What we learned today, Tuesday 29 December
And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog. Here’s a summary of everything that happened today:
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New South Wales recorded three new cases today, however the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, warned that several positive cases had been detected in the hours after 8pm that would be included in tomorrow’s update.
- Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, said authorities were working to identify temporary visa holders who breached coronavirus restrictions in Sydney over Christmas to potentially deport them.
- Following the arrest of five holidaying Sydneysiders, Queensland police said they were working to open a new checkpoint to ease congestion at the border.
- A crew member on the Diamantina cattle export vessel, which arrived in Darwin from Indonesia, tested positive for Covid-19. Authorities said there wasn’t a danger that it reached the wider community.
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Queensland authorities announced the first case in the country of the more contagious South African variant of the coronavirus.
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Western Australia announced three changes to its hotel quarantine program, after two people recently allegedly escaped.
As always, if you are planning interstate travel over the coming Christmas break, please check out our summarised border restrictions and list of hotspots.
Updated
Fairfield City has taken the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations, due both to the pandemic and the weather.
Mayor Frank Carbone says in a statement he knows people will be disappointed by the decision, but it is the right decision.
Council has been closely monitoring the escalating Covid situation in Sydney. The decision was made due to the increasing number of unlinked cases announced in the last few days outside of the northern beaches, which potentially means the virus has not been contained.
Updated
On a slightly different note, you may have seen online discussion swirling around whether Hilaria Baldwin is supposedly faking being Spanish.
If you are confused, you are also in luck, because we have the perfect explainer to run you through the entire story:
There has been another alleged breach in quarantine in Western Australia.
The police commissioner, Chris Dawson, says a man who travelled from New South Wales on compassionate grounds escaped self-quarantine in the early hours of this morning.
Dawson says the man from NSW tested negative to Covid-19 and is due in court today.
We’ve identified what we consider to be breaches of his quarantine where another person was invited to his room for several hours. We have evidence which we’ve now put before the court.
Updated
Just going back to the Wollongong venues, a memo has been issued to shops in Wollongong Central that outlines which shops exactly the positive case visited.
This memo has been handed to shops in Wollongong Central, and states the positive COVID-19 case in the LGA visited Coles, JB hi-fi, City Beach, Hero Sushi and Strandbags in the shopping complex on Wednesday, December 23 between 3:30-4pm. #COVID19nsw pic.twitter.com/lHmcvwC2Ej
— Emily Barton (@emilybarton1211) December 29, 2020
Updated
Parks along the harbour foreshore in Sydney’s inner west council remain closed – even though portable toilets have been moved in, causing confusion among locals.
Yesterday, Guardian Australia reported that local mayors had pre-emptively closed parks around Sydney that offered views of the New Year’s Eve fireworks, to prevent large gatherings. That included all harbourside parks in the inner west council.
However, residents reported that dozens of portable toilets were moved into Illoura Park in Balmain in what appeared to be preparation for a NYE event.
The mayor of the council, Darcy Byrne, told Guardian Australia the park was “definitely closed” but “the police insisted on putting them in anyway”.
“We told them it sends a very mixed message but it’s their call,” Byrne said.
For what it’s worth, signs at the park say it is closed for New Year’s Eve.
Updated
NSW Health has updated its list of venues of concern to include venues in Wollongong, Figtree and Mona Vale.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the listed times must get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive further advice from NSW Health.
- Wollongong, St Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church, 39 Atchison St, Saturday 27 December, 9am-10.15am
- Wollongong, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, 18 Stewart St, Saturday 27 December, 10.30am-11am
Anyone who visited any of the following venues at the listed times is considered a casual contact who must get tested immediately and isolate until a negative result is received:
- Figtree, Figtree Grove Shopping Centre, 19 Princes Hwy, Monday 21 December, 12.30pm-1.30pm, and Wednesday 23 December, 8.45am-9am
- Figtree, Figtree Grove Shopping Centre, 19 Princes Hwy, Thursday 24 December, 6.45am-9.30am
- Figtree, Proust Optical, shop 49, Figtree Grove Shopping Centre, 19 Princes Hwy, Monday 21 December, 9.30am-5pm, and Wednesday 23 December, 9.30am-2pm
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Mona Vale, Pittwater Place, 10 Park St
All day on all the following dates:
Sunday 13 December
Monday 14 December
Tuesday 15 December
Wednesday 16 December
Thursday 17 December
Friday 18 December
Saturday 19 December -
Wollongong, Wollongong Central, 200 Crown St, Wollongong, Wednesday 23 December, 3.30pm-4pm
Updated
WHO: Covid-19 is 'not necessarily the big one'
The “destiny” of Covid-19 is to become endemic, even as vaccines begin to be rolled out in the US and UK, World Health Organisation experts have said at the final media briefing for 2020.
And the head of the WHO emergencies program, Dr Mark Ryan, warned that the next pandemic might be even more catastrophic.
He said:
This pandemic has been very severe … it has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one.
The chair of the WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards, Prof David Heymann, said the world had hoped that somehow transmission would be decreased if enough persons were immune.
Heymann, also an epidemiologist with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said:
This concept has been widely misunderstood, and still cannot be predicted because of our lack of understanding of immunity and its duration.
It appears the destiny of SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19] is to become endemic, as have four other human coronaviruses, and that it will continue to mutate as it reproduces in human cells, especially in areas of more intense admission.
Ryan said the pandemic had been a wake-up call.
We live in an increasingly complex global society. These threats will continue. If there is one thing we need to take from this pandemic, with all of the tragedy and loss, is we need to get our act together. We need to honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do every day.
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the end of the year was a time to reflect on the toll the pandemic had taken, but also the progress made.
New ground has been broken, not least with the extraordinary cooperation between the private and public sector in this pandemic. And in recent weeks, safe and effective vaccine rollout has started in a number countries, which is an incredible scientific achievement.
This is fantastic, but WHO will not rest until those in need everywhere have access to the new vaccines and are protected.
Updated
South Australia has increased the fines for illegal fishing for the first time in 30 years, with some penalties jumping up by hundreds of dollars.
AAP has the story:
Fines for illegal fishing in South Australia are being increased for the first time in more than 30 years, with some penalties jumping from $50 to more than $600.
Primary industries minister David Basham said the current penalties were no longer deterring people who want to break the rules.
He said:
The black-market value of seafood has increased well beyond the penalties set back in the 1980s.
For example, under the old rules, someone caught taking 20 undersize crabs could only be issued a $100 fine. Offenders found it cheaper to break the law than pay up to $150 for the crabs at the shops.
Among the changes, anyone caught with taking 10 undersize King George whiting or exceeding the bag limit on calamari will face a fine of $625, up from $50.
The fine for taking too many blue swimmer crabs will also jump to $625.
Basham said both recreational fishers and the commercial sector had been disgusted at the previous fines and both had called for significant increases.
The new penalties will come into force in March.
Updated
Australia’s billionaires have continued to build their fortunes during the pandemic.
New figures show the combined wealth of Australian billionaires has risen by more than 50% over the past year, prompting concerns that the pandemic-triggered recession has “turbocharged” the gap between rich and poor.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows the combined net worth of the billionaires dropped slightly in March, before rebounding strongly throughout the year.
The combined worth of Australian billionaires was assessed to be 52.4% higher this week than at the same time last December.
You can read more on the story here:
Updated
Some good news now, as the La Niña weather event has meant much of Australia has received far more rain than this time last year:
Not all things in 2020 were bad. This La Nina December with only a few days to go compared to Dec 2019 pic.twitter.com/jiOEPTEHzP
— Graham Creed (@WeathermanABC) December 29, 2020
Updated
Western Australia is implementing three new changes to its hotel quarantine program based on a swiftly developed review.
Acting health minister Roger Cook announced that the three recommendations being immediately implemented include:
- High-risk assessments of quarantining travellers will now be done under a new “matrix” that standardises how authorities will deal with “travellers who have either breached their quarantine requirements or have indicated that they intend to”. It also means a “high-risk hotel” will be established for those cases.
- New emergency management powers will be given to security guards at the state-run hotel to be able to better enforce quarantine
- Physical barriers will be installed at the hotel to prevent anyone trying to escape.
The changes come after a woman walked out of hotel quarantine in Perth.
Updated
Doltone House, the venue where several residents of the northern beaches were fined for breaching health orders to attend a wedding, has released a statement.
