Voices from the Blocks, the group of public housing residents under hard lockdown in Melbourne, have released a statement, saying “institutional red tape (is) suffocating community volunteering efforts”.

The statement said:

Since Saturday, community members have been in direct contact with residents who were in desperate need of food and medicine. Many unable to get through to the designated DHHS hotline (1800 961 054).

These families could not afford to wait around hungry and risk their health while the government implemented policy on the fly, four months into a global pandemic.

Tigist Kebede, counselor and community member, said:

These are literally our family members, our friends. Volunteers are stepping up and filling gaps as they are hearing directly from residents of the epic failures of government.

On the ground, police officers outnumber all of the volunteers, departmental workers, services and medical staff combined. They have the largest physical presence and present the greatest risk to community, volunteers and residents.

Volunteers are exposing themselves to police brutality in order to provide basic essential medical and food services for residents.”

From AAP:

The hard-line stance on fines for Victoria’s new lockdown is off to a shaky start, with police having to withdraw a group of fines.

Fines issued to 15 people partying at an Airbnb apartment in Southbank last Saturday will not go ahead because the group hadn’t broken any COVID-19 rules.

Police had fined the 15 for breaching health directions that state no more than five guests could gather in a household.

But the Airbnb apartment is considered a private holiday rental, where restrictions in place last weekend allowed for 20 people to gather for an overnight stay.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton had on Wednesday morning accused the group of flouting the rules.

“Others are doing stupid, selfish, reckless actions,” he said.

“Sunday night, we had an Airbnb party in Southbank where 15 people thought it was okay to get together and party.”

However, by mid-afternoon the police had issued a media release saying the standard review process determined that the fines were issued incorrectly.

Patton warned that police are way past using discretion, pointing to fines as the only way to get through to people who refuse to listen.

Those thinking of ignoring the restrictions will likely be slapped with infringements of up to $1652, with hundreds of police officers will be deployed across metropolitan Melbourne to ensure compliance with travel restrictions for the next six weeks.

Patton told reporters he expected the number of fines to increase, a prediction shared by Police Minister Lisa Neville, who encouraged Victorians to dob in those infringing the law.

Police will redirect some regional officers to metropolitan areas and give more operational responsibilities to behind-the-scenes members of the force during the lockdown.

Victorians will also see the military join police at road checkpoints, with 265 Australian Defence Force members to assist for the next six weeks.

The government is spending nearly $1.3bn on the coronavirus supplement each fortnight, new figures show - illustrating the scale of the potential hit to the economy if the top-up is withdrawn as scheduled in September.

The $550 coronavirus supplement is paid each fortnight to people receiving a range of other income support payments. While a lot of the public debate has focused on jobseeker, the supplement is also paid to recipients of ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Austudy, Parenting Payment, Partner Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Special Benefit, Widow Allowance and Youth Allowance.

Responding to a question on notice from the Senate select committee on Covid-19, the Department of Social Services said 2,242,392 people were receiving the coronavirus supplement as at 26 June - including 658,378 in NSW, 545,563 in Victoria, and 510,570 in Queensland.

The department also revealed the total coronavirus supplement outlays for the fortnight ending 26 June were $1.27bn.

Labor’s spokesperson for families and social services, Linda Burney, said the government’s “scheduled snapback of economic supports in a matter of months and their failure to provide certainty places our nation’s economic recovery at risk”.

She said Australians on unemployment support were “anxious about what level of support will be available to them after September”.

The figures have been released amid ongoing debate about the future of the government’s economic support measures.

As my colleague Paul Karp reported today, the government is considering bringing forward income tax cuts and will extend income support beyond September as it weighs up what to do with the jobkeeper and jobseeker payments.

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, confirmed that “there’s going to be another phase of income support” – a signal that continuation of wage subsidies is more likely than supports solely for businesses.

The Australian share market has suffered its worst drop in nearly two weeks amid worries about rising virus cases in Victoria and overseas and following a drop in US markets, AAP reports.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed Wednesday down 92.6 points, or 1.54 per cent, at 5,920.3 points, while the All Ordinaries index dropped 92.4 points, or 1.51 per cent, at 6,034.3.

“A bit of air came out of the market today,” said Australian Stock Report senior analyst Ben Le Brun, who said he had been in awe of its performance in recent weeks.

“It’s been pumped up artificially, no doubt. It’s basically a whatever it takes attitude from central banks across the globe.”

Every sector was lower except for consumer staples, which gained 0.5 per cent, with consumer discretionary, health care and property trusts all down collectively more than two per cent.

CSL dropped 3.3 per cent to a three-week low of $280.50.

All the big banks were lower after agreeing to extend a six-month repayment holiday for home loan customers facing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

ANZ fell 2.1 per cent to $18.41, NAB was down 2.0 per cent to $17.98, Westpac dropped 1.8 per cent to $17.84 and Commonwealth Bank dipped 1.0 per cent to $70.56.

In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP fell 1.0 per cent to $35.75, Rio Tinto dropped 0.8 per cent to $95.54 and Fortescue Metals dipped 0.9 per cent to $14.67.

Goldminers did well however as the price of the precious metal rose to a nearly nine-year high of $US1,793 an ounce.

Supermarkets also did well with Melbourne back in lockdown, with Woolworths gaining 1.0 per cent to $38.22 and Coles up 2.4 per cent to $17.79.

The Australian dollar was buying 69.34 US cents, down from 69.52 US cents at the close of trade on Tuesday.

Scott Morrison and the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, are set to discuss their experiences responding to the Covid-19 pandemic during a virtual leaders’ meeting tomorrow night.

It is understood Australia and Japan are looking at ways to cooperate on health efforts to combat Covid-19. They are also expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation between their space agencies.

Morrison had been due to travel to Japan and India in January, but those trips were postponed because of Australia’s summer bushfire crisis.

Now the Covid-19 crisis has intervened to prevent international travel, leading Morrison to hold a virtual meeting with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, last month.

In a statement issued tonight, Morrison said tomorrow’s virtual meeting with Abe would “build on and reaffirm the importance of our Special Strategic Partnership” with Japan “in a time of global economic and strategic uncertainty”.

The prime minister said it was “a timely opportunity to reaffirm the shared principles, values and global outlook that reinforce one of Australia’s closest regional partnerships”.

He said Australia and Japan were like-minded democracies and “natural partners with shared interests underpinned by open markets and the rule of law”.

Morrison said:

Prime Minister Abe and I will discuss our shared experiences in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and ways we can work together, with other regional partners, to help ensure an open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

We will discuss ways to coordinate our assistance in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to strengthen health systems, and promote economic resilience and recovery. I also look forward to discussing with Prime Minister Abe opportunities to further deepen our defence and security ties.”

Morrison added that the virtual meeting would “help to lay the foundations for my rescheduled visit to Japan as soon as circumstances allow

For more on the alleged breach of screening protocols of passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney on Tuesday, my colleague Daniel Hurst has written this report.

Mutual obligations will continue for Victorian jobseekers on a limited basis, in line with the rest of the country, despite the re-imposition of stage three restrictions in Melbourne.

At the initial height of the pandemic in March, the government suspended all obligations – such as job search and employment service provider appointments – in response to tough lockdown rules across the country.

Asked if there were plans to suspend obligations in Victoria again, a spokesman for the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, said: In line with COVID-19, mutual obligations were re-instated, in a limited capacity, from 9 June.

“Since then job seekers were required to undertake at least one appointment with their provider via telephone or online. Other participation activities were all voluntary. No payment suspensions or penalties will be applied.

“The government continues to monitor and respond to the COVID-19 situation.”

My colleague Melissa Davey has written about the almost two dozen healthcare workers and their patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in Victoria in recent weeks.

Four Patients and a staff member of Brunswick private hospital are among the new cases announced today.

Queensland police have fined a man $4,000 for trying to cross the border fraudulently.

Officers arrested the 43-year-old man who tried to cross from NSW into Queensland on the Gold Coast at about 11am on Wednesday.

Police allege the Sydney man used false identification.

