What we learned today, Saturday 2 October
We’re now wrapping up our live news coverage. Here’s what we learned today:
- Victoria recorded its highest daily Covid cases since the pandemic began, with 1,488 new cases and two further deaths. The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, announced a $196.6m support package for the state’s construction industry.
- New South Wales has reported 813 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 and 10 deaths, bringing the death toll in the current outbreak to 362.
- Two children in Queensland tested positive for Covid while in home quarantine, with the NRL grand final looking likely to go ahead on Sunday.
- NSW residents have been warned against grand final gatherings in watching the all-Sydney game.
- The ACT recorded 52 new Covid cases, equalling its daily case record since the pandemic began.
- A Melbourne detention centre worker has tested positive for coronavirus, placing more than 200 refugees at risk of becoming infected.
- The NSW planning minister, Rob Stokes, confirmed that he will be contesting the NSW Liberal leadership following Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation.
Updated
In environment news, researchers have found Australia’s devastating 2019–20 bushfires pushed 11 bee species closer to extinction.
Australian scientists analysed the effect of the fires on 553 Australian native bee species, finding that 11 species are now eligible to be listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species. Prior to the fires, only three species were listed.
There are 1,654 known bee species in Australia, but scientists believe the real figure may be between 2,000 and 3,000.
The researcher Stefan Caddy-Retalic said many of these species were at risk of being lost before they could be discovered – “an incredible indictment on on the impact that we’re having on Australia’s biodiversity”.
“This really highlights the need for the Australian government to act on climate change.”
Read the full story here:
Updated
OK, one last sports post. Today’s quiz in our 10 Quick Questions series is all about football knowledge. Full disclosure: I failed.
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Fears of a postponement or relocation have been mostly allayed a day out from the historic first decider at Suncorp Stadium as case numbers remain low with no spread in the community.
It was welcome news to both South Sydney and Penrith on Saturday.
“We anxiously wait for the morning’s press conferences at 10am and we’re pretty pleased to hear the results of that this morning and now it’s about focusing on getting ready for the game,” said Rabbitohs assistant Jason Demetriou.
“It’s all systems go now, the cases have dropped down and there’s a bit more confidence in the air and we’re looking forward to having 39,000 people at the game.
“It sounds like it’s going to be a great atmosphere and we’re looking forward to it.”
Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath stopped short of giving a green light for the decider on Saturday morning but gave the best indication yet the blockbuster will go ahead.
The go-ahead won’t be officially granted until Sunday morning, pending case numbers.
Crowd numbers have already been cut from 52,000 to 39,000 and that could be dropped even further should the outbreak get out of control over the next 24 hours.
So far, Queensland has avoided a lockdown after cases of community transmission popped up in the state on Tuesday.
The threat of lockdown sent the NRL into chaos ahead of Sunday’s event with contingency plans varying from relocation to Townsville to a postponement of the game for at least a week if crowds were banned.
Western Australia also reportedly put in a bid to host the decider if a postponement was forced due to a lockdown in Queensland.
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Australia is taking on Argentina in the final round of this year’s Rugby Championship. The Wallabies v Pumas game will go ahead sans six Argentinian players, who were barred from re-entering Queensland after crossing into NSW for a day trip to a health retreat in Byron Bay.
Kick-off is any minute now at the Cbus Super stadium on the Gold Coast.
You can follow the action on our sports live blog here:
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SA Health has issued an alert for new Covid exposure sites at Adelaide airport on Friday.
Anyone who travelled on Jetstar flight JQ778 from Melbourne to Adelaide yesterday afternoon must immediately get tested and quarantine for 14 days regardless of the result, after a woman on the flight later tested positive.
COVID-19 HEALTH ALERT 2 October 2021
— SA Health (@SAHealth) October 2, 2021
SA Health has identified new COVID-19 exposure locations in South Australia.
If you attended an exposure location, you are required to follow the relevant health advice.
More information is available at https://t.co/4sJYadglJu pic.twitter.com/UkAQJA6Ykn
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Hello, it’s Donna Lu here again. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon. Let’s get to it!
Unions have welcomed the Victorian government’s decision to expand vaccine mandates to more than 1 million workers.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, announced on Friday that all Victorian residents on the state’s authorised worker list must have a first Covid vaccine dose by 15 October in order to continue working on site.
The extensive list includes professional sportspeople, faith leaders and workers in frontline services, hospitality, media and the government. Under the rule, authorised workers must be fully vaccinated by 26 November.
Read more here:
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NSW planning minister Rob Stokes had already announced he would run for the party leadership earlier today, but he’s just now released a statement expanding on his decision.
He praises Gladys Berejiklian for her premiership, and says:
The NSW Liberal Party is blessed to have some very talented people in its ranks, who could all bring different qualities to the role of leader. But I believe my track record during my time in public office makes me the best candidate to lead the NSW Government.
I also believe the party room should have a choice when selecting its next leader, and I believe I provide that choice. I have the right balance of experience, vision and integrity needed during this crucial time in our history, as we continue to respond to and recover from the pandemic.
NSW is about to embark on the immense challenge of recovering from the brutal effects of the last two years. We are facing a great number of challenges and stable, unified leadership is now more important than ever.
The NSW Coalition is the best team to ensure our recovery succeeds, and I believe I am the best person to lead the government into the critical next election.”
He also adds:
I have asked my colleagues for their support, and I am grateful many colleagues have encouraged me to nominate for leader.
I am blessed to have the support of my family in making this decision and I will continue speaking with my colleagues over the weekend.”
Australia cautioned the French contractor – hours before the $90bn submarine deal was cancelled – that its achievement of a key contractual milestone did “not provide any authorisation to continue work”.
The letter, sent to Naval Group on 15 September, is at the heart of an extraordinary diplomatic rift between France and Australia, with the French foreign minister telling a parliamentary hearing this week that “someone lied”
The Guardian can now publish the full letter, having obtained it under Australia’s freedom of information (FOI) laws. The defence department released the requested document to the Guardian on Saturday morning, several hours after the Australian newspaper published an article quoting portions of the letter.
Read more:
Diplomatic sources say EU delay of FTA negs "a face saver for France".
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) October 2, 2021
“There isn’t much time for the French grandstanding but equally the deal with Australia isn’t of such importance to many that they will stand and fight it out with Paris" @danielboffey https://t.co/S5RBx8Gdfc
What Campbell Newman did next: the making of an unlikely Queensland libertarian.
The ousted premier is back on the campaign trail, running for a Senate seat. Can he catapult a niche party to national relevance?
Read the profile:
Melbourne detention centre worker tests positive for Covid
A Melbourne detention centre worker has tested positive for coronavirus, placing more than 200 refugees at risk of becoming infected.
The Australian Border Force confirmed a contracted service provider at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation in Broadmeadows had tested positive for Covid-19, AAP reports.
An ABF spokesperson said “all necessary contact tracing, quarantining, testing and deep cleaning” was under way. “As a precautionary measure all detainees at MITA will be offered Covid-19 testing.”
As of June this year there were 239 people living at the MITA facility, according to Department of Home Affairs data obtained by the Refugee Council of Australia.
It is unclear how many of those had been vaccinated, with the ABF saying “consenting detainees” had been offered the jab since a vaccine rollout began at the facility in early August.
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Two “extremely lucky” men have only minor injuries after surviving a helicopter crash on a beach near Newcastle.
NSW Ambulance responded to reports a helicopter had crashed on Stockton beach, north of the Hunter River in NSW just before 11am on Saturday, reports AAP.
Emergency services arrived at the scene to assess the two men in the helicopter.
The two men, believed to be in their 60s, were treated for lacerations and grazes but did not require transport to hospital.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Lauren Lowrie said the men managed to down the helicopter away from other members of the public.
“Both men were extremely lucky to escape with very minor injuries,” she said.
“If more people were around, this could have been a disaster.”
You have Elias Visontay back with you now.
Strap yourselves in for some news.
If you’re in Melbourne and thinking of making the most of the Saturday afternoon sun, I would probably steer clear of the Yarra Trail near the Botanic Gardens for a while.
— Rachael Dexter (@rachael_dexter) October 2, 2021
Police officers appear to have begun arresting anti-vaccination, anti-lockdown protestors along the Tan Track in Melbourne. There is a mounted police presence in the area.
Arrests start @theage pic.twitter.com/vAYR5sxRdY
— Rachael Dexter (@rachael_dexter) October 2, 2021
The NSW planning minister, Rob Stokes, has declared that he will run for leader of the NSW Liberal party, following premier Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation yesterday.
"I'm really keen to put my hat in the ring, and see how we go...I'm encouraged by quite a bit of support in the partyroom to this point...I owe it to my community, and owe it to the people of NSW to at least provide them with that choice" - @RobStokesMP. #nswpol #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/wLD8EH3fbh
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 2, 2021
Another likely contender is the NSW treasurer, Dominic Perrottet. A party room meeting is slated for Tuesday.
More here:
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Australia cautioned the French contractor Naval Group – hours before the $90bn submarine deal was cancelled – that its achievement of a key contractual milestone did “not provide any authorisation to continue work”.
The letter, sent to Naval Group on 15 September, is at the heart of an extraordinary diplomatic rift between France and Australia, with the French foreign minister telling a parliamentary hearing this week that “someone lied”.
The Guardian has obtained the letter under Australia’s freedom of information laws.
The letter – which appears to be carefully worded with a focus on contractual matters – said the Australian government “has provided guidance to Naval Group regarding the continuation of work and reimbursement of work”.
But the director general of the Future Submarine Program – Royal Australian Navy Commodore Craig Bourke – added a caveat about the government not yet granting authorisation to proceed.
Read the story, including the full letter, here:
There are reports of a small group of protesters gathering at the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.
There appears to be some confusion about meeting points for today’s protest in Melbourne.
— Eden Gillespie (@edengillespie) October 2, 2021
One commenter: “This feels like a fail today, updating locations every 5 minutes, no-one on the ground knows which one to head to, and cops already at every single location.”
‘We will not be stopped today’: after an hour of walking around the Botanic Gardens with at least four different starting locations flagged a group of about 150 protesters have found one another in park and have begun marching @theage pic.twitter.com/KJFTMZs30y
— Rachael Dexter (@rachael_dexter) October 2, 2021
Shrine protest: Police have made their first arrest as protesters prepare to swarm the Shrine of Remembrance/ Botanic Gardens @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/MsLqCesonK
— Olivia Jenkins (@byoliviajenkins) October 2, 2021
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The Victorian public transport minister, Ben Carroll, has announced that 36 fully electric buses will hit Melbourne roads by mid-2025, as part of a $2.3bn deal.
The contract was awarded to Kinetic, the firm that operates SkyBus and other transport routes in Australia and New Zealand.
PT Minister @BenCarrollMP says:
— Mitch Clarke (@96mitchclarke) October 2, 2021
- Kinetic has been awarded the $2.3bn Melbourne Bus Franchise contract from Jan 31 next year until June 2031
- 36 fully electric buses will be introduced to the network by mid-2025, including five by June next year #springst @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/E7SzsyAaNk
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Hello, Donna Lu here, taking over the blog for a while.
If you see anything I should know about and would like to get in touch, you can reach me on Twitter @donnadlu or via email: donna.lu@theguardian.com.
Rob Stokes confirms he will run for NSW Liberal leadership
The NSW planning minister, Rob Stokes, has officially thrown his hat in the ring and confirmed he will be contesting the NSW Liberal leadership.
He spoke a short time ago:
I am determined and focused, I have a lot of experience. Obviously these are incredibly challenging times but I believe that I have the qualities necessary to ensure that we can provide strong government into the future.
While the treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, is considered a favourite for leader, he is yet to announce his intentions.
The party room will meet on Tuesday, however factional players are understood to be counting votes over the long weekend.
A source familiar with some of the discussions happening within the party today has just told the Guardian that the phones are very frantic this morning.
It appears elements of the party are trying to sort out a lot of the numbers privately and decide where support will go before being more open about candidates.
Other contenders besides Stokes and Perrottet are still possible, I am told.
Meanwhile, the pile of flowers and messages of support being left at Gladys Berejiklian’s electorate office in Northbridge continues to grow, as constituents react to her resignation.
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ACT records 52 new Covid cases
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 52 new locally acquired cases.
ACT COVID-19 update (2 October 2021):
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) October 2, 2021
◾️ New cases today: 52
◾️ Active cases: 319
◾️ Total recovered cases: 617
◾️ Total cases: 939
◾️ Negative test results (past 24 hours): 2,923
◾️ In hospital: 13
◾️ Lives lost: 3 pic.twitter.com/IeCrlXsv0j
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Victorian treasurer hits out at Morrison government for cutting Covid support
The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, has announced a support package for the state’s construction industry, taking a swipe at the Morrison government for cutting support and accusing the prime minister of prioritising supports to Sydney.
Pallas unveiled the supports at Saturday’s Covid update, with the announcement of 1,488 cases marking a new daily record for Victoria.
Pallas announced a $196.6m support package for the construction industry, which will take the form of one-off cash payments for eligible businesses including sole traders. It will cover the period of restrictions from 21 September through to 4 October.
Eligible sole trader businesses that don’t employ staff will receive a one-off payment of $2,000. This increases to $2,800 for businesses with a payroll of up to $650,000 and to $5,600 for a payroll of between $650,000 and $3m.
Businesses with a payroll of between $3m and $10m will receive $8,400. Pallas says about 70,000 construction business will be eligible for the payments.
Pallas then lashes the federal government, which he says declined to jointly fund the scheme. He is also critical of the end of the Covid disaster payments, noting that when NSW had restrictions on its construction industry, federal government supports were available.
Pallas says:
I want to stress this point and it really is a point of great disappointment to the state government. We are going to step up and play our part in assisting this industry but we are very, very unhappy with the commonwealth government (which) broke with its practice of co-funding business support packages in Victoria and refused to contribute to this industry.
It is incomprehensible why this industry in particular has been singled out for, and might I say, unfair treatment by this government. And the federal government of course have taken this stance for reasons that can’t really be understood.”
Some further quotes from Pallas:
It’s blatant favourable treatment.”
It’s blatant favourable treatment for NSW, not being returned to Victoria when we faced the exact same situation that NSW did. You will recall NSW shut down their construction industry and the commonwealth were very quick to support that industry.
At every step of the way throughout this pandemic NSW has received a free kick from the prime minister for Sydney.
Politics seems to have trumped common sense.
What’s incredibly disappointing about this is a federal government who have sought to be miserly with money, or malevolent in terms of preferential treatment against people and businesses who are all doing it tough and all deserve a fair shake ... make no mistake this is churlishness, it is mean-spirited behaviour and it hurts an industry that doesn’t deserve this treatment.
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New Zealand records 27 new Covid cases
New Zealand’s Covid outbreak is still bubbling along.
There have been 27 new cases of Covid reported by authorities there today.
There are 27 community cases of #COVID19 to report today. More than 47,000 doses of the vaccine were administered yesterday. https://t.co/4FtRj6oyBW
— Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora (@minhealthnz) October 2, 2021
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We’re expecting a Covid update from the Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, and the Covid commander, Jeroen Weimar, at 11.30am.
Treasurer, Tim Pallas, and Jeroen Wiemar will provide a coronavirus update and make an announcement, 11:30am #COVID19Vic
— Political Alert (@political_alert) October 2, 2021
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NSW residents warned about NRL grand final gatherings
New South Wales deputy chief health officer, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, has warned residents against gathering to watch the NRL grand final on Sunday.
McAnulty says:
It’s the NRL grand final this weekend, it’s a particularly big one for the fans especially of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Penrith Panthers.
While I hope everyone enjoys the game, I want to remind people to continue to follow the safety rules.
Social gatherings are not permitted in homes because you run the risk of spreading the virus.
There are still high levels of Covid in the community and we need to remain vigilant even in the face of such an important event for so many people.
Even though we might want to celebrate and watch football, it’s important we maintain those rules.
His warning follows comments from Victorian officials this week that they suspect illegal gatherings to watch the AFL grand final last weekend could be responsible for a recent surge in cases.
Updated
NSW records 813 new Covid cases and 10 deaths
New South Wales has recorded 813 new locally-acquired cases of Covid.
There were 10 new deaths announced on Saturday. Two people died in their homes.
Four people were not vaccinated, five had received one dose, and one of the people who died had been fully vaccinated.
Updated
We’re expecting New South Wales’ Covid numbers in a few minutes – but, as we’ve noted earlier, it will just be the numbers. No government minister will be fronting the update.
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“The car’s on fire, and there’s no driver at the wheel.”
This phrase, ominously delivered in the opening of a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song, appears unbidden in my head as we walk across the red-carpeted concourse into the newly opened Cali Beach Club in Surfers Paradise. It arrives there on a more or less daily basis, every time I look at the news and find out that, oh I don’t know, climate change-induced fire tornadoes are speeding up the incubation of the ultra omega variant of the novel coronavirus.
This is not to say, obviously, that the Cali Beach is another link in a frighteningly long and varied chain of ecological disasters, feeding into public health disasters, feeding into climate disasters, into civil unrest. It is rather, a 5,000-sq metre, “premier adults-only playground” (their words), “Australia’s largest day and night entertainment precinct” and “the ultimate Day Club experience” (also their words). The development took around 12 months to realise, at a cost of almost $10m.
At Cali Beach Club, Ben McLeay finds rooftop jetskis, fire twirlers and neon sea creatures folded into the perfectly ordinary social dynamics of a night out.
Queensland records two new cases
Queensland has recorded two new local cases of Covid.
They are linked to the aviation cluster, and have both been in home quarantine. Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said they are children of a positive case who was announced yesterday – a man who had been infectious while on the Gold Coast.
There are now 25 active cases in Queensland.
Saturday 2 October – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 2, 2021
2 new locally acquired cases - detected in home quarantine, linked to the aviation cluster.
2 new overseas acquired cases - detected in hotel quarantine.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/QFyAFgxSJ5
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There won’t be a New South Wales government minister fronting the state’s Covid update today, meaning journalists won’t be able to ask any questions about leadership speculation.
It also means there won’t be any questions about Covid management in NSW.
Deputy chief health officer Dr Jeremy McAnulty will be delivering a live stream of the update at 11am.
We’ll bring you the numbers and latest from that update when it happens.
Hours after Gladys Berejiklian resigned following Icac announcing it was investigating her, locals left flowers and messages of support at her electorate office in Northbridge.
Hours after she resigned following ICAC announcing it was investigating her, locals left flowers and messages of support at her electorate office in Northbridge. pic.twitter.com/OVPWBiMNuS
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) October 1, 2021
A self-described “goody-goody”, Berejiklian’s career was shaped by family, the Armenian genocide and school protests, which influenced her politics on a range of issues including pill testing, the Powerhouse and privatisations.
Here’s our look back on the life and times of the fallen premier:
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Victoria records 1,488 Covid cases
Victoria has recorded 1,488 new Covid cases, and two further deaths.
Reported yesterday: 1,488 new local cases and 0 cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 1, 2021
- 36,878 vaccines administered
- 71,224 test results received
- Sadly, 2 people with COVID-19 have died
More later: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/2pMqiRcC4k
This is a new record for daily Covid cases in Victoria, surpassing the 1,438 reported on Thursday.
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Companies contracted to provide hotel quarantine security have underpaid more than 1,000 staff at hotels in Melbourne and Sydney by more than $1m, the industrial watchdog says.
The Fair Work ombudsman last year investigated nine principal contractors engaged by the Victorian and NSW governments, and 28 subcontracted companies, reports AAP.
Inspectors found 41% of the 37 businesses were underpaying staff or failing to meet their record-keeping requirements. Some security guards had been underpaid penalty rates, while others were not paid their annual or personal leave entitlements.
The ombudsman has so far recovered $303,299 for 1,010 underpaid workers, with about $900,000 in remaining wages owed by a company that went into liquidation.
Unified Security Group Australia, a principal contractor in both the NSW and Victorian hotel quarantine programs, admitted to the watchdog they owed unpaid entitlements to staff in Sydney. The company was issued a compliance notice requiring it backpay those workers, but it went into liquidation in May 2021.
Fair Work ombudsman Sandra Parker said the security industry needed to sharpen its focus on its employment responsibilities.
We expect all businesses at all levels of a supply chain to meet their obligations under workplace laws so that workers are paid the wages and entitlements they are lawfully owed
Any workers with concerns about their wages should contact us.
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The Morrison government has increased support for controversial fossil fuel projects that promise to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions by approving a plan to award them carbon credits.
It followed the oil and gas company Santos saying a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Moomba gas well in South Australia hinged on whether it had access to carbon credit revenue.
Angus Taylor, the emissions reduction minister, hailed the development of a method to grant credits to large-scale CCS projects as a global first. He said the credits could then be sold back to the government through its $4.5bn emissions reduction fund or to companies on the voluntary market, and would allow Australia to increase production of liquified natural gas (LNG).
“We have worked closely with industry practitioners and technical experts to develop this method, which we expect will help unlock new projects across Australia, create new jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity,” he said. “It will also support the production of clean hydrogen from existing energy resources like coal and gas.”
Read more:
The premier’s anger was palpable, her target familiar.
Like so many politicians before her, Gladys Berejiklian laid the blame for her untimely demise squarely at the feet of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
She accused it of pursuing her over “historic matters” that had already been investigated and explained, all at a time when the state was in the grips of a deadly Covid-19 outbreak.
“My resignation as premier could not occur at a worse time, but the timing is completely outside of my control, as the Icac has chosen to take this action during the most challenging weeks of the most challenging times in the state’s history. That is the Icac’s prerogative.” she said.
Her comments are likely to trigger the usual barrage from Icac’s critics. That it is out of control, that it destroys the careers of otherwise good leaders and expands investigations well beyond their initial remit.
A look back at the list of NSW politicians brought down by Australia’s longest running anti-corruption commission:
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Australia’s states and territories are demanding the Morrison government provide an immediate funding boost to help them manage the “unrelenting strain” on health and hospital systems because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guardian Australia has obtained a copy of a letter of demand that state and territory health ministers sent to the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, on Thursday. Premiers and chief ministers backed in the new funding demand during Friday’s national cabinet discussion.
The letter warns Australia’s hospital systems are “entering the most critical phase of the Covid-19 pandemic response for our hospital systems”.
“All states and territories require immediate additional commonwealth funding to support pressures currently on our health systems,” the letter says. “States and territories are under unrelenting strain due to the current Covid-19 demands and the pre-existing trend of increased hospital activity.
Read the full story:
Friday was a wild news day in general, and you may well have missed the details about how Australia’s international border will reopen in November, when returned travellers will be able to quarantine at home.
My colleagues Paul Karp and Amy Remeikis have everything you need to know.
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Welcome to our live news blog today. While we’ll have plenty on the speculation about who will be New South Wales’ next premier, it’s also a big weekend for Covid news.
Gladys Berejiklian has resigned following the announcement of an Icac investigation into whether she “exercised public functions” in a position of conflict given her secret five-year relationship with ex-MP Daryl Maguire, revealed at Icac hearings in late 2020.
The treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, is considered the frontrunner to replace her in a party meeting on Tuesday. Perrottet said on Friday he would speak with his family and colleagues over the coming days on “how I can best serve the people of NSW”.
Planning minister Rob Stokes and environment minister Matt Kean are also believed to be contenders, as well as tourism minister Stuart Ayres, transport minister Andrew Constance and attorney general Mark Speakman.
The state recorded 864 new Covid cases and 15 deaths on Friday. There are currently 1,055 Covid-19 patients in hospital in NSW, with 210 in intensive care units and 104 on ventilators. The death toll for the current NSW outbreak is 352.
Casino in northern NSW was placed into lockdown from midnight last night until 11 October when the rest of the state will begin reopening gradually. The stay-at-home order applies to anyone who has been in Casino since 24 September.
The Victorian city of Shepparton is under stay-at-home orders for seven days after 24 new cases were identified in the area.
A vaccine mandate has been introduced for all mandated workers in Victoria on a day the state recorded 1,143 new local cases. All Victorian authorised workers must have their first vaccine dose by 15 October and a second by 26 November to keep working on site.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, played down the possibility the broader mandate could spark more anti-vaccine protests, with another three demonstrators arrested on Friday.
The federal government announced a reopening plan to international travel in November. Qantas has brought forward the restart of its international flights to 14 November, announcing the resumption of two international flights – Sydney to London and Sydney to Los Angeles.
Queensland recorded three new local cases, with the NRL final still scheduled to go ahead on Sunday. The ACT recorded 52 cases and two deaths. South Australia recorded the second positive Covid-19 case detected in a truck driver in a week.
You have Elias Visontay with you on the blog this morning. If you see anything you think I should know about and want to get in touch, you can contact me on Twitter at @EliasVisontay or via email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com.
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