What we learned today, Monday 19 April
That is where we will leave the live blog for Monday. Thanks for following along. Here’s what we learned today:
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced a royal commission into veteran suicide, which could start by July and may run for up to two years. The royal commission had been long called for, and has been widely welcomed, aside from criticism that it took the government too long to come to the table.
- The defence minister, Peter Dutton, reversed a decision by the chief of the defence force, Angus Campbell, to revoke the meritorious unit citations of 3,000 special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan, as had been recommended by the Brereton report.
- The first flights between Australia and New Zealand under the new trans-Tasman bubble launched on Monday. There were emotional scenes in NZ airports as family and friends reunited for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, with travellers between the two countries now no longer needing to quarantine for two weeks.
- National cabinet met in the first of its two meetings this week, where the PM and state and territory leaders agreed in principle to changes to the vaccine rollout, to be decided on Thursday. It is expected there will be a “big reset” of the program, including bringing forward vaccinations of people over 50 years of age with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and states potentially launching mass vaccination hubs, as Victoria is already doing.
- Western Australia will require all hotel quarantine workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 from 10 May.
My colleague, Matilda Boseley, will be back with you in the morning with all the latest news.
Updated
National cabinet agrees to vaccination rollout changes
The PM’s office has just released the statement out of the national cabinet meeting tonight. This is the bit on what was agreed to:
National cabinet agreed in-principle to a series of changes to the Australian Covid-19 vaccination strategy that will be put forward for approval at the next meeting of national cabinet, including options to bring forward the commencement of vaccinations for over-50-year-olds under the Australian Covid-19 vaccination strategy priority group 2A, and the readiness of more state- and territory-operated vaccination sites, including mass vaccination sites, as vaccine supplies increase.
National cabinet reinforced that general practice will continue to be the primary model of rolling out vaccinations for Australians over 50 years of age, with states and territories to consider options to supplement rollout through expanded state vaccination centres.
The commonwealth will continue to finalise the vaccination of residential aged care facility residents with Pfizer using an in-reach model.
So essentially they’ve agreed to consider a policy of bringing forward vaccinating people over the age of 50, using the supply of AstraZeneca we have in train, and preparing mass vaccination sites, as Victoria is already doing.
That consideration will be on Thursday, so we will have the actual decision after Thursday’s meeting.
Updated
WA to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for hotel quarantine workers
This can be filed under rules I thought were already in place (they are in Victoria at least), but people who work in the hotel quarantine system in WA will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 from 10 May.
Workers are already swabbed weekly and have daily saliva tests, but security guards, cleaners and all hotel staff, including ADF personnel and WA police, will be required to be vaccinated under the scheme.
Around 60% of workers have consented to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccines, and 31% have received their second dose.
Premier Mark McGowan:
Mandating the vaccine to work in WA’s hotel quarantine system was not my first preference, but it’s critically important for WA’s defence against Covid-19.
Hotel workers are in the highest risk category given their ongoing exposure to international arrivals. In the past two weeks alone, we’ve had 21 confirmed Covid-19 cases detected in returned travellers in our quarantine hotels.
It’s important to ensure hotel quarantine workers are vaccinated to reduce their chance of contracting Covid-19 and spreading it to others and significantly reducing the transmission risk.
Updated
'Big reset' of vaccine rollout
We haven’t had any press releases or press conferences out of the national cabinet meeting today but AAP has this:
Emerging from the meeting, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters in Brisbane there had been a “good discussion” about the vaccine rollout.
“It’s a big reset on the vaccine rollout,” she said, adding that “firm decisions” would be announced later in the week.
“Everyone went into that room with the right attitude.”
Asked about a proposal floated to allow Australians returning from overseas to undertake home quarantine, she said no formal proposal was put up.
“Our hotel quarantine has worked incredibly well to date.”
Tasmania has flagged a specific role in the reset, offering to vaccinate aged care and disability workers, which were to be covered by the federal program.
New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier said everyone should be “far less rigid” in the approach to the vaccine rollout.
“Given we know that there’s no issue with anyone over 50 having the AstraZeneca and there is considerable supply in Australia at the moment, that we need to really crack on with it,” she said.
“We have got the capacity for the mass vaccination hubs.”
Updated
Dutton says chief of the defence force, Angus Campbell, has accepted the overturning of his decision on the citation:
Well, I spoke to the chief of the defence force, obviously, and told him my decision and he accepted that. Angus Campbell is an incredibly capable and professional person. I have the utmost respect for him. I’ve worked with him and a finer Australian you couldn’t find. He is, like a lot of people, impacted by the Brereton report, some of the shocking allegations, and his response was appropriate at the time.
My decision, considering all of the facts now, means that we can say to the Australian Defence Force personnel who were involved that: ‘We want you to wear that medal on Anzac Day. We want you to continue to be proud of the service that you’ve given.’ He accepts all of that.
Updated
Defence minister Peter Dutton just made some comments about that decision on not revoking citations of around 3,000 special forces at a press conference in Perth.
He said they should be recognised:
There are 39,000 men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have served in our name in the Middle East in recent conflicts, and they’ve done so because they want to keep our country safe, they want to keep the rest of the world safe from terrorism, from the evils of ISIL.
I’ve remarked before that we’ve brought Yazidi women to our country. They were enslaved, raped and murder by ISIL. That is the sort of adversary that our defence personnel were up against. Where there have been acts that were quite remarkable and have been recognised through the unit citation, I want that to be recognised.
It doesn’t diminish from the fact that some people have done the wrong thing and people will be held to account for those allegations if they’re proven to be correct.
Russell also strongly supported defence minister Peter Dutton’s decision not to revoke the citations of all special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan:
“I can’t believe it took this long ... I know – I have spoken to some families of the fallen, those 21 veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in Afghanistan, who stood to lose the citation. Just the sigh of relief they have for – I had a mother talking to me about trying to unpick the back of her son’s presentation to remove the unite citation. You want to talk about trauma, 10 years after the date of losing her son, that’s the trauma she should not have gone through. The decision by Minister Dutton has just sent absolute shock waves of hope and support through – and provided common sense to those families and veterans who have done nothing wrong.”
Updated
The founder of Voice for Veterans, and retired special forces major Heston Russell has welcomed the royal commission into veteran suicide, and has outlined how he think it will work with the government’s proposed national commissioner role.
He said once the commission starts, the national commissioner will only review suicide cases after that date, while the royal commission will have all cases before then.
He says the person or people appointed to lead the royal commission should not be former defence personnel but eminent Australians:
“We cannot have a former defence person come in. That was a big part of the failed uptake by the veteran community of the interim National Commissioner. Unfortunately, Dr – formerly – brigadier Bernadette Boss was a former member. The community has had enough. We need an eminent Australian, which we have plenty of, to be able to do this without inkling of issues or connectivity with defence to give it independence and part of the core reason we called for a royal commission and not the interim commissioner or the national commissioner model.”
Updated
Would a Labor government be in a different position with the vaccines? Butler says yes, because deals should have been signed with Pfizer earlier than December last year, and the PM should be trying to sign more deals:
If I was the prime minister, I would be calling other countries. We know, for example, the US will soon be manufacturing more Pfizer than they need. I would be getting on the phone if I was the prime minister and trying to secure whatever supplies of Pfizer are available around the world.
I accept that won’t be easy. I accept that I think some poor decision making by the government last year has put us in this position that is hard to get out of. Right now, all effort should be made to get more doses of the Pfizer into the country, particularly in light of the advice we have got about under 50s. I think it’s also a terrible shame that the government did not do a deal with Moderna, the other highly effective mRNA vaccine.”
Updated
Shadow health minister Mark Butler tells the ABC that other states should adopt Victoria’s mass vaccination centres, but should do so with the confidence that they will get enough supply of Covid-19 vaccine to meet demand.
He says GPs should be brought into the plan to deliver high numbers of vaccines, whereas some are only getting between 50-100 vaccines per week.
The shadow minister also says there’s a strong argument for the Pfizer vaccine to be prioritised for under 50s, and reserved for healthcare workers under 50 who haven’t been vaccinated yet. He admitted, there had been a “confidence hit” for the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged over 5o.
“Is defence too woke?” is a question that was put to Chester after a backbench Liberal MP was reported to suggest so by the ABC.
