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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery and Josh Taylor

Scott Morrison backs Warringah candidate amid Liberal revolt – as it happened

Warringah (Organization) ICAC Australia Anthony Albanese Karine Deves Scott Morrison Labor
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, centre, campaigns in Box Hill. He said he backed Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves after Matt Kean called for his endorsement
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, centre, campaigns in Box Hill. He said he backed Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves after NSW treasurer Matt Kean called for her disendorsement. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

And that’s where we’ll leave you on this Easter Saturday, 16 April. Here’s what we learned.

Anthony Albanese has said he will legislate a national anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 if Labor wins the election. The commitment follows Scott Morrison declaring this week he will only revive his government’s heavily criticised integrity commission proposal if Labor and the Senate are prepared to pass it unamended.

Meanwhile, Morrison has refused to disendorse controversial Liberal candidate for Warringah, Katherine Deves, despite intensifying calls from within the party for her to be dumped because of “hurtful and divisive” comments about transgender people. Deves is a “captain’s pick” by Morrison to run against the independent MP, Zali Steggall, in Tony Abbott’s former seat.

The Australian Electoral Commission has warned political parties against distributing “potentially misleading” postal vote applications, amid reports of wrong forms being distributed to voters in one division and the AEC’s purple colour being used on forms in another.

One man has died and another was seriously injured when a light plane crashed in Kununurra, in Western Australia’s remote north, this morning. The crash occurred as the pilot was attempting to land the plane at the East Kimberley Regional Airport. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

Police believe a suspected acid attack in Sydney overnight that left a woman in hospital with injuries to her face and some emergency services personnel requiring first aid was a “targeted attack”.

And at least 35 more people have died as Covid-19 cases remain high across the country.

We’ll be back with more news of the day tomorrow. See you then, and have a lovely Easter break (if you get one)!

Updated

The New South Wales government has sold off $3bn worth of social housing during its decade in power, while failing to meet its own targets for new properties.

New figures released through parliament this week show that since it was first elected in 2011, the Coalition has sold off 4,205 social housing properties across the state.

The sales have added about $3.5bn to the government’s coffers over the same period.

But while the government said all of those funds were used to prove “more, and better” social housing stock, data for new social housing constructions reveal the government has fallen well behind its own targets for new dwellings.

In 2016, the Coalition pledged to build 23,000 new social housing dwellings in the next decade as part of its Future Directions housing strategy. It committed to funding new social housing construction through the $22bn Communities Plus program.

But eight years on, with more than 50,000 people on the social housing wait list in the state, the Communities Plus program has achieved only 10% of that goal.

Read the full story:

A man has died after a light plane crash in WA

A man in his 50s who was the passenger of the plane that crashed this morning in Kununurra, Western Australia, has died.

The man became unresponsive while his evacuation from the scene was being organised, WA police have said this afternoon.

Despite the efforts of emergency personnel he was unable to be revived and died at the scene.

The pilot of the plane, a 29-year-old man, received serious injuries in the crash, including burns, and will be flown to Darwin for further treatment.

The crash occurred as the pilot was attempting to land the plane at the East Kimberley Regional airport. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

The plane was a Beechcraft Baron 58, being used for commercial purposes.

Police will prepare a report for the state coroner. They are appealing to anyone who has information regarding crash, particularly if they saw or heard the plane as it approached the airport, to call Crime Stoppers.

Updated

Campbell Newman’s face is hard to miss. The most conspicuous figure in Queensland politics in a generation – the Liberal National party’s only state premier in more than 25 years – is, as the billboards say, back.

The message to commuters who recognise his mug is simple: “New party, same man.”

The problem for Newman, who is running for the Senate for the Liberal Democrats, is the crowded field of fellow Liberal National party defectors and their various minor parties, mostly vying for the same block of disaffected rightwing voters.

“It’s fascinating, this fragmentation or splintering of the LNP,” says Anne Tiernan, a professor of public policy at Griffith University.

“It introduces a dynamic we haven’t really considered before, and a range of complexities and unknowns to the [Queensland Senate] election.”

The newest entrant to the increasingly crowded field of restless former Liberal Nationals to the Senate race is George Christensen, the darling of the conspiratorial fringe. Christensen will take an unwinnable, but still influential, place on the One Nation ticket behind the party’s founder, Pauline Hanson. Hanson herself shot to prominence after being disendorsed by the Liberals in 1996.

Read the full story here:

On 21 May, Shaun Micallef will be sitting at home watching the news coverage as election results roll in. For the first time in months, he won’t be taking copious notes.

He says:

I won’t be able to not watch it. But I’ll enjoy it more because I know that I don’t have to write about it the next day ... I think I could just watch it as a punter – either with my head in my hands or leaving the room every time something happens.

Micallef’s satirical show Mad As Hell is wrapping up its 14th season on the ABC on Wednesday night, and won’t be back until August. It is a relief to Micallef that the election happens between now and then: in 2016 he had to write two shows when the outcome wasn’t known on election night.

Read the full interview here:

Two groups of backyard astronomers have won top honours in the National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers, reports AAP’s Robyn Wuth.

The contributions of the two amateur astronomy projects have been so significant that both were awarded the 2022 Page Award on Saturday.

The first went to the team called the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search (BOSS) comprising six friends living in Australia and New Zealand who monitor distant galaxies to detect the death throes of massive stars as they explode in brilliant supernovas.

A supernova occurs when a star reaches the end of its life and explodes in a burst of light.

According to NASA, supernovas are “the largest explosion that takes place in space and can outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime”.

They are also the primary source of heavy elements such as carbon and nitrogen needed to create life.

The BOSS team observe the skies from backyards in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast and at a dairy farm near Christchurch, New Zealand, and say they’ve discovered around 200 confirmed supernovas, which they refer to professional astronomers when spotted.

Also taking out the top prize is former mine worker Trevor Barry from Broken Hill.
After a lifetime of mining the earth, he found his passion in the sky, designing and building his own observatory.

Barry found a white spot on Saturn in 2008, which turned out to be a powerful electrical storm with lightning 10,000 times more powerful than that found on earth. The discovery proved invaluable to NASA’s Cassini mission, with Barry joining the elite team tracking the storm.

Barry said:

The CASSINI space craft orbiting Saturn couldn’t image the storm on a day-to-day basis due to its orbit and other priorities. I could.

The storm swirled for seven months, making it the longest-lived storm recorded on Saturn. The discovery inspired Barry, and he continues to provide storm data to NASA and others about Saturn, Jupiter and Mars.

The keen astronomer says he’ll keep watching Saturn for as long as he still draws breath.

I’m waiting for the next big thing to happen because Saturn can be a bit staid. It’s not rambunctious like Jupiter. I’m so honoured by this award. It’s the highest honour that the peak professional body in Australia can bestow on an amateur. It’s humbling to me.

The Astronomical Society of Australia awards the Page Medal every two years in recognition of contributions that have advanced the field of astronomy.

Here are some images from the election campaign today. There was supposed to be a campaigning “truce” over the Easter weekend but ...

Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is seen during a visit to FNQH Cairns Skin Cancer Clinic on Day 6 of the 2022 federal election campaign, in Cairns, Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese during a visit to Cairns Skin Cancer Clinic in far north Queensland on Saturday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits the cattle and alpaca pavilions at the Royal Easter Show on Saturday.
Prime minister Scott Morrison visits the cattle and alpaca pavilions at the Royal Easter Show on Saturday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Tasmania records 1,334 new Covid-19 cases

There are 48 people with Covid-19 in hospital in the state, with one person in ICU. No deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours.

Updated

Northern Territory records 391 new Covid-19 cases

There are 28 people in hospital with Covid-19 in the territory, but none of them are in intensive care. There were no deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.

Updated

National Covid-19 update

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 35 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 856
  • In hospital: 60 (with 2 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 18
  • Cases: 13,601
  • In hospital: 1,491 (with 72 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 391
  • In hospital: 28 (with 0 people in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 5,878
  • In hospital: 538 (with 22 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 3,749
  • In hospital: 223 (with 8 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,334
  • In hospital: 48 (with 1 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 8
  • Cases: 9,559
  • In hospital: 408 (with 21 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 7
  • Cases: 6,314
  • In hospital: 205 (with 8 people in ICU)

Updated

Queensland records one Covid-19 death and 5,878 new cases

There are 538 people in hospital with Covid-19 in the state, with 22 people in intensive care.

WA police have shared some further information about the light plane crash in Kununurra, in the state’s remote north, this morning.

About 8.40am, a member of the public who was fishing at Bandicoot Point, Kununurra, called police and reported what they believed was a plane crash, with the plane coming down between the river and the airport.

Shortly after, further information was received that indicated the plane was on fire. Police, St John Ambulance and DFES were deployed to the scene.

Upon arrival at the scene, emergency services confirmed the pilot and passenger both survived the crash, however both were injured.

Police and emergency services personnel are now working to treat the injured people and evacuate them by helicopter from the crash scene.

At the time of writing, the plan was to fly them to the airport, where further ambulances would be waiting to transport them to Kununurra Hospital.

Morrison has taken his family along to the Show today too.

I quite like this photo for the way it shows how intensely and inescapably media-oriented every moment is in an election campaign.

First up, allow me to bring to you ... Scott Morrison walking a cow.

(He’s at the Easter Show. Campaigning.)