It says the bride’s immediate family had taken precautions and stayed out of the northern beaches, and that if the venue had known of any health order breaches it would have “taken the necessary steps”.
The venue’s statement says:
We acknowledge that individual guests have breached the public health order which requires residents of the northern beaches to stay home. These residents are responsible to abide by this order as NSW citizens.
Doltone House were advised by the bride that she and her immediate family had taken all measures, including staying and remaining outside the northern beaches cluster region, to comply with the public health order.
Had we been aware that any of the information supplied to us by the couple was incorrect, we would have taken the necessary steps. The venue itself was compliant.
All guests are also required to register their attendance on the NSW govt QR code app.
Updated
I’m not one for year-end reviews, but I think this video really captures the spirit of 2020:
2020 review, told by @kathandkim @MagdaSzubanski pic.twitter.com/oNNIQ5v1Hz
— worthlesstwink (@worthlesstwink) December 28, 2020
South Australia has again recorded no new cases today:
South Australian COVID-19 update 29/12/20. 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/r11FocrnYE
— SA Health (@SAHealth) December 29, 2020
The latest update from the federal Department of Health shows that to 28 December, more than 11,124,000 Covid-19 tests have been conducted nationally since the pandemic began. Of those tests conducted, 0.3% have been positive.
As at 28 December, 28,337 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Australia, including 909 deaths, the update says. The median age of all cases in Australia is 37 years, with the range between 0 and 106 years. The median age of deaths is 86 years, with a range of 27 to 106 years. There is a relatively equal ratio of male-to-female cases across most age groups, the department says.
Updated
A bit more detail on the South African virus variant detected in a returned traveller in hotel quarantine in Queensland. The South African variant is different to a UK variant also causing concern, but both contain an unusually high number of mutations compared with other variants. Both strains contain the N501Y mutation – however, so do other variants that do not appear to be associated with increased transmission.
Researchers say more work needs to be done to establish for certain whether the UK and South African variants cause more severe disease and/or spread more rapidly.
While the Queensland health minister, Yvette D’Ath, said it was the first time the South African variant had been identified in Australia, it is important to remember the UK variant has also been detected in returned travellers in New South Wales hotel quarantine, but has not spread into the community.
D’Ath said there was no need to panic about the strain being detected in Australia:
The good news about this individual is that they were in hotel quarantine at the time they were tested and they have since been transferred to a hospital, and we are absolutely confident that all proper measures were taken at the hotel, and in the transfer, and of course at the hospital in relation to this positive case.
Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, said exemptions allowing returned international travellers to quarantine at home instead of in hotels would be reduced in light of both variants.
She said:
We are seeing more and more positive cases in the people who are returned from overseas. And now that we have these two variants that are quite concerning developing in the UK, and that variant has already spread to other parts of the world, and the South African variant, it increases the risk even more. So, therefore, the exemptions that will be given will be even fewer than before.
Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said:
The mutation that has cropped in Africa has been seen before, and we have no idea whether it impacts on virus transmissibility or immunity.
We need to study the impact of mutations on virus behaviour, but until we have performed those important experiments we should avoid panicking. If we practise social distancing and limit interactions with others, then we will avoid spreading the virus, no matter what collection of mutations it has.
Updated
As we wait for an official decision from Cricket Australia on the fate of the New Year’s test, Queensland health authorities have said the Australian cricket team will be allowed to fly in from Sydney.
As long as the team abides by the Covid bubble arrangements used for other sporting codes, they should be able to play their match at the Gabba in Brisbane, should the third test go ahead in Sydney.
Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said earlier today that players and staff would be restricted to just hotel quarantine and could leave the hotel only for training and playing the match itself.
We have had a number of discussions with Cricket Australia and they [the team] would need to follow the same arrangements that we’ve had in place for other sporting codes when they travel from a hotspot.
Updated
There appears to be a malfunctioning camera at the ABC studios:
— Andrew Riddle (@AndrewRiddle36) December 29, 2020
Unless, of course, this is part of a new background for the channel. Unclear at this stage.
Updated
There are many considerations we will all have to make this New Year’s Eve, and it seems the weather will not be making it easier.
Much of Australia is set to see in the new year under wet and dreary conditions.
Sydney’s current wet weather is forecast to stretch out over the rest of the week, while Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin and Hobart are also set to see showers on NYE.
You can read more on the forecasts at our story here:
Updated
Queensland records country's first case of South African coronavirus variant
Queensland authorities have announced the first case in the country of the more contagious South African variant of the coronavirus.
The variant was detected in a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, but Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath said there was no risk to the public.
We have seen other jurisdictions record a UK variant. But this is the first time the South African one has been identified in Australia. The positive news ... about this individual is that they were in hotel quarantine at the time they were tested and they have since been transferred to a hospital. And we are absolutely confident that all proper measures were taken at the hotel, and in the transfer, and of course at the hospital in relation to this positive case.
D’Ath also revealed that fragments of the virus were detected in five waster-water facilities in Brisbane, including Victoria Point, Oxley Creek, Goodna, Fairfield and Redcliffe.
Updated
The government has announced the navy’s Collins-class submarines will be upgraded in a multi-million-dollar contract with Thales Australia.
Thales, a defence contractor owned by the French defence technology conglomerate Thales Group, will receive two contracts worth around $23.7m.
The deal is for the design and implementation of the Mine and Obstacle Avoidance System and the High Frequency Intercept Array for the submarine fleet.
The defence minister, Senator Linda Reynolds, said the upgrades would work towards ensuring the “regional superiority” of the fleet.
With more than 20 years of investment in Australia by Thales and Defence, these upgrades will complement broader improvements to the sonar capability of the Collins class, ensuring the regional superiority of the fleet into the future.
Updated
Ship crew member tests positive in Northern Territory
A crew member on the Diamantina cattle export vessel, which arrived in Darwin from Indonesia, has tested positive for Covid-19.
The 25-year-old man was tested onboard when the ship arrived on Sunday night.
He has since been admitted to the Royal Darwin Hospital, where he is in isolation.
The rest of the crew are in isolation at Howard Springs quarantine facility, where they have to complete 14 days of mandatory supervised isolation.
Some crew members are required to remain onboard the Diamantina to comply with international maritime law.
Northern Territory health minister Natasha Fyles said the man did not come into contact with the wider Darwin community.
She said:
There was some port staff that had interacted with that ship, but they were dressed in the appropriate PPE and keeping contact to a minimum, and I’m advised they didn’t come into contact with the infectious individual. But those people are now contacts and are in isolation and have been tested.
Updated
Make the rounds this morning, nine attendees at a wedding in Pyrmont, Sydney, have been fined $1,000 after allegedly breaching health orders.
Three others at the same wedding also face the same fines, after they left the northern beaches to attend the wedding.
People from the northern beaches returned to pre-Christmas restrictions this week, of course, meaning they are not allowed to leave the region.
You can read more on the story here:
Updated
Good afternoon, everyone, and a quick thanks to Elias for guiding us through the morning’s news.
I will be taking you through this afternoon’s news, there is still much to discuss, so let’s dive right in.
Updated
That’s it from me, Elias Visontay. I’m handing over the blog to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani, who will take you through the next part of the afternoon.
Updated
Immigration minister Alex Hawke has spoken again about potentially deporting temporary visa holders found to have breached Covid-19 restrictions.
The recently appointed cabinet minister told 2GB Radio this morning he had instructed the Department of Home Affairs to work with NSW authorities to investigate mass gatherings, and that temporary visa holders found to have “flagrantly” disobeyed public health orders could have their visas cancelled, be put into immigration detention or be deported on chartered flights.
Hawke told ABC News this afternoon:
We do have the power to cancel visas under the Covid requirements with breaching public health and safety of Australians. So we will do that, and we will act where necessary.
Australians expect that their government will act – and we will act – if people continue to breach their conditions and risk public health and safety.
If people continue to breach their visa conditions, the federal government will have no choice but to act.
Updated
Queensland police have provided an update on their new checkpoint at the NSW border, and on the five Sydneysiders caught having snuck into the state.
Chief superintendent Mark Wheeler said a new checkpoint would be opened on 31 December and would work to improve the police’s capacity at the border. He said wait times were currently around 90 minutes and he hoped the new checkpoint would reduce that.
He said police had processed more than 540,000 border declarations, turned around 300 vehicles and issued 10 infringement notices, predominantly for people who provided false information.
Wheeler expanded on the Sydney five, saying they had made a false declaration about not being in a NSW hotspot in the previous 14 days.
