A conga line of #COVIDIOTS - Part 2

NSW Police, Latest News, 5-7 August 2020:

Border checkpoint police arrest man trying to cross in stolen ute

A man has been charged after police at a border checkpoint at Albury discovered he was trying to cross into NSW driving a stolen ute.

NSW Police manning the checkpoint stopped the utility on the Hume Highway at Albury about 7am today (Wednesday 5 August 2020).

The 27-year-old driver was unable to produce permits or ID, and further checks revealed the ute had been reported stolen from a business in West Melbourne yesterday (Tuesday 4 August 2020).

The man was arrested and was taken to Albury Police Station where he was charged three offences

• Receive property stolen outside NSW

• Not comply with noticed direction – COVID-19, and,

• Drive conveyance taken without consent of owner.

The man, of no fixed address, appeared in Albury Local Court today, where he was refused bail to re-appear in the same court on Friday 11 September 2020.

Girl charged with spitting at police and two women issued PINs in latest alleged breaches of Public Health Orders

A teenager has been charged after allegedly spitting on police, and two people have been issued with Penalty Infringement Notices for alleged breaches of COVID-19 Public Health Orders in the past 24 hours.

In the first incident, about 2.30pm yesterday (Thursday 6 August 2020), police spoke with a 15-year-old girl at a shopping centre in Blacktown and ascertained she was in breach of her bail conditions.

As police arrested the girl, it is alleged she assaulted police by kicking and punching, as well as spitting in the face of an officer.

She was taken to Blacktown Police Station and charged with two counts of assault police in execution of duty, resist officer in execution of duty, and not comply noticed direction re spitting/coughing - COVID-19.

The teen was refused bail and is due to appear before a children’s court today (Friday 7 August 2020).

Meanwhile, on Saturday (1 August 2020), a 31-year-old woman was stopped at a border checkpoint in Albury and presented a permit allowing her entry to NSW, under the provision that she was to self-isolate for 14 days at a Nimbin address.

Subsequent checks revealed the woman was not staying at the address, and following inquiries, police found her yesterday (Thursday 6 August 2020) in a vehicle at Nabiac. She was issued with a $1000 PIN for not complying with a noticed direction and instructed to return to Victoria.

In an unrelated incident, just before 1pm yesterday (Thursday 6 August 2020), police were conducting a walk-through at a licensed premise in Albury, when they spoke with a 50-year-old woman who was playing a gaming machine.

The woman produced a Victorian licence and a permit allowing cross-border travel for work purposes only.

She was issued with a $1000 PIN and removed from the club, to return to Victoria.

Police continue to appeal to the community to report suspected breaches of any ministerial direction or behaviour which may impact on the health and safety of the community.

Qld Police, News, 5 August 2020:

Police take action after border breaches 

A man and woman in their 60s are among several people police will allege entered Queensland after falsely declaring they had not travelled to a COVID-19 hotspot.

Police detained the couple in Nanango yesterday after receiving information that they had allegedly travelled through the Goondiwindi police checkpoint with false declarations on July 27.

The 63-year-old man and 68-year-old woman were issued with notices to appear in the Richlands Magistrates Court on August 19 for failing to comply with the Queensland Border Direction and fraud.

They have been placed into mandatory hotel quarantine outside the South Burnett area.

In a separate matter, a 22-year-old Weipa man was issued with an infringement notice for failing to comply with the Queensland Border Direction after being intercepted in Cairns Airport yesterday.

Police will allege the man flew into Queensland from Canberra and failed to declare he had been in Sydney, a COVID-19 hotspot, on August 2. He was immediately placed into hotel quarantine.

Queensland’s border restrictions mean people who have been in a COVID-19 hotspot within the last 14 days will be turned away at the state’s border.

Queensland residents who have been in a COVID-19 hotspot can return home but will be required to quarantine in government provided accommodation at their expense.

The Queensland Police Service is committed to ensuring everyone complies with public health directions and will continue to enforce restrictions at the border.

Since July 10, 12 people have been issued with notices to appear in court while 24 people have been issued with infringement notices for providing false information on their border declaration pass…..

Realising he had been too clever by half, #ScottyFromMarketing withdraws from WA court case

In which Australian Prime Minister and MP for Cook Scott Morrison tries to pretend he was never involved in the decision to support Clive Palmer's attempts to force Western Australia to open its state borders during a surging global pandemic which has already seen over 20,000 Australians infected and nationally 266 people dead.

WAtoday, 7 August 2020:

Western Australia's Solicitor-General claims the Commonwealth’s eleventh-hour withdrawal from Clive Palmer's legal challenge to WA’s hard border has created "an egg that must now be unscrambled". 

During submissions in the Federal Court on Friday, Solicitor-General Joshua Thomson SC made an application for the July trial to be vacated and a new trial granted without the Commonwealth’s evidence. 

