Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor and Mostafa Rachwani (earlier)

WA requires New South Wales visitors to isolate - as it happened

People line up for Covid testing at Mona Vale hospital’s walk-in clinic in Sydney after new cases were recorded on the northern beaches.
People line up for Covid testing at Mona Vale hospital’s walk-in clinic in Sydney after new cases were recorded on the northern beaches. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

End-of-day summary

We are going to wrap up the live blog for today, but we will be back again for Friday. In case you missed it, here’s some of what made the news this Thursday 17 December:

  • There was a dramatic increase in Covid-19 cases in New South Wales connected to Sydney’s northern beaches, with the total now standing at 17. Fifteen more tested positive on Thursday, including a man in his 60s from Frenchs Forest. The man played at Avalon RSL on 11 December in a band called Nothing Too Serious.
  • People north of the Spit Bridge are being asked to stay home for the next three days, as contact tracers work to find all close contacts and potential hotspots.
  • The origin of this outbreak is still unknown, but contact tracers are still working.
  • Queensland could reimpose border restrictions on NSW in the next 24 hours in the wake of the outbreak, with North Sydney potentially declared a hotspot. Those who have been in the northern beaches area will not be able to visit aged care, hospitals or correctional facilities in Queensland from midday tomorrow.
  • Western Australia now requires anyone who has arrived in WA from NSW since 11 December to get tested and isolate for 24 hours until results come back.
  • In the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook released today, the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said unemployment would return to pre-Covid levels in four years, with 85% of those who lost their job during the worst of the lockdowns in Australia back in work.
  • Close to 60 refugees and asylum seekers who had been held in the Mantra hotel in Preston for over a year were moved by Australian border force to a hotel in the Melbourne CBD which was the location where Covid outbreaks occurred from hotel quarantine.
  • The Victorian government has refused to apologise for the lockdown of public housing towers in July following an ombudsman report that found the government had breached the human rights of the more than 3,000 residents of the towers by immediately locking down the towers.
  • Mining giant Rio Tinto announced its chief financial officer, Jakob Stausholm, will be the new chief executive of the company, after the former CEO resigned over the company’s decision to blow up 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Until tomorrow, stay safe.

Updated

We have basically quoted it in full already but here’s the release about the northern beaches.

Updated

The stay-at-home request for people on Sydney’s northern beaches is three days, just to confirm.

The NSW Health alert says:

To assist contact tracing and to contain any potential spread of Covid-19, we ask that for the next three days, people residing in the northern beaches local government area take the following steps:

  • Work from home and remain at home as much as possible
  • Do not visit friends or relatives in aged care facilities or hospitals unless essential
  • Avoid unnecessary gatherings
  • Keep to your household group
  • Avoid visiting high-risk venues including clubs, restaurants, places of worship and gyms
  • Avoid unnecessary travel outside the northern beaches area

Updated

Emergency services are dealing with dozens of calls for help after severe storms crossed Melbourne, bringing down trees and causing minor flooding, AAP reports.

The SES has received more than 40 calls for assistance, as households deal with minor flooding, fallen trees and building damage, but it’s expecting more calls as the storms move into Gippsland on Thursday night.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Richard Russell says much of the Gippsland region will see heavy rain and large hail.

It’s been pretty significant through that part of the world.

The storm that hit Melbourne intensified around Melton on Thursday afternoon and tracked through the western suburbs before moving east.

Several suburbs including Gardiners Creek and Keilor received more than 10mm of rain in under 15 minutes.

Updated

It is not yet a public health order, but late on Thursday afternoon the New South Wales health department issued an urgent request for the entire northern beaches area, from the Spit to Palm Beach, to stay at home.

The health department also warned others to avoid visiting the area. It said in the alert:

As a number of new cases are currently being interviewed, it is likely that a number of new venues will be identified and that people in the northern beaches may have attended these venues.

For that reason, it urged people in the region to work from home, and remain at home “as much as possible”.

People are being urged to avoid unnecessary travel outside of the northern beaches, and to not visit friends or relatives in aged care homes, avoid unnecessary gatherings, to keep to household groups and avoid high-risk venues such as gyms or restaurants and places of worship.

Manly wharf
Manly wharf. Northern beaches residents are being urged to stay at home after a new outbreak of Covid. Photograph: The Guardian

Updated

Queensland is also imposing new restrictions on New South Wales, announcing anyone who was at the Avalon Beach RSL on 11 December must isolate immediately for 14 days and get tested.

People who have been in the northern beaches region since 11 December are also being told to monitor symptoms, but from noon tomorrow, anyone who has been in that region who is in Queensland cannot visit residential aged care, hospitals or correctional facilities.

Updated

Sydney is in the grips of a major new Covid-19 outbreak and residents of the city’s northern beaches are being urged to stay at home after the number of new cases rose from five to 17 on Thursday.

Late on Thursday afternoon the New South Wales health department confirmed that testing had uncovered 17 cases of the virus.

It marks a dramatic escalation of the outbreak, with health authorities putting the number of positive cases at five earlier in the day.

The health department is now urging people who live on the northern beaches to stay at home, as it tries to grapple with the extent of the outbreak.

We’ll have more as it comes.

Updated

Sydney's northern beaches cluster grows to 17

People north of the Spit Bridge to Palm Beach in northern Sydney are being told to stay home after the northern beaches cluster increased from five to 17.

NSW Health has confirmed there have been 12 new cases this afternoon.

People are being advised to work from home where possible, remain at home as much as possible, not visit hospitals or aged care facilities and avoid unnecessary gatherings or high-risk locations.

Updated

WA requires NSW visitors to isolate and test

Western Australia has introduced a new requirement for anyone who arrived from NSW since 11 December to immediately isolate and get tested for Covid-19 in the next 24 hours.

