Police force BLM protesters to move on from Sydney's town hall – as it happened

A small queue of protesters are slowly walking to Central station, chanting all the way. Still no arrests, and police are just shepherding the crowd as it walks.

Organisers are encouraging them to avoid Central Station.

Only about 20 people end up going into Central, where police pepper sprayed protesters last Saturday. Everybody else leaves. It truly seems to be over now.

Despite the main crowd of protesters dispersing in Hyde Park, there are still small marches and protests throughout the city.

At Town Hall a few minutes ago, a large crowd formed, and were given a move on order by police. After police threatened to arrest them, protesters moved on.

But a march is still winding its way down to Central station, where police pepper sprayed people last Saturday.

Still no arrests have been made, and police are just shepherding they crowd as it walks, and blocking off traffic.

It’s hard to estimate numbers, but I can see fewer than 100 people in front of me.

The second the protest reaches the Captain Cook statue in Hyde Park, it ends. Police are standing at the sides of the crowd, doing nothing, when organisers begin shouting, “Its over. Go home”.

The crowd filters through Hyde Park as organisers shout “disperse”.

“Everyone get your friends together and go home. There’s no fight to win here but an arrest.”

In five minutes, there’s nobody near the statue but media. But protesters are still slowly making their way out of the park back down Park St in the city, as police follow. They have started shouting at people to go home as well.

10 minutes later, the park is empty. No arrests were made, as far as I can see.

The protest has now moved to Hyde Park where there are between 200 and 300 people. At 6.30 there were only about 20 people outside Town Hall who weren’t media.

Mounted police are also in the park.

People held in prisons in Western Australia will be allowed face-to-face visits again “within a few weeks”, the state corrective services minister, Francis Logan, has said.

Inmates have been denied face-to-face visits since late March to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and were instead given free telephone calls, extra mail privileges, and in some cases access to video calls. Prisons are potential hotbeds for the virus – a global report said it was potentially a “death sentence” in overcrowded facilities.

Thalia Anthony, an Australian academic, called it a “ticking time-bomb”.

Logan said prisoners will still have to comply with physical distancing rules during visits, so no hugging. Inmates will still be able to access video-conferencing kiosks.

Logan said:

”Stopping social visits was not an easy task and came with its own risks to the good order of a prison or custodial facility.

“But it is to the credit of the department and each custodial facility that they worked cooperatively, including with prisoners, to put in place measures that almost completely eliminated the threat of the virus taking hold inside.”

My colleague Melissa Davey has another update on the Surgisphere scandal.

Some of the world’s leading medical journals are reviewing their processes after they were forced to retract studies based on flawed data. This follows a Guardian investigation revealing serious flaws in the database behind studies that were published by the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet.

You can read more about the latest developments here:

The parliament sitting is starting to wind down now, so I will hand you over to Lisa Cox. She’ll be keeping an eye on the Sydney protest for you, so make sure you watch out for that.

Thanks to everyone who joined me this week. I’ll be back on Monday when the sitting resumes for the last week before the winter break.

Have a wonderful weekend and take care of you.

National federation reform:

Following on from national cabinet’s agreement to continue as the ongoing forum for first ministers, to form the national federation reform council (NFRC) and to cease the council of Australian governments (Coag), national cabinet today had further discussions regarding the architecture to fundamentally transform federal relations and achieve policy outcomes in areas of shared interest to create jobs and to improve the lives of all Australians.

National cabinet has announced six initial priority areas of reform, and the formation of six reform committees:

1. Rural and regional Australia
2. Skills
3. Energy
4. Infrastructure and transport
5. Population and migration
6. Health

These committees will be driven by leaders of national cabinet and tasked to progress a rapid jobs agenda.

Deregulation will be taken forward by the council of federal financial relations (CFFR) as a matter of priority.

National cabinet held further discussions regarding the role of the CFFR, which is led by the commonwealth treasurer and made up of treasurers of states and territories. The CFFR has a central role in the new system, supporting the work of national cabinet as it focuses on job creation. Specifically, national cabinet has tasked CFFR to progress targeted reforms in areas such as tax, deregulation and housing. CFFR will report to national cabinet on findings and recommendations of these commissioned reform projects, with input from expert advisory groups. Further information on reform projects to be undertaken by the CFFR will be provided shortly.

The CFFR will also take on responsibility for coordination of all commonwealth/state funding agreements, including national partnership agreements. National cabinet has asked that CFFR commence a review of existing agreements with a view to consolidation and rationalisation. This includes identifying agreements that could be ceased in order to streamline responsibilities and to reduce duplication and overlap. CFFR will provide national cabinet with an update on its progress and a plan for implementation by the end of August.

As new commonwealth/state national partnership agreements are developed, it will be CFFR’s responsibility to negotiate funding elements, in consultation with relevant portfolio ministers.

Outdoor events including stadiums

For outdoor venues up to 40,000 spectator capacity, ticketed and seated events will be able to be held in front of a crowd of no more than 25% of capacity under step 3.

States and territories will make decisions on when to move to step 3 under CovidSafe plans.

At a minimum, CovidSafe arrangements must be maintained including:

· 1 person per 4sqm;

· staying 1.5 metres away from other people whenever and wherever possible;

· maintaining good hand washing and cough/sneeze hygiene;

· staying home when unwell, and getting tested if you have respiratory symptoms or a fever; and

· downloading the CovidSafe app to allow identification and traceability of people that have been in contact with a confirmed Covid case.

For outdoor venues of more than 40,000 spectator capacity, further advice is being sought from the AHPPC, with arrangements to be settled by the states and territories on a venue by venue basis.

National cabinet reiterated that high-risk outdoor events without ticketed seating such as music festivals do not form part of step 3 and will be considered following further advice from medical experts.

Indoor gatherings

National cabinet agreed to remove the 100-person limit on non-essential indoor gatherings under step 3 and replace it with:

· 1 person per 4sqm;

· staying 1.5 metres away from other people whenever and wherever possible;

· maintaining good hand washing and cough/sneeze hygiene;

· staying home when unwell, and getting tested if you have respiratory symptoms or a fever;

· downloading the CovidSafe app to allow identification and traceability of people that have been in contact with a confirmed Covid case; and

· developing CovidSafe plans for workplaces and premises.

States and territories will determine when to implement these changes under step 3.

National cabinet requested further advice from the AHPPC on the one person per 4 sqm density rule and application for small premises.

National cabinet reiterated that it is vital for our society and our economy that we can live with this virus, and keep ourselves and others safe. We cannot risk a second wave and having to step backwards, especially now that we are making such good progress.

National cabinet reiterated that high-risk venues such as nightclubs do not form part of step 3 and will be considered following further advice from medical experts.

Question time, as seen by Mike Bowers:

Mood of the country:

Paul Fletcher mastering the prefect pose:

Angus Taylor being Angus Taylor:

Scott Morrison finishes his dixer with a plea for protesters not to go to any events this weekend:

“We have made great, great progress, but the challenge ahead is even greater, so the decisions we make now are about the next five years and the five years of changes we make will set up the next 30 years of prosperity. And we cannot put it at risk. And that’s why I ask those, this weekend, who are contemplating engaging in a mass rally, don’t do it. Follow the health advice. Don’t attend.

