What happened today

We’ll leave our live coverage here for today. This is how things stand:

Thanks for your company. Matilda Boseley will be back bright and early tomorrow to take you through budget day. We’ll see you then.

Updated

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has not ruled out supporting more independent candidates in future election contests, as he has in the Upper Hunter byelection.

He told political editor Katharine Murphy:

As I said in my book, I resigned as prime minister, but I have not resigned as an Australian citizen.

I wouldn’t rule anything in or out, and I wouldn’t expect anyone else to be ruling things in or out at this point. It will depend on the issues and how parties and candidates deal with them at the time.

A thoroughly unnecessary reference to the book but you gotta respect the hustle.

Here’s the full story:

Updated

In happier dog news:

‘Bowie’ is home safe after she was rescued 200 metres out at sea in Mornington yesterday. Two local policemen noticed her distress and brought her to shore with the help of fishermen and locals. Tonight @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/Uvhc7sDx4J

— Louisa Cheatley (@LouisaCheatley) May 10, 2021

Dog-related news is, I think, necessary on federal budget eve.

Police in Sydney are investigating a case of suspected dognapping.

A four-year-old female pitbull terrier, named Baxter, was allegedly taken from outside a store in the Sydney CBD on Friday, a NSW police spokesperson said.

Baxter had been tied up by her owner outside a store at the intersection of George and Liverpool streets about 8.20pm.

Police said in a statement:

When [Baxter’s owner] returned, the dog was missing and officers from Sydney city police area Command attended a short time later and commenced an investigation.

Police have been told a man and woman were last seen heading south on George Street with the dog.

Baxter is brown with a white chest.

Police say they pulled images of the man and woman with Baxter from CCTV. They are a white man in his 20s wearing a baseball cap, black shirt and white tracksuit pants, and a white woman in her 20s wearing a black jacket with a logo and black tracksuit pants, and carrying a brown handbag.

Anyone who saw the pair, or Baxter, is asked to contact Sydney police or make a confidential report to Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.

Updated

Australia’s international travel ban is based on politics not science, health experts have told Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey.

She writes:

On Sunday the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, told SBS News that the budget expectation is that international travel will begin in 2022, with further detail expected when the budget is released on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, posted on Facebook that borders would only open “when it is safe to do so”, saying during media interviews over the weekend that Australians do not have an “appetite” for opening borders if it means further lockdowns and restrictions.

But a professor in paediatrics, vaccinology, epidemiology and infectious diseases with the University of Sydney, Robert Booy, said there were South Pacific and east Asian countries that had proved to have strong infection control procedures in place and that Australia could open sooner.

Booy, a senior fellow at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, said:

Vietnam has done a great job. South Korea has had a problem, but they’ll soon be under control again. Taiwan has done fantastically well, and they have a similar total population to Australia.

But politics rules. And therefore the governments at state and federal levels say they will respect and follow the medical advice, [but] some of it is based on rather anecdotal medical evidence. Some of it comes down to whether you respect one medical expert over another, and that’s when the government has the opportunity to take a political decision.

You can read more on that story here:

Updated

In Perth, the Crown casino royal commission has heard its first witness.

More from AAP:

Members of Western Australia’s gaming watchdog lack experience in increasingly complex casino regulation, a royal commission into Crown Perth has heard.

The commission on Monday called its first witness, Gaming and Wagering Commission chair Duncan Ord.

Ord, a senior public servant whose background is in the arts, said he had no formal training in casino regulation before assuming the role.

He has been director general of the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries since the amalgamated “mega-department” was created in 2017.

Ord told the inquiry:

I had to take the role on at obviously a short [notice].

I did what any new member would do when they’re appointed, which is to take advantage of the expertise of the department’s staff.

Ord said he believed only one commission member – former chair Barry Sargeant – had prior skills or experience in casino operations or regulations.

He described the governance of casinos as increasingly complex.

We were primarily focused on protecting the more gullible punter, I suppose, from a sophisticated casino operator.

The area which has opened up as a risk, clearly, is what is the source of money that people are using to gamble.

The inquiry is examining whether Western Australia’s decades-old gambling legislation remains fit for purpose and the suitability of Crown Perth to continue holding a casino licence.

The WA probe is being led by three commissioners: former supreme court justices Neville Owen and Lindy Jenkins and former WA auditor general Colin Murphy.

They are expected to deliver an interim report by 30 June and a final report with findings and recommendations by 14 November.

Other witnesses slated to appear in coming weeks are WA’s chief casino officer, Mark Beecroft, and his predecessor, Michael Connolly.


Updated

Federal court rejects application to overturn India travel ban

The federal court has rejected an urgent application to overturn the India travel ban, meaning 9,500 Australians stranded there will not be able to return until after it is repealed on Friday.

On Monday Justice Thomas Thawley declined to make orders overturning the ban after hearing the first half of the challenge brought by Gary Newman, 73, an Australian man stranded in Bangalore since March 2020.

Thawley rejected the first two grounds of the case: that health minister Greg Hunt failed to ensure the ban was “no more restrictive or intrusive than is required”; and the Biosecurity Act was not clear enough to override Australians’ common law right to enter their country.

Thawley sided with Hunt, whose counsel argued the Biosecurity Act was intended to have “paramount force” in the case of emergencies, operating as a “commonwealth legislative bulldozer” that overrides state laws and common law rights.

Justice Thawley found that Hunt had relied on the chief medical officer’s advice, was satisfied of what he needed to be to fit the safeguards of the act, and the determination contained appropriate limitations.

The judge accepted that Australians have a common law right to enter Australia, but said that preventing them from doing so was a “necessary incident” of the scheme in the act to prevent an infectious disease, such as Covid-19, entering Australia.

He said it was “unlikely” parliament would have intended to give the minister power to stop movements within Australia but not to stop the disease entering Australia (via human carriers).

Thawley said:

It is hardly surprising the legislature would want to provide a broad power. The precise nature of future threats could not be known [and may require] novel responses to future and unknown threats.

Newman has also argued the ban is not “reasonably proportionate” and that it infringes an implied constitutional right of citizens and permanent residents to enter Australia, but these grounds may be moot if the ban is not extended beyond 15 May.

Updated

Federal court rejects first argument against India travel ban

More from Paul Karp here.

#breaking Federal court REJECTS the first argument against the India travel ban challenge. Justice Thawley Greg Hunt did consider everything he had to, was satisfied ban was "least restrictive" measure.#auspol #auslaw

— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) May 10, 2021

Updated

Still waiting for a decision out of the federal court.

Liberal MP Katie Allen has not joined the ranks of government backbenchers expressing reservations over the India travel ban.

She told ABC24:

I am really sorry but if Australians break the law, they break the law.

Allen then said the penalty for breaking the law had to be “proportional”. Asked if she thinks the penalty in place on the India travel ban — which includes potential jail time — is proportionate, Allen said:

It depends what that is. I do not think anyone was saying that proportionality depends on what is being tested. When you hear those sorts of deterrents they make me uncomfortable but I am equally uncomfortable about the possibilities that someone may do some majorly wrong thing.

We have worked extremely hard to get where we. It is unfortunate Australians who have left have difficulties coming back. The Australia government is making sure they do everything they can to ensure they come back safely. I have been working hard to make sure facilities that will receive them are ready and receptive for those Australians to return home safely so we can continue to keep Australia safe.

Updated

Victoria lifts Perth travel restrictions

Meanwhile, Victoria will lift its travel restrictions with Perth from midnight tonight.

Perth and the Peel region were designated “orange zone” under the state’s traffic light travel permit system, but from 11.59pm they will go back to a green zone. People travelling to Victoria from a green zone still need a permit, but there are no restrictions and the permit can be obtained within a few minutes online.