He also said police would follow up any information they received, warning there would always be records of people entering Queensland and that if police had to, they could potentially remove them from the state.
There will be that small cohort of people who will put themselves before the community. Travelling into Queensland on the road, from a hotspot, you have no right to do that at the moment.
When these restrictions end, everyone is welcome. But at the moment, this is about keeping Covid-19 out of Queensland.
Updated
Russia said on Monday that its coronavirus death toll was more than three times higher than it had previously reported, making it the country with the third-largest number of fatalities.
For months, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has boasted about Russia’s low fatality rate from the virus, saying earlier this month that it had done a better job at managing the pandemic than western countries.
But since early in the pandemic, some Russian experts have said the government was playing down the country’s outbreak.
To recap that press conference:
- Three new local cases were identified from 16,329 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday. All are linked to the northern beaches cluster.
- A further three local cases were detected in the hours after 8pm. One is a resident of Wollongong, who authorities believe caught Covid-19 in the Sydney CBD, as they did not travel to the northern beaches. Another case is in Sydney’s inner west, and the third described as coming from Sydney’s “northern” region.
- Gladys Berejiklian appeared to suggest Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s reaction to Sydney’s outbreak was “too over the top”, and asked Cricket Australia to consider moving Brisbane’s test – as opposed to Sydney’s – if there are border issues for players trying to enter Queensland following the Sydney test.
Berejiklian said there could be further restrictions for greater Sydney if testing numbers remained low.
We appreciate frustration levels may be increasing [on the northern beaches] but please know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Ironically, as we see time move on, the threat of greater Sydney is almost becoming as equal to parts of the northern beaches, and that’s where we’ll be adjusting potentially some of our restrictions.
I say, especially to people in the southern part of the northern beaches, please know there’ll be relief for you on 3 January. We’ll be able to tell you exactly what that relief looks like on 2 January.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian believes Cricket Australia should consider moving Brisbane’s cricket test, as opposed to moving Sydney’s test, if the Queensland government does not allow players to travel there after a test in Sydney.
The NSW premier says she doesn’t “want to appear to be too parochial myself, but the overreaction in relation to some parts of dealing with the pandemic from other state premiers I think is evident.
This is another example. When everybody’s doing their best to maintain a kind of safe environment. You know some reactions from some premiers I think is too over the top.
On moving Brisbane’s test, Berejiklian says:
That is an option Cricket Australia should consider, frankly ...
We have worked closely with Cricket Australia and they have been really great to work and have given us the same feedback.
But we are at the behest of other state governments and I’ve said from the outset that every response has to be proportionate to the risk.
Updated
Berejiklian is asked about limits for boats, and whether northern beaches residents can take their boats out for New Year’s Eve.
She says:
Obviously, it is a time when people want to be with their closest loved ones, and we ask everybody to be responsible. But we also ask everybody not to undertake any non-essential activity and we ask people to turn their attention to that.
Assistant commissioner Mick Willing is asked what the gathering limit is for boats, but does not give a direct answer. He says that “common sense should prevail”, and stresses that water police will be monitoring waters on New Year’s Eve.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian is asked about Sydney’s coming cricket test.
She says she doesn’t want to take words out of Cricket Australia’s mouth, but that the body appears satisfied with NSW’s plan for 50% crowd capacity at the tests.
However, she says Queensland’s border restrictions are presenting the biggest point of concern.
They are pleased with the plans we have put forward but it is out of our hands given it is the Queensland government that is creating a bit of difficulty for them.
We have been around-the-clock working to support Cricket Australia and have done the best we can do.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian is asked if she is considering further stay at home orders for greater Sydney.
The NSW premier says “not at this stage”.
We won’t impose anything on our citizens, unless we absolutely have to.
Higher rates of testing will give us greater confidence not to have to consider anything further for greater Sydney.
Updated
Chief health officer Kerry Chant says authorities are investigating the source of three cases that were detected after 8pm.
This includes the case from Wollongong, as well as one in the inner west and one in northern Sydney.
Chant says authorities believe one of them spent time in the Sydney CBD – an area authorities have continuously warned about.
Chant said authorities hope to release more information on the cases by mid-afternoon.
Updated
NSW police assistant commissioner Mick Willing on New Year’s Eve in Sydney:
You will see large numbers of police officers out and about in uniform, specialist commands, patrolling the greater metropolitan area, like we do during every New Year’s Eve celebration.
