That’s all from us today, thanks for reading. To recap:
- New South Wales recorded four new locally acquired Covid-19 cases. One case had travelled to regional areas, leading to alerts for Orange and Broken Hill.
- Victoria recorded three new locally acquired cases.
- Western Australia confirmed three cases of the UK variant of Covid-19 have been found in hotel quarantine in the state.
- Prime minister Scott Morrison says he has spoken to Victorian premier Dan Andrews about reopening the border with NSW.
- Wastewater analysis detected fragments of Covid-19 in several Queensland cities and towns.
- Bushfires remain a threat in Western Australia.
Updated
So there has been a little bit of conjecture about today after Victoria’s Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said he saw no issue with only having two 15-minute breaks if someone was doing the more than a 10-hour drive from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria.
Road safety guidelines recommend a stop of at least 15 minutes every two hours.
Those who wish to travel from the ACT or Queensland through NSW can apply for a permit.
It isn’t that far from the ACT to Victoria, between three and four hours. But Queensland is a mission.
Weimar has done it in a day, he says, but that was from far west Queensland to Mildura, in the far north-west of Victoria.
It is a long way but having done Cameron Corner to Mildura in a day I don’t think it’s an exceptionally impossible drive to do.
He said drivers could stop twice for 15 minutes, wearing a mask and keeping socially distanced from others.
What we’re trying to discourage is people exposing themselves to risk on a long and torturous journey with multiple stops ... I appreciate no one wants to drive in a straight shot across all of NSW.
Clearly we’ll balance their safety.
I’ve just had a poke about the guidelines on the DHHS website. It’s reasonably vague. But the nitty gritty is on the declaration you must agree to on the permit application itself (I filled one out but didn’t submit it). That states:
For people entering Victoria with any transit permit:
I declare that I, and any person under the age of 18 or other dependent travelling with me, haven’t:
been in NSW for the last 14 days other than to transit to Victoria
resided in, visited, been in or travelled through an area in NSW outside my direct transit route
been diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19) or been in close contact with someone diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19)
been experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms; and
I also declare that while transiting through NSW I will:
minimise contact with other persons except in emergencies; keep a record of each place I stop at in NSW and Victoria; wear a fitted face mask in all public places; and travel directly through NSW avoiding all unnecessary stops.
I understand that if I am travelling to Victoria from another state or territory, any overnight stay in NSW while in transit will require an exemption to enter Victoria.
So basically, no mention of the two 15-minute stops. Just have to avoid “unnecessary stops”. I should clarify that if you wish to stay overnight in NSW, or if you’re travelling for other reasons (i.e not returning from an earlier trip) you will have to apply for an exemption, not a permit.
Updated
Michael McCormack, the deputy PM and minister for transport, has this to say about Qantas:
International borders will be opened when international arrivals do not pose a risk to Australians.
Decisions about when international travel resumes will be made by the Australian government.
The Australian government is working on travel arrangements with countries, such as New Zealand, that have low community infections.
Operations and ticket sales on particular routes are commercial decisions for airlines.
Updated
Qantas pushes back departure dates for international flights scheduled in March
Qantas have confirmed that it has pushed back the dates of international flights that were on sale for departures in March.
A spokesperson said the flights had already been on sale, despite some reports suggesting this was a new development. What has changed is that the airline has shifted the departure dates from March to July, in line with its forecasts about when international travel could again be possible.
It made this change last month, soon after announcing the new forecast in its December trading update. The restart of international flying will be subject to vaccine and border reopening developments.
A Qantas spokesperson said:
We continue to review and update our international schedule in response to the developing Covid situation.
Recently we have aligned the selling of our international services to reflect our expectation that international travel will begin to restart from July 2021.
Updated
Shadow health minister Chris Bowen has hit back at the Coalition’s claim Labor is being irresponsible by calling for an accelerated Covid-19 vaccine rollout:
This is clearly an unnecessary delay, the government told us we were at the front of the queue around the world and that was simply not true. Now the government’s come out with all sorts of excuses. The fact of the matter is the TGA should take as long as it needs to satisfy itself that this vaccine is safe and works but as soon as that’s occurred, Australians should have a right to get this vaccine. If there’s a delay until March that means Scott Morrison has let the Australian people down.
