Health News at Your Fingertips

Autumn saying goodbye in the unkindest way possible, via AAP:

An icy blast hitting much of southern and eastern Australia is expected to intensify, bringing low-level snow to several states.

The strong cold front and low pressure system will be at its most severe on Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast.

“Residents of south-east South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and eastern New South Wales and parts of southern Queensland will be impacted by this system,” the BOM said.

“Significant snow and rain with possible severe thunderstorms and hail is also expected … mostly impacting western and central NSW, and western Victoria and Melbourne.”

Snow levels are expected to rapidly drop on Tuesday to 600-700 metres across Victoria, Tasmania and south-east NSW, and above 800m in the NSW Central Tablelands.

Significant snow on alpine peaks of 20-50cm is likely with blizzard conditions.

The bureau warns the low-level snow and windy conditions will create particularly hazardous driving conditions, with inland highways likely to be hit by sleet.

Maximum temperatures are expected to be 3-6C below the May average, including in areas as far inland as southern Queensland and southern NT.

The cold front is also bringing large swells that will batter most of the southern Australian mainland, in particular South Australia and western Victoria.

Severe weather warnings for damaging wind gusts are in place for much of South Australia and NSW, plus northern Victoria.

“These areas have also recently seen significant rainfall meaning winds over sodden catchments may see fallen trees (and) powerlines and impacts to caravans and motorhomes,” the BOM warns.

“There will likely be damage to property and weakened trees, with possible flash flooding due to blocked drains.”

The damaging winds are likely to ease late on Wednesday.

Both of them watch too much mixed martial arts for mine.

Pacific countries reject China’s proposed region-wide economic and security deal

Kate Lyons

Pacific countries have rejected a sweeping regional economic and security deal proposed by China, after a crucial meeting of Pacific foreign ministers islands meeting with China’s foreign minister today.

China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, is currently undertaking a marathon tour of the Pacific, visiting eight countries in 10 days, in a move that security experts have said represents a dramatic “uptick in tempo” of China’s push for influence in the region.

He held a virtual summit with foreign ministers from Pacific countries at which a sweeping region-wide security deal was discussed.

The deal, which was leaked last week, covers everything from a free trade area with the region to providing humanitarian and Covid relief. It also lays out China’s vision for a much closer relationship with the Pacific, especially on security matters, with China proposing it would be involved in training police, cybersecurity, sensitive marine mapping and gaining greater access to natural resources.

At a press event following the meeting, attended by Wang and Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, China confirmed the deal had been shelved for now.

China’s ambassador to Fiji said that while there had been “general support” for the agreement among foreign ministers had been shelved, some Pacific countries had voiced concerns.

Bainimarama also alluded to dissent among some foreign ministers at the meeting, saying the group had a “consensus first” approach. Wang said that China would release a position paper to increase consensus and cooperation.

Wang touched down in Fiji yesterday as part of a marathon diplomatic trip through the region. He met with Bainimarama this morning, a meeting both leaders said had been successful. The two countries signed at least three agreements after the meeting, which Wang said would expand cooperation between the two countries in the economy, trade, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, civil aviation, education, law enforcement, and emergency management.

“China is not a newcomer but an old friend with a long-standing friendship,” said Wang, at a press event on Monday afternoon, at which questions from media were not allowed, adding that China would provide assistance to Pacific Island countries with “no political strings attached”.

AAP has the latest on a fairly wild weather event in Adelaide:

A mini-tornado has cut a path through an Adelaide suburb, bringing down powerlines, trees and damaging houses.

The windstorm hit Salisbury, about 20km north of the Adelaide CBD, shortly after 5am on Monday, the South Australian State Emergency Service says.

More than 200 people called for help, with SASES reporting it was difficult to get to some areas due to a large amount of debris blocking roads.

It struck as a severe weather cell passed across the north of the city, dumping more than 70mm of rain in some areas.

Social media photos showed many large trees fallen across roads and power lines.

Other images on Facebook showed cars stranded on flooded roads and damaged buildings.

More than 1,850 homes and business across the city remained without power about 2pm, with the SA electricity distributor, SA Power Networks, warning some customers may be without power until Tuesday.

