What we learned on Monday, 10 August
That’s where I will leave you for today. Thanks for reading, as always. Amy Remeikis will be back tomorrow morning and I’ll be back for the afternoon shift.
Here’s what we learned today:
- Australia recorded its deadliest day of the Covid-19 pandemic after 19 people died in Victoria. The state also recorded 322 new cases. The deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, said the state was seeing the “first promising signs of a significant reduction in the daily numbers of cases” amid its devastating second-wave outbreak.
- The 19 deaths included a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 70s, one man and six women in their 80s and one man and seven women in their 90s. Fourteen have been linked to aged care outbreaks. It took Australia’s death toll from the virus to 313. Kidd called it an “agonising” day.
- The aged care regulator was accused of a “catastrophic communications failure” causing a “potentially deadly delay” amid revelations at the aged care royal commission that it took four days for the body to inform the government about an outbreak at Melbourne’s St Basil’s aged care home.
- The royal commission also heard Australia’s health department and aged care regulator both failed to develop a Covid-19 plan for the “underprepared” sector.
- The Victorian government announced at-home testing for vulnerable people. The free service will aim to be available to 200 people a day.
- NSW recorded 14 new cases of Covid-19. Twelve were from known clusters, one was from a person returning from overseas and another is being investigated. Three Sydney schools were closed after positive cases.
- The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said calls to risk further deaths through an early end to measures put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 an “absolutely amoral, hideous thought”.
Updated
Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, has written on revelations out of the aged care royal commission today.
Murphy:
The prime minister is entirely correct to say political leaders are accountable for their actions, or lack of actions, during this crisis. Who could possibly argue with that?
But the point is they are all accountable. Accountability is not situational, or a sliding scale. Some leaders are not more accountable than others to suit the convenience of politics, or because someone needs to create a diversion, or construct a firewall between themselves and a reckoning.
Updated
Queensland records one new case of Covid
Queensland has recorded one new case of Covid-19 today, bringing its total number of cases to 1,089.
The confirmed case recently returned from overseas, was detected, and remains in hotel quarantine.
Queensland has 11 active cases. Four of these are in hospital.
Updated
A man has died while surfing at the northern beaches of Sydney today, NSW police have said.
At 12.45pm witnesses pulled an unconscious surfer from the water at Collaroy.
CPR was performed on the 44-year-old man until emergency services arrived. He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital but later died.
A brief will be prepared for coroner.
Updated
Some more fascinating insights coming out of the aged care royal commission this afternoon.
Oh wow, so regarding Newmarch House the aged care watchdog was "‘strongly recommending that infected residents be removed from the site." Despite this happening at Dorothy Henderson Lodge, the NSW Dept of Health did not want to do this and "set a precedent." #agedcareRC
— Rick Morton (@SquigglyRick) August 10, 2020
Commissioner Janet Anderson was incensed by this. "If there is a view
— Rick Morton (@SquigglyRick) August 10, 2020
sitting behind the NSW Health position that aged care residents
with COVID-19 should always be cared for in situ and should not
be transferred to a hospital in any circumstances..."
FYI: Janet Anderson is the aged care quality and safety commissioner, not a royal commission commissioner.
Updated
NSW police charge six people and fine 11
NSW police have charged six people and fined 11 more, and one Sydney business was fined for non-compliance with Covid-19 public health orders at the weekend.
In one case, officers stopped a vehicle in Gol Gol, near Mildura on the NSW-Victoria border, about 2.30am on Saturday and spoke to the 26-year-old female driver and two passengers – a 28-year-old woman and 35-year-old man.
In a search of the car, police seized more than $64,000 cash and 62g of a crystallised substance police allege to be prohibited drugs. All three were arrested and taken to Dareton police station, where the younger woman was charged with two counts of deal with property proceeds of crime.
The older woman was charged with dealing with property proceeds of crime and not complying with noticed direction. Police will allege in court that the older woman hid in the boot of the vehicle to avoid detection by NSW police and Australia defence force officers at the George Caffey bridge checkpoint earlier that day.
Both women were granted conditional bail to appear at Wentworth local court on Tuesday, 6 October. The man was charged with deal with property proceeds of crime. He appeared at Dubbo bail court on Sunday where he was formally refused bail to appear at Broken Hill local court today.
Updated
The acting immigration minister, Alan Tudge, has confirmed on the ABC that a man in immigration detention in Melbourne has died.
There has been a death in one of the immigration detention centres in Melbourne. I can’t give you much details about obviously who the person is or the nature of his death. What I can confirm is that he was a person with a very serious criminal background and was being evicted from the country because of that criminal background. But he has passed away, sadly. And obviously our condolences to his family. But until there is a coroner’s report, I can’t give much more.
Tudge says there will be a coronial investigation into the death.
Updated
Some more detail on the two girls from New South Wales who have been detained in Queensland after allegedly lying on their border declarations, via AAP:
The girls, aged 15 and 16, arrived on a train from Sydney to Brisbane on Friday before the borders closed. The pair then travelled to the Sunshine Coast. Officers tracked them down at a Noosa shopping centre and took them into custody on Monday so that health officials can test them for Covid-19.
“They weren’t completely honest with where they had been,” Superintendent Craig Hawkins told reporters.
Superintendent Hawkins noted there had been a lot of social media “hysteria” about the girls, with fears they could be spreading the virus.
“Certainly there is no need to panic in regards to an outbreak of Covid-19 on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
“I stress, there is no information to suggest they are carriers of the disease. However, in the interests of safety and because they have come from a hotspot, we were keen to ensure they had undertaken the right testing.”
The girls, from Queensland and NSW, are likely to be placed in quarantine once testing is complete. No charges have been laid against the teens.
Updated
The Victorian government has provided my colleague Melissa Davey with some further detail about eligibility criteria for the home-testing program for vulnerable people announced by the premier, Daniel Andrews, today.
How long will it take for a person to come out to my home?
The call-to-test service can arrange an in-home coronavirus (Covid-19) test within 48 hours for eligible callers. To arrange a test call 1800 675 398, then select option 9. You will speak to a trained nurse who will assess your eligibility. A GP referral is required to access the service and you can seek a referral from your own GP or this can be arranged by an operator. In-home tests are performed seven days a week, between 10am and 2pm.
Am I eligible for an in-home test under call-to-test?
How long will it take for a person to come out to my home?
To be eligible to receive an in-home coronavirus test, a caller must have chronic health and severe mobility issues. The service is currently available to people living in metropolitan Melbourne, five years of age and over, with symptoms of Covid who are unable to leave their home due to one of the following reasons:
- An injury, chronic health issue, or frailty affecting mobility
- Moderate to severe physical or psychosocial disability
- Moderate to severe mental health or behavioural issues not otherwise classified as a psychosocial disability
- Carer responsibilities for a person with a moderate to severe disability
- Asymptomatic individuals who are eligible and are identified by DHHS as a close contact, and have received DHHS notification to get tested.
Updated
Michael Kidd ended that press conference pretty quickly and didn’t seem keen to answer questions about the aged care royal commission.
I’m sorry but I am not across the testimony which has been made to the aged care royal commission today so I’m not able to provide any further responses.
Updated
Kidd has been asked about testimony out of the aged care royal commission today. The commission heard the federal government had no Covid-19 response plan for the aged care sector.
He says aged care facilities are expected to have a pandemic plan in place:
Actually, every residential aged care facility under the accreditation requirements is expected to have infection controls in place and to have plans for when a pandemic occurs.
And in the past we have seen the influenza pandemic, which occurred a decade ago, and this is the base of the plan, which each of the residential aged care facilities have as a basis for when Covid-19 first appeared in Australia, and ongoing advice was then provided about the specifics needed for dealing with this particular infectious agent.
Updated
Michael Kidd says the declining cases in Victoria are the “first promising signs of a significant reduction in the daily numbers of cases”.
But it is too early to be certain. We need to follow the numbers very closely over the coming week. While it’s heartening to see the declining number of cases being reported each day from Victoria, and we have seen that over the past five days, while we still have hundreds of cases being reported each day, we will continue to have people admitted to hospital and people becoming gravely unwell. And sadly some of those people will die.
Updated
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd gives national update
The deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd is giving an update. He calls the 19 new deaths in Victoria “agonising” and confirms that Australia’s death toll from the pandemic stands at 313. He also notes it was only 10 days ago that it passed 200.
