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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy and Cait Kelly and Matilda Boseley

Two new Omicron cases in Victoria; six Covid cases on Gold Coast ahead of Qld border reopening; Alan Jones launches new web show – As it happened

What we learned today, Friday 10 December

With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Stay safe out there.

Here are today’s major developments:

  • National Cabinet met for the last time until February. High on the agenda were Omicron and international travel, as well as the expansion of the vaccination rollout to five to 11 year olds.
  • Gladys Berejiklian will not run on the Liberal ticket in the seat of Warringah. Was she ever going to? Probably not.
  • A 44-year-old woman died in Queensland flood waters north of Brisbane, after getting trapped in a car that became submerged. Wild weather is expected to ease on the east coast this evening.
  • In WA, firefighters are still battling to contain a blaze at the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park near Margaret River, with a bushfire emergency warning still in place.
  • Four local Covid cases have emerged on the Gold Coast just three days before NSW border restrictions ease. There were a further four cases acquired interstate including two detected in the community. The health minister says lockdown is “unlikely”.
  • New South Wales Covid cases have continued to rise, with 516 reported overnight. The ACT recorded six new cases, and Victoria recorded 1,206 new cases and two deaths, including two cases of the Omicron variant.
  • Speaking of Omicron, the first case of the variant has potentially been detected in South Australia, with testing underway related to “a couple of cases” overnight. The Northern Territory has reported four Covid cases but they have not been announced to be of the Omicron strain.
  • In Tasmania, the state has announced Covid testing rules for residents who travel interstate. They will be required to get a Covid test and isolate until receiving a negative result once arriving home. In nice news for Hobart, Tasmania is also likely to host the fifth Ashes Test.
  • 124 Australian species, including the bogong moth have been added to the endangered species list. The bogong moth’s listing should be a “wake up call” about declines in Australia’s invertebrates, scientist Marissa Parrott said.
  • Alan Jones is launching a new web show and podcast which he believes will be a great success. Jones was dumped by Sky News Australia but says “the voices have got to be given a voice”.

OK, have a great night. Here’s a seagull screaming in terror to ease you into the weekend:

Updated

More on Tasmania hosting fifth Ashes Test here:

Updated

Fifth Ashes Test to take place in Hobart

Some potentially good news for Tasmanian cricket fans.

The ABC is reporting the fifth Ashes Test - which was due to take place in Western Australia - will now go ahead in Hobart.

Cricket Australia is yet to confirm the news, but an official announcement is expected to be made over the weekend.

Bellerive Oval has a capacity of approximately 20,000.

Updated

There are new exposure sites in Queensland following those cases reported today.

Access the full list here.

We can bring you another late Friday announcement: the federal government says the entirety of Hezbollah and neo-Nazi group The Base were today formally added to the list of terrorist groups.

This is not a surprise, because the home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, announced her intention to do so about two weeks ago (she was writing to state and territory governments, as part of the formal process). Now it’s official.

Andrews said in a statement issued a short time ago:

“Terrorism is an abhorrent crime. The Morrison government will do everything in its power to prevent it and stamp out the hateful ideologies that fuel it. From today, both groups are rightly considered terrorist groups; enabling the application of terrorist organisation offences to these groups, and aligning Australia with international partners such as the United Kingdom and Canada.”

For more on this issue, see our previous story:

Default end-to-end encryption across messaging platforms will not lead to a spike in child abuse material, Meta’s global head of safety says.

AAP reports:

Amid fears the extra privacy would allow potential abusers to thrive, Antigone Davis says she is confident the company can continue referring those sharing illegal material to authorities. Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

At a parliamentary hearing into how law enforcement can tackle child exploitation, committee chair Julian Simmonds referenced Australian Federal Police’s belief that encryption would restrict Meta’s ability to detect and refer incidents of child abuse material.

The committee heard Meta referred more than 21,000 incidents to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children between July 2020 and June 2021. It comes as child sex offence prosecutions increase in Australia, up to 35 a month from 20 a month three years ago.

Those statistics came from commonwealth prosecutor Mark de Crespigny, who said cases involving child sexual abuse material were becoming more complex, with more live streaming activity.

Davis, who noted already-encrypted WhatsApp made more than 400,000 reports of suspected child abuse material last year, said Meta was taking a three-pronged approach. She said that included focusing on initial harm prevention by measures such as defaulting minors’ accounts to private settings and making it more difficult for suspected accounts to view minors.

Meta will also make it easier for users to report suspected child exploitation and add additional layers of control, including the ability to blur photos.

But Simmonds said law enforcement estimated 60% of its referrals would no longer be possible once encryption is the default across Meta’s platforms.

A submission from the Communications Alliance said all cooperation processes would remain and “meaningful data” would continue to be handed to law enforcement.

But Simmonds challenged this, stating: “I don’t know how you can tell me there will be a meaningful number of referrals when you just told me you can’t quantify what that number is.”

Labor MP Anne Aly asked when Meta’s messaging platforms were encrypted, how it could penetrate closed groups of potential criminals.

(These) services ... allow people to set up a closed group where they can share these images, like going into a room and closing the door and locking it behind you, then sharing those images with each other. Nobody in there is going to report it because they are part of that group.

Updated

Not so in Queensland:

Victoria can look forward to some rare normal weather this weekend:

Updated

And here is a statement from Greg Hunt, confirming the human biosecurity emergency period will be extended for a further two months until 17 February.

The arrangements have been in place since 18 March last year:

The extension of these arrangements made by the governor general was informed by specialist medical and epidemiological advice provided by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) and the commonwealth chief medical officer.