Chester says it’s “not an issue on [his] desk”, and it’s “froth and bubble”.
Chester was asked about the “new facts” defence minister Peter Dutton referred to in deciding not to revoke the citations for thousands of special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan.
Chester said he thought about it, and decided no good could come from the revocation for those who had not committed crimes:
“So, my view has been that certainly if there are people who are found to have acted with some level of criminality, people who have acted in a dishonourable way, they may well have the right to wear that... That’s appropriate. I didn’t believe that the group punishment, if you like, of trying to strip the citation away from all of those veterans, all those serving - some of them are still serving member, of course, was appropriate.
That was the announcement the minister made today. Now, I mean, I know in our jobs, in your job, my job, there’s often a focus on division between people on serious issues. I think it’s OK in this case, the chief of defence put forward a strong view. The minister took a different view. I respect the chief of defence, his work is important.”
Updated
Royal commission into veteran suicide to include sexual assault and bullying
Chester also indicated the commission could look at sexual harassment and bullying in the ADF:
“I have no doubt that issues of that nature will be presented at some point during the royal commission. I have no doubt that will occur, Patricia. I’ve spoken obviously to the chiefs of all the service, the chief of defence force. They have a zero tolerance to bullying and sexual harassment. There is no question that are still people who commit those types of offences.
The Australian Defence Force is not immune. I am sure those issue also be raised. I do really again stress, Patricia, for the vast majority of people their service in the Australian Defence Force is the proudest moment of their life, their capacity to keep us safe in a challenging world, to provide that humanitarian, aid, disaster relief, we rely on them leave heavily. As we approach Anzac Day, we owe them that respect.”
Updated
The veterans’ affairs minister, Darren Chester, is asked on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing whether the government waiting so long to announce the royal commission into veteran suicide means the commission is now around 15 months behind schedule.
Unsurprisingly he disagrees, and draws a distinction between the government’s proposed national commissioner role (which hasn’t passed parliament) and the royal commission:
“In terms of commissioner role, what we wanted to do was get the commissioner to look retrospectively at suicides and attempted suicides with all the powers of a royal commission, and then to make recommendations going forward as an enduring policy direction. It’s clear we haven’t been able to get that through the parliament. We got it through the House of Representatives with Labor support.
They have a different position. That’s up to Labor to explain. It’s clearer to me as minister there are people in the veteran community, families in that community, who attach a great deal of significance to the royal commission, the brand of the royal commission, and the way it will assist them in terms of healing and provide comfort.”
He says Labor has a different position now because they do not support it passing the Senate. Labor occasionally lets legislation get to the Senate where it is reviewed before they make a final decision on whether to support it.
Updated
Just a reminder we’re still waiting for news out of national cabinet. The first since the new twice-weekly meetings began again, under what the PM likes to call “war footing”.
There is a push for the AstraZeneca vaccine to be made available for all over 50s ahead of the previous plan.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has called on the royal commission into defence and veterans suicide to also look at issues around staffing at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, noting there are now 379 fewer ongoing employees now than in 2012/2013, despite an increase in clients up to 323,000 in 2019-2020 compared to 313,000 in 2012-2013.
The CPSU want the commission to investigate whether the staffing cap is causing wait times and backlogs in the department.
CPSU deputy national president Brooke Muscat:
“Our members are proud to work hard every day helping our veterans, but there just are not enough workers to get the job done. Right now, there are claims older than 450 days that are yet to be processed, and even then, once a claim is determined, some clients have to wait up to five months for access to payments/pension increases due to backlogs and understaffing in other areas of the department.
“We know there will be many recommendations from such an important royal commission, and we also know access to services for veterans is a large part of the challenge. The CPSU is calling on the government to drop the staffing cap and reverse its privatisation of DVA, to ensure that backlogs and waiting times can be fixed this year.”
Updated
Fourth Royal Perth hospital staff member goes into self-quarantine
A fourth Royal Perth hospital staff member has gone into self-quarantine after removing a surgical mask prematurely while leaving the room of a Covid-19 positive patient, AAP reports.
“The breach (that) occurred yesterday afternoon was immediately detected and relevant processes enacted to ensure the safety of other staff, patients and the community,” East Metropolitan Health Service chief executive Liz MacLeod said on Monday.
“In an abundance of caution, this staff member has been placed into self-quarantine and is being monitored daily for symptoms.”
It comes just a day after a separate breach involving the same patient, the captain of the AquaGenie bulk iron ore carrier.
A service lift was not properly cordoned off after it was used to transport the man in his 60s from the RPH emergency department to the intensive care unit.
CCTV footage revealed three staff members who were not wearing personal protective equipment had unwittingly entered the lift within 15 minutes of the patient transport and prior to it being cleaned.
“WA Health public health officials have been assisting RPH and said the three staff members involved had followed correct current procedures and that any risk of COVID-19 transmission was deemed to be very low,” MacLeod said.
“In light of the weekend incidents, a full review of our policies and procedures is being undertaken.”
Two of the three were fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while the third had received their first dose, the statement said.
Liberal health spokeswoman Libby Mettam said the breach revealed “gaping holes” in the health department’s protocols for managing infected patients.
“This seriously raises the question about what the McGowan government has been doing 12 months into a pandemic, where it can’t effectively manage one patient,” she said.
“The McGowan government has had more than a year to prepare and such basic measures and procedures should well and truly be in place.”
Updated
South Australia has reported six new cases of Covid-19, all overseas-acquired by people in medi-hotels (what SA calls hotel quarantine).
South Australian COVID-19 update 19/4/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/zxo0A6F1nW
— SA Health (@SAHealth) April 19, 2021
Victorian authorities are expecting “significant demand” for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, despite ongoing concerns about potential side effects, AAP reports.
The state on Wednesday will resume its rollout of the AstraZeneca shot to eligible people under 50.
Those under the age of 50 will be required to sign a consent form, which outlines the risks of taking the vaccine.
Three mass vaccination sites offering the AstraZeneca vaccine will also open their doors on Wednesday to Victorians in phase 1a and 1b of the rollout.
Anyone over the age of 70 can show up with or without a booking at the Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and Geelong’s former Ford factory for the jab.
Infectious diseases expert Ben Cowie, who is leading Victoria’s vaccine rollout, urged anyone who has concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine to speak with their GP.
“Some people won’t take up this offer and will wait and see what happens, that’s OK,” Cowie told ABC radio Melbourne on Monday.
“A lot of GPs have reported that they had some cancellations, but correspondingly they had a lot of people snapping up those slots for vaccination.
“My ideal would be we have a slow and steady, safe, build-up, but I think there’ll be significant demand out there from people who want to get vaccinated because this is the way we keep Victoria safe and keep Victoria open.”
He confirmed Pfizer vaccines will not be on offer at the vaccination hubs.
Instead, they will remain prioritised for healthcare workers under 50 at hospital vaccination clinics. Health workers who have received their first Pfizer shot are also being prioritised to received their second.
Acting premier James Merlino on Monday suggested the federal government offer the AstraZeneca vaccine to everyone aged between 50 and 70 to speed up the rollout.
Updated
Some interesting search trends data from Google today about people searching for AstraZeneca and Pfizer in Australia.
Here you can see searches for the AZ vaccine are still the highest in Australia out of AZ, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
These were the top trending searches for the first two:
Top trending questions for AstraZeneca vaccine, past 7 days in Australia:
- Why does AstraZeneca cause thrombosis?
- Why AstraZeneca under 50?
- How strong is the AstraZeneca vaccine?
- Why is AstraZeneca safe for those over 55?
- What symptoms to look for after AstraZeneca vaccine?
Top trending questions for Pfizer vaccine, past 7 days in Australia:
- Where was Pfizer vaccine made?
- When does Pfizer vaccine arrive in Australia?
- How long do Pfizer vaccine effects last?
- Where can I get Pfizer vaccine Victoria?
- Is Moderna vaccine and Pfizer the same?
Uber Eats has responded to Menulog’s decision to trial a minimum wage and employee rights for their food deliverers,saying it is “not the right path forward”.
The Australian delivery company Menulog announced last week that it would aim to have all its couriers employed by the company within a “few years’ time”.
But before a NSW parliamentary inquiry today, Uber Eats’s general manager in Australia said that this was not the “right path forward” for the company.
