Phil Lowe is now speaking at the ANU Crawford School leadership panel. He says the cooperation between the world’s central banks has been “deep and wide ranging” and the main form has been sharing of information. Over in the ANU Leadership forum, the panel has learned that Citi, one of the globe’s biggest banks, doesn’t plan on returning staff to its New York office until next year. Leadership is broken. From the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality to the marginalisation of minority communities around the world, our leaders are failing us. Self-serving and divisive, they are gambling with public health and the future of younger generations. We have to make them raise their game. This is what the Guardian is for. As an open, independent news organisation we investigate, interrogate and expose the incompetence and indifference of those in power. Your support helps us produce quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism every day - and publish it free so everyone can read. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. An Australian defence force officer who tested positive to coronavirus while posted in Papua New Guinea is being held in isolation. The officer, who has been in PNG since January, began self-isolating on 5 June after reporting flu-like symptoms. The officer will stay in isolation until cleared by doctors, the defence department has said. “The High Commission has conducted contact tracing and provided this information to the PNG Government,” Defence said. PNG has recorded only eight cases of Covid-19 but testing rates are low, and there are concerns that an outbreak could quickly overwhelm the country’s health system. There have been no deaths there. PNG’s state of emergency was lifted last week after a fortnight with no new cases. Five defence force officers were flown home last month after contracting coronavirus in the Middle East. Defence personnel serving in the region were tested after several local contractors became infected. The SDA, which represents retail workers, wants more done to protect those workers from Covid-19 transmission. Gerard Dwyer, the national secretary, says it is a growing concern “that lack of effective action by shopping centre operators may be encouraging community transmission of Covid-19 just as there are disturbing signs in Victoria that we may be on the verge of a second wave of this lethal infection”. “This shortsighted failure invites new government restrictions, jeopardises retail workers’ health and jobs, as well as the future business of shops and the shopping centres themselves,” he said. “The SDA is writing to the commonwealth’s deputy chief medical officer, the Victorian premier and shopping centre representatives seeking urgent action. “Quite prudently, the authorities have established Covid testing stations at shopping centres. Retail workers are reporting to the SDA that they have seen shoppers leaving testing stations and going straight into the shopping centre; others have come directly from the shopping centre to the testing centre. “This is out of line with the recommendations of state and commonwealth health authorities.” For those wanting to follow along with Phil Lowe’s (very informed and deliberate) musings about the economy moving forward from Covid, you’ll find a link here: There was a lot of furore at the weekend about your Covid app suddenly tracking you. It is not true. Google and Apple released a joint statement about this in May. There are several articles about it, including by Josh Taylor, and you can search for more information if you need it. It’s your choice to download the app or not. But don’t add to the misinformation out there. Should people be wearing masks? Dr Nick Coatsworth: The masks are an ongoing point of review for the AHPPC. There has been some evidence around the world that masks can be effective in preventing the transmission of the virus but in what we call high prevalence areas where there is lots of community transmission, where you’re likely to encounter someone with the virus, that is where masks can be of value. At the moment, the most value is maintaining distance, washing hands, downloading the app and staying at home when you’re sick and getting tested. That will give you more proceedings in the Australian context than wearing a mask. The deputy chief medical adviser Dr Nick Coatsworth said the numbers of positive Covid cases in Victoria had increased, but “remain modest compared to the population of Victoria”, which is 6.4 million. “Any increase of this sort is a source of concern,” he told ABC News Breakfast. “Those numbers are confined to largely four or five outbreaks. It does demonstrate that there is ongoing community transmission in Victoria, hence the recommendations to defer travel within and out of the local government areas in Melbourne that we made yesterday.” The ACT is moving ahead as planned with easing of restrictions. The territory has not had a new case of Covid in quite some time. The Australian War Memorial is reopening to visitors who must reserve their slots. Free, time-restricted tickets can be booked on the website. (The Last Post memorial is also back – it’s same deal as the memorial, with visitors needing to book their slots online.) Tanya Plibersek appeared on ABC News Breakfast, where she was asked about the easing of restrictions in light of the Victorian situation of increased cases: It is not about opinions at a time like this. It is about what our health experts advise us. I would advise the Victorian government and the New South Wales government and the federal government to work cooperatively, based on the best medical advice. I think the one thing we can say for certain is that people can’t relax, they can’t believe for a moment that this health crisis is over. All of that early advice about washing your hands, staying home if you have any symptoms, going to get tested if you have got symptoms – staying home from work and getting tested if you