What we learned: Tuesday 19 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Here are today’s major developments:
- The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, criticised the Coalition’s environment record and announced a federal environment agency. She called the State of Environment report one of the “most important documents in environmental science”.
- The Therapeutic Goods Administration approved a paediatric dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, which means children aged six months up to six years may soon be eligible for vaccination.
- The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia said many mortgage holders could ‘face relatively large repayment increases’ in the near future.
- The Australian Energy Market Operator has intervened to prevent a potential gas shortage in Victoria.
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Victorian and NSW students have been urged to wear masks indoors, while Victorian students specifically were asked to mask up in schools as Covid spikes.
- A senior lawyer from Investment NSW disputed evidence given by Jenny West over the appointment of a New York trade job.
- Australia’s first fixed pill-testing site, CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service, has officially been launched in Canberra.
- NSW recorded 13,544 new Covid cases and 26 deaths, Victoria recorded 12,201 cases and 25 deaths, Queensland recorded 6,786 new cases and 18 deaths, Western Australia recorded 6,815 new cases and three deaths, the ACT recorded 1,221 new cases, the Northern Territory reported 671 new cases, South Australia reported 6,786 new cases and 18 deaths, and Tasmania reported 1,642 new cases.
Updated
Milton Dick selected as government’s candidate for speaker of the parliament
As our colleague Sarah Martin foreshadowed in June, Labor has selected Oxley MP Milton Dick as the government’s candidate for speaker.
Given Labor has a majority in the House of Representatives, he will take the job when parliament resumes on Tuesday.
Dick said in a statement:
When parliament resumes next week, I intend to accept the government’s nomination as speaker of the House of Representatives for the 47th parliament ... I am honoured to be endorsed today by the federal parliamentary Labor Party. Out of deep respect for the office of speaker I will be consulting with members from across the House of Representatives, to consult and seek their support. I will now follow and respect the processes of election to this important role.
Dick is a member of the right faction, which will select the speaker because Sue Lines, from the left faction, will be Senate president in the 47th parliament.
Dick won Labor’s endorsement technically unopposed, although Victoria’s Rob Mitchell had put himself into contention for it before formal nominations. Labor MP Sharon Claydon will be the deputy speaker.
Updated
Aemo confirms gas intervention in Victoria
The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has confirmed in a statement that it has taken steps to manage “tight gas supplies”.
The energy regulator says it has activated the Gas Supply Guarantee mechanism to ensure additional gas supplies from Queensland-based gas producers to support the National Electricity Market (Nem).
They added that there has so far been no impact to gas supply in Victoria:
The producers and pipeline operator have responded positively to the request for additional gas supply. AEMO will continue to work with the parties to understand gas supply availability.
Challenging generation conditions experienced from early June continue in the NEM.
This has resulted in a greater reliance on gas-powered generation and larger than forecast inventory reduction at the Iona gas storage facility in Victoria.
In response, AEMO has issued two ‘threat to system security notifications’ (11 July and 18 July) to reduce the depletion rates at Iona.
This included an initial request for participants to cease purchasing gas from Victoria’s Domestic Wholesale Gas Market (DWGM) for supply to other jurisdictions, and then a second request to cease purchases for Victorian electricity generation.
Market participants are responding to AEMO’s requests and directions to maintain a secure operating state for Victoria’s gas system.
At this stage, there is no impact to gas supply in Victoria.
AEMO expects the gas supply guarantee and threat to system security mechanisms to need to remain in effect until 30 September 2022 or until gas supplies are sufficient and the threat to gas supply caused by Iona storage inventory depletion has subsided.
Updated
Past week has seen 560,000 people receive fourth Covid shot, PM says
Anthony Albanese says 560,000 Australians have received their fourth vaccine shot last week alone.
In a video to be uploaded to his social media channels, the PM encourages more people to follow suit.
“That’s doing the right thing by themselves, their family and their community,” Albanese says in the clip.
Congratulations and thank you. If you haven’t got your shot yet and you are eligible, please log onto health.gov.au and organise to get your booster shot and get protected today.
Updated
Karen Andrews says point of legislating Labor’s 43% emissions reduction target ‘not clear to me’
I just wanted to return to Karen Andrews’ appearance on ABC Afternoon Briefing for a bit, because she was asked about her own party’s reluctance to back Labor’s 43% emissions reductions target.
Considering it will likely be the first piece of legislation tabled by the new government, and with the State of the Environment report release in the background, Andrews was asked if the Liberal party would reconsider:
Processes are very important. Can I assure you, there have already been a number of discussions between myself and some of my colleagues. I’ve been speaking broadly to the people here on the Gold Coast about issues that are of concern to them, particularly in relation to climate change and to legislation. I’ve already asked the question before about what the implications will be of legislating.
It’s not clear to me at this stage what the point is of legislating. The aims of the government – it would seem to me they need to get on with what they proposed, which is probably limited at the moment, they need to get on with delivering rather than what seems to be more than a grandstanding exercise to try the legislate a target. I don’t see the point in doing that.
Updated
Aemo intervenes to prevent gas shortage in Victoria
The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has intervened to prevent a potential gas shortage in Victoria, according to the state’s energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio.
D’Ambrosio told ABC Radio Melbourne that Aemo had triggered the gas supply guarantee this afternoon, as reserves in the states storage facility continue to fall.
She said the trigger will mean the energy regulator will have “greater visibility” of the sale and supply of gas, in an attempt to change market behaviour:
That means they’ll have greater visibility of the sale and supply of gas across the market including Victoria but in other states, to get some transparency here,
When you’ve got greater transparency in the market, the market starts changing its behaviour, and frankly, the market has been able to get away with too much here.
More visibility should mean, as it did in April [when the guarantee was last triggered], that gas goes to where its needed.
The Iona gas storage facility is due to fall to an all-time low of six petajoules by 6 August, which could result in gas supply shortfall across the state.
D’Ambrosio said the state had more than enough supply, but blamed the situation on “greed”:
A lot of this is driven by greed across gas producers. They will follow the dollar, and we’re about protecting consumers, making sure that they pay no more than what is deemed to be a fair price and that’s why that price cap is there.
Frankly, a fair price should be paid for gas. We’ve got more than enough supply to be able to meet our needs and it should be provided at a fair price.
Guardian Australia has reached out to Aemo for confirmation.
Updated
Karen Andrews says former environment minister did not delay release of environment report
Shadow home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, was also on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier this afternoon, and denied that the former environment minister, Sussan Ley, had held back on releasing the State of the Environment report:
The advice that came through from Sussan Ley, former environment minister, is that at all times she complied with the requirements for releasing documents.
I think it is fair to say that all Australians are focused on the environment, we want to do the best thing for environment.
One of the key tenets of the Liberal party is to protect the natural environment for future generations.
So, we all want to work very proactively towards supporting the environment.
We just need to make sure that what we are doing is reasonable, and that it does set up future generations properly here in Australia.
Updated
Global heating is supercharging environmental collapse.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) July 19, 2022
We have to urgently stop opening up new coal and gas mines, and make sure all new projects consider climate impacts.
Every fossil fuel project we open pushes our world closer to the brink.
SA chief public health officer has contracted Covid
South Australia’s chief public health officer Prof Nicola Spurrier has been struck down with Covid, amid surging case numbers.
The Advertiser is reporting Spurrier has mild symptoms, and had been visiting a relative interstate over the weekend. It is her first infection.
It comes as new modelling shows South Australia is facing an exponential increase in hospitalisations in the coming weeks, with over 400 patients a day predicted.
SA health minister, Chris Picton, told reporters earlier today that the health system was under serious pressure, with over 900 staff currently off due to Covid infections:
That clearly places pressure in terms of staffing, where you’ve got increased pressure on the hospital system and reduced staff numbers.
Updated
Hollie Hughes says climate change is 'not Australia's problem'
Shadow assistant minister for climate change, Hollie Hughes, has told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that climate change is not Australia’s problem.
Yes, she is a shadow assistant minister for climate change, denying that climate change is a problem for Australia.
She had been asked why previous environment minister, Sussan Ley, hadn’t released the Graeme Samuel report when it was handed to her in December, but Hughes decided to respond by discussing mining, farmers and the German Greens.
Here’s what she said:
I honestly can’t comment on that, I don’t know. I haven’t heard that, that is not what I seen. It was released today.
What I am concerned about [is that] Ms Plibersek, the member for Sydney, doesn’t really understand the first thing about agriculture in our country, let alone support mining. And the best environmentalists are very often the farmers.
But listening to some of the commentary around today, I am very concerned for what sort of legislation they are going to want to introduce that could impact farming land ... but also impact our ability to continue to mine, to also look for these coal and gas reserves, because the whole world is looking for those of the moment.
But this Labor government seems intent on turning the lights out, shutting down at industry, for an issue that is a global issue. Climate change is not Australia’s problem, it is not a regional problem.
Our emissions are 1.3%. We can shut everything down and we will make zero difference but we don’t see any moves by this Labor government but to call out China for its emissions that are increasing. The German Greens are turning on coal-fired power. I think they know to give them a call to show how important it is to dispatch energy to keep the country running.
That is one concern I have with regards to some of the rhetoric around this. But also, I think we need to be mindful – and I know Sussan will have something to say – ... but a lot of these environmental impacts around planning and development are actually run by state governments [so where do we] draw the line between what we can do federally and what is the responsibility of the state government and in fact some councils?
Updated
Hanson-Young was also asked if the Greens were prepared to withdraw their demands of no new coal and gas, in the name of finding consensus on the environment:
Well, I’m really looking forward to sitting down with the minister and talking about what we can do to halt the extinction crisis, to stop the destruction of habitat and to stop making climate pollution worse and having a climate trigger in our environmental laws would go a long way to that.
You can’t just have structural reform, which is going to take some time, while carrying on business as usual as approving big projects, big mines, coal and gas projects, that are going to make not just the climate change crisis worse but our job of halting this environmental collapse harder. No point in gathering the fire blankets on one side while you continue to pour petrol on the fire with the other.
Updated
Sarah Hanson-Young says environment report a ‘code red for nature’
Greens environment spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, has said the Graeme Samuel review is a “code red for nature” and that Australia’s forests, wildlife, and environment in general are on the “brink of a very serious collapse”.
Hanson-Young was on ABC News earlier, and added that Australia’s current environment laws have “not been good enough”:
We know that our environment laws have not been good enough to protect the environment, but we also know that successive governments haven’t done their job in standing up for the environment.
All of this is now being fuelled by the climate crisis. It is a double whammy for nature and land clearing, native forest logging, there is destruction of habitat – it’s making climate change worse and then in return climate change is super charging the environmental crisis. So, we need to pull out all stops. Responding to the Samuel review from two years ago is the first thing – at the top of the list that needs to be done, of course.
There’s lots of opportunity for us to work as fast as possible in parliament to fix the environment laws. We need to see a climate trigger in the laws so that when big projects, mines or developments are assessed. And given environmental approval, they’re assessed for their climate impact as well.
We know climate change is a big threat. The minister has powers right now in front of her she can use. She doesn’t need parliament to stop some of these bad projects on her desk and she should use that power.
Updated
Good news – the Therapeutic Goods Administration has provisionally approved a COVID vaccine for infants aged 6 months to 5 years. This means the TGA has found this vaccine is safe and effective for our young ones. pic.twitter.com/RNE31GAinN
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 19, 2022
Victorian health minister says mask information ‘the best tool’, not mandates
I wanted to revisit the discussions in Victoria over mask wearing, after the state’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, insisted earlier today that it is a recommendation, not a mandate.
Thomas was on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning and said the state government needed to give parents “information to make their own decision”, rather than offering mandates:
The best tool is information. We need to take our time and continue to educate and explain to those parents who are concerned about mask-wearing why it works.
What I have seen is an additional take-up of mask-wearing over the past week or so, as people are informing themselves and learning about the current wave of the Omicron virus.
We’re ensuring that we’re providing communities with the information and the advice that they need to make the decisions that are best for them, best for their loved ones and their communities.
Updated
Queensland’s Covid hospital cases hit record high as health minister admits they got modelling wrong
Queensland is facing its highest ever number of people in hospital with Covid, as a winter surge in cases continues across the country.
There are now 983 people in hospital with Covid, surpassing the peak of the first wave in late January, which hit 928 hospitalisations.
Queensland today recorded almost 10,000 new cases overnight, taking the total known cases in the state to over 54,000.
Earlier today, health minister Yvette D’Ath told reporters modelling had failed to predict the size of the third wave the state is currently facing:
We thought and the advice we were getting and the modelling we saw at the start of the year that we’d keep having waves for months and years, but they’d slowly reduce and our immunity would build.
But with these new variants and subvariants, we’re not seeing that.
Updated
Liberals accuse Plibersek of ‘partisan finger-pointing’ over environment report
And we begin with shadow environment minister Jonno Duniam, kicking up a fuss about Tanya Plibersek’s National Press Club address.
In a statement entitled “Environment Minister Should Focus on Solutions, Not Politics”, Duniam goes on to say, with a straight face, that Plibersek should stop “partisan finger-pointing” and that she “erroneously” criticised the Morrison government for its record on climate and the environment.
Yes, really. He even calls the Samuels report a “prop”.
Here’s a quick exert:
At the National Press Club today, Ms Plibersek spent much of her speech trying to (erroneously) criticise the Morrison government’s performance on the environment – using the latest ‘State of the Environment Report’ as a prop for her attacks.
That’s not what Australia or the environment needs from her time as Minister. Australians are looking for practical measures and sensible solutions that help our natural environment, and serious plans and programs through which these are delivered.
Sadly, these remained absent from Ms Plibersek’s speech.
Updated
Thanks Natasha, this is Mostafa Rachwani coming to you from rainy Sydney, with much still to get through, so let’s dive in.
With that I leave you for the day in the hands of my colleague Mostafa Rachwani.
If you’ve been following along through the dense Covid information, your eyes probably need a break from all the text!
Some incredible footage is coming in from Hawaii where towering waves have ruined one couple’s special day.
Updated
National Covid summary: 75 deaths reported
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 75 deaths from Covid-19:
ACT
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 1,221
- In hospital: 170 (with 6 people in ICU)
NSW
- Deaths: 26
- Cases: 13,544
- In hospital: 2,205 (with 60 people in ICU)
Northern Territory
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 671
- In hospital: 63 (with 1 person in ICU)
Queensland
- Deaths: 18
- Cases: 6,786
- In hospital: 983 (with 24 people in ICU)
South Australia
- Deaths: 3
- Cases: 4,172
- In hospital: 282 (with 11 people in ICU)
Tasmania
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 1,642
- In hospital: 55 (with 2 people in ICU)
Victoria
- Deaths: 25
- Cases: 12,201
- In hospital: 897 (with 34 people in ICU)
Western Australia
- Deaths: 3
- Cases: 6,815
- In hospital: 455 (with 20 people in ICU)
Mask mandates ‘not the advice’ issued by the chief health officers last week
Paul Kelly, the chief medical officer, strongly suggested Australians wear masks but did not mandate the measure during this afternoon’s press conference:
If you’re away from home and indoors in a crowded place, I really very strongly suggest that you do wear masks. I am wearing a mask now. You will have noticed the minister is wearing a mask as well. This is our leadership role for the community. This will not be forever but for the next few weeks this is the way we can actually influence the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable people in our community and also protect our healthcare systems which are already under strain.
Asked if mask mandates should be reinstated across the states, the health minister, Mark Butler, said mask mandates were not part of the health advice received last week.
The CMO’s statement reflects the advice that was issued only on Friday I think in writing by all of the chief health officers across the country, all of the jurisdictional chief health officers, who strongly encourage the community to wear a mask in indoor spaces, particularly crowded indoor spaces where there’s not the ability to socially distance, and I think that is really the position. As we move into this phase of the pandemic, providing members of the community with very clear information about what they can do to protect themselves and to minimise the size and the impact of this wave.
[The need to mandate mask wearing] is not the advice that was issued by the chief health officers last week.
Updated
Government in talks with ADF to expand aged care surge workforce
Health minister wants to see surge workforce in aged care increase
The health minister and chief medical officer are asked about the demands for more surge workforce from the aged care sector and to explain the “bottleneck” preventing it being delivered.
Butler responded:
Over recent months there has been a mix of reliance on the department surge workforce, which is nurses and personal care workers contracted or engaged by the department to be provided to aged-care facilities who need them.
Just last week I think about 1,900 shifts in the aged care sector were worked or were filled by nurses and PCAs from the department’s surge workforce. That’s higher than the peak we got to in the January wave so I’m very pleased that that element of the department’s actions is working well. We’re looking at ways in which we can expand that.
We’re also in discussions with the ADF which had been starting to roll down its presence in aged-care facilities. It’s obviously got a range of other work it needs to do. It responded remarkably well, magnificently well, to the recent floods, for example. So we’re talking to the ADF still right now, actively talking to them about what ability they have to continue to contribute to support members in aged care as well and obviously talking to the sector.
We’re certainly going to continue to try to see our surge workforce capacity increase, it’s running at a higher rate than it was in January but where the department is now talking to the ADF about whether there is additional capacity the ADF has, recognising they have other jobs they need to do as well but whether there is some additional capacity the ADF has that they can contribute to the aged care sector. Those talks are happening now.
Updated
‘Vaccines do not stop the transmission of this virus’
The full statement from the chief medical officer has been released, calling on employers to allow work from home arrangements if feasible.
Paul Kelly said at the press conference that the statement summarises the advice that he has given to Butler, the other health ministers around Australia and in national cabinet on Saturday charting out what he believes is happening in Australia at the moment and what is likely to happen over the next six weeks.
Essentially, my message today is that there is a new variant of Covid-19. It is circulating in the community and it poses a significant new threat. The reason for that is because it’s much more infectious than earlier variants, this is the BA.5 variant and BA.4 to a certain extent, and it’s also very good at escaping immunity, whether that is from previous infection so, you can get reinfected with this particular variant or from vaccination.
