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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor and Natasha May (earlier)

NSW and SA end Covid mask mandate on public transport – as it happened

Anthony Albanese Australia Andrew Bragg Mark Butler Justin Trudeau Flood King Charles III Labor
Covid masks sign
Signage warning passengers to wear masks at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

What we learned – Monday 19 September

We will leave our live blog for the day here.

Here’s some of what made the news today:

  • South Australia will drop its mask mandate for public transport from tomorrow, while New South Wales will follow on Wednesday.

  • The federal health minister, Mark Butler, has indicated some Covid rules will continue into 2023.

  • The NSW rail union has indicated it has provided a new application to the Fair Work Commission which would see Opal machines switched off during ongoing industrial action if approved.

  • The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he would be very comfortable with King Charles III continuing to express his strong views on the need for action on climate change.

  • Origin Energy announced it would divest 100% of its interest in Beetaloo Basin.

  • The NSW state emergency service conducted about 20 flood rescues through the New England region over the weekend.

That’s all from us until tomorrow.

If you’re following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, you can find our UK colleagues providing the latest updates here.

Updated

Mike Cannon-Brookes has ‘reservations’ about AGL’s new chair

Signs of instability continue to swirl at AGL Energy, Australia’s biggest electricity generator. As mentioned in an earlier, the company has appointed acting chair, Patricia McKenzie, as its new chair.

That followed reports last week that former Tabcorp chair Paula Dwyer was headed for that role, but then shareholders got antsy and the move was halted.

Anyway, Mike Cannon-Brookes, AGL’s biggest shareholder and a climate campaigner as well as a billionaire tech entrepreneur, isn’t happy about McKenzie formally taking over as the AGL chair.

Through his family investment vehicle, Grok Ventures, Cannon-Brookes said he has “reservations” about McKenzie “appointing herself to chair AGL given her involvement in the failed demerger and what has been a chaotic board renewal process”.

“Grok believes AGL will be best served by a chair who is appointed externally (which we believed the board was working towards) and has either substantial renewable energy experience or major operational transformation experience,” the company said.

“Grok again stresses the renewed Board needs independent, fresh thinking. We have one opportunity to get this right because the renewable energy transition is waiting to be captured by a reinvigorated AGL under new leadership,” Grok said.

And in an ominous warning, Grok said it was “reserving our position in relation to our voting intentions” about McKenzie’s appointment.

More happily, Grok supported and welcomed the appointment of Miles George (formerly the head of a wind farm operator) as an independent board member, and the choice of AGL’s chief financial officer, Damien Nicks, as its interim chief executive.

More strife to come, you would have to think, when AGL updates the market soon about what it plans to do now its plans to split into two have been cancelled thanks to Grok’s intervention.

AGL’s shares ended down about 2% today compared with a 0.3% drop in the benchmark ASX200 share index.

Updated

EU-Australia free trade deal soon to be finalised

Negotiations for a long-lasting free trade deal between Australia and the European Union are on the eve of being finalised, with hopes an agreement will be ratified by 2024, AAP reports.

Australian officials including the trade minister, Don Farrell, met with a delegation of the EU Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday to discuss its progression.

Negotiations with the bloc stalled under the former Morrison government over Australia’s perceived lack of action on climate change, and the souring relationship with Paris after the dumping of a $90bn contract for French submarines.

The EU has welcomed the Albanese government’s pledge to cut emissions by 43% on 2005 levels by 2030, and Australia’s strong military support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

INTA committee chair, Bernd Lange, said the last time the entire delegation had travelled to Australia was the launch of negotiations in 2017, and he wanted this to be the “eve” of the conclusion of the deal.

He said he wanted the trade deal ratified by the end of the EU parliament’s term in 2024.

Farrell, who was greeted by the EU ambassador-designate to Australia Gabriele Visentin, said discussions were “behind the eight ball”.

“We’re prepared to make all the time available that we need to achieve an agreement,” he told the delegation.

“We want it to be a long and lasting agreement that benefits the people of both countries, expresses our democratic values and improves on the prosperity.”

Farrell said officials also discussed sustainable development during the meeting, and how Australia could become a leading global supplier of green energy.

The European market has a gross domestic product of about $23tn, and Australia is seeking to improve access for agricultural and industrial products as well as create new opportunities for education, financial and professional services.

Updated

In the Victorian premier Dan Andrews’ Twitter thread today on what level crossings would be removed should Labor be re-elected in November, he inadvertently made it look like he was going to be removing large parts of the inner-north suburb of Brunswick.

He’s since clarified the people of Brunswick are safe, but not after the internet had a bit of fun with it.

Updated

Victorian toddler dies after being found unresponsive in Hamilton dam

A toddler is dead after being found unresponsive in a dam at a Victorian rural property, AAP reports.

Emergency crews including Victoria police and the SES were called to reports of a missing child at a large property at Hamilton in the state’s west at 10.15am on Monday.

The child was found shortly after 1pm and taken to hospital, where they died.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Updated

Investigation into truck and train collision in Victoria in July

A truck and train crash in central Victoria in July happened after a farmer opened a gate so hay could be picked up.

In a preliminary report released on Monday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that on the morning of the crash in July, a farmer unlocked and opened the gates of a passive level crossing, near Bendigo, to allow a truck on to their property.

The crossing is not available for public access.

When the driver of a V/Line passenger train saw the truck on the crossing, they sounded their horn and pulled the emergency brake but collided with the truck.

The truck driver was seriously injured and the train driver suffered minor injuries. None of the V/Line train passengers were hurt.

The leading car of the train was substantially damaged, with both of its bogies derailed.

The accident also resulted in substantial damage to the track infrastructure and the truck.

“[We] will include review and examination of the arrangements for the use of this level crossing, the operation of the truck and the train involved, and the configuration of the level crossing,” chief investigator Mark Smallwood said in a statement.

The investigation is ongoing.

Updated

Varroa mite eradication efforts hamper honeybee genetics program

Australia’s national honeybee genetics program has suffered a significant setback after it was forced to destroy around 20 million bees in the Hunter region of NSW, due to the threat from the varroa mite, AAP reports.

While around 50 queen bees in the national Plan Bee project were preserved, some 342 hives each containing around 60,000 bees have been destroyed in the past fortnight.

“It’s a significant impact to the project but the silver lining is that we will be able to work with the queen breeding sector around the nation and ramp up data collection and selection outcomes,” Elizabeth Frost, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Plan Bee project, said.

While the hives at Tocal Agricultural College near Newcastle were found to be free of the deadly mite, they had to be euthanised because they fell in one of the varroa eradication zones.

Under a permit system, developed to protect bees with high genetic value, 50 queen bees were found homes elsewhere in NSW.

“It only applies to queen breeders, of which there are very few in the red [eradication] zone, so that’s a beekeeper that produces queen bees for sale. In Australia there’s a very small queen breeding sector,” Frost said.

The varroa mite was first detected near the port of Newcastle in June and an emergency order was introduced in NSW to try to prevent the spread of the deadly mite.

Frost said the honeybee genetics project which has been running since February 2020 will continue but given the hives at Tocal contained the largest bee population and the reference group, the project has been “significantly impacted.”

“Whilst this is a disappointing setback, the program will continue and the genetic and production data we have generated so far lives on,” she said.

She said it’s now more important than ever for bee breeders to support the national genetics program by collecting data on their own genetic lines and submitting that data to the Plan Bee project.

“The real strength of this national program comes from the diversity and volume of data we generate.”

Updated

Rolling coverage of Queen’s funeral begins

We’ve now entered the phase of TV channels beginning their coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The actual funeral doesn’t begin until 8pm tonight.

You can read more about how that will all work below.

Updated

NSW to end mask mandate on public transport

NSW has followed South Australia in ending the requirement for people to wear masks on public transport from Wednesday 21 September.

That will include all public transport, taxis and ride share.

NSW health recommends people wear masks where they can’t physically distance or in settings where there are vulnerable people and those who are at high risk of severe illness.

NSW Health continues to recommend that people wear masks where they cannot physically distance from others, and in settings where there are vulnerable people and those who are at high risk of severe illness.

The health minister, Brad Hazzard, said:

Continuing to wear a mask in crowded areas will be particularly important for people who have underlying health conditions or who are vulnerable to Covid-19 infection for other reasons. Wearing a mask in these settings will not only protect those around you, but will also reduce your risk of infection.

We can all continue to help protect each other, but particularly those most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection, by staying at home when feeling unwell, taking a Covid-19 test straight away and self-isolating.

Commuters at Wynyard train station in Sydney
Commuters at Wynyard train station in Sydney. Photograph: Nikki Short/AAP

Updated

Union bid to turn off NSW ticket card readers may proceed

More on that last post, via AAP:

A rail union plan to deactivate the NSW transport network’s Opal card readers could still go ahead despite government claims the plot to switch off the ticket scanners could be illegal.

The union is now confident it will prevail and have the readers switched off as part of its industrial campaign, calling the government’s tactics “desperate”.

The union withdrew its initial application to shutdown the readers, after the government appeared to identify a fault in its filing.

“We went through a fairly severe process to make sure that it was legal and above board,” RTBU secretary Alex Claassens told media on Monday.

“However, the government of course, in its midnight application, identified that there may have been a particular issue with a process.

“So it was a matter of ticking boxes in a particular format.”

A new application to switch off the readers was filed on Monday morning, which the union is confident will stand up, Claassens said.

“It was just a last-minute desperate bid to try and stop us from locking those gates open and allowing the commuters of NSW to travel for free,” Claassens added.

A decision over whether the Opal scanners can be shut down will be made during a hearing in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in the next 48 hours.

If the commission accepts the actions, the readers will be switched off 10 days later.

Opal ticketing system card readers
The RTBU has applied to the Fair Work Commission to turn off NSW’s Opal ticketing system’s card readers. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

Reports NSW train union in bid to shut off ticket machines

Radio station 2GB is reporting that the rail union has made an updated application to the Fair Work Commission to shut off Opal machines as part of the ongoing industrial action over the pay dispute in NSW.

Updated

Fatal plane crash in Queensland

Queensland police say the forensic crash unit is investigating a fatal plane crash at Canaga.

An agricultural aircraft lost altitude while crop dusting near Chinchilla Wondai Road and crash landed in a paddock, the police said:

The pilot, believed to be a man in his 30s, was the sole occupant of the aircraft and passed away at the scene.

A crime scene has been established.

The forensic crash unit, working alongside the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), will prepare a report for the coroner.

Updated

Priya Nadesalingam signs book deal

The mother of the Tamil asylum seeker family at the centre of a four-year legal battle to stay in Australia, is writing a memoir of her family’s experience of being held within Australia’s immigration detention system.

Priya and Nades Nadesalingam with their daughters Tharnicaa and Kopika
Priya and Nades Nadesalingam with their daughters
Tharnicaa (centre) and Kopika, in June. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Updated

Not going to get any warmer for quite a few of us this week.

Australia condemns cyber attacks against Albania

The foreign affairs department has released a statement condemning the cyber attacks directed at Albania at the moment.

The statement says:

Australia condemns the recent cyber attacks on critical infrastructure in Albania.

Australia is committed to upholding the rules-based order online, just as we do offline. We call on all countries to act in a responsible manner in cyberspace in order to build trust and cooperation, in pursuit of our mutual interest in a peaceful and stable online environment.

The attacks on government agencies have been attributed to Iran by the Albanian government, a claim Iran denies.

Updated

Moderate flood warning issued for Lodden River in Victoria

Updated

Banks to close for Thursday public holiday

Australian bank branches will be shut on Thursday due to the national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

The day is a public holiday across the country – in Victoria, it kicks off a four-day weekend as the following day is also a public holiday to celebrate the AFL grand final on Saturday.

“For banks with branches and other financial institutions, Thursday will be a ‘bank close day’ with branches closed,” the Australian Banking Association said in a statement.

“As a result, there will be delays to some payments, as is the case with other public holidays.

“Banks will still be contactable, albeit in a reduced capacity, and customers are encouraged to contact their individual bank for further information.”

The ASX will also be closed on Thursday.

Updated

Daniel Andrews defends plan to change name of Maroondah hospital

Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly has accused the Andrews government of making a hospital in Melbourne’s east “culturally unsafe” for Indigenous Australians after it vowed to rename the site in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, dumping its Indigenous name.

Updated

Redmayne wiggles into World Cup warm-ups

Australian goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne is taking Peru’s creative response to his trademark World Cup qualifying heroics in his stride, AAP reports.

The Socceroos goalkeeper broke the hearts of the South American nation in June.

Substituted on for a penalty shootout, his eye-catching dancing movements on the line and some cunning gamesmanship in between shots helped Australia to an upset victory that sealed passage to Qatar later this year.

Redmayne, who wore a grey jersey that night in Qatar, was officially inducted as the Grey Wiggle after appearing alongside the entertainers last week in a TV episode he says has since been playing non-stop for his child and wife at home.

And it’s been more surreal for the Sydney FC keeper watching the reaction in Peru, where circus performers and even a rodeo clown in a bull ring have donned his grey attire.

In Brisbane today, ahead of a World Cup warm-up game against New Zealand on Thursday, Redmayne said:

They’ve been quite inventive.

I don’t know how they’ve taken it, kind of tongue in cheek and good fun but [Peru] is well and truly off the bucket list I think.

[I take it] in my stride, enjoying it and it’s sometimes a welcome distraction for football but anything to help the sport’s profile in Australia.

Updated

Thanks for your attention this Monday, I hope the start of the week has been kind to you. The inimitable Josh Taylor will now take you through the rest of today’s news.

Large water main ruptured in western Sydney

SA to drop mask mandate for public transport tomorrow

South Australia will drop Covid-19 mask mandates for public transport after the latest advice from health officials, AAP reports.

The new provisions will take effect from Tuesday, bringing SA into line with most other jurisdictions.

The premier, Peter Malinauskas, said:

This is another step forward in terms of the management of the pandemic.

We are very determined to relax restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so.

We think this is another practical step going forward.

As of Friday, QR check-ins for disability, health and aged care settings will also be removed along with Covid-19 vaccine mandates for visitors to aged care centres.

Mask mandates for aged care and other health settings, including pharmacies and hospitals, will remain.

The changes come after SA recorded 3,631 new virus infections last week, in the first change from daily to weekly reporting.

SA Health also reported 58 more deaths, taking the toll in the state since the start of the pandemic to 860.

Updated

Missing pilot found dead in Victorian high country

We brought you the news earlier that there was concern for a pilot of a recreational aircraft missing on a flight in north-east Victoria since Sunday.

The plane has since been located, but the pilot was deceased.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said:

At about 10am on Monday, after a search of the area involving multiple aircraft and ground crews, a Victorian police helicopter located the crash site about 30km east of Tallangatta in the north-east Victorian high country.

Victoria police have confirmed the pilot of the aircraft was found deceased at the scene.

AMSA acknowledge this is a difficult time for family and friends of the pilot and would like to thank all those who assisted with the search.

Updated

New meningococcal case in South Australia

A case of invasive meningococcal has been detected in a 21-year-old in Adelaide.

It’s the the 11th case of meningococcal reported in South Australia this year, compared with several reported the same time last year.

Updated

Covid rules needed into 2023, health minister says

The health minister, Mark Butler, has confirmed some Covid measures will continue well into 2023, even as some in politics and the media pressure the federal government to drop pandemic rules.

Butler was speaking in Adelaide to confirm $1.4bn in new Covid federal funding for rapid tests, aged care staffing and Medicare subsidies. Asked by a journalist at his press conference when he expected “the shackles will be lifted off” (their words, not ours), Butler said it would be a while yet.

The health minister said:

There will be a need to retain some measures over the course of 2023, I’m very sure. And so over the course of the rest of this year, we will be considering the need for measures to be extended beyond the end of calendar 2022. And we’ll have more to say about that later in the year.

Butler didn’t say exactly which measures would remain through 2023, but confirmed that government backing for pathology and Covid testing would be one part of the continued response.

The minister also spoke of his concern about long Covid, or serious chronic symptoms lingering months after infection. Butler said Australia needed to have “a national focus on long Covid”, saying there had been more than 200 different symptoms associated, and that more research and data was needed.

Butler said:

We don’t know yet really what the true prevalence and scale of long Covid is here ... But there’s no question it is going to be a very substantial pressure on our community, on individuals and on our health system.

Even health professionals are still coming to grips with the scale of this in terms of numbers, but also the diversity of symptoms that patients are presenting with.

Butler said the national strategy on long Covid would develop over the coming months.

Updated

Rex Patrick takes information commissioner's office to court over FOI delays

Former senator Rex Patrick will use the federal court to demand Australia’s information commissioner explain the lawfulness of her office’s delays in reviewing freedom of information decisions.

Patrick has taken the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to the federal court over huge delays in its handling of FOI reviews, a crucial part of the overall FOI system.

The former senator says some reviews are unresolved more than 1,000 days after referral to the OAIC, delays which he says are unreasonable.

The hearing was due to take place next week.

But at an interlocutory hearing on Monday morning, the case was delayed by more than a month. The hearing will now take place in November.

The delay occurred after the OAIC’s lawyers made a late application to amend its argument. Patrick’s team will also be allowed to make additional arguments as part of its case.

Updated

People with a disability more likely to be victims of crime in NSW

People with a disability are twice as likely to be a victim of a violent crime in NSW, according to a data pilot which is the first of its kind in the state.

They are also over-represented in parts of the justice system, being more likely to face drug and domestic violence offences, AAP reports.

Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Boscar) released today shows 17% of people accessing core disability support had been victims of crime.

Between 2014 and 2018, 6.5% of people claiming support experienced a violent incident and 4.4% experienced a domestic violence related crime.

Indigenous women with a disability suffered even worse, with 18% experiencing a violent crime over that same five year period.

People who commit violence against people with a disability were 17 % less likely to have criminal matters proceed against them.

Police were less likely to take action if the victim had a cognitive and physical disability.

People in NSW with a disability who experienced domestic violence-related crime were also more likely to experience it again within a year.

Generally, people with a physical, cognitive and mental health disability were more likely to become victims of crime.

BOSCAR’s director, Dr Suzanne Poynton, said the data pilot was the first of its kind to offer insight into both the victimisation and offending among people with a disability in NSW. Poynton said:

Filling this significant knowledge gap is important for developing disability policy in the justice system.

Updated

Patricia McKenzie replaces Peter Botten as AGL chair

Energy giant AGL has named Patricia McKenzie as the company’s new chair. She replaces Peter Botten effective today.

While Vales Point goes through a dance of a thousand veils (see earlier post), AGL is enduring its own corporate twists.

The largest electricity generator in Australia has had its share of management turmoil after billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes made a takeover bid for the company in February. Then he returned for a second tilt in May when his family firm Grok emerged as AGL’s largest shareholder.

That second effort managed to stymie AGL’s plan to split into two (a “bad AGL” full of coal-fired power plants, and a “good” one with a 4m-plus customer book of power and gas customers). Corporate heads rolled, as they say, leaving the company scrambling to settle on new leadership.