In a statement, Queensland police said:

Police are warning anyone planning to enter Queensland to complete their border declaration pass honestly after a man was fined while attempting to cross the border on the Gold Coast this morning.

Around 11am, officers at the Griffith Street border control check point intercepted a bus and spoke with a 43-year-old male passenger to verify his border pass.

His declaration indicated he was travelling from New South Wales to Queensland for essential medical treatment.

Police will allege the Sydney man was in possession of false identification, did not require medical treatment and had completed the border declaration fraudulently.

The man was refused entry to Queensland and issued with an infringement of $4,003 for failing to comply with the Covid-19 Border Direction.

Since 12pm on Friday 3 July 2020, anyone entering Queensland has been required to complete a border declaration pass.

The Queensland Police Service is committed to ensuring everyone complies with public health directions and will continue to enforce restrictions at the border.

Vehicles will continue to be intercepted at random where police will verify declarations with identification.

Providing false information on the declaration or entering Queensland unlawfully could result in a $4,003 fine.

The Queensland Entry Declaration can be accessed at www.qld.gov.au/border-pass and is valid for seven days.

My colleague Paul Karp has written about the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, indicating today that income support will be extended beyond September, and how the government is also considering bringing forward tax cuts.

Nick Coatsworth reiterates that current AHPPC advice does not recommend the widespread wearing of face masks, noting that observing the restrictions in place in a jurisdiction – stage 3 in Victoria – is more important to stop further community transmission.

However, he said Australians with severe pre-existing conditions should continue to wear masks.

In situations like we have in greater Melbourne at the moment, the most important thing is going to be adhering to Stage 3 restrictions. That is designed to decrease movement, decrease mixing and increase distance between people.

But if you are in those areas and you find that you are unable to do that, then mask-wearing should be encouraged.

With regard to the rest of Australia and whether vulnerable people should wear masks, I would simply say that there are vulnerable people around Australia who have very severe immune life suppressed conditions that are wearing masks already, I treat a number of them in my practice.

Nick Coatsworth has cautioned against growing concern over the aerosolisation – or suggestion Covid-19 is airborne as opposed to spread by droplets.

He says authorities will continue to monitor how Covid-19 spreads but won’t change any official advice yet.

He was responding to a letter to the WHO signed by experts warning that existing distancing advice of 1.5 metres was insufficient if the virus can spread through the air.

Let me just but a little word of caution on that particular comment of aerosolisation. We know that you can find virus in the air around someone who is infected but those tests are largely done in laboratory conditions.

We do not necessarily know the implication of that and how readily that means the virus is going to be spread beyond the 1.5 metres that we recommend people to socially distance.

We have to remember that the basic reproductive number is only 2.5 and that is more consistent with viruses that the primary mode of spread is contact and droplet rather than airborne.

NSW police have arrested a man who tried to cross the NSW/Victoria border without a permit.

According to a police statement, a car bearing Victorian number plates attempted to drive into NSW on Carlyle Road, Corowa shortly after 11am.

“Officers from Murray River Police District spoke with the driver, who allegedly declared his intention to cross into NSW despite not having a valid exemption,” the statement said.

“The 34-year-old Victorian man was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station, where he is currently assisting police with inquiries,

“The man’s wife and three children complied with police direction and returned to Victoria,

“The public is reminded it is an offence to enter NSW from Victoria without a valid exemption,” the statement said.

More than 50,000 vehicles have crossed the border from Victoria into NSW since midnight last night.

Thank you for joining me on another huge day. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to take you through the first day of Melbourne’s localised lock down.

Elias Visontay will take you through the afternoon. Make sure you take care of you.

There are also just a few more hours until the Melbourne lockdown is in place.

We are thinking of you, Victoria, particularly those who are about to go through another six weeks of isolation.

There will be a national Covid-19 update in about 30 minutes or so.

Julia Gillard has just been announced as the Q&A guest for next Monday.

In what is just a 2020 mood, “Oh no” is currently trending on social media in Australia.

The afternoon press conferences meant this wasn’t broadcast live, but the ABC managing director addressed the national press club this afternoon:

In extreme 2020 news, a new trapdoor spider has been found. Cool, cool, cool.

(Via AAP)

A new group of spiders that build burrows well-hidden by camouflaged hinge-doors has been discovered in eastern Australia.

Researchers say the new trapdoor spider group probably remained undiscovered until recently because their burrows are so well disguised by doors made of leaves, twigs and spider silk.

The spiders are widespread on Australia’s east coast, says researcher and former Griffith University PhD student Jeremy Wilson.

They are a separate genus to other trapdoor spiders.

“We compared their physical appearance and the burrows they construct and then looked for molecular differences in their DNA,” Dr Wilson said.

“We found differences in their physical appearance which allow them to be distinguished from other trapdoor spiders in eastern Australia.”

The researchers named the group of spiders Cryptoforis, meaning cryptic door, in reference to the hidden burrows.

The Cryptoforis group has almost 20 new species including one found in most forests and natural reserves in Brisbane.

Labor’s Julie Collins has responded to the government announcement of 6,100 new home care packages:

The additional home care packages announced today by the Morrison Government are yet another drop in the ocean.

There are still over 104,000 older Australians waiting for home care. There are no new level four packages for the 21,833 older Australians currently waiting for the highest level of home care.

Time and time again the Morrison Government’s miserly announcements of new home care packages have failed to address the true scale of Australia’s aged care crisis.

Almost 30,000 older Australians sadly passed away in just two years while waiting for home care.

Older Australians waiting for high level home care packages are waiting almost three years to get the care they have been approved for.

ACT authorities don’t believe the risk of infection to the wider Canberra community is very high, though:

Prior to being tested, the three individuals had visited the Fyshwick Markets on Saturday 4 July between 3pm and 4pm and Westfield Belconnen on Monday 6 July between 12pm and 12:30pm.

ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said the risk to the broader community was low, however anyone who attended these locations during these times should be vigilant and monitor themselves for symptoms.

“We are confident the risk to the broader ACT community is low,” Dr Coleman said.

“However this is a very important reminder of the ongoing pandemic and the risk posed by the outbreak currently evolving in Melbourne.

“Anyone who has been in Melbourne in the past two weeks should monitor themselves for symptoms and be vigilant.

The ACT was going to ease restrictions even further this Friday - it has now delayed that decision.

And in New Zealand

The ACT has broken its Covid-19 free streak:

Further to that “not my job to tell the premiers what to do” answer from Scott Morrison, comes this message from his chief law officer (via AAP):

Western Australia’s determination to keep its borders closed to all states, not just virus-plagued Victoria, is set to be scrutinised by the nation’s highest court.

Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer’s legal challenge against the closures is before the federal court, with hearings listed for next week.

Once the facts of the case are established, it will be heard in the high court.

The federal government, which opposes WA’s hard interstate border restrictions, is set to give evidence in the matter.

WA Premier Mark McGowan this week wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison urging the Commonwealth to withdraw its involvement, saying it made no sense to challenge WA’s position while also endorsing the NSW-Victoria border closure.

But Attorney General Christian Porter says it is appropriate for the Commonwealth to provide its view on such matters, noting that Victoria is the only remaining state with significant community transmission of COVID-19.

“The question is whether or not each state is properly adapting its rules and its border restrictions to the problems it’s facing,” Mr Porter told 6PR radio.

“It’s a fluid situation and it’s a matter of assessing evidence from experts before the courts.

“The constitution has provided for the establishment of a nation and part of the core feature of a nation is the ability to move across state borders.”

Mr Porter said it defied logic to claim that it could be unconstitutional to open the WA border to some states but not others.

He rejected calls for Canberra to stay out of the dispute, saying the idea the Commonwealth would not be heard in a constitutional matter was “ridiculous”.

“We’re not assisting Clive Palmer, we’re assisting the court,” he said.

Mr Palmer, a noted critic of the WA premier, has accused the McGowan government of discrimination against Queenslanders.

“We haven’t had any COVID-19 cases for weeks now, yet the WA Premier keeps Queenslanders out of his state,” he said.

