What we learned today, Wednesday 6 October
That is where we will leave the live blog for tonight. We will be back with you tomorrow morning, but until then, here’s what made the news today:
- NSW reached its 70% double-dose target for the over-16 population, ahead of lockdown ending on Monday.
- The newly minted NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, says there is “an opportunity for some changes” to the state’s roadmap out of lockdown, but bringing forward freedoms for the unvaccinated is not one of them.
- Covid-19 numbers continue to decline in NSW, with 594 cases recorded, as well as 10 deaths.
- The Victorian government will ease border restrictions with NSW and the ACT. The state reported 11 deaths, the most of its third wave of Covid-19, and 1,420 new cases.
- Australians with compromised immune systems may receive Covid-19 booster shots this year, before third jabs are rolled out more widely in 2022.
- Child cancer patients and their carers have been forced into isolation after a Covid-19 outbreak at a Melbourne hospital cancer ward, while four of the city’s schools have been shut after Covid-positive students sat an annual test.
- Workers in regional NSW are unsure if they can attend work when the state reopens on Monday following mixed vaccination messaging from the government.
- A woman in her 70s has died from Covid-19 in the ACT, bringing the territory’s death toll from the current outbreak to six, with 28 new cases reported.
- The ACT’s health minister has hit out at the federal government for not mandating Covid-19 vaccines for disability support workers.
- All primary close contacts of a coronavirus-infected teenager who broke quarantine in northern Tasmania have returned initial negative tests.
- Queensland may have seen off another outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19, with zero community cases recorded, but the premier is unable to provide a clear timeframe for reopening.
- South Australia is working on pathways to allow travellers from Victoria and NSW to come into the state heading into Christmas, but conditions will apply.
- The federal government is under pressure to revisit health funding for states and territories amid fears about how Australia’s hospitals will cope with a Covid-19 surge.
- There have been 29.3m vaccines administered nationally, up 350,856 in the 24 hours before Wednesday.
Until tomorrow, stay safe.
Updated
Just a bit more on the exposure site at the cancer ward at the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne. AAP says the exposure period was over four days, from 1 to 4 October.
No patients have tested positive as yet and the ward has been classified as a tier one exposure site and all contacts required to isolate for 14 days.
Affected hospital patients and their parents or carers have been placed into single rooms within the hospital to quarantine.
Updated
Dozens of Victorian prisoners and staff have Covid
Dozens of Victorian prisoners and staff are battling Covid-19 as the state’s worsening outbreak leaks into jails, AAP reports.
Corrections Victoria on Tuesday confirmed 39 prisoners and 15 staff are among the more than 14,000 active cases in the state.
Of the infected prisoners, 19 are located at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, 11 are at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, five are at the Ravenhall Correctional Centre, three are at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and one is at Port Phillip Prison.
The five Covid-positive prisoners at Ravenhall were in the general prison population but have since been moved into isolation units.
Prisoner movement at Ravenhall has been restricted since 25 September and transfers remain suspended.
More than 900 prisoners have been tested at the prison. A second round of surveillance testing began on Monday, with 749 prisoners swabbed so far.
There are also cases among staff at the Metropolitan Remand Centre (five), Ravenhall Correctional Centre (five), Port Phillip Prison (two), Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (one), Maribyrnong Community Residential Facility (one) and Barwon Prison (one).
“No staff members have been infected with Covid-19 via contact with prisoners,” Corrections Victoria said.
“With the exception of some of the cases at Ravenhall, no prisoners have contracted Covid-19 from prison staff.
“All of the other 34 cases have been contained to quarantine and isolation units across the prison system since their arrival and do not pose a threat to the general prison population or staff.”
Prisoner movement at the Dame Phyllis and Port Phillip prisons have also been restricted, while all in-person visits to Victorian jails have been suspended for some time.
Updated
NSW premier marks 70% double-dose vaccinations
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet has announced via his Facebook page that the state has officially reached 70% of the over-16 population being double-dose vaccinated:
Bam. We’ve hit 70% of over-16s double vaccinated in NSW.
This is great news and big step closer to a full reopening and a proper summer.
As I covered earlier, he mentioned the target would be reached at his press conference earlier, but everyone is excited about the Facebook post, so I am now mentioning it to you.
The NSW crisis cabinet is meeting with some changes to the roadmap to be decided, but Perrottet said earlier that the plan was still to end lockdown on Monday.
Updated
The Victorian health department is concerned there could be cases at the following locations due to viral fragment wastewater detections:
- Portland – unexpected wastewater detection for period 30 September-4 October.
- Cobram – unexpected wastewater detection for period 30 September-4 October.
- Apollo Bay – unexpected wastewater detection for period 29 September-4 October.
- Bairnsdale – unexpected wastewater detection in areas that include part of Bairnsdale, East Bairnsdale, Eastwood, Hillside, Lucknow, Nicholson, Wy Yung with period of interest 29 September-4 October.
- Aireys Inlet – repeated unexpected wastewater detection for period 16 September-4 October.
- Mildura area – repeated unexpected wastewater detections with the period of interest from 26 September.
- Ballarat – repeated unexpected detections in areas that include part of Delacombe and Sebastopol from 28 September.
- Falls Creek Alpine Resort – unexpected detection with period of interest 28-29 September.
Updated
The ACT just became the first jurisdiction in Australia to pass 95% first dose COVID-19 vaccinations for people aged 12 years and over. pic.twitter.com/217NhE5jkP
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) October 6, 2021
The Australian Human Rights Commission says the closure of the Manus Island immigration detention centre does not remove Australia’s obligations under the refugee convention for the more than 100 people remaining on Manus Island, even if their claims are processed by another country.
Those who refuse to go to Nauru by the end of the year could have their protection claims processed by Papua New Guinea, but the AHRC said Australia’s obligations under the refugee convention remain, and third-party processing could see Australia in breach of its human rights obligations.
In particular, the commission has concerns about:
- The potential for breaches of Australia’s non-refoulement obligations.
- The potential that asylum seekers may be subjected to arbitrary detention.
- Living conditions for asylum seekers on PNG.
- The lack of robust independent monitoring mechanisms.
- The health and safety of people in detention on PNG.
The commission has urged that all people who arrive in Australia and make claims for asylum should have those claims assessed here. Australia has an established system for determining refugee status and complementary protection claims. This system should be followed in a way that respects the inherent dignity and humanity of people who come seeking asylum, and that provides durable solutions to those found to be owed protection.
Updated
Here’s a quick rundown of the ACT budget from AAP:
- Deficit of $951.5m for 2021-22, the largest in the territory’s history
- Deficits to continue for next three years
- Forecast deficit of $564m in 2022-23, $530m in 2023-24 and $474m in 2024-25
- Net debt forecast at $5.72bn in 2021-22
- Forecast revenue of $6.59bn in 2021-22
- Rates revenue of $660m for 2021-22
Spending:
- Health: $2.1bn
- Education: $1.5bn
- Police and emergency services: $408m
- Justice: $306m
- Transport: $286m
- Housing: $256m
- Environment and climate change: $242m
- $5bn in infrastructure spending over five years
- $90m for Covid-19 health response
Updated
SA Health authorities continue to delve into the case of a woman from Mt Gambier who tested positive for the virus this week after spending time in Victoria, AAP reports.
The case has prompted tough new restrictions for Mt Gambier and two other council areas in South Australia’s south-east.
They include stricter density rules, a limit of two visitors to any home, and bans on private functions and organised sporting activities.
The rules will stay in place for at least seven days.
After testing positive, the woman, in her 40s, was transferred to hotel quarantine in Adelaide along with her four children.
On Wednesday, police reported a targeted arson attack on a car at a home in Mt Gambier, believed to be where the woman lived.
The SA premier, Steven Marshall, condemned the attack.
“This is a very disturbing story. Of course, we condemn this action,” he said. “This a very nasty development down in Mt Gambier.”
SA Health reported no new virus cases on Wednesday after more than 6,100 tests over the past 24 hours including a large number in the Mt Gambier region.
The state is currently dealing with three active infections, all in hotel quarantine.
Updated
South Australia is working on “pathways” to allow travellers from Victoria and NSW to come into the state heading into Christmas, but conditions will apply, the premier, Steven Marshall, says.
AAP reports he says SA will be in a position to release its plans in the coming weeks, but it’s likely changes to border arrangements will allow for restricted travel heading into the festive season.
At present, hard closures remain with both states, allowing only essential travellers and people with exemptions to cross the border.
Travellers are likely to be required to be double vaccinated and return negative tests and will face being quarantined, along with any close contacts, if they come down with Covid-19.
“I think people can have some confidence that as we get closer to Christmas that there will be pathways for people to come back,” Marshall told reporters on Wednesday.
At the same time the premier has reiterated earlier comments that SA was not planning any sort of “miraculous freedom day” when all local restrictions and border rules are scrapped.
He says density rules and attendance caps, along with other measures, will remain in place for the foreseeable future and rules around testing and quarantining will stay.
He has also revealed a decision, for the time being, for SA to stick with a 14-day home quarantine for Australians returning from overseas, despite some jurisdictions planning to cut that to seven days.
“We need to be prudent. We’ve got a lot to lose,” Marshall says.