Officers will be out and about and commands across metropolitan area, to re-emphasise that. Of course the Sydney CBD area will be different this year.
If you do not have a New Year’s Eve past do not try to get into the green zone. Police officers will be equipped with the powers under the health order to move people on should they be congregated in numbers that are unsafe.
I must stress, we need the community to abide by the current health orders, particularly in relation to public gatherings and household gatherings.”
Chief health officer Kerry Chant says all close-contact passengers on two domestic flights of concern – a Qantas flight from Darwin to Sydney, and a Rex flight from Sydney to Griffith – have tested negative, but will see out their isolation
On testing numbers, Chant says she hopes to see daily tests return back to 20,000 to 30,000.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian urges NSW residents to turn out for testing after the numbers plummeted to 16,329 tests on Tuesday.
She also pleads for the public to take personal responsibility.
There is also a level of personal responsibility. The government can put in the rules, the police can enforce them, but it comes down to what each of us do.
We know by now what is Covid-safe and what is not. Hopefully everybody is very clear now as to what the restrictions are for New Year’s Eve.
Updated
NSW records three new Covid cases
New South Wale recorded three new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, from 16,329 tests. They are all linked to the northern beaches cluster.
However, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian warns that several positive cases have been detected in the hours after 8pm, and will be included in tomorrow’s update.
She sys the later cases are outside of the northern beaches, including a resident in Wollongong. They have not yet been linked to the cluster.
Updated
New Queensland border checkpoint opening following arrests
Queensland police chief superintendent Mark Wheeler has said authorities are in the final stages of planning a fourth checkpoint on the Queensland-NSW border, at Miles Street on the Gold Coast, to help ease congestion around the Tweed and Coolangatta back streets.
Wheeler said the three current checkpoints were operating 24/7 and were coping with the traffic that would have previously had 17 entry points to cross between the states.
Wheeler told Channel 9:
We have up to 100,000 vehicles a day crossing just on the Gold Coast, and we are trying to prevent a cohort of about 5 million people coming from the greater Sydney area from coming into our state.
This is looking for the needle in the haystack, if you like. There have been delays for not only essential workers but people who are travelling and doing their day-to-day business. The opening of the fourth checkpoint will ease those congestions. And so that’s what we are working on.
Wheeler’s comments follow a Courier Mail report that police marched five Sydney residents from their holiday rental into hotel quarantine and fined them $20,000 after they were busted in a brazen bid to holiday in Queensland.
Wheeler told Channel 9:
We have turned back on our roads over 690 people since we commenced this operation ... just over a week ago. And during that time unfortunately we have had to issue 10 infringement notices. Five were issued only a day and a half ago to five people, who we will allege lied about coming direct from the greater Sydney area.
We will allege they travelled up on Boxing Day. Police did further enquiries and established on the following day that they lied on their border passes. Their intentions are actually to travel to Airlie Beach for a holiday. These are the kind of things we are dealing with at the moment.
Updated
Tuesday, 29 December – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 28, 2020
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 2 overseas acquired cases
• 11 active cases
• 1,248 total cases
• 1,467,304 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,218 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/2pq7YmQVFS
Australia is pushing to ensure the global inquiry it helped trigger into the early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t pull any punches – a move that has the potential to risk further recriminations from China.
Amid scepticism among several government backbenchers that the inquiry will fully address Chinese authorities’ early missteps and reporting delays, Australia is using its final months on a top World Health Organisation board to press for the investigation to remain robust and independent.
When asked whether Australia was satisfied with China’s level of cooperation, a health department spokesperson told Guardian Australia:
Australia encourages all countries to engage openly and constructively with the evaluation process.
The government’s public calls in April for a global inquiry into the origins and early handling of coronavirus triggered a furious backlash from Beijing, which argued it was a political manoeuvre against China.
China ended up joining with most nations to support an inquiry motion drafted by the European Union and co-sponsored by Australia in May, but has taken a series of trade actions against Australian export sectors throughout 2020 and has rebuffed Canberra’s calls for ministerial talks.
Updated
There have been more than 60,000 pieces of mail intercepted with biosecurity risks in Australia in 2020.
