Australia news live: Coalition calls jobs and skills summit a ‘stunt’; CovidSafe app decommissioned

CovidSafe app decommissioned

The troubled government contact tracing app CovidSafe is being put out to pasture – but there won’t be a whole lot of tears shed.

At the end of 2021, as Covid-19 vaccination rates reached more than 90% of eligible Australians, contact tracing began to be scaled back. But even before the scaling back, there weren’t a whole lot of cases being identified by CovidSafe.

The app was largely ineffective and will be remembered, as a “lemon” – as one industry expert, Electronic Frontiers Australia’s chair, Justin Warren, called it. As my colleague Josh Taylor reported in July 2021:

As England and Wales experience what is being called a “pingdemic” – with more than 600,000 isolation alerts sent to users of its NHS app in one week earlier this month – Australia’s CovidSafe app has managed to identify just 17 close contacts who were not picked up by other means since it launched in April last year.

Updated at 19.08 EDT

Key events

Community consultation on refugee program begins

The minister for immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs, Andrew Giles, has shared this morning that he begun community consultations on Australia’s refugee and humanitarian program yesterday.

Yesterday I began community consultations on Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program.

This discussions are so important, bringing together evidence, experience and understanding to inform an approach that is non-discriminatory, and focused on meeting the greatest needs.

— Andrew Giles MP (@andrewjgiles) August 9, 2022

You can read more about Labor’s refugee policy from my colleague Paul Karp:

Updated at 20.23 EDT

Acting PM wants to see China relationship ‘in a better place’

Circling back to the defence minister and acting prime minister, Richard Marles’ appearance on ABC News Breakfast, as tensions continue to rise with China’s military drills around Taiwan.

Marles was asked if he is worried now that “relations between the two countries are now well and truly back in the freezer”:

I’m not going to speculate on that. What we can do is control our side of the equation and what we will do is have a different tone to the former government.

We’re going to engage with the world, including with China, on a respectful, professional diplomatic basis. We believe in the power of diplomacy. We want to have – and we value – a productive relationship with China and we would like to see the relationship in a better place.

China is going to say what China says. We control our end of this equation. And in describing that end, it’s this. We will engage with the world with respect, with professionalism, with sobriety. With a faith and diplomacy. We will continue to do that. While the Government has changed, our national interest hasn’t. We will also speak to our national interest and we will speak to it with vigour.

Updated at 20.15 EDT

Victoria records 52 Covid deaths and 610 people in hospital.

Victoria has recorded 5,898 new Covid cases in the last reporting period and 52 deaths, with 610 people in hospital and 30 in intensive care.

Victorian Health said: “Of today’s 52 reported deaths, 40 occurred in the past week, 10 occurred in the past fortnight and 2 deaths occurred in late July.”

Updated at 20.06 EDT

Reactions to opposition’s snub of jobs summit

The opposition has declined Labor’s invitation to the jobs and skills summit, which was extended to the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, last night.

The deputy leader, Sussan Ley, has said this morning no one from the coalition, including Dutton, will go.

Members of the coalition including the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, had previously said the Coalition should be represented at the summit.

Angus Taylor, July 11: “If the government is serious about building genuine consensus behind the summit… they must ensure parliamentarians from all parties, including the opposition, have a seat around the table” https://t.co/hQPXK7TGV2

— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) August 9, 2022

The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, has said on social media the opposition’s stance indicates “they don’t want to be part of the solution” the summit is setting out to create.

Updated at 19.58 EDT

Coalition calls Labor’s jobs and skills summit a ‘stunt’

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, will skip the Albanese government’s jobs and skills summit, which has been branded a “stunt” and a “talkfest” by the Coalition, AAP reports.

The summit – a Labor election promise – will aim to address Australia’s economic challenges and will bring together about 100 representatives from the business, union, and community sectors.

The Liberal deputy leader, Sussan Ley, said no one from the coalition, including Dutton who was invited by the government, will go. She told Sky News today:

It’s just a stunt.

All this is going to be is a talkfest designed to look after union mates.

The Labor party dropped the invitation to the media … they briefed out the story first, which just goes to show their level of insincerity about it.

Updated at 19.54 EDT

Police call for help to identify man hit by train in Victoria

An unidentified man has been laying in hospital for more than a month after being hit by a Melbourne train, AAP reports.

The man was struck between Royal Park and Jewell railway stations in Brunswick on 7 July, and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in a serious but stable condition.

No phone, wallet or cards were found on the man at the time and police haven’t been able to identify him despite extensive inquiries.

From his hospital bed, the grey-haired patient has mumbled the names “Roy and Ryan from Coburg” but it is unclear if he is referring to himself or someone he knows.

A facial composite image of the man, believed to be 65 to 75 years old, has been released in the hope someone will recognise him and contact Crime Stoppers.

A supplied composite image obtained on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 shows a man who has not been able to be identified after being hit by a train in Brunswick in early July. The man is believed to be around 65 to 75 years old. (AAP Image/Supplied by Victoria Police)
A supplied composite image obtained on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 shows a man who has not been able to be identified after being hit by a train in Brunswick in early July. The man is believed to be around 65 to 75 years old. (AAP Image/Supplied by Victoria Police) Photograph: Victoria Police/PR IMAGE

He is described as white, about 175cm tall and of medium build with a prominent mole below his left eye, and no identifying scars or tattoos.

