E3: Australia coronavirus news: Morrison rules out pay cuts for ministers or senior public servants – as it happened

South Australia launches coronavirus testing blitz; federal and state disagreement about students attending school. This blog is now closed

And that’s where we’ll leave it for this evening. Today’s wrap-up:

We showed you some video earlier of a 94-year-old woman leaving the Austin hospital in Melbourne after recovering from coronavirus.

AAP has some more on that story:

My colleague Naaman Zhou has a new story about Rita Wilson.

Wilson has given an interview with the American TV channel CBS in which she says she experienced “extreme side effects” after being treated with the experimental Covid-19 drug chloroquine in an Australian hospital.

Related: Rita Wilson tells of 'extreme side effects' of experimental Covid-19 drug chloroquine

Scott Morrison has told an interview with Perth radio station 6PR that pay cuts for himself, ministers or senior public servants are not under consideration.

“We’ve already said there won’t be any pay rises right across the public service and this is not something that’s currently before us … it’s not something that’s being considered,” he said.

Crossing from outside @AlfredHealth tonight - it’s been lit up to show thanks to our healthcare heroes ❤️ #lightuniteaus @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/SAmTm2plTz

Earlier we brought you the Melbourne Writers festival announcement that the festival will be run as an online program this year.

The Sydney Writers festival, which was due to be held for a week from 27 April, is also running a digital program and has tonight announced its first event:

Join us on Monday 27 April at 7pm for a live-streamed conversation with @TurnbullMalcolm and @annabelcrabb, the first event in our new digital program. The event is free via Sydney Writers' Festival's Facebook and YouTube accounts: https://t.co/4yoPTq6zzZ #sydneywritersfestival pic.twitter.com/dGgWXMSzol

Malcolm Farr has a little bit more on the government’s position on an app that would track contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The federal government has promised a systematic assessment of the privacy impacts the app, which could delay the prime minister’s preferred two-week deadline for its rollout in Australia.

Related: Coronavirus tracking app to be rolled out in Australia only with privacy safeguards – minister

Earlier today the government suspended local content quotas for Australian drama, children’s and documentary television, while also announcing $54m for regional media.

Paul Karp has some more details on those announcements here:

Related: Local content quotas suspended in $54m package for Australia's coronavirus-hit media

The Australian Financial Review is reporting more than 1,400 exemptions to the foreign travel ban were granted between 24 March and 8 April.

The AFR reports that companies in the ASX top 20 have successfully lobbied for exemptions to the ban and resources companies have argued that certain skilled workers were required at foreign mining and oil and gas sites.

Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, says the state is recruiting more paramedics to its Covid-19 efforts.

Palaszczuk said this evening an additional 60 paramedic graduates would do fast-tracked training this month. It follows the earlier deployment of 45 additional paramedics across the state.

Across #Canberra, neighbours are supporting one another through grassroots groups. We’ve put them into a map for volunteers & anyone who needs assistance. Email andrew.leigh.mp@aph.gov.au if you know one we’ve missed https://t.co/wV1YPnTYGD #coronavirusaus #COVID19Aus #auspol pic.twitter.com/xDz0HrBqIi

I’m going to leave you for the night. My colleague Lisa Cox will be taking over from here. Stay well.

The Australian Financial Review is reporting that Deloitte has asked its staff to agree to a pay cut of 20% for five months.

The AFR says the firm’s partners will also face a 25% pay cut as the company deals with the downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Deloitte has about 10,000 staff and about 900 partners.

Important announcement: MWF is transitioning to an online program for 2020 to ensure the safety of artists and festivalgoers during the COVID-19 crisis. Read the full statement: https://t.co/ii9JTSfy0U pic.twitter.com/QhGs7SRzMB

Full statement:

Melbourne Writers Festival will transition to an online program for 2020 to ensure the safety of artists and festivalgoers during the COVID-19 crisis.

The profound impacts of the pandemic have made it impossible to proceed with events planned for 7–16 August in venues at the heart of the city’s literary precinct, including the newly renovated State Library Victoria and the Wheeler Centre.

Following on from the ABC’s story on this that we shared earlier, John-Paul Drake has been doing the rounds. Here, his “blunt message, is more of a hand gesture ...

WATCH: This supermarket boss had a blunt message for a customer who attempted to return 150 packets of toilet paper for a refund. #9News

Full story: https://t.co/wBcCsdsBbN pic.twitter.com/uZw3HB9aNk

“The terminal at #Canberra Airport will be closed on 15 and 16 April 2020 due to there being no scheduled international nor domestic flights for these two days” @CanberraAirport “The terminal will reopen on Friday 17 April 2020”

One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has posted an interview she did on Sky News to her Facebook with an accompanying statement ruling out voting for a GST increase.