Anyone arriving after this point will need to get tested on arrival and isolate.

In classic Melbourne style, the storms have passed but may not have passed for long.

Still severe storm warnings for Melbourne:

Updated

BOM advice for flash flooding in Tallebudgera Creek:

Updated

If you want to read more on the Rio Tinto Juukan Gorge scandal, my colleagues Lorena Allam and Calla Wahlquist wrote this on the weekend on the significance of the site that was destroyed:

“This rock pool is a very spiritual place, which is still visited by the spirits of our people,” Burchell Hayes, a spokesman for the PKKP, told a parliamentary committee in October. The committee had travelled from Canberra to the remote Western Australian site to look at the damage first-hand.

“The Juukan Gorge is known to be a place where the spirits of our relatives who have passed away, even recently, have come to rest. It is a place that the very, very old people still occupy,” Hayes told them.

“Purlykuti has been specifically referred to by the old people as a place of pardu, which refers to the special language only spoken during ceremonies in the Pilbara. Our elders state that it is certain that the spirits are very disturbed, and their living relatives are also upset at this.”

Updated

There is a severe thunderstorm warning for the Melbourne area.

It was heavy rain where I am before, but it seems to have eased for the time being. Not that that means much in Melbourne.

Updated

Rio Tinto appoints new CEO

Mining giant Rio Tinto has just announced its chief financial officer, Jakob Stausholm, will be the new chief executive of the company, after the former CEO resigned over the company’s decision to blow up 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The company’s former chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other senior executives left the global miner in September after its board bowed to intense investor pressure for strong action over the debacle.

The iron ore head, Chris Salisbury, and the corporate affairs boss, Simone Niven, also left at the same time.

Stausholm will commence as CEO from 1 January 2021.

The company’s group controller, Peter Cunningham, will become interim CFO from the same date.

Updated

The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is on just after his Liberal counterpart, and says jobkeeper should be kept in line with the economic recovery.

He also says Labor wants the jobseeker rate to stay higher permanently, but will not say at what rate it should be. He says Labor is prepared to work with the government on the level at which it should be set.

Updated

Frydenberg was also asked if he had “kissed and made up” with the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, over his criticism of the lockdown in Victoria.

He said they’ve had “a constructive discussion” but doesn’t take back the comments, despite the lockdown leading to the elimination of Covid-19 in Victoria (48 days of no cases):

We sat opposite each other at the lunch last week with the premiers and the treasurers and, in fact, sat next to each other for part of the flight home from Canberra to Melbourne, and we discussed the importance of the commonwealth and Victoria working together.

I’m a very proud Victorian and I don’t regret anything that I said during the lockdown, and, certainly, much of the correspondence coming back to me was from Victorians who were deeply concerned about not just the economic impact but the human impact the lockdown was having on them.

Updated

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, is on ABC TV discussing today’s Myefo announcement.

He was asked about the missing figures around the future of the extra money for jobseeker, and said the government was watching what would happen after March, when the current supplement is due to end:

We will obviously continue to monitor the labour market but the best thing that we can do for those people who are on jobseeker are to get them into work.

One example of the programs that we’ve announced to do exactly that is the jobmaker hiring credit, which is focused on young people aged 15 to 34 who have been unemployed, but who do need that additional incentive to an employer to take them on, and we are providing up to $200 a week for an employer who takes one of those workers on and that can help reduce the number of people who are on jobseeker.

He was pushed to say what would happen after March, but said he wasn’t going to make policy pronouncements today, despite the uncertainty it creates for the millions on jobseeker.

Updated

And some more on the NSW rain situation from AAP:

Residents around the northern NSW town of Murwillumbah are being warned to prepare to evacuate for the second time in three days after a week of unrelenting rain.

The Bureau of Meteorology is again predicting possible flooding of the Tweed River at Tumbulgum, Condong and surrounding areas.

The State Emergency Service says people in the area should prepare to leave now.

BOM is predicting moderate flooding will begin late on Thursday night.

Residents in the area who were evacuated on Tuesday were only permitted to return home on Wednesday evening.

A flood watch is also current for Gravesend, east of Moree.

Moderate flooding is expected there, and major flooding downstream at Yarraman Bridge.

Minor flooding is also possible along the Mehi River at Moree on Saturday.

The bureau says thunderstorms that have soaked northern NSW and south-east Queensland for a week will continue for days.

Severe thunderstorms are likely to hit parts of the Hunter, mid-north coast and northern rivers on Thursday afternoon, with Taree and Scone joining the Tweed in the firing line.

Updated

The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the government’s moves to require more checks on warrants to find journalists’ sources, and the acknowledgement that journalists need more protections from secrecy offences.

But the council’s president, Pauline Wright, has said the government needs to immediately implement the recommendations made by the joint standing committee on intelligence and security, and not wait for yet another review:

While the government will be reviewing whether public interest journalism is adequately protected under commonwealth legislation, immediate reforms are required to amend the elements of secrecy and disclosure offences (requiring proof of harm or likely harm caused by a disclosure) and to enact broader public interest disclosure defences, not merely for journalists.

The Law Council urges the government to promptly implement the committee’s recommendations, particularly the recommended amendments requiring the independent issuing of warrants, record-keeping and reporting on those warrants, and the appointment of public interest advocates.

Action on these matters need not, and should not, await the completion of any further reviews into other laws.

Updated

Aveo has confirmed that a staff member at Pittwater Palms retirement village in Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches has tested positive for Covid-19.

The company has said the staff member is well and containment procedures have been put in place to reduce exposure to staff and residents, including:

  • Isolating the staff member at home
  • Asking residents who were a close contact of the staff member, or were in hotspots to get tested and isolate
  • Asking staff members who were close contacts of the infected staff member to get tested and isolate

Community facilities in the village have been closed but essential services remain operational.

No other staff members have tested positive nor do any others have symptoms.

Updated

AAP is reporting that anti-Adani activists have staged sit-ins at two Queensland bank branches over the Indian miner’s controversial coal project.

About 20 protesters waving placards took over the foyer of HSBC Australia on Queen Street in Brisbane about 10.30am, police said on Thursday.

Another eight entered HSBC’s Gold Coast branch on Scarborough Street about the same time, also holding signs.

The activists are demanding the global banking giant use its influence over the State Bank of India to block a proposed $1bn loan to Adani.

They say the money will be used to finish building the Carmichael project in the resource-rich Galilee Basin and HSBC is one of the few major SBI investors not publicly condemning the loan.

“HSBC, stop greenwashing,” one placard said.

“Rule out support for Adani,” another urged.

Queensland police said both protests were largely peaceful and the activists left the Gold Coast branch about 12.30pm.

Three people were arrested in Brisbane.

In a statement, HSBC said it prioritised financing and investment that supports the transition to a net-zero global economy.

It declined to comment about the loan, saying it was a matter for the State Bank of India.

Adani changed its Australian business name from Adani Australia to Bravus in November.

Updated

Heavy rainfall and rising flood waters are causing havoc on parts of the Gold Coast, with at least one person rescued after their car was submerged, AAP reports.

Emergency services rescued the occupant of a vehicle trapped in rising flood waters at Tallebudgera at around 10.50am on Thursday.

An emergency alert has been issued by the city of Gold Coast for properties in Tallebudgera and Currumbin in the region’s south.

The advice is that due to ongoing heavy rainfall, catchments may be impacted by floodwater in coming hours.

RACQ is advising motorists to stay at home with flash flooding closing several roads.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned dangerous thunderstorms had been detected near Coolangatta and Miami in the Gold Coast region on Thursday morning.

Rainfall in excess of 100mm had been observed in the two hours to 10.30am in the area.

Residents in the Wide Bay, Burnett and Southeast Coast areas have been warned that storms producing heavy rain are likely.

Almost 60mm was reported in an hour to 9.30am at Oyster Creek, south of Gladstone and there was 33mm in 30 minutes at Bundaberg South.

The bureau advised that a coastal trough moving ashore is responsible for the slow moving thunderstorms.

Updated

Just on the man shot by police in Logan in Queensland this morning: the Courier-Mail is reporting the man was on bail on charges of being an Islamic State supporter.

Guardian Australia has not confirmed the claim, yet.

The man died on the scene.

Updated

And with that, my time on today’s busy blog comes to an end, and I will leave you with Josh Taylor to take you through the rest of the day’s news.

Updated

South Australian authorities are closely monitoring the evolving situation in Sydney.

The SA police commissioner, Grant Stevens, has said that if contact tracers in NSW don’t find the source of the outbreak, the state would consider shutting its borders again.

“We would anticipate that they would be able to identify the source of that particular infection. If that’s not the case and we see a continuing spread of Covid-19 in the NSW community then we will reassess our border arrangements.”

Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens looks on during a COVID-19 daily update press conference on November 30, 2020 in Adelaide, Australia. Photo by Kelly Barnes/Getty Images
South Australian police commissioner Grant Stevens. Photograph: Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

Stevens said the outbreak was a warning for communities to remain vigilant.

“It’s a stark reminder to everyone that even though we’ve effectively eliminated Covid-19 from within our communities, it can find its way back in,” Stevens said.

“We need to be in a position to respond quickly if that does occur.”

Updated

So I’m just going to list in one place all of the venues of concern, as of 2pm today.

Anyone who visited the following venues during these times is considered a close contact and needs to immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days:

  • Female change rooms at Palm Beach, 13 December, 9am-9.15am.
  • Coast Palm Beach cafe 13 December, 10am-11am.
  • Avalon Bowlo on 13 December, 5-7pm and 15 December, 3-5pm.
  • Hungry Ghost cafe at Avalon on 14 December, 9.30am-11am.
  • Sneaky Grind cafe at Avalon Beach on 14 December, 10.30am-11am.
  • Barramee Thai Massage and Spa at Avalon Beach, 14 December, 2-3.30pm.
  • Bangkok Sidewalk restaurant at Avalon Beach, 14 December, 7-8pm.

Anyone who visited the following venues at these times should get tested and isolate until a negative result returns and until they have been contacted by NSW Health:

  • Avalon RSL club, 11 December, all day until close.
  • Penrith RSL club, 13 December, 1-6pm.
  • Kirribilli club, 14 December, noon-3pm.

Anyone who visited the following locations at the listed times is considered a casual contact and is advised to monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they present.

  • Little Rangers session at Gannons Park in Peakhurst on 11 December, 4.30-5.30pm. Any adults who were present should get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
  • Woolworths at Avalon Beach, 13 December, noon-5pm, and 15 December, noon-12.30pm.
  • Oliver’s Pie at Avalon Beach on 14 December, 9-9.15am.
  • Bing Lee at Mona Vale 14 December, 4.30-4.45pm.

Updated

The Business Council of Australia is also very happy with the full federal court’s decision handing Qantas a win in the jobkeeper case.

From the chief executive, Jennifer Westacott:

“This decision will be a great relief to many businesses across the economy that applied the jobkeeper rules in accordance with advice provided by the Australian Tax Office. These arrangements had been thrown into great uncertainty by the initial court decision.

“Today’s ruling will give businesses the certainty they need to get on with our biggest challenge, getting people back to work and creating new jobs for Australians.”

Updated

The pop-up clinic in Avalon has opened, with NSW Health urging anyone who has even the slightest symptoms to come forward and get tested.

The other testing centres on the northern beaches are at:

• Mona Vale hospital, Gate 3, Coronation Street, Mona Vale: walk-in clinic open 8am-10pm seven days a week

• Brookvale Community Health Centre, 612-624 Pittwater Road, Brookvale: open 8am-10pm seven days a week

• Northern Beaches hospital, 105 Frenchs Forest Road (West), Frenchs Forest, (rear of emergency department): open 8am-5pm seven days a week

• Manly Histopath drive-through, Old Manly Hospital, 150 Darley Road, Manly: open 9am-4pm Monday to Friday

Updated

Qantas has returned fire at unions over the airline’s jobkeeper situation.

To recap, as we reported this morning, Qantas won its appeal against a ruling that it had to backpay workers after a stoush with the unions over how jobkeeper was calculated.

Unions said the decision allowed Qantas “to continue underpaying workers and manipulating their rosters to pay them not a cent more than the wage subsidy of $600 a week for full-time and $375 a week for part-time workers before tax”.

But Qantas says there have been no such shenanigans.

“We have always paid penalty rates and overtime in the same way – this is not something we just started doing during Covid,” a spokesman said.

“Rostering arrangements during the stand-down period was done in consultation with unions.”

He said “tens of thousands” of other businesses made jobkeeper payments in the same way as Qantas.

“It’s time for these unions to stop making false claims and misleading our employees,” he said

“The court has found we are administering jobkeeper as the government intended.”

Updated

In the meantime, no new cases in South Australia:

A protester has been arrested as police cleared a rally outside a Melbourne hotel set to house about 60 asylum seekers and refugees.

The men were moved from the Mantra Hotel in Preston in Melbourne’s north to the Park Hotel in Carlton, a site that previously served as a hotel quarantine facility.

Protesters took to Swanston Street for about 45 minutes before they were cleared by police.

One protester was arrested amid minor scuffles with police.

One refugee, Mostafa “Moz” Azimitabar, told Guardian Australia about midday the men were yet to receive any further information.

He was hopeful conditions would be better at the new site.

Updated

A discussion at the end of that press conference got a little combative, as Hazzard returned serve on questions about the divorced couple who tested positive yesterday.

A reporter asks why there was still a shroud of privacy around them, when earlier in the pandemic, police would normally update the public on who breached public health orders.

However, Hazzard shot down the suggestion, saying the government was still unsure on the details of their infection and whether they actually spread the virus.

Updated

One of the people who tested positive today is a man in his 60s who lives in Frenchs Forest at the southern end of the northern beaches. The man, who is now isolating, had been working in a band called Nothing Too Serious (not joking) that performed at the Avalon RSL on 11 December.

Updated

Dr Chant says she is relatively confident this is a new outbreak, and not an ongoing outbreak that has only been caught now.

She referred to sewage surveillance from 10 December, saying it had come back negative, giving her confidence this is a new outbreak.

The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, has identified the Avalon RSL club as the potential source for the cluster, asking anyone who was at the club, at any time on 11 December, to come forward for testing.

She also listed the Penrith RSL Club on 13 December from 1pm to 6pm and the Kirribilli Club on 14 December, from 12pm to 3pm as venues of concern.

Dr Chant said the lady who tested positive yesterday crossed over with the aged care worker at the Avalon bowling club on Sunday.

She said an unknown person is the source of the outbreak at the Avalon RSL club.

Genomic sequencing results will be available from 7pm tonight, where we could know where this outbreak has come from.

Updated

Another Covid case added to Sydney's northern beaches cluster

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, has announced another positive case as part of the northern beaches cluster: a partner to one of the positive cases announced this morning.

Updated

The WA premier, Mark McGowan, has said his government “will not hesitate” to put in a harder border “if they have to”.

“If we need to, we’ll put up a hard border with NSW – if we need to do that we won’t hesitate to do that,” he said.

“If the medical advice says that’s what we need to do to protect West Australians, then we will do it immediately.”

He said his chief health officer had been liaising with his counterpart in NSW, with an emergency meeting scheduled for later today.

McGowan has indicated that there appears to be a low risk at this point, but was seeking greater clarity.

Updated

It is now time for the trade and finance minister, Simon Birmingham, to also add to this update, saying that the budget deficit is now being revised down by $24bn based on better-than-expected economic performance.

“This year’s deficit will now come in at under $200bn at $197bn, as the treasurer said, or 9.9% of GDP. The economic lifelines provided through Covid and through the economic recovery plan outlined in the budget are working.”

He also outlined a $6.8bn investment into Covid “economic and health support”, which will include: “$1.6bn of investment in our vaccine strategy, $500m towards vaccinations across our region, $3.2bn in extension of the temporary coronavirus supplement, $306m to further boost infrastructure investment, $241m of extension to the homebuilder program, and $128m in targeted support to travel agents”.

Updated

Frydenberg: unemployment to return to pre-Covid levels in four years

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, is speaking now on the mid-year budget update. It is positively glowing as he lists off the ways in which the Australian economy is recovering.

“Eighty-five per cent of the 1.3 million Australians who either lost their jobs or saw their working hours reduced to zero at the start of the crisis are now back at work. The September quarter saw an increase in GDP of 3.3% – the biggest quarterly increase since 1976.

“Australia’s economic recovery from the Covid crisis is now expected to be faster than our recovery from previous recessions. The unemployment rate is expected to recover to pre-Covid levels in around four years.”

The government was absolutely going to claim this economic recovery as their own, and here we are.

“This improved outlook is off the back of unprecedented levels of economic support. The Morrison government has committed $251bn in direct economic support. Already over $138bn has flowed to households and businesses.”

Updated

Some incredible aerial footage captures the extent of flooding in northern NSW:

An update on the refugees detained at the Mantra Hotel in Prestons: it is now understood that police will be moving them to the Park Royal hotel in Carlton.

An enormous police presence seems to be escorting the refugees from one hotel detention to another, with protesters demanding the men be freed.

You can read more on the story here:

Updated

Lunchtime summary

It has been a breathless morning so far. Let’s just quickly go through everything that has happened:

  • Two further cases have been recorded on Sydney’s northern beaches, bringing that cluster up to four. The two additional cases, one a member of a band and another an aged care worker, are joined by the two cases reported yesterday.
  • The Victorian ombudsman has found that there were human rights breaches in the detention and treatment of Melbourne public housing residents at the onset of the state’s second wave. The Victorian housing minister, however, rejected calls to apologise to the residents.
  • Unemployment has dropped by 0.2% in November, as the ABS revealed labour force statistics for the month – 90,000 new jobs were added in the month, but youth unemployment rose by 0.1% to 15,6%.
  • Victoria and Queensland both recorded zero new locally acquired infections today.
  • A man in Killarney was killed after flash flooding swept him away overnight. Much of northern NSW and southern Queensland was inundated overnight, with severe thunderstorm warnings in place for much of northern NSW for this afternoon.

We expect further updates on the situation in NSW in the next hour or so, with the hope for good news this time.

Updated

NT records two new Covid cases in quarantine

The Northern Territory government has announced two new positive cases in overseas arrivals the past 24 hours.

A two-year-old and a 16-year-old both arrived on a repatriation flight from Chennai, India, and remain in quarantine.

The total number of cases diagnosed in the Northern Territory is 69. All cases have been related to international or interstate travel, with no cases of community transmission.

Updated

A quick update on the new cases reported in NSW: one of the two people actually worked at an aged care facility.

Pittwater Palms is actually a “retirement community” in Avalon and not a beach resort as I had actually assumed when I first read that. It would also explain the NSW Health directive to close aged care facilities in the are.

We are expecting more updates on the situation at 1pm.

People line up for Covid-19 testing at Mona Vale Hospital’s walk-in clinic in Sydney.
People line up for Covid-19 testing at Mona Vale hospital’s walk-in clinic in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/EPA
People line up for Covid-19 testing at Mona Vale Hospital’s walk-in clinic in Sydney.
Long lines formed at the clinic as people responded to the news by getting tested. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
NSW broke its 12-day streak without locally acquired coronavirus cases.
NSW broke its 12-day streak without locally acquired coronavirus cases. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

Queensland warns it may impose border restrictions on NSW

The Queensland acting premier, Steven Miles, has warned the state could reimpose border restrictions if a new coronavirus outbreak in Sydney’s northern beaches was not contained.

Miles told reporters in Cairns this morning the state’s chief health officer, Jeanette Young, was likely to make a decision on possible new restrictions based on information available during the next 24 hours.

He said that could mean declaring areas of northern Sydney a Covid “hotspot”, but that would depend on whether authorities in NSW were able to contain the outbreak and determine the origin of cases.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles.
The Queensland acting premier Steven Miles. Photograph: Jono Searle/Getty Images

“Obviously there’s a lot of concern about this emerging outbreak in Sydney and they are monitoring it very closely.”

“We will over the next 24 hours monitor that very closely. We would urge anyone in Queensland who has been in that northern beaches region [in the past week] ... to go to NSW Health Alerts to see if they have been in any of those locations.”

Miles said any Queenslanders intending to travel to those areas of Sydney should “consider waiting out that 24-hour period” as restrictions could be reimposed.

Over that 24 hour period the chief health officer will need to work out whether other measures need to be put in place. “That may involve naming geographic hotspots but it is too early to say whether that will be the case.”

“We hope they will get on top of this very quickly, but this is early days, this is new information and over the next 24 hours we will be monitoring it very very closely.”

Updated

Unemployment down by 0.2% in November

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that unemployment has fallen by 0.2% to 6.8% in the month of November.

Labour force statistics show that by a number of metrics the job market has improved in the last month:

  • 90,000 jobs were added in November in seasonally adjusted terms. There are now 12,860,700 people in work
  • The employment-to-population ratio increased by 0.4 points to 61.6%
  • Monthly hours worked increased by 43m hours
  • The underemployment rate decreased by 1% to 9.4%
  • The participation rate increased to 66.1%

Encouragingly, most of the new jobs created were full-time (84,200) not part-time (5,800). Women recorded the biggest gains in participation, up 0.4% to 61.4% compared with men’s participation up 0.2% to 71%.

The rebound was led by Victoria, with the number of employed persons up by 2.2% in November, followed by Tasmania and WA (both up 0.8%) and NSW (up 0.6%).

Employment slumped in the ACT (-2.3%), the NT (-1%) and Queensland (-0.8%).

It’s not all rosy though – youth unemployment edged up by less than 0.1% to 15.6% and increased by 4.1% over the year to November 2020.

Updated

The ATP has announced an update to the start of the 2021 calendar, confirming the Australian Open will go ahead this year.

The Australian Open is now scheduled to be held between on 8-21 February, to incorporate earlier events, travelling and quarantine for players.

Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP chairman, said in a statement that the reconfigured calendar was developed in collaboration with different stakeholders.

“Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.”

Updated

Qantas has won an appeal against a court decision that would have required it to backpay workers who claimed they did not receive their full jobkeeper payments.

Unions had publicly accused Qantas of moving shifts around in an effort to trouser jobkeeper money, but in the end the case before the courts was run on the narrower issue of how to figure out the payments due for each fortnight of work.

The full court of the federal court this morning found in favour of Qantas’s preferred measure, saving the company from having to make backpay and setting a precedent that will apply across the economy.

“We welcome the decision,” a Qantas spokesman said. “We have always made jobkeeper payments to our employees according to advice from the Australian Tax Office.”

Unions representing workers at the airline – the TWU, ASU and FAAA – were furious, saying the decision allowed Qantas “to continue underpaying workers and manipulating their rosters to pay them not a cent more than the wage subsidy of $600 a week for full-time and $375 a week for part-time workers before tax”.

Qantas ground staff are seen operating at the Brisbane domestic terminal in Brisbane.
Qantas ground staff operating at the Brisbane domestic terminal. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated

The Morrison government is giving $50m in grants to accelerate exploration for fossil fuels in the Northern Territory.

Keith Pitt, the minister for resources, water and Northern Australia, has announced the grants to hurry up development of gas projects in the NT’s Beetaloo sub-basin before June 2022. They are available only until that date.

Pitt said the Beetaloo Basin had been described as “the hottest play on the planet” in gas, with the potential to transform the NT economy and create 6,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

He said it was “a key early step” in the government’s “gas-fired recovery agenda”, which received $28.3m in the October budget.

The release does not mention the expected greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed development, or the government’s commitments on climate change.

Gas is often described as having half the emissions of coal, but studies have suggested it could be significantly more due to methane – a potent but short-lived greenhouse gas – leaking during extraction and transportation.

Scott Morrison was last week refused a speaking slot at a global climate ambition summit hosted by Britain, France and the UN due to a lack of commitments to tackle the climate crisis.

The government this week announced $2.5bn in taxpayers’ support for struggling oil refineries, and MPs flagged they may set up an inquiry to grill financial regulators and banks over plans to pull back on lending or insuring mining projects considered an investment risk in a low emissions world. The push was backed by the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, but opposed by some backbenchers.

Updated

NSW Health has provided some new updates on Twitter, but the two new cases mentioned today will be included in tomorrow’s numbers:

It also announced a rapidly set up pop-up testing site at Avalon that will open at noon:

Long lines from early in the morning appeared at a testing site at Mona Vale hospital, as people respond to the new cases by getting tested.

Updated

For those keeping track, we’re expecting a NSW Health update from the minister, Brad Hazzard, and the chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, at 1pm.

Updated

And breathe. Things will surely pick up any time, but I’d like to take this moment and share with you all a hilarious clip:

Although I do feel personally attacked by the most overused phrases of 2020. I, for one, won’t apologise for writing shortcuts.

Queensland records no new locally acquired Covid cases

Meanwhile, up in Queensland, they have had another day of zero locally acquired cases, but have recorded a single case in overseas arrivals.

Updated

Aged care facilities across northern beaches to be locked down – report

The ABC is reporting aged care facilities across the northern beaches will be locked down as a result of the outbreak there.

NSW Health is set to issue a directive to a number of “vulnerable” aged care facilities advising they should prohibit visitors.

Updated

Thunderstorm asthma alert issued for parts of Victoria

An alert has been issued for epidemic thunderstorm asthma for the West and South Gippsland weather districts in Victoria.

People with asthma or hay fever, or those who experience wheezing, breathlessness or a persistent cough, should try and stay indoors and close windows and doors. They are also advised to keep their medication on hand.

The combination of forecast high grass pollen levels and an unexpected thunderstorm with strong winds means that there is a chance that a large number of people may develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time.

Health and emergency services have said they are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to respond.

Updated

Victorian housing minister says 'we make no apology for saving people’s lives' by shutting down towers

Victorian housing minister, Richard Wynne, is speaking now and has bullishly rejected the idea that the government should apologise for shutting down the public housing towers in July.

“We make no apology for saving people’s lives. Absolutely no apology for saving people’s lives.”

“The primary objective of government is to protect the community. In this context, protecting some of the most vulnerable people in our community who live in those public housing towers is my responsibility as a minister, but also the government’s responsibility as well.”

He’s said the advice to close down the towers was base on health experts advice, although has not addressed the key point in the ombudsman’s report, which was that the timing led to the human rights breaches.

Victorian minister for housing Richard Wynne.
Victorian minister for housing Richard Wynne. Photograph: Erik Anderson/AAP

Updated

Some more information is trickling through on the two new cases being reported today from the northern beaches.

Jason Falinski, the local MP, has tweeted saying one of the infections is a man in a band, and another is a woman who works at Pittwater Palms:

Updated

Brad Hazzard appeals to Western Australia not to close border

Berejiklian finishes her press conference by saying NSW is considering changing the guidelines for how international air crew quarantine.

“The challenge for us is not so much the guidelines, but people’s willingness to stick to them,” she says. “Some air crew are choosing to breach the guidelines.”

Berejiklian says that airline crew currently go to “a number of different hotels” but NSW is “looking to consolidate” the process so they go to a few set hotels.

Meanwhile, the health minister, Brad Hazzard, says the NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, has spoken to her interstate colleagues.

Hazzard says there is no reason at the moment for borders to close or for NSW to change its restrictions.

“At this stage there’s no reason for the NSW government to be contemplating changes,” he said. “But obviously, we’ll look at that as we go but I don’t see any reason at the moment.

“3,000 people died yesterday – 3,000 people will die tomorrow in the United States of America. Many thousands are dying in Europe. We’ve had a few cases.”

In a message to WA premier. Mark McGowan. he says: “I certainly would be hopeful that Western Australia does not do anything pre-emptive [with its border].

“I appreciate they’re under some pressure because there is an election coming up in March but certainly I would be strongly encouraging them to just let us give them the facts.

“Certainly, our chief health officers are in full discussion. I spoke to Dr Chant only an hour or so ago and she confirmed she is discussing the issues with the WA chief health officer and other chief health officers around the country and that’s the way it should be.”

Updated

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has hit out at his counterparts in the Western Australian government, asking they hold off before closing the borders again in light of a growing cluster on the northern beaches.

“Let’s face it, it is. And so we’re taking thousands of people in from overseas each week. 45% of those come from places like Queensland, WA, other states and territories. We’re doing the work for them.”