Matthew Denman told the parliament that a “necessary outcome” of a minimum wage or employee rights would mean workers had to work set hours:
“The reason we don’t think it’s the right path forward [is] every time we ask drivers and delivery partners what they like about Uber, they say flexibility, the ability to come online any time they want, when they want.
“It would be necessary for platforms such as ours to require that driver and delivery partners only work on our platform, and that they work set shifts and they accept a certain number of trips, to pay that minimum wage. That would be a necessary outcome.”
Updated
Sexual harassment is normalised and an “open secret” across Victoria’s courts, with a review calling for legal and cultural changes to help stamp out predatory behaviour.
AAP reports the review was sparked by a separate inquiry that found former High Court justice Dyson Heydon harassed six associates while he worked there. Heydon denied the accusations.
Former Victorian human rights commissioner Helen Szoke has made 20 recommendations to better protect lawyers and others working across the state’s courts and Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
“Women also spoke of everyday sexism and a culture that often sees women and junior staff as ‘less than’,” she said.
“Sexually suggestive comments or jokes, intrusive questions about their private life, and unwelcome comments on their physical appearance were accepted as part of the job.”
When and if people did make a disclosure of sexual harassment, the response was deficient, the review was told.
Meanwhile, the court hierarchy and resulting power imbalances made sexual harassment difficult to prevent in the first place.
The review was told “a lot of people don’t really understand what sexual harassment is” and “some people think it’s funny or they have a mentality ‘oh that’s men, that’s what they do’.”
Szoke’s recommendations include changing the appointment guidelines for magistrates and judges to ensure they are explicitly required to be of good character, and to have treated colleagues and clients with respect.
The character and prior conduct of senior counsel would also be looked at more closely.
Other recommendations include training for all court staff about sexual harassment and gender inequality, and a separate and independent education program for new judicial appointees.
Updated
The general manager of Uber Eats in Australia has confirmed a rider who died while working for the company last year was using an unauthorised e-bike, and another was using an unapproved helmet.
A New South Wales parliamentary committee into the gig economy has heard from Uber representatives today, after three Uber Eats riders died in NSW last year within weeks of each other.
The chair, Labor MP Daniel Mookhey, said that SafeWork had shown the parliament an improvement notice given to Uber that said one of those riders used an e-bike that was not approved for use in NSW. Another who died was using a helmet that was not approved for NSW.
Matthew Denman, general manager for Uber Eats in Australia and New Zealand, told the inquiry initially that it had been “intimated” to him that this was true.
But Nationals MP Wes Fang stepped in to clarify.
“When you say ‘intimated’ you mean it has been communicated quite clearly to you by SafeWork,” he told Denman. “‘Intimated’ implies that it’s been said without being said. But a Safework improvement notice is quite clear.”
Denman replied: “Correct”.
Denman was asked whether the company checked riders’ equipment.
It depends on the mode of transport. The issue with something like a bicycle, is naturally we could check ... require someone to attend a location with a bike. Once they had done that, we actually have no way of knowing what bicycle someone is on.
We complete millions of trips across our platform every single week. Practically, it is not possible for us to know what bike exactly everyone is on for every single trip.
Updated
Two of the early beneficiaries of the two-way travel bubble with New Zealand will be the foreign minister, Marise Payne, and the international development minister, Zed Seselja.
The Australian government has announced the pair will travel to New Zealand from 21 to 23 April “in a first visit since Australia-New Zealand borders reopened both ways, to continue and deepen cooperation with New Zealand to meet the shared challenges facing our region.”
Payne will hold talks with New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister, Nanaia Mahuta – the first time they have met in person. She is also expected to meet with the NZ prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, in the first in-person meeting since the pandemic disrupted international travel.
The Australian government says the talks will include “a strong focus on furthering trans-Tasman cooperation to promote our shared interests in an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
The foreign ministers “will also discuss steps to strengthen Covid-19 support for our Pacific neighbours, including in relation to our respective vaccine programs, and our response to the broader economic and health impacts of the pandemic.”
Seselja, the minister for international development and the Pacific, will meet with Aupito William Sio, New Zealand’s minister for Pacific Peoples, to discuss vaccine access and rollout coordination across the Pacific.
The visit comes amid efforts by New Zealand to assert its own approach to growing tensions between China and western countries.
Mahuta told a New Zealand China Council event today that NZ was “uncomfortable with expanding the remit of the Five Eyes” intelligence network, which also includes Australia, the US, Canada and the UK.
“We would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities to express our interests.”
Updated
Two cities in Fiji go into lockdown over local Covid case
Two of Fiji’s largest cities will go into lockdown for 14 days after the country recorded its first locally acquired case of Covid-19 in over a year.
The country’s prime minister Frank Bainimarama ordered Nadi and Lautoka into lockdown on Monday after a soldier at a border quarantine facility who tested positive over the weekend had one of his 69 close contacts test positive.
The new case is a 53-year-old woman working as a maid in the quarantine facility. The other 68 tested negative.
Bainimarama said she interacted with the soldier when he showed up early to his room as it was being cleaned.
The woman resides in Nadi, and has had symptoms since Thursday but did not notify authorities. She travelled through Lautoka and Nadi, including by public transport.
To prevent further transmission the two cities will be locked down with a curfew for the containment area
Supermarkets and food shops, banks and pharmacies will remain open but gyms, cinemas, video gam shops, bars and arcades will be closed. Restaurants will only be able to offer delivery and take-away services.
The PM said these rules will be in place for at least the next 14 days.
Schools nation wide will be closed from tomorrow until the end of term.
There will also be restrictions on religious services nationwide, and on non-work gatherings:
Unfortunately, that does mean major events on the calendar over the next 14 days, including the Cocacola games, university graduations and rugby matches, will have to be cancelled.
Bainimarama noted that Fiji’s success in containing Covid had caused some complacency:
The truth is, the success Fiji has enjoyed 365 days of Covid-containment has made all of us far too comfortable with the pandemic that continued to rage beyond our shores. Social distancing has been ignored, masks have gathered dust tucked away in drawers, and businesses went back to operating as usual. The healthy habits that we learned 12 months ago were all but forgotten.
There’s no mask mandate but the PM strongly advised people to wear one.
Updated
The veterans’ affairs minister, Darren Chester, mentioned in the press conference earlier that there had been some “robust” advice from former serving members currently in parliament on the issue of veterans’ suicide.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie would probably be the top of that list.
In my first speech as a Senator, I called for a Royal Commission into veteran suicide.
— Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) April 19, 2021
It's the end of a long fight. For me, for Julie-Ann, for Karen, for Colleen, for Nikki, for too many to name.
Today's the end of a fight, and the start of a whole new one. #VetsWeForget pic.twitter.com/RNBZUGyTP8
Updated
Some more on the first arrivals in NZ under the new the trans-Tasman bubble, from AAP:
Seven-year-old Alice Hawkins hadn’t seen her mum for 15 months.
Bee Dawson had been apart from her son James since last February.
John and Elizabeth Anderson were missing their daughter since two Christmases ago.
And Olivia Mouad was waiting with her two children, waiting to re-introduce them to their aunt Rebecca.
“She’s hasn’t met her niece since she was six weeks old and she’s almost 18 months. It’s been a while,” Mouad told AAP.
“She’s missed lots of birthdays and special times. I just can’t wait to have some big family time.”
On Monday, they all waited at Wellington airport for the first arrivals from Sydney on the first day of the trans-Tasman bubble.
Maori singing filled the anxious air as they got a first glimpse of their loved ones through a specially arranged camera through to the other side of the terminal.
And one by one, as friends and relatives dribbled through the arrivals door, each was met with a mighty embrace.
“It’s been an emotional time,” Dawson said through tears.
“It’s not like the olden days when you couldn’t see people far away. You just expect to be able to see people all the time.”
The scene will be repeated up and down the country on Monday and for weeks to come after New Zealand finally lifted quarantine requirements from Australian travellers.
Updated
Scammers targeting people seeking Covid vaccines
Scammers are targeting South Australians with fake promises of early access to a Covid-19 vaccine, AAP reports.
SA police sergeant Jonathon Newman, from the Financial and Cybercrime Investigation Branch, said scammers were using the fear associated with the coronavirus pandemic to rip people off.
The Covid vaccination is free, but scammers will contact people offering them early access to the vaccine or to take part in a clinical trial if they pay them a fee.
Scammers will send emails and text messages purporting to be from legitimate sources.
These messages may contain links or attachments that will take the user to a fake website that asks for personal information and payments.
People are urged to watch out for Covid-19 vaccine advertisements sent through social media or by email.
Some are also being contacted by phone with offers to be placed on a vaccine waiting list or to undergo medical testing or procedures before obtaining a vaccine.
Some scammers are also offering to ship doses of the vaccine directly to people who pay a deposit.
It’s fair to say this scam could be anywhere in Australia, but SA authorities have felt the need to speak out.
Updated
“Something like a scene from Love Actually,” was New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s impression of how families reuniting at the border must have felt as the trans-Tasman bubble opened today.
Speaking to reporters at a post-cabinet press conference, Ardern said she was disappointed cabinet’s meeting had coincided with the first flight from Australia landing in Wellington, as she would have liked to have been a bystander watching the reunions:
It is truly exciting to be able to welcome our Tasman cousins quarantine-free to Aotearoa. Today marks an important milestone in NZ’s Covid-19 recovery.
Ardern said she was personally experiencing some of the excitement that had greeted the travel bubble. “I, like many New Zealanders, have friends and family in Australia,” she said, including some who were “desperate to return to New Zealand”.
“I know how enthusiastically this has been greeted and I’m really pleased about that.”
She said she would be stopping by the airport to celebrate later today. Ardern said the quarantine-free bubble between two countries, both committed to eliminating coronavirus in the community, was a world first. She said the government was now exploring options for travel bubbles with other Covid-free nations in the Pacific, but not looking further afield than that.
Updated
O’Connor says Dutton has indicated there was “new evidence” that led to him making the decision not to strip special forces of their meritorious unit citations today, and O’Connor said that new evidence should be released:
To date, we have not been presented with any new evidence and therefore, we can only conclude that the defence minister has decided to make a decision at odds with Angus Campbell, the head of the Australian defence force.
He says the defence portfolio is a “mess”:
We have had six defence ministers in eight years. We have issues with the largest contracts of defence asset in our history. We have contradictions between former and current defence ministers in relation to serious inquiries. And the government needs to get its house in order to deal with these issues.
Updated
Labor’s shadow minister for defence, Brendan O’Connor, has welcomed the announcement of the royal commission into veterans’ suicides, but says the decision should have been made earlier:
We are glad to see the government has made a decision, although it does seem it has done so begrudgingly, belatedly and because of the pressure that has been brought to bear upon them by the veterans’s community, the veterans’s families. If anyone has spoken to Julie-Ann Finney, as I have, as many members of parliament have and others have, about the tragedy of her son’s suicide, David, and they would understand why she and other parents and family members of veterans suiciding needed to see this decision today.
He says Labor also supports defence minister Peter Dutton’s decision today to not go ahead with the revocation of citations of special forces who served in Afghanistan, as recommended by the Brereton report. But again he said it took five months too long to make this decision.
Updated
The #TransTasmanBubble is now officially open, with Australians and New Zealanders able to travel without quarantine between the two countries. https://t.co/hGMChQrrTU pic.twitter.com/rUVJjg6Fr7
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 19, 2021
When asked whether some states might allow Australians who have been vaccinated to home quarantine when returning from overseas, while others like WA might not, Morrison said it is possible there might not be complete national consistency:
As the vaccination program continues, that if Australians who are properly vaccinated had their two doses, are able to travel overseas and return and have an alternative form of quarantine, that would have to be safe, it would have to go through all the medical advice to ensure that the systems are in place, to ensure we kept those protections there so we didn’t see the introduction of Covid, then I would hope premiers and chief ministers would, I’m sure, respond to that medical advice and take practical steps.
He says any such easing of travel restrictions is months away. He says we need to be patient about the return of international travel, stating, again, Australia is the “envy of the world” with the lack of internal restrictions and Covid.
And that’s the end of the press conference.
Updated
Morrison would not say how much Pfizer vaccine supply is currently in the country, or how much is arriving per week. He did say it was lifting, but that was it.
He says our vaccination rate is the same as Europe, and better than South Korea, Japan and France (which is part of Europe).
Updated
Morrison pushes for bringing forward over 50s vaccination
On the national cabinet meeting this afternoon, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, says there is a strong argument to bring forward the vaccination of over 50s using the AstraZeneca vaccine supply, but says he will work with the premiers and chief ministers about that in the meeting this afternoon:
There are strong, strong arguments for the bringing forward of over 50s with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is a safe and effective vaccine for those aged over 50 and particularly important for those aged over 70 who are already in that priority group that we need to ensure are getting vaccinated across the country to protect them. Because we know if you’re aged over 70 you’re at terrible risk, we saw that with the outbreak in Victoria.
Australia has currently put 1.586m vaccinations into arms so far. Morrison said mass vaccination hubs would depend on supply of the Pfizer and Novavax vaccines, not due until Q4 this year.
Updated
Here are the themes of the consultation on the terms of reference for the royal commission into veterans’ suicides put out by the prime minister’s office just as he started speaking:
Systemic issues and analysis of the contributing risk factors relevant to defence and veteran death by suicide, including:
- Contribution of pre-service, service (including training), transition and post-service issues.
- The relevance of issues such as service, posting history and rank of the defence member or veteran.
- The manner of the recruitment of the person into the Australian defence force.
- The manner in which a person transitioned from the Australian defence force.
- The availability, quality and effectiveness of health, wellbeing and support services.
- How information about individuals is shared by and within the government.
- How matters of individuals’ mental and physical health are captured during enlistment and during and after service.
- The quality and availability of support services for families, friends and colleagues affected by a defence and veteran death by suicide.
- The risk factors of defence members and veterans who have attempted or contemplated suicide or have other lived experiences of suicide.
The protective and rehabilitative factors for defence members and veterans who have attempted or contemplated suicide or have other lived experiences of suicide.
The engagement of defence members and veterans with commonwealth, state or territory governments about support services, claims or entitlements.
The royal commission will be asked to make any recommendations, including recommendations about any policy, legislative, administrative or structural reforms.
Updated
Morrison says the royal commission on veterans’ suicides could take between 18 months and two years to complete from July:
It would take the royal commission, I anticipate, somewhere between 18 months and two years to complete. That’s based on the breadth of the terms of reference that are before us and our experience in dealing with other royal commissions. We’ve seen in disabilities and aged care in particular, this will take some time I think to work through the many issues that I know families and veterans will want to raise. So we’re making that time available. I would hope that that would, at the latest, be able to be up and running at the start of the next – in July, and it may well be able to be established before then.
But he says the government will make more announcements in this area before then, including in the budget in a couple of weeks.
Updated
Just noting here the support information during this press conference:
In Australia, support and counselling for veterans and their families is available 24 hours a day from Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or www.openarms.gov.au and Safe Zone Support on 1800 142 072 or https://www.openarms.gov.au/safe-zone-support.
Updated
Morrison is asked whether he was dragged to this position after members of his own government crossed the floor of parliament to vote for a motion for the royal commission.
He said he was never opposed to one, but wanted to get things right:
I’m just seeking to get things down, Andrew. That’s what’s always driven me on this issue. I’m pragmatic to get the right outcomes for veterans. That’s what we’re doing right here. This is what’s important – getting the commission in place to address the many issues that I know families want to be able to engage with a commission, to tell those stories, to say what happened, to share that experience. And to ensure that the government continues to learn from each and every experience. The national commissioner will do that, the royal commission will do that. They will work together. That’s what we’re achieving here. We’re combining these initiatives together. We’re working together to achieve what I believe families and veterans want achieved. That’s what a government should do. That’s what I am doing.
Updated
Scott Morrison has announced a royal commission into veterans’ suicide after months of increasing political pressure over the issue.
The government had previously resisted calls for such an inquiry by saying its plans for a national commissioner for defence and veteran suicide prevention would be able to examine the problem on a rolling basis and would have similar powers to a royal commission. But the bills to set up such a commissioner as an independent statutory office holder have languished in the Senate.
Last month a non-binding motion calling for a royal commission passed both houses of parliament with cross-party support. The government did not oppose the motion after the lower house crossbencher Craig Kelly – formerly a Liberal MP – indicated he intended to support it. Labor has also been pushing for a royal commission, arguing last week that it was “a national disgrace that more veterans have died by suicide than in war in the past 20 years, and veterans are dying at twice the rate of suicide of the general population.”