“But the model shows us that at 80% double vaccinated, we’re going to very seriously reduce the transmission potential.”
Updated
Cancer ward of Royal Children's hospital in Melbourne named as tier one exposure site
The Kookaburra ward of the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne has been named as a tier one exposure site, after a parent who visited the hospital a few days ago later tested positive.
The hospital CEO, Bernadette McDonald, says contact tracing is still under way, but stresses this is something the hospital is dealing with every day.
We’ve got very clear screening processes in place but sometimes mum and dad have been in, and then become Covid positive a few days later, and when we find out we take all our precautions. We’re very, very happy and glad that we’ve got lots and lots of single rooms so we can isolate people quite safely when we do get a positive Covid result.
This is something that our teams are working with every day, have been for you know months now, and continue to work with, and they are great capable people and they manage their situations extremely well.
McDonald says the hospital is currently dealing – separately to this outbreak – with eight Covid-positive children at the hospital, and four who are doing hospital in the home.
She says Covid is “not as extreme” in children as in adults, but all patients are being closely monitored.
She doesn’t state when the exposure dates were, and I cannot yet see them on the Department of Health page, but I will try to find out.
Updated
AAP has a bit more on the new deputy premier of NSW.
Paul Toole has been sworn in, pledging to restore “business as usual” in the state’s regions after being emphatically elected as the new Nationals leader.
Toole, the MP for Bathurst, regional transport minister and outgoing deputy Nationals leader, defeated Melinda Pavey 15-3 in a leadership ballot on Wednesday at NSW Parliament House.
He was sworn in as deputy premier on Wednesday afternoon.
“I want to make sure we get back to work and it’s business as usual because the people of this state have been doing it tough now for a number of years,” Toole told reporters, referencing the Covid-19 pandemic but also drought, bushfires and floods.
“What’s important here is that we actually get on with the job.”
Bronnie Taylor, an upper house MP and current minister for mental health, will serve as the new Nationals deputy leader.
Toole said Taylor was “talented, enthusiastic and energetic”.
Updated
Marles was also asked whether the 125 refugees and asylum seekers still on Manus Island should be brought to Australia and resettled given the government is bringing an end to its agreement with Papua New Guinea around the running of the offshore detention centre.
He said the government should be facilitating third-party resettlement options.
The obligation that this government needs to fulfil is to find third-country options in respect of those who are in PNG. That’s really clear. The basis upon which the centre was established under the Rudd government was to precisely not have people be resettled in Australia, so that the journey between Java and Christmas Island could be brought to an end. That’s occurred.
It’s important that principle is maintained. But that doesn’t mean the government doesn’t have an obligation in respect of those people. And finding third-country resettlement is a fundamentally critical step that the government needs to fulfil. To be honest, we’re eight years down the track and there remain that number of people who have not found third-country resettlement option, and it’s an indictment on the efforts of this government.
Updated
On the new requirement that federal MPs working in Victoria need to be vaccinated, Marles said he supports it, and the federal government should be showing leadership:
Certainly, I think federal MPs should be getting vaccinated. We’re role models for the community. We need to take a leadership role here and getting vaccinated is the way we get to the other side of Covid-19. If there are any MPs out there that are not getting vaccinated, I think that’s a disgrace. I think that sends exactly the wrong message in relation to this. I would absolutely expect federal MPs to be getting vaccinated.
Daniel Andrews has made the decision he’s made in relation to mandatory vaccines. I think it’s really important that state governments are able to make public health orders in the interests of protecting the citizens of their state and that’s what he’s done.
To be honest, I think there should be some federal leadership here from Scott Morrison at a national level around establishing standards in terms of workplace vaccination policy. They really should be getting employers’ unions around the table to work through a policy. In the absence of that leadership, state governments need to be able to make public health orders of this kind and I support what he’s done.
Updated
All we’ve got here is conjecture. This is an entirely different situation to what we’ve seen in New South Wales last week which was very clear and very plain. I definitely don’t think Daniel Andrews should be standing down as the premier of Victoria. I think it’s a completely different set of circumstances to what played out in New South Wales last week.
And I get the state oppositions are going to try and beat up conjecture but that’s all got at the moment.
Updated
Immunocompromised people could start receiving Covid booster jabs
Australians with compromised immune systems could start receiving Covid-19 booster shots this year before third jabs are rolled out more widely in 2022, AAP reports.
Health authorities are closely monitoring overseas programs with the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and France among countries offering boosters.
Vaccine rollout coordinator John Frewen said science was not yet settled on third jabs, but the health department was working on a strategy.
“It’s possible we may see a third dose for those people who have compromised immune systems in some way, maybe later this year,” he told the Seven Network on Wednesday.
“But otherwise I think that the plan for the boosters will either be later this year or more likely into next year when it will all become a bit like the flu shot.”
A major US study published on Monday found Pfizer was 90% effective at preventing Covid-19 hospitalisations for at least six months even against the rampant Delta variant.
But protection from infection dropped from 88% within one month after receiving two vaccine doses to 47% after six months.
Booster programs in rich countries have come under fire with many poorer nations still trying to vaccinate their populations.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will in coming weeks provide updated advice about a small cohort of people that may need a third dose to complete their primary course.
“Atagi anticipates that additional booster doses for other populations may be required in the future,” the expert panel said last month.
Federal and state governments are planning to start a booster program in late 2021 subject to Atagi advice and regulator approval.
Updated
A company that was providing accommodation for homeless people in 2020 as part of the Victorian government’s Covid-19 response, has been charged by Worksafe over safety breaches.
Worksafe has alleged Keyun Enterprises, running the Comfy Kew Apartments, failed to have a Covid Safe plan in place, and did not require contractors to sign in, or require people to wear a mask on the premises back on 28 September 2020.
Worksafe alleges this put patrons and contractors at risk, and the company has been charged over the breach, with a mention hearing set at the Melbourne magistrates’ court on 30 November.
Updated
Close contacts of Tasmanian Covid case test negative
All close contacts of a coronavirus-infected teenager who broke quarantine in northern Tasmania have returned initial negative tests, AAP reports.
The 15-year-old boy, the state’s second case this year, tested positive on Saturday after flying to Launceston from Melbourne the day prior.
He flouted his home quarantine obligations to briefly visit an IGA supermarket on Saturday afternoon.
Seventeen close contacts of the boy, who has the more contagious Delta strain, have tested negative, acting premier Jeremy Rockliff said on Wednesday afternoon.
However, we are not out of the woods yet and this is no time for complacency. The close contacts will remain in quarantine for at least 14 days, and will be subject to further testing in the coming days.
Thirty-five people identified as casual contacts are also in quarantine and will be required to be tested on Wednesday and Thursday, Mr Rockliff said.
State Public Health director Mark Veitch said on Tuesday there is a high likelihood of further cases, particularly in the boy’s close family network.
He is staying in a Hobart medi-hotel with his dad.
Authorities will consider whether the boy should face criminal charges or receive a fine for the quarantine breach.
The IGA in the Launceston suburb of Newnham has been declared an exposure site from 2.20pm to 2.45pm on Saturday.
Updated
Perrottet says once NSW is opened up from December, business confidence will be key to recovery:
In preparation for this economic recovery I will be talking to the treasurer in relation to that. It is to build business confidence as we go into summer ... One of the key aspects over the course of this year identified by the Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, was the risk around business investment. As we open up our state we want businesses to do their best, they need to have confidence to see the economic recovery plan, our key measures to drive business confidence.
He also takes aim at the federal government over the GST distribution, and says they’ll be seeking a “no worse off” clause be enshrined in legislation.
It will be worse off by haemorrhaging millions of dollars. We will talk to senators to make sure that condition is enshrined in the literal legislation, and the reality is, we will have a situation where NSW received its fair share of the GST, should we argue, I would argue, for a per capita share.
We have a responsibility as the strongest state ... to support smaller jurisdictions. I have always accepted that. What I won’t accept is that WA wasted the surpluses when they were in the downturn, then they appealed to the federal government for a bailout.
Updated
No early release from lockdown for NSW, Perrottet says
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, says there are no plans to end lockdown in NSW sooner than Monday, despite the 70% double dose target being reached in the state today:
We made the decision. It is the right decision to not set a date at the outset, but it is good to set a vaccination target, and we want to make sure every person across our state goes out there and is incentivised to get vaccinated so that we can open up our economy.
We have also said in relation to today that will be Monday, while we hit 70% today, we would do it on the Monday afterwards.
But he indicated there could be changes made to the roadmap after the crisis cabinet meeting this afternoon.
At the cabinet meeting this afternoon there will be further discussions in relation to the road map. I have had discussions with the health team and the minister and Dr Chant this morning around a whole range of issues in relation to the Covid situation. We will be considering those matters this afternoon at the crisis cabinet.
Updated
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, is holding a press conference with the incoming new deputy premier, Paul Toole, before the swearing in.
Perrottet says:
I said to Paul when he called me, should we get the first flight as soon as we are allowed out to regional NSW, I will be out there and we want to continue the great record of this government and investing in schools and hospitals, public transport. It is my view wherever you live in this state you should have access to the best services possible, and we put significant amount of money in those services, substantial investments, and I have full confidence that with Paul Toole at the helm that investment will continue.
