What we learned today, Saturday 2 April
We will leave our live coverage here for today. This is what happened:
- Australia and India signed an interim trade deal, which will cut tariffs on 85% of Australian exports to India and duties on 96% of Indian exports to Australia.
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said signing a deal with India, which is still talking to Russia, was not a betrayal of Ukraine.
- Dr Ian Fry from the Australian National University has been named the UN special rapporteur for human rights and climate change.
- Australia reported 25 deaths of people with Covid-19.
- Queensland called on the federal government to commit to flood recovery and rebuilding funding before calling the election, lest the funds get caught up in caretaker mode.
- A special committee of the federal Liberal party has selected nine candidates, despite an active legal challenge about the validity of its previous actions.
- And a combination of king tides and strong winds has battered beaches on Sydney and the NSW Central Coast.
I’ll leave you on the reminder that daylight savings ends tomorrow, so if you wake up cranky it’s because you lost an hour overnight.
That’s all from us. We’ll see you tomorrow.
Updated
A bit of an update on the weather, with a kernel of good news: Sydney police called off the search for a missing sailor after it was revealed that the yacht capsized at Bronte beach had been ripped from the dock with no one on board.
Via AAP:
Huge swells have lashed Sydney, swallowing beaches under tide waters and ripping boats from their moorings inside the harbour.
Bondi and Clovelly beaches were flooded over and waves battered the walls of the beachside Coogee surf club on Saturday morning.
Inside the harbour near the Manly ferry wharf, boats had been ripped from their moorings, with some vessels washed up on the nearby beach.
A sailing vessel was spotted capsized at Bronte beach with emergency services launching a search for potentially missing crew.
But the search was cancelled after the boat’s owner came forward to say it had been ripped from its dock south at Gordons Bay due to the heavy seas.
The Bureau of Meteorology has a hazardous surf warning in place for the NSW coast as winds calmed in Sydney after a night of huge gusts, including one at 74 km/h inside Sydney Harbour.
Across NSW, State Emergency Service crews performed six flood rescues in the 24 hours up to 5am Saturday, with the agency also receiving 468 calls for help over that period.
Updated
The prime minister’s office has released a statement with some of the details of the trade agreement. Most of this was covered in Daniel Hurst’s story, which you can read here, but just to quickly recap:
- Tariffs will be removed for 85% ($12.6bn worth) of Australian export goods to India, rising to 91% ($13.4bn) over 10 years.
- 96% of Indian goods exported to Australia will be duty-free on entry.
- Tariffs of 30% on sheep meat and 2.5% on wool will be eliminated on the trade deal’s entry into force.
- Tariffs on wine with a minimum import price of US$5 per bottle will be reduced from 150% to 100% on entry into force, and to 50% over 10 years. For bottles with a minimum import price of US$15, tariffs will be reduced from 150% to 75% then 25% over 10 years.
- Tariffs of up to 30% on avocados, onions, broad, kidney and adzuki beans, cherries, shelled pistachios, macadamias, cashews in-shell, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and currants will be eliminated over seven years.
- Tariffs on coal, alumina, metallic ores including manganese, copper and nickel, and titanium and zirconium, will also be removed.
Updated
Morrison calls Modi “my dear and close friend”.
He says:
One of the biggest doors is now open to a great economic partnership.
Morrison says Australia and India are “two like-minded democracies working together to a clear benefit”.
It also sends a clear message that two democracies are working together to secure our region’s supply chains.
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, is speaking now. He’s joined the call from Launceston.
Namaste but also g’day.
Updated
Indian PM says trade agreement with Australia a 'watershed moment'
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, is speaking now. He says the agreement will provide not only economic opportunities but increase the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
He says:
I am very pleased that this important agreement is being signed today. I warmly congratulate both the trade ministers and their officials for this extraordinary achievement. I would also like to specially thank Australia’s former prime minister, presently prime minister Morrison’s trade envoy to India, Tony Abbott. It was thanks to his effort that this process was accelerated.
He says the speed with which the final terms were agreed upon “shows how much mutual trust there is between both countries”.
This is truly a watershed moment for our bilateral relations. There is immense potential for our economies to fulfil each others’ needs.
Modi, who said he has met with “my dear friend Scott” three times in the past month, wished Australia well for the upcoming election, and also sent his best wishes to the Australian women’s cricket team, who are playing in the World Cup final tomorrow.