Updated

Thank you to the lovely Josh Taylor for helming the blog so far today. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon.

And with that, I will hand you back to Stephanie Convery for the remainder of the news day.

Two people have been injured in a light plane crash in Western Australia’s remote north, AAP reports.

A fisherman reported what he believed to be a crash landing between the Ord River and East Kimberley Regional Airport at Kununurra shortly after 8.30am on Saturday.

Police say they received information soon after that the plane was on fire.

However, officers and ambulance personnel were able to quickly confirm that both the pilot and a passenger were injured but had survived.

The pair were being treated at the scene, with plans to take them by helicopter to the airport and then by ambulance to Kununurra Hospital.

AEC writes to parties over postal vote application forms

The AEC commissioner, Tom Rogers, has written to political parties and candidates about the distribution of postal vote applications, saying despite the practice being legal, “it is potentially misleading and we’re concerned”.

Political parties sent out forms to voters where they can register with the AEC to vote via mail. However the forms are sent back via the political parties, and can be used to harvest personal information about those voters to target later.

This year Labor has set up howtovote.org.au and the Liberals have set up postal.vote with very little party signage to target voters.

The AEC has urged people who need to postal vote to only apply directly to the AEC.

Rogers said the commission is concerned:

There is a multitude of issues we’re seeing and it’s the number one complaint we’re receiving from Australians with thousands of pieces of correspondence received across social media and more traditional complaint channels in just days.

He said most people will not need postal votes, so there is no need for parties to send so many out. He also said wrong forms have been distributed, and some forms used the colour purple, which could potentially be confused with the AEC colour.

People have a right to know what they’re doing with their personal data. The AEC takes privacy seriously and operates under the Privacy Act, political parties don’t have to.

While we haven’t seen unauthorised postal vote applications, the use of colour and wording means someone who doesn’t examine the material in detail could mistake it for a piece of AEC communication.

Political parties send postal vote applications to residents every election but the increased variation of channels and wording this election, combined with the environment, is of concern.

Our message couldn’t be clearer - vote in person if you can, apply for a postal vote through us if you need one.

Updated

Chris Bowen tests positive for Covid-19

Labor shadow minister Chris Bowen is out for a week of the campaign after testing positive for Covid-19.

Updated

Independent MP Helen Haines weighs in on the federal Icac debate.

Now we have a bit of breathing room from the press conferences, let’s circle back to the PM being asked about WA senator Ben Small resigning yesterday after realising he was eligible for NZ citizenship via his father, who is a permanent resident in Australia.

The PM said he wasn’t expecting more to follow but said:

These are often technical issues, and the issues regarding former Senator Small was dealt with very efficiently – it was identified and we have addressed it and that means that as we go into this election, it can be fully remedied. So the Western Australian division has looked at those issues and I think they have handled at in the way it should be handled.

The interesting thing here is if you go back to the register that was set up after the section 44 eligibility dramas that plagued the last parliament, Small lists clearly his father as a permanent resident who was born in New Zealand. That document was uploaded in December 2020 when he was elected to the Senate via casual vacancy.

He made the declaration at the time – and continues to maintain he did not know he was eligible for NZ citizenship, but it seems no one outside of the parliament (including media) checked the file and asked questions about it in over a year.

It’s handy timing for the Liberals that they’ve perhaps gone back and checked through all their candidates as part of the federal election process now, and realised he had to resign so he could run again now.

Updated

I’ll pass you back to Josh Taylor now!

A “game” stacked against success from the very start is how rural doctors have described trying to launch a medical career in the bush.

Dr Russell Hooper is a general practitioner registrar working in Tamworth, New South Wales. The son of beef and barley farmers from nearby Somerton, he says rural school students often aren’t as aware of the pathways to practising medicine as those in the city, nor are they offered the same opportunities to prepare.

“If you’re a student in a rural school, you won’t have any idea about the Undergraduate Medical Admission Test (Umat), for example,” says Hooper.

“It’s like a game, and rural kids don’t know the rules.”

Read the full story from Tom Plevey here:

Western Australia records seven new Covid-19 deaths and 6,314 new cases

The seven deaths reported today are historical, and were reported to WA Health yesterday.

There are 205 people with Covid-19 in hospital in the state, with eight in intensive care.

Updated

South Australia records one Covid-19 death with 223 people in hospital

There are eight people in intensive care in SA, with one on a ventilator.

The state recorded 3,749 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours.

ACT reports 856 new Covid-19 cases, no deaths

There are two Covid patients in intensive care in the territory, with one on a ventilator. 60 people are in hospital with the virus.

Hello. Stephanie Convery with you for a little while.

NSW police have said in a press conference earlier this morning in Sydney that they believe a suspected acid attack in the city overnight was a “targeted attack”.

