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Morrison government’s $600 million gas-fired power plan lashed by industry
Australia’s power industry has hit out at the Morrison government’s plan for a taxpayer-funded gas-fired generator, describing it as an unnecessary market intervention that risks derailing vital future investments needed to transition the energy grid.
On Wednesday, Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor gave a go-ahead to the Commonwealth-owned Snowy Hydro to build a $600 million gas-fired power plant in NSW’s Hunter Valley, to replace the ageing Liddell coal-fired power station that is set to close in 2023.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the new gas plant is needed to replace the Liddell coal-fired power plant scheduled to close in 2023.Credit:Louie Douvis
The government said this was necessary to plug gaps in power supply and to keep energy prices low.
But the Australian Energy Council, representing the nation’s big power suppliers including AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia, warned on Wednesday that the rising tide of government intervention in the market was deterring the very private investment Mr Taylor says is needed.
More thought needs to be given to vaccine passport, Queensland Premier says
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has raised the possibility of “vaccine passports” as a way of easing state-based coronavirus restrictions for fully-vaccinated Australians travelling interstate.
He said on Melbourne radio station 3AW this morning that the states are “the ones who put those restrictions [on interstate travel] on, under their public health orders” and he was “happy” to discuss the idea with them.
But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has told News Corp “there should be free movement within Australia, vaccine or no vaccine”.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who had described the idea as a “thought bubble”, said this morning she was at “one” with Ms Berejiklian on the issue of vaccination passports.
“Let’s put these issues through national cabinet, or perhaps it should go through the federal cabinet in the first case,” she said on Nine’s Today.
“These are really serious issues you just can’t throw out there in the public, you’ve got to give some thought to.”
Read the full story from Felicity Caldwell here.
Qantas pushes for international travel late this year amid $2 billion loss
Qantas is set to report a loss of more than $2 billion this financial year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Hatch reports, but the airline says it is on track to return to 95 per cent of pre-pandemic domestic capacity in the June quarter.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is pushing for a resumption of international travel this year.Credit:Rhett Wyman
The airline has pushed back the resumption date of most international flying from late October to late December, when it believes Australia’s international border should reopen following the completion of the vaccine rollout.
This is despite the fact the federal budget assumes that Australia’s border will probably remain shut until the middle of next year.
“No one wants to lose the tremendous success we’ve had at managing COVID but rolling out the vaccine totally changes the equation,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.
Victoria records no new local cases of COVID-19
By Michaela Whitbourn
Victoria has recorded no locally acquired cases of COVID-19 overnight, and none in hotel quarantine.
Brother of Australian who died in India begs for father’s visa
By Sarah McPhee
The brother of an Australian man who died in India from COVID-19 before their mother also perished has repeated his “humble request” for the federal government to grant his 83-year-old father a visa.
Sunil Khanna, 51, an Australian citizen from Sydney’s west, had been living in New Delhi before his death and was caring for his elderly parents, who were Indian nationals.
“Within four days my whole life has been turned upside down,” his brother, Sanjay Khanna, told Nine’s Today show on Thursday morning.
“First my brother, and then my mother within 24 hours passed away from this infection, and my dad has just now recovered [from COVID-19]. He’s my last surviving member of the family ... help me to get my father home before it’s too late for him. He’s an 83-year-old man alone by himself, nobody else to help him there.”
Speaking through tears, Mr Khanna said he would follow all necessary quarantine restrictions and government guidelines. He said he has always been a law-abiding citizen in Australia and migrated in 1992.
“Please, on humanitarian basis, please grant him a visa here to come and live with me,” he said. Mr Khanna said he was happy to live in a country that has been kept safe from COVID-19.
Sydney migration agent Sanjay Deshwal said they were trying to find a way for the travel exemption to be granted because “at present, no Indian citizens are allowed here on any kind of visa”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said there are 11,000 Australians in India who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to return to Australia.
Victorian cabin-style quarantine site would be ‘in addition’ to hotels, PM says
By David Estcourt
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government is making progress on the Victorian government proposal to establish a cabin-style quarantine site in Melbourne’s north.
In April the site of a pet quarantine complex in Melbourne’s north emerged as a contender for Victoria’s alternative quarantine facility for returning travellers.
Following almost three months of assessing various locations across the state, the Mickleham Post-Entry quarantine site could soon also host cabin accommodation, similar to the federal government’s Howard Springs site in the Northern Territory.
Mr Morrison says the federal government is looking at the government’s proposal, which would keep the management of the site in the hands of the Victorian health department.“We’re making quite a bit of progress,” Mr Morrison told Melbourne radio station 3AW, and “[the] proposal that came through was very comprehensive”.
“They’ve also made it clear that it’s in addition to what they’re doing in hotel quarantine, not instead of,” Mr Morrison said, and this was “another key requirement”.
Those comments are at odds with those of the Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas today, who told The Age “we would say in the long term that would mean shutting down city hotels”.
