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Mourners farewell Kimberley Kitching; Morrison and Modi virtual summit begins; six Covid deaths recorded – As it happened

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National party senator Bridget McKenzie
National party senator Bridget McKenzie arrives ahead of the funeral service for Labor senator Kimberley Kitching at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
National party senator Bridget McKenzie arrives ahead of the funeral service for Labor senator Kimberley Kitching at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

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Key events

The day that was, Monday 21 March

That’s where we will leave the live blog for Monday.

Here’s what made the news today:

  • Peter Malinauskas was sworn in as the new premier of South Australia following Labor’s landslide win in the state election on the weekend.
  • Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, could address the Australian parliament next week, Scott Morrison has indicated.
  • Morrison also tempered expectations about a big cash splash in the budget next week, stating there wouldn’t be “knee-jerk” reactions to cost of living pressures in the election-eve budget, but there will be petrol price relief.
  • Morrison held a virtual summit with Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, where the two leaders pledged greater cooperation between the two countries, including $280m in funding for new projects.
  • Labor senator Kimberley Kitching has been remembered as “tough, determined and forensic” at a funeral service in Melbourne.
  • There were six Covid-19 deaths reported, with 39,768 new cases, including 14,970 in NSW, 7,531 in Victoria, 6,206 in Queensland, 5,566 in Western Australia, 3,121 in South Australia, 1,304 in Tasmania, 898 in the ACT and 172 in the Northern Territory.
  • One of the four NSW deaths reported was a two-year-old child who was previously well and did not have any major pre-existing health conditions.

Thanks for reading. We will be back with the news tomorrow.

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Australia-India leaders virtual summit gets underway

Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, is opening the discussion with Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, at the virtual summit being held now.

He speaks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

Our region is facing increasing change and much pressure, and I think our Quad leaders call recently ... gave us the opportunity to discuss Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, but it also gave us the opportunity to discuss the implications and consequences of that terrible event for our own region in the Indo-Pacific and the coercion and the issues that we face here.

The tragic loss of life underlines the importance, of course, of holding Russia to account, but cooperation between like-minded democracies. I welcome your leadership within the Quad to keeping us focused on those important issues.

Our comprehensive strategic partnership though reflects the ambition that we share and we hold for our relationship, and the pace and scale of that cooperation since we lifted ties back in 2020 has been remarkable, but I’m ambitious as I know you are to make it even closer – particularly when it comes to our economic cooperation which I hope we are able to advance further today.

The government is set to announce a range of funding for cooperation between the two countries including:

  • $17.9m for a trade and skills package.
  • A new consulate general in Bengaluru.
  • $35.7m for a green steel partnership, and research on clean technologies.
  • $25.2m to expand the Australian Space Agency’s international space investment initiative with India.
  • $28.1m for a Centre for Australia-India Relations.
  • A new high commission in Maldives.
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Michael McGowan
Michael McGowan

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro withdrew from public life and was “considering self-harm” after a series of YouTube videos by the comedian Jordan Shanks, a former adviser has told a court.

Monday marked the first day of Barilaro’s trial against tech giant Google over videos posted by Shanks under the nom de plume FriendlyJordies in September and October 2020.

NSW paramedics will continue with industrial action tomorrow despite attempts by the state government to stop it.

“The [industrial relations] commission recommended that we take off our action, which members have been undertaking since this morning” said the president of the Australian Paramedics Association (NSW), Chris Kastelan.

“We will be continuing with our action despite this recommendation, because our members have little confidence that NSW Ambulance is ready to address our concerns.

“Paramedics are taking action because we want real change from this government. We haven’t seen that change yet, so our action is continuing as planned.”

Members have been taking action by refusing all staff movement, which means moving crews away from their designated station once on shift. This is used to cover roster shortfalls.

“We respect that the industrial relations commission has a job to do, but we also have a job to do, and that’s to advocate for our safety and the safety of our communities. We can’t let this crisis continue”, Kastelan said.

“Today’s attempt to silence us through industrial instruments demonstrates that this government is desperate to stem the rising tide of frontline voices calling for a better-resourced healthcare system.

“We’re disappointed and frustrated that the government would rather try to block out our voices than act on our demands.”

The union is seeking a pay increase, 1,500 additional paramedics, and large investment in specialist programs and referral networks.

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Australia is set to announce $280m worth of investment in India following a virtual summit between the two leaders on Monday, AAP reports.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will commit to closer trade ties and cooperation in sectors including critical minerals and education when they meet online at 6pm AEDT.

The $280m package has been described as the largest-ever Australian government investment in India.

It will cover sharing of renewable energy technology, defence and space cooperation and a new Centre for Australia-India Relations.

A broadcasting agreement involving Australia’s SBS and the return of 29 significant Indian artefacts from the National Gallery of Australia are also expected.

Scholarships and partnerships will be offered to boost cultural, business and institutional ties.

Work is also set to begin on a new mobility agreement to free up travel access, and a task force will start work on a plan for joint recognition of educational, trade and professional qualifications.

Trade minister Dan Tehan is set to unveil on Tuesday an update to the Australia-India Economic Strategy to take into account changes in the global environment and Indian economic reform, which will set out a five-year action plan.

The strategy update involved consultations with more than 600 businesses across the two nations.

A man aged in his 80s has died in an excavator rollover on a Tasmanian private property, AAP reports.

Police and emergency services, including the rescue helicopter, were called to a property on Colebrook Road, Campania, following a report an excavator rolled about 12.35pm Monday.

The driver of the excavator, a man in his 80s, was found deceased.

Police and WorkSafe Tasmania will investigate and prepare a report for the coroner.

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In response to the PM’s infrastructure announcement today in Queensland, Labor has pointed out this deal was first announced prior to the last election, and questions when it will actually be implemented.

They’ve also questioned why the Gold Coast is excluded from the package.

An better future for SE Queenslanders requires a focus on delivery - not just announcements.

A statement on today’s SEQ City Deal, with @CatherineKingMP pic.twitter.com/OdnS5nuJPv

— Andrew Giles MP (@andrewjgiles) March 21, 2022

The Christian Democratic Party, also known as the Fred Nile Group, has been struck off the federal political party register, AAP reports.

The Australian Electoral Commission said the party had been deregistered because it did not meet the required 1,500 members.

The AEC said the party had not responded to a notice sent to it.

Under electoral laws, in order for a party to be registered at a federal level it must either have 1,500 members or a current member of the federal parliament.

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A Jewish group has called for an end to careless public Nazi comparisons after a News Corp columnist likened Queensland public servants to the German wartime propagandist Joseph Goebbels, AAP reports.

Peter Gleeson, who is also a Sky News host, has recently been lambasting Wivenhoe Dam operators over water releases during Brisbane’s floods last month, which are being examined as part of an inquiry.

In a column in the Courier-Mail on Monday, he compared Seqwater operators to World war two Nazi war criminal Joseph Goebbels.

“It was just following the manual, it says. That was German propagandist Joseph Goebbels’ favourite line,” he wrote.

The line featured in both the newspaper’s online and print editions, but it was subsequently deleted from the website version.

Comment has been sought from the Courier-Mail.

Anti-Defamation commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said it was odd the “careless and thoughtless remark” made it into print and did not “raise any red flags”.

He said there was no place in the public discourse for Nazi analogies, particularly figures like Joseph Goebbels, who was the Nazi propaganda minister.

Abramovich said Goebbels had led a dehumanisation campaign against the Jews, which led to about six million people being murdered, and it was not appropriate to use such figures to criticise people or companies in Australia.

“Nothing in this country comes close to the Final Solution and Hitler’s industrialised machinery of death, and to draw any comparisons to the Holocaust in this context was wrong,” he told AAP in a statement.

“Imagine the pain a survivor who lost their parents and children to the Nazi terror would feel seeing this comparison.

“Such equations trivialise the horror of the Nazi regime’s crimes against humanity and the extermination of six million Jews and millions of others, and diminish the proud legacy of our courageous Diggers who sacrificed their lives to vanquish the Nazis.

“This misappropriation has to stop. All of it. We trust the author and the editors will ensure that such lapses do not re-occur.”

The water minister, Glenn Butcher, who oversees Seqwater, said Gleeson’s comparison of public servants with Nazi was offensive.

“I am disgusted by what went to print this morning,” he told AAP.

“Seqwater staff worked around-the-clock to keep Queenslanders safe during the flood event, to make sure Wivenhoe was operated exactly how it was designed to and worked exactly how it should.”

Butcher added that Gleeson’s comments had not been made in the public interest.

Comment has also been sought from Seqwater, which is understood to be considering lodging a complaint with the Australian Press Council.

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