Detective Acting Inspector Sean West told media today that some police attending the incident received minor injuries:

A significant police investigation is underway, and we are calling for assistance from the public. We believe at this stage it is a targeted attack. This is completely unacceptable ... we do not know exactly what the acid is at this stage, other than it is acidic. I would like to acknowledge the response by the police and fire brigade in relation to that, some of the police also had some minor injuries, which required some first-aid treatment.

Updated

With that, I will hand you over to Stephanie Convery while I have a break.

Albanese is asked whether he backs the NSW Icac. He says:

I think it is good that the Icac has held corrupt politicians to account, regardless of where they have come from.

And then asked about his comments to the Daily Telegraph where he said he is “not woke”, and whether he would disendorse any Labor candidate who made transphobic comments, Albanese replies:

We support every human being and respect every human being, and as part of that in that interview, I said I respect every human being for who they are.

Updated

Asked about the Herald Sun front page with unnamed Labor sources complaining about how the campaign has been run so far, shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says Labor is match-fit for the next five weeks.

We are up for the challenge of getting this country a better future under Labor, and providing the kind of alternative that people are proud to vote for. In that we have been putting in the work for years now on alternatives, whether it is a national anti-corruption commission, getting real wages growing, having the Australian company had in the right way ...

I read the papers like you, and it is not my experience of this campaign. My experience is that all about Australia, there is an appetite for something better than this current government.

People are hurting because their wages are not keeping up with the cost of living. That is what people are focused on and that is what the Labor party is focused on.

The choice is clear, they can have a better future under Labor, or they can have another three years of chaos, corruption, and incompetence that we have seen over the last 10 years. That is the choice people are focused on, no matter what the commentaries from day to day, that is what we are maintaining the focus on.

Updated

Albanese also confirmed that if elected, Labor would introduce its own religious freedom bill into parliament.

He also says defence spending will be above 2% of GDP – but it’s not just about how much is spent, but what it is spent on.

The government has spent $5.5bn that hasn’t produced anything in terms of subs. That is not a good use of spending. That is not something they deserve credit for, that is something that has cost every Australian taxpayer an enormous amount.

Going forward we have said as well there will be a Defence force posture review. There hasn’t been one for a decade, since Labor was last in office, and the one before then was when Kim Beazley did one when he was defence minister. So what that will look at, and this is particularly relevant for the north here, that is so important.

Updated

What would Albanese do if a Labor minister was accused or was fronting an integrity commission? Would he stand them aside? Albanese says it would be assessed case by case.

Well what you would do is to make assessments at the time. If they are just there as a witness or assisting, obviously not, but ...

What an anti-corruption commission does around the country is it provides investigations and then there are charges laid. If there are any charges laid against anyone, then of course they should stand aside.

He says there would be scope for public hearings, and it would be up to the body to decide when those public hearings would be held. On whether it would be retrospective, it would also be a matter for the body but he says he would imagine there would be a “range of issues” the body would want to look at.

That’s the difference between the models. [The Coalition] model that they have got up as a so-called integrity commission ... would be controlled effectively by the government. It will determine what it looks at. We want an independent commission that acts independently.

Updated

Asked about whether the prime minister should disendorse Liberal Warringah candidate Katherine Deves over her anti-trans comments, he says it is a matter for the Liberal party, but if he was Morrison he would not have picked her in the first place.

The New South Wales branch is tearing itself apart. This has been a civil war that has been going on for over a year now and what is extraordinary is that Katherine Deves has been hand-picked by the prime minister.

She was the prime minister’s own choice. The prime minister earlier this week said that he shared Katherine Deves’ values in endorsing her yet again ... There is a revolt amongst Liberal party members in electorates like Hughes, there is a range of candidates have been imposed from outside and Scott Morrison’s judgement.

I saw the press conference that he just held, where he refuses to accept responsibility once again. He is always looking to blame someone else. It is very clear that this selection of this candidate is not just dividing the country, it is dividing the Liberal party.

Asked about how this compares to comments made by Labor’s Hunter candidate, Daniel Repacholi, in the past, Albanese says those comments were many years ago, whereas Deves is more recent.

In his 20s! These are comments that were made a very, very long time ago. A very long time ago. This candidate in Warringah, this has been her main political approach has been on these issues, as opposed to Mr Repacholi, who quite frankly, his main approach in his 20s was winning medals.

Updated

Albanese then turns to the Labor announcement of an integrity commission by Christmas.

He runs off a list of issues faced by the government including $30m for the Leppington Triangle land and $444m given to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation after just a half-hour meeting with the government.

It is very clear that not only has Scott Morrison failed to legislate – for one, not only has he failed to introduce legislation, he is now saying somehow, once again, in perhaps the greatest underlining element of Scott Morrison’s characteristic of always looking to blame someone else, somehow it is the Labor party’s fault that he hasn’t introduced legislation into a national anti-corruption commission.