So whilst vaccination, as the minister has said, continues to offer very good protection against severe disease and death... those vaccines do not stop the transmission of this virus, and this variant is unusual in that case.
What we do collectively today and what we have in fact already started to do the last couple of weeks will change what happens in the future. We need to do that collectively to the slow the spread of virus as well as to protect the vulnerable and to protect our health systemless which, as the minister has said, are already under strain.
All of the recent changes that have been made, the AHPPC statement that was mentioned by the minister, particularly around mask wearing, about working with employers and the community around work from home options, for example, the fourth dose or third dose of vaccine, the increased availability of the antivirals, all of these things together will help to protect the vulnerable and to slow the spread and both of those things are important right now.
We know that wearing masks do reduce the spread and protect yourself and protect others if you’re away from home and indoors in a crowded place, I really very strongly suggest that you do wear masks.
COVID statement from chief medical officer Paul Kelly says health experts are again calling “on employers to allow work from home if feasible”
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 19, 2022
“We cannot stop this wave of infections but we can slow the spread and protect the vulnerable” pic.twitter.com/G5sAAtg2jM
Updated
76% of aged care residents have had fourth Covid vaccine, Butler says
Butler says the rate of fourth-dose vaccination in aged care facilities is going up.
I’m pleased to say that rate [of fourth vaccine doses in aged care] is now up to 76%. This will have a dramatic impact on the protection of our most vulnerable members of the community, members or residents of aged-care facilities.
However, vaccination rates for children against influenza continue to lag.
If I had a message to parents of children under the age of five today, it is to consider getting your child vaccinated for flu.
Our vaccination rates for influenza for under five-year-olds are lagging where they historically have been at this point in the flu season, lagging quite considerably.
As we know, through tragic experience, children under the age of five, and particularly children under the age of two, are a very high risk category for influenza. About 1,300 Australians have been hospitalised this flu season so far through influenza, and almost six in 10 of those or more than 700 of them have been children under the age of 16.
Updated
More need to get their third vaccine doses, health minister says
The health minister Mark Butler is providing the numbers on uptake of vaccines and antivirals.
Just over the past seven days 550,000 Australians have received their fourth dose. The overwhelming bulk of those over the age of 50 particularly between the ages of 50 and 65, which was the new target group by Atagi.
I cannot stress the importance of booster doses enough. Two doses of Covid vaccines just are not enough to provide you with full protection particularly against these Omicron subvariants.
There are still more than 5 million Australians for whom it has been at least six months since they had their second dose of Covid vaccine but have not yet had a third dose.
Over the last seven days only 50,000 or so Australians received their third dose. The third dose rate just isn’t shifting fast enough, and I strongly urge people who are eligible for a third dose but have not yet had it to go out and get that booster. It will provide you with extra protection, particularly against the possible of severe disease.
Also I can report that the prescription rates for those antiviral medicines have increased sharply in just the very short time since the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee expanded the eligible and provided that every Australian 70 and over will be able to have access to these highly effective convenience and people over the age of 50 who have two risk factors are also eligible for it. I’m really hopeful to see those rates of prescription continuing to increase. They will have a dramatic effect on hospitalisation numbers if we’re able to continue to expand that number.
Updated
Health minister says ‘real number’ of Covid infections is likely double that reported
The health minister Mark Butler is speaking on the Covid-19 situation across the country.
This third Omicron wave for 2022 is proving to be a very, very significant one.
There were 300,000 cases or thereabouts reported over the last seven days, and I think the CMO and I are pretty confident that the real number is likely to be more than double that.
We are seeing hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians infected every single week in this wave. As of today, there are more than 5,200 Australians in hospital with Covid. That number has increased very dramatically over recent weeks.
Over the last month or so, it’s gone from something under 3,000 to over 5,000. People will recall that in January that first Omicron wave, the BA.1 wave, in January saw hospitalisations reach about this number, about 5,200, 5,300.
Butler says these numbers are now approaching the figures from the January outbreak but there are two notable differences in this outbreak.
He says that in January, Western Australia effectively had no hospitalisations as their border was still closed.
The other difference obviously between the situation we confront today and in January is that hospitals are also grappling with flu. A range of other respiratory illnesses and the usual surge in hospital activity that we see during winter.
Updated
Calls for employers to allow employees to work from home due to Covid surge
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly says health experts are again calling “on employers to allow work from home if feasible”.
The CMO said on Tuesday.
We cannot stop this wave of infections but we can slow the spread and protect the vulnerable.
Kelly joined health minister Mark Butler for a press conference at Parliament House – his first appearance of this type in some time. Both entered the press briefing room wearing face masks.
In a statement, Kelly said Covid cases would continue to rise over the next month. Butler said the real rates of Covid infection were “likely more than double” the reported figures.
Kelly recommended employers review occupational health and safety risks, as well as business continuity plans. He says employees should consider wearing masks in the workplace.
Updated
Risks will be influenced by future employment growth, RBA deputy says
So where does this leave mortgage holders? Particularly those on the margins Michelle Bullock was talking about (as reported in earlier blog posts). Here’s what the deputy governor had to say to sum up her speech:
While in aggregate it seems unlikely that there will be substantial financial stability risks arising from the household sector, risks are a little elevated. Some households will find interest rate rises impacting their debt servicing burden and cash flow. While the current strong growth in employment means that people will have jobs to service their mortgages, the way the risks play out will be influenced by the future path of employment growth. This, along with the board’s assessment of the outlook for inflation, will be important considerations in deciding the size and timing of future interest rate increases.
So basically, it is a watch-and-wait situation. The bank will keep a close eye on how many people are in mortgage stress before making its future decisions on interest rate rises.
And just a reminder – the RBA doesn’t set your bank’s interest rate, it sets the overnight cash rate target, which, in its most basic form, is the cost of money for banks to borrow from each other. The banks then take that rate and then adjust their own rates to recoup losses/stay in line with the market. It always seems that interest rate rises are quicker to be passed on than interest rate cuts.
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Large waves off east coast could see significant coastal erosion, BOM says
An #EastCoastLow is likely to develop offshore from the SE QLD coast on Friday. Greatest impacts will be on the #QLD coast but it will produce showery conditions, strong winds and large waves along the northern #NSW coast. The waves pose the risk of significant coastal erosion. pic.twitter.com/CtxF5twwUH
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) July 19, 2022
Many mortgage holders could 'face relatively large repayment increases'
Let me divert your attention for a moment. The deputy governor of the RBA has just gotten to the nub of the matter in her Brisbane speech – how many people does the central bank think will suffer from interest rate rises?
Michele Bullock says the bank has done an analysis based on data from its “individual anonymised loans from our securitisation database” looking at those with a high debt to income ratio loan.
For the analysis, the bank has assumed interest rates will rise by 3%.
The bank’s data shows that more than one-third of variable rate mortgage holders have been making loan payments which already meet that target. But just under 30% could struggle, and “would face relatively large repayment increases of more than 40% of their current payments”.
But what about those who have been on fixed rate payments? A lot of those fixed rates which were locked in when interest rates were low and inflation wasn’t even considered as a possibility are due to expire mid next year. What does the new world look like for them?
Bullock said:
Borrowers with fixed-rate loans that are due to expire by the end of 2023 would experience a median increase of around $650 [or 45%] in their monthly repayments. This is slightly more than the rise in payments that variable-rate borrowers would experience over this time.
Updated
South Australia records three Covid deaths and 282 people in hospital
There were 4,172 new cases in the last reporting period, and 11 people are in intensive care.
South Australian COVID-19 update 19/07/22.
— SA Health (@SAHealth) July 19, 2022
For more information, go to https://t.co/XkVcAmeZ6V pic.twitter.com/c1ZAvk2KJS
Wilful neglect: Plibersek's scathing address
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has delivered a scathing review of the way Australia’s environment has been managed and the desperate need for reform.
At the National Press Club, Plibersek has given a major stump speech on the just-published State of the Environment report.
Years of warnings, ignored or kept secret, promises made but not delivered, dodgy behaviour undermining public confidence, brutal funding cuts, wilful neglect, laws that don’t work to protect the environment or smooth the way for sensible development, all against a backdrop of accelerating environmental destruction. It’s time to change that.
The minister has said she’s still too early in the role – six weeks, as she pointedly reminded reporters – to know what she’s going to do about it. But there were some big signposts Plibersek put up.
She promised that the Albanese government would deliver new environmental laws by sometime in 2023.
There have been calls from many conservation groups to have a “climate trigger” included in new laws that cover applications for new fossil fuel developments.
Plibersek would only say that the starting point on her consultations would be to refer back to recommendations from Graeme Samuel, who reviewed environmental laws last year:
He did consider a climate trigger, as some people are calling it, and his view was that there are other laws that deal with issues around climate change including carbon pollution reduction and that’s the proper place there …
I’m certainly not going to stand here six weeks into the job and start ruling things in, ruling things out, but I would say, to know the direction we are heading in with environmental law reform and reform of the institutions that deliver on those laws, they should start by looking at the work of Prof Graeme Samuel.
