As it happened: Report finds Scott Morrison’s ministry appointments ‘undermined responsible government’; NACC legislation clears first hurdle

“We are looking at a crossbench of perhaps as many as a dozen, comprising independents and possibly five or six Greens.”

The current crossbench includes three Greens (the seats of Melbourne, Brunswick and Prahran) and county independents Suzanna Sheed (Shepparton) and Ali Cupper (Mildura).

Boosted by the Liberals’ decision to preference them ahead of Labor, the Greens are favoured by pollsters and pundits to take the once safe Labor seats of Richmond and Northcote while Albert Park, Footscray and Pascoe Vale are considered possible but less likely Green gains.

Both major parties are being challenged in heartland seats with Labor struggling to hold outer western suburban Melton in particular from independent Dr Ian Birchall, while clouds hang over Point Cook and treasurer Tim Pallas’ seat of Werribee.

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Her defeat adds to the dilemmas facing Perrottet, who in August told the Liberals’ state council that the party needed to learn from its calamitous federal election loss by selecting more women and avoiding drawn-out preselection battles.

“I want more women, more diversity, and the best talent for our future,” he said as he unveiled a plan to open preselections within two weeks.

But, four months later, the Liberal Party risks going backwards with female MP numbers, and preselections in some key seats are yet to be sorted.

Preselection for the plum Liberal seat of Castle Hill appears unresolved, with hard-right hopeful Noel McCoy yet to receive a green light from the party’s powerful nomination review committee.

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Barrister Greg McIntyre, who represented Mabo in the historic High Court win that overturned the doctrine of “terra nullius” and recognised land rights of First Nations people, said the approval being sought under the proposed legislation would be a “future act” within the meaning of the Native Title Act.

This means traditional owners should have a right to negotiate, and if these provisions were ignored then any application to mine for gas would be invalid.

“I suspect that the lightbulb hasn’t turned on and … the government hasn’t obtained advice about whether it might impact on the Native Title Act,” McIntyre said.

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Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the case numbers suggest the current wave may be reaching a peak.

Victoria’s COVID-19 cases rose 22.2 per cent compared to the same time last week, with 483 COVID-19 patients in Victorian hospitals, including 19 in intensive care.

A total of 68 COVID-related deaths were reported in the past week, but there has been a 30.5 per cent decrease in the number of COVID-related deaths compared to the last month.

There were 22,281 COVID-19 cases reported in Victoria this week, an increase of 9.5 per cent on the previous week. The average daily number of new cases this week was 3,183, up from 2,914 last week.

University of Sydney infectious diseases specialist Professor Robert Booy said the decline in testing and overall complacency was a concern for future management of the virus.

“Testing earlier means people can seek medical advice sooner and can access anti-viral medicines faster if they are eligible,” Booy said.

“Recent federal government data has shown COVID-19 still poses a very real risk to the health of our communities as we move into a new wave of infections, specifically to those at higher risk of serious illness.”

In NSW, there are 1320 people with COVID-19 in hospitals, 32 of them in ICU.

In the seven days to 4pm on Thursday, November 24, 31,531 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded and 25 lives were lost.

In the ACT there were 1757 new cases detected this week and in WA 10,520 new cases were recorded.

The lowdown: Local shares eased into Friday morning with minor gains, but by lunchtime the biggest names on the bourse were showing strength as Australians took an exuberant approach to Black Friday sales.

Wall Street closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, but optimism flowed across global markets after US Federal Reserve minutes pointed to smaller interest rate rises in the near future. The Australian dollar surged against the US overnight and was trading at 67.7 US cents in late afternoon trading on Friday.

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Occupying the balance of power in the upper house, Pocock, the former Wallabies skipper turned independent senator, is the key to fulfilling the government’s ambition of passing its controversial multiemployer bargaining reforms in time for Christmas.

While employer groups warn the changes would reel businesses into unworkable deals and expose them to a greater risk of strikes, Labor and the union movement say the suite of changes in the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill will unlock wage increases that cannot wait as inflation soars.

Pocock – who has earned a reputation for listening to all sides – is staring down pressure to decide on the legislation as the clock runs out on the 2022 parliamentary sitting year, believing the bill should be split to immediately pass the less contentious parts such as workplace gender equality reforms.

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