It fails the laugh test, but it also fails the integrity test, and Scott Morrison’s government fails the integrity test. If we want action on climate change people need to elect a Labor government. If you want to end the climate wars, people need to elect a Labor government. If we [want an] integrity commission, people need to elect a Labor government.

Updated

Anthony Albanese press conference

Now the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is holding a press conference in Cairns.

He says the Great Barrier Reef is one of the great wonders of the world, and it needs to be protected by acting on climate change.

He says if you want to end the climate wars, you need to vote for the party that has a policy, and will commit to it. He says there are still sceptics in the Coalition.

We know that there are still sceptics in the Coalition that don’t even believe that climate change is real, even though we know the natural disasters, floods, fires, cyclones are all not just anticipated to be more more and more extreme – that is what has been happening in the last few years.

If you want action on climate change, and you want to end the climate wars, then people need to vote for the party that has a policy in Australia.

Updated

On the eight Victorian Covid deaths, they were aged in their 30s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Of these deaths, five occurred in the past week, one death occurred in early April and two deaths occurred in February and March.

Updated

Of the 18 Covid-19 deaths reported in NSW today, two people were aged in their 50s, three people were aged in their 70s, eight people were aged in their 80s, and five people were aged in their 90s.

Of the 16 people who died over the age of 65, eight people had received three doses of a Covid vaccine, three people had received two doses, one person had received one dose, and four people were not vaccinated.

Of the two people who died in their 50s, one person had received three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine and one person was unvaccinated. Both had underlying health conditions.

Four people were from western Sydney, four people were from Sydney’s north, three people were from Sydney’s north-west, two people were from the Wollongong area, one person was from the Hunter region, one person was from Sydney’s northern beaches, one person was from Sydney’s inner west, one person was from Sydney’s south and one person was from the Central Coast.

Updated

Morrison was asked about the sheer volume of grants programs dishing out millions to Coalition and marginal electorates. He says grants program are how the government supports communities.

The public does not elect public servants. They elect representatives. Members of parliament, senators – and we are accountable for what we invest in ... and I believe the investments we have made in community infrastructure, transport infrastructure, supporting manufacturing businesses to get new technologies to employ more Australians, the support we have put into many grants programs, is how we made the economy strong ...

We believe passionately in the role of community organisations as Liberals and nationals. We don’t leave everything to the market or think the government has to do everything.

What we think is that communities and individuals in communities who take responsibility for their communities through their not-for-profit organisations, through the local sporting clubs, we think they should be supported. We think they should be backed in – so I am really pleased that my government has, and we’re going to keep doing it.

Updated

Turning to a federal anti-corruption commission, Morrison says the Coalition’s existing anti-corruption commission proposal is the one being taken to the election, and then claims Labor’s proposal is just two pages and lacking in detail.

As I said, you know I’m very critical of some of the Icacs, particularly in New South Wales, which tended to focus on trying to ruin one of the best premiers we’ve seen in our state, who came through and led Australia in New South Wales through that pandemic, and she got run off the rails by a campaign against her, focusing on her who boyfriend was. I don’t think that’s what we need.

I think what we need is a proper integrity commission that is driven by the processes of the rule of law, that doesn’t seek to judge people before they are able to have their matters properly considered, and that is a sensible policy we put forward.

That is our policy going forward, and I think it sits in stark contrast – I mean, if Anthony Albanese says he is going to introduce legislation, well, what is it? I know what my legislation is. I have no idea what his legislation is because he has had three years to develop it and he doesn’t even have a private member’s bill. He just doesn’t do the work. He just doesn’t do the work.

Updated

Asked whether Deves would be disendorsed if she had not been a “captain’s pick”, Morrison repeats his previous comments.

What I’m saying is that where you are going into public life, which Katherine is seeking to do, a strong woman standing up for things she believes in, for women and girls in sport which is a sensitive issue in so many communities, but it has to be done respectfully, out of the respect for human dignity of every individual – and I’m sure they are lessons she has learned.

I’m not joining that pile-on ... I suspect they don’t like the things she is talking about when it comes to women and girls in sport.

Asked about the trans community who are offended by her comments, Morrison says Deves has acknowledged she was insensitive.

Well, she has acknowledged that she has been insensitive and she has done that and that is the right way to respect the trans community and I don’t share those sentiments either.

But what I do know is that in life, people learn things along the way and as they learn thing along the way, they learn how to be a better member of parliament and what is a more respectful way to prosecute the cases that they seek to do in public life.

The way she is seeking to deal with that as she puts herself forward as a candidate – I think it’s important and I think it’s quite honest.

