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A state push for a bigger quarantine regime has sparked a row with Prime Minister Scott Morrison over the road map to open the nationâs borders, as a top business chief calls for a faster plan even if some people die.
Mr Morrison infuriated critics by dismissing a Queensland proposal to build a new quarantine centre that could ease the load on other states, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson calling him âbloody-mindedâ for refusing to budge.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Toowoomba is not the right place for a quarantine centre.
Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
While the federal government assumes the borders will stay closed until the middle of next year, Virgin chief executive Jane Hrdlicka said the country should speed up that plan as people were vaccinated.
âSo when they say he [Treasurer Tim Pallas] is having a hit at the rich, that is, quite frankly, bullshit, he is having a hit at average, working-class Australian people because thatâs the sort of prices they are having to pay to get into reasonable suburbs. They are not buying Toorak mansions, that is for sure.â
The Peddies are in their late 70s and budgeted to also buy electric road bikes to ride from their new place to visit their daughter in Queenscliff - they hope to keep those plans should they avoid the extra stamp duty.
âAt our age, this will be the last house we have, and we were budgeted very carefully,â Mr Peddie said.
Casino Royale: more fronts open in Crownâs battle for survival
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Helen Coonan was preparing for another chaotic week when she received a phone call mid-afternoon on Sunday that would intensify the storm already swirling around casino giant Crown Resorts.
After months of searching, Crownâs executive chairman was ready to announce on Monday she had found a new chief executive to take the reins at the wounded James Packer-backed group: outgoing Lendlease boss Steve McCann.
Crown Resorts chairman Helen Coonan giving evidence to the NSW inquiry last year.
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Anthony Albanese has been telling his colleagues for months that he plans to âkick with the wind in the final quarterâ in the lead-up to the next election.
So why did the New South Welshman, who is fond of the AFL metaphor, start the final quarter â Thursdayâs budget speech â with a couple of points and out-of-bounds on the full?
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is applauded by colleagues after delivering the budget reply in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
In the weeks leading up to the budget reply, Labor shadow ministers pulled together a series of policy options for their leader.
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On March 19, 2020, when the Morrison government said it would shut Australiaâs international borders, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was grilled on how long the gates would stay closed. Six months or more, the Treasurer said, although he stressed it would depend on medical advice and the borders wouldnât open âuntil it is safe to do soâ.
On Tuesday, Frydenberg delivered a budget which assumes the border will stay more or less shut until the middle of next year, which would be 27 months. He was speaking at a time when Australia had done something almost unthinkable â stopping even its own citizens from coming home from India with the threat of jail.