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.
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