“Do the right thing by your fellow Australians. Protect the lives and the livelihoods, protect the businesses.

“Now is a time not to talk about what people want to tear down, but what we are going to build up, Mr Speaker, together. And, Mr Speaker, I would urge those who are considering this, I say it in total respect for the issues they wish to raise, please find another way to do it and do it with the support of your fellow Australians.

He then asks if Anthony Albanese wants to add to his answer on indulgence:

“Did you want to support that otherwise I was going to say further questions will be placed on notice. I ask that further questions be placed on the notice. I thought you were going to speak on indulgence, if not I apologise.”

Albanese gets up:

I am quite happy to take up the prime minister’s invitation. How long would you like me to have, prime minister?

I certainly have, consistently, Mr Speaker, as the prime minister knows full well, say that people should follow the medical advice and should not participate in gatherings that are against medical advice.

He goes to ask another question, but question time has ended.

Jason Falinski, who has deleted his previous cryptic tweet about leadership, gets a dixer.

Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg:

Has the government modelled how many Australians will have to join the unemployment queues when the job giveaway subsidy is suddenly withdrawn under the prime minister’s hard snap back in September?

Frydenberg: Well, Mr Speaker, as the secretary of the Treasury said ... recently, he expects unemployment in the September quarter to reach about 8%. Now, Mr Speaker, we know people are doing it tough at the moment. We have gone through a 1-in-100-year event. But we also know that we are starting to see confidence pick up across the Australian economy, and Mr Speaker, we have seen consumer confidence pick up around 90% and business confidence pick up from around 70%. So Treasury, in relation to the question that was asked by the member for Rankin, will continue to assess the economic situation and we are undertaking a review into jobkeeper, Mr Speaker, and we will make decisions about the future of that program and we will announce those decisions on the 23 July. Mr Speaker, I’ll tell you what helps create jobs, its lower taxes, Mr Speaker ...

After the second point of order on relevance (one premature) we get this:

Treasury and the government continue to assess the situation, decisions will be taken about the future of the jobkeeper program and announcements will be made in an orderly fashion.

Alicia Payne to Scott Morrison:

I refer to reports today that Coalition MPs, including the member for Leichhardt, want JobSeeker extended beyond September. But the Prime Minister is refusing to rule out kicking workers in other industries off JobSeeker before September. Why can’t the Prime Minister be clear - which Australians will he leave behind?

Morrison:

From the very outset of this crisis, the Government has put in place the most comprehensive, the largest set of income support and economic lifeline measures that this country has ever seen. And the one we started with was JobSeeker, because JobSeeker, the unemployment benefit is the safety net that sits right under all Australians if they find themselves out of work. That’s what we did first.

The second measure, substantial measure that we put in place for income support was JobKeeper. Now, JobKeeper was put in to ensure that Australians could find themselves continuing to be on the books of employers and doing some work in some cases, and they would be there in that arrangement for six months.

That has bought our economy critical time. If businesses were put in a position that they had to make decisions back in March and April about whether those employees could stay in those businesses, we would have seen millions more find themselves on their way seeking support through the unemployment system.

Now, Mr Speaker, that decision bought those businesses time. It bought Australia time. When other countries were only going for three months, we took the decision to go for six months.

And that provided some certainty and confidence, and since that time, we have seen consumer confidence restored under the ANZ Index, and 70% restore by business since the COVID crisis hit. Now we are going through the same thoughtful, meticulous process of considering the data and looking forward and reviewing the program to make the right set of decisions about the right combination of income supports and fiscal supports to the economy that would be in place after the end of September.

This is how our Government makes decisions. We do things carefully, considering the advice, looking at the economic environment and ensure that we make those decisions at the right time.

JobKeeper is there until the end of September, Mr Speaker. That’s why we put it in place. It will remain in place until the end of September.

And Mr Speaker, it will continue to provide that confidence. At the same time, the Treasurer and I and the members of the Cabinet will work together with the members of the Government to ensure that we get the right balance and mix of fiscal policies, because it’s the fiscal policies, given the absence of monetary ammunition that’s in the system that will be so important. But we want, above all things, above all things, is to get Australians back into jobs. Australians don’t want to be on JobKeeper or JobSeeker. They want to be in jobs, Mr Speaker.

And what we hear from the Opposition all the time is how they would seek to keep people back, not allow them to go forward. And the policies we will put in place and continue to put in place will be about them - not only getting the support they need when they need it. But in the jobs they need.

Jim Chalmers to Scott Morrison:

Will the prime minister look at extending the jobkeeper wage subsidy beyond September as suggested by the Reserve Bank governor?

Josh Frydenberg gets the nod:

Thank you. I thank the member for Rankin for the question. I too, enjoyed that profile piece in the Weekend Australian on the leadership credentials, but maybe not as much as the leader of the opposition. Now, the reality is – as the honourable member knows – the Reserve Bank governor said that it is actually too early to tell what the state of the economy will be in a number of months.

But what he did say is that the economic support that the government has been providing has been very, very substantial Mr Speaker, and making a real difference in helping to keep people connected to their employer, and staying in a job. Now, we’ve announced that we will be doing a review.

A review over the course of this month and the outcomes of that review into the jobkeeper program, and the assembly of the data will inform decisions that the government will take about the future of that program.

And any announcements around the future of that program will be made on 23 July when the finance minister and I provide an economic and fiscal update. But Mr Speaker, the jobkeeper program has been saving lives and protecting livelihoods.

It is helping millions of employees and hundreds of thousands of businesses right across the country.

But, Mr Speaker, what I do know is that at a time of need, because the economy was in a position of economic strength, because we had balanced the budget, because we had provided substantial tax cuts and got people off welfare into work, we were in a position to support the Australian economy with some $260bn, or over 13% of GDP, which is massive macroeconomic support in the words of the OECD and has seen Australia perform remarkably well on not just the health front, but on the economic front as well.

Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison about the VC for Tasmanian Teddy Sheean, again, and Morrison is NOT impressed:

Albanese: the prime minister has received a recommendation from the defence honours and awards appeals tribunal that Tasmania’s Teddy Sheean be awarded a Victoria Cross for “the most conspicuous act of valour in the presence of an enemy”. Why does the prime minister need another review to tell him that Teddy’s sacrifice should be honoured with a Victoria Cross?

Morrison: there is absolutely no doubt that Teddy Sheean was an extraordinary Australian who did extraordinary things. At a time that none of us in this place can possibly imagine. And the issues that were confronted by servicemen and women at that time is nothing we can imagine. Their commanders and those who were there at that time and made judgment on these issues. So when one goes back and looks at these matters again, one must be very careful when they’re putting themselves in the place of others who were there at the time.

Now, Mr Speaker, the tribunal, the four members of the tribunal, not all 11, but the four members of it, was unanimous. Not 11, just four. I point that out to the leader of the opposition. As he represented that all 11 members of the tribunal made that decision. That is in fact not the case. There was four, Mr Speaker.

But Mr Speaker, equally, then the government receives the recommendation from the tribunal, the government then needs to consider that recommendation informing a view, and indeed, the minister and then the prime minister needs to form a view. And so you take advice from all of the agencies that would have a relevant view on this, as I have done.

And I tabled, Mr Speaker, the letter from the chief of the defence force, Gen Campbell, for the purposes of the question and for the House. I can assure you, as prime minister and as chair of the national security committee of cabinet, that I do not consider the advice of the chief of the defence Force lightly. I consider it very carefully. And it wasn’t just the current chief of defence force, Mr Speaker. Not just the current chief of the defence force that I have consulted on this matter. But many others, many others, Mr Speaker, who have served in that capacity in recent times.

So I’m not going to consider the advice that comes from the single person who commands every single man, woman who serves in our defence forces lightly. So the issue that is raised in relation to this matter, Mr Speaker, is whether compelling new evidence has been presented and is available for me to take a decision that would enable me to make a recommendation to Her Majesty.

Now Mr Speaker, that matter, on my advice, is in dispute, and so I have sought advice from the former defence minister, the former solicitor general, the former secretary of the department of prime minister and cabinet, and one of the most renowned military historians in this country, to consider that very precise question. And Mr Speaker, if that advice comes back and says that very high bar has been passed, then that is helpful advice. And I can assure you, because I consulted the chief of the defence force on this matter.

Albanese tries to table the document, but a snippy Christian Porter says it is a public document, so no. (He was pretty snippy.)

Speaking of awkward, Angus Taylor just took a dixer.

So that is a bit awkward, then.

Scott Morrison:

I don’t agree with the comments, because Mr Speaker, what Australia has done over these many months in which we have been combating the Covid-19 global pandemic is, we have been conscious right from the start of the need to address both the health challenge and the economic challenge.

Now they’re extreme views in this debate. There are more extreme views which said that there was nothing going on here, Mr Speaker.

And there are others who said that more extreme action should be taken in terms of measures.

Now it’s a free country, Mr Speaker, and we support people who can express whatever views they wish on these matters.

This is not something that I am seeking to express any judgment against the individual that has been referred to in the question in any way, shape or form. I just happen to have a different point of view.

And a point of view that has been informed by the government’s actions.

We took early and strong and important actions that have both protected lives and protected livelihoods.

And Australia stands out around the world as being the leader, both on the economic response, as is demonstrated by the OECD figures, and on the health response which has been demonstrated by the much lower death rate in Australia.

When it is a hundred times more in countries that are overseas. Had we not taken the decision to take action on health, when they would not be in the position today to address the economic opportunities as we come out of this crisis.

We are well ahead of where we’d hoped to be, and there are different experiences in different countries. The treasurer just made mention.

In New Zealand, they went to a full lockdown. A full lockdown, and their expected position this year on their economy is down 8.9%. Now, we didn’t go to that extreme and we’re looking at a 5% reduction. Every country will make their choices. We’ve made the right choices.

Mark Butler to Scott Morrison:

Does the prime minister agree with the Australian’s economics editor, Adam Creighton, who says: ‘The government’s response to Covid-19 was an act of hysteria because the virus has only led to the quite unwell elderly people.’ If not, why is the minister for energy cohosting a board room dinner with him to raise money for the Liberal party’s Eden-Monaro campaign?”

Christian Porter says it is not for the prime minister to talk about party fundraising – that is a matter for the party executive.

Tony Smith rules the first part in order and the second out of order.

Jason Clare to Josh Frydenberg:

Yesterday the treasurer used the $1bn national housing infrastructure facility as evidence that this government was supporting the community housing sector. Given Treasury has revealed a short time ago that $999,800,000 of this still has not been spent, isn’t this just another example that the government is leaving Australians behind?

Frydenberg: Mr Speaker, as I said to the House yesterday, this is a $1bn program that was established by the former treasurer and now prime minister, which is out there providing support on top of our other social housing initiatives which announced yesterday, including in the Hobart City deal, providing support for those in the community who need that community housing.

Barnaby Joyce manages to joke out a dixer to “the deputy prime minister of the commonwealth of Australia and minister for infrastructure, transport and rRegional development”.

He’s reminded by the Speaker that he can only summon one deputy prime minister.

Tip Top takes to the despatch.

Related: the collective noun for a group of Nationals is a “whinge”.

Jason Clare to Michael Sukkar:

In question time on Tuesday when the minister quoted the publication Domain, had he already read these Domain stories. “Home builder could be the most equitable construction job.” And “Home builder, how $688m could be better spent to stimulate the economy.” If this is what our real estate thinks of the scheme, isn’t it time to rename it “home blunder?”

Sukkar: Thank you very much. The shadow minister wants to bring out quotes. I’ve got a lot of quotes for the shadow minister. The shadow minister, and indeed, the shadow treasurer on the day that they came out to criticise this policy said, “The Master Builders Association have criticised this policy.”

So relying on the Master Builders Association, which was a surprise to the treasurer and the prime minister and I, because the head of the Master Builders Association was with us when we announced this policy.

And indeed, I quote, said the following: ‘Master Builders Australia believes that the federal government’s announcement of the homebuilder scheme today will be a massive relief to the thousands of home builders and tradies around the country.” Are you listening, shadow minister?

Again, ‘Homebuilder will be a lifeline for an industry facing a valley of death in the coming months. It will mean more new homes, more small businesses and jobs are protected and provide a stronger bridge to the economic recovery of our country.’ And it goes on and on and on. In fact, I’ll continue. I’ll continue if we’ve got quotes.

We’ve got a home builder, Jessie Zilkie from Bundaberg ,who said the following in response. On the first Saturday after the homebuilder was announced, the response that they had for the house and land packages, she said the following.

‘We’re gearing up. I’ve employed three people this week in various roles. I’ve been in contact with some subcontractors, suppliers, to make sure that we can handle it. It’s certainly going to be a boost locally to jobs and the industry.’ It goes on and on. In the Domain article that the shadow minister referred to, in that Domain article, it referred to the fact that house and land packages throughout this country increased last Saturday by up to 70%.

Now what do new home sales mean? It means what I said earlier this week. The hundreds of thousands of jobs in the residential construction industry are protected. Now I know the shadow minister probably hasn’t come across a tradie. He’s been here a bit too long in the halls of Canberra.

But hundreds of thousands of tradies, carpenters on building sites, bricklayers, electricians and plumbers and in regional Australia – the timber mill workers who make the frames and trusses.

The manufacturers who make the bricks and the glass and the tiles. Those hundreds of thousands of jobs will be protected. We estimate 20,000 new homes. 7,000 substantial rebuilds, and those 20,000 new homes we’ve also seen evidence is overwhelmingly supporting new home-buyer, so the Labor party have opposed the first home super saver scheme. They opposed the first home loan deposit scheme. Now oppose homebuilder.

The Coalition is the party of residential construction jobs in this country.