Updated
The department is also investigating eight cases linked to the Marley Spoon packaging and distribution facility in Melbourne’s Altona North.
Updated
Good afternoon, readers. Thank as always to Amy Remeikis for her work today.
The Victorian health and human services department has just released its formal breakdown of new Covid-19 cases. As we know, there have been 322 new cases since yesterday and 19 people have died, Australia’s deadliest day of the pandemic.
The department says:
- 32 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks and 290 are under investigation
- The 19 deaths include: one man in his 50s, one woman in her 60s, two men in their 70s, six women in their 80s, one man in his 80s, seven women in their 90s and one man in his 90s
- Fourteen are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities
- There are 7,869 active cases in Victoria
- 2,863 may indicate community transmission
- There are 1,065 active cases among healthcare workers n Victoria
- And there are 1,765 active cases relating to aged-care facilities.
Updated
On that note, I will hand you over to the very capable hands of Michael McGowan to take you though the afternoon.
Prof Michael Kidd will be giving an update at 3.30pm on the national Covid situation. I would expect there to be a bit of attention paid to PPE for healthcare workers.
I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Thank you so much for joining me – and please, take care of you.
Updated
Superintendent Craig Hawkins from Sunshine Coast police has given an update on two girls accused of breaching border restrictions. The pair had arrived before the border had closed, but they are accused of having misled authorities on their border forms, and have come from a hotspot (Queensland declared greater Sydney a Covid hotspot before closing the border).
They arrived by train, which is what prompted the investigation, but there is NO suggestion they have Covid-19.
“It is important to remember that these young ladies have not been diagnosed with the Covid virus, but we are taking precautions,” Hawkins said.
They are not displaying any symptoms. So they are being tested now. They most likely will go into quarantine. They are 15 and 16.
Updated
Labor's take on Teddy Sheean's Victoria Cross
Labor has issued its official release on Teddy Sheean’s VC recommendation:
The defence honours and awards appeals tribunal, Teddy’s family and supporters, our veteran community and all Tasmanians can be proud that they did not give up on this fight to finally see justice for Teddy.
But it should not have taken a review of a review to do the right thing.
Earlier this year, the defence minister told the Senate:
“The government’s view is that the 2019 review by the tribunal did not present any compelling new evidence that might support reconsideration of the valour inquiry’s recommendation. That is also my view, and that is also the view of defence.”
But we know the independent tribunal – the most appropriate body to make such recommendations – already found new evidence and recommended that Teddy be awarded a posthumous VC.
There was never any ambiguity in the evidence they found as the prime minister has suggested in his announcement today.
His about-face comes only now, even after:
- The independent tribunal unanimously recommending Teddy be awarded a posthumous VC following its 2019 review
- His own defence personnel minister supported this decision to award Sheean a posthumous VC
- The tribunal’s chair felt compelled to write to the defence minister, forcing her to correct the record because she got the facts so profoundly wrong and saying she had misled the Senate
- There already being a review, which Morrison responded to by initiating another review of a review
- Morrison explaining one of the reasons for not recommending a VC for Teddy was he didn’t want to offend the Queen
- More time and money has been wasted, with this process costing the taxpayer more than $62,000 for his own personal review panel.
Labor congratulates Teddy’s family and their fellow Tasmanians who campaigned so strongly to recognise his bravery in the way he deserves.
Updated
For anyone in Victoria who might need some more information on the financial assistance being offered, you can find out more here:
The Victorian Government is providing one-off payments to financially support Victorian workers, including parents and guardians, who are required to self-isolate or quarantine due to coronavirus (COVID-19). Find out more at https://t.co/dQZ42nV3KO pic.twitter.com/m6Zl9RjGuD
— Victorian Government (@VicGovAu) August 10, 2020
And finally, on Josh Frydenberg (and other Liberal MPs) criticising Daniel Andrews’ government:
Q: Prime minister, over the weekend Josh Frydenberg, some of your other Victorian ministers, are becoming much more pointed in their criticisms against Daniel Andrews and the Victorian government’s record in managing Covid. Also over the weekend, Mike Baird, another Liberal, former Liberal premier of NSW, went out of his way to praise Dan Andrews, saying that we’re all in this together, we all need to rally. So which is it? Are we all in this together or are we criticising Victoria for their record on …
Scott Morrison says:
I don’t know if I share your binary analysis of that. I think that’s a little simplistic, with great respect. What my colleagues have done has simply said that there must be accountability for decisions that are made and a transparency in explaining what has occurred. I don’t find that an extraordinary position to take.
Equally, it is important that as the treasurer also said that there is nothing to be gained in slanging matches between levels of government and I don’t believe he is engaged in that at all. And so we will continue to work constructively and positively with the Victorian government.
But that does not provide me or the Victorian premier or any other premier or chief minister with a leave pass to scrutiny. That’s entirely appropriate. You’ll do your job. We’ll do ours. And I think the country’s stronger for that.
Updated
Meanwhile, on the news that WA may keep its borders closed until at least the end of the year, the prime minister says:
Well, we have no quarrel with Mr [Mark] McGowan on these matters. I mean, we think any of these border arrangements, as I’ve written to him, should be done collaboratively. We should work together on these things.
We should continue to assess what the medical situation is and make very transparent decisions about those matters and I think that aids its constitutionality. And we’re working with the McGowan government to that end. But I’ve been very careful not to get too far ahead on what might happen in December or March.
Of course, we’ve extended jobkeeper out to the end of March, but I think we have to take these issues one step at a time. And if circumstances change and certainly if they change in the way we hoped they would, well, I would welcome it if by Christmas, if it were possible. But I think it’s unlikely that we were able to move back to a restriction-free society. I doubt that is going to happen.
I doubt the medical position will enable that. And so you’ve just got to follow the medical evidence on all of these, whether it’s borders or whether it’s the restrictions on trade or of local businesses or whatever it happens to be. It’s important that we just, you know, look and test, interrogate the medical evidence and make decisions based on that and nothing else and be transparent about it.
Updated
On the 100 Canberra residents (many of them health workers) who are stuck at the Victorian border after NSW pulled an agreement to allow them to travel through the state to get home, Scott Morrison says:
Well, these are one of the challenges of when borders are put in place between state jurisdictions.
At least in the case of NSW and Victoria, there’s been quite a lot of cooperation, certainly between NSW and Victoria. And I think it’s important for the ACT administration to be engaging with NSW to try and resolve those issues.
When it has come to my responsibilities in this, particularly in relation to those members of parliament have been journeying through NSW to the ACT, I’ve been able to get a favourable outcome on those issues. They’re quite unique circumstances, the convening of the parliament, but more broadly, I mean, I understand that the NSW premier will be anxious in these circumstances.
We certainly don’t want to see people stranded. But I would hope between the ACT chief minister and the NSW premier, they might be able to resolve those matters.
The ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, says he is continuing to make representations on behalf of the ACT residents.
Updated
Aged care regulator accused of 'catastrophic communications failure'
Elias Visontay has a report from the morning’s hearing at the aged care royal commission:
The aged care regulator has been accused of a “catastrophic communications failure” causing a “potentially deadly delay” amid revelations it took four days for the body to inform the government about a Covid-19 outbreak at Melbourne’s St Basil’s aged care home.
The admission from the aged care quality and safety commissioner, Janet Anderson, was revealed on Monday morning, as her organisation and the health department was simultaneously questioned ... for failing to prepare a Covid-19 response plan for the aged care sector.
At least 11 deaths and 163 infections have been associated with the St Basil’s outbreak. The revelation that it took four days for the [commissioner] to alert the health department was made in a letter Anderson sent to the Senate select committee on Covid-19 on Friday.
She clarified that while she had previously said she was personally not aware of the St Basil’s case until 14 July, the commission itself had learned on 10 July that a staff member had tested positive on 8 July.
Updated
The Labor MP Catherine King has responded to the Canberra airport announcement that it will close on Saturdays (due to a lack of flights and running costs):
The Morrison government repeatedly points to its support package for the aviation industry, but the truth is that airports have not received a cent of direct support.
With Canberra airport today announcing it will be closed entirely on Saturdays, and other airports facing similar issues, the government must urgently form a plan for Australia’s aviation sector, including airports.
This plan could involve reductions in fees and charges as well as the extension of support to those workers previously cut out of the jobkeeper scheme.
Airlines, airports and unions are united in calling for a national plan – the prime minister must listen.