Agriculture minister David Littleproud said the increase in interceptions (about 3,000 more instances this year) was the result of international border closures, as people unable to visit Australia or travel overseas sent parcels to each other instead.
He said:
As people haven’t been able to travel, we have seen an increase in parcels coming through our international mail centres, including items that could pose a biosecurity risk.
Between 1 January and 31 October 2020, 25 million international mail articles were screened for biosecurity risk material.
Biosecurity officers intercepted over 45,000 articles containing seeds, equating to 75 % of the total interceptions for the period.
I urge anyone ordering an item containing an animal or plant product online, or having one sent from overseas this Christmas period, to think again.
Pork products, which can carry African swine fever, were intercepted 3,000 times, while Khapra beetles, which are a significant pest risk to grain and horticulture industries, were found in 422 parcels intercepted by authorities.
Updated
We have reached a major milestone, carrying out more than four million tests since January 2020. Thank you NSW!https://t.co/gJXJ9GF5WJ pic.twitter.com/IwDtiGDykL
— New South Wales Chief Health Officer (@NSWCHO) December 28, 2020
A 63-year-old man has died in managed isolation in Auckland, Radio New Zealand reports.
The man had recently returned to New Zealand from the Pacific and was staying at the Grand Millennial hotel.
Stuff reports that the ministry of health believes his death on Monday is unlikely to be related to coronavirus.
Updated
Nationals MP Darren Chester has rejected suggestion of a push within in his party against leader and deputy prime minister Michael McCormack.
Chester, the veterans affairs minister, laughed off the question during an appearance on ABC News on Tuesday morning, when he was asked if McCormack would face a challenge in the new year.
Chester said:
At the start of a new electoral cycle, we meet as a partyroom, the leadership positions are vacant and we elect our leadership team.
I think Michael [McCormac] has been elected three times in last three years. I think he’s done a fantastic job. We have to focus and we are focused on achieving outcomes for regional Australians, delivering for regional Australians.
Any minute, any second, any hour I spend talking to you about the National party internal politics, we need to focus on the people.
Updated
The New Zealand government has introduced a third test for returnees from high-risk countries including the UK and US in an effort to crack down on the variant strain of the coronavirus.
From midnight on 31 December, new arrivals will be tested on their day of arrival at managed isolation as well as on days three and 12, Radio New Zealand reports.
The government is also considering requiring New Zealanders to display a negative test result before departure, though this has been criticised as an additional barrier to an already challenging journey home.
Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles told RNZ that tests were not always readily or cheaply available and could return a misleading result.
The minister for Covid-19 response, Chris Hipkins, has said the government would not introduce the extra check unexpectedly:
We would give people notice before we hit the go button.
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Victoria records no new local coronavirus cases
This is the 60th straight day of zero community transmission.
Yesterday there were 0 new local cases & 0 lives lost. 0 new cases were acquired interstate, 0 international. There are 7 active cases in quarantine or self-isolation. 6,899 test results were received. More information available later today: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/DmVgHxO7Ds
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 28, 2020
Gladys Berejiklian will provide a coronavirus update at 11am this morning.
The NSW premier will be joined by her chief health officer, Kerry Chant, and the NSW police assistant commissioner Mick Willing.
I’ll bring you live updates from that press conference here.
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In case you missed this story from my colleague Melissa Davey from yesterday:
Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout is expected to be complete by the end of October and ahead of schedule, the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, has said, reiterating that getting vaccinated against the virus will be voluntary.
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'We're very happy to deport' backpackers: immigration minister
The immigration minister, Alex Hawke, has instructed the Department of Home Affairs to work with authorities in New South Wales to identify temporary visa holders who breached coronavirus restrictions in Sydney over Christmas, to potentially deport them from Australia.
Hawke, who was promoted to the immigration portfolio at this month’s cabinet reshuffle, said tourists found to have “flagrantly” disobeyed the public health orders could have their visas cancelled and be placed into immigration detention. He also said the government may charter flights to deport some.
Hawke told 2GB radio on Tuesday morning:
I was shocked at the scenes on Bronte beach [on Christmas Day] ... Absolutely under the Migration Act if someone is threatening public safety or health their visa can be cancelled and revoked.