McKenzie had been the chair-elect, and has held roles at Essential Energy, APA Group, Transgrid and the Australian Energy Market Operator, among others.

An interesting appointment to AGL’s board is Miles George. George was formerly head of renewable energy firm Infigen Energy.

Managing director and chief executive officer Graeme Hunt will stay in his role until 30 September, with current chief financial officer Damien Nicks stepping up be the interim CEO. (The hunt, so to speak, for a new chief goes on.)

We’re hoping the Atlassian co-founder, Cannon-Brookes, will tell us what he thinks of AGL’s changes.

Investors, though, are not too chuffed. They’ve sent AGL’s 2.4% lower for the day compared with a roughly flat overall market.

Updated

Flood threat reduced near Bright

The Victorian SES says:

This is a final flood watch for 15 Mile Creek, Buckland River and Ovens River to Bright.

Minor flood warnings are current for following catchments: Seven and Castle Creeks, Ovens, Kiewa, and Goulburn rivers.

The threat of flooding is reduced. You can now return to normal activity, but be aware of any hazards that may still exist in the warning area.

Updated

Bulldog Josh Dunkley keen to join Brisbane Lions

Star Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley is set to walk out on the club to link up with Brisbane, AAP reports.

Dunkley’s future has been up in the air since the Bulldogs crashed out to Fremantle in the first week of the AFL finals.

The 25-year-old’s bid to join Essendon last year fell through, but he is now out of contract and keen to join the Lions for what’s reported to be a six-year deal.

It’s believed the Bulldogs had offered Dunkley a five-year extension in a bid to keep him.

Josh Dunkley kicks the ball during an AFL game
Western Bulldogs’ Josh Dunkley during the AFL Round 22 match against the GWS Giants in August. Photograph: Morgan Hancock/AAP

Port Adelaide were also in the hunt to secure Dunkley’s services.

Dunkley’s partner, Tippah Dwan, plays professional netball for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in what loomed as a potential advantage for the Power.

Brisbane will now need to weave some magic on the trade front in order to satisfy the Bulldogs.

Complicating matters is the fact Brisbane are committed to taking star father-son prospect Will Ashcroft.

Ashcroft, son of three-time Brisbane premiership player Marcus Ashcroft, is regarded as the standout player in this year’s trade pool, meaning the Lions are highly likely to need to match a bid at No 1.

It means the Lions, who currently hold pick No 15, might need to offer future draft picks to snare Dunkley, or go into a significant draft points deficit.

Dunkley averaged 25.4 possessions and 4.4 clearances a game this season, and his arrival at Brisbane will add further potency to a midfield already featuring Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale, Jarrod Berry and Zac Bailey.

Updated

Fire in Port Kembla bush

Fire Rescue NSW are working to extinguish a fire in an area of bush within the city.

Car swallowed by sinkhole in Perth suburb

A luxury car has become submerged in a sinkhole after a water pipe burst and flooded a street in the affluent Perth suburb of Subiaco, AAP reports.

The Mercedes-Benz was parked near a water main in the inner Perth suburb, when it burst just before 10pm on Sunday.

It became almost completely immersed in the water, along with a nearby park bench.

A Water Corporation spokeswoman said no one was injured in the incident.

Emergency crews attended the scene and repair works were conducted throughout the night.

About 60 homes and businesses were without water early on Monday but that number had fallen to three by mid-morning as works continued. The spokeswoman said:

Traffic management is on site and road diversions are in place. Motorists are asked to please show caution in the area.

The cause of the burst (pipe) is being investigated.

We sincerely apologise to those affected.

Updated

An update on the trains dispute in NSW

From AAP:

The rail union and NSW government are returning to the industrial umpire in a bid to break their long-running stalemate over the safety of a new intercity train fleet and wages and conditions for workers.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) will meet with the government at the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Monday for a second day of conciliation talks.

The talks come after the union on the weekend dropped plans to shut down Opal Card readers this week, following a government threat to launch court action over it.

“There won’t be anything this week,” a union spokeswoman told AAP.

The RTBU had planned to leave station gates open as it did last month, but to also deactivate Opal Card readers, preventing commuters tapping on to pay for trips.

The measure reportedly could have cost the government more than $1 million a day.

As part of its campaign, the union recently took Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to the FWC in a bid to keep negotiating a new enterprise agreement and changes to Korean-built trains that have been mothballed for years, with the union saying they are not safe to operate.

Premier Dominic Perrottet declared negotiations were over at the end of August and threatened to terminate the enterprise agreement if there was further industrial action, after weeks of union disruptions to train services.

RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens has said the union is doing everything it can to reach a speedy resolution but says the government “is stalling the process at every opportunity”.

Transport minister David Elliott has been contacted for comment.

Updated

Pricier properties predicted to fall more in relative terms: RBA

As in our earlier posts, the RBA’s head of domestic markets, Jonathan Kearns, has been commenting on how higher interest rates will affect property markets.

Among the comments from Kearns was the prediction that more pricey properties will fall more in relative terms than other segments of the market. Here is the article too:

CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless has confirmed that the data for most cities so far backs up Kearns’s view. The upper 25% of the market showed prices across the combined capitals peaked in January and values had fallen 7.4%.

Lawless says:

In contrast, the lower quartile of the market peaked much later, in July, and housing values are down a much smaller 0.2% by the end of August.

For Sydney, where prices had started to turn lower before other capitals, housing values were down 7.5% across the upper 25% over the past three months, while the lower quartile was down 2.8%.

Mind you, the top end of the market has further to fall. From the trough in prices during the Covid pandemic to the recent peak, dwelling values across Sydney’s upper quartile had surged by 33.9% compared with a 17.5% rise in the lower 25% of the market.

CoreLogic’s data also showed house prices across the capital cities had risen just shy of 30% from the trough to the peak, compared with unit values’ 13.2% increase.

Updated

Australia signs economic pledge with Indonesia

Australia and Indonesia have pledged to increase economic cooperation ahead of a G20 finance ministers meeting, AAP reports.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, met with the Indonesian finance minister, Mulyani Indrawati, in Canberra on Monday to sign the memorandum of understanding.

The agreement will facilitate the exchange of departmental officials from both nations, with dialogue and cooperation to focus on areas such as tax policy and financial regulation.