A severe weather warning for damaging wind remains in place for much of the state.

Here’s an update on the post-election state of play, via AAP:

Vote counting in crucial marginal seats has resumed more than a week since the federal election, with Labor on the cusp of securing a majority government.

Labor is currently on 75 seats in the house of representatives, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, one short of the 76 needed to govern in its own right.

Large numbers of absentee and declaration votes are expected to be counted on Monday.

Three seats remain in doubt, including the electorates of Gilmore, Deakin and Macnamara.

In Gilmore on the NSW south coast, Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips was ahead by 142 votes as of 1pm on Monday.

The narrow lead for Labor comes following absentee votes being counted.

Liberal Michael Sukkar has marginally increased his lead in the Melbourne seat of Deakin to 891 votes over Labor’s Matt Gregg.

The Melbourne seat of Macnamara is also another tight contest, with a three-horse race still under way between Labor, the Liberals and the Greens.

As of Monday, Liberal candidate Colleen Harkin is on 33.56%, with Labor’s Josh Burns on 33.5% and Steph Hodgins-May from the Greens on 32.93%.

The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, said the large number of declaration votes being counted on Monday should clarify the final result in marginal seats, unless the contests remained too close to call.

It comes as both the Liberal and National parties met in Canberra on Monday to elect their new leaders.

Peter Dutton was elected unopposed as the next Liberal leader and opposition leader, with Sussan Ley also elected unopposed as the party’s deputy.

After a marathon party meeting, the Nationals selected David Littleproud as the next leader and Perin Davey as the deputy.

Meetings will take place on Tuesday within the government to determine the make up of the new cabinet.

The new front bench will be formally sworn into their roles on Wednesday.

Senator Michaelia Cash, who was elected deputy leader of the opposition in the Senate today, has issued this statement:

I am pleased to congratulate the Hon Peter Dutton MP on his election unopposed as leader of the opposition and the Hon Sussan Ley MP as deputy leader.

I am also honoured that my Liberal Senate colleagues elected me deputy leader of the opposition in the Senate today, with senator the Hon Simon Birmingham to be the leader of the opposition in the Senate.

I look forward to working with Peter, Sussan, Simon and my opposition colleagues as we hold the new government to account.

The leadership team will work together to focus on the concerns of all Australians and put forward policies that will make their lives better and aspirations more achievable.

AAP has filed this report on a paramedics strike in NSW:

Paramedics in NSW are two days into five days of snap industrial action as their dispute with the government over staffing and wages shows no signs of simmering down.

On Saturday, paramedics brought forward plans for on-the-job industrial action after the NSW government launched a legal challenge with the Industrial Relations Commission.

Paramedics will not take patients’ billing details, will not report key performance indicators and will not leave their home stations.

It comes as nine out of 10 paramedics report they believe patients are dying due to under-resourcing, according to a survey from the Australian Paramedics Association NSW.

Anyone who calls an ambulance during the industrial action will still receive help, says Catherine Treloar from APA NSW, but they will not be billed for it.

“Paramedics are taking industrial action today for patients’ safety and I think really the question is, are patients being put at risk every day by the NSW government’s failure to take action,” Treloar told the Nine Network on Monday.

The recent addition of 300 paramedics to the NSW workforce did not address staff shortage issues, and the sector needed at least 1,500 new staff, she said.

The APA wants the government to commit to further funding for specialists and community care, to increase paramedic staff numbers by at least 1,500, and to lift paramedics’ wages.

The NSW premier, Dom Perrottet, said on Friday that further funding would be committed to paramedics in the June budget.

He urged people to call an ambulance only in an emergency, saying people were increasingly calling triple zero in non-urgent situations.

The IRC will hear the matter on Monday.

Here’s our full story on the news from earlier today on AGL abandoning its demerger plans, via Peter Hannam.