Updated
Still with Michelle Bullock and the RBA’s predictions about how mortgage holders will handle increasing interest rates – it all depends on how much you have borrowed as well.
Bullock mentioned that the later you bought, the more vulnerable you were to the interest rate increases. Part of that reasoning is because of the increase in the housing market itself. While the value of homes compared to the loan for many mortgage holders is a protection from interest rate rises (to some extent), those who bought at the height of the market don’t have that equity protection.
Bullock said:
The increase in high-DTI [debt to income] borrowing is one area that raises concerns about risks as interest rates rise. While lending standards have generally improved over recent years, the latest housing cycle saw a significant increase in the share of loans at DTI ratios above six, partly reflecting the very low interest rates at that time and hence the belief that the debt-servicing burden of these loans was manageable.
On the face of it, such loans are more risky than loans at lower DTIs. If the borrower were to experience a fall in income or an increase in expenses, they might find it more difficult to service the loan. And in an environment of increasing interest rates, there is a risk that households with high DTIs will find it more difficult to service their debt.
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Deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia delivers speech
At the same time as Plibersek’s speech, Michelle Bullock, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia is in Brisbane delivering a speech on how the central bank sees rising interest rates playing out for home owners.
Now, it was not that long ago that Bullock was speaking about Australia’s “very buoyant” housing market. You know – nine months ago, when the RBA was envisioning it would be locking in the historic low 0.1% cash rate target until 2024.
But that was a different world. Since then, inflation fears have led to interest rates increasing, meaning home owners are facing higher payments, so the RBA has turned its attention to how it thinks mortgage holders will cope.
It’s mostly focused on the third of “indebted” home owners – those who hold mortgage debt.
You won’t be surprised to learn that the RBA thinks most of that cohort will be able to handle the increase in payments. Its reasoning is there are still a higher than usual level of savings from the pandemic, and while debt may be high, the value of the assets (the houses) is higher (in most cases). Plus, Bullock is heartened by the tighter lending controls from the banks since the royal commission.
But that is all in the aggregate.
As always, the story is in the margins – and those who sit on the outskirts of the “aggregate”. And for them, the story is not quite as rosy.
And in this case, the margins are homeowners in the bottom 20% of incomes, or first home owners.
As Bullock said:
Highly indebted households are especially vulnerable in the event of a loss of real income through higher inflation, particularly if combined with rising interest rates, and a decrease in housing prices.
Recent borrowers are more vulnerable than earlier cohorts, as they are more likely to have borrowed at high DTIs [debt-to-income ratio] have had their serviceability assessed at lower interest rates (albeit with larger interest rate buffers) and have had less time to accumulate equity and liquidity buffers.
Government policies to improve housing market accessibility for first home buyers (FHBs) during the pandemic also means that FHBs are more highly represented among this group of recent borrowers than they are in earlier cohorts. Historically, FHBs have tended to have persistently higher LVRs [loan-to-valuation ratio] and lower liquidity buffers than other borrowers, making them more vulnerable to a given house price or cash flow shock.
So the less you earn, or the later you bought, the more likely you are to be affected by rising interest rates.
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Environment v budget recovery
Plibersek drew laughs after being asked if she wanted to continue, as more journalists had questions.
Plowing on, she is asked if environmental reform was “high on the list of priorities” considering Australia is nearly a trillion dollars in debt:
I think it’s very high on the list of most Australians to have a clean and healthy environment they can hand onto the kids and grandkids.
We have already made substantial investment announcements, including, as I mentioned, $1.2bn over coming years to restore and repair the Great Barrier Reef, money for threatened species, money for recycling, Indigenous protected areas, Indigenous rangers, Landcare rangers, there is a list of commitments we have made that we will fund.
We made those promises before the last election and we will fund those promises and they will deliver good results for the environment.
The other thing I would say about this, as part of this, is about getting economic settings right. In coming years we see a desire from
business to invest carbon credits, if we make carbon credits have the dual benefit of protecting and restoring biodiversity, then we get an environmental return out of the business decision that Australian businesses want to make anyway.They want to say to the shareholders, not only are we reducing our carbon pollution liabilities, we also are investing in the environment because we know that our customers and shareholders care about that stop.
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Too soon to talk about logging bans, Plibersek says
Guardian Australia’s Josh Butler has stepped up for the next question, following up on the logging question earlier, asking Plibersek how logging can continue after the Samuels report:
I understand why people are super keen to be talking about specifics on regional forestry agreements and other areas. It is way too early in the term of the new government … to be doing that. I am six weeks into this job, we are six weeks into a new government.
We need to talk to state and territory governments, in detail, about some of the land-clearing issues that we face as a nation. We need to consult widely on legislative reforms that we might propose. I’m not going to preempt those discussions by making individual comments about issues like that.
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Plibersek asked if emissions targets should be reviewed
Next up, Plibersek is asked if Labor’s emissions targets should be reviewed in light of the “shocking” Samuels report:
I think this report would give anyone who reads it, very strong message that we need to do better the environment. I don’t think the only way we do better on the environment is about, it’s not just about the size of the land or water we protect, that’s an important part of it is, it’s about having a representative block of ecosystems we are covering, choosing areas that are most vulnerable and most precious, so it’s not our proposal to go beyond the target of 30% of land but, that doesn’t mean we don’t have really high ambition to protect beautiful, unique, vulnerable ecosystem.
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‘A lot of consultation’ to be done on form of federal EPA
Plibersek is next asked about the EPA, and her seemingly important decision to not say the word “independent” before it.
The question goes on to ask if balancing the environment and the economy is a “political task.”
Plibersek rejected the description, saying that seeing the balance that way was always problematic, specifically referring to Matt Canavan:
We do support an independent EPA, but the design of that, well, there is a lot of consultation to be done before I come back to you with a final design. The specific roles the EPA will have, and the way it’s constituted.
I’ll talk to again in a few months about that, I’ll release an exposure draft, you will be able to comment and there will be a lot of opportunities for people to make their views known, on the format roles that an appropriately independent environmental protection agency will have.
On the other issue, I really disagree with that, you are saying it’s a political job to balance jobs versus environment and I think that’s the problem we have had.
I actually think the job of government is to set up laws and institutions that work to meet the objectives that we make public …
The sort of legal changes we need to make, the sort of institutions we need, to enforce any changes we make, the resourcing required to do it – I’d actually really like to take the politics out of this decision-making, instead of having people like Matt Canavan running around the country saying ‘never seen a coalmine that I didn’t want to make bigger,’ perhaps we need to thoughtfully assess using the laws and processes we have in a transparent way.
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Goal of protecting 30% of Australia’s land and oceans by 2030
Plibersek has vowed an expansion of Australia’s national estate, affirming the election promise to set a domestic target to protect 30% of land and sea areas by 2030.
Our government will set a goal of protecting 30% of our land and 30% of our oceans by 2030. We’ll explore the creation of new national parks and marine protected areas including by pursuing the east Antarctic marine park.
This will be the latest chapter in a very proud Labor story. Labor protected the Daintree, the Great Barrier Reef, Antarctica and the Tasmanian world heritage area, and as minister, I intend to add to that legacy.
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Question on national standards on regional forestry agreements
Next question put to Plibersek is on whether or not national standards on regional forestry agreements need to be addressed before they are due to be reviewed in 2023, considering some species, such as koalas, are listed as endangered.
Chuckling at the question, Plibersek said she was still early in her role, and would look at it:
Thanks for that question.
As I say, six weeks into the job I’m not going to start ruling things in or out, and I haven’t, I haven’t even begun to do the amount of consultation that I want to do with state and territory governments, with environmental and business stakeholders on some of these big questions.
I know those regional forestry agreements are all coming up for renegotiation in coming years, and those conversations with state and territory government will be important conversations to have.
I take the issue of threatened species and the risk of extinction very seriously. It was me that listed the greater glider and that is why we set aside a substantial extra amount of funding for threatened species, for dealing with threatened species.
I go back to something else I said in the report, this is something that will absolutely need environmental law reform, it will need institutional reform to make sure when we change our laws we are enforcing the law properly and resourcing that enforcement properly. It’s also going to need clearer settings for business, industry, philanthropic groups and others doing amazing work and habitat protection and restoration. It’s all part of the picture.
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Covid update in an hour
Meanwhile, we are expecting to hear from the federal health minister in around an hour.
Getting big 2021 traumatic flashbacks from the health minister announcing a COVID presser with the chief medical officer pic.twitter.com/ZgwBDkxwZ0
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 19, 2022
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Press club questions begin
So first question to Plibersek is on Labor’s 43% emissions reduction target, and if that is enough in light of the Samuel review.
The question also touched on whether coal and gas projects under assessment by the government need to be assessed on their emissions and environmental impact.
Here is what Plibersek had to say:
On the 43% target, we made a promise to the Australian people and we will keep that promise as a government. I’m delighted one of the first things we will do as a new government is legislate higher ambition on climate change policies.
