Health News at Your Fingertips

Barnaby Joyce calls for government to take “next step” in Foot and Mouth Disease response

As foot and mouth disease fragments were found in imported meat products yesterday, the former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce appeared on Sunrise to discuss the threat the disease poses.

Joyce said if the disease enters Australia, it won’t only affect regional populations:

For the people in the city go that’s really bad for Barny in Danglemah, no it’s really bad for you. No butter, no milk, no cheese, no yoghurt, no beef, lamb… no mince. Guess what happens to your food bill? It goes through the roof.

Joyce says even for people who are vegetarians are impacted by the inability to move farm machinery, and road works are also halted due to dirt association.

Joyce was critical of the Labor for not doing enough, which he says is “terrifying people in country areas.”

He was critical of the environment minister Tanya Plibersek for not mentioning it in her National Press Club speech about the state of the environment report.

He is calling for a better baiting program as it can be transmitted through other animals like foxes.

The part that is in Australia is inert, it’s not live. But it got in.

This is a worry. It’s like finding a dead mouse under the fridge and saying ‘oh that’s the only one’… no, no that’s the one that’s dead. Let’s look for the ones that’s alive.

Joyce is calling for “government has to take the next step” in asking tourists in Bali to drop all their shoes and clothes in the bin upon their return.

The cost to people will be immense… It’ll destroy us. It’ll send us broke.

Abattoir workers out of a job, farms out of a job, transport operators out of a job, the money that goes into the town’s gone.

Melbourne’s coldest start in four years

Albanese responds to Morrison speech saying ‘we don’t trust in governments’

Josh Butler

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the chief medical officer Paul Kelly is not recommending face mask mandates.

On ABC Melbourne, Albanese said the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee “haven’t advocated that to me at all”, and that none of the state leaders at national cabinet had either.

The PM also said he found Scott Morrison’s comments at a church speech on the weekend “astonishing”. Morrison, the former PM, told the Victory Life Centre “we don’t trust in governments. We don’t trust in the United Nations, thank goodness”.

Albanese was critical of those words. The current PM said:

I just thought, ‘wow’. This guy was the Prime Minister of Australia and had that great honour of leading the government. I found it quite astonishing,.

It provides some explanation perhaps of why, in my view, he clearly didn’t lead a government that was worthy of the Australian people… he said he doesn’t believe in government.

The idea that he’s out there and pressing the United Nations button… I’ve spent two months trying to repair our international relations and that sort of nonsense, throwaway, conspiracy line about the United Nations I think isn’t worthy of someone who led Australia.

Weather warnings for Queenslanders amid dangerous surf conditions

More wild weather is predicted for parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales, with heavy rain, damaging winds and hazardous surf bringing the risk of coastal erosion.

The Queensland minister for emergency services, Mark Ryan, was on ABC Breakfast earlier this morning speaking about the situation:

There will be possible weather impacts in the next few days as a result of this unseasonal east coast low. Thankfully, as we’ve heard from the bureau, there’s not expected to be intense heavy rain across the region but there are some impacts associated with waves and dangerous surf, coastal erosion and strong winds.

There are predictions that there will be, in some areas, dangerous surf. Maybe if you were thinking of going to the beach in the next few days, reconsider what you might be doing over the next few days. If you were thinking about being out on the water, in those impacted areas, maybe think there’s an alternate instead of being out on the water over the next few days.

But there will also be some rain across South East Queensland. So the message for everyone who might be out and about is drive to the conditions. The roads may be wet. .

The Qantas plane that landed at Perth airport on Monday declared a fuel mayday but there was no safety issue, the airline’s chief pilot says.

Guardian Australia understands QF 933 from Brisbane was advised by air traffic control to carry an additional 10 minutes worth of fuel for expected holding in Perth, which pilots followed. But on approach into Perth the pilots were advised that holding had extended to 16 minutes.

Qantas chief pilot Captain Dick Tobiano told the Guardian:

Based on the pre-flight conditions, our pilots loaded fuel in accordance with CASA [Civil Aviation Safety Authority] requirements and Qantas’ fuel policy.

On approach into Perth, Air Traffic Control requested the aircraft hold for longer than our pilots had previously been advised, and that to be given priority to land our pilots needed to make a fuel mayday call.

The aircraft landed with 40 minutes of fuel in the tank, which is well above the minimum requirements. Our pilots followed the correct procedures and there was no safety issue with the flight.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s regulations require airlines carry 5% contingency fuel, and Guardian Australia understands Qantas carried 10% contingency fuel on this flight.

The Australian Safety Transport Bureau is investigating the incident.

Linda Burney says she’s ‘not going to be rushed’ on Indigenous voice referendum

Linda Burney, the minister for Indigenous Australians, is on ABC radio speaking about the enshrinement of the Indigenous voice in the constitution.

Burney says she has been “emboldened by the incredible support out there in the community” and says the voice has to have real live impacts on the lives of first Nations people.

Burney is asked about the warnings from Indigenous academic and co chair of the senior design group on the voice, Marcia Langford, that there is a danger in asking Australians to vote for voice without detail, who wants the legislation to provide an answer.

Burney said she had two responses to that issue:

This is not just symbolic, it is going to have real impacts on the lives of First Nations people.

I am not going to be rushed into timelines. We are going to do this properly.

Burney says there will be appropriate governance structures to oversee the process but “at the end of the day it is about the Australian people”.

She says bipartisanship on the issue would be “ideal”.

I would find it incredulous for people not to support what is a very generous and gracious ask.

Remember that this is an advisory body only. It is not usurping the sovereignty of the parliament. Is is not a third chamber.

Burney said “no decision has been made on whether the yes and no case will be equally funded”.

Ben Butler

Rio Tinto agrees to pay additional $613m to settle dispute with ATO

Rio Tinto has agreed to pay the Australian taxation office an additional $613m to settle disputes over its financing arrangements and marketing hubs in Singapore, as part of what the ATO claims is one of the biggest tax settlements in Australian history.

The payment is on top of $378m the global mining giant had previously paid over the same dispute,bringing the total to almost $1bn in extra tax revenue. The ATO had been seeking about $1.2bn in tax and penalties.

Emergency Qantas landing in Perth under investigation

A Qantas plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Perth airport on Monday when it started running out of fuel, sparking an investigation by air safety authorities.

The Australian Safety Transport Bureau reports a Boeing 737 was on its way from Brisbane when the crew declared an emergency on descent over Wave Rock, east of Perth. The bureau, which is investigating the incident, said:

A final report will be released at the conclusion of the investigation.

However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate safety action can be taken.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the pilots were forced to declare a “mayday” as they queued with other planes amid airport delays. The Herald reports it arrived with 20 minutes’ worth of fuel, to be told the wait would be 16 minutes, so the crew called a mayday to get priority landing.

The ATSB said the plane landed with “reserves intact”.

Shadow finance minister says government should tighten spending to fight inflation

Jane Hume, the shadow finance minister, follows Farrell on ABC radio and is calling for Labor to tighten their belts when it comes to government spending to curb inflation.

Asked if the prime minister was right to warn the RBA against overreach when it comes to lifting interest rates, Hume said:

It’s very important that we keep inflation under control because of course inflation erodes your purchasing power. And that is the primary focus of the RBA – make sure that the RBA can maintain price stability. But it isn’t just done through monetary policy. It has to be done through fiscal policy as well.

And that’s where the government needs to step up and make sure that there is some control spending.

Hume refused to answer a question on where she would suggest cutting funding, saying that is not her job.

My job is to judge that the proposed cuts Labor is making is in the national interest.

Australia closer to final agreement on a free trade deal with EU

Farrell said he is getting “a very positive response” to Australia’s chances of success when talks resume with the European Union on a free trade deal.

Farrell would ‘love to see’ China lift coal restrictions

Asked about the prospect of getting Chinese restrictions on coal lifted, Farrell said the government would “love to see those restrictions lifted” but it’s a “wait and see issue.”

Trade minister says he’s offered ‘olive branch’ to China counterpart

Don Farrell, the minister for trade and tourism, is on ABC radio discussing the potential reset with China.