Asked about Scott Morrison’s explanation that batches of the vaccine would need to be tested after approval, Bowen said:
Well, Greg Hunt conceded himself this morning that that would mean it would take two weeks. That would justify a two-week delay, it does not justify a two-month delay. They’re now casting around for all sorts of excuses and alibis. Greg Hunt had previously said the vaccine would be available in January. The fact of the matter is there’s one reason for this delay. It’s because the government was slow to get a deal. The deals aren’t as good as the deals that have been entered into by other governments around the world. The government has let Australians down.
Updated
Remember back in October when the chair of the corporate regulator stood aside and the deputy chair resigned after the auditor general raised concerns about close to $200,000 in extra payments they benefited from?
No? Maybe there was a bit going on. But in any case treasurer Josh Frydenberg asked former senior public servant Vivienne Thom to investigate the payments and report back by the end of the year.
Thom has done just that, a Frydenberg spokesman tells Guardian Australia:
The government has received and is considering the independent review and will respond in due course.
He didn’t answer Guardian Australia’s question about whether the report will be made public.
Both James Shipton, who stood aside as chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and Daniel Crennan QC, who resigned and now works at a stockbroker, have denied doing anything wrong and agreed to pay back the money.
Shipton received more than $118,000 in tax advice from KPMG, while Crennan received almost $70,000 in weekly relocation payments.
Auditor general Grant Hehir said the payments may have exceeded limits set by the remuneration tribunal, which sets pay for public sector workers, and he was worried that the payments to KPMG did not follow procurement guidelines.
Updated
Man charged and two others fined for not wearing masks in Sydney
One person has been charged and two others fined for not wearing masks in New South Wales, after new restrictions for greater Sydney were announced earlier this week.
A man who was seen by officers allegedly stealing an energy drink was charged with not wearing a mask and several other offences, according to NSW police.
They issued 25 warnings to non-mask wearers across Sydney yesterday.
This has just been released by NSW police:
Police have charged one person and fined two others who allegedly breached a Public Heath Order by not wearing a mask in public areas yesterday.
About 9.30am (Monday 4 January 2021), officers from Burwood Police Area Command stopped a man on The Boulevarde, Strathfield, after they allegedly saw him steal an energy drink from a nearby grocery store.
Police spoke to the man, who had taken off his mask, and told him he was under arrest for shoplifting.
During this time, the man allegedly refused to properly wear his mask and became aggressive with officers.
He allegedly verbally threatened police before being arrested and taken to Burwood Police Station, where he was charged with shoplifting, resist officer in execution of duty, two counts of intimidate police officer in execution of duty, and not wear fitted face covering in retail/business premises.
He was refused bail and is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court today (Tuesday 5 January 2020).
Two people were issued Penalty Infringement Notices for allegedly not wearing masks across Sydney up until 5pm yesterday (Monday 4 January 2021):
About 12.20pm, officers from Police Transport Command (PTC) stopped a 35-year-old man who was allegedly not wearing a mask at Seven Hills Railway Station. Officers attempted to issue the man a warning a number of times however he allegedly swore at police and told them to fine him. The man was issued a $200 PIN.
About 3pm, officers saw a 39-year-old man allegedly not wearing a mask at a shopping centre on Church Street, Parramatta. The man had allegedly been warned about not wearing a mask earlier in the day. He was issued a PIN.
Police also issued more than 25 official warnings across Greater Sydney to people not wearing masks yesterday.
Updated
WA Health has sent its daily Covid-19 update, confirming the news from premier Mark McGowan earlier that cases of the new UK variant of the virus have been found in the state’s quarantine hotels.
This just released:
The Department of Health has today reported one new case of Covid-19 in Western Australia, bringing the State’s total to 869.
The new case is a male in his 30s who travelled from overseas and is in hotel quarantine.