NSW is also a green zone despite the Sydney cases last week. More than 77,000 text messages have been sent by Victorian health authorities to people arriving in Victoria from NSW since 30 April, the Victorian health department says.

Updated

In the federal court, Justice Thawley is giving a fairly extensive background to the India travel ban case before announcing his decision.

Paul Karp is standing by to bring us the decisions as soon as it is handed down.

The travel ban is set to expire this Friday. Liberal senator James Paterson today joined a slew of other Coalition backbenchers and LNP senator Matt Canavan in speaking out against the travel ban, saying that “criminalising Australians returning to their home country is a step too far”.

We’re expecting a decision from the federal court on the India court case shortly.

Fletcher was also asked if there was any arts funding expected in the budget — you know, that other portfolio he has — and he said he would not foreshadow what was in the budget.

Despite spending the previous five minutes foreshadowing what was in the infrastructure budget.

But anyway! Fletcher says he announced $79m worth of arts funding (“almost $80m”) last week split across the national gallery, national museum, and national maritime museum.

In terms of new funding?

We are maintaining our business as usual spending of $750m a year on the arts.

Last year we announced $800m in new arts funding, including $400m of a location incentive designed to attract global film and television and so far we have attracted 23 productions ... it has generated some 13,000 jobs.

Updated

Paul Fletcher, the minister for communications, urban infrastructure, cities and the arts (quite a list) has told the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas that the $10bn in infrastructure funding to be handed down in tomorrow’s federal budget has been allocated according to need.

So he’s not at all worried about people making allegations of pork barrelling or targeting marginal seats.

We’ve got a run-through of the infrastructure spend, as already announced, here.

Are these the top projects suggested by your department, Karvelas asks?

Fletcher says:

We draw on a range of sources and certainly on advice from the commonwealth department of infrastructure, transport, regional development [and] communications and we have engagement with state governments. So we formally approach state governments at the start of each year, asking them to propose to us a list of projects which, in their judgement, should be funded in their state. We take advice from Infrastructure Australia and obviously we take advice from other stakeholders in Australia, that is as you would expect.

How long will this kind of infrastructure development be needed to help the economic recovery out of Covid-19, Karvelas asked.

Fletcher:

In some ways, the work is never done because we have seen continued population growth and that will return reasonably soon once borders are open. I think we can be confident of that and we are seeing continued economic needs and social needs to get people moving around quickly and efficiently as possible and we are seeing some longer term trends that we are seeking to respond to ...

Infrastructure investment pipeline is a major economic tool but also a tool that goes to the lifestyle of Australians, how quickly and conveniently can you get to and from work because every minute you can be at home with your kids rather than stuck in traffic is a lifestyle benefit.

Updated

Western Australia conducting targeted wastewater testing

Thanks to Amy for taking us through the morning.

Let’s go to Western Australia quickly, where health officials are conducting targeted wastewater testing in the suburbs visited by the recent Covid-19 cases.

WA already conducts wastewater testing — weekly testing began at Perth’s six wastewater plants as well as 10 locations in regional WA in November last year.

But they’ve announced a plan to do targeted testing of seven sub-stations over the next two weeks in an attempt to identify any previously undetected Covid-19 cases in those suburbs.

They’ve also launched a new online dashboard of wastewater testing results.

The two week testing program covers the suburbs of Canning Vale, Booragoon, Mount Pleasant, Applecross, Kardinya, Balcatta, Westminster, Joondanna, Madley, Nollamara, Alexander Heights, Mirrabooka, Joondalup, Landsdale, Wangara, Banksia Grove and Wanneroo.

The first results have come back negative.

Health minister Roger Cook said:

The addition of these locations visited by known confirmed cases means we are taking yet another step to stay ahead of the virus and it will give further insight into whether Covid-19 is present in the community.

The early results from the new locations are encouraging but waste water testing is not a substitute for Covid-19 testing or for getting vaccinated when you are eligible.

Updated

The wonderful Calla Wahlquist will take you through the rest of the pre-budget day afternoon – and she’ll bring you Paul Karp’s latest on the court challenge to the government’s ban on returning citizens from India.

I’ll be back tomorrow when the budget lock-up lifts – and the whole team will have all the budget coverage you can handle.

In the meantime, please – take care of you.

Updated

A reminder that the budget will go live when the treasurer walks into the chamber tomorrow – at 7.30pm.

The opposition’s budget reply will be on Thursday at 7.30pm.

I’ll be in the lock-up tomorrow, so you will have my colleagues for the morning and afternoon session and then I will take you through the budget on the blog.

Updated

Jack de Belin rape trial jury fails to reach verdict on most charges, acquits on one

Dipping away from politics again for a moment – the jury in the de Belin case has been unable to come up with a majority verdict. As AAP reports:

Jack de Belin faces the prospect of a third trial over rape allegations after a Sydney jury returned hung verdicts to most charges.

The St George Illawarra forward, 30, and Callan Sinclair, 24, have each pleaded not guilty to five counts alleging they sexually assaulted a woman in a north Wollongong unit in December 2018.

After a week of deliberations, the Sydney district court jury acquitted the men of one charge.

But it was unable to return unanimous or 11-to-1 verdicts on the other four charges against each accused, the jury foreperson said in court.

Judge Nicole Noman discharged the jury about 3pm.

Updated

We’re just waiting on the federal court to reconvene for the ban on returning citizens from India case. Paul Karp still has you covered for that.

Updated

Adam Morton has more on that logging decision handed down by the federal court today:

A Victorian government forestry agency has won an appeal against a landmark court judgment that found it had repeatedly breached conservation regulations during its logging of the state’s central highlands.

The full bench of the federal court on Monday overturned a judgment that last year found VicForests had breached a code of practice related to a regional forestry agreement between the federal and state governments, and had therefore lost its right to be exempt from national environment laws.

The May 2020 judgment by Justice Debra Mortimer found VicForests’ logging did not comply with the agreement as it was destroying habitat critical to two threatened species: the vulnerable greater glider and the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum.

The decision sparked calls for a review of the industry-wide exemption for logging from the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act under the terms of agreements in four states.

Updated

In case this hasn’t shown up in your timeline, and because we all need a cleanse after a day of politics returning, enjoy the vibe that is Iggy Pop and his cockatoo

Iggy Pop and his parrot listening to @sleafordmods has to be the coolest thing I’ve seen in ages ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TLFVgATomg

— Dave Surman (@SurmanDave) May 7, 2021

And again, further to Marise Payne’s earlier statement on her visit to Afghanistan:

Saturday: a bomb explodes outside a Kabul school, killing 68 people, most of them teenage girls

Sunday: FM @MarisePayne visits Afghanistan, expressing "shared hope" for peace negotiations

Monday, early AM: a roadside bomb hits a bus in Zabul Province, killing at least 11 https://t.co/6aLs7KRD34

— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) May 10, 2021

This is ... not great.

Keith Pitt overruled the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund to stop them supporting a new energy project which would create 250 North Queensland jobs, but in this interview, he couldn’t even answer basic questions about the project. Watch this train wreck interview... pic.twitter.com/8lLR8Xk2Km

— Chris Bowen (@Bowenchris) May 10, 2021

Updated

Justice Thawley seems very likely to uphold the validity of the India travel ban.

When the health minister’s counsel, Craig Lenehan, submitted in the federal court it was “nonsensical” to argue that the act can’t control movements originating outside of Australia, Thawley enthusiastically agreed.

Thawley added it was “also nonsensical to say [the act is] prepared to work by impinging on Australians’ ability to leave to prevent disease spread to [overseas places] but not be directed towards entering Australia”.

He said once you got to the point of banning people entering Australia to prevent introduction of Covid, there was no difference (in the scheme of the act) as to whether that ban could be imposed on aliens or citizens.

Thawley ridiculed a pleading that Greg Hunt should have considered the impact on the prison population if someone were imprisoned for entering Australia.