Continuation of these arrangement will allow the important measures currently in place to continue as the government continues to reopen Australia and act decisively to respond to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Four existing emergency requirement determinations will remain in place:

  • Mandatory pre-departure testing and mask wearing for international flights
  • Restrictions on international travel from high risk countries
  • Restrictions on outbound international travel for unvaccinated Australians
  • Restrictions on the entry of cruise vessels within Australian territory

Hunt:

As has been the case throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, these arrangements will be reviewed regularly to take into account the latest medical advice.

The government continues to work constructively with the cruise ship industry, with whom we remain actively engaged alongside state and territory governments to enable a phased resumption of cruising in Australia on the basis of medical advice. As part of this work, the government will continually review, on a monthly basis, whether the current restrictions on cruise ships can be safely lifted or amended.

Updated

We have a statement from the national cabinet, which met for the final time today, predominantly to discuss the new Omicron strain of the virus. It will meet again in February next year.

On Omicron, the cabinet received an update from chief medical officer Paul Kelly, who advised Australia was still in “early stages” of understanding the variant. Health minister Greg Hunt has extended the human biosecurity emergency period for a further two months to 17 February.

On borders, national cabinet “noted” the steps taken by the commonwealth to adjust settings consistent with the suppression strategy and proportionate to Omicron:

As more evidence relating to disease severity, transmissibility and vaccine effectiveness becomes available, the commonwealth will continue to consider Australia’s international border settings in a manner consistent with a suppression strategy.

National cabinet welcomed Queensland’s announcement that it would reopen to fully vaccinated Australian citizens or permanent residents who have a negative Covid test taken within the 72 hours prior to departure from 13 December 2021.

The coordinator-general of the vaccine rollout, Lieutenant General John Frewen, provided an update on the booster program and plans to close the gap in vaccination rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the general population. He also provided an update on preparations to vaccinated 5 to 11 year olds from next year.

National cabinet confirmed test, trace, isolate and quarantine measures alongside public health and social measures like mask wearing were “key” to ensuring Covid cases remained at clinical capacity. It noted settings could be adjusted for different local circumstances.

On outbreak management plans for Indigenous communities, national cabinet agreed existing measures needed to be updated in light of Omicron and current outbreaks in the NT:

The commonwealth will continue to monitor the situation and provide the relevant state and territories assistance against the virus during the pandemic, including variants of concern.

National cabinet noted the significant progress in reopening Australia under the National Plan to Transition Australia’s Covid-19 Response. All jurisdictions are expected to reach 80% vaccination coverage for their populations, 16 and over, and enter Phase C of the national plan by the end of 2021.

National cabinet welcomed plans by Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory to reopen borders next week. National Cabinet agreed the chief medical officer will work with the Doherty Institute to develop advice on thresholds to inform transition to Phase D of the national plan for the next meeting of national cabinet.

It also received an update on enhancing health system capacity under the reopening plan and the need to support primary care providers, and provided provided in‑principle endorsement of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement (National Agreement), which will be finalised in early 2022.

Updated

Victoria’s shadow treasurer, David Davis, just appeared on ABC Afternoon Briefing, justifying his decision to attend the state’s anti-pandemic legislation protests:

I think Victorians have had a terrible time, Patricia. And you as a Victorian understand that. The impact on families, on school kids, on businesses has been quite profound and extraordinary. And Victorians are entitled democratically to have their say at the ballot box, they’re entitled to have their say with petitions and online approaches. They can ring up your show indeed and have their say.

But they’re also entitled to demonstrate. I say demonstrations should be peaceful and lawful. But people are entitled to demonstrate and that’s part of their democratic system.

I never regret talking to Victorians but, let me be clear, in those rallies was a big range of everyday Victorians. People who have lost their jobs. People who have lost their businesses.

Updated

The weather is still pretty dicey on the NSW south coast but conditions are expected to ease this evening.

Over in Western Australia, there is still an emergency bushfire warning in place for the Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park.

Updated

It’s 10 December, and you know what that means! This tweet is now a decade old:

Tasmania announces new Covid test rules for residents who travel

Now that’s over, the Covid update has been taking place in Tasmania. Tasmanians travelling to “high risk areas” will have to be tested once they return to the state, even if they spend less than a week there. Arrivals from overseas will have to isolate for seven days and get three Covid tests upon their arrival.

No decision yet on mask-wearing in indoor settings.

Updated

Did you catch the races?

Morrison found a way to weave in the Bathurst 1000 where he did a hot lap last weekend. Hopefully this weekend we’ll see him on a ute!

Updated

Now Scott Morrison is talking about independents running in marginal seats, a concept he finds confusing:

I don’t quite get this ... they’re independents but they’re only running against Liberals? (laughs) I think people see that for what it is ... they’re pretending not to be a party, they are a party, they’re backed by big money and they’re about trying to attack the Liberal party.

Updated

Conversation turns to Kate Jenkins’ report on sexual harassment in commonwealth parliamentary workplaces. Morrison says he was implementing the 28 recommendations from the report before they were even announced. Wow!

We’re getting on with it right now and we’ll be making more announcements soon ... this is an issue in our workplace, it applies to the Labor party, the Greens, our party, everyone who works in that building ... many people don’t know this but the survey even talked to media who work in that building ... everyone’s working together and taking responsibility to get it fixed.

Updated

Morrison reckons children under 12 will be given “an ice-cream or a bit of chocolate” after they get their vaccinations from 10 January:

We had some challenges [with the vaccination rollout] at the start but it’s about how you deal with it and we fixed those problems ... now we’ve got a vaccinated country, a strong economy and we’re heading into 2022 really positive, very confident.