After the government announced last week that the final 80 Australian defence personnel still in Afghanistan would be home by September, advocates for veterans’ support renewed their calls for greater government action to address their welfare.
Heston Russell, a retired Australian special forces major who was deployed to Afghanistan four times, told Guardian Australia last week he was pleased the motion had passed the parliament but “it’s been pretty disheartening” that Morrison hadn’t announced one yet.
Russell at the time said he hoped the prime minister reflected democratic processes and acted on the call. “Do the right thing,” he said.
Updated
PM announces royal commission into veteran suicides
As foreshadowed, Morrison has announced a royal commission into veteran suicides.
The draft terms of references will be released today and will be out for consultation with the states and territories and the veteran community for the next four weeks.
Morrison:
The royal commission will have a mandate to examine the systemic issues and any common themes and past deaths by suicide of Australian Defence Force members and veterans. The experience of members and veterans who may continue to be at risk of suicide. It will examine all aspects of service in the Australian defence force and the experience of those transitioning from active service. The availability and quality of health and support services. The pre-service and post-service issues for members and veterans. Members and veterans, social and family contexts such as family breakdown, as well as housing and employment issues for members and veterans.
The inquiry won’t make findings of civil or criminal wrongdoing, findings on the manner of death won’t expect all veterans’ families to participate, and will be able to hold private sessions. Minister for veterans’ affairs, Darren Chester will be leading the consultations.
Updated
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, says governments must be increasingly cognisant of the mental health toll on veterans returning back to Australia before they make the decision to deploy forces into wars in the future:
We have been taking many steps as a government, as governments before us have as well, to address this very serious issue of death by suicide of our veterans and our serving defence force personnel. There have been many initiatives but the problem is still with us. The grief of the families, the hardship of the comrades, as they have fought together and then have to deal with the aftermath of the fight when they return here to this country.
Updated
PM press conference begins
Prime minister Scott Morrison starts the press conference by noting the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble between Australia and New Zealand. He says it’s a win-win for the two countries, and is six months since Australia first opened up for NZ travellers without requiring them to go into two weeks of hotel quarantine.
Updated
Some emotional photos of people reuniting at Auckland airport are coming through as the first flight from Sydney arrived in Auckland as part of the new two-way travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.
Updated
Thanks Matilda. We are still just waiting for the press conference to start, any minute now...
With that, I will leave you for the day, but don’t worry, the brilliant Josh Taylor is here to guide you through the upcoming Scott Morrison press conference.
Guardian Australia medical editor Melissa Davey has an amazing article today on how hard it really is to find adequate, affordable mental healthcare.
Many Australians experience the country’s mental health system as inadequate, dangerous and financially punishing, saying they often feel unsafe in hospitals, are dismissed by health professionals and are hit with prohibitive costs that government subsidies do not come close to covering.
And practitioners in turn have spoken of burnout and their frustration with misplaced funding, inadequate quick fixes, overmedication of patients and inconsistencies and duplication in the system, while acknowledging that many seeking help find the system “deeply traumatic”.
Many who responded to Guardian Australia’s call-out asking readers to share experiences of the mental health system are the face of the “missing middle”, a term often used in reports and inquiries aimed at assessing the gaps in the mental health system.
The Orygen youth mental health service in Victoria says the “missing middle” refers to those who “are often too unwell for primary care but not unwell enough for state-based services”. In other words, their care is too complex for a GP but not severe enough for admission to hospital.
You can read her full story below:
The first quarantine-less flight to leave Sydney for New Zealand since borders were shut by the Covid-19 pandemic more than a year ago was ... running an hour and 20 minutes late.
It didn’t matter once we’d landed in Auckland. I’ve just been watching (along with what must be every journalist in NZ) as the stream of passengers from flight JQ281 – the first quarantine-less flight to land in NZ since borders were shut in response to the Covid-19 pandemic more than a year ago – made their way through the arrivals gate.
It was a lot.
As each new arrival has made their way through the gate, they’ve been swamped by the (presumably quite disorientating) combination of someone they love (quite often literally) jumping on them while about thirty cameras surround them. All while an acoustic band sings the words “welcome home, welcome home, welcome home” over and over again.
No one seems unhappy about the synaptic overload. Although Auckland airport has obviously worked very hard to generate this media moment, the outpouring of emotion as each new arrival is reunited with their loved ones (mothers and sons, mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, partners, etc etc) is genuinely very touching.
In Sydney this was very low-key; the early morning start meant most passengers onboard flight JQ281 – the first quarantine-less flight to land in NZ since borders were shut in response to the Covid-19 pandemic more than a year ago – weren’t really buying into the fuss made by Jetstar (including champagne at the departures gate).
But that coolness has all melted away on the other side of the ditch.
Updated
Berejikilan says phased rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine should be abandoned in favour of offering vaccine to anyone who wants it
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has suggested the phased rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be scrapped, in favour of an open plan due an abundance of spare doses, reports Tiffanie Turnbull from AAP.
Speaking ahead of a national cabinet meeting on Monday, Berejiklian said Australians want a less structured approach to the rollout.
We should be far less rigid in how we approach the vaccination rollout, given we know that there’s no issue with anyone over 50 having AstraZeneca, and there is quite considerable supply in Australia at the moment...
We need to really crack on with it.
Phase 1a and 1b of the vaccine rollout are currently underway – meaning aged care, disability, quarantine and health care workers, as well as aged care residents are eligible for the jab.
Anyone with an underlying medical condition, significant disability, or aged over 70 (55 for Indigenous Australians) – are also eligible to receive a jab.
But, medical advice updated earlier this month recommended AstraZeneca – the “workhorse” of the rollout – be scrapped as the preference for people under 50, due to the risk of a rare blood clot disorder.
That has left many states with an abundance of spare doses, with much of the workforce included in phase 1 aged under 50 and others cancelling their appointments out of concern.
Berejiklian says she’s looking forward to advancing discussions about offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone over 50 willing to have it.
In NSW alone, we have two and a half million people over the age of 50 who are eligible to have a vaccine...
We do have a sufficient supply of vaccine for the next little while.
I think we can do better. I don’t know how long I’ve been saying that NSW is ready to step up.
Updated
Okay, the alert has just come through.
The prime minister will front media at 12.30pm today, in about 45 minutes.
At the moment it looks like this press conference will likely be to announce a royal commission into veteran suicides.
Updated
Royal commission into veteran suicides to be announced
It looks like Scott Morrison will soon announce a start date of a royal commission into veteran suicides.
Defence minister Peter Dutton has confirmed the announcement of an inquiry is imminent while speaking to Nine’s Sydney radio station this morning.
It will be announced by the prime minister in the not-too-distant future ... We want that work to get under way and that’s what will happen.
Dutton said the government was still committed to creating a permanent commission of inquiry into veteran suicides, but suggested the independent commissioner will operate alongside a standalone inquiry.
Now 7 News is reporting that the announcement will be made today. This will allow funding for the inquiry would be included in next month’s federal budget.
🚨BREAKING: #7NEWS understands the Prime Minister will today announce a Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide. More info soon. #auspol
— Jennifer Bechwati (@jenbechwati) April 19, 2021
Updated
Seventeen asylum seekers are being flown to Melbourne after Queensland Health ordered the Australian Border Force to move them out of a Brisbane quarantine facility.
The 17 men had been held in the Kangaroo Point Central hotel and apartments for more than a year after being brought to Australia for medical care from detention centres Nauru and Manus Island, reports AAP.
On Friday the men were unexpectedly moved from the hotel to the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation facility due to an ongoing dispute between the hotel owners, the lessor and sub-lessor Serco.
Serco helps run immigration detention sites for the federal government.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul says Queensland Health then told the ABF and Serco that the men couldn’t be held at BITA because it’s a quarantine facility.
He told the AAP the men were woken at 4am on Monday, bussed to the airport and flown to Melbourne.
They were very hurriedly pushed out of Kangaroo Point last Friday and they just weren’t ready ...
We have been anticipating that they were going to be moved to Melbourne for some time, and it’s just happening this morning.
Comment has been sought from Queensland Health and the Department of Home Affairs.
Rintoul expects the men to be transferred to Melbourne’s Park hotel rather than the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation facility.
He said at least three of the men were told they would be handcuffed on the domestic flight, but he couldn’t yet confirm that had happened.
So they weren’t in handcuffs when they left the detention centre in Brisbane, but they were told that we’re going to be put in handcuffs while flying ...
Every shift is traumatic. Most of these guys have lost everything more than once. On Manus their eviction from the old detention centre was violent.
They should not have been shifted from Kangaroo Point hotel, they should have been released.
You can read our reporting on this from over the weekend below:
Updated
No new local cases in NSW
OK! No new local Covid-19 cases in NSW.
This comes after hotel quarantine guests were infected by fellow travellers in a nearby room.
There were some fears that staff may have been infected, but the NSW Government said they were fairly confident this incident did not pose a threat to the public.
So far it looks like that have been correct.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 19, 2021
Eight new cases were acquired overseas to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,195. pic.twitter.com/sS7Lydww2H
Investigations continue into how COVID-19 transmission occurred between two families of returned travellers in adjoining rooms during hotel quarantine at the Adina Apartment Hotel, Town Hall. The investigation has not identified any further cases of transmission to date.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) April 19, 2021
Updated
Here is our first look at Auckland airport, where reporter Michael McGowan has just landed.
I am in New Zealand. The first (quarantine-less) flight from Sydney has just landed and it is very genuinely emotional (and also an extremely hectic media event). @MatildaBoseley pic.twitter.com/LfN3vLzDnc
— Michael McGowan (@mmcgowan) April 19, 2021
Updated
There she is! The travel bubble is here, and this is the GC’s first arriving flight from NZ @9NewsGoldCoast pic.twitter.com/SeWupLkmeB
— Lily Greer (@lilgreer9) April 19, 2021
Just a heads up, we haven’t had those NSW Covid-19 numbers just yet.
They usually come out at 11am.
Although Gladys Berejiklian has already been out and about this morning and seemed pretty calm and in good spirits, hanging out with Chris Hemsworth, so it doesn’t really seem like terrible news is right around the corner.
Updated
The director of the End Rape on Campus Australia organisation, Sharna Bremer, seems as confused as the rest of us over what the new government consent training video is talking about.
I spent three days digging through the government's website. I watched every video. I read all of the accompanying materials.
— Sharna Bremner (@sharnatweets) April 19, 2021
I cannot work out what the milkshakes, tacos or sharks are supposed to represent. And I run an org called "End Rape on Campus Australia". https://t.co/sshajJPAkk
Updated
New Zealand prepares for a wave of Aussie tourists
Cities across New Zealand are putting out the welcome mat for Australian arrivals.
From the air, arrivals to Wellington will be greeted with the words Welcome Whānau (Māori for family) painted in enormous letters next to the runways. Duty-free stores re-stocked shelves and rolled up the barriers, many opening for the first time in around a year.
At Auckland airport, a choir warmed up for a rendition of Welcome Home, by Dave Dobbyn, and families waited to greet new arrivals.
It was “a very significant day” for both countries, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said in an interview with Morning Report.
I don’t know anywhere else in the world that’s doing that, so it is a very big day and exciting for family and friends.
Despite that excitement, the bubble still represents a risk for New Zealand’s Covid-free haven - and a political risk for Ardern’s government. It has been greeted with trepidation from the wider New Zealand public, with polling finding only around half of New Zealanders, or 49%, were in favour of opening the trans-Tasman bubble.
The poll by Research New Zealand for RNZ surveyed a sample of 1,000 New Zealanders, and found 22 % of respondents were still on the fence about the bubble, and 28 % were against an opening.
Research NZ managing partner Emanuel Kalafatelis told RNZ that, given the positive media coverage of the bubble, he was “surprised” by the results. “We thought the support would be a lot higher,” he said.
The top concern for those against the bubble was the risk of Australians bringing Covid into the country, and that it would cause further lockdowns. The top two reasons for those in favour were catching up with friends and family, and economic reasons, given the bubble is expected to stimulate New Zealand’s tourism, hospitality and retail sectors.
Those tourism operators are cautiously optimistic. In March, Tourism New Zealand forecast that opening travel to Australians could allow tourism revenue to recover to 70% of pre-Covid levels, in a NZ$1bn boost to the New Zealand economy over the rest of the year.
But major campervan operator Tourism Holdings Limited told TVNZ that so far, many Australians have been “window shopping”, with searches up but not matched by an equivalent rise in bookings. Those may rise steadily: if initial flights are predominantly filled with reuniting families, subsequent arrivals could tilt more towards tourism.
Updated
Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing @Mark_Butler_MP is in Adelaide today and will hold a doorstop on the vaccine rollout and national cabinet at 1:00pm local time (1:30pm AEST) #auspol
— Political Alert (@political_alert) April 19, 2021
SIP!
I know I should stop picking on Palaszczuk’s graphic design choices but they are always just so bad.
Why is this just on top of a random iPhone image of a generic airport gate?
Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are filling airports today as quarantine-free travel opens up 🙌
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 19, 2021
The travel bubble is fantastic for families with Queensland home to more expat Kiwis than any other Australian state. pic.twitter.com/4lNIPzznIr
Did anyone want to see a series of photos of NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian being starstuck by homegrown movie star Chris Hemsworth this morning?
Don’t worry, I got you.
Great news the Mad Max prequel – Furiosa starring Chris Hemsworth – is being filmed right here in NSW. The biggest ever film to be made in Australia, supporting more than 850 local jobs and bringing in $350 million to the economy. pic.twitter.com/HzZXcqeAUt
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) April 19, 2021
Updated
More scenes from Australian airports this morning. I’m sure the Auckland reunions will start pouring in soon as the first Aussies make their way off the plane.
Very emotional scenes at Melbourne Airport this morning as Trans-Tasman travel resumes & families reunite. So many newborns meeting grandparents for the first time. @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/ryI93tsZkg
— Louisa Cheatley (@LouisaCheatley) April 19, 2021
Updated
Just an update on the shooting incident in Caboolture on Saturday afternoon.
9 News is reporting that the man charged with two counts of murder – after allegedly shooting a 23-year-old and 37-year-old – did not apply for bail when appearing in court today.
Updated
The government has released a new consent education video aimed at teenagers, and it is ... very, very strange.
News.com.au has reported that rape prevention campaigners have already slammed the video for being confusing and misleading.
Check it out:
This is the government's new video to educate teenagers on consent... and honestly, I think I actually know less about the issue after watching this. What's going on?
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) April 19, 2021
Originally reported by @samanthamaiden
Full video here -https://t.co/hzxSFGWvKq pic.twitter.com/MflbzhDPZP
Updated
First quarantine-free Australia to New Zealand flight lands
And we have touchdown!
The first quarantine-free flight from Australia to New Zealand has officially landed.
Jetstart JQ201 – the first quarantine-free bubble flight from Australia to New Zealand has just landed in Auckland pic.twitter.com/NAmeFXVhWk
— Patrick Keneally (@patrickkeneally) April 19, 2021
It looks like the first flight from Australia to New Zealand is about to land.
Hopefully, Michael McGowan (who is on the flight) will be able to bring us some updates on the world outside Australia very soon.
Updated
Besides announcing that the filming of the new Mad Max would take place in Syndey, NSW premier Glady Berejiklian has spoken this morning about what she expects from today’s national cabinet meeting.
She criticised the prime minister’s approach to the vaccine rollout, saying there needs to be more flexibility on how the jabs are distributed.
[Will we] have a sufficient supply of a vaccine for the next little while to make sure that we provide that to whoever is able to come forward and receive it? I’m looking forward to having this conversation. I think we can do better, I think we do have the opportunity to get the vaccine out to those who have it, and I’m looking forward to this conversation.
I think we should be far less rigid ... given we know there is no issue with anyone over 50 having AstraZeneca. If there is quite a considerable supply in Australia at the moment, we really need to crank it up.
I think as far as the public is concerned, we should be less rigid in the way that we roll out the vaccine, we already have the capacity for the mass vaccination hub; in New South Wales alone we have more than 100 sites already in addition to Homebush. We are able to supply the vaccine, and if at any stage there are different combinations of Pfizer or AstraZeneca we have the capacity to switch that around depending on the supply we have, so these are the conversations we need to have.