He said it was a “strange thing” to say the minister should have considered it and it was a “speculative set of circumstances”.

Thawley summarised the applicant’s case as arguing that the minister failed to take into consideration less restrictive or onerous means of reducing infections, because the chief medical officer did not consider alternatives. But he said the chief medical officer had noted people continued to come to Australia via transit countries after the ban on commercial flights direct from India.

The court adjourned for a break until 3pm. Justice Thawley has twice noted that this is an urgent case, so it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that we get a result later this afternoon when argument concludes.

Updated

The OECD has released new figures which show Australia used to give 33c out of every $100 in national income to foreign aid (in 2011) and now gives just 19c.

(Mathias Cormann doesn’t start at the OECD until 1 June, if anyone was wondering.)

Penny Wong and Pat Conroy have some thoughts:

Australia has slid down the international rankings in terms of aid, falling from the middle of the pack when the Coalition came to office to being one the least generous OECD member countries today.

This is disappointing but not surprising given consecutive Coalition governments’ deep cuts to foreign aid.

Since the Coalition came to office in 2013, they have slashed Australian official development assistance by more than $11.8 billion, hurting some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.

These cuts have diminished Australia’s standing in the Indo-Pacific and have undermined our interests in a stable, secure and prosperous region.

Scott Morrison has left a vacuum that others are filling at a time of rising geopolitical competition in our region.

Given the ongoing health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, developing nations desperately need Australia’s support.

Scott Morrison must put an end to cutting Australia’s foreign aid budget and announce a permanent increase in spending tomorrow night.

Updated

So once again, we are not likely to see the bulk of our supply of vaccines ready until the last quarter of the year.

All going well, 900,000 doses will be delivered this week.

Updated

Commonwealth lawyer defends India travel ban

Counsel for the health minister, Craig Lenehan, has begun his case defending the India travel ban.

First, a bit of housekeeping: the commonwealth will not challenge the plaintiff’s standing to bring the case.

Lenehan describes the Biosecurity Act as containing a “commonwealth legislative bulldozer”, in that it explicitly clears the field and overrides state and territory laws dealing with human rights, and therefore operates with “paramount force”.

Lenehan argues that what human rights limits there are on the minister’s powers are those found within the act.

So, to answer the blue-eyed babies hypothetical, it is the act’s limits that measures must be “no more restrictive or intrusive than is required in the circumstances” that protect human rights.

Justice Thawley notes the act “does expressly contemplate that it can do things that infringe fundamental human rights”, including that it allows limits to be imposed on exiting Australia to implement World Health Organisation recommendations.

Without wanting to call this too early, it sounds like the commonwealth is favourite to win today’s arguments.

Lenehan invokes the commonwealth’s win in Clive Palmer’s unsuccessful challenge against the Western Australian border ban,while Justice Stephen Gageler noted that the executive is the arm of government that is capable of responding in a crisis.

Updated

Why don’t we see the figures and breakdown between the vaccines on the second doses?

Greg Hunt:

They are discussions for national cabinet. But think of it like this: the AstraZeneca vaccine so far is roughly two-thirds of those administered – 66%; and Pfizer is about 34%.

AstraZeneca has not yet entered the second dose phase yet, other than a few individuals who for their own personal circumstances have had to do that.

Pfizer occurs three weeks after the distribution. So there is no barrier, no prevention, it is not a major issue. All up, as I say, 2.663 million doses delivered so far.

Updated

Greg Hunt says the government will be responding in full to the aged care royal commission in tomorrow’s budget.

I think in years to come, will be seen as a fundamental line in the sand for aged care. It is a moment well we say not only is it about investment but it is about the deep and profound respect for older Australians.

The deep profound moment of valuing elders, that concept of elders that the Prime Minister has spoken about. If we can produce not only the support but also respect and care and dignity than I think we will have achieved something.

Advocates says at least $10bn has been re-distributed in aged care funding since the Coalition came to power, so whatever tomorrow brings, a lot of it will be playing catch up

You may need to brace yourself for this one:

A South Australian man has been fined for shooting dead two pet labradors that wandered on to his property.

The 72-year-old man shot the dogs, a five-year-old golden labrador named Darcy and a four-year-old black labrador named Yoda, on his property at Riverton, 100km north of Adelaide, on 11 December 2018.

The dogs’ owners had called police after they heard gunshots that morning, reporting that the dogs had escaped their home and not returned. The man initially said he had “shooed” the dogs away but later said he had shot them and told police where he had dumped the bodies.

He pleaded guilty on 15 March this year to two counts of ill treatment of an animal causing death or serious harm and was sentenced in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court this morning. He was fined $4,900 and also ordered to pay the dogs’ owner $2,800 in compensation.

In a statement, RSPCA South Australia chief inspector Andrea Lewis said that under the SA Dog and Cat Management Act, people are allowed to lawfully destroy or injure a dog which is on your property only if doing so is “reasonable and necessary for the protection of life or property”.

She said:

You are certainly not within your rights to shoot stray dogs that are not threatening people or animals.

These were both friendly-natured family pets, they were not harming anyone or anything, they had simply wandered off their property and tragically ended up being in the crosshairs of a shotgun.

Updated

Commodore Eric Young, the Royal Australian Navy chief who is co-ordinating the Covid vaccine distribution, is also at this update. He has some supply information:

In terms of supply, this week the TGA will conduct sample testing and batch release of 351,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine which arrived onshore at 06.50 this morning. It will also conduct batch release and sample testing for 1m doses of the onshore, CSO-produced AstraZeneca vaccine.

For the first time, this week CSL is producing four batches of AstraZeneca vaccine.

In terms of distribution of the vaccine last week, we distributed 560,000 doses of the vaccine. Only one out of the many thousands of orders from last week was unable to be completed and it will be completed today.

This week, on the back of the additional allocations and amid growing supplies, we will be distributing over 900,000 doses of vaccines, with more than 5,000 orders going out across the country.

That is our biggest week by far.

This week we are focused on delivery and making sure everyone of those vaccines gets to where it needs to.

Updated

Health minister says 400,000 Covid jabs given in a week

Greg Hunt is giving the national Covid update. Last week 400,062 vaccines were administered, he says.

Updated

The resources minister, Keith Pitt, has told Sky News he will be making a statement to the parliament to explain this decision:

The Morrison government has vetoed public funding of a windfarm and battery project in northern Queensland, with a cabinet minister declaring it was inconsistent with its goals and policies.

The Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility, a government agency, in January approved up to $280m funding for the Kaban green energy hub 80km south-west of Cairns. The proponents, Neoen Australia, estimated the development could reduce electricity prices for Queensland consumers by $461m over the life of the project.

Keith Pitt, the minister for resources, water and northern Australia, blocked the loan in March. In a letter to the head of the agency, Pitt said the development would not provide “dispatchable” generation into the national electricity market and he was “not convinced” it would lower power prices.

Pitt told Sky:

The decision I’ve made is on the ability for the project and the proponent for dispatchable, affordable, reliable power, and that’s what I’ve done.

A statement of reasons will be provided in the parliament, as is required by the legislation.

Updated

India travel ban is 'most restrictive and intrusive' measure possible

The plaintiff’s counsel, Christopher Ward, is on to his argument that the India travel ban was not the “least intrusive” measure available to the health minister.

He is developing this by reference to the ban on commercial flights from India, which was introduced three or four days before individual citizens were prevented from coming back.

Ward said:

There is no consideration – none – in either the chief medical officer’s advice or the ministerial decision about the impact of the decision to ban India-Australia flight, that had been introduced three-four days before the determination was made. It is obvious to anybody reviewing these events that the imposition of a flight ban would have an immediate and chilling practical effect of flow of Covid positive people from India to this country.

