And that’s us for today, Friday 2 July. Enjoy your weekend (even if you’re locked down). Thanks for reading.
Interesting little story from AAP about people dodging Covid tests:
One-in-two Australians who had cold and flu-like symptoms in the past six months decided not to get a Covid-19 test, research from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia reveals.
Association president Michael Dray said it was concerning only 45 per cent of respondents with symptoms got tested as the Delta variant of the virus continues to spread across the country, causing lockdowns in some states.
“In order to successfully get on top of the current outbreaks in Australia, we strongly advise anyone to be tested if they have cold and flu-like symptoms, or if they have attended any of the venues currently listed,” Dr Dray said.
“Until the community is fully vaccinated, high levels of testing remains the best way to manage Covid-19, allowing public health officials to contact trace effectively.”
About 20.8m tests have been conducted in Australia since the pandemic began.
The June research found 93 per cent of those surveyed believed pathology played a vital role within the Australian medical profession.
A record number of people were tested in NSW, which currently has the most Covid-19 cases, in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday with more than 73,000 people getting tested.
This surpasses the state’s previous record of 69,000 during the Northern Beaches cluster in December.
Updated
The department of defence have issued a rather strange media release about a “regional quadrilateral exercise” that will take place tomorrow in Sydney involving a “Covid-safe visit from three foreign warships”.
It says the Japanese, South Korean and American ships will be taking place in exercise Pacific Vanguard.
Defence said the three foreign warships would berth at Garden Island for a contactless port visit ahead of the exercise.
It is planned they will enter Sydney Heads about 7am.
Defence said that foreign personnel in JS Makinami, ROKS Wang Geon and USS Rafael Peralta will be able to access a controlled quarantine area beside their ships, but will have no interaction with Australian personnel.
Deputy Commander Australian Fleet, Commodore Jonathan Earley said:
We are pleased to welcome our friends from partner nations for a contactless, Covid-safe visit to Sydney.
However, the need to abide by NSW restrictions means the crews will only experience Sydney from their ships.
Personnel will only step ashore to resupply their ships from the controlled quarantine zone on the wharf or for essential medical reasons, in accordance with NSW government guidelines.
While foreign personnel will not have shore leave, our Navies will interact at sea during Exercise Pacific Vanguard, which takes place off Australia’s east coast next week. It is important that we continue to take advantage of multinational training opportunities during the pandemic, so we can work together as a combined force to protect our region in an increasingly complex strategic environment.
The three foreign ships will return to Garden Island from 10-13 July after the exercise concludes.
Updated
Oh look, Annastacia Palaszczuk is fully vaccinated.
Second jab done ☑️ and now @StirlHinchliffe and I are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 💪🙌 #covid19 pic.twitter.com/p5c1VhMHJJ
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 2, 2021
Updated
AAP has an update on one of my favourite court cases: the Hells Angels suing a website for trademark infringement.
The Hells Angels are set to take their fight with an online marketplace over trademark infringements to court again later this month.
The Australian arm of the bikie organisation and website Redbubble – which allows users to upload artwork that can be printed on items like T-shirts, coasters and face-masks – were represented in the federal court in Brisbane on Friday.
The matter is listed for a two-day hearing in the same court from 12 July.
The trial is set to hear from witnesses, including some in the US, on its first day.
The bikie organisation has been locked in legal battles with the website since 2015.
In this matter, the Hells Angels claim Gavin Hansen ordered items like a T-shirt, coasters and a face mask bearing the trademarked flying skull logo through the website.
Hansen is the trademark officer of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation “whose tasks include investigating potentially infringing uses of registered trademarks”, according to court documents.
The statement of claim refers to “trap purchases” made in an earlier proceeding that led to two trademark infringements.
In this case trap purchases made from the website in May, October and November last year were the subject of the proceedings.
With regard to the products ordered in some examples provided by Hells Angels, Redbubble claims the design was only used on products bought by Hansen, while one was on products bought only by Hansen and Kamma Lyhne, the wife of the Hells Angels’ director and secretary since 2013.
Redbubble says it removed some contested designs months before the Hells Angels began proceedings and that the bikie organisation had not complained about or provided notice of the designs so they could be removed from public view.
The website received $133.65 from Hansen and Lyhne’s purchases, according to defence documents.
Redbubble also claims it had invited the Hells Angels organisation on four occasions to help refine its “proactive moderation screening criteria which would assist with preventing the sale of infringing artworks on the Redbubble website”, but had received no response.
Redbubble claims the Hells Angels organisation is not entitled to any relief.
In a 2019 judgment the court found the Hells Angels’ copyright case had failed, but a trademark infringement claim was made out for a number of T-shirt designs advertised on the Redbubble site.
The highest selling T-shirt that included the designs sold just two units while one example featuring a design did not sell, according to the judgment.
The Hells Angels were awarded $5,000 in nominal damages.
Updated
Scott Morrison is known as a great admirer of Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. But Morrison channelled the spirit of the other Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, when he strode back into the prime minister’s courtyard on Friday after his brief spell in quarantine, and declared there was a “new deal”.
I can justify posting this as Covid-19 news because there will still be a fair proportion of you who are in lockdown when these games are on:
Dan Andrews says he is happy to be back (assuming this pun was not intended).
It's been a big first week.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) July 2, 2021
But I love this job, and I love this state. And I'm so happy to be back. pic.twitter.com/yTCygaNgwL
AAP is reporting that the Tasmanian opposition leader is under mounting pressure to resign after he was accused of sexual harassment.
Pressure is mounting on Tasmania’s Labor opposition leader David O’Byrne to stand down permanently after he was accused of sexually harassing a woman more than a decade ago.
Mr O’Byrne, who was only elected to the role a fortnight ago, stepped aside earlier this week pending the outcome of an internal Labor party investigation.
It is alleged he sent inappropriate texts to a junior employee and kissed her twice without consent when he worked for the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union.
Mr O’Byrne has issued a public apology saying he thought at the time the interactions were consensual but now understands they were not.
Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O’Connor has said Mr O’Byrne’s position as opposition leader is no longer tenable.
Independent lower house MP Kristie Johnston went one step further on Friday.
“Mr O’Byrne has admitted the conduct. His position is untenable and he must resign from parliament,” she said in a statement.
“I call on the parliamentary Labor Party to do the right thing and speak out condemning his behaviour and act to support the complainant.
“Women must feel safe to raise these allegations, they must be supported, and they deserve to see that this behaviour is not tolerated.”
The allegations against Mr O’Byrne date back to 2007 and 2008.
Ms O’Connor told parliament that state Labor MP Ella Haddad knew about the allegations at the time.
Ms Haddad released a statement to the Mercury newspaper saying the woman had told her about experiences she had while working at the union but asked her not to share the information.
“It is every woman’s right to decide if and when they come forward with allegations themselves,” Ms Haddad said.
Liberal Premier Peter Gutwein, whose party was returned for a record third term at the May 1 poll, said Labor had some “serious matters” in front of it.
Mr Gutwein was criticised for standing by candidate Adam Brooks during the election campaign after he was accused by two women of catfishing them online. Brooks has denied the accusations.
Mr Brooks was elected in the northwest but stood down shortly before polls were declared after revealing to the premier he was facing weapons charges in Queensland.
An independent review into Tasmania’s parliamentary workplace was called for in May by upper house member Meg Webb.
Mr Gutwein revealed state Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Sarah Bolt would lead the review, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Terms of reference are likely to be finalised next week, he said.
Updated
Just a little more detail on that new case of Covid-19 detected in Queensland.
AAP reports that the man, in his 50s, was in the community for two days while potentially infectious.
Scott Morrison on the four-phase plan (not be confused with Mark McGowan’s three sensible steps):
Australia is charting a pathway out of COVID-19 that will get us to the other side and see life gradually return to normal. A four-phase plan was agreed in principle at today’s National Cabinet by all the states and territories. Read more: https://t.co/RdDCOEo7QZ
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) July 2, 2021
Updated
Another Covid-19 case detected in Queensland
Queensland authorities have confirmed a Covid case has been detected on the Sunshine coast.
A lockdown on the Sunshine coast and many other parts of the state is still scheduled to lift at 6pm. It will remain in place only in Brisbane and the Moreton Bay local government areas.
The latest case is a man who works at the Sippy Downs campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast and was at work on 28 and 29 June.
The Queensland health minister, Yvette D’ath, says he had minimal contact with others at work, so it will not be listed as a contact-tracing site.
While this case is not causing near as much concern as the two announced on Friday morning – a mother and daughter from Carindale, who travelled extensively around the city – it represents another separate outbreak.
Queensland health authorities are now trying to contain at least seven outbreaks of Covid within the community.
Updated
One last post on comments from Victorian National deputy leader Steph Ryan about how they fit within the federal party. She agreed with comments from Darren Chester, who was dumped by Barnaby Joyce from cabinet this week, who said the party needed to worry more about 2050 than 1950.
Asked about Joyce and fellow Nationals MP Matt Canavan’s apparent predisposition to coal mining, Ryan says:
Certainly from a Victorian perspective, and we do have some coalmining communities in the Latrobe Valley, but we also understand that farmers and rural communities see the challenges of climate change and they want us to do more about it.
There are opportunities that can come with that, and that’s what I’m saying. We want to be part of those opportunities. So yes, I do think that the narrative needs to change. The discussion needs to change. We need to be sensible in how we approach those discussions and be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
Victoria Nationals deputy leader: Barnaby says he has changed and it's up to him to prove that
Steph Ryan says on the ABC that women have told her they are concerned that Barnaby Joyce has returned to the leadership of the National party.
Yes, some have, certainly, to me, there’s no doubt about that. Others have welcomed his return. And again it depends sometimes, I think, in what part of Australia you are from.
I think, you know, here in Victoria, we really strive as a party to be the sensible centre, and to represent the views of our constituents and, you know ... I think Michael McCormack was doing a really good job, he really delivered in a big way in regional infrastructure for us and I was disappointed to see him go but Barnaby is there and he has said he has changed so it’s up to him to prove that point now to the Australian people.
Updated
Steph Ryan, the deputy leader of the Victorian Nationals party, is speaking to the ABC about that push to disaffiliate from the national body because of its position on climate change.
The plan didn’t get up, but Ryan is keen to emphasise the Victorian Nationals support a move to zero net carbon emissions.
From our perspective, the Victorian Nationals want to see sensible and constructive conversations around the issues that impact our voters and our electorates.
Climate change is obviously a big one of those. It is actually the policy of the Victorian party to move towards zero net emissions and to support our farmers and our communities to do that. So what we want to see, as I said, are sensible, constructive discussions around those issues that are calm and considered and lead towards building consensus, rather than dividing people.
NSW health issues warning over substances linked to five deaths in Victoria
NSW health is warning that a powerful cocktail of drugs linked to five deaths in Victoria has been found in substances sold as MDMA powder in Sydney.
Several people were transported to hospital in Sydney last week after taking the substance, which contained 25C-NBOMe and 4-fluoroamphetamine.
The same two drugs were found by a coroner to have been connected to deaths in Victoria.
NSW poisons information centre medical director Dr Darren Roberts said the substances were causing rapid and severe adverse effects among people who have taken them.
This NBOMe group of drugs is more toxic and can cause more severe adverse reactions than other hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD. The hallucinations and stimulant effects of 25C-NBOMe can make people lose a sense of reality, making them prone to violence, accidents and injury. Using 25C-NBOMe with other drugs, such as stimulants increases the risk of harm.
These drugs are potent so even a small amount is associated with a risk of overdose and there have been multiple reports of deaths from overdose and accidents in Australia over the past decade.
NSW health says those who have taken a drug and are experiencing unexpected symptoms should call triple zero immediately. The NSW Poisons Information Centre can also be contacted on 13 11 26, at any time 24/7.
Updated
Not sure what those in Western Australia would think about ABC news channel cutting away from Mark McGowan’s live press conference so two ABC presenters could instead discuss Scott Morrison’s press conference from a few hours ago.
Updated
If you’re talking about the end of lockdown in WA, you’re talking about footy.
WA's Lockdown is over.
— Ryan Daniels (@FootyRhino) July 2, 2021
50 percent capacity for @OptusStadium next weekend, could increase to 100% by July 12 if all goes to plan.
McGowan is using the word “sensible” quite a lot. ABC have cut away. I don’t think these two things are linked.
McGowan is running through a whole lot of restrictions for the next three days. It is part of a nine-day plan to get back to normal by 12 July, he says.
Twenty guest limit at weddings and funerals, McGowan says, for the next three days.
There will be three days of the first step, which will require masks outdoors (as well as indoors, obviously). Private gatherings of up to 10 indoors and outdoors. Public venues can reopen. The 4 sq-metre rule in place, with a 20 patron limit.
Updated
Lockdown to end in Perth and Peel tonight
McGowan says that after midnight they will take “three safe sensible” steps to returning to normal. But lockdown is over.
WA records one new Covid-19 case
McGowan says the case is a 21-year-old woman who had twice tested negative, but returned a positive case yesterday. She had been in quarantine, and McGowan believes she had not been in the community while infectious.
Nice way to start: “We have a fair bit to cover today. Please bear with me.”
Here is WA premier Mark McGowan.
Updated
Former Sydney teacher Chris Dawson who’s accused of murdering his wife almost four decades ago is set to face a jury trial in May.
His case was listed for arraignment in the NSW supreme court on Friday when internet problems meant all parties had to dial in by phone.
His solicitor Greg Walsh said at this stage his instructions were for a jury trial, but he referred to difficulties in consulting his client about the prospect of applying for a judge-alone trial.
“The accused in recent times has had two serious falls and suffered some serious physical injuries and also is suffering from depression,” Walsh said.
Dawson, 72, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife, Lynette Dawson, at Bayview in Sydney’s north on or about 8 January 1982.
Justice Robert Allan Hulme set the trial down for 9 May, noting the estimated length was from six to eight weeks.
The situation would be re-assessed if Walsh received instructions to apply for a judge-alone trial.
In June, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed his bid to permanently stop the criminal proceedings due to pre-trial publicity concerns.
He had argued his chances for a fair trial were irreparably damaged by extensive pre-trial publicity including a podcast.
The passage of time between his wife’s alleged murder in January 1982 and his trial also rendered any trial necessarily unfair, he argued.
The NSW supreme court in September 2020 granted a nine-month stay but denied Dawson’s bid to permanently halt proceedings.
Dawson appealed that decision to the Court of Criminal Appeal, which said permanent stays should be reserved for the “most extreme cases”.
That occurred where a trial judge could do nothing during the trial to relieve the unfairness, the appeal court said in a written summary.
Updated
Health minister Greg Hunt has confirmed an indemnity scheme has been established to support “increased vaccination uptake”.
Here is the statement just released by Hunt’s office:
The Morrison government is establishing a Covid-19 Vaccine Claim Scheme to provide further assurance and confidence to patients and health professionals in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
The creation of a fit-for-purpose Covid-19 vaccine medical indemnity scheme will support increased vaccination uptake by assuring Australians that health professionals, including GPs, nurses and pharmacists administering Covid vaccines as part of the commonwealth vaccination program have appropriate indemnity coverage.
In the event someone suffers a significant adverse reaction, causing injury and economic loss because of vaccination, the Scheme will help guide potential claimants through a no fault claims process scheme.
Proven claims will be able to receive appropriate compensation without the need of formal court processes. Potential claimants accessing the scheme will still have the option of pursuing action through a court judgement if that is their preference.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme will be backdated to the start of the national vaccine rollout – 22 February 2021 – and will be linked to the Human Biosecurity Emergency Period under the Biosecurity Act 2015.
The scheme will support claims made against privately practising health professionals who administer a Covid-19 vaccine approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
This scheme responds to calls from peak bodies including the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and medical indemnity insurers, for extended medical indemnity coverage for health professionals and their patients given the unique nature of the pandemic and response.
Details of the Covid-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme will be finalised in consultation with peak bodies, indemnity insurers, patient groups and states and territories.
To further support the choice of people considering their vaccine options, from 29 June the government is extending two Medicare items that allow GPs and other medical practitioners to provide in-depth clinical assessments of a patient’s individual health risks and benefits. Already available for patients aged 50 years and over, these Medicare items will be available for all patients, regardless of age.
Updated
Sydney’s lockdown has forced prominent shows including Hamilton and Come From Away to stand down their casts and crews without pay. Live Performance Australia is calling for a business interruption fund to cover the performing arts.
If you want more detail on the four-phase pandemic exit plan, here it is (BYO microscope):
Here is the national cabinet’s four-stage plan out of Covid-19, as announced by Scott Morrison today. @theheraldsun #auspol #springst pic.twitter.com/KhdEcObYME
— Tom Minear (@tminear) July 2, 2021
Updated
Had to double-check that this AAP story about Tasmania mandating QR code check-in was actually published today, and not 12 months ago.
Tasmania will tighten coronavirus check-in measures at businesses and other venues and maintain a cautious approach to easing border restrictions.
From Wednesday, people aged over 16 will be required to check in at venues regardless of the amount of time they spend there.
Premier Peter Gutwein announced new locations, including supermarkets, accommodation, education settings and aged care facilities, will be required to phase-in QR code check-in throughout July.
“What we’ve seen occur across the country, with the Delta variant especially, there are times there have been minimal brush-past contact which has led to the transmission of the virus,” Gutwein said.
Tasmania has no active Covid-19 cases and has been largely free of the virus since a deadly outbreak in the northwest at the beginning of the pandemic.
As some mainland states ease lockdown measures, Gutwein said Tasmania would keep a cautious approach to its borders.
He said any changes with Queensland, which has removed lockdown requirements for some regions, aren’t likely until next week.
Tasmania is closed to south-east Queensland, as well as Townsville, a host of local government areas in NSW including Sydney, as well as Perth and Darwin.
Earlier this week, Gutwein urged Tasmanians to reconsider their need to travel interstate.
Updated
We’re expecting to hear from WA premier Mark McGowan in about 40 minutes.
Updated
At the National Press Club, the Labor leader Anthony Albanese delivered a speech about the push towards full employment, covered on the blog earlier today.
In questions and answers, Albanese was cagey about whether jobs would be achieved through higher spending. Asked if he would commit not to attempt to outflank the government by promising greater fiscal discipline, Albanese replied Labor would have “appropriate fiscal policies for the times”.
He said:
At the next election, we will have all of our expenditure and our revenue measures all fully on display for all to see well before the election. But there are times when fiscal policy is useful in terms of stimulating the economy. But in the long run as well, you do have to recognise that debt does have to be repaid. And this government and the [intergenerational] report shows just red ink off into the never-never. And I remind viewers that this government was elected in 2013 promising a surplus in its first year and every year thereafter, and that they had doubled the debt prior to the pandemic. Doubled the debt. With nothing to show for it. And some of the waste that’s there, we certainly can cut back on.
Albanese also spoke about the auditor general’s scathing report into the Coalition’s commuter car park fund, which the Labor leader derided as “pork and ride”.
Asked if Labor would abolish discretionary programs and prevent ministers overriding their department’s recommendations for grants, Albanese delivered a lengthy reply about delivering projects recommended by Infrastructure Australia and local councils in its last term of government, rather than looking to the electoral map.
Pressed if this meant preventing ministerial intervention, Albanese replied:
Governments make decisions, and of course ministers will make decisions. But it’s based upon a process which is there. We are in a democracy. And governments make decisions. And they’re elected to do so. The problem here is there’s no integrity in the attitude of this government.
Updated
Here’s some video from earlier today of prime minister Scott Morrison being asked by Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst about his position towards AstraZeneca:
The latest edition of Weekly Beast covers Chris Kenny doing a Peta Credlin, among other things:
Human Rights Watch has issued a brief statement on the decision announced earlier today to cut international arrivals into Australia.
Researcher Sophie McNeill said:
This reduction in international arrivals is devastating news for the more than 34,000 Australian still stranded overseas and their families. Australia has heavily restricted entry of its own citizens in a way that no other democratic nation has. But we need to remember that all Australians have a right of return to their own country. Any limitations on that right due to public health grounds should be necessary and proportionate. At this stage of the pandemic, the Australian government needs to prioritise finding more ways to safely quarantine Australians returning from overseas, so these stranded Australians, particularly children and other vulnerable people, can safely return home as soon as possible.
With that, I’ll hand you over to Nino Bucci who will guide you through the rest of the afternoon.
The new members of the Nationals front bench are being sworn in right now.
The ministers are swearing in via Zoom.
Keith Pitt, who kept responsibility for water resources but his seat in cabinet, had a classic pandemic mishap during his swearing in.
“Minister you’re on mute,” governor general David Hurley told him.
Updated
The national president of the Community and Public Sector Union has given notice that it will file a dispute with the national Work Health & Safety regulator over claims that government workers are being unnecessarily forced to work in the office during lockdowns.
In a statement on Friday the CPSU national president Alistair Waters said the union had received reports of managers “ignoring lockdown and working from home orders” across a number of cities including Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Darwin and in the most recent Melbourne lockdown.
The CPSU alleges workers are being forced to “break lockdown orders and attend the office to perform non-customer facing roles, work from the office when they have the capacity to work from home and being told to use their own leave when identified as a close contact.”
The CPSU says it plans to lodge a dispute with ComCare – the regulator – under national Workplace Health and Safety laws to force Services Australia “to protect the safety of its workers while continuing to provide services to the community in these dangerous circumstances and to force a national rollout of clear standards for lockdowns.”
Services Australia includes Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support workers.
Waters said:
Services Australia needs to take the safety of their staff and the community seriously. This is not our first lockdown; it is indefensible for the agency not to have a clear contingency plan for local outbreaks. It is allowing local managers to wilfully and dangerously ignore lockdown orders.
There are dozens of sites and around 10,000 Services Australia workers in lockdown areas right now, the flow on effect of getting this wrong could be devastating, not just for the workers but their communities.
We have sites where workers are being told to not even bother asking to work from home, in the middle of a lockdown where the health advice is to work from home. Workers get that the work they do is essential, but when they can do that work from home they should be working from home. It’s not good enough, and Services Australia needs to explain why they think they are above the national and state health advice.
Updated
The total of this new cap is roughly what New South Wales has been doing on its own for much of the pandemic.
#BREAKING commercial international arrivals to Australia reduced by 50 per cent due to “increased risks of the Delta strain” of Covid-19.
— Clare Armstrong (@ByClare) July 2, 2021
NEW CAPS:
Sydney: 1,505
Perth: 265
Adelaide: 265
Melbourne: 500
Brisbane: 500 (plus 150 surge capacity)
Total: 3,035
Just returning briefly to Scott Morrison’s defence of his comments on Monday night about AstraZeneca access for under-40s: readers will recall that states and GPs reported being blindsided by the remarks.
But Morrison said his remarks to media on Monday were in line with Atagi advice that Pfizer is preferred for under-60s, but that did not preclude them from AstraZeneca if they spoke to their doctor about it. He also said the federal government had made a decision “to extend the MBS [Medicare Benefits Schedule] item to enable doctors to talk to their patients”.
“That’s what we did. And we provided the public indemnity to support them to do that as well. So I hope that clears up the record.”
To date the MBS items for vaccine counselling have only applied to patients aged over 50. On Tuesday, after public scrutiny of Morrison’s comments, the health minister, Greg Hunt, told reporters the government would be making a “change to the Medicare item, which will now allow over the coming days for everybody under 50 also to seek a vaccine consultation if they so desire”.
The timing of that change remains unclear. The Royal Australian College of GPs reported that a senior federal health department official told GPs this week that the department was reviewing the existing cutoff for the vaccine counselling MBS item.
“At the moment those items are restricted for patients who are 50 years and over, but they’re currently being reviewed,” a health department first assistant secretary, Dr Lucas de Toca, reportedly said. “We expect that to be finalised within days on whether we need to change them to expand that suitability.”
As they say in the classics: watch this space.
Updated
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is speaking at the National Press Club.
Anthony Albanese backs the cut in hotel quaro caps by 50%. Makes sense, as it was Labor premiers in Qld, Vic and WA pushing it. #auspol #npc
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) July 2, 2021
I will now hand over to my colleague, Michael McGowan, who will take you through the next part of the day.
From the Victorian press conference earlier, the state Labor government not really buying the Victorian Nationals wanting to split from the federal branch over climate change.
A curve ball question. Do you think the Victorian Nationals are serious about climate change?
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) July 2, 2021
Foley: "'Victorian Nationals' and 'serious about climate change' don't seem to sit easily in the same sentence to me. So no."
Mask rules will remain in place in Darwin and Alice Springs for the next week in places where people cannot social distance, such as in supermarkets or shops. They will not be required in the office, or sitting down to eat at restaurants or cafes.
Michael Gunner said high-risk locations such as indoor gyms and markets will remain closed for the next week. Close-contact sport will also not be able to go ahead.
Updated
NT lockdowns to end at 1pm today
Darwin will come out of lockdown at 1pm today, Territory time (1:30pm AEST).
Alice Springs’ lockdown will end, earlier than expected, at 1pm today (1:30pm AEST).
The chief minister Michael Gunner said more than 2,600 Territorians were tested yesterday, and more than 2,400 test results have come back negative.
But Gunner said the Northern Territory was “still in a dangerous period”.
There was just one new case of Covid-19 recorded in the NT in the 24 hours to Friday morning – a worker from the Tanami mine cluster, who arrived in Darwin on 25 June and was transferred to Howard Springs quarantine the next day.
His case was recorded after he confessed to NT Health he’d made a brief trip to a Darwin corner shop, in defiance of health directions, when he should have been in self-isolation.
Updated
Security guards brought in at vaccination hubs in Victoria
The Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, said security guards and conditions of entry posters had been posted at vaccination hubs in Melbourne in response to protests and disruptions by anti-vaxxers, who he alleged have threatened and abused healthcare staff.
In a press conference in Melbourne this morning, Foley said he had heard reports of “verbal abuse, racist remarks, spitting and other disgusting behaviour” directed at healthcare workers and staff manning the vaccine hotline. That included an anti-vax protester entering the Cranbourne vaccine hub this morning.
He said police would be called against protesters, to ensure “these anti-science, anti-evidence, dangerous fanatics are held to account”.
“You aren’t allowed to come in and abuse our health professionals. If you want to have your tin pot theories, fine. Keep them to yourself and keep them out of our healthcare services.”
Foley said that “violence and physical and verbal threats to our healthcare workers and call centre staff is not acceptable”.
“No matter what whacky theory you might think is real, you are not entitled to abuse our healthcare staff.”
He thanked everyone who had come forward to get a first or second shot of a vaccine this week. Some 49,000 second doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines were administered this week. Another 50,000 second doses of Pfizer, and 35,000 first doses, have been booked for next week.
There are now just eight active cases in Victoria that are linked to locally acquired outbreaks, after another day of no new local cases today.
Foley said:
“There’s been a lot going on around the nation this week when it comes to covid and Victoria’s lucky position is not luck, it has been hard worked, hard earned, by the Victorian public health team. And whilst there has been some confusion around the vaccines I understand that is an issue that has been discussed by national cabinet today.”
The Victorian chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, said he did not believe there were “huge numbers” of people under 40 coming forward to try to get the AstraZeneca vaccine in Victoria, but said that opportunity remained for people who had discussed the risks with their GP and felt it was right for them. Unlike his Queensland counterpart, Sutton said people should be allowed to make an informed choice.
“It does relate to your individual circumstances. There may be individuals who know they are in a family with vulnerable individuals, who want to get the AstraZeneca shot to protect others, and I think that’s reasonable.”
He stressed the health advice on the risks had not changed, despite the prime minister’s comments.
Updated
Summary of press conference
So these are the big takeaways from the prime minister’s press conference:
- The numbers of international arrivals Australia will be accepting through quarantine will be reduced from 6,070 a week to 3,035 until at least towards the end of this year, in response to the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19. Caps will be reduced by 14 July.
- National cabinet has agreed on four phases out of the pandemic. We are currently in the first phase, in which lockdowns will be used only as a last resort, and trials of alternative quarantine systems will be conducted.
- We will not get to phase two until everyone has access to the vaccine, and an as-yet undecided target is reached on vaccinations.
- Restrictions will be eased for vaccinated residents in phase two.
- Phase three will mean no more lockdowns, and ease of travel for vaccinated residents.
- Phase four is back to normal.
- Australia will reach 8m doses of the vaccine administered today.
- The prime minister will be swearing in Nationals ministers in Canberra, then returning home to locked-down Sydney.
Updated
Morrison wraps up the press conference by summing up the “new deal” from national cabinet:
The good news is there’s a new deal for Australians and we look forward to working with Australians over the course of the next six months to realise the benefits of that deal for those Australians and their everyday lives.
But to everybody in Sydney at the moment, and other parts of the country that are affected by these restrictions, I will be going back into those in Sydney to see my family. I haven’t seen them for about a month. And joining them there. But to all of us, we will get through this.
What the national cabinet has demonstrated today, from time to time, we’ll have a disagreement. It’s always talked up before any meetings, but, you know what? We get in the room and we get it done.
Updated
Morrison says the Delta variant is to blame for the reduction of international arrival caps, not hotel quarantine failures. It was a practical decision:
It’s about the Delta variant. It’s simple. The Delta strain is more contagious and so we’re seeking to take precautionary steps to overall reduce the risk. Infection rates in quarantine are 1%. 99% of people coming in don’t present with Covid or have infection. We’ve 26 breaches – some of which don’t include hotel quarantine, a bit more than half of those – around which half a dozen have resulted in community outbreaks. That’s of 380,000 passengers coming through.
Updated
Morrison is asked whether he would understand Australians “not holding their breath” about this new plan given the failures of the vaccine rollout so far.
The prime minister acknowledges issues in the first six months of the vaccine rollout, but says going forward it will be about demonstrating achievements:
This has been a very challenging process. And there’s been many unknowns in dealing with Covid. And our government has never been short of ambition when it comes to what we have tried to achieve in responding to Covid-19.
Given that Australia can speak of having saved 30,000 lives, and Australia can speak of having put one million people back to work over the course of the pandemic, and we had bold ambitions for that, and we achieved them, but I would readily endorse the view we had challenges with the vaccination program over the first six months.
We’re really starting to hit our straps in June. We were hit by the impacts of Atagi advice. And as you know, the Atagi advice is provided independently of government. The government doesn’t direct Atagi, whether it’s 50, 60, when they may change those views. I know that’s caused some concern in the community about how that advice has changed. That’s a matter for Atagi. And that’s of course impacted on the vaccination rollout.
Equally, early on, the inability of our suppliers to provide those early doses of AstraZeneca impeded those early weeks of the vaccination program. Happily concede those points as well. But when you have setbacks, you don’t dwell on them. You understand what happened. You learn from them. You fix the program. And you get on with it.
Updated
How quickly will we get to “stage four”, which is back to normal?
Morrison says that has not yet been decided, but the first stage will be everyone getting access to a vaccine, which he says can be achieved by the end of this year:
Stage four will be a function, as is stage three and stage two, of those vaccination targets that have to be set by the modelling. I want to make this point very clearly, to have this is an evidence led process, what matters is the hurdle you have to clear and once we set that – what that hurdle is, based on the work we’re doing with Lt Gen Frewen – we’ll be in a better position to have a view when we may be able to achieve that. Lt Gen Frewen and I have said to you today that we believe we’ll be in a position by the end of the year to have provided every Australian who wants a vaccine to be able to have received one. We believe we can achieve that.
He wouldn’t say whether we would move to stage two this year, because they haven’t decided on the vaccination rate once everyone can access a vaccine:
If Australians respond to that, then I believe that we would be in a position to meet a particular target. At this stage, it’s hard to give you a definitive answer because we haven’t set what that target is. We would seek to do that, I hope over the course of the next month, and I think that will give us a better indication.
Updated
PM has no regrets for AstraZeneca comments
In response to a question from my colleague, Daniel Hurst, the prime minister says he does not regret his comments after national cabinet on Monday that led to so much confusion this week over people under 40 being able to get an AstraZeneca jab. Morrison says:
I certainly don’t have any issue with what I said about that. It was completely consistent with the medical advice. I note that some 120,000 Australians under the age of 40 have had the AstraZeneca vaccine. The TGA has approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for those aged 18 and above.
Everything I have said on this is completely consistent with the medical advice that is there. People should talk to their doctor. That’s what I’m urging them to do.
Morrison denied he made it sound like it was a national cabinet decision, despite being mentioned at the press conference after national cabinet:
On Monday, what I announced was that federal government, the federal government, I never indicated it was a national cabinet decision, I said it was a decision that was noted because it was a decision taken by the commonwealth government. And that was to extend the MBS item to enable doctors to talk to their patients.
That’s what we did. And we provided the public indemnity to support them to do that as well. So I hope that clears up the record.
Updated
Morrison says the reduction in international arrivals cap will be finalised by 14 July, but he says some states may drop their caps earlier.
He gives a shout out to New South Wales for carrying “half the load and more of returning Australians”.
I know it’s with some regret today the New South Wales premier has agreed that across the country, as a national agreement, we have decided to do this. But that’s just an indication of their participation in what the national cabinet process is all about. So I want to thank all of those who were working in New South Wales, they’ve done an extraordinary job, even in the midst of this lockdown - they’re still taking 3,000 people a week. And I think that’s been an extraordinary effort.
Updated
The commonwealth’s head of the vaccine rollout, Lt Gen John Frewen, says 1.7 million Australians are fully vaccinated now, with 6.2 million Australians, or 30% of the population, having their first shot.
He said his initial review of the vaccine program is complete and he’s talking with the states about their plans.
Updated
Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, says there have been around 2,000 cases of Covid-19 in Australia this year, but very few hospitalisations, and just one death from a person who arrived from overseas.
He says despite the Delta variant being much more transmissible, it is not proving so far to cause more hospitalisations or deaths. He says vaccinations are working, and Australia will need to be prepared for more variants.
The Delta strain is difficult. It’s difficult to control. It’s the latest of a range of strains that we’ve heard about, the so-called variants of concern. There will be more. There will be different ones in the coming months and years. There’s no doubt about that. We need to learn how to live with those strains, learn about them, and modify our approaches as required.
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Morrison says winning against Covid-19 in the later phases will look very different to how it looks today:
Winning now means we suppress the virus as best we can, which means that from time to time, such as we’re experiencing in New South Wales, we have to go through these experiences. It is regrettable and I have every confidence, having heard further from the New South Wales premier today, they’re continuing to get on top of that.
But we’ll continue to fight on in this period, but we need – and we’ll continue to do everything we possibly can – to vaccinate the population as fast as possible. And I think the performance in the most recent June month indicates how much we’ve been able to ramp up, 1 million doses in eight days. 3.5 million doses in one month.
Australia is due to hit 8 million doses today.
Updated
The third phase would be treating Covid-19 like any other infectious disease, Morrison says:
When it is like the flu, we should treat it like the flu, and that means no lockdowns. The measures to be finalised (may include) no lockdowns, the vaccine booster program underway, exempting vaccinated residents from all domestic restrictions, abolishing caps on returning vaccinated travellers.
Allowing further increased capped entry of student economic and humanitarian visa holders, very high caps we are talking about at that point. Lifting all restrictions on out-bound travel for vaccinated persons and extending the travel bubble for unrestricted travel to new countries such as Singapore, the Pacific and potentially other candidates by the time we reach that stage.
Phase four would be the return to normal, however, there would still be pre- and post-flight testing for people arriving in Australia.
Updated
The second phase will ease restrictions on lockdowns and border restrictions on vaccinated residents.
Morrison said lockdowns would only occur “in extreme circumstances” to prevent escalating hospitalisation and fatality.
Inbound passenger caps will then be restored to previous levels for unvaccinated travellers, then larger caps for those vaccinated.
There will be capped entry of student and economic visa holders, subject to quarantine arrangements and availability, and new quarantine arrangements for vaccinated residents, based on the trials undertaken in the current stage.
Updated
Home quarantine for vaccinated returning travellers to be trialled
Morrison announces that as part of phase one of the four-phase pathway out of Covid, there will be a trial of alternative quarantine options, including home quarantine for returning vaccinated travellers.
He says South Australia has indicated it would be willing to be part of a trial.
The government will also expand its vaccination certificate, and by the end of the month it will be made available in Apple wallet and other similar products as a digital identification at the border.
Updated
International arrivals cap to be cut in half
Scott Morrison has announced the international arrivals cap will be reduced by 50%, as part of the first phase of the new plan, which is “vaccinate, prepare, and pilot”.
Morrison:
To temporarily reduce commercial inbound passenger arrivals to all major ports by 50% from current caps to reduce the pressure on quarantine facilities, due to the increased risks of the Delta strain of the virus.
While the reduction of those caps will certainly, right across the system, obviously take some pressure off, as we have observed over the course of these past 18 months, that alone does not provide any failsafe regarding any potential breaches. We have seen breaches occur, predominantly as a result of infection control procedures and human error and so on. Those issues need to continue to be strengthened, so simply reducing the caps doesn’t necessarily provide a fail safe but because of the particular virulency of the Delta strain, it is believed that is a prudent action while we remain in this suppression phase of the virus.
He says demand for the commonwealth-facilitated flights has dipped in the last few weeks, but he expects the decision today will see those seats taken up again.
Lockdowns will only be used as a last resort.
Updated
Scott Morrison announces pandemic exit plan
At the 45th meeting of national cabinet, Scott Morrison says a “new deal” has been reached for a pathway out of the Covid-19 pandemic:
The good news I have for Australians who are subject to restrictions today is we have agreed a new deal for Australians on the pathway out of Covid-19. A pathway from a pre-vaccination period which is focused on the suppression of the virus on community transmission cases to one that sees us manage Covid-19 as an infectious disease like any other in our community.
Updated
Prime minister press conference starts
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is speaking after the meeting of national cabinet this morning.
Morrison says he will return home to locked-down Sydney later today, after finishing up his 14 days of quarantine at the lodge in Canberra.
Updated
SA reports one new Covid case
South Australian premier Steven Marshall has announced the state has recorded one new locally acquired Covid-19 case today.
The new case is the fourth child of a miner, a baby, who tested positive while in a medi-hotel. The state recorded another case, a returning traveller in hotel quarantine.
The positive test means all six members of the family have tested positive with the Delta variant.
The miner, who worked at the Tanami Desert mine in the Northern Territory, arrived back in the state on Friday, and he and his family returned positive tests on Wednesday.
Marshall said he was happy with the current level of restrictions in the state, which included the mask wearing mandate and capacity limits on indoor venues.
“We think we’ve got the balance right,” Marshall said. “I think the earliest we would see in a reduction [of restrictions] would be next week.”
Updated
And on the prime minister, he is due to speak at 11.30am. I’ll hand back over to Josh Taylor to take you through that.
The other topic under discussion at national cabinet was a reduction in international arrivals, which NSW has historically not supported.
Berejiklian said:
My heart goes out to thousands of Australians who have to wait longer to come home. Secondly, and I expressed this view – I have expressed it publicly, but I have also expressed it to my colleagues, the premiers and chief ministers in other jurisdictions. Just because you reduce the number of people coming in, doesn’t mean outbreaks aren’t going to happen.
Updated
A bit of forward sizzle on announcements out of national cabinet, which will concern the vaccine program.
Berejiklian said:
The prime minister, if he hasn’t already, is about to make comments about what national cabinet determined, in terms of the way forward.
I broadly support the way forward. I think the citizens of Australia need a plan but we also need to provide time frames and details around that plan and New South Wales has, for some time, been talking about the importance of vaccination.
I think I have gone blue in the face by talking about the sense of urgency to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated, making the vaccination available to people, is the key to our freedom, absolutely. New South Wales has been extremely vocal about that for many, many months. We will continue to be but I am looking forward to us entering a new phase in how we deal with the pandemic and how we deal with living with Covid. But, also, making sure that all of our citizens have confidence that we won’t burden them, unless we absolutely have to, no matter where they are in Australia.
Updated
There will be no information today about whether Sydney’s two-week lockdown will be extended. It’s currently due to lift next week.
Kerry Chant said she was “not commenting at all about the future settings” but urged people to limit their movement as much as they could.
“The good news is that if we do uncover cases now, the exposures that people will have had in the community when they have been going around will be minimal.
“If you stay at home for the vast majority of the time, limit your grocery shopping to as brief as you can. Make sure that you’re going at times that are not busy, maintaining that social distancing, even if you haven’t been isolating, you are not posing a threat to the rest of the community. That is the basis for why the lock down measures are effective but they do rely on individuals taking those steps.”
Gladys Berejiklian said:
Our success during the lockdown depends on eight million of us. Each of us has a role to play, because every time we leave the house, we could have the virus unintentionally, not knowing that we do, or we could come into contact with somebody that does.
I think all of us have equal responsibility during this time to do the right thing and that is why it is so important for all of us to keep working together.
Please know that what we have seen to date is not unexpected. Everything we have seen to date is expected but what we would like to see, especially during the early part of next week, is that the number of people who have been exposed or have exposed the virus in the community has reduced.
Updated
Back to NSW.
Chant said the best chance for NSW coming out of lockdown was to get the daily case numbers trending down, which is reliant on people in Greater Sydney following the lockdown rules and getting tested if they have any symptoms or have been at an exposure site.
I think the community response has been amazing, but we cannot get fatigued, we have to continue to track down any signs of infection in the community.
She said it is “too early to assess the situation”.
What we need to look at is increasing numbers of people isolated for the full period, the number of unlinked chains of transmission, the settings of those cases, and the context of this case. All of these factors will influence our decision-making. influence our decision-making.
Prime minister to hold press conference at 11.30am
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will hold a press conference at 11.30am, after today’s national cabinet meeting.
That’s the same time as the Northern Territory press conference about the status of the Darwin lockdown.
We’ll bring you both as we can.
Updated
NSW deputy police commissioner, Gary Warboys, says police issued 75 infringement notices in the past 24 hours for people breaching Covid restrictions.
They included two people who left Sydney to travel to the North Coast, then Lightning Ridge, Inverell, and Dubbo, where police spoke to them at Western Plains Zoo.
And for a case at a cafe in Bowral, “the excuse for not wearing a mask was simply that they had no belief in the wearing of masks or the (public health) order, where they have no intention at all of comply with the order”.
He said:
It is not on. Police took suitable action, police went to that location as a result of community concern, it was a person in the community, a number of people in the community who alerted police to that in, and police went there and took action.
Updated
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, says 27 of the 31 new cases are linked to previously known cases, and 17 are household contacts.
Four cases are under investigation. There was also a new case of an overseas traveller.
She also corrected the number of tests conducted — it was 73,602 tests in the 24-hours to 8pm.
Of the new cases, 11 were isolated throughout their infectious period, three isolated for part of their infectious period, 12 were infectious in the community, and five are still being investigated.
Chant also listed a number of new exposure sites and said there had been a shift in exposure sites toward retail settings – shops being one of the few types of businesses still open.
She said:
We are seeing a move from hospitality venues, beauticians, hairdressers, to retail. The messages is: please don’t go out and about shopping in retail, in any setting if you have got any symptoms. Stay home and isolate and get a test.
It also highlights the importance, as people are moving around in shopping centres, please do assume that you are next to someone who may have Covid. Ensure you are wearing a mask at all times, and ensure that it covers your nose and mouth, and also please keep your distance. We need to use all strategies to make sure we did not have any continuing transmission of Covid.
Updated
Berejiklian says the “next few days are critical” in controlling the Sydney outbreak.
I am relieved I have to say that the case numbers weren’t as bad as they could have been. Often in other states in other jurisdictions in the world you have seen a doubling or tripling of cases which is what we were afraid of.
She said the case numbers today reflected the fact that authorities were “still mopping up” the outbreak.
I am always optimistic about the future because I have faith and confidence of the people of our state. But the next few days are critical, and come early next week you would want to see that the tide turned in terms of the number of people with the virus who are in isolation as opposed to those who have been active in the community.
Earlier, she made some pointed comments about the fact that close contacts of coronavirus cases cannot leave the house for any reason except to seek health care. They cannot get a vaccine while in the 14 day isolation period.
Updated
NSW records 31 new Covid cases
New South Wales has recorded 31 new cases to 8pm last night, 13 of which were infectious while out in the community, premier Gladys Berejiklian has said.
More than 76,000 tests were conducted in the same period.
Berejiklian said these high numbers reflected activity just before lockdown — and they were expecting numbers to rise before falling next week.
This pretty much reflects the days before and just before we went into lockdown ... we’re anticipating that there could be an increase in numbers over the next few days and hopefully early next week we could see the numbers turning and the lockdown having an impact.
Updated
The defence department has confirmed some staff were sent home from a Canberra workplace while they waited for a Covid test from a colleague who had returned from Sydney.
The department says it is also reviewing its practices to ensure all sites follow Covid-safe practices.
A spokesperson said a defence employee travelled to Penrith and then attended their workplace in Canberra on Monday. The NSW government had extended the stay-at-home orders across all of Greater Sydney on Saturday night.
Defence tells us:
The employee was immediately sent for a Covid test and sent home to self-isolate. As a precaution, some staff within the workplace were also sent home pending results of the Covid test. The employee in question returned a negative Covid test and remains in isolation as per mandated guidelines, while all other staff members have since returned to their workplace.
The defence department said it had, at all times, followed the advice of ACT Health in managing the situation and reducing the risk of exposure to other staff members.
We are standing by for the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to give the daily update and information out of national cabinet.
I am suspicious of this update from the national cabinet meeting, from the ACT chief minister Andrew Barr.
An outbreak of peace and harmony in the federation after a positive #NationalCabinet meeting this morning.
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) July 2, 2021
In non-coronavirus news, David Littleproud, the deputy leader of the National party, has addressed the concerns raised by some women in regional Australia at the return of Barnaby Joyce to the leadership.
Joyce strenuously denied the sexual harassment accusation made against him, which led to his resignation from the leadership in 2018.
Littleproud told ABC radio this morning that rural women have “got every right to be upset”.
Barnaby himself has acknowledged the wrongdoing he has done. He obviously stood aside from the leadership of the National party in acknowledging that wrongdoing.
He then said Australians should give Joyce another chance.
What he is saying is that he believes that he has reflected to the juncture where he has shown remorse, he has reformed himself.
Now all he is saying is please give him a go.
Littleproud said if Joyce’s behaviour was not up to scratch, the party would have a discussion about his future.
It should be his actions he is judged by. We cannot and no one will continue to support somebody that has done the wrong thing.
Updated
Birmingham criticises 'unhelpful' comments from Queensland on vaccine risk
Simon Birmingham says he hopes today’s national cabinet meeting can act as a “circuit breaker” – but he has taken a swipe at the Queensland government, accusing it of making “far from helpful” public contributions this week.
The federal finance minister popped up on Sky News a short time ago. In the interview, Birmingham said Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy “has had to adjust” because of vaccine supply challenges, but he argued Australians were embracing the vaccine rollout, “despite some of the scaremongering, some of the naysayers around the rest of the country”.
Asked whether he was referring to the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, Birmingham said: “I think some of the comments that came from Queensland this week have been far from helpful in that regard.”
He said he hoped the Queensland government would “put the politicking aside” and get on with the job of supporting the vaccine rollout. Birmingham said he hoped it would be a circuit breaker “and that perhaps premier Palaszczuk can listen to premier [Daniel] Andrews, for example, who has been a bit more sensible in his messaging on the vaccine of late than she has”.
A quick reminder: as Katharine Murphy reported this week, state governments were confused by Scott Morrison’s Monday evening comments about access to AstraZeneca for under-40s because the prime minister had not explicitly flagged it in the national cabinet meeting beforehand.
Birmingham did not repeat the formulation he used yesterday, when he conceded “countries like New Zealand and Australia” were placed “at the back of the queue” for Pfizer vaccines. But Birmingham said it was unsurprising that many countries and drug companies were prioritising parts of world with “huge” outbreaks and loss of life, which had not been the experience in Australia and New Zealand.
The Australian government had hoped that AstraZeneca “would be able to be the workhorse” of the vaccination strategy “but it’s had the hurdles” that everybody knew about — and that was why it was important to have “back-ups in place”. He said the federal government continued to have discussions with drug companies about improved access.
Defending the government’s performance, Birmingham said it had taken 47 days to deliver the first million doses but just nine days for the most recent million doses - a sign of the vaccination program ramping up.
Updated
New Queensland exposure sites
There are new exposure sites from Queensland Health linked to the mother and daughter in Carindale who made up two of the three new Covid-19 cases announced in Queensland this morning.
They are:
On Sunday 27 June: the Harris Farm Market in West End, from 11.50am to 1.50pm, then the Woolworths at Harris Farm Market from 1.50pm to 1.55pm.
On Monday 28 June: the Greek Orthodox Community Centre in South Brisbane, for most of the day.
On Tuesday 29 June: the Greek Orthodox Community Centre in South Brisbane, again for most of the day. Then also the Espresso Engine in Brisbane City from 7.20am to 7.30am; Woolworths Metro in Turbot Street in the city from 9.30am to 9.35am; JB Hifi on Albert Street in the city from 12.20pm to 12.30pm; Zara in Queen Street Mall from 12.30pm to 12.41pm; and Mecca Maxima in Queen Street Mall from 12.42pm to 12.50pm.
The full list of Queensland exposure sites is here.
Updated
We’re also expecting to hear from the Northern Territory government at 11 am local time, or 11.30am eastern standard time. So that will be just after the New South Wales update at 11am.
National cabinet meeting begins
The national cabinet meeting is underway now. As previously reported, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is seeking an immediate 50% reduction to hotel quarantine capacity, and the other Labor state leaders also support a cut.
Updated
Good morning, it’s Calla Wahlquist here, stepping in for Josh Taylor for a moment.
The inquest into the death in custody of Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man, Raymond Noel Lindsay Thomas, will hear closing arguments in Melbourne today. Thomas died when he crashed his car during a high-speed police pursuit in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in 2017.
Heartbreaking morning at the Coroner’s Court before the last day of the inquest into the death of Gunnai, Gunditjamara and Wiradjuri man, Raymond Noel. Follow @dhadjowa for updates throughout the day. #JusticeForRay pic.twitter.com/GYPjCAWVt5
— Monique Hurley (@monique_hurley) July 1, 2021
The court has spent the last few days grilling the Victoria police assistant commissioner, Libby Murphy, about the police pursuit policy. The police following Thomas sped up to 134km/h before formally calling a pursuit — and before there was anything to suggest wrongdoing other than Thomas driving an unregistered car. Both cars reached speeds of about 150km/h in a 50km/h zone during the 21-second-long formal pursuit, which ended with the fatal crash.
Updated
SA aged care workers take strike action
More than 100 aged care workers and support staff will walk off the job in Adelaide over stalled wage negotiations, AAP reports.
The Health Services Union says multiple Royal District Nursing Service worksites will hold protected one-hour stop work action on Friday.
It says workers are facing pay freezes and a loss of conditions in a proposed employment agreement.
It says RDNS is putting the agreement out to a vote of workers despite it not being endorsed by the negotiating parties.
“RDNS pretended to listen to the workers reasonable demands, ignored them, shut down negotiations and are rushing through a weak employment agreement at the first opportunity,” union state secretary Billy Elrick said in a statement.
“It is an attempt to silence these voices of these important workers, and they are rightly fed up.
“These workers do a brilliant job caring for some of the most vulnerable in our community, they deserve a fair pay rise that values their work and keeps them from drowning under the cost of living.”
The union said workers had been striving for a fair wage increase and to maintain their employment conditions since the privatisation of domiciliary care services to the RDNS/Silver Chain Group in 2018.
It said the short disruption to services on Friday was chosen to minimise the impact to clients.
No surprise, but the alert has come through for NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s daily press conference at 11am.
She will be joined by health minister Brad Hazzard, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys.
Twitter is trialling warning labels for tweets that might be misleading. The test is limited to the US at the moment, but will be expanded in the next few weeks.
Last year, we started using labels to let you know when a Tweet may include misleading information.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 1, 2021
For some of you on web, we’ll be testing a new label design with more context to help you better understand why a Tweet may be misleading. https://t.co/p1KONJz5Vo pic.twitter.com/m55f4RlMDg
Updated
In other news, HIV transmission rates across New South Wales dropped 40% in the three years since a trial of the prevention drug PrEP was launched.
Among the 10,000 participants in the trial, HIV transmission rates were 90% lower than expected had they not been taking PrEP.
Updated
My colleagues Nick Evershed, Josh Nicholas and Soofia Tariq have run the numbers on the incoming arrivals in Australia, following the fight between Queensland and the federal government over whether the spaces in hotel quarantine are being filled with citizens and permanent residents, or people flying in and out on business.
Updated
Meanwhile, Victoria records another day of zero cases.
Reported yesterday: 0 new local cases and 3 new cases acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 1, 2021
- 19,470 vaccine doses were administered
- 24,726 test results were received.
More later: https://t.co/2vKbgKZgn3#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/WE2CJp5b3X
Queensland health minister Yvette D’ath says the state government is working with the five hospitals in the state that have Covid wards to expand the scope of 1A eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine to everyone who works at those hospitals, including admin, staff, cleaners, ward doctors, and nurses, even if they do not work directly in the Covid ward.
The state government is currently modelling its vaccine supply on how it would accomodate the expansion, but D’ath noted the hospitals in question already have 70% of staff having received the first jab, with high rates on second doses.
D’ath said it is still a matter of dispute as to whether the woman who worked outside the ward who became infected with Covid-19 should have been vaccinated.
Updated
Annastacia Palaszczuk echoes her Victorian counterpart, Daniel Andrews, in saying the criteria for opening up should be on the basis of everyone having access to the vaccine:
What we would like to see is every Australian who is eligible to be offered the vaccine. Once that happens, then I think that’s the critical criteria for the federal government to make a decision ... I think everyone would feel comfortable if they knew that every single person in their family had been offered the opportunity for a vaccine.
Updated
Dr Jeannette Young is asked whether more contact tracers could be put on to the two new cases to speed it up and avoid the need to extend the lockdown for Brisbane and Moreton Bay. Young says the cases were notified in the early hours of this morning, and have been providing information since then, so it’s not a case of not having enough staff:
We have done all that but, as I said, we got this information, I can show you my phone, I think it came through to me at 1.35am. We got that information in the middle of the night and the contact tracers have started. So these poor people have been kept up all night being spoken to.
So that’s how I’ve read out that information this morning and now we have to go and find – so I hope that all of these venues have been using the QR code because then we can immediately contact those people and it will happen very quickly, if they haven’t been using a QR code then it will take us longer. So we have plenty of contact tracers.
Updated
The Queensland deputy premier, Steven Miles, says the state’s hotel quarantine reached capacity last night, due to a combination of international arrivals and people travelling from hotspots in Australia:
Overnight our hotel quarantine system hit capacity with international arrivals, domestic arrivals from hot spots and close contacts who required hotel quarantine. Today we are expecting 259 arrivals, including 58 air crew. Unfortunately we can’t predict how many domestic arrivals will come from hot spots or how many contacts will need that hotel quarantine accommodation.
We know we have 285 rooms becoming available but it will take seven days for our police and hotel quarantine coordinators to get a new hotel up and running and so it’s absolutely critical that we see that cut in the number of international visitors and we would hope that the prime minister agrees to that at national cabinet today.
Updated
Queensland chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, has provided some exposure sites provided by the people who tested positive to Covid-19 today:
- The Harris Farm markets at West End, on Sunday 26th from 11.50am until 1.50pm.
- Then they went into the Woolworths in that same complex five minutes after that period.
- Then on Monday 28th they spent most of the day at the Greek Orthodox Community Centre, Tuesday, again, most of the day at the Greek Orthodox Community Centre.
- Tuesday from 7.20am to 7.30am they were at the Espresso Engine coffee shop, from 9.30am at the Woolworths metro Turbot street. 12.30pm, JB Hi Fi, Albert Street, then 12.42pm at the Zara street Mecca shop.
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Palaszczuk says she will be seeking a 50% reduction immediately for hotel quarantine capacity at today’s national cabinet meeting:
Our hotels are stretched. We are basically at capacity. The deputy commissioner will give the numbers on how many we are at but we are at that capacity, we are stretched. We need an immediate reduction by 50%. I will be raising that this morning at national cabinet.
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Three new cases in Queensland, lockdown extended for Brisbane by 24 hours
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, says a partner of an airport worker, and a mother and a daughter from Carindale have tested positive for Covid-19 overnight. The latter two had “been out quite extensively around Brisbane”, so contact tracers need more time.
She said it’s a mixed bag as to what it means for Queensland. The lockdown WILL end for Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Townsville.
But the lockdown will continue for another 24 hours for Brisbane City Council and Moreton Bay local government areas, while contact tracers determine close contacts.
The areas emerging from lockdown will have restrictions for at least the next two weeks, and will need to wear a mask when in public.
PM emerges from The Lodge
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has left The Lodge this morning after completing 14 days of quarantine after his G7 trip. He gave a short statement ahead of national cabinet meeting this morning:
For national cabinet today it is a very important meeting. The country is very much keen for us to path that way out of where we are and Australia has done incredibly well over the course of these last 18 months but now we need to change gears for the road ahead.
I was very encouraged yesterday by the record day of vaccinations. The vaccination program is really gathering pace. Some – almost 3.5 million doses administered in the month of June.
At that pace we get there by the end of the year and I think that is very encouraging. So today we just need to focus on the job for the Australian people and I have every confidence that the national cabinet will do just that.
Q: Are you confident the states will be all right to work with today?
I’m very confident that we will keep working together for what Australia needs to take us through what has been one of the most difficult times in our history. But national cabinet has done it before and I’m sure we will do it again today.
Morrison said he will have another Covid test in a few days, as national cabinet has previously agreed for people exiting quarantine.
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Labor leader Anthony Albanese will argue in his National Press Club speech on Friday that this week’s intergenerational report (IGR) released by the Morrison government pointed to weaker economic growth, sustained budget deficits and high debt – “a future of generational debt without a generational dividend”.
He says the “clear and urgent message” from the IGR is governments need to “invest in people so that we can get more opportunities, for more people, in more parts of the country” and tackling climate change will create opportunities for Australians in new industries.
Albanese will round on Scott Morrison on Friday, accusing the prime minister of “squandering” the advantage Australia established during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
He will say Morrison had two jobs this year – the vaccination program and standing up quarantine facilities – and “has botched them both”.
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Albanese to hold jobs summit if Labor wins election
Anthony Albanese says he will convene a jobs summit with business and unions if Labor wins the next federal election, and also embark on a policy process to reduce unemployment and underemployment during the pandemic recovery.
The Labor leader will flag his jobs plan during a speech to the National Press Club on Friday.
Comparing the task of recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic with the post-war reconstruction undertaken by the Labor prime minister Ben Chifley, Albanese will commit to commissioning a white paper with the objective of establishing a contemporary consensus on what full employment means.
“The meaning of full employment is different today from the postwar period where careers lasted longer and full-time employment was the norm,” the Labor leader will say.
According to a copy of the opposition leader’s speech circulated by his office in advance, Albanese will argue policymakers need to think about the Australian labour market more broadly than analysing the monthly unemployment figures.
He will say Australia needs to navigate through the coronavirus pandemic and then use the economic recovery to “look ahead – it’s not good enough to snap back to 2019”.
While Australia’s labour market has bounced back after the first recession in 30 years, Albanese will argue positive headline numbers “mask the tough reality that 1.7 million Australians are looking for work or more hours to support themselves and their families, and 4 million are in insecure work”.
Albanese says his policy process will take in the changing nature of the workforce, “not least the rapid expansion of the care economy, including aged care, child care and disability care” – and also examine how recipients of the disability support pension can find opportunity for employment.
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, will hold a press conference at 8.15am.
NSW police commissioner to retire
AAP also reports New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller will end his 34-year career in the police in April next year.
Fuller, 53, plans to stand down in April next year, the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.
“I feel there are very capable officers in the organisation who could take over now if I was run over by a bus,” he said.
Fuller joined the NSW police force in 1987 and progressed through the ranks to become commissioner in 2017.
It is believed the NSW government has accepted his decision and will begin the process to find his successor later this year.
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AAP has a bit more of prime minister Scott Morrison’s comments regarding national cabinet goals today, and reports the prime minister emerged from his 14-day quarantine yesterday, following his trip to the UK for the G7.
“It’s time to start laying it out for the Australian public,” he told the Australian on Friday.
“It comes down to the medical science and what are the magic numbers. We have already done modelling on the Alpha variant and are now doing it on the Delta variant, which will set a threshold marker going forward.”
Morrison late on Thursday completed 14 days of quarantine at The Lodge in Canberra, after returning from an overseas trip, and will head to Parliament House this morning to lead the meeting.
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Good morning
Hello, and welcome to the live blog for Friday 2 July. My name is Josh Taylor and I will be bringing you all the latest news in Australia on what is set to be another busy day.
National cabinet will meet today after what has been a robust debate between the states and the federal government after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced an indemnity on GPs to provide the AstraZeneca vaccine to under 40s, which not only blindsided the states but also GPs, who have had to deal with a rush of younger people wanting to get the jab.
Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia are likely to push for a reduction in the capacity for hotel quarantine for the next few months, with the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, seeking between a 50% and 80% drop until the vaccine rollout reaches scale.
Morrison has told the Australian he is going to push for a “magic number” national cabinet can agree to for the vaccination rate at which there will no longer be lockdowns, and people will be able to travel domestically and internationally.
Andrews said on Thursday he does not have a set number, but believes lockdowns will end once everyone has the opportunity to be vaccinated.
It is a nervous wait for residents in Darwin, Perth and south-east Queensland today, with the Queensland, Western Australia and Northern Territory governments set to decide whether the snap lockdowns will end today as planned.
Queensland reported two additional cases of community transmission on Thursday, while WA reported no additional cases to the four-case cluster in the northern suburbs on Thursday, and NT reported one new case connected to the Tanami mine cluster.
Alice Springs will remain in lockdown until at least 1pm Saturday.
Let’s get into it.
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