Today we will be swearing in the remainder of the NSW cabinet. Yesterday four ministers were sworn in. As I said, we will be holding the reshuffle over the summer break. What is most important right now is that every member of my team is focused on serving the people of NSW. We will go in, ministers will be sworn in, and then they will be straight back to work.
Updated
Catholic Health Australia has welcomed the ACT government decision to require most of its healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the start of December.
“The high transmissibility of the Delta variant of Covid makes all Australian hospitals, including the ACT’s, extremely vulnerable and we need vaccination rates as high as they can possibly go,” said the Catholic Health Australia CEO, Pat Garcia.
The ACT has been relatively fortunate to date in terms of Delta but once the Territory opens up and cases rise that can and is most likely to change.
A blanket public health order by the ACT government will take the decision-making out of the hands of operators – it’s a safer and more thorough approach.
The majority of staff working in the Catholic sector have been vaccinated, of course, but a government mandate would give a nudge to the few remaining staff who are unvaccinated.
Updated
An update to this story, which you may have seen on Tuesday, about the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, approving a third new coal project in the space of a month.
There was another approval published yesterday that we missed, which means the total number of new coal projects approved in the past month is actually four.
The fourth coal project is the expansion of the Tahmoor metallurgical coalmine near Bargo in New South Wales.
Mining company SIMEC Mining will expand its underground mining operations for coal used in steel production from approximately 3m tonnes of coal a year to 4.4m tonnes.
Ley has faced scrutiny over a series of mining approvals in recent weeks – Glencore’s Mangoola thermal coalmine expansion near Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter, the Vickery mine extension near Gunnedah and the expansion of the Russell Vale Colliery near Wollongong.
The decisions have followed a federal court decision which found Ley has a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis. She has lodged an appeal.
The approvals also come just weeks ahead of the global Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow at which countries are under pressure to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets.
The NSW government’s assessment of the Tahmoor development found the average annual emissions the project would cause in the state would be 2.23m tonnes, while scope 3 emissions – which occur once the coal is exported and used – would average 7.81m tonnes each year.
David Eden, a Tahmoor local and spokesperson for community group Undermined Inc, said he was disappointed by the latest decision.
“People here survived the 2019 black summer Green Wattle Creek bushfires and have cried as Thirlmere Lakes dry,” he said.
“We have no escape from climate change. Clearly Sussan Ley doesn’t care about us or future generations.”
Ley’s office has said the minister is “carrying out her responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of the EPBC Act and is taking into account all other relevant considerations”.
“The approval follows a rigorous assessment process and includes strict environmental protection measures,” her spokesman said.
SIMEC Mining welcomed the decision.
“Approval of the project will secure the futures of more than 400 workers and inject millions of dollars into the region,” a spokesperson said.
“The decision is a positive outcome for our employees, suppliers, local businesses, and the broader community and reaffirms the importance of supplying high quality metallurgical (coking) coal used in steelmaking and manufacturing.”
Updated
The person who died from Covid-19 in New Zealand was a man in his 50s, health officials have confirmed.
It is the 28th death in the country since the pandemic began, and the second in the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant, which New Zealand has been trying to stamp out since August.
The man had underlying health conditions and was a confirmed case of Covid-19. He spent 40 days in intensive care at Auckland’s Middlemore hospital.
The ministry of health says his family is being supported by their church and community.
“Our thoughts are with his whānau at this deeply sad time,” the director of public health, Dr Caroline McElnay, said.
Updated
Queensland deals with 'code yellow' hospital crisis
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has defended her government’s healthcare system amid a “code yellow” crisis across hospitals, saying all states and territories are under similar pressure, AAP reports.
Northern Queensland on Tuesday joined the rest of the state in issuing code yellows for its biggest hospitals, with warnings going out across Mount Isa, Townsville, Cairns and Mackay as they deal with unprecedented levels of capacity.
On Tuesday it was reported that in September, 31 code yellows were issued for hospitals as they start to run out of beds and ambulances were forced to divert to other emergency departments.
The premier insists the problem is not unique to Queensland as the nation prepares for the reopening of borders amid the ongoing impact of Covid-19.
In a joint letter to their federal equivalent Greg Hunt, eight state and territory health ministers have requested immediate additional commonwealth funding to alleviate the ongoing pressure on health systems.
“That is why we are putting a lot of effort into preparing our hospitals, and now is the time for greater cooperation between the commonwealth and the states, and that’s exactly what the health ministers have done by writing that letter,” Palaszczuk said on Wednesday.
“You’re seeing great pressures across a lot of hospitals across the nation. This is not a unique problem to Queensland. Nearly every other premier raises this as well at national cabinet.
“This is an issue of national concern.”
Queensland’s plan for reopening still hinges on Doherty Institute modelling alongside the national plan, the premier said, but no date has been set with the state’s population sitting at 48.89% fully vaccinated.
The Australian Medical Association of Queensland says additional action is required in the state’s hospitals before interstate borders reopen.
The organisation has formed a 10-member roundtable of emergency specialists, surgeons and doctors to develop a route out of the emergency department ambulance ramping crisis.
“The health of our communities depends on taking a fresh approach,” the AMAQ president, Prof Chris Perry, said.
“This group has myriad ideas to fix inefficient hospital processes and systems; what we need now is leadership, funding and collaboration to turn ideas into reality.”
But the state opposition leader, David Crisafulli, says the state government needs to take responsibility for its lack of action.
“It’s just out of control. Once upon a time code yellows were something that captured the attention of the everyday people, because they were so unusual,” he said on Wednesday.
“We’ve now averaged more than one a day in the last month. Get the hospitals up to scratch, because it is inevitable that at some stage Covid will visit us in a big way.
“Take some responsibility and fix a crisis of your own making that has been there for over half a decade. The Queensland health crisis is real and it will impact real families if something isn’t done.”
Updated
This is so awkward.
lmao i can't believe they shared this
— cameronwilson (@cameronwilson) October 6, 2021
here's how Donald Trump reacted to Sharri Markson showing him a copy of her new book pic.twitter.com/CgQNlCWZ6F
The Australian Defence Force will join with counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and New Zealand for a defence exercise this week.
The Department of Defence says the exercise will be “conducted across Singapore, Malaysia and parts of the South China Sea” and will display “Australia’s commitment to regional security”.
The exercise, called Exercise Bersama Gold 2021, comes amid growing regional tensions, but it was planned before the announcement of the Aukus security arrangement between Australia, the UK and the US. The Malaysian government has expressed concerns about the nuclear-propelled submarine plan.
The exercise marks the 50th anniversary of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) involving Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and New Zealand.
The defence department says Australia’s involvement in the exercise includes ships – HMAS Canberra and HMAS Anzac – and aircraft – a P-8A Poseidon and F/A-18F Super Hornets.
The chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, said in a statement issued this afternoon:
“The FPDA is a trusted mainstay of regional security architecture. When our five nations come together we strengthen cooperation, deepen our interoperability and sustain professional links. The 50th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on our achievements, reinforce the FPDA’s constructive role in regional security, and shape its future focus.”
The statement said this year’s exercise would involve “contactless air and maritime scenarios and a virtual land-focused seminar”. Bilton added that the exercise’s “execution in a Covid-safe manner is a testament to our collective ability to work together”.
Updated
Readers have been in contact with the Guardian about foreign-administered vaccines and which are eligible to be registered on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
This is significant because it will impact thousands of people inoculated overseas, now in Australia, and who want to be able to prove their vaccination status (as Australia’s states open up, many of the freedoms will be permissible only to those who can demonstrate they have had two vaccine doses).
The Guardian sought clarification from Services Australia, and in a statement, the general manager, Hank Jongen, told the Guardian:
If people receive a TGA-approved Covid-19 vaccine overseas, they can register their vaccination on the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) when they return to Australia.
Currently AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, Moderna Spikevax, Pfizer Comirnaty and Johnson and Johnson Janssen-Cilag vaccinations are approved vaccines.
To add the vaccination on the AIR, people need to ask a registered Australian vaccination provider to do so and provide verifying documents in English, or translated into English.
Further information about how to add immunisations you’ve had overseas to the AIR is available on the Services Australia website.
Updated
Fletcher is asked about the Liberal MP Julian Leeser’s proposed private member’s bill aimed at improving mobile coverage and customer service in Australia and whether it’ll be supported or ever see the light of day.
The short of the long answer is seemingly no, they’re already doing a lot in this space:
The first thing I’m saying is that parliamentary colleagues, backbench colleagues in the Liberal and National parties, are absolutely entitled to bring forward private member’s bills, they are entitled to speak out on any issue. Julian has been a passionate advocate on the question of telecommunication services, especially in so-called periurban areas, areas like his electorate of Berowra, which runs from built-up urban areas into extensive bushland ...
He has been very passionate on this issue and brought forward a private member’s bill. He has also been a keen advocate of something we committed to a few months ago, which is a funding PUMP [Peri-Urban Mobile Program], and we will be releasing the guidelines on that shortly, we will be calling for applications and that will be a tangible opportunity to get additional mobile coverage into periurban areas of our big cities.
