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NSW eases Covid restrictions on churches and gyms as state reports 10 new cases and Victoria three – politics live NSW eases Covid restrictions on churches and gyms as state reports 10 new cases and Victoria three – politics live
(32 minutes later)
New South Wales coronavirus testing rates increase as Daniel Andrews says Victoria may have recorded its first case of re-infection. Follow the latestNew South Wales coronavirus testing rates increase as Daniel Andrews says Victoria may have recorded its first case of re-infection. Follow the latest
Airlines have lashed the federal government for “uncertainty” about how many passengers they can fly into Australia, warning the now 32,000 stranded Australians registered with the government as wanting to return home will increase.
In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia, which represents airlines including Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Etihad, scolded the government for telling airlines their upcoming passenger allocations - how many they can take each flight - today, just four days before they take effect on 25 October.
Some planes flying into Australia are limited to carrying as few as 30 passengers, as airlines have to comply with the state government-requested and federal government-enforced cap of about 5,700 weekly arrivals.
The caps, designed to ease pressure on states’ hotel quarantine systems, have resulted in Australians overseas being bumped off return flights they had booked before the caps were introduced.
Bara said:
Senate estimates on Tuesday heard the number of stranded Australians wanting to return home had grown to 32,300, increasing from just under 19,000 in late August.
It has also increased from 29,100 registered last week, when the Morrison government announced it would be expanding the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory - a move which will allow for 5,000 additional quarantine places by the end of March, or about 200 per week.
The government also announced emergency evacuation flights to repatriate Australians from the United Kingdom, India and South Africa.
Labor’s Murray Watt has asked about the Higher Education Integrity Unit, established in Melbourne in June. The point is: how did the government set up a cop on the uni beat but not the corruption beat?
Unfortunately senator Jonathon Duniam isn’t familiar with the body, so he can’t explain why it was set up when a National Integrity Commission wasn’t.
Duniam said:
Watt then picks out holes in proposed integrity commission model, including that it can’t make findings of corruption and can’t take referrals direct from whistleblowers and members of the public. He then reads quotes from David Ipp and Geoffrey Watson the general thrust of which is that the proposed body isn’t very good.
Sarah Henderson is now leading evidence from attorney general department witnesses about deficiencies with the Labor-Greens-crossbench model of integrity commission.
That was very, very quick
Just going back through question time – there are close to 1 million unemployed Australians at the moment. Treasury expects that number to increase.
So hearing the prime minister say this, in defence to an associate of John Howard getting a contract job,
is particularly jarring.
The attorney general’s department has just been caught out in Senate estimates about some of the forward sizzle in anticipation of having a national integrity commission.
Greens senator Larissa Waters noticed the budget papers contain an allocation of 76 staff for the integrity commission, and asked how it can have staff in 2020-21 if no draft legislation has even been released.
The attorney general’s department deputy secretary, Sarah Chidgey, said:
Labor’s Murray Watt also discovered that the $104.5m allocated in the 2019 budget has never been varied, despite draft legislation going through various changes.These are the necessary preparations for creating a new body that stick out when you announce an intention to do something but never get round to it because ... you know, Covid.
Christian Porter was on Perth radio 6PR today and was asked about the labour market. He said:Christian Porter was on Perth radio 6PR today and was asked about the labour market. He said:
Labor’s Murray Watthas asked the attorney general’s department if other legislation has been drafted and gone through consultation in 2020. Labor’s Murray Watt has asked the attorney general’s department if other legislation has been drafted and gone through consultation in 2020.
The secretary, Chris Moraitis, said the bill creating a national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention had gone through a four week consultation before it was introduced to parliament in August. The secretary, Chris Moraitis, said the bill creating a national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention had gone through a four-week consultation before it was introduced to parliament in August.
It’s a bit of an a-ha! moment, because Scott Morrison’s excuse in question time for there being no National Integrity Commission bill was the government needed to do consultation. It’s a bit of an “a-ha!” moment, because Scott Morrison’s excuse in question time for there being no national integrity commission bill was the government needed to do consultation.
Just as with the wage data yesterday, retail trade fell in most places (not the Northern Territory) in the month the jobkeeper wage subsidy was decreased.Just as with the wage data yesterday, retail trade fell in most places (not the Northern Territory) in the month the jobkeeper wage subsidy was decreased.
You can find the ABS figures for September here. But there was a 1.5% reduction – and that was in more jurisdictions than just Victoria.You can find the ABS figures for September here. But there was a 1.5% reduction – and that was in more jurisdictions than just Victoria.
And Scott Morrison calls time on question time, 10 minutes earlier than has been his habit of late.And Scott Morrison calls time on question time, 10 minutes earlier than has been his habit of late.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister, and I refer to his previous answer today where he [cites] bushfires and the pandemic as the reason why the exposure draft of the national integrity commission legislation, which the government received from the attorney general’s department last December, has not been released. What is it about either the bushfires or the pandemic that stops the government from tabling legislation that it has had for almost a year?My question is to the prime minister, and I refer to his previous answer today where he [cites] bushfires and the pandemic as the reason why the exposure draft of the national integrity commission legislation, which the government received from the attorney general’s department last December, has not been released. What is it about either the bushfires or the pandemic that stops the government from tabling legislation that it has had for almost a year?