Other cases include:

• 4 patients and a staff member who have tested positive at Brunswick Private Hospital. Contact tracing is under way. The outbreak squad will visit today and the hospital is closed to new admissions.
• 3 additional cases have been linked to the Woolworths Customer Fulfilment Centre in Footscray, taking the total to 4. 3 are staff members and 1 is a household contact of a staff member. Contact tracing is continuing.
• 5 positive cases have been linked to aged care services, where cleaning, contact tracing and appropriate testing is under way.
  
• This includes:
• a staff member who was infectious while at the Doutta Galla, Lynch’s Bridge site in Kensington on 2 and 3 July
• a resident who tested positive at the Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee
• a staff member who worked at the Uniting AgeWell facility in Preston
• a staff member at BaptCare Karana in Kew who tested positive but did not work while infectious
• a positive case who provides aged care services to clients in their homes through Mercy Health.

The official Victorian health data is out:

Victoria has recorded 134 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 2942.

The overall total has increased by 118, after 16 cases were reclassified – largely due to duplication.

Within Victoria, 11 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks and 123 are under investigation. No cases have been detected in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

There have been no deaths reported since yesterday. To date, 22 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria.

• 456 cases may indicate community transmission
• 860 cases are currently active in Victoria
• 41 cases of coronavirus are in hospital, including seven in intensive care
• 2,058 people have recovered from the virus
• Of the total cases, 2,575 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 263 are from regional Victoria
• Total cases include 1,545 are men and 1,372 are women
• More than 1,008,000 tests have been processed to date

Of yesterday’s new cases which have already been linked to outbreaks, the breakdown is:

• Seven new cases linked to the Al-Taqwa College outbreak, with the total now 102.
• Two cases relating to the North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers, with the total now 75.
• One case linked to the Stamford Plaza outbreak, which now totals 43.
• One new case at the PM Fresh facility in Broadmeadows, taking the total at the site to two. Contact tracing is under way and appropriate testing of staff will be undertaken.

Just a reminder that when asked about the Victorian government response to the outbreak (border closures, the enforced police lockdown of the public housing towers) Scott Morrison said:

So it’s not my job to second-guess premiers on these things.

It’s my job, as the prime minister, to rally the governments of Australia and our own government and the people of Australia to support Victorians in this time of need.

Which might be news to the premiers which have heard him call for the borders to be open. And WA and Queensland which are currently fighting court challenges to their border closures, which the commonwealth are a party to.

The Chinese embassy has responded to Australia’s updated travel advice for Australians in China (obviously we are not going anywhere, but there are Australians still in China) which warned of Australians being at risk of arbitrary detention:

We have noted Australia’s updated travel advice regarding China, which asserts that Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention.

This is completely ridiculous and disinformation. Foreigners in China, including the Australians, as long as they abide by the Chinese laws, have no need to worry at all. However, those who engage in illegal activities, such as drug smuggling or espionage, will be dealt with according to the laws in China, as is the case in all other countries.

AAP has an update on Victorians who live near the South Australian border:

People living in cross-border communities will be restricted to a 50km radius inside South Australia when the state’s border restrictions with Victoria come into force.

Police commissioner Grant Stevens says maps are being produced to clearly show the entry limits and anyone from Victoria found breaching the rule may face a $1,000 fine or further action.

People living near the border and needing to enter SA to conduct daily activities, like attending school or work, must have a pre-approved essential traveller exemption.

Those residents who have an existing approval under the previous directions do not need to reapply, with the hard border close to take effect from midnight on Wednesday night.

“It will enable them to undergo those services and functions they require as part of their normal daily lives but will prevent them from travelling too far into SA,” the commissioner said.

Mr Stevens said additional resources would be deployed to the state’s crossing points, with some smaller roads being physically blocked.

“We’ll make sure we have resources where we can address the largest volume of traffic but we don’t want people thinking they can sneak through by using small dirt tracks in the back of nowhere,” he said.

SA has had been operating an online pre-approval process for people coming from interstate and so far there’s been about 24,000 applications through that system.

Under the new arrangements for Victoria, some people using the online process may be turned down.

SA Police are also in discussions on the possible use of Australian Defence Force personnel to assist with the border lockdown.

And there will be a national cabinet meeting on Friday.

We know the press conference is coming to an end, because we get the “all in this together” speech (and Scott Morrison runs his sentences together when he is looking to dash away from the lectern, to stop journalists from jumping in and asking a question when he takes a breath.)

We will keep doing our job and I know Australians will keep doing theirs.

And right now, that job is if you’re a Melburnian, is to tough it out and it will be tough, but know the rest of the country is with you.

The rest of the country knows that the sacrifice that you’re going through right now is not just for you and your own family, but it’s for the broader Australian community.

And I want to thank Melburnians.

I mean, I want to thank them very much for how they’re dealing with this right now. I can imagine the frustration.

You can imagine a business that had just started opening up again and now they got to close down again.

Heartbreaking. Frustrating. Talking to their staff, kids were about to go back to school, the uncertainty that is attached to all of that we all understand.

But this is a virus that doesn’t, you know, communicate itself in terms of its intentions or how it’s going to behave. We’re dealing with a lot of unknowns here and that means that there will be circumstances like this and how we respond is what we have control over.

We don’t have control over the virus as such, but we do have control over how we respond and I think how Melburnians, in particular, and Victorians more broadly, are dealing with this very hard news is commendable and I thank you very, very much for it.

And we will stay on the job in supporting you and giving the Victorian government every help they need, not just the Australian government, but all the other state and territory governments as well.

Someone asks about some sort of foreign travel tax? I don’t know – there is a lot in the question, and it’s involving shiz that none of us can even think about until at least July next year, because I’m not sure if this is common knowledge or not – but Australia’s international borders ARE CLOSED.

Scott Morrison:

Well, there’s a lot of speculation on all those questions. So I don’t intend to engage in what is the normal budget speculation when you lead up to a budget.

Those matters will be addressed in the budget.

So I mean, the – we haven’t even concluded in the arrangements with any other countries at the moment and it will be some time yet before we even were able to achieve that even for New Zealand or potentially any countries in the Pacific.

There is more:

Q:Would you think about it?

Morrison: I’m not here to tell people what I’m thinking about, I’m here to tell people what we’re doing. The government is focused on dealing with what’s happening right now in Australia. Those issues are not matters that are pressing upon the government.

On what we are planning on doing with Hong Kong residents, Scott Morrison says:

We continue to be concerned about issues in Hong Kong as many nations are, and we have remained in close contact with other like-minded countries about this issue.

This is about how we, as a nation, are responding, domestically, to these issues.

So these are decisions for Australia about who we provide visas to and on what terms and over what period of time.

They’re Australian sovereign issues. They’re about our country, not other countries.

So we’ll make decisions about our visa program and how we run that. In accordance with the rules that we set and as I said before, I’ll have more to say about that soon, not today.

On Melbourne, the prime minister says:

On the issue of the broader shutdown of Melbourne – this is a matter that the premier advised me of and, of course, based on their advice and the advice that I have received from the chief medical officer, then this was necessary.

I hope it isn’t for that long. I hope it’s for a shorter period as possible.

But given the seriousness of the issue and the containment that was occurring in the initial postcodes and what was occurring there, that this was a more practical measure in the premier’s view and the advice that he had received.

So it’s not my job to second-guess premiers on these things. It’s my job, as the prime minister, to rally the governments of Australia and our own government and the people of Australia to support Victorians in this time of need.

Are Australian authorities changing their views on masks?

Scott Morrison:

The medical panel gives us advice on this issue pretty much every time we meet and sometimes more often than that. It’s been a constant stream of advice from the medical expert panel from the HPPC and they will continue to provide that advice and we will continue to follow it.

Will someone in Victoria receive income support than someone in say, Brisbane?

I’m not suggesting that at all.

We’re running a national support of support.

That national program of support will give people in the same areas of need the same support.

So it’s – it’s not a state-based or – program or anything like that. In the same way it is operated up until now, it’s something that has operated nationally and something that has been directed towards businesses that have had that fall-off in turnover and to their employees and similarly JobSeeker is applied across the nation.

These programs act very much as automatic stabilisers in these circumstances and that’s the design element that will continue. I mean, what we have done in providing the support we have is we have been very careful about the design of the support we have provided.

We haven’t made the mistakes of trying to invent new systems because of the great difficulties that – that presents as we saw during the GFC and I note that the, Deloitte’s report that came out this year that shows that we were able to get the support out there significantly and sooner than happened last time.

And I think that was because we followed that very disciplined position of using existing channels, making sure it was well calibrated and targeted and temporary and that’s what we have done.

I think all Australians know that level of support can’t go on forever. But the needs are continuing and we understand that. We have understood that for some time and we have been preparing our next phase on the basis of that understanding.

Should people start paying for their own hotel quarantine, if they come home from overseas:

In relation to paying – that is a decision for the states and territories. The states and territories can send people a bill today if they wish and if they wish to do that, then the commonwealth would have no objection to that.

They’d be actually solely within their rights to do that. I think that would be a completely understandable proposition for people who have been away for some time and there’s been many opportunities for people to return.

If they’re choosing to do so now, they have obviously delayed that decision for a period.

The prime minister says there has been no suggestion lockdowns will be extended nationwide (at this stage)

That is not something that is being put to me now or that’s not the advice that we’re receiving.

Let’s remember that seven states and territories around the country remain in a very strong position when it comes to our response to Covid-19.

That’s what we’re seeking to continue to protect. That doesn’t mean there won’t be cases in any of those states and territories, but the rest of the programs in those states and territories are outside of trying to deal with some of the issues around the border towns and New South Wales and Victoria, I’m sure the premier will say more about that when she’s in a position to do so, but more broadly – I think the rest of the country is getting on with it which means they’re opening up and their jobs are coming back and that’s welcomed news but obviously the impact in Victoria is significant and very disappointing, but it’s something that we will work together to build up again just like we did last time.

Apparently Christian Porter and Mathias Cormann think the AFL grand final should be played in Perth, if it can’t be held in Melbourne.

Scott Morrison is not amused (how far we’ve come from “I’m off to the football”, although he has mentioned “the Sharkies” about a gazillion times in radio interviews in the past couple of months).

Where the AFL grand final is being played at the moment is one of the furtherest things from my mind. It really is. I mean, the AFL, I’m sure will sort that out and states and territories will sort that out. Right now, we’re dealing with a pandemic outbreak in Victoria – right now.

On WA having a cap put on its international arrivals, Scott Morrison says:

The issue is not redistributing the load to Western Australia to other states. Western Australia has been taking about a quarter of what New South Wales has.

So I don’t think there’s a strong case that Western Australia should carry any lesser load than it has been up until this time. I mean, Queensland and New South Wales are taking far more than Western Australia and, you know, the same issues need to be managed there and Western Australia is a strong and competent state and I’m sure they can manage their share of the burden.

The issue is what the overall level of returning Australians are and that’s why I’ll be bringing a proposal on Friday to reduce that load which means it’s – that’s a lesser load for everybody rather than shifting Western Australia’s load on to someone else.

I’m sure Western Australian pride would prohibit any suggestion that another state would have to carry Western Australia’s load on something like this.

The official announcement for this press conference (which is not just to remind people that Richard Colbeck exists):

The extra 6,105 home care packages brings the total number of additional packages to over 50,000 since the 18-19 Budget, at a cost of more than $3 billion.

Home care package numbers will increase to 164,135 in 2022-23 - up more than 170 per cent since Labor were last in office - with funding increasing by 258 per cent due to growth in high-level packages.

Following a request from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Federal Government has agreed to extend its reporting period for a further three and a half months due to the impact of COVID-19.

The Commission will now deliver its final report by 26 February, 2021.

Scott Morrison hasn’t changed his mind on border closures. He thinks they should be open. It’s just that all of Victoria is self-isolating right now, and that is obviously completely different:

My position on borders hasn’t changed. We need to understand what’s happened here in Victoria.

What we have effectively done is Victoria has self-isolated.

So that creates a protection for all the other states and territories at the one time and it doesn’t leave it to the arbitrary decision of one premier or another premier.

I mean, my view about people moving from New South Wales to Queensland or to South Australia or Western Australia has not changed.

When you have a situation of an outbreak, you contain the outbreak. And that outbreak is presently in Melbourne. And to ensure we don’t get further breaches of that, that outbreak is being contained now at the Victorian border.

And that has always been the approach. Arbitrary decisions about state borders is a separate issue and we’ll continue to maintain our position – that Australia is one country and that response that is needed in relation to outbreaks, well, that will be put in place and that will provide the appropriate protections an that’s what’s being done.

This is about Victoria isolating itself not other states shutting itself office to Victoria. There’s a key difference in that. If the situation escalates.

Scott Morrison is asked whether there needs to be a slowing of people returning to Australia?

The short answer to that is yes and I’ll be taking a proposal to that end to national cabinet on Friday and I have been discussing that with premiers over the last 24 hours.

I had a good discussion with Premier McGowan about the same thing yesterday.

The fact is that New South Wales has been bearing the largest burden of people returning to Australia and they’re people – they’re Queenslanders, they’re Western Australians, they’re Tasmanians and New South Wales has done the heavy lifting on that and foot the bill for it, I should say.

I thought that was one of the – another good example of how the national cabinet was working.

No one was squabbling about money about who was going to pick up the bill for quarantine. (cough NSW police minister David Elliott cough.)

The large states, which were New South Wales and Victoria, accepted that and got on with it. And I commend them for that. Now, in Victoria, we have suspended those flights coming in and that has meant that people have moved on to other flights going into other capitals and we have looked at that and as I said I’ll be taking a proposal to national cabinet to slow that down as of this Friday.

Asked if he is confident the Victorian outbreak can be contained, Scott Morrison says:

Well, there are three rings of containment and the rings of containment has always been part of the government’s national plan together with the states and territories. There are those suburbs specifically where we are seeking – I should say the Victorian government is seeking to ensure that containment measures are there. Then there’s the broader Melbourne metropolitan area including the Mitchell shire and then beyond that there’s the Victorian border. As each of those rings does its job, it puts less pressure on the ring external to it.

The press conference has been held to announce another 6,1000 in home care packages (50,000 home care packages in total at a cost of $3bn) to help people stay at home, rather than move into residential care centres.

Scott Morrison says there are 300 ADF personnel and 800 to 900 federal public servants helping with the health effort in Victoria, with another 350 ADF troops on the NSW-Victoria border.

So it is a very significant commonwealth effort to support what is happening in Victoria right now and we will prevail and we will get on top of it and we will protect the rest of the country because, as I have engaged with other leaders around the world.

They are facing the same challenges, whether in Europe or elsewhere, they are seeing as they’re opening up their economy again and fighting for the jobs of their own citizens just as I’m fighting for the jobs of our citizens, then they find there are outbreaks and there are cases, the one in Melbourne is particularly serious, but on international scale, it is – it is well within the band and so it is not surprising and that’s why we need to continue to apply our focus on our effort and work together as we did in March and in April and in May and in June and so we will do it in July, August, September, October, November, December, and into next year if necessary.

That is what we will do and that’s what we’ll continue to do. So I do reach out to those people - families, young kids, older residents, people working in essential occupations and just reach out to them and say – the nation is with you and we will be with you each and every day because your success is our success.

Our success depends on how well you’re able to get through and so whether it’s the mental health support that needs to go in, whether it’s the housing support that needs to be in place, these are the issues that over the last several days we have been dealing with to ensure that Victoria gets all the support they need. So with those remarks, I hope that addresses, as it should, the very significant issues we’re now facing.

Jim Chalmers responded to Josh Frydenberg’s confirmation the government was looking at bringing forward the flat tax rate, and would be announcing new stimulus measures on 23 July:

This new outbreak and these new restrictions are creating new levels of uncertainty for workers and for businesses, and the Morison Government is only adding to that uncertainty by refusing to release the JobKeeper review. They need to stop leaving businesses and workers in the dark and in the lurch. They need to stop leaving businesses and workers behind during this first recession in three decades. We need the Government to come clean. If they have a plan for JobKeeper, let’s hear it. If they have a plan to bring forward tax cuts, let’s hear that too. They need a plan for jobs in the recovery and that has been absent, a point that the Reserve Bank was making this week as well.