Hanson said:

“I will not support a GST tax hike to pay for the ... coronavirus rescue package, it is that simple.

As I have been saying for 25 years, instead of going after hard-working Aussies, we should be doing more to force giant multinationals to pay their fair share.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson is asked whether he’s like to see social distancing rules to be eased.

Before he was in parliament, Wilson was a long time Institute of Public Affairs policy director. You may be aware that IPA has been leading calls for the government to reopen the economy, despite warnings from public health officials that this would lead to more deaths.

Some good news from Melbourne.

How’s this send off for 94yo Maureen. She is being released from The Austin after fighting off COVID-19. She spent a week on the ward, but is finally well enough to be released today #7newsmelb pic.twitter.com/iAwqaWfwda

AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, has provided more substantial comment on the high court ruling the police raid on Annika Smethurst’s home was invalid.

Kershaw told reporters in Canberra that both the Smethurst matter and the AFP raid of the ABC headquarters are under review by its new “sensitive investigation oversight board”.

“I think only that, you know, every Australian has the right to challenge these types of matters and it’s been challenged and we live in a great democracy and we respect the court’s decision.”

“That’s a legal question. I guess, speculating on that wouldn’t be right. But there’s a difference between, I guess, illegally obtaining evidence and admissible evidence and that’s a question we have asked our in-house legal team.”

Chalmers is asked if the government should extend jobkeeper beyond six months. He says that “remains to be seen”.

On schools, Chalmers says Scott Morrison should stop sending “mixed messages” to parents on schools.

Chalmers says the jobkeeper package should be “extended to more workers”.

“One of the powers the treasurer has from the new legislation, he with a stroke of a pen can include or exclude different categories of workers,” he says.

Labor’s treasury spokesman, Jim Chalmers, is on the ABC with Patricia Karvelas.

Chalmers dismisses Josh Frydenberg’s claim that the IMF economists finalised their forecast before the announcement of the government’s jobkeeper package.

Shortly after the national deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth finished speaking, the Victorian chief health officer, Brett Sutton, tweeted the following statement reiterating Victoria’s position that students should, if possible, remain home.

Sutton said: “My advice to the Victorian government was and continues to be that to slow the spread of coronavirus, schools should undertake remote learning for term two.

My advice to the Victorian Government was and continues to be that to slow the spread of coronavirus, schools should undertake remote learning for term two.
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Spurrier says that testing will now be opened up for anybody in South Australia who has acute respiratory symptoms, but also people who have “just got mild symptoms”.

“So that might be a cough, a sore throat, a runny nose or a bit of shortness of breath - we would like to have you tested. We also know that, with coronavirus, you can have a fever. So, if you’ve just got a fever, it is also worth considering having testing done.”

Nicola Spurrier, SA’s chief medical officer, says there are no new Covid-19 cases recorded today.

“There’s zero cases today. So, if you remember from yesterday, we had 433, and we still have the 433 cases we reported yesterday.”

The South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, has started speaking to the media in Adelaide.

He is announcing a “testing blitz” over the next two weeks which will allow people with any Covid-19 symptoms to be tested for coronavirus.

Coatsworth says authorities are not considering issuing PPE gear to teachers.

He says that he can’t rule out cases within schools.

Here is Coatsworth explaining the Covid app that the government would like people to download.

What the app would do would be able to determine who you had been closer to for greater than a 15-minute period, which is what we can fine as ‘close contact’ through Bluetooth technology, and that information would be stored locally and privately on an individual’s mobile phone, only to be released if the person was diagnosed with Covid-19.

So, with that in mind, you can imagine the contact tracers have to call individuals and their recollection of contact might not be perfect, so it provides an added information technology source of that information so that the contact tracing can be even better than it already is at the moment.

Coatsworth says the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee’s advice is that schools are “safe places because of the low rates of transmission”.

“However, I can confirm today for you that the AHPPC has indeed been considering how to make schools even safer - even safer for staff, for teachers, in their essential role in this Covid-19 epidemic, and that that advice is being considered by National Cabinet this week.”

Coatsworth is asked about the evidence around Covid-19 and children. This is in the context of children returning to schools.

He says: “It quite clearly affects a lower proportion of children, and we know - in Australia - that about 136 children between the ages of 5 and 18 have been affected, representing only 2% of our total number of cases.