“The Commonwealth says this is in addition, not in substitution to that service. That’s one of the issues we are still trying to work through.”
Vaccine passports would allow locals to sidestep state travel restrictions: PM
By Michaela Whitbourn
The possibility of “vaccine passports”, raised yesterday by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, met with a frosty reception in NSW and Queensland but we expect to hear more about the concept in the weeks ahead.
Mr Morrison says the plan would help ease state-based coronavirus restrictions for fully-vaccinated Australians, adding that the states are “the ones who put those restrictions [on interstate travel] on, under their public health orders”.
“The virus is raging around the world and it’s now ravaging the developing world. That is likely to see more strains, more variants, come through, so we have to be exceptionally cautious,” he told Melbourne radio station 3AW. “That’s why the borders remain closed, and that’s why we look to further liberalise things that are safe.”
He said that if a person was fully vaccinated and the state government decided to close the state border, a vaccination passport might mean “you ... are able not to be subject to those restrictions”.
“That’s something I’m happy to talk through with the states because ultimately they’re the ones who put those restrictions on.”
Prime Minister defends vaccine advertising strategy
By Katina Curtis
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the government’s approach to convincing people to get vaccinated, saying it’s no use advertising to people who aren’t yet eligible for the shots.
Experts are warning Australia risks not reaching herd immunity without a comprehensive vaccination campaign, prompting calls for advertisements with high-profile Australians.
Mr Morrison told Melbourne radio station 3AW that the government was “already running” advertisements, and public surveys showed two-thirds of the population were comfortable with getting the shot.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Melbourne on Wednesday.Credit:Wayne Taylor
Polling has shown about a third of Australians are unsure about getting the vaccine, with older people and women more likely to shy away from it.
Mr Morrison said the government had already earmarked $40 million for an ad campaign this year and next, and people should expect to see that ramp up later in the year as more vaccine doses became available.
“There’s no point talking to people of 30 years old at the moment because they can’t go and get a vaccine,” he told 3AW host Russel Howcroft, who rose to prominence on the ABC’s show about marketing and advertising, The Gruen Transfer.
“We’re talking to those who are eligible for a vaccine at the moment, which is over 50s and particularly those who are over 70 and in residential aged care facilities.”
Mr Howcroft asked if the government should double its advertising spend to $80 million, but the Prime Minister said, “That doesn’t bring the Pfizer vaccines here any time sooner.”
‘Somebody’s father or son’: Somerton Man’s body exhumed in Adelaide
By Michaela Whitbourn
The body of the so-called Somerton Man was exhumed yesterday from Adelaide’s West Terrace Cemetery in a bid to solve the decades-long mystery of his identity and cause of death.
The man’s body was found on Adelaide’s Somerton beach on December 1, 1948. Repeated attempts to crack the mystery of his death and identity have failed but police hope that improvements in DNA technology will shed light on the case. His body is now at Adelaide’s Forensic Science Centre for analysis by police and forensic scientists.
Detective Superintendent Des Bray said it was “important for everybody to remember that the Somerton Man’s not just a curiosity or a mystery to be solved. It’s somebody’s father or son, perhaps grandfather, uncle or brother. That’s why we’re doing this and trying to identify him”.
“There are people we know who live in Adelaide who believe they may be related and they deserve to have a definitive answer.”
‘Vaccine passport’ for interstate travel gets frosty reception from states
By Michaela Whitbourn
In case you missed it, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested yesterday that “vaccine passports” might be required for Australians to avoid state-based coronavirus restrictions on movements across borders.
The comments met with a frosty reception from state leaders. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk branded the idea a “thought bubble”, while the ACT government appeared open to discussing a fully-formed proposal (if one eventuates).
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told News Corp: “There should be no internal borders. There should be free movement within Australia, vaccine or no vaccine.
“The vaccine is our way of dealing with international borders. There is no basis for states closing borders to other states.”
It’s worth remembering, though, that the states have previously imposed restrictions on travellers from interstate COVID-19 hotspots. Domestic border closures are not new.
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2021-05-20 00:03:52Z
CBMipQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLWxpdmUtaGVyZC1pbW11bml0eS1hdC1yaXNrLW92ZXItY292aWQtdmFjY2luZS1zdHJhdGVneS1pc3JhZWwtcGFsZXN0aW5lLWNvbmZsaWN0LWRlYXRoLXRvbGwtcmlzZXMtMjAyMTA1MjAtcDU3dGZ2Lmh0bWzSAaUBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuc21oLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy1saXZlLWhlcmQtaW1tdW5pdHktYXQtcmlzay1vdmVyLWNvdmlkLXZhY2NpbmUtc3RyYXRlZ3ktaXNyYWVsLXBhbGVzdGluZS1jb25mbGljdC1kZWF0aC10b2xsLXJpc2VzLTIwMjEwNTIwLXA1N3Rmdi5odG1s
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