In terms of the other issues that Julian has raised, we’ve had a number of discussions about them and I am sure we will continue to have discussion. In some areas, for example, the measures he has proposed in relation to Telstra not being able to own a USO, we’ve already had measures on the books in the National Broadband Network Companies Act have the same effect, saying a retail telco may not own NBN. But I welcome Julian’s passion and commitment on this issue. I’ve engaged with him closely on it and I will continue to do so.
That’s the end of the National Press Club event.
Updated
Fletcher says he’ll leave questions about whether government officials should use TikTok to the defence and home affairs ministers, but says the eSafety commissioner has been engaged with TikTok when it comes to online safety.
Our eSafety commissioner has had her officials, they have engaged with TikTok, and part of the role of eSafety is to reach out to players as they start to become a significant presence in the Australian market and say these are our laws, we are a central contact point, these are your takedown obligations.
And, of course, we carefully watch in relation to TikTok, as in relation to so many other apps and platforms, what their online safety implications are, what their practices are, and we need to recognise that this goes in many different directions. Online dating apps is another area where significant safety issues arise.
And the extraordinary level of innovation across the internet in the broader sense is a good thing, but it means as we consider safety issues we keep these services and platforms under close scrutiny.
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Q: How many of those car parks will have been built by May next year at the latest, how many of these projects have been abandoned and what will be the total cost of this program, has it gone beyond the $660m initially allocated?
Fletcher doesn’t specifically say how much it will cost or how many have been built or abandoned:
We have been very transparent in relation to the car parks program. For example, just quite recently, we have announced additional number of car parks on the northern lines in Victoria and Melbourne.
Now this is part of the promise we made at the 2019 election, the $70m commitment on car parks on the northern line. Notwithstanding the conspiracy theories of our political opponents, as it happens all of those car parks we just announced happen to be in seats held by the Labor party at the federal level.
The point I make is we have disclosed where there have been some community car parks we are not proceeding with, and I will give you a good example. On the Frankston line, in Melbourne, we had committed to three community car parks – Carrum, Seaford and Frankston. Based upon the detailed work we have done, it became clear that it was not likely practical to proceed with Carrum and Seaford, but we have taken the funding from that and we allocated that to Frankston, which is the next station along, very substantial additional funding going there.
Subsequently Frankston city council has come to me as minister and said, we the council want to buy land opposite Carrum station, and we would like to put the proposal to you that you can consider funding the car park on that land. I said bring that proposal forward and we will consider it.
We have been very transparent in relation to community car parks and getting on with growing the infrastructure and urban congestion fund and on all of the elements of our $110bn infrastructure pipeline.
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On whether streaming video companies in Australia should have an Australian content requirement, Fletcher says it is something asked about in the government’s green paper on media reform, and is now something the government is considering.
He says part of the consideration will be around whether it will involve the creation of new content, or just the availability of existing Australian content.
Updated
On misinformation and disinformation online, Fletcher says it is a problem, and the government is still looking at how the tech industry’s voluntary code to deal with it works in practice, but could legislate if it is ineffective:
We are watching closely how that works. There are some very tricky issues here because you have got freedom of speech issues, which need to be balanced up with public safety issues. And one of the issues and points I make in the book is that until very recently almost nobody had the opportunity to have their views heard beyond their family or workmates and a few friends.
In just a few years we are in a position where just about anyone can express a view or post a comment, which can potentially be seen by hundreds of millions or billions. So that is a very new and different issue and the way we have chosen to tackle it is through this voluntary code on misinformation and disinformation. Doing that, we are following the approach used in the European Union.
We will keep that under close scrutiny. If we don’t think the voluntary code is sufficient, we will consider more direct regulatory action.
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On CNN’s decision to pull its Facebook pages from Australia in light of the high court decision finding page owners are publishers when it comes to comments on those pages, and therefore would be liable for defamatory comments, Fletcher points to the defamation law review being led by the NSW attorney general, which could put the focus back on Facebook itself, but says the law stands as it is currently.
There is a process under way to look at that question. For the moment, the law is as stated by the high court, that’s the way our system works and therefore the decision by CNN is perfectly understandable. I might say though, it’s not just a media organisation which owns a Facebook page which faces liability, anybody with a Facebook page. What the case did not illuminate was the question of whether Facebook themselves are liable, and that is something I anticipate, I can’t be certain, but I anticipate in that process ... there may be something said about that question.
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Fletcher is also asked about the former prime minister Tony Abbott’s decision to travel to Taiwan and give a speech.
He says he doesn’t see an issue with it, given Abbott has experience in the area, and is attending as a private citizen.
Updated
Fletcher is asked about his public interest immunity claim in terms of handing over spreadsheets related to the commuter car parks fund in the Senate, and Nine News’ Jonathan Kearsley holds up a bunch of redacted documents Fletcher’s department provided under FOI.
Fletcher says there are “well-established rules” governing the release of material, but defends the decisions he made about how the money was allocated:
The process that we went through, as I’ve explained on many occasions publicly, is that the minister of the day made decisions. The minister of the day has authority under the National Land Transport Act, that is the way that infrastructure funding works. And so the minister of the day made decisions clearly within authority and, as a consequence, we are getting on with delivering infrastructure projects around Australia, including commuter car parks in our major cities so that people are able to move around our big cities and deal with congestion, and that’s what people expect governments to do.
He is also asked if he would, and if it would be appropriate to, make similar decisions in the upcoming election.
Fletcher says “there is a lot going on in the infrastructure space” and won’t rule out more announcements.
My focus as minister for urban infrastructure is on implementing the election commitments we made – we made a range of election commitments at the last election to deal with the problem of congestion. We know that in Melbourne, for example, 38% of the population does not use one form of public transport, we know commuter car parks had been committed to by the state government under the program and a range of areas to the north and the west of Melbourne, but they had not made any commitments on the south and east of Melbourne. The minister at the time, Alan Tudge, made the decisions he did based on the policy and commitment to reduce congestion. We are focused on delivering a wide range of projects we committed to, under the urban congestion fund, and, of course, our broader range of projects in the $110bn 10-year infrastructure pipeline we have. So there is a lot going on in the infrastructure space, if there are more announcements and more projects, then we will announce them in due course.
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Fletcher is asked about the testimony from the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen overnight at the US Congress.
Fletcher says he won’t comment on the specific allegations, but it is not surprising behaviour to see from big tech companies:
It is not greatly surprising to me, given that with just about every change that we have sought to make in our time in government there has been resistance from the tech giants. That is true of the news media bargaining code, true of online safety legislation, it is true of the change we made a few years ago to remove the exemption from GST for transactions conducted online under a certain threshold, I think it was $1,000. There was strong resistance from Amazon to that.
Asked whether a government might try to “influence” something like Facebook’s algorithm, Fletcher says they’re global businesses, but sovereign governments must be able to legislate to deliver safe outcomes for their citizens.
He says it’s a balance between safety and uniformity of regulation globally.
Now Australia has been a world leader in our approach to online safety. I am not saying by any means we have solved all the problems, far from it. There is a substantial agenda of work to do and since passing the Online Safety Act we now have a lot of detailed work to do in terms of developing codes. There is what’s called the basic online safety expectations, but my point is ultimately a sovereign government must assert the right to impose legal requirements to protect the safety of citizens and if you’re bringing a service to Australia, whether it is in the internet field or anywhere else, you need to comply with the laws of the land.
Updated
Fletcher also argues he sees a strong need for regulation of online activity:
Some argue the internet cannot be regulated and governments should not try. I disagree. Our government strongly believes that the rule of law needs to apply to human interactions in the digital town square just as it does in the physical town square. In my little book, I cite some of the arguments regularly heard from the digital giants in resisting regulation proposed by the Australian government, ‘Your country will become a technological back water’ we are told, ‘our business model does not impose any control of the material posted on our site’.
I accept that governments need to think carefully about how to design regulation in this new world but that does not mean governments cannot or should not regulate.
Fletcher also recounts the day Facebook switched off Australian news in its fight against the news media bargaining code:
The Australian government began working on these issues in 2018 when the ACCC started its inquiry into the digital platforms at the direction of then treasurer Scott Morrison but most Australians really only became aware of how high the stakes were when on 18 February this year we woke to discover that the Facebook pages of many Australian organisations were off the air. The Sydney Morning Herald, Nine News, the ABC, The Australian had all been shut down, so too had the Facebook pages of fire, police, ambulance and other vital services and of many small, online enterprises with no connection to traditional media businesses, including North Shore Mums, a thriving online business in my northern Sydney electorate of Bradfield.
Australians were shocked to learn that this had been done by Facebook itself as a tactic designed to dissuade the Morrison government from introducing our proposed news media bargaining code. The tactic didn’t work. Within days and following intensive negotiations between treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook restored the pages.
Worth noting, the code does not currently apply to Facebook. After the legislation passed, the company has signed a number of deals for the payment for content – including with Guardian Australia – but the code at this stage is acting more like a stick to encourage Facebook and Google to make these deals rather than being forced to the table by having the code applied to them.
Updated
Paul Fletcher is running through things the government has brought in to regulate the internet, including the esafety commissioner and the Online Safety Act.