I didn’t have to pay them to do it, others thought we’d have to, and I never thought that because they knew it’s important ... people are pretty sick and tired of governments telling them what to do ... it’s been a very invasive time, necessarily, I’m sure we all agree but ... it’s time for government to get out of people’s face and let them move on with their lives.

Updated

Scott Morrison says Omicron was the major topic of discussion at today’s national cabinet meeting.

He tells 2GB:

This is progressing well, we’re obviously getting more information, the severity of this virus is so far not presenting to be worse than what happened with Delta.

I’d really want to encourage everyone to go and get their boosters, this is really important, particularly with Omicron. That booster program is available to everybody ... so if it’s been six months since your last second dose then please go and get your booster.

Updated

There are at least two Omicron cases in Victoria.

Scott Morrison is about to appear on 2GB following the last national cabinet meeting of the year. I’ll bring you the highlights here.

Updated

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has made a formal pandemic declaration applying from 15 December until 12 January next year as part of the state government’s new pandemic management framework.

The declaration replaces the current state of emergency declaration, which expires at 11.59pm on 15 December and will not be extended.

In making the declaration, the premier was “satisfied on reasonable grounds there was a serious risk to public health throughout Victoria arising from the coronavirus pandemic disease”:

In advising the premier to make a pandemic declaration, the chief health officer noted the widespread community transmission of coronavirus in Victoria and the presence of active cases in the community – a significant proportion of whom require supported care.

The chief health officer also advised protective measures were necessary to ensure the Victorian health system is not overwhelmed.

The initial pandemic declaration can be renewed within four weeks, if the premier is satisfied on reasonable grounds the pandemic continues to be a serious risk to public health. After the first declaration, further pandemic declarations can be extended every three months.

The statement of reasons and the advice of both the chief health officer and minister for health will be tabled in parliament. A copy of the pandemic declaration will be published in the government gazette.

Updated

Northern Territory reports four Covid cases

The Northern Territory has detected four Covid cases as a cluster linked to three crowded households continues to grow.

Here’s more from AAP’s Aaron Bunch:

A woman in her 40s and her primary-school-aged daughter who live with nine other people in Katherine, 320km south of Darwin, tested positive.

Another woman diagnosed with the virus is in her 20s and lives with six people in the same small pocket in the town’s east.

The new cases were found after health workers launched a testing blitz in four streets, which are home to multiple Aboriginal families.

A health order mandated tests for any resident seeking to leave the area, with those who refused ordered into quarantine. Once tested, residents were free to move about the community.

The targeted and legally enforceable rule came after days of positive wastewater results and infections in two infants and a teenage girl.

Despite Katherine’s vaccination rate surpassing 80% double dosed, pockets remain where people have resisted the jab and dodged testing.

The new infections bring the current outbreak to 67 cases with more expected.

The fourth new case reported was a man in his 60s who tested positive after travelling to Darwin from London aboard a Qantas flight. Two other household contacts linked to the flight have previously contracted the virus.

Updated

The latest Roy Morgan polling data shows Labor increasing its lead approaching the end of the year, but a lot can happen in a few months.

The Roy Morgan Research CEO, Michele Levine, says:

Today’s Roy Morgan poll on federal voting intention shows the ALP 56.5% (up 1% point since late November) increasing its lead over the L-NP 43.5% (down 1% point) on a two-party preferred basis to a new record margin during this term of parliament.

The ALP’s margin has grown consistently over the last few months since NSW was plunged into a long second lockdown in late June 2021 following an outbreak of Covid ... ALP is ending 2021 in a stronger position than it has been at any other point during the current parliamentary term.

The ALP’s lead is broad-based across all five mainland states ... the ALP also has clear leads with both genders. Women’s support has never been stronger during the current parliament with the ALP on 60.5% heavily favoured over the L-NP on 39.5% on a two-party preferred basis.

The ALP’s lead amongst women follows the release of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Set the Standard Report into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces. The report, which was conducted by Roy Morgan, outlined many problems with over half of all people currently working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces reporting at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault ... the Morrison government is ending the year as it began – with questions about how serious it is about the safety and security of women as well as whether their commitment to gender equality is genuine.

Updated

A lightning strike has caused a house fire in the New South Wales town of Nowra:

We’ll be hearing from Tasmania in the next hour.

Blame La Niña on this one I reckon:

In other news, the federal member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, has released a truly wild Christmas message on “finding happiness in the simple things”, which, for Bob, means “the bush, the pub or a simple game of touch”.

Here’s an excerpt:

My station, when I was heavily involved in mining, cattle and other enterprises, was called Saint Francis. And I had taken to reading Saint Francis Assisi prayers: “O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.” I have some difficultly with the pardon part, I’ve never been that good at being pardoned or pardoning.

On occasion, I ask the question: Why are our young people so unhappy with life that they just leave this life? What is wrong?

I feel it is a complete lack of understanding of what are the important things in life ... so let us enjoy the glitter and fun.

One of my greatest joys when I get down and depressed is to simply go down to the pub, team up with a few mates and tell a few funny stories (I don’t tell the naughty ones and try not to laugh at the ones I hear). And then you realise in those moments, what does it matter if you have no money? What does it matter if you get laid off? Or you end up in the school of hard knocks? These are just things that happen.

We Australians, down the pub, we couldn’t care less about all of these things. We just enjoy the company of others. That’s what’s important.

Federal MP Bob Katter
Federal MP Bob Katter. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

The personal details of at least 38,000 South Australian government employees – and potentially up to 80,000 workers – have been breached in a cyber-attack on external payroll software provider Frontier Software.

