Good morning, this is Emilie Gramenz bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 5 May.
Top stories
Australia’s coronavirus-related restrictions are costing the economy $4bn a week. Josh Frydenberg will use a speech to the National Press Club to warn that the economic shock will be profound and prolonged – wth the Treasury estimating a 10% to 12% fall in GDP in the June quarter. A leading business group is calling for the pandemic recovery and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to be addressed together, saying it would boost growth. New polling shows Australians are warming up to the idea of easing Covid-19 restrictions. And the government has released draft legislation for the Covidsafe tracing app to allay privacy concerns.
There is no plan to extend daily Covid-19 testing to all aged-care staff across the country, despite the tactic being used to contain an outbreak at a Sydney facility. All staff at the Newmarch House aged care home are now tested daily after a NSW Health review found possible breaches of safety protocols. Fifteen residents at Newmarch House have died after testing positive. The federal and Victorian governments are in disagreement over whether it is safe for students and teachers to return to school, as a number of other states prepare for their students to go back to class. Meanwhile, universities are incensed by the third set of changes in a month designed to exclude them from the $130bn Jobkeeper wage subsidy program.
World leaders have pledged more than €7bn to research Covid-19 vaccines and therapies at a virtual event convened by the EU. The money will also be used to distribute any vaccine to poor countries. Internal projections in the US show the administration is expecting 3,000 deaths a day by 1 June. As Italy begins a cautious exit from lockdown, a statistics bureau has said the nation’s death toll is far higher than reported. And intelligence agencies have told the Guardian there’s no current evidence to suggest coronavirus leaked from a Chinese research laboratory.
Australia
The home affairs and employment departments are investigating a data breach revealing the personal details of 774,000 migrants and potential migrants, despite downplaying its seriousness. Guardian Australia revealed the breach of the government’s SkillSelect app at the weekend.
The NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance, is expected to put his hand up to be the Liberal candidate in the Eden-Monaro byelection. The poll in the traditionally marginal seat has been triggered by the retirement of the sitting federal Labor member Mike Kelly.
The Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has poured cold water on Scott Morrison’s push for weapons inspector-style powers for the World Health Organization. The NSW senator, who has a long record of taking a hard line on Beijing, instead called for the government to lessen Australia’s economic dependence on China.
The world
The US Senate has rejected a request from Joe Biden to search for and release any records of a 1993 complaint against him. An aide has accused the Democratic presidential nominee of sexual assault, which he denies.
North Korean defectors have apologised after false speculation of Kim Jong-un’s demise. Kim disappeared from state media for three weeks, leading to concerns about the nuclear armed state in the event of an unexpected succession.
A former US special forces soldier linked to a murky and apparently bungled attempt to topple Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, has insisted his troops are still in action. Jordan Goudreau claimed the battle was not over hours after Maduro’s government said it had foiled a US-backed sea “invasion” near the country’s main international airport.
Recommended reads
There’s a chill in the air around most of Australia – perfect weather for ratatouille. Jackie Middleton says autumn is the best time to make the classic vegetable stew, and presents a new take in a filo tart. Here’s a spoiler … her top tip is to cook each vegetable separately to dial up the flavour.
We can’t go back to the way we were after the crisis is over, argues Travers McLeod. The chief executive of the Centre for Policy Development outlines 10 steps towards a “stronger Australia” after the coronavirus pandemic. His ideas include aligning the growth agenda with a zero carbon future, addressing inequality and embracing flexible workplace changes.
Even before the term “craftivism” caught on, there was a strong trend of traditional handicrafts being used for political purposes. Explore the history of “sewing dissent” through the ages, from the simple (the slogan “Votes for women” on a sash from the Suffragette movement) to the more subversive (an intricate embroidering of the warning “We’re all gonna die”).
Listen
Today’s Full Story examines how one man’s time in intensive care with Covid-19 changed his life. A helicopter pilot, Dave Lewins, 60, explains what it’s like to live through the coronavirus.
Surviving the coronavirus: how one man’s time in the ICU changed his life
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Sports fans are suffering a loss of identity, writes Megan Maurice. With games, leagues and competitions around the world cancelled or on hold, a pastime once so essential has all but disappeared. “In a world without sport, we lose that easy shorthand of understanding who we are,” she writes.
The English Football League is facing some hard choices. Read the first of a week-long series about how coronavirus will change football.
Media roundup
The Australian reports that the federal government sought advice from the nation’s spy agencies on the use of Chinese coronavirus testing equipment, obtained by the billionaire Andrew Forrest. The Courier-Mail has a story about Burleigh Hill on the Gold Coast being cordoned off after thousands breached social distancing rules to watch the sunset. The NT News interviews the territory’s health minister about how Darwin’s early role in Australia’s coronavirus response informed the planning for outbreaks. And the Sydney Morning Herald reports on the closure of the cultural hub Carriageworks in Sydney’s Eveleigh rail yards.
Coming up
Jacinda Ardern will join a national cabinet meeting today to share New Zealand’s experience of managing coronavirus, amid talk of a “Trans-Tasman bubble” for travel. The RBA board will meet. And there’s a hearing of the Ruby Princess inquiry.
And if you’ve read this far …
Nicolas Cage is set to take on the main character of everyone’s isolation binge watch: Joe Exotic. According to Variety, the Oscar-winner will be the lead in a new miniseries based on the zoo owner made famous by Netflix’s Tiger King.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