Updated
Calla Wahlquist back now.
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement virtual signing ceremony is under way now.
The Indian trade minister, Piyush Goyal, says the agreement will grow the value of trade between the two nations from US$27bn to $45-50bn over the next five years.
Updated
Luke Henriques-Gomes on the “intelligence report” the disability agency prepared:
Sorry but unprecedented won’t cut it anymore. #bondibeach pic.twitter.com/UbYLUe6NTt
— caroline pegram (@caroline_pegram) April 2, 2022
South Australia has another 4,483 cases and 15 deaths. The Reff is steady at 1.08. This is a 36-day doubling time, so it is highly unlikely that the forecast 8,000 cases a day will be reached. There are 184 people in hospital (up 15), and 8 in ICU (up 1).
— Professor Adrian Esterman (@profesterman) April 2, 2022
South Australia reports two Covid deaths and 4,483 new cases
Two people have died in South Australia. There are 184 in hospital with Covid-19, and two in intensive care. The state has recorded 4,483 new cases.
Updated
Australian named UN special rapporteur for human rights and climate change
The United Nations has appointed an Australian National University academic as special rapporteur for human rights and climate change.
AAP reports Dr Ian Fry will be responsible for studying and identifying the adverse effects of climate change and human rights and “blending Indigenous and traditional knowledge with respect to climate”.
Fry said it was an “enormous challenge”:
We already know that thousands of people are being displaced each day as a consequence of climate change-related weather events.
I hope I can do it justice. There is so much at stake.
Fry is a dual citizen of Australia and Tuvalu, and said his personal experience working in a coral atoll nation had shown him that the human rights of inhabitants are being affected by climate change.
Updated
Stephanie Convery spoke to Liang and her struggle to find a home: “Domestic violence rules my life. There are times when I can’t actually work because I’m too distressed dealing with this stuff.”:
I’m going to hand the reins over to the wonderful Tory Shepherd for a moment – but never fear, I will be back.
Updated
Western Australia has recorded 7,822 new cases of Covid-19
Western Australia has recorded 7,822 new cases of Covid-19.
The state’s figures on Saturday also include one death, of a woman in her 80s who died on 31 March. The death was first recorded yesterday.
There are currently 215 people with Covid in hospital in WA and six in ICU.
A small percentage of the Australian population will be eligible to get their fourth booster shot of a Covid-19 vaccine from Monday.
The winter booster shot will be open to non-Indigenous people over the age of 65, First Nations people over the age of 50, people in aged care and people in disability care, and immunocompromised people. That’s about 4.7 million people, or a quarter of the Australian population.
But health officials told a Senate estimates hearing on Friday that less than 200,000 people will be eligible at the start of the rollout – because the fourth shot has to come at least four months after the third.
Most of those eligible for a winter booster will not have passed the four-month mark until May or June.
The health department secretary, Dr Brendan Murphy, told the hearing:
The single most important thing that we can do to protect people with underlying medical conditions, people with disability, people at risk of severe Covid, is to get as much vaccination – including full booster protection – as possible.
That is the one thing that we’ll do more than anything else that we can do to make a difference.
Updated
Coronavirus figures for Saturday
Australian states and territories recorded the deaths of 25 people with Covid on Saturday.
We will continue to add to this post as numbers are announced.
- Thirteen people died in NSW. There are currently 1,302 people in hospital with Covid and 47 in intensive care, and the state recorded 20,389 new cases on Saturday.
- Three people died in Victoria, where there are currently 306 people in hospital with 15 in intensive care. The state recorded 9,149 new cases.
- Six people died in Queensland. There are 422 people in hospital, 15 in ICU, and 9,435 new cases reported on Saturday.
- Two people died in South Australia. There are 184 people in hospital with two in intensive care. The state recorded 4,483 new cases.
- Western Australia recorded 7,822 new cases and has 215 people in hospital, including six in ICU. WA’s numbers for Saturday also include one death, a woman in her 80s who died on Thursday.
- Tasmania recorded no new deaths and 1,840 new cases. There are 36 people in hospital and one in ICU.
- The ACT also recorded no new deaths. There are 43 people in hospital and two in ICU. The territory recorded 808 new cases on Saturday.
Updated
Coral bleaching under way at Ningaloo, conservationists say
Conservationists have recorded evidence of coral bleaching under way at Ningaloo off Western Australia’s north-west coast, AAP reports.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Paul Gamblin said the reefs at Ningaloo marine park were among the most magnificent natural wonders in the world.