Farrell says he received a congratulatory letter from his Beijing counterpart and plans to write back to him shortly and offer to meet a time convenient to him.

Farrell says the “blockages” to a reset still exist in the form of world trade organisation with barley and wine sanctions, but he is hopeful to get restrictions on Australian sales lifted.

We need to be positive. We need to be constructive … but there’s a few hurdles along the way.

Farrell has confirmed Australia would be pursuing the resolution of sanctions through the mechanisms the World Trade Organisation has set up.

Under a rules based system, which Australia has signed up to, which China has signed up to, there’s only one way to resolve these issues.

Murray Watt, the agriculture minister, was on ABC earlier this morning discussing the threat Australia’s agricultural industry is facing from foot-and-mouth disease, which is the closest it has ever been with it spreading in Bali and throughout Indonesia.

Despite the news that viral fragments were found in food products in Melbourne yesterday, Watt says he remains confident Australia can remain free of the disease.

I feel very confident that Australia’s world-leading biosecurity system stands us in very good stead to resist this outbreak arriving. There is a very serious outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia at the moment, just as there is in a number of other countries around the world. Malaysia, Vietnam, we have seen it in South Africa, in China, in other countries as well.

But we are certainly working extremely hard in partnership with industry to make sure that we keep it out by taking really strong measures here at home as well as making sure that we are helping our neighbours abroad.

Acid wash mats have been introduced at airports but Watt says:

There is no silver bullet here. What we need to be doing is making sure we are implementing every single measure that can make a difference.

But he says other parties besides the federal government has a role to play, including all travellers:

We also need our state and territory governments being ready if there were to be an outbreak and I had a very productive meeting with state and territory agriculture ministers about this yesterday. But most importantly we also need to see the travelling public do the right thing. We need people to declare when they come back in the country if they have been on a farm, if they have been near livestock. We need people to clean their shoes thoroughly or preferably leave them behind. It doesn’t matter whether you are the minister for agriculture, someone travelling back from Bali, a farmer, we all have a role to play here to make sure we do stay FMD free.

Introducing paid family and domestic violence leave will be one of the first priorities of the federal government when the new parliament meets, AAP reports.

The government’s proposed laws will allow any Australian worker to access 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave, after an election promise to ensure work is not a barrier for someone who needs to leave a violent home life.

Aged care reforms and enshrining the government’s 43% emissions reduction target in law are also among the prime minister’s priorities.

The 47th parliament will meet for the first time on Tuesday and sit for two weeks. The first sitting week will be about starting to create a better future for Australia, prime minister Anthony Albanese said.

He said in a statement:

Australians voted for change and my government is working hard and delivering,.

These are important first steps towards fixing aged care, protecting vulnerable Australians, addressing the challenges in our economy and working with our friends and allies to confront the challenges and opportunities from our changing climate.

No one held back, no one left behind, and a parliament all Australians can be proud of – that’s what I’ll be focused on when we meet together next week.

While the government has a 77 seat majority required to pass legislation in the lower house, the Senate presents a challenge. The government holds just 26 seats in the upper house, well short of the required majority, and will need to negotiate with the 18-strong crossbench or the opposition to gain 39 votes to pass legislation.

The government has revealed the parliamentary agenda priorities before the new parliament meets for the first time on Tuesday next week.

Top priorities will be legislating on an emissions reduction target and aged care , as well as introducing paid family and domestic violence leave and a new jobs and skills agency.

As another Covid-19 wave continues to sweep across the country, the prime minister Anthony Albanese has defended his government’s reluctance to introduce stricter measures, citing civil disobedience, vaccinations and mental health as reasons not to.

Australia is stepping up precautions against foot and mouth disease as viral fragments of the disease were detected yesterday in food products arriving from China. The country remains free of the diseases as the live virus was not detected, but new biosecurity measures including disinfectant mats at airports are being introduced in an attempt to protect the agriculture industry.

If you want to get in touch with news you think should be on the blog, you can ping me on Twitter @natasha__may or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.

Let’s jump in!