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| Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open | Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates | Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates |
| In US news, outgoing president Donald Trump has used his final hours before Joe Biden’s inauguration to pardon or commute the sentence of 143 people including allies including former White House aide Steve Bannon. | |
| Trump leaves office on Wednesday US time, when Biden is sworn in as the nation’s next president. Among the wave of pardons issued was Bannon, a key adviser in Trump’s 2016 presidential run. | |
| Bannon was charged last year with swindling Trump supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the president’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty. | |
| In a White House press release on the pardons, Bannon was described as “an important leader in the conservative movement and is known for his political acumen”. | |
| Also among the pardon list was Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for Trump who pleaded guilty last year to violating foreign lobbying laws, and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a Democrat, who was serving a 28-year prison term on corruption charges. | |
| Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black who were prosecuted on federal weapons offences, were also granted pardons. In total, 73 people were issued pardons and 70 had their sentences commuted. | |
| AP described Bannon as a “voice of nationalist, outsider conservatism”, who led the conservative Breitbart News before being tapped to serve as chief executive officer of Trump’s 2016 campaign in its critical final months. | |
| He later served as chief strategist to the president during the turbulent early days of Trump’s administration and was at the forefront of many of its most contentious policies, including its travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries. | |
| But Bannon, who clashed with other top advisers, was pushed out after less than a year. And his split with Trump deepened after he was quoted in a 2018 book making critical remarks about some of Trump’s adult children. Bannon apologized and soon stepped down as chairman of Breitbart. He and Trump have recently reconciled. | |
| Trump has already pardoned a slew of longtime associates and supporters, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law; his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone; and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn. | |
| Here’s our full story: | |
| The Department of Home Affairs mistakenly sent outdated letters to visa applicants erroneously telling them to immediately book international return flights out of Australia in the middle of a pandemic or risk having their applications derailed. | The Department of Home Affairs mistakenly sent outdated letters to visa applicants erroneously telling them to immediately book international return flights out of Australia in the middle of a pandemic or risk having their applications derailed. |
| Scoop from my colleague Christopher Knaus. | Scoop from my colleague Christopher Knaus. |
| A tropical cyclone could bring damaging winds and heavy rain to parts of Western Australia’s Pilbara region in the state’s north. | A tropical cyclone could bring damaging winds and heavy rain to parts of Western Australia’s Pilbara region in the state’s north. |
| AAP reports that residents and travellers along the coast from Roebourne, near Karratha, to Bidyadanga, south of Broome, are being urged to prepare for a potentially severe impact on Friday or Saturday. | AAP reports that residents and travellers along the coast from Roebourne, near Karratha, to Bidyadanga, south of Broome, are being urged to prepare for a potentially severe impact on Friday or Saturday. |
| Anyone without appropriate housing should leave immediately or find suitable accommodation, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Wednesday. | Anyone without appropriate housing should leave immediately or find suitable accommodation, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Wednesday. |
| A tropical low heading towards the coast is expected to intensify and develop into a tropical cyclone in coming days, with a Category 3 impact possible. It would be the first tropical cyclone to hit the West Australian coast this season. | A tropical low heading towards the coast is expected to intensify and develop into a tropical cyclone in coming days, with a Category 3 impact possible. It would be the first tropical cyclone to hit the West Australian coast this season. |
| DFES assistant commissioner Paul Ryan told reporters: | DFES assistant commissioner Paul Ryan told reporters: |
| A Category 3 cyclone would be expected to deliver up to 200mm of rain and wind gusts up to 200km/h. | A Category 3 cyclone would be expected to deliver up to 200mm of rain and wind gusts up to 200km/h. |
| Anyone in the affected area is encouraged to assess their properties for loose items, tie down boats or caravans and prepare a survival kit including a radio, torch, mobile phone charger, food, water and any necessary medication. | Anyone in the affected area is encouraged to assess their properties for loose items, tie down boats or caravans and prepare a survival kit including a radio, torch, mobile phone charger, food, water and any necessary medication. |