Updated at 19.39 EDT

Chair of NSW flood inquiry calls for government to release full report

The NSW Labor MP who chaired the inquiry into the Northern Rivers flooding, Walt Secord, spoke to ABC radio, after findings of serious failures by agencies during the devastating floods earlier in the year.

The full report is yet to be released but the parts which have been leaked were scathing.

Secord said the members of the “tinny army” – the men and women who jumped into boats, surf boards, to rescue neighbours – did so against the orders of state officials.

But he said, “if they didn’t things would have been a lot worse”.

He said the want to see SES engaging with more local volunteer recruitment and is calling on the government to release the full report.

You can read the full story about what the flood inquiry found from my colleagues Tamsin Rose and Josh Butler:

Updated at 19.19 EDT

NSW records 30 Covid deaths and 2,212 people in hospital.

New South Wales recorded 11,356 new Covid cases in the last reporting period and 30 deaths. There were 2,212 people in hospital and 55 in intensive care.

COVID-19 update – Wednesday 10 August 2022

In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:

– 96.9% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*
– 95.3% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine* pic.twitter.com/zZAA8SkMfE

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 9, 2022

Updated at 19.12 EDT

Melissa Davey

Melissa Davey

Bulk-billing statistics dishonest, minister says

Claims by the former government that most patients are being bulk billed are “not honest”, the federal health minister, Mark Butler, has said, as a taskforce prepares to examine why basic healthcare is increasingly unaffordable.

In December the previous Coalition government said GP bulk-billing rates were at a “record high” of more than 88%, with almost nine out of 10 visits to the GP in 2021 resulting in no out-of-pocket cost for the patient.

But as Guardian Australia revealed this year, it is a rate that consumer groups and health policy experts have questioned. They say the bulk-billing figures have been artificially inflated by non-compliant billing practices, and that government statistics don’t reflect the number of people saying it is hard or even impossible to find a bulk-billing doctor.

When presented with these concerns, Butler said he had asked for more information from his department “to obtain a more complete and accurate picture of the state of bulk billing”:

The former government was not honest with Australians about the true state of bulk billing in Australia by selectively quoting only this [88%] figure

Primary care is in its worst shape since Medicare began. Across the country we hear stories of Australians not being able to get in to see a bulk-billing doctor, or GPs changing from bulk billing to mixed billing.

Read more:

Updated at 19.09 EDT

CBA profit jumps to nearly $10bn

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has posted a robust rise in full-year profit, buoyed by strong home and business lending, AAP reports.

The country’s biggest lender today reported cash profit of $9.59bn for the year to 30 June, an 11% increase from the year earlier. Its statutory bottom-line result was up 9% to $9.67bn.

It will pay a fully franked final dividend of $2.10 a share, up from a $1.75 a share interim payment in the first half.

The chief executive, Matt Comyn, says the bank’s focus on strengthening customer engagements helped in growing its core deposit and lending volumes to retail, business and institutional customers:

Our operating performance was higher as a result of this continued volume growth and profitability was further supported by sound portfolio credit quality.

Updated at 19.08 EDT

Newton-John family would accept state funeral

Olivia Newton-John’s niece, Tottie Goldsmith, has revealed her family would accept a state funeral, though a formal offer from the Victorian government is yet to be made, AAP reports.

Olivia Newton-John with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi and niece Tottie Goldsmith
Olivia Newton-John with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi and niece Tottie Goldsmith. Photograph: Ellen Smith/AAP

A spokesperson for premier Daniel Andrews said today that “no offer or acceptance has occurred” at this time but did not rule out the possibility.

Goldsmith, an actor, appeared on A Current Affair on Tuesday night to remember the Grease star. She said her family would accept an offer of a state funeral:

On behalf of not just our family, but I think Australia needs it – she’s so loved. I think our country needs it, so we’re going to accept it.

Updated at 19.03 EDT

Defence minister calls Chinese military activity near Taiwan ‘very concerning’

As China escalates its military activity with drills in waters near Taiwan, officials in Beijing have warned Australia to stop criticising China.

The defence minister and acting prime minister Richard Marles appeared on ABC Breakfast News saying de-escalation and maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait is in the national interest.

Marles was asked if he shares the concerns expressed late yesterday from Taiwan’s foreign minister saying China is using those drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan:

Well, I think what we are seeing is very concerning which is why it is – we do want to see … a return to a greater sense of peace in the region. And a greater sense of normality and that’s what we’re advocate advocating for. It’s what the world is advocating for.

Asked about the possibility a miscalculation in waters off Taiwan and the air over Taiwan could seriously escalate tensions, Marles said:

I think the more that we are seeing drills of this kind, the greater the risk of miscalculation. So it definitely is a concern and that a product of intentions that have escalated. That’s why we have been saying for some time new that we really want to see a de-escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Our position, as I say, is underpinned by not wanting to see any change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. That means as a country we have adopted a one-China policy that we had in the place since the 1970s.

