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| Australian politics live: Victoria reports five new Covid cases as Melbourne goes on high alert | Australian politics live: Victoria reports five new Covid cases as Melbourne goes on high alert |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A school student in Melbourne’s north tested positive to coronavirus, putting the suburbs of Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg on high alert. Follow live | A school student in Melbourne’s north tested positive to coronavirus, putting the suburbs of Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg on high alert. Follow live |
| Still at estimates, Labor’s Kimberley Kitching is pursuing questions over the Liberal party affiliations of some of Australia Post’s board members. | |
| Nick Macdonald, the general counsel, is asked whether Tony Nutt is a current or former member of the Liberal party. | |
| Macdonald says he doesn’t know. | |
| Kitching asks whether he’s ever heard references to Nutt as being an “iron fist in a velvet glove” or a “Svengali”. | |
| “I have never heard those things mentioned.” | |
| If you need a refresher on Nutt, here you go | |
| So, back to Victoria – it was a little confusing, but it seems like there are 16 cases across six households. | |
| About 520 people are now self-isolating. | |
| 400 of those are linked to the East Preston Islamic College community. | |
| Another 120 are residents of Broadmeadows public housing towers, who have been ordered into isolation, while testing is carried out, after a resident tested positive. | |
| Australia Post spent $12,000 to buy four Cartier watches as a reward for executives for their hard work on a project, a Senate estimates committee has been told. | |
| Labor is using the communications committee hearing to scrutinise Australia Post over some of its spending decisions and use of corporate credit cards. | |
| Under questioning, Christine Holgate, the Australia Post chief executive officer, said the watches were purchased in October 2018 and she described the events as follows: | |
| Holgate said she was not one of the recipients but the purchases were organised through her office. During the hearing, Holgate and her chief financial officer were unable to shed light during today’s hearing as to which corporate credit card it was incurred on. | |
| When asked by Labor’s Kimberley Kitching whether it was appropriate to use taxpayers’ money to buy Cartier watches for already highly remunerated Australia Post executives, Holgate insisted it was not taxpayers’ money: | |
| Kitching said she was unhappy the chair had not fronted the estimates hearing. | |
| Deputy chief health officer, professor Allen Cheng confirms that a case earlier in the week is a reinfection. | |
| There have only been about seven or eight of those cases recorded in the world. | |
| There are 400 people who have been issued stay-at-home orders, as close or secondary contacts of new cases in Victoria. | |
| There are 105 active cases of Covid in Victoria and nine people in hospital. | |
| Australia Post representatives say they don’t know why Melbourne City Council contacted the Australian Federal Police amid a standoff over the delivery of Pauline Hanson stubby holders to residents of locked down public housing towers in July. | |
| A Senate estimates committee is examining the background to the 114 parcels that were sent by One Nation to residents of the towers in north Melbourne. | |
| The parcels included stubby holders bearing Hanson’s photo and a quote “I’ve got the guts to say what you’re thinking” accompanied by a handwritten note that read: “No hard feelings”, according to a Nine newspapers report. The parcels were contentious because Hanson had publicly disparaged the residents of the towers days earlier. | |
| Australia Post’s Rod Barnes told estimates he had become aware of an issue with the delivery just after 6pm on Friday 10 July and he made enquiries. He said Australia Post received verbal advice that the Melbourne City Council had referred the issue to the AFP. | |
| “I don’t know why the council felt the need to involve the police but that’s what we were informed.” | |
| Barnes said the delivery had been attempted as early as Wednesday – two days earlier. | |
| He described it as “a very chaotic situation” and noted the sender had made enquiries through the sales team in Queensland on Thursday as to why the delivery hadn’t happened yet. Reports indicated Australia Post had also threatened to involve the police if the council continued to block the delivery. | |
| Christine Holgate, the Australia Post chief executive officer, was asked by Labor’s Kim Carr whether there was any link between this issue and the tour Hanson was given of the Australia Post parcel facility less than two weeks after the standoff. Holgate, who flew to Brisbane to join that tour, said: | |
| “None whatsoever … It was a coincidence.” | |
| The City of Melbourne has previously told Nine newspapers it “consulted with Australia Post and also sought advice from the Federal Police about whether the delivery breached the Commonwealth Criminal Code”. | |
