Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria announces seven-day ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown after Melbourne outbreak grows to 26 Covid cases
Victoria #Victoria
9.06pm EDT 21:06
Annnnd there has been a small earthquake in regional Victoria:
Updated at 9.06pm EDT
9.05pm EDT 21:05
For those asking why is Victoria looking at a lockdown, while NSW didn’t when it had an outbreak in the northern beaches – I’d urge you to look at the geographical spread of where people infected with Covid have visited and just how spread out exposure sites are.
It’s a lot easier to contain an outbreak when people are all in the same area – like what happened with the northern beaches.
The latest Melbourne outbreak has spread across the city.
Updated at 9.07pm EDT
9.00pm EDT 21:00
Queensland is being very Queensland amid all this (I can say that, as a Queenslander).
Via AAP:
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is in talks with the NRL to host the State of Origin opener in 13 days time, following a Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
The MCG is currently the venue for the June 9 clash, but that could change if the Victorian capital goes into lockdown from Friday, as expected.
The virus cluster in Melbourne’s north expanded to 26 infections as 11 new cases diagnosed on Thursday.
Premier Palaszczuk says the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane or Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville could host the clash on June 9, if needed.
“We’re putting our hand up – as I know other states will as well,” Palaszczuk told parliament on Thursday.
“We live in rugby league heartland. Queensland is the ideal place to kick off this year’s State of Origin.
“I can confirm that we’re in discussions with the NRL.”
Updated at 9.04pm EDT
8.57pm EDT 20:57
For the record, no one is saying the states are failing and they want the federal government to “take over” quarantine.
I think people just want the federal government to *do* something on quarantine, given that it is a commonwealth responsibility, we are 18 months in, our vaccine program has been delayed, we have thousands of Australians still stranded overseas, eventually we will have to open our international border and we will be living with this virus for years to come.
“Fortress Australia” is, and always was, porous. And we still don’t have a plan.
Updated at 9.03pm EDT
8.53pm EDT 20:53
This exchange between Stuart Robert and Kieran Gilbert on Sky News yesterday afternoon shows you where the federal government’s attitude to this is at.
This was after a question time when Scott Morrison accused Labor of blaming the states after he was questioned about the lack of purpose-built federal quarantine facilities and the slow vaccine rollout:
KG: The other question that’s been put, though, is why hasn’t the government, why haven’t you and other ministers said “OK, look, we’ve got to build a purpose-built quarantine facility out of the cities, out of hotels”? Because this Melbourne outbreak’s come out of a hotel.
SR:
We’ve seen a few issues in Victoria with hotels*. In March last year when the prime minister put together national cabinet, the states were insistent that they were to run quarantine. They’re the ones whose public health orders are being responded to. They’re the ones with the emergency services and health personnel. So it was at the states’ request that quarantine will be run out of states and territories. Now, we’re in this together. We’re working with the states and territories. There’s no criticism –
* It’s been all states. The latest outbreak is linked to an Adelaide quarantine hotel.
KG: [interrupts] But the prime minister is the prime minister. He’s your friend. He’s the nation’s leader. Why wouldn’t he just say ‘look, we’ve got to build this thing, we’ve got to get it done, take it out of the hotels’? It’s been said to him several times from Jane Halton, from the opposition, from everyone concerned yet it hasn’t been done.
SR:
The states and territories are still keen to continue to operate it. Now, at the same time …
KG: [interrupts] Override them.
SR:
… over the same time – well, you’ve seen the constitutional powers and the limit of them with trying to keep state borders open and our inability to do that because the states are supreme in their own states.
KG: But they’re now saying they want you to build one in northern Victoria, one in Toowoomba. Why is the government not jumping all over this?
SR:
So, we’ve expanded Howard Springs to 2,000. We’re going through with Victoria now in a very good proposal from Victoria, as the prime minister has said. And the issue in Toowoomba, of course, is we don’t have the details from the Queensland state government. Now, if they gave us all of the detail in the same vein that Victoria has, it may be a different discussion. But we’re working very constructively with Victoria on their proposal.
KG: Do you see why some, including the opposition, are saying that the government’s been sitting on its hands on this issue? It’s not like this proposal of getting the quarantine out of hotels hasn’t been around for some months now.
SR:
Again, we are working with the states and territories, and they were the ones that wanted to run quarantine. Now, states are now coming forward with alternative proposals, and the Victorian one’s a great case in point. We’re working really constructively with them.
KG:
So does the PM say at the election campaign to people if there’s a massive outbreak, look, it was the states’ fault? Is that where we get to?