Hazzard referred to the upcoming WA elections, to be held in March, saying he hopes the state doesn’t take any “pre-emptive” actions.

“I think they should just allow us to do that work as we’ve done so well. And I certainly would be hopeful that Western Australia does not do anything pre-emptive. I appreciate they’re under some pressure because there is an election coming up in March but certainly I would be strongly encouraging them to just let us give them the facts.”

“Certainly, our chief health officers are in full discussion. I spoke to Dr Chant only an hour or so ago and she confirmed she is discussing the issues with the WA Chief Health Officer and other chief health officers around the country and that’s the way it should be. We will just let it unfold as it does.”

“But NSW has shown the gold standard in terms of keeping a state open, managing the economy, ensuring there are jobs and therefore driving down the mental illness issues. I would certainly encourage WA to recognise that’s an important component that they should also adhere to.”

It comes after the office of the Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, told the ABC yesterday they were waiting and watching the situation unfold in NSW, before they decide on putting up a hard border again.

Refugees detained in Mantra hotel in Melbourne being transported to another detention centre

Refugees in the Mantra hotel in Preston, Melbourne, are reporting they are being transported to another detention centre now.

About 60 men have been detained at the hotel for more than a year, and were devastated to hear they would be relocated and not released.

You can read more on their detention here:

Updated

The NSW Health minister, Brad Hazzard is also speaking now.
He says that more detail of the two new cases will be released “later on”. “I anticipate about 1pm today,” he says.

Hazzard also says that NSW Health does not yet know the source of the two infections recorded yesterday.

Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison has also said that borders should remain open, when asked whether these new NSW cases could prompt border closures.

“Australia is open again, and Australians like that,” he says.

He adds that people will work hard to “keep it that way”.

“NSW is the gold standard, I don’t spend too much time worrying about NSW.”

So that brings the total number of active cases in NSW to five, and the northern beaches cluster to four.

Two further Covid cases recorded on Sydney's northern beaches

Premier Berejiklian has confirmed that two new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded this morning on Sydney’s northern beaches, in addition to two mystery cases yesterday.

She tells press that NSW Health “literally only identified the two [additional] positive cases 30 minutes before this press conference started”.

She says genomic testing is in “overdrive” and NSW Health are trying to figure out if the two new cases are linked to the cases yesterday.

She adds: “Certain aged care facilities on the northern beaches we are recommending no visitors” until more detail is known about the source of the infections.

Updated

The finance minister, Simon Birmingham, has confirmed that the budget position will benefit from an increase in iron ore prices.

Birmingham told Sky News: “We have always prudently budgeted when it comes to commodities like iron ore, and that’s an approach that we will continue. In the budget handed down just 72 days ago, we projected that the iron ore price, although it was running over a hundred dollars, and over the last month it’s been averaging I think around US$132, we projected that that would taper down to some $55. So, we’ve taken that conservative approach consistently, it’s served us well to date, and we will maintain that type of prudent careful approach.”

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian urges more northern beaches residents to get tested for Covid

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has just spoken about the two new mystery cases of Covid-19 diagnosed yesterday in Sydney.

She says that there has been an increase in testing overnight on the northern beaches as a result.

“We are encouraging anybody who lives on the northern beaches with the mildest symptoms to come forward for testing,” she said.

She adds that the last detected case was in the Sydney suburb of Frenchs Forest.

“We have seen an increase in testing overnight. We really want to get on top of this. We don’t want this to concern us leading into the last few days before Christmas.”

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

An alarming tidbit from the Victorian ombudsman’s report was that the chief health officer had only 15 minutes before the press conference announcing the lockdowns, to sign off on the lockdowns.

Health officials had agreed to the lockdown but had assumed it would be announced for the next day, which would have given residents time to plan and purchase food and supplies.

Ombudsman Deborah Glass has said that it was this decision, the timing, which is what curtailed residents’ human rights.

“It was the immediacy of that which did not appear to be reasonably necessary,” she told a press conference this morning.

“There could have been time to plan that would have mitigated the impact of the lockdown to the point where people would have been able to have supplies of food, have supplies of medication, have an understanding of what was going on.”

Updated

Queensland police shoot armed man on Logan Motorway

A man has been shot by police in Queensland, with reports saying the man has died.

AAP has the story:

Police have shot an armed man multiple times after he confronted them on a motorway south of Brisbane.

Officers found the man walking along the Logan Motorway at Drewvale after being called there about 6am on Thursday.

Police say he then threatened the police, who shot him multiple times.

Officers can’t say what medical condition the man is in, but the motorway’s eastbound lanes have been closed.

Updated

Late this morning the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will release the mid-year economic and fiscal update which is expected to show that the budget deficit will be less than $200bn due to a $11bn saving on jobkeeper and rising iron ore prices boosting revenue.

Asked about the $11bn jobkeeper saving, the finance minister, Simon Birmingham, told Channel Nine:

Look, it is really encouraging to see the strength of the recovery in the Australian economy. Now, there is still a long way to go but we’ve seen more than 650,000 jobs created across Australia in recent months. More Australians back in work, fewer Australians on jobkeeper – this is a trend that we want to see continue but we know that there are always threats present.

But we are delighted to see that the measures put in place to help the Australian economy through the depths of Covid-19 and drive it into recovery are working, and we’ll have to continue to show that type of determination to keep them working in the months and years ahead.

Labor is less impressed, with its industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke, arguing that savings are built off the back of workers who were excluded from the wage subsidy scheme:

Updated

Melbourne's public housing Covid lockdown violated human rights, Victoria's ombudsman has found

Victoria’s ombudsman has tabled the report from her investigation into the detention and treatment of Melbourne public housing residents at the onset of the state’s second wave.

