I’m hearing and seeing from international students, the demand is still there ... We will see new growth purely from the way we’ve been able to handle the pandemic. |
| Our quality of education hasn’t diminished, I would argue it’s got better through our ability to deliver online and options such as short courses and micro credentials, enhances our education offering... | Our quality of education hasn’t diminished, I would argue it’s got better through our ability to deliver online and options such as short courses and micro credentials, enhances our education offering... |
| Australia stands in very good stead. Students are going to want to continue to come here. I’m seeing from online offerings that demand is there and visa applications that demand is there. Once we hit the virus on the head … we’re in an even stronger position to compete for international students.” | Australia stands in very good stead. Students are going to want to continue to come here. I’m seeing from online offerings that demand is there and visa applications that demand is there. Once we hit the virus on the head … we’re in an even stronger position to compete for international students.” |