“These images of coral bleaching ... shows emphatically that we’re not doing enough to shift from burning dirty fossil fuels which primarily drives these events,” Gamblin said.
“Every photograph of bleached corals must be a reminder that we have barely begun to make the necessary transition to clean renewable energy and is a clear rebuttal to any claim to the contrary or to any sense of complacency.”
Photographs show sections of the reef turning white this week as WA battles high temperatures.
Gamblin said the Ningaloo-Exmouth Gulf, where the bleaching reef was located, generated “considerable” economic returns.
He said it was hard to determine the long-term impacts of the current bleaching just yet.
Updated
Queensland calls on federal government to confirm flood funding before election
The Queensland government is calling for the federal government to confirm joint funding for flood recovery packages before calling the election.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, wrote to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, about the issue two weeks ago.
On Saturday, the deputy premier, Steven Miles, said:
We continue to call upon the Australian government to join us in funding the residential resilience and recovery package. It has now been two weeks since the premier wrote to the prime minister, and unfortunately we still don’t have an answer.
I just urge the prime minister to think of those households who are already starting to rebuild. They are rebuilding without knowing whether they’ll have assistance from the government to build back better, whether they’ll be able to retrofit, raise or sell their homes if they are repeatedly flooding. They shouldn’t have to wait.
There’s a lot of speculation that the government might go to an election this weekend or next weekend. We don’t want these assistance grants caught up in the caretaker provisions. We want it to be really clear when they are available to people and how they can apply, and so we are really urging that the Morrison government make that decision before they call the election.
Updated
Two Sydney men accused of impersonating public officials including federal police to steal more than $17,000 from a victim will face court.
More from AAP:
The Australian federal police allege the men were part of a fraud syndicate that contacted the victim in October last year, claiming to be officials representing the AFP and also from government payments agency Services Australia.
It is alleged they deceived the victim into transferring money and providing them with personal information.
Police say the syndicate stole more than $17,000 from the victim in total.
Officers executed search warrants in the Sydney suburb of Rosehill on Friday.
Two Rosehill men, aged 27 and 26, were arrested and charged with committing an offence for the benefit of an organisation.
The charge holds a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
The pair were expected to face Parramatta local court on Saturday.
Updated
The National Farmers Federation has welcomed Australia’s interim trade agreement with India, saying it is a “great first step for an export-oriented country, like Australia, and particularly agriculture”.
The NFF president, Fiona Simson, said:
While it is disappointing that many commodities did miss out on better market access, the tariff reductions secured in the interim agreement continue to bolster the agricultural sector’s push for market diversification.
She added:
It is incumbent on the federal government and the agriculture industry to work with our Indian counterparts to demonstrate the win-win outcomes for Indian and Australian agriculture.
We are keen to work with the federal government to improve agricultural cooperation with India that will secure long-term outcomes for both Indian and Australian agriculture from the final agreement and beyond.
Updated
Bondi is not the only beach to disappear under wild seas this morning.
Newcastle “Beach” this morning pic.twitter.com/vxe9kIibIN
— Josephine Tovey (@Jo_Tovey) April 2, 2022
In other news, Peter Garrett has tested positive to Covid-19, prompting Midnight Oil to cancel two of the dates of its final tour.
The group announced on social media on Saturday that shows in Darwin and Cairns had been cancelled.
It said:
Midnight Oil are profoundly disappointed to announce that tonight’s show in Darwin and Wednesday’s show in Cairns have to be cancelled. Despite returning negative RATs, frontman Peter Garrett returned a positive PCR test late last night after experiencing flu-like symptoms so he now needs to remain in isolation for seven days.
The band deeply regrets that these shows will be unable to proceed and sincerely apologise to all their NT and NQ fans who will be inconvenienced. They intend to resume their tour at the Sunshine Coast Stadium next Saturday night.
Full refunds will be processed automatically for all ticket holders.
Updated
Damaging winds and high tides lash NSW coast
Strong winds and high tides have sent waves crashing over the boardwalk at Bondi this morning.
Oof. Bondi Beach this morning is…sans beach. 📷 Jessi Miley-Dyer. pic.twitter.com/5xRfaO806D
— Siobhan Heanue (@siobhanheanue) April 2, 2022
Bondi beach this morning. @ScottMorrisonMP should we still not “be afraid of coal”. You’re destroying your country. pic.twitter.com/400GLHOzme
— Rebecca (@B_ekki) April 2, 2022
Police are still searching for a sailing boat that capsized off Bronte beach this morning. The incident was called it at 8.45am, and there were fears that one person was in the water.