Jim Chalmers and Mulyani Indrawati sign a Memorandum of Understanding
Jim Chalmers and Mulyani Indrawati sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

Clean energy, climate financing and pension systems were also on the agenda. Chalmers said in his opening remarks:

That’s why we deepen and renew the MoU today, so we can continue sharing policy experiences in key reform areas and build capacity in both our departments.

Chalmers also flagged facilitating further investment from Australia’s $3.4tn superannuation pool into Indonesia.

G20 finance ministers are due to meet in Washington DC in October.

Updated

Australian skiers seeing fresh powder into Spring

The cold Australian winter has seen huge snow dumps for Australian ski fields, and it looks as though the good run is continuing for Mount Hotham in Victoria.

Australia’s Cameron Smith banks $6m from first LIV Golf win in Chicago

Australia’s British Open champion Cameron Smith has claimed his first LIV Golf victory on the lucrative Saudi Arabia-backed circuit.

Smith said:

I think I had to prove to probably myself and some other people that I am still a great player, you know I am still out here to win golf tournaments.

Coal-fired power plant near Lake Macquarie sold to Czech investment group

So it’s not yet the case of vale Vales Point, it seems.

The formerly state-owned coal-fired power plant near Lake Macquarie in the NSW Hunter Valley region, has been sold by its Australian owners Delta Electricity to what it calls “a family office investment group from the Czech Republic”, Sev.en Global Investments.

No price was given, but News Corp is reporting the sale was worth more than $200m. Not for a 1,320-megawatt clunker that was offloaded by the NSW government for just $1m in 2015?

Add in the $130m-odd in dividends to Delta’s owners, Trevor St Baker and Brian Flannery, since then.

And unlike other plants sold off, such as AGL’s Liddell and Bayswater, Delta didn’t have to pick up the rehabilitation costs of Vales, Renew Economy has reported.

It’s also reported this morning that Sev.en plans to extend the life of the plant beyond its touted closure date of 2029. That, among other things, would likely increase the rehab costs for the ash ponds and other nasties that result from burning fossil fuels.

We’ve asked the NSW government and also Delta about those plans.

In the meantime, Tim Buckley, a seasoned energy analyst and now director of Climate Energy Finance, said the plant’s sale to Sev.en, owned by Czech billionaire Pavel Tykač, is “the worst of all outcomes”.

“There is absolutely no accountability” for the new owners, Buckley says.

Who’s actually going to hold them to account?

We’ve been fleeced twice. First, with the $1m sales and secondly on the clean-up costs.

He noted the Foreign Investment Review Board would have to clear the sale but given the group has secured other generation assets in Australia, namely half of InterGen in 2019, there may not be much of a hurdle to clear.

Buckley said the NSW government could intervene and use its powers to limit pollution to put a stopper to Vales Point’s extension. (New clout sought by the NSW Environment Protection Authority could help that, as we reported here.)

For its part, Sev.en suggests it’s in the market for more of these ageing coal-fired power plants. It says on its website:

We are convinced that the combination of our firm rooting in the world of traditional energy, together with a deep expertise and willingness to share our knowhow, could bring big advantages to energy markets in transition.

We understand our role in an energy market as a bridge between the energy of today and tomorrow.

Updated

More on Origin Energy decision to quit Beetaloo Basin gas project

We brought you the news earlier about Origin Energy quitting the Beetaloo Basin gas project. My colleague Ben Butler has the full story:

Origin Energy will sell its stake in its Beetaloo Basin gas project at a loss and review all its other exploration permits in a move that will distance it from an environmental controversy and end its association with sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

Chief executive Frank Calabria said gas remained “a core part of our business” but getting out of gas exploration would free up money to “grow cleaner energy and customer solutions, and deliver reliable energy through the transition”.

Updated

More flood warnings for Victoria

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for the Barwon River, with possible flooding at Geelong tomorrow morning.

Updated

Fines for Victorian public transport mask dodgers

More than 100 fines have been issued on Victorian public transport and in excess of 181,000 warnings given as part of a Covid-19 mask compliance crackdown so far this September, AAP reports.

Under Victoria’s pandemic orders, public transport passengers must wear a fitted face mask covering their nose and mouth unless they have a valid exemption.

The fine for failing or refusing to wear a fitted mask on public transport is $100 for an adult. A government spokesperson said:

Our focus remains on educating Victorians rather than handing out fines, which is why we’ve given out almost 160,000 masks to passengers on public transport.

With an increase in cases over the winter period, public transport operators are continuing to ensure mask compliance and additional masks have been made available to customers travelling on our public transport network.

Recorded announcements reminding passengers to use a mask have been in place since December 2020. It is still mandatory to wear a face mask on public transport in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia, the ACT and South Australia.

On Sunday, Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said while Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions had dropped, people should remain vigilant.

In a series of tweets, Sutton said new variants were causing concern in immunological circles because of immunity evasion and there may be another peak closer to the end of the year.

National cabinet recently agreed to scrap mask mandates for domestic flights amid falling Covid-19 case numbers.

The Victorian government also lifted its work-from-home recommendation at the end of winter, with health minister Mary-Anne Thomas citing improving case numbers.

Updated

Plane missing in Victoria between Corryong and Mt Beauty

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is searching for a recreational plane with at least one person onboard, which went missing yesterday in north-east Victoria.

AMSA says it is coordinating an air search for a light aircraft missing in the area between Mt Beauty, Corryong and Tallangatta Valley.

Updated

Liz Truss could soon visit Australia, Albanese says

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has flagged his British counterpart Liz Truss could soon visit Australia, and remarked that the new King Charles was “less tired” than he expected him to be.

Albanese is in London for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, which will be held tonight (Australia time). Speaking to ABC Melbourne radio this morning, the Australian PM reflected warmly on his first meeting with Truss over the weekend. He said:

It was a good gathering. I visited her in what is the foreign secretary’s residence down in Kent. And we had a good discussion about the range of issues and about the relationship that we have between Australia and the UK.

Of course, we’ve come to an economic and trade agreement that is due to go through our parliaments, we had a discussion as well about the potential visit by Prime Minister Truss to Australia.

Albanese also met Charles for the first time as King. He said he found the new monarch to be “less tired than is reasonable to have expected frankly, given the extraordinary schedule”.

And what must be, of course, a very emotional time for him as well as physically tiring. But he was very focused. And it was a very positive meeting. And it was a great honour to have the first face to face meeting with King Charles.

Albanese, an avowed supporter of an Australian republic, has kept quiet about his political views in that sphere since the Queen’s death, saying it was not the time for such conversations. But the PM did recount what he said was a “famous story” in his family, of his mother – while pregnant and about to deliver the baby Albanese – wanting to see Queen Elizabeth on her 1963 visit to Australia.