Where there has been a measure introduced three or four days earlier, which will have a substantial chilling effect on the very problems identified, it is incumbent on both the chief medical officer and the minister to consider that that much less restrictive measure than criminalisation of right of return would be ineffective.

But Ward said the chief medical officer had said only that “flights through transit hubs continue to provide an avenue” for people to come from India to Australia, but there was no consideration of whether it was possible for large numbers of people to do this, or whether it was practical.

As a result, instead of implementing the least restrictive measure likely to be effective, the health minister introduced an individual travel ban that was “the most restrictive and intrusive that could have been adopted”.

Updated

And how will Christine Holgate handle bonuses for Global Express employees?

I don’t know quite yet, but what I can say is that I never want to stop rewarding amazing people for great work, and I don’t know anybody who has done such an outstanding job that doesn’t appreciate getting recognised.

Updated

Asked how she feels now, Christine Holgate says:

It has been a very difficult time, and often I am asked: Am I OK now? I think when you’ve gone through an experience like that, it never really leaves you, but I hope it makes me a stronger leader going forward. I certainly know what it would be like to ... feel like you are one person against a large organisation, and I hope it just makes me more humble [and understanding. of] my frontline employees, and how sometimes they can feel.

So I think I am a stronger person of it, but I do not need a lesson again, thank you.

Updated

Former Australia Post chief Christine Holgate is speaking to ABC TV about her new role as future chief executive of Global Express and what that means for her dispute with her former employer:

I think I have made quite clear that I was deeply disappointed, and if they can still give me an apology and I will take that call and I will warmly welcome it, but today is about having a line in the sand and moving forward.

This isn’t just for Victorians – although Victoria Health put out the release – but anyone with breast implants should look into this.

From Victoria Health:

Victorians who have undergone breast implant or breast reconstructive procedures in Australia or overseas are being encouraged to watch for early symptoms of a rare form of cancer targeting the immune system.

Sixteen Victorians have now been diagnosed with Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) connected to surgeries dating back to 2004.

The chance of developing this rare form of cancer is low and depending on the type of implant the risk ranges from one in 2,500 for the most highly textured implants, to one 1 in 83,000 for the less graded textured implants.

The risk in highly textured implants is around 23 times greater than for smooth implants.

On average, the cancer is diagnosed eight years after surgery, but symptoms can arise anywhere between three and 14 years after surgery.

People who have had surgery – for either clinical or cosmetic purposes – should regularly check their breasts for lumps or unexplained swelling on one side. Patients should see their doctor immediately if they notice anything has changed, as the cancer is highly curable if diagnosed and treated early.

Removing the implants is not recommended as the risk of undergoing surgery could be higher than the risk of developing the cancer.

If anyone is concerned or needs more information they should contact the Victorian patient line on (03) 9902 0077 during business hours Monday to Friday; see their GP; or visit the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s BIA-ALCL consumer hub website at tga.gov.au/hubs/breast-implants.

Updated

In the federal court, counsel for the India travel ban plaintiff, Christopher Ward, is sketching the limits of the health minister’s powers, and does so with an extreme hypothetical.

Ward argues that if there were a pandemic and the only carriers of disease were blue-eyed babies, the health minister could not use the Biosecurity Act to have blue-eyed babies “incarcerated, forcibly vaccinated” or subjected to “more serious treatment” such as being “physically harmed”.

Ward explains that the reason the minister can’t do this is the principle of legality and the rule of law – if the parliament intends to give the minister power to abrogate fundamental rights, it has to do so explicitly.

The relevance of this is that the Biosecurity Act doesn’t make clear that the minister can override citizens’ common law right to enter Australia.

Justice Thawley notes that the Biosecurity Act does allow the health minister to ban Australians leaving Australia, and that is also a fundamental right.

Thawley says the act does infringe a basic right then, which Ward accepts for the purpose of argument. “Departure is different to return,” he said.

Justice Thawley is a bit prickly to Ward - he notes he doesn’t need elementary concepts explained like that; he is bound by high court precedent.

Ward is now taking the court to the Re Canavan (Citizenship Seven) and Love & Thoms decision - both of which he is using to support the proposition that citizens have a common law right to enter and remain in a country.

Updated

This makes for sobering reading – cycling deaths remained unchanged, despite Covid lockdowns.

As AAP reports:

Traffic restrictions because of Covid-19 did little to stop cycling deaths in Australia, according to a national advocacy group.

Bicycle Network says the death rate among cyclists on Australian roads has remained constant since 2001, with 42 dying last year.

The total from 2001 to last year is 744, according to the network.

The group is calling for urgent improvements to roads, safer speed limits and more detailed data to help lower the toll.

Bicycle Network said in a statement:

While Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns changed the way we lived in 2020, many details about lives lost did not change.

The total number of cases, bike rider proportion of total road fatalities and fatalities per state all remained similar to the 20-year average.

NSW had 14 fatalities last year and Victoria 13, despite Melbourne’s prolonged shutdown.

The death rate among men over 40 has increased over the past decades.

Last year 35 of the fatalities, or 83%, were in that demographic.

Updated

Greg Hunt did not get fresh advice from solicitor general on travel ban

Counsel for the plaintiff in the India ban challenge, Christopher Ward, is taking the judge through the evidence that Ward said consists of: ministerial submissions; the chief medical officer’s health advice; and advice from the solicitor general which he says predate the ban by “many months”.

That’s interesting – because it means the health minister didn’t get fresh legal advice from the commonwealth’s top lawyer specific to the ban.

Justice Thawley notes that only commercial international flights are banned, and that emergency flights are still allowed. Ward responds: “None of which has been arranged.”

Ward argues that the criminal penalties were not “front and centre” in the minister’s minds.

Justice Thawley disagrees with this.

He notes that Greg Hunt has circled “noted” on the ministerial submission in relation to the chief medical officer’s advice, which mentions the criminal penalties; and that the penalties are also in Hunt’s media release.

It’s slightly ironic that the government has claimed THEY didn’t accentuate the penalties (the media did), but here in court having included it in the media release is working in their favour.

Ward has moved on to his argument about whether it is a common law right for citizens to enter Australia, and whether the Biosecurity Act and travel ban failed to expressly override that right.

Updated

WA reports no new Covid cases

There have been no new cases of Covid reported in Western Australia overnight.

Updated

We have stopped spending like the world is ending (it’s actually more that the stimulus has stopped, and the people on unemployment benefits and the like, who we turned to to save the economy, have seen their payments slashed to well below the poverty line, meaning many can no longer make ends meet).

All of that is a very long way of saying the ABS has released the latest retail sales data (and a reminder that the economy has always been two-speeds and we are absolutely leaving people behind)

From the ABS:

Retail sales volumes fell 0.5% in the March quarter 2021, seasonally adjusted, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures. This follows the 2.4% rise in the December quarter 2020.

Ben James, director of Quarterly Economy Wide Surveys, said:

The quarterly volume fall was driven by households spending patterns gradually returning to those seen before Covid-19. Food retailing (-2.7%) led the falls while household goods also fell (-1.6%).

The falls were partially offset by a rise in cafes, restaurants and takeaways (5.8%), as eating out increased, while functions and events continued to return.

Across the other industries, clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-0.7%) fell, while there were rises for other retailing (0.4%) and department stores (0.2%).

State falls were led by New South Wales (-1.1%), Queensland (-1.2%) and Western Australia (-1.8%), with volumes in Queensland and Western Australia in particular, impacted by lockdown periods within the quarter.

Victoria (1.3%) was the only state to rise, following restricted trade in the December quarter 2020.

Updated

Here’s hoping more of you get the vaccine sooner. Keeping it all crossed.

From 24 May, over 50s unable to book at the GP, can get AstraZeneca at the mass vaccination centre: https://t.co/oo2Vi5xBa5

People in NSW aged 40-49 can register interest for Pfizer from 5pm: https://t.co/Aaql54mzMg. Please be patient, we'll let you know when jabs are available pic.twitter.com/St9RBxzWBT

— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) May 10, 2021

Updated

Very sorry comments have closed, my friends – we are still dealing with legal issues, and we have to play it safe.

Feel free to drop me a line if there is something you need to let me know – I loved seeing you all below the line today, and we’ll see you back again tomorrow. I know it is frustrating – truly, I know – and we really miss all your input. We’re just doing our best to keep everyone safe. Ax

Updated

Medical chief's interview thrown out as evidence in India flight ban case

The federal court has begun hearing the challenge to the India travel ban.

The health minister, Greg Hunt, has had an early win – Justice Thomas Thawley has rejected an attempt by the plaintiff, Gary Newman, to include media interviews by the chief medical officer in evidence.

Last week, Prof Paul Kelly said he had not given advice about the criminal penalties for the travel ban, before a later release of the advice indicated they were mentioned in his letter to Hunt.

Newman’s counsel, Christopher Ward, said that interview explained why Kelly had made only a “brief, fleeting reference” to the existence of criminal penalties, and argued there “doesn’t appear to be proper consideration of criminalisation” either by Kelly or the minister.

Hunt’s counsel, Craig Lenehan, objected on the basis that only the material before the decision-maker (Kelly’s letter – not the interview) was relevant.

Justice Thawley agreed, and the material was removed.

The broadcast channel has now gone down, so there might be a brief interruption here.

Updated

Anne Davies has news on the proposed Star and Crown casino merger we reported on this morning:

The competition regulator will hold a a public review of a proposal to merge Australia’s two biggest casino groups after the Star Entertainment group announced a bid for its rival Crown Resorts, controlled by James Packer.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, Rod Sims, said he would conduct a public review of the merger proposal, which would result in a casino giant with operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and the Gold Coast. Sims

“We will do a detailed investigation,” Sims said. “It will be a public review.”

Updated

The federal court hearing on the ban on returned citizens from India is about to begin (it’s set down for midday).

Paul Karp is watching that and will keep you updated.

Updated

Early voting is under way in the Upper Hunter byelection in NSW.

Malcolm Turnbull and NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro have emerged as the main players, as AAP reports:

On the weekend Turnbull – who owns a property in the Hunter Valley – threw his support behind local farmer Kirsty O’Connell, saying she would represent the Upper Hunter “with courage, independence and vision”.

Turnbull posted on Facebook:

Unlike the Nationals, she will not take the community for granted.

They have no plan for the future other than the unconstrained destruction of the landscape with open-cut coal mining.

He noted that Barilaro had gone on radio to denounce him as “treacherous among other epithets”, but Turnbull retaliated, saying:

There is not one person in NSW who has done more to destabilise and disrupt the Berejiklian government than Barilaro.

Updated

Anthony Albanese on the budget:

Does anyone think that this government would have been talking about issues like childcare and women’s safety if it wasn’t for the fact that a reported sexual assault happened 50 metres from the prime minister’s office? If it wasn’t for the fact that more than 100,000 women and men rallied around Australia in the March 4 Justice, including people who came to Parliament House to meet with the prime minister and with the minister for the status of women and couldn’t even get an appropriate meeting, couldn’t get them to come out to walk 50 metres to the front of Parliament House?

The fact is that this government is continually playing catch-up. And tomorrow night’s budget, if all the leaks are true, is just another example of them playing catch-up, of them having no vision beyond the 24-hour media cycle.

Updated

This is so stupid.

set your alarms pic.twitter.com/ueq4NE8Cxv

— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) May 10, 2021

Updated

Would that be the “need” to win the seat, or actual need?

The Urban Infrastructure Minister repeatedly refuses to confirm to @tomwconnell if marginal seat status was a factor in the projects selected for $10b infrastructure spend in the budget

"the underlying factor is need... I will leave you to draw your own conclusions on that."

— Trudy McIntosh (@TrudyMcIntosh) May 10, 2021

Updated

Paul Karp has taken a wider look at Liberal senator James Paterson’s comments on the ban on Australian citizens returning from India:

Greens want companies that profited from jobkeeper to pay it back

Greens leader Adam Bandt says the party wants to amend legislation to make companies which received jobkeeper and posted a profit pay it back – in some form or the other:

Billionaires and big corporations made huge profits, bought private jets and paid executive bonuses, all off the back of public handouts.

If you can afford to buy a private jet, you can afford to pay back jobkeeper.

It’s time to make the hugely profitable billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share, and it starts by paying back jobkeeper. It’s not enough to just ask these greedy billionaires and big corporations to pay jobkeeper back, parliament has to make them do it. There’s more than a billion dollars out there to be recovered for schools and hospitals, and the Greens hope the crossbench and Labor will help us force these profitable big corporations and billionaires to pay it back.

The government chased pensioners and Newstart recipients to the ends of the earth for debts that weren’t even there, but the Liberals turn a blind eye when billionaires and big corporations take public money they don’t need.

How?

The Greens will amend budget legislation to:

  • Require big corporations (publicly listed and private companies with turnover greater than $50m) to effectively pay back amounts equivalent to the jobkeeper they received, where those corporations recorded profits, paid executive bonuses or paid dividends during the last 12 months. The amount required to be “returned” will be equal to the amount of jobkeeper received, unless the amount of profits made, bonuses paid or dividends issued is less than the amount of jobkeeper received, in which case the lower amount will be required to be returned. (For example, company A that received $50m in jobkeeper and made $20m in profits is required to pay $20m; company B that received $50m in jobkeeper but made $65m in profits would be required to pay $50m.);
  • Because of the constitutional difficulty in requiring these corporations to pay back a sum lawfully received, the “effective” jobkeeper payback will be instituted by restricting the access in the future of GST input credits to these big companies to the dollar figure of their required jobkeeper repayment amount (so in the above examples, company A would not be able to receive the next $20m of GST-input credits it would otherwise be entitled to; company B would not receive the next $50m of credits);
  • Require the ATO to release data on who and how much jobkeeper was paid to the corporations who meet the repayment criteria.

Updated

Laura Jayes spoke to Simon Birmingham on Sky News this morning about the border closure – and the lack of a plan when it comes to reopening.

Birmingham:

Obviously we have been taking all the possible steps to build the contingencies around how and when the Australian economy will reopen. None of it’s going to happen any earlier than it’s safe to do so because our border closures have been perhaps inarguably the single most important factor in keeping Covid out of Australia and in doing that, not just saving Australian lives, but also saving Australian jobs. And so we’re going to maintain those sorts of tough border control settings until it is clearly safe for us to do so. And where we take cautious steps, as we have done with New Zealand, it will be based on health advice. And of course, we continue to look at the advice from around the world. But right now, it’s a sadly a bit of a grim picture in many parts of the world. And we are seeing continued challenges with many nations increasing the daily reporting of Covid cases. And so that means it will be a very cautious approach.

So if you are vaccinated, can you travel?

Birmingham:

No, not at this stage. And again, there’s health advice to consider in relation to vaccinations. Vaccinations do a fantastic job of ensuring that the individual who is vaccinated will not get on the odds sick as a result of catching Covid. But people can still catch Covid and they can still, in some circumstances, transmit it. And so that’s where we continue to seek further analysis and information as to how we might be able to use vaccinations over a period of time to help inform the way in which we open up in certain settings or to certain countries. But it’s got to all be informed first and foremost by that health advice.

Updated

Just on that statement from Marise Payne, this is also worth your time

‘The intelligence assessment shows that women’s rights in Afghanistan face threats not only from the Taliban... but also from broader Afghan politics and public opinion’

Read more in this @ForeignPolicy piece: https://t.co/VPieFUsFA7

— ASPI WDSN (@ASPI_WDSN) May 10, 2021

A little late – but happy two-year anniversary to this moment.