Pressed on the role of the WHO given the Trump administration’s decision to halt funding, Coatsworth says “when there’s a pandemic affecting every nation in the world, one needs a multinational organisation”.

He says the Australian government “100% backs the role of the World Health Organization in providing a key role in managing this Covid-19 pandemic”.

Asked if the WHO has “dropped the ball” on wet markets, Coatsworth says there has been “contentious issue with regard to infectious diseases for longer than the Covid-19 outbreak”.

He says: “There have been calls for many years for their regulation and there is evidence in the current outbreak that wet markets may well have been involved with the inception of Covid-19.

Coatsworth says “this is a period of maintaining the gains that we’ve made”.

He says:

It may feel, to a lot of us, like limbo. But I can assure you that it’s not. Charting a way out of where we are now with Covid-19 will be very challenging. And perhaps even more challenging than the way in. But the way that you, as Australians, can help us meet that challenge is to actually stick with us - stick to the physical-distancing restrictions that we’ve got in place, stick to the hygiene advice that we have been providing to you, doing all the things that Australians have been doing to help lower those case numbers.

Thanks Amy. We’ll get straight into this press conference with the deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, which has just kicked off.

The deputy chief medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, is about to give the national Covid-19 update.

Luke Henriques-Gomes will take you through that, as I sign off for the day.

As others much better versed in geopolitics than I have already pointed out, the US ceding more control of a global body to China is perhaps not the greatest long-term move.

Penny Wong and Chris Bowen have issued Labor’s response to news that the US under Donald Trump (who, by-the-by, has ordered that country’s stimulus cheques have his name on them) has stopped its contributions to the World Health Organisation:

While we recognise there is considerable room for improvement at the WHO, none of that improvement will happen by walking away or asking it to do more with less.

Now, more than ever, the world needs a strong, effective and well-resourced WHO.

The ABC has this story some of you may find interesting:

An Adelaide shopper has attempted to return thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies to a local supermarket after stockpiling them at the start of the coronavirus panic buying outbreak, a retailer says.

As readers have pointed out (and we have reported previously) part of the issue is the definition of a wet market.

A wet market is basically a fresh food market. The produce is “wet” – ie, fresh, as opposed to “dry” markets, which sell stores such as cereals and grains.

You may have noticed we have revised the Australian death total down to 63 – it was first reported as 64, but there was a double up in the data.

I apologise for the confusion.

GetUp has emailed its supporters seeking donations for a campaign in support of various social reforms to support people through the Covid-19 crisis, including income protection and free childcare.

The campaign aims to force the Morrison government to retain the reforms, but also answers GetUp’s critics who say it only ever attacks conservative governments and supports progressive parties like Labor and the Greens.

We need to live up to our independence with a massive campaign in support of the Coalition government’s recent social reforms – so they stick. We’ll commission ads, polling and a comprehensive report by leading economists to show Morrison just how popular these reforms are ...The reforms Morrison has passed will keep millions out of poverty, millions in work, ensuring that everyone has a roof over their head and access to healthcare when they need it most.

We’ve reported on some of the privacy concerns watchdogs have with the app the government wants people to download, as a way of contact tracing Covid-19 interactions.

Scott Morrison has doubled down on the app perhaps being part of the trade-off for loosening restrictions, when speaking to Perth radio 6PR today.

The response to Paul Fletcher’s announcements today has not been universally great.

Here is Screen Producers Australia’s representative Matthew Deaner, who is worried about the impact suspending Australian content quotas will have on an already struggling local industry:

A complete suspension is also a very blunt tool when it is considered that some sub-types of production are still able to be commissioned, including animation and documentary.

Suspension of commissioning activity essentially knocks out demand for these productions, which would have been crucial in keeping people in jobs in the industry during the wider shutdown.

Part of the issue with the World Health Organisation and its position on wet markets is there have been some contradictory positions.

A spokesman for the WHO says reports it backs the reopening of wet markets is incorrect.

Meanwhile, on the Gold Coast

We did it, Gold Coast!

Our city has officially broken the world record for Most People Making Sand Angels Simultaneously.

We'll reveal the offical number of participants TONIGHT at 5.30pm. #9News pic.twitter.com/lctVGzjaSo

In the interview on 6PR, Scott Morrison also gave short shrift to certain commentators who have claimed that the sweeping response to Covid-19 may be worse than the disease. When asked what he made of those criticisms, Morrison said:

I think they should google Italy, the United Kingdom, New York - any of these countries will do - Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and look at the horror show that’s happening there and ask themselves the same question.