have symptoms, all of that is just as important now as it was a few months ago. We cannot relax our vigilance because the cost of a second wave would be catastrophic. Also, as a reminder, children aged between six months and five years are eligible for a free flu vaccine. The ski season is (sort of) open. As AAP reports: The ski season is set to officially kick off in NSW and Victoria after weeks of delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. But it will not be quite business as usual when the mountains open up from Monday, with social distancing rules in place and lift passes needing to be pre-purchased at some spots. Thredbo in NSW and Mount Buller in Victoria will start operating ski lifts from Monday, while Perisher and Victoria’s Mount Hotham and Falls Creek will start turning lifts on from Wednesday. Ski resorts will operate at a reduced capacity and group ski and snowboarding lessons are not permitted, while all accommodation and facilities at the ski fields will have screening and safeguards in place. The late start to the ski season comes days before school holidays in Victoria and a few weeks ahead of NSW school holidays in what will hopefully give the areas a much-needed tourism boost. Perisher and Thredbo are forecast to receive only a smattering of snow in the coming days, while Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller can expect a bit more powder than their NSW counterparts. NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Monday said in a statement rapid COVID-19 testing will be available for those in the Snowy Mountains region. “Communities in the Snowy Mountains and those on major roads in and out depend heavily on tourism dollars and I know they will be very appreciative of the business brought in by visitors to the region, but it is imperative that we remember to be COVID safe,” Mr Barilaro said. “While our regional communities are ready to welcome you with open arms, the message remains clear – if you are sick, get tested and don’t travel.” There is no evidence the Melbourne Black Lives Matter protest has contributed to the uptick in Victorian cases. One person who tested positive who had attended the protest was not thought to be contagious at the march and had contracted the virus before the protest. Another tested positive and then negative. A third person who tested positive late last week attended the march but also works in retail. Authorities say it is impossible to say where that person contracted the virus. The two-week incubation period for those who attended the march ended on Saturday. Authorities have linked the localised outbreaks to workers at quarantine hotels and family-to-family transmission. What are the cases authorities are most worried about in Victoria? It’s not the returned traveller cases which are the issue – those people are in mandatory quarantine. It’s a series of clusters of community transmission. They include the Stamford and Rydges clusters, where the virus has spread among workers at the hotels, which are being used for quarantine, a family cluster at Kielor Downs, which accounts for 11 cases in nine households, and a family cluster in Coburg, which so far has 14 cases. The Grattan Institute has taken a look at the possibility of a second Covid-19 wave in Australia. Melissa Davey has taken a look at that: Workplaces pose a high risk of triggering a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Australia, which means people should continue to work from home as long as they can, a report from public policy thinktank the Grattan Institute says. Published on Sunday evening, the report, Coming out of Covid-19 Lockdown: the Next Steps for Australian Health Care, says schools can safely remain open as long as policies are in place to reduce the risk of outbreaks. It comes as Victoria announced it would extend its state of emergency for at least four more weeks and ramp up its police enforcement of lockdown rules after a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent days. The rise also prompted neighbouring South Australia to reconsider its decision to reopen its border, while Queensland declared all of greater Melbourne a Covid-19 hotspot. If you’re in Victoria this morning, chances are you’re feeling a little uneasy – after the government and authorities decided it was too risky to move ahead with the planned easing of restrictions. As AAP reports: Victoria confirmed another 19 cases on Sunday, taking to 160 the number of new cases in the state over the past week. The only other cases reported on Sunday were five in NSW and one in Western Australia. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee says outbreaks have been identified in the local government areas of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin. “The AHPPC strongly discourages travel to and from those areas until control of community transmission has been confirmed,” the committee said on Sunday. The deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth said the Victorian situation had been discussed at Sunday’s meeting of the AHPPC. He said after the update from Victoria’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, the panel had “every confidence” the outbreak would be brought under control. “This is a good example of how things are going to work into the future,” Coatsworth said. “[It is] an important example because it will show how a state can get on top of outbreaks of this nature in Victoria and then move forward.” Family-to-family transmission seems to be the main issue, which has meant households will again be limited to just five visitors at a time and outside gatherings are limited to 10. The rest of the states and territories, which are moving ahead with the easing of restrictions, are watching to see what happens – Queensland has already declared all of greater Melbourne a Covid-hotspot. We’ll have all of the nation’s coronavirus news, and more covered off today. You have Amy Remeikis with you until mid-afternoon.