Scott Morrison: "I think Australians can trust us to keep it in surplus."
Sabra Lane: "It's not in surplus now."
Scott Morrison: "I said next year. I said we brought the Budget back to surplus next year."

Tense conversation? #leadersdebate

— sam langford (@_slangers) May 8, 2019

Updated

Marise Payne visits Afghanistan

This statement has just lobbed from the foreign affair minister’s office:

Today I visited Kabul and affirmed Australia’s support for the Afghanistan government and people during this time of change for the country.

I was pleased to meet again with HE president Ashraf Ghani. We discussed the challenges of Covid-19, the international troop withdrawal, support for a stable and secure Afghanistan and our shared hopes for the ongoing peace negotiations.

I was also pleased to meet with the minister for women’s affairs, Hasina Safi, who joined our meeting, and to discuss how Australia and Afghanistan have worked together to support and improve the rights of women and girls – a development we want to see maintained.

In my meeting with the chair of the High Council for National Reconciliation, HE Abdullah Abdullah, we discussed the gains made by the people of Afghanistan over the past 20 years, the development and humanitarian assistance provided by Australia and our enduring shared commitment to a sustainable peace that is genuinely inclusive and involves all of Afghan society.

During these meetings, we discussed the sacrifices made by the Afghan people, as well as those international military forces killed or wounded, including those Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice and the many who still bear the impacts of their service in Afghanistan both physical and mental. We discussed the recent inspector general report, Australia’s robust response and the establishment of the Office of the Special Investigator.

Recognising Australia’s long-standing contribution to the Resolute Support Mission, I also met with US general Austin Miller, commander of resolute support, to discuss the withdrawal plans.

I was also proud to spend time with Australian embassy staff and defence force personnel to acknowledge their significant contributions to the Australia-Afghanistan relationship. I thank Rear Admiral Mike Rothwell, CJTF 633, for travelling with me.

With the departure of the Australian defence force, the Australia-Afghanistan relationship is beginning a new chapter of our diplomatic relationship, established in 1969. We will continue our close friendship and support our shared aspiration of peace, stability and prosperity. We will continue our development assistance program to work to preserve the significant gains made by the Afghan people, in particular advancing the rights of women and girls.

Updated

And it’s all systems go in Sydney this morning as the first people get their AstraZeneca jabs at the newly opened mass Covid vaccination hub in Olympic Park.

The mass vaccination centre is equipped to administer 30,000 vaccine doses a week (depending on federal vaccine supplies, of course).

For those who don’t know, the “budget tree” is the tree which is in full Autumn red by the time the budget is handed down (the second Tuesday in May usually) and is featured in practically ever television broadcast and interview.

Well, it has shed early this year.

It’s my solemn duty to report the budget tree looking pretty bare just a day out from the budget 🍂🍂 pic.twitter.com/P1iWNSwo53

— Trudy McIntosh (@TrudyMcIntosh) May 10, 2021

Updated

The Australian competition watchdog is seeking to make submissions to the full federal court in Epic’s appeal of the stay issued in its case against Apple over the removal of video game Fortnite from the App Store.

Epic has taken Apple to court alleging the tech giant breached competition law by kicking Fortnite off its platform due to offering an alternative method of payment to Apple’s own in-app payment system, thus bypassing the commission Apple takes on all payments.

The federal court ruled last month that the case should be stayed until the company’s lawsuit against Apple is heard in the United States, which commenced last week.

Epic is seeking to appeal that ruling, arguing issues about how Australian competition law could be breached in this case might ultimately be determined by a US court. A hearing is set for early June.

Despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) staying out of the initial hearings, watchdog chair Rod Sims said on Monday the ACCC would seek leave to appear as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) to make submissions as it relates to Australian competition law:

He said:

The ACCC has taken the unusual step of seeking leave to appear in this appeal because the stay application raises significant public policy issues about which, as the statutory agency responsible for administering Australia’s competition law, we believe we can be of assistance to the court.

This is a case filed in an Australian court involving Australian consumers and raising significant issues under Australia’s competition laws. We believe it is in the public interest for significant competition law cases such as this case to be determined by Australian courts, given the outcome of such cases can have significant implications for the broader Australian economy.”

Updated

VicForests wins appeal against federal court decision over Leadbeater's possum habitat

VicForests, a Victorian government-owned forestry agency, has won an appeal against what had been described as a landmark court judgment that found it had repeatedly breached conservation regulations.

The full bench of the federal court on Monday overturned a judgment from last year that VicForests had breached a code of practice in a regional forestry agreement (RFA) between the federal and state governments covering the state’s central highlands.

The now-reversed May 2020 judgment had sparked calls for a review of an industry-wide exemption for logging under national environment laws. Forestry is exempt from the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act under the terms of agreements in place in four states.

Justice Debra Mortimer last year found past and planned logging by VicForests would have a significant impact on the vulnerable greater glider and the critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum, and the agency had breached a code of practice by not observing a precautionary principle relating to environmental conservation.

A barrister for the conservation group that brought the case, the Friends of Leadbeater’s Possum, indicated on Monday the group would consider appealing the latest judgment.

More to come on Guardian Australia shortly.

Updated

There are a lot of campaign slogans in this paragraph from Anthony Albanese. His people have been working with him on messaging, so you can expect a lot more like this over the next year:

When it comes to this government, they are all about announcement and not delivery.

I note the so-called new infrastructure announcements around the states and territories today, again, a sleight of hand, all smirk and mirrors from a government that never delivers what it promises.

It said it’s over 10 years, so I bet you this – when you look at the details, it will all be in the out years. Some of these so-called announcements have been announced three times. I note one of the big packages in New South Wales is for the M1. Well, we all know that the big congestion is around Hexham, that was announced during the 2019 budget.

They haven’t dug a hole yet and yet they’re announcing further projects again.

This is a government that have underspent on average $1.2bn per year over its eight long years as a gap between what they have announced in the budget they would spend in the next 12 months and what they have actually invested because for this government, it’s all about announcement, never about delivery, always about the photo op, never about the follow-up.

Updated

Anthony Albanese was also asked about the ban on citizens returning from India:

It’s received such a strong reaction, not just from Labor, but from members of the government’s own backbench.

And if government members had any ticker, more of them would be speaking up on this issue as well. The Australian passport has to mean something.

The Australian passport means that the basic issue of when you need assistance, the Australian government will be there for you is contrasted with this government’s approach which is, “You’ll be locked out or locked up.”

Updated

Anthony Albanese is yet to see the budget (like the rest of us) but he has very strong feels about it:

This is like a show bag budget – a budget that looks pretty flashy, but when you take it home, only lasts a few days or a few weeks. The fact is there’s no lasting legacy from this government except for a trillion dollars of debt.

No substantial economic reform, no plan to deal with stagnant wages, no plan to deal with living standards under real pressure and the costs that families have.

No issue of the 2 million people who are underemployed and seeking more work. Nothing to do with increased casualisation of our workforce.

The fact is that this is a government that have been in office for eight long years and now they have discover that jobs should be a priority, all they have really done is destroy their own rhetorical position of so many years about deficit.

Updated

Australia's tourism sector pleads for border certainty

The problem is not just that Australia remains closed off from the rest of the world for the foreseeable future, it’s that there is no certainty, or even a timeline of when that could start changing.

We are all flying blind here.

AAP reported the Tourism and Transport Forum chief Margy Osmond wants that to change (she’s on a long list).

“It is just too hard for the industry at this point in time when we’ve got no certainty about dates,” she said on Monday.

“When we do finally open the door to international tourists again, what on earth are they going to see and do? Hardly any of those attractions will still be there.

“As countries all over the world put in place calendars and targets for opening, that is all we are asking for.”