If they want to bring those tax cuts forward then put a plan on the table and Labor will engage with that constructively and responsibly. If they want to bring tax cuts forward, let’s see what they intend to do. Labor has been calling for that to be considered for some time. The working families of middle Australia need help now, not later. The working families of Australia need assistance via JobKeeper, tax cuts, or some other way that doesn’t rely on them having to raid their retirement incomes, with consequences for their quality and standard of living when they finish work.

It’s a two-flag press conference in the prime minister’s courtyard today.

In the meantime, we have also been told there will be national Covid-19 update, with deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth at 3.30pm

Remember the seven-year tax plan that was passed in parliament about 1 million years ago in July last year?

Well, Josh Frydenberg has confirmed that the government is looking at bringing part of that plan forward.

There were three stages to those legislated income tax cuts and, you know, the benefit was very clear.

We’re creating one big tax bracket between $45,000 and $200,000, where people pay a marginal rate of now more than 30c in the dollar, so [we] are looking at that issue and the timing of those tax cuts, because we do want to boost aggregate demand, boost consumption, put more money in people’s pockets and that is one way to do it.

Which is something Labor had called for, last year.

Community sport has suffered considerably in this pandemic

Stephanie Convery has taken a look at the impacts on one of our favourite past times

We should be hearing from the prime minister within the next 30 minutes or so.

It’ll be his first press conference in six days.

Meanwhile, my flatmate’s dog and I are barely talking to each other after some intense close quarter living.

(Only joking, she’s a doll. She’s just sick of me always being up in her space.)

The government finances for May have been published by the parliamentary budget office.

Given the lack of discretion Victorian police will be applying to social distancing fines, you should know what the public health order can and won’t let you do (information is power in these cases)

You’ll find the health department guide here

Ratings agency S&P has weighed in on the economic impact of Victorian Lockdown 2: the Lockdownening.

Unsurprisingly, the agency says it’s bad - but not bad enough to dislodge the state’s AAA credit rating.

S&P also says the economic hammerblow will put more pressure on state treasurer Tim Pallas as Victoria borrows more money to cope with the crisis:

“The new restrictions, along with border closures with other states, will hurt economic activity and delay the state’s recovery relative to other states. We expect weaker revenues, including payroll taxes, stamp duties, and goods and services taxes, and increased support and health expenditures. The negative outlook on our rating on the state reflects that Victoria’s fiscal repair could be delayed, weakening its financial position compared with our forecasts, particularly the state’s fast-rising debt levels.”

State debt will reach 117% of the state’s operating revenue by 2022, up from 65% last year, S&P says.

Unlike the federal government, the state doesn’t have unlimited taxation powers, so it’s technically possible for it to go broke.

However, S&P reckons this is unlikely, as long as the Andrews government “remains committed to fiscal discipline”, because the underlying Victorian economy is still strong.

“We believe the economy remains structurally wealthy and diversified, and strong financial management is ensuring liquidity coverage is comprehensive during this period of disruption,” it said.
“Underpinning the rating is an extremely supportive and predictable institutional framework.”

A little ray of light for some musicians today: federal arts minister Paul Fletcher and minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt have just jointly announced the first outlay of funding for the Indigenous Contemporary Music Program, which is “aimed at increasing development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians and bands.”

The funds are part of the Australian Music Industry Package that the government announced approximately six lifetimes go, in March last year.

The program spreads $2m over four years. This year, $250,000 will go to the Australia Council, $150,000 of which is for grants to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music projects, and $100,000 of which matched funding for the development of the sector more generally.

There’s also specific coronavirus relief in the package: $100,000 will go to the APRA AMCOS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office to provide emergency grants for Indigenous musicians and bands affected by Covid-19.

Another $50,000 is earmarked for MusicNT to hold the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards ceremony online.

“For Indigenous cultures, music and song are central to identity, place and belonging. Writing and performing music are also important expressions of resilience and survival,” Wyatt said.

The testing process is not perfect, which is why we have seen the numbers change, or be reclassified, as the days go on.

Dr Kerry Chant also details the case of a Victorian teenager diagnosed with Covid-19 had been told, before travelling, that his test was negative:

Now, just to be very clear about the circumstances around this child, the child and his family were not from a hot spot at the time of leaving Melbourne.

They also undertook testing before coming to New South Wales and we’re actually advised that the test result was negative.

But subsequently, following their arrival in New South Wales, they were then advised that there had been an error and, in fact, the test result was a positive.

All of the family contact have been in isolation and they’re now isolating in Merimbula.

The only event that the family did outside the family group was visit the Tathra hotel.

Dr Kerry Chant says there were eight new cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in NSW in the last 24 hours.

Seven were in hotel quarantine.

And the eighth?

A woman in her 30s from south-western Sydney, who tested positive for COVID-19. Further investigations are under way to determine the timing of her infection, whether it’s a historical infection or a more recent one and there are... her close contacts, including some health staff at Liverpool Hospital, are in isolation pending the outcome of those investigations.

Gladys Berejiklian then takes aim at businesses which have not been following the rules (there were quite a few photos of shared salt bowls and condiments on social media over the past couple of weeks).

I also want to stress to businesses, not just in those border communities, but especially in those border communities, but also throughout the state, whilst it’s pleasing to see that over 100,000 businesses have downloaded the app on how to be could every why ID-safe, the checklist on how to be Covid-safe, there’s only about 10% of the businesses that have gone through the process of registering.

Now, I’m concerned with the lack of compliance in New South Wales of some hospitality venues, in particular cafes and restaurants, basic things like sharing a salt and pepper shaker, for example. And I get to that level of detail.

But basic things like that are a health risk. And when businesses choose not to adhere to the checklist, it is a risk to everybody, and we will be stepping up, and this is why the minister is here.

And in addition to thanking him for what he and his team have done overnight, he and I are also here to deliver a very strong message of compliance.

We will be stepping up compliance in relation to businesses throughout the state. The onus is on those businesses to make sure they’re Covid-safe but the onus is also on us to make sure we don’t frequent a business that’s not Covid-safe and we certainly raise the alarm if a business is not progressing in a Covid-safe manner.

The NSW premier continues:

I know I’ve already said it in the last minute or two but again – if you live in a border community and you’re a New South Wales resident, please do not travel outside your border community at this time.

If you are a New South Wales resident outside of those border communities, please do not go to those communities unless you absolutely have to.

We are in a high-risk situation and I don’t want to see the good work we’ve done in New South Wales undone and I issue a warning that if the Government has to take further action, we will. I also want to foreshadow that it won’t be anything major but we are considering tweaking some health orders in New South Wales to ensure additional safety in relation to some types of gatherings.

We’ll have more to say about that tomorrow morning, but I want everybody to be on notice that we’re reviewing – given we have so many permits that have been issued.

We have so many people from wrong why and other community borders moving across the border, that level of risk has to be assess the against what we have in New South Wales and whilst we’ve respected the right of those communities to continue, we will continue to assess that, as I said, on a daily basis.

It sounds like there will be more coming, in terms of official health orders, very soon.

Gladys Berejiklian:

The situation in Victoria is extremely serious. I also want to stress that the border closure between New South Wales and Victoria cannot be compared to any other border closure around Australia. No other border has at least 55 places.

No other communities, even though there are some border communities obviously impacted or were impacted with New South Wales and Queensland, New South Wales virtually had zero community transmission on those borders.

We can’t be assured that’s the case with Victoria. So whilst we’ve allowed these permits, whilst we’ve allowed a degree of flexibility until this point, do not assume this will continue.

We are monitoring this situation every few hours because, as I said, we’re assured of the advice we get on this side of the border, the Victorian Government Sunday immense pressure and the contact tracing that are happening on this side of the border we can’t be assured are necessarily happening on the other side of the border.

For that reason, the Government will be considering potentially further action in relation to those border communities.