The ombudsman found the state government had breached human rights when it locked down several public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne.

It outlined that the residents deserved an apology, and that health authorities had been surprised by the decision, having assumed the towers would be locked the following day.

The ombudsman, Deborah Glass, said the decision to lock down the towers had breached the residents’ rights to humane treatment:

The rushed lockdown was not compatible with the residents’ human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty. Based on the evidence gathered by the investigation, the action appeared to be contrary to the law.

You can read more on the findings here:

Updated

The former Australian PM John Howard is in the news again, saying Donald Trump penned a lengthy “political suicide note” with his “terrible” handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Howard made the remarks at a question and answer session at the Menzies Research Centre after a lecture delivered by former Nationals leader John Anderson. Howard said:

He was headed towards a victory until the pandemic hit. It was his mishandling of that because, in the end, the public, when threatened, want their leaders to defend them against the threat.

You can read the full story here:

Updated

Triple zeroes again for Victoria today.

All eyes are on NSW, but as always it is great to see Victoria’s streak continue.

Updated

The Australian is reporting that the two Covid patients on the northern beaches did not isolate before receiving a negative test result, as per guidelines.

Authorities are apparently concerned that the two, a woman in her 60s and a man in his 70s, instead visited several venues in the area.

An official told the paper the two “took a long time to track down” and that they were a “classic Avalon couple, divorced but living under the same roof”.

Authorities also do not know how they contracted the virus, with genomic sequencing under way and results are expected within 48 hours.

Updated

Seven venues have been identified as locations the two northern beaches people visited while infectious, including:

  • The Palm beach female change rooms, on Sunday 13 Dec, from 9-9.15am
  • Hungry Ghost Cafe on Sunday 13 Dec, from 9.30-11am and Tuesday, 15 December 9.30-11am
  • Coast Palm Beach Cafe on Sunday, 13 December 10‑11am
  • Avalon Bowlo on Sunday, 13 December, 5-7pm, and on Tuesday, 15 December 3-5pm
  • Sneaky Grind Cafe on Monday, 14 December, 9.30-11am
  • Barramee Thai Massage and Spa on Monday, 14 December, 2-3.30pm
  • Bangkok Sidewalk Restaurant on Monday, 14 December 7-8pm

NSW Health is advising anyone who has visited the following venues is considered a close contact and should get tested and isolate for 14 days even if they receive a negative result.

The Sydney airport van driver also attended venues while infectious, including the Forest Rangers FC Little Rangers session at Gannons Park in Peakhurst on Friday between 4.30pm and 5.30pm.

Anyone who attended is considered a casual contact, and NSW Health is advising all who were there to get tested as soon as possible.

Updated

Flood warnings are still in place for the mid north coast and northern rivers catchments, in addition to the Tweed, Wilsons, Clarence, Bellinger, Macleay, Hastings and Orara rivers.

A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall has also been issued for the north-west slopes and plains and northern tablelands districts.

The Bureau of Meteorology is saying that some of the weather is easing, but Sydney is still expecting thunderstorms later today.

Updated

Flash flooding in the Queensland town of Killarney has killed a man after the water swept him and his car downstream.

Queensland police say preliminary investigations indicate the 69-year-old was moving cattle to higher ground at a property on Condamine River Road when rapidly rising waters rushed in, engulfing him and his car about 8.30pm:

Emergency services were called to the scene and immediately commenced a search and rescue operation.

Police say the man’s body was discovered inside his vehicle about 100 metres downstream just after midnight. Officers will prepare a report for the coroner.

Updated

Good morning everyone, Mostafa Rachwani here, and welcome to another Australian live blog.

It’s Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday, which hopefully bodes well for what I’m sure will be a busy day.

First up, New South Wales is scrambling after three new locally acquired cases were reported yesterday. One patient is a van driver from the airport, the other two are from the northern beaches.

We know the van driver contracted the virus from aircrew he was transporting but we are still waiting to find out how the two others caught it. We’ll be keeping you updated on that.

Second, wild weather continues to lash the east coast, with much of NSW under severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall warnings, in addition to southern Queensland. Since the downpours began on Saturday, the State Emergency Service has attended more than 1,900 jobs.

The federal government will today be handing down its mid-year budget, which will reportedly include funding for the aged care industry and show a stronger than expected economic recovery.

And Israel’s justice minister has signed an extradition order for Malka Leifer, saying it is their “moral duty” to see her stand trial. The order means Leifer could be back in Australia within the next two months.

If you see any news that you think should be on here, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message on Twitter, @Rachwani91, or by email to mostafa.rachwani@theguardian.com.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Forget birdwatching, I’m into moth-watching: they’re fascinating and misunderstood insects
According to new research, distinguishing between the UK’s 2,500 species could halt cognitive decline – so my brain could not be happier, or healthier, says science writer Helen Pilcher
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
I tried HigherDose’s $1,400 PEMF mat to help me relax. I got weird dreams and disappointment
This pricey infrared therapy mat claims to help mood, sleep and muscle recovery. It felt more like a glorified heating pad
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Florida judge asked if Black defendant had ever ‘chopped cotton’ as he mulled community service sentence, report says
The judge acknowledged his remarks were ‘ill-considered,’ court documents state
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Watch Zakk Wylde in emotional video for Black Label Society's Ozzy Osbourne tribute
Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society release video for Ozzy's Song – their touching tribute to the late Prince of Darkness
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Robert Pattinson Sparks Buzz After Relationship “Red Flag” Remark Fans Link To Kristen Stewart
“100% shading Kristen Stewart,” one user wrote
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
Valerie Bertinelli Says She Feels “Deformed” In Raw, Emotional Body Confession
“I mean, if you read the book, you’ll know that my b*obs are deformed,” Valerie Bertinelli said.
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play