Airports are regional economic hubs, supporting thousands of jobs – they won’t be able to survive on a wing and a prayer. The Morrison government needs to urgently engage with the industry and give them the support that they need.
Updated
And another one, just to round out the trifecta:
(via AAP)
A Tasmanian man will face court for breaching Covid-19 directions after trying to both fly and drive into Adelaide from Victoria on the same day.
Police say the man arrived at Adelaide airport on Sunday but was returned to Melbourne after failing to meet essential traveller requirements.
Late on Sunday night he was stopped at a bordertown checkpoint on the Dukes Highway driving a Hyundai sedan but was again directed to return to Victoria.
“Police will allege he then drove off towards Adelaide and was followed for a short distance until he stopped,” they said in a statement.
The 45-year-old has been charged with failing to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act and refused bail.
He will appear in Mount Gambier magistrates court later on Monday.
Updated
This has just come in from Queensland.
Noosa is part of the Sunshine Coast – a few hours from the border.
Two young women from NSW have been arrested after coming from the greater Sydney region (a declared hotspot in Queensland) and allegedly lying on their border entry pass.
Updated
On aged care, this is what the prime minster had to say:
Q: Prime minister, the royal commission into aged care has heard that 68% of Covid deaths have been in nursing homes. That’s 213 deaths. It makes us one of the worst performers in the world in this sector. So what do you have to say to the families who have lost loved ones, given aged care is ultimately a responsibility of your government?
Morrison: Well, I’d make two points. The first one is to stress again our condolences to the families of those who’ve lost loved ones. We’ve always known that the most vulnerable in our community are the elderly, as well as others who have other comorbidities and health issues, receiving treatment for cancer and so on, those in Indigenous communities.
And so it is sadly not surprising that we would see the highest proportion of those who’ve been fatally affected by the Covid-19 virus to be those in aged care facilities, because they are the most vulnerable in our community. And I think it says something about the fact that there has been greater success more broadly in the community about preventing fatalities more widely, as we saw in other places, and that the fatalities have been more restricted to those who have been the most vulnerable in aged care facilities.
So I don’t think either I’d agree with the assessment or the implications of the figures that you’ve referred to. It is a terrible tragedy that we’ve seen over 300 people pass away as a result of their infection with Covid-19. And I’ve been keen to stress right from the outset, there’ve been some suggestions, I’ve read it in pieces that have been written in the outlets that you represent, that somehow our elderly should in some way have been offered up in relation to this virus. That is just a hideous thought. An absolutely amoral, hideous thought, one that I have had no countenance with from the very first time it was suggested.
Updated
Here is Scott Morrison’s answer on what Australia is supporting, in terms of an independent investigation into what has gone wrong in Lebanon:
Look, Australia is not going to pretend to have a role in this issue that we don’t have. I mean, of course, we want to see Lebanon as a functional, prosperous state. I think all Australians of Lebanese heritage would certainly want that. And I know that there is a keen level of interest in those issues.
But at the same time, I don’t want to suggest that Australia is playing some sort of direct interventionist role in terms of seeking those types of outcomes. We’ve made our comments known and been very supportive of economic reforms that are necessary, I think, to advance the wellbeing of people in Lebanon and will continue to do that as part of a global community.
I got in touch, I reached out to President Macron on Saturday when I became aware that he was moving in a number of areas. And I got a very swift response.
And he was very pleased to hear that Australia was so concerned about what was happening in Beirut in particular, but Lebanon more broadly and we’ll continue to support president Macron in his efforts there.
Updated
The NT News is reporting that two Sydney men have pleaded guilty to breaching quarantine and lying on their border entry forms about not having been to a hotspot before travelling to Nhulunbuy.
They have received a two-month suspended sentence.
Updated
On the revelations from this morning’s opening proceedings of the aged care response royal commission (in that there was no federal government plan), Anthony Albanese says:
This is of great concern. And the aged care sector was in trouble prior to this. That’s why a royal commission was established. The federal government has responsibility for aged care. These issues will be examined by the aged care royal commission. We need to do much better to ensure those Australians that helped to build this country are treated with dignity and respect and appropriate care in their later years.
Updated
Anthony Albanese also had some things to say in response to Josh Frydenberg’s increasingly vocal criticisms of the Andrews government during the Melbourne case increases:
I think the federal government needs to take – accept that it actually has responsibility for quarantine issues. That’s been the case since 1901.
So the fact of Josh Frydenberg seeking to play politics with this issue – I haven’t sought to make political issues of dealing with the health issues around the coronavirus crisis.
And so it’s up to others to speak for themselves in the fullness of time; answers will be required for a whole range of issues, including the quarantine issues, the Ruby Princess, but I think frankly for Josh Frydenberg to be making these comments at a time where federal officials have been stopped from making giving evidence to the Ruby Princess inquiry of the NSW government, there’s a gap there in between what they say and what they do.
Updated
Anthony Albanese press conference resumes
Anthony Albanese is back – he says the Teddy Sheean decision was long overdue:
I don’t believe that a review of the review was necessary in order to provide a reason for Mr Morrison to change his view that he and the defence minister had put so strongly in opposition to the granting of the VC.
This is an issue that we raised in the parliament repeatedly, but importantly was the subject of a considerable campaign by the people of Tasmania, including Teddy’s family.
It is a good thing that justice is being done here because anyone who looked at this case, it was obvious that Teddy Sheean was indeed very much worthy of a VC because Teddy Sheean gave his own life in order to protect the lives of his comrades.
Updated
Australia is off the table for quite some time, but AAP reports New Zealand is looking at opening up a travel bubble with the Cook Islands:
New Zealand has taken another baby step towards reopening to the world. Its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced quarantine-free travel to the Cook Islands “this year”.
Like Australia, NZ is quarantining all international arrivals for a fortnight.
The Cook Islands has not recorded a case of the deadly virus through the pandemic, and New Zealand has eliminated local transmission.
Ardern said NZ officials would head to the Cook Islands, and vice versa, “within the next 10 days” to verify travel procedures and clear a path.
“We haven’t put a timeframe around the reopening at this stage, though our expectation is that it would be in place before the end of the year,” she said.
The postcard-perfect Cook Islands is a former NZ colony which retains close ties with Wellington. The Cook Islands prime minister, Henry Puna, closed air and sea borders in March and allowed some Cook Islands residents in NZ to return from June.
He said the deal would balance “economic and social needs with the importance of maintaining strong public health efforts in both our countries”.
“We look forward to once again welcoming family and visitors from New Zealand without the restriction of quarantine on both ends,” he said.
Updated
Matthew Guy is trending on Twitter in Australia for very Matthew Guy reasons:
Gee, I’ve got a sudden urge to comment on greyhound racing, nightclub lockouts and bungled tram lines. But, alas, I have to prepare for tomorrow’s home school given Melbourne is in a stage 4 curfew lockdown, and we can’t go to Manly beach.
— Matthew Guy MP (@MatthewGuyMP) August 9, 2020
Updated
Chris Bowen also had a few things to say about mental health today:
Australia’s mental health challenge will not end when we are through this pandemic.
I was disappointed to see the minister of health say that the government will be responding to the Productivity Commission inquiry into mental health in the 2021 budget.
We should be responding in the 2020 budget which will be brought down in October. We don’t yet know what’s in the Productivity Commission report. The government should release that as a matter of urgency. Australians should see it as a matter of urgency. But even more important than that the government should respond and implement the Productivity Commission recommendations without delay and that means funding it in the October budget.
Anything other than that is a failure. It’s an unnecessary delay. It means months more anguish for many Australians. We do not have time to waste when it comes to tackling the mental health challenges in Australia. And this has been an important commitment across the parliament but it’s important that the government implements the report’s recommendations in October in the budget and not wait until next year.
Updated
AAP has an update on the stock market:
Shares were trading 1% higher on the ASX to start the week as investors remained optimistic the US could approve an economic aid package.
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index was higher by 64.1 points, or 1.02%, at 6066.2 points at noon AEST on Monday.
The all ordinaries index was higher by 58.2 points, or 0.95%, at 6203.1.
Trade has followed the SPI 200 futures index after the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said on Sunday they were open to restarting talks on funding to boost the coronavirus-stricken economy.
Updated
There is probably more of a focus on mental health right now than ever before, but given the problems many are facing – on top of existing issues which many were experiencing – without the financial support needed to address them, the Greens say more needs to be done.
