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John Barilaro’s appointment should be scrutinised, Kean says
Matt Kean is now being asked whether former deputy premier John Barilaro is a victim. He says:
He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.
Kean is also asked for his reaction to news Scott Morrison swore himself into multiple ministerial portfolios, partly to cancel the PEP11 gas exploration licence off the coast of NSW.
He says he “congratulates” the former PM for making the decision to cancel PEP11 but Morrison should not have made the unorthodox ministerial arrangement a secret.
If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.
For Kean it seems that when it comes to PEP11, the ends justifies the means.
Key events
NSW records six Covid deaths
Six people with Covid-19 have died in NSW overnight, with the state recording 5,490 new cases this morning, 2,178 people in hospital, and 59 in ICU.
COVID-19 update – Monday 15 August 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
– 96.9% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*
– 95.3% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine* pic.twitter.com/ghcIpj5o4j— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 14, 2022
– 69.3% of people have had three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine**^
– 82.3% of people aged 12-15 have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*
– 78.6% of people aged 12-15 have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine*
– 49.7% of people aged 5-11 have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 14, 2022
– 2,178 hospitalisations
– 59 people in ICU
– 6 lives lost
– 5,490 positive tests: 2,875 RAT & 2,615 PCR— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 14, 2022
Victoria records 15 Covid deaths
Fifteen people with Covid-19 have died in Victoria overnight, with the state recording 3,648 new cases this morning, 571 people in hospital, 27 in ICU and seven on ventilation.
3 doses (16+): 69.5%
2 doses (12+): 94.7%
Doses total: 6,335,114Hospital: 571
ICU: 20
Ventilated: 7
Lives lost: 15New cases: 3,648 (Rapid antigen test cases: 2,885, PCR test cases: 763)
PCR tests: 7,123
Active cases (all): 28,621— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 14, 2022
First Nations group fights SA nuclear waste dump plan
A First Nations group fighting to stop a nuclear waste dump being built on their traditional country in South Australia are due to appear in court today.
The Barngarla are seeking a review of a federal government decision choosing the regional town of Kimba as the site of a storage facility for low- and medium-level nuclear waste.
Former minister Matt Canavan made the decision to choose Kimba as the site after a campaign to secure community support.
Today’s hearing concerns a fight over documents the Barngarla are seeking through discovery that the government has so far refused to provide.
Jason Bliney, chair of the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation, said yesterday that he hoped the new government would reconsider plans for the facility:
We hope the new Government will quickly realise how badly the former government mishandled this project and withdraw the declaration.
We fought 21 years to win our native title and if we have to fight 21 years to stop this nuclear waste dump damaging our country, then we will have to do it.
Another snap from Sydney airport check-in:
Aged care workers doubt reform goals can be met
Aged care workers are sceptical the federal government’s ambitious planned reforms to the sector can be achieved, a survey suggests.
About half of the 1,100 workers canvassed shortly after the May election said they planned to leave the sector within the next three years, according to the report published today by aged care service consultants CompliSpace.
More than half believed it would be impossible to achieve new minimum care mandates in the proposed timeframes.
The Albanese government has introduced legislation requiring all aged care facilities to have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day. They will be required to provide residents with a minimum of 215 minutes of care a day from October 2024 under a planned $2.5bn overhaul of the sector.
CompliSpace chief executive David Griffiths said the increase in care was needed but could not be achieved under existing staffing levels. He said increased funding was needed to maintain the existing workforce and attract up to 50,000 additional nurses and support staff.
– from AAP
Covid case numbers drop – but new subvariants emerging
Australia’s latest wave of Covid-19 infections may be nearing its end but new subvariants could soon bring a further spike in cases, an epidemiologist warns.
Yesterday’s tally of 15,728 new cases was the lowest reported since 28 December.
The seven-day average for case numbers in Australia has dropped to the lowest level since mid-February, according to Johns Hopkins data.
University of South Australia epidemiologist Adrian Esterman says while the wave of cases linked to the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants appears to have reached a trough, new subvariants continue to emerge:
We’re seeing a wave [of infections] due to new subvariants every three to four months, and we have done for the last eight months. So if the same pattern continues, we might expect a new wave from a new subvariant around November. And there’s already a couple on the horizon.
Esterman said the BA.2.75 variant was taking over as the dominant strain in India, while BA.4.6 had begun to take hold in parts of the US.
Those strains were almost certainly already in Australia but it was too soon to know whether they would become dominant or whether a subvariant that caused more severe infections would assume their place, he said:
There’s absolutely no guarantee that the next wave that comes along isn’t going to be incredibly severe. We simply don’t know.
States and territories have largely rolled back protections including mask mandates.
But Esterman said the persistence of the virus meant there was a need for more public health measures including greater education about mask-wearing and the importance of booster shots:
More important than the peaks of the waves is the height of the trough in between them. That’s staying relatively high, and that means that there’s constant pressure on our hospital systems and there’s constant pressure of people getting long Covid.