Updated

PM backs Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, says he agrees with Tony Abbott

Morrison is asked about NSW treasurer, Matt Kean, calling for Warringah candidate Katherine Deves to be disendorsed over anti-trans comments in the past.

He says he won’t be “joining the pile-on” and backs Tony Abbott’s endorsement of her.

I think as we look at these issues and the debates which [are] sensitive debates, they can be controversial debates, it is always important to show respect for the person sitting across the table from you.

We may not always agree, but when we disagree, it is important that we disagree better. And so I think the comments that Katherine has made obviously were insensitive and she has admitted that, just as we’ve got Labor candidates who similarly have said things in the past which are insensitive, and even the Labor leader themselves said if that’s the case, then no one would be running for parliament – they are not my words.

He says Deves is “very passionate” about the cause but she has learned from the experience and has expressed comments in the past that “she no longer feels comfortable with”.

Katherine is raising three girls with her partner in Manly. Katherine went to university, got herself a degree. She worked in the organic wine industry. Then she put herself through the solicitors’ administration board course and got herself a law degree, and she wants to stand up for the causes she believes strongly in, and principally what she has been talking about is this very sensitive [issue], but an issue that I know is spoken about right across the community, of ensuring fairness in sport and standing up for women and girls in sport.

Now, I don’t share Matt’s view. I share Tony Abbott’s view.

I’m not joining that pile-on and she has learned from her experiences ... she has sought to deal with the issues in the past, and I have no doubt she will pursue these issues in a more sensitive way.

Updated

Scott Morrison press conference

Despite an Easter truce for campaigning over the long weekend, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, is holding a press conference in Melbourne.

He is framing the election as a choice between “a government that has demonstrated its abilities and to manage our economy in some of the most difficult times we’ve seen since the Great Depression” and “a Labor party that Australians know can’t manage money, a Labor party that doesn’t understand the economy, and a Labor party who people just don’t know and a Labor leader that people just don’t know”.

Campaigns can be tough, they can be very tough and people will make stumbles, but I can assure you that running a campaign is one thing; running a country – governing – it is a lot, lot harder. It is a hard job and the consequences of not being able to do that well outstrip anything you see in a campaign.

Updated

The Greens have responded to Labor’s proposal to bring in a federal anti-corruption body by Christmas if elected, stating they would fast track it through the Senate if the body is strong and effective.

Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Larissa Waters said:

The Greens have been pushing for a national corruption watchdog for 13 years, so we welcome that Labor have said they would prioritise this in the next term of government.

My national integrity commission bill passed the Senate in 2019 and would establish a strong, independent body that could hold public hearings, act on anonymous tip-offs and has retrospective powers.

Labor voted for that strong model and the Greens would be looking for those features in any future bill for an Icac. Only the Coalition in the Senate opposed my bill, then refused to bring it on for debate and vote in the House because they were scared my strong model would work to clean up politics.

If a future Labor government brings legislation for a strong and effective Icac to parliament the Greens will work with them to fast track it through the Senate.

Or they could just bring my bill on for a vote in the first week back of parliament and we could have an effective corruption watchdog pronto, like the Australian people want.

The Greens model has been independently assessed as the gold standard, but we know the Australian people are crying out for accountability and integrity in politics, and we will fast track any legislation that delivers that.

Updated

White chocolate as your preference is ... a choice.

Updated

A supreme court judge has been appointed to head a special inquiry into a series of brutal gay and transgender hate crimes committed in Sydney over 50 years, AAP reports.

The commission of inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, headed by Justice John Sackar, will investigate the suspected hate crimes against 88 men between 1970 and 2010.

Some 23 of the cases remain unsolved.

These unsolved deaths have left loving families without answers for too long,” NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said.

“This inquiry ... will work to close a dark chapter of our state’s history that has left an indelible mark.”

The inquiry will explore the “manner and cause of death in all unsolved suspected hate crime deaths” in NSW between 1970 and 2010.

The commission of inquiry was the key recommendation of a bipartisan upper house committee report tabled in May 2021.

The social issues committee inquiry, which began in 2018, heard months of testimony from victims, their families and legal representatives. The parliamentary committee found NSW police had historically failed in its responsibility to investigate cases properly.

The committee stopped short of recommending NSW police issue a public apology but it noted acknowledgement by those who failed to protect and deliver justice for LGBTQI people was necessary for healing.

NSW’s leading LGBTQ health organisation, ACON, said the inquiry would be critical to ensure it could never happen again.

“This epidemic of violence, along with the slow and inadequate responses to many of these crimes, has left a painful legacy for the loved ones of victims, survivors, their families, and the broader community,” ACON chief executive Nicolas Parkhill said.

“It will need to uncover where there have been systematic failures and wrongdoing, particularly in law enforcement systems and justice agencies.”