Ken Wyatt just took a dixer on Indigenous Australians, which is worth noting:

Around a cabinet table when we were discussing some matters, the prime minister made it very clear that the minister for Indigenous Australians wasn’t the only minister responsible. That all of us around that cabinet table had to engage with Indigenous Australians in a very different way.

The member for Solomon, the partnerships that we’ve got with Indigenous Australians means that they own both the solutions and the way in which we will implement. Because for too long we have done things to Indigenous Australians. It doesn’t matter what the program is – we’ve defined it and said you will operate within this parameter.

On cultural matters, negotiations have occurred with the minister for the environment on some of the key directions we’re thinking about and the way in which we can protect our cultural heritage. And that work is continuing with a genuine desire to have the Indigenous leadership involved in telling us what it is that is needed.

That will change the way in which we will achieve outcomes in this nation that we’ve not achieved thus far. Because any of us when we negotiate with local governments or state governments, we negotiate every point thoroughly. We’re now doing that with Indigenous Australians.

And both the partnership agreement and the Covid experience has shown us that when you give people the opportunity to determine their own direction, they will take that responsibility, stand up and meet the challenge.

Ahhhh, seems there are exemptions to the “statesman” voice.

Kate Thwaites to Scott Morrison:

I refer to the prime minister’s comments about the homebuilder scheme. “If you’ve been putting off that home renovation or new build, the extra $25,000 we’re putting on the table means now the time to get started.” How many Australians who have been putting off renovating their kitchens or bathrooms will get a cent from this scheme?

Morrison:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The scheme provides for 27,000 new projects, which is 7,000 renovation/new builds. And 20,000 new home constructions. It was never the intention of this program to provide subsidy support for small-scale renovations.

That was not the purpose. And I’ll tell you why we weren’t going to do that. We weren’t going to do that because the risk of integrity to the program and a repeat of the insulation batts farce that occurred under the Labor party, where people were going around knocking on doors, basically pulling in pink batts and saying that they’re going to put them in your roof and pocketing the difference was a joke.

It was a complete failure, Mr Speaker. Four people died, Mr Speaker, in relation to that program. They died as a result of that program as established in a royal commission. I note, I note Mr Speaker, in a royal commission.

So in this program, we were not going to give rise to a situation where people passing themselves off as renovators were going to go and knock on the doors of pensioners, rip out their sinks and dishwashers and then seek to claim some government subsidy. That’s not the nature of the program.

This is not for do-it-yourself home renovations. This is about approved work by certified builders of significant scale to enable people to bring forward projects that they have put off and now can proceed with.

Now I note the derision that is applied by those opposite to someone who might be proceeding with a substantial renovation, a new build of their home, of some $150,000. The average loan taken out for a renovation is $164,000.

And I can tell you that’s the case, because there are families around this country who cannot afford to go and build a new home. Their families are expanding. Their children are growing up. They can’t afford to sell their house and go and buy land and engage in a new construction. So what do they do? They borrow money to expand their existing home and renovate substantially their existing home, because they can’t afford to build a $300,000 or $350,000 new home.

The opposition’s derision of this initiative smacks of two things. One: they never learned the mistakes of their failed schemes when they were in government.

And, Mr Speaker, they don’t know what’s going on in the suburban families of this country.

We are back to sombre and soothing voices from government MPs today. Seems they think they have overdone the political attacks in the past few days and need a return to “statesman” voice.

Susan Templeman to Scott Morrison:

My question is to the prime minister: 41 homes were lost in my electorate during last summer’s bushfires. People have told me that they want to rebuild, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to sign a contract by the end of the year. How will the prime minister ensure that bushfire victims like these ones can access the homebuilder scheme?

Morrison: Well, thank you, Mr Speaker. And I thank the member for her question, and I commend her for the work that she’s done within her community, as I do all of those members who have been in bushfire-affected areas for the work that they’ve done in engaging communities and raising issues that need to be addressed.

The commitment that we made to the states and territories was to jointly fund the demolition work that was being done across all of those buildings that were damaged and destroyed during the course of the bushfires.

The advice I have from the state government in NSW is that demolition work will be completed next month, but is already progressing through so many parts of the state.

That is the project which is managed, by the state government. They’re running the contractors and they’re doing it at a cracking pace and I commend them for doing that, and to keep pushing forward. The homebuilder program, as introduced by the housing minister and by the treasurer enables grants of $25,000 for those who are eligible under the income test rules to be able to support the construction of new homes.

And one of the key issues I’ve been discussing with the state and territory premiers has been how we can escalate and more rapidly ensure that approvals are given, not just for these types of cases but more generally. The purpose is to bring it there and get the projects happening again.

But people in affected areas are eligible for the grants, subject of course to the income restrictions placed on those, and I’ll be working closely with the states and territories to ensure that they can accelerate the rate of a home approval, not just in these areas but everywhere, because this is critical to job creation. It’s absolutely urgent for those who are impacted by the bushfires. Certainly, definitely, but it is also critically important for those for whom their jobs depend on getting the jobs started.

There is no greater focus this government had than on job creation in the wake of the Covid circumstances and indeed in the wake of the bushfire crisis. Rebuilding communities, rebuilding homes and jobs and rebuilding our economy.

Question time is about to begin.

Hold on tight.

Quick fact check on Scott Morrison’s “what you’re watching on TV won’t create one job” line:

TV broadcasting in Australia employs more than 17,000 people.

So some jobs then.

Whingeing about statues and content being temporarily removed from streaming services also appears to be some people’s job at the moment, so I guess that needs a caveat too.

South Australian premier Steven Marshall says the state will be bringing forward its stage three restrictions easing from July to 29 June.

Stage three means you’ll be able to have the four square metre rule will be in place

South Australia has no new cases of Covid-19.

The press conference ends with this question from Paul Karp:

Karp: prof Murphy, what social distancing should apply at airports and on flights? Are those requirements being observed for special purpose flights in and did you have to warn Alan Tudge and others that they weren’t correctly social distancing on the most recent flight from Melbourne to Canberra?

Murphy: social distancing is not possible in the same way in domestic flights. We have a domestic airline policy. Airlines, domestic airlines, certainly short-haul airlines, present quite a low risk of transmission because of their air handling. We have not seen a clear case of transmission of the virus on a domestic flight in Australia. So whilst initially the airlines were practising good distancing, they are now occupying their seats more fully, and I know that’s one of the circumstances where we think it’s not an unreasonable choice if someone chooses to wear a mask.

I certainly have not warned any politician about not practising social distancing. So airlines, and on the return flights from overseas, they have been at 80% occupancy, so we’re trying to get a bit of gap. But you can’t get the full 1.5-metre on a flight. But as you say, there are special requirement force flights, and they are not a very high risk environment.

Scott Morrison: I’m going to have to call it off there, but I do note that I think on every press conference, except in this room, that I’ve had to warn the media that weren’t practising social distancing. Thank you very much.

Ahhh, no glass jaws here.

On whether “blackbirding” would be considered slavery (it was) and what needs to be done with Indigenous policies, Scott Morrison says:

Well on the first point, I acknowledge there have been all sorts of hideous practices that have taken place. And so I’m not denying any of that. OK. I’m not denying any of that. And I don’t think it’s helpful to go into an endless history war discussion about this. It’s all recorded. I acknowledge all of that. OK.

The challenges of Indigenous incarceration go across so many different areas of public policy. Its health policy, its youth policy, its suicide policy, its employment policy, its welfare policy; this is an incredibly complicated area and not all Indigenous experiences are the same. Indigenous Australians living in metropolitan areas have different life experiences to those living in regional and remote areas and so to suggest that there is one set of issues that applies to the Indigenous population is obviously ridiculous.

And we are aware of the heartbreaking stories within remote Indigenous communities, of abuse, sexual violence, of alcoholism, of drug abuse. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s true. You want to have an honest discussion about what’s happening in communities, you can’t ignore those for either and its chronic.

And it is enough to bring any Australian to their knees in tears. And so this is a complex issue. There is no shortage of funds being thrown at this issue. But clearly the application of funds by governments over decades and decades and decades is not getting the results we want. I can assure you it’s not through a lack of will, it’s an admission of the complexity and the difficulty of the task.

I think Scott Morrison is talking to his own side of politics and supporters in the media with these comments. Because they seem to be the only ones talking about it. On statues and shows being removed from streaming services, Morrison says:

I’m worried about jobs. I’m worried about 800,000 Australians going on to jobseeker in the last three months. I’m not interested in what they’re showing on streaming services. I’m interested in getting Australians back to work. I’m not interested in the debate on what people want to tear down. I’m interested in what people want to build up, and what we want to build back up are businesses and jobs and we need to restore livelihoods and lives.

Honestly people – let’s focus on what’s really happening. 800,000 extra people are on jobseeker in the last few months. You want to know where my focus is? On them! And the businesses that have closed and the livelihoods that have been destroyed. What you’re watching on television is your business. Not going to create one job. Let’s focus on where Australians are hurting today. And they really are hurting. And I will not be distracted.

On the protests planned for this tonight and this weekend, Scott Morrison says there “shouldn’t be a double standard”.

The medical advice is that this is an unsafe thing to do. It puts not only your own health at risk, but it puts other people’s lives at risk. It puts the – in economic terms because of the risk of a way that could come from these events, it puts the livelihoods of other Australians at risk, people’s businesses. The very clear message is that people should not attend those events because it is against the health advice to do so.

And so I would strongly encourage people to exercise that responsibility by not attending those events and respect their fellow Australians by ... seeking to express those in another way.

This is not about the issue that people are raising; this is about people’s health and welfare and I would urge Australians to respect that by not attending those events.

Scott Morrison also welcomes Queensland’s 10 July border reopen date.

Scott Morrison then moves on to the issue of international students:

On international students we’ll be working closely with states and territories, firstly on a pilot basis, to enable, in a very controlled setting, for international students to be able to come to Australia, but only on pre-approved plans for particular institutions worked up between federal authorities and state and territory authorities.

I’m not suggesting this is going to happen soon. There’s still a lot of work to do ... We’ve received some very, I think, well thought-through proposals from states as to how this can be done, particularly here in the ACT.

This is something that I’m sure we would all welcome happening again, but it has to be done with the appropriate quarantine entry arrangements and biosecurity, and all of those matters, being addressed.

That’s something that I know border force is working on. Our federal cabinet has been considering that now for some time. We’re still a little way away on being able to advance on those proposals. But I made clear to the states and territories today: if someone can’t come to your state from Sydney, then someone can’t come to your state from Singapore.

That means stadiums should be able to have 25% capacity (from July, if all goes well).

Funerals and churches and other gatherings will also be able to have more people, as long as the four-square-metre rule is maintained.

But nightclubs will still be out.

Step three, which is set down for July, will lift the 100 people in a gathering cap and move to a four square metre rule, which means that larger venues can have more people.

Musician, record label owner, actor, one half of AB Original and Guardian culture desk fav Briggs can now add “bestselling author” to his collection of achievements after his picture book, Our Home Our Heartbeat, shot up the sales charts this week.

Our Home Our Heartbeat had been a quiet seller since its release in May, a spokesperson for publisher Hardie Grant Egmont told Guardian Australia, but sales more than doubled this week in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country.

While it wasn’t enough to stop the Bluey juggernaut (can anything?) – Bluey has been dominating children’s bestseller lists since the first book in the franchise series was released late last year – Briggs’ picture book is the top-selling authored title in the children’s charts this week.

The book is adapted from Briggs’ song The Children Came Back, and illustrated by Kate Moon and Rachael Sarra.

This is in Melbourne

More information may be needed here, Mr Falinski:

The whole roadmap, which has been out for a while, and includes the July 10 date, is here:

And just in case there is anyone who follows the same twisted logic of the former foreign affairs minister (who seems to be vying for the title of the whitest man in Australia – a big call, given we already have Michael McCormack) read this:

This is why people heap shit on Queenslanders (of which I am one):

The Coalition and Labor have again combined to prevent a One Nation stunt on race politics.

Malcolm Roberts has put forward a motion noting the rates of death in custody of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and accusing people of quoting the 437 Indigenous deaths in custody figure without further context, of “distorting” debate.

He has selectively quoted the sort of data that might make everything look fine if one didn’t realise that Indigenous people are incarcerated at a much higher rate, so a similar (or slightly lower) rate of deaths applied to a much higher imprisoned population = way more deaths, relative to the proportion of Indigenous people in the population.

Mathias Cormann proposed that the motion be dealt with in general motions not formal motions – essentially kicking the can down the road – and Labor’s Katy Gallagher agreed.

Gallagher said:

We would add that we have had a concern for some time that this part of program is used to move motions that warrant further debate, to force senators to vote yes or no in a way to wedge [political opponents] ... It needs reform.

Pauline Hanson had a big spray accusing the government and opposition of “shutting this down” because they “don’t want the truth” to get out.

Greens senator Larissa Waters expressed concern that although the Greens disagree with One Nation the precedent does allow the government and opposition to gang up to shut down minor parties’ motions.

The manoeuvre worked, and they’re moving on with other motions now, so we’re spared the One Nation race vote.

The national cabinet meeting has broken for the day.The prime minister has called a press conference for about 12.40.

It’s in the main committee room, so not a fancy one then.

Sadly, this is not a parody account:

Labor’s Australia Post campaign has hit a nerve. Paul Fletcher and Mathias Cormann have put out a release disputing Labor’s concerns:

Labor’s claims are untrue in multiple respects:

• It has been claimed that Australia Post will cut jobs and remove one in four posties. This is not true. Australia Post has said there will be no forced redundancies or plans to cut posties’ take-home pay due to the new temporary arrangements. Many posties will continue delivering letters on bikes, and others will be retrained to deliver parcels in vans, putting them where the work is, securing their job with Australia Post, and better meeting the increasing needs of Australians for parcel deliveries.

• It has been claimed that Australia Post wants to cut delivery services in half. This is not true. Australia Post is permitted to adjust its delivery frequency, in metropolitan areas only, from every business day to every second business day. Delivery frequency in rural, regional and remote areas will not change.

• It has been claimed that wait times for letters will more than double, from three to seven days. This is not true. Mail speed standards for regular interstate letters (mail travelling around the country) have not changed. Whether measured in business days or actual days, the speed of delivery for intrastate mail has changed by only one or two days for regular intrastate letters, not out by four days as suggested.

• It has been claimed regional Australians and small business will be disadvantaged compared to metropolitan areas. This is not true. While the delivery frequency of regular mail has been adjusted in metropolitan areas, the delivery frequency for regular mail for rural, regional and remote areas was protected and remains unchanged. Licensed post offices – which, together with community postal agencies, represent about 2,300 small businesses in regional and rural communities – have come out in active support of the temporary regulatory changes.

• It has been claimed that vulnerable Australians will be most impacted by the changes. This is not true. The temporary regulatory changes give Australia Post flexibility to provide additional services that better support vulnerable Australians, such as delivering medicines and grocery boxes.

• It has been claimed that the changes are permanent. This is not true. The regulations are written such that changes will automatically end on 30 June 2021. The government will assess the effect of these temporary arrangements before the end of the year, and decide if they are to stay in place for the full period expected. Any extension of the temporary relief measures will be informed by relevant consultations. Such an extension would also be subject to a new disallowance period.

• It has been claimed that the government wants to privatise Australia Post. This is not true. The Morrison government is fully committed to Australia Post remaining in government ownership. There will be no change to Australia Post’s ownership, which will remain government owned.
• The Morrison government is committed to supporting Australia Post to provide important postal services to all Australians.
  

Bill Shorten has held a press conference and is asked about the conservative call to take unemployment benefits from people who received them and went to a protest (because free speech can only be free when its something power agrees with, apparently).

Q: Are you against taking away the payments from people who protest this weekend?

Shorten:

I don’t think it’s the main issue but they also want to talk about protests. I did say that Australians have been amazing. They have given up attending weddings, funerals, they can’t go to their sport, the theatre, the music. A lot of people have paid a big price for the public health emergency, so while I am an absolute supporter of drawing attention to the issue of black deaths in custody, while it is the right cause, it is the wrong timing.

I think a lot of Australians who have sympathy for the diabolical situation in America, I think I would say to the protesters, everyone else on a range of other matters they consider to be very important: they have done the right thing and they would ask the protesters not to attend because, frankly, let’s get through the public health emergency and let’s get back to all of these fundamental issues of importance, but without jeopardising the good work we have done so far.

I am a Collingwood fan – but the club needs to work on this.

While the debate over the protests in Australia in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the treatment of Indigenous and First Nations people in this country continues to focus on statues and whether or not American streaming services removing movies so they can put the same educational disclaimer on them that cartoons have had for years, while asking people to think about whether or not black and brown face has ever been funny (it hasn’t), it is worth remembering the history of some of the people driving the debate.

Like Peter Dutton, who is one of the loudest and often most visible people on these issues but often without any caveat that he left the chamber when the national apology was delivered to Indigenous people.

If we are going to remember history, we should probably remember that too:

(from Q&A on 15 March 2010)

Tony Jones: to Peter Dutton: why did you choose not to attend the apology to the stolen generations?”

Dutton: Well, for pretty much the same reasons. I support any legislation whatsoever that would go through our parliament that I thought would provide a tangible outcome for, particularly, Aboriginal children. I ...

Jones: Well, hang on, when you say for the “same reasons” you mean you regarded the apology as tokenism?

Dutton: I regarded it as something which was not going to deliver tangible outcomes to kids who are being raped and tortured in communities in the 21st century. Now if I thought for a moment that it was going to deliver positive outcomes to those kids, to their families, to those communities, then I would support it in a heartbeat. But I thought it distracted us from that.

Jones: But you were on your own on the Liberal frontbench. Did you make a deliberate decision to be the only Liberal frontbencher who didn’t participate in the apology?

Dutton: I made a decision what was right for me and what I believed in and that I stayed true to. Now at the time I offered my resignation to Brendan Nelson and that was part of my thinking at the time. I ...

Jones: What, you though so strongly about not wanting to see an apology you offered your resignation?

Dutton: Well I knew that that would be a difficulty for Brendan and I respected that. But what I said to him at the same time was exactly what I said before. If legislation comes through, you know, regardless of cost – if there’s a benefit that’s going to be provided to lifting people out of poverty, to changing the future for our generation, then I would do that. If it’s going to lift life expectancy. If it’s going to deliver better health outcomes.

The Public Health Association has come out and said it sees no reason protests can’t go ahead, saying given Australia’s success in controlling community transmission, there is no reason the protests shouldn’t proceed safely (which is the same reason the federal government is making to have the state borders reopened).

From its statement:

Two hugely important public health objectives –Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 – have been framed as competing imperatives. They are not,” said PHAA CEO Terry Slevin today.

The Black Lives Matter movement in Australia seeks to highlight the deplorable circumstances of disadvantage and discrimination experienced by Australia’s first people.

It is an important vehicle to seek changes that will help ‘close the gap’, and address generations of inequality and injustice which continues to this day.

Addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is one of the highest order public health issues in Australia today. The fact that over 430 Indigenous deaths in custody have been recorded since the 1991 Royal Commission is a stark illustration of this emergency. It is indisputable that racism is a real and ever-present public health issue. Racism in Australia obviously precedes COVID-19, and has a massive continuing impact on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Australia has managed the COVID-19 pandemic very successfully. PHAA has recognised this through our special PHAA President’s Award for Members of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) on 12 May.

“We have enormous regard for the work of the public health officials and governments around Australia who have taken the hard decisions to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the health of Australians,” said Mr Slevin.

“With extremely low levels of community transmission, effective contact tracing and quarantine, Australia is well placed to control the virus.”

In case you missed this yesterday -

Linda Burney and Terri Butler stopped by the cameras this morning to speak about a new Senate inquiry looking at the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites, in mine expansions.

Burney:

Yesterday Labor was successful in the Senate of establishing a Terms of Reference to put an inquiry to the Northern Australia committee, a joint parliamentary committee on the destruction of Aboriginal cultural heritage, certainly brought on by the by the explosions that Rio Tinto undertook in the Juukan Gorge. Terri will have responsibility for the carriage of that.

... This is a very significant outcome.

This Inquiry will look into the issues around Aboriginal cultural heritage and the relationship with mining companies. We believe that the resources industry is incredibly important to the Australian economy, and we want to see better practices. But most importantly, this is about self-determination. It is what the decisions are made between mining companies and the Traditional Owners. We also make the point very strongly that Aboriginal cultural heritage, as pointed out by UNESCO two weeks ago, is the heritage of all Australians. And it is something that has very much captured the hearts and minds of Australians.