From Rachel Siewert, including a jobs guarantee for young workers:
The very distressing reports of the high numbers of young people experiencing stress, anxiety and mental ill health highlight how important it is for the government to show leadership and have a plan for the future for young people.
“Young people are worried and stressed because their futures are so uncertain and the government should put in place measures to provide a degree of certainty for their future,” she said.
“This will be a lost generation if we don’t put substantial measures in place ensuring they have an income and a job. That is why we need a job and income guarantee.
“We need mental health support and emergency measures during this crisis but these are shorter-term resorts. We also need to offer a holistic approach that offers hope for young people so that they can plan for their futures.”
Economic insecurity alone can lead to negative mental health and young people are being hit hard by the economic fallout of Covid-19.
“Experts now fear years of debt and unemployment are ahead for the young,” she said. “And it wasn’t like things were easy before. Young people are locked out of the housing market, living in rental stress and getting by with only patchy, unreliable work.
“Every economic downturn hits young people harder than the general population. And after the global financial crisis, young people never fully recovered. We have to learn from these mistakes.
“A jobs and income guarantee for young people is part of the Greens recovery plan – this is essential for young peoples’ wellbeing.
“We need to invest in the mental health of our young people and that means investing in a plan for our future.”
Updated
It looks like there were some issues with the phone-in teleconference for Anthony Albanese’s press conference and he could hear people coming down the line as he made his address, so it was hung up.
Updated
Anthony Albanese press conference
The Labor leader is holding is press conference from his office in Sydney.
He is speaking about Teddy Sheean:
This young Tasmanian is deserving of the VC and I welcome the fact that the government is now supporting that VC. I congratulate Teddy’s family and all of the Tasmanian people in particular who’ve campaigned so strongly to ensure appropriate recognition for Teddy Sheean’s bravery.
Updated
Jacqui Lambie, who was incredibly vocal on this issue, has also released a statement:
No matter how messy, and how stupid, and how pigheaded this whole process to get here has been, I don’t care. I am just so thankful we got here at all.
Teddy Sheean has finally been recognised with a recommendation to receive the Victoria Cross of Australia.
It’s taken too long, and it’s cost us too much, and it’s been a fight for his family that it should not have had to put up with, but we have got there. This decision today gets right what the prime minister got so badly wrong.
It was his decision to overrule the unanimous and unprecedented recommendation of the independent defence honours and awards tribunal to award Teddy Sheean a Victoria Cross.
He’s seen the light and seen sense, and that’s what we expect from our leaders. He has done what we need our leaders to do, and he’s got it right.
The prime minister thanked many people today, but he missed thousands more. Thousands of Australians have fought like hell for this, and I am so proud and grateful they have taken up Teddy’s cause with the kind of passion, intensity and relentlessness that Teddy deserves.
This isn’t about politics or popularity. This is about justice.
An 18-year-old kid from Lower Barrington didn’t lay down his life to win a medal. He did it to save his mates. He gave all he had to give for his country. And today his country finally went a little way to repay him.
Updated
The official release on Teddy Sheean’s VC, nearly 80 years after his death, is out:
The panel found that:
• Teddy Sheean was done a substantial injustice in consideration of his actions in the original decision-making period of 1942-45, constituting maladministration
• On the basis of all the evidence now available, higher recognition for Teddy Sheean is supported
• His courageous sacrifice of his life to save his shipmates meets the eligibility criteria for a Victoria Cross for Australia
• The highest level of recognition should be accorded in this exceptional case.
This report is also testament to the dedication of Teddy’s family and friends, as well as Tasmanian veterans’ affairs minister, Guy Barnett, and member for Braddon and ex-serviceman, Gavin Pearce, to ensure that Teddy received the recognition he deserved.
The frustration they have felt at times should not be underestimated but it is the government’s duty to uphold the highest evidentiary standards for the awarding of a Victoria Cross.
We are pleased this process has provided an avenue for their efforts to be validated and rewarded.
The government thanks the expert panel for their detailed work in preparing their report and recommendations, particularly the efforts of panel’s chair, Dr Brendan Nelson AO.
The panel’s report can be found here.
Joint Media Release - Ordinary Seaman Edward 'Teddy' Sheean #auspol pic.twitter.com/lKn77ZqzQ8
— Political Alert (@political_alert) August 10, 2020
Updated
AAP has an update on Australia’s support for Lebanon after the devastating Beirut blast which has killed more than 150 people and completely destroyed the already struggling capital:
Australia has thrown its support behind a French push to lock in economic and political reform in Lebanon.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is also not ruling out further Australian deaths from the massive explosion that killed two-year-old Isaac Oehlers and at least 157 others.
“With the number of casualties and the amount of uncertainty there, we obviously can’t rule out anything further,” he said on Monday.
Morrison joined a phone hook-up with world leaders on Sunday night that focused on supporting Lebanon. At the virtual meeting chaired by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, leaders agreed a credible and independent investigation into the blast was needed.
Morrison said Australia would support Macron, who is seeking political and economic change in the troubled Middle East nation.
“Of course we want to see Lebanon as a functional prosperous state – all Australians of Lebanese heritage would certainly want that,” he said.
“At the same time I don’t want to suggest that Australia is playing some sort of direct interventionist role in seeking those types of outcomes.
“We’ve made our comments known and been very supportive of economic reforms that are necessary to advance the wellbeing of people in Lebanon.”
Australia will increase its aid commitment from $2 million to $5 million. All the money to be distributed through the Lebanese Red Cross and the World Food Program.
“That’s to support the most urgent of humanitarian supplies that are needed in these circumstances,” Morrison said.
He told the leaders’ conference that global organisations needed to work well together to deliver assistance.
There are about 5,000 Australians in Beirut and more than 230,000 Australians with Lebanese heritage.
Last week’s explosion was fuelled by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at Beirut’s port for six years.
More than 6,000 people were injured and up to 300,000 have been left homeless.
Updated
Anthony Albanese will hold his press conference at 12.45.
Updated
Scott Morrison also defended the planned $500m spend on the Australian War Memorial.
Critics believe that money could be spent elsewhere – like on support and mental health services for veterans.
Morrison said it wasn’t an either-or scenario:
We do need to tell all the stories of Australia’s service.
There needs to be room and space and facilities there to recognise and reflect that ... This would be the most significant improvement to the war memorial since it was first built, and that is not at the expense of resources being available for veterans.
Not one cent will be spent more on that than would otherwise be spent on support for veterans.
I mean, still though – that’s half a billion dollars. On a building.
Updated
Given what happened last time, I don’t think this exclamation mark means what the ABS thinks it means.
Save the date!
— Australian Bureau of Statistics (@ABSStats) August 10, 2020
We are one year out today from the 2021 Census.
To read how the ABS is tracking with preparations and key milestones achieved, see https://t.co/ywlfRw5F4c#AUSCensus #AUSCensusdata #2021CensusAU pic.twitter.com/8yraKydZ06
Gladys Berejiklian spoke during that press conference flurry as well. She said NSW remained at a critical stage:
We are still in a state of very high alert. We are doing OK. We’re holding the line. But we are at least halfway through a very critical phase. And it’s really, really important for people to come forward and get tested. Really important for people to be aware of where they’ve been and to assume that every time they leave the house that either themselves or the people they’re coming in contact with have the virus. That is the only way we’ll get through this.
Updated
Prof Michael Kidd to give national update at 3.30pm
There will be a national Covid update at 3.30pm provided by Prof Michael Kidd.
Updated
Offering up elderly to virus 'amoral, hideous' thought, PM says
I’ll go through the prime minister’s press conference and give you an update on anything else he said while the Victorian press conference was running.
But it includes this message to “Oh well, people die’ brigade.
Scott Morrison:
There have been some suggestions, I have read in some of the outlets you represent, that somehow our elderly should in some way be offered up in relation to this virus. That is just a hideous though, an absolutely amoral, hideous thought, one that I have had no countenance with, from the very first time it was suggested.
It is worth, however, pointing out that the federal government has been accused of having no plan to prepare the aged care sector for the pandemic.
As Peter Rozen QC, counsel assisting the aged care response royal commission, said today:
While there was undoubtedly a great deal done to prepare the Australian health sector more generally for the pandemic, the evidence will reveal that neither the commonwealth Department of Health nor the aged care regulator developed a Covid-19 plan specifically for the aged care sector ...
There was no advice about how the sector should respond to the risk posed by aged care workers who may be Covid-19 positive yet asymptomatic, particularly those who work in multiple facilities.
Some states forged ahead with their own plan. Queensland formulated a “rapid response” after a health worker who had worked in aged care tested positive for the virus, immediately moving out residents, and isolating those at risk in hospital, or with dedicated healthcare.
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Victoria's health minister Jenny Mikakos: 'This is a life-and-death matter'
Jenny Mikakos is asked about a late-night tweet thread where she spoke of the government response after the Melbourne outbreak:
Since that fateful day on 25 January, when we had our first-ever case, I’ve worked every day to keep everyone safe. I have put every ounce of energy I’ve had into that effort. If it wasn’t enough, then I’m deeply sorry.
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) August 8, 2020
I think firstly the tweets speak for themselves. I’m not going to be a commentator on myself, but what I would say is that, look, I think at this critical juncture where we have got stage-four restrictions in Melbourne, stage-three restrictions across Victoria, every Victorian making huge sacrifices, I have been concerned that the focus hasn’t been in terms of the public commentary on the fight against the virus.
And I think that’s absolutely where the focus needs to be right now. I think we need to all have a common purpose on focusing on fighting this virus and ... the message that I have tried to convey from the start from day one is as the premier said before, you know: this is a life-and-death matter.
We’re seeing more and more Victorians losing a loved one each and every day and I know that’s heartbreaking for all Victorians to see those tragedies playing out.
So this is in all of our hands. We are the frontline and we can turn this around if we all focus on other tasks at hand and that is fighting this deadly virus.
Updated
But on the St Basil’s aged care home outbreak in particular, which took five days for the federal government to be made aware of, Daniel Andrews says:
I don’t accept that that the public health team did anything other than the very best job they could in full accordance with protocols.
I’m not here to have a crack at people at St Basil’s, but I will say: one minute we didn’t do enough, and the next minute we did too much.
There’s a lot of emotion in that. There’s not much to be gained by me trying to unravel that. We sent an entire workforce home because we did not have confidence that they were putting in place infection prevention and control. And that’s what we did. And we were criticised for that.
Now apparently we have been criticised for not doing enough. So, again, there’s probably not much to be gained by having a public stoush with the people who run that place. There are other forums where the adequacy of the response will be tested – many of which are a long way away from me. [I] was just asked me about one of them as well as some other court action. The coroner will look at all of these issues – he’s made that clear. And whatever support, whatever cooperation we can provide, of course, we will.
Updated
On some of the issues which have been raised so far in the aged care response royal commission, including the federal government response, Daniel Andrews says:
I’m not going to respond to that and run a commentary on the adequacy or otherwise of arrangements that other governments have put in place or private sector providers or agencies have put in place.
I don’t have the time for that, frankly. I’m exclusively focused on supporting residents and their families.
That’s why we have sent in nurses that have worked a thousand shifts, literally, put themselves in harm’s way. That’s why yesterday in one of the most confronting decisions that I have made, the notion of having to dramatically expand counselling support for nurses and personal care workers because you can’t unsee what some of them have seen in some aged care facilities. Yeah, there’s a lot of work to do in this sector.
There’s why there’s a commission and I want to commend the prime minister for setting it up.
Updated
Daniel Andrews will be getting his first report on the business and workplace shutdowns this afternoon.
Updated
This is still impacting many ACT residents, some of whom travelled to help with the health response, as NSW struggles to deal with its own border closure. As Christopher Knaus reports:
Canberra residents remain trapped on the Victorian border after the New South Wales government “reneged” on an agreement to allow them to pass through southern parts of the state to return home, and despite offers to dispatch Australian Capital Territory police to escort them back.
ACT residents have now been on the Victoria-NSW border for four days, still without any clear indication of when, or if, they will be allowed to pass through southern NSW to return home.
The residents were initially granted permits by the ACT and NSW governments to transit through the state to get to Canberra on Friday.
But police blocked them at the border due to a last-minute change to NSW travel restrictions the night before – made without any real notice – requiring those travelling to NSW from Victoria to fly through Sydney airport and enter self-funded quarantine there.
Updated
For people who may be having trouble self-isolating because of circumstances beyond their control, Daniel Andrews says:
If your domestic arrangements are not conducive to your safety or the safety of others, health and safety I should say – for some it is about safety, less about health, but we would always try to seek to provide you with an alternative place to live. But we do have significant numbers of people but they’re very different.
They’re voluntary, their circumstances may not be, but they have made a choice because when we had a conversation with them, we worked through those issues. I think that system is working well. Even that system, though, is under the broader coordination and control of Corrections Victoria.
Updated
The ABC reported concerns of a nurse involved in the Melbourne hotel quarantine program who alleged that DHHS relaxed quarantine restrictions for guests, following worries about mental health after the alleged suicide of a guest early on in the program.
Daniel Andrews treats his answer very carefully:
I don’t know the accuracy of those reports. That probably speaks to at least that person’s view.
It speaks to things that, a tone or an atmosphere very much on the ground.
It doesn’t speak, I don’t think, to policy decisions. But all of those things will have to be tested.
We did have a tragedy, there was – we all know this and I think we – subject to privacy and trying to be as sensitive as we could – I think we spoke to that in some detail at the time.
I think it might have been off-the-record in many respects rather than something that was printed or broadcast.
But we did have a person who took their life in that program. Beyond that, I couldn’t speak to some of the comments and appraisals that are made in that report today, but that may well be of interest to Judge Coate.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Updated
Daniel Andrews says contact tracers are doing the best they can, but the community needs to do its best as well:
Ultimately, you know, we got an app, but given where we’re at and the fact that so much of this is being transmitted between people who know each other, it’s not the app that’s the key – it’s knocking on people’s doors. It’s people calling out family members and saying, ‘Hang on, you got a runny nose, you got to go and tested and do it now.’ All of those things. It’s a mixture.
Updated
Daniel Andrews:
The sense I’m getting from the data and more broadly is it I think the number of Victorians who are following the rules is going up. That doesn’t mean, though, that we can in any way excuse the poor choices that some people are making. One bad choice by one person in the right circumstances – or the perfectly wrong circumstances, if you like – where they’re infectious, can lead to hundreds of cases, can lead to chains of transmission that we will be chasing for weeks.
So it’s really important. Really important. Not just for me or the government ... It’s important to avoid telling a story like the one we just saw. It’s important to avoid being part of a family that’s planning a funeral.
It’s important to avoid a fine, and it’s important to get to the other side of this – that each of us do the right thing.
Updated
Daniel Andrews says compliance with stay-at-home quarantine orders is increasing but it is still not perfect:
Victoria police are having less people referred to them, but they do have quite a significant number that they’re still working through and I know this has been a matter of interest, but let’s not divert our police from doing that work to provide an update, but I will provide an update as soon as I can ... There were several hundred people who couldn’t be found at home.
There’ll be some that will be doing the wrong thing, might be at work, or friend’s place or might be going about their business as if they didn’t have it.
There’s some people who have isolated somewhere else and some people whose address is not accurate despite our best efforts to look where they should reasonably be expected to be found. But Victoria police have got to go through these meticulously.
Look, that’s the way you want it. You don’t want a situation where people are instantly fined. Also it could be there are logical reasons a group of people for one reason or other don’t answer the door. So they’re working through those.
Updated
NSW reports 14 new cases in the past 24 hours
NSW has reported that 14 cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the past 24 hours.
Twelve of those were from known clusters within the state and one is still under investigation (which means the source is not immediately evident and possibly community transmission).
The Tangara school for girls in Cherrybrook in Sydney’s north-west now has nine cases linked to it. The original source of that cluster is not yet known.
Updated
As Daniel Andrews talks about the languages-other-than-English ad campaign being released today across Victoria, this is quite an important fact:
ABS COVID survey out today: Found people born overseas more than twice as likely as Oz-born to wear face mast at least once in past fortnight. 62% overseas born avoided public transport (Oz-born 49%)“
— Shane Wright (@swrighteconomy) August 10, 2020
Updated
Is there a case-per-day number in mind, for when the government may declare the lockdowns a success?
Daniel Andrews:
Everybody wants this to work, except a small number of people who perhaps aren’t making the right choices. And everybody wants me to be able to put a number on it.
Everyone wants to know what’s happening in October, with footy.
Everyone wants to know lots of stuff. That’s fair enough. There is uncertainty, anxiety.
There is a sense of concern in the community. There’s no enjoyment in any of these settings. Very challenging. Very, very challenging.
If I could paint you a picture that had any kind of reliability for next week, let alone five weeks away, then of course I would. I’ve always been – I’m always happy to be corrected, but I have always been very careful standing here not to take a day or a week’s data and put that out there as a trend.
We are seeing some stability. That’s a good thing. But that’s not enough. And that’s the product of masks and stage three. That’s what the experts tell us.
The next stage, though, is all about these restrictions that we’ve had to painfully impose. But we just don’t know. We can’t predict where we’ll be at the end of this. But what we can be certain of – without any doubt – that if we don’t limit movement, we’ve got zero chance – zero chance – of driving down these numbers.
That’s why these decisions are important.
Updated
Daniel Andrews:
I’d need to come back to you on the exact timing, but there are deliveries that are received by that warehouse every week, and there are shipments of PPE that go out every single day, I think, that Monash Health has got a significant order going out today.
It probably varies a little bit depending on what it is – whether it be quite a small order for one product or whether it’s a much bigger product for a suite of different products.
As you know, there’s a number of different items. I’m certainly not aware of anything other than the timely delivery of what’s needed.
But, again, just as we indicated that we would speak with the college around a survey that was done over the weekend – I know there’s been a subsequent survey – we’re always happy to sit down and get feedback direct to try and make sure we’ve got a system that is as good as it can possibly be.
There’s no issue about the quantities that we’ve got. The distribution network is, I think, working well. But no system’s perfect. It may need to improve further.
There might also be some communication challenges at that hospital level too, just to make sure that staff have got every sense that whatever they need, they’ll get.
Updated
Victoria launches at-home testing for vulnerable people
Victoria’s health minister, Jenny Mikakos, has announced changes to the state’s testing program:
We are starting a call-to-test program that will enable someone to call our coronavirus hotline, they’ll be assessed by a nurse through that hotline and, with a GP referral, we will go to them.
We will go to people’s homes and we will ensure that they will be able to be tested within a 48-hour period.
This is designed to ensure that approximately 200 vulnerable Victorians every day will have access to this new testing capacity, making sure that people who might have limited mobility due to disability or might have other vulnerabilities due to chronic health conditions can get tested in their own home.
It is a free service and will be available throughout Victoria. The way that people will be able to access this is, as I said, through the coronavirus hotline.
There’ll be a triage there and, with a GP referral, we will ... the earliest opportunity.
Of course, there is now financial support available as well for people who are eligible if they’re waiting for their test results, as well as people who may need to isolate at home if they test positive, and there’s that additional $1,500 payment as well.
So we are making it easier than ever before for people to get tested and then to get the support that they need as they wait for that test result.
Updated
Daniel Andrews:
If we don’t follow these rules – if we don’t all make our own contribution to limiting movement, the sheer number of people who are moving around the community – then we will not drive down these case numbers to an acceptable level that will allow us to reopen.
I want businesses to survive. I want people back at work.
I want people healthy. I want to begin that process of rebuilding our economy and community and setting us up for strength in the future.
We simply can’t get to that point unless we all play our part in making this strategy work. And again, that’s why I’m so proud and grateful to the vast majority of Victorians who are and, again, those stories, I think, tell you a really powerful story about what is at stake here.
Think about the person who is most important to you. And then think about them with a tube to help them breathe in intensive care for 32 days.
That’s how serious this is. That is how serious it is. It is a matter of life and death and it is the greatest challenge that we have ever faced.
Updated
Daniel Andrews on today’s comparatively lower Covid-case numbers:
We have one day’s data. It’s always be better to be lower than the previous day, but it is only one day’s data and the stage-four changes, many of which only came into effect at midnight last night, a number of others which came into effect midnight Wednesday last week, the oldest of these being the curfew, that had been in place for one week yesterday as of 8pm yesterday.
So it is still very early for us to be trying to measure the impacts of stage four, but we’re certainly seeing perhaps some greater stability that is a result of the cumulative impact of stage three. I think yesterday or the day before we shared with you what our experts tell us would have been the case, many tens of thousands of cases if we had not gone to stage three and masks and the other settings we put in place.
So that has achieved a lot. It just hasn’t achieved as much as we needed to. It’s bought some stability in the numbers but we got to drive them down so that we can reopen.
Updated
The advertisement campaign includes the after-effects from some of those who have been lucky enough to have pulled through – including a woman in her 30s who has returned to hospital since filming her ad:
Sarah:
Dealing with Covid has been nothing like I have ever experienced before. It started off generally with the flu-like symptoms.
I was debilitated with chest pains. I was inflamed to the point I wasn’t able to fully inflate my lunging or exhale without excruciating pain.
It feels like coronavirus has attacked every single one of my body symptoms. Four weeks into my journey with Covid I still feel like I’m incapacitated and can’t care for myself.
I have two little boys and I decided to isolate away from them. They’re with their dad half the time and they’re with my parents. Being separated from them for five or six weeks now has been incredibly hard.
It’s absolutely heart-wrenching hearing them say, “Mummy, why people doing the wrong things? Why isn’t the coronavirus going away?”
If you think about bending the rules, think about who you love most in the world and think of them in ICU.
Updated
Daniel Andrews on the new advertising campaign (which also features people who have recovered from Covid-19):
We have changed many, many times trying to refine the message, to target the message and we will continue to do that, but I would just say certainly from my sense of things at the moment is that people – a larger percentage, a larger proportion of the Victorian community – are doing the right thing than was the case a couple of weeks ago and I think that’s something we should all be proud of.
This strategy is difficult, it’s heartbreaking, it’s very challenging but it’s the only one that will drive down movement across Victoria and, therefore, drive down case numbers and that’s what we have to be focused on.
Updated
Victoria is launching a new advertising campaign to raise awareness about the health impact of Covid-19 – and not just for older people.
Nurses have also shot some advertisements themselves to send out to multicultural communities, where English is not the first language.
Updated
Daniel Andrews says the data shows what everyone is seeing, if they head out for their allowed hour of exercise in Melbourne – largely, people are staying at home.
It is really important that we all stay the course on this. It is a wicked enemy.
It’ll do everything it can to wear you down. And that’s when it absolutely flourishes.
When we let our guard down, when we are not, for instance, as signed up to these rules as we need to be, that’s why I’m so grateful to those who are seeing this through and are making sure that, in all the choices they make, they’re doing everything they cannot to contribute to the spread of the virus but, indeed, limiting movement, limiting case numbers, and delivering us the objective that we’re all focused on.
Updated
Man in his 50s one of 19 to die in Victoria today
One of the death’s from yesterday was reported twice, so the Victorian death total has been revised down by one.
Today’s 19 deaths include a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 70s, one man and six women in their 80s and one male and seven women in their 90s.
Fourteen of the 19 deaths have been linked to aged care outbreaks.
Daniel Andrews:
On behalf of all Victorians we send our best wishes, love and support, and condolences and sympathies to the families of those 19 Victorians. This will be an incredibly difficult time for them, and knowing that all Victorians are with you is a comfort, some small comfort, at a very difficult time.
Updated
Daniel Andrews press conference
The broadcast leaves the prime minister’s courtyard for Daniel Andrews’ press conference in Melbourne.
Updated
The panel has returned it’s finding – Teddy Sheean should have been awarded a Victoria Cross recommendation, and so a recommendation has gone to the Queen for her consent.
Scott Morrison said he was making the recommendation “confidentially” because of the work of the panel.
Updated
Scott Morrison:
Now, you don’t go around handing out VCs on the basis of popularity or sentiment.
Certainly in cases that involve events of many, many years ago and in this case the 1 December 1942. We must be careful to guard against arrogance that we, today, can stand in the shoes of those of all those years ago and pretend to know that we know those events better than those who were dealing with acts of bravery that today’s generation, except for those who have served, could not imagine.
That said, the opportunity we have is the process we have to uphold the integrity and ensure that justice is done to these incredibly brave actions.
Updated
Teddy Sheean is getting his Victoria Cross.
Anthony Albanese picked up this issue and ran with it quite some time ago, after intense lobbying from Jacqui Lambie.
From Wikipedia:
During a subsequent confrontation with thirteen Japanese aircraft on 1 December (1942) Armidale was struck by two torpedoes and a bomb, and began to sink; the order to abandon ship was given.
After helping to free a life-raft, Sheean was wounded by two bullets. He made his way to the aft Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and began to fire on the Japanese aircraft to protect those in the water. Sheean managed to shoot down one of the Japanese bombers, but was killed when Armidale sank. Many of the survivors credited their lives to Sheean and he was posthumously mentioned in despatches.
In 1999, the submarine HMAS Sheean was named in his honour, and efforts have been made to have Sheean awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia.
Updated
Scott Morrison press conference
The prime minister has opened his press conference on the Victorian situation – particularly Melbourne, which is in stage-four lockdown (regional Victoria is in stage-three):
More than 300 Australians now have fallen victim to the coronavirus. This news is devastating no matter what age Covid affects people, and we just want to reaffirm again our support through every channel we can provide it.
Sadly, when it comes to the fatalities that result from Covid, that reflects a situation of several weeks ago now as the virus has taken its course with these particular individuals, the work continues.
We look for better news when it comes to the stabilising of cases in Victoria. I am more hopeful of that today than I was in the course of the past week over the briefings I have received over the course of the weekend and again this morning, of course, the premier will be on his feet again shortly in Victoria and will be updating the situation there.
Updated
A sitting of the aged care royal commission focusing on the sector’s response to Covid-19 is beginning in Sydney.
Delivering his opening remarks, senior counsel assisting Peter Rozen QC said “Covid-19 is the greatest challenge the Australian aged care sector has ever faced” and that evidence provided to the royal commission will “demonstrate that the sector has been underprepared”.
He notes Department of Health data that between 8 July and Sunday, more than 1,000 residents have been diagnosed with Covid-19, and that 168 people have died:
Grandparents, parents, siblings and friends. A human tragedy.
As much as we have been distressed by these stories of human suffering, we have been impressed by the stories of the care workers who have worked in unimaginable conditions to provide these residents with the care they need.
The aged care system we have in 2020 is not a system that is failing. It is the system operating as it was designed to operate. We should not be surprised at the results.
The hearing is the first after the program was suspended in March as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Today Marylouise McLaws, a professor of epidemiology at the University of New South Wales and an adviser to the World Health Organization, and Ross Low, chief executive of BaptistCare, the operator of Sydney’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge, which experienced an outbreak, will appear.
An aged care resident from Victoria is also scheduled to give evidence later today on the mental health of residents.
The royal commission resumes amid revelations this morning that the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission learned about the first case of Covid-19 at Melbourne’s deadly St Basil’s facility on 10 July, four days before the Department of Health was informed and a federal response was launched.
Updated
Daniel Andrews will speak at 11am.
Updated
The prime minister’s press conference has been moved to 10.45am.
Updated
We are headed to 20m infections of Covid-19 globally.
Updated
Scott Morrison will hold a press conference at 11am.
The Covid inquiry is on again today – we have moved into the international relations stage.
The inquiry into the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s defence, trade and international relations will hear from @ANSTO at its next public hearing. pic.twitter.com/z4Ud3MrMVb
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) August 10, 2020
Updated
The ABC has expanded its learning from home programming. From the broadcaster’s announcement:
From today, education content on ABC ME will be expanded to 5.5 hours each weekday – helping students and teachers in remote learning from 9.30am to 3pm AEST each school day. Additional educational programming from 9.30-10am will support children in their first years of school, with programs such as Numberblocks, Wallykazam!, Learn A Word, Art With Mati and Dada and I’m A Creepy Crawly.
From 10am to midday, ABC ME will feature curriculum-aligned educational programs for primary and secondary students, including BTN, ScienceXplosion, Ecomaths, This Place, Citizen Code, Back In Time For Dinner: Education Shorts and the upcoming new series of Teenage Boss with inspiring maths teacher Eddie Woo, from 31 August.
From midday to 3pm, ABC ME will present programs with ties to Maths, Science, History and Health & Personal Development, such as Are you Tougher than Your Ancestors, Science Max, Barney’s Barrier Reef, Odd Squad and Horrible Histories.
Updated
The Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy was asked about political attacks against Daniel Andrews while on the Nine Network this morning:
Look, it’s absolutely unhelpful this kind of unnecessary attacks, personal attacks really on the premier. And while I have the opportunity, I certainly want to say: keep up such a great job, Premier Andrews. We’re certainly enormously watching closely what’s going on there and feeling very much for all Victorians. But it’s not the time to make personal attacks at this time. We have to be working together, whatever party we are, and I think it’s, some of those backbenchers in the Liberal opposition down there, I think they need to put their heads in.
Updated
While this is heartening, 37 people have died in just three days.
We are now seeing the most significant drop in daily cases numbers in Victoria since the second wave began. pic.twitter.com/Fy09VCrYhC
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) August 9, 2020
There is a lot more of this popping up now – federal Victorian government MPs publicly criticising the Andrews government – something the prime minister has said he wants to avoid (at this point)
Via AAP:
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has again called out the Victorian government over significant failures in its hotel quarantine system, saying the mistakes must be explained.
Genomic testing indicates the botched program could have sparked Victoria’s deadly coronavirus second wave.
Victoria announced another fatality record on Monday with 19 deaths, taking the national death toll to 314. The number of new cases is 322.
Mr Frydenberg, who is self-isolating in Canberra ahead of the next federal parliament sitting, said it should never have reached the point where the state was recording hundreds of new cases and multiple deaths a day.
“It’s very very difficult emotionally, it’s difficult obviously on the economy as well,” he told 2GB radio on Monday.
“We know with respect to quarantine, there have been very significant failures with deadly consequences. Victorians deserve answers. I’ll leave that to Daniel Andrews and his government to provide.”
With an independent review of the quarantine program to begin next week, Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has said she is “deeply sorry” if she hadn’t done enough to prevent the virus spreading.
It is not yet clear whether infections in Victoria’s outbreak have peaked, although there have been encouraging signs in recent days.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth is hopeful case numbers in Victoria will soon drop.
“It’s important to wait for the trend to emerge, but we do have some confidence in the coming days to week we’ll see those numbers come down,” he told the ABC.
“What is happening in Victoria could happen anywhere and it just behoves us to all change our behaviour for the coming months while we get this situation under control.”
Given the uncertain outlook for the economy, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has opened the door to changing JobKeeper wage subsidies.
Last week, the government announced a further $15 billion injection into the program and granted businesses easier access.
The scheme will step down from a fortnightly payment of $1500 a week to $1200 at the end of September and then down to $1000 from December to March.
Senator Cormann said “if facts change” the fiscal support could continue beyond March.
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229 people, who had been diagnosed with Covid-19, have died in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic.
There is some solace to be taken in the daily case numbers being down from the 400s, where they have sat recently. But just remember authorities are waiting another week at least to see any results from the lockdown. The workplace and business shutdowns have only just come into place, and that is where we have seen a lot of the transmission in Melbourne.
I don’t mean to be a downer – but we need to wait a little longer before we can begin releasing those breaths.
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A reminder.
From today, the daily case numbers and deaths will be tweeted every morning ahead of any media conferences. https://t.co/n0cVkZlWEq
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) August 9, 2020
That’s to get the information out there, ahead of what had become a trend of unofficially announcing the information ahead of press conferences.
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Australia's Covid-19 death toll passes 300
Australia’s death toll has surpassed 300 people – 314 people, diagnosed with Covid-19, have died since the pandemic began.
A grim, grim milestone. Each of those people have been taken earlier from loved ones than they might have been.
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Victoria records deadliest day in pandemic, with 19 deaths
Tragically, yesterday’s report of a record 17 deaths has been beaten – 19 people died in the last 24 hours.
A further 322 cases of Covid were also recorded.
There were 322 new cases of #coronavirus (#COVID19) detected in Victoria in the last 24 hours. Sadly, there were 19 deaths reported #Covid19VicData pic.twitter.com/TINmAA7DBI
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) August 9, 2020
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Queenslanders in quarantine have recorded a 98.8% compliance rate. Just four of the 500 or so people ordered into self-isolation are being investigated.
Queensland’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeanette Young, warns Queensland-NSW border residents they have to take their own precautions, over and above the rest of NSW:
The border is difficult because people from New South Wales can travel into those New South Wales border areas and they can then pass on the infection if they have it to someone who lives in that area who can then cross the border into Queensland.
That is really difficult. So it is really important that all those people who live along our border, whether in Queensland or in New South Wales, think, “What is the next step?”
If we have to close the border to everyone in New South Wales so that there are no exemptions for people who live in those border zones who work or go to school in Queensland, if we have to close, then what will people do?
I have already seen great examples of where people have managed it.
They have swapped their lives so at the moment they live one side, work the other, and a friend does the opposite – they’re now moving so they can remain in one or the other.
I think that every single person who lives in any of those border communities in either Queensland or New South Wales needs to think, “What will I do, what will my family do, if the border becomes closed because there are cases spreading north from Sydney?”
At the moment the most northern cases in New South Wales are in Newcastle and we’re keeping a very close eye whether there are cases coming further north and they will – because there is free movement, of course, within New South Wales.
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Queensland to reopen aged care homes to visitors
Queensland will be reopening its aged care centres to visitors – except for one in Pinjarra Hills – to ensure the risk from a potential outbreak has been stopped.
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Queensland records one new Covid-19 case in hotel quarantine and no community transmission
Queensland has recorded no new cases of Covid-19 through community transmission.
One person, a returned traveller, has tested positive in hotel quarantine.
The health minister Steven Miles says Queensland has made it through the two weeks:
It means we have avoided the risks of a widespread outbreak from those returning cases from Melbourne and it means that the chief health officer can now act to lift those restrictions on aged care.
Of course, that’s in contrast to the rest of the country. It was Australia’s deadliest weekend from Covid-19 and that should serve as a reminder to us all that the risk here are still real and they’re close to home and we continue. We need to continue to work together to implement the restrictions that are in place so that we can keep Queensland safe from this awful disease.
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And what about Sydney? There some lingering concerns over community transmission in NSW (particularly in the inner-west):
Dr Nick Coatsworth:
The public health unit there has done an incredible job. This is a city of 7 million. To keep the numbers between about 10 to 20 is quite extraordinary, but it really is a race. It is a race to find those chains of transmission and lock them down, isolate people’s contacts within 24 to 48 hours and we are still seeing the odd, what we would term now I think mystery case, where people can’t find where they got Covid-19 from and whilst we still see those, the situation in New South Wales remains a concern.
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So does that mean we need to wait another week to see if there has been any difference made?
Dr Nick Coatsworth:
That’s what we expect and we look, I mean we look at it like every Victorian. This is about getting runs on the board. This is about Victorians, particularly those under stage-four restrictions, but those under stage-three restrictions getting reward for their efforts and when we do see I think we will all be very happy to see that curve go downwards again.
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Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth was asked how authorities were viewing the Melbourne Covid-19 case numbers while chatting to the ABC today:
We have to look at those figures on a day-by-day basis. We will obviously be very happy when we see them head consistently south.
What is clear is that the stage-three restrictions and now the stage-four restrictions have led to a plateau and there is every expectation that the stage-three restrictions have restricted movement enough that the basic reproductive number is going to fall substantially below one and we’re going to start to see the numbers come down, but what we can’t have at the disappointment or the rollercoaster ride of them going from 390 to 450 and up and down again.
So it is important to wait for the trend to emerge, but we do have some confidence in the coming days to a week. We will see those numbers come down.
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We were told on Friday that expert health advisory committee is looking into this.
From AAP:
Many health workers have to source their own personal protective gear and have limited access to the right masks, according to a survey.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians surveyed its members and found 20% of respondents in public hospitals were forced to source their own PPE.
It also found respondents either had limited (19%) or no (3%) access to surgical masks, while 45% said they had limited or no access to higher-grade N95/P2 masks.
Eleven per cent said they had no access to N95/P2 masks.
About 60% of respondents reported recent workplace training in the use of PPE.
“At a bare minimum, the [federal] government must start providing transparent updates on the status of the national stockpile,” RACP president and respiratory physician Professor John Wilson said in a statement.
“If there is a real shortage, priority must be given to those in higher-risk areas where Covid and suspected-Covid patients are treated.”
The survey was conducted from 30 July to 3 August and 677 responses were received from RACP members.
There are 994 active coronavirus cases among Victorian healthcare workers.
Two weeks ago on Monday 27 July, the state recorded 400 active cases in healthcare workers.
But Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth said he had not been hearing the same feedback.
“The personal protective equipment is available and it’s where it needs to be at the front line for our healthcare workers,” he told Nine’s Today program.
“To try to reduce this, to suggest that there is insufficient or somehow inadequate PPE is actually misunderstanding the complexity of hospital infection control.
“What we need is excellent data on how healthcare workers acquired their infections – that requires deep investigations.”
Last week, an Australian College of Nursing survey of 750 nurses found many were feeling frightened and vulnerable.
While the Australian Society of Anaesthetists has voiced the need for P2 or N95 masks and has repeatedly questioned whether hospitals’ guidelines go far enough to protect staff, highlighting the importance of “fit-testing” PPE so virus particles cannot penetrate clinicians’ safety gear.
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As of yesterday, Australia’s death toll since the pandemic began stands at 295.
That’s 295 people.
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Queensland will hold its press conference at 9am.
Annastacia Palaszczuk is expected to announce that restrictions on visiting aged care homes will be lifted.
Last Friday the state’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeanette Young, that warned a planned protest on the Story Bridge (one of Brisbane city’s main thoroughfares) highlighting the plight of refugees would put the planned relaxing of restrictions at risk.
Organisers of the protest announced they would postpone the event.
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Three Sydney schools closed after students test positive for Covid-19
NSW has closed Bonnyrigg Heights primary in Sydney’s south-west after a student tested positive for Covid-19.
Tangara school for girls in Cherrybrook, in Sydney’s north-west, has also been closed and students placed into isolation after a student (and a member of their household) tested positive for the virus.
Our Lady of Mercy college in Parramatta has also been closed for deep cleaning.
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Cherrybrook pharmacy closed after staff member tests positive to Covid-19
NSW Health has issued an alert for anyone who visited the PharmaSave Cherrybrook Pharmacy in the Appletree Shopping Centre on Thursday 6 August at 7pm to watch out for Covid-19 symptoms:
Prior to the onset of symptoms, one of the cases reported in today’s figures worked at the pharmacy. They were wearing a mask during their shift.
People who were at the pharmacy at the same time are urged to watch out for any symptoms of Covid-19, and if they occur, to immediately self-isolate and seek testing.
The pharmacy will undergo cleaning and will be closed temporarily as a precaution.
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I know quite a few people have been miffed at the unofficial reporting of Victoria’s figures ahead of the official announcement at the press conference.
Victoria Health has made a change:
So from tomorrow DHHS @vicgovdhhs will tweet the top line number of covid cases and the deaths figure each morning. #COVID19Vic
— PatriciaKarvelas (@PatsKarvelas) August 9, 2020
In other political news, Rex Patrick has announced he plans on contesting the next election as an independent.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. Patrick arrived on Nick Xenophon’s ticket, as his replacement in the Senate, but since Xenophon moved on from federal politics, there hasn’t been a lot holding the former NXT MPs (now Centre Alliance) together.
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There is a lot going on here.
I call this self portrait: Quarantine riding into work ... pic.twitter.com/4EugPbhHuY
— Tim Wilson MP (@TimWilsonMP) August 9, 2020
Victorian MPs who will be quarantining in Canberra ahead of the 24 August sitting have begun arriving in the capital. Others are choosing to self-isolate in their own homes for a fortnight.
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Good morning
Victoria suffered through its deadliest day since the pandemic began, reporting on Sunday that 17 people had died in the previous 24 hours.
The state enters its second week of stage-four lockdowns, including a shutdown of all non-essential workplaces and businesses. There hasn’t been a dent in the numbers as yet, but there hasn’t been an increase either – and that’s what authorities are holding on to.
Queensland has also ticked over two weeks since two women returned to the state from a Melbourne hotspot and went about their business – later testing positive for Covid-19. They were charged with giving false information on their border declaration form, but it was the two-week infection period which had really worried authorities. But it looks as though the state may have escaped an outbreak.
Across the country, borders are still up, the national leaders are developing an aged care response for any future outbreaks, and all eyes remain on Melbourne. In New Zealand, the country is chalking up 100 days since its last infection, after Jacinda Ardern’s government went for elimination of the virus over suppression.
We’ll let you know all the day’s news as it happens – you have Amy Remeikis for most of the day.
Ready?
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