On the latter he claims it was passed after “extensive consultation”. Worth remembering the legislation was introduced into parliament before submissions on that consultation were published, and it took journalists to ask the department to actually show what changes to the exposure draft were changed.
It was also rushed through parliament, with amendments made at the last minute to address some – but not all – of the issues with the legislation.
The government is now also implementing much of the new powers for the esafety commissioner outside of the act – for example this planned new code for tech companies to regulate adult content online, which we reported last month.
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Here is the NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s statement on the new NSW Nationals leadership:
On behalf of the NSW Liberals, I welcome the election of Paul Toole as leader of the NSW Nationals and as deputy premier, and Bronnie Taylor as the party’s deputy leader.
In electing Paul Toole to lead their party, the NSW Nationals have sent a strong signal that the NSW Liberals and Nationals will continue to build a better future for the bush with energy and optimism.
As a loyal deputy in the NSW Nationals to departing deputy premier John Barilaro, Paul knows what it takes to lead, and I want to again thank John for his service to the people of NSW.
Paul is a fighter and a pragmatist who has a strong track-record of delivering for regional and rural NSW, most recently as the minister for regional transport and roads.
He has been a strong voice within the government and has stood up for regional farming communities in times of drought, flood and fire, and is a staunch advocate for investing in new opportunities for people in the bush.
I have worked closely together for many years with Paul, and I know he will bring a steady hand to our efforts to get NSW safely back open and on the path to recovery.
Bronnie Taylor has been a powerhouse and worked tirelessly as minister for mental health at a critical time, ensuring vital support is there for people who need it in the aftermath of drought, bushfires and the pandemic.
In Bronnie the NSW Nationals have elected the first female deputy leader of the party in more than 100 years, and she will continue to be a voice for progress within the government.
As we emerge from the pandemic, we have an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen our regions and make them even more attractive places to live, work, run a business and raise a family.
I look forward to working with Paul and Bronnie to lead a strong and united Liberals and Nationals government with the energy and experience our state needs to come through this challenge stronger on the other side.
Updated
Thanks Mostafa. We are now hearing a speech from the communications minister, Paul Fletcher, at the National Press Club. He’s going through the history of the internet. All of it, it seems.
Updated
And with that, my time on today’s blog comes to an end, and I leave you with the always on point Josh Taylor. Thanks for reading.
Updated
The ruling in the Bernard Collaery case has been welcomed by human rights lawyers. The Human Rights Law Centre said it was a “win for transparency in Australia”.
While it’s welcome news that this prosecution won’t go ahead in complete secrecy, it shouldn’t go ahead at all.
This prosecution and those against whistleblowers David McBride and Richard Boyle are profoundly unjust. There is no public interest in punishing people for telling the truth about wrongdoing.
The matter will now be remitted back to the primary judge in the ACT supreme court, who will consider further evidence from the attorney general, Michaelia Cash.
The court of appeal said in a judgment summary:
Subject to any impact these affidavits may have, there may be public disclosure of information relating to the truth of the identified matters.
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The Victorian press conference has wrapped up relatively early today.
To summarise, the state has recorded 1,420 new cases and, sadly, 11 deaths. Some 80 cases were detected in regional Victoria and four were linked to students who took General Achievement Test (GAT) exams yesterday.
In better news, red zones in NSW will be downgraded to orange zones and extreme risk zones, mostly in Sydney and the ACT, will be downgraded to red zones from midnight. And more than 2m rapid antigen tests are en route to Victoria.
Updated
Bernard Collaery overturns secrecy decision
Bernard Collaery has successfully overturned a ruling shrouding parts of his trial in secrecy after an appeal court ruled open justice helped to deter “political prosecutions” and provide scrutiny of the actions of prosecutors.
Last year, the Australian Capital Territory supreme court ruled that parts of the trial against Collaery – a barrister charged for his role in exposing a controversial bugging operation targeting Timor-Leste – would be held in secret.
At the time, Collaery’s lawyers said the ruling would hide “essential elements of the trial” from public view and criticised the government for using “laws designed to protect Australians from terrorism” to reduce open justice.
They appealed to the ACT court of appeal, which on Wednesday accepted there was some risk to national security as a result of the disclosure of sensitive information in the case.
But it said there was doubt that a “significant risk of prejudice to national security would materialise”.
“On the other hand, there was a very real risk of damage to public confidence in the administration of justice if the evidence could not be publicly disclosed,” the court said in a judgment summary.
“The court emphasised that the open hearing of criminal trials was important because it deterred political prosecutions, allowed the public to scrutinise the actions of prosecutors, and permitted the public to properly assess the conduct of the accused person.”
Updated
Victoria’s Covid-19 commander, Jeroen Weimar, is asked about a positive case detected in South Australia who was believed to have travelled from Melbourne.
No positive cases have been linked to the woman from Victoria:
It is a mystery. I have not delved into it but my understanding is there was a positive case from Melbourne who travelled to Mount Gambier who had some exposures in Casterton and we are talking to our South Australian colleagues and have not found any positive cases ourselves yet on our side of the South Australian border bubble, but we will continue to monitor that closely.
Updated
The Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, is delivering quite a spray at the federal government over its funding of the hospital system, or lack thereof:
I’ve noticed some of the public commentary, especially by the prime minister, talks of I think it is a shakedown politics. It’s actually partnership politics. Since 2016, the commonwealth government has reduced its overall contribution as a percentage term of support for our public health system. It used to be 50-50 as the general principle. It was reduced 45-55.
All of the states and territories came together in April to share our concerns with the commonwealth in this regard and pointed out that already, as we were dealing with than 12 months of Covid, our systems were stretched, our people were exhausted and that we needed further additional investment to that which had already been put in by the commonwealth. I’ve seen some of the comments which have come from the commonwealth, I think they are regrettable.
We welcome the support that the commonwealth has brought over the course of the pandemic but the inescapable truth is some of those partnership arrangements have expired. Some have not. What we need is community partnership, not the blame-shifting politics that we are seeing from the commonwealth.
Updated
The new NSW Nationals leader, Paul Toole, has spoken out for the first time, and here is what he had to say:
This, to me, is a real honour, but I tell you what, I’m not focusing on it because I want to make sure we focus on the people of this state. I want to make sure we get back to work and it’s business-as-usual.
Because the people of this state have been doing it tough now for a number of years and I think what’s important here is that we actually get on with the job that we are elected to do.
Now to continue that work that John has done is important, but I’m very fortunate that in the National party I have a very strong team.
Alongside me, as I have said, we do have a very talented and a very strong team. I’m really pleased that Bronnie Taylor is my deputy. Bronnie Taylor, talented, enthusiastic, energy, you know, comes with a lot of experience and she is going to be absolutely brilliant to work with as we go forward for this state.
I want to also point out today that, you know, the investment that we have seen from the National party and the NSW government, we’re going to continue to fight for. We’re going to continue to make sure that happens.
One of the first things I did when I became the leader of the Nationals is I went back to my room and I rang Dominic Perrottet. And I spoke to him and said I want to catch up with him shortly. I want to make sure we talk about the future and what is going to happen. Dom has already said as soon as we get out of parliament in the next fortnight, he wants to make sure we do a regional tour together.
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The Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, is asked about whether the health system needs to be “ramped up” in the context of a week with cases beyond 1,000.
Foley says “yes, is the answer”:
As more demand increases we are bringing more capacity for hospitalisation of Covid patients into our system ... I can assure you that as our ICU nurses indicated on the weekend, it is not an issue of shortage of facilities, PPE, equipment, it is ICU nurses and specialist staff to monitor people in hospital settings – they don’t grow on trees.
We need to make the most appropriate use of all of our doctors, clinicians, nurses and what is already a stressful period but, as Burnet modelling indicated, is going to increase over the course of October as our vaccination rates increase in Victoria, getting to the level of starting to bend it down that infection curve.
It is our frontline healthcare workers who are fatigued after 20 months of this incredible effort they have put in, our ambos, doctors, nurses, orderlies, cleaners, cooks. Everyone involved in the healthcare system has been working like Trojans over the last 20 months. They are prepared to step up again with support. Best thing we can do is ease their burden by following the rules and getting vaccinated.
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New Zealand reports second Delta death and 39 new cases
New Zealand has reported its second death from the Delta outbreak, as it recorded 39 new cases in the community, including nine outside of Auckland.
The person died at Middlemore hospital. Health officials will release more information on Wednesday afternoon, once all of the family has been notified. It is the country’s 28th death since the pandemic began 18 months ago.
The nine cases outside of Auckland are in Waikato, which is in lockdown, after cases were detected there on the weekend. Two cases, which are linked to those in the Waikato, have been recorded south of Waikato’s boundary in Kawhia.
Of Wednesday’s cases, one is yet to be epidemiologically linked but interviews are ongoing. Health officials estimate another 36 cases, who are household contacts of existing cases, are likely to emerge over the coming days.
There are now 1,420 cases in the outbreak. Thirty-two people are in hospital and seven of those are in intensive care.
The Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, also unveiled further measures to boost vaccine uptake:
We want to pull out all of the stops to increase our vaccination rates, it has never been more urgent. So we’re asking everyone to contribute to a big nationwide push for vaccination. That’s all culminating in a national day of action for vaccination. On Saturday, the 16th of October – Super Saturday.”
Vaccine clinics will open throughout the country all day and into the evening, Hipkins said, and the government is calling on all public and community leaders to help get people there.
Hipkins said:
Political parties have different views on aspects of the Covid-19 response, but we are all united in one thing, vaccination. So a Super Saturday will be an opportunity for all of us to put aside our political differences just for 24 hours, and work together for a cause that we all support.
The government is encouraging people to shorten the gap between their vaccine doses, as long as three weeks have passed since the first dose. Hipkins also announced that a group of 30 people will begin assisting people with disabilities to travel to and from vaccination centres. On Thursday, the government will release the details of suburbs where vaccine rates are lagging, so health workers can go door-to-door and encourage uptake.
Updated
Back to the Melbourne Covid press conference:
Reporter:
Did any of the 11 deaths today die at home and have there been any examples recently of that happening?
Martin Foley:
Not to my knowledge. There have been, I think, fair to say, during the course of this outbreak at least two or possibly three deaths at home. I think it is three but I’m not aware of any of the sad cases that were recorded today. If there is any difference to that I’m sure we will let you know.
Updated
ACT records 28 new Covid cases and one death
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 28 new locally acquired cases.
Sadly, one death has been recorded overnight.
ACT COVID-19 update (6 October 2021):
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) October 6, 2021
◾ New cases today: 28
◾ Active cases: 395
◾ Total recovered cases: 663
◾ Total cases: 1,066
◾ Negative test results (past 24 hours): 2,682
◾ In hospital: 16
◾ Lives lost: 6 pic.twitter.com/awjCn1DMBe
Updated
The Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, is asked about General Achievement Test (GAT) exams, which took place yesterday. Four students in Melbourne’s north and west tested positive after completing the test.
Foley says:
Four out of 35,000, four cases is of concern clearly but in a proportionate sense. Surprise is not a word I’d readily describe for this. It’s a regret and I’m sure it’s a big blow for those four young people and their families, but in regards to the amounts of community transmission that is apparent at the moment but overlaid with the increasingly strong levels of vaccinations, we think that this is a sensible path through to mitigate those risks whilst delivering the VCE to those year 12 and year 11 students.
Updated
Victoria’s Covid-19 commander, Jeroen Weimar, is providing a breakdown of the state’s 1,420 new cases.
Just over a quarter of today’s new cases are in the western suburbs of Melbourne, and around four in 10 are in the northern suburbs, particularly concentrated across Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park and Broadmeadows. A quarter of today’s cases are in the south-east and eastern suburbs.
There are 80 new cases across regional Victoria today, including 15 new cases in greater Shepparton. There have been eight cases in Ballarat and eight further cases in Latrobe, which emerged from lockdown today. There have been four new cases in Mildura, including one case under investigation.
Updated
Back to NSW, and the deputy chief health officer, Marianne Gale, said in her update that cases in the NSW Hunter region had hit a daily high, indicating that the epicentre of the outbreak had moved further west.
There were 93 cases reported in the Hunter-New England local health district, with 27 being in Newcastle and 26 in Lake Macquarie.
There were 51 cases reported in Illawarra and 30 on the Central Coast.
Gale said authorities were most concerned with the spread of the virus in regional areas like Jindabyne, Figtree, Merewether, Cessnock and Blue Haven.
Updated
Rapid antigen testing will be ramped up in Victoria following the approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of its wider use as of 1 November.
The health minister, Martin Foley, says the Victorian Government will purchase some 2.2m rapid antigen tests and increase testing capacity as a key component in easing restrictions as the state approaches its 70% and 80% vaccination targets.
It follows rapid antigen testing trials with 1,200 Victorian employees including workers at the Royal Melbourne hospital.
Foley says:
It will not just stop at our healthcare system, it will be then rolled on through ... other particularly risky settings where it will be added to the toolkit for those settings to monitor how we identify Covid in a higher vaccinated Victorian community. Some of those settings will include schools, childcare, corrections, emergency services, and we’ll have more to say about how that operates across the whole of the Victorian government in the very near future.
Updated
I wanted to just return to the NSW Health details today, including some details on the deaths recorded today.
Seven men and three women died overnight, one person was in their 40s, one person was in their 60s, four people were in their 70s, two people were in their 80s, and two people were in their 90s.
Three people were not vaccinated, four people had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and three people had received two doses.
Three people acquired their infections at the Allity Beechwood aged care facility in Revesby, the first deaths linked to the facility.
Updated
The border between Victoria, the ACT and NSW will be eased as the “relative risks” change in the state, the Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, says.
From midnight tonight, red zones in NSW and the ACT will move to orange zones, and extreme risk zones will move to red zones.
Foley says:
As the relative risks change and as we move progressively towards opening up of the Victorian community under the national plan ... from midnight tonight, the red zones in NSW and the ACT, which are those areas not in lockdown, largely in regional NSW, they will change to orange zones. What that means is that both Victorians and non-Victorian residents returning from those areas will need to have a test after arriving within 72 hours and wait for a negative result prior to moving about the community.
And secondly, in regards to the extreme risk zones, which are the lockdown areas in the ACT and NSW, largely Sydney ... will change from extreme risk zones to red zones and that means Victorian residents can return through an online application. They will need to test and home quarantine for 14 days and we will continue to monitor and as we are confident the risk continues to be mitigated in NSW, we want to make sure that we continue to keep a close eye on that and if there are further changes to be made in due course, we will, of course, let everybody know.
Updated
Peter Dutton has finished his evidence.
The defence minister presented himself as someone prepared to put up with the “rough and tumble” of politics but who has sued in defamation for the first time because of his deep offence at Shane Bazzi’s tweet labelling him a “rape apologist”.
Dutton said:
I was deeply offended by it. As minister for immigration – it’s a rough and tumble business, advocates often make comments that are false and untrue, offensive, or profane. That’s part of the rough and tumble, but this went beyond that – to who I am, to my beliefs. Some people don’t construct an argument either because of the limit to their vocabulary or intellect, they resort to insults ... but this is beyond reasonable bounds. This went to a different level, that’s why I was most offended by it. It was defamatory, hurtful, and I took particular exception to it.
Dutton was also asked about how public comments from Bazzi’s solicitors (O’Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors) about freedom of speech made him feel.
Dutton said these “made me feel like these were the words of an activist as opposed to a solicitor or someone looking objectively at [the case]. “It continued the hurt against me”, he said, adding that they were “defamatory”.
Dutton’s counsel interrupted him at this point, noting justice Richard White is not assisted by his opinion about what is defamatory.
Dutton also spoke about his experience as a Queensland police officer taking witness statements from victims of alleged sexual assault, and efforts to combat sexual assault in government.
In cross-examination Bazzi’s counsel suggested Dutton was not offended by Bazzi’s tweet – he was in fact offended by a similar tweet from Larissa Waters accusing him of being a rape apologist, which she apologised for and deleted.
Dutton said Bazzi’s tweet concerned him not because it was a repetition of what Waters had said, but because Bazzi’s account was verified by Twitter (it had a blue tick). Dutton said he viewed the tweets as “completely separate”, that he was offended by both, and was “equally offended” by what Bazzi had said.
Dutton confirmed on 25 March he had given an interview in which he said he intended to take proceedings against people using the “rape apologist” phrase. Dutton said he had done so because he felt anyone using it was “crossing the boundary”.
The court has been adjourned for half an hour.
Updated
Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, is up now alongside the Covid-19 commander, Jeroen Weimar, confirming today’s 1,420 cases and 11 deaths. It marks the seventh consecutive day case numbers in Victoria have been above 1,000.
It brings active cases to 14,410, including 525 people being treated in hospital – 94 in intensive care and 53 requiring ventilation. Just 6% of those hospitalised are fully vaccinated.
Foley says:
It’s with great regret that I have to report that 11 people have lost their lives with Covid-19. A woman in her 70s and two women in their 90s from Whittlesea. Two women and a man in their 70s and a man in his 80s from Hume. A man in his 70s from Moreland. A man in his 70s from Hobsons Bay. A woman in her 60s from Darebin and a man in his 50s from Casey.
Can I take this opportunity to pass on our deep condolences of all Victorians to the families, friends and communities of those Victorians and just say again any life lost is a tragedy, but Covid deaths just bring a particular poignancy in this global pandemic.
Updated
Queensland chief health officer warns Delta is coming
The Queensland chief health officer, Jeannette Young, has warned that the state can’t keep avoiding an outbreak forever.
Young says it “won’t be long” before the Deltra variant is seen in Queensland again.
Eventually, and it possibly won’t be long, but we will see the Delta variant come in and it won’t be able to be controlled.
The only control will be the number of people who are vaccinated.
Updated
Queensland records zero new Covid cases
There were no new cases recorded in Queensland today.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed the numbers, saying it was “unbelievable.”
This is a great effort from everyone in Queensland doing the right thing.
Wednesday 6 October – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 6, 2021
0 new locally acquired cases recorded overnight.