I’m proud of that and, of course, we will work cooperatively with all of the crossbench – and indeed with the Liberals and Nationals – it would be terrific if we got maximum consensus on the carbon pollution reduction target and the other elements of the legislation we are taking to the parliament. But we have to keep our promise to the Australian people.
And on the issue of what some people are calling the climate trigger, and environmental laws, I’d say, the starting point for the environmental law process that we will be looking at is the work done by Prof Graeme Samuel.
He did consider a climate trigger as some people are calling it, and his view was that there are other laws that deal with issues around climate change including carbon pollution reduction and that’s the proper place there.
Of course, the process of reforming our environmental laws and reforming the mechanisms we have for enforcing those laws, is going to be a really important listening time for me as a minister and I’m certainly not going to stand here six weeks into the job and start ruling things in or out but I would say, to know the direction we are heading in with environmental law reform and reform of the institutions that deliver on those laws, they should start by looking at the work of Prof Graeme Samuel.
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Environment portfolio ‘hand-in-hand with the Labor reconciliation agenda’
Plibersek says Indigenous knowledge needs to be incorporated in conservation programs and says number of Indigenous rangers will be doubled.
Here I see the environment and water portfolio going hand-in-hand with the Labor reconciliation agenda.
First Nations Australians have managed this country for 65,000 years and they did it through changing seasons, shifting climates and across radically different environments.
These systems of environmental knowledge have been passed down for thousands of generations, and any modern conservation program should incorporate them and that’s why the Labor government will double the number of Indigenous rangers, by the end of the decade to 2030 … and will significantly increase funding for Indigenous protected areas.
We will deliver the $40bn of Indigenous water promised by the Morrison government in 2019 but never produced and will make it easier for First Nations Australians to protect their cultural heritage.
We have committed to introduced standalone cultural heritage legislation, which will co-design with the First Nations heritage protection alliance.
A healthy environment sits at the heart of our national legacy. And it feeds our national soul. Our sense of ourselves, our health as a society is bound up with the health of our land and water.
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‘I want to see a plastics-free Pacific in our lifetime’
Plibersek is highlighting the links between environment and regional partnerships with Pacific Nations.
I want to support ... efforts to reduce petrochemical products while working with the states and territories to encourage a circular economy.
That means promoting recycling, reusing and repairing as much as possible. We know how important this issue is to our friends in the Pacific.
At the UN’s ocean’s conference last month, our Pacific family told me about the impacts that plastics are having on their health, their environment and their livelihoods. It’s an area where Australia can forge really strong regional partnerships.
As I said to the Pacific leaders, I want to see a plastics-free Pacific in our lifetime.
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Government to formally respond to the Samuel review by the end of the year
Plibesek says to help guide the reform to environmental laws, “I’m announcing that by the end of the year the Australian government will formally respond to the Samuel review.”
We’ll then develop new environmental legislation for 2023. We will consult thoroughly on environmental standards, but in the meantime I want to see an immediate start on improving our environmental data and regional planning. Establishing a shared view around what needs to be protected and restored, the areas where development can occur with minimal consequences.
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Environmental indicators to be included in the ‘wellbeing budget’
Plibersek says environmental reform will also “allow us to speed up most processes so we can build new housing, construct new projects, lay the roads that connect our communities, better environmental outcomes and faster, clearer decisions”.
For too long people have seen these goals as mutually exclusive. They’re not. They’re not. Good environmental law is also good economic reform.
By agreement with the treasurer, the historic wellbeing budget will also include environmental indicators. As the treasurer said recently, it’s really important that we measure what matters in our economy in addition to all of the traditional measures: not instead of, but in addition to.
Because this is not a conflict between jobs and the environment. We have got to go beyond that thinking when we reform our environmental laws.
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Plibersek announces federal environment agency
Plibersek has now moved onto the part of the speech where she is discussing the government’s plan for change, including establishing a federal environmental agency and real-time data to track environmental progress.
In this term of government I will be guided by three essential goals. To protect, to restore and to manage Australia’s environment.
We need to protect our environment and heritage for the future. We need to restore environments that have already been damaged and we need to actively manage our landscapes, oceans and waterways, and the critical places that we have vowed to protect so they don’t become run down through neglect.
That’s our agenda. To offer proper protection we need to set clear environmental standards with explicit targets around what we value as a country and what our laws need to protect. This will require a fundamental reform of our national environmental laws and empowering a new environmental protection agency to enforce them.
We need trust and transparency. Decisions need to be built on good data, to show the public how we’re tracking in real time. Data that can be shared so we don’t keep collecting the same information again and again but instead we build over time a useful, usable, picture of our environment … We also need certainty and efficiency. This will allow us to speed up most processes so we can build new housing, construct new projects, lay the roads that connect our communities, better environmental outcomes and faster, clearer decisions.
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‘The Liberals and Nationals came to power with a mission to put the environment last’
Plibersek says the previous government wilfully inflicted harm on the environment.
There was wilful damage inflicted as well. From Tony Abbott to Scott Morrison, from Barnaby Joyce to Matt Canavan, the Liberals and Nationals came to power with a mission to put the environment last, to repeal climate legislation and to slash emissions reduction targets.
They cut funding to the environment department by 40% and they thought that was pretty clever until they saw what it did in practice. Without proper funding, environmental decision times exploded. According to a National Audit Office review in 2020, the average federal decision for a new project was 116 days behind schedule, and of these decisions around 80% were either non-compliant or contained errors. The previous government’s funding cuts held back business, they damaged the economy and they undermined practical efforts to protect our environment …
That’s the situation I’m inheriting as environment and water minister. Years of warnings, ignored or kept secret, promises … made but not delivered, dodgy behaviour undermining public confidence, brutal funding cuts, wilful neglect, laws that don’t work to protect the environment or smooth the way for sensible development, all against a backdrop of accelerating environmental destruction. It’s time to change that.
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Plibersek criticises Coalition’s environment record
Plibersek is criticising the previous government, saying their management led to widespread distrust in environmental management.
We see from the State of the Environment Report, the previous government was no friend to the environment.
Too many urgent warnings were either ignored or kept secret, but there are other failures too. The former government made nice promises but rarely bothered to deliver them.
For example, the previous government had a decade to fulfil the Murray-Darling basin plan. It’s a good plan, Labor-made. We delivered it and it saved the river system from dying in 2019. But it’s yet to be fully implemented. By the time the Morrison government left office, they had delivered just two of the promised 450 gigalitres of environmental water – just two gigalitres of a promised 450. And there was no plan to find the other 448 gigalitres by 2024, when it’s due.
The former government promised $40m for Indigenous water, of which they never delivered a drop. The Morrison government made a series of pledges on recycling, pledging that the Labor government broadly supports. I think most Australians would be really shocked to know just how far we are from meeting these targets and that the former government had no real plan for getting there.
Again and again the former government behaved in a way that undermined public trust in environmental management. They gave a private charity almost half a billion dollars without tender or process to guide our response to the crisis in the Great Barrier Reef. It actually doesn’t matter how good an organisation is. No one should walk in to the prime minister’s office and leave with hundreds of millions of dollars they didn’t even ask for.
For nine years, the previous government oversaw a broken, barely regulated national water market. The ACCC found that it was a market with no rules against inside trading, no requirements to keep proper records. This led to widespread distrust in the system.
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‘Global warming multiplies environmental pressures’
Plibersek lays out some of the key “disturbing” facts she says are all multiplied by climate change.
Warming temperatures have reduced kelp beds along the south-east coast as well as threatening reef habitats and the abalone and lobster industries that they support.
At the same time, Australia is experiencing a plague of marine plastics. In Perth, scientists have found up to 60,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of water. In Brisbane, they found between 40,000 and 80,000. At the Top End, in the Torres Strait and Timor Sea, abandoned fishing gear has been killing marine animals on an industrial scale. These underwater hurricanes of debris are known as ghost nets and they’re strangling up to 14,000 turtles a year, turtles which are listed as threatened. Our waters are struggling and so is the land.
As a result of erosion, deforestation, intensive agriculture and climate change, Australia’s soil is now generally in poor condition and it’s getting worse. We’re losing topsoil, letting it blow away without vegetation to protect it. Making our soil less productive, less fertile and less efficient in holding water which means our agricultural output is lower than it could be. Our land is more susceptible to drought and our soil’s ability to regenerate and support life is diminished.
Australia is one of the world’s deforestation hotspots. Between the year 2000 and 2017, Australia cleared over 7.7m hectares of threatened species habitat across the country. That’s an area bigger than Tasmania. Much of this clearing occurred small increments. In fact, more than 90% of it was never assessed under our environmental laws. When we destroy these habitats and when we don’t restore them elsewhere, endangered creatures lose their home that has consequences.
In February this year, koalas were officially moved from threatened to endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.
This disturbing list is made worse by climate change. Global warming multiplies environmental pressures everywhere.
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‘One of the most important documents in environmental science’
Plibersek says while her predecessor “chose to keep [the report] hidden”, she believes “Australians deserve the truth.”
Today, as part of my statutory duty as minister, I am publicly releasing the 2021 State of the Environment Report. It’s one of the most important documents in environmental science. Every five years, a group of independent experts, some of Australia’s most respected scientists, a number of whom are with us here today, are given access to the best available tools. They’re told to show us the full national picture of the health of our environment. Or, as one of the authors put it, take a good hard look at ourselves.