Certainly the federal government is looking at that issue. I’ve instructed the Department of Home Affairs to work closely with NSW authorities in the lead-up to New Year’s Day as well to make sure that everyone is doing the right thing and if anyone is caught doing the wrong thing that their visa status will be brought before the federal government.
One possible consequence is deportation, obviously. We can deport people. we have chartered flights to continue the normal process of immigration overseas where we return people to home countries.
We don’t want to have public health and safety jeopardised by a small group of people who are not respecting the country that they’ve come and been in. They know the situation in their home countries is worse in many respects.
There are many options available to the department, you can put them into immigration detention, but obviously there’s consequences to some of those things.
However, you know, what will happen is we’re very happy to deport people, we’re very happy to make sure if people are flagrantly disobeying public health orders and risking the health and safety of Australians and our other temporary visa holders, we will look at those options.
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Fortunato Foti, of the Foti family who have for years been behind Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display, has revealed what this year’s shorter event will look like.
Foti told Channel Nine:
It’s probably a little bit disappointing [that gatherings around the foreshore are banned] but we are glad that we are still able to put on a show for the people of Australia.
The display is basically from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, four pontoons in front of the Opera House and a main barge at Fort Denison.
It’s a seven-minute show, it is a lot shorter than what it would be normal normally. I can guarantee the intensity of the fireworks display is greater than it has been in previous years.
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The Liberal senator Jim Molan has warned that the likelihood of Australia entering into war against China is “much more likely than is currently recognised”.
Molan said such a war would be primarily be between China and the US but as one of the “good nations in the region”, the chance of Australia being drawn into the conflict would be “fairly high”.
The senator, who is also a former major general in the Australian Army, told Sunrise on Tuesday morning:
It’s not just possible, it’s much more likely than is currently recognised ... a war primarily between China and the US. That’s the main game, we’re not the main game by any stretch of the imagination.
It is not inevitable and if we prepare there is a chance it will not happen.
Liberal Senator @JimMolan says military conflict with China is “much more likely than is currently recognised."
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) December 28, 2020
The former Army Major General spoke to @MarkBeretta about why he's urging the federal government to "prepare for the worst case scenario." pic.twitter.com/i2rGPQv06p
Molan said China has been “priming for war for a long, long time”:
They are threatening Taiwan every day of the week, they’re interfering in Japanese airspace, they have stolen the South China Sea, contrary to any international rules and laws.
They are picking fights with their neighbours around the world and they have extraordinary military capability, not just in rocketry and aircraft but in overall capability to do things.
They are primed for war and the other problem of course is that America as well is primed for war. So the possibility of this war occurring by a legitimate reason such as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which might have been some kind of reaction from the US and from us, and from the other good nations in the region, or by accident, is fairly high.
This is likely to be a war which requires the entire nation to defend this nation. As I said, we are likely to be collateral damage in a war between China and the US but we have got to prepare for it and the first step is not to make anything bigger or smaller or put more money into anything, it is to come up with a strategy for national security across the entire nation.
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Good morning, and welcome to the Australia news live blog for 29 December. I’m Elias Visontay. Here’s what’s making news this morning.
-Two Sydney mayors have criticised the NSW government’s New Year’s Eve advice about gathering outdoors, saying people should stay at home. Inner West council’s mayor was blindsided by Gladys Berejiklian’s comments that it was OK for Sydneysiders to gather at local ovals to watch the fireworks, saying his council doesn’t have enough resources to enforce restriction-compliant gatherings.
-Australia is pushing to ensure the global inquiry it helped trigger into the early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t pull any punches – a move that has the potential to risk further recriminations from China.
-Coronavirus alerts have been issued for new venues of concern in Sydney outside of the northern beaches, including at a Woolworths at Bondi Beach, a Coles in Edgecliff and David Jones in the city. Here is a list of venue alerts in NSW.
-The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, is expected to provide an update on the northern beaches coronavirus cluster this morning, as well as unlinked cases around Sydney that authorities are still investigating. Authorities hope a case linked to the Belrose Hotel will help them understand the outbreak of the cluster, which now sits at 126.
-The Melbourne Porsche driver Richard Pusey, who is awaiting trial on several charges over April’s Eastern Freeway crash in which four police officers died, faces fresh charges, including making threats and breaching bail.
If you want to get in touch, please send me an email to elias.visontay@theguardian.com or get in touch via Twitter @eliasvisontay.
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