Updated

And let’s not forget the ever crucial photo op before the budget is delivered

Updated

Mike Bowers has been out and about this morning.

Tim Wilson was unable to make the whole training session, Mike Bowers tells me, and turned around after about 300m to attend another media engagement.

Updated

Brad Hazzard chastises media for naming man at centre of Sydney Covid outbreak

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has some very strong feelings about the Australian Financial Review identifying the man who came forward with Covid symptoms (it was part of the business story – the man was also looking at buying a chain of barbecue stores, not just a barbecue, but there was no need to name him).

Chant:

I’m incredibly disappointed. I stood up here every day and I got to say I really respect the way the media hasn’t pushed me when I won’t give the exact age or disclose something.

When we became aware of that, one of our senior public health physicians reached out to the gentleman to make it clear that information in no way came from New South Wales Health.

That was not in accordance with the wishes of the gentleman.

And I think that we do need to be very thoughtful. In the end, people – we rely on people sharing the most blow-by-blow descriptions. I can’t imagine this gentleman has had calls probably three or two times a day.

He helped us recreate his walking route, go through every credit card time stamp, you know, he has really gone above and beyond to help us and I think that it’s not a good outcome from public health when that happens.

We obviously take the approach that where we need to, we’ll be very frank with any information. But that was not necessary.

Health minister Brad Hazzard had some things to say about it as well:

I think it’s absolutely appalling. No journalist should think it’s OK to go naming a patient, someone who is working with Health, it’s the quickest way to destroy the confidence of all of us, if we think that some journalist somewhere thinks it’s OK to name a patient who is working with us to make sure the community stays safe. It stinks, actually.

Updated

Labor is readying its response to the budget – a day early.

The test for governments isn’t how many projects you can "announce” before an election. The test is what you actually deliver to make people’s lives better and make their jobs more secure.

After eight long years, the Liberals and Nationals have failed that test.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 9, 2021

Updated

NSW hopes to start vaccinating 40-49 year olds with Pfizer 'within weeks'

Gladys Berejiklian says she is hoping NSW health authorities will be able to vaccinate 40-49 year olds “within weeks” (under 50s are recommended to have the Pfizer vaccine).

Berejiklian:

If there’s any under-usage in a week, if we anticipate certain thousands of people who registered but there’s a few thousand left, we can draw upon the people from 40 to 49 who register with us and call upon them.

The key thing for them is to make sure we use every dose that’s available soon as we can.

To make sure we build the booking system as we did, if you had a chance to look, you can see how sophisticated the booking system is. And I even had a chance to go to the pharmacy and see how they identify each vial, each vaccine, we can track every vial to make sure we’re getting the doses out.

It’s important for us to maximise the use of all the hubs we have. The reason why we’re very excited about asking people from 40 to 49 who are interested in getting the Pfizer vaccine to show their interest, we can’t tell you exactly when, but enough notice to get here in the coming weeks to start that.

That’s to make sure we are using every single one. Large cohorts of our workers and their families have been vaccinated but we’re keen to finish them and start on the general public.

Updated

NSW chief health officer urges more community testing as Covid 'missing link' eludes authorities

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has given an update on the “missing link” case linked to the BBQ’s Galore index case – authorities have still not found the source of that man’s infection, but none of his other close contacts have tested positive.

Chant:

There’s been a lot of work to identify how the transmission event occurred. Unfortunately we haven’t found that missing link. What is clear is this gentleman, because we have tested everyone in close proximity to this gentleman, the contact with the infectious person must have been very fleeting.

So, because of that, we’re still concerned that there may be chains of transmission in the community that are yet unrecognised.

What is pleasing is our sewage surveillance for Marrickville, which was positive earlier last week, a low positive, was negative over the weekend.

We’re recollecting those samples again today. But unfortunately for us, not unfortunately for nature, there was a lot of rain last week. And the rain actually impacts the reliability of the sewage because it dilutes the testing.

These are all the factors that we pull together to influence our decision-making. We know that Covid can present as a very mild illness and it circulates unknowingly in the community. My plea to the community is to come forward and get tested.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian says when the Homebush mass vaccination hub is up and running (along with the five already set up in hospitals) NSW will be able to do 30,000 vaccinations a week.

A little later today, the federal court will hear the first challenge against the ban on Australian citizens returning to India.

We’ll be all over that like pollen on my sinuses for you.

In case anyone was wondering, the theme for today’s budget releases is “federal budget supports [insert state/territory here]’s recovery plan” with a list of infrastructure spending.

Most of it is for established/announced projects.

Updated

The biosecurity powers highlighted by Greg Hunt in his press release threatening jail and/or large fines for any Australians who return from India while the “pause” is under way have been growing for some time – and there were concerns that the laws would be used against Australians (let’s not kid ourselves that we don’t already lock up people who come into Australia).

Liberal senator James Paterson is the latest government MP to speak out against the penalties:

Criminalising Australian citizens returning to their own country is a “step too far” says the Liberal senator (and head of parliament’s intelligence committee) @SenPaterson “I wish it hadn’t happened” https://t.co/4PdZhNkvKB @AmyRemeikis #auspol

— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) May 9, 2021

Updated

Josh Frydenberg’s team have released a social media video of the treasurer looking very serious in a lot of slow-mo shots.

Frydenberg’s team have come along way since the treasurer’s first forays into this space, where he demonstrated how walking and talking into a camera can actually be a lot harder than it looks

Across the nation, businesses have reopened, confidence is growing & people are getting back to work.

More than 25 million Australians can be very proud of their hard work over the last year. #Budget2021 is all about securing Australia’s recovery & keeping Australians safe. pic.twitter.com/U9PL3DqB6S

— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) May 9, 2021

Star throws down chips for Crown merger

For those keeping an eye on Australia’s casino space, a fairly big announcement has just been made to the ASX – Sydney’s Star casino is proposing a merger with Crown Resorts.

As AAP reports:

The operator of Sydney’s Star casino has made overtures to Crown Resorts about a proposed merger worth up to $12bn.

Crown is already the subject of two other offers, including a takeover, from US predator Blackstone and US asset manager Oaktree Capital.

The Star Entertainment Group has proposed a merger with Crown that would see 2.68 Star shares exchanged for each Crown share.

It’s also offering an alternative cash offer of $12.50 per Crown share, subject to a cap equal to 25 per cent of the target’s shares on issue.

“Assuming the cash alternative is fully taken up, the merger proposal would result in pro forma ownership of the merged entity of 59% for Crown shareholders and 41% for Star shareholders,” Crown said on Monday.

Updated

Anthony Albanese spoke to Sydney radio 2GB this morning about the international border closure, and the budget:

You’ve got to have the preconditions there, which is keeping Australians safe is the first priority.

And that means getting quarantine right, getting vaccination right. We should be, as well, producing our own mRNA vaccines. We should have started that process last year.

And one of the things that concerns me about this budget is there’s lots of Band-Aids coming out to fix the government’s political problems in the lead-up to an election.

But there’s no reform. There’s no structural reform. And a whole range of weaknesses in our economy have been identified during the pandemic.

We didn’t have enough personal protective equipment. We didn’t have enough ventilators. We need a plan to actually build more here, to have advanced manufacturing here.

And we’ve outlined that through our National Reconstruction Fund.

The government, with all the announcements and all the money being thrown around, with a trillion dollars of debt, don’t have a reform agenda.

Updated

Simon Birmingham was on ABC radio this morning talking about the debt.

For those wondering, Australia’s debt to GDP is still low, compared with other countries. The reason we speak so much about debt and deficit is because of the Howard-Costello government narrative of focusing on paying down debt above all else. That didn’t mean they left Australia’s budget in great shape (the mining boom was all but wasted) but it did mean that most Australians of a certain age tend to think about government debt like it’s a household debt, when it’s not. And, as we saw during the pandemic, when the government wants to, it can just create money. Which it did.