This report was delivered to the government last year. The previous minister, Sussan Ley, received it before Christmas but chose to keep it hidden, locked away until after the federal election. And when you read it, you’ll know why. But while it’s a confronting read, Australians deserve the truth.
We deserve to know that Australia has lost more mammal species to extinction than any other continent. We deserve to know that threatened communities have grown by 20% in the last five years with places literally burned into endangerment by catastrophic fires. We need to know that the Murray-Darling fell to its lowest water level on record in 2019 and that, for the first time, Australia now has more foreign plant species than native ones.
Individually, every one of these revelations is dreadful, but it’s only when you think about the cumulative impact that you begin to get the full picture of environmental decline.
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Environment ‘a difficult, confronting and sometimes depressing story’
Plibersek paints a picture of how lucky Australia is for its natural beauty and just how much the country and its future generations stand to lose.
It’s been just six weeks since I started in this portfolio and on top of the usual mount of departmental briefings, I have used these six weeks to travel to some of the most remarkable parts of Australia, reminding me again how grateful I am to live in the most beautiful country on Earth. And how thankful I am for generations of activists and good governments who have protected our unique national, natural and culture heritage.
But there’s another story here, too, a difficult, confronting and sometimes depressing story. At the same time, as I have been seeing some of the most beautiful places on Earth, I have been reading the data that tells me that these places are under threat. If we continue on the trajectory that we are on, the precious places, landscapes, animals and plants that we think of when we think of home may not be here for our kids and grandkids.
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Plibersek begins National Press Club environment address
Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, is beginning her address at the National Press Club where she will speak on the state of the environment following the release of the environment’s report card.
She begins by acknowledging traditional owners she says she is committed to learning from.
The First Nations peoples have the oldest continuing cultures on Earth and are the world’s most successful environmental custodians. They’ve managed land and sea country for 65,000 years, and as the minister for the environment and water, I’m committed to learning from this remarkable example.
She also acknowledges the authors of the report who are at the press club event.
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Western Australia records three Covid deaths and 455 people in hospital
There were 6,815 new cases in the last reporting period, and 20 people are in intensive care.
Authorities said the three deaths dated back to 6 July but were only reported to WA Health yesterday.
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TGA approves Moderna vaccine for children
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved a paediatric dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, which means children aged six months up to six years may soon be eligible for vaccination.
The vaccine is already approved for children aged six years and older, who can receive two doses administered at least 28 days apart, and it is also used as a booster dose for adults aged 18 years and older.
The TGA said in a statement:
As we have seen with children in older age groups, the TGA expects that vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death.
As with other age groups, the vaccine in children from six months will be administered as two doses at least 28 days apart. The paediatric vaccine is made in the same way as the vaccines for older people, but contains a lower concentration of the active ingredient.
The vaccine was given “provisional approval”, which means Moderna must continue providing information to the TGA on longer term efficacy and safety from ongoing clinical trials and post-market assessment.
No detail has yet been released on when the vaccine in this age group will be available in clinics and appointments available.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will now consider the approval and advise on how and if the vaccine should be rolled out to this age group. They will advise the government on what role the vaccine should have in a national program rollout, and how it should be administered as part of that program.
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Victoria facing gas shortage as market regulator warns of further intervention
Australia’s energy regulator has warned Victoria is facing a gas shortage which could plunge the electricity market into a fresh crisis, AAP reports.
The Iona gas storage facility in Port Campbell has dropped to record-low supply levels due to high demand amid the state’s price cap.
Shocking: State of the Environment report is now public
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek will speak at the National Press Club at 12.30 to talk about the release of the latest five-yearly State of the Environment report.
Former Morrison government environment minister Sussan Ley refused to release the report ahead of the last federal election.
Since being unexpectedly being handed the environment portfolio, Plibersek has been flagging that she had read the report and found it “shocking”. This morning, we reported on the report’s key findings.
The full report – all 12 chapters and an overview section – has just been made public. You can download individual chapters or just view it on line.
If you think you’ll be able to read it all before Plibersek stands up, bear in mind the “overview chapter” alone is more than 270 pages long.
TODAY: @tanya_plibersek, the Minister for the Environment and Water, and the Federal Member for Sydney, will address the National Press Club of Australia for her State of Environment Address at 12:30AEDT. Watch live on @abcnews or later on @ABCiview pic.twitter.com/EQ2PBSJuUh
— National Press Club (@PressClubAust) July 19, 2022
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Plibersek to address National Press Club
Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, is set to address the National Press Club in an hour’s time, where she will put forward the government’s plan in response to the state of the environment report.
Reports are saying Plibersek could provide details on the federal environment protection agency which Labor promised ahead of the election.
See you soon @PressClubAust https://t.co/eRbZ5w5loC
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) July 19, 2022
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Refugee hotel detention court case begins in Melbourne
The federal court has begun hearing the case of refugee Mostafa “Moz” Azimitabar against the Australian government, in which he alleges he was unlawfully detained for 15 months in Melbourne’s Park and Mantra hotels.
Azimitabar was seriously ill when he was brought to Australia for medical treatment and kept in the hotels between 11 November 2019 and 21 January 2021, initially in the Mantra for 13 months, then the Park.
My dream was receiving sunlight. Something that people who are free, they never think about it. They have this beautiful gift, they can walk and they have sunlight. I was dreaming of this.
His case, supported by Amnesty International, alleges the detention was unlawful. In court, barrister Lisa De Ferrari SC, said their case argued that the minister simply had no power under commonwealth legislation to designate hotels as places of detention. She said:
We say there’s no power for the minister to have done what they’ve done in this case.
De Ferrari also argued the commonwealth lacked the proper authorisation to spend money on making the hotels places of detention.
The commonwealth can’t just – under section 61 of the constitution go and set up these places and spend money on them without that expenditure being authorised in an act, and we say that hasn’t happened.
The hearing continues.
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ACT launches nation's first drug-testing site
Australia’s first fixed pill-testing site has officially been launched in Canberra.
CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service offers chemical analysis of drugs, as well as drop-in nurse consultations.
The organisers hope it could be the start of a national program.
ACT health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the service will start this Thursday and will be open during the day on Thursdays and Friday evenings. She said:
In addition to drug checking, the service will provide harm reduction information, counselling and advice to encourage choices that reduce drug use and associated harms.
We know the safest option is not to take drugs and this will always be our advice to the community. However, we recognise that some people will choose to use drugs and there is a need for initiatives that reduce the harms associated with drug use.
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Queensland records 18 Covid deaths and 983 people in hospital
There were 9,992 new cases in the last reporting period, and 24 people are in intensive care.
Today we have recorded 9,992 new COVID-19 cases.
— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) July 19, 2022
Sadly, we have reported 18 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Full details➡️https://t.co/rKHIwroZeI pic.twitter.com/QV5yelK1mq
Investment NSW lawyer says it was ‘not correct’ that Jenny West had been previously offered the job
A senior lawyer from Investment NSW has disputed evidence given by Jenny West over the appointment of a New York trade job.
In evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into the former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to a plum $500,000 New York trade job, Chris Carr, the Investment NSW general counsel, said it was “not correct” that West had been previously offered the job.
It has previously been revealed that the then premier, Gladys Berejiklian, as well as other senior ministers, signed briefs noting West was the “successful” candidate for the job.
But Carr disputed that she had been formally offered the job, saying there were US tax issues that had not been resolved.
He said:
My understanding is that Ms West was well advanced in the process, but not at the end of it.
On Tuesday Carr was pressed on who asked him to provide advice about whether the trade jobs could be made as ministerial appointments. The Investment NSW chief executive, Amy Brown, has previously said she believed the deputy premier’s office had asked Carr to provide the advice. However he told the inquiry the request came either from Brown or her chief of staff.
He told the hearing he was asked for advice on the appointment of the senior trade jobs on “multiple occasions” after the positions were changed from cabinet to public service appointees.
I did find myself repeating myself.
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NSW rail strike planned for next week
NSW commuters will be hit with more disruptions next week as the rail union resumes industrial action in its long-running dispute with the government, AAP reports.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has called a four-hour stoppage starting in the first minute of 28 July but it will potentially have an impact in the hours before and after.
The union and government remain at loggerheads over a new enterprise agreement as well as safety modifications to the mothballed Korean-built New Intercity Fleet (NIF).
RTBU NSW Secretary Alex Classens says the government refuses to sign a deed confirming it will make safety modifications and guaranteeing the cost won’t come at the expense of wages and conditions.
Rail staff are asking for a 3.5% pay increase and the stalemate “has left workers with no choice but to take further action”, he said.
The government says the new round of action is a tactic to pressure it into agreeing “to exorbitant increases in wages and conditions equivalent to 16.5% in the first year”.
Earlier this month the government had its case against the union dismissed by the Fair Work Commission, after seeking to terminate industrial action, arguing it was endangering life and impacting the NSW economy.
