Health News at Your Fingertips

Josh Butler

Governor general David Hurley appointed former prime minister Scott Morrison to administer other portfolios, Government House has confirmed, after advice from the then-Coalition government.

A spokesman for Hurley said such appointments do not require a swearing-in ceremony, and said that any publicising of such ministerial appointments is solely a matter for the government. He said:

The governor general, following normal process and acting on the advice of the government of the day, appointed former prime minister Morrison to administer portfolios other than the department of the prime minister and cabinet. The appointments were made consistently with section 64 of the constitution.

It is not uncommon for ministers to be appointed to administer departments other than their portfolio responsibility. These appointments do not require a swearing-in ceremony – the governor general signs an administrative instrument on the advice of the prime minister.

Questions around appointments of this nature are a matter for the government of the day and the department of the prime minister and cabinet. Similarly, the decision whether to publicise appointments to administer additional portfolios is a matter for the government of the day.

Read the original story here:

The governor general was “following normal process” in appointing former prime minister Scott Morrison to a range of portfolios, according to a statement sent to News.com.au’s Samantha Maiden.

Oh, and:

The decision whether to publicise appointments to administer additional portfolios is a matter for the government of the day.

If you haven’t read that Ben Doherty piece on those left behind in Afghanistan yet, please do – then follow it up with this piece on what should be done now, by Sitarah Mohammadi and Sajjad Askary:

Two people with Covid have died in Western Australia overnight, with the state recording 1,605 new cases, 303 people in hospital, and nine in ICU.

Four people with Covid have died in South Australia overnight, with the state recording 1,194 new cases, 274 people in hospital, and 12 in ICU.

Extraordinary work here from Ben Doherty on the Afghans Australia left behind:

My boys eat only one meal a day. My wife has got health and mental issues. It is a really difficult situation for my boys, starving, they are two, eight and 10 years old. They cannot go out as their visas are expired. We face police outside and the Australian government is not responding to our questions.

Thanks to Royce Kurmelovs for holding on tight to the wild ride that was former prime minister Scott Morrison apparently appointing himself to a range of ministries.

Tory Shepherd with you now – well, sort of. I can only feel half my face thanks to the wonders of modern dentistry. There may or may not be drool. Anyhoo, on with the show!

Peter Hannam

Electricity prices remain high despite easing slightly

In the wake of Friday’s energy ministers’ meeting in Canberra, it’s worth remembering that Australia’s electricity prices remain high after tripling in the June quarter in the National Electricity Market, which serves 80% of the country’s population.

Today’s weekly readout of futures prices from the ASX shows only a gradual decline from the $264/megawatt hour averaged in the April-June period.

(As @dylanjmcconnell notes, a better measure of calculation – the volume-weighted price – puts the June quarter average slightly above $300/MWh.)

Energy ministers, as has been reported, have effectively shelved plans for a capacity mechanism – an indication perhaps that imposing a new complication on the NEM might not be the wisest course of action. “Probably fair to say it will go in a different direction to how it was originally conceived,” was one insider’s diplomatic takeout.

Kerry Schott, formerly the head of the Energy Security Board and a supporter of a mechanism to pay for idle generation capacity in the market, is reported in the AFR today as saying that states “will be largely left to implement their own schemes”.

That was probably always going to be the case, particularly as the Morrison government had largely given up on a national energy policy.

In the meanwhile, when the wind is blowing and the sun is out, wholesale spot prices are low – as they were a little while ago. Renewables were accounting for half of supplies in the NEM:

Still, market conditions remain tight, particularly in Queensland where there are “lack of reserve” forecasts for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from AEMO.

The gaps that the operator is looking to nudge suppliers to fill aren’t huge – in the 100MWs or so levels – but that could change if an ageing black or brown coal generator were to have any conniptions. We’ve had enough of those in recent months to be wary of more to come.

Queensland police commissioner to face inquiry over DV response

Eden Gillespie

Queensland’s police commissioner will front a commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence this week after questions were raised about her absence from the public hearings.

Katarina Carroll, commissioner of the Queensland Police Service, is set to appear at an extra public hearing on Thursday to discuss the police’s capability, capacity and structure to respond to domestic violence, as well as cultural issues within the force.

It comes after Guardian Australia reported earlier this month that the commission had not asked Carroll to give evidence at the public hearings before they were scheduled to wrap up last week, prompting criticism from victims’ advocates.

Over the past five weeks, the inquiry has heard several disturbing allegations about the culture within the force such as officers allegedly referring to domestic violence as “foreplay” and reports police did not investigate a woman’s suspicious death because she and her husband were “a pair of scumbags who live in a shit area”.

