Good morning
Welcome to the ninth-last week of the year.
It starts, as so many have recently, in Victoria, where Melbourne remains under restrictions. Daniel Andrews had said as recently as Friday that there was cause for optimism, but with a new cluster of cases in the city’s northern suburbs, a very cautious approach is being taken to any reopening.
The family whose child went to school while infectious has spoken to the Age and said they were cleared by Victoria DHHS to leave quarantine, and there were no specific instructions for any of the family members to remain in isolation. There will be more questions on that.
In parliament, the House of Representatives will sit and estimates continues – it is Treasury’s time under the spotlight, so expect more questions on the Asic expenses controversy, following Friday’s shock revelations which led to James Shipton standing aside, pending an investigation.
It is also Health’s time – not only will there be Covid updates, but also some questions on the CovidSafe app, which was meant to be like “sunscreenâ€, but hasn’t lived up to the hype (what a surprise).
Elsewhere, the Queensland election has entered its final week of campaigning, with Labor facing serious losses in the north and far north – the election is anyone’s at this stage. Queensland is always hard to pick, being three distinct electorates in one, and the only safe prediction is to be prepared for any outcome.
We’ll bring you all the day’s events as they happen. You have Amy Remeikis on the blog and the rest of the Guardian brains trust at your disposal. It’s going to be a four-coffee day. I can feel it. Winter has made a last gasp here in a dreary Canberra, so hot cups of something won’t be far away.
Ready?
Updated
