Australia news live: nation records 66 Covid deaths as push for Albanese to continue pandemic leave payments and free RATs grows

Cait #2 ready for action. I’ll be with you for the rest of this fine Friday.

With that, I am going to pass you onto the better, brighter Cait. Caitlin Cassidy will take you through the rest of the day.

Victorian couple sues government over vaccinate mandates

From AAP:

A Victorian couple have brought legal action against the state and federal governments claiming their constitutional rights and freedoms were violated by the vaccinated economy mandate.

Between October 2021 and April this year, workers and patrons were required to show proof of double vaccination against Covid-19 to continue to participate in the Victorian economy.

Eric and Tracey Wilson, who are self-representing, want the federal court to decide whether their rights were violated by the mandate.

They claim the vaccinated economy was “aided by coercion”, and labelled government statements that double vaccination would lead to zero or lower hospital admissions as “pure fiction”.

The whole basis of the vaccinated economy was fanciful.

It is more about the economy than the wellbeing of Victorians.

The Wilsons argued the mandate had violated their freedom under the Australian constitution, the Magna Carta and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

“The whole scheme is unconstitutional,” Wilson said.

Lawyers for both levels of government rejected all of the Wilsons’ claims and argued the case should not be heard by the court.

Police execute search warrants as part of national crackdown on GST fraud

Police have executed search warrants as part of a major national operation to crack down on GST fraud, AAP has reported.

The warrants this week in relation to five suspected offenders in Sydney followed raids against 19 people last month in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, SA, WA, and Queensland as part of Operation Protego.

The Australian Tax Office-led serious financial crime task force has taken various forms of action in relation to 40,000 people suspected of being involved in GST fraud.

ATO deputy commissioner and task force chief Will Day said the agency had zero tolerance for fraud and was pursuing people suspected of inventing fake businesses to claim false refunds.

We know who has lodged a BAS and who has created a fake business.

If you think you won’t be caught, think again. As we continue to take action against those involved, your name could be next on our list, and you could face severe consequences, including jail.

As part of Operation Protego, the task force is also progressively sharing information relating to all individuals identified as participating in this fraud, with the details of around 29,000 individuals provided to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission so far.

I know no one wanted to think about the phallic logo design ever again, but my colleague Tory Shepherd has this really solid story about how a senior public servant – known only as ‘the women’s champion’ – missed the um, alternative messaging.

Missing hiker in the Grampians national park

A 22-year-old hiker has gone missing in the Grampians after calling her mother at 8pm on Thursday to say she was lost.

The hiker set off alone in the Mount Rosea area near Halls Gap at about noon, before getting lost.

ABC news is reporting that her mother then called emergency services around 10pm.

The police air wing and state emergency services are currently scouring the area for her.

Hey Sydney, just shout out if you need to borrow a few puffer jackets – we are well stocked down here.

Prof Adrian Esterman with a silver lining here. It’s like, maybe we should all just be, I don’t know, wearing masks?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prolonging global economic disruptions, Chalmers says

The Australian government has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as prolonging the economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, AAP has reported.

Addressing finance ministers from across the world, treasurer Jim Chalmers said Russia’s actions have not only had a human cost but also increased global uncertainty.

The treasurer is attending the two-day G20 finance ministers and central bank governors summit in Bali alongside Reserve Bank of Australia head Philip Lowe.

It is Russia’s invasion that has undermined energy and food security, and not the sanctions, and so Russia must take full responsibility for this.

The global economic situation has deteriorated and we are entering a difficult, if not dangerous, phase with costs and consequences for all of us.

This is the sobering reality that we confront.

But in the midst of energy shortages, it was also an opportunity for the world to take up clean power sources, Chalmers said.

By increasing uncertainty around energy security, Russia’s war on Ukraine has also reinforced the urgency of seeking cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy – an area which my government can now show a renewed commitment to.

Queensland senator on airport biosecurity measures amid foot-and-mouth disease threat

Queensland senator and minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry Murray Watt has returned from Jakarta. At the airport, he has posted a thread testing the biosecurity measures in place to prevent the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak from entering Australia.

He posted to social media:

Didn’t take long, but it’s an important process for ANYONE who has been on farm overseas, near livestock or is carrying meat/dairy products. We owe it to each other, especially to our farm communities, to do the right thing. If you don’t, you face big fines/visa cancellation.

This isn’t all we’re doing and we will continue imposing any new border measure that works, while also helping our overseas friends manage outbreak. We’ve also started targeted operations on randomly selected flights, where 100% of passengers face full screening.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has been critical of the government’s response:

The NSW SES is warning the state will be in for a frosty one as a cold front moves in. I don’t think I’ve ever looked as chic as these dogs do in the cold.

SA will push Labor to extend pandemic leave payments

South Australia will support a push for the federal government to continue pandemic leave payments, AAP is reporting.

Acting premier Susan Close says the state government will take that position to Monday’s national cabinet meeting.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is on leave, but will break from his holiday to take part in the cabinet discussions.

“We are expecting an interesting and lively discussion as the pandemic reaches yet another difficult phase,” Close said on Friday.

We would support an extension of the pandemic leave.

Close said SA also expected some discussion about the continued free supply of rapid antigen tests to concession card holders, which the federal government will cease at the end of July.

Growing calls for Labor to reinstate paid pandemic leave

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National Covid summary: 66 deaths reported