When contacted by Guardian Australia earlier this month, the commission did not explain why the commissioner was not originally asked to give evidence at the hearings in person.

Adelaide Holocaust Museum fears antisemitic threats

The Adelaide Holocaust Museum is at risk of being targeted after news reports of antisemitic vandalism in South Australia has raised security concerns.

Kathy Kaykitch, director of the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (AHMSEC), said the museum and its patrons were at risk of being targeted.

“The growing threat from extremist groups, both here and around the world, highlight the urgent need to ensure that school groups and patrons are safe and not subject to any antisemitic activity while visiting the museum,” Kaykitch said.

“Extremist groups are active and organising in online spaces, these disgusting acts of racist vandalism bring to the fore the critical importance of supporting the education of young people through our programs.”

Since it opened in November 2020, the museum has been targeted in acts of antisemitic vandalism.

The museum is calling the state government to take measures to help ensure it is protected.

Caitlin Cassidy

Qantas flight crew back at work after engine malfunction forces emergency landing

Qantas flight crew have returned to work after a Sydney to Hobart flight was forced to divert to Melbourne yesterday afternoon.

A Qantas spokesperson said the aircraft, a Boeing 717, made a snap priority landing after pilots received an alert in the cockpit about an engine issue, followed by a loud noise in one of the engines.

The pilots followed all standard procedures, shut down one of the aircraft’s engines and asked for a priority landing into Melbourne, where the aircraft landed safely and without incident.

Engineers are inspecting the aircraft. We understand this would have been an unsettling experience for our customers and we thank them for their patience and cooperation.

A passenger onboard the flight reported hearing an “enormous bang” and experiencing “the plane shaking like it would fall apart”.

The crew were DAMP tested and have returned to work today, while passengers were re-accommodated on to flights to Hobart last night. Emergency services attended the scene, however there were no injuries.

A spokesperson for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed an engine malfunction issue had been reported and they were “gathering further information at this stage”.

No one with Covid-19 has died in Australian Capital Territory overnight, with the territory recording 287 new cases on Monday morning, 135 people in hospital, two in ICU and one on ventilation.

PM’s press conference ends

That’s it for the PM’s press conference – strong words there from Anthony Albanese saying that his government will be investigating what has occurred before they offer detailed comments.

The prime minister made clear the ministerial power-sharing arrangement violated the customary norms of government in Australia and that Scott Morrison “should be held accountable for his actions”.

Albanese claims Morrison ‘didn’t allow ministers to do their job’

On whether Albanese has instructed the solicitor general to investigate what happened, the PM says he will be getting a “full briefing” this afternoon.

This is dripping out like a tap that needs a washer fixed and what we need is actually to get the full flow of all the information out there and then we’ll make a decision about a way forward here. But these circumstances should never have arisen. You know, we do have a non-presidential system of government in this country, but what we had from Scott Morrison is a centralisation of power, is overriding of ministerial decisions, and all done in secret.

Albanese raises the prospect that this power-sharing relationship may have compromised the operation of the Australian government:

Perhaps this explains why we didn’t order enough vaccines. I mean, the minister for health might have thought the prime minister was ordering them because he was also the minister for health and he thought the minister for health was ordering them.

He says he won’t have any more information until he has a full briefing and is able to get advice. However the PM says his government will “operate in an orderly and transparent way”.

I’ll have more to say about that when we receive advice. But let’s be clear here – this was a centralisation of power by the former prime minister and the former prime minister should be held accountable for his actions as well as the actions of other members of his government. This was a political decision, or a series of political decisions, were made. It’s not clear to me or, indeed, to anyone at this point in time how many other portfolios Scott Morrison was sworn into, but what’s very clear is that this was a sign of no confidence by Scott Morrison in the Morrison government – in the Morrison government. Because he didn’t allow ministers to do their job.

‘The people of Australia were kept in the dark,’ says Albanese

Albanese:

Nothing about the last government was real, not even the government itself.

The PM is also asked about Morrison’s use of the arrangement to kill the PEP11 exploration licence off the New South Wales coast.

The fact that Minister Pitt disagreed with the decision that was made by the prime minister as the minister for resources as well as Minister Pitt, is quite extraordinary. I don’t think it’s clear whether Minister Pitt was aware that his role had been usurped.

Albanese says there “was an obligation upon the prime minister at that point in time, if not beforehand, to actually reveal what the arrangements were”.

This isn’t some, you know, local footy club. This is a government of Australia where the people of Australia were kept in the dark as to what the ministerial arrangements were. It’s completely unacceptable.