3 new overseas acquired cases - 2 detected in hotel quarantine, 1 detected in hospital quarantine.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/bKdXwEySSh
Updated
Here is how the NSW case numbers are looking on a seven-day rolling average:
Updated
NSW records 594 new Covid cases and 10 deaths
NSW has recorded its lowest case numbers in a while, recording 594 new locally acquired cases.
Sadly the state also recorded 10 deaths overnight.
NSW recorded 594 new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/feZv6Avoew
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 6, 2021
Updated
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has addressed the 11 deaths announced in today’s Covid-19 numbers. He says it is right for the General Achievement Test (GAT) to go ahead despite rising case numbers:
I send my condolences and my deepest sympathies to the families of those 11 people. This is a deadly virus. Get vaccinated ... there’s a lot of testing going on and a lot of cases found ... my advice is the test results were provided in very good time. But, look, we have to open the place up. We have to normalise this and there are steady and logical and safe steps to do that.
We’ll open more beds as we need to and we’ll have the best care provided to everybody who needs that care. But there’s going to be pressure and challenges and it’ll be a very, very difficult time. That’s why it’s so important that none of us do anything to make the job of our nurses and healthcare professionals harder ... we’re going to see more and more patients who will be sadly critically ill and they’ll need to be supported.
The health minister, Martin Foley, will hold a Covid-19 update later this morning.
Updated
Paul Toole elected NSW Nationals leader
Paul Toole will be the new deputy premier of New South Wales, after he was elected leader of the state Nationals in a ballot held this morning.
Nationals MPs voted 15-3 in favour of Toole over water minister Melinda Pavey to replace outgoing Nationals leader and deputy premier John Barilaro.
Toole was previously deputy leader of the NSW Nationals, and his ascension to leader on Wednesday meant his party deputy leadership was vacant.
The Nationals party room elected Bronnie Taylor as new deputy leader of the party.
We will not have a NSW Covid update today but the Victorian update will be held at 11.15am.
NSW will release its numbers and provide a livestream from NSW Health’s Dr Marianne Gale at 11am.
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Australians are continuing to come forward in record numbers to be vaccinated, with more than 80% of eligible Australians aged 16 and over having now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) October 5, 2021
Book your first or second dose at https://t.co/BYd2HhEkaY pic.twitter.com/LwDkGsKzMB
So, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is giving a quick presser about reports that the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating his conduct and the conduct of a senior public servant over their involvement in dealings with the United Firefighters Union.
The Age has reported that the commission is looking into the premier’s actions. He was asked that today and this is what he told reporters:
If you want to know what is going on at Ibac, what they are talking to them about you, should go and talk to them.
And as to who said what, you can make your own judgments about that. I’d behave appropriately at all times and am focused on always doing what is the appropriate thing to do.
You want me to offer you comments I simply not going to offer you.
If you want to know what Ibac is doing and what they are talking to them about, you can go, as you must, go and talk to them. They are the only people who can answer those questions.
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We have our first public comment from former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who was caught briefly outside her former electorate office (which has been inundated with flowers and messages).
It was a very brief stop but here is what she said:
I just want to say a big thank you to everyone, it has been an enormous comfort … and I want everyone to get behind premier Perrottet, I know they will be an outstanding leader. Follow the premier’s words and make sure we come out of this lockdown as safely as possible.
I want everyone to know that I will read every single card, every single message.
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Big jump in NSW vax rate. 89.01% first dose now. 69.12% second dose. So close!!
— Alex Hart (@alexhart7) October 5, 2021
The federal court is about to begin hearing Peter Dutton’s defamation case against refugee activist Shane Bazzi.
Dutton is suing Bazzi over a tweet labelling him a “rape apologist”, tweeted in February at the height of political debate about an alleged sexual assault at Parliament House.
The tweet included a link to a 2019 Guardian Australia article reporting comments by Dutton that female refugees were “trying it on” by making claims they had been raped.
Bazzi has deleted the tweet but is defending the case after Dutton decided to pursue him for an apology and damages. Bazzi’s defence, filed in June, denies he has defamed Dutton but pleads that, if he did, defences of fair comment and honest opinion should apply.
In his reply submissions, Dutton argues that his public comments, including those referenced in the Guardian article, could not possibly justify the conclusion he is a “rape apologist”. Dutton has also accused Bazzi of showing malice, citing a tweet labelling him a “cunt” and a “fucken scumbag”.
Dutton is expected to give evidence (and be cross-examined). Three days have been set aside for the case.
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Four students test positive after sitting Gat exam
Four students in Melbourne who sat the general achievement test on Tuesday have tested positive.
The cases come from several schools, all in Melbourne’s north and west, with the health department saying the schools were closed for deep cleaning:
Public health investigations are ongoing and the schools will close while cleaning is undertaken, but the Department of Health will work with the Department of Education and Training and individual schools to ensure that the public health risks are minimised while quarantining as few students as possible.
Overall, schools did a fantastic job yesterday holding the GAT with [COVID-safe] protocols in place, with just four cases among more than 85,000 students sitting the exam after targeted hotspot testing caught around 30 cases in students before the test.
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The Morrison government’s commonwealth integrity commission would be the weakest anti-corruption body in the country, according to the Centre for Public Integrity.
In a report released on Wednesday, the independent thinktank observes the proposed CIC would lack powers to investigate corruption that falls short of criminal conduct, open its own investigations, hold public hearings and make findings of fact.
The deficiencies have been well ventilated since the government released its draft bill in November 2020, including by a Guardian Australia investigation in July that found the CIC would lack power to investigate dozens of integrity, expense and pork-barrelling controversies.
The CIC debate has renewed political relevance as the prime minister, Scott Morrison, has made a virtue of the softer approach in light of the NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation.
On Tuesday the Greens and independent Helen Haines signalled that they will seek to toughen the federal CIC model and force a debate on a private member’s bill for a body with more extensive powers.
The Centre for Public Integrity found that the Greens, Haines and Labor’s proposals all had stronger corruption-fighting powers than the Coalition model.
According to the report, the NSW and Queensland anti-corruption bodies are the strongest in the country because they have the ability to:
- Investigate those outside the public service who seek to unduly influence public decision making
- Investigate alleged corrupt conduct that falls short of criminal conduct
- Begin investigations without satisfying a threshold of evidence, meaning that investigations are used to determine whether any misconduct has occurred
- Commence own-motion investigations
- Hold public hearings if in the public interes; and
The CIC is both narrower in scope – because it excludes anyone outside the public sector who dishonestly or improperly influences decision making – and sets a higher bar for corruption because alleged public-sector misconduct can only be investigated if it would constitute a criminal offence.
Centre for Public Integrity grades Morrison government integrity commission model as weakest in country. pic.twitter.com/aOWFh9mmB0
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) October 5, 2021
Deficiencies include the inability to hold public hearings and make findings of fact (NB: not guilt or innocence, of fact). pic.twitter.com/4JcxMdc2qV
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) October 5, 2021
On Wednesday Morrison said the CIC would have “processes that assume people are innocent before thought to be guilty”, incorrectly implying that the NSW Icac does not grant the presumption of innocence.
Asked whether Icac needs to be reformed, Morrison said the NSW model “is certainly not a model we would ever consider at a federal level, and I think that has been on display for some time”.
He said millions of people would “understand that is a pretty good call” given Berejiklian’s resignation before Icac hearings to investigate whether she had been involved in “a breach of public trust” between 2012 and 2018 because of her relationship with the former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire.
The assistant attorney general, Amanda Stoker, has claimed Icac proceedings have “seen lives destroyed over trivialities, careers ended over investigations that have gone nowhere, and the tarnishing of the reputations of people who appear as witnesses, not as suspects, only to find themselves painted guilty in the public eye by their mere appearance”.
Stoker said the government wants the bill in parliament before the end of the year. There is no guarantee the CIC will be legislated. If the Senate amends the bill to toughen it, the government could stall or block it in the lower house.
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Banking regulator tightens rules on home loans
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has announced stricter serviceability tests for home loans, which will make it harder for some to get a mortgage.
In a letter to banks, Apra has increased the minimum interest rate buffer on home loan applications from 2.5 to 3 percentage points:
All ADIs [authorised deposit taking institutions] should be operating with a buffer of at least 3 percentage points over the loan interest rate.
The buffer provides an important contingency for rises in interest rates over the life of the loan, as well as for any unforeseen changes in a borrower’s income or expenses.
Where ADIs continue to approve loans using a lower buffer rate beyond the end of October 2021, APRA will adjust individual prudential capital requirements to reflect higher credit risk inherent in new lending.
This means that from the end of October, banks will have to test whether borrowers would be able to afford their mortgage repayments if interest rates rose by 3%.
Apra chairman Wayne Byres said the measure had been introduced to head off risks from a growing number of large mortgages:
While the banking system is well capitalised and lending standards overall have held up, increases in the share of heavily indebted borrowers, and leverage in the household sector more broadly, mean that medium-term risks to financial stability are building.
More than one in five new loans approved in the June quarter were at more than six times the borrowers’ income, and at an aggregate level the expectation is that housing credit growth will run ahead of household income growth in the period ahead.
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And we now have Victoria’s numbers on our daily graph:
Victoria records 1,420 new cases and 11 deaths
The numbers are out in Victoria and there has been a bit of a drop, with 1,420 new cases recorded.
Sadly, the state has recorded 11 deaths overnight.
Reported yesterday: 1,420 new local cases and 0 cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) October 5, 2021
- 36,542 vaccines administered
- 71,451 test results received
- Sadly, 11 people with COVID-19 have died
More later: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/JAqcvjvHzs
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So, newly minted NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has been on 2GB this morning, discussing a range of issues.
First, he has had a “very constructive discussion” with health officials and health minister Brad Hazzard after he was sworn in yesterday.
He said he had raised number of issues he wanted to look at before the state’s crisis cabinet meeting later today. He was specifically asked about mask mandate in offices and indicated he was open to changing it:
There’s a number of areas within the roadmap can be looked at.
There’s a number of issues that I want to raise with our health officials this morning. Whatever we do, we want to make sure it’s done in a way that keeps people safe.
But, ultimately, it’s important to get people back into town because we want to breathe life into Sydney, we want to breathe life into Parramatta, and all those major city centres because when they do well, there’s so many small businesses that rely on that foot traffic.
Perrottet also welcomed the state’s rising vaccination rates, saying it will reach “well above 90%” by the end of the year:
That’s an incredibly positive thing. There’s been a slowdown, but there’s naturally going to be a slowdown if the vaccination rate gets to a high point.
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Centre for Public Integrity grades Morrison government integrity commission model as weakest in country. pic.twitter.com/aOWFh9mmB0
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) October 5, 2021
Brittany Higgins appointed to Global Institute for Women’s Leadership
Brittany Higgins will be appointed the inaugural visiting fellow at the ANU Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
As part of her role, Higgins will “help advance work on a proposed code of conduct to prevent and respond to abuse, harassment and sexual misconduct in Parliament House and parliamentary workplaces”.
Higgins will also contribute to work already under way at the institute, such as the development and implementation of the Respect@Work report and the independent inquiry into the commonwealth’s parliamentary workplaces expected in November.
The ANU is the first university in the world to partner with the original Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, which was established and led by former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard.
Gillard said Higgins was a “a powerful force for change who had already greatly advanced the national conversation and push for reform in one of the most confronting and urgent issues Australia faces”:
In Brittany, Australia has an incredible leader who is already having a profound impact.
I applaud her courage in coming forward with her experiences, and her determination to make sure other women do not ever have to go through what she has.
Her bravery should and must lead to meaningful change, not only in our workplaces, but across all our society.
Brittany will be a wonderful advocate and I am delighted she has joined GIWL and ANU. I look forward to working with her and other members of the global GIWL team on these vital issues.
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'Dozens' of construction protesters have Covid, John Setka says
The Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, John Setka, was on ABC News Breakfast this morning, discussing two key issues.
The first issue was the positive cases among CFMEU members, and how linked it was to the protests held in Melbourne that kicked off at the CFMEU headquarters.
Setka said there were “dozens” of cases among the CFMEU membership, with some “seriously unwell”, and that he strongly suspected the cluster was linked to the protests:
That’s where it’s come from. My understanding is the health department, that’s where it has come from.
It’s come from the protesters and there’s a number of protesters who are also now, my understanding, infected, and, look, they’re classing all the protesters out there, it’s been recommended for all of them to be tested also.
I mean, this could lead to people dying. I mean, that’s how serious it is, and, you know, for people to just walk around and not wear masks, we have all made massive sacrifices.
We have all had to do our bit to keep everyone safe and we have worked so hard to keep our members safe and their families safe, communities safe, and to see so many irresponsible people just doing what they have done and look what they have created. I just hope they’re proud of themselves. They ought to hang their heads in shame, it’s an absolute disgrace.
The second issue discussed was the vaccine mandate, with Setka indicating that the union was considering legal action on behalf of its members to challenge it:
What we have said was, we support people’s rights to a choice and we’re also said that people that are stood down or lose their jobs because of it, we will represent them.
Our internal legal team will assess them, then pass them on to our law firm, Maurice Blackburn, and we’ll take their case up.
We don’t want to burn members’ money fighting cases all the way to the high court which are going to end up nowhere, it just becoming a lawyer’s picnic. We’re getting some serious legal advice on it and to see where we stand.
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Australia to end offshore processing in Papua New Guinea
The Australian and Papua New Guinean governments have announced they have agreed to finalise the regional resettlement arrangement at the end of 2021.
The agreement, signed in 2013, had allowed for regional processing in Papua New Guinea of people who have attempted to travel to Australia illegally by boat.
The minister for home affairs, Karen Andrews, and the PNG minister for immigration and border security, Westly Nukundj, said processing would cease by 31 December and would not be renewed:
From 1 January 2022, the PNG Government will assume full management of regional processing services in PNG andfull responsibility for those who remain.
Prior to 31 December 2021, Australia will support anyone subject to regional processing arrangements in PNG who wishes to voluntarily transfer to Nauru.
The ministers’ statement also says PNG will provide a permanent migration pathway for those wishing to remain, and reiterates Australia’s “strong border protection policies”.
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Sticking with Victoria, today is the day thousands of VCE students return to classrooms, despite surging cases. Year 12 student Lucca Beaves spoke to AAP about their return and how they were feeling:
I’m pretty excited, it’ll be good to be back with my mates and spend some time together.
But the 18-year-old is well aware of the likelihood that his school, McKinnon Secondary College, might have to deal with a close contact or a positive case:
I guess it’s a bit scary ... If someone gets it at school, we won’t be able to keep going to class.
Like so many senior students, he and his twin brother, Padua Beaves, have spent much of their VCE studying at home. After deciding to get the AstraZeneca vaccine back in August, they are waiting to get their second dose next week.
The twins are among more than 738,000 or 61.7% of Australians aged 16 to 19 who have lined up for their first Covid jab, while 26.7% have had both.
Tuesday’s return to school for year 12 students will be the start of just two weeks of face-to-face learning before exams.
State health authorities conducted a vaccination blitz for VCE students before the return to school, with hubs set up on campuses in areas with high numbers of Covid cases.
State school classrooms are being ventilation tested, and thousands of carbon monoxide monitoring units and high-efficiency particulate absorbing air filters are being installed in spaces with insufficient airflow.
On Tuesday the state recorded 1,763 new locally acquired Covid cases, the highest daily figure recorded for any state or territory in Australia.
In regional Victoria, restrictions in the Latrobe Valley have been eased overnight, while Shepparton, Moorabool and Mitchell shires remain in lockdown.
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Switching over to Victoria, here’s hoping there is a drop in numbers today:
Oh .. and I'm hearing the Covid case number for Vic will be - thankfully - quite a bit lower than ydays record.
— Raf Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) October 5, 2021
(And there I was trying to tweet less. Sigh)
So NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has begun his round of media interviews this morning by appearing on the ABC’s NewsBreakfast, and is asked what he thinks of NSW’s new premier:
I expect we will have big differences with the government getting into the economic recovery because the Treasury’s track record when it comes to Sydney and his economic management has meant more tolls and fines and charges on the working families of New South Wales, and I don’t think that’s the best way of getting the state going again.
Minns was asked what he thought of rumours circulating that Dominic Perrottet would bring forward the state’s reopening date, and if Labor would support any changes to the reopening plan:
We would have to support it and if we were to support it it would have to be on the health advice. This model has been diligently worked over with the chief health officer and health minister Brad Hazzard.
There are many questions still to be answered in relation to the rollout in Sydney. We have been supportive of a graduated opening from 70-80% vaccination rates in New South Wales but there are questions in relation to unvaccinated people entering a private business …
What the obligation is on the owner of the business and the obligation for the staff and is there a duty of care, and where is the service first vaccine passport which is meant to in a real sense make sure that we can get through the next couple of months in a safe way?
That was all part of the Berejiklian model for opening up and there are still questions as to whether they will still be in place under Dominic Perrottet’s premiership.
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Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you today to take you through the day’s news.
We begin in Victoria, which yesterday recorded its highest number yet of daily cases, at 1,763. It was also the highest tally recorded by a state or territory in Australia, with the state bracing for another day of high numbers. That hasn’t deterred premier Daniel Andrews from pushing on with the government’s reopening plan, with Victoria still due to reopen on 26 October.
In New South Wales, we are in day two of the Perrottet government, after Dominic Perrottet was sworn in as the state’s youngest premier yesterday. The NSW Nationals will have their turn to election a new deputy premier today, after John Barilaro resigned.
The state is also charging ahead on its vaccination targets, with NSW nearing the 70% first vaccination rate. NSW is still on track to reopen next Monday.
Elsewhere, federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg is ioslating after one of his staffers tested positive. His office is being deep cleaned and Frydenberg has tested neagative so far.
In Queensland, two new cases were reported yesterday, with all eyes watching the aftermath of the NRL grand final. Eyes are also on premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said the border could remain closed at 80% vaccinated, insisting it was dependent on what was happening in NSW and Victoria.
The ACT yesterday also recorded 33 new cases and five deaths, as the state crossed the 65% mark for double dosed vaccination.
We’ll bring you the usual daily coronavirus updates, as well as everything in between. Stay tuned.
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