Updated
Prime minister Scott Morrison flew into Adelaide over the weekend, where he announced a $1 billion to boost South Australia’s reliance on natural gas – despite the state’s embrace of renewable energy.
The plan involves $660 million spent by the commonwealth and $440 million from the state government.
The money will be spent building a new interconnector with New South Wales, unlocking new natural gas reserves and providing investment for new hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Under the deal, a gas target will be set for 50 petajoules a year by 2023 and 80 petajoules per annum by 2030.
As an announcement, it extends a lifeline to a pre-existing $2.4bn election commitment from the South Australian Liberal party after the New South Wales interconnector ran into trouble in February. A plan to charge customers for the construction before it had been built raised eyebrows among the Australian Energy Market Commission, throwing the project into doubt.
South Australia sourced roughly 60% of its power from renewable energy generation last year.
How the announcement will be received remains to be seen, but one voter took the chance to express their feelings at a public event attended by Morrison over the weekend in very stark terms.
'Just Adelaide Things' has this video of an old fella walking up to Scott Morrison and flipping the bird in his face in South Australia https://t.co/G2IobEiYnA pic.twitter.com/TW5JSZ1cBG
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) April 18, 2021
Updated
The two-way Trans Tasman bubble is underway! The energy at Melbourne Airport this morning is palpable as families reunite @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/D0aPhhncpy
— Abbir Dib (@Abbi_Dib) April 18, 2021
Mad Max: Furiosa director George Miller says the film will shoot in locations around the state.
Without giving anything away about the story it’s quite a different film [to the previous movies], so it’s all over New South Wales, including parts of Broken Hill.
Updated
Next Mad Max movie to be filmed in Sydney
It looks like the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has stepped up to speak now and has some Hollywood related news.
And yes, that is Chris Hemsworth standing behind her in this photo. It looks like he will be starring. (Which is a fundamentally boring leading man choice, but hey that’s a discussion for a different time).
The Premier announcing the latest Mad Max movie will be filmed in Sydney and NSW and stars Chris Hemsworth. @2GB873 pic.twitter.com/U3qAwUeoyi
— Clinton Maynard (@ClintMaynard2GB) April 18, 2021
Updated
If you are an avid blog follower you would know that I am often assisted in running the live blog by my small kitten Astro.
But today I’m trying from the office rather than home and he hasn’t taken the rejection well.
Astro when I tell him I’m going into the office so he can’t help run the live blog: pic.twitter.com/eF8CpJqvez
— Matilda Boseley (@MatildaBoseley) April 18, 2021
(In actuality he just really doesn’t appreciate my grandma’s tiny Papillion coming into his home. Very offended.)
(Also I’m aware of how daggy this joke is, but I refuse to stop making it.)
Updated
Uber Eats reported 74 serious incidents – including three deaths – involving its delivery riders in NSW last year, according to the state’s workplace safety regulator, the AAP reports.
The SafeWork NSW information was tabled in state parliament ahead of the resumption of a committee inquiry into the gig economy.
Uber Eats general manager Matthew Denman and Uber’s head of driver operations Amanda Gilmore will appear at the hearing on Monday.
The inquiry will also hear from Woolworths and the NSW Farmers Association.
According to SafeWork NSW, three Uber Eats riders died on Sydney’s roads last year.
The deaths include a rider who was wearing an unapproved helmet and another who was killed while using an e-bike unapproved for use on NSW roads.
Labor’s spokesman for the gig economy, Daniel Mookhey, said the NSW government had yet to introduce legally enforceable minimum safety standards.
The government is letting platforms like Uber Eats write their own rules even though their safety record is ghastly.
Updated
Gastro outbreaks on the rise in childcare in Victoria
Just when we think we have Covid-19 under control, it looks like good old fashioned gastro is making a come back.
The Victorian health department says there have been 389 gastroenteritis outbreaks in childcare so far this year, 140 more incidents than the yearly average for April.
As a result, Victoria’s executive director for communicable disease, Dr Bruce Bolam, has put out a series of warnings, urging people to keep their children home from kinda or childcare for at least 48 hours after the child recovers.
Gastroenteritis can spread quickly through settings such as early childhood education and care services, where children play and interact closely with each other and can readily spread their bugs.
It is important that early childhood services have good hygiene practices in place and to respond quickly with thorough cleaning if any children become ill.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, alcohol-based hand sanitiser has become significantly more prevalent and is often the go-to if someone is worried they may have touched infected surfaces, but Bolam warned it is much less effective against bugs such as norovirus than soap and water.
Handwashing with soap and water is still the best personal hygiene method to minimize the chance of spreading the virus.
A good old-fashioned scrub with soap and warm water is the best way to remove the gastro virus from our hands and prevent passing it on to infect others.
Updated
No new local cases in Victoria either.
But OOOOOFT, only 877 vaccine doses administered, which seems less than ideal.
Yesterday there were no new local cases and 4 new case acquired overseas (currently in hotel quarantine).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) April 18, 2021
- 877 vaccine doses were administered
- 7,915 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/0xmnS54Kvl#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/dsdUZEqezf
Updated
Virus jumped hotel rooms in NSW quarantine
The numbers we are really hanging out for today are NSW’s.
Over the weekend it was confirmed three family members diagnosed with Covid-19 in hotel quarantine picked up the virus from fellow returned travellers.
Health detectives believe the three cases picked up the virus from a family of four who stayed in the adjoining room of the Adina Apartment Hotel at Sydney’s Town Hall.
All guests on the 12th floor of the hotel, where the families stayed, have been retested and returned negative results. Staff who worked on the floor are self-isolating and being tested.
All seven people have been transferred to special health accommodation, where they will stay until they’re no longer infectious.
The big question now is if this virus spread any further and if staff members may have been infected, potentially bringing the virus out into the community.
We usually hear from NSW Health around 11am.
Updated
No local cases of Covid-19 in Queensland today!
Monday 19 April – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 18, 2021
• 0 new cases
• 25 active cases
• 1,518 total cases
• 2,403,776 tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,442 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/VOeUYU5pSb
Some lovely photos from AAP’s Mick Tsikas coming out of Sydney Airport this morning as families from Australia and New Zealand reunite.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Awwwww, well isn’t that sweet.
Wellington Airport with a big page one and two buy-up in the Dom Post, Wellington’s newspaper, for the bubble opening pic.twitter.com/qVxNO6dN6C
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) April 18, 2021
Wait a second!!!!
Updated
In case you missed it yesterday Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has delayed his return to work until June, confirming his fractured spine will force him to miss next month’s state budget.
Andrews broke several ribs and fractured his T7 vertebra after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula in early March.
At the time he said he would require at least six weeks off to recover, which suggested a return late in April, but in social media posts on Sunday, the premier said his return date was now expected for early June.
I’m making slow and steady progress ...
A couple of weeks ago when I started daily walks, I could only manage about 15 minutes. Now I’m out for almost an hour.
The premier, who has maintained considerable support despite the state’s deadly second wave of Covid-19, said that while it was frustrating to remain out of work, he had no choice.
You only get one chance to properly recover from serious injuries.
We just have to wait until the ribs and spinal fracture have properly healed.
Above all, thanks to all those Victorians who have sent messages of love and support – it means a lot.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) April 18, 2021
I’m being regularly reviewed by my medical team and I’ll provide more updates in the weeks ahead. pic.twitter.com/lSQATqHTjX
Updated
Tackling growing vaccine hesitancy, supply and speeding up the rollout will be the main focus of the renewed biweekly national cabinet meetings, as Scott Morrison continues to raise the possibility of home quarantine – an option that will need the states’ approval to move forward.
On Sunday, both the prime minister and health minister Greg Hunt hinted that vaccinated Australians may be allowed to travel overseas and quarantine at home, rather than in hotels, in the second half of the year.
That would need the agreement of the states and territories, who at this stage remain hesitant to cede any control over what has been a successful public health response.
Hunt said home quarantine was already used in some cases but the model could be refined.
The Australian states and territories, in conjunction with the commonwealth, have largely mastered the security side of home quarantine.
You can read the full report ahead of today’s national cabinet meeting below:
Updated
The first flight from New Zealand has arrived in Sydney since the opening of the two-way trans-Tasman bubble.
Now technically people from NZ have been able to come to Australia without quarantining for months, but the need to quarantine in a hotel upon their return has quashed any chances of casual tourism.