But because this is Australia, we are still speaking about the debt, even as we remain in a pandemic.

Birmingham:

We have framed this budget carefully against international comparisons to make sure that Australia’s debt remains low by international standards.

That is certainly a crucial part of our competitiveness, our attractiveness as a destination and we are going to hold firm to those objectives, but you listen to the Labor party there and he talks about jobs, Jim Chalmers.

We went into this pandemic with record levels of workforce participation in Australia, having created 1.6m additional jobs during our first six years in office. We are coming out of the Covid-19 recession with record levels of employment in the nation’s history.

Updated

Dipping out of politics for just a moment – News.com.au is reporting Bert Newton has had to have his leg amputated to save his life.

Updated

Just a reminder that budgets are fluid – and anything committed “over the forwards” – ie, over the next four years, means that money is spread out (and may not even all be spent).

So, for example, $10bn on aged care royal commission reforms might sound like a nice round number – but it is only $2.5bn a year (if all goes right).

That, when spread across the population, is not a lot.

The Royal Australian College of Physicians makes this point in its latest release:

RACP spokesperson and president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine, Dr John Maddison:

Is $10bn over four years really going to be enough to resource the kind of system overhaul that would achieve integrated long-term healthcare support for older Australians? The royal commission itself estimated that successive government cuts had already left a shortfall of almost $10bn annually.

The findings of the royal commission were damning. They mandate a more significant commitment from government that makes delivering all their recommendations possible – not a temporary boost that kicks the can down the road.

Too many older Australians are not getting the support they need to experience a decent quality of life. While the focus on home care is overdue it will fail to address many of the worst failures in the system.

Updated

Josh Frydenberg and Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy are about to do the very important pre-budget job of having their photos taken with the budget books ahead of delivering the budget tomorrow.

Christine Holgate accepts a new job

The former Australia Post chief has a new job – from the media release:

Allegro Funds is pleased to announce the appointment of Christine Holgate as future group chief executive officer of Global Express.

Holgate will lead the transformation strategy for the growing parcels and logistics organisation upon Allegro completing its acquisition from the owner, Japan Post.

“I am honoured to be joining the Global Express team. I believe strongly in the potential of the business and have great respect for both the employees of Global Express and Allegro,” Holgate said.

“In recent times Global Express has faced challenges and there is lots of hard work ahead of us. However, the combination of new funding, a focused local leadership team, a strong position in growing markets and the turnaround expertise of Allegro, will ensure the business is successful.

“As the world emerges from Covid, it is critical that we build more resilience in our logistics networks across Australia and New Zealand. E-commerce in Australia still trails comparable countries at around 15% of sales. The retail sector’s future success will depend greatly on Global Express providing the competitive delivery service necessary to underpin expansion,” she said.

The circumstances surrounding Holgate’s departure from Australia Post are still the subject of a senate committee inquiry. Holgate is still deciding whether or not she will take legal action against Australia Post.

Updated

In case you hadn’t had a chance as yet, this story from Murph on a potential sponsorship program for refugees is worth your time:

The Morrison government is eyeing a Canadian model of community sponsorship of refugees after a review of Australia’s support program.

Guardian Australia understands the government is looking favourably at some elements of the Canadian scheme where private groups or community organisations cover the financial costs and settlement support for humanitarian entrants. Canada has welcomed more than 300,000 refugees since the community sponsorship program has been in place since the 1970s.

The commonwealth coordinator general for migrant services, Alison Larkins, conducted a review of Australia’s current support arrangements and has submitted detailed recommendations to Alex Hawke, the minister for immigration, citizenship, migrant services and multicultural affairs. The review follows a separate examination of Australia’s humanitarian program by the former senior bureaucrat Peter Shergold.

For context, in the last budget, the government slashed the number of refugees accepted under the humanitarian program by 5,000 places, to just 13,750 - and that was a ‘ceiling’ - meaning it was the absolute maximum, not a target.

NSW to open mass Covid vaccination hub in Sydney's Olympic Park today

Speaking of vaccines, NSW is opening a mass vaccination hub, as AAP reports:

A mass Covid-19 vaccination hub will open in Sydney Olympic Park as the city keeps most of its coronavirus restrictions for another week.

The NSW government expects the Homebush hub, opening on Monday and the first to open in the state, will have the capacity to administer 30,000 Covid-19 jabs per week.

It will be staffed by hundreds of medical personnel and operate six days a week from 8am to 8pm in a specially-fitted commercial building.

For its first two weeks, the hub will be open to people in categories 1a and 1b before expanding to anyone over 50 from 24 May.

Victoria has now streaked 25,300 vaccine doses ahead of NSW after bringing six mass vaccination hubs online across the state.

The hub opening comes fresh from the NSW government extending greater Sydney’s current restrictions for another week, except for mask usage in retail settings.

Updated

What has been absolutely amazing* in the last few months is watching all the federal politicians who were raging against restrictions and border controls and what city restrictions were doing to regional and rural areas now turn around and speak about how amazing life in Australia is right now, compared with the rest of the world.

*Not at all amazing.

Updated

With confirmation the international border won’t be opened until at least next year, and the vaccine program delayed, don’t expect the majority of Australians to be vaccinated until 2022 either. We have to wait until we see the budget to see what Treasury assumes, because the government won’t set a target on it.

Michael McCormack, who is still the current deputy prime minister, was asked about the vaccine schedule on ABC News Breakfast and continued to use a lot of words to say absolutely nothing:

As soon as practicably possible. It’s a big country. It’s the largest logistical exercise in Australia’s history, absolutely in Australia’s peace-time history as Brendan Murphy has said on any number of occasions and so we’re making sure that we get that vaccination rolled out, we’re working with very cooperatively and collaboratively with public state officials and we’ll continue to do that and we ask Australians to continue to be their best selves.

Australians have been magnificent. They exercised social distancing, they have worn masks when asked to do so even though in some times, in some cases, in regional cases they were many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest coronavirus case. I thank Australians on behalf of the government for doing just that, that’s why we kept our country largely Covid safe and free.

Updated

Good morning

Welcome back to politics live for the first time in about six weeks!

Parliament isn’t sitting today, but it is the day before the budget, which means everyone is in town and everyone has some last-minute messages to get out.

The government is trying to undo its start to the year by remembering women and women’s health in the budget – no doubt you have seen the headlines on how this is to be the “women’s budget” – but we are still waiting on detail.

And it being an election year means infrastructure is one of the big spending items – although how much of that is money being brought forward and how much is new is also still to be worked out.

As with everything in politics, the devil is absolutely in the detail. And that is what we are looking for.

Other than the budget, there is still the issue of “Fortress Australia”, with Scott Morrison telling News Corp there isn’t enough information on how the vaccines work to wind back Australia’s border controls as yet. There was some kerfuffle yesterday – the story originally said Morrison was holding on to “zero cases”, which the government denies – it says it is working on suppression, not elimination of the virus in Australia. But there is no doubt that after almost a year of bemoaning the states for their attitude to border closures, Morrison has decided it’s an election-winning strategy. Which doesn’t make it any easier for the thousands of Australians still trying to get home, or the 9,000 or so Australians stranded in India. Repatriation flights might be starting next week, but only about 10% of people – those listed as vulnerable – will make it home in the first month, with just one flight a week allowed. People who have tested positive to Covid before their flight will not be allowed to board. It’s a lot, and it’s heartbreaking and there is a lot more to go on this, so we will keep you up to date.

You have Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Sarah Martin and Daniel Hurst with you today, along with me, Amy Remeikis on the blog. I have missed you! You can catch me here, and here if you need me for something, and we will try and keep comments open for as long as we can.

It’s going to be at least a four-coffee day.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

Updated

Contributors

Calla Wahlquist (now) and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

The GuardianTramp

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