SR:
Well, national cabinet was all about being in this together and doing this together. The decision was made together that states and territories would run quarantine. Now the opposition is saying that it’s not good enough the states and territories are running quarantine. And they’re criticising their state and territory colleagues, which I think is a bit harsh. States and territories are doing their best and they’re having a good crack at this.
KG:
I think they’re criticising you, to be fair. They’re criticising your government.
SR
Well, they’re saying we should take it over because they’re saying the states are failing. And I don’t think the states are failing. I think our relationship with the states on this is actually going quite well, and we’ll continue to work …
Updated at 9.02pm EDT
8.44pm EDT 20:44
WA has also called a Covid presser – 9.15am WA time, which is 11.15am eastern time – so it looks as though that state will also be banning Melbourne residents.
Updated at 8.52pm EDT
8.41pm EDT 20:41
Things got slightly heated over in the legal and constitutional affairs estimates a bit earlier, where Labor senator Kim Carr has been questioning officials from the administrative appeals tribunal about the appointment of former Liberal members.
Liberal senator David Van asked the AAT to calculate how much time and expense has been incurred answering Carr’s questions, prompting senator Rex Patrick to accuse him and the Morrison government of being “allergic to oversight”.
Van asked Patrick to “step outside” and say the same thing, prompting Patrick to invite Van to look at his tweets, which frequently express similar criticisms. A shouting match ensued.
The hearing earlier revealed that Jane Prentice, a former Liberal minister, was appointed in February to the AAT, a body that reviews government decisions, while still working for Counsel House, a lobbying firm.
Full-time AAT members must seek approval from the president before taking on other paid work. Carr asked if that approval had been sought and obtained.
The AAT officials couldn’t answer the question and took it on notice. Attorney general Michaelia Cash was asked when she first became aware of the matter. She replied:
I am aware of it now, Senator Carr, because you’ve just raised it, and it has been taken on notice by the registrar to provide you with more information.
Carr also questioned the AAT members about the number of part-time members who either have not finished a case or not worked a single day since being appointed.
There were 29 members who had not finalised a case in 2018-19, 18 members in 2019-20, and 18 members in 2019-20. Nine members had not performed a single hour of work in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and 13 in 2020-21.
AAT registrar Sian Leathem said that may be explained by resignations, members being appointed late in the financial year or other commitments:
There is also the case that we have a number of very specialised members that we only use when there is an operational need to allocate work to them and that would mean they were not allocated any work during the time period.
Updated at 8.51pm EDT
8.40pm EDT 20:40
Victorian press conference to be held at 11am
We will get the major update in about 20 minutes.
We should be able to bring all those answers you want then.
Updated at 8.45pm EDT
8.39pm EDT 20:39
The AFL may also have to prepare for delays:
Updated at 8.48pm EDT
8.37pm EDT 20:37
States object to prime minister’s national emergency powers 
The Senate is holding an inquiry into the commonwealth’s new powers to declare a national emergency, which the prime minister can do unilaterally (without state and territory agreement) in certain circumstances.
The National Emergency Declaration Act was passed in December 2020 after the bushfire royal commission, and before what legislators feared could be another horror fire season.
Although it is already law, it is interesting that there is quite a lot of dissent from the states – including from Coalition governments in Tasmania and New South Wales.
The Tasmanian government submitted to the Senate standing committee on legal and constitutional affairs that it “does not support the commonwealth having power to declare a national emergency without the agreement of, or consultation with, states and territories”. It said:
Noting that the circumstances that would trigger a national emergency declaration would be exceptional, the Tasmanian government opposes any unilateral decision, declaration or action that affects Tasmania, or its interests, without prior consultation.
NSW argued that the condition of “nationally significant harm” could be open to broad interpretation:
Any Commonwealth efforts should be targeted at supporting States and Territories’ lead role in emergency response and recovery operations …
[The Act should] be aimed solely at improving Commonwealth arrangements for the provision of expedited assistance to the States, and not operate so as to disrupt or interfere with these arrangements.
NSW proposed consideration of “multi-agency national-level exercises” to test how the act could work.
The Australian Capital Territory called for a new requirement to inform the governments of all affected states and territories when a national emergency declaration is made, regardless of whether consultation has occurred.
The Queensland government said it shares the concerns expressed by other states and territories that the act goes beyond the scope of what was recommended by the bushfire royal commission, in not limiting the powers to natural disasters and not defining an emergency.
Updated at 8.48pm EDT