The South Australian government says Frontier was the victim of a “ransomware cyber attack” and personal information was published on the dark web.

Updated

The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, has just been up alongside Scott Morrison chatting all things Omicron.

He says doctors and medical professionals will keep monitoring data as it comes in from overseas, and there’s no need to panic yet:

We’re still doing lab tests on this variant and, as I said before, there is a suggestion that the vaccines will benefit from a booster to protect against this strain.

We don’t know how it will spread in Australia, but we do know that it is here, and certainly in Sydney, and it is likely to spread. But we don’t need to panic. We just need to study it more and, very importantly, make sure we get boosters.

What we’ve seen across this country now with the sustained transmission in Victoria and NSW, is very low rates of hospitalisation and severe disease in the vaccinated population.

Brendan Murphy speaks to the media in Sydney
Brendan Murphy speaks to the media about the Omicron variant during a press conference in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

An update on the bushfire in Western Australia from AAP:

Firefighters battling a major bushfire in Western Australia’s renowned Margaret River region have made good progress but the blaze remains uncontained.

The fire has ripped through more than 6,000 hectares in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park over the past two days.

Authorities are particularly worried about properties on the eastern side of Caves Road as a trough passes through the area from the coast.

Residents were urged to leave on Thursday as more than 150 firefighters battled to strengthen containment lines in hot and windy weather.

Conditions have since improved and it is believed there has been no loss of property despite the fire remaining uncontrolled.

“We’ve made some very good progress overnight ... it is slightly cooler than yesterday down here in Margaret River,” incident controller Brad Barton told Perth radio 6PR on Friday.

“Our priorities are to build on our containment strategies along these eastern boundaries, to tie the fire into the national park and prevent further impact out into the private property areas.”

Intense weather conditions persisted overnight, challenging firefighters battling a blaze in Leeuwin Naturaliste national park
Intense weather conditions persisted overnight, challenging firefighters battling a blaze in Leeuwin Naturaliste national park. Photograph: Sean Blocksidge/DFES

Updated

This is a really good rundown from our medical editor, Melissa Davey, on everything we know about vaccinating children:

Updated

Victoria records two new cases of the Omicron variant

Victoria has recorded two new cases of the Omicron variant.

The health department has just announced two travellers who landed in Melbourne from Dubai on 30 November have both tested positive for the Omicron variant.

Genomic sequencing is under way for a third person on that flight who has tested positive for Covid-19.

Updated

Large numbers of stranded travellers have begun arriving at the Queensland border days ahead of its scheduled reopening, increasing concerns about long delays at police checkpoints.

It remains unclear how the police border checkpoints will operate, though delays of up to four hours are expected and authorities have asked people to consider travelling at a later date and to “pack your patience”.

With just days until the reopening at 1am on Monday, the build-up of people wanting to cross the border by car presents other potential problems. They include the ability for border area commuters – including Gold Coast hospital workers and others – to get to work on Monday morning.

A woman has died after being swept away by flood waters in south-eastern NSW. From AAP:

The body of a woman swept away by flood waters in south-east NSW has been recovered, as heavy rains add to ongoing floods around the state.

The flood waters claimed the woman, believed to be aged 37, early on Friday morning after a vehicle she and a man were travelling in became trapped in water at Tuross.

Police were told she exited the vehicle and was then swept away.

The man travelling with her was found nearby and did not require medical treatment.

The woman’s body was recovered by the NSW SES at about 7.15am on Friday.

Updated

And we have a better breakdown of Covid cases in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

Starting in Victoria: 1,206 new cases have been reported, down from more than 1,300 yesterday. Two more people have died.

Some 313 people are in hospital with the virus and of those 61 are in intensive care.

Vaccinations continue to surge ahead – 91.5% of Victorians 16 and over are double-vaccinated. More than 93% have had one dose.

In NSW, there are 516 new cases, a jump from 420 yesterday.

Good news – there are no new Omicron cases and no Covid-related deaths have been recorded. There are 158 people in hospital, 24 of those are in ICU.

NSW continues to lead vaccinations with 93% of people 16 and over are double-vaccinated. The first dose rate is sitting at just under 95%.

Queensland has recorded nine new Covid cases, with six locally acquired.

Those infections are on the Gold Coast and have been out in the community for up to eight days.

Updated

The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for an overhaul of discrimination law. AAP reports:

Australia’s discrimination laws are “falling short” and its system to deal with complaints is “hopelessly out of date”, with the boss of the nation’s Human Rights Commission calling for a major overhaul.

A new 350-page discussion paper, released by the Australian Human Rights Commission on Friday to mark Human Rights Day, outlines a roadmap to reform discrimination law following two years of consultation.

It makes 38 recommendations including building a preventative culture, modernising the regulatory framework, enhancing access to justice and boosting the practicality of laws.

“Put simply, Australia’s discrimination laws are falling short,” the Human Rights Commission president, Rosalind Croucher, said in a speech on Friday.

“They are outdated and they are difficult to use. Some of these laws have remained substantially untouched since they were introduced over 30, even 40, years ago.”

Four sets of federal discrimination laws and the overlapping of them with state and territory-specific regulations makes the mix “complex” and at times “inconsistent”, leading to difficulties.

Updated

And I have this week’s Weekly Beast from Amanda for you ...

124 Australian species added to conservation list including bogong moth

They were once so common, swarms of Australian bogong moths almost seemed to “block out the moon” at certain times of the year.

Now, the bogong has been listed as endangered on the global red list of threatened species after crashes in its population in recent years.

The list, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, was updated overnight with 124 new entries for Australian wildlife.

The addition of the bogong moth, famously seen in swarms at Parliament House in Canberra during its annual migration to the Australian alps, should be a wake-up call about declines in Australia’s invertebrates, the scientist Marissa Parrott said.

From AAP:

Victoria’s deficit has blown out to $19.5bn thanks to the Delta outbreak but the state treasurer is predicting a quick economic recovery.

State Treasury’s mid-financial year budget update, released on Friday, shows the 2021/22 deficit increased by $7.9bn, largely due to additional spending on health and business support during lockdowns.

Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas speaks to the media in Melbourne on Friday, 10 December 2021.
Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas speaks to the media in Melbourne on Friday, 10 December 2021. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

The report said the state’s economy was “rebounding strongly” in early 2021 before a lockdown in July and then another that lasted from August to October following the emergence of the new variant.

The outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19 caused a setback to this strong recovery, but the economic recovery is expected to resume quickly now that most domestic restrictions have been eased.

The state government spent $10bn on business support during the two lockdowns and the federal government spent $3bn.

Some $2.5bn was spent to strengthen the public health response, including additional testing capacity and support of the vaccine rollout, while $700m was spent on education as students returned to home learning.

Treasurer Tim Pallas told reporters:

No government has the clarity and foresight that we can predict exactly how the pandemic will operate going forward and the fifth and sixth lockdowns had a dramatic impact.

We had to make those investments quite obviously to keep the community safe and resource our pandemic response.

If we hadn’t done that then the resilience and enduring nature of the recovery would have been compromised.

Updated

Good afternoon everyone, this is Cait Kelly. As always many thanks to Matilda who has steered the ship across the morning.

I just want to flag there are some new contact tracing locations for our Queensland readers – have a look below.

Updated

With that, I shall leave you in the safe hands of Cait Kelly.

See you all next week!

As national cabinet meets today (it started at 10am AEDT), three points are worth highlighting from Scott Morrison’s press conference this morning.

First, the prime minister gave a hint that the federal government wants to bring forward booster shots:

We are continuing to review the evidence about how that time period for the booster shot might be able to be reduced. And we’re working with the medical experts on those issues ... and we’ll talk about that today with the premiers and the chief ministers.

Scott Morrison speaks to the media in Sydney on Friday, 10 December 2021.
Scott Morrison speaks to the media in Sydney on Friday, 10 December 2021. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Second, Morrison signalled that he would be urging state premiers and territory chief ministers to hold their nerves and proceed with reopening internal borders. He said 80% double-dose was “the key trigger point, threshold to reach to be able to start and to be living with the virus”.

He said WA was only a few days away from reaching that goal. He also welcomed Queensland’s “fantastic” recent border reopening announcement:

I look forward to receiving further updates today from all premiers and chief ministers about how they are keeping the deal with Australians.

Third, Morrison said it was the federal government’s current “disposition” to reopen the international border on 15 December. You’ll remember that the government delayed by two weeks the planned reopening Australia to international students and skilled workers.

Asked this morning whether the borders would open on that date, Morrison said the government was “taking more advice at the moment, but that is certainly our disposition”. He said the delay had been to receive more information about the Omicron variant.

Morrison today played down the severity of the illness caused by that variant:

That is potentially quite a game changer with the pandemic around the world about how the virus may well step down. But we’ll see, it’s a little too early to make those sort of judgments. But our plan is to keep moving forward, not to go back.

Updated

Just jumping back in case you missed it, here was Scott Morrison’s reaction to being asked about Gladys Berejiklian’s decision not to run for federal politics (after he spent weeks urging her too).

Reporter:

You must be disappointed Gladys isn’t going to run for Warringah. Do you have another candidate in mind?

Morrison:

Sure. I mean. Gladys has been a dear friend over a long period of time, and she has served the people of New South Wales so great and I’ve been pretty clear about what I thought about her treatment.

She’s made a decision to go forward a new chapter of her life, and Jenny and I wish her all the very best. She’s been a great friend to Jen and I, particularly over these last couple of years as we’ve worked together to combat the pandemic. NSW has done extraordinarily well, and she’s going to go on to a new chapter of her life.

But, you know, we’ve got great female candidates in particular who are coming to stand in our team. Just yesterday, as Greg Hunt will know, I was down there with Steph Asher in Corangamite yesterday and of course, Dr Fiona Martin standing here right next to me.

So, you know, Gladys has sort of blazed a trail, I think, for women in the Liberal party and so many of the great professional women who are coming forward and standing up as part of our team have been inspired by Gladys’ achievements. So she’s been a trailblazer.

She’s off to blaze a new trail now, but we wish her all the best for her future, and I know that she will continue to provide tremendously strong support to me and my team, and I thank her very much for that.

Reporter:

Have you spoken to her since she decided not to run?

Morrison:

Yep.

Updated

More from D’Ath:

Gold Coast lockdown 'unlikely', health minister says

Yvette D’Ath says there is unlikely to be a lockdown due to the cases but urged all Gold Coast residents to get vaccinated and wear a mask.

Updated

In relation to that news of significant community spread of Covid-19 in the Gold Coast, health minister Yvette D’Ath says “today is the day that we’ve been planning for”.

Here is what we know about the cases so far:

One is a man who had received one vaccine dose and recently moved to Queensland. He has been infectious for five days.

Another case is a close contact of this man.

Next is a child, who attends the Broadbeach state school, and his two parents. The mother works in the border zone has been infectious for eight days.

And the sixth case is a male musician who works at Byron Bay.

Updated

More from Queensland and the state’s health minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed that six people have been infectious in the Gold Coast community for a number of days, with two of the four interstate acquired cases detected in the community rather than hotel quarantine.