China’s ambassador to Australia will address the National Press Club in Canberra today in his first speech since taking on the role at the beginning of the year.

Updated at 18.38 EDT

CovidSafe app decommissioned

The troubled government contact tracing app CovidSafe is being put out to pasture – but there won’t be a whole lot of tears shed.

At the end of 2021, as Covid-19 vaccination rates reached more than 90% of eligible Australians, contact tracing began to be scaled back. But even before the scaling back, there weren’t a whole lot of cases being identified by CovidSafe.

The app was largely ineffective and will be remembered, as a “lemon” – as one industry expert, Electronic Frontiers Australia’s chair, Justin Warren, called it. As my colleague Josh Taylor reported in July 2021:

As England and Wales experience what is being called a “pingdemic” – with more than 600,000 isolation alerts sent to users of its NHS app in one week earlier this month – Australia’s CovidSafe app has managed to identify just 17 close contacts who were not picked up by other means since it launched in April last year.

Updated at 19.08 EDT

Government would consider funding Solomon Islands elections, Pacific minister says

Pat Conroy, the minister for the Pacific, has just appeared on ABC Radio after his return from a trip to Honiara where he met Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.

The visit follows a bid by the Solomon Islands government to delay upcoming elections until after the Pacific Games in December next year, which has raised alarm.

Solomon Islands opposition members have suggested Australia could fund the election, Conroy is asked if he is open to that:

He says as far as the parliamentary bill being debated about that decision is concerned:

This is a question for the Solomon Islands parliament and the people of the Solomon Islands.

Asked if he will offer monetary support, if this is the barrier, Conroy responds:

I think it’s very important we respect the internal processes of other countries, historically we have provided funding for elections and if asked we would consider such requests.

Would Australia be concerned about the delaying of an election?

“we believe that having regular election cycles is a key aspect of democratic norms and values we share across the region.. we are going to respect the internal processes of neighbouring countries”

@PatConroy1

— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) August 9, 2022

Updated at 19.45 EDT

Serena Williams announces retirement, wishing she could feel as Ash Barty did

Serena Williams has announced her pending retirement in an article she has penned in Vogue.

The tennis superstar revealed she is putting away her racket because, at 40, she really wants a second child (and her daughter is campaigning hard for a little sister). But she talks about the conflict that creates in her mind, with her ambitions in tennis at war with her love of motherhood.

The player's fingernails with a ball and racket
Serena Williams practises her serve at the Australian Open. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles is of course the one Williams didn’t beat. With 23 grand slams, she was one tournament away from equalling it. In the article Williams says, “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record.”

There are people who say I’m not the GOAT because I didn’t pass Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved before the “open era” that began in 1968. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously I do. But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. If I’m in a grand slam final, then yes, I am thinking about that record. Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn’t help. The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams. I had my chances after coming back from giving birth. I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression. But I didn’t get there. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn’t show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually it’s extraordinary. But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter.

Williams is candid about her reticence in making the decision, reflecting that she wished she could welcome retirement the way that Australia’s Ash Barty did:

I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way. Ashleigh Barty was number one in the world when she left the sport this March, and I believe she really felt ready to move on.

Updated at 18.14 EDT

NSW train services cancelled amid industrial action

NSW train commuters are being affected by industrial action, with some services cancelled as the rail union continues its campaign to secure changes to a new fleet of intercity trains and reach a new enterprise bargaining agreement, AAP reports.

Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said the strike would affect about 70,000 commuters who regularly travel on Sydney’s T4 Eastern line, the Illawarra and South Coast lines.

Services will operate normally until about 9am, when trains will be taken back to stabling yards and depots before the industrial action starts at 10am.

He told Sydney radio 2GB this morning:

We won’t be back to a full timetable on the T4 service until around about five or 5.30 in the afternoon.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Alex Claassens said the train services should not have been suspended, with about 90% of train crews still available to work. He said on Monday:

If [the network] is shut down, it will be because transport bureaucrats have simply decided they don’t want to run the trains, not because they can’t.

Updated at 18.07 EDT

Good morning!

The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, will address the National Press Club today after officials in Beijing warned Australia to stop criticising China’s military drills near Taiwan.

The Albanese government is calling for a de-escalation of tensions in the region, as acting prime minister Richard Marles has affirmed on ABC Breakfast Television this morning.

In more diplomatic news, Australia yesterday committed $16.68m to the Solomon Islands to support preparations for the Pacific Games. Manasseh Sogavare’s government has said it wants to extend parliament until after it hosts the 2023 games.

Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy will be speaking soon on ABC Radio. We’ll bring you those updates.

An Australian Council of Trade Unions discussion paper is also out this morning, criticising the Reserve Bank’s over-reliance on interest rates to contain inflation.

The government’s jobs and skills summit in September remains a hot ticket but when Labor announced the event it was unclear whether opposition members would receive the invite. We now know Labor has invited opposition leader Peter Dutton to the September summit with treasurer Jim Chalmers saying it is a sign the federal government is serious about finding common ground.

Let’s jump in!

Updated at 17.33 EDT