Health News at Your Fingertips

Damn that cake looks good!

If you missed the latest at the Pacific Islands Forum:

Victorian dairy farmers welcome Coles-brand milk price rise

The Victorian Farmers Federation has welcomed a recent move by Coles to lift their own-brand price milk by up to 60 cents, while acknowledging it is reflective of the mounting costs producers are copping at the farm gate.

The VFF United Dairy Farmers of Victoria vice-president, Mark Billing, said farmers had been doing it tough.

We’ve got fertiliser costs that have gone through the roof and significant costs around energy and grain that farmers need to feed to our cows.

Farmers can’t continue to fully absorb these costs and that’s part of the reason we’re now seeing retail level prices start to increase.

Many dairy producers are just breaking even in terms of mounting costs. To have milk, we need dairy farmers, and this move helps ensure that.

Thanks as ever to the wonderful Natasha May for keeping us all informed today. Me, and my new slippers will be with you for the rest of the afternoon.

It’s time for me to say goodbye and hand you over to the wonderful Caitlin Cassidy who will take you through the rest of the day’s news.

Adam Bandt says global heating of 1.5C means no new coal and gas

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has made his thoughts clear that if Australia is to heed the Fiji PM’s urgings for global heating to stay at 1.5C, there cannot be new coal and gas projects.

Bandt says his party’s support for the government’s climate legislation may hinge on whether it continues to back new fossil fuel projects.

New South Wales will likely see frost across most of the state tomorrow with overnight temperatures of zero and below.

Christian Porter loses appeal over blocked barrister in dropped ABC case

Michael McGowan

The former attorney general Christian Porter has lost his appeal against a federal court decision which blocked his barrister from acting in a now-abandoned defamation case against the ABC.

In April Porter launched an appeal to the full bench of the federal court over a ruling which saw his barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, blocked from acting in his high-profile defamation case against the national broadcaster.

He launched the appeal to the full bench of the federal court, despite dropping his case against the ABC last year.

On Thursday Justice Anthony Besanko handed down the ruling during a brief hearing in the federal court, saying all three justices who heard the case had agreed to dismiss the majority of the appeal.

Health minister regrets impact of ending pandemic leave payments

Butler is asked about whether he is concerned that the end to government payments to casual workers who are Covid positive will see people struggling for money go out and work while infected:

This is going to have an impact on people in the community. I deeply regret it as do other members of the government. Unfortunately, wherever an emergency payment measure is withdrawn or comes to an end, they will be an impact on the community. Whatever time, whether that’s now, three months ago or in three months time.

Butler, like other members of the government this week, emphasised the budget cannot afford for the measures to continue.

The NSW Labor leader, Chris Minns, has called on the federal government to rethink the pandemic leave payments but Butler said: “I have not seen any direct communication from him.”

While the Covid payments for casuals are ending, Butler said job security and improving access to paid leave entitlements of casual workers is right at the centre of our workplace relations policy.

He said he has no information before him at the moment that the seven-day isolation rule could be revised or scrapped when asked about the possibility by media.

Butler confirms free PCR testing will continue

Butler has clarified current Covid testing arrangements, saying he is concerned about misinformation:

There is no change to the arrangements that are in place right through the pandemic. If you think you have Covid, if you have symptoms, if you’re exposed as a close contact anywhere in Australia you can access Covid test free of charge through state government, give a PCR or rapid test code provided by the commonwealth. There will be no change to that whatsoever.

I am concerned about misinformation that has been spread that there will be change to the free Covid testing arrangements in place for some time now.

Also if you want to visit a relative in an aged care there will be free rapid tests available funded by the commonwealth to allow you to do that.

What there is a change to is a time-limited program that the national cabinet put in place, not the commonwealth, the national cabinet put in place about six months ago that would allow pensioners and other concession cardholders to put together a stockpile for their personal use. That was always intended to run the six months, that was the budgeted position of the commonwealth and the budget position as far as I understand it, every single state and territory government.

Mark Butler says business and unions must work together to keep labour market strong

The acting employment minister, Mark Butler, is providing more details about the unemployment figures that were released today.

Today’s unemployment rate of 3.5% is the lowest rate in almost 50 years, since 1974, including the lowest female unemployment rate in that same period.

The youth unemployment rate is at its lowest level, down almost one full percentage point of the lowest level since before the global financial crisis.

This is all terrific news for tens of of thousands of people who find themselves in work who weren’t last month. It also reinforces the incredible tightness of Australia’s labour market.

Butler reinforced the need for cooperation between business and unions.

There is a need for government to work collaboratively with the businesses and unions to boost productivity and boost skills and training and to boost wages and job security so workers can also see a dividend from this very strong labour market. That is exactly what the government will be doing through the prime minister and treasurer’s jobs and skills summit in seven weeks time.

Sydney Opera House concert hall to reopen on 20 July

Audiences will be able to see the Sydney Opera House’s newly renovated concert hall next week.

The hall will have better acoustics as well as improved accessibility with a new lift and passageway installed.

The chief executive, Louise Heron, spoke to the ABC earlier today about is the largest and most ambitious construction projects since the Opera House opened in 1973.

It has been a very long time coming. For decades people have dreamt of fixing the acoustics. We dreamt of replacing machinery and improving accessibility and the concert halls, some of these shortcomings have been well documented.

Musicians around the world have been playing here but all too often the experience has fallen short of expectations and unmet expectations are really not something that we want at the Opera House. With this upgrade we have corrected that imbalance. The upgrade was funded by the New South Wales government and was part of a larger $300m project to upgrade this World Heritage site a head of its 50th anniversary next year.

The concert hall reopens to the public on 20 July with a gala featuring the Sydney Symphony Orchestra led by Simone Young.

You can read more about the renovations here: