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The Guardian - AU

National

Luke Henriques-Gomes and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

Experts’ modelling for vaccination targets released – as it happened

9.28am BST

What happened today, Tuesday 3 August 2021

We’ll leave it there for now. Thanks for following along with us.

Before I go, here are today’s main stories:

New South Wales reported 199 new cases today, which is down on previous days. However, the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, was unable to say if daily cases have peaked.
Queensland recorded 16 new cases today, but authorities remain hopeful south-east Queensland can end its lockdown on Sunday as planned.
Berejiklian is hoping for NSW to have administered six million vaccine doses by the end of the month in order to increase the government’s options on restrictions post-August. Meanwhile, vaccine data released today showed south-west and western Sydney have the lowest Covid vaccination rates in the city.
The federal government released modelling from the Doherty Institute underpinning the vaccination thresholds national cabinet agreed to last week. It showed the vaccine rollout should pivot to young people, who it’s feared are “peak transmitters” of the virus.
Labor proposed a $300 incentive payment for all who are fully vaccinated by the end of the year.
Victoria recorded four new cases, all linked and in quarantine while infectious.
Crown executive chair Helen Coonan and Melbourne CEO Xavier Walsh are leaving their posts, it was revealed at an ongoing royal commission.

See you tomorrow.

Updated at 9.36am BST

8.54am BST

Elias Visontay has been looking at the federal government vaccine rollout data released today.

He writes:

Suburbs in south-west and western Sydney under the harshest lockdown conditions have the lowest Covid vaccination rates in New South Wales, while northern parts of the city have the highest number of immunised residents.

Dfat won't say if Tony Abbott can lobby for the UK while on India trade mission

Now for a small update on a story we brought you yesterday: The government has earmarked about $19,000 for travel costs to send the former prime minister Tony Abbott on a five-day trade mission to India in early August.

Abbott is not being directly paid for this work, but the trade minister, Dan Tehan, said the government would “partly support” Abbott’s travel as it was a chance “to progress our significant economic and trade relationship” with India.

Over the weekend Guardian Australia asked the government about how it would manage any overlap with Abbott’s ongoing role as an adviser to the UK Board of Trade (also an unpaid role).

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) told us on Sunday afternoon: “Mr Abbott has signed a conflict of interest declaration in relation to his work on this trip.”

Tony Abbott will undertake a five-day trade mission to India. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

After the story was published, we asked a follow-up question as to how this conflict of interest declaration would work: “As far as the government is concerned, is Mr Abbott free to advocate for both Australia and UK’s interests while in India – or has he been asked to focus only on Australia on this particular trip, given the government is funding the travel?”

A spokesperson for Dfat responded: “Mr Abbott will be advocating Australia’s interests.”

(You’ll notice the response is silent on whether he can also bring up UK government positions; it simply says he will be advocating for Australia.)

Updated at 7.26am BST

7.08am BST

The Queensland branch of the Pharmacy Guild is pretty stoked with the state government announcement its members will be getting the additional 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to distribute:

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland branch’s acting president, Chris Owen, has welcomed today’s announcement that over 200 metropolitan community pharmacies in Queensland will be able to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations beginning this week.

“This news could not have come at a better time,” said Mr Owen, “we’ve had 131 community pharmacies in regional and outer-metro areas rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine; at the end of this week, we should be able to offer access to community members right across Queensland.

“I’d like to thank both the federal government and Queensland government for securing 150,000 extra AstraZeneca doses for community pharmacies; this will hopefully mean everyone who is currently on a waiting list to get their Covid-19 vaccination will now have the opportunity to do so,” said Mr Owen.

“Thank you, Hon Yvette D’Ath MP, minister for health and ambulance services, for securing these vital vaccines for Queenslanders to access.”

Updated at 7.13am BST

7.03am BST

As someone who visited Queensland after 21 July I can’t enter the parliament under ACT rules and have to isolate at home – but thankfully Mike Bowers is, as always, my eyes and ears in parliament.

Here is some of how he has seen today:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a press conference with the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, CMO Paul Kelly and head of the Covid 19 task force Lieutenant General John Frewen in the main committee room of Parliament House — Prime minister Scott Morrison at a press conference with treasurer Josh Frydenberg, CMO Paul Kelly and head of the Covid-19 taskforce Lt Gen John Frewen in the main committee room of Parliament House. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Labor members join question time via video link in the house of representatives — Labor members join question time via video link in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Who could it be? Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Prime Minister Scott Morrison during question time — Prime minister Scott Morrison speaks during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese after question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 7.15am BST

6.38am BST

Labor senator Kristina Keneally has made a statement to the Senate:

Mr President,

More than 100,000 Australians have viewed a video online supposedly showing AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw plotting a coup against the Australian government.

It’s a fake – Commissioner Kershaw is not talking in the video, and there is no effort by the AFP to overthrow the government.

But what isn’t fake is the threat posed by the creators of this video.

This group had commissioned the creation of hundreds of fake AFP badges, and planned to recruit individuals to arrest the governor general of Australia and replace him with a far-right extremist.

The police have arrested an individual involved, and their investigations are ongoing – but the concern is that some of those 100,000 Australians who saw the fake footage may have been taken in by it.

It’s further evidence of the disturbing rise of disinformation and radical far-right extremism in our community.

Fascism thrives on the fringes.

The anti-vaccine movement, the anti-lockdown movement, the sovereign citizen movement – these ideologies are vehicles for the type of disinformation and conspiracy that fuel anti-government, anti-democratic and far-right extremist sentiment.

The end goal of rightwing extremists is to spur the downfall of democracy. They benefit from chaos and distrust.

And if people think this sounds far-fetched, remember the thousands that gathered to assault the seat of American democracy because they believed an election had been stolen.

Remember the thousands that gathered across this country just weeks ago, united in their belief that a pandemic that has killed millions is just ‘fake news’.

It is of great concern that there are members of the current Morrison government who wink and nudge at these elements in an attempt to curry their favour.

Those who play to this audience threaten to legitimise them. In doing so, they undermine our democracy and they threaten our way of life.

Countering this must be a bipartisan effort.

Updated at 6.41am BST

6.37am BST

Also in that press conference, Scott Morrison said:

One thing that you don’t do in a pandemic like this is pretend that you can know everything and that you take tools off the table.

That was in relation to lockdowns – even if 70% of the population is vaccinated, there might still be the need for restrictions to protect vulnerable communities.

But he also spent about two hours (during that press conference and question time) rubbishing the idea of financial incentives for people to get the vaccine.

Financial incentives are not new. We do them all the time – in the pandemic, to get people to go out to eat and drink (vouchers which largely went to people who did that anyway with their disposable income), there have been vouchers for subsidised travel and flights (again, going to people who spend their disposable income on that anyway) and you don’t get all of the family tax benefits without having vaccinated your kids.

To so completely rule something out, so early in the response, when we know vaccine hesitancy is an issue, seems a very, very strange tactic.

Updated at 6.43am BST

6.29am BST

I know it has been pretty much non-stop with the posts since 10am this morning when Queensland did their update (thanks for sticking with us through the five hours of non-stop press conferences) but just to go back to some of Scott Morrison’s claims at the beginning of his press conference, that “one in five Australians” had received two doses of a Covid vaccine.

The thing is though, Morrison keeps changing the level of the population he is using when making the vaccination claims.

Yesterday, he told Brisbane radio 4BC:

We’ve now got about one in five Australians fully vaccinated.

And then told Perth radio 6PR:

We’ve got one in five Australians who are now double dose vaccinated.

But he is talking about the percentage of over-16s (presumably) not the percentage of the total population, which is currently at 15.3% according to our tracker.

On 6PR he was even asked about it:

Host: “When you say everybody, everybody above the age of 16, or does this include children as well?”

Morrison:

Correct, no, everyone over the age of 16, that’s the advice we had.

So when you hear a statement regarding the number of people in the population who have been vaccinated, remember it is ‘eligible’ population not total population.

Which in a pandemic makes a difference.

Updated at 6.32am BST

6.12am BST

Karen Andrews takes a dixer and thanks Tim Wilson for all he has done to keep Australia safe.

And that’s where question time ends.

6.11am BST

Emma McBride to Scott Morrison:

Kylie is a teacher on the Central Coast who teaches year 12s. She has had a vaccine appointment cancelled so it can be redirected to get all students in greater Sydney like the ones she teaches. Isn’t it true that if the government had secured an adequate supply of vaccines at the start of the pandemic, absurd situations like this wouldn’t be happening?

Morrison:

That is not correct, Mr Speaker. That is not correct. The federal government provided an extra 200,000 Pfizer doses and 150,000 extra AstraZeneca doses. Indeed, the federal government didn’t support the initiative to redirect doses away from the Central Coast to greater Sydney.

... And indeed through the GP network and the pharmacy network we continue to distribute those doses directly into the Central Coast, and I would encourage those on the Central Coast to go to their GP, go to the pharmacist who is doing that, because the doses are continuing to be supplied by the commonwealth government to those distributing.

I note also that it is the GPs and the pharmacists who are the primary administers of these doses right across the country, Mr Speaker. The pharmacists are coming online. We have 450 this month. There are thousands more that will come.

Sorry, 450 last month, this month there will be thousands more coming in through the middle of August. The commonwealth government has maintained the supply of doses to GPs on the Central Coast. That is coming directly from Operation Covid Shield.

The state government has decided to redirect doses from the state clinics and state hubs on the Central Coast and put it in another part of the state. That is their decision and process. That is up to them, but the commonwealth government hasn’t taken one dose from the Central Coast to put it into other parts of the country because the national vaccination program must work everywhere, Mr Speaker.

Two-hundred thousand additional Pfizer doses have been provided in NSW. There is 1m more doses of AstraZeneca which is available to NSW to access and put across the state as they would seek to do. And with AstraZeneca walk-in clinics, they are already in south-western Sydney. We have stood up in south-western Sydney.

There is a new Chester Hill GP clinic doing doses. That is great work. We are targeting pharmacists and those particular areas in south-western Sydney ensuring they have doses. We are also supporting the work that essential workers are doing and distribution hubs. They can get access to the doses so we can ensure those essential parts of the economy continue to function. The lockdown is very tough for Sydneysiders, really tough.

The lockdown will come off once the lockdown works. And we will continue to support NSW, as we already are, the Covid Disaster Payment is already. Covid Disaster Payment is already totalling more than $1bn. One billion dollars and direct financial support to people across NSW to get them through this crisis, plus the 50-50 support through the business program, which is $750m each week.

Updated at 6.47am BST

6.07am BST

Michelle Rowland to Scott Morrison:

On 24 June, the prime minister said: “I commend Premier Berejiklian for resisting going into a full lockdown.” Now, hundreds of thousands of working parents across western Sydney, including in my electorate, are bracing themselves for remote schooling with no end date. Does the prime minister still commend the NSW premier for resisting an earlier lockdown?

Morrison:

As a fellow Sydneysider, my children are also facing that, Mr Speaker. My children, as those across Sydney, are all facing that, Mr Speaker, families separated from each other – that is the terrible business of lockdowns, Mr Speaker.

What we have learned from the Delta variant is that indeed at that time, absolutely this is the learning, that shorter, sharper lockdowns would have been the necessary response, Mr Speaker, as we’ve seen from South Australia and as we’ve seen from Victoria, and I hope is the case in south-east Queensland. I notice those opposite, Mr Speaker, are equipped with perfect hindsight, Mr Speaker, but what I do know from the NSW response, Mr Speaker, is over time the Delta variant has completely changed the necessary responses.

It has completely changed it,* Mr Speaker, and it is indeed true that for a very long period of time, in NSW, they were able to manage cases as they arose by not having to go into lengthy and extraordinary lockdowns that. Is indeed the case.

(*Victoria had already dealt with a Delta outbreak before the NSW outbreak – and dealt with it through a quick lockdown.)

But, Mr Speaker, the virus writes the rules. It was also the case that earlier in the year when short, sharp lockdowns weren’t the necessary health response, that there were unnecessary lockdowns that would have cost people more than it had to, but that is the advantage of hindsight. ...

I am being quite transparent, Mr Speaker, that where the data changes, where the virus changes, we need to adapt our response. So, Mr Speaker, those opposite can be smug in their hindsight and be critical, but, Mr Speaker, no country in the world has got everything right, but there are a few countries who can say this: One of the lowest rates of fatality and death as a result of Covid-19 in the world ...

One of the strongest economies coming through Covid-19 in the world, Mr Speaker, and those countries particularly who have had low rates of infections and low rates of fatalities, have also had low rates of vaccination. New Zealand is another example, South Korea is another example, Japan is another example. When it comes to having low death rates, Mr Speaker, and a strong economy – if those are the things that we are desiring to have, then that is what the Australian people are achieving.

We will now add a strong vaccination response to that because Australians also come forward because it is in their personal health interests, they will do it because it’s in their communities’ interests, their families’ interests, their national interest. They won’t be doing if because of a grab for cash.

Updated at 6.35am BST

6.02am BST

Mike Freelander to Scott Morrison:

The prime minister has repeatedly said the vaccine rollout is not a race. My community is in lockdown right now because of the slow pace of the vaccine rollout. Will he now admit it is a race, it was always a race and we’re losing?

Morrison:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Last week when I spoke at a press conference from The Lodge where I was doing quarantine, Mr Speaker, I made it very clear to the Australian public that as prime minister and my government, we accept responsibility, Mr Speaker, for the rollout of the national vaccination program. Mr Speaker, where we had hoped to be by that time, I gave those comments, Mr Speaker, I was sorry, Mr Speaker, that we have not been further advanced.

Mr Speaker, I don’t step away from that and those things, Mr Speaker, are not said lightly, but I also take responsibility for the fact, Mr Speaker, that at the beginning of June we put in Lt Gen Frewen to oversee Operation Covid Shield, which has already seen the rapid escalation of vaccination rates across this country, someone that the leader of the opposition has not even spoken to yet, Mr Speaker, and I encourage him to do so. (He already knows a meeting has been set up for Thursday, which was the first time it was offered.)

Through Operation Covid Shield we are now achieving vaccination dosage rates of more than a million a week.

We are achieving results where almost 80% of Australians who are aged over 70 have had their first dose, Mr Speaker, and in particular, as I’m sure the member would appreciate, that those in our aged-care facilities across Sydney ... are more than 80% double-dose vaccinated, and as a result during the course of this awful lockdown in Sydney, this awful lockdown in Sydney, Mr Speaker, we have thankfully not seen what we saw last year when it was the Victorian lockdown and the terrible loss of life we saw in aged-care facilities in this country.

Mr Speaker, putting older Australians first, ensuring that we can get more older Australians first in the early stages of this vaccination program is saving lives right now in Sydney. It is saving lives right now in Sydney.

I know the member would understand that and would appreciate the vaccinating those older residents first. I’m sure he would join with me, as a medical practitioner in his own right of great regard in his community, that Australians going out, particularly across Sydney and getting the AstraZeneca vaccine is incredibly important, and those older Australians need to get that second dose and the Atagi advice says you can bring that forward to four weeks. So, Mr Speaker, the advances we are able to make by prioritising the most vulnerable and sensitive in our community, particularly those in aged-care facilities in Sydney, has ensured that they have been more protected.

Sadly, Mr Speaker, those we’ve lost during the Sydney lockdown are those, Mr Speaker, particularly those who are older, a higher number than those in the community and not vaccinated, those who had had access to those vaccines for some time, so we want to encourage people to go and get those vaccines. I thank the member for Maribyrnong, Mr Speaker, for highlighting the importance of AstraZeneca vaccine ...

Updated at 6.12am BST

5.56am BST

The answer to this question is a journey, so stay with us:

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

My question is to the prime minister. Why did the prime minister repeatedly tell Australians that getting vaccinated is, to quote him, “not a race”?

Morrison:

Why does the leader of the opposition continually misrepresent what I have said, Mr Speaker, and the context in which it was said, Mr Speaker.

Throughout this pandemic, we have been guided and supported by outstanding medical professionals, whether it’s Prof Murphy, Prof Kelly, indeed Prof McVernon who Australians heard from today from the Doherty Institute. Whether it’s those who run the Therapeutic Goods Administration or the other expert medical advisory bodies.

What we did in this country is we did not rush the approvals of important vaccines for this country and put at risk the health of Australians.

Now, the leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker, would have had us rush the vaccine approvals that were to be used by Australians, Mr Speaker. That is what Prof Murphy and I were referring to.

Anthony Albanese:

The quotes I’m referring to on 31 March, 14 March, 11 March, today, 11 March Sunrise, 11 March doorstop Sydney Airport, doorstops in Castle Hill, were all after the TGA approval. The question does not go about to the TGA approval but the rollout of the vaccine.

Scott Morrison during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Morrison (ignores that):

I will repeat what I said. This is what Prof Murphy and I – this was the context, Mr Speaker.

We have ensured that throughout this we have, of course, listened. But those opposite – I remember the leader of the opposition doing it back in January and making criticisms of the government as well as we were working through the careful medical process.

Mr Speaker, what we have done as a government is ensure that the vaccines that are available for Australians are as safe as they possibly can be. I notice that the member for Maribyrnong has understood that, Mr Speaker, because he has been down to the CSL factory, Mr Speaker, he has been down there to thank the workers who have been putting in place the AstraZeneca vaccine, Mr Speaker. He could give the address to the leader of the opposition if he wants to go and support the national program.

Tony Smith:

The prime minister is drifting off the question.

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, my point is this: All through the government has sought to get safe vaccines to the Australian people with a great sense of urgency, Mr Speaker, and to ensure that it’s done in a careful, scientific way that is supported by the health advice provided to this government.

If the leader of the opposition would spend a bit more time, Mr Speaker, promoting the vaccination program rather than promoting himself ...

Smith:

No, prime minister, this is not an opportunity to launch a wide, political attack. It was a very specific question.

Morrison:

Today we released the Doherty Institute modelling, Mr Speaker, the finest expert scientific modelling on the medical epidemiology of this pandemic. Nowhere else virtually in the world, Mr Speaker, will you find a country that has so diligently looked to set the vaccination targets that are essential to the rollout of this program and nowhere ...

Albanese:

The question didn’t have a preamble and was very specific and whilst I appreciate the prime minister wants to talk about the news conference of recall yes today and other aspects of the vaccine rollout, he was asked very specifically about – well, it wasn’t one quote, a quote that has been used a number of times.

Smith:

Certainly the prime minister was very relevant in how he addressed that and I did have those on my left interjecting that he wasn’t, but it certainly was in terms of how he was answering the question, at the start. The leader of the opposition raised his point of order. The prime minister has been relevant, but now is not an opportunity to talk about the rest of the vaccine program or any developments that happened today. The prime minister.

Morrison:

I’m simply seeking to make the point that throughout this entire pandemic the government has been guided by the expert medical advice of the best expert minds in the world, whether it’s Prof Murphy at that time in March, Mr Speaker ...

Albanese:

I seek leave to table statements from the prime minister on 11 March doorstop at Sydney Airport, on 11 March on Sunrise, on 11 March on the Today show, on 14 March doorstop in Castle Hill and on 31 March doorstop in Adelaide where he continued to say it is not a race, it’s not a competition.

Leave is not granted.

Updated at 6.06am BST

5.41am BST

The member for Stirling (an electorate that will be abolished at the next election), Vince Connolly, continues his forays into attempting to impersonate humans while delivering dixers, this time, emphasising every second word, no matter of its insignificance to the sentence, becoming particularly attached to “aware”, cradling it in his hands like a butterfly of thought, before setting it free, desperately wondering if this will be the performance that will keep him in the parliament.

Even Josh Frydenberg can’t hold back a laugh.

Updated at 5.46am BST

5.38am BST

Josh Frydenberg yells about how amazing jobkeeper was.

It’s very emotional. But nothing new.

Updated at 5.47am BST

5.35am BST

Greg Hunt is going on about financial incentives being outrageous because people will need boosters for the vaccine and will they be paid every year.

(Not sure he understands the concept of “one-off” but I think it is probably pretty self-explanatory)

5.34am BST

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

Why did the prime minister just before question time claim to the Australian people that no jab no pay was not an incentive scheme to improve child immunisation rates? Can the prime minister confirm that when he personally introduced the legislation he said the following in the second sentence of his second reading speech. ‘This is an important initiative aimed at boosting child immunisation rates.’ Given the legal consequences of a second reading speech, was he wrong then or today?

(for the record, this is what Morrison said today about ‘no jab, no play’:

I wasn’t seeking to massively increase child immunisation rates because Australia already has a high child immunisation rate. It wasn’t about increasing the rate, it was about ensuring that others didn’t put those children at risk, and that is why we took that decision.)

Morrison (in response to Albanese’s question):

Mr Speaker, I acknowledge the point that the leader of the opposition has made, Mr Speaker. If he was listening to my comments earlier today ...

Mr Speaker, rather than selectively hearing, Mr Speaker, what he would have understood is I was saying there was no comparison between child immunisation rates in the country, Mr Speaker ...*

There is no comparison between the child immunisation we were facing at that time, which was not want of child immunisation rates being low.

It was not want of that.

... We are seeking to vaccinate the entire population. The point I was making was to draw a comparison between that and what was occurring at that time is not a proper comparison. Mr Speaker, the leader of the opposition might be desperately trying to put some clothes on his ill-thought-through proposal, Mr Speaker.

*Except he did explicitly say in his press conference today that no jab, no play was NOT about lifting childhood immunisation rates, when that was a part of the incentive.

Updated at 5.50am BST

5.29am BST

Jim Chalmers to Scott Morrison:

If incentives are a vote of no confidence in the Australian people, why does the plan that he released on Friday of last week specifically mention encouraging uptake through incentives?

Morrison:

The incentives, Mr Speaker, we were referring to were incentives where people, Mr Speaker, who have had their vaccination would be exempted from various restrictions that might otherwise, Mr Speaker, discourage them.

That’s what we’re talking about. I can tell you what we weren’t talking about, Mr Speaker. We weren’t talking about $300 cheques and cash payments made to people who’ve already had the vaccination, Mr Speaker*.

Whether it is people of great wealth, Mr Speaker, or including himself and myself, Mr Speaker. He wants to send cheques to all of us as well, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, Australians understand the gravity ... of this national health crisis. They understand the importance of getting vaccinated and that’s why they’re so keen to come forward and do so. Mr Speaker, the leader of the opposition is treating this like a game show, Mr Speaker, and he needs to ensure that when he puts policies together they won’t be ill-disciplined or ill-informed.

He should take the opportunity to ensure that he is across this information as he should be across all his policies, because what it is showing with this leader of the opposition is, Mr Speaker, they have learned nothing, absolutely nothing, Mr Speaker, over their years in. It’s hard wired, it’s in their DNA, Mr Speaker, to recklessly spend Australian taxpayers’ money**.

Australians remember.

They remember their response to the last crisis***.

(Tony Burke interjects, but it is ruled OK for the prime minister to continue.)

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, a $6bn cash splash, which is what the leader of the opposition proposes, Mr Speaker, defies both the economics**** and the health, Mr Speaker. It shows a lack of understanding, Mr Speaker, of the crisis being faced by this country and, Mr Speaker, had he chosen to inform himself, had he chosen to engage, Mr Speaker, and equip himself with understanding how these issues are best handled he would know that, Mr Speaker.

But what I have noticed about this leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker, he has seen this Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity, a political opportunity, Mr Speaker. He could have come, Mr Speaker, he could have joined the government in ensuring, Mr Speaker ... He could have done this, Mr Speaker.

Tony Smith:

Can I just say to the prime minister – no, the prime minister was not asked about the leader of the opposition.

The prime minister will wind up his answer.

Morrison:

Mr Speaker – sorry.

Smith:

I just said to the prime minister he wasn’t asked about the leader of the opposition, he was asked a question by the shadow treasurer about policy. It is not an opportunity to give a political assessment. The prime minister has the call.

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, thank you. If negativity is the answer, then Labor’s the solution, Mr Speaker.

*So the government only wants to potentially award people who wait to get vaccinated then?

**Again, recent auditor general reports would point to some very recent questionable spending of public money.

***The spending measures during the GFC kept Australia out of recession and have been dwarfed by the Covid spend, which included jobkeeper for businesses that didn’t need it.

****Remember when Treasury accidentally added $60bn to the Covid response?

Updated at 5.45am BST

5.22am BST

Hursty listening, for all of us:

Deputy PM Joyce: "It's very difficult to get alternative policies from a person who..."
Speaker Smith: "You might have to wind it up then if you can't find any."
#QT
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) August 3, 2021

Updated at 5.24am BST

5.16am BST

Barnaby Joyce is yelling about something, but even with his mask off, it’s hard to understand.

Standard, for the deputy prime minister.

Updated at 5.17am BST

5.15am BST

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

Will the government roll up its sleeve in the race to vaccinate this nation and adopt Labor’s proposal for a one-off $300 payment to every fully vaccinated Australian?

Morrison:

Well, thank you, Mr Speaker. I will respond by making reference to Prof Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases expert who has said this about the leader of the opposition’s plan: ‘This is a bad idea.’ This is a bad idea, Mr Speaker. He’s joined by so many, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, financial incentives are likely to discourage vaccination, particularly amongst those who are concerned about adverse effects on non-financial incentives are the desired approach.

Mr Speaker, unlike the opposition leader, Mr Speaker, I have confidence in the Australian people.

The leader of the opposition’s proposal is a vote of no confidence and an insult to Australians, suggesting they won’t get vaccinated unless you dole out the cash, Mr Speaker. That is an insult.

That is an insult to every Australian. Those 80% of older Australians who have turned up and rolled up their sleeves, Mr Speaker. They didn’t need the cash. They just needed to know that it was good for them, it was good for their family, it was good for their community and it was good for their country, Mr Speaker.

We know that under Labor, you and your money are easily parted, Mr Speaker. That, Mr Speaker, is the fiscal record of those opposite.

And we know that this plan ... is a bubble without a thought, which is what we have become used to from this leader of the opposition. Bubbles without thoughts, Mr Speaker. I note that if he had just bothered to speak to General Frewen, to seek a meeting with General Frewen, he cancelled his meeting even yesterday, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker ...

Anthony Albanese says something unparliamentary (the microphones don’t pick it up and I missed it) and is asked to withdraw:

The prime minister knows full well there’s a scheduled meeting with General Frewen on Thursday, which is the first time it’s been offered. (He then withdraws.)

Morrison:

If the leader of the opposition had bothered to inform himself of the significant work that had been done on these issues regarding incentives, then he would not have rushed headlong, Mr Speaker, into this proposal which says Australians, Mr Speaker, need to be paid to cash, paid the cash to turn up and protect themselves, their communities and their families, Mr Speaker.

I know what Australians have done, Mr Speaker, over these past 18 months. I know the sacrifices they have made and they haven’t done it to get the cash, Mr Speaker.

They’ve done it because they know what has been necessary to get them and their communities and their families through.

Mr Speaker, over these years in opposition, this Labor party has learned absolutely nothing. The cash splashes of their last untargeted, ill-disciplined fiscal recklessness, Mr Speaker, is writ large again in this leader of the opposition*.

Under Labor, you and your money, Mr Speaker, they will be easily parted with the undisciplined, untargeted, ill-informed spending of the Labor party*.

*Bold, considering the recent auditor general reports into the Morrison government spending.

Updated at 5.26am BST

5.07am BST

This first dixer is just a mix-up of all of Scott Morrison’s ‘we shall fight Covid on the beaches’ speeches in the earlier press conference.

Updated at 5.13am BST

5.06am BST

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

The prime minister had two jobs this year, fixing the bungled vaccine rollout and creating a safe, national quarantine system. Don’t widespread lockdowns since this parliament last met show the prime minister did have these two jobs and he failed at both of them?

Morrison:

Anyone who thinks that the prime minister only has two jobs is not up for the job, Mr Speaker. He’s not up for the job because anyone who knows who’s ever occupied this office, Mr Speaker, understands that the job’s a multitude, Mr Speaker, protecting our security interests, protecting the health of the country, ensuring the economy is moving forward.

That our children are educated, our science labs and research are funded, that our railways are being built and like the inland rail or the Western Sydney Airport is being constructed. Mr Speaker, anyone who has done this job or seriously thinks they can do it understands, Mr Speaker ...

... That any prime minister has more than that, but when it comes to the focus, Mr Speaker, saving lives and livelihoods has been the task of our government, Mr Speaker, as we have come through this crisis.

And I want to thank Australians. I want to thank every single Australian, Mr Speaker, for their achievements.

For their achievements over this past more than 18 months, Mr Speaker, because it has been their forbearance, it has been their patience, it has been their sacrifice, Mr Speaker.

It has been their commitment and their determination, which even today, Mr Speaker, means in the past month alone we have been able to double the double dose vaccination rates across this country.

And, Mr Speaker, that ensures, as we now move to implement the national plan agreed across the country to ensure that we reach a stage where we live with that virus into the future.

Now, Mr Speaker, if the opposition, if the Labor party, if they want to support this national effort, Mr Speaker, then I invite them to spend more time supporting the vaccination program than undermining it, Mr Speaker.

I invite them to join the initiative, Mr Speaker, rather than engaging, Mr Speaker, in bubbles without thoughts, Mr Speaker, which has come from the leader of the opposition today.

Ill informed, ill disciplined, not thinking, Mr Speaker, of the consequences. Mr Speaker, if the leader of the opposition wants to come up with any alternatives, Mr Speaker, he needs to inform himself and he could start, Mr Speaker, by talking to General Frewen, who is running the vaccination program, who he has not yet sat down with, not once, Mr Speaker, since he came into the job. The person who is running our vaccination program for the government, he hasn’t even bothered to talk to him, Mr Speaker.

So we are straight into it.

Updated at 5.12am BST

5.01am BST

Question time begins

Everyone is in masks except the prime minister, the opposition leader and the Speaker.

Masks can be removed when asking questions.

Updated at 5.03am BST

4.56am BST

Over in the House of Representatives, George Christensen, who is still a government MP, gave a 90-second speech on the ‘freedom protests’, which is a nice way of saying the ‘anti-lockdown’ protests and how he “won’t hesitate to stand with them again”.

George Christensen speaks shortly before question time in the House of Representatives. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 5.52am BST

4.44am BST

Crown Resorts chair Helen Coonan to leave, royal commission told

The Crown Resorts executive chair and former Howard-era government minister Helen Coonan will leave the company by the end of the month, a royal commission into wrongdoing at the company’s Melbourne casino has heard.

Michael Borsky QC, for Crown, made the announcement during submissions as to why the company should keep its licence.

He argued that neither Coonan nor the Melbourne chief executive, Xavier Walsh, who is also leaving, should be found unsuitable.

This was both because they had not done anything wrong and because they were both exiting Crown this month, he said.

Updated at 4.55am BST

4.43am BST

The deputy director of NSW Health systems strategy and planning, Dr Nigel Lyons, issued a memo to all local health districts (LHDs) – which manage hospitals – to clarify that pregnant women using maternity services are allowed to have a support person with them during appointments.

His memo read:

“I understand that in some hospitals pregnant women are prevented from having the support from a partner or support person with them at any point during their maternity care, particularly during labour and birth”.

But updated infection control guidelines recognise the need for compassionate and supportive care for certain groups of patients, including in maternity settings, Lyons wrote.

“I ask all LHD’s to ensure that one person (partner or support person) is permitted to be with a pregnant woman during labour and birth and on the postnatal ward during the hospital stay,” Lyons wrote.

“I appreciate that all hospitals are doing their best to reduce transmission locally, especially in areas where there are high rates of Covid-19. However, I am equally concerned for the wellbeing of pregnant women and their families who risk long-lasting effects of separation from support during this crucial time in their lives.”

Updated at 4.57am BST

4.42am BST

There is now about 20 minutes until question time.

We’ve been covering press conferences non-stop since 10am, so take a moment to take a breather (I’m going to grab my sixth cup of coffee) before we get into the first QT Scott Morrison has been physically present for, since the G7 and since Barnaby Joyce became deputy prime minister again.

Updated at 4.57am BST

4.40am BST

Prime minister's press conference wrap-up

That was a very long one-and-a-half hours, so let’s break it down:

The Doherty Institute modelling says lockdowns and restrictions can be significantly eased once 70% of the population is (fully) vaccinated.

That won’t mean the end of Covid, but will start Australia on a path to living with it.

We are going to have to start looking at plans to vaccinate people under 30 very soon.

Josh Frydenberg admitted that quick action in the form of short sharp lockdowns “significantly” lessens the economic impact of Covid lockdowns.

This apparently has been the prime minister’s “point” (the prime minister was until very recently commending Gladys Berejiklian for resisting a lockdown, and his government resisted calls for financial assistance so as not to encourage states to go into lockdowns).

Scott Morrison is very against the idea of financial incentives for the vaccine, calling Labor’s suggestion a “bubble without a thought”.

We’re back to very long, ‘I believe in the Australian people’ speeches, along with lines on “the Australian way” and the “triple gold medal” Australia is aiming for.

Scott Morrison at the press conference with treasurer Josh Frydenberg, chief medical officer Paul Kelly and head of the Covid task force Lt Gen John Frewen — Scott Morrison at today’s press conference with treasurer Josh Frydenberg, chief medical officer Paul Kelly and Covid taskforce commander Lt Gen John Frewen. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 4.48am BST

4.35am BST

And then Scott Morrison ends with an Olympic reference – Australia is looking for a triple gold, apparently.

Asked how Labor’s $300 financial incentive is any different to the no jab, no play rules already in place, Morrison says:

I don’t think there is an equivalence between those two. Others have suggested that. As the person who put that in place, I can tell you why we did it.

We did it because we didn’t want unvaccinated children mixing with those who were vaccinated for those conditions. It wasn’t done necessarily as an incentive, it was done as a protection, as a protection for those children who are entered those childcare facilities.

There was a very different task.

The social services lever was used in that instance to deliver that outcome, which was very effective in protecting children from going into those childcare centres. Many of those who are very opposed to vaccinations didn’t put their children into childcare facilities.

That is their right. We already have a very high rate of child immunisation, so I wasn’t seeking to massively increase child immunisation rates because Australia already has a high child immunisation rates.

It wasn’t about increasing the rate, it was about ensuring that others didn’t put those children at risk, and that is why we took that decision.

It is very different. I know that in other countries they think of other things, but I will tell you this as we wrap up.

Australia is making its own way through this pandemic with enviable success. We are going to be able to, I believe, get to the end of this year based on what we have achieved, to get where we want to go.

And we are going to get there with one of the lowest death rates from Covid in the world, with one of the strongest economies and at the world to come through Covid, and a vaccinated population that is achieving the marks we wish it to achieve, and that is the triple gold that Australia is looking for.

Updated at 4.41am BST

4.30am BST

Scott Morrison is then asked about problems people have had with booking their vaccines and uses it to say that if people want the vaccines, then why would we pay them to get the vaccines?

Q: We have actually heard quite a bit from people who are struggling to get a vaccine appointment in the cities and in regional areas, they’re on the phone for hours trying to actually get vaccinated. Obviously that’s your aim here. Why is that happening? A software developer on the weekend managed to put together an aggregator of booking sites within the space of a weekend. Why can’t the federal government do that?

Morrison:

That already exists and General Frewen might want to speak. There’s that one and there’s lot one called hotdoc.com.au, which is based on the engine developed by the federal government as well. This already exists. It’s already there. But you make an interesting point about the fact that there seems to be strong demand for the vaccine. When you have demand for the vaccine, I’m not sure why you have to pay people.

Updated at 4.46am BST

4.29am BST

Does the Doherty Institute advice of 70% vaccinated contradict Gladys Berejiklian’s aim of 50% vaccinated to come out of the NSW lockdown?

Scott Morrison says it is two different things:

We’re talking in one instance about a national vaccination strategy where short, sharp lockdowns are the response during the suppression phase before you move at 70% into the next phase where that isn’t as necessary or at all necessary, and certainly almost completely unnecessary once you get to 80%.

That is a separate issue as to how you come out of a lockdown you’re already in.

Now, coming out of a lockdown you’re already in depends on the success of the lockdown in bringing the number of cases infectious in the community down to a level where they can be suppressed and contained.

That is the goal the New South Wales government is working towards. When they believe they’re in a position where they can confidently say they can do that, then I expect the lockdown to remain in place. So, I think we need to be careful that we’re not mixing two issues here.

This is not a vaccination rate to break out of an existing lockdown.

This is a vaccination rate that enables Australia as a country to move from phase A to phase B to phase C.

So I think we’ve got to avoid sort of phoney conflicts here.

Scott Morrison speaks to reporters at today’s press conference. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated at 4.50am BST

4.27am BST

We’re back to the Independence Day-like speeches in response to another question about vaccine incentives (like vaccine lotteries).

Scott Morrison:

I think there’s a big difference between something like that, a big difference, not just a fiscal one.

The fiscal difference is pretty huge, I’ve got to say, and we have had lots of private offers of how things like that might work and General Frewen and his team have looked at that, but the primary reason why Australians are going to do this is because Australians know it’s good for them, their family and their country, and I intend to respect that.

I intend to acknowledge that, cause that’s what I’ve been backing the whole time, to ensure that Australians come through in the way that we are.

So we’ll look at all of those issues. But the thing to think an Australian needs to get paid off to do the right thing for their health, that’s just not how Australians think because we have a very good vaccination history in this country.

People do get it. We need to be careful to ensure that we follow an Australian way here, consistent with our values and our approach because that’s what has worked for us all the way through. And I’m going to keep backing Australians on that and believing in them and not issue a vote of no confidence in them.

Updated at 4.52am BST

4.24am BST

What about the idea of vaccine passports?

Scott Morrison:

I remember when I first raised this concept some months ago, when I was in Queensland, there were many views that are against it and they weren’t all in the parliament, most of them were actually outside the parliament, indeed some of them were in the media.

But my point is this. What you’re raising is an important matter.

At our meeting last Friday we agreed in the plan, phase B of the plans that if you’re vaccinated you can be exempt from various restrictions that might otherwise apply because of public health reasons.

Because you’ve taken steps to protect your health and the health of those around you. If you’re not vaccinated you present a greater public health risk.

This is about managing public health risks.

That’s what it is. It’s common sense. It has the added advantage that of course if you are vaccinated then being exempted from some of those restrictions is obviously an attraction and that’s why the Northern Territory, Victorian and Tasmanian governments are working together to bring back a proper list of options for the premiers and chief ministers and I to consider which go to the issues you’re talking about.

And, yes, I agree, being able to articulate what they are is a good idea. But we’ve got to work through them and ensure that the states and territories are supportive of those because they’re the ones who have to do it.

As a federal government, I can’t restrict someone going or allow someone going in to a sports stadium or a venue or even coming into this building.

What has to happen is state public health orders to support those issues legally.

Similarly, I can’t make it the law for someone to require a customer to declare their vaccination status or to make it compulsory for someone to be vaccinated.

These things are done through orders at a state and territory level. So working together to find what they are is incredibly important.

John Howard made a very good point on the weekend.

The states don’t have any more powers than they’ve ever had. They’ve just never been en livened in the way that they have through this crisis. They’ve always had absolute control over public health in this country. But this once in a hundred-year pandemic I think has shone a spotlight on that. And those powers are enlivened through that process, not through any other process.

Updated at 4.29am BST

4.22am BST

Q: National cabinet’s agreed in principle to easing restrictions and the severity of lockdowns once we get to 70% and 80% but how can you be so certain that they will stick to that plan once we get to that point given we have so many go it alone in the past and will you be disappointed if they do go their own way at that point?

Scott Morrison:

My disappointment won’t be the issue, the disappointment of the Australian public will be the issue.

See, we’re living at a time now where the responses that are now being put in place, quick and hopefully short lockdowns, that’s how you stay ahead of Delta until you reach these marks.

It’s an earlier time it was different and states like New South Wales had been in a position where they’d been able to manage it with their outstanding contact tracing systems but what you’ve seen from the Doherty’s work is that when you hit 70% and 80% and when you see from Treasury’s work that those types of widespread actions can’t be justified on the medical evidence and can’t be justified on the economic evidence, then I think that is something that will inform I think the public’s response.

Now, at our meeting last Friday, there was strong commitment from all states and territories to this.

And I note the comments of Mark McGowan. I believe he’s been taken out of context.

And to be fair to Mark, ‘cause we speak a lot, at any stage, let’s say we have a remote Indigenous community, the question came from this side of the room where there maybe a population that is highly unvaccinated and therefore presents a real risk.

Well, of course, if there’s a problem they’ll have to taking action. One thing that you don’t do in a pandemic like this is pretend that you can know everything and that you take tools off the table.

But the need for those tools as the modelling shows and the evidence shows is highly unlikely and certainly once you get to 70% and 80% I think that evidence is very clear.

Now, what you’ve heard today, what the country has heard today, from the best expert evidence that you can get anywhere in the world is exactly what the premiers heard last Friday and chief ministers and that my cabinet has heard, and I think that information, that expert evidence, backs in our national plan to living with this virus.

And, of course, all Australians would expect premiers, chief ministers and a prime minister to abide by that plan. I think it’s a question of integrity and honesty with the Australian people which I have no doubt is taken very seriously by my colleagues on the national cabinet.

Updated at 4.30am BST

4.21am BST

Scott Morrison continues with his Bill Pullman moment:

I think the proposal that has been put forward by the Labor party and Mr Albanese is a vote of no-confidence in Australians.

I have seen Australians respond with courage, determination and kindness over the past 18 months to get through ... doing it for the cash, I do not think is what would motivate an Australian to do.

I think you’re doing it for themselves, their family, their communities, and their country, is what motivates them to do.

It is a bubble without a thought, it demonstrates, I think, a lack of considering the real evidence here, and involving themselves in terms of a path they are going on, and understanding the unique Australian characteristics.

Carbon copying a plan for that from another place does not necessarily work in Australia, particularly the country that has a strong record on not appreciating that.

Think about it, we have almost 80% of over 70 roles ... they understood its importance, they have gone and done it.

About two-thirds of those over 50 have done the same, those of the population that have had the greatest opportunity to go. Do we really think that Australians of younger ages are less committed to their own health, the health of their families, the health of their communities, that those who are older?

Of course not.

This is a serious public health crisis, it is not a game show, but it is very important that we continue to respect our Australians are engaging with this process.

So if they do have hesitancy about vaccine, I am not going to pay them off.

I’m going to say to them that if you are vaccinated, that you present a lower public health risk to the rest of the population, and therefore is only proper and decent that you could be exempted from certain other restrictions that might have to be placed on others for their own protection, because they are unvaccinated, that is the scientific approach.

That’s the scientific approach ... That is the scientific approach. approach that we’re taking. That’s the clear, evidence-based plan that we’re taking.

Not a thought bubble minus the thought.

Updated at 4.26am BST

4.18am BST

Why won’t the federal government consider financial incentives?

Scott Morrison launches into a very long speech about Australian-ness and goodwill and being Australian.

Morrison:

First of all, Australians understand the challenge. Australians want to get of this path so we could live with this virus, and they can return to a life they knew, as far as possible.

This is a very different public health challenge to what we have seen before, simply because of its scale. It is a one in 100-year pandemic.

It is a pandemic which reaches the entire population, and has imposed a very significant restrictions right across the country, with very severe economic consequences, both lives and livelihoods of loss.

So I think Australians are in no doubt about the seriousness of this public health crisis, but how every single Australia has a role to play in ensuring that we can get this plan implemented, and we can get Australia vaccinated.

The [general] and his team had been working tirelessly to ensure that both the supplies, the points of presence, the GPs, the pharmacists, all of these things are working to ensure that we can meet those targets, and get Australia to where we want to be.

We have always been led and informed by the evidence, by a clear expert and economic advice, and I stress health and economic advice.

Updated at 4.28am BST

4.10am BST

Q: Can I ask, the modelling assumes vaccination coverage is uniform but you do mention the potential problem of outbreaks spreading quickly through subgroups that aren’t vaccinated. Did you look at how that would happen and how vulnerable those subgroups are and what the consequences of that are and also could states achieve better results in terms of hospitalisations and deaths by continuing can state border closures?

Prof Jodie McVernon:

I’ll quickly knock out the fact we’re not thinking about border closures here, that’s not part of our remit.

In terms of those subpockets, yes, they’re very important. And we’re discussing the next phase of this work but the proposal is to look in more detail at some of those groups who would be particularly targeted and at some of the additional measures ... The public health response is tailored to the situation at the time and we’re saying that the need for targeted vaccine coverage and enhanced vaccine coverage in some groups combined with early public health responses will continue to be critical for managing Covid.

Scott Morrison:

If there’s no lockdowns there’s no need for borders so it follows a similar path on the vaccination rates here.

Updated at 4.12am BST

4.04am BST

Q: You’ve talked about youth being peak transmitters. There’s a cute line about if parents are vaccinated their children will be protected but those children also go to school. They go on buses, they go on trains.

So, will there be another set of modelling that looks at risks and patterns to protect those under 16 or are they simply being left to be hospitalised and not vaccinated?

Scott Morrison:

I’ll go to Prof McVernon but, on the last part of your question, of course this work never ends. And it continues to progress and we will continue to ask all of those questions. Why? Because the virus doesn’t stop and it keeps evolving and we need to keep doing the work involving the Doherty Institute and many others as I’m sure the professor has always acknowledged there’s a very big team of people who draw this together and there’s the work of the AHPPC led by the chief health officer. So, yes, the work will never stop because the virus won’t.

Prof Jodie McVernon:

Yes, so, we have been measuring Covid in Australia over the past 18 months, that’s included Delta here.

Our understanding of its transmission characteristics are based on what we have observed.

Our understanding of the impact of interventions and the proportionate reduction in transmission potential is again based on what we have observed.

On the question of children, in countries where there’s been high levels of immunisation and schools have been one of more free social venues. we have seen many reports of increasing representation of children in the disease cases and we would expect that within that context and we are carefully attending to all of the emerging evidence about children and their role.

I think I flagged 80% was the coverage threshold we were aiming for but there is room to go further.

We did specifically do a subcomponent of the modelling in the full technical report that looked at targeting 12-15 at this point in time and showed across the whole population the reduction of transmission achievable would be very modest, nothing if – zero or minus 0.1. Meaning that at this point in time it’s not an efficient strategy for reducing transmission.

Updated at 4.09am BST

4.00am BST

Lt General John Frewen, who was talking to the business community just a few weeks ago about potential incentives is asked again if they are needed and says:

We won’t need incentives on the table but right now what resonates most strongly with people in Australia seems to be, you know, the incentive of being able to travel internationally again, to not have to quarantine, to avoid lockdowns.

That’s what seems to be most strongly motivating people right now to get to those high levels of vaccination that we need to get to as this research shows.

Updated at 4.03am BST

3.58am BST

Just dipping out of the Doherty Institute press conference for a moment:

A COVID-19 case has been confirmed in far north Queensland.

Queensland Health says the infected person lives in the Cairns region.

It’s not yet known what strain of the virus the person has, or if this person has been in the community. #covid19qld #COVID19Aus
— Senator Nita Green (@nitagreenqld) August 3, 2021

Cairns is currently not in lock down

3.57am BST

On the question of incentives, Lt General John Frewen says:

At the moment I’m really encouraged by the willingness of Australians to come forward and get vaccinated.

We’ve got, you know, really strong signs that the vast majority of Australians intend to come forward to get vaccinated because it’s the right thing to do. And that really is the best incentive right now, to do it for themselves, their friends, families, communities and for the country.

Right now we don’t think incentives are necessary and it’s really pleasing to see how many Australians are willing to get vaccinated.

3.56am BST

Asked about some of the risks of opening up at 70% vaccination, which includes deaths, Doherty Institute professor Jodie McVernon says:

I think it’s important to reflect what we are offering here is a hypothetical scenario that’s a thought experimentment to talk and walk you through those numbers more closely, yes, you’ve captured the figure, 70% coverage, we see 2,000 deaths, at 80%, 130 within 180 days.

This is an artificial population where there is a single outbreak. This is a scenario where we roll vaccine out and we stop at 80%.

That’s it and then we let things unfold from there. Clearly we’re not going to stop at 80, we would be still looking to target those groups who have missed out.

In every country we see if we only get to a certain level we will continue to see outbreaks of disease in the unvaccinated population, and so basically if we stop at 830% and let it sit and don’t do anything else and we don’t have optimal TTIQ and don’t have additional public health measures those people will get infected and because it’s been slowed down in the 80% scenario some of deaths are yet to accrue so it doesn’t do better in the end, it just takes longer to add up and in discussion with Treasury we both agreed on a 6-month reporting frame.

3.53am BST

It wasn’t that long ago that there wasn’t going to be federal assistance during a lockdown, because the Morrison government did not want to “incentivise” the states to go into lockdowns.

3.48am BST

My jaw is still on the ground at that.

The audacity. “That is the prime minister’s point”.

This was the prime minister’s “point” on 24 June about the NSW outbreak:

Well, obviously concerned but also very confident in the ability of the NSW government, which they’ve demonstrated time and again in dealing with these situations. I think the restrictions they put in place are understandable and common sense, and I commend Premier Berejiklian for resisting going into a full lockdown.

OK. Moving on.

Updated at 3.49am BST

3.45am BST

Oh wow.

OK.

The sound you might be hearing right now is the howl of indignation from Victoria and other Labor led states.

Josh Frydenberg:

The second key finding or outcome from the economic analysis is that the economic cost comes down significantly if governments work quickly to get on top of the virus. This is the prime minister’s point. Early interventions, short, sharp lockdowns, are the most cost effective way to handle the virus.

Particularly at the current time.

And so what Treasury have found is that at 50% and 60% vaccination rates, it’s five times more costly should governments not move early to get on top of the virus, and that’s the short, sharp lockdowns that we’re now seeing in Queensland, that we’ve seen in Victoria and that we’ve seen in South Australia.

Excuse me while I go find a physio to try and address the whiplash I just experienced.

Updated at 3.46am BST

3.41am BST

Josh Frydenberg is now talking economic costs (these do not include confidence).

He is using Victoria as an example – despite NSW being under lockdown right now. Never let an opportunity go past huh?

Frydenberg:

Should Australia see nationwide stage 4 restrictions, as we saw in Victoria in August of last year, the cost to the national economy is $3.2bn a week.

Should we see stage 3 restrictions across the country, the nature of which we saw last May, the cost to the economy is $2.35bn per week.

These numbers underline the imperative of Australians getting vaccinated. It is the way out of this crisis and it is the way to avoid, in the future, longer, more severe lockdowns.

Updated at 3.46am BST

3.40am BST

Professor Jodie McVernon finishes with this:

We are still understanding the Delta strain, we are still gathering evidence around the world about vaccine against this strain and in a whole range of population settings that are different from ours, where different proportions of the population are vaccinated and different measures have been in place and case loads are very different.

What we are delighted to see and what really supports the use of both of the vaccines that we have in Australia is both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca doses are highly effective at reducing severe disease outcomes following two doses.

I’ll read in numbers out because they’re shaded:

For Pfizer, reduction in hospitalisation is 87%

ICU admission 87%

mortality 92%.

For AstraZeneca, corresponding numbers are 86%, 86 % and 90%.

We have two very highly effective vaccines and this work really encourages their best strategic use.

Updated at 3.44am BST

3.38am BST

Summary

Here are those slides – thanks to Casey Briggs:

Here are the slides being shown in this press conference, in high res 1/3 pic.twitter.com/7d58YzHIPd
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) August 3, 2021

2/3 pic.twitter.com/Ex709JsT1q
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) August 3, 2021

3/3 pic.twitter.com/buU4usybWm
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) August 3, 2021

Updated at 3.39am BST

3.36am BST

The Doherty Institute also wants the vaccination program opened up to under 40s as widely as possible, as soon as supply allows it, given how the virus is spread.

Jodie McVernon from Doherty Institute. "Vaccination alone is a very big part of the answer but it is not the whole answer. We must maintain ongoing public health and social measures" #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) August 3, 2021

3.34am BST

Journalists did not receive this modelling information ahead of the press conference. So it is the first time everyone is seeing it, which means there won’t be a lot of time to take it in, before the prime minister is questioned on it.

Also, there was no way to dial in to this press conference – so if you are a journalist working away from parliament to minimise risk (as was the advice for this sitting) you have had to travel in, or miss the chance to ask questions.

Updated at 3.38am BST

3.31am BST

Scott Morrison interrupts the presentation to add in his two cents:

To reinforce a point you have made to us on several occasions, when you got it down to 80%, the sort of death hospitalisation and infection rates is what you expect to see with something like a flu.

The presentation is then allowed to continue.

Updated at 3.33am BST

3.29am BST

And here is the plan announced on Friday (the latest in a long line of roadmaps):

Updated at 3.30am BST

3.28am BST

Given Scott Morrison’s introductory speech, where suddenly, lockdowns are the needed response (it was very, very recently that Morrison was applauding NSW for not going into lockdown at the beginning of the Delta outbreak, despite Victoria already having gone through a Delta outbreak, warning of its contagiousness, locking down and successfully defeating it all before NSW’s outbreak).

Here was what Daniel Hurst asked Morrison on Friday:

Hurst: And the second point of clarity, you said there was a clear learning about the importance of short, sharp lockdowns in tackling Delta. Do you now regret applauding Premier Berejiklian for resisting a full lockdown last month when case numbers were rising?

Morrison:

People were acting on the advice that they had and the information they had. I mean, I’m glad everyone else has got perfect hindsight. No one in the world has perfect hindsight over these issues. The Delta strain is a strain that we’ve sought to understand and learn, and react to and respond to. So those who have had to make those decisions have made decisions, I think in the best interests of their state and on the best possible advice they had available to them. I’m in no different situation to that. But I’ll tell you what, we all humbly learn from these things. We all humbly learn from these things. And then we make the adjustments and we get on with it.

Updated at 3.40am BST

3.25am BST

I’m told that the journalists in the room can’t actually see the slides, because they are being shown on a small TV (it’s a big room and they are socially distanced)

So if you are seeing this on TV, you have a better view than the press gallery.

Updated at 3.26am BST

3.24am BST

That wouldn’t end lockdowns, but 70% would cut down on the number of strict lockdowns needed to contain the virus.

50%`-60% doesn’t come anywhere near enough reaching that point, the modelling shows.

Updated at 3.26am BST

3.23am BST

70% of the population needs to be vaccinated to move into phase B

And then to the point of this press conference – the Doherty Institute modelling about the vaccine coverage which is needed to help Australia live with the virus.

The “magic” number?

70% of adults aged over 16 to move into phase B.

Updated at 3.27am BST

3.21am BST

All the issues with the delayed vaccine roll out (which continues – given vaccines are having to be pulled from regional areas, and there are still delays in Pfizer) are now “early challenges” we have moved on from, according to Scott Morrison:

We have overcome those early challenges which are very familiar to everyone around the country and I particularly want to thank General Frewen who joins me here today who at the beginning of June took on my task to head up the whole of government effort.

I want to thank all those working in the Health Department and around the country, the GPs, the pharmacists ... we have almost 80% of Australians aged over 70 who have had a first dose, and, of course, in our aged care facilities more than 80% of those residents have had double doses. So it can be done.

It will be done.

I have great faith in the Australian people to get this done. Tremendous faith in their determination and their motivation to get this job done.

Because I’ve seen it each and every day. As we have led together Australia through this crisis. I have seen their courage.

I have seen their selflessness.

I have seen their determination.

I have seen their sacrifice, and that is what has got Australia through to where we are today. I have great faith in the Australian people. To get this country vaccinated. We are making our own Australian way through it.

Updated at 3.27am BST

3.19am BST

We are back to hearing about how many Australians could have died (without the mention that Scott Morrison had to be pushed to some of those early measures).

Now it is all about “our Australian way”.

Morrison:

Last Friday I announced Australia’s plan to live with the virus. I announced the whole country’s plan to get us back to that position where we can ultimately live with this virus in the same way that we live with other infectious diseases that are present in the community and we can get on with our lives.

That plan is based on common sense precautions that prevail and is based on a pathway on vaccination that provides the protection necessary to ensure the many tools we have to suppress the virus and its impacts on lives and livelihoods are held at bay.

The targets that are part of this plan, the vaccination targets of 70% to get to changed with Delta strain. And our response has had to change with those changing circumstances.

All throughout this year, though, whether it was Delta or Alpha, we’ve been working to chart the way back to living with the virus.

Of course the virus will never be eliminated. It can take a very, very long time for any infectious disease that is resident in any population around ... the next phase and 80% to phase C are based on the world’s best scientific analysis and economic advice.

Australia has been well served over these more than 18 months as we have chartered our own Australian way through this pandemic.

An Australian way with Australian results that are different to almost every other country in the world bar a few – an Australian way that has delivered Australian results that has saved Australian results that has saved more than 30,000 lives. 30,000 Australians and more would be dead today were it not for the Covid response that Australia has put in place.

Updated at 3.23am BST

3.15am BST

Doherty Institute modelling released

It’s time for the PM’s press conference.

This is going to be an info-dense one, as it lays out modelling. Sarah Martin will bring you the information you need in a story, but I’ll give you the live updates as a taste.

Scott Morrison (out of quarantine) starts with a little speech about the battle of the Delta strain being upon us.

Lockdowns, don’t you know, are the first response of the Delta variant.

Morrison:

That is a clear learning and that means we have had to adjust our response, and so the reactions of short hopefully but strong lockdowns to ensure that the Delta strain does not get away from us as we’re seeing now in south-east Queensland, as we saw indeed in Victoria and South Australia and regrettably in New South Wales where the lockdown continues, this is now dealing with the Delta strain.

When the circumstances change you must change with them. Under the earlier strains of this virus, then most tools did enable us to be able to prevent lockdowns, it did enable us to manage when cases emerged.

That all changed with Delta, apparently (which may be news to Victorians).

Updated at 3.18am BST

3.06am BST

Again, if you need it, the vaccine eligibility checker, can be found here

2.59am BST

Scott Morrison has given his MPs a pep talk about how they are a good team, and “great teams know how to win”.

He says that MPs will need to work hard on the ground in the lead-up to the next election, reminding voters of the “broader plan, broader vision” outlined by the government in the budget, as well as talking about Australia on the other side of the crisis once vaccination rates reached at least 70%.

Morrison also spoke at length criticising Labor’s $300 vaccination incentive plan, saying Anthony Albanese underestimated the Australian people and the idea was a “bankrupt proposition”.

“He does not understand how Australians are responding to the crisis, he has lost his belief by thinking he needs to bribe Australians, he doesn’t know the Australian people”.

The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, also said the idea was a dud, suggesting Labor would also pay people to brush their teeth or get a measles shot.

On the government’s election prospects, Joyce pointed to the Olympic performance of Peter Bol as inspiration, saying he had “made his move 80 metres to the end”.

“Running your race and tactics is how you win; you don’t win your whole race at the front.”

He also said “we will win”.

Updated at 3.02am BST

2.58am BST

Victoria’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, has just finished up providing a quick update on the Covid situation in the state.

Of the four new cases (who were all in isolation for their infectious period), two are connected to the Young and Jackon’s exposure site, one is a household contact of the Coolaroo family outbreak, and one is a workplace contact for the Moonee Valley testing site worker.

There are 10 cases in hospital, with three in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

Over 90% of the primary close contacts from the latest outbreak have now been cleared. Around 3,000 remain. The over 500 close contacts linked to the lacrosse apartments are getting to their day 13 tests.

There is still a strong rate of compliance overall, Sutton said. Victoria recorded its highest ever day for QR code check-ins on Saturday, with 6.1m in total, and 11m across the whole weekend.

He said the record should continue to be broken because it is vital in tracking outbreaks:

It’s really becoming a part of our habits as it should be a really important part of our contact tracing and it’s, it has played a very significant role in our ability to track down primary close contacts people who’ve gone to exposure sites, and for us to be able to contact them within a very short period of time, so that they can quarantine appropriately.

Sutton talked down the potential for rapid antigen tests to be used in Victoria, stating “we are not in a space now where it would provide much additional value”:

The PCR test is a genuine gold standard test. It is the test that has the highest accuracy for both detecting a positive case or a negative case, when we’re in a situation as we are in Victoria, with no cases or virtually no cases, we want a test that tells us that people are negative when they’re negative, all of the time, as often as possible. And when you’re doing 10s of 1000s of tests per day, you don’t want dozens of false positive cases that you then need to chase up as if they’re real cases, put others in quarantine and declare them primary close contacts when that is not a correct result.

He said there were no plans at this stage to bring forward the easing of restrictions, stating the current settings will be in place for two weeks in total.

Updated at 3.03am BST

2.57am BST

And you’ve got a couple of minutes to grab a cup of tea (or something harder) before we head into prime minister’s press conference in just a couple of minutes.

2.55am BST

Victorian update

In the midst of that, Victoria held its update.

Here is some of what Victorian CHO Brett Sutton said (Victoria announced four new cases – all were in quarantine as linked contacts to known cases).

Sutton:

In terms of clearances, over 90% of primary close contact have now been cleared in this outbreak.

An additional 536 were cleared yesterday and about 3,000 remain.

The 500-plus primary close contact linked to the Lacrosse apartments are coming up to their day-13 tests in days ahead and that will again be supported through in-reach testing door to door.

Our household engagement teams visited 525 people yesterday. 501 of those were close contact and they continue to see very high complaints with those visits and again, huge thanks to everyone who is doing their quarantine at home and why we’re seeing every single day that new cases are in primary close contact who have had their entire infectious period out of the community.

In terms of our red-zone permit holders there are about 9,000 active permit-holders from red zones in Victoria. 1,100 were added to the list yesterday coming in from Queensland.

They were required to go straight home to isolate.

They’ll get tested in the first few days of their quarantine period but they need to do a full 14 days of quarantine at home.

Yesterday, our comms went out to orange-zone arrival from South East Queensland who had come to Victoria prior to the red zone declaration. With another prompt for additional testing.

We thank everyone in that group who are, again, going above and beyond to get an additional test on day 7 out of an abundance of caution and in the knowledge that there’s been some transmission in South East Queensland leading to their cluster in recent days or potentially the last couple of weeks.

There were more than 22,000 tests processed yesterday.

Updated at 3.03am BST

2.53am BST

NSW summary

OK, let’s go through that:

NSW has recorded 199 new cases in this cluster
At least 82 of those people were in the community for all or part of their infectious period
47 of the 199 cases are still under investigation
250 people are in hospital
53 people are in the ICU
20 people are on ventilators
Gladys Berejiklian cannot say whether the case numbers have peaked as yet or not
Vaccinations remain the focus of the NSW response
Berejiklian wants to see “close to zero” infectious cases in the community before lockdown lifts, but won’t say what that number is, or even a ballpark
Rapid testing will be made on offer at NSW schools
Issues with booking vaccinations are being addressed

Updated at 2.57am BST

2.48am BST

Gladys Berejiklian ends the press conference by again saying she is not sure if NSW is through the worst of the outbreak as yet:

Our priorities are getting children back at school, students back at school and getting parents back to work.

They’re the two priorities. All those other things which all of us would love to do – whether it’s getting basic services that we can’t access now or anything else – will depend on how case numbers are going and what vaccination rates are.

Please know that we’re looking at those opportunities but won’t be able to announce anything until closer to 28 August, because the case numbers are anyone’s guess and we don’t know yet – and I have to be honest about this – whether we’re through the worst of it or not.

There’s clearly been a plateauing the last week but we don’t know if we’ll see them worsen before they get better and that unknown causes us to make sure we adopt the position we have moving forward about strict lockdown but also high rates of vaccine.

Updated at 2.51am BST

2.47am BST

Q: Just on that age group because it’s a crucial age group. A lot of those people would be holding out for Pfizer so when are we getting our big Pfizer drops?

Dr Kerry Chant:

Look, that’s a matter for the commonwealth and they give us forecast up to a certain point in time.

In a general sense, Pfizer will become available in later in the year. So that’s really a question for the commonwealth to confirm. I think there is a report on the commonwealth website, which looks at the availability of vaccines over the forward schedule.

Updated at 2.51am BST

2.46am BST

Q; In terms of year 12, is there a strategy being developed? Obviously students in south-west and western Sydney will be vaccinated but thousands elsewhere will go back to school in a week-and-a-half and there’s a lot of angst that these students are sitting ducks for the virus pause a lot of them can’t get vaccinated because they’re under 18. Is there in considering to focusing vaccination on that age group?

Dr Kerry Chant:

If we had to focus vaccine, we’d do it on that 18- to 39-year-old, which probably picks up some of those HSC students because they’re transitional and often have part-time jobs in supermarkets or fast-food premises so, yes, they would be a priority but at the moment we have constraints in the vaccines we’ve got available to offer them and at the moment, we have to make make choices and that’s difficult but the main message is we do want workers, particularly those authorised workers in south-west and western Sydney. to come forward and get vaccinated.

We’re seeing too many outbreaks in workplaces which set off chains of transmission into the households of those colleagues.

Updated at 2.52am BST

2.45am BST

Q: We’re hearing reports of aged ware workers in the bush in Newcastle and Orange having their vaccine appointments cancelled because the Pfizer is being redirected to students in the city. How concerned are you that that is happening because they could end up losing their jobs because of a mandated vaccine?

(We are hearing those reports as well – thank you to those who have been contacting us.)

Dr Kerry Chant:

We will obviously consider all of those impacts and work with the commonwealth, who is also supplying Pfizer vaccine to general practice in a number of those areas to look at access points.

Clearly, aged care are a priority and the commonwealth has separate access points for aged care. If there’s any particular examples of that, we would be happy to follow up in relation to that. Certainly the greatest risk exists in south-western Sydney and western Sydney.

We have to put vaccination as part of our tools in protecting the community. As I said, it both has an individual benefit in protecting against hospitalisation and death. But also some transmission benefit in protecting you and your loved ones from transmission risk.

Updated at 2.46am BST

2.39am BST

Q: Do we know how soon we can get that third booster shot? There’s some suggestion it could be six months so everyone who had AstraZeneca in Sydney will be 40% less protected than everyone with Pfizer?

Dr Kerry Chant:

I’ll have to check those data points, because I’m not quite sure that they’re correct.

My understanding is that the four-week interval traded off longer-term protection where you need a booster.

But in terms of the key messages, I understand that there will be larger volumes of vaccines and Atagi will consider and provide the advice and as we always do, we follow the Atagi recommendations but they’re going to be looking at mixed schedules, boosters, vaccines against the newer strains, and that will be incorporated in our advice.

Updated at 2.40am BST

2.37am BST

Q: Longer term, do we go through a process – say we get to 80% in November – do we do them every year, because people haven’t had booster shots, risk more restrictions coming back in. because booster levels aren’t high enough?

Dr Kerry Chant:

No. What will happen is it will be a bit like flu eventually.

And we know we have bad flu seasons and we have many impacted and it’s cyclical in terms of some of the flu impacts. In the end, we will [learn to live] with Covid.

It will be a challenging, transitional space where we will have to keep getting vaccinated and the vaccine manufacture has improved a lot in having the mRNA vaccines, like Moderna and Pfizer. And I understand they can be changed quite quickly a little along the lines of the flu vaccine that changes every year. That gives us hope that we can stay ahead of the virus.

Updated at 2.40am BST

2.35am BST

Q: We want people to be taking AstraZeneca but something that’s holding them back is the efficacy. Atagi is saying that with the shortened time frame, two shots of AstraZeneca will get you 55% protected. With Pfizer it’s 95% protected.

That’s a tough sell and some people are choosing to wait. Can you convince people that 55% is good enough? Is there a possibility of a third booster shot that could lift that efficacy?

Dr Kerry Chant:

We know we’re going to have access to a large number of vaccines in the future so it is going to be the fact that we’re going to be vaccinated multiple times against the Covid virus.

At the moment we’re trading off long-term protection versus short-term protection and both vaccines after one dose reduce your risk of hospitalisation and after two doses, they’re equivalent. Obviously in the four-week interval we’re trading off longer-term protection rather than effectiveness in the short term.

Updated at 2.39am BST

2.33am BST

NSW Health is looking at getting rapid testing in for schools, particularly for HSC students.

2.32am BST

Back to the NSW update, Gladys Berejiklian is being asked about students going back to school:

Obviously, our key objective is to ensure that every HSC student has the opportunity and will have the opportunity to be awarded their HSC.

That’s our priority.

Obviously Health and Education are continuing to discuss a safe way to make that possible. Our priority is year 12.

We’re starting to vaccinate all of year 12 in those eight local government areas from 9 August.

It takes a couple of weeks for the vaccine to be effective. Our aim is to prioritise year 12 students to ensure they will attain their HSC and they all will.

Health and Education are working closely and we’re getting updates this afternoon on what life in year 12 will look like.

That’s our priority. In terms of schools going back, that depends on case numbers and rates of vaccination and also what the virus is doing.

I know this is little consolation for the eight local government areas, but in the main, we have managed to keep the virus out of the regions so all the kids there are face to face. The virus has been kept out of the Central Coast and other places and parts ever Greater Sydney.

We’re looking at options in a safe way that will be based on health advice at the time.

The two priorities remain for us getting kids back to face-to-face learning and to allow parents or adults to get back to the workplace. They depend on case numbers and rates of vaccination.

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to the media during a Covid-19 update and press conference in Sydney. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/AAP

Updated at 2.36am BST

2.30am BST

The Doherty Institute modelling will be released at midday, when the prime minister will hold a press conference.

Updated at 2.32am BST

2.29am BST

Gladys Berejiklian continues that answer:

It’s people aged between 20 and 40 who are very mobile in those communities that have the links between the older generation and younger generation that are acquiring – unfortunately – getting the disease and spreading it.

So we have targeted programs across all age groups but remember there are still a lot of people in the older demographics that haven’t had any vaccine and as the health experts say.

Make sure people of all age groups come forward and get vaccinated. We know the threat to human life and hospitalisation increases with able.

As we’ve seen with Delta, every age group is impacted but the one positive is two doses of vaccine is keeping people out of hospital and out of intensive care and that’s a really positive thing we can take out from the last few weeks, that both vaccines are working extremely effectively and there is enormous incentive for people to come forward and get vaccinated, especially given where things are at and especially that none of us want a day longer in lockdown than we need to and that’s certainly our aim.

(As has previously been mentioned though, it is important to remember that it wasn’t until very recently that it became easier for under 40s to access a vaccine.)

Updated at 2.33am BST

2.28am BST

Q: The south-west has the worst vaccination rates of people in New South Wales. It’s obviously the epicentre of this outbreak. Have we failed them? What can we do to get more people vaccinated?

Gladys Berejiklian:

That’s why we’re having a lot of community outreach programs. The age population of that population is younger than the state average as well.

Until recently, health advice precluded a lot of people coming forward and getting vaccinated.

Now the health advice has changed, given the outbreak, we have concerted efforts, whether it’s mobile clinics, going to community hundreds to vaccinate, ramping up pharmacy access.

The GP network is primed as well. We’ve established a number of mass vaccination centres as you know.

We’re trying to reduce the case numbers and reducing the threat and keeping people out of hospital.

We have a concentrated initiative or campaign in those eight local government areas in particular, especially with critical workers.

We want to thank the businesses who have signed up to encouraging, enforcing is perhaps a strong word, but we’re encouraging business and community leaders to join with us in encouraging critical workers, in particular, to get vaccinated, as Dr Chant and Dr McAnulty have said.

Updated at 2.35am BST

2.26am BST

For a visual of the data, here you go

Today's NSW Covid case numbers - 199 new local cases, 129 cases not fully isolated or unknown throughout infectious period. Trendline hasn't turned yet https://t.co/JBfdDr28aI pic.twitter.com/DqkF5031ML
— Josh Nicholas (@joshcnicholas) August 3, 2021

2.24am BST

Q: How many cases or how many deaths are you prepared to accept if we ease restrictions on 29 August with 50% vaccination rates when there are still cases in the community.

Gladys Berejiklian:

Please know that our complete motivation in New South Wales is to have our population as safe as possible.

I’m not willing to accept any unnecessary people dying, any unnecessary death.

That is not our aim. Our aim is to keep people as safe ... and living as freely as possible, especially given where vaccination rates are.

Obviously, once vaccination rates hit 70% and 80%, that is a different proposition, but given where our vaccination rates are our intent as a government is to keep our population, first and foremost, safe.

That includes mental health as well as physical health and also as free as possible.

But please know that until you have vaccination rates hit 70% and 80%, you can’t consider those high rates of high rates of hospitalisation and that’s why we’re very keen to make sure that our case numbers are reduced and we have high rates of vaccination.

Our strategy remains to protect human life, to reduce hospitalisation and that’s why the vaccine strategy is key to that. It’s to keep people out of hospital and slow the spread down and have people infect their loved ones.

Residents walk through a street in the Fairfield suburb in Sydney on August 2, 2021, during the city’s prolonged Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown. — A street in Fairfield. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 2.37am BST

2.23am BST

NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant is asked why there has been a delay in listing some exposure sites and says:

There’s a couple of reasons why exposure sites can be delayed. In some cases, people have been unwell for a period of time, so people may have had symptoms for seven or so days and we have to go back two days before that in terms of their exposure sites.

We’re also surging to make sure we’re on time and getting up those venues but we also text people so again the importance of the QR code.

I don’t know if anyone has received one but that text does come to you and it’s a really efficient way where we can get direct messaging because we’re conscious that not everyone goes to the website every day – although I do urge you to check it – but that QR check-in system where we text people directly is efficient at reaching people.

Updated at 2.37am BST

2.22am BST

What exactly does “close to zero” mean in terms of infectious cases in the community? Less than 50?

Gladys Berejiklian:

I’ve said as close to zero as possible for some time but what life looks like on 29 August will be determined by what the case numbers are doing, what the case numbers are, and also by our vaccination rate.

It’s important to consider a number of things. Whenever we get the health advice, it’s in a particular context. If there are people infectious in the community, where are they infectious? Is it concentrated in a local government area? Is it concentrated in a particular setting?

As we all know, and you all know, life during a pandemic is not black and white but we know the fewer people infectious in the community gives us a better appreciation for what the virus is doing and the fact we won’t have another level of outbreak and secondly having higher rates of vaccination does allow us to consider opportunities to have some level of activity increase so the combination of reduction in case numbers but also higher vaccination rates gives us more options as to how our community can live as safely and freely as possible and they’re the options we’re looking at.

Updated at 2.38am BST

2.20am BST

Berejiklian can't say whether NSW Covid cases have 'peaked'

Gladys Berejiklian says she can’t say whether or not the cases in this outbreak have peaked yet. That is worrying, given how long NSW has been in lockdown already.

Asked about what people are looking for to lift the lockdown at the end of the month, she says:

Look, it’s important to know that incentives and vaccine rates will also be linked to case numbers.

So we want the opportunity to try – we don’t know whether we’re through the worst of it or not with the case numbers and that’s our issue.

We don’t know if we’ve peaked or it’s going to get worse.

It does concern me that there were still 50 people infectious yesterday in the community. That could mean we’ll get higher numbers.

Until we know what the cases are doing by the end of the month, it’s important for us to keep those options open but we know we have greater options if we hit the 6 million target.

We know if at least half our population has at least one dose in parts of the community where we’re worried about, if people have had at least two doses, we know we can consider other options depending on whether where the case numbers are it’s important to know that it’s not just the vaccination rate we look at, it’s not just the case numbers we look at. It’s a combination of the two.

That number of 50 infectious in the community – the closer that is to zero, the greater the freedom we’ll have, but the further away from zero it is, the less freedom we’ll have and that stands to reason.

We need everybody to work hard to get the case numbers down and also to get our vaccination rates as high as possible.

Updated at 2.21am BST

2.14am BST

The issues with accessing vaccine bookings in NSW is raised and Gladys Berejiklian says:

Look, I was concerned to read about reports about the booking system and how long it’s taking. We definitely looking at that. We want to make it as easy as possible.

That’s why, whether it’s through GPs, pharmacists, business ... we’re trying to increase the access points but we appreciate it’s important to make booking as easy as possible.

If there’s anything we can do to improve the system, we will. But everybody has to go to the Health Direct system, a federal system, so we have to mesh our systems with that as much as possible and reduce the time and energy it takes for people to get the bookings.

Updated at 2.17am BST

2.12am BST

What about Labor’s idea of a $300 cash incentive to get the vaccine?

Gladys Berejiklian:

Look, we’re looking at incentives for some time in the New South Wales government.

We’re focusing on what we believe people want at this stage. They want peace of mind that they can move more freely, send their kids to school, work.

So any incentives around those things we think are great motivators so we’re looking at those options. We know if we encourage people to get vaccinated to provide them with additional freedoms that that is the best motivator of all. Obviously we’re considering all the options.

We believe, based on experience overseas and elsewhere, that allowing people additional movement or activity if they’ve been vaccinated we think is a great incentive and that will be linked to our plan for what life looks like on 29 August.

2.11am BST

Q: When will you release the roadmap out of lockdown? And why haven’t you done so before now?

Gladys Berejiklian:

Well, I think it’s very, very important for us to communicate definite information to the public around what life will look like on 29 August and we don’t know the answer to that yet but is the government started to think about that? Planning ahead? Of course we are, based on the health advice.

We’re keen to ensure we provide as much freedom as possible whilst living safely and when we’re ready to do that, when the health advice gives us an indication of what life will look like on 29 August, of course we’ll convey that.

The challenge for us is we don’t know where the case numbers will be in a month’s name.

It’s a combination of case numbers plus the vaccination rate that will allow us to consider what restrictions we can ease at that time and therefore it’s really important for us to manage expectations. I don’t want to raise expectations because we have a lot of hard work to do between now and 28 August

And I’m keen for us to get to 6 million jabs by the end of August as well. On our current rate, we should get there.

But it’s also important to make sure we concentrate the vaccination rates in those eight local government areas of concern, because that will slow down the spread. It will reduce the case numbers.

As Dr Chant has said, the vaccine is not just about keeping you out of hospital and keeping you safe but it’s reducing the spread of the virus, reducing the case numbers as well and we’ve certainly upped the ante in terms of going out to local communities, going out to local businesses, engaging with different organisations and sections of the community to really increase those vaccination rates and also to provide tunes for us to consider what life looks like on 29 August.

Updated at 2.18am BST

2.10am BST

NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant gives a warning for NSW LGAs which are on the edges of the outbreaks, which is basically – don’t push it.

That would include Strathfield, Burwood and Camden, the inner-west and the bayside suburbs:

I think this highlights the fact that the disease is actually – got the potential to creep so we’re also asking that you don’t go into those suburbs, even if they’re within that permitted radius, to shop.

Go to a different shopping centre. At this point, we want to minimise any risk of further spread of the virus to other areas but anywhere across New South Wales and Greater Sydney, it is important that you take that precaution.

Two girls in masks walk past a “welcome to Burwood” mural in Sydney

Updated at 2.19am BST

2.06am BST

Gladys Berejiklian continues:

On August 29, we want to see, or be able to, ease restrictions. But that will depend on where case numbers are at and what the vaccination rate is at.

So we’re looking forward to us getting more jabs.

6 million is the target I want to set by the end of August.

We’re at 3.9 million. I suspect we’ll be at 4 million by the end of the week or in the next few days and that’s a target I’d like to set for New South Wales and I’m really urging everybody to come forward, to listen to the health advice.

If you have any concerns, go through your GP but please know that the more of us that get vaccinated, the greater chance we have to live freely, beyond August 29 and in particular, we will be focusing our efforts in those eight local government areas to make sure people have the opportunity to get vaccinated. And whilst I alluded to incentives yesterday, we are very keen to explore what opportunities we can provide.

In particular we know that people value their freedom, their desire to go back to work, their desire to engage in community life and those are the type of incentives that we’ll be looking at over the next little while to provide our citizens with the opportunities to know that if they’re vaccinated and their loved ones are vaccinated, there will be opportunities for greater freedom moving forward.

2.05am BST

Gladys Berejiklian again urges everyone to get vaccinated:

By the end of August, I’d like to see that go to 6 million jabs.

We know that 10 million jabs gives us 80% of the adult population vaccinated.

By the end of August, I’d like to see New South Wales record 6 million jabs because every time we go through a milestone, 6 million jabs is roughly half the population with at least one or two doses.

That gives us additional options as to what life looks like on 29 August.

But as the health experts tell us, it’s really critical to have our communities in those eight local government areas take up the opportunity for vaccination.

Some of those suburbs have average the vaccination rate of the rest of the state and some are lower than other areas and we to have a focused campaign to make sure people in those communities in particular have the opportunity to get vaccinated, whether it’s through a workplace, through a health hub, through a GP or through a pharmacist, and that work will intensify.

Because it’s not only important to get to 6 million jabs by the end of August but also to use our vaccine program to reduce the spread, to reduce the incidence of people passing it onto their households or work colleagues and we know, as the health experts tell us, that even one dose of the vaccine reduces the likelihood of how transmissible you are, how contagious you are.

So not only is the vaccine really important to keep you out of hospital, to protect your loved ones, but it reduces the number of people you may infect and that’s really important to consider when you’re in the middle of an outbreak.

So obviously we have the tight lockdown provisions. We also have the vaccine as our two main weapons of getting to a place where we can live more freely and certainly that’s our aim.

2.03am BST

And these numbers are just heartbreaking.

There are currently 250 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 53 people in intensive care, 20 of whom require ventilation.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 3, 2021

2.02am BST

It is not just that 50 though – 32 cases were in the community for ‘part’ of their infectious period.

47 cases are still being investigated.

70 cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 32 cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period. 50 cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 47 cases remains under investigation.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 3, 2021

2.00am BST

NSW records 199 new cases

Gladys Berejiklian says 50 of those were infectious in the community.

Updated at 2.03am BST

1.56am BST

The Doherty Institute modelling, which was looking at when we can start looking at avoiding lockdowns and the like, depending on the number of vaccinations, will be released today.

Sarah Martin is covering that for you.

1.53am BST

While we wait for that update, the Wyoming nursing home in Summer Hill has has confirmed an additional resident has tested positive to Covid overnight. They had been vaccinated:

All 19 residents who have tested positive have been transferred to local hospitals, as have the other unaffected residents who live on the same floor. Meanwhile the two staff who have shown positive tests continue to be in isolation.

More than 80%of the 65 residents and 60 staff are currently vaccinated and we expect a further round of vaccinations to be offered to any residents, who have previously declined, be undertaken over the next few days, while we are encouraging all staff to get fully vaccinated.

The facility continues to work closely with the health authorities to undertake daily Covid-19 testing and contact tracing of all staff and residents of the facility.

Then there is this part of the statement:

All close contacts of the staff are in isolation and the facility remains in full lockdown, with testing and deep cleaning undertaken on a daily basis. The owner of the nursing home, Hardi Aged Care, has had a strict policy since last year of permanent staff being restricted to working exclusively at only one of its facilities.

The supposed “Christmas in July function” was simply a normal lunch for residents, with Christmas decorations and carols being played.

We continue to be in regular communication with our residents and their families, assuring them that everything is being done to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

Updated at 1.57am BST

1.50am BST

Take a breather – the NSW press conference is coming up in just under 10 minutes.

1.50am BST

Queensland summary

Let’s break the press conference down for you.

Queensland has recorded 16 additional cases.
All are linked to known cases.
Nine are children linked to school exposure sites.
Authorities are still trying to work out how the infection started and spread (there is a missing link case).
More than 400 health workers are in quarantine, including all the cardiac surgeon’s at Queensland’s Children’s hospital (a surgeon was quickly found for an emergency case)
Care will not be denied in urgent cases, even if health workers are in quarantine.
Almost 35,000 Queenslanders were tested for Covid.
40,000 tests remains the target.
Almost 35% of Queenslanders have received their first dose of a vaccine.
Queensland is welcoming 150,000 additional AstraZeneca doses from the commonwealth government, which will be administered by pharmacies.
If you haven’t had your first dose of AZ, Queensland wants you to talk to your doctor first, and then have your second dose through a pharmacist
Dr Jeannette Young says anyone under 60 should speak to their doctor if they want AstraZeneca (as is the advice): “The Atagi advice said that when we reach a large outbreak, that I think we’re on the verge of – I suspect it will become larger – that is the time to discuss that with your GP.”

Updated at 1.54am BST

1.39am BST

Yvette D’Ath is asked whether Queensland was offered 100,000 extra AstraZeneca in June and says:

I’m not aware of being offered extra AstraZeneca in June.

As I say, we’ve been delivering Pfizer as agreed to.

It was some time ago when the rules changed around the 60-year-olds, we actually said to the commonwealth, can you redistribute our AstraZeneca supply to GPs? GPs were wanting it. We didn’t need it.

Because our frontline workers and those who are 40 to 60 were being recommended to get Pfizer. So there was no point us holding on to AstraZeneca when GPs were wanting it, needing it, and they were doing the 60 plus.

So that was the right mix.

The commonwealth were more than happy to do that. Have not raised any concerns with our supply of AstraZeneca.

And I was surprised to hear the comment yesterday from the commonwealth talking about whether we had ordered any or not.

Let’s not play semantics. Let’s not play politics. If there’s 150,000 AstraZeneca that can come to Queensland, let’s get it today and let’s give to in the pharmacists and get people vaccinated.

A health worker walks outside a Covid-19 testing clinic in Brisbane on Tuesday. Photograph: Dan Peled/EPA

Updated at 1.45am BST

1.38am BST

Q: Why didn’t Queensland order any AstraZeneca in July?

Health minister Yvette D’Ath:

The reason why we haven’t ordered any in July is our priority group as agreed with the commonwealth is frontline workers and the 40 to 60-year-olds.

It was agreed and as per Atagi’s recommendation, those people were getting Pfizer.

So we have always been the primary administrator of Pfizer vaccine to those priority groups and the general population, so those 60 plus, who are to get AstraZeneca, had been getting it delivered through GPs and the commonwealth vaccination centres.

That’s the agreed plan between the commonwealth and states and territories.

We were delivering Pfizer and the GPs and the commonwealth vaccination centres were doing the AstraZeneca once the recommendations changed around ages.

Now, as advice changes, then we’ll change our approach as well. But we still believe that the pharmacies and our GPs are in the best position to roll out the AstraZeneca to the general population.

One, because people should go to their GPs and get advice, and also pharmacies administer our flu vaccines every single year. People have confidence and trust in going to them for immunisation.

And we know that if we can redirect second doses from GPs to pharmacies, we can free up a whole lot of booking spaces with GPs for those first doses.

So I think we’ve got the mix right. It’s in line with the agreement with the commonwealth.

And our concentration is on Pfizer. So we have contacted the commonwealth and said, “Can we bring forward our August supply to now?”

So we’re supposed to be getting 84,000 Pfizer vaccines a week, each week of August, we would like to bring that whole supply forward now, which means we can ramp up the doses that we’re administering every single day. But we can’t do that at the moment until we get that extra supply of Pfizer.

Updated at 1.41am BST

1.32am BST

Q: Do you think your warnings around AstraZeneca for younger people has contributed to Queensland having the highest vaccine hesitancy in the country?

Dr Jeannette Young:

I don’t believe we have the highest vaccine hesitancy. I want to see that anyone who is 60 or older immediately gets vaccinated.

I am concerned there is a significant proportion of that group and that group is most at risk of getting the worst outcomes that is not vaccinated.

So I will go to get my second dose of AstraZeneca because it’s now more than eight weeks since I had my first, and we’re in an outbreak and the Atagi advice is in an outbreak situation, instead of waiting 12 weeks, you only need to wait eight weeks. That is really important. Anyone younger than 60 should talk to their GP about what their risks are and what they should do.

There is another question on that:

Q: Should young people be talking with their doctors now about getting AstraZeneca?

Young:

This is the time that people who are under age 60 should be talking to their GP about what is best for them as an individual. GPs know their patients and know what advice to give them.

Updated at 1.38am BST

1.30am BST

Most of the health workers have been vaccinated, Dr Jeannette Young says, but not enough of the population have been vaccinated to mean they can come out of isolation.

Updated at 1.32am BST

1.29am BST

There are more than 400 health workers in quarantine in Queensland at the moment.

Dr Jeannette Young:

Unfortunately we have well over 400 of our health workers now in quarantine, so last night I had to make a decision, because all of our cardiac surgeons for the children’s hospital were in quarantine, so we worked through how we could allow one of them to operate on an urgent case. We will do that every single time.

No Queenslander will be denied any care because the health workers they need are in quarantine. We will work through that.

But we do have a large proportion of our critical health workers now in quarantine, so unfortunately we have had to delay some surgery and some outpatient work to manage that. So we will be working that through.

A health worker outside a Covid-19 testing clinic in Brisbane today. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Updated at 1.33am BST

1.26am BST

Queensland still doesn’t know where the original case came from.

Dr Jeannette Young says genomic testing is helping narrow things down though:

I’ve got some more genome sequencing today that is starting to show that this virus is branching off, which suggests to me that those five initial cases in that family were fairly closely related to one of those two cases.

There’s still missing cases between them, absolutely, but possibly not a large number, but even one - we know, everyone one case can lead to another outbreak.

We know that. So that’s why the 11 LGAs, it’s critical anyone with any symptoms at all, in those 11 LGAs comes forward and gets tested and that people stay at home.

There’s 20% of people who won’t develop any symptoms but they can still spread it. That’s why lockdowns work. They keep the people at home who don’t have symptoms, who could lead off to another transmission event. They mightn’t have symptoms but the person they give it to could then get symptoms and the next person.

1.21am BST

If you have to question whether you are an essential worker, then you are probably not, Dr Jeannette Young says.

1.19am BST

What will Dr Jeannette Young be looking for when she begins to look at lifting the lockdown?

That all new cases have been in isolation for their entire infectious time.

Young:

Someone who’s been in quarantine for their full infectious period doesn’t concern me. It’s people who have been out and about, so there are more exposure sites.

1.18am BST

The anti-maskers are out and about in Queensland during the lockdown, with messages circulating on social media that you can say you have a medical exemption to not wear a mask.

Dr Jeannette Young says if you can’t wear a mask then you shouldn’t be leaving your house, because you are too at risk of getting the virus.

Young:

If someone cannot wear a mask because of a medical reason, and if they have not had two doses of vaccine, they need to stay home. They shouldn’t be out and about.

These masks are to protect people, so if you cannot wear a mask because of a medical reason and there are medical reasons for it, and you haven’t been vaccinated, you from really at high risk.

So stay home and the care army has been activated again, and they will help if you can’t organise food or essential goods.

Don’t go out of your home if you can’t wear a mask. I hope I’m being really clear.

That is to protect yourself. Please don’t find excuses to not wear a mask. I think masks have stopped the last 14 incursions of this virus into our state from spreading. It is just this 15th one that has spread. Masks are absolutely critical.

Updated at 1.27am BST

1.15am BST

Queensland would like people who are getting their first dose of AstraZeneca to get it from their doctor, and then the second from a hub or pharmacist.

Yvette D’Ath:

We would like everyone going to get their first dose of AstraZeneca to go to a GP and we want that to be every GP that is on the national immunisation program.

Every GP or pharmacist who is eligible to deliver a flu shot today should be eligible to deliver the AstraZeneca. So we’ve been asking for this for months. The quicker we expand, more GPs and the pharmacists, the more we can get our people vaccinated.

What we’d like is people go to their GP for their first vaccine, consult with their GP, and once they’re ready for the second dose we want our pharmacies to roll out the second dose for as many who are eligible and can get it. Thank you to the commonwealth for that call and offer of 150,000 AstraZeneca, we will take it and our pharmacists will and let’s get more people vaccinated.

Updated at 1.20am BST

1.14am BST

Health minister Yvette D’Ath also speaks about vaccines – in particular, AstraZeneca:

I phoned the pharmacy guild and asked them if they had 150,000 vaccines available of AstraZeneca could they use it, get this in the arms of Queenslanders across south-east Queensland in a matter of days? They said yes, they will take it.

So, I asked the commonwealth, do whatever approvals you need to give today, get the 150,000 vaccines here tomorrow and we will ensure that more Queenslanders are getting vaccinated by the end of this week.

That also goes for GPs. I’ve heard from GPs that in the last 48 hours, they have been getting an enormous amount of calls from people, saying, “I want to come forward and get my AstraZeneca.”

That is great news but now some are worried they will run out of vaccine. If there is more supply available, we will work to get that for them … Of our 60-year-old to 69 age group, less than 20% have had their second dose.

Updated at 1.20am BST

1.12am BST

Dr Jeannette Young moves on to vaccinations:

Vaccination results have been really good. Now we’re up to 18.47% of Queenslanders today are fully vaccinated; 36.97% have had the first dose.

So, we’ve been working with the commonwealth and we will have more AstraZeneca supplies.

So anyone who is 60 years of age or older, please come and get your first dose, if you haven’t had it, and if it’s more than eight weeks since your first dose of AstraZeneca, go and get your second dose.

I will doing that as soon as I can organise it this week.

So, please, second dose, more than eight weeks, get that second dose of AstraZeneca. That’s really important. Anyone in those critical groups – we still don’t have all our healthcare workers and aged care workers vaccinated.

We need them all vaccinated. So far this outbreak has affected schoolkids. So we’ve not seen their grandparents infected. So if you are a grandparent of one of these kids, one of these households and haven’t been vaccinated, don’t go anywhere near your grandkids.

If you that’d two doses of vaccine and normally provide care for grandkids so their parents can go and do essential work, then that’s fine. If you haven’t had your two doses of vaccine, you’re 60 or over, please stay home.

Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young. Photograph: Dan Peled/EPA

Updated at 1.16am BST

1.07am BST

Queensland CHO Dr Jeannette Young again asks for people in lockdown in Queensland not to move:

Please don’t move the virus. Wherever you are in the 11 LGAs, if you can, stay put so the virus doesn’t move.

We know that there are people out there who could have been infected who have no symptoms, so the best way to deal with someone who has no symptoms is that they just stay at home.

That’s why lockdowns work. We know the virus can burn out. Stay at home.

If you are thinking today when you get up and start your day, if you’re thinking, “Will I or won’t I go out, can I or can’t I?” Stay home. If you are uncertain, just stay home. If you need assistance, please, you can ring for help – of course, anyone who needs food, you can go out and buy that food, if you need it, of course you can.

If you don’t need to leave home, please don’t leave home. That way I hope that if we have other chains of transmission out there, it will burn out and we can lift restrictions, lockdown requirement, at 4pm Sunday.

If we continue to see cases that will stop us being able to do that. I’m really hopeful, given that we’ve had so much testing done, and I do challenge everyone in Queensland, I’d like to reach that 40,000 mark – look, these numbers have been absolutely fantastic and today the roads were empty. When I drove from my house to get to the freeway to come here, there was only one other car on the road, that was an ambulance from that bit on the free way, excellent to see. Please stay at home if you can at all, everyone.

Updated at 1.13am BST

1.04am BST

34,718 Queenslanders went and got a Covid test yesterday (well done).

36.97% of eligible Queensland adults have now received their first vaccination.

Updated at 1.06am BST

1.03am BST

Queensland’s deputy premier Steven Miles is going through the lockdown rules for people who have been deemed close contacts (Queensland is expecting that number to reach the thousands). This includes Peter Dutton.

Miles:

We now have 7,995 Queenslanders in quarantine and at least 4,089 in home quarantine but probably there will be much more than that. And it’s important that while all of us in the south-east have to stay home, those who are subject to home quarantine directions are legally required to stay home.

They cannot leave home except in an emergency or to get a test.

They’re subject to a legal notice.

They must stay in their residence for the 14 days or until the date provided on their notice.

They can’t leave unless it is to get essential care, to avoid illness or risk or to escape harm or to get tested, and even only under instructions.

They are not permitted to allow anyone into their place of residence unless they live there or to provide emergency or medical care. If anyone is in home quarantine at and needs assistance or supplies they can contact the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.

Everyone in home quarantine is doing us all a service of keeping us all safe. They’re there because there’s a risk they’ve been exposed to the virus and we urge everyone to comply with those directions.

Updated at 1.06am BST

12.59am BST

Queensland records 16 new cases

All are linked to known outbreaks.

That brings the total for this cluster to 247.

Updated at 1.00am BST

12.54am BST

Queensland is due to give its update in just a few minutes. We’ll slide from that to the NSW one, so take this time to grab some refreshment.

12.32am BST

I would have gone with “please get vaccinated if you can” but here are a lot of words from Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that manages to leave vaccination out:

We will get through this with all of us working together. pic.twitter.com/suvWxdy9Cj
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) August 2, 2021

Updated at 12.36am BST

12.28am BST

While we wait for the official Queensland update, in case you haven’t looked at the exposure list, the Princess Alexandra hospital’s emergency room has been listed as an exposure site. Queensland CHO Dr Jeannette Young was talking about the impact to the health system and hospitals in yesterday’s press conference. She says so far the state’s health system is handling it.

Staff at Princess Alexandria hospital in Brisbane, whose emergency room has been listed as an exposure site. Photograph: Tony Phillips/AAP

Updated at 12.35am BST

12.20am BST

As sure as a dirty cheeseburger follows a night of overindulging, so too do questions of cost whenever Labor suggests anything.

This is not a new thing. Former Labor deputy prime minister (briefly, see the loans affair) Dr Jim Cairns was writing about this stuff in the 70s.

But if there are three absolute certainties in Australia, they are death, taxes and Labor being questioned over the cost of policies/ideas, despite not being in government (while the Coalition can mostly skirt through).

Here was that in action this morning on the Nine Network on Labor’s $300 vaccine incentive idea:

Simon Birmingham:

This is $6bn that we’re talking about. Now throughout the pandemic, we’ve been willing to invest where it’s needed to invest, as we are right now, in supporting people with their jobs and their businesses, to invest indeed in purchasing the vaccines and in paying for the distribution and in paying right across the GP network in states and territories to fund the standing up of new clinics. These are all these essential things that you need to invest in. But we can’t just throw $6bn around against the evidence when you’ve actually got now, more than 40% of Australians have already turned out for their first shot. And you do see that very strong desire from Australians to get a spot as soon as one’s available and I would urge people to continue to do so.

Host: Well, if it worked, why not?

Birmingham:

The evidence is it won’t work, that it won’t make the difference. It’s $6bn.

Host: [Who] are you consulting [for] that? Behavioural economists are saying it won’t work?

Birmingham:

We’re consulting with experts, as we’ve done right through. I mean, it’s all very well for Labor to just say we’ll throw some money at the problem and that’s what they’ve always done. It’s what they did when they were last in government. The global financial crisis, just throw money around in a scattergun way.

Our approach has been to be guided by principles, principles of making sure that spending is targeted, that it’s proportionate, and that it is focused on getting the exact outcomes that are necessary. And that’s why our investments in relation to the vaccines have been about the purchasing of the vaccines, the purchasing of the boosters, the distribution networks being put in place, supply agreements with doctors, with pharmacists, with states and territories, and the communications campaign, which will shift gears as we see further supply come online over the next couple of months.

The lockdowns are costing the national economy up to $2bn a week (you may remember Josh Frydenberg losing his mind over that when Victoria was in lockdown). Plus, you know, the $660m on carpark rorts, the $100m in sport rorts, plus spending $30m for land valued at $3m for the western Sydney airport and that’s just quickly off the top of my head. But yes. Scattergun.

Updated at 12.32am BST

12.04am BST

Queensland authorities will give their update at 10am.

NSW is expected at 11am.

12.02am BST

Qantas has announced it will stand down 2,500 workers for two months as a result of domestic Covid outbreaks and border closures.

The temporary measure comes a day after the Morrison government announced a $100m program to help domestic airlines through the current lockdowns.

The 2,500 stood-down workers will include Qantas and Jetstar workers and the airline said it will “directly impact domestic pilots, cabin crew and airport workers, mostly in New South Wales but also in other states given the nature of airline networks”.

In a statement, Qantas said: “The stand down is a temporary measure to deal with a significant drop in flying caused by Covid restrictions in greater Sydney in particular and the knock-on border closures in all other states and territories. No job losses are expected.”

Employees will be given two weeks’ notice before the stand down takes effect, with pay continuing until mid-August.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said:

This is clearly the last thing we want to do, but we’re now faced with an extended period of reduced flying and that means no work for a number of our people.

We’ve absorbed a significant amount of cost since these recent lockdowns started and continued paying our people their full rosters despite thousands of cancelled flights.

Based on current case numbers, it’s reasonable to assume that Sydney’s borders will be closed for at least another two months. We know it will take a few weeks once the outbreak is under control before other states open to New South Wales and normal travel can resume.

A Qantas plane — Qantas will stand down 2,500 workers for two months. Photograph: Loren Elliott/Reuters

Updated at 12.12am BST

11.58pm BST

Qantas temporarily stands down 2,500 workers

This comes just one day after the government’s latest aviation rescue package, but Qantas has just told the ASX it will be standing down 2,500 workers, mostly in NSW, for the next two months – which is how long it believes the Sydney lockdowns will continue.

The workers aren’t being sacked but won’t have work for at least two months. You can find the whole statement here.

Updated at 12.13am BST

11.52pm BST

Queensland has updated the exposure sites linked to its outbreak – there are some in Brisbane’s inner west (as expected) but there are some new Gold Coast locations listed as well.

You can find those here (as well as NSW).

Updated at 12.14am BST

11.35pm BST

The RBA is meeting today to discuss Australia’s cash rate.

I don’t want to spoil anything for you ... but expect no change.

Groundbreaking, I know.

Updated at 12.14am BST

11.28pm BST

For those interested, you can find the daily legislation schedule for the House here.

Updated at 12.14am BST

11.25pm BST

Just back to the ABC interview with Anthony Albanese for a moment, when the latest Guardian Essential poll was mentioned. As always, Murph has written that up, and you can find it here:

Albanese was asked about his personal approval rating dropping, despite the government’s bungles and says:

What I’m worried about is the state of the nation. I haven’t seen those polls and they come and go …

I’ve been putting forward constructive ideas, I will continue to do so. I’m concerned about the national interest. I am aware that, you know, polls come out, they come and go.

The latest ones, every one I have seen shows us ahead of the current government.

But the focus on the moment is on fixing this health crisis. We need to do it. We know that the government did have two jobs this year, and they botched both of them.

Now we have to deal with the consequences of that. As millions of Australians who are in lockdown today are dealing with the direct consequence of failures of hotel quarantine, and the failure to get our vaccination rates up.

What we’ll continue to do is put forward constructive suggestions around those issues in order to increase the vaccination rates, and we’ll continue to argue that we need to fix purpose-built quarantine facilities.

Updated at 12.15am BST

11.21pm BST

Victoria records four new Covid cases

All were in isolation though, and have been linked to previous cases.

Reported yesterday: 4 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
- 16,591 vaccine doses were administered
- 22,217 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/7FAEJIE7NI
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 2, 2021

Updated at 11.24pm BST

11.20pm BST

Anthony Albanese is asked what about the precedent that could set for, say, the flu vaccine. He says:

This pandemic has seen all sorts of one-offs.

And that’s what we’ve done.

We’ve done that. But the truth is, the government had two jobs this year, the rollout of the vaccine and national quarantine, I notice the report you just had, that our athletes are going back to Howard Springs near Darwin, it’s the only purpose-built facility.

We have a lockdown in Queensland again, at the moment, because of a failure of hotel quarantine, we need to get this right. We need to build national quarantine facilities that are purpose-built, and we need to roll out the vaccine and get those rates up.

And use everything as our disposal to encourage those vaccination rates to rise. This is just one measure. But it’s a measure as well that will support jobs and economic activity. There is no downside here. And the government should take this on board and should adopt it.

Told the government doesn’t seem that into it, Albanese says:

Well, they knocked back wage subsidies …

They changed their mind from day to day and week to week. On the advice and on statements that Mr Morrison is giving as prime minister.

He was against lockdowns. The last time parliament sat, you may recall, he encouraged New South Wales to not lock down. And we know what the consequences of that have been. Not just for greater Sydney, but for other states as well. Where this spread from one failure in Sydney.

Australian military help enforce lockdown in Sydney yesterday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Updated at 12.17am BST

11.18pm BST

Anthony Albanese is speaking to the ABC from Labor’s caucus room – he is in quasi-lockdown after visiting Queensland after 21 July, the date the ACT government has set as needing to apply additional restrictions.

He can attend parliament but has to wear a mask when he’s not speaking on the floor of the parliament, and can hold press conferences, as long as they are outside. Otherwise though, he needs to stay in his office, or his residence.

He’s using this morning’s interview to talk about Labor’s idea to push the government to award a $300 one-off payment for people who get vaccinated:

The government should adopt this. We put forward wage subsidies last year and the government said it was dangerous idea at the time until the queues formed outside the front of Centrelink offices.

Then they came on board. This is just a practical suggestion, it’s constructive. The chief medical officer, Dr [Paul] Kelly, said earlier this year we need to provide every incentive possible for people to be vaccinated. We know that Australia at this stage is running pretty close to last in the developed world when it comes to the rollout of the vaccine …

If 100% got the jab, it would be $6bn. For 80%, the figure that the government’s aiming at, the figure would be around about $5bn.

But that compares, with the cost of these lockdowns, it’s up to $2bn each and every week. And as well as of course being good for health, this is aimed at stimulating the economy.

You give $300 cash payments to Australians, they will spend it, creating and supporting jobs in their local communities, supporting economic activity, given that September has seen, of course, because of these lockdowns in the September quarter, it’s likely to be negative. And businesses and workers are really struggling.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated at 12.19am BST

11.13pm BST

Jacinda Ardern is going to miss the first day of the New Zealand parliamentary sitting – she is waiting on the results of a Covid test after catching a cold from her young daughter.

As Reuters reports:

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has taken a Covid-19 test after picking up a “seasonal sniffle” from her three-year-old daughter, the government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Ardern will step back from her duties for the day due to the sickness and the deputy prime minister Grant Robertson will take on the responsibilities, the spokesman said.

New Zealand is largely free of coronavirus and has had no cases in the community since February.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated at 12.21am BST

11.12pm BST

While we are on misinformation, you might find this from Amanda Meade and Josh Taylor interesting:

Updated at 12.21am BST

11.07pm BST

Perhaps the health minister should direct a little more of that energy to his own party room, as Daniel Hurst reports:

The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, has appealed to “everybody to stick with the facts” on Covid-19 after Facebook marked a recent post by a Liberal National party colleague as containing “false information”.

“Our view is very clear – that we set out the official medical advice, and we urge everybody to stick with the facts, to stick with the medical advice,” Hunt said in response to questions about the Queensland LNP senator Gerard Rennick.

Rennick’s Facebook output has included two posts over the past fortnight casting doubt over the accuracy of PCR tests, despite repeated appeals by state and territory leaders for anyone with Covid-19 symptoms to come forward and get tested.

Updated at 12.23am BST

10.59pm BST

Last night Greg Hunt’s office also sent out a media release which contained the questions and his office’s full answers to the team at Four Corners which looked at Australia’s “vaccine failures”.

The release was sent out at 7.52pm, so before the program, and included the line “We trust that you will release the full text of the government’s response on your website and on your program.”

Which obviously they didn’t (trust that is) as Hunt’s office released the text themselves. To be fair, in my experience, Four Corners makes a habit of putting up full responses on its website, and usually prompts the viewer to visit the full response in the episode itself (and of course Hunt’s full text is there on the website) so it seems an exercise in passive aggressive snark from Hunt’s office there. Which is what you want from the health minister during a pandemic.

Federal health minister Greg Hunt. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

Updated at 12.24am BST

10.53pm BST

Here is what Labor had proposed in terms of the $300 vaccine payment (via its release):

The Morrison Government must make vaccines easily accessible to meet their target to vaccinate 80 per cent of adults.

The faster this is achieved, the faster the recovery as we emerge from the lockdowns that are bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars a day from the nation’s finances.

That’s why Labor is proposing a $300 payment to every person who is fully vaccinated by 1 December.

The National Plan to transition Australia’s National COVID-19 Response released last Friday included measures “encouraging uptake through incentives” under Phase B. We think this should be a priority.

These payments will deliver significant cash stimulus for businesses who have paid the price for Scott Morrison’s failures on vaccines and quarantine for the past eighteen months.

The Government has guaranteed that Australia will have more than enough vaccines to meet the 80 per cent target by 1 December.

When Australia’s COVID response relied on Australians doing the right thing, our country was leading the world.

Now that Australians are relying on Scott Morrison to do his job and roll out the vaccines, we are coming last in the developed world.

Updated at 12.24am BST

10.51pm BST

Outside parliament, Australian charities are protesting about proposed changes they say will gag them from being able to speak out on anything the government deems political, something Daniel Hurst has previously written on here:

The regulations are expected to be tabled this week. A large group of Australian charities want the regulations scrapped, given the implications to not only their work, but to freedom of speech.

Updated at 12.25am BST

10.47pm BST

Speaking of vaccines – if you are in Canberra and are aged between 30 and 39, you can now book in for a Pfizer vaccine at one of the vaccination hubs. (Huzzah!)

From the statement:

Canberrans between the ages of 30-39 can now book in for a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at an ACT COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Clinic.

The opening of appointments to 30 to 39 year olds comes as the ACT reaches 50% of the adult population having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and almost 25% having received both doses.

Vaccines are the only way out of this pandemic. There is no other viable alternative to protect yourself and the people around you from very serious illness. There is no other alternative to ending the lockdowns and the travel restrictions that have impacted on our lives.

The vaccines significantly reduce the risk of ending up in ICU because of a COVID-19 infection. The more people who get a vaccination, the better protected our entire community will be.

Of the 70,000 30 to 39 year olds in the ACT, 16,000 have already received their first dose as part of Phases 1a and 1b and more than 20,000 have already registered with MyDHR.

ACT Health will contact every person who registered through MyDHR to notify them that appointments are now open. All 30 to 39 year olds who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccination are encouraged to book online through MyDHR as soon as possible.

Updated at 12.25am BST

10.46pm BST

Simon Birmingham rubbishes Labor's idea of a cash reward for being vaccinated

Here was Simon Birmingham on ABC News Breakfast this morning, dismissing out of hand Labor’s idea for a $300 cash reward for anyone who has been vaccinated.

Birmingham seemed annoyed by the whole thing and said it was “unnecessary” and “insulting” given that people are already turning out to get vaccinated:

We have looked at it and the evidence says it is unnecessary and unlikely to work …

It’s clearly, it’s clearly unnecessary in the sense that Australians are responding. They do want to get their vaccines and, frankly, it’s a little bit insulting to the millions of Australians who already doing the right thing, because we’re planning on doing the right thing, and know full well that the reason they should get vaccinated is to protect their health and to protect the health of their loved ones and their fellow Australians

Plus of course, everything now has an election flavour.

Birmingham doesn’t deny that the government is considering vaccine perks (something that Lt Gen John Frewen, the guy who is in charge of the vaccine rollout was talking about with business a couple of weeks ago – this is not a new idea) but that is COMPLETELY different, according to Birmingham:

If you look at countries like the UK in Canada who have pushed past the 80% mark in terms of first doses in those countries, right across their adult population, they’ve used some targeted incentives in careful targeted ways to help get people over the line, but not this type of broad-brush scattergun approach – it’s, it’s very reminiscent of old Labor approaches to just splash cash everywhere and hope for the best.

What we’ve been doing is building the vaccine program and we’ve seen supply now step up and it will continue to increase in terms of the availability of different vaccines over the next few months. Distribution outlets growing from GPS, and the state vaccination hubs to now increasingly include pharmacies and to give more points where people can get vaccinated, as we get that greatest supply in place, and making sure we’ve got the payment agreements in place to incentivise all of those GPS pharmacists states and territories, to be able to hand out and administer vaccines in a safe in an informed way, and that’s what’s building the confidence in Australians to want to get vaccinated and that’s what we have to continue to drive home as a message to all Australians and I think we can see in the numbers they’re turning out, they hear it. They understand it, And they respect it.

So yes, completely different.

People queue up for their dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the Homebush vaccination centre in Sydney yesterday. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 12.27am BST

10.36pm BST

In non-Covid news: a German warship is expected to dock at Perth during its six-month voyage to the Indo-Pacific region.

The frigate Bayern left the north-west German port of Wilhelmshaven yesterday bound for Asia, where it will visit ports in partner countries, cross the South China Sea, monitor compliance with UN sanctions against North Korea, and take part in multilateral activities. Australia’s ambassador to Germany, Philip Green, revealed on Twitter overnight that one of the stops would be Perth:

Allzeit gute Fahrt & eine Handbreit Wasser unterm Kiel für die #Fregatte Bayern, die heute Deutschland verlässt. Ein starkes 🇩🇪 Signal, denn die Bedeutung des #IndoPazifiks nimmt zu. 🇦🇺 freut sich darauf, die @deutschememarine bald in Perth begrüßen zu dürfen. @BMVg_Bundeswehr https://t.co/NX3sK7X7bR
— Philip Green (@AusAmb_DE) August 2, 2021

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, name-checked Australia in his statement about the frigate’s departure, while also signalling Germany’s increasing interest in security matters in the region:

The Indo-Pacific is where the international order of the future will be decided. We want to help shape it and to take on responsibility for upholding the rules‑based international order. This is why we are helping to monitor the UN sanctions against North Korea and expanding our partnerships and our involvement in the region, including through the EU’s strategic partnership with Asean and consultations on security policy with Japan and Australia.

Updated at 12.28am BST

10.34pm BST

Good morning

Welcome to the first of the spring parliament sessions (despite it still being freezing in Canberra).

Added bonus: a whole bunch of the MPs have to attend remotely because of lockdowns. And despite 18 months of this, someone is always, always, still on mute.

Christian Porter is the acting leader of the House, because Peter Dutton was exposed to Covid by a close contact in the Queensland Delta outbreak. That’s despite David Gillespie, the deputy leader of the House, being in attendance. We asked Gillespie’s staff why he was overlooked and were referred to Dutton’s statement announcing the change, which didn’t explain why it was Porter. The PMO didn’t get back to us. It’s going to be that sort of week.

Meanwhile, Covid continues to hold much of the country in its grip. A Westmead hospital worker has tested positive, putting more pressure on the health system in NSW. Queensland is expecting higher numbers today, given that the exposure sites include schools.

The vaccination program is limping along. Labor wants a $300 payment for anyone who has had their Covid vaccine. Simon Birmingham says it’s not needed and is “insulting”. So things are going really well (and given recent history, there will probably be some sort of vaccine payment introduced in three more months).

We’ll bring you all of that and more as the day rolls on. Being a sitting day, you have Amy Remeikis with you, with Mike Bowers in the hallways.

It’s already a three-coffee day.

Ready?

Updated at 12.29am BST

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