Sackar will have the power to hold hearings, summon witnesses and inspect documents.

The inquiry will examine unsolved cases, including that of Wollongong television newsreader Ross Warren and barman John Russell.

Warren, 25, disappeared after a night out drinking with friends in July 1989. His body was never found, but his keys were found at the bottom of cliffs at Tamarama beach in Sydney’s east.

Four months later, Russell’s body was found in the same spot after a night out with friends.

The final report will be delivered in June 2023.

Updated

Here’s our full story on the Liberal party split over Warringah candidate Katherine Deves.

Updated

Good Moon facts from BOM.

If you want to see where the money is going this election, my colleagues Sarah Martin and Nick Evershed are keeping track.

“The prime minister has been in trouble for so long I’d almost forgotten the Scott Morrison that surfaced this week – the Morrison that barnstorms around the country with impeccable message discipline,” writes Katharine Murphy. “But in true Easter spirit, Campaign Morrison rose from the dead, locked and loaded for his next big May miracle. Anthony Albanese, not so much.”

Updated

NSW reports 18 Covid-19 deaths

New South Wales has reported 18 additional Covid-19 deaths today.

There are 1,491 people in hospital, including 72 in intensive care. There were 13,601 new Covid-19 cases reported.

Updated

Here’s where the leaders are this morning.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is in Melbourne.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is in far north Queensland.

Victoria reports eight Covid-19 deaths

Victoria has recorded eight additional Covid-19 deaths overnight, with 408 people in hospital, 21 in the ICU and eight ventilated.

There were 9,559 new cases recorded.

NSW treasurer says Liberal Warringah candidate Katherine Deves should be disendorsed over 'horrendous' trans views

The New South Wales Liberal treasurer, Matt Kean, has called for Katherine Deves – the Liberal candidate for the seat of Warringah – to be disendorsed, calling her views on trans issues “horrendous”.

In an attack on Deves – the candidate handpicked by prime minister Scott Morrison to take on Zali Steggall in the seat on Sydney’s northern beaches – Kean tweeted that “there is no place in a mainstream political party for bigotry”.

“Coming out as Trans would be hugely challenging, especially for kids, and political leaders should be condemning the persecution of people based on their gender, not participating in it.”

Confirming his call for Deves to be disendorsed, Kean told the Guardian “This is not the 1950s.

“This is not an intolerant society. These kinds of horrendous views are not OK, and I’m sure the voters of Warringah agree. Time for the Liberal party to beat them to it and disendorse her.”

Deves has come under criticism in the past week for her views on trans issues, which included revelations she previously compared her anti-trans activism to standing up against the Holocaust during a YouTube panel.

Updated

My colleague Ben Smee has had a look at the lay of the land in Queensland this election, and what George Christensen’s switch from the LNP to One Nation means for the state.

A freight train has collided with a ute in regional South Australia, leaving the driver badly injured, AAP reports.

An SA Police spokeswoman confirmed the ute driver was badly injured in the accident at Winninowie, south of Port Augusta at about 12.30pm on Friday.

The driver of the freight train was not injured and was speaking with police on Friday afternoon after the collision, which occurred not far from the Augusta Highway.

A witness to the crash said the vehicle was dragged at least 800 metres by the freight train, which was on its way to Perth, News Corp reported.

Emergency services are at the scene about four hours from Adelaide, with major crash unit investigators travelling there on Friday evening.

Motorists have been urged to take care in the area, and are advised emergency services on the highway may cause delays.

It is the second collision between a car and a train in as many days, after a driver veered off the road in Melbourne after suffering a suspected medical episode on Thursday.

Emergency services were called to the train tracks in Meadow Heights after the driver drove onto the tracks moments before a train arrived.

The passenger was able to get out of the car before the driver was assisted out by passers-by, shortly before an incoming train hit the vehicle, Victoria Police said.

“A city bound train arrived a short time later and was unable to stop before hitting the car,” Victoria Police said.

“Fortunately no one was injured.”

Just circling back to the Jason Clare interview briefly. He was asked about Anthony Albanese’s election week and the Monday unemployment rate error.

He says people want a leader who owns their mistakes.

What Australia saw this week was an honest leader. I think Australians are craving that after years and years of having the leader of this country that refuses to take responsibility for anything. I saw a big difference this week.

The other side of politics this week, remember the revelation that half a million bucks of taxpayers’ money has been paid to a formal Liberal staffer because of something that Scott Morrison’s education minister did wrong. Scott Morrison’s response to that was, “It is not my responsibility to know about this.”

Alan Tudge is hiding at the moment hoping he can get back into cabinet at the end. This is not good enough.

You have the Labor party saying if you make a mistake, you are honest, you own it, you take responsibility for it. I think that is what Australians want.

