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Australia coronavirus news: alert over fresh NSW cases as Victoria records 11 and Labor prepares budget reply – live updates Australia coronavirus news: alert over fresh NSW cases as Victoria records 11 and Labor prepares budget reply – live updates
(32 minutes later)
Victoria reports no new deaths as NSW Health warns of several new Sydney locations linked to Covid-19. Follow all today’s newsVictoria reports no new deaths as NSW Health warns of several new Sydney locations linked to Covid-19. Follow all today’s news
He is asked how he will position himself on climate change in his dealings with the OECD, given the Coalition’s position on climate change and opposition to carbon pricing.
He says he will approach climate on a “factual basis”.
Cormann quips that he is a “veteran of selection contests”.
Cormann, of course, famously backed Peter Dutton’s doomed leadership bid in the 2018 spill.
Morrison is seeking support from Labor for Cormann’s nomination.
He’s asked whether the Coalition’s failure to support Kevin Rudd becoming United Nations secretary-general in 2016 could come back to bite it.
He says he has spoken to Anthony Albanese.
Cormann is making his pitch for the OECD secretary-general position, talking up his international experience, his language skills, and his record as finance minister.
Cormann then shows off his rather impressive language skills mid-press conference, speaking fluent French and German.
He closes by saying he has “given this [job] my everything”.
Simon Birmingham, currently the trade minister, will become Australia’s next finance minister and the government’s leader in the Senate.
Michaelia Cash, who resigned from the frontbench after the 2018 spill, becomes the government’s deputy leader in the Senate.
Morrison says he approached Cormann with the idea of running for OECD secretary-general. He did so after Cormann announced his intention to retire.
The formal nomination will occur immediately after Cormann retires on 30 October.
Morrison says the current recession is not a sign of “some global failure of capitalism or market-based principles”.
And there it is. Morrison says he intends to nominate Cormann, the outgoing finance minister, for the role of OECD secretary-general.
The prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking now. He says the pandemic is “the most significant global recession the world has seen since the Great Depression”.
It differs from the great depression, he says, because the world was now a “truly globally, interconnected real-time economy”.
Seems he’s readying himself to announce Mathias Cormann will be nominated for the OECD’s top job.
Albanese said the budget left “51% of our population” behind.
He said women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, due to the insecure, casual nature of employment.
Anthony Albanese is speaking now.
He starts by paying tribute to the “strong, smart, decisive, energetic, innovative women” who are part of the Labor team.
He pays homage to Susan Ryan, the ACT’s first female senator and first Labor senator, for her trailblazing efforts on affirmative action, equal opportunity, and sexual discrimination.
He says she understood something missed in Tuesday’s budget. That failing to apply a gender lens to policy development would inevitably favour men.
Meanwhile, NSW’s environment minister, Matt Kean, is hitting out at “vested interests” who have influenced the energy and climate debate for “too long”.Meanwhile, NSW’s environment minister, Matt Kean, is hitting out at “vested interests” who have influenced the energy and climate debate for “too long”.
“It’s definitely time to correct the imbalance,” he said.“It’s definitely time to correct the imbalance,” he said.
Kean, remember, is a Liberal minister.Kean, remember, is a Liberal minister.
Anthony Albanese is about to address caucus in Canberra ahead of his budget reply speech tonight.Anthony Albanese is about to address caucus in Canberra ahead of his budget reply speech tonight.
We’ll bring that to you as soon as we can. He’s due to speak at 10am.We’ll bring that to you as soon as we can. He’s due to speak at 10am.
The prime minister is due to speak 15 minutes later.The prime minister is due to speak 15 minutes later.
He had earlier pulled out of an interview with Perth radio, 6PR, which his office had organised.He had earlier pulled out of an interview with Perth radio, 6PR, which his office had organised.
South Australian border restrictions are due to be relaxed today. Travellers from NSW can drive to South Australia, via Mildura, as long as they are only going through Victoria in transit. Residents of border towns just across from Mildura will be allowed to enter South Australia. South Australian border restrictions are due to be relaxed today. Travellers from NSW can drive to South Australia, via Mildura, as long as they are only going through Victoria in transit. Residents of NSW border towns just across from Mildura will be allowed to enter South Australia.
But border communities say the current situation has left locals confused and frustrated. Those living north of the Victorian border are still required to go through 14 day quarantine before entering South Australia, should they go to Mildura for their essentials. But border communities say the current situation has left locals confused and frustrated. Those living north of the Victorian border are still required to go through 14-day quarantine before entering South Australia, should they go to Mildura for their essentials.