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 10 deaths from Covid-19:

NSW

• Deaths: 1
• Cases: 5,855
• In hospital: 1,181 (with 34 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 201
• In hospital: 11 (with no people in ICU)

Queensland

• Deaths: 1
• Cases: 2,872
• In hospital: 365 (with 4 people in ICU)

South Australia

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 2,220
• In hospital: 216 (with 8 people in ICU)

Tasmania

• Deaths: 1
• Cases: 627
• In hospital: 46 (with 1 person in ICU)

Victoria

• Deaths: 3
• Cases: 8,288
• In hospital: 550 (with 37 people in ICU)

Western Australia

• Deaths: 4
• Cases: 6,649
• In hospital: 317 (with 10 people in ICU)

Elias Visontay

Qantas has hit back at regional carrier Rex after it accused the flying kangaroo of “bullying and heartless behaviour” that caused it to cancel services to five destinations.

On Monday, Rex announced it would no longer service Bathurst, Grafton, Lismore and Kangaroo Island from 30 June, and would terminate flights to Ballina on 2 July.

Rex is also considering ending services to two other regional New South Wales airports, pending further review, and has warned other services in its network could be adjusted in coming months.

In its statement, Rex noted the end of the federal government’s regional airline network support program and said its decision to terminate some routes was part of an effort to improve its financial performance. However deputy chairman John Sharp pointed the finger at Qantas. Sharp said:

Qantas’ well-publicised predatory actions on Rex’s regional routes have meant that Rex no longer has the ability to cross subsidise these marginal routes.

It is unfortunate that these regional communities are the collateral damage of Qantas’ bullying and heartless behaviour. This behaviour is all the more unconscionable after receiving over $2 billion in Federal bailouts over the past 2 years.

On Monday afternoon, Qantas issued a statement calling Sharp’s claims “just ridiculous”. A spokesperson for the airline said:

Rex is always looking to blame others when it withdraws from regional routes, but none of its claims stack up to scrutiny. Rex has a monopoly on three of these routes it’s abandoning, so if it can’t make them work, it has no-one else to blame but itself.

Rex says it doesn’t have the funds to cross subsidise these routes, but it doesn’t have a problem finding money to invest in more aircraft for its capital city 737 operations. That must be confusing for regional customers given Rex’s tagline is that their heart is in the country.

The spokesperson added that “Rex’s claims against Qantas have become so far-fetched, we had to create a dedicated page on our website to rebut them and update it on a fairly regular basis as they cook up more weird conspiracy theories”. You can check out that website here.

Glyn Davis, a former University of Melbourne and Griffith University vice chancellor, has been appointed secretary of the department of prime minister and cabinet, replacing Phil Gaetjens.

The department said in a statement:

On the recommendation of the prime minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, the governor general today appointed Professor Glyn Davis AC as the new secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Professor Davis currently serves as CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic trust. Professor Davis served on the panel led by David Thodey to review the Australian Public Service.

Professor Davis has had a long and distinguished career in both academia and public service, having served as director general of the Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1998 until 2002, before moving to vice chancellor roles at both Griffith University and the University of Melbourne. He holds emeritus roles at universities around the world, and has served as Chair of the Group of Eight, Chair of Universities Australia and Chair of Universitas 21. In 2010, Professor Davis delivered the Boyer Lectures on the theme the Republic of Learning.

Prime minister Albanese has welcomed the appointment of Professor Davis.

“Professor Davis will bring to the role of secretary a deep understanding of public policy and will work with my government in bringing about positive change for the Australian people,” he said.

The prime minister thanked Philip Gaetjens for his service to the Australian public, both as secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet since August 2019, and across a distinguished 45-year career of public service.

Professor Davis will commence his five-year appointment on 6 June 2022.

Barnaby Joyce has released a statement about losing the Nationals leadership (again).

Mike Cannon-Brookes responds to AGL abandoning demerger plans

Not surprisingly, Mike Cannon-Brookes’s family company, Grok Ventures, has welcomed AGL’s surrender today on its planned demerger, calling it “the sensible decision by AGL to abandon its value-destructive demerger plan and renew its board”. In a statement, it said:

AGL’s retail and institutional shareholders have sent an emphatic message to the Board and management of AGL that the company needs to be kept together to take advantage of the economic opportunity presented by decarbonisation.

As AGL’s largest shareholder, we have requested a meeting with Vanessa Sullivan and Graham Cockroft who are co-chairing the “strategic review”.

Grok, though, will be keen that the country’s biggest electricity generator remains intact, and for the review not to result in the company’s assets being hived off “piece by piece”.