Absolutely I think we can, and no country at the moment has been able to successfully chart that course yet, but we’re in a better position than many and most to be able to do that.

In an interview just now on Radio 6PR, Scott Morrison said he sympathised with US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the World Health Organisation. But he also noted the WHO did good work in our region.

I sympathise with his criticisms and I’ve made a few of my own. I mean, we called this thing weeks before the WHO did. If we were relying on their advice then I suspect we would have been suffering the same fate that many other countries currently are.

We were calling it a pandemic back in mid-January.

Look, I’m not going to get into that, but what I am going to say is: while I have many criticisms of the WHO, and most significantly the unfathomable decision that they’ve had about wet markets - and there are lots of different kinds of wet markets, I’m talking about the ones that have wildlife - I won’t go into a colourful description, but to be sanctioning that is completely mystifying to me. But that said, the WHO also as an organisation does a lot of important work including here in our own region, in the Pacific, and we work closely with them. So we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here, but they’re also not immune from criticism and immune from doing things better.

Australia’s death toll now stands at 63.

ACT Health has released a statement on the third death:

The ACT chief health officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, is today advising the Canberra community of the ACT’s third death from Covid-19.

We will have more information on this very soon

#BREAKING: The ACT has recorded its 3rd death from coronavirus. The patient was a woman in her 60s, who contracted the virus in the Ruby Princess. Story to come on @canberratimes

Anyone wanting more information on today’s ABS figures on international arrivals, can find them here.

The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, has commented on the Smethurst high court decision, telling reporters in Sydney it shows the AFP is “subject to the rule of law”.

Fletcher says he hasn’t read the decision yet but he understands the high court found the “legal requirements when executing a search warrant ... weren’t met” and the raid therefore was “not validly executed”.

We asked Kristina Keneally, Peter Dutton’s shadow counterpart, if she had heard about the AFP fraud taskforce. She had not, beyond what was said on the radio:

Peter Dutton boasted on 2GB that he established a dedicated taskforce in the AFP to tackle jobkeeper ‘fraud’ but there are no details about when this taskforce was established or how many officers are dedicated to it.

How are we supposed to believe that the taskforce exists if the minister for home affairs isn’t able to provide these simple details?

[Continuing from last post]

So we asked again. When was the taskforce established? How many officers were assigned to it? What form did it take?

We’re aiming to provide further details at a later date, but at this stage this is all we can provide.

Last week, Peter Dutton had his regular love in with Sydney radio host Ray Hadley, where he mentioned a fraud “taskforce” had been established in the AFP to deal with people who might be trying to rip off either the jobkeeper or jobseeker program.

He was pretty definitive about it:

We have established a taskforce with the Australian Federal Police and investigators within Centrelink and within Services Australia, because there will be an element of fraud and those people need to hear a very clear message, that now, more than ever, you are more likely to be caught, and now more than ever, you have incredible scrutiny on these payments, and you can expect a search warrant to be executed by the Australian Federal Police and you can expect your assets to be frozen and there are other cases we are looking at ...

The Commonwealth Government is providing significant stimulus and support measures to protect Australia’s people and the economy as a central element of the Government Covid-19 assistance response.

The Australian Federal Police is working closely with partner agencies across the Commonwealth as a Covid-19 Counter Fraud Taskforce to ensure the support measures make it to those who need it.

In his official statement, Josh Frydenberg has taken the “always look on the bright side of life” message to heart, when it comes to the IMF modelling:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects economic growth in Australia to rebound despite the global economy facing a downturn ‘far worse than during the 2009 global financial crisis’ as a result of the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The IMF is forecasting the global economy to fall by 3.0 per cent in 2020 which compares to a fall of 0.1 per cent in 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

Not unexpected, given what was happening, but still extraordinary to see charted out like this

Short-term visitors from China were 19.5k in February, down 76% from January. Obviously these numbers, for all countries not just China, will fall towards zero in the months to come #ausbiz pic.twitter.com/WeI3PWbBnS

I mean, Romeo and Juliet was due for an update.

From AAP:

Jim Chalmers, on the Trump administration’s decision to halt funding to the WHO, says from Labor’s point of view, the solution is “to look for outcomes, not arguments”.

The Digital Rights Watch chair, Lizzie O’Shea, says people are right to be sceptical of any Covid-19 tracing apps pushed by the government:

No public trust means people will hesitate to install the app, and not-very-subtly coercing people by saying restrictions could ease if surveillance increases is an appalling way to start.

They certainly need to do better than suggesting that privacy implications will be examined by the attorney general. Everything about this needs to be transparent. The code must be independently audited. There needs to be a clear benchmark for when data will no longer be collected and the app deactivated.