Gladys Berejiklian:

We can certainly control what happens on our side of the border. We can’t control what’s happening on the other side of the border and I’ve already had advice this morning that at least one person from Wodonga, who has the virus – we’re still awaiting details.

But given the appreciation we have for police and service New South Wales in standing up the permit process that carries with it enormous risk, because when you have communities mixing with each other, crossing a border, it carries enormous risk, so I will stress that the government is considering what further action we take to make sure the bubble, as we call it, of those border communities, is maintained.

So for communities like Wagga and others who have close interaction with people in Albury, I ask you not to visit those border communities from other parts of New South Wales unless you absolutely have to, and similarly, we say to New South Wales residents who live in those communities, do not live outside your border communities unless it’s absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we will need to take further action, which could further compromise your ability to move freely.

Gladys Berejiklian and the NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, held a press conference at the same time as Victoria

It sounds like the border towns may be placed into their own lockdown.

Fuller says he would not recommend Albury residents travelling to other parts of NSW.

What about the interstate front pages mocking Daniel Andrews and the Victorian government?

I’ve got pretty thick skin. I’m focused on doing the job I have to do.

The issue here is... I would focus much more, say, on the support I’m getting from other states rather than anything else, whether that be testing capacity, contact tracers, other support, support from the Commonwealth, support across the board, just as when other states have their time of need, in fire or flood, Victorians are the first to put their hands up, the first to go and put themselves in harm’s way to support and protect others, we’re very grateful to be getting support at our time, during our time of need.

This will pass if all of us take it seriously. We will get to the other side of this 6-week lockdown if we all take this seriously and if we all acknowledge that, whilst it’s not it’s place we wanted to be, whilst it’s not the circumstances we wanted to confront, in is the reality that we face, and we’ve simply got no choice but to push on and to get this job done.

That’s what I’m focused on doing. That’s what every Victorian needs to focus on doing. We’ll have many more announcements to make about support, many more announcements to make in lots of different areas.

Now to the question on every Australian’s mind – can Sam Newman play golf?

Golf essentially made a decision last time that they would very early on not play. They would close courses.

Then, as the stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, as we rolled through all of those different restrictions, it was simply not appropriate to roll that back.

We are - we’ve got a new set of rules in relation to two players, so groups of two - same for fishing, same for a whole range of other activities. It’s also based, on the fact that the Chief Health Officer has the certainty now of having looked at those restrictions in the first wave and knowing that it’s a very low public health risk. Again, it’s not something I’ll be doing. I don’t have time. I’m focused on doing other work.

And you are not limited to local government areas, but you can’t go outside the locked down zone

It can’t be more than two people. You need to be 1.5m apart. You need to do the hand sanitising and other work and again it’s not an invitation to spend every afternoon fishing.

It’s not an invitation to play 36 holes of golf every day. It’s in the context daily exercise because we want people to be able to get fresh air and do those things safely.

The other point to make, of course, is that clubhouses are closed, all of those sorts of things, so it is genuinely outdoor activity. There are many other examples as well that we think are low enough risk that that risk can be managed, but if I got different advice, then the rules would change.

That’s the nature of these things.

So there won’t be a literal ring of steel around the lockdown area – but there will be a literal ring of blue. Which amounts to the same thing.

Commissioner Shane Patton:

Oh, the chances of actually being detected are going to be very significant.

We expect to see a lot less traffic out and about because of these restrictions.

People can only go out and about when they have one of those four legitimate reasons and so the probability of being intercepted, questioned, asked where you’re going and why is very, very high.

When we say there’s not an exact ring of steel, I’ve outlined already we have significant checkpoints, roadblocks, active police patrols, local patrols, specialists.

We’ll use number plate recognition technology so the opportunity for being intercepted and being given infringements if you’re not supposed to be out there are very, very high.

I wouldn’t want to bet against it if I was out there doing the wrong thing, I can tell you.

Daniel Andrews continues on the economy (Josh Frydenberg said today the lockdown would cost the economy $1bn a week).

There’s no doubt that there’s very significant economic damage right throughout this global pandemic.

This virus is causing enormous damage to jobs, to businesses, to profits, to the state budget and, indeed, household budgets. There’s no question about that.

That’s why jobkeeper, jobseeker, the payroll tax refunds that we provided, the business grants we’ve provided, and the next package of support that we will very soon announce, are so, so important.

But it’s also, can I say, an important reminder for all of us, that we have to get past this public health bushfire, and get back into a position where we can start to open up again, and start to repair the very significant economic damage that has been done.

And that won’t be a quick process in any part of the country. It certainly won’t be a quick process here.

But that’s when, you know ... It’s not a matter of the hard work beginning. There’s a lot of hard work going on now. Everyone is doing their absolute best.

They’re working as hard as they possibly can. Do we all need to, as a community, as an economy, as ... all of us, do we have to do even better still? Then the answer is yes. Because there this is not over. It’s not going to be over for along time. There’s no vaccine. There’s no handbook, there’s no getting away from the fact that it is real and that it’s going to be with us for a long time.

Does that mean extended jobkeeper for Victoria?

Daniel Andrews:

I’ll say to you, what I said to the prime minister and what I said to the federal treasurer today.

Clearly there’s going to be greater needs in some parts of Victoria than there will be in other parts of our nation. And I’m reassured that hardship is going to continue to be the main thing that drives all the different tools the federal government is using, just as it always has, just as it has for us also.

I’ll leave announcements – that’s rightly the provenance of the federal government, but I am reassured that there will be further announcements made and hardship will continue to be – so need will continue to be what drives them, and drives us, and clearly there’s going to be more need in some parts of our state than there will be in other parts of our nation.

What about support for Victoria’s economy?

Daniel Andrews:

We will have announcements to make very soon. It’s important that we get that package of support right. And we will. There’s been some discussions - I’ve had a conversation with the prime minister. I had a conversation today with the federal treasurer. I note he’s made a number of comments that I think all Victorians would be very reassured by, that hardship and that real need is going to continue to drive the federal government’s policy response, just as it always has driven ours and will continue to. We’ll make some announcements and we’ll do that in good time.

Daniel Andrews responds to the Victorian opposition’s criticism:

Look, the opposition are not relevant to the work that I’m doing. I would note, though, that they were talking about bipartisanship yesterday.

I don’t know whether those two positions sit very well together but that’s really a matter for them. I haven’t got time for silly political games. I really don’t. We’re focused on what has to be done. That is where our focus should be – on getting things done, not playing silly political games.

Q: People are calling for you to resign. Is that something you’re considering?

Daniel Andrews:

No, I’m not considering that. What I’m not just considering, but delivering, is the response to this pandemic and seeing this through. That’s what’s most important and it’s what I’m going to get done.

He is then asked about community anger about the Black Lives Matter protests and how the hotel quarantine security was carried out, given the calls for social distancing restrictions:

(There has been no evidence, despite repeated questions, that the protests contributed to the outbreak. At the same time as the protests, talk had turned to lifting restrictions even further. Of the four or so people who tested positive to Covid-19 and went to the march, two were diagnosed in the days after and did not contract the virus at the march and had worn masks, so were not thought to have spread it, and two worked in retail and were diagnosed almost two weeks after the march. Authorities said it was impossible to say where they contracted the virus, but it was noted they came into contact with members of the public as part of their job.)

Daniel Andrews:

Well, it’s not a matter of calling for it. This is the law. These are chief health officer directions and the chief commissioner has just given every Victorian to whom those rules apply a very clear understanding of the approach that Victoria police, with the support of the Australian defence force, will take.

We can go back over Black Lives Matter. It shouldn’t have happened. But unless you want Victoria police to literally lock up and arrest 10,000 people, that – I think there’s a range of practical reasons why that just would not have worked.

In relation to other matters, they are the subject of a judicial inquiry, with all the power and formality that comes from that.

And, again, I am accountable – I’ve never ... There’s never been a doubt about that. I am accountable for what happens across our state. That’s what being the leader of the state is all about.

At the same time, that job requires me to make not just the popular calls, but the really difficult, the hard calls, and the ones that have to be made, and that’s where we’re at. If you could ignore this, or pass a law to deal with it, or, you know, wish the thing away, of course you would, if you had different options, and I know there are many different views about what the best public health response would be, but the only option I’ve got is to follow the advice of the chief health officer and get this job done.