He says people are less concerned about “pop quizzes” between politicians and journos, and highlights the issues the Liberal campaign has faced this week.

Have a look at the week of Scott Morrison. Covering up half a million dollars paid out to a Liberal staffer because a minister did something wrong. Abandoning a long held promise to set up an anti-corruption commission. Not just that. He had a senator who had to resign for having dual citizenship and today you have the New South Wales Liberal treasurer saying the Liberal candidate for Warringah should be disendorsed because she is a bigot.

Updated

Matt Kean reportedly urges disendorsement of Warringah candidate

The NSW treasurer, Matt Kean, last night told News.com.au the Liberals should disendorse Warringah candidate Katherine Deves over anti-trans comments that have surfaced over the past week.

Updated

Labor confirmed anti-corruption watchdog would have retrospective powers

Labor shadow minister Jason Clare is on ABC Weekend Breakfast. He says Labor’s proposed federal anti-corruption commission would hold full public hearings.

I think most Australians would think if a royal commission can hold public hearings, so should an anti-corrupt commission investigating politicians. It also needs to be able to commence its own investigations.

Under the model Scott Morrison was proposing it can only commence an investigation if it is ticked off by cabinet. That is something you would expect in an authoritarian regime overseas.

If you don’t think corruption is real in Canberra, you aren’t looking for it. There is plenty of evidence for it. Look at Scott Morrison’s bench. More smoking guns on his frontbench than you would find in a Clint Eastwood movie.

The point is, Scott Morrison does not want a real watchdog with teeth, which is why he abandoned it this week.

Clare confirmed Labor’s proposed anti-corruption body would have the power to investigate cases retrospectively – meaning the current government could be in its sights.

Absolutely and so it should. Think about all the scandals we have seen from this government, the reporting of $100m of taxpayers money with sports awards, the allocation of money for car parks at railway stations that don’t exist. It needs to have the ability to go back and look at the rorting of taxpayers’ money by this government.

That is what other corruption commissions can do and that is what Scott Morrison is worried about. It is why he doesn’t want it to happen. There is a difference between the two parties when it comes to weeding out corruption in Canberra. Scott Morrison doesn’t want that to happen. We do. If something is rotten, put it in the bin. This government is rotten to the core.

He says he would not be concerned if the body investigated Labor.

It needs to look across the board. I am not afraid of that. The best commissions look at whether it is Labor or Liberal. People who are watching this one trust and integrity brought back into politics. We have these commissions across the state. They have helped to prevent corruption and weed it out ... regardless of where or who the politicians are.

Updated

A new Covid-19 subvariant has been detected in Victorian wastewater as more than 46,000 new cases were reported across the country, AAP reports.

Victorian health authorities are monitoring the new BA.4 or BA.5 Omicron variant after samples were confirmed in a Tullamarine catchment, north of Melbourne.

The subvariant has been recently detected in a small number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Denmark, the UK and Germany.

The World Health Organisation says there are currently no known significant epidemiological differences between the new Omicron strain and the more dominant BA.2 strain.

“There is no cause for alarm with the emergence of the new sub-variants,” WHO regional director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said this week in a statement.

“We are not yet observing a major spike in cases, hospitalisations or deaths.”

Updated

As we mentioned...

Hello and welcome to the Australia news live blog for Saturday. I’m Josh Taylor and I will be taking you through the news this morning.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has promised to legislate a national anti-corruption commission by the end of the year if a Labor government is elected, saying it is a “first priority”.

Scott Morrison promised at the 2019 election to establish a national integrity commission but did not subsequently introduce legislation to parliament. The prime minister this week claimed the Liberals’ model did not have enough support to pass parliament, adding that he would not introduce a so-called “kangaroo court”.

Albanese says Morrison has “delayed and obfuscated for over three years” on the issue.

The prime minister, meanwhile, is under pressure over the Liberal candidate for Warringah, Katherine Deves.

Deves previously compared her anti-trans activism to standing up against the Holocaust during a YouTube panel and described Wear it Purple Day – which is billed as an event celebrating diversity – as a “grooming tactic” promoting “extreme body modification” on her now-deleted website.

While former prime minister and previous Warringah MP voiced his support for Deves late yesterday NSW treasurer Matt Kean said “there is no place in a mainstream political party for bigotry”.

Yesterday One Nation dumped Brisbane candidate Rebecca Lloyd after reports websites linked to her did not have the required political party or candidate disclosures.

Liberal senator Ben Small also resigned after being told he was eligible for a dual citizenship with New Zealand – he will contest the upcoming federal election.

We will also have all the latest Covid news after a new Covid subvariant was detected in Victorian wastewater yesterday and more than 46,000 new cases were reported across the country.

We will also keep an eye on the situation at Australia’s major airports.

Let’s get into it.

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