My mother was a republican, but also liked the Queen. I think you can have different views but have respect for Queen Elizabeth and the role that she had. When I was about to be born, my mother in 1963, the royal visit, my mother insisted on the way to the hospital to give birth to me, going via the city, George Street, to see all the festival paraphernalia.

Well apparently my family used to tell that story about my mother insisting that while she was in labour on the way to the hospital. And that’s a story that is fairly famous in my family, so my mother did have regard for Queen Elizabeth. I think the fact that Queen Elizabeth was such a strong woman was a role model as well for so many people.

Updated

Andrews defends renaming of Maroondah hospital to honour Queen

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has defended the renaming of the Maroondah hospital to honour the Queen following opposition from Indigenous groups and leaders about the scrapping of the Aboriginal language name.

In a pre-election pledge, the Andrews government on Sunday vowed to rebuild the hospital in Melbourne’s east at a cost of more than $1bn and rename it to pay tribute to the Queen. But the renaming has sparked backlash from some Indigenous groups and leaders.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Andrews said the entire council area used the Aboriginal name “Maroondah”:

I think it’s a fitting tribute to someone, in Queen Elizabeth II, who was a great supporter of our health system and a great supporter of healthcare.

The announcement came after Victoria’s opposition promised a $400m upgrade to Maroondah hospital if it won the election in November.

Andrews and deputy premier Jacinta Allan on Monday announced that the state government would remove eight additional level crossings in the marginal electorate of Brunswick in a bid to ease traffic congestion and improve road safety. The inner-city electorate is currently held by the Greens on a 2% margin, following the redistribution of electorate boundaries.

Updated

Greens to introduce bill for 26 weeks of paid parental leave

The Greens will introduce the Fairer Paid Parental Leave bill to deliver 26 weeks of leave paid at replacement wage capped, with super paid on leave, and “use it or lose it” incentives for partners to encourage shared parenting.

Larissa Waters, the Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women, said that fairer paid parental leave is a “no brainer” and that the government could afford it if they scrapped the controversial stage three tax cuts.

Australia has one of the weakest parental leave schemes in the developed world, especially for fathers. There was unanimous support from the jobs and skills summit participants for that to change.

If the government is serious about increasing women’s workforce participation, it needs to do more than to nod sagely while a panel of expert women says these things. Labor needs to actually act.

Barbara Pocock, the Greens spokesperson on employment, said:

As chair of the parliament’s first Senate select committee on Work and Care I know that the evidence on paid parental leave is overwhelming: we need it, and we need more of it. As an economist I know that without kids - and the care put into raising them - there is no economy. It is that simple.

Having children is hard labour and it should be recognised with decent recovery time and paid leave. It has been known for more than a century that economies benefiting from women’s work should ensure recovery and bonding time when they have a baby.

Updated

Origin to divest 100% of its interest in Beetaloo Basin

The company has also announced it intends to exit upstream exploration.

As my colleague, Adam Morton, Guardian Australia’s environment editor, put it – it’s a big deal.

More to come shortly.

About 20 flood rescues across New England in NSW, including horses

Rankine provided details about the SES flood rescues that have occurred over the weekend in the state’s north-east:

We did quite a large number of flood rescues right across the New England over the weekend, probably in the vicinity of 20 flood rescues – people making that decision to drive around flood water and around closed road signs. That was a bit disappointing from an organisational perspective, people not being responsible behind the wheel. That takes a lot of the effort away from our volunteers to help community members when we’re fishing people out of their cars.

He said agricultural areas between Gunnedah and Narrabri have been affected, which has meant farmers have had to move livestock and equipment to higher ground.

There’s a lot of water in the river. Obviously the catchment is really saturated. There wouldn’t be an empty dam anywhere in that vicinity for our farmers but what that means is a lot of farmers have been moving livestock to higher ground. We did have a couple of horse rescues over the weekend as well where people’s livestock got surrounded in and around the New England communities. We have asked a lot of those farmers to lift their pumps and those sort of infrastructure that exist on those rivers and move their livestock to higher ground to ensure they’re safe. And to make sure that there’s no stock and equipment losses for those farmers.

Updated

Flood waters receding in north-eastern NSW

The Namoi River is in flood, which has affected many towns in north-eastern NSW over the weekend, particularly Gunnedah, and now as the water travels further downstream there were fears Wee Waa could be cut off.

The public information manager at the NSW SES, David Rankine, spoke to ABC this morning.

Rankine said although the water in Gunnedah is receding, at least four homes in the low-lying areas of the town have been inundated.

It’s now sitting right at the minor flood level, just at 7.3 metres. It’s receded really well and is moving its way down the Namoi River system through Narrabri.

Thankfully Wee Waa seems to have almost peaked as well. It peaked yesterday afternoon at 6.85 metres which is in the major flood level but now receded to about 6.77. So we were concerned for a moment that Wee Waa may become isolated with all the flood water.

There was access during that and with the water now receding thankfully the community of Wee Waa, which is protected by quite a substantial levee, won’t be isolated for any particular period this week which is really good news for that community.

Rankine confirmed there was no water expected through homes in Wee Waa, due to the protection from the levee but that farming properties which will be isolated.

Updated

Flooding in northern Victoria

Moderate flooding is occurring along the King River in northern Victoria, while a warning is being issued for the state’s Loddon River.

Updated

Albanese says he’s ‘very comfortable’ with King Charles expressing views on climate crisis

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was interviewed by the BBC’s James Naughtie after his meeting with King Charles III.

Asked to describe what the conversation was like and how it went, Albanese said “it was very warm and friendly”.

As for the possibility King Charles visiting Australia early in his reign, Albanese said “he would be very welcome”.

“There will be a standing invitation for him, as there is for other members of the royal family.”

Naughtie also asked Albanese about the King’s position in relation to climate change:

Now, the King is now out of the political arena in the sense that he has to tread carefully on political issues that are matter for government. But everyone knows his commitment on these questions. No doubt you would hope that that is a conversation despite his accession to the throne that can go on.

Albanese:

I think that is a matter, of course, for King Charles, what he comments on. And it’s important that the sovereign stay distant from party political issues.

But from my perspective, what I’ve said, is that I’d be very comfortable with the King expressing views about the importance of climate change, and it is about the very survival of our way of life.