In a statement made earlier today, NSW police said:
A search was initiated involving Water Police, Police Rescue, Surf Life Saving NSW, NSW Ambulance, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and PolAir.
At this time there have been no reports of people missing.
Police are also investigating reports that a number of small boats/dinghies may have slipped their moorings in the heavy swell and have been swept out to sea.
Updated
Queensland reports six lives lost and 9,435 new cases of Covid-19
Six people with Covid have died in Queensland in the past 24 hours.
The state has also reported 9,435 new cases, with 422 people in hospital and 15 in ICU.
Today we have recorded 9,435 new COVID-19 cases.
— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) April 2, 2022
Sadly, we have reported 6 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Full details ➡️ https://t.co/6Rmb9rIw4W pic.twitter.com/EoapgTqv80
We mentioned earlier that a special committee of the federal Liberal party had appointed nine election candidates in NSW, despite an ongoing legal challenge about the validity of the committee’s previous actions.
You can read Anne Davies’ full story on this development here:
Updated
Albanese has criticised the Morrison government for its response to the flood crisis in northern NSW and southern Queensland, saying it took too long – nine days – for a national emergency to be declared, and even then some areas were left out.
We had a declaration in some areas, but not in others based upon ... if you were in the National party seat of Page, you had a declaration in three local government areas including in Lismore, but if you are in Ballina or in Murwillumbah or in Byron, you didn’t get those declarations, let alone in Queensland. So you have differential payments depending upon where you live.
This prime minister is always far too little and way too late. It’s something that characterises this government, and they need to do much better than people who have lost their homes, being put in emergency accommodation, being told, ‘No, you’ve got to move again’. People deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and they deserve a government that accepts responsibility and delivers for people when they need it.
Updated
Albanese is now talking about the interim trade deal with India. It seems the government did not give Labor a heads up, and Albanese says that if he was prime minister “I would change the way that courtesy was offered in parliament”.
Onwards. Albanese says Labor welcomes the signing of an interim free trade agreement with India.
India is an important nation. It will grow to the third-largest economy in the world in coming years.
I myself have a long relationship with India going back to more than 30 years ago. I backpacked around India for six weeks. I got to know the Indian people, I got to see them first-hand.A great way to explore a country is to jump on a public bus and a train and even to hitch a ride, we did, between a couple of places there.
But India, where I visited and led a parliamentary delegation to in 2018 – the Indian economy has grown enormously. It is a very sophisticated economy. They are world leaders in information technology. They are world leaders in so many areas – in manufacturing, in pharmaceuticals, in information technology and others, and we can engage strongly and have great benefit by deepening the relationship between Australia and India. I welcome a deepening of that relationship and it is something that would be very much a focus of a government that I lead.
Updated
Albanese says the wage increase was also recommended by the royal commission.
The royal commission have said that in order to retain as well as attract members of the workforce, there needed to be a wage increase.
I tell you the other thing that has happened is, go talk to anyone who works in the aged-care sector, I have talked to aged-care workers right around the country and talked to some today again and thanked them for the work that they do, and they do magnificent work under incredible pressure, but it’s physically demanding work. It is emotionally traumatic work sometimes. Watching people who they care for, who they grow to love, who they have a relationship with, and many of them pass over a period of time ... it is a really tough job, and to pay people $22 an hour clearly is not enough to keep people in the system and to attract them.
Updated
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has criticised Labor’s plan, saying that the requirement to have nurses on staff 24/7 will see aged care homes close because there is a shortage of nurses, particularly in regional areas.
Albanese says the recommendation comes from the royal commission, which was commissioned by the Morrison government. He says:
[Morrison] must have been shocked by the royal commission that he himself says he is proud of commissioning.
This is a recommendation of the royal commission. This isn’t something that has come out spontaneously. This is something that after considering all of the evidence by the royal commissioners who reported not just with a significant interim royal commission report, but then a final report as well, developed over years.
Updated
Hello, Calla Wahlquist here taking over from Tory Shepherd.
Anthony Albanese is still talking about Labor’s five-point aged care plan, which in broad terms is:
- Put nurses in nursing homes 24/7.