And that’s what I’m 100% committed to. That’s what all of my team are working toward and, with the help of Victorians, I know – with great frustration, and no doubt about the difficulty that this will bring to families and businesses and the entire metropolitan community – we’ve got to get this done. And that’s exactly the course that we’re on.

Daniel Andrews says he is confident authorities will finish testing residents in the public housing towers today.

We are very confident that we will be able to complete testing today.

Even though we have dedicated laboratory capacity for these tests, because we know that this is a harder lockdown than other people in Melbourne are having to experience from midnight tonight.

Our orders run for 14 days. Five days was the time that we set ourselves. Whether we can deliver that exactly to the hour, we’ll have to wait and see, but the quicker everyone gets tested, obviously, the quicker we can get those results and then put in place a detailed plan to provide tailored and specific support to those people who test positive, and, indeed, the other challenge, which is, of course, where you, say, have a family where one person or two people may be positive but other people have underlying health challenges or would be vulnerable for one reason or another, we’re going to have to work through that and have a detailed plan for each one of those positive cases.

But testing – they had a very big day yesterday. They are out there right now going door to door and we’re confident that that can be concluded today.

There’ll then be the laboratory time. I again say to every single resident in those towers you will be under these restrictions for not a moment longer than you need to be, for your safety, for your health and welfare, as well as for public health.

Daniel Andrews goes to questions.

He is asked if he thinks Victorians have lost confidence in him:

I think every Victorian knows and understands this is real, serious, it’s not over.

Pretending that it is will simply make a difficult situation into tragic set of circumstances. I think every Victorian knows that. And whilst ... You know, it’s always a balance, you know.

When you see some people that aren’t doing the right thing, then you have to call that out.

It’s not polite in some ways. It might add to the frustration of some. But, you know, we are beyond that. We need to be clear and direct and frank.

And I am not pleased to be in this set of circumstances. I apologise for the inconvenience, the great challenge that many, many Victorian families are going to have to experience over these next six weeks.

It’s not where we wanted to be. But we can’t go back. We can’t change those things that have got us to this point.

We can only respond appropriately and that involves everyone following the rules because they are rules that are there for everyone. Every single family’s safety is enhanced if we all do the right thing.

Victorians are understandably worried – Lisa Neville says the number of calls to the police line set up to answer questions about what can and can’t be done (and snitch) went from 70 to 80 calls a day in May to 810 yesterday.

There will be more than 700 police attached to Operation Sentinel, which means there will be more than 700 police in Victoria focused on upholding the social distancing rules.

Applying no discretion.

The Victorian police minister, Lisa Neville, says police have done 92,215 checks as part of social distance rules so far.

They will be enforcing the lockdown of greater Melbourne from midnight.

Daniel Andrews:

As I said yesterday, we are doing the hard work to look at options to accelerate opening up in regional Victoria for regional Victorians.

That comes with significant economic benefit, for them and therefore the whole state.

That is only possible if we continue to safeguard the very low Covid or Covid-free status of large parts of regional and country Victoria.

To achieve that outcome, then we do have to have a hard border between those 31 metropolitan LGAs and Mitchell shire, and regional Victoria.

Again, no one is pleased to be in that predicament, to having to confront those circumstances, but there is enormous benefit across regional Victoria if we can get that job done.

Victoria police, with support from the ADF – some 264 ADF personnel, will be providing logistical support, practical support to Victoria police.

Obviously, ADF don’t have the same powers as the members of our Victoria police, but they’ll be working together as one team, just as they have all the way through, whether it be in the state control centre, or working side by side with our nurses and public health officials in the mass testing sites, or in the many other roles that ADF – and can I say commonwealth public servants who may not wear a uniform but have been very, very important to us all the way through and certainly in recent times.

Victoria did almost 30,000 tests yesterday – 29,424 tests in one day.

Daniel Andrews:

That takes us to a total of 1,000,867 tests, so we’ve broken through the 1m test barrier, given the tests conducted yesterday.

Can I again thank every single Victorian who has come forward for a test and the many thousands of people who are working to take those tests and to process them?

It makes the point that everyone, a mighty team, a massive team, of people are doing everything they possibly can.

We are all working as hard as we can, doing the very best that we can, and we know that we’re asking a lot of Victorians and we know, of course, that we didn’t want to be in the position that we are in. But that’s the reality that we confront.

This is the challenge that we have to meet and I think that if we all work together over these next six weeks, as painful and frustrating and difficult as that will be, we will be able to get to the other side of this stay-at-home period.

We’ll be able to then recommence our opening up in a cautious way. We’ll be able to repair the damage to the economy that this virus is doing and, along the way, we’ll be able to support those who need that support, whether it be businesses, families, individuals, or indeed communities.

That makes 861 active cases in Victoria.

Forty people are in hospital and seven of those people are in intensive care.

As we reported this morning, borrowers who continue to be in financial distress due to the coronavirus economic crisis might be able to get an extra four-month moratorium on repayments, once the existing six-month one expires.

But statements from the banks this morning indicates the emphasis should be on the word “might”.

ANZ, for example, appears less than keen to further extend loans, saying it will only do so “in some circumstances”.

NAB’s tone is slightly less aggressive – it says it is “encouraging customers who can begin repayments to do so as soon as they can”.

Whether this newly invigorated approach to debt collection can survive the reimposition of stage three lockdowns across the Melbourne metropolitan area, plus the closure of the border between Victoria and NSW, remains to be seen.

Bankers in Sydney who are enjoying a beer in the late winter sunshine might not immediately realise it, but the economic situation in Melbourne is grim, with many businesses that have somehow made their way through the first lockdown expected to fail in the second wave.

The keenness of banks to collect comes despite the prudential regulator allowing them to continue to count loans where they’re getting no payments due to Covid-19 as fully performing.

This benefits the banks because they don’t need to reduce the value of the loans on their books.

“These measures are designed to incentivise ADIs [regulatorese for banks] to continue to support their customers through an extended period of uncertainly, while at the same time facilitating the restructure of eligible loans in a measured and timely manner,” the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chair, Wayne Byres, said this morning.

Yesterday Daniel Andrews confirmed that the police-enforced lockdown of the Melbourne public housing towers would be in place only as long as testing took, with priority placed on results for tests from the residents. After that, the residents will be subject to the same lockdown rules as everyone else, which means they will be able to leave their homes for exercise.

Luke Henriques-Gomes has been talking to those under the extreme lockdown about what they need and wish for:

Here’s the scene at the NSW border town of Albury this morning.

How did Victoria get to where it is?

The latest Full Story podcast charts the spread of Covid-19 in Victoria with Melissa Davey, (and you’ll be able to hear the moment they found out about the Melbourne lockdown while making the episode).

Greg Hunt spoke to Melbourne radio 3AW this morning about Victoria’s Covid-19 position:

Well, you’re right. Seven out of eight states and territories; they’re in a very strong situation.

Victoria has taken a step backwards, there’s just no question about it.

Their hotel quarantine was the main and central problem, we know that there were significant breaches there in Victoria that weren’t present in other in other states and territories.

Secondly, there is no doubt that there was some relaxation from some of the people – the vast majority Victorians have been extraordinary with their distancing but after the protests many people saw a double standard and thought well, if it’s OK for 10,000, surely it’s okay for 10 – understandable, but the problem is that it wasn’t OK for 10,000 people to be huddling together.

And then finally, we had to make sure that the contact tracing – so following up each case – is done, each case, every day, every person.

And they’re the challenges in Victoria, we’re just simply focusing on supporting the people and supporting the government.

So, we’re providing an extra 260 military for the Victorian government, an extra 350 for the border.

And we know we can do this – it’s difficult, it’s hard – we’ve done it as a country once, we have to do it as a state a second time.

Interesting titbit in the treasurer’s press release on the banks extending loan payment deferrals for some customers – the ABA estimates that there are more than 800,000 loans that have been deferred, worth more than $260bn.

Daniel Andrews will hold a press conference at 10.30am.