... This is a very serious inquiry. We have not undertaken this lightly. We have undertaken it because there has been so much reaction to the destruction of cultural heritage in the case of the Gorge. We know that BHP has put on hold any further destruction of sites. And it is something that Labor is not going to play politics on. This has to be a joint approach between government and the Labor party. And it serves no purpose for anyone to throw rocks from the side to score political points. This is a serious issue.

Labor’s South Australian team have come together to put out this statement, calling for the government to save community television in their state (and in Victoria):

Community television has been serving Australian audiences for 25 years but the Morrison Government wants to boot Channel 44 Adelaide and Channel 31 Melbourne and Geelong off-air from 30 June 2020.

The Liberal Minister for Communications and the Arts, Paul Fletcher MP, is refusing to renew or extend their broadcast licences beyond the end of the month.

Through the COVID-19 crisis Adelaide’s C44 has provided a valuable community service connecting isolated people through broadcasting in addition to the local content and voices it normally empowers.

Instead of vibrant community services that have fostered talent the likes of Rove McManus, Peter Hellier, Hamish and Andy, Merrick Watts and Tim Ross, Nazeem Hussain, Shona Devlin, Corinne Grant, Tom Ballard, Waleed Aly and more, there will be blank screens.

Australia has one of the most concentrated media markets in the world and Community TV provides much needed diversity and local content.

At a time when at a time when newsrooms are closing, Community TV supports local news and provides a training ground for emerging journalists and screen practitioners, including in partnership with universities.

At a time when social cohesion, national culture and identity should be fostered, Community TV provides a platform for local multicultural, sporting and arts events, as well as small business.

At a time when social distancing makes participation in religious services difficult, Community TV provides accessibility, particularly to elderly citizens without internet access.

The Liberal Government came up with the idea of forcing Community TV off-air to an online-only mode of delivery back in 2014.

Since then the sector has been operating under huge uncertainty and most stations haven’t survived: Sydney, Brisbane and Perth don’t even have Community TV any more.

Now the impact of COVID-19 means the idea of moving audiences and sponsors to an online-only model is simply impossible.

Community TV should remain on-air. C44 and C31 serve a wide and diverse audience and they don’t cost the government anything to run.

Community TV is part of the broadcasting mix in Australia and spectrum is a valuable public resource that should not go unused when C44 and C31 could make such good use of it.

The Minister provided COVID-19 relief for other sectors of the media and he should give Community TV a fair go too.

Killing Community TV is wasteful and wilful destruction. Labor calls on the Morrison Government to keep Community TV on-air.

AAP also has a wrap on Australia’s latest attempt to talk about its history:

Australia won’t have proved itself as a nation until Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures are brought together, indigenous historian Bruce Pascoe says.

“It’s not rocket science really,” he told ABC radio on Friday.

“It’s about recognition, it’s about embracing the history - good and bad.”

Mr Pascoe says successive governments have failed to make any headway on the issue, with both histories not being embraced.

Indigenous people must be included in history and the economy, he added.

“That hasn’t happened. Until it does, we really can’t call ourselves a mature nation. We can’t say we’re any better than America.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been widely criticised for claiming there was no slavery in Australia.

“It’s pretty obvious that when you chain people up by the neck and force them to march 300km and then work on cattle stations for non-indigenous barons, then that is slavery,” Mr Pascoe said.

Indigenous incarceration rates and deaths in custody have come under the spotlight along with the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained momentum in the US after black man George Floyd was killed by police after being arrested.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton lashed out at an apparent rash of “cancel culture” in response to the movement.

Netflix has pulled four shows featuring controversial Australian performer Chris Lilley and there are supposedly calls to topple statues of British explorer Captain James Cook.

“I don’t think ripping pages out of history books and brushing over parts of history you don’t agree with or you don’t like is really something the Australian public is going to embrace,” Mr Dutton told Nine’s Today show.

“There are good and bad parts of our history. You learn from that.”

Mr Dutton said Netflix’s decision to remove the Chris Lilley shows, depicted the comedian in a range of characters including blackface, was absurd.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese does not want statues removed.

“You can’t rewrite history, you have to learn from it,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.

“The idea that you go back to year zero of history is in my view, just quite frankly unacceptable.”

The US movies classic Gone with the Wind has been temporarily removed from HBO until “ethnic and racial prejudices” depicted in the 1939 film can be contextualised by the streaming service.

“I mean, for goodness sake, I just think a bit of common sense here,” Mr Albanese responded.

“People can watch things, they can learn from them. Doesn’t mean you agree with them. Doesn’t mean that everything that they did was right. But it happened. You cannot pretend that it didn’t happen.”

The Victorian health minister, Jenny Mikakos, is asked whether the man who attended Saturday’s protest and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 will be identified.

No one is supposed to have that information, except for health authorities.

Mikakos:

Well, it would be a breach of the Health Records Act for this individual to be named in these circumstances.

You know, we want to not do anything to discourage people from coming forward.

It is important that the community takes this issue very seriously. Obviously, we were very clear in our advice last week that we did not want people to attend the protest.

We made it very clear that there was a public health risk for people attending any mass gathering event, regardless of the cause, regardless of the level of passion that people have about an issue. But having thousands of people come together was something that was incredibly, inherently risky. So if people now are exhibiting symptoms, when they would urge them to go forward and to get tested.

And I refer you to the National Committee’s advice of public health experts, AHPPC, that’s chaired by Professor Brendan Murphy, who issued a statement just yesterday that had some very clear advice there that there was no need for all the protesters to be mass quarantined, but that they would be reiterating our call that for any person exhibiting even mild symptoms, that they go forward and get tested.

(The man, like most of the protesters, was wearing a mask during the protest, which authorities believe will help minimise, but not eliminate, any risk of transmission.)

For the record, the chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, issued a statement yesterday saying there was no need for the mass quarantine or testing of people who attended the Melbourne protest:

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) noted the positive coronavirus test in a person who attended the large protest in Victoria last week. It will take some days to determine whether other people have been infected. AHPPC noted Victoria’s advice that a significant investigation to determine the source of the infection and identify close contacts is underway.

AHPPC emphasises once more the very high risk environment of a protest, with large numbers of people closely gathering and challenges in identifying all contacts. AHPPC again urges the Australian community to not participate in mass gatherings.

Anyone who attends protests must be vigilant and ensure they get tested if they develop any symptoms. Anyone who is feeling unwell or with symptoms should stay home. It is particularly important to avoid any interaction with people who are at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Currently there is no requirement for people who attended the Melbourne protest or other protests to quarantine or be tested if they remain well (unless they have been identified as a close contact).

Situations like this are a reminder of how important it is for everyone to continue to take steps to protect themselves from COVID-19. This includes practising good hand and respiratory hygiene, staying 1.5m away from other people, staying home when sick, and getting tested if they have cold or flu like symptoms. AHPPC also reinforces the importance of downloading the COVIDSafe app to help public health authorities find people exposed to the virus quickly.

Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy says she would take part in another Black Lives Matter protest if she were in Darwin.