Cannon-Brookes last week said Grok would be seeking two board seats, and it affirmed its interest today that it would demand “board representation … [to] ensure that AGL has the talent, capital, capability and oversight that is required to embrace the opportunity presented by decarbonisation”.

It did not indicate whom it will be putting up to join the board.

Dutton: ‘We have to be able to pay for it’

Dutton is asked a final question about “multicultural and minority communities, including the disabled community and the LGBTIQ community, feeling underrepresented by some of the Liberal policies and [by] the Liberal party itself. What’s your message for them to know that you will represent those people?”

He mentions a “broad suite of policies designed to help people not discriminate against anyone”, two gay Liberal MPs who lost their seats at the election, Trevor Evans and Trent Zimmerman, and issues a quick warning to Labor, saying:

… whatever program it is that we want to provide to the community, we have to be able to pay for it. And if we don’t run the economy well, we don’t manage the budget well, you can’t pay for it. And that’s exactly what Labor is about to find out.

And that’s it from Dutton and Ley.

Dutton: We’ll support climate change policies ‘that aren’t going to crush families and small business’

Dutton is asked if there’s any prospect he could work with the government on climate policy in this parliament. He responds:

I take the issue very seriously, I’ve supported our policies in the past, I’ve looked at countries that have made commitments and never met them. We have made commitments, we’ve met them. So, I’m very supportive of serious policy, but I want us to get the balance right. And if you look at what’s happening in Europe at the moment, my job as the opposition leader is to put policies forward, between now and the next election, and to hold the bad government to account.

That’s my job. And we’ll support policies that aren’t going to crush families and small businesses. And I’m worried at the moment the Labor party policies, as they’ve got – make energy less reliable and more expensive, and families at the moment can’t afford that, because they can’t afford to fill their car, they’re seeing grocery prices go up, they know that their rents are going up or that interest rates, if they go up, that they’ll have to pay more in their mortgage, and they are worried.

And I don’t want to make that situation worse for them. I want to help their families and I want to help their small businesses become bigger businesses. And I worry that the Labor party is embarking on a course where they will tax and spend, and it will be those families and those small businesses that will be adversely impacted.

Dutton is asked if Australia should still be preparing for war (as he said it should a few weeks back). He responds:

Well, Australia should be realistic about what’s happening in China under President Xi, and the Prime Minister has made this point, and they have been very clear about their intent in relation to Taiwan.

I’m concerned that if they went into Taiwan, that would change quite dramatically the security settings within our own region. I think it would impact negatively on the trading relationships that we have with our neighbours and what it means for safe passage of vessels through particular straits and all the approaches to our country as well.

And I quoted, I think, a fifth-century proverb maybe at the time, which was, you know, not too controversial. That is that you’ve got to, as a country, be strong. And I want to be a strong country. As I said before, we live in the best country in the world, it’s worth fighting for, it’s worth making sure that we take the decisions to help people, and to clean up Labor’s mess in three years’ time. They are going to be a bad Government. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. They don’t have the experience or the capability.

Dutton wants Indigenous voice to parliament to be ‘accompanied by practical responses’

Reporter: You previously argued that an Indigenous voice to parliament would amount to a third chamber. Are you disappointed in enshrining a voice to parliament or is that something you will campaign against?

Dutton:

Well, the minister, Linda Burney, has stated, as I said before, that she’s not yet settled in her own mind yet, and certainly I don’t think it’s been through the caucus in the Labor party as to what the final form will be. So, we’ll have a look at what they’re proposing.

But as I said, I want the symbolic nature – which I accept is very important to many people – to be accompanied by practical responses. I want to understand how we’re going to reduce the incidence of child abuse within those communities. I want to understand how it is that we’re going to allow more young girls to go on to education, how we can address infant mortality, and many other indicators.

And as I say, it’s not been from a bad place, but we’ve failed in this policy area. And nobody, hand on heart, can sit here today and say that we are in a better position in many of those instances, many of those indicators, then we were five or 10 or 25 years ago.

So, I want to understand what it leads to and how we can be constructive in helping Indigenous Australians also celebrate the great successes.