- Increase the minutes of care each aged care resident gets per day, in line with recommendations from the aged care royal commission.
- Increase wages for aged care workers.
- Increase quality of service at aged care facilities – that goes to things like the quality and amount of food provided.
- Stronger regulation of the aged care sector.
Updated
Anthony Albanese says Labor would 'put the humanity' back into aged care
The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is on the south coast of New South Wales. He’s talking about aged care workers as the heroes of the pandemic, and neglect in the aged care system.
Aged care was a central plank of his budget reply speech. Labor will “put the humanity” back into aged care, he says, adopting the key recommendations of the royal commission.
Updated
Stephanie Convery has been digging into bits of the budget that probably didn’t come with a press release:
Four in 10 people in New South Wales are yet to get a booster, NSW Health reports.
Almost 95% of those aged 16 and over have had two vaccine doses, while about 60% have had a third dose.
That’s about 64% of those who are eligible and had their second dose more than three months ago.
Federal Liberal party committee selects nine NSW candidates despite legal challenge
A special committee of the federal Liberal party has forged ahead with appointing candidates in New South Wales, despite a legal challenge now before the NSW court of appeal about the validity of the committee’s previous actions.
Lawyer Jenny Ware has been selected as the Liberal party candidate for Hughes, which is one of the Liberals’ safer seats with a margin of 9.8%, ahead of Melanie Gibbons who is the state MP for the overlapping seat of Holsworthy.
Another lawyer, Katherine Deves, has been selected the Liberal party candidate for Warringah, while businesswoman Maria Kovacic has been selected for Parramatta, which is currently held by Labor, with a margin of 3.5% but the local member, Julia Owens, is retiring.
Jerry Nockles, an executive at the Pharmacy Guild, and a former Liberal staffer, has been selected as the Liberals’ candidate for Eden-Monaro, which is winnable from Labor, which holds it with a slender 0.8%.
Finance professional Pradeep Pathi has been selected for Greenway, in Sydney’s north-west, which Labor currently holds on a slender 2.8% margin.
The committee, comprised of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, and former president of the federal Liberal party, Chris McDiven, took over the NSW branch a week ago, despite a number of preselections being scheduled.
The same committee reappointed two ministers, Sussan Ley and Alex Hawke, as candidates in Farrer and Mitchell, and MP Trent Zimmerman to North Sydney in March.
That temporary takeover is now the subject of a legal challenge by a member of the state executive, Matthew Camenzuli, whose cousin, Charles Camenzuli, was contesting the preselection for Parramatta.
The case before the NSW court of appeal was heard on Friday as a matter of urgency, and a judgment is expected on Monday.
If Camenzuli wins the case, it could invalidate the actions of the committee, both in relation to the endorsements of the ministers, and this latest intervention.
The committee also endorsed candidates for a number of Labor-held seats, which are unlikely to change hands. They include real estate agent Courtney Nguyen in Fowler; small businessman Wenjie Zhang for Grayndler (currently held by the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese), finance executive Vivek Singha in McMahon and nurse Katrina Wark in Newcastle.
The management of the NSW branch will now be returned to the NSW party at 6pm tonight.
Updated
Morrison is highlighting Liberal women standing at the election against “Labor blokes” in Sydney. The Coalition taking the moral high ground on getting women into parliament is ... a thing.
He’s painting Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s promises as a “rerun of Rudd economics”. He brought up cash for clunkers and the pink batts. Remember them? It was a while ago.
Updated
Morrison is talking about a range of Tasmania-specific issues. He’ll be fighting for the marginal seats of Bass, Lyons and Braddon, and hints there will be more announcements to come.
(There’s a stash of cash in the budget for all those pre-election promises.)
Updated
Morrison is bluntly denying reports that he said his 2007 preselection rival for the seat of Cook in the Sutherland Shire, Michael Towke, a Catholic, couldn’t win Cook because he was a Muslim.
He’s asked:
“You didn’t say that he couldn’t be trusted because of his Lebanese background?”
And responds:
“No.”
Updated
On India’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Morrison says the deal is in the nation’s best interests, and that Australia is supporting the people of Ukraine.
He slides in a mention of how he invited (very popular) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address the Australian parliament.
Morrison is asked: Did you sacrifice chickpeas so you could get this deal before the election? (Which sounds like some vegan/pagan ceremony but is about the sectors that weren’t included).