And before all the whataboutters start jumping up and down, listen to why she is talking about “if she were in the NT”:

We have different circumstances obviously in the Northern Territory where our restrictions have reduced quite dramatically over the past month and we can have crowds of up to 500, if not more now,” she told the ABC.

We’ve got sporting fixtures where spectators are at the events. So this has been occurring since last week and the rally that took place in Darwin and in Alice Springs occurred within that environment.

Every state and territory jurisdiction has to look at their own situation and, certainly, those individuals and families need to consider what’s important for themselves and the families, and the people around them.

So I would certainly say, have a good look at that. I noticed that New South Wales is going down the path of a legal structure. I know that there’s conversations in Queensland and Victoria. But I would also urge political leaders to engage with the black community.

What’s missing here, I think, is the ability for leaders to actually engage with these leaders of the First Nations groups who are trying to reach out with a message that’s significant. I’d certainly urge the Prime Minister to do the same. You know, talk to First Nations media, start engaging with people instead of always being combative with First Nations people.

We’re again hearing calls for the commissioners of Scott Morrison’s Covid-19 commission to release their conflict-of-interest declarations. The commissioners, all leaders of the private sector, are helping to shape Australia’s non-health response to Covid-19.

But the government has steadfastly refused to release their conflict-of-interest declarations, detailing not only their board positions but also their private interests. I asked all six commissioners whether they would release a list of their interests voluntarily.

Only one, Greg Combet, did so. Even then, the entries on his list were already publicly known and published on the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission website. Other commissioners have disclosed their board positions but not their private interests. That has prompted renewed calls for greater transparency.

The Australia Institute’s climate and energy program director, Richie Merzian, said releasing the declarations was the least the NCCC could do. Merzian noted the role of the commission – a publicly funded body led by corporate leaders – was clearly to influence the government.

It is clearly in the public interest for any conflicts of interest to be publicly declared. There is no excuse for any potential conflicts of interest to remain secret.”

Peter Dutton also managed to slip in that people were angry at Daniel Andrews (as well as Annastacia Palaszczuk) about the border closures in that Today interview.

Victoria never closed its borders. Seems like something the federal minister in charge of Australia’s border should know.

For all the international coronavirus news, head here

Labor will move to disallow the Australia Post changes in both the House and the Senate today.

The Senate is where the move has the most chance of success. These things are usually left out of the House, because the government of the day (obviously) has the numbers there, making it sort of against the point.

So in moving it himself in the House, Anthony Albanese will be making a bit of history – it is the first time since at least the 1960s that an Opposition leader has moved a disallowance motion

In Brisbane, this is still happening.

The national cabinet is national cabineting as of now.

You’ll hear a bit more about borders at the end of that meeting.

Mathias Cormann told Sky News it was worth having “the conversation” about whether or not protesters should lose their unemployment benefits – just in case you were wondering how far down the Howard era we were going.

The “conversation” is only being raised in conservative circles.

The protests were mostly held on weekends. You can have a job and protest. You’re allowed to be unemployed and protest.

But hey – he’s managed to put Pauline Hanson in “context”, so what a hero.

The Greens Senator Rachel Siewert also has a few things to say about Scott Morrison’s “apology” for robodebt:

The PM’s so-called apology in Parliament yesterday failed to show empathy and recognise the pain and trauma that the robodebt program caused to hundreds of thousands of Australians.

“This Government relentlessly pursed people for years in the full knowledge that they were targeting vulnerable people for savings.

“I would apologise for any hurt or harm in the way that the government has dealt with that issue,” does not cut it, the PM clearly doesn’t get how much hurt and grief robodebt has caused.

“If you are sorry you say “I AM SORRY” not “I would apologise”.

“How about showing exactly how sorry your Government is and put in place a Royal Commission to get to the bottom of this whole mess.”

Meanwhile, the Victorian Labor government will be asked to strengthen anti-racism laws in that state after advocacy groups say there was an increase in racist attacks during the height of the Covid lockdowns.

From their statement:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people from Asian backgrounds have reported almost 400 racist attacks to a reporting tool organised by the Asian Australian Alliance. This has included verbal and physical assaults, death threats, people being abused in front of their children, people being refused service in stores and property damage.

Incidents include people being spat on, two female international students being assaulted in Melbourne, a man with Asian heritage being deliberately coughed on and being told to “go home”, a Chinese woman suffering a concussion after a person threw a bottle at her head from a moving car and multiple examples of people being subjected to racial abuse.

A coalition of union, civil society and faith-based groups have made a supplementary submission to the Parliamentary committee inquiring into Victoria’s anti-vilification laws highlighting these recent incidents of hate conduct. The coalition is calling for a range of law reform measures, including stronger civil and criminal laws so that people are held accountable for conduct fuelled by hate.

The group is also calling for the Andrews Government to ban the public display of vilifying and offensive materials, like the Nazi Swastika, which is increasingly being displayed and used as a calling card for white supremacist groups across Victoria.

Mark Dreyfus was also asked about the demands of Black Lives Matter protesters in Australia:

We should start to see implementation of recommendations that have been on the table for, in some cases, decades. You only had to listen to my colleague, my wonderful colleague Pat Dodson in the Senate a couple of days ago, to understand the frustration that First Nations people are experiencing, to understand his frustration. He was one of the royal commissioners in the black deaths in custody royal commission, and you can only imagine how he must feel 30 years on to see that the recommendations that he made with his fellow commissioners are still unimplemented.

This morning the ABC is running this story:

It is also worth pointing out that Stuart Robert also said the debt collection would resume yesterday (something that seemed a little lost in all the “apology” talk):

Right now, just so that colleagues are aware in the House, 939,000 Australians have debts – over $5 billion worth – that the government lawfully has to collect across a whole range of programs. Governments of all persuasions have done this across the divide. The government, of course, have paused all debt collection across all programs as we work our way through the COVID crisis, but government will have to restart that debt collection. We will do it sensibly, we will do it engaging all people and we will do it in a very transparent manner. It is incumbent on us all, if we have constituents who are hurting or suffering, to bring them through to me. All colleagues know where I am. Give me a buzz and we will seek quickly to help you out.

Mark Dreyfus was on ABC radio this morning. He was asked about the prime minister’s apology for the “hurt or harm” caused to anyone by how the government carried out robodebt. Dreyfus said the apology wasn’t enough:

This was a qualified and partial apology for what was a shocking abuse of government power. Scott Morrison has never taken responsibility for it and yet, he started this when he was social services minister, went on with it and expanded it when he was treasurer and owned it as prime minister. I find it extraordinary that the best he can do is express, in this partial way, regret for a particular case.

What we need to know is what happened. We need to know when the government knew that this scheme was illegal. We need to know why the government persisted with this preying on the most vulnerable people in our community for years after it’s apparent they knew that it was illegal.

Well, this is heartening.

From Chris Knaus:

More protests are planned for this weekend.

In NSW, police have declared the planned Black Lives Matter event “unauthorised” and said they would be upholding the health control orders.

Scott Morrison, while saying there was “no slavery in Australia” (there was) has also said any further protesters should be fined. It’s going to get very, very messy.