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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy (now) and Mostafa Rachwani (earlier)

Indigenous vaccination rate only at 50%; Victoria hit by wild weather – as it happened

What we learned today, Friday 29 October

As Melburnians fling themselves into department stores, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Enjoy your freedom, and stay safe.

Here were today’s major headlines:

  • Former premier Gladys Berejiklian appeared at today’s fairly explosive Icac hearing. Among the revelations was confirmation she secured more than $100m for a hospital in Daryl Maguire’s Wagga Wagga electorate. Berejiklian also said if she had her time again, she still wouldn’t have disclosed her close personal relationship to her ministerial colleagues.
  • Covid restrictions have eased in Melbourne this evening, with masks no longer mandatory outside, non-essential retail and gyms reopening and Greater Melbourne open to travel to the regions once again.
  • Victoria recorded 1,656 cases today and 10 deaths as it was announced its daily Covid health briefings would end. NSW recorded 268 cases and two deaths, while the ACT recorded 10 local cases.
  • More than 6,000 Covid cases have been reported in Indigenous Australians, Senate estimates was told today. Just half of Indigenous Australians aged over 16 are fully vaccinated.
  • A wild storm that lashed across Victoria last night left 500,000 people without power, with estimates some won’t have power fully restored until “at least” next week.

Updated

Weirdly emotional moment remembering myself crying outside the MCG last year.

How far we’ve come!

It’s 6pm in Victoria and you know what that means!

Major flood warnings have been issued in Tasmania, as wild weather continues.

A Bondi hotel at the centre of a Covid cluster has been referred to the Office of Liquor and Gaming.

Acting prime minister Barnaby Joyce has demanded to be shown where Australia’s “so-called renewable towns” are, as he attempted to sell his support for his government’s net zero emissions commitment while remaining steadfastly attached to fossil fuels.

In a staged debate with Atlassian billionaire and renewables backer Mike Cannon-Brookes at the Daily Telegraph’s bush summit, Joyce spent most of his time rubbishing renewable energy, as Cannon-Brookes strove for patience.

One of Joyce’s biggest bugbears was not being able to identify a “renewables town” as easily as he could a mining town:

I can take you to mining towns … I can’t take you to one renewable town in Australia, not one. So all these hundreds of thousands of jobs which are coming, than surely we would be seeing a few of these so-called renewable towns popping up, but they don’t exist because it is a mythical statement …show me the town, mate. Show me the town.

Cannon-Brookes did his best to walk the Nationals leader through it:

Hang on a sec, you are comparing it to centralised assets – when you talk about a town, you’re talking about something like a mine, or a plant, which exists in one place. This is a very important point. Renewables are far more democratic, you can put them all over the place.

Joyce was stuck on the concept of a town:

That is where the people live, that is where the people live in these towns.

Cannon-Brookes tried again:

What it does is spread the jobs across all the regions, not the one that happens to have a hill full of coal.

Joyce, raising his voice to arguing at the pub levels, exclaimed “it doesn’t, mate!”

Cannon-Brookes tried one more time:

Australia’s future is underpinned by renewables and a decarbonised economy. In every region, in every town. And secondly, we have to divorce mining from fossil fuels. Our mining industry will benefit massively from the decarbonisation of the world. That is a really important point. When we talk about mining, we are going to have to do a lot more of it in a decarbonised world.

The back and forth summed up much of the short debate between the pair, as Joyce continued to insist nothing needed to change, and Cannon-Brookes referred to the Morrison government’s climate policy as “a pamphlet”.

Updated

T-Minus 30 minutes until Melburnians can exit their homes, fling off their masks (while outdoors), respectfully put their masks back on and peruse a bookshop!

A reminder of what’s changing at 6pm:

Updated

Following Icac, there have been some great “love circle” takes today, but this might be the most accurate:

Updated

After concerns over disruption to VCE exams as a result of last night’s storms in Victoria - only two schools have been impacted.

Health minister Greg Hunt has released a statement welcoming the formal submission of the final report from the Disability Royal Commission, which examined the experiences of people with disability through the vaccine rollout:

The Disability Royal Commission held a public hearing focusing on the vaccine program in May 2021. Since then, vaccination rates among Australians with disability have significantly increased with an ongoing focus on supporting access to ensure maximum protection from severe outcomes of Covid19.

More than 77% of NDIS participants in shared residential accommodation are fully vaccinated, and more than 217,000 (77%) NDIS participants 16 years and over have received at least their first dose of a Covid19 vaccine, with 66% fully vaccinated. This is an increase of more than 186,000 NDIS participants since late May.

The government has accepted six of the seven recommendations and noted the seventh, emphasising that significant progress in the vaccination rollout for people with disability has already been made.

Earlier, Bill Shorten called the rollout “shameful”:

Tonga has recorded its first ever Covid case.

Indigenous vaccination rate at 50%

Half of Indigenous Australians aged 16 and older are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as Aboriginal leaders seek an urgent prime ministerial meeting about failings in the rollout, AAP reports.

The figure was revealed as concerns were raised about more than 200 Indigenous workers at remote community stores, mostly in the Northern Territory, still unvaccinated two weeks out from that jurisdiction’s jab mandate deadline.

National Indigenous Australians Agency head Blair Exell has told a Senate estimates hearing 50.4% of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16-plus are double-dosed.

About 63% had received one dose.

“Pleasingly, we are seeing Indigenous vaccination rates climb,” Exell said on Friday.

Across the country, about 76% of all over-16s are double-dosed and nearly 88% cent have received one dose.

A total of 6,283 Indigenous Australians had been infected with the virus up until Wednesday.

About one in 10 have been hospitalised, with 13 dying in NSW.

More than 20 Aboriginal leaders and health professionals have sought a meeting with prime minister Scott Morrison and his ministers for health and Indigenous Australians.

Signatories including Prof Marcia Langton are “gravely concerned” about the low take-up of vaccines among Indigenous communities.

There is alarm about the lack of “realistic or actionable contingency plans” to deal with outbreaks agreed to by Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and Indigenous experts.

“It is evident that quarantine is currently near-impossible for those in overcrowded housing, as well as those without ready access to food, grocery and pharmaceutical delivery services,” the letter said.

The commonwealth-owned Outback Stores company said all of the organisation’s 109 frontline employees were fully vaccinated.

But it’s estimated just 15 to 20% of 284 Indigenous people employed by Aboriginal corporations who work in the stores are jabbed, two weeks out from the Northern Territory’s 12 November vaccine deadline.

Outback Stores chief executive Michael Borg was “reasonably comfortable” of making progress in coming weeks.

“But I know that there will be some individuals that will be a little bit hesitant,” he said, adding some “tough discussions” would be needed.

Outback Stores hoped to get through another 150 vaccinations in the next fortnight so workers, mostly in the NT, could keep their jobs.

The territory government is requiring swathes of workers including in community stores to have a first dose by 12 November to keep their jobs, with full vaccination due by 24 December.

The Northern Land Council said it was “working against some pretty silly social media messaging coming from kind of crazy church groups”.

“I don’t understand it,” acting chief executive Joe Martin-Jard said.

“But we’re asking people to stop listening to social media and to get advice from their Aboriginal health practitioners or their doctor or nurse to tell them the truth.”

Mr Martin-Jard could not say what proportion of the council’s Indigenous workforce remained unvaccinated.

Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner said about 66 Indigenous staff members were either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.

It had a $500 vaccination incentive, but not everyone elected to take the money.

There has been some confusion out of Queensland this morning over comments made by deputy premier Steven Miles in relation to the border.

Speaking to reporters on the Gold Coast, Miles said he did not know when border checkpoints would be removed.

It is part of the Queensland roadmap that the checkpoints will still be in place until the state hits 90% fully vaccinated.

But this will not impact Christmas travel plans – as long as those from southern states are travelling by air.

Queensland is expected to have 80% of its population vaccinated by 17 December, at which point those travelling to Queensland will no longer have to quarantine.

If travellers have arrived from a hotspot (which currently includes all of Victoria and New South Wales) they must be fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid test 72 hours before their arrival.

Provided they have not been in a hot spot in the past 14 days there are no restrictions on people entering Queensland from when the state has hit 70% fully vaccinated – expected on 19 November.

Updated

More than 6,000 Covid cases reported in Indigenous Australians

There have been 6,283 cases of Covid-19 in Aboriginal people up to 25 October, according to health officials fronting Senate estimates today.

Alarmingly, 590 of those cases have been recorded in the last seven days, as the virus rips through NSW Aboriginal communities.

Of the total cases, 10.3% have been hospitalised, 1.1% have gone to intensive care and 13 people have sadly passed away. Those deaths are all in NSW.

63.4% of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 years and older have received at least one dose and 50.4% of fully vaccinated.

Officials told the hearing they have learned “quite a number of lessons” from the devastating outbreaks in Wilcannia and Walgett and other communities in far west New South Wales.

Michelle Steel from the Health Department said:

The [Covid-19] advisory group is undertaking quite in depth review of this including a deep dive that we had last week with community members, local organisations and health.

Ultimately, as this issue highlighted, it was really important to, and the message that came really strongly, was the importance of coordination,” she said.

The gap in vaccination rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is still substantial. The gap in first doses between First Nations people 16 years and over and other Australians is 24.5% and the second dose gap is 25.5%, two months since national cabinet approved a vaccination “surge” into 30 Indigenous communities.

Updated

ANU researcher and Climate Council member Will Steffen just appeared on ABC Afternoon Briefing.

He said he expected Australia’s national climate plan would go down “very poorly”:

There isn’t anything in it that’s actually new. Net zero by 2050, there are a hundred countries that have pledged that and many countries are now appropriately focusing on the near-term, on what’s going to happen between now and 2030.

The science behind this is absolutely clear that to have any chance of stabilising the climate within the Paris goals, that’s under two and aiming for 1.5C we have to have massive net zero emissions reductions by 2030 and an I think that is what the focus of Glasgow is going to be and our plan, if you can call it a plan, an abject failure.

We have not increased our rather inadequate 2030 target and I think that will be a strong topic of discussion at Glasgow.

Australia is set to open an embassy in Switzerland in 2022.

More than 20 Indigenous leaders and health professionals have signed a letter seeking an urgent meeting with Scott Morrison about the low rates of vaccination among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

The letter, signed by leaders including Marcia Langton, outlines the “gravest concerns” about the low Covid-19 vaccination rates and calls for contingency plans in the event of outbreaks in Indigenous communities.

More than 75% of the overall Australian population aged 16 and over is fully vaccinated, but just 46% of Indigenous Australians have had two covid vaccine shots.

The letter blames low rates of vaccination on “a range of factors including vaccine hesitancy arising from real cultural concerns and lack of information in many cases, as well as more sinister misinformation campaigns in others.”

It said:

We are also conscious that Covid outbreaks in Indigenous communities are considered to be inevitable by state and territory governments. However, we understand that there are currently no realistic or actionable contingency plans to deal with such incidents that have been agreed with our community controlled health sector and Indigenous experts.

It is evident that quarantine is currently near-impossible for those in overcrowded housing, as well as those without ready access to food, grocery and pharmaceutical delivery services. Moreover, rural and regional medical centres and hospitals lack the technical and human resources available in metropolitan centres and would be quickly overwhelmed if even a small number of Covid patients should require inpatient care. Compounding these risks are the lack of adequate capabilities to evacuate seriously ill Covid patients to locations where they can receive the care they require.

The signatories asked for:

An agreed strategy including milestones between all governments, the Aboriginal community controlled health sector and other Indigenous experts that seeks to achieve the highest possible vaccination rates in our communities, and which includes contingency plans for the inevitable Covid outbreaks over the coming months.

Updated

Another intriguing social media graphic from Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Also worth giving a shoutout to deputy premier Steven Miles, who delivered Queensland’s Covid update today at Sea World.

Updated

Acting prime minister Barnaby Joyce and Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes have clashed over the government’s net zero emissions plan, AAP reports.

In an often tense exchange at The Daily Telegraph’s virtual bush summit, the tech boss repeatedly asked the Nationals leader how the government was going to reach its emissions targets.

The co-founder and CEO of software company Atlassian said while “there are things in the pamphlet that I agree with”, the details haven’t been explained and he doesn’t understand “the how”.

The billionaire this week tweeted that the 129 page plan was “ridiculously embarrassing”.

The modelling is due to be released in the next few weeks.

Cannon-Brookes said the idea that methane challenges would destroy the beef industry, as outlined by the Nationals leader earlier in the week, was “bulls***”:

How are we going to get methane down to zero? Is it going to come at the expense of the gas industry or ag? Where is it going to come from?

The tech boss shook his head while the Nationals leader argued that renewables were unreliable and more costly.

Joyce:

To say that wind makes power cheaper ... We’ve had a six fold increase in power prices in a year ... because wind power is unable to fill the void.

But Cannon-Brookes said “blaming renewables ... is the same old tired argument”.

The two men also clashed over whether renewables would help underpin regional towns in Australia.

Joyce wrapped up the session saying the government had to be honest with regional workers and that “right now we are exporting more coal at a higher price than ever before, and that’s the truth”.

But it was left to Cannon-Brookes to have the last word, and he criticised the government’s emissions plan for its lack of detail and ambition. “We need a plan and we don’t have one,” he said.

Updated

The Icac hearing has just wrapped up for the day.

You can catch up on the many revelations from Berejiklian’s questioning over at our live blog:

That’s if you weren’t lucky enough to have been stationed at Surfers Paradise Boulevard for prime viewing.

Updated

Daily numbers and health updates will still be released.

Updated

Lovely to see the retail sector readying itself to reopen in Melbourne tonight. There’s nothing like slightly tipsy book-shopping.

Nearly 60 Victorian country health services are yet to have finalised their annual reports after they were excluded from a dump of more than 200 annual reports this week.

The reports tabled in Victorian parliament didn’t include documents from dozens of regional hospitals including services in Geelong, Hamilton, West Wimmera, Warrnambool and Colac.

Shadow assistant minister for regional health Danny O’Brien said the pandemic had put a “huge strain” on the health system:

With cases expected to rise in regional Victoria as the state reopens, it’s more important than ever that we have a clear picture of how the local hospital is performing.

Rural communities already experience significant disadvantage with access to health services and specialists and we need assurance that our hospitals are solvent and prepared.

Our frontline workers like nurses and doctors are under pressure, but they aren’t the ones who prepare the annual reports so the government needs to explain the delay.

A letter tabled in the parliament by health minister Martin Foley pointed to “the impacts of the pandemic upon the hospital and health Services, and delays associated with auditing” as the reason for the delay.

Foley didn’t say when the reports would be finalised.

Updated

76.2% of over 16-year-olds are fully vaccinated.

Thanks as always to Mostafa Rachwani. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon with all the news outside of Icac.

And with that, my time on today’s blog has come to an end, I leave you in the capable hands of Caitlin Cassidy, thanks for reading.

If you’re planning any Halloween activities this weekend in NSW, health authorities have some advice for you.

In their video update, NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty advised Halloweeners to ensure they keep their celebrations Covid-safe:

Keep celebrations outside, provide closed packaging for treats instead of communal lolly bowls and consider other ways of distributing treats, for example on the front fence or in the front yard.

McAnulty advised people to stick to their local areas, and not to trick-or-treat too far from home. He also advised people to not share costume or face masks, and reminded people to maintain physical distancing and hand hygiene.

Updated

WA Police detective superintendent Rod Wilde has been giving an update on the search for four-year-old Cleo Smith, running through the initial police response.

He admitted that by the time police arrived at around 6.30am, that Cleo could have been gone for hours. He said it was treated “very seriously” and that a large taskforce has been assigned to the case.

This is a large taskforce. There was an immediate response. When police were there, in a very short period of time, going lights and sirens, it was treated very seriously from the outset.

We’re not only conducting a land, sea and air search for the little girl, but we’re also considering all those other options, where there may be criminality.

He said the first officers that arrived did a really good and thorough job and established a crime scene.

Initially they were speaking to people and looking in cars. After we established the roadblock put at the entrance at the same time, as officers were speaking to the family.

He advised that the search is ongoing with Wilde giving little further information on the case.

Updated

Both Barnaby Joyce and Mike Cannon-Brookes can agree on the need for a transition. It’s just how we transition that is the (fairly huge) sticking point. Joyce can’t answer how the Coalition wins back trust and tells people where the jobs are under his plan (he falls back on the importance of mining towns and keeping them going) while Cannon-Brookes just wants an actual plan to help with the transition, which he points out the government hasn’t offered.

In terms of defending what he has signed up to, Joyce hasn’t really shifted his position from before he signed up.

He’s comfortable with what the government is offering because it won’t mean a lot of change. Cannon-Brookes says that change is coming regardless and without a plan, Australia will miss out on the benefits.

There’s not a lot of new stuff here – which I think we all knew. The conversation ends where it began, with neither side having shifted from their original corners.

Updated

The Daily Telegraph bush summit conversation between Barnaby Joyce and Mike Cannon-Brookes is going exactly as you would expect – Joyce trying to speak over Cannon-Brookes every time he attempts to make a point, Cannon-Brookes showing a lot of patience as Joyce falls back on emotional talking points.

The most recent example was over “renewable towns”. Joyce wants to know where the renewable towns are, because there are mining towns and they need jobs. Cannon-Brookes says there are no renewables towns, because they ALL are – pointing out that renewables are more democratic as assets.

There’s no centralised asset like there is with a mine. Joyce isn’t having that – he wants to know where the renewable towns are exactly. Cannon-Brookes also makes the point that mining won’t stop in the transition, it will just be divorced from fossil fuels – but mining will continue. It will just transition in terms of resources.

Updated

The Australian ambassador to China has warned that trading tensions with Beijing could get even worse.

Graham Fletcher, who is currently addressing a panel discussion at the Daily Telegraph-hosted “bush summit”, summed up the situation in an understated way:

To be honest, things are not great in the trading relationship with China on the whole.

Fletcher – who has been Australia’s ambassador to China since August 2019 – said the overall trade numbers had held up because Australian iron ore was doing well:

But [for] other producers who are dealing with China, I think everyone is on notice that there are potential problems in the relationship which could affect our trading future further than what we’ve already seen.

Updated

Victoria storms leave 500,000 people without power

An estimated 500,000 people were left without power following wild storms and damaging winds in Victoria overnight.

The Victoria State Emergency Service has received more than 2,500 calls for help in the past 24 hours, with about 300 people reporting damage to their properties, AAP reports.

Power had been restored to some properties this morning but about 450,000 households are still without electricity, as energy market operator Aemo warned some won’t have electricity this weekend or even by early next week.

A man seen walking past a fallen tree in west Melbourne, Friday, 29 October 2021.
A man seen walking past a fallen tree in west Melbourne, Friday, 29 October 2021. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

NBN services are also offline in about 125,000 households.

Senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology Christie Johnson told AAP several locations recorded their strongest wind gusts in a decade or more, including Viewbank (104km/h), Hopetoun (83km/h) and Ben Nevis (117km/h).

In Bass Strait, Hogan Island clocked up wind gusts of 165 km/h, while parts of the Surf Coast recorded October wind speeds not seen in 20 years.

Johnson said the damaging winds were caused by an intense low-pressure system moving across the state, with thunderstorms in the northwest developing at the same time as a storm system over Geelong.

Sections of several metropolitan train lines are still suspended, and there are major delays on a number of V/Line services.

Several vaccination centres have been closed due to the storms, and there are reports VCE students have been unable to travel to their end-of-year exams.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds is still current in Gippsland, parts of central and northeast Victoria, along with the Surf Coast and Geelong.

The winds are expected to ease later on today, passing across Melbourne and extending to Gippsland in the early afternoon.

Updated

Not to give Facebook – sorry, Meta – more media coverage but whoever runs their Twitter account is really feeling themselves today.

Updated

There has been a further death at Mercy Place aged care in Albury but hospitalisations at Albury Wodonga Health remain stable.

The growth of cases in the Murrumbidgee LGA has caused anxiety about the reopening of regional NSW with Sydney on Monday.

Updated

Almost half of the children in “last resort” alternative care arrangements in NSW are Indigenous, including a 12-year-old boy who’s spent more than 300 days in a serviced apartment, AAP reports.

The boy’s situation was revealed at a state parliamentary hearing today, drawing criticism from committee member and Greens MP David Shoebridge.

Shoebridge said he “can’t understand” how the child – who’s still in the flat – has spent close to a year living like that without a permanent carer or parental figure.

The families, communities and disability services minister Alister Henskens was in breach of the duty of care he had “over that young person’s welfare”, he said during the budget estimates hearing.

Henskens said he shared those concerns and it was an issue he had prioritised during his “relatively short” time in the job that he began in May.

He said he had weekly meetings with the department executives, receiving briefings on “strategies to exit the longer-term children out of alternative care arrangements”.

As of earlier this month, there were 91 children in alternative care arrangements in NSW and 47% were Indigenous.

The government is in the process of implementing 94 of 125 recommendations from a 2019 independent review of Aboriginal children and young people in out-of-home care.

Updated

Barnaby Joyce, the acting prime minister, is speaking at the Daily Telegraph bush summit:

First question: what got the net zero target over the line for his Nats colleagues?

Logic – obviously we realised that if we didn’t come to a cabinet position there would have to be resignations from cabinet.

Joyce said such a stance would have “blown up the government, which no one likes”.

The destabilisation could have led to a Labor government, he said.

Updated

To what degree this escaping wheelie bin is as eerie as described, but it certainly reflects how powerful the winds have been in Victoria:

As Icac continues to hear from former premier Gladys Berejiklian, federal shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus has tweeted a statement, saying a future Albanese government would seek to establish a “powerful” independent national anti-corruption commission.

The ever-growing list of scandals surrounding the Morrison government shows why Australia needs a powerful and independent anti-corruption commission and why Mr Morrison and his colleagues will do everything they can to stop one from being established.

The government’s current proposal, which the above statement criticises, was labelled the “weakest watchdog” in the country by the Centre for Public Integrity earlier in October.

Updated

Reuters is reporting that Covid-19 vaccines have arrived at Australia’s Casey research station in Antarctica, allowing expeditioners to be inoculated before they journey back home to a country reopening to the world.

Pfizer vaccines for 27 staff at Australia’s Casey Station in Antarctica had arrived, federal environment minister Sussan Ley said. Vaccines will also be delivered to its Davis and Mawson research stations.

Australia has managed to keep its stations on the frozen continent free of the coronavirus, despite its arrival there last December when it became the last of the world’s continents to report an outbreak.

“As expeditioners prepare to head home, it is important that they can join the national surge in Covid-19 vaccinations,” Ley said.

Antartica.
Antartica. Photograph: Sam Edmonds

Updated

More proof out today that the national economic recovery was gathering even during the period when NSW, Victoria and the ACT were in lockdown.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning released figures for retail sales, up 1.3% in September, the first monthly rise since May.

Producer prices, a gauge of the cost of inputs for manufacturing and other processing, also picked up in the September quarter, rising to be 2.9% higher than a year earlier, posting the biggest jump since December 2011.

The two releases add to evidence earlier this week that demand is picking up and also that some goods and services were in short supply because of Covid-related disruptions. CPI for the September quarter was 3% higher than a year earlier, but more importantly core inflation measure that strip out short-term distortions jumped by half to 2.1%.

A curious point about the retail sales figures was the fact NSW posted a 2.3% increase in turnover for the month even though that state was locked down. Up in Queensland, which didn’t have the same restrictions, sales rose 5.2% to their highest point on record, according to the ABS”s Ben James.

Still the national figures have some clawing back to do, after falls of 2.7% in July and 1.7% in August. And in NSW alone, turnover remained 11.9% lower than in May. That state’s lockdown began at the end of June.

On the production front, the jump in global oil prices pushed up the cost of refining by 11.8%, an increase motorists will have endured at the petrol station.

The next major economic news will come with next Tuesday’s meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board to set interest rates.

No change is expected in the record low 0.1% cash rate but data out today will only reinforce market sentiment that the next rate rise is coming sooner than previously expected. Even so, most economists aren’t tipping such a move until late next year at the earliest.

People visit the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) shopping centre.
People visit the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) shopping centre. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Updated

Transport Victoria has released a midday update on the state’s wild weather, urging motorists to avoid travel, and saying crews are out across the state to clear debris.

In a statement, they say multiple fallen trees are affecting the public transport network,

Multiple fallen trees are down affecting the public transport network.

Buses are replacing trains on sections of the Mernda, Hurstbridge, Upfield, Sandringham, Alamein, Belgrave/Lilydale, Craigieburn and Sunbury lines.

They also say “hundreds” of traffic lights across the state are still out due to power outages:

Due to power outages, many sets of traffic lights are out. Drive with care through all intersections.

With high winds expected to continue this morning, drivers should be vigilant on the roads and ensure nothing distracts their focus from the road.

There is the potential for fallen power lines. Should you encounter fallen power lines, stay well clear and immediately call Triple Zero.

Federal health minister Greg Hunt has announced a $180m support package for GPs treating people with Covid.

As we open up we know more people will be treated at home. This is about giving people the opportunity to be treated at home.

Commonwealth respiratory clinics will remain open until mid-2022, where patients can be tested, treated and vaccinated.

Hunt also announced that Australia has reached the 76.2% fully vaccinated mark:

Australians are coming forward to be vaccinated, but I’d encourage you if you haven’t come forward yet, please do so.

Updated

Canberra is reopening today, after restrictions eased further across the ACT and Mike Bowers was at the reopening of the National Museum:

The staff and public take part in a smoking ceremony and welcome to country conducted by Ngambri custodian Paul House to mark the re-opening of the National Museum in Canberra after the lockdown measures were eased in the ACT this morning. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Friday 29th October 2021. Guardian Australia.
The staff and public take part in a smoking ceremony and welcome to country conducted by Ngambri custodian Paul House to mark the reopening of the National Museum in Canberra.. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The staff and public take part in a smoking ceremony and welcome to country conducted by Ngambri custodian Paul House to mark the re-opening of the National Museum in Canberra after the lockdown measures were eased in the ACT this morning. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Friday 29th October 2021. Guardian Australia.
The doors open at the National Museum of Australia after staff and public attended a smoking ceremony and welcome to country conducted by Ngambri custodian Paul House to mark the re-opening of the National Museum in Canberra after the lockdown measures were eased in the ACT this morning. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Friday 29th October 2021. Guardian Australia.
The doors open at the National Museum of Australia. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The National Museum of Australia’s director, Dr Mathew Trinca welcomes staff and public after a smoking ceremony and welcome to country conducted by Ngambri custodian Paul House to mark the re-opening of the National Museum in Canberra after the lockdown measures were eased in the ACT this morning. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Friday 29th October 2021. Guardian Australia.
The National Museum of Australia’s director, Dr Mathew Trinca, welcomes staff and the public. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

New Zealand records 125 new cases

New Zealand has recorded 125 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, bringing the total number in the August Delta outbreak to 3046.

The rise in case numbers is a reminder of how infectious the virus is, the ministry of health said.

With over 30,000 tests processed nationwide yesterday, these results aren’t unexpected.

Of Friday’s cases, 118 are in Auckland, 4 are in the neighbouring region Waikato, 1 is in Northland and two are in Christchurch.

The new Christchurch cases are “expected and linked”, the ministry said. That brings the total number of cases in the South Island to four. Another 13 close contacts have been identified and are now isolating.

Fifty-one of the day’s cases have not been epidemiologically linked, bringing the total number yet to be linked to 289 in the past fortnight.

There are 39 people in hospital, with four of those in intensive care. The average age of those currently hospitalised is 49 years-old.

Roughly 84.5% of the population over 12 years old has had at least one dose of the vaccine, while just over 70% of the eligible population is fully inoculated.

Updated

In more bad news for anyone watching the international supply chain issues that have delayed many deliveries, it appears large containers in Port Melbourne have been blown over:

Victoria is now expected to hit 80% double-vaccinated status tomorrow, with the current figure at 78.5%.

Creative industries minister Danny Pearson earlier confirmed the figure, while chief health officer Brett Sutton told reporters that 37% of today’s cases are people under 20.

So over a third [of cases are] now in those under 20.

Essentially in that under vaccinated – but now rapidly increasing in vaccine coverage – population of the 12- to 17-year-olds, but also those not yet eligible for vaccine under 12.

Sutton also gave details on the 10 deaths, which include one man in his 40s, one man in his 50s, one woman and a man in their 60s, one woman in her 80s and five women in their 90s.

Sutton also said cases continue to rise in the Casey and Greater Dandenong local government areas.

But Sutton said the state was on a “fantastic trajectory”:

It’s absolutely the case that all of these things are essentially only possible because of the vaccination coverage that we’ve been able to get to.

Despite the grey skies today, today’s is a very bright day. It’s great to get to a point where we’re able to ease restrictions. Many of us have waited a long long time for so many of the things that we’re going to be able to do.

Updated

James Packer has said he and former Crown Resorts chief executive Rowen Craigie failed in their oversight of corporate governance at the casino group’s Perth outpost.

Giving evidence via video link to a royal commission hearing in Perth this morning, Packer spoke slowly and frequently struggled to recall events while he was chairman of Crown’s West Australian subsidiary, Burswood Limited.

However, he agreed with counsel assisting the commission, Patricia Cahill, SC, that the fact Burswood had no board charter was a failure of corporate governance.

“I think Rowen and I both overlooked the need for a charter,” he said.

Cahill asked: “And was there anyone appointed [to the board] who had financial crime risks management experience such as anti-money laundering expertise?”

“I don’t believe there was,” Packer responded.

Asked by Cahill if this was an oversight, he said: “Looking back there are many oversights and things that should have been done differently.”

Inquiries in Victoria and NSW have made findings that money laundering took place through a bank account linked to the Perth casino.

The hearing continues.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has defended his government’s decision to delay reopening the regions to metropolitan Sydney, saying it was the “best path forward.”

Speaking to reporters earlier today, the premier was asked why travel to the regions was still closed, even though the state is approaching 87% double-dose vaccination rate:

We certainly looked at, could it be possible where there were town centres that had higher vaccination rates to allow regional travel to those areas?

But it became too difficult and, ultimately, we came to the decision that the best path forward was to hold off to the first of November.

That was an unpopular decision for many people in Sydney, but it was the right decision for regional NSW.

Perrottet said the government “got it right”, pointing to a recent outbreak in Albury, near the Victorian border.

Updated

ACT records 10 new cases

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 10 new locally acquired cases:

Indian mining giant Adani Group has abandoned plans to build a container terminal in partnership with the Myanmar military, after a sustained campaign from human rights advocacy groups, and concern from the global finance sector.

In April 2019, Adani signed a US$290m commercial deal with a holding company controlled by the Myanmar military, the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), to build a container port in Yangon.

But a coup by the military in February – which followed a 2017 campaign of “genocidal intent” against the Rohingya minority – has left the Myanmar military internationally isolated, and seen sanctions imposed on senior military figures and military-controlled entities.

“The company’s risk management committee, after a review of the situation, has decided to work on a plan on exiting the company’s investment in Myanmar, including exploring any divestment opportunities,” Adani said in a statement, without further explanation for the withdrawal.

Adani Ports is expected to fully exit the investment by June of 2022.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in Myanmar this year. Adani Group has pulled out of $290m deal with a holding company controlled by the military.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in Myanmar this year. Adani Group has pulled out of $290m deal with a holding company controlled by the military. Photograph: Reuters

The Justice for Myanmar advocacy group, which has campaigned against the Adani deal since it was signed, said it cautiously welcomed the divestment announcement.

“Adani Ports’ plan to divest shows community and investor pressure works. Business with the terrorist Myanmar military does not pay,” spokesperson Yadanar Maung said.

Yadanar Maung said Adani Ports should never have entered into a business partnership with MEC, a deal which made them complicit in the Myanmar military’s atrocities.

“Adani Ports must now find a way to exit responsibly by mitigating the impact on their Myanmar workers and recovering what they can of their $90m payment to MEC so they do not leave a windfall for the terrorist Myanmar military.”

Myanmar soldiers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, in February.
Myanmar soldiers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, in February. Photograph: Stringer ./Reuters

Rawan Arraf, executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said it was untenable for Adani Ports to continue to do business with a sanctioned entity, under sustained pressure from the public and from investors.

“For years, Adani Ports ignored the clear and direct public warnings before and after it entered into business in Myanmar.

“It is positive that Adani Ports has shown an apparent willingness to engage in human rights due diligence obligations by divesting from Myanmar. However, there are massive failings connected to the Adani Group’s operations in India and Australia’s Carmichael mine that it must reconcile.”

Clancy Moore, the Australian director of NGO coalition Publish What You Pay, said other companies should take heed of the decision by Adani and an earlier move out of Myanmar by Australian oil and gas group Woodside.

“It’s time for resource giants, Total and Chevron, and small Australian backed companies like Access Mining Asia, PanAust and Tap Oil to rule out any business relationships or revenue flowing to the violent and corrupt military regime,” he said.

Updated

So the Icac live stream has reportedly crashed, after being overwhelmed by people attempting to tune in to see former premier Gladys Berejiklian questioned.

The former premier has already been answering questions this morning, you can catch a quick summary and more live updates (without streaming issues) at our liveblog:

Queensland has once again recorded zero new locally acquired cases:

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has tweeted out about the damaging winds last night, and has asked people to stay inside if possible:

The Bureau of Metereology has tweeted saying that strong winds should be easing in Melbourne as of 10am:

A severe weather warning is still in place for damaging winds in southern Victoria:

It appears 2GB’s Ray Hadley has heard there are discussions underway to change the reopening date for unvaccinated people in NSW:

Australia changes child vaccination rules that risked trapping families abroad

There’s been some really welcome news overnight for Australian families stuck in the United Kingdom with children.

In recent weeks, I’ve been reporting on a frankly untenable situation that was preventing some families from returning home.

Australia requires children aged 12 and above to be fully vaccinated to skip quarantine. Airlines based their policies on the government’s position, meaning any child without two doses of a TGA-approved vaccine effectively could not fly.

But in countries such as the UK, Hong Kong and Norway, kids are not allowed to have more than one dose of Pfizer.

Initially, the federal government stuck to its position, and ruled those children would not meet its definition of fully vaccinated.

That has now changed.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has been working with New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory on a proposal to give kids in this position an exemption. They have agreed to provide such an exemption.

The health department said in a statement:

Although children aged 12–17 years old are able to be fully vaccinated in Australia, this is not consistent around the world. The Chief Medical Officer is concerned about the unintended implications of the requirement being applied at the border, particularly the potential for separating children from their families. As a result, Professor Kelly has been working with jurisdictions ready to receive international flights or travellers to agree a class exemption for those aged 12–17 years.

New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have agreed to apply an exemption for those Australians aged 12–17 to arrive from overseas who do not meet the criteria for fully vaccinated.

The affected adolescents will be required to undertake a test within 24 hours of arrival into Australia and quarantine at home for 7 days. A second test will be required on day 5 prior to completion of quarantine. They may attend school after completing 7 days home quarantine. Additionally, 12–17 year olds not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to visit other high risk settings such as disability facilities, aged-care residential facilities and hospitals until 14 days after arrival.

Updated

Let’s go back to weather, where in South Australia, thunderstorms knocked out power for thousands of homes overnight as lightening and gigantic hail pelted the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds, and the SES said it responded to more than 600 calls for assistance yesterday.

Some of the hailstones were capture in pictures, and looked the size of golf balls:

Hail stones in Greenwith South Australia. A large storm hit South Austtralia, with damaging winds and hail stones.
Hailstones in Greenwith, South Australia. Photograph: Twitter/ Andrew Dollman
Hail stones in Greenwith South Australia. A large storm hit South Austtralia, with damaging winds and hail stones.

Updated

As promised, here is our live blog on today’s Icac hearing, which is scheduled to hear from former premier Gladys Berejiklian later this morning:

Crown Resorts has settled a class action against it over falls in its share price following the arrest of staff in China for $125m.

The settlement comes ahead of the appearance this morning of Crown’s major shareholder, James Packer, at a royal commission into the company in Western Australia.

Earlier this week, a royal commission in Victoria made damaging findings about Crown’s conduct in relation to Crown’s conduct in China in 2016, which led to the arrests.

An inquiry in NSW also criticised Crown’s conduct in China.

The company’s share price fell 14% on 17 October 2016 when news of the arrests was confirmed.

“This case demonstrates the importance of class actions, whistleblowers and investigative journalism in holding corporations to account,” Maurice Blackburn senior associate Michael Donelly said.

“Without those things, we doubt that the three separate Royal Commissions into Crown would have been established.”

In a statement to the ASX Crown said settling the lawsuit was a commercial decision and did not involve admitting liability.

“Crown expects to recover a significant portion of the settlement amount from its insurers but cannot at this stage be certain about the outcome of negotiations with insurers, or the outcome of any necessary formal steps for recovery it may need to take,” it said.

The deal is subject to approval by the federal court.

NSW records 268 cases and two deaths, Vic records 1,656 and 10 deaths

Case numbers for NSW and Victoria have been released:

Updated

Unvaccinated people are increasingly unlikely to be able to fly into Australia, as NSW and Victoria reopen their international borders.

Most international airlines who fly into Australia are likely to accept only vaccinated passengers, with larger carriers now considering whether it is logistically and commercially viable to sell tickets to unvaccinated travellers. Some carriers have had their allocation of unvaccinated passengers capped at zero.

International flights will resume on Mondey in NSW and Victoria, as the states scale back hotel quarantine capacities for unvaccinated passengers.

Airlines have announced tens of thousands of extra seats on new services into Australia since the states announced an end to quarantine, but many carriers are yet to decide how or if they will comply with the new rules for unvaccinated passengers.

You can read more on the report from Elias Visontay here:

Vaccination hubs are having to close in Victoria due to storm damage, with power still out for thousands of homes.

Tweets with photos and videos of the damage continue to stream in, with roads across the state still affected by the damage:

AAP is reporting the NSW government will begin trialling Covid-19 rapid test kits at schools in Albury, near the Victorian border, next week.

The NSW government plans to introduce coronavirus rapid test kits in all state schools, if a trial is successful.

Education minister Sarah Mitchell said she hoped the tests would reduce Covid-related disruptions:

I want to see disruption to our students’ education from Covid reduce, while still keeping schools safe places to learn.

This requires us to deploy every tool available to balance the risk.

The kits will be handed out by schools for use at home by staff and students who have to do a test twice a week as part of community surveillance.

They will also be used for close contact testing to identify positive cases on school sites.

Mitchell said:

This is about living with a virus and getting back to normal life while ensuring the community is confident in their safety on school sites.

Our best line of defence against this pandemic remains vaccinations, and until all students are eligible for one we must continue using measures like [rapid test] kits to keep schools safe.

However, anyone who gets a positive result will have to get a standard test straight to confirm the result.

Updated

Victoria lashed by wild storm overnight

A wild storm lashed Victoria overnight, leaving thousands without power and damaged trees scattered across streets.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds is still in place for half of the state, with reports of wind gusts exceeding 100km per hour in some areas.

The SES tweeted saying it received 609 calls for assistance in the past 24 hours to 6am, with work being done to clear the debris this morning.

Pictures are being shared on Twitter of the damage from last night, including trees strewn across roads and buildings damaged.

Updated

In case you missed it (which is understandable considering the news emerged at 11pm), but last night prime minister Scott Morrison spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron on the phone for the first time since dumping the submarine plans, with Macron telling him he “broke the relationship of trust.”

Macron also encouraged Scott Morrison to adopt a more ambitious climate policy, including a commitment “to cease production and consumption of coal at the national level and abroad”, according to a French government readout of the conversation.

The French government’s statement on Thursday’s phone call said Macron “recalled that Australia’s unilateral decision to scale back the French-Australian strategic partnership by putting an end to the ocean-class submarine programme in favour of another as-yet unspecified project broke the relationship of trust between our two countries”.

You can read more on the conversation in a report from Daniel Hurst here:

Updated

In yesterday’s explosive Icac hearing, former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire was played an intercepted phone call between himself and former premier Gladys Berejiklian in which she said she would “throw money” at his former seat.

The commission heard evidence that Berejiklian fed the MP information about projects he had lobbied for in his electorate, and continued speaking to Maguire following his resignation after an appearance at a separate Icac inquiry in 2018.

The hearing also heard the Maguire and Berejiklian were in love with each other and had discussed getting married and having a child.

You can read Michael McGowan’s report at the link below, and keep an eye out for the live blog later today:

Updated

Good morning and welcome to another live news blog. Mostafa Rachwani with you today, and I’ll be taking you through the news for the first half of the day.

We begin in Melbourne, where Covid restrictions will be eased again this evening, with masks no longer mandatory outside, non-essential retail and gyms reopening and Greater Melbourne open to travel to the regions once again.

But concerns remain on transmission, after the state recorded 1,923 new cases yesterday and 25 deaths, a record for daily deaths this year. All eyes will be on case numbers today, specifically on spread in regional areas.

The ACT has also eased restrictions from today, with almost all businesses reopening for the first time in months, and with masks also no longer necessary outdoors. Households can have more visitors with restrictions on venues also lifted.

In NSW, all eyes will be on former premier Gladys Berejiklian, who is due to appear before the Independent Commission Against Corruption. We’ll have a live blog going separately from 10am, and I’ll be sure to link to it when it goes up.

Last night, the prime minister also spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron, just before he leaves for Europe, with reports on the conversation differing depending on who you spoke to. The French president apparently told our prime minister he “broke the relationship of trust” when he announced he was scrapping a multibillion-dollar submarine contract.

Of course, we will also bring you the ongoing debate around climate change in our government, with emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor yesterday declaring he would promote Australia as a good place to invest in fossil fuel projects at the climate change summit in Glasgow. Should go down sweetly.

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