And that’s where we’ll leave you on this Sunday 7 August. Here’s what we learned today:
- The Chinese embassy in Australia condemned a joint statement from foreign minister Penny Wong together with her Japanese counterpart and US secretary of state in response to Beijing’s unprecedented military aggression in the Taiwan Strait.
- Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie called for Australia to develop and operate its own missiles, arguing the country needs greater deterrents given the “very bleak” strategic outlook, with a “rising China” displaying “revisionist and expansionist ambitions”.
- NSW Labor will seek to expand an inquiry into the controversial appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a US trade job to look at other lucrative overseas-based roles.
- New research suggests children’s noses may be better at fighting off Covid-19 than those of adults.
- The family of the late Seekers singer Judith Durham have accepted the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ offer of a state funeral.
- And the deaths of 32 people from Covid-19 were recorded today with more than 4,400 people in hospital with the virus.
Thanks for your company. See you tomorrow.
State funeral for Judith Durham confirmed
The family of Judith Durham have accepted the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ offer of a state funeral.
I’ve spoken with Judith Durham’s family today and I'm pleased they have accepted the offer of a State Funeral to honour the life and contribution of a true icon of Australian music.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 7, 2022
Beck Murdoch, a disability support worker, says she has “begrudgingly” paid a 1.5% fee to be paid early for work funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme rather than face uncertainty or weeks of delays:
I don’t think anyone should have to pay to access their own money.
Murdoch is speaking about Express Pay, a third-party payment service owned and operated by the gig economy platform Mable, which helps connect disabled clients and support workers.
Workers who use Mable are independent contractors and therefore not entitled to the same rights as employees. Workers are engaged and paid by their clients rather than Mable, with Mable collecting the fees from clients and distributing them to workers.
When it comes to being paid on time “there’s no magic number” and no certainty as a contractor, Murdoch says:
Sometimes I’ll get paid weekly, then nothing for three weeks, then three weeks’ pay in one go, then nothing for six weeks – it’s so sporadic.
Read the full story here:
