Morrison announced a plan to obtain the right of veto over all agreements with foreign governments - read, the Chinese government - concluded or proposed by Australia's state, territory and local governments and public universities.

For his part, Andrews made a bid for Victoria's sweeping state-of-emergency legislation to be extended for another year after it expires in mid-September.

The Prime Minister can be confident of winning Senate support for his plan. Anthony Albanese doesn't want a fight over anything involving national security. But Andrews quickly received enough signals from the Victorian upper house to begin a retreat to a less ambitious position.

Morrison works around gaps in his formal power to acquire more, as well as using to the maximum what power the system provides him.

Thus his creation of the national cabinet was designed to put him into the strongest possible position during the pandemic, when the states actually hold most of the formal constitutional power.

At a news conference on Thursday Morrison showed no inclination to try to legislate to override the resistance by various states to his push for (politically popular) internal borders to be as open as possible. He knows he would be constitutionally hampered.

Neither the constitution nor public sentiment is a check on his move to be the cop on the beat monitoring state and other public entities' agreements with foreign governments. External affairs is a clear area of federal responsibility. And Australians have become increasingly critical of China.

Under the plan, all existing agreements would have to be registered with the federal government; they would be scrutinised and the Foreign Minister would strike down any considered against the national interest.

The government has put forward two questions as the test for agreements, whether now in force or prospective. Do they adversely affect Australia's foreign relations, and are they inconsistent with Australian foreign policy?

In particular, Victoria's sign-up to China's Belt and Road Initiative is in Morrison's sights - his criticism of it has been robust. The federal government - already angry with Andrews over the unrelated issue of Victoria's second COVID-19 wave - won't hesitate to make this agreement a casualty of the new veto.

Andrews was visibly provoked by the announcement of the legislation, saying Morrison would "no doubt very soon be able to list the full range of other free trade agreements and other markets that we'll be sending Victorian products to".

Is the Morrison legislation warranted?

When it comes to arrangements the states have, there is a strong case. State and territory policies should be aligned with federal policy on foreign relations and national security.

This is especially so as China has become much more assertive in targeting the internal affairs of other countries. Just as Australia is increasingly wary about Chinese investment in the nation's critical infrastructure, so it can justifiably be more cautious about state governments' arrangements with China.

Probably the same goes for local governments' agreements, although they're likely less important.

Universities, however, are another matter, or should be. That is despite the fact their agreements can be both important and potentially compromising for the national interest.

According to government sources, research agreements overwhelmingly wouldn't be affected, because these are usually with other universities. Confucius Institutes, however, would fall under the legislation's provisions.

Universities have done themselves and Australia no good by, in many cases, becoming too dependent on foreign, especially Chinese, students. The pandemic has meant they are now paying the price, losing much revenue. Similarly, they can be too easily seduced into arrangements that pose risks for their independence.

But while that might seem to back the government's case for the final say on agreements, the counterargument - academic independence - carries more weight.

The government should advise and warn, and have regular consultations about these matters - a process that has already begun. But it goes a step too far in seizing this proposed power to dictate to these institutions.

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The Group of Eight, which represents the leading research-intensive universities, reacted with concern at "the danger that - in the name of security - Australia may be inadvertently threatening the very democratic principles it holds dear".

In the circumstances in which we're living, almost nothing governments do seems surprising.

But Andrews' plan for a 12-month extension of the emergency legislation did cause some sharp intakes of breath.

The extraordinary measures in force in Victoria are necessary to deal with this once-in-a-century health crisis (though there can be argument about the detail and the lack of flexibility).

A Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey asking about six of Victoria's current restrictions found strong support for five (there was division over whether Melburnians should be able to visit immediate family - 43 per cent said yes, 57 per cent said no).

While it is good people are co-operating with measures to fight the virus, these suspend what are usually regarded as fundamental liberties. Hopefully the extreme restrictions will go soon, but Victoria's course over coming months remains problematic, making it crucial to have constant parliamentary scrutiny of what's being done, and how power is being exercised.

Extending the legislation for six months would be the longest reasonably time; three months would be much more preferable.

In a crisis, leaders are impatient of scrutiny; indeed they use the situation to deflect attempts to hold them to account. Andrews has done this whenever he can (often hiding behind his inquiry into the hotel quarantine breach).

Federally, having Parliament sitting this week was useful for putting heat on the federal government over the disaster in aged care.

Accountability must not become a second-order priority in this pandemic.