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Calls to end native forest logging in response to state of the environment report
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW has responded to the state of the environment report, calling on the government to review “the disastrous anomaly” of the Regional Forest Agreements, which are allowing bushland to be cleared.
The Nature Conservation Council deputy chief executive, Jacqui Mumford, said:
In the six years since the last state of the environment report, koalas, greater gliders, gang-gang cockatoos and yellow-bellied gliders have either been added to the list or had their threat status upgraded.
The two most important things that all governments must do – state and federal – is end the logging of our native forests and end the bulldozing of woodlands on farms.
Habitat destruction and climate change are the major drivers of this alarming trend.
We have lost more than 7 million hectares of bushland since the year 2000. That has to stop.
The state of the environment report confirms what the Samuel review has already found – nature in Australia is being flogged and federal and state laws aren’t up to the job.
We call on the government to review the disastrous anomaly of the Regional Forest Agreements which are a huge loophole that loggers are driving log trucks through every day of the week.
We welcome Labor’s commitment to implement the recommendations of the Samuel review of the Commonwealth Environment Conservation and Biodiversity Act that has been gathering dust since it was tabled two years ago.
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Northern Territory records no Covid deaths and 63 people in hospital
There were 671 new cases in the last reporting period, and one person is in intensive care.
New job vacancies data shows sectors feeling the squeeze
Job vacancies in the Australian labour market have not just recovered from the Covid pandemic, they’ve doubled.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics release, there are 480,100 job vacancies in Australia, a 111.1% increase since February 2020.
In June unemployment tumbled to 3.5% as Australia approaches what is considered full employment, meaning almost everyone willing and able to work is in a job.
But which sectors are experiencing the biggest workforce shortages, and what is the cause?
The sectors with the biggest absolute number of job vacancies are healthcare and social assistance (68,900), accommodation and food services (51,900), and professional scientific and technical services (42,900).
Sick leave needs to be used up before accessing Covid payments
Workers isolating with Covid-19 will need to use their sick leave before claiming the pandemic payment, the government services minister Bill Shorten says.
Shorten told the Seven Network’s Sunrise this morning that employees did not have to use their holiday leave, only sick pay, before becoming eligible.
The $750 relief payment will be available Wednesday, after a change of heart from the government following an emergency national cabinet meeting over the weekend.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is “flexible” on a possible extension for the payments, which are due to end in September.
– with AAP
Updated
Snow in Tasmania will take days to melt away, BoM says
While no fresh #snow is forecast for the week, what there is will take days to met away. The snow at lower elevations will continue to melt today, but likely remain >~1200m until at least Friday. #winter
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) July 18, 2022
Snow on the #Satellite when the cloud clears: https://t.co/SlkIiP3Bx7 pic.twitter.com/6PFIqym0xV
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Scott Morrison gives sermon saying ‘don’t trust in governments’ or UN
In case you missed it, Scott Morrison yesterday told Margaret Court’s Perth church “we don’t trust in governments” and “don’t trust in the United Nations”.
During a sermon at the church, the former prime minister also said God had a “plan” for him after his election defeat.
You can watch video footage of that speech and read my colleague Josh Butler’s story here:
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‘Makeshift heating device’ led to carbon monoxide incident in Sydney
Six people in western Sydney experienced carbon monoxide poisoning overnight after using a charcoal cooker as a “makeshift heating device” while trying to stay warm, authorities say.
Two children and four adults were taken to hospital for treatment around 4.45am after the cooker was taken inside a granny flat on their property in Merrylands.
Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Adam Dewberry said:
Whilst we understand the family and their guests were trying to stay warm during winter and thought bringing the makeshift heating device inside was a good idea, it unwittingly put lives at risk.
In this case, tragedy was narrowly avoided.
One of the occupants woke up feeling ill and roused the rest of the household from its sleep.
Fire and Rescue NSW issued a statement saying:
Outdoor cookers and heaters, particularly those with charcoal beads, give off poisonous carbon monoxide gas and should never be used inside homes.
CO is a colourless and odourless gas that can build up in rooms and overwhelm people without warning.
Merrylands | Outdoor heater warning after carbon monoxide incident - VIDEO: Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is warning the public not to bring outdoor cookers and heaters indoors following a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning inc... https://t.co/aqXYZmCgZX
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) July 18, 2022
Updated
Masks strongly encouraged for NSW school students
The NSW education department has reiterated on social media that masks are “strongly encouraged for all staff and students for the first 4 weeks of Term 3”.
The advice on their website shows the recommendation is for masks to be worn indoors.
Masks are strongly encouraged for all staff and students for the first 4 weeks of Term 3. This temporary measure will minimise the risk of transmission events at our schools and protect the health and safety of our communities.
— NSW Dept of Education (@NSWEducation) July 18, 2022
➡️ More info: https://t.co/zudC9LQTH4 pic.twitter.com/EXVpr60hay
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Victorian students urged to wear masks in schools
The Victorian education department and the independent sector have urged students over the age of eight to wear masks at school.
The request was made in a joint letter to parents that was signed by the heads of the government, Catholic and independent schools sectors. The letter recommends students wear masks during class and if travelling on public transport. The state opposition has seized on the recommendation, labelling it a “mandate by stealth.”
The letter comes a week after Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas revealed she had rejected the acting chief health officer’s advice to introduce mask mandates in settings such as early childhood and school.
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RBA speeches and minutes to give insight on rate decision
The Reserve Bank will give more insight into its thinking over the next two days, an opportunity to possibly confirm or deny speculation Australia’s red-hot labour market will lead to more aggressive rate hikes, AAP reports.
Central bank minutes from the board’s July meeting will be released at 11.30am today, and a half-hour later deputy governor Michele Bullock will give a speech in Brisbane on how households are placed for interest rate rises.
On Wednesday morning, RBA governor Philip Lowe will speak at the Australian Strategic Business Forum in Melbourne, before the central bank enters a pre-meeting blackout ahead of its 2 August meeting.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Alvin Tan says markets will be closely watching the speeches to see if there’s any reluctance to rule out a 75 basis point interest hike next month.
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Victoria records 25 Covid deaths
Victoria has reported 25 Covid deaths and 12,201 new cases in the last reporting period.
There are 897 people with the virus in hospital in the state and 34 in intensive care.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 18, 2022
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAchah#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/50ulThjxbD
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Heater warning after carbon monoxide poisoning incident in Sydney
Four adults and two children are being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in western Sydney after a charcoal heater was used inside.
They were taken to hospital earlier this morning.
The incident comes as NSW Health has urged not to use outdoor heaters or barbecue heaters indoors.
MERRYLANDS | #FRNSW attended a call early this morning in @CumberlandSyd. @NSWAmbulance requested assistance, after residents used charcoal type heater inside, and all occupants fallen asleep. 4 adults & 2 children were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, and taken to hospital
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) July 18, 2022
As the days and nights get colder, remember to never use outdoor heaters or barbeques inside.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 18, 2022
Keep your family safe this winter: Leave BBQs and outdoor heaters outside.
More info at: https://t.co/A9tor3YnIi pic.twitter.com/0cuKVCSKLL
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NSW records 26 Covid deaths
New South Wales has recorded 26 Covid deaths and 13,544 new cases in the last reporting period.
There are 2,205 people with the virus in hospital in NSW and 60 of them are in intensive care.
COVID-19 update – Tuesday 19 July 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 18, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96.7% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 95.2% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/UttfMaOgyh
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Environmental destruction a ‘feature of colonialism and neoliberalism’: Nick McKim
Tasmanian Greens senator Nick McKim has shared strong words in response to the state of the environment report, saying the destruction it shows is a “feature of colonialism and neoliberalism”.
McKim’s statement echoes the Greens’ environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young’s statements to the ABC earlier this morning that the report’s findings are not shocking but come after years of neglect to scientific warnings.
The devastating story this report tells is *not* just of the last ten years, and it’s not just one of neglect. It is a story of deliberate wanton destruction and, like climate change, that is a feature of colonialism and neoliberalism, not a bug. https://t.co/zV1weXUP5e
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) July 18, 2022
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Impact of domestic violence goes far beyond the physical, experts say
Further to the report into children’s mental health after exposure to family and domestic violence mentioned earlier, policy and training group Emerging Minds has pointed out the wide impact of violence and the need for health practitioners to recognise the signs.
Emerging Minds leads the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health.
The group’s workforce development manager Daniel Moss said:
Family and domestic violence includes physical violence but it’s also verbal abuse, fear, and control. Children don’t have to be the targets of such violence for it to impact their development, mental and physical health, education and community participation.
Women exposed to family and domestic violence have a lot to cope with – their own physical and mental wellbeing, the safety of their children, uncertainty, and often fear about the future. We need to be able to support mothers to get support for themselves and their children in times of crisis.
While some women will seek support, others will not. It’s imperative that practitioners can recognise the signs of family and domestic violence and know how to address the issue and offer the appropriate support and referrals to specialist services, so they can play a role in the early intervention against family and domestic violence related mental health challenges.
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People must use up sick leave before claiming Covid relief payment, Shorten says
The minister for government services, Bill Shorten, provided further details on the pandemic leave payment eligibility this morning.
