Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described some media commentary suggesting elderly Australians should be sacrificed to avoid an economically punishing lockdown as “amoral” and “hideous.”

Addressing media today, Mr Morrison scolded a reporter over her news outlet’s purported assertion “that somehow our elderly should have in some way have been offered up in relation to this virus.”

“That is just a hideous thought,” the Prime Minister said, “an absolutely amoral hideous thought.”

In the last 24 hours 19 Victorians have died of coronavirus and 322 new cases were recorded.

“This news is devastating no matter what age COVID affects people, and we just want to reaffirm again our support through every channel we can provide it,” Mr Morrison said.

Communication breakdown in St Basil’s outbreak ‘concerning’:

Mr Morrison also faced questioning on the delay between when Melbourne’s largest aged care outbreak at St Basil’s began and when the Federal Government was informed.

The aged care watchdog knew there had been an outbreak at the St Basil’s facility but failed to raise the alarm, it emerged today.

Aged care regulator Janet Anderson told a parliamentary inquiry last week the watchdog was not aware of the outbreak until July 14.

But, in a letter to committee chair, Senator Katy Gallagher, she has since confirmed the regulator knew on July 10.

Ms Anderson told the committee a St Basil’s representative flagged the positive test during a phone survey which was conducted with every Victorian facility to check their COVID-19 response plans.

“That was brought to my attention today, over the last little while, late yesterday I think it was,” Mr Morrison said.

“You will know that the aged care commissioner is an independent statutory office and operates separately from the Australian government.

“I am concerned about that breakdown in the communications.

“My understanding is that the survey had been conducted and those conducting the survey had formed the view that given the facility was aware of the processes that were required to advise the public health unit in Victoria that they had indeed done that.

“It turns out that that had not been done.”

Mr Morrison said he has confidence in the Federal Government’s handling of the aged care sector’s response to COVID-19.

“We are getting advanced notice when people are doing tests, not when we find out that they’re getting a positive result,” he said. “We’re finding out even before the tests come back.”

Source: Nine News.

Legal action by student activist, Drew Pavlou, against the Chinese Consul General for allegedly inciting violence against him has been dismissed in a Queensland court today.

Brisbane magistrate Janelle Brassington dismissed the application after ruling Consul General Dr Xu Jie has “diplomatic immunity” because he was performing the functions of a consular officer.

A staunch Beijing critic, Mr Pavlou had made an application under Queensland’s Peace and Good Behaviour Act seeking a retraction of comments made by the Chinese official.

It followed a statement reportedly posted on the Consul General website condemning a protest as anti-China separatist activities. Mr Pavlou was a key organiser of the demonstration held at the University of Queensland.

In response to today’s court decision, Mr Pavlou wrote on Twitter, “the court cannot help us.”

“We need Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, to protect Australian citizens by expelling Xu Jie as a diplomat,” he added.

Sydney accountant, Filomina Kyriacou, is being pursued by the Australian Taxation Office over unpaid tax and penalties of $2.4 million.

The director of Sydney accounting firm Wentworth Williams, Ms Kyriacou has been linked to the tax fraud accused George Alex.

The tax debt resulted in the Tax Practitioners Board banning Ms Kyriacou and her firm from acting as a tax agent, a move the 54-year-old is attempting to have overturned in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

According to her tax records, which were aired in the proceedings, Ms Kyriacou is accused of ­understating her taxable income in 2017-18.

In 2017, Ms Kyriacou “returned taxable income” of $38,247 but, after an ATO audit, her earnings were found to be more than $1.6 million, resulting in a tax shortfall of $753,405.04, court documents state.

The following year, the documents stated Ms Kyriacou declared an income of $57,785 when it was actually assessed by the ATO to be almost $1.3 million. This resulted in a tax shortfall of more than $572,000.

The ATO probe also led to 26 of Ms Kyriacou’s “clients” being audited, which uncovered that they had $18 million in various liabilities, the tribunal heard.

Tribunal documents showed part or all of the amount “rela­ted to six companies” but the ATO did not particularise those allegations for the Tax Practitioners Board.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, business searches found records of six companies, of which Ms Kyriacou was a previous director, that are now in liquidation, owing about $10 million in unpaid tax.

It is not known if these are the six companies referred to in the Tribunal.

Ms Kyriacou applied to the tribunal earlier this year to have her five-year ban overturned.

The tribunal is yet to hand down its decision and in May granted Ms Kyriacou a temporary “stay” from being banned while it was deliberating on its final order.

A spokeswoman from the Tribunal said the stay was in place until August 9 “or until further order by the tribunal.”

The tribunal heard Ms Kyriacou is suffering from bone marrow cancer “which it might be inferred has ­impacted upon her ability to respond in a timely and effective way to the ATO and the (tax) Board.”

Ms Kyriacou has also been linked to construction identity George Alex, who is accused of leading a tax fraud ring that stole $17 million.

RELATED: Construction figure George Alex arrested over money laundering, tax evasion.

Ms Kyriacou has not been charged over the tax fraud syndicate and there is no suggestion she has any involvement. However, Ms Kyriacou did feature as a witness who gave evidence in a 2014 Federal Court case relating to Alex’s financial affairs after he was declared bankrupt.

However, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled that Ms Kyriacou was an unreliable witness and said some of her evidence was “implausible.”

Mr Kyriacou’s case will ­return to the tribunal on ­November 13. The Sunday Telegraph attempted to contact her for comment.

Source: The Sunday Telegraph.

Victoria’s Health Minister, Jenny Mikakos, has defended her handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying she has put “every ounce of energy” she has into responding to the pandemic since the state’s first case was recorded in January.

In an emotional thread posted on Twitter over the weekend, Ms Mikakos said she always tried to be “upfront and measured” about the challenges facing the state, but acknowledged “mistakes were made along the way.”

“Since that fateful day on 25 January, when we had our first ever case, I’ve worked every day to keep everyone safe. I have put every ounce of energy I’ve had into that effort. If it wasn’t enough, then I’m deeply sorry,” Ms Mikakos wrote.

The Health Minister also hit out at the “incorrect assumption made that somehow I can single-handedly report on the actions of countless individuals and many agencies involved in our pandemic response” — a likely reference to repeated questioning about the State Government’s handling of the mandatory hotel quarantine program.

Victoria’s operation of its mandatory hotel quarantine program has been under intense scrutiny since authorities revealed infection control breaches contributed to a number of new cases in May and June.

The Andrews Government has refused to answer questions about its management of the program for weeks, saying it would be inappropriate to comment before the inquiry, headed by former judge Jennifer Coate, completed its investigation.

Victoria’s Opposition also called for Ms Mikakos to resign last week after the Minister refused to answer questions about hotel quarantine in State Parliament.

RELATED: Jenny Mikakos called out as ‘smug and arrogant’ for refusing to answer questions during parliament.

But on Twitter, the Health Minister urged people to allow Ms Coate to conduct the inquiry and “let the cards fall where they may.”

“I believe there is nothing to fear in seeking the truth. The truth will set you free,” she said.

When asked about Ms Mikakos’ welfare at Sunday’s coronavirus press conference, Premier Daniel Andrews said she was “a very strong person.”

“I’ve not read [the tweets] in full. They’ve been conveyed to me,” he said. “Everybody is working as hard as they can, and it is a big team.”