| Daniel Andrews says that “out of an abundance of caution” there are now “hundreds” of people “locked up in their homes”, as they are close contacts of confirmed new cases. | |
| The five people who tested positive for Covid in the last 24 hours were five of almost 18,5000 people who went and got tests for the virus. | The five people who tested positive for Covid in the last 24 hours were five of almost 18,5000 people who went and got tests for the virus. |
| That is a huge testing figure – well done Victoria. | That is a huge testing figure – well done Victoria. |
| The ABC has to pay Foxtel to access women’s sports games, the government has paid Foxtel $40m to broadcast. | The ABC has to pay Foxtel to access women’s sports games, the government has paid Foxtel $40m to broadcast. |
| That agreement is also commercial-in-confidence. | That agreement is also commercial-in-confidence. |
| But I haven’t seen the good senator release an all bells ringing tweet about that. | But I haven’t seen the good senator release an all bells ringing tweet about that. |
| The ACT has had its Covid-free streak broken by a returning diplomat – but they are in quarantine. | The ACT has had its Covid-free streak broken by a returning diplomat – but they are in quarantine. |
| This seems like it was a million years ago. | This seems like it was a million years ago. |
| Time has no meaning in 2020. It’s not linear. More like drops of acid rain falling all around us. | Time has no meaning in 2020. It’s not linear. More like drops of acid rain falling all around us. |
| The final hearing of the aged care royal commission has heard some absolutely heartbreaking and shocking figures. | The final hearing of the aged care royal commission has heard some absolutely heartbreaking and shocking figures. |
| Peter Rozen QC, the counsel assisting the commission said that almost half of the more than 10,000 public submissions the inquiry received, half had references to substandard care (via AAP). The Coalition has been in power since 2013. | Peter Rozen QC, the counsel assisting the commission said that almost half of the more than 10,000 public submissions the inquiry received, half had references to substandard care (via AAP). The Coalition has been in power since 2013. |
| The report continued: | The report continued: |
| But yeah, what about the tweets? | But yeah, what about the tweets? |
| Kristina Keneally was ordered to ask questions about the National Archives or not at all. | Kristina Keneally was ordered to ask questions about the National Archives or not at all. |
| She’s found a way to make her point, by asking director general David Fricker if cabinet minutes are archived and when they might be available (answer: after 20 years). | She’s found a way to make her point, by asking director general David Fricker if cabinet minutes are archived and when they might be available (answer: after 20 years). |
| Keneally then asked Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam whether the Australian public will therefore have to wait a minimum of 20 years “to find out about cabinet disdain for the aged care royal commission”. There is outcry from Liberal senators, and Keneally loses the call again. | Keneally then asked Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam whether the Australian public will therefore have to wait a minimum of 20 years “to find out about cabinet disdain for the aged care royal commission”. There is outcry from Liberal senators, and Keneally loses the call again. |
| Amanda Stoker is now asking Fricker whether the government had warned him that releasing the Palace Letters to everyone at the same time (not first to Jenny Hocking) was unfair. | Amanda Stoker is now asking Fricker whether the government had warned him that releasing the Palace Letters to everyone at the same time (not first to Jenny Hocking) was unfair. |
| Fricker said Hocking was unable to come to Canberra but sent a research assistant who had “first hands” on the original documents. Fricker said there was “never a view” the public release should not happen because it was unfair. | Fricker said Hocking was unable to come to Canberra but sent a research assistant who had “first hands” on the original documents. Fricker said there was “never a view” the public release should not happen because it was unfair. |
| In New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian is demanding Queensland and Western Australia pay back NSW for their residents’ hotel quarantine bill. | In New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian is demanding Queensland and Western Australia pay back NSW for their residents’ hotel quarantine bill. |
| Berejiklian wants $35m from Queensland and about $8m from WA. | Berejiklian wants $35m from Queensland and about $8m from WA. |
| She says that since they closed their borders and are not taking in as many returned travellers, they can pay what it cost NSW to take in their residents. | She says that since they closed their borders and are not taking in as many returned travellers, they can pay what it cost NSW to take in their residents. |
| National cabinet is going brilliantly. | National cabinet is going brilliantly. |