| Holiday-makers camping or travelling in caravans are being urged to leave the Pilbara immediately. | Holiday-makers camping or travelling in caravans are being urged to leave the Pilbara immediately. |
| Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has given an interview with Bloomberg in which he seems to criticise Scott Morrison’s relationship with the outgoing US president Donald Trump. | Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has given an interview with Bloomberg in which he seems to criticise Scott Morrison’s relationship with the outgoing US president Donald Trump. |
| Here are some photos of Scott Morrison briefly getting stuck inside an elevator. | Here are some photos of Scott Morrison briefly getting stuck inside an elevator. |
| And that seems to be all from the prime minister. | And that seems to be all from the prime minister. |
| Morrison is asked about Anthony Albanese’s speech criticising him for his relationship with US president Donald Trump. | Morrison is asked about Anthony Albanese’s speech criticising him for his relationship with US president Donald Trump. |
| He hits back, accusing Labor of using the Australia-US relationship as “a political play thing”. | He hits back, accusing Labor of using the Australia-US relationship as “a political play thing”. |
| He says: | He says: |
| Morrison is being asked about the government’s emissions reduction targets for 2030. He says “we are going to meet and beat them” several times. | Morrison is being asked about the government’s emissions reduction targets for 2030. He says “we are going to meet and beat them” several times. |
| OK the feed is back. | OK the feed is back. |
| Morrison is being asked by a reporter why he hasn’t visited a coalmine as prime minister, and whether it’s because he’s worried about implications from people in Sydney and Melbourne. | Morrison is being asked by a reporter why he hasn’t visited a coalmine as prime minister, and whether it’s because he’s worried about implications from people in Sydney and Melbourne. |
| “Why would I not?” he says. | “Why would I not?” he says. |
| He tells us that he “bumped into a bloke just last week” at the Shoalhaven hotel who works in the mine there. | He tells us that he “bumped into a bloke just last week” at the Shoalhaven hotel who works in the mine there. |
| “We had a good chat about what is happening in the mines there,” he says. | “We had a good chat about what is happening in the mines there,” he says. |
| (I’m sorry I have no idea what the context for this is). | (I’m sorry I have no idea what the context for this is). |
| Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking to reporters from rural Queensland. | Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking to reporters from rural Queensland. |
| “No one does mining better than Australians,” he says. | “No one does mining better than Australians,” he says. |
| Then the ABC’s feed drops out. | Then the ABC’s feed drops out. |
| I mean I assume he was going somewhere with that statement but also, where’s the lie? | I mean I assume he was going somewhere with that statement but also, where’s the lie? |
| Earlier today we told you that Labor leader Anthony Albanese had accused the prime minister Scott Morrison of “pandering” to US president Donald Trump in a speech on Wednesday. | Earlier today we told you that Labor leader Anthony Albanese had accused the prime minister Scott Morrison of “pandering” to US president Donald Trump in a speech on Wednesday. |
| The party’s shadow foreign minister Penny Wong has carried on that criticism. In an interview on Sky News today, she described the Trump administration as “unpredictable and tumultuous”, and accused Morrison of putting his “political interests ahead of the stewardship of the relationship” between Australia and the US. | The party’s shadow foreign minister Penny Wong has carried on that criticism. In an interview on Sky News today, she described the Trump administration as “unpredictable and tumultuous”, and accused Morrison of putting his “political interests ahead of the stewardship of the relationship” between Australia and the US. |
| She said: | She said: |
| Morrison has labelled Trump’s comments in the lead up to the Capitol insurrection as “incredibly disappointing”. | Morrison has labelled Trump’s comments in the lead up to the Capitol insurrection as “incredibly disappointing”. |
| On Wednesday he told 2GB Radio it was “really disappointing” the events at the US Capitol had detracted from the Trump administration’s legacy. | On Wednesday he told 2GB Radio it was “really disappointing” the events at the US Capitol had detracted from the Trump administration’s legacy. |
| Labor’s shadow housing minister, Jason Clare, has addressed the “big jump in the number of Homebuilder applications”, describing it as a “good thing”. | Labor’s shadow housing minister, Jason Clare, has addressed the “big jump in the number of Homebuilder applications”, describing it as a “good thing”. |