We know that in Australia the impacts of bushfires, floods, natural disasters, are doing exactly what the science told us would happen – which is that there have always been natural disasters in Australia, but they’re more frequent and they’re more intense, and that’s why this issue shouldn’t be a partisan political issue. It should be an issue which the world needs to confront.

King Charles III meets with Anthony Albanese at Buckingham Palace.
King Charles III meets with Anthony Albanese at Buckingham Palace. Photograph: Reuters

Updated

Victorian dining and entertainment program returns

The Victorian government is bringing back its dining and entertainment program today, which allows customers to claim 25% cash back at businesses within the state.

The program will cover purchases of over $40 at restaurants and cafes, live music venues, museums and cinemas.

The first round was launched in March this year and saw $32m claimed within three months. Dumpling Alley was amongst the most popular dining venues, while Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was one of the most popular entertainment choices in the previous round, according to the government.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Melbourne's Princess Theatre.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. Photograph: Michelle Grace Hunder

The $25m program runs until 16 December 2022 or when funds are exhausted.

The minister for sport, tourism and major events, Steve Dimopoulos, said:

With a blockbuster summer of major events upon us, we’re providing Victorians even more reasons to get out and enjoy everything the state has to offer – while saving money and supporting local businesses.

Updated

Where supply of housing is less flexible, mortgage debt is higher: RBA

The RBA’s Kearns, though, says that the higher interest rates will have varying effects on property prices (even if the precise impacts are uncertain).

He notes research by the RBA found that, all else being equal, interest rates can have larger effects on housing prices “in locations where the supply of housing is less flexible, mortgage debt is higher, there are more investors and incomes are higher”.

Back in April, we looked some of the areas where mortgage stress might be highest, and researchers pointed to outer suburban areas in particular:

When it comes to property prices themselves, the greater sensitivity is likely to be in the “most expensive areas”. Data showed prices in pricier suburbs are “more cyclical” than the average, Kearns said.

Kearns added that evidence also exists to show houses are more sensitive to changes in interest rates than apartments. The limited supply of available zoned land partly explains this result, he said.

“Overall this indicates that an increase in interest rates narrows the distribution of housing wealth since more expensive properties experience a larger fall in prices,” he said, but adds the distributional effects are temporary and disappear over time.

Commercial property tends to be less affected than residential property to higher rates, Kearns said, although the unrelated working-from-home impacts might provide other headwinds for that sector.

Updated

Long queues for Qantas passengers at Sydney airport

Travellers with Qantas are once again facing long wait times, with 7 News reporting that many are worried about missing their flights at Sydney airport.

If you’re wondering why there seem to be so many problems across the aviation industry as it recovers from the pandemic, and when travel will get back to normal, yours truly looked at the issue in an article this weekend:

Updated

Borrowing costs just one of the factors affecting property prices

A couple of other takeaways from the speech by RBA’s Jonathan Kearns about the links between higher interest rates and property prices.

The uncertainty of those links can be seen in this chart from Kearns that underscores how volatile real estate prices are, not least because borrowing costs are just one of the factors affecting property (but arguably the biggest one):

As Kearns notes, interest rates affect all asset prices, including housing prices, because those assets are valued for what they provide us in the future.

“An increase in interest rates means that a given amount of income (or benefit) at a future date is worth less today, and so an asset with a fixed future stream of payments will be worth less today,” Kearns said, noting that future cash flows may also change with interest rates, amplifying or moderating the impact on prices.

As rates rise, the ability of people to borrow (and that’s what most of us do when buying property unless you have suitcases of cash under the bed), falls quite rapidly, as this chart shows:

Updated

Motorcyclist dies after hitting cow in NSW

A motorcycle rider has died after hitting a cow on the New South Wales mid-north coast yesterday.

Emergency services were called to an area about 30km south-west of Macksville after reports a motorcyclist had collided with a herd of cows on the side of the road.

NSW police said in a statement:

Witnesses rendered first aid to the rider – a 64-year-old man – before the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics; however, he died while being taken to Macksville Hospital.

Officers from Mid North Coast Police District established a crime scene and commenced inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

Updated

NSW rail union withdraws plan to shut down Opal machines

The NSW government and the transport union will be meeting this afternoon behind closed doors after the union announced yesterday they’ll be withdrawing their plans to shut down the Opal card system.

Last week the union announced their plans to shut down the Opal card system indefinitely as part of their ongoing dispute with the state government.

In a series of tweets by the union, they said that plan has now been cancelled, wider industrial action will still be continuing.

Updated

RBA economist says there is ‘considerable uncertainty’ about where property prices are heading

In a week that is likely to be marked by another week of overseas interest rate rises by central banks, Jonathan Kearns, head of domestic markets for the RBA, has chimed in about the connections between higher borrowing costs and property prices.

Those hoping for some definitive comments about how much rates might rise and how deep the dive in real estate prices will be, take a breath.

Kearns makes some interesting comments but doesn’t reveal much about what’s coming as far as higher rates. Nor does he go as far as his boss, RBA governor Philip Lowe, who last week noted he expected property prices to fall as much as 10%, as we reported.

Rather, there are these sorts of comments from Kearns:

[W]e know that higher interest rates will tend to depress residential and commercial property prices but there is considerable uncertainty about the magnitude and even the timing.

Not only can declining property prices have implications for economic activity, but also for financial stability as we outlined in the April financial stability review.

As we noted, those financial stability risks appear to be contained given the low leverage for residential and commercial property. But we will continue to carefully monitor the evolution of these risks.

Anyway, financial markets reckon there’s a 74% chance the RBA will lift the cash rate another 50 basis points at its board meeting on 4 October. That would take it to 2.85%, with another 100bp or more to come before it peaks.

Commercial bank economists are more sanguine, expecting a peak at about 3.35%, or lower.

Updated

Stan Grant’s weekend piece ‘compelling and devastating’: Andrew Bragg

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg followed Khalil on ABC radio, discussing the news we brought you a little earlier that he is proposing a private member’s bill to tighten regulation on cryptocurrency.

At the end of the interview Bragg brought up Stan Grant’s analysis: “After Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Indigenous Australia can’t be expected to shut up. Our sorry business is without end.”

Bragg called Grant’s piece “compelling and devastating” and said the issues raised by Indigenous Australians shouldn’t be swept under carpet.

Updated

‘It is significant’: Khalil on Indian and Chinese concerns about Russia

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping raised concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine over the weekend.

Asked about the significance of this development, Khalil said “significant is probably an understatement.”