He says:
We were keen to see it come to a conclusion because we’ve been working for so many years to achieve it. And once you get the door open, then all of the other opportunities come.
Updated
Morrison says:
Today’s agreement with India is further proof, further proof of the success of Australia’s economic plan as we’ve reached out and sought to diversify the markets that Australia is looking to access and they don’t come any bigger than India.
“Diversity” here is code for “rely less on China”.
This agreement gives prime minister Scott Morrison ample opportunity to spruik the enormous regional package(s) that were in the budget, and to talk up the economic recovery ahead of the election.
Cities benefit from the great success of the regions, Morrison says, which is a bit of a reversal of how we’d normally think about it.
Morrison says the trade pact is all about jobs:
We are opening the biggest door of one of the biggest economies in the world in India. Now, the Indian economy is worth billions and billions and billions all around the world. And there are many countries who want to do more business with India. But it’s actually Australia that has been able to secure in the agreement that we’ve been able to reach ... which will be signed today by our trade ministers, and witnessed by prime minister [Narendra] Modi and I later today.
This agreement is an agreement that ensures that whether you’re producing wool or whether you’re producing crayfish or mining resource, critical minerals and rare earths. Whether you’re growing berries or avocados or cherries or beans, producing alumina. All of this is part of the important trade agreement that we’ve been able to reach with India.
Updated
Some more context around that Morrison quote:
We need to be shearing sheep, we need to be harvesting the pastures, we need to be mining the resources. And all of this is occurring in our regions. That is where the wealth of the nation resides. That’s why in this year’s budget, we invested $21bn in the health and in the strength and in the prosperity of our regions to unlock that wealth that is there. To fuel and to supercharge Australia’s continuing economic growth as we come out of this pandemic.
Scott Morrison says Australia-India trade deal is all about jobs
Prime minister Scott Morrison is in Tasmania ahead of the (virtual) signing of the trade agreement with India later this afternoon.
“We need to be shearing sheep,” he says (!).
Updated
We’re still waiting for Morrison. Cannot confirm if he is holding the shears:
.@ScottMorrisonMP takes his pre-election campaign to Tassie today - to spruik striking the free trade agreement with India @SkyNewsAust #auspol pic.twitter.com/AGTFz49Yz9
— Andrea Crothers (@abcrothers) April 1, 2022
Wild seas on Sydney’s coast:
Never seen anything like it at Dee Why. Beach temporarily gone. pic.twitter.com/Jamz44MGpu
— Thomas O'Brien (@TJ__OBrien) April 1, 2022
I hear there’s been a lot of chopper action off Bondi this morning:
A search is ongoing after reports a boat capsized off the Eastern Suburbs this morning. There are no reports of people missing; anyone with info call Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.https://t.co/I4GlCBB79S
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) April 1, 2022
Two more victims of that devastating helicopter crash near Melbourne have been named.
AAP reports that Linda Woodford and Ian Perry were two of the those killed, along with Paul Troja and Dean Neal.
Woodford was the chief executive officer of digital trade company AXIchain, and Perry was a finance consultant.
Troja was well known in the meat industry, while Neal was the pilot. A fourth passenger is yet to be named. AXIchain said in a statement:
Linda was a driven visionary and an eternal optimist and will be deeply missed by all that knew her.
Ian was a respected member of the agricultural industry and a committed family man and will be sorely missed by all that knew him.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Linda and Ian’s families at this difficult time.
Before we hear from prime minister Scott Morrison, take a moment to feast your eyes on this, from Adam Morton and Stephanie Tran:
Tehan also talked about parts of the agricultural sector missing out on the agreement with India. He said he’d love to get access for all sectors, but they had to get outcomes (ie, negotiate). He was also asked about India refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and said:
We continue to have conversations with India about the situation in Ukraine.
Trade minister Dan Tehan was on the ABC talking about that trade deal a bit earlier. He said:
It is a significant win for our exporters. We get access to the largest, fastest-growing economy in the world, and when we think that one in five jobs is dependent on our trading relationships – it is one in four in regional and rural Australia – this is an historic outcome, it is an agreement the size of which means we register it with the World Trade Organisation because it stands on its own two feet as a significant historic outcome.
Some more on the refugees who have been released. AAP reports 20 refugees were released from detention on Friday night, including ten from Melbourne’s Park Hotel:
It comes three weeks after 13 refugees were released from detention centres in Melbourne and Brisbane.