"It’s a most unusual situation where you have an intervention by somebody, in this case the Commonwealth, which in effect sends them to the field of battle, it goes in and has that battle and then seeks to withdraw from the field of battle," he said. 

"What you are left with is a mixed up trail of evidence." Mr Thomson himself is currently adhering to WA’s hard border policy, making his application via video-link from his home while in self-isolation. 

At one point during his submissions he received a phone call from police checking up on his quarantine and referred to the situation as like being in prison. 

Mr Palmer’s lawyer Peter Dunning argued the WA government "didn’t own" the witness evidence given by the Commonwealth in trial, and that it would be improper for the entire proceedings to fall over because one party had lost interest due to "political" pressures. 

"It is one thing for the Prime Minister to agree with another leader for political reasons to abandon something, that arm of government is perfectly entitled to be engaged by those considerations, but it is quite inappropriate for a Federal Court to do so," he said. 

"It doesn’t mean the proceedings collapse if there are still main parties interested in the outcome. 

"What brings proceedings to an end is if there ceases to be a genuine contest." 

Mr Dunning said the witnesses in the trial were the "court’s witnesses" and could be recalled or subpoenaed in a retrial by Mr Palmer if required. 

The Commonwealth intervened in Mr Palmer’s legal bid to have WA’s hard border torn down and in effect became a "co-plaintiff", with both parties claiming the state’s all-or-nothing approach to reopening was unconstitutional. 

During a four-day trial heard in the Federal Court in late July, the Commonwealth produced evidence from two public health experts, Professor Peter Collignon and Professor Tony Blakely, cross-examined other expert witnesses and submitted reports. 

WA enlisted its Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson and Associate Professor Kamalini Lokuge as its witnesses, while Mr Palmer relied on the evidence of Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake. 

Mr Thomson said that due to the nature of the combined expert witness evidence being heard throughout the trial, the entire proceedings ought to be disregarded as they disadvantaged the state. 

Commonwealth Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue QC said since the Commonwealth withdrew its interest the day after the trial, it was not appropriate it make any further submissions on whether or not the evidence it adduced be considered in the High Court other than to say it no longer relied on it. 

It follows comments made by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Radio 6PR on Thursday that his government wished the legal action had never been brought in the first place. 

"I'm pleased we're out of it," he said. 

"We've got no issue with [the proceedings] being redone or restarted ... we don't have any objection to that." 

During the hearing, Judge Darryl Rangiah blasted Mr Donaghue after the Federal Court became aware of its withdrawal from the case through the media, with an application to the court not made for a further three days. 

"Was it more important to notify the media before this court?" he asked, arguing Friday’s case management hearing should have been listed for Monday given the urgent nature of the application. 

Premier Mark McGowan, in response to the hearing on Friday, said he would have preferred the Commonwealth had actively supported WA's application for a retrial. 

"The Commonwealth has withdrawn from the case but unfortunately did not support Western Australia's application to have the case struck out," he said. 

"With or without the support of the Commonwealth government, WA will keep fighting for what is our right and that is to protect the citizens of this state. We will continue our battle, in fact, our war with Clive Palmer." 

Following the four-day trial between Mr Palmer and the State of Western Australia in July, the Federal Court adjourned to determine the facts of the case. 

The matter is then due to go to the High Court for determination of whether or not they were constitutional, which is touted to occur from September.....
[my yellow highlighting]

BACKGROUND

The Australian, 3 August 2020, p.4:

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has “thanked” Scott Morrison for contributing to his court bid to dismantle Western Australia’s hard COVID-19 border and says the federal government has played its part in his case, despite the Prime Minister pulling his support. 

Mr Morrison wrote to West Australian Premier Mark McGowan at the weekend to end federal co-operation with a High Court bid to remove the hard ­border, saying he wanted to work with the Labor leader to reach a ­compromise. 

Federal officials have already testified on Mr Palmer’s case in front of the Federal Court last week, presenting facts to show there were alternatives to the border closure. 

Mr Palmer on Sunday said the federal contribution to the case would still help determine whether he won his fight to overturn the closure. 

“The important issue in this case is revealing the truth that the experts from the commonwealth and WA governments had to say in court,” Mr Palmer said. 

“In the coming weeks, the Federal Court will make their determination on the facts and all Australians will be better for that decision.” 

Mr Morrison’s move to withdraw backing for Mr Palmer’s bid came days after he said he had ­serious constitutional concerns about Mr McGowan’s internal border closure, which is hailed by the Premier as the key to WA’s success in eliminating COVID-19. 

Both WA and federal bureaucrats testified in front of the Federal Court to lay out the facts around the state’s border closure and the constitutional issues, ­before legal arguments started. 

University of Sydney law professor Anne Twomey said on ­Sunday Mr Morrison’s move was political and would not stop federal evidence playing a role in the ultimate decision on Mr Palmer’s bid. 

“The commonwealth has already contributed on the critical issue over whether these laws are reasonably necessary to protect public health … it’s already played its major role,” she said.

Townsville Bulletin, 3 August 2020:

The border closure to all states, regardless of their level of infection, is hugely popular in WA. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk criticised Mr Palmer for his legal challenge to state border closures, saying it could put at risk “all the hard work we have done”. 

“Honestly, these legal challenges are ridiculous during this time,” she said. 

“Everybody should respect that states have a job to do to protect their families and not go through the courts and do these legal challenges, putting everything at risk because that’s what will happen. It will put all the hard work that we have done at risk.”

Christian Porter and the Morrison Government threw everything but the kitchen sink at @MarkMcGowanMP and Western Australia in support of Clive Palmer’s border challenge.
Just look at this list. What will the Morrison Government do to fix the damage it has already done? pic.twitter.com/F3bTE0wAOF

— Mark Dreyfus (@markdreyfusQCMP) August 5, 2020

REX Regional Express airline announces reinstatement of passenger service to Grafton NSW - accompanied by a thinly veiled threat aimed at the people of the Clarence Valley

Rex Regional Express Airlines, media release excerpts, 6 August 2020:

Rex to Resume Flights to Grafton

Regional Express (Rex) announces today that it will resume flights to Grafton with effect from Monday, August 17, 2020.

Rex notified the Clarence Valley Council of the withdrawal of services on June 4 2020,….

Upon the intervention of the Member for Page, Mr Kevin Hogan, Rex accepted the apologies of the council and accepted Mr Hogan’s assurance that the remarks of the said councillor were condemned by the vast majority of the community.

Rex will operate return services three days a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Rex Deputy Chairman, the Hon John Sharp AM, said, “Although Rex has always taken the view that elected representatives speak on behalf of the community, Rex is giving the benefit of the doubt to the community of Grafton and is accepting at face value the assurance from the Federal Member for Page. Rex will be watching the developments at Grafton closely.”

Mr Hogan said, “I am extremely pleased that Rex have reconsidered and are now reinstating this important service for our community.”

“I have continued to work with Rex, Clarence Valley Council and the Deputy Prime Minister to resolve this issue.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the resumption of REX flights to Grafton was a step in the right direction for the industry….

“The reintroduction of the flight from Sydney to Grafton is a great step forward for the region to reboot the economy in what has been a difficult year for everyone.”

Clarence Valley Council Mayor Jim Simmons welcomed the announcement and restated the importance of this service.

“I would like to personally thank Kevin Hogan for continuing to advocate for this important community service,” Cr Simmons said.

“Flights into Grafton are vitally important for our local economy and connects our region to major population centres.

[my yellow highlighting]

When Rex commences flying into Grafton Airport again it will have been absent from the Clarence Valley for 39 days since 3 July.

Coincidentally Rex's re-entry follows on the heels of media reports that Clarence Valley Council had begun looking for another airline to take its place.

It certainly hasn't escaped North Coast Voices' notice that REX shares stopped climbing in July and the volume of shares traded also fell.

Perhaps this airline's bully boy tactics have not instilled confidence in the market place. Just as going straight to the Murdoch media by way of email copy to The Daily Examiner before Clarence Valley Council had time to consider the email's contents failed to impress more than a few people in the Clarence Valley.

ASX Chart, 8 August 2020

  

Morrison & Co called out for victim blaming

Chief economist at The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss, on the subject of Coalition economic stories........

The Guardian, 5 August 2020:

Australian economic debate relies more heavily on metaphors than it does on evidence, experience or expertise. While the prime minister, treasurer and self-appointed business leaders drone endlessly about what the economy “needs”, they simply refuse to provide any evidence that they know what they are talking about. For decades the inanity of Australia’s economic debate has been concealed behind the sugar hit of surging world demand for our exports, and surging population growth on house prices and retail profits. But in the deepest recession in modern history, the shallowness of Australia’s economic debate is about to become clear for all to see.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s admission last week that his favourite politicians were Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan was as informative as the fact that my favourite Marvel heroes are Thor and Iron Man. Given that Thatcher oversaw burgeoning unemployment and Reagan doubled the US government’s debt, you can see why our current treasurer might have an affinity for his cold war heroes. But for those of us interested in the Morrison government’s actual plans to get us out of the hole we are in, the treasurer’s last big interview told us even less than his recent “mini-budget” did.

According to Frydenberg, Australia’s economy will shrink by a record 7% in the current quarter. To put that into perspective, the entire 1991 recession saw GDP fall by 1.4% and the 1983 recession, which saw four quarters of contraction in a row, saw GDP fall by “only” 3.8%. For the 60 years we have collected quarterly GDP data, the biggest previous quarterly contraction of GDP was back in June 1974, when the economy contracted by 2%. But apart from drawing inspiration from Thatcher and Reagan, what exactly is the government’s plan to create jobs for the almost million people who are already unemployed, let alone for the many more who are predicted to be unemployed by the end of the year?

In March and April, the Morrison government was more enthusiastic about stimulating the economy than many expected but, by July, it had grown tired of its flirtation with Keynesianism. In his mini-budget, Frydenberg simply turned his back on all that economics has to offer and – at the same press conference where he announced the largest ever decline in GDP – he announced his government would be cutting spending in September this year. The consequences of that decision will be disastrous for the economy and, most likely, for the Coalition.

If private demand and investment is falling (it is) and if foreign demand for our exports, including education and tourism, is collapsing (it is), the only thing that can stop GDP spiralling downwards is a big increase in government spending. That’s not ideology or theory, it’s just maths. GDP is the sum of its parts, and if the private-sector parts are shrinking (they are), virtually every economist agrees it’s a good idea for the government to spend more. Morrison and Frydenberg spent the first half of year pretending to understand and accept this most simple of economic tenets but, as of last week, they have clearly decided to put storytelling ahead of solid evidence.

In explaining why they had to cut government spending on unemployment benefits – and in turn cut the amount of money the unemployed spend in their local shops – the prime minister and treasurer dusted off old anecdotes, unsourced, about unemployed people turning down work because life was “easier”. To be clear, there are currently 13 unemployed people for every job vacancy.

The Coalition love to tell stories about what great economic managers they are, despite ABS data suggesting otherwise. But, of course, in Australia the key to being a “great economic manager” isn’t delivering high rates of economic growth or budget surpluses (neither of which the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison governments have actually done). On the contrary, the key to being a great economic manager is to tell great stories.

Central to the Coalition’s economic narrative is to take credit for everything good that happens in the economy and shift the blame for anything bad. When unemployment is falling, say it’s because your tax cuts are working to “strengthen” the economy. When unemployment is rising, blame the unemployed and say you need to cut unemployment benefits.

The same applies when telling stories about the budget. When times are good, cut taxes for your friends and, when times are tough, cut spending on those who never vote for you. Likewise, with productivity growth, consumer confidence or private investment. If things are looking up, link it to your tax and welfare cuts, and if things are going badly, blame it on union power and lazy workers.

Conservatives have masterfully implemented the old adage to “never let a crisis go to waste” – successfully blaming the victims of Australia’s economic system for all of its failings, while taking credit for managing all of its successes. But they have never had to tell a story about an economy that shrank 7% in a single quarter, driving unemployment to 10%…… 

Unemployment is about to rise, and the economy is not going to “snap back”. Increased training will not create jobs. Cutting unemployment benefits will not create jobs. Industrial relations reform will not create jobs. The reason that companies are shedding staff is that there aren’t enough customers with enough money, or enough confidence, to buy the things that companies sell. The only thing that will pull Australia out of this nosedive is a big increase in government spending, and the government has just announced it plans to cut spending. Strap yourself in – the storytelling is about to go fantastical as the economy goes very, very quiet.

Cartoon of the Week

Cathy Wilcox

Quote of the Week

'“Yeah, it is quantitatively if you look at it, it is. I mean the numbers don’t lie,” Fauci said when asked during an interview with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta whether the U.S. had the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak. The U.S., which accounts for less than 5% of the world population, leads all other countries in global coronavirus infections and deaths.'  [Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, quoted by CNBC on 5 August 2020]

“a woman who had told NSW Police at the Victorian border she would be self-isolating at Nimbin on the NSW North Coast was issued a $1000 fine after she was located 470 kilometres south in a vehicle at Nabiac. She was also directed to return to Victoria.” [WAtoday , 7 August 2020]

Scott Morrison still running away from scrutiny

The Federal Parliament was supposed to resume today, but as we know, the Prime Minister thinks it's still far too dangerous for our politicians. #auspol | @vanOnselenP pic.twitter.com/rIhTltv0fa

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) August 4, 2020

Prime Minister Scott 'Job Shirker' Morrison suspension of the Australian Parliament drags on and on.

Even though he has appropriate IT capability at his disposal Morrison is still refusing to let both the House of Representatives and the Senate sit virtually.

This means that the Australian Parliament has only sat for 28 days so far this year.

Which has left Scott Morrison and his cronies free of official scrutiny for most of the last six months.

Even during the 1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic which killed est. 15,000 Australians the Senate sat for 39 days and the House of Representatives for 51 days.

Both houses also sat during the world war years of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

However it seems, like his 'mentor' Donald Trump, Scott Morrison is made of lesser stuff.