The Victorian parliament will sit next Thursday in an emergency sitting, to pass some of the Covid-19 legislation the Andrews government has put forward. On top of land tax relief, the Victorian government is putting more money into mediation for landlords and tenants for rental relief, if Covid-19 has impacted someone’s income. Dan Andrews: The key point here, though, is that even with a good-faith agreement, there will be many tenants who are left under financial stress. And the definition, if you like, of, that is if your rent represents more than 30% of your income, then you are under real stress. If that’s the case - so you’ve got a good-faith negotiation, you do a deal, reduce the rent by a certain amount, but still that rent represents more than 30% of your obviously reduced income, then there will be rent assistance, some $80 million worth of rent assistance, that will be available to the best part of 40,000 tenants right across the state. But just quickly, those tenants, after a negotiation, if they’re still in rental stress, if they earn less than $100,000 a year, less than $5,000 in savings, then we will make available to them up to $2,000 in rental assistance. That assistance will go directly to the landlord and obviously we’ll support that ongoing tenancy, but also support landlords. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Dan Andrews is holding his press conference. He is giving a very polite ‘no thank you’ to the federal government message to send kids back to school, en-masse, at least in his state. If you think about it, common sense simply dictates if you’ve got a million kids getting to and from school, a full complement of teachers, parents moving around the community, dropping kids off, picking them up, that is not at all consistent with social distancing rules and not consistent with the sort of numbers that every single Victorian can be proud of - some stability in these numbers is critical. That is saving lives.” But schools remain open for anyone who still has a job, or can’t educate at home. Jim Chalmers will speak about the IMF’s predictions following ‘the Great Lockdown’ at 11.30am. At least I’ll get a glimpse of Brisbane. With Australia in the suppression stage of Covid-19, it clears some of the air for this book, which will be released next week. We hear he is attempting to see if one of the virtual launches can take place on a kayak. Paul Fletcher will hold a media conference at 12.30 to discuss that new package For the record, when asked today, both Dave Sharma and Dan Tehan said they would speak with their children about whether or not they were comfortable with being physically sent back to school, and make decisions from there. Schools are open for essential workers (anyone with a job) and for parents who have no choice. But even in the classroom, school would look very different, with the past few weeks spent developing online and distance learning, which means the lessons are more of a one-size-fits-all kind. Another of the special charter flights designed to get stranded Australians home has landed – about 115 Australians who were in Peru touched down in Brisbane last night. They have been sent to hotels for the two-week quarantine. Paul Fletcher has released this statement: The Morrison Government today announced a package of measures to help sustain Australian media businesses as they do their vital work of keeping the community informed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures include: Tax Relief – A 12-month waiver of spectrum tax for commercial television and radio broadcasters Investing in Regional Journalism – A $50 million Public Interest News Gathering program Short-Term Red Tape Relief – Emergency suspension of content quotas in 2020 Harmonising Regulation to Support Australian Content – Release of an Options Paper developed by Screen Australia and the Australian Communications and Media Authority, commencing a fast-tracked consultation process on how best to support Australian stories on our screens Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said “Many Australians are doing it tough right now and the media sector is sharing that pain, especially in regional areas. Broadcasters and newspapers face significant financial pressure and COVID-19 has led to a sharp downturn in advertising revenue across the whole sector. We’ll have a full report to you on the high court decision regarding the validity of the warrant used to raid Annika Smethurst shortly - but in the meantime the high court has published its full judgment and a summary. From the summary: “Today the High Court unanimously held, in answer to questions stated in a special case, that the warrant relied upon by officers of the Australian Federal Police (“the AFP”) to authorise the search of the residence of the first plaintiff, Ms Annika Smethurst, was invalid and should be quashed.... The High Court unanimously held that the warrant relied upon by the AFP was invalid on the ground that it misstated the substance of s 79(3) of the Crimes Act, as it stood on 29 April 2018, and failed to state the offence to which the warrant related with sufficient precision. The entry, search and seizure which occurred on 4 June 2019 were therefore unlawful. Having made this finding, it was not necessary for the Court to consider whether the warrant was invalid on the ground that s 79(3) of the Crimes Act, as it stood on 29 April 2018, infringed the implied freedom of political communication. Nor was it necessary to consider the validity of the order that had been made under s 3LA of the Crimes Act requiring Ms Smethurst to give assistance to enable a constable to access, copy or convert data on a computer or data storage device. The Court unanimously ordered that the warrant be quashed. A majority of the Court declined to grant the injunctive relief sought by the plaintiffs, pointing to the plaintiffs’ inability to identify a sufficient right or interest that required protection by way of a mandatory injunction.” That’s the key bit - Smethurst has won, but the court has not ordered the material to be deleted. That’s why it’s only a partial win, and Smethurst and her source are still exposed to risk of prosecution. Minister intervenes to keep mobility allowance The social services minister has intervened to ensure about 15,000 people with disabilities will keep a $100-a-fortnight extra allowance during the Covid-19 crisis following claims some had lost the payment due to the shutdown. After Guardian Australia raised the prospect that recipients were likely to lose the allowance due to the pandemic, Anne Ruston said on Tuesday night she had asked her department to cease eligibility reviews for the mobility allowance. She also revealed that a longstanding plan to scrap the payment from July was “under review”. The $99.50 payment is paid to people whose disability, illness or injury who cannot use public transport without substantial assistance and is designed to cover travel costs for work or study. It is regularly reviewed by Centrelink to ensure recipients meet these strict eligibility requirements. Ruston told the Guardian: “I have directed my department to cease all reviews for mobility allowance in recognition of the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak and has had a significant impact on people’s daily lives.” On Tuesday the Guardian spoke to Michael, a 69-year-old age pensioner from regional New South Wales who said he had stopped receiving the allowance after his eligibility was reviewed last month. Michael, who uses a wheelchair, said he was unable to confirm the dates and hours he would spend doing a Tafe course and continuing his regular work as a consultant. Advocates are already frustrated that people who receive the disability support pension have been excluded from the $550-a-fortnight coronavirus supplement, along with age pensioners and carers. Jeff Smith, the chief executive of People With Disability Australia, told the Guardian people with disabilities were already facing higher food delivery costs and increased prices on some essential goods and services. “We do not want to exacerbate the increased costs that people with disability are experiencing through the Covid-19 pandemic by restricting access to the Mobility Allowance,” he said. Services Australia earlier this month was forced to warn disability support pensioners that there could be unintended consequences for people who switched to the jobseeker payment to receive the higher rate.