Guess it is all over for weekends then:

The Morrison Government is continuing to support new technology that will help the uptake of electric vehicles (EV) by Australian motorists.

A new trial led by ActewAGL to support the integration of EV’s in the Australian Capital Territory will receive $2.4 million in grant funding from the Morrison Government through Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

The EVs will be part of the ACT Government fleet and will provide Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The trial will test new vehicle-to-grid technology, which allows EVs to operate like mobile batteries, using and storing electricity but then injecting power to the grid when needed.

The prime minister will be holding a press conference a little later this morning – his first since 2 July.

On ABC News Breakfast, Daniel Andrews was asked about schools returning for term three.

Years 11 and 12 are going back as planned (even in the lockdown areas) for VCE studies. Special school students are also returning as planned.

Everyone else in metro Melbourne is on an extra week’s holiday while the government and health authorities look at the data.

Andrews says there are no decisions being made as yet as to whether or not students will return to on-site learning after the extra holiday days:

No, that’s still being looked at very closely. I would – I certainly can’t rule that out. If I had to call it, that’s probably more likely rather than less likely.

That’s not an easy decision. I got three kids myself. I know and understand how challenging that is. That week – that extra school holidays for metro Melbourne – gives us a little bit more time to work our way through that.

Our eldest son is in year 12. We got them back on Monday and that’s really important in terms of them getting that most important year finish.

Andrews says it is safe to send back the older students:

Because they’re older – sure, it’s 11 and 12, and 10s just for their VCE learning.

The key point is because they’re older, then they can follow rules, they can distance, and that can be much better enforced, if you like. If you think about the littlest kids, they’re not going to distance, that’s just not part of being a seven- or eight-year-old.

That’s the advice of our medical experts. Let’s get the year 12s back so we got one VCE for the country kids as well as city kids. And then we’re going to make those difficult decisions from prep to year 10.

The deputy chief medical officer (well, one of them) was also on ABC Breakfast this morning. He said Melbourne needed to know it was not alone.

Prof Michael Kidd:

I think we’re all on notice, absolutely. But again, it’s really important for the people in Melbourne to know they’re not on their own.

And for all of us to be reaching out to our friends and loved ones in Melbourne as they find themselves in isolation and for the people in Melbourne to be doing what they did so well the first time, looking after each other and neighbours, neighbours who they know may be living on their own. If people do feel anxious or depressed, please reach out to the helplines, Lifeline, Beyond Blue and other mental health services. There are people all around the country who are waiting to assist you.

The deputy chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd spoke to the Nine Network this morning and said authorities were still on top of the Covid-19 situation in Australia:

No, we haven’t lost control and, in fact, what we’ve seen over the last week is a very substantial boost in the number of people involved in both testing people across Melbourne,but also with the various central contact tracing to follow up everybody who has been in contact with someone who is a new infection.

We had over 800 personnel contributed by the commonwealth to assist with that additional contact tracing and testing and we have contact tracers in other states and territories who are assisting. That is a national response to the outbreak we’re seeing in Melbourne.

The Australian Banking Association has confirmed that banks will extend loan payment deferrals for another four months for people who have been financially impacted by the pandemic.

If you deferred your payments for the six months but can restart payments, you are encouraged to do so. But if you can’t, there are options:

Customers with reduced incomes and ongoing financial difficulty due to COVID-19 will be contacted as they approach the end of their deferral period, to ensure that wherever possible they can return to repayments through a restructure or variation to their loan.

If these arrangements are not in place at the end of a six month deferral, customers will be eligible for an extension of their deferral for up to four months. Customers will be expected to work with their bank, during this extra time, to find the best solution for them.

Just a reminder: eventually, the banks will get their money – the interest you should have paid during the deferral time will be added to the back end of your loan.

Daniel Andrews has been on an absolute blitz of the breakfast media programs, both TV and radio.

Most of it was what we have been hearing over the last week.

Although masks were mentioned a couple of times, there are no firm directions yet, but don’t be surprised if masks are recommended in the locked-down Victorian areas, given the amount of community transmission.

The Red Cross blood bank wants to remind people that it is still absolutely crucial to donate blood, if you can, during the pandemic:

Despite Coronavirus, Lifeblood still needs to collect 29,000 donations a week across Australia so patients will continue to receive the blood they need in times of trauma, major surgery, cancer treatment, pregnancy and a host of other situations.

You can give blood, even if under lockdown in Victoria – it falls under the exemptions.

The government services minister, Stuart Robert, has argued that Apple and Google are intruding on the sovereignty of nations like Australia by not giving them more control over the exposure notification system in their contact tracing technology.

In a strange and confusing defence given of the Covidsafe app in an interview on Sky News after his National Press Club address on Tuesday, Robert didn’t say whether the app had identified any close contacts yet (and the Victorian chief health officer, Brett Sutton, indicated today it hadn’t) but argued that it was a success, albeit with small issues.

This is how he explained the ongoing issues with the iPhone version of the app:

The challenge is we’re using the ubiquitous nature of the software and the hardware. So an Apple and a Google phone. So the iOS, internet operating system [sic] of Apple, the native Bluetooth is what we call a moderate effectiveness. So effectiveness is about 50% of the time when it’s locked in the background, speaking to another locked phone in the background, and it varies based on software build, based on handset. So they are the challenges. We’re working with Apple to improve that.

Then when asked whether the government would move to the Google-Apple exposure notification framework that would largely resolve these issues, Robert said Google and Apple have a “moral responsibility to ensure that signal strength is also provided to all sovereign nations who’ve chosen a sovereign app locked in with their public health officials”.

It is unclear what that means but from what I can determine, the government isn’t happy that Apple and Google determine how many times beacons are sent out looking for new contacts (five minutes versus one minute on Covidsafe), and that under the Apple-Google version, if governments do something outside of the app’s agreed use (like continuing to use it after the pandemic, or changing what is tracked) they have the power to switch off that country’s access to the app.

That’s a good thing for users and their privacy, but obviously the federal government isn’t happy with that.

A coalition of mayors – 38 from across the country (minus Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania) have signed an open letter to the prime minister, asking for Covid-19 support to be extended to asylum seekers:

We believe as a matter of principle, people seeking asylum
should have:

• Access to Medicare – During this global pandemic, our world-leading health system must be available to everyone, to protect themselves and those around them.

• Income support for those out of work – Many people seeking asylum have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn. They cannot return home. Therefore the Government should look to ensure they have the support necessary to avoid becoming destitute at this time. This could include enabling people seeking asylum on Bridging Visas to have access to the JobSeeker Payment for the duration of the pandemic, or at the very least, changing the eligibility criteria for SRSS.

• Valid visas – Visa security is necessary not only for people to access vital services but also to ensure that visa status, or the lack thereof, is not a barrier to people seeking COVID-19 testing and treatment. The Government needs to ensure people’s visas are renewed before their expiry and to ensure there are no gaps where people are left destitute.

Without an adequate safety-net in place, it is not possible for people to protect themselves from infection and self-isolate themselves. To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Government needs to ensure basic support to all members of the community facing destitution, as we are all in this together.

This in turn protects the wider community and public health.

The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, was not happy to hear that the Albury mayor has been complaining about how the border closure was being handled in his town. Fuller told the Sydney radio station 2GB:

I think it’s ridiculous to come out day one on such a large border operation and make complaints.

Perhaps he needs to go down and talk to the police who have been working through the night in freezing conditions, protecting the health of the people of NSW.

It’s not a time to be selfish.

Fuller was standing next to NSW police minister, David Elliott, yesterday, when Elliott said it would be the “decent thing” for Victoria to contribute to the cost of NSW’s border closure.

Because once again, we are all in this together.

And for the second time in as many nights, Victorian A-League teams have been unable to get across the border for games.

After failing to get to NSW on Monday night, the three teams tried through Canberra – but changed ACT rules meant they would have to quarantine for 14 days. Fox Sports has that story.

The mayors of Albury and Wodonga have both said there has been a lack of information in the lead-up to the border closures – and as it closed, things didn’t get much better.

But NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, is having none of it.