What we learned, Sunday 10 October
That’s where I will leave you for today. Here’s what we learned today:
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, backed plans to “accelerate” the resumption of international travel and home quarantine sooner than planned, but only in New South Wales.
- His comments came after the new NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, said he wanted international travel to resume “as quickly as possible” for the state, with plans to introduce home quarantine as early as the end of this month.
- The Victorian premier, Dan Andrews, announced the state would allow 10,000 spectators to attend the Melbourne Cup horse race on 2 November, part of the state’s transition to a “vaccinated economy”.
- It came as the state recorded another 1,890 new Covid-19 cases.
- Tasmania reached its own vaccine milestone, with 80% of the 16-plus population receiving at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, 64.7% of the population are fully vaccinated.
- South Australia recorded one new Covid case, a teen who caught the virus on a flight from Melbourne. He had been in isolation since his flight arrived in the state.
One new Covid case in South Australia
South Australia has recorded one new case of Covid-19, a passenger on a flight from Melbourne who has been in one of the state’s medi-hotels since his arrival.
SA Health said the male in his teens travelled on flight VA219 from Melbourne on 4 October. He had been in isolation since.
The case comes after a Victorian flight attendant in his 40s who worked on the same flight had tested positive on Saturday.
It means the flight will now be treated as a transmission site and SA Health said it was “ensuring that quarantine arrangements for all passengers reflect this higher level of concern”.
SA Health also said an exposure location listed yesterday evening had been revised. A Victorian truck driver who tested positive in the state “did not QR check-in at sites therefore we may see further exposure locations listed as new information comes to light”.
SA Health said an exposure listed as the Port Augusta BP Nullabor Truckstop had been revised to the Port Augusta On The Run, cnr Augusta Hwy and Northern Power Station Rd on Friday 8 October from 11pm to 12.30am on 9 October.
The Australian government is considering holding Twitter and Facebook liable for defamatory content that is posted on their platforms, the communications minister has said.
Paul Fletcher said it was “certainly one of the options that’s under consideration” as social media companies had, for too long, failed to take responsibility for posts on their platforms.
He said Australia’s attorneys general were “looking at the question of what the liability should be of the platforms – Facebook, Twitter and others – if a defamatory statement is made by a person posting on those platforms”.
Fletcher’s interview with ABC’s Insiders mostly reinforced comments by the prime minister, Scott Morrison, last week. Morrison put social media companies on notice, saying they must take action against “cowards” who vilify, harass or defame others – or else be liable as publishers.
Fletcher said he agreed with the prime minister that “we expect a stronger position from the platforms”. Fletcher also echoed Morrison in signalling that the government would “continue to lean in” to regulation of the tech giants:
“For a long time, they’ve been getting away with not taking any responsibility in relation to content posted on their sites.”
Fletcher said another issue under consideration was whether social media platforms had “a responsibility to assist a litigant in providing information about the identity of the person who posted the comment”.
For more on this issue, see our story from Thursday:
Updated
Morrison’s livestream was, in the main, a “celebration” of Australia’s vaccination rates ahead of the NSW reopening tomorrow.
Australia has 82.2% of eligible over 16s with one dose, and 61.9% with both doses.
Morrison said:
Our first dose vaccination rate is indeed higher than in Germany and the United States. Our first dose vaccination rate is higher than when the United Kingdom lifted restrictions.
Freedoms for those in states that have been subject to lockdowns are very close, and all of those have been earned and hard won by those who went out, rolled up their sleeves and got their jab.
Tomorrow NSW will begin a new chapter. It will open up safely as part of our national plan. And stay safely open. This will be a moment to cherish for people right across New South Wales:
Reuniting with family and friends. Having a beer with your mates at the pub.
Getting a haircut and going to the gym. All things that we once took for granted but that we now know are so important.
Updated
Morrison backs 'fast track' of international travel for NSW
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has backed plans to fast-track the return of international travel flagged by the New South Wales government, announcing his support for plans to “accelerate” a home quarantine program.
In a Facebook livestream on Sunday afternoon, Morrison said he had been in discussions with NSW’s new premier, Dominic Perrottet, on plans to “accelerate” the resumption of international travel for the state.
It comes after Perrottet said earlier on Sunday he wanted to resume international travel “as quickly as possible”, flagging that a home quarantine program for fully-vaccinated people could begin as soon as the end of this month.
Morrison said he had been in discussions with Perrottet about “how we can accelerate our plan to open international travel when home quarantine is available”.
He said a home quarantine program in NSW would mean the commonwealth would look to “fast track” the “the opening of international borders into NSW sooner”.
“That would mean home quarantine for vaccinated Australians wishing to return home via Sydney and giving the option of international travel for vaccinated Australians,” he said.
Updated
I’m finishing up today, folks. I will leave you in the very capable hands of Michael McGowan to take you through to this evening.
Be well, everyone!
China’s embassy in Canberra has denounced the former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott for what it called a “despicable and insane performance in Taiwan”.
On a visit to Taipei to address a regional forum last week, Abbott raised concerns that Beijing “could lash out disastrously very soon” amid growing tensions over the future of Taiwan – and argued the US and Australia could not stand idly by.
Daniel Hurst has the full story here:
We love to see it!
There are more fully vaccinated Australians that not fully vaccinated Australians. https://t.co/PpAO96mEuI
— CovidBaseAU 🦠📊🇦🇺 (@covidbaseau) October 10, 2021
Covid puts boomers off aged care, survey finds
The pandemic has deterred people from wanting to live in aged care, according to a survey commissioned by RSL LifeCare.
The AAP have the story:
If the findings of the aged care royal commission had not put off baby boomers considering nursing home care, it seems the pandemic may have done the job.
Almost a quarter of baby boomers are less keen on aged care homes than they were before the pandemic, while another 14% are more enthusiastic about the idea of living at home with visits from a nurse.
That is according to a survey of more than 1,000 Australians aged 56-74 commissioned by the charity RSL LifeCare.
There are more than five million baby boomers in Australia, making up about a quarter of the population.
The survey found more than three-quarters of them want to live in their own home as they age, with only 3% keen to move into communal care.
Over the past 18 months Covid outbreaks in aged care homes in Victoria and NSW have caused hundreds of deaths, while visits to nursing homes have also been restricted, leaving residents isolated.
The impact can be seen in recent figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which show the number of people moving into aged care homes has fallen significantly.
Last year, 5,300 fewer people moved into permanent residential aged care compared with 2019, while 11,000 fewer used respite care.
“This reflects the rolling lockdowns of communal aged care facilities that have prevented family visits, along with communal outbreaks which have seen hundreds of Australians die in formal aged care facilities after catching Covid,” RSL LifeCare chief executive Graham Millett said.
But there is some good news – it appears ageing at home could work for many baby boomers, because they are optimistic and healthy. More so than even their own children.
About 90% of those surveyed said their overall wellbeing was good, very good or excellent, with similar figures for physical and mental health.
By comparison, almost a quarter of their millennial children are struggling with mental health issues including anxiety, depression and substance-use disorders.
The research also showed 40% of baby boomers are still working and more than 60% expect to fund their own retirement.
Australia’s two-year royal commission into aged care, tabled in March, found almost a third of residents had suffered from substandard care, while up to 18% had been either physically or sexually assaulted.
In response, consumer groups have called for increased transparency in the sector, tougher regulation, minimum staffing levels, wage increases, and rights-based aged care legislation.
National Carers Week runs from October 10 to 16.
Updated
Tasmania: 80% of population aged 16+ have at least one vaccine dose
In Tasmania, 80% of the population aged 16 and older have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, 64.7% of the population are fully vaccinated.
Victorian authorities said that you will be able to upload your Covid-19 immunisation certificate to the Services Victoria app from Monday.
But the NSW government have said their app won’t be ready despite the fact the state is opening up to many tomorrow.
On Sunday the NSW digital minister, Victor Dominello, confirmed a government app update designed to verify the vaccination status of residents will not be ready until 18 October.
Dominello took a stab at the federal government for failing to provide data needed for the app until last week, saying NSW had “moved heaven and earth” to get the app ready for next week.
It means that until the app is ready, residents will need to use the Medicare app or a paper version from Services Australia to prove their vaccination status.
Though speaking at NSW’s presser today, pub baron and former federal Liberal MP, Craig Laundy, suggested people take a screenshot of their vaccination certificate to use as their phone’s wallpaper to show venue staff.
Naturally, many online have voiced concerns that this creates an easy way for unvaccinated people to fake a vaccine passport and get into venues.
NSW presser features pub baron (and former federal Liberal MP) Craig Laundy - he says hospitality expects first week of NSW's reopening rollout to be "a little clunky"
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) October 10, 2021
suggests people put a screenshot of their vaccine passport as their phone wallpaper, to easily show staff pic.twitter.com/J4O7g1OrmD
Updated
The New South Wales government has sent its strongest signal yet that it plans to resume international travel ahead of the date set by the commonwealth, with the state’s new deputy Liberal leader saying hotel quarantine was “fast becoming redundant”.
Ahead of the state’s reopening on Monday after 106 days in lockdown, the NSW Liberals deputy leader Stuart Ayres told media that the current cap on international returnees agreed to by the national cabinet during the Delta outbreak would either be “substantially lifted” or scrapped by the end of October or early November.
Michael McGowan has the full story:
ACT chief minister Andrew Barr has shared his thoughts on the territory’s updated Covid-19 vaccination figures.
The territory is doing exceptionally well when it comes to getting the jab. More than 95% of those over the age of 16 have received at least one dose, and 72.3% are fully vaccinated.
But Barr is worried about those in the 20-24 age group. According to the federal government’s data, only 76.95% of people in that age group in Canberra have received at least one dose.
He says the ACT government will work with universities to help get more of them vaccinated.
Latest vaccination data from the Feds.
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) October 10, 2021
I’ve added in the data on 12-15 yr olds (who are the fastest vaccinating group).
20-24 yr olds are the concern. We suspect some are studying remotely and are not in #CBR at the moment.
Will work with the Unis to get them vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/4Vz0gdpUwl
Updated
While NSW and Victoria were hosting their Covid-19 updates, Queensland was announcing news of its own.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk did a press conference with billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest to announce a partnership between the Queensland state government and his Fortescue Future Industries.
Our friends at AAP have the story:
Gladstone is to become Queensland’s green energy centre, with one of the world’s largest hydrogen-equipment facilities to be built in the central coastal city.
The project is part of a partnership deal between the state government and billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Gladstone will become a world-leading hub for the manufacture of electrolysers – vital to the production of renewable hydrogen.
More than 300 jobs are expected to be created during construction, and thousands more in the years following.
“We don’t just want to export our resources, we want to develop a manufacturing industry capable of making the electrolysers in Queensland as well,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
In its initial stage, Fortescue will invest $114m.
Deputy premier and minister for development Steven Miles said the deal was a boost for Queensland’s growing credentials as “an emerging superpower in renewable hydrogen”.
Hydrogen electrolysers use power to split hydrogen from water. When produced using renewable power the hydrogen is emission free.
Updated
Hello, it’s Justine Landis-Hanley here, back from lunch. Thanks so much to Michael McGowan for keeping us up to date. Let’s dive straight in:
People are weighing in online on the news that there will be a concert at the Sidney Myer Music bowl at the end of October for fully vaccinated residents.
One user has suggested that frontline workers be given priority to attend.
Also, just a reminder that you can shoot me your questions/ memes/ story tips to @justinel_h on Twitter.
@justinel_h Surely the first concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl should be not for the well heeled, the celebs and the pollies, but for the front-line volunteers and their families who have done so much and been recognised for so little
— greg tuck (@Tuckyswans) October 10, 2021
Updated
My brief stay on the blog is over. I’ll place you back in the capable hands of Justine Landis-Hanley.
Love that curve.
NSW today: 477 locally acquired cases (7 day avg is 588) pic.twitter.com/dL6B64e565
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) October 10, 2021
I’m going to hand the blog over to my brilliant colleague, Michael McGowan, to take you through the news over lunch.
I have more details about the ACT’s 30 new Covid-19 cases, reported today.
Of today’s 30 cases, 16 are linked with 11 being household contacts of existing cases. However, 14 remain under investigation.
There are 433 active cases in the state, and 763 people who have recovered from the virus.
As of 8pm yesterday, there were 15 patients in ACT hospitals. Six are in intensive care, five of whom require ventilation.
The operators of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl aren’t giving much away about the planned concert that was announced at the Victorian government Covid-19 update today.
I, for one, am eager to know who will be playing!
A series of events will be held across Victoria as part of the Vaccinated Economy trials, including a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Watch this space, more details to come! 🎶 @VicGovAu https://t.co/K6CBDbGuGh pic.twitter.com/BlG0StwGFT
— ArtsCentreMelb (@artscentremelb) October 10, 2021
Updated
Put safety first as schools return in NSW, Labor says
Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek says federal Labor is concerned about keeping students safe as they return to school in NSW, ACT and Victoria.
Our friends at AAP have the story:
As Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease, federal Labor hopes as much care as possible is taken for keeping children safe as they return to school.
NSW will end its 100-day lockdown on Monday, while the ACT will reopen on Friday and Victoria a few weeks later.
“We are super keen to get kids back in the classroom, but we want to make sure they will be healthy,” Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program.
She believes mask wearing for primary school where possible is important, as is classrooms being properly ventilated.
We see that the Victorian government has invested big time in high quality air filters...
It is very important priority for us to get kids back into classroom, but it has to be done safely.
She also believes provisions should be made for children to not only catch-up on their schooling, but also additional counselling to get kids back on track with mental health.
Updated
Andrews was also asked whether he paid the $400 police fine for not wearing his mask as he crossed a car park to attend a press conference last week.
He said he paid the fine moments after receiving it, but “the grief I got from Kath and the kids was considerably more”.
“It’s important that we all follow the rules because the rules are there to keep us safe,” he said.
Updated
Daniel Andrews was asked again whether he is appearing at IBAC this week, at the inquiry into allegations of Labor Party branch stacking. He said he isn’t going to provide a commentary on this.
But also, it is worth flagging that it can even be against the law to say if you are being questioned by IBAC, if the watchdog hasn’t publicly confirmed this.
If you want more information about the IBAC investigation, you can read this story from Guardian Australia’s very own Nino Bucci here:
Updated
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has flagged he will be in conversation with the federal government around federal funding for the state’s public health system.
Under the current arrangements, Commonwealth funding growth for public hospitals, which was previously unlimited and based on the services provided, will be capped at 6.5% each year.
Andrews said he was grateful for the partnership the federal government has provided states when it comes to fighting Covid-19, but that “we don’t get to call partnership on [hospital] funding”.
The notion that any government cap their [hospital] funding is not right, and just because you have done a lot doesn’t mean you ... can’t do more. We will have some positive discussions going forward.
... I wish I could put a cap on the number of patients who are going to present with need. But if you can’t cap the need, you can’t cap the funding.
Updated
Victoria’s minister for government services, Danny Pearson, has said the way you use the Covid-19 immunisation certificate will differ state to state.
In Victoria, you should ideally upload the certificate into the Services Victoria app from tomorrow. But if you are travelling to a different state, such as NSW, you may have to download that state’s preferred app and download your certificate onto that.
Updated
Martin Pakula has said that only people within 25km of the Melbourne Cup Carnival will be allowed to attend, in line with the Victorian government’s roadmap.
Asked whether he thinks this is unfair to people who are big fans of the Cup but live outside of the 25km radius, Pakula pointed out that the Carnival, which is normally attended by around 100,000 people, will be capped at 10,000, meaning around 90,000 people are going to miss out.
Updated
Victoria’s Covid commander Jeroen Weimar has provided more information about the state’s 1,890 new cases. This brings the total to 18,342 active cases in the community.
Weimar said that just over one quarter of new cases were under the age of 20 and over two-thirds were under the age of 40.
“We continue to see Covid targeting those who are unvaccinated and those who are young and active,” Weimar said.
Half of those cases are across six local government areas: Brimbank, Casey, Hume, Melton, Whittlesea and Wyndham.
It’s worth noting we are seeing the shift we’ve been talking about over the last 10 days towards the south east with Casey now with 164 cases, the most cases we have in the south east, and really I would use this to say with only 50% of those in the six LGA areas, it means there’s a lot of cases across other parts of Melbourne and regional Victoria.
In Hume we are seeing 188 cases, so we are seeing a definite cooling off in the case growth rate there which is welcome...
126 cases now across regional Victoria and again, a significant continual growth...
The most significant cases in regional Victoria include 16 in Shepparton, half of those are well understood and well linked and the other half under investigation. Twelve in Geelong, seven linked, four under investigation. Twelve cases in the Macedon Ranges, all linked with a number of known households. Eleven cases in La Trobe ... eighteen cases in Baw Baw Shire associated with the Robin Hood hotel and a number of other gatherings we are aware of and again those cases continue to be linked. We’ve also had in Mildura, in the north west, 18 cases today.
A total of 85 active cases in Sunraysia and a busy couple of days there. We thank the support of the community across Mildura and we put it into lockdown late on Friday night but obviously we’ve seen an extraordinary response over the last couple of days with over 1,000 people being tested yesterday...
We will continue to work with the community across Mildura to get to the bottom of those cases but they seem to be closely linked to a number of households and movements, but obviously some cross-border issues into communities moving into New South Wales.
Updated
In NSW, premier Dominic Perrottet tells the media the state wants “to open international borders as quickly as possible”.
There are reports around today suggesting Perrottet wants to resume international travel for NSW ahead of the federal roadmap, as soon as next month. He says the state can’t remain “a hermit kingdom on the other side of the world”.
On home quarantine, he says the state is running a pilot and that it “makes sense” for double vaccinated people to not have to stay in hotels.
“There are so many Australians still on the other side of the world who want to come home [and] we want to bring Australians back,” he says.
Perrottet says NSW also “wants to help other states” in bringing people home.
“If other states need to stay closed because their vaccination rates are lower and we’re higher, if we can help other states we will,” he says.
But he can’t help himself taking a jab at the Queensland government: “Just, Queensland should pay the bill,” he says.
The home quarantine program in NSW is being overseen by the new deputy premier Stuart Ayres, who says it’s currently being used by about 35 people a week as well as about 50 Qantas staff.
Ayres says he wants the caps on international returnees “substantially lifted” or scrapped by the end of October or early November, and that hotel quarantine is “fast becoming redundant”.
However it will only apply to vaccinated people, he says.
“We know hotel quarantine is fast becoming redundant and not sustainable into the future,” he says.
“I want the police commissioner out of the tourism business.”
Updated
Danny Pearson, Victoria’s assistant treasurer and minister for government services, has run us through how venues will be able to check whether someone is fully vaccinated.
Those who are fully vaccinated will receive a certificate via MyGov, and from tomorrow they will be able to integrate that certificate into the Services Victoria app.
Instructions on how to share the digital certificate to the Services Victoria app will be made available on the Services Victoria website and on the coronavirus website when it’s available (covid19.act.gov.au).
Pearson said Victorians will be able to check into a venue or event and show their proof of vaccination at the same time by sharing their Covid-19 digital certificate to the Service Victoria app. The screen will show a green tick with your name, along with confirmation that you are fully vaccinated.
“The trials [starting] tomorrow will allow us to test our system so we can ensure reopening is as smooth and easy as possible and we are trying to create a really positive user experience by incorporating your immunisation certificate into your Service Victoria app so from a business perspective or event perspective, you can QR code into my check in and show you are vaccinated in the one location,” Pearson said.
But if you don’t have access to technology, you can call the Australian Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809.
Updated
ACT records 30 locally acquired coronavirus cases
The territory has update its exposures sites in the following areas.
Suburbs with new exposure locations linked to confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ACT include:
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) October 10, 2021
Casual
• Canberra City
• Wanniassa
Monitor
• Acton
• Calwell
• Canberra Airport
• Casey
• Crace
• Holt
• Kambah
• Wanniassa
Updated
Victoria’s minister for tourism, sport and major events, Martin Pakula, is speaking about the vaccinated economy trial that is set to begin tomorrow.
A small number of venues such as pubs, cafes, hairdressing salons and tourist attractions in areas across regional Victoria with high vaccination rates and low numbers of Covid-19 cases will be selected to participate in the trial. They will be allowed to open up to fully vaccinated patrons only.
Pakula says that the trial will be conducted at a number of locations in Bass Coast Shire, East Gippsland, greater Bendigo, Pyrenees Shire and Warrnambool. A race meet will also be conducted at the Warrnambool racing club next Thursday.
Those trails will confirm the best processes for establishing vaccination status ... The easiest way to establish vaccination status will be for people to add their vaccine certificate to the Service Victoria app through myGov.
Updated
Back to NSW:
Victor Dominello, the minister in charge of the rollout of the vaccination passport app, takes a stab at the federal government while conceding the service won’t be ready in time for tomorrow.
He says a pilot program of about 500 people in four regional areas has been under way for a week, but the state “only just got” information needed for the app from the federal government “a week ago”.
“So we’ve been moving heaven and earth,” he says.
Updated
10,000 vaccinated people to attend Melbourne Cup
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced that on 2 November, 10,000 fully-vaccinated people will be allowed to attend the Melbourne Cup with a “very, very detailed Covid-safe plan” as a vaccinated economy trial.
He says they are hoping at that point the state will have passed the 80% double-dosed vaccination target.
We can confirm that the last two events of the Melbourne Cup – Oaks Day and Stakes Day – will also have a crowd of up to 10,000 people ... outdoors, zoned into five different areas.
But this is all about those sorts of events being back. Us as a state and economy and community being open and us having done everything we can now to fight against this virus, having stuck together, having looked out for each other, having got vaccinated, is the most important part. These are just a few announcements today and there will be many more in terms of metropolitan Melbourne trials.
Whether you are a race0goer or not, a fan of that sport or not, that’ll be a really important date for every single Victorian and send a message to the rest of the country and the world about the fact that we are open, more open to beyond that but our road map is absolutely our way through this.
Updated
Melbourne to host concert after easing restrictions
Daniel Andrews has just announced there will be a live music event on Saturday 30 October at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
I can’t provide a precise number of patrons allowed but there is plenty more to be done there.
As part of the ... vaccinated economy trials, there’ll be several thousand double vaccinated [people] who can attend that live music event.
That’s incredibly important ... for the live music scene. We are the live music capital of our nation. We have been there to support them all the way through but they want to get out and perform and do what they do best. That’s to entertain and inspire, to question all of us, to be that incredibly soulful part of our city and state.
Updated
Meanwhile, new NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is holding a press conference in western Sydney, ahead of the state’s reopening tomorrow.
He opens by saying it has been “100 days of blood, sweat and no beers”. He calls tomorrow “an exciting day for our state”.
NSW recorded 477 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, and Perrottet confirmed the state’s new Covid-safe app will not be ready to display someone’s vaccination status in time for tomorrow’s reopening, meaning people entering restaurants or bars will need to prove their vaccination status via the MyGov app.
“I do want to reiterate we need to do this [reopen] in a safe way,” Perrottet said.
“Please treat everyone with respect, with kindness.”
Updated
Just a reminder, Victoria recorded 1,890 new locally-acquired coronavirus cases.
Premier Dan Andrews is encouraging people to go and get vaccinated, and see if they can move their second dose appointments up sooner. Andrews says there were 39,861 doses of vaccine administered through state run centres yesterday.
He says being vaccinated will become even more important once the state starts to ease restrictions. Andrews also said the state is on track to hit 70% of eligible people fully vaccinated by 26 October, if not sooner.
When we get to 70%, double dose, and we are on track to get there and we may even get there a little bit earlier than the 26th, and then as we hit 80% double dose, we really do open up lots of movement. The virus will spread, especially among those who are not vaccinated and if you are one of those unvaccinated people, then you are at a much much greater risk and I’m not pleased to have to say this but it is the science of it, the data, the facts. You are at a much higher risk of finishing up getting this and with Delta we know that if you get it, there is every chance that you may finish up unwell, even if you are otherwise healthy. Even if you are otherwise fit and don’t have other health conditions. So for all of those reasons and so many more, it’s really important that people get vaccinated and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Updated
In Victoria, premier Daniel Andrews is providing today’s Covid-19 update.
He says that 609 people are currently in hospital with Covid 19. Of the 126 people in ICU, 88 are on a ventilator. Less than 7% of people in hospital with the virus are fully vaccinated.
Updated
Victorian authorities are set to provide today’s Covid-19 update any minute. I’ll bring you the updates as I hear them.
We have more detail about the 477 locally acquired coronavirus cases in NSW.
Of the 477 new cases:
- 106 are from south-western Sydney
- 56 are from Hunter New England
- 77 are from western Sydney
- 58 are from Illawarra Shoalhaven
- 32 are from Sydney (city)
- 40 are from south-eastern Sydney
- 20 are from Nepean Blue Mountains
- 25 are from Central Coast
- 11 are from southern NSW
- 17 are from western NSW
- 20 are from northern Sydney
- Five are from northern NSW
- One is from the far west
- Three are in correctional settings
- One is from Murrumbidgee LHD
- Five are yet to be assigned to an LHD
Updated
South Australia records no new Covid-19 cases
South Australia has recorded no new cases of Covid-19 overnight.
But two petrol stations at Yamba and Port Augusta have been listed as exposure sites. They were visited by a truck driver from Victoria, who tested positive for the virus yesterday.
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty has provided more details about today’s 477 new cases.
Tragically, six men have died from Covid-19: two in their 50s, one in their 60s, and three in 70s. There have been 481 Covid-related deaths since the Delta outbreak in June this year.
There are 159 people with the virus in intensive care, 76 of whom require ventilation. Of the 159, 114 are not vaccinated, 30 received one dose and 15 received two doses.
NSW has reached a milestone of 90% of its residents aged 16 and over having received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. McAnulty said that 72.8% of people over 16 are fully vaccinated.
The state has administered almost 11 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Updated
NSW records 477 cases and six deaths
Of the six deaths, five people were unvaccinated and one person had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
There were 86,155 Covid tests reported to 8pm last night.
NSW recorded 477 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 10, 2021
One new case was acquired overseas and one was acquired interstate in the same period, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 68,523. pic.twitter.com/BxIEptA3RR
Updated
We should have NSW’s daily coronavirus case numbers any minute. Stay tuned.
Updated
Another reporter asked Tudge why the government was bringing these subsidies up by four months, from March to July?
“Is it because we are coming out of the pandemic, because we are going to an election, what is it?” the reporter asked.
Tudge said the government always intended to bring the subsidies forward if they were able to.
I always said when we announced this but we would try to bring it forward if we could. The advice at the time was that because of the nature and the complexity of the technical build, but it would take until July. But I said that if we could bring it forward, we absolutely would.
We got the legislation through more quickly than we’d anticipated, and then we have been working across the government departments to streamline the process, working with the third-party software providers, and we now have great confidence that it can all be built by March 7.
And we have been able to build it and do it by now, we would have done that, but the 7the March is now the advice, we have now got the advice which says the 7th March is the fastest data that we can get this up and running, and of course we want to give those benefits out to families as quickly as possible.
Updated
Tudge was asked why families with just one child in childcare were being left out of these increased subsidies with the government’s policy.
For context: only families with two or more children aged five years and under in care will have their CCS rate increased by 30 percentage points for their second child and any younger children, up to a maximum rate of 95%. So if you only have one child in care, you won’t receive any more of a discount.
Tudge said that the government are “targeting those families that really need it most, and that is those families with two or more kids, because that is when your costs really start to add up”.
But it is also, when we have done the analysis, that is where the workforce disincentives were the greatest. Where in some cases, you are more or less working those extra days for no financial benefit once you net out your childcare costs and may be the loss of your family tax benefits. So this will make a difference to that and will encourage what Treasury estimates to be 40,000 more people doing further work than they are presently doing.
Minister for women’s economic security, Jane Hume, said that one of the biggest reasons women cite for not returning to the workforce is the cost of childcare.
So decreasing the cost of childcare keeps Australian women ... gives Australian women more choices and chances to increase their lifetime earnings and secure the economic future, but it also makes the most of Australia’s human capital, our highly educated and capable female work force who are going to be so vital to our post-Covid economic recovery.
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Coalition to bring forward boost to childcare support to March
The education minister, Alan Tudge, and minister for women’s economic security, Jane Hume, are speaking in Canberra at the moment about the government’s decision to bring forward a boost to childcare support by four months to March next year.
Families with two or more children aged five years and under in care will have their CCS rate increased by 30 percentage points for their second child and any younger children, up to a maximum rate of 95%:
Tudge:
I’m pleased to announce today with Jane that we are able to bring the starting date forward to March ... We are able to do that because we were able to get the legislation through quite quickly, and we have also been working hard across governments to streamline as many processes as possible, so the difficult technical build can be done in time for March seven.
Now, what does this mean for families? It means the average family with two or more kids in childcare will be $700 better off this financial year, and they are going to be $2,200 better off next financial year and the subsequent financial years. So that is great for families. It is also really going to help the economy as well, by reducing some of those workforce disincentives. Importantly, we have also removed the annual. That will apply across the entire financial year. So from now, families can have that confidence that this financial year they will not hit start and they are not ever going to hit that again. So they don’t have to rush on any childcare, which I know that some parents do. So this is a good announcement, it is great for families, and it will really help our economy ... after the lockdowns.
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Queensland police apologise for exposing email addresses of hundreds of returning residents
Queensland police accidentally exposed the email addresses of hundreds of Queensland residents trying to get home, by failing to BCC them all in an email about the home quarantine trial.
Queensland police issued a statement in response:
The Queensland Police Service became aware an email that was sent this afternoon to Queensland residents who have been invited to participate in home quarantine and who have a right of entry to return to Queensland from a COVID-19 hotspot under the Border Restrictions Direction (No. 49) to a group of external addresses by mistake.
Preliminary inquiries suggest human error in that the email addresses for recipients of the generic email were included in the ‘to’ field instead of the ‘bcc’ field (and therefore made private).
Once the error was identified the group email was recalled with unread emails deleted.
The QPS acknowledges that before this could occur emails containing all recipient email addresses were read by some in the group. This has caused confusion and anguish and the Service unreservedly apologises for this.
It is important to stress that only individual email address details were shared and no other personal information.
The QPS immediately contacted officers in the Queensland Border Pass Workforce to remind them of the importance of double-checking emails and the high value and importance the QPS places on maintaining the privacy of our stakeholders.
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Prime minister Scott Morrison has copped some flack for this Instagram post showing him cooking a curry (yes, on the barbecue) on day 13 of his 14 day lockdown.
Morrison is doing his quarantine at The Lodge (which apparently has 40 rooms, and is set on 4.4 acres).
His post has annoyed some people who had to do their 14-day quarantine in a hotel room.
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A government app update designed to verify the vaccination status of New South Wales residents is yet to be properly trialled, despite the state reopening to double-jabbed people on Monday.
Josh Taylor has the full story:
The Morrison government has brought forward a boost to childcare support by four months, as the Coalition appears to be preparing for an election that is due by May.
The government’s previously announced childcare package is targeted at providing extra subsidies for families with two or more children in care. A statement issued this morning said the changes “were due to start on 11 July 2022, but the Morrison government has been able to work across departments and service providers to make necessary technical changes sooner”.
Childcare is shaping up as a potential election issue, with opposition leader Anthony Albanese using his budget reply speech in October 2020 to unveil his own plans for childcare. The government proposed childcare changes that passed the parliament in August this year.
The government says about 250,000 families will benefit from increased Child Care Subsidy (CCS) from 7 March 2022, receiving on average an extra $2,200 a year.
A statement issued by the education minister, Alan Tudge, and the minister for women’s economic security, Jane Hume, says families with two or more children aged five years and under in care will have their CCS rate increased by 30 percentage points for their second child and any younger children, up to a maximum rate of 95%:
A family earning $110,000 a year with two kids in care, four days a week, will be better off by around $100 each week. The $10,655 annual CCS cap will also be scrapped on 10 December 2021 and applied retrospectively for the whole 2021-22 financial year. Anyone who reaches the cap before this date will have any additional out-of-pocket costs for the 2021-22 financial year reimbursed.
Tudge said the support was “targeted to those who need it most”, and the government was “reducing the out-of-pocket child care costs which really add up when you have two, three or more children in care”.
These changes are good for families and great for the economy, and it’s significant that we are able to deliver them sooner.
Hume said the additional childcare support would “remove disincentives for primary carers, particularly mothers, to participate in the workforce”.
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Finally, Speers asked Fletcher what he thinks of the Business Council of Australia’s decision to call for a 46-50% emissions reduction target by 2030. BCA says that they have modelling that this would boost jobs and growth. For context, the BCA previously said that a 45% emissions target by 2030 would wreck the economy.
Fletcher:
The government’s position is very clear. We’re carefully working through, as the prime minister has said, in a methodical fashion through cabinet and party room engaging across both the Liberal and National parties. But let’s be clear – 20% down on emissions compared to 2005. So our target was 26% to 28%. That was the target we committed to. We’ve already arrived at a 20% reduction on our 2005 levels. We’ve got a clear way forward involving technology, not taxes.
Speers:
You’re still working on a plan, by the sounds of it. The Business Council’s plan to get there, it says, would be enhancing what’s called ‘the safeguards mechanism’. I see Angus Taylor, the minister, has said this would be like a carbon tax. Do you agree? Does that suggest we already have a carbon tax?
Fletcher:
Look, I will leave it to Angus, as the responsible minister...
Speers:
Does that mean you don’t agree with him?
Fletcher:
No – what I mean is that the person who speaks for the Coalition about the technical features of any proposal is the responsible minister, the extremely capable, responsible minister, Angus Taylor. I’ll leave it to him to make those comments. I can’t usefully add to them. What I can say is we’re working methodically through to the plan that we are implementing. It needs to be a good outcome for Australia, a good outcome for our regions and a good outcome for the environment.
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Speers pivoted from asking communications minister Paul Fletcher about holding social media companies to account to holding the federal government to account.
There was a lot of back and forth and at one point Fletcher referenced the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian as NSW premier as evidence of the failings of an anti-corruption authority.
Speers wanted to know why the federal government’s proposed anti-corruption commission wouldn’t be allowed to hold public hearings.
Speers:
The government’s proposed federal integrity commission wouldn’t be allowed to hold any public hearings. Why not? What’s there to hide?
Fletcher:
David, the proposed federal integrity commission would have the powers of a royal commission to deal with criminal corrupt conduct at a commonwealth level. And of course ...
Speers:
No public hearings, which is my question. Why not?
Fletcher:
It will go through an investigation process.And then, if appropriate, it will refer material to the director of public prosecutions, and then you go through an open-court process.
Speers:
This commission wouldn’t have public hearings. I mean, don’t you think voters, taxpayers, deserve to see what’s going on? I mean, we wouldn’t know about Daryl Maguire’s business dealings from his parliamentary office and kickbacks he was receiving. Don’t we need to see this stuff?
Fletcher:
I think the outcomes last week where a very popular and highly competent premier stood down highlights some of the flaws in the model. So we don’t support a model where you are presumed guilty unless you can prove your innocence.
At this point, the conversation turned into Speers pointing out that Berejiklian didn’t have to stand down and no one was presuming her guilt, and Fletcher talking about what a great premier Berejiklian was.
Speers also pointed out that the government’s proposed watchdog would only investigate criminal behaviour, and not pork-barrelling (ie spending money on certain electorates to win votes).
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David Speers has asked Fletcher whether the government’s crackdown on harmful comments on social media will extend to better protect people against racist comments and hate speech online.
Speers points out:
Your government, of course, tried to scrap Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. You were worried about protecting free speech. Now it sounds like you want to go in the other direction and make it harder to say things that can be considered racist.
Fletcher:
The test, David, will be the impact on the individual. If a reasonable person would consider that it was intended to harm and if it’s menacing, harassing or offensive – those words, by the way, taken from an existing provision in the criminal code dealing with online content. So what we’re doing is leaning in on this issue and all of the issues that arise in relation to online safety. Our government’s taken a leadership position on this since we came to government. The Australian eSafety Commissioner, set up in 2015, is world-leading ...
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Communications minister Paul Fletcher tells ABC Insiders that he agrees with the prime minister and that the government will look into whether social media companies like Twitter and Facebook can be held liable for everything posted on their platforms.
Fletcher
I agree with the prime minister, yes. We need to take ... we expect a stronger position from the platforms. For a long time, they’ve been getting away with not taking any responsibility in relation to content posted on their sites ...
Speers
To be clear, you are looking at holding Twitter and Facebook liable for everything that’s posted on these platforms?
Fletcher
Well, that is certainly one of the options that’s under consideration, amongst others could be – what is their responsibility to support a private litigant who brings action?
But let’s go to the underlying issue here. In a whole range of ways, we are cracking down on this idea that what is posted online can be posted with impunity. In our new Online Safety Act, there is now a power for our esafety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, to make an order against a platform to remove cyber abuse of Australian adults. It needs to meet a test of being content that would be regarded by a reasonable person as intended to harm, it needs to be menacing, harassing or offensive. We’ve set a test to balance the freedom-of-speech issues.
Under the Online Safety Act, the esafety commissioner will have the power to require that a platform removes that material. She’ll also have the power to go after the troll who posted it. And she’s got new powers to require the platforms to provide the identity – all identity information they have. But we want to look at a broader range of issues here, David.
Updated
Communications minister Paul Fletcher is speaking on ABC Insiders now.
David Speers has started by asking him about the prime minister’s comments this week against anonymous online trolls who write defamatory content online.
Morrison spoke out on the issue after deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce’s daughter became the subject of discredited online rumours this week.
Morrison indicated that the government could be seeking to regulate social media companies to make them liable for defamatory comments from anonymous trolls.
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Victoria’s 1,890 new coronavirus cases is a slight drop on yesterday’s record of 1,965.
But in better news, another 39,861 Covid-19 vaccines were administered.
Latest data from the Department of Health states that 85.19% of Victorians over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 57.67% are fully vaccinated.
Victoria records 1,890 new cases and five deaths
Reported yesterday: 1,890 new local cases and 0 cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 9, 2021
- 39,861 vaccines administered
- 74,105 test results received
- Sadly, 5 people with COVID-19 have died
More later: https://t.co/OCCFTAchah#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/6U7hNSXiCG
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission is investigating whether Victorian MPs or their staff misused public funds after allegations were made about wholesale branch stacking within the Labor party.
Public hearings will start on Monday as part of the investigation Operation Watts.
Our reporter Nino Bucci explains what we can expect from the public hearings, and what this mean’s for Daniel Andrews and his government:
Let’s talk about why NSW reopening tomorrow is so significant.
Of course, it is significant for fully vaccinated residents who have spent the last few months living with restrictions.
But it’s also the first time that a state is easing such restrictions and reopening while Covid-19 case numbers are still high.
NSW is the first state in Australia to attempt to “live with” the virus in the community, relying on vaccination rates to protect citizens and prevent the health system from becoming overwhelmed.
So yes, an important day for NSW’s vaccinated residents. But an important day for those living in other states and territories who will be looking to see whether it is possible to live with the virus safely.
Updated
Let’s take a look at some of yesterday’s biggest stories:
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Victoria reported a record number of daily cases, with 1,965 new cases and five deaths.
- The Victorian state government announced that secondary close contacts will no longer be required to isolate, meaning some 16,000 people could be released from isolation this weekend.
- A Virgin Australia cabin crew member tested positive to Covid-19. They were infectious for three days while travelling on six flights.
- New South Wales recorded 580 new locally acquired cases and 11 deaths. Premier Dominic Perrottet acknowledged cases are likely to go up again after reopening on Monday.
- NSW also reached the 90% first-dose milestone for those aged 16 and over, with second doses currently standing at 72.8%.
- The ACT recorded 25 new cases as its vaccine uptake continued to climb.
- South Australia recorded one new case in a Victorian truck driver.
Updated
Good morning! It’s Justine Landis-Hanley here to bring you the headlines today, Sunday 10 October.
Vaccinated residents in NSW are gearing up for restrictions to ease tomorrow, after the state hit the 70% fully vaccinated target for people over the age of 16 this week.
From Monday, up to 10 vaccinated people will be allowed to gather indoors and 30 outdoors. Shops, hairdressers and restaurants will be allowed to reopen, with capacity limits. And up to 100 people will be allowed to attend weddings and funerals.
Meanwhile, we are waiting for Victoria to release today’s Covid-19 case numbers, as the state reported a record of almost 2,000 local infections yesterday.
