scattergun press conferences on consecutive days is Morrison in panic mode.

this crisis has been weeks in the making, says David [Crowe?]. Have you been too slow to act?

Morrison straight up lies and shifts the blame. This had not been anticipated *at state level*, he says.

prime minister welcome back, says Probyn. Lmao to the Parliament House of Australia. From campaigning in the Queensland state election.

the question was on [expanding paid] sick leave [to the huge number of casuals forced to choose between working while sick and paying our bills].

Morrison duckshoves this, too. He will talk to the Minister for Industrial Relations. There are ongoing discussions.

Coorey invites the prime minister or B Murphy to speculate about when all borders will be open. As tho Morrison of all people has any control over when community transmission has been eliminated. When his policies and lack of leadership are causing rolling outbreaks.

Norman(?) asks about the Palmer court challenge to closed WA border. Morrison says his governments policy is to duckshove all actual responsibilities to the states while he postures and performs at pressers and campaigns for the Liberal Party [paraphrased].

next Q is on international travel and virtual summits. Morrison says it has been a “frenetic” time for national leaders. Most of his calls are about vaccines, he says.

Which is interesting given the ruthless IP profiteering methods of big pharma, mainly US corporations.

big lie time. Morrison embarks on a soliloquy about “likeminded liberal democracies” and “peace and stability” and “a successful prosperous Indo-Pacific region”. He says that’s what “we” - the AusAm delegation - want, which is untrue.

Morrison knows nothing about Liberal Senator Holly Hughes not self-isolating. Asked about staffer Nicholas Louw, he says bitchily that he and his staff are “clearly” stricter about social distancing than the press gallery.

Newmarch House. Review not yet complete, says B Murphy. He says breakdown of communication with families is the most important finding, rather than the care provided [by a Liberal donor labour hire, from memory]. This does not sound right.

straya straya straya. What is good for straya is strayans getting back to work, the prime minister says, on behalf of capital. Get out there and produce surplus value for bosses and shareholders, people.

back on his effective rate of unemployment bullshit again. This is the comms strategy Morrison and Frydenberg use to fudge figures because numbers, not people, are always their priority. It requires the press gallery to amplify fudged figures over facts and lives.

Morrison signs out by listing the political brand names of what passes for Morrison government policy, homebuilder, jobkeeper blather blather. He has lost interest, again. The grandiose saviour announcement has been made, no more political mileage here, let’s go.

thank you - the CMO statements deflected onto the families who lost relatives and away from the for-profit outfit Aspen Medical, which sent HCWs including doctors to #RubyPrincess and to Newmarch House. https://twitter.com/shazhaitch/status/1288290515897602048?s=21

to clarify, he panics that the press might turn and start highlighting his complacency on public health and constant campaigning. Instead of doing the work, he calls press conferences, which serves the press with copy, rather than the public with policy. https://twitter.com/imusing/status/1288282147137024000?s=21