Today marks the first day that Australia could be a viable holiday destination for the everyday New Zealander.
First flight from NZ has touched down, here’s their welcoming committee!🎉🥝✈️ @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/n7upZnhiHz
— Sophie Walsh (@sophie_walsh9) April 18, 2021
Updated
Most SAS soldiers to keep their meritorious unit citations
The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has popped up on radio to confirm the decision not to strip special forces personnel who served in Afghanistan of their meritorious unit citations.
Dutton told radio 2GB:
My judgment was that we shouldn’t be punishing the 99% for the sins of the 1%.
He said people who were proven to have done the wrong thing - “that means by a jury or by a process within defence” - would still lose the citation. He said the 99% “deserve our recognition, our praise, our honour”.
On overruling General Angus Campbell, Dutton said the decision the defence force chief had made last year had been “perfectly reasonable”.
He’s pragmatic, he understands that I’ve been able to look at all of the facts afresh.
Dutton said the newly established office of the special investigator would examine the war crimes allegations in detail:
There’s not a finer soldier in the country than Angus Campbell ... He was shocked like everyone else at the serious allegations that were being made in relation to some people.
Updated
McCormack has also been grilled over Australia’s extremely slow vaccine rollout:
Well, we’re getting there. We’re getting there.
It’s a very large country. A lot of remote communities* and one thing that I am very proud about is the fact that we haven’t actually had Covid in those remote Aboriginal communities. That’s something as a nation we can all be very proud of.
And we’ll get the vaccine out. There’s no question*. We’ve acquired another 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. We’ll get it out.
DHL and Linfox and others*** will do a great job and with the public health authorities and get it transported and get it in the arms and I urge and encourage Australians to do just that.
*It’s worth remembering the non-remote communities (like, you know, cities) haven’t been vaccinated either
**I mean I have a few questions.
***I don’t think anyone reckons the transport trucks are the central problem in our vaccine roll out.
Looks like “on best medical advice” is the phrase of the hour. I would add to the phrases we have to sip on for the morning coffee game, but I think we would all end up having a caffeine-induced breakdown by 9 am.
Last week the prime minister suggested that the next stage of international borders opening would be that vaccinated people could travel abroad and upon their return isolate for 14 days in their home when they return, rather than in a hotel.
The deputy prime minister has been asked how this would work in practice:
It will work on the best possible medical advice. I’m going to sound like a cracked record but, again, it’s so important that if the health authorities, who are paid to do that job – they’re experts at their job and we’re very lucky in Australia that we have the best possible medical advice and we have the experts – if they put a set of standards around what could possibly happen under a home quarantine situation, we’ll follow that advisement but we’ll do it through the national cabinet process.
I know that early preliminary discussions are being held now, and I know that [WA premier] Mark McGowan, as I understand it, has also flagged the possibility of home quarantining, as has the health minister in Victoria, Mark Foley.
So we’ll take on all of that advice. We’ll do it through the national cabinet process, and when it’s right to put that process in place, then the home quarantining may well become a possibility.
Updated
McCormack said he “hopes” these other travel bubbles could open by the end of the year:
Let’s hope so, but again, based on the best possible advice.
If the chief medical officers and the chief health officers say that it is safe to do so, then we will. We’ll roll out the vaccine. Vaccines will be rolled out elsewhere.
We’re going to provide the vaccine that we’ve paid for, free of charge, to all of the South Pacific Island nations, as good neighbours would. But we’ll act on the best possible medical advice.
Updated
Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has heralded the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble as the start of “we’re getting back to the pre-Covid normality”.
He spoke on ABC News Breakfast this morning:
It’s taking a long time, but bit by bit, flight by flight, little provision by little provision, we’re getting there and Australians are welcoming it ...
McCormack was asked if the government would be able to set timelines for when other travel bubbles – such as with Singapore or some Pacific Nations – would open.
We can and we will. And we must. But we will do it based on the best possible medical advice. So whether that’s Singapore next, or as you identify – one of the Pacific Island nations – we’re in those discussions, the early preliminary discussions and as vaccine rollouts happen, both here and elsewhere, that’s what’s going to happen.
We want to make sure that we get international travel back to some sort of normality. Even in the next few months, because it’s so important that we get Australians to able to travel and people to be able to come here and spend their dollars and have a good time.
Updated
So one of the other big things to look out for today is defence minister Peter Dutton overturning chief of defence Angus Campbell’s move to remove the meritorious unit citations (a type of war honour) from 3,000 SAS veterans of the Afghanistan conflict following a damning war crimes report.
All SAS soldiers will now keep their citation unless convicted of war crimes or sacked for bad conduct after they were threatened with losing the honour.
Dutton spoke to News Corp newspapers ahead of Anzac Day next week:
We honour these young men and women and they will be wearing their unit citation medal with pride ...
Almost 40,000 honoured our country with their service in Afghanistan and Iraq and I couldn’t be more proud of their sacrifice.
Dutton is expected to formally make the announcement later on Monday when he visits the Special Air Service Regiment HQ at Campbell Barracks in Perth.
For those who haven’t kept up with the story, an inquiry led by Justice Paul Brereton last year found some SAS forces who served with the Special Operation Task Group in Afghanistan unlawfully killed 39 civilians and prisoners and treated two people with cruelty between 2007 and 2013.
In response, General Campbell warned in November more than 3,000 SAS soldiers would be stripped of their citations in response to the allegations. But soon after, he clarified that response saying no decision had been made on how to respond to the recommendations of the report.
Later, tens of thousands of people signed an online petition demanding only veterans convicted of war crimes have their citations revoked.
Updated
Hello from gate 31 at Sydney *international* airport.
By the time you read this I’ll be on my way to Auckland, New Zealand, onboard Jetstar flight JQ201 – the first plane to depart Australia as part of the two-way travel bubble established between the two countries.
If, like me and basically every other person on the planet, you haven’t been through an airport check-in process for a while, I’m here to tell you that ... it still sucks. I’m not sure what I expected when I turned up here, maybe that nature would have reclaimed the terminal like in an apocalypse movie. But everything is mostly as a I remember it, right down to the substandard coffee I paid $8.60 for.
But there’s obviously a great deal of anticipation among the people waiting to board. So far I’ve encountered a mix of those heading back to New Zealand after more than a year separated from family as well as the ultra-keen holidaymakers that desperate tourism providers are hoping will provide a crucial financial lifeline.
But there’s also a first day back at school vibe, too. Everyone seems a bit giddy to again be doing this thing that we all took for granted for so long.
Updated
Welcome to Monday
Good morning! Matilda Boseley here,
I’m coming to you today from Melbourne, but you know what, if I really wanted I could have been coming to you today from New Zealand.
That’s right! The travel bubble is officially open and Australians are once again able to cross the Tasman quarantine-free after more than a year of tight border restrictions, and dedicated Guardian reporter Michael McGowan has taken one for the team and hopped on the first plane out of Australia! (What a sacrifice he has made for us).
This first flight due to take off around 6am, but it looks like some things in international travel never change, because it has been delayed. I believe he is taking off as we speak and will bringing you updates from him throughout the day.
Prime minister Scott Morrison has hailed the opening up of the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble as a great milestone:
Today’s milestone is a win-win for Australians and New Zealanders, boosting our economies while keeping our people safe and just in time for Anzac Day ...
Both countries have done a remarkable job in protecting our communities from Covid and two-way flights are an important step in our road out.
And it looks that sentiment is shared across the ditch with New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern also celebrating this morning.
It is truly exciting to start quarantine-free travel with Australia ...
Be it returning family, friends or holidaymakers, New Zealand says welcome and enjoy yourself. The bubble marks a significant step in both countries’ reconnection with the world and it’s one we should all take a moment to be very proud of.
The easing of the border restriction reciprocates the arrangement already in place for Kiwi arrivals, who have been able to visit Australia without undertaking quarantine for about the last six months.
With international travel now back on the agenda both leaders have started hinting at the nations that might be included in the bubble next. Both have been hinting that Pacific nations could be next in line, with the possibility of Singapore to follow. Vaccinated Australia’s being able to travel and quarantine at home rather than in hotels has also been floated as a possible next step towards the end of the year.
With that, why don’t we jump into the day! If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
Updated
