What we learned today, Saturday 30 October
That’s it for today’s blog. Thanks for popping by – we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.
Here’s a wrap of today’s news:
- NSW recorded 236 new Covid cases and three deaths. In Victoria there were 1,355 new cases and 11 deaths. The ACT had nine new cases, and there were none in Queensland.
- We took a look at what was behind this part fortnight’s extreme weather, which saw tornadoes, hail and wild winds.
- Political editor Katharine Murphy wrote about a bracing conversation the prime minister, Scott Morrison, had with the French president, Emmanuel Macron (hint: the French are still unhappy that Australia scrapped the $90bn submarine project in favour of the Aukus deal to get nuclear-powered submarines).
- Jonathan Horn talked about the ethical problems with horse racing, ahead of next week’s Melbourne Cup.
- The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, says more people with Covid will be treated at home, because more will be vaccinated and therefore less likely to get sick.
- And in Brisbane, people going to a synagogue were subjected to a Nazi flag someone flew from their apartment window.
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After that revolting news earlier about someone in Brisbane hanging a Nazi flag near a synagogue, here’s a piece on dealing with antisemitism in Australia.
Palestinian Australian university students (writing anonymously because of threats) argue passionately against universities using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
They recognise the threat of antisemitism – pointing to the rise of neo-Nazi white supremacist groups – but are worried that bringing the IHRA definition in will pose a threat to academic freedom.
It conflates antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel, they write, and universities would do better to uphold and strengthen their existing policies. Read more here:
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People going to a Brisbane synagogue this morning were subjected to a Nazi flag flying from a nearby window, AAP reports. Queensland Police seized the flag and issued the resident a notice to appear for public nuisance.
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies vice president Jason Steinberg said it was “atrocious”. “That flag and that symbol, the Nazi swastika symbol, represents one of the most evil moments in human history,” he said. Steinberg wants the laws changed so flying a swastika flag would be a breach of serious hate or vilification laws.
Brisbane lord mayor Andrew Schrinner said it was “sickening” and “pure evil”.
9 November is when the Jewish community remembers Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when the Nazis unleashed a wave of deadly attacks in Germany and Austria against the Jewish community.
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Still not clear on what the “Australian way” is? Want to wrap your noggin around Cop26 and why it’s the “last chance saloon”, as Prince Charles described it? Guardian Australia has put together this delicious and nutritious five-course treat for you. Part five of Australia v the climate is now live:
And I only just found out that the phrase “last chance saloon” means not only “a situation considered to be the last opportunity for success”, but also “a place frequented by unsavoury or contemptible people”. Thanks, Collins Dictionary!
In case you hadn’t heard, the fabulous Katharine Murphy is on the ground in Rome, covering the prime minister’s trip for Guardian Australia. Here she is with a slightly awkie Aukus moment:
Good morning from the G20 🇮🇹 @POTUS (to @EmmanuelMacron) on Aukus being .. awkward. “I was under the impression France had been informed ..” #auspol pic.twitter.com/EsvGS2FKcl
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) October 30, 2021
Twenty prisoners have signed up to help fight Western Australia’s next bushfire season. Karnet Prison Farm inmates have volunteered to help reload water, fire retardants and foam for water bombing aircraft, AAP reports.
The prison superintendent, Ray Edge, says they’ll be trained, then put on standby seven days a week. And they “take great pride” in their work, he says. They’ve proven themselves before by setting a record reloading 110 planes in one day during the devastating Waroona-Yarloop fires in 2016.
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Very sick patients in rural hospitals are waiting up to two days for a flight to bigger hospitals, AAP reports. The Rural Doctors Association of Australia president, Megan Belot, said:
At the best of times it takes time to get transfers. You really have to argue or beg for a bed for certain people and with Covid it’s going to take a lot longer.
She’s also worried small rural hospitals don’t have the negative air pressure rooms to stop Covid spreading.
Melissa Davey reports there are also long wait times for ambulances in Victoria – to the point where people are making their own way to hospital. Read her report here:
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Scott Morrison, in Rome for the G20 before he goes on to Cop26 in Glasgow, took the time this morning to talk up people going shopping in Melbourne. They’re “rushing back to retail”. It’s a sign, he said!
“It’s just another sign that the national plan is opening up our economy as our vaccination rates rise and Australians start reclaiming the things that Covid has taken from them.
The health minister, Greg Hunt, said those vaccination rates will mean more people will be treated at home, because they’re less likely to need to be hospitalised. “And so the balance will shift from hospitalisation to community care,” he said.
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Melbourne Cup: the race that … warrants some uncomfortable ethical arithmetic.
In the past week, an exhausted city has finally emerged from its Covid burrow. There’ll be 5,000 punters at Flemington for today’s Derby, and double that for Tuesday’s Cup.
For a few days, a sport that is mostly conducted in darkness will be thrust into the spotlight. On social media, the usual battle lines will be drawn, and the loudest voices will dominate.
For racing folk, the people who want their sport banned are ferals, dribblers or antis. For many carrying a placard, or saying “nup” to the Cup, racing people are animal torturers, drunken bogans, and national embarrassments. On a racetrack, you’re either a winner or a loser. In the social media muck, you’re either for or against.
Read more:
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It’s The Dish’s birthday tomorrow! The Parkes radio telescope that was immortalised in a great Aussie film notches up 60 years tomorrow. And long after it helped in the Apollo mission, it’s still helping humans explore the universe...
Sunday, 31st October will mark the 60th anniversary of the @CSIRO's iconic Parkes radio telescope.📡🎉
— CanberraDSN (@CanberraDSN) October 30, 2021
During its long history, 'Murriyang' aka 'The Dish' has remained at the forefront of radio astronomy, space exploration, and scientific discovery.https://t.co/s0AJLTeRcp
Hello, Tory Shepherd stepping in here for a bit. I can’t stop thinking about poor Cleo Smith and her family - two weeks on, the police are still searching for clues.
Read Narelle Towie’s feature on the search here:
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Just before Scott Morrison boarded his plane for Rome and the G20, Australia’s prime minister endured what sounds like a bracing conversation with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Given that difficult call to the Élysée Palace was Morrison’s prelude to wheels up, when Australia’s prime minister finally alighted on the tarmac at Rome’s Fiumicino international airport after 28 hours in transit, the first questions he faced were about Macron.
The French readout of Thursday night’s call suggests Macron upbraided Morrison for the breach of trust associated with Australia cancelling a $90bn submarine contract.
The French president also urged Morrison to adopt a more ambitious climate policy. That more ambitious policy should include a commitment “to cease production and consumption of coal at the national level and abroad”.
Read more of Katharine Murphy’s dispatch from Rome:
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Severe storms, tornadoes, damaging winds and hail the size of grapefruit have capped off a month of wild weather for Australia’s east coast.
In the past fortnight, tornadoes have ripped through Queensland and regional New South Wales, damaged buildings at Brisbane airport, and flipped cars and felled trees in Armidale.
Last week, freak hail storms lashed the east coast. In the Mackay region of Queensland, a storm dumped hailstones 16cm in diameter, which the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed was the largest since records began. The hailstones broke the national record of 14cm observed in Brisbane last year, and also in Kempsey, NSW in 1991.
In Victoria and South Australia hundreds of thousands were without power on Friday, with the BoM forecasting more storms in Queensland and NSW in the days ahead.
Read more:
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No new Covid cases in Queensland
There have been no new Covid-19 cases reported in Queensland.
Queensland #COVID19 Update 30/10/2021
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) October 30, 2021
We've had no new locally acquired cases detected in the community overnight.
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Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, has said efforts to clean up damage caused from recent weather will be focused over coming days before more conditions deteriorate again on Wednesday.
Crisp also said some residents are still without power across the state.
There have been 5,000 requests for assistance as a result of the storms in recent days, with about 4,000 of the requests relating to trees that have fallen down and cut power lines or blocked roads.
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We have some more information about the three people who have died with Covid in New South Wales.
A man in his 40s from Newcastle died at John Hunter Hospital. He had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and had underlying health issues.
A man in his 60s from western Sydney died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and had underlying health issues.
A man in his 80s from south-western Sydney died at Liverpool Hospital, where he acquired his infection. He had received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine and had underlying health issues.
ACT records nine new Covid-19 cases
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded nine new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday.
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We’re expecting Victoria’s Covid-19 commander, Jeroen Weimar, to provide a coronavirus update at 11am.
Today’s update is set to be the last daily Victorian update.
The Victorian government is scrapping the daily Covid-19 press conferences as the state further eases restrictions.
After Saturday, key information and statistics will instead be issued through a press release at about 11am each day.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton will still front press conferences for major Covid announcements.
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A Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine has conducted a port visit to Perth, in what defence minister Peter Dutton said reflects Australia’s new security pact with the United Kingdom and United States.
On Friday, the Astute class submarine went alongside HMAS Stirling in Rockingham, as part of a visit to Australia to give its crew a short period of respite from its deployment to the Indo-Pacific.
The crew complied with a 14-day quarantine period before entering Western Australia.
Dutton said “the Aukus (Australia + UK + US) partners have committed to bolstering our collective efforts in meeting the challenges posed by our strategic circumstances in the Indo-Pacific”.
“The Royal Navy’s visit to Perth reflects this commitment but is also a clear demonstration of the strong ties between our two navies that go back more than a century.
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said “with many shared security interests, it is natural that Australia is at the heart of the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt”.
The submarine’s visit came after Scott Morrison spoke with French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, the first time since Australia scrapped a $90bn submarine deal with the French Naval Group to enter an agreement with the US and the UK for nuclear-powered subs.
Macron told Morrison Australia had “broke the relationship of trust” between the two countries.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden also met Macron overnight, and said the United States had been “clumsy” in its orchestration of the Aukus agreement, and that he had believed France had been informed “long before” the announcement in September.
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Victoria records 1,355 new cases, 11 deaths
Victorian health authorities have announced 1,355 new locally acquired Covid cases.
There were also 11 deaths in the daily reporting period announced on Saturday morning.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 29, 2021
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/wWOwlqPzB2
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NSW records 236 new Covid cases, three deaths
There have been 236 new locally acquired Covid cases reported in New South Wales today.
Three people have also died with Covid.
NSW COVID-19 update – Saturday 30 October 2021
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 29, 2021
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
- 93.5% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 87% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 77,271 tests pic.twitter.com/o1zfZbcaBw
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Climate strategy says cost of natural disasters expected to double by 2060
A new climate adaptation strategy released by the Morrison government says the cost of natural disasters are expected to almost double by 2060 and backed the importance of markets to help Australians cope as the planet heats up.
The National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy 2021-25, released on Friday, identifies a range of perils from intensifying cyclones to rising sea levels and heatwaves.
Citing evidence by Deloitte Access Economics, it says the cost of natural disasters in Australia will increase from about $38b to $73b by 2060 even with ambitious global action to reduce emissions.
The report’s release comes just days after the Morrison government revealed its plan for Australia to reach net zero emissions by 2050. As with that plan, the adaptation strategy was touted as tailor-made for Australia.
“The strategy guides how we will adapt to our uniquely Australian climate, in an Australian way and will integrate the latest climate information, environmental science and adaptation strategies into everyday decision-making,” the environment minister, Sussan Ley, said.
“Successful adaptation will help ensure that buildings, infrastructure, ecosystems, our communities and our economy are resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
However, as with the emissions plan, there is no new funding attached to the strategy. There is also little mention, compared with the 2015 strategy, of the need to cut emissions to reduce the climate risks in the first place.
The latest version says the government’s role should include helping markets to develop ways to build resilience into the values of assets under threat from global heating.
“Investors in long-lived assets are seeking agreed approaches that integrate the financial, economic and social impacts of climatic shocks and operational stressors over time,” the report said, without detailing what tools might work.
Polly Hemming, an adviser at the Australia Institute, said the policy “simply re-announces existing initiatives” and was light on detail. “While introducing three overarching objectives, there are no clear targets or timelines,” she said.
Those objectives are to drive investment and action through collaboration, improve climate information and services; and assess progress and improve over time.
The government plans to present the strategy at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
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A needle-free Covid-19 vaccine patch is set to go through clinical trials from the middle of next year.
Vaxxas, the Brisbane biotech company behind the technology, has already conducted successful trials on animals, in partnership with the University of Queensland.
Michael Junger, Vaxxas head of medical devide and process engineering, told the ABC that the patches could potentially be self-administered.
Covid-19 is not going away, it will be with us for a long time. It’s not just about the vaccine, it’s about the administration of it.
If there’s a future pandemic, the last thing you want to do is rock up to a vaccination centre and line up with thousands of people to get a vaccine, so that leaves the door open to self administration.”
The patch has thousands of “vaccine-coated microprojections”, and deliver the vaccine to. immune cells below the skin surface after only a few seconds of application.
Junger said recipients still feel a sensation when the patch is applied because it must still “breach the skin”.
The Morrison government’s 2050 net zero emissions plan relies on a “gross manipulation” of data that suggests trees and soil can absorb far more carbon dioxide than is actually possible, according to experts in the field.
The government’s long-term emissions reduction strategy, released ahead of a major climate summit in Glasgow starting on Sunday, was criticised for not including new policies and relying on new technology to make deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the 2030s and 2040s.
It assumed 10-20% of the emissions cut needed by 2050 would come from paying for international and domestic offsets, including planting trees and other vegetation on marginal agricultural land and techniques to improve the health of soil.
This would allow some fossil fuel industries to operate beyond 2050 by effectively cancelling out their emissions by drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Read more:
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Melbourne and Victoria’s regions were reunited after coronavirus restrictions eased at 6pm last night, ahead of the state hitting its 80% full vaccination target this weekend weekend.
Masks are no longer mandatory outside and non-essential retail and gyms are reopening, with crowds to test the state’s Covid-19 vaccination check-in system today.
A crowd of 5,500 is expected through the gates of Flemington Racecourse for Derby Day today, marking the start of the four-day Melbourne Cup carnival.
Later, in the heart of the city, almost 4,000 music fans will gather for a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and performances from Baker Boy, Amyl and the Sniffers, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Other smaller outdoor gigs affiliated with the Play on Victoria series will also be held across regional Victoria over the weekend.
Victoria recorded 1,656 cases on Friday 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 on Friday. Just half of Indigenous Australians aged over 16 are fully vaccinated.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, arrived in Italy on Friday night for a G20 meeting. Morrison told reporters Australia had “started the way back” in repairing diplomatic ties with France after a phone call with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on Thursday. The call followed Australia scrapping a $90bn submarine deal with Naval Group in favour of an agreement with the US and UK on nuclear-powered subs.
US president Joe Biden met with Marcron at France’s Vatican embassy in Rome on Friday and acknowledged that the announcement of a security and technology pact that blindsided France was a “clumsy” episode handled with a lack of grace.
Thousands of Victorian households are still without power after wild storms battered parts of the state.
Yesterday the news was dominated by former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s appearance before Icac, in which she said she still wouldn’t have disclosed her close personal relationship with Daryl Maguire to her ministerial colleagues if she had her time again. Among the revelations was confirmation she secured more than $100m for a hospital in Maguire’s Wagga Wagga electorate.
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