| Clare told reporters in Sydney: | Clare told reporters in Sydney: |
| Here’s our full story on the more than 20 refugees who have reportedly been released from detention inside a Melbourne hotel today. | Here’s our full story on the more than 20 refugees who have reportedly been released from detention inside a Melbourne hotel today. |
| A coalition of rights groups says Australia should take a step towards ending the mass imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by raising the age of legal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years old. | A coalition of rights groups says Australia should take a step towards ending the mass imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by raising the age of legal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years old. |
| The Australian government is set to face questions over the country’s human rights performance tonight (Australian time), as part of the UN human rights council’s universal periodic review process that happens about every five years. | The Australian government is set to face questions over the country’s human rights performance tonight (Australian time), as part of the UN human rights council’s universal periodic review process that happens about every five years. |
| Countries that have submitted questions in advance have raised concerns about rates of Indigenous incarceration, as we reported yesterday. Germany wants to know precisely why Australia has delayed a push to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years. | Countries that have submitted questions in advance have raised concerns about rates of Indigenous incarceration, as we reported yesterday. Germany wants to know precisely why Australia has delayed a push to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years. |
| Ahead of tonight’s human rights hearing, the Raise the Age coalition has issued a statement with a range of its members urging Australia to take the rights of children seriously, and to commit to raising the age. | Ahead of tonight’s human rights hearing, the Raise the Age coalition has issued a statement with a range of its members urging Australia to take the rights of children seriously, and to commit to raising the age. |
| Monique Hurley, legal director of the Human Rights Law Centre, said children across Australia “should be in schools and playgrounds, not police and prison cells”, while Cheryl Axleby, the co-chair of Change the Record, said the existing policy was “cruel, harmful and out of step with the rest of the world”. | Monique Hurley, legal director of the Human Rights Law Centre, said children across Australia “should be in schools and playgrounds, not police and prison cells”, while Cheryl Axleby, the co-chair of Change the Record, said the existing policy was “cruel, harmful and out of step with the rest of the world”. |
| Axleby said: | Axleby said: |
| Priscilla Atkins, the co-chair of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, said raising the age was one action that Australian governments could take right away “that will have an immediate – and generational – impact to end the over-incarceration of First Nations kids and to give our kids a brighter future”. | Priscilla Atkins, the co-chair of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, said raising the age was one action that Australian governments could take right away “that will have an immediate – and generational – impact to end the over-incarceration of First Nations kids and to give our kids a brighter future”. |
| Dr Mick Creati, International Child and Adolescent Health Specialist and Senior Fellow with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, said the UN review process was “another opportunity for Australian state and territory governments to be reminded of the urgent need to raise the age of criminal responsibility”. | Dr Mick Creati, International Child and Adolescent Health Specialist and Senior Fellow with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, said the UN review process was “another opportunity for Australian state and territory governments to be reminded of the urgent need to raise the age of criminal responsibility”. |
| Nolan Hunter, of Amnesty International Australia, said the UN and experts in child development and health agreed “that we must act on this now”. | Nolan Hunter, of Amnesty International Australia, said the UN and experts in child development and health agreed “that we must act on this now”. |
| And that’s all from me for today. I’ll hand you over to my colleague Michael McGowan. | And that’s all from me for today. I’ll hand you over to my colleague Michael McGowan. |
| Could be some bushfires in Victoria this weekend, the head of the state’s emergency services reckons. | Could be some bushfires in Victoria this weekend, the head of the state’s emergency services reckons. |
| The temperature is going to reach the 40s in some areas.This just in from AAP: | The temperature is going to reach the 40s in some areas.This just in from AAP: |
| Another piece from our powerful Childhood in Custody series has just been published : | Another piece from our powerful Childhood in Custody series has just been published : |