The leaders of Australia have discussed preparations for a coronavirus vaccine, new changes to JobKeeper and the future of international travel in the latest meeting of National Cabinet.
It comes after a horror week in Victoria which saw Australia's number of recorded cases surpass 20,000.
If you didn't have time to watch the hour-long presser, here's what was said by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
Australia is ready to pounce on a vaccine
The prospect of scientists around the globe finding a vaccine for coronavirus still isn't a sure thing, but Professor Kelly said National Cabinet discussed how Australia would respond if one was discovered.
"We're looking very clearly and carefully at advance purchasing options as well as local manufacturing options," he said.
"We're looking of course at the regulatory aspects to make sure that whatever does become available works, as well as being of high quality and, of course, being safe."
Professor Kelly said researchers around the world were working at "warp speed", and that his optimism was growing.
"What we have got in front of us is a very detailed plan about how we can get in the game in terms of vaccines and making sure that we are well ready if it comes.
"I'm much more hopeful than I was even a few weeks ago.
"In the last couple of weeks there have been published papers … demonstrating there are several different types of vaccine that are now absolutely developed and appear to be effective at least in terms of making antibodies against this virus, and they remain for at least a few months."
Mr Morrison also reconfirmed that if Australia was the first to develop a vaccine, it would share its findings around the world.
International arrivals will remain at current levels
For several weeks now, international arrivals have been restricted to about 4,000 a week.
Mr Morrison said he, along with state and territory leaders, had no plans to change that quickly.
The restrictions have been a source of woe for Australians overseas who have been trying to return home, but Mr Morrison said current arrangements would remain for months.
"At some point, that might be able to be altered. But at this point we are not going to put any further strain on the quarantine arrangements around the country.
"That will remain in place now for some months."
Palmer ditching WA challenge would be a 'good decision': PM
On the topic of borders (at a state level this time), Mr Morrison called on businessman Clive Palmer to drop his legal challenge against Western Australia's border closure.
The Commonwealth had initially intervened in the court case in favour of Mr Palmer's position, but pulled out last weekend.
Mr Morrison said the only person who could put an end to the case was Mr Palmer, and made it pretty clear that's what he hoped would happen.
"I have an outstanding relationship with the Western Australian Government, and we've pulled out of the case as they asked us to pull out," he said.
"I think that would be a good decision."
JobKeeper expansion
National Cabinet's meeting coincided with changes to the JobKeeper program.
The new rules relax the eligibility requirements, to allow more businesses, particularly in Victoria, to apply.
But Mr Morrison said any changes would remain on a national level, with none of the changes applying solely to the worst-affected areas.
"I have said consistently that JobKeeper needs to be a national program," he said.
"It will find the need wherever it happens to be. Whether that's in Bunbury or Brunswick, it'll find it.
"With the scale of the Victorian wave, that necessitated us to look at a more recent experience to ensure people qualified."
Remote Parliament
Yesterday, it was announced Victorian MPs would have to undergo a two-week isolation period if they wished to attend Parliament on August 24.
"When you consider how the Parliament House works, people come from every state, we don't want to be sending cases to other places," Professor Kelly told reporters today.
Some MPs, including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Health Minister Greg Hunt, will travel to Canberra to begin their two-week isolation period this weekend.
Labor has been calling on the Government to explore options for MPs to participate remotely, without being able to vote in divisions.
Mr Morrison said he was open to that, but the details would need to be worked out.
"One of the points that the Leader of the Opposition and I very much agree on, is that if you're voting in the Parliament, then you've got to be here," he said.
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2020-08-07 06:02:00Z
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