Following routine genome sequencing, the Department of Health has detected three cases of the UK variant strain of Covid. All three were previously announced cases and were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
This is the first time the UK strain has been detected in WA quarantine hotels.
WA Health is monitoring 15 active cases and 845 people have recovered from the virus in WA.
There have been 640,205 Covid-19 tests performed in WA. Of those tested, 102,276 were from regional WA.
Yesterday 1,890 people presented to WA Health-managed Covid clinics – 1,856 were assessed and 1,853 were swabbed.
Updated
Labor has argued “Australians are paying the price” for the federal government’s failure to land a national energy policy.
The opposition’s climate and energy spokesperson, Mark Butler, seized on the Energy Security Board’s report, published today, saying it had warned that the security of Australia’s electricity system remained critical with no improvement since 2019:
This is yet another consequence of Scott Morrison’s inability to land an energy policy.
State governments have stepped into a void, a vacuum, left by the failure of national energy policy under Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.
Butler said business groups and regulators had long been frustrated about the lack of an energy policy from the federal government.
He took the chance to plug Labor’s policy – announced during Anthony Albanese’s budget-in-reply speech in October – of setting up a $20bn corporation to build electricity transmission infrastructure. The Rewiring the Nation Corporation would partner with industry to deliver the transmission requirements set out in a plan produced by the Australian Energy Market Operator:
It will ensure that we have the energy built that is clean, reliable, and affordable, and it will be built by Australian workers using Australian supplies.
Updated
Diverting from Covid updates for a moment to take stock of that other big challenge facing Australia and the world: the climate crisis.
The government’s Energy Security Board released a significant report today outlining the types of reforms needed to set up the national electricity market for 2025 onwards. It estimates about 60% of Australia’s coal-fired power station fleet will close within the next two decades, as part of a transformation that will see an increased use of renewables.
In an interview, I asked Kerry Schott, head of the ESB, to explain the most important thing Australian governments needed to do to handle the exit of coal generation in an orderly way. She replied that such exits “mean that emissions are reducing, which is a good thing”:
But what does matter is that there’s replacement there. And what we have to do with the market design is make sure that there is enough incentive for investors to put the new resources that are needed, which is hydro and batteries, and gas in to be there when it’s needed.
Schott called for reforms to ensure that when there was less demand for power on the grid “we can just immediately stabilise things by, you know, buying frequency services or buying system strength”.
In the interview, Schott was upbeat about the power that will be placed in the hands of consumers with the rising uptake of household solar and batteries. Consumers would have greater control over managing their electricity demand:
Consumers have always been rather inert in that they take the power and pay the bill, and that’s sort of the end of it, but these days with rooftop solar, a lot of people are putting in batteries. A lot of people will be buying electric vehicles. That means that people will be storing power and they can also, of course, export it. So consumers are going to have the opportunity to have sort of smart little energy systems in their homes.
Services, software and “gadgetry” would be available to help people “trade energy for you and buy it when it’s cheap”:
It’s like everybody suddenly discovered smartphones. It’s going to be of that sort of order of transition.
For more from the interview – including Schott’s observations about the federal government inching towards net zero emissions by 2050 – see our story:
Updated
WA bushfire alert issued north of Perth
A bushfire emergency warning has been issued in Western Australia for an area 100km north of Perth.
This just sent from Emergency WA:
Those in the areas bordered by Brand Highway, Nammegarra Road, Mimegarra Road, Dingo Road, Nilgen Road, Indian Ocean Drive, K.W. Road, Sappers Road, Orange Springs Road and Nabaroo Road in parts of REGANS FORD, RED GULLY, COWALLA, MOORE RIVER NATIONAL PARK, NILGEN, MIMEGARRA, KARAKIN, YATHROO, ORANGE SPRINGS, LANCELIN and LEDGE POINT, including OCEAN FARMS and SEAVIEW PARK, in the SHIRES OF GINGIN and DANDARAGAN
Authorities have told local residents:
- You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes.
- The alert level for this fire has been upgraded as the bushfire is moving quickly.
More on the bushfire warnings here.
Updated
An interesting little graphic has been produced by the Victorian DHHS explaining the Black Rock cluster in more detail:
The State Government has just released this diagram mapping the Black Rock outbreak. @10NewsFirstMelb #springst #covid19Vic pic.twitter.com/bS6HVFX3Wp
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) January 5, 2021
Just to go back a little way (prompted by that NSW Health alert that again named venues which were visited by a positive Covid-19 case), Jeroen Weimar, the Victorian Covid-19 commissioner, was asked at his press conference earlier this afternoon about the harm caused to businesses that were linked to a cluster.
Weimar said he sympathised with the businesses but it was vital the community had information about where positive cases had been detected to ensure the spread of the virus was stamped out:
I think, as we said before, look, the impact on any business of being identified as an exposure site is hugely challenging. The Black Rock cafe is something I see on my daily travels quite often, I can only imagine how hard it is for the owners of that particular business to be in their position.
Let me stress again, in the vast majority of times, the people who are listed on the exposure sites have done nothing wrong. It’s an accident of geography a number of people crossed over at a certain location and that’s where a transmission happened.
For the avoidance of doubt, whether we have listed exposure sites today ... back in September, October, it’s not the fault of the venue that virus has come calling. It does of course mean we rely very heavily on the venues to have good contact tracing, good records in place, and again, in the vast majority of the venues we’re talking about in this outbreak, most of them have had really good records. That’s been a huge help.
Mistakes are made, we’re all human beings, sometimes the writing is not very legible, sometimes people haven’t logged on. Those are all things that we have to deal with.
Updated
We also have some more detail from NSW Health about locations visited by the latest positive case detected as part of the Berala bottle-o cluster. This includes venues in Broken Hill and Orange.
Here is part of the NSW Health release:
NSW Health has been notified of venues visited by a confirmed case of Covid-19 in western NSW.
The case is a man from western Sydney who was infected at the Berala BWS on Christmas Eve before travelling to Broken Hill, Orange and Nyngan while unknowingly infectious.
He was identified as a close contact and asked by NSW Health to be tested. This case will be reported in tomorrow’s figures.
Anyone who attended the following venues is a close contact who must get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
• Broken Hill: Gourmet Cribtin, 305 Argent Street, Saturday, 2 January, 10.40am-11.20am.
• Orange: Birdie Noshery and Drinking Est. 120-122 Summer Street, Sunday, 3 January, 12.30pm-2pm.
Anyone who has attended the following venue at the following times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received, and continue to monitor for symptoms and test again if any symptoms develop:
• Nyngan: Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, Barrier and Mitchell highways, Saturday, 2 January to Sunday, 3 January.
Anyone who attended the following service stations must monitor for symptoms and if they appear, immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received:
• Broken Hill: Broken Hill Shell, 164 Williams Street, Saturday, 2 January, 10.52am-10.55am.
• Nyngan: Nyngan BP, 180 Mitchell Highway, Sunday, 3 January, 9.10am-9.13am.
More venues may be added to this list, so please ensure you monitor the NSW government website for further additions.
Updated
Queensland Health have found Covid-19 viral fragments in wastewater in Warwick, Stanthorpe, Loganholme and Cairns.
Two new cases, both in hotel quarantine, were recorded in Queensland today.
This has just been issued by the department:
Routine wastewater testing has returned a positive result for viral fragments of Covid-19 in sewage at treatment plants at four locations across the state.
It comes as Queensland records two new Covid-19 cases today, both overseas acquired and detected while in hotel quarantine.
Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said positive sewage results, collected on 29 and 30 December 2020, are particularly concerning in light of the ongoing situation in New South Wales and Victoria.
“A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious,” Dr Young said.
“While this doesn’t necessarily mean we have new cases of Covid-19 in these communities, I am treating this with absolute caution given the emerging situation across several other states.”
Dr Young said she was calling on the Warwick, Stanthorpe, Loganholme and Cairns communities to get tested immediately if they have any Covid-19 symptoms, no matter how mild.
“Please, get tested,” Dr Young said.
“In particular, if you have been to Victoria or hotspots in New South Wales, please come forward and get tested regardless of whether or not you have symptoms.
“If there is a case in the community, it is critical we detect it through our testing mechanisms as quickly as possible to contain any potential spread and protect the great progress Queensland has made in recent months.
“The community has rallied to get tested – we have performed over 20,000 tests in the past two days alone.
“Please remember, if your local testing clinic is crowded, consider attending another one.
“But I also want to reassure the community, local drinking water is thoroughly treated through processes that are designed to remove or kill microorganisms before they reach your taps – so there is no risk when drinking water, showering, watering the garden, swimming or other activities.”
Updated
Jeroen Weimar was also asked about how the state’s contact tracing capability was holding up. Shortfalls in the tracing system were blamed for causing deaths during Victoria’s second wave:
At this point in time, I think we’re well within our 100% being contacted within 24 hours.
And let me just clarify again what that metric looks like. This is at the point in which we have a positive case, then identifying and contacting their primary close contacts.
We set ourselves a target of 24 hours. In many times, it’s much quicker than that. It shows you how far we’ve all come as a community in the last six months, we are having interview with people within an hour or two of their test results.
People have told us they have got in touch with their friends and family already, put it on their Facebook. If you get a phone call from us, any kind of confirmation from us you’re a positive, we absolutely want you to start that process already.
If you can tell your friends you’re a positive case, that’s what has been very encouraging about the Black Rock development, people – the bush telegraph ... has worked very effectively. I’m reassured we’ve got so far every case within the primary close contact field. But it doesn’t mean of course there’s no other mysteries cases out there. That’s why we need to keep testing and urging people to come forward to do the right thing.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar, the Victorian Covid-19 commander, has finished speaking in Melbourne. The state recorded three new locally acquired cases today.
Some of the detail he provided about the Black Rock restaurant cluster was quite fascinating:
We know the virus works in unpredictable ways. We’ve seen the Black Rock exposure site where 12 people went to one cafe from one night, from five different groups, and all contracted the virus from each other.
And we’ve other exposure sites where to date we have not seen any of those transmissions come across.
Our testing penetration is very good. We’re very confident we’re getting an accurate picture. But I think – look, it’s a positive sign. We cannot – if we have learned anything in the last week, again, is that we cannot afford to be complacent.
We need to keep driving hard at this. We won’t rest until we have tested ... around the exposure sites and gone through a number of cycles of the virus to establish we have stamped out this particular outbreak and identified any other chains of transmission.
Updated
He is also urging patience with exemptions for people seeking to return from NSW, saying those about 2,800 applications are progressing. He said the rate of applications was slowing down, which would allow a team of about 30 people to process them quicker.
We’ve been in touch with 1,100 people this morning out of those 2,800 to progress their applications and to understand them. We have 630 of the exemptions where we’re awaiting more information for the applicants to establish their case. That work will carry on over the coming days.
I absolutely understand and appreciate there will be people right now, who are concerned, particularly if you have a medical emergency, or hardship grounds, please, I know it’s been an upsetting and distressing couple of days to understand how the border closure would impact you, I urge you to get in touch with us through our website or contact centre, so we can assist you as quickly as possible.
We’re now starting to see good movement on the exemptions, but we’re of course triaging the important and the urgent cases so we can support the people most in need and balance the risk to the Victorian community with care and consideration for anyone who has got special circumstances that we need to address.
Updated
Weimar, the Victorian Covid-19 commander, is urging more testing, saying that now they have a good sense of the Black Rock cluster, they want to determine whether there are any mystery cases.
It’s important we do everything we now can, now we’re seeing the shape of the Black Rock cluster emerging quite clearly, it’s important we establish if there’s any other mystery cases out there, and we’re keen to ensure that there’s no other risk of transmission from all the returned travellers from New South Wales over the last two weeks.
So, this is by no means over. We’ve a lot more work to do over the coming days. And I would urge everyone to come forward and help us to do that so we can run this to the ground.
Updated
Jeroen Weimar, Victoria’s Covid response commander, is speaking in Melbourne. He confirms that there are now 38 active cases in Victoria, 27 of which are linked to that cluster at a restaurant at Black