Morrison:Morrison:
LolsLols
Scott Morrison, for what it is worth, has a Bachelor of Science in applied economic geography from the University of New South Wales.Scott Morrison, for what it is worth, has a Bachelor of Science in applied economic geography from the University of New South Wales.
Tony Burke to Angus Taylor:Tony Burke to Angus Taylor:
Tony Smith:Tony Smith:
Peter Dutton is allowed to take a dixer on the defence force, and says Labor wasn’t into building boats but “receiving boats from other parts of the world”.Peter Dutton is allowed to take a dixer on the defence force, and says Labor wasn’t into building boats but “receiving boats from other parts of the world”.
It’s probably worth mentioning that under Peter Dutton, two little girls who have been detained on Christmas Island are followed to school by security guards.It’s probably worth mentioning that under Peter Dutton, two little girls who have been detained on Christmas Island are followed to school by security guards.
Jason Clare to Scott Morrison:
Can the prime minister confirm that when the government had to choose an investigator to conduct an independent investigation into reports the assistant treasurer used taxpayer funded staff to branch stack, he chose the exact same law firm that the assistant treasurer used to work for?
He paid the law firm $25,000 for the privilege of investigating his former associate, who the law firm describes as a firm friend.
Morrison:
Richard Dreyfus to Scott Morrison:
Q: Last night it was revealed an associate of John Howard was awarded a contract with $240,000 with the bushfire recovery agency based on the recommendation of the prime minister’s office. The head of the agency confirmed this week he had never heard of the bloke.
When Australia was suffering its worst bushfires, why did the prime minister’s office give a job to the bloke they all call a crony? Why did a crony get the job?
Morrison:
Dan Tehan is pretending all is well in university-land and how it’s just all brilliant, like university hasn’t just been placed out of reach of a bunch of people who grew up like me.
Tony Burke to Paul Fletcher:
Yesterday in this House the minister said he stood by his answers at the National Press Club in relation to the Leppington Triangle airport rort. Those included a statement when he read the auditor general’s report .... Can the minister inform the House what he learned.
Fletcher:
Ahhhh, the ole “I said what I said when I said it and will not say it again in the chamber” line.
Michael McCormack is picking his words very carefully in response to this question from Catherine King:
Tip Top sounds like he is buffering, he leaves so much space between words:
For a government that is very sure it has all the plans in the world, its ministers seem very concerned with “alternative” plans of an opposition which hasn’t even put out its policy platform yet.
And apparently we aren’t going to an election until 2022. Surrrreeeeeeeee.
Labor’s Katy Gallagher is examining the finance department’s involvement in the Leppington Triangle purchase.
Finance secretary Rosemary Huxtable said the department was “not the decision-maker” (that would be infrastructure) – it only “operationalises the decision” by providing final sign-off and does not “stand in the shoes of the decision-maker”.
Other officials explained that finance has a greater role when a compulsory acquisition is used, but if the purchase is voluntary its role is limited to checking that processes of the Land Acquisition Act have been followed.
Gallagher characterises this as being a “rubber stamp for a dodgy deal”.
Huxtable said that although finance was aware of the $30m sale figure, it was not aware of the detail of how it was calculated.
Finance minister Mathias Cormann said finance “was only aware of the higher valuation, not any other valuations”, adding they “were not consulted on valuation strategy of implementation”. He said infrastructure “should have” consulted it on the valuation strategy but did not.
Here’s the timeline:
In late 2015, the finance department gave “preliminary comments” that, in general, acquisitions by agreement are better than compulsory acquisition.
In a draft strategy in July 2016 and a final strategy in October 2016, the infrastructure department opted for compulsory acquisition.
Later, the infrastructure department changed tack and went back to a voluntary sale, which allowed the inflated valuation. Finance found that out at the end of 2017, before paperwork confirmed a voluntary sale on 25 January 2018.
In November 2019 finance became aware the ANAO was conducting an audit and provided its standard guidance about land sales.
Cormann said:
“As soon as the decision was made to shift from compulsory acquisition to voluntary under their strategy, finance no longer had a formal role.”
The purchase was “clearly highly unsatisfactory” ; but
“The auditor general went through this with a fine-tooth comb ... [and] did not direct any findings or recommendations at finance – none.”
We move on to our billionth “alternative approaches” dixer.
Related, my eye twitch is back.
Catherine King asks Michael McCormack when he last had contact with Daryl Maguire, referring to his “earlier answers”.
Christian Porter argues it is not in order:
Tony Smith rules it out of order.
Anthony Albanese starts heckling Michael McCormack across the table. We move on
Tim Wilson is obviously vying with Vince Connolly for “best backbencher dixer performance 2020” – either that or he has spent too much time in quarantine practising speeches in front of the mirror.