The union which looks after posties wants the government to put on emergency flights to ensure regional and rural Australia keep getting their deliveries:

The CEPU communications union national president, Shane Murphy, said:

Our posties are delivering essential items to the most vulnerable in our community – people who can no longer just duck down to the shop to pick up the medicine or other essential items they urgently need.

If passenger flights aren’t viable, we need emergency freight flights to ensure our mail and essential packages can continue to get to those who need it most.

Paul Karp has a statement from the AFP on the high court case today:

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) acknowledges the decision of the High Court handed down today (Wednesday 15 April, 2020), relating to the AFP search warrant conducted at the residence of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst.

The AFP will now consider the decision and will act in accordance with the ruling.

Would Australia follow Donald Trump in cutting funding to the World Health Organization, a reporter asked.

Josh Frydenberg said he respected the decision of “any sovereign country in relation to who they fund and what they fund” but that Australia did not intend to pull its funding:

In terms of Australia, we see the World Health Organization playing an important role, particularly in our region, and that’s important to Australia.

Josh Frydenberg also appeared to obliquely reference arguments suggesting that social distancing measures should be lifted because the coronavirus is only deadly to the elderly, which is clearly a horrible argument.

He says:

We need to move away from this mindset of thinking that the coronavirus is an older person’s virus. It’s not an older person’s virus, it’s not a younger person’s virus. It’s a virus that affects all of us.

I mean, the median age of those who have lost their lives from the coronavirus is around 80. The median age of those who have been hospitalised from the coronavirus is around 60. The median age of those who have contracted the virus is 47. But if you look at the greatest cohort ... that’s those aged between 20 and 29. Which indicates that those people are contracting the virus.

Frydenberg is asked about privacy issues surrounding the mobile phone app that the government announced yesterday, which is intended to track people who test positive to Covid-19 and anyone they come into contact with to help with contact tracing.

Obviously, there are pretty significant privacy concerns involved.

Well, again, this app is important in contact tracing and obviously we’ve got increased testing that’s taking place and we’re seeing progress in bending the curve, but my message, and the prime minister’s message, the health minister’s message, has been consistent and clear.

We will continue to take the best possible medical advice that’s available to us and that’s served the nation well. If you look abroad, if you look at Japan and you look at Singapore, they thought they were having great success in beating back the virus yet they saw a second wave of cases and they’ve had to put tighter restrictions in place.

Frydenberg was asked why the IMF predictions show Australia’s unemployement rising to 7.6% this year, and again to 8.9% next year.

He says the calculations were done before Australia announced its $130bn jobkeeper payment.

The other point to make is at the time that the IMF were putting together their figures, the Australian curve was heading in the wrong direction, if you like. We were seeing an exponential increase of more than 20% a day in the number of cases of coronavirus-affected people.

Since that time, we’ve bent that curve and we’re seeing a growth of less than 2% per day and our health measures are making significant progress. So I’d ask you to take those factors into account because, of course, the success on the health side helps also determine the broader economic impacts that are also taking police.

Josh Frydenberg talks up Australia’s economic response package, which is valued at about $320bn or 16% of GDP. That’s bigger than many other countries, he says.

Frydenberg also said he would have a phone meeting with his G20 counterparts tonight, and a phone hookup with the IMF tomorrow night.

From Australia’s perspective, our messages are clear and consistent. We must continue to see the trade in essential items like health supplies at this time. And the current crisis should not be seen as a cause for protectionism. We will also continue to support emerging economies and many of those developing economies who do not have the established health systems that we see in Australia and in other nations.

These are messages together with the need for continued synchronised action by central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, are vitally important to ensure that the Australian economy and the global economy get to the other side of the coronavirus.

Josh Frydenberg is talking in Canberra now about the economic forecast released by the International Monetary Fund overnight.

The IMF predicted a 3% contraction in the global economy and said the impact of the “Great Lockdown” would be a recession of a size not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

They reflect the reality that we’re in. And the severe economic impact that economies around the world are facing as a result of the spread of the coronavirus. They also underline the importance of the major support packages that countries like Australia have announced.

Peter Gutwein has offered his condolences to the family of an elderly woman who died after testing positive to the coronavirus. The woman was the sixth person to have died after testing positive to Covid-19 in Tasmania. The death toll in Australia stands at 62.

The 91-year-old woman reportedly died at the Mersey hospital in Devonport. The premier said his thoughts were with the woman’s family.