He says people will need to use up any sick leave they have – but not holiday leave – before they can claim the Covid payment.
The payment will be available from 8am on Wednesday for adults who have to isolate for seven days and lose more than eight hours of work.
Important chat on @sunriseon7 this morning about pandemic disaster payments.
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) July 18, 2022
Further info on eligibility and how to claim is on the Services Australia website: https://t.co/kE8EIYGoCP
Claims open 8am 20 July via myGov or call 180 22 66. https://t.co/6YqBPiktxE
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Victorian and NSW students urged to wear masks indoors as Covid spikes
Victorian students aged eight and over are being urged to wear masks when indoors to help counter the Covid-19 surge.
The request comes in a joint letter from the state education department and independent and Catholic schools.
This move from Victoria comes after the NSW education department also “strongly encouraged mask-wearing indoors for “for all school-based staff and for all students.”
State Education Dept, Independent & Catholic schools joint letter asking all Victorian students aged 8 and over to wear a mask when indoors, to help counter the Covid-19 surge. pic.twitter.com/iPjCaEJzwG
— Stephanie Ferrier (@FerrierSteph) July 18, 2022
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‘Despair. Rage. Determination’: David Pocock on state of environment report
Members of the crossbench are responding to the release of the state of the environment report.
Independent ACT senator David Pocock expressed “Despair. Rage. Determination” on social media, after Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for further action on ABC radio earlier this morning.
Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, was asked on ABC this morning if she accepts that “the crossbench has a point and Labor needs to be more ambitious”.
I respect the fact that people on the crossbench were elected to deliver action on climate change and our government wants to work with them to do just that.
That’s why one of the very first acts of the new government will be to legislate that higher ambition. They want more than the 43% that Labor is offering though.
I think it’s important for people on the crossbench to consider whether they want to see progress or whether they’re going to hold out for perfection and see this opportunity slip from our grasp again.
When Labor was last in government we did legislate action on climate change, on pollution reduction, and, you know, when the abbot government came in, they overturned that. I hope the crossbench will work with us for progress.
Despair. Rage. Determination.
— David Pocock (@pocockdavid) July 18, 2022
The catastrophic, wholesale destruction of our environment catalogued in this report can't go on being ignored.
Something has to be done. We have to do it. Now.https://t.co/tg6o5xE0oE
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‘Every ward, every shift’ there are nurses working overtime, Sydney nurse says
As nurses in two Western Sydney hospitals staged a walk out yesterday and more strikes are planned in other parts of the country, including nurses at Tasmania’s biggest public hospital threatening to go on strike next week.
Health services across the country face increasing pressure from a surge in Covid cases.
Michelle Rosentreter, an ICU nurse in Sydney, told ABC radio this morning that in every ward, on every shift, every day there are nurses working overtime.
Michelle Rosentreter, an ICU nurse in Sydney says staff are completely stretched.
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 18, 2022
"every ward, every shift and every-day you've got at least 1 - 3 nurses working overtime.. our patients have a very tired workforce looking after them... it's hard to get timely care to people"
You can read more about the pressures hospitals are facing under the third Omicron wave from Cait Kelly:
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Hanson-Young says there is the ‘will in the room’ for climate action but calls for political courage
Sarah Hanson-Young tells ABC radio the report needs to drive genuine urgent action.
She says legislating a low emissions reduction target might be better than nothing but “isn’t going to stop this crisis”.
ABC asks Hanson-Young if the report changes the way the Greens will negotiate on the vote for Labor’s 43% emissions reduction target.
We are really clear and this report shows now you can’t keep pretending the climate crisis and environment aren’t interconnected.
The climate crisis is fuelling the environmental crisis.
Hanson-Young says “I’m very up for talking to the government” but continues to call for new mining projects to be assessed for their environmental impact.
Does the report change how the Greens will negotiate?
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 18, 2022
"We do need to have some serious conversations in the parliament. I'm very up for having a conversation about what would be a climate trigger in our environment laws to start reducing pollution"
- @sarahinthesen8
You can’t solve the environment crisis, you can’t solve the climate crisis if you keep pouring fuel on the fire.
Hanson-Young says there is a “desperation” from the Australian community for climate action.
The will in the room is there. Let’s get this done. There’s no silver bullet but it takes political courage, and the report calls for that.
Updated
‘We need to pull out all stops now’: Hanson-Young on the environment
The Greens’ environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young is speaking to ABC radio about the state of the environment report released today.
Hanson-Young says “in many ways the report is not shocking, it’s what scientists and environmentalists have been warning” for years.
She says there is a “wilful negligence on the part of government, particularly the previous government who wanted to put this under the carpet”.
Hanson-Young says Australia “can’t keep going on business as usual” as the cumulative natural disasters will continue – “whammy after whammy after whammy.”
She says “we need to pull out all stops now”, calling for stronger environmental laws, stronger enforcement of those laws and for the government to stop approving projects that put the environment at risk.
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Plibersek says climate action will be prioritised when parliament sits next week
The environment minister said:
One of the most important things we can do is be part of the global effort to tackle climate change. That’s why it’s so important that one of the first acts of the Albanese Labor government when parliament resumes will be to legislate that higher ambition on climate action.
But we also need to change our laws and change our systems. We’ve had some great suggestions, including from Professor Graeme Samuel. When he reviewed the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act he suggested a number of ways to get stronger protections and also incidentally faster decisions on major projects. They’re not protecting the environment right now but they’re also not meeting the needs of business.
Plibersek also told ABC radio that she intended to push to put new Environment Protection Agency (EPA) laws in place.
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Plibersek says environment report sat on former minister’s desk ‘for six months’
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, was on ABC this morning discussing the the state of environment report released today, which sounds an alarming bell for Australia’s ecosystems.
The overall story is the environment is in a bad state and it’s declining. If we don’t do something to change what we’re doing now, we’re going to continue to see the decline.
The previous minister, Sussan Ley, received this report in December last year and it sat on her desk for six months. She didn’t want to release it. The government didn’t want to release it. When you read the report you will understand why. It’s a shocking story.
You can read the full story on that state of the environment report from Adam Morton and Graham Readfearn here :
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Social services minister says reducing violence against women and children a ‘first order priority’
Those figures from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (Anrows) represent only those children able to access services – the real number of those needing support is likely to be higher.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were overrepresented in the “exposed” group. The authors said that could partly be explained by high rates of violence (including when perpetrators were non-Aboriginal), but also the fact that Aboriginal status increased the likelihood of police involvement.
It should also “be understood in the context of the multiple disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a result of colonisation and not as an indicator of a racial determinant”, the authors wrote.
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth said reducing violence against women and children was a “first order priority” for the government.
As a former psychologist working in the delivery of mental health care, it is concerning that children who have experienced family and domestic violence are more likely to be diagnosed with a range of mental health issues, including a twofold increase in substance abuse,.
It is also of concern [that there is a] delay between police or health intervention for family and domestic violence and a child receiving a mental health service.
Rishworth, the minister for women Katy Gallagher and their state and territory counterparts will meet on Friday to discuss the plan to reduce violence against women and children.
Updated
Children exposed to family violence five times more likely to need mental health support, report finds
The major report, from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (Anrows), also found children exposed to domestic or family violence were twice as likely to develop substance abuse disorders, and more likely than children who had no known experience of violence to be diagnosed with a wide range of other disorders.
The research, led by a University of Western Australia team, found there was an average six-year delay between authorities finding out about abuse and children being put in contact with a mental health service.
Anrows says earlier, trauma-informed interventions are needed to “buffer the risk of mental ill health” for children.
The organisation’s chief executive Padma Raman says children need access to services that are “holistic and able to address multiple needs”.
Collaboration is the key to effective care - and to avoiding the potentially negative impacts of multiple services working in disconnected ways with children and families.
Even where there may be no or limited visible signs of mental distress, we should be encouraging everyone in a child’s network to take the opportunity to act early and buffer the risk of mental ill health.
Children shouldn’t have to be visibly struggling with their mental health before the trauma of violence is addressed.
Researchers gathered data from WA Police on about 16,000 children who were identified as being born to mothers who suffered domestic violence, then identified thousands more whose mothers were hospitalised with indications of family violence from health departments.
They then followed those children until they turned 18, and found 79% of children exposed to domestic and family violence had contact with a mental health service, compared to just 16% of those with no known exposure.
Updated
Good morning!
The government is today releasing its “shocking” state of the environment report, which has found ecosystems are showing signs of collapse because of the climate crisis and habitat loss.
The report is a five-yearly independent review that was handed to the Morrison government in December last year.
The federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek will later today speak at the National Press Club about how the government will respond to the report.
Children are returning to school today in most states and territories amid rising daily Covid case numbers across Australia, sparking a “blitz” of measures. Education officials are encouraging staff and students to where masks as term three gets underway.
And as Covid case numbers rise, pressure continues to mount on hospitals with 8,500 medical staff across four states in isolation.
If you want to get in contact you can ping me on Twitter @natasha__may or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.
Let’s kick off!
