what is Morrison talking about today? Why has the comms strategy ramped up this week? Schools again?

the 4sq metre rule and 1.5 metre rule is not a requirement in classrooms, Morrison says, twice. He does not say by what magic the 1.5 metre advice holds true for everyone other than school aged children.

sport, the “national” pastime according to Morrison’s self styled phoney footy persona. Some people also like the ARTS MY MAN.

national cabinet has agreed on national principles today which are “all about” the economy, Morrison says. Is he dropping the pretence that he doesn’t prioritise economic over health crisis, which he has maintained up until now?

aged care. National cabinet has decided this is a state and territory decision. It is not okay for old people to be isolated and alone and “we’ll see how the industry” - yes, the industry - “goes with that”.

here we go. The strategised messaging. The first phase is China’s fault [paraphrased]. Morrison stresses his heroic government repatriated Australians from overseas. The restrictions his heroic government put in place contained infection from overseas.

Externalising responsibility is the underlying message here.

third phase is community. Again, his marvellous management has responded to an external threat is what Morrison wants you to hear.

The first Anzac Day in Australia was in the middle of the Spanish flu, says Morrison. The “light up the dawn initiative”. It will be like no other Anzac Day and also like the first one which was three years after Gallipoli but history exists to serve men like Morrison eh Mal.

B Murphy is up. He is a professor today. We are in a strong position to prevent community transmission. Non-medical masks are not recommended. Low quality, plus can foster complacency. Masks not recommended, the CMO repeats.

effective reproduction number. It has extended out “another week” but I missed the 1:1 infection rate time period baseline sorry. The NT and ACT are not on the slides bc the number of cases in the territories (he calls them states lol) are so low thus statistically insignificant.

Murphy expresses gratitude to states and territories for providing quarantine facilities for returned travelers (except billionaires hey) and says home in Australia “is the safest place in the world to be”.

Tasmania gets a special mention for the outbreak that Murphy and Morrison were so angry put their R above one they vilified and lied about HCWs there.

questions. Morrison says we will start at the front and work to the back or start at the back and work to the front. So how he calls on journalists at pressers seems to be the same approach as his messaging in schools.

Grattan asks how visiting people in aged care facilities has been cleared as not a health risk. Morrison says it is good for the health of residents to have visitors.

wait I must have missed half the question bc Morrison then segues to the app. Which he assures everyone will not store data - didn’t Home Affairs just sign off on a data storage contract with Amazon? - and that he Morrison will be downloading the app.

Q: schools?
CMO: most children who have contracted the virus in Australia have contracted it in the family home, not at school. There have been a dozen or so cases in schools in NSW and also in SA.

HPPC advice has not at any time been to close schools. I still do not get this. How is infection at home not also a risk to schools if an asymptomatic child carrier is attending school?

asked about staged increases in numbers of gatherings, from 5 to 10 etc?
CMO will leave the easing of restrictions to national cabinet. Morrison adds that national cabinet acknowledges difference between states and territories for limits on gathering numbers.

Q: role of the G20?
A: Australia is “in a very different headspace” to France, the UK and “other parts of Europe”.
Morrison claims our and NZ better results are “a bit more advanced” which is bollocks. We are behind them in virus timeline and buffeted by the Pacific Ocean.

Q: your Home Affairs minster has tweeted an attack on the Qld premier.
A: yes my factional enemy IS a minister in MY government but look Peter is a Queenslander and there’s an election coming up so I’m sure it was just a hyper-partisan political attack [paraphrased].

Q: businesses eligible for jobkeeper because of the collapse in revenues but the staff are paid by third party payroll services so are not eligible so then the business is not eligible for jobkeeper... are you aware of this problem?
A: jobkeeper was never intended as a catch-all.

Morrison carefully conflates jobseeker and jobkeeper by pretending to delineate jobseeker and jobkeeper. He repeats great big JSP “processed” numbers he’s been boasting about all week. The question was about workers and businesses falling through JOBKEEPER eligibility cracks.

Q: WHO?
A: we are dutiful international citizens [paraphrased] constructive but not uncritical partners in the global response.