The Senate is about to vote on (and pass) the constitutional alteration bill for the Indigenous voice. Lidia Thorpe has entered the chamber wearing a t-shirt with the phrase "gammin" - she made several interjections as Greens' Dorinda Cox spoke in favour of the bill David Pocock now speaking - bluntly calling some contributions from Michaelia Cash and Jacinta Price as "blatantly untrue" and "misinformation"

his speech drew applause from some voice supporters in the public gallery

#BUDGET 2023: main headlines for you
- $40/fortnight increase to ALL on Jobseeker, youth allowance, Austudy
- plus extra $ for those 55+ (now 60)
- boosting max rent assistance rate by 15%
- $3bn for energy bill relief (amount differs by state) #Budget2023: BIG STUFF
- projected $4 billion surplus
- NO word on future of stage 3 tax cuts: Chalmers projects they cost $69bn (not nice) over forwards
- growth down to 1.5% next yr, unemployment to 4.5%
- inflation to fall to 3.25% next yr

follow live: theguardian.com/australia-news…

fair bit going on with the Doherty modelling:
- CMO Paul Kelly: "We need to accept there will be cases... there will be deaths"
- "low-level restrictions" to remain, even after reopening
- in large 180-day outbreak, at 70% vax, 1900 people may die #auspol
thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/08/0… BUT:
- at 70% of adult population vaxxed, the need for "strict lockdowns would be significantly reduced" (even more at 80%)
- under-40s vax may open in weeks
- quickly vaccinating the young will bring down transmission the fastest #auspol
thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/08/0…

PM Scott Morrison is releasing the epidemiological modelling from the Doherty Institute, which underpins the 70/80% vaccination targets for reopening

Doherty’s Professor Jodie McVernon is on video screen, about to explain the science Professor McVernon from Doherty Institute says their modelling found that at 50-60% vaccination, there would still be “rapidly growing outbreaks that would be very difficult to control” - she says that above 70%, that risk is far lower

Big AstraZeneca/QLD update from acting chief medical officer Professor Michael Kidd - he says since parts of QLD now deemed a COVID hotspot, it meets ATAGI definition for a “large outbreak” - therefore that AZ benefits outweigh risks

seeking ATAGI comment health.gov.au/news/atagi-sta… ATAGI hasn't yet released a formal statement on this (I've asked)

*however* acting CMO Michael Kidd & federal health minister Greg Hunt say the QLD outbreak means people of all ages in south-east QLD hotspot areas should "strongly consider" getting AstraZeneca

transcripts:

new: YouTube tells me it has “removed videos from and issued a strike to Sky News Australia’s channel” on YouTube, over COVID content

“we don’t allow content that denies the existence of COVID-19 or that encourages people to use Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin” a "strike" means you can't upload videos for a period of time (Sky Australia last YouTube upload was 2 days ago)

FYI this is the "clear and established COVID-19 medical misinformation policies" document they refer to support.google.com/youtube/answer…

so the list of government members who knew about the Brittany Higgins report, but didn't pass the message on to the Prime Minister:

- Linda Reynolds
- Michaelia Cash
- Scott Ryan
- Tony Smith
- several PMO staff
- and now Peter Dutton, who says the AFP told him on February 11 that's the defence minister, employment minister, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, and now the Home Affairs minister

breaking: Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announces a COVID case in a young hotel quarantine guard. WA Premier Mark McGowan says contact tracing underway - 3 of the man's household contacts have been quarantined and expected to test positive in coming days. "Possible" the man has the UK virus variant

Daniel Andrews VIC COVID update:

- 439 new cases, 11 deaths
- ADF & Department of Health conducted more than 3,000 door-knocks of people who should be isolating - in more than 800, the person couldn't be found
- "That is completely unacceptable" VIC bringing in new on-the-spot fine of nearly $5k "for those who breach isolation orders

Andrews says repeat or "selfish" breaches may see court fine of $20k - "for instance, going to work when you had the virus"

500 more ADF & 300 more health dept staff to do more doorknocks

Daniel Andrews VIC COVID update - on new lockdowns

- 671 new cases
- 7 more deaths (6 connected to aged care)
- 385 in hospital, 38 receiving intensive care Andrews says 760 "mystery cases" - "where we can't trace back the source of that person's infection"

Calls this "our biggest challenge and the reason why we need to move to a different set of rules"

"You have to err on the side of caution, go further and harder"

Hamish asks Andrew Constance about fires, mental health: “are you likely to be the same after this?”

Constance: “nope”

#qanda Jim Molan asked about climate change: “as to whether it is human induced” [audience jeers] “my mind is open.... there are other opinions”

Says “so much” information comes across his desk that makes him question climate change. Won’t say what that information is, though. #qanda

I’ve been asking police forces around the country for their latest stats on bushfires and claims of arson, due to some confusion and disputed numbers flying around

This is from Victoria Police - “no intelligence to indicate” East Gippsland or north east fires are arson-related NSW RFS spokesperson on Sky News with @tomwconnell now - says "a vast majority" of the larger fires have been "a result of lightning storms" - says arson numbers are not large

Scott Morrison on with David Speers on Sky, on the Trump phone call

Morrison says the call was to establish a "point of contact" between US and Aus on the investigation - claims it "would have been more surprising had we chosen not to cooperate" Morrison: "our officials will engage with the US attorney and respond as they consider appropriate"

says it would be "very unusual" to provide diplomatic cables

Sorry but they absolutely DO NOT want to be called Nazis. They're trying to stick a more "respectable" ideology over their own - latching onto debate about crime/immigration. Calling them Nazis makes it harder for them and harder for potential new supporters to join the cause

https://twitter.com/mikecarlton01/status/1081816803540496384

That's why the actual explicit neo-Nazi groups (of which some do exist in Australia) do their business under cover of darkness, obscure their faces when posting photos online. They know it's poison to publicly label yourself a nazi google.com.au/amp/s/amp.hera…

I've been talking to/listening to a lot of very smart tech people tonight, about #AAbill. Without exception, they are all furious, horrified, scared, or all three. Genuine fears this could hobble Aus tech industry, and surveillance used for far more than just serious crime As a starting point, read @dobes clear explainer on what's going on and what the bill could mean zdnet.com/article/hasty-…