At the time, advocates said nine men were released from the Park Hotel, along with one other in Broadmeadows and three men in Brisbane.
Park Hotel detainee Iranian refugee Mehdi Ali was also resettled in the United States last month, after nine years in detention.
The Park Hotel gained national attention in January when tennis champion Novak Djokovic was briefly detained there.
Djokovic was ultimately deported on the eve of the Australian Open after the Federal Court upheld the immigration minister’s decision to cancel his visa.
The home affairs department has declined to confirm the reports.
Updated
NSW reports 13 new Covid deaths and 20,389 cases
Thirteen people have died in New South Wales, where 331 historical deaths were added to the statistics yesterday.
1,302 people have been hospitalised and 47 are in intensive care. NSW recorded 20,389 new Covid cases.
COVID-19 update – Saturday 2 April 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 1, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 94.6% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/EsD64KIgCQ
Updated
Victoria reports three Covid deaths and 9,149 new cases
Victoria has reported three new Covid-related deaths and 306 people have been hospitalised, with 15 in intensive care. The state recorded 9,149 new Covid cases.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 1, 2022
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/A6cMztvJcy
Updated
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is also out and about today. He’ll hold a doorstop around 11.15am, and launch the campaign for Dobell at 12.30.
Prime minister Scott Morrison will stick his head up shortly after 10am for that trade announcement.
Daniel Hurst has all the details:
I mentioned that Bureau of Meteorology modelling on the Lismore floods below, but do have a look at the images, and the details from Donna Lu, Tamsin Rose and Christine Tondorf:
From Monday, older and vulnerable Australians will be eligible for their second Covid booster, sort of, AAP reports.
Less than 5% will actually be able to get it because, while it’s recommended they do, they have to wait four months after the first booster.
So delays at any stage of getting the jab just keep rippling through.
Here’s Katharine Murphy, with her usual crisp clarity, taking a look at the sturm und drang of that last week in parliament:
We’ll get those latest Covid statistics throughout the day. They’re still high, despite this sense that we’re emerging from the worst of this dratted pandemic. And it’s not just here in Australia:
Guardian front page, Saturday 2 April 2022: Covid hits all-time high in UK as Easter holidays begin pic.twitter.com/ClokDNACGK
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 1, 2022
Good morning! Tory Shepherd here, only just emerging from a budget week-induced haze.
Speaking of which – the budget fallout continues, as does the fallout from Labor’s budget reply. And the fallout from the floods. And more. There’s a lot of falling out, I’ll bring you whatever lands today as it happens.
An interim free trade deal will be signed today between Australia and India after years of negotiations between the two nations. Tidying up loose ends before an election is called, perhaps? (There was speculation it would be called this weekend, but next week is now the more likely bet).
The deal will see tariffs eliminated on more than 85% of Australian goods exported to India, currently worth more than $12bn a year. Meanwhile, 96% of Indian goods entering Australia will be duty-free.
The deal will be signed by the trade minister, Dan Tehan, and his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, in a virtual ceremony today. India is Australia’s seventh-largest trade partner, but attempts to diversify trade have taken on extra urgency given the increasingly rocky relationship with top-trading partner China.
The interim trade deal is three months later than the original deadline, suggesting there were several sticking points in the negotiations, and the full text has yet to be released.
In other news, two of the Bureau of Meteorology’s highest-resolution forecasting models showed the dangerous storm that flooded Lismore this week returning to the area, at the same time as relieved residents were heading home after an evacuation order was lifted.
The Bom has issued weather warnings for damaging winds affecting southern and central parts of New South Wales today, along with hazardous surf and abnormally high tides, as residents in the north rebuild again as flood levels recede.
The Liberal senator and assistant minister Amanda Stoker charged taxpayers $2,600 for “personal travel” with her family through the Whitsunday region in the weeks before Christmas 2020, documents seen by Guardian Australia show.
And another 20 refugees have been released from Australian immigration detention facilities, advocates say. The refugees were reportedly released on Friday night from centres in Victoria, NSW, and Queensland.
Advocates say 10 people staying at Melbourne’s Park Hotel were among those released. The home affairs department has declined to confirm the reports.
We will also have all the latest Covid news. There were at least 16 Covid-related deaths across Australia reported yesterday, including a child younger than five in South Australia.
And it’s the end of daylight saving tonight in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and SA – have your curtains faded? How do you feel about daylight saving?
OK, let’s crack on.
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