– from AAP
Meanwhile, Sydney airport is once again in chaos with long queues and long waits.
Walt Secord stands down from NSW shadow ministry
Tamsin Rose
NSW Labor frontbencher Walt Secord has stood down from the shadow ministry after last week admitting he had been “too blunt and too direct”.
He released a statement this morning saying he did not want to be a distraction from the “important work that needs to be done” in implementing the recommendations from the Broderick report into Parliament House culture that was released last week:
After long reflection and with more than 30 years in the Labor Party, I have asked NSW Labor leader Chris Minns to let me stand aside from the shadow ministry.
Chris, myself, and the NSW Labor Party have committed to adopting the recommendations of the Broderick review and working across party lines to make the NSW Parliament and NSW politics a workplace we can all be proud of.
I fully support the Broderick Review and the change it will hopefully lead to. But my remaining in the shadow ministry at this time has become a distraction from these major revelations and the important work that needs to be done.
Guardian Australia understands that multiple former staffers made submissions to the Broderick review in relation to Secord’s past behaviour. They relate to accusations of bullying of staff outside his own office.
Last week he said while he did “not have the same recollections from the staff in the former leader’s office – especially in relation to raised voices in the workplace”, he accepted “that I can be too blunt and too direct in a fast-paced workplace”.
Greens propose shutting down Victoria’s coal plants within eight years
Victoria’s last coal-fired plants would be shut down over the next eight years under a plan by the Greens which will be introduced to parliament this week.
The energy legislation amendment (transition from coal) bill 2022 is expected to be introduced tomorrow. It proposes that Victoria’s three remaining coal plants be shut down by 2030, ahead of the planned 2046 timeframe.
The Greens are releasing the bill alongside a climate policy package for the November state election. It is expected to be debated and voted on next month, with the party also pitching a job-for-job guarantee for coal workers.
Victorian Greens acting climate spokesman Dr Tim Read said the “writing is on the wall” for Victoria’s brown coal plants:
They’re old, unreliable and spew toxic pollution that is harming the health of local communities.
Under the bill, the deadline for Yallourn’s closure would be set for 2024, compared with the 2028 timeframe.
Loy Lang A would shut in 2027 under the legislation, as opposed to by 2045, and Loy Yang B’s closure would be shifted from 2046 back to 2030.
The Greens’ bill would also increase Victoria’s legislated renewable energy target to 100% by 2030, a move it says would be supported by a $10bn investment into renewables.
Along with the job guarantee for coal workers, the Greens want secure funding to 2035 for an independent Latrobe Valley authority.
Under their pitch, the authority would be tasked with the power plants’ closure, and developing new industries in the region including offshore wind, clean manufacturing, and mine site rehabilitation.
from AAP
Josh Butler
Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’
Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.
Husic will host meetings on science and commercialisation, digital skills, advanced manufacturing, industrial unions and artificial intelligence this week, with a key focus on the worker shortages those areas are facing. The minister said those roundtables would help inform the jobs and skills Summit, to be held in Canberra early next month:
These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.
Skills minister Brendan O’Connor and home affairs minister Clare O’Neil flagged potential raises to the skilled migration cap on Sunday. Husic said his priority was on upskilling the local workforce, but that “managing appropriate skilled migration will also have an important role to play and will be on the agenda”:
I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.
John Barilaro’s appointment should be scrutinised, Kean says
Matt Kean is now being asked whether former deputy premier John Barilaro is a victim. He says:
He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.
Kean is also asked for his reaction to news Scott Morrison swore himself into multiple ministerial portfolios, partly to cancel the PEP11 gas exploration licence off the coast of NSW.
He says he “congratulates” the former PM for making the decision to cancel PEP11 but Morrison should not have made the unorthodox ministerial arrangement a secret.
If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.
For Kean it seems that when it comes to PEP11, the ends justifies the means.
‘There is no place for bullying’ in NSW parliament, Matt Kean says
NSW treasurer Matt Kean is speaking to told ABC Radio National, saying he broadly supports the recommendations of the Broderick report that found deep-seated issues with bullying and sexual harassment in the state parliament:
I want to make it clear from the outset there is no place for bullying or misconduct in any workplace. It’s clear the parliament has some serious issues to address.
Kean said he supported the aims of the report, including a ban on alcohol consumption within parliament:
What we need to see is the type of behaviour that’s been called out, stamped out. We’ve all got a responsibility to make sure the parliament is a safe place for everyone.
PM seeking legal advice on former government’s power-sharing arrangement
Immigration minister Andrew Giles says Anthony Albanese is seeking legal advice on the legality of former PM Scott Morrison reportedly secretly swearing himself in as the minister for health, finance and resources during his time in office.
Giles, appearing on Radio National this morning, called the reports “absolutely extraordinary and quite shocking”.
the PM is seeking advice on legality of these revelations – do we know what the consequences will be?
“what we’ve heard is a repudiation of the cabinet model we’ve had in Australia for well over 100 years, it’s consquences frankly I’m not sure about”
– @andrewjgiles (PART 1)
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) August 14, 2022
Those reports, published in the Australian newspaper and news.com.au at the weekend, said Morrison had sought legal advice from the then attorney general that two ministers could be sworn into the same portfolio, so Morrison could swear himself into the role via an administrative legal instrument.
The Australian reported that Morrison swore himself in as health and finance minister during the early stages of the pandemic, partly to safeguard against those ministers being struck down by Covid. Last night news.com.au reported that Morrison was sworn in as resources minister in late 2021, after a dispute with resources minister Keith Pitt over the PEP-11 fossil fuel development off the NSW coast.
Albanese is back from a week of leave and will hold a press conference in Melbourne at 10am. We’ve contacted his office for more information.
Josh Butler
Reports Scott Morrison secretly swore himself in as minister labelled ‘amazing’
NDIS minister Bill Shorten has described as “amazing” reports that former PM Scott Morrison secretly swore himself in as minister for three different portfolios, claiming the former Liberal leader had a “messianic complex”:
If he felt the need to do it, why not tell people? Why be secretive?
This is about the constitution, our whole system of government. It’s a very unorthodox manoeuvre, and if you’re going to do things that are unorthodox, you really need to have a very good explanation and I haven’t heard one yet.
Shorten claimed Morrison “didn’t trust his colleagues”.
NDIS investigation to be launched after ‘millions’ taken in fraud
Minister for government services Bill Shorten is speaking to ABC Radio National, discussing his plan to tackle fraud in the NDIS.
A multi-agency investigative team will be set up after an investigation by Nine.
Shorten said “millions” had been taken from the scheme:
They may boast among themselves about how clever they are. The rest of Australia despises this. What we’re going to do is make sure the NDIS is only for the people who need it.
He also welcomed comments by Malcolm Turnbull in Guardian Australia this morning saying he will be voting yes in any referendum to establish an Indigenous voice to parliament.
Shorten said Turnbull had “shut the debate down” on the voice in the past as he was “battling the conservatives in his party”:
It’s great that Malcolm’s on board with this. Hopefully that signals other people are thinking about the issue. It’s not a Labor or Liberal issue, it’s a question of whether we want to see First Nations people on the nation’s birth certificate.
Shorten was also asked about revelations Scott Morrison had himself sworn in as health minister and energy minister in a “unorthodox” power-sharing arrangement within his government.
Ravi the red panda’s great escape
A seven-year-old red panda named Ravi escaped his enclosure at Adelaide zoo on Friday, sparking a two-day search that ended when the animal was found up a tree in the nearby Botanic Park, dining on figs.
ABC News reports that zookeepers spent the majority of yesterday trying to convince Ravi to climb down with offers of treats but were eventually forced to use a tranquilliser dart and blankets to catch him.
Ravi, who only arrived at Adelaide zoo last week, has now been returned to his enclosure with zookeepers reviewing video footage to work out how he got out.
Weather warnings for WA and Victoria
Western Australia is in for some wild weather this morning. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning as a cold front approaches the west coast.
A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for parts of western #WA. A cold front approaching the west coast will combine with a moisture laden cloud band to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding and impact road travel from late Monday in the warning area. pic.twitter.com/zC1XVusDRP
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) August 14, 2022
A major flood warning has been issued for the Moe River in Darnum in Victoria and minor flood warnings for the Latrobe River at Rosedale.
Josh Butler
Alleged Canberra shooter to appear in court this morning
A 63-year-old man has been charged with three weapons offences, including unlawful possession of a firearm, after a shooting at Canberra airport yesterday that forced the grounding of planes and the evacuation of the terminal for several hours.
The man was arrested at the airport yesterday after allegedly firing five shots into glass windows of the building.
ACT police said:
Police will allege that the man arrived at Canberra Airport at approximately 1.20pm before sitting on seats near the southern check-in desks on the first floor. At about 1.25pm he drew a firearm and deployed a number of shots into windows of the building.
No injuries were reported and police said they were confident the man was operating alone. He was taken into custody and overnight was charged with discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person causing alarm. He will appear in a Canberra court this morning.
Police yesterday could give no immediate information on the possible motivations of the man or what sparked the alleged shooting.
ACT police are urging any witnesses who haven’t already spoken to police to call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
Good morning
And welcome to another Monday morning Guardian Australia live blog.
A 63-year-old man has been charged with three weapons offences, including unlawful possession of a firearm, after a shooting at Canberra airport yesterday that forced the grounding of planes and the evacuation of the terminal for several hours. The man was arrested at the airport yesterday after allegedly firing five shots into glass windows of the building. Police yesterday could give no immediate information on the possible motivations of the man.
A second US delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day trip including a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen. The delegation is being led by Senator Ed Markey, who is travelling to the region as part of a wider tour of the Indo-Pacific. The second delegation in a matter of weeks is likely to spark a reaction, with the Chinese embassy saying in a statement that it shows the US “has spared no effort to stir up confrontation”.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be here, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started …
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