It is significant. The question in my mind is if chairman Xi is really having those concerns because Russia is failing so badly.

From the perspective of India it’s significant, because India has a long standing relationship with Russia – it goes back historically.

I think significant is probably an understatement in terms of the concerns you’re seeing from those big major powers.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Russian president Vladimir Putin prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan on 16 September.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Russian president Vladimir Putin prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan on 16 September. Photograph: Alexandr Demyanchuk/AP

Updated

Khalil says Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China meeting focused on defending democracy

ABC radio asks Khalil about his recent trip to Washington DC for a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

The focus was on particularly how we develop policy around China. It’s about the commitment we have as democracies to the rule of law.

As lawmakers we have a lot of challenges, not just from state actors like China and Russia but also non-state actors, in defending democracy in a period of time when there’s a lot of disinformation.

Updated

New intelligence committee chair says priority is ‘the best national security laws’

Labor MP Peter Khalil has been appointed the new chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, and is speaking to ABC Radio about the appointment.

RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asks Khalil about what he wants to achieve as chair of “one of the most powerful Committees in the Parliament”.

Khalil says he has two principle objectives:

There are two objectives really of this committee. The first is that we pass as a parliament – the best national security laws.

Secondly, it is a critically important committee as you said we are charged with the responsibility of reviewing and oversight of all our national security laws … and also an assessment around intelligence and security agencies.

Peter Khalil (right) speaks with Anthony Albanese during the jobs and skills summit earlier this month.
Peter Khalil (right) speaks with Anthony Albanese during the jobs and skills summit earlier this month. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Western NSW town to be cut off by flood waters, as warnings also issued for Victoria

The town of Wee Waa in north western NSW is preparing to be isolated for up to a week after flood levels reached 6.7 metres over the weekend.

Several roads in the region have been closed, with major flooding along the Namoi River at Gunnedah being closely monitored.

State Emergency Service spokesperson David Rankine told the ABC that local units have been preparing for roads into the town to be cut from tomorrow. He said:

Wee Waa could be cut off for a few days from tomorrow into Tuesday.

More flood warnings have also come through overnight for the King River in Victoria:

Updated

Liberal senator pushes for cryptocurrency crackdown

The Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has proposed a private member’s bill to tighten regulation on cryptocurrency, to address what he calls a “Wild West situation” created by current laws.

Bragg, a senator for NSW, is pushing for a new system for licensing digital asset exchanges, including rules mandating that cryptocurrency companies keep currency in reserve in an Australian bank in a bid to give consumers more protection in the case of the collapse of an exchange.

He said there were both “risks and opportunities” for Australia in further embracing digital assets, and has long advocated for new rules to support the country becoming a leader in crypto. In a speech to a blockchain forum on Monday, Bragg noted the “endless advertising of crypto throughout the football finals” and called for the government to take action.

Bragg was chair of a Senate committee that investigated cryptocurrency issues last year, and said the former Coalition government had been committed to implementing proposals to further regulate the market.

His proposal, the digital assets (market regulation) bill 2022, would create licensing schemes for digital asset exchanges, digital asset custodians and stablecoin issuers.

‘Australian consumers are exposed to an unregulated market as we speak’: Senator Andrew Bragg.
‘Australian consumers are exposed to an unregulated market as we speak’: Senator Andrew Bragg. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The licensees would be subject to minimum capital requirements, conduct regulation and governance, requirements to segregate consumer funds from corporate funds in the event of an exchange declaring bankruptcy, cyber security standards, disclosure requirements to government agencies, and requirements for key personnel to be based in Australia.

Bragg said:

Waiting is not an option and Australian consumers are exposed to an unregulated market as we speak.

At the moment Australians face a gaping hole in that investment in a financial product is protected by regulation whereas a similar looking crypto product is not.

Bragg was critical of the Labor government for announcing further reviews into cryptocurrency, instead of taking swifter action. He said:

The consequence of Labor’s inaction is clear. Australia is falling behind on consumer protection and investment promotion.

Updated

Covid response to be boosted with extra $1.4bn

The federal government is pouring in another $1.4bn to Australia’s Covid response, with $840m going to aged care alone.

The major pandemic announcement will be confirmed on Monday morning by the health minister Mark Butler, at a press conference in Adelaide. Numerous measures in the federal Covid response were due to run out by 30 September, but Monday’s announcement extends several key programs.

The aged care support program – which funds extra cleaning, staff wages and training, waste removal and infection control measures – will get $840m. Of that, $35m will extend ongoing on‑site PCR testing.

The latest federal Covid snapshot for aged care, as of 14 September, reported 40 resident deaths and 1,580 combined new resident and staff cases in the prior seven days. There were 270 facilities with an active outbreak at that date, down 70 from the previous week.

Active aged care outbreaks have been trending down steadily since a peak in late July, and are now at the lowest level since January.

The Covid funding boost includes funding for rapid antigen tests.
The Covid funding boost includes funding for rapid antigen tests. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock

Butler’s announcement will also include $235m for PPE, treatments and rapid tests for aged care, disability care, frontline workers and First Nations health services; $115m for rapid antigen tests to high-risk settings including aged care; $142m in Medicare Benefits Scheme items for Covid tests and anti-viral prescriptions; $48m to extend 100 respiratory clinics; and funding for communication campaigns around Covid.

Last week, national cabinet agreed to extend the pandemic leave disaster payment for workers who had to isolate but didn’t have sick pay. Butler said the federal government would “continue to review the Covid-19 response measures, according to expert advice, as it develops a long-term strategy for managing the pandemic”.

Butler said:

This action will provide Australians with effective testing, medical care and treatments to protect themselves and those most vulnerable in the community.

Updated

Good morning!

In London, the prime minister Anthony Albanese has attended a reception for world leaders hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Albanese has also met with his counterparts from the 14 Commonwealth realms, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau yesterday.

The health minister, Mark Butler, will today announce the government is allocating another $1.4bn to the nation’s Covid-19 response, with $840m going to aged care alone.

Many measures in the federal Covid response were due to run out by September 30, but today’s announcement will extend several key programs.

The government is consulting on new laws to boost work security, including minimum wages and other entitlements for gig workers, in what the ABC is reporting as an “Uberisation” overhaul.

The Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has proposed a private member’s bill to tighten regulation on cryptocurrency, to address what he calls a “Wild West situation” created by current laws.

If there’s anything you think should be on the blog, you can ping me @natasha__may on Twitter or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.

Let’s get going!

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