Tasmania’s premier, Peter Gutwein, is talking in Hobart now, and he appears to be taking aim at people who are sharing theories online about the actions of healthcare workers on the north-west coast.

That group of people includes the federal chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, who yesterday had to backtrack on saying that an “illegal dinner party of medical workers” was responsible for the spread of the coronavirus in the Burnie area.

I want north-west coasters just to pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that the people that have supported them in their healthcare centre and their health centres now for decades are people that should be acknowledged for the work that they’ve done. And this shouldn’t be an opportunity for those that want to get online and vilify and take aim. That’s not acceptable …

Anyone that’s thinking about lining up a healthcare worker, taking a potshot at them, should just draw breath and accept that there is a process under way. We will work through it. We will get to the bottom of it, and then we will explain fully what has happened.

The Victorian parliament will be recalled for an emergency sitting next Thursday, 23 April, to allow the passage of legislation on the tenancy reforms, announced today, and also “urgent appropriation bills” to allow for public sector workers to be paid.

There will be fewer than usual MPs in each house and only a skeleton staff present.

Josh Frydenberg will also be discussing the IMF report. He has called a press conference for 11.25.

Quarantine is ending for Australian passengers on cruise ships that docked in WA – but there is no way for some of them to get back to their home state.

As AAP reports:

The Victorian parliament will sit next Thursday in an emergency sitting to pass some of the Covid-19 legislation the Andrews government has put forward.

On top of land tax relief, the Victorian government is putting more money into mediation for landlords and tenants for rental relief, if Covid-19 has impacted someone’s income.

Dan Andrews:

The key point here, though, is that even with a good-faith agreement, there will be many tenants who are left under financial stress.

And the definition, if you like, of, that is if your rent represents more than 30% of your income, then you are under real stress. If that’s the case –so you’ve got a good-faith negotiation, you do a deal, reduce the rent by a certain amount, but still that rent represents more than 30% of your obviously reduced income, then there will be rent assistance, some $80m worth of rent assistance, that will be available to the best part of 40,000 tenants right across the state.

Daniel Andrews is holding his press conference. He is giving a very polite “no thank you” to the federal government message to send kids back to school, en masse, at least in his state.

If you think about it, common sense simply dictates if you’ve got a million kids getting to and from school, a full complement of teachers, parents moving around the community, dropping kids off, picking them up, that is not at all consistent with social distancing rules and not consistent with the sort of numbers that every single Victorian can be proud of – some stability in these numbers is critical. That is saving lives.”

Jim Chalmers will speak about the IMF’s predictions for after the “Great Lockdown” at 11.30am.

At least I’ll get a glimpse of Brisbane.

With Australia in the suppression stage of Covid-19, it clears some of the air for this book, which will be released next week.

We hear he is attempting to see if one of the virtual launches can take place on a kayak.

The thoroughly socially distanced book tour is taking shape! Looking forward to it! #abiggerpicture https://t.co/g1Z1jEG1or

Paul Fletcher will hold a media conference at 12.30 to discuss that new package.

Today I’ve announced immediate relief for the Australian media sector which has been hit hard by #covid19 and longer term reform to harmonise content regulation and position the TV and production sector for a sustainable future. Read more here https://t.co/387UaAe3pr

For the record, when asked today, both Dave Sharma and Dan Tehan said they would speak with their children about whether or not they were comfortable with being physically sent back to school, and make decisions from there.

Schools are open for essential workers (anyone with a job) and for parents who have no choice. But even in the classroom, school would look very different, with the past few weeks spent developing online and distance learning, which means the lessons are more of a one-size-fits-all kind.

Another of the special charter flights designed to get stranded Australians home has landed – about 115 Australians who were in Peru touched down in Brisbane last night. They have been sent to hotels for the two-week quarantine.

Paul Fletcher has released this statement:

The Morrison Government today announced a package of measures to help sustain Australian media businesses as they do their vital work of keeping the community informed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures include:

We’ll have a full report to you on the high court decision regarding the validity of the warrant used to raid Annika Smethurst shortly – but in the meantime the high court has published its full judgment and a summary.

From the summary:

Today the High Court unanimously held, in answer to questions stated in a special case, that the warrant relied upon by officers of the Australian Federal Police (“the AFP”) to authorise the search of the residence of the first plaintiff, Ms Annika Smethurst, was invalid and should be quashed ...