Wentworth shire council mayor Melissa Hederics spoke to the ABC a little earlier.Wentworth shire council mayor Melissa Hederics spoke to the ABC a little earlier.
The government’s higher education funding bill is due to be voted on in the Senate today. It is likely to pass with the support of Centre Alliance, despite concerns about the increase to fees for some courses, including humanities, to fund fee cuts for other courses such as sciences. The overall cut in the government contribution from 58% to 52%.
Rex Patrick, formerly of Centre Alliance, is still pressuring his former colleagues in the hope they will switch their position.
Jacqui Lambie is also not giving up the fight.
Labor has accused the government of cutting funding to the auditor-general in the wake of a series of politically-embarrassing audit reports, including on the Leppington triangle land purchase and the sports rorts scandal.
Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and deputy chair of the public accounts and audit committee, Julian Hill, say the ANAO’s budget has been cut by a further $1.28m.
My colleague Paul Karp has reported on this in more detail here:
The Coalition’s position on funding for women seems pretty clear. The budget’s helping business and women are business owners. It creates jobs, and women can work. You get the drift.
Industry minister Karen Andrews was on Sunrise a little earlier. This is how she explained it:
Just a quick recap on the developments this morning:
the emergence of three mystery Covid-19 cases in NSW has threatened the reopening of the Queensland-NSW border. Queensland says it wants to see no community transmission in NSW for 28 days, before it will open the border. It also wants NSW to find the sources of the three cases within 48 hours. NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and prime minister Scott Morrison have both attacked the Queensland government for its tough stance. Berejiklian said the rule was “not fair” and Morrison questioned whether Palaszczuk is “for jobs or not?”
Victoria has announced 11 new cases and no deaths. That has brought the 14-day rolling average down for metro Melbourne, aiding hopes that restrictions could be lifted.
Labor is preparing for its budget reply speech. It has slammed the government’s failure to fund specific measures for women. The shadow treasurer,Jim Chalmers, says the government is one “trillion dollars in debt and still managed to leave Australian women behind”. Chalmers spoke favourably of social housing as a means of economic stimulus and talked of the importance of childcare, so expect those to feature prominently in Anthony Albanese’s reply.
The families minister, Anne Ruston, defended the budget’s treatment of women by saying they could drive on the roads that the Coalition would build through its infrastructure spend.
Scott Morrison has defended the introduction of an English language test for those wanting to bring their non-English speaking partners to Australia on a partner visa. He said the test is “pro-Australia” and “pro-migrant”.
The Australian Financial Review is reporting that Scott Morrison will seek to have his outgoing finance minister Mathias Cormann nominated as the next secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The AFR reports Morrison will announce the nomination later today. The role is based in Paris and has a tenure of five years.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT!
Andrew Leigh, the shadow assistant minister for Treasury, spoke to Canberra radio this morning.
He described the Australian recession as a “human capital recession”.
Leigh said that, in that context, the government’s higher education funding changes made no sense.
Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also been out and about this morning, continuing the attack on the government for the absence of funding for women.
He said the budget racked up a “trillion dollars in debt and still managed to leave Australian women behind”.
Asked about Labor’s budget reply, Chalmers says the opposition’s intention is to make the economy “stronger and more inclusive” and kick-start the recovery.
He says Labor will have more to say about childcare in coming weeks and months.
Chalmers also flagged social housing as a strong way to stimulate economic activity and help lower income Australians.
The government has mounted a rather interesting defence of the lack of specific budget measures for women.
Anne Ruston, families minister, was on ABC television a little earlier this morning.
She says women can drive on the new roads the Coalition is going to build, so everyone should just calm down.
Good stuff.
She says there are specific measures for women, including the Women’s Economic Security Statement, which put $240m toward initiatives for women.
The Queensland Resources Council chief executive, Ian Macfarlane, has just spoken to ABC radio about the mining lobby’s campaign against the Greens in the Queensland state election.
That decision caused an internal rift this week. BHP and Origin both suspended their membership of the Queensland Resources Council over the strategy.
Macfarlane said the mining industry’s campaign was “modest” but defended the decision to target the Greens, saying they could not be allowed to achieve a balance-of-power position.
He said the campaign was supported by the QRC board. He refuses to say how much was being spent on the campaign, but said it was a small amount and thanked journalists for the “national coverage”, which was spreading the message across the country for free.
He said the campaign would focus on four seats to ensure “the Greens are not in a position of power after the election”.