We can assume there is transmission happening across the Gold Coast.

Updated

Alan Jones launches new web show and podcast

Alan Jones has announced he will go it alone with a “pioneering initiative” which he believes will be a great success because “hundreds of thousands of people” want to know what he thinks.

“Radio is a rather old-fashioned medium”, said the man who made his name as a legendary radio broadcaster.

Former radio and television broadcaster Alan Jones speaks to media in Sydney on Friday, 10 December 2021.
Former radio and television broadcaster Alan Jones speaks to media in Sydney on Friday, 10 December 2021. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Jones, who was dumped by Sky News Australia, announced at a press conference streamed on Facebook that he will be back in the game from Monday on a new platform, Australian Digital Holdings, backed by former ABC chair Maurice Newman.

In live video streams and podcasts, Jones will talk about the issues of the day. “I believe the voices have got to be given a voice,” he said.

Are we a liberal democracy when [health] advice which has brought business to its knees is not debated?

But the announcement of the new digital platform hit its first hurdle when the press conference was almost inaudible.

“Hope the audio improves moving forward,” one viewer said.

Updated

Queensland records six new Covid-19 cases in the community

Queensland has recorded four local Covid-19 cases, four interstate, two of which were detected in the community, and one overseas acquired case in hotel quarantine.

This comes as a school on the Gold Coast has been closed, and students and parents ordered to get tested after a case was detected there.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian says she is bound for the private sector and will not contest the federal seat of Warringah at the coming election, despite the urgings of Scott Morrison.

The former New South Wales told Sydney’s 2GB radio on Friday morning she didn’t have any appetite to contest the seat but had considered taking on the independent Zali Steggall out of “respect” for the prime minister “and so many other colleagues who really asked me to consider this”.

“It’s not something that I want to do,” Berejiklian said.

You can read the full report below:

Amanda will be bringing you more updates from this... situation... shortly!

Local Covid-19 cases emerge on Gold Coast

A number of locally acquired Covid-19 cases have emerged on the Gold Coast just three days before NSW border restrictions ease.

The Broadbeach state school has reportedly sent a text message to parents on Friday morning informing them that an active case visited the school and that they would need to self isolate and get tested, Marty Silk from AAP reports.

“There has now been a confirmed infectious case of Covid-19 at Broadbeach state school, please keep your child and your household members at school, all will need to be tested today,” the message said, News Corp reported.

The Fuel Bakehouse at Currumbin Waters also closed its doors on Friday after reporting a positive Covid-19 case had visited the premises on Wednesday morning.

The Bakery’s Facebook page on Thursday night said:

We regret to inform that we have had a positive Covid case come through our doors yesterday morning...

We are taking all actions required which means we won’t be able to open our doors tomorrow as we are testing all our staff as directed.

AAP understands that health minister Yvette D’Ath will announce a number of new cases later on Friday morning.

Updated

ACT records six new Covid-19 cases

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded six new cases of Covid-19 in the latest reporting period.

Two crashes within minutes of each other on a major Melbourne freeway has left two dead and disrupted morning traffic, AAP reports:

A woman was struck by a truck after pulling over and getting out of her car on the Monash Freeway near Darling Street at about 8.10am on Friday.

The woman died at the scene and is yet to be formally identified.

The truck driver stopped shortly after and is assisting police as they work to determine the exact circumstances of the crash.

The freeway is closed between High Street and Warrigal Road, with motorists told to use the Princes Highway instead.

About 20 minutes earlier, further southeast at Doveton, a motorbike rider crashed into a pole on the Monash Freeway.

He also died at the scene despite the efforts of first responders.

Updated

There are flood warnings in Victoria now as well.

Stay safe everyone.

Here are the full details on Joyce accidentally forcing three UK ministers into isolation after testing positive to Covid-19.

First cases of Omicron possible in SA

Tests are underway to determine if the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been detected in South Australia, reports Tim Dornin from AAP.

Premier Steven Marshall says there are concerns related to a “couple of cases overnight”.

He told radio FiveAA on Friday:

We don’t have any confirmation so we’re taking it very cautiously ... It hasn’t moved as quickly as we were thinking it might but we still have very little information on Omicron.

Sometimes when you get a new case it takes some time to get that assessment, I think they call the genome sequencing, so we can know exactly what strain it is.

We did get a couple of cases overnight and we are testing those to see if they could be our first cases of Omicron.

It remains unclear if the possible spread of the new strain to SA could disrupt the state’s plans to lift more local virus restrictions later this month or early in January based on the vaccination rate hitting 90%.

Updated

Hear ye, hear ye! We shall hear from the Queensland health minister with a Covid-19 update at 10.30am Brisbane time, 11.30am Melbourne and Sydney time.

The Australian government is at risk of coming to the US-trumpeted Summit for Democracy “empty handed” given its failure to put in place a promised anti-corruption commission, the opposition says.

With the virtual summit entering its second day on Friday, tax transparency campaigners also called on the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to pledge to ban anonymous shell companies and create a public beneficial ownership register.

While a lot of the early media focus was on the Biden administration’s decision to invite Taiwan – a move that triggered protest and scorn from China – attention is now turning to the commitments the US is asking leaders to bring to the two-day event.

The summit is meant to focus on three key themes: defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights.

You can read the full report from Daniel Hurst and Christopher Knaus below:

I mentioned it before on the blog, but it seems the Delta outbreak and lockdowns have plunged Victoria into the red.

Here is the full statement from the state government below:

A potential flood evacuation warning has been issued for Combo, low-lying areas of Whittingham, Scotts Flat Road in NSW.

Here is what the SES’s alert has to say:

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted possible flooding along the Hunter River for the Whittingham and Scotts Flat areas.

As a result residents and visitors to these areas should take action now to prepare for possible flood impacts...

Low-lying properties may experience impacts due to flash flooding and/or riverine flooding. Storm and flood impacts may interrupt essential services such as electricity, phones, internet, water and sewerage.

People in these areas need to closely monitor weather and road closures and make informed decisions early based on individual circumstances.

Updated

Australia to scrap Taipan army helicopters

Australia will scrap its entire fleet of Taipan defence helicopters and instead use US Black Hawks and Seahawk models, reports AAP.

The decision will see the army and navy replace the 47 European-designed Taipans at a cost of $7bn. It’s expected Australia will bring in 40 of the US helicopters for use.

The Taipans had been beset with a large number of groundings and availability issues.

Defence minister Peter Dutton told the Nine Network on Friday the decision was a necessary one:

The Black Hawk made perfect sense, they are much cheaper to fly than what the Taipans were, the Taipans have been unreliable...

By bringing in up to 40 new Black Hawks, it gives us a capability, we will maintain our edge in the region.

He said the new helicopters would bring Australian forces closer in line to US equipment, given the instability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The men and women of the ADF are excited about the prospect of a new platform that is going to be reliable...

Hopefully, we can get them online sooner rather than later.

Updated

They were once so common, swarms of Australian bogong moths almost seemed to “block out the moon” at certain times of the year.

Now, the bogong has been listed as endangered on the global red list of threatened species after crashes in its population in recent years.

The list, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, was updated overnight with 124 new entries for Australian wildlife.

The addition of the bogong moth, famously seen in swarms at Parliament House in Canberra during its annual migration to the Australian alps, should be a wake-up call about declines in Australia’s invertebrates, the scientist Marissa Parrott said.

You can read the full report below:

NSW records 516 new Covid-19 cases

Another day of high cases for NSW with 516 new infections recorded in the latest reporting period.

Updated

Victoria records 1,206 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths

Australian curlers win historic Olympic spot

Australia’s curling duo of Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt have claimed a historic Olympic berth, winning the final qualification tournament in the Netherlands, reports AAP’s Melissa Woods.

With two mixed doubles spots up for grabs for the Beijing Games in February, Gill and Hewitt stormed through seven matches in the 14-nation competition in Leeuwarden without a loss.

They are the first Australians to qualify since curling became a full Olympic medal sport in 1998.

They topped Pool A while the USA were also unbeaten to win Pool B, with both teams skipping past the first round of play-offs.

World No.14 Australia faced South Korea, who are ranked six places higher, with an Olympic berth on the line. They were able to peg back an early 2-4 deficit thanks to an impressive manoeuvre by Gill.

In the sixth end, Australia called a timely power play and managed to clear out Korean stones early.

Gill produced a nose-hit on the only Korean stone in the house to score three points and take a 5-4 lead.

In the eighth and final end with the scores tied at 5-5, Gill showed nerves of steel with her final throw using the backing of the one Korean stone lying in the house to draw the one point that gave her team a 6-5 win and a place in the Olympic Games.

“It’s still sinking in a little bit” said 22-year-old Gill, who is from Brisbane.

As basic as it sounds, I thought I’ve just got to throw the right split and the right line. I took a really deep breath and that was all I focused on.

I didn’t think about it being a shot to go to the Olympics or anything like that. I knew I had to throw the right line and weight.

Hewitt’s father Steve was part of the Australian team that competed at the Albertville Olympics in 1992, when it was a demonstration sport.

The Victorian said reaching the Olympics was the culmination of years of hard work.

I called Tahli about three and half years ago and said, ‘Look, do you want to make a run at these Olympics?’

We’ve been working so hard over the past few months and the past couple of years and it’s all paid off.

The US beat Russia in the other final to also book a place in Beijing.

Updated

Australia’s coal-fired power plants are likely to shut at almost triple the pace currently announced, with Victoria’s brown coal fleet to be closed in just over a decade and the main electricity grid becoming coal-free by 2043, according to the market operator.

The draft Integrated System Plan 2022, an industry blueprint updated every two years and released on Friday by the Australian Energy Market Operator, plots how the grid serving eastern Australia will change to meet emissions reduction and market goals.

It detailed four scenarios based on extensive consultation over 18 months. The most probable path, dubbed the “Step Change” option, anticipates a nine-fold increase in large-scale renewable energy, such as wind and solar farms, as electricity supplies double to meet the decarbonisation of transport and other sectors without coal.

You can read the full report below:

Here is the full statement of the vaccine rollout for children aged five to 11.

Morrison:

To all those five- to 11-year-olds, those brave five- to 11-year-olds, they will come to places like here ... they will now join this program which has helped to keep Australians safe.

The fact that we’ve achieved such a high rate of vaccination means we can look into 2022 with confidence. Even though other strains come, as we’ve seen with Omicron and Delta and others in the past, is Australia is set up to live with this virus, to live together with this virus.

And as we’re seeing Australians come together as we get into Christmas, only one state has to get past that 80% mark, Western Australia, and they’re only a few days away and the fact that we’ve got through this year as we set it out as our task at the start of this year to get to exactly where we are.

I want to say thank you to all Australians that have made that possible so we can look forward to a great Christmas together and come back in 2022 to lead the economy and the other things I know Australia will achieve in the future.

Updated

Scott Morrison is speaking now for a very crowded pharmacy filled with Liberal MPs somewhere in Sydney.

There is a lot of emphasis on the word “choice” today, which I think is worth noting from an election campaign point of view.

Morrison:

Today we can announce there have been more than 40m doses of vaccine delivered in Australia and that is a great achievement by the entire team who have been involved in delivering these doses all around the country.

Now, from that first day, I was there back in February and we’ve had around 137,000 doses a day. Just think about that. That’s going all the way back from February to now, an average of 137,000 doses a day and almost 100 per minute over the course of this extraordinarily ambitious vaccination program.

And the outcome of that is Australia having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Now, back in September, we made the decision, based on the best possible medical advice that we would extend that vaccination program to 12- to 15-year-olds, and that program has been going extremely well and now we have taken the decision, based on the best possible medical advice, through the TGA, that we’ll be extending that vaccination program to five- to 11-year-olds and giving parents the choice.

Updated

Teen allegedly set alight in Vic road rage attack

A motorbike rider is on the run after setting a teenage driver alight in an apparent road rage attack in Melbourne’s outer north, reports AAP.

Police have been told a car and motorbike almost crashed on Narina Way, Epping at about 8pm on Thursday.

It is alleged the rider followed the 19-year-old Lalor man to a nearby property and threw flammable liquid on him and his car before lighting a rag and tossing it at the victim.

The Lalor man’s clothing and car caught fire and the rider fled the scene after a resident came out of the property.

He suffered minor burns and was taken to hospital.

Updated

By the way, we are expecting to hear from Scott Morrison pretty soon about the recently Atagi approvals for children’s vaccinations.

Updated

Berejiklian:

Well, I promised when the PM and others contacted me and urged me to give it consideration. I promised them and I did for a very short period of time and then obviously let them know that it’s not something I want to pursue and it is just a different direction.

I want my life to change.

Updated

Seems like Scott Morrison and other federal politicians weren’t just happy to have the former NSW premier if she decided to run, they were actively “urging” her to step up to the plate.

Here is what Berejiklian had to say just before when radio host Ben Fordham asked “How hard did Scott Morrison try to get you to have a go?”

Berejiklian:

Look, I’m really grateful to the PM and so many other colleagues who really asked me to consider this. It wasn’t something that I intended to do, but out of respect for those people ... I gave it some thought but decided against it.

It’s not something that I want to do...

I feel that the opportunities I’ve had have been amazing and my opportunity to give back to public life or give back to the public through public life has been amazing and that’s why, you know, I feel ready to start the next chapter of my life ... but I’ll never ever take for granted a single day that I had in public life. It was an honour just to serve the community. It’s something that I’ll always be very proud of. And something that gave me great personal satisfaction.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian will not run for federal politics

Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has called into Sydney radio station 2GB to confirm that she does not intend to run for the federal seat of Warringah, despite enthusiastic urgings from prime minister Scott Morrison and other federal politicians.

Updated

La Niña could create a spike in Covid cases by forcing people indoors to avoid the rain at the same time as the Omicron variant is spreading in Australia, say epidemiologists who are warning health authorities to delay the easing of social distancing measures.

The weather pattern means north and eastern Australia is experiencing a relatively cool, damp and stormy summer. Epidemiologists say it could drive a spike in Covid cases by making more people gather indoors and by generating higher humidity which allows virus particles to linger longer in the air.

NSW will relax its Covid rules from Wednesday. Unvaccinated residents will, from then, enjoy the same freedoms as those who have received their jabs.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Second Queensland woman found dead in flood waters

A woman has died after apparently getting trapped in a car that became submerged in flood waters north of Brisbane, AAP reports. But the driver managed to escape and survived.

Queensland police are now investigating the circumstances leading to the death of the woman, 44, at Aspley, 13km north of Brisbane.

Emergency services were called after the car was swept into a creek near Lucan Avenue by fast-moving flood waters about 8pm last night. The driver of the vehicle, a 52-year-old Geebung man, was found alive a short time later.

A search for the woman ensued before the car was recovered from the water around 11.15pm. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The tragedy comes after a 75-year-old woman from Taringa died when her car became submerged in flood waters in West Brisbane as a severe storm cell lashed Queensland’s south-east. The car was swept off a street and into a nearby creek in Pullenvale about 4.40pm on Wednesday.

The state can expect more flooding with persistent rain leaving many parts of Queensland waterlogged, deputy premier Steven Miles said.

“Every Queensland life lost is tragic, and tragic for the family involved,” he said. “It won’t take a lot of rain to see flooding and we just say over and over again, if it’s flooded, forget it. It’s not worth it.”

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Friday! We made it!

It’s Matilda Boseley here on the blog with you today and first up I have some good news.

Children as young as five will be able to get a Covid-19 jab from January following final approval from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations.

The federal government has accepted Atagi’s recommendation to expand the jab program to children aged between five and 11.

Prime minister Scott Morrison said yesterday:

This will bring great relief to so many mums and dads, who now have a choice on what’s best for their kids ...

They can have peace of mind knowing this has the tick from the best medical regulators in the world.

The vaccines to be made available to about 2.27 million children contain one-third of the standard Pfizer dose.

Bookings will open in late December and jabs will be rolled out from 10 January after child-specific training for healthcare workers and batch testing by the medicines regulator.

In some less good news, the, three UK cabinet ministers including Dominic Raab – prime minister Boris Johnson’s right-hand man – have been forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with our deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce.

Joyce tested positive to Covid-19 after travelling from the UK to Washington DC, and is now self-isolating for 10 days. He is fully vaccinated and is experiencing mild symptoms.

UK transport secretary Grant Shapps and the secretary of state for housing Michael Gove have also been forced into isolation after meeting with Joyce.

With that, why don’t we jump right into the day? There is certainly enough to get through!

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