The High Court unanimously held that the warrant relied upon by the AFP was invalid on the ground that it misstated the substance of s 79(3) of the Crimes Act, as it stood on 29 April 2018, and failed to state the offence to which the warrant related with sufficient precision. The entry, search and seizure which occurred on 4 June 2019 were therefore unlawful. Having made this finding, it was not necessary for the Court to consider whether the warrant was invalid on the ground that s 79(3) of the Crimes Act, as it stood on 29 April 2018, infringed the implied freedom of political communication. Nor was it necessary to consider the validity of the order that had been made under s 3LA of the Crimes Act requiring Ms Smethurst to give assistance to enable a constable to access, copy or convert data on a computer or data storage device. The Court unanimously ordered that the warrant be quashed. A majority of the Court declined to grant the injunctive relief sought by the plaintiffs, pointing to the plaintiffs’ inability to identify a sufficient right or interest that required protection by way of a mandatory injunction.

The social services minister has intervened to ensure about 15,000 people with disabilities will keep a $100-a-fortnight extra allowance during the Covid-19 crisis following claims some had lost the payment due to the shutdown.

After Guardian Australia raised the prospect that recipients were likely to lose the allowance due to the pandemic, Anne Ruston said on Tuesday night she had asked her department to cease eligibility reviews for the mobility allowance.

Dan Tehan has been sent out to boost’s today’s government message – “say thank you to teachers” – which doubles as, “We want you to send your kids back to school, please start doing that.”

The education minister says the medical expert advice has not changed and it is safe to send children to school, which is, has been, and remains, the federal government’s preferred option.

The medical expert panel, which is the panel which is made up of the chief medical officer from the commonwealth, and all the state and territory chief medical officers, has given guidance to schools about making sure we look after the safety of our teachers. They are continuing to monitor that and to provide that guidance.

So, some of the things that they have suggested have been extra sanitiser at schools, extra washing of hands, having lunchtime breaks done at different times for different cohorts.

Not Covid-19 related, but still very important:

#breaking Smethurst has won high court challenge, the raid warrant was invalid. The warrant is quashed, but only two judges ordered material be destroyed. So a mixed result, partial win but still at risk of police using info. #auspol #auslaw

Here is a bit more of Dave Sharma speaking to Sky News about Donald Trump’s decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization and what Australia might do:

This reckoning has been coming for some time. I think a lot of countries, Australia included have been less than impressed with the WHO’s performance.

I think it’s incumbent upon all of us though [to review the] performance of key institutions throughout and that includes the World Health Organization.

We are a significant donor to the WHO as well, in terms of assessed contributions and also voluntary contributions, so I would expect we will be having more to say on this, once the worst of this crisis is behind us.

It is probably a little too premature for us to be talking about what that looks like, we still need to be dealing with this crisis for now, but certainly in the wash-up, that is something we will need to look at closely.

We spoke about this again yesterday, but the arts is going through a very, very rough time in Australia at the moment.

A lot of performers and associated support workers are locked out of jobkeeper because they don’t have that year-long link with one employer.

The production industry is currently facing a difficult and uncertain future. Coronavirus containment measures have seen almost all production activity cease, with devastating economic and employment impacts,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.

We are therefore calling on the Government to implement a $1 billion screen content fund over the forward estimates to amongst other things, top up the existing tax offsets, assist with insurance risk, support those who have fallen through the cracks and supplement Screen Australia; and the immediate extension of content obligations onto SVOD services, to help share the load.

Six people playing tennis on closed public tennis courts in Maribyrnong and 10 teenagers at a skate park in Dandenong are among 52 people to be issued with on-the-spot fines for allegedly breaching Victoria’s social distancing orders in the past 24 hours.

Police in Victoria also charged eight teenagers “socialising together at a closed school” and found “multiple instances of private gatherings at residential properties”, a spokeswoman for Victoria police said.

The federal government has settled a federal court case brought by the tourism operator APT challenging the legality of the health minister Greg Hunt’s order that all cruise ships leave Australian waters as soon as possible.

APT’s small cruise ship, the Caledonian Sky, is moored in Darwin and the company doesn’t want it to leave Australia.

Following on from Josh Taylor’s story on the Covid-19 tracing app, Apple has released its mobility data.

And the response from a Nationals member.

He’s right. It’s exactly like blaming Wagga Wagga for something that happened in Brisbane, and we all know *exactly* why some people pushed for this to happen.

My statement on the disgraceful vote by the @WaggaCouncil, to rescind our Sister City relationship with #Kunming in China tonight.https://t.co/G0atdGg0LT pic.twitter.com/LGMjDTWOXS

A reader has just pointed me in the direction of this story in the Daily Advertiser, which covers Wagga Wagga.

The council has voted to cut ties with its Chinese sister city, Kunming.

We must end that relationship arrangement and not condone such behaviour.

This action is in no way stopping international trade, communication or the opportunity to deal with China in a fair, transparent and mutually beneficial manner.

Karen Andrews is back beating the manufacturing drum again today, continuing to use every formulation of words other than “subsidy” as she talks about Australia growing the sector. Here she is on Sky this morning;

Let’s actually talk about what Australia’s needs are and that is to make sure that we do build a very strong manufacturing sector. And quite frankly, that work was well under way last year to look at what the future of manufacturing was going to be in this country. Since then we’ve obviously experienced the issues with the coronavirus, Covid-19. So we will re-look again at what the options are for us. But let’s understand that we actually need to bring businesses with us. We need to bring consumers with us and they need to get behind the push for a stronger manufacturing sector in Australia.

Obviously, government will do its part. We’re certainly looking at how we can stimulate through procurement ourselves; that work is under way. But let me be clear, we can’t be all things to all people. So we’re not going to be able to manufacture everything that we want. What we want to do is be in a position that we are in a good place to manufacture what we need and that means establishing the right supply chains.

“Schools are open, teachers will be at schools in Queensland and they are open for essential workers,” Annastacia Palaszczuk says, adding that she thinks Queensland has “the balance right”.

“Anyone who is in the workforce is considered an essential worker,” the premier says.

Queensland has issued 884 tickets for breaching physical distance and restriction rules since the “campaign” began last month.

The Queensland chief health officer, Jeannette Young, says she is a “little concerned” with the numbers of cases coming from interstate, with 17 of the most recent cases having been contracted over the border.

Queensland has closed its borders – all people crossing it now need a permit, including Queensland residents.

The Queensland health minister, Steven Miles, says Queensland has recorded five new cases in the last 24 hours, which is the lowest number since the beginning of March.

Those five positive cases came after 1,434 tests.

There is nothing from the PM on this as yet but we are assured that if there is something to say we will hear about it.

BREAKING: Liberal MP Dave Sharma tells @SkyNewsAust Australia is a significant donor to WHO and he expects we will have "more to say" on the institution's response after the coronavirus crisis

"We should make sure we condition our future funding on necessary reforms (to WHO)"

Jim Chalmers has responded to the IMF’s latest report;

In its World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecasts a 6.7% contraction in the Australian economy in 2020, with unemployment expected to rise to an average of 7.6% in 2020 and 8.9% in 2021.

The IMF doesn’t share the prime minister’s assumption that employment in Australia will miraculously “snap back” to normal on his six-month timeframe.

The Hobart Mercury reports that the Tasmanian premier, Peter Gutwein, helped a pregnant nurse jump start her stalled car after a night shift, which is a very personal way to offer health workers support.

The IMF has given this period in history a name – the “Great Lockdown”, which they anticipate will rival the Great Depression in terms of economic impact.

Related: 'Great Lockdown' to rival Great Depression with 3% hit to global economy, says IMF

More than 25,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the United States.

Donald Trump has announced the US will defund the World Health Organization in the middle of a global pandemic:

All of the aid that we send will be discussed in very, very powerful letters and with very powerful and influential groups and smart groups, medically, politically and every other way. We will be discussing it with other countries and global health partners.

What we do with all of that money that goes to WHO and maybe WHO will reform and maybe they won’t. But we will be able to see.

Donald Trump is standing in the rose garden, accusing the World Health Organization of mishandling the coronavirus pandemic and confirming that the US will halt its payments to the organisation – which make up about $500m a year – in the middle of a global pandemic.

Related: Coronavirus US live: Trump halts funding to World Health Organization

The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, gave his update, which includes a departure date for the Ruby Princess:

In terms of the Ruby update, we are working with Carnival Cruises and Border Force and Health and looking for a hopeful departure date of this Sunday. We will be working towards that.

Overnight, we did see a 20-year-old man come off the Ruby with another appendicitis. He is now in the NSW health system, being treated. There is no suggestion he has coronavirus.

The NSW chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, says there are 214 people under the care of NSW Health and 29 people in ICU, with 18 of those ventilated.

And at the Anglicare Newmarch House aged care facility, there’s been a total of 10 cases. Six amongst the staff and four amongst the residents have tested positive.

As you’re aware the first case reported there was in a healthcare worker who worked whilst she had very mild symptoms. And I have spoken to the director of the public health unit and this person is absolutely mortified.

It’s Gladys Berejiklian press conference time, which must mean it is about 8am.

She says NSW recorded just 16 positive tests for Covid-19 overnight, from 1,300 tests.