As it happened: Christian Porter resigns from federal cabinet; Victoria releases COVID-19 road map, NSW eases rules for hotspot LGAs

The Prime Minister insisted that by resigning Mr Porter was "upholding the standards" of being a minister.

In a statement Mr Porter said he was provided an assurance that none of the anonymous financial contributors were lobbyists or prohibited foreign entities.

“They contributed to a trust on the basis of confidentiality and a belief that their contribution would remain confidential within the rules of disclosure,” he said.

Asked whether Mr Porter should resign from Parliament over the matter, Mr Morrison said: "I am not the custodian of the Parliament."

Mr Morrison avoided directly endorsing Mr Porter's re-election bid, saying it was a matter for Liberal party preselectors in Western Australia.

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The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the road map failed to deliver the certainty that the sector had been clamouring for with the chamber’s chief executive Paul Guerra describing the plan as “a road map full of roadblocks”.

“Every Victorian deserves to understand why the settings in NSW that enables them to open up at 70 per cent double vaxxed and give them a path forward is so fundamentally different to what Victorians got delivered today,” Mr Guerra said.

“We've done lockdowns for too long. We need a path out of this and today's announcement did not give us the clarity, did not give us the certainty, did not give us the hope that we needed to get out of this current situation.”

The hotel association’s Victorian president David Canny said the majority of Victorian pubs were willing to have their staff enforce vaccine mandates.

“Pubs and hotels wanted to trial the 'Pub Pass' vaccination system even before the state hits 70 per cent double-dose,” Mr Canny said.

“The government wants a vaccination model. If people can get to a pub once they’re jabbed, it will help the government achieve their goals.”

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra welcomed the road map but said the likely full re-opening of retail, slated for early November, would mean another $6 billion in lost sales and that some shops would not survive.

Mr Zahra also called for greater clarity and support for retail businesses and their staff who are likely to have to enforce state government bans on unvaccinated customers.

“Front-line retail staff have unfortunately been the victims of increased customer aggression as a result of the QR code and mask mandates, and while these instances are in the minority, asking for a customer’s vaccination history will certainly elevate this concern,” Mr Zahra said.

“It’s important that retailers have the backing of law enforcement agencies so they can manage the safe reopening of their businesses.”

“Whilst I have no right of access to the funding or conduct of the trust, on my request the trustee provided me an assurance that none of the contributors were lobbyists or prohibited foreign entities. This additional information was provided as part of my ministerial disclosure.

“No doubt the desire of some, possibly many, of those contributors to remain anonymous was driven by a natural desire to avoid the inevitable fact that for supporting me, the trial by mob would inevitably turn on them if they were identified.

“Facing a false allegation is an experience that places your family, friends and staff under enormous and cruel pressure. It has resulted in constant abuse and ongoing threats. For me personally, the physical threats of violence, the experience of being spat at and publicly abused for something I didn’t do has been nearly beyond comprehension in a civilised country.

“However, after discussing the matter with the Prime Minister I accept that any uncertainty on this point provides a very unhelpful distraction for the government in its work. To the extent that that uncertainty may be resolved by seeking further information in relation to the identities of the contributors, this would require me to put pressure on the Trust to provide me with information to which I am not entitled.”

On Mr Porter, Mr Morrison said:

If he wishes to stand again I’m sure he will put himself forward to the selectors that Pearce for the Liberal Party and in our party though selectors will make those decisions. This isn’t Fowler. This isn’t some deal in Fowler we are talking about.

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