Coronavirus news Australia: states begin easing restrictions from tonight after national cabinet meeting today – as it happened

We’ll leave it there for tonight. Have a fantastic Friday night. See you soon.

Let’s whip around the main developments of the day.

• The PM announced the national cabinet’s three-stage ‘roadmap’ to ease Covid-19 restrictions.
• Some states – Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania – then indicated their own initial changes to restrictions, which they will enact in the coming days.
• Victorians were told the government will outline an easing of restrictions on Monday, while New South Wales said only that it will be making no changes this week.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia forecast the unemployment rate will hit 10% in June, and won’t climb down to 6.5% until June 2022.
• The worrying Cedar Meats cluster in Melbourne’s west reached 71 cases.
• Three NRL players were stood down for not getting the flu shot.
• And, moments after Scott Morrison concluded his press conference today, the government delayed the implementation of recommendations from the banking royal commission.

The Australian Hotels Association, essentially the nation’s pubs lobby, has claimed the national cabinet’s “roadmap” out of the Covid-19 pandemic will hurt its members.

“Hotels have been left blindsided,” the AHA chief executive, Stephen Ferguson, said on Friday, according to AAP.

“They basically will not be able to reopen their businesses until stage three of the recovery process.”

Ferguson said the plan failed to account for venues with large floor space and most would be forced to remain closed.

“We are told only 10 people can sit and have a meal in a pub restaurant area even if that area could safely socially distance 50 or 100,” he said

“Why can only 10 people be allowed in a dining area of a huge venue that could safely socially distance 120?”

People are cramming into supermarkets and work side-by-side on building sites, he said.

“Where is the consistency?”

He warned that many operators were already struggling with mounting debts after being closed for more than a month and the recovery plan could force some to close their doors permanently.

“Hotels have done the right thing, put the health of staff and patrons first the moment this pandemic hit – and we will continue to do so – but common sense needs to prevail here too,” he said.

This is not strictly a Covid-19 story, but a very interesting piece from Paul Karp on the so-called ‘sports rorts’ scandal.

Daniel Hurst and Paul Karp filed this report on Scott Morrison’s press conference today, where he announced the “roadmap” to ease Covid-19 restrictions in coming weeks.

From AAP:

The AFL won’t mandate its players to have a flu vaccination ahead of the season resumption and will leave the decision up to footballers and their respective club doctors.

NRL players are required to either have the flu vaccination or sign waiver forms as rugby league works towards a planned 28 May season restart.

But the AFL maintains flu shots will be at the discretion of players and club staff, not a league-wide policy.

“While the AFL recommends players and officials to get a yearly flu shot, the decision is ultimately that of the player and club doctor as to whether they wish to do so,” an AFL spokesperson said.

On Friday morning, Gold Coast Suns captain David Swallow questioned whether flu vaccinations should be compulsory in the AFL if players weren’t comfortable with them.

The NRL had amended its original waiver form on Thursday after several players refused to sign it on religious or conscientious grounds.

On Friday, three Gold Coast Titans players, including Bryce Cartwright, were stood down by the NRL for refusing to take the flu shot, on the advice of Queensland health officials.

The other two players were believed to be Nathan Peats and Brian Kelly.

Peats later said on Twitter he was not anti-vaccination and had avoided the flu jab due to an adverse experience while at South Sydney back in 2012 – but was now planning to have the shot on Friday afternoon.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed any decision by state governments to apply a ‘no jab, no play’ policy to the NRL.

Australia’s tourism industry has cautiously welcomed the national cabinet’s roadmap for easing coronavirus restrictions, pointing to the possibility of domestic travel from next month.

“All the signs are pointing to green shoots of domestic travel from June,” Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said, according to AAP.

Westaway said while there was a long way to go before tourism returned to normal, members had already expressed their excitement about the plan for the way out.

“What’s really important about today is that there has been a level of certainty put out there,” he said

“The level of uncertainty has been a big part of the angst for our industry.”

But he said the biggest challenge facing tourism operators was the ongoing closure of state borders.

He said if businesses in the sector could be given confidence about when they would reopen, that would help stimulate its recovery.

Despite the easing of restrictions in some states from next week, Westaway said he didn’t expect every 4WD would be on the road straightaway.

“I think people are going to be a bit circumspect to a degree,” he said.

“I think you’ll see it progressively start to occur.”

My colleague Justine Landis-Hanley has compiled this explainer looking at the national cabinet’s three-step plan for reopening Australia announced by Scott Morrison today.

Labor has criticised the six-month delay of the banking royal commission recommendations, saying it is a “failing” the government did not implement them before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anthony Albanese, Jim Chalmers and Stephen Jones said in a statement:

It is a failing of the Morrison Government that the Banking Royal Commission recommendations were not implemented in full before the COVID-19 crisis.

We join with consumer groups in holding the Government to account until they keep their promise with the Australian people and implement the recommendations.

Labor calls for the Royal Commission implementation delays to be limited to no more than 6 months.

The Government resisted the Banking Royal Commission for years, voted against it 26 times and have dragged their feet on implementation.

After receiving the Banking Royal Commission’s final report, Prime Minister Morrison and Treasurer Frydenberg took six months to release an implementation timetable.

One year after the report was on their desks, the Government had only completed 6 out of the 76 recommendations made by Commissioner Hayne.

Labor acknowledges the role that the banks are playing in the current crisis.

We support a strong banking system and the recent measures that have added needed liquidity and financial support during COVID-19.

But the Australian public also have an expectation that the Banking Royal Commission recommendations will be implemented.

With almost half the workforce on JobKeeper or JobSeeker, consumers need to be sure that they are protected from financial misconduct.

We agree with consumer groups who wrote to the Treasurer on 16 April 2020 expressing concerns.

While there is a reasonable case for a six-month extension to deadlines, the Australian community still expects to see action on the Banking Royal Commission.

Australians just want fair treatment from our financial institutions.

It is Josh Frydenberg’s job to make sure that still happens.

The Nationals deputy leader, David Littleproud, said earlier today the Coalition deserves an “uppercut” for self-indulgent infighting ahead of the Eden-Monaro byelection.

“Self-indulgence on any level is not accepted by the Australian people nor should it be. We deserve an uppercut,” he told ABC television on Friday.

“You have a look at yourself, you dust yourself off and get back to basics. We can’t sugarcoat it, that’s the truth.”

Littleproud’s comments follow a feud between NSW Liberal transport minister Andrew Constance and Nationals NSW deputy leader John Barilaro.

Both were touted for the byelection but failed to run, with Constance pulling out of the race 24 hours after throwing his hat in the ring.

Constance quit the race after News Corp published text messages in which Barilaro purportedly called him a “cunt”.

A few observers have noted we haven’t heard from the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian after today’s national cabinet meeting.

The premier has just issued a statement, which confirms no changes to restrictions this week.

She says:

NSW welcomes the framework for the further easing of restrictions endorsed today by the National Cabinet.

This framework provides a clear pathway to what citizens can look forward to in coming months.

The NSW Government has already eased a number of restrictions listed under the first stage of the plan.

As I stated earlier this week – there will be no further change to restrictions in NSW this week.

NSW will continue to keep our citizens updated on our path forward.

The Business Council is pleased with the roadmap laid out by the prime minister Scott Morrison today.

“The national cabinet has laid out a clear roadmap to give the community and business confidence while also respecting the important advice from our health professionals,” said chief executive Jennifer Westacott.

“Business will continue to work closely with governments on plans and protocols to ensure the economy opens up safely so that the health of our staff, customers and suppliers is protected.

“People can have confidence that businesses across Australia are putting in place detailed plans across their industries, so they can operate safely, but get people back to their work and their lives as quickly as possible.

“We thank the entire Australian community for pulling together so effectively to get us to this milestone and congratulate the national cabinet on its continued willingness to respond and adapt to this evolving situation.

“Australians have pulled together to contain Covid-19 and we’ll need the same focus, cooperation and determination to set ourselves up for a strong recovery as we ease restrictions.”

Our Watch, which campaigns to prevent violence against women, says it is concerned about the number of women killed by a partner or ex-partner in the past week.

Our Watch chief executive Patty Kinnersly said: “Since March, Google searches on domestic violence have increased by 75% and the family court has reported an increase up to 40% in urgent applications.”

“These recent tragic murders are one horrifying part of a huge spectrum of violence against women in our society.

“We know that while this violence takes many forms, the underlying driver is gender inequality.

“We also know that crises tend to disproportionately affect women, often lead to increases in violence against them, and exacerbate existing gender inequalities across society.”

“If we are not considered, our response to Covid-19 could unintentionally reverse decades of progress towards gender equality.

“Now more than ever, governments, workplaces, and communities must remain committed to this goal.”

AAP reports that the NT is keeping to its own plans for easing restrictions.

The Northern Territory will stick with its existing plans for the lifting of restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the wake new national measures released on Friday.

Chief minister Michael Gunner indicated the territory would push ahead with its three-stage approach that will remove most restrictions on business and community activities by early June.

The NT’s changes began last weekend with parks reopening and outdoor weddings and funerals allowed along with real estate inspections and auctions.

Stage two from May 15 allows for the reopening of restaurants, cafes, and bars as long as people purchase food.

Non-contact sports can also start, and indoor activities will be allowed for those of less than two hours.

That includes beauty salons, gyms, libraries and places of religious worship.

The third and final stage from 5 June will remove the two-hour limit on indoor activities, and allow the reopening of bars and clubs without food being compulsory.

Entertainment venues and cinemas will also reopen and team sports such as football and netball will be allowed.

Businesses are required to complete a safety plan to ensure physical distancing and good hygiene.

The internal border controls restricting access to areas that include indigenous communities will remain in place until 18 June and possibly longer.

Further describing stage two, Gutwein says it would allow people to move around the state, including camping, overnight boats and holiday shacks.

Gyms and bootcamps would be open to 20 people, while beauty services including tattoo parlours would also be allowed.

Indoor sport would also be allowed.

Note: This is Gutwein describing the possibility rules from after 15 June, if the advice allows it.

Gutwein is laying out the state’s roadmap.

He says from 25 May, primary school students will return to school, as well as year 11 and 12 students.

From 9 June, high school students from year 7 to 10 will also return to school.

From 15 June, the state will move to stage 2, subject to health advice.

“On June 15, gatherings will increase to 20 people at a time, both indoor and outdoor areas including restaurants, cafes, cinemas, museums, galleries, historic sites, religious gatherings and weddings,” he says.

From that point, it is expected up to 50 people would be allowed to attend a funeral.

Gutwein says Tasmania will move to Stage 1 on 18 May, subject to public health advice.

That would mean:

• Indoor and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people.
• Up to five visitors to a home.
• Restaurants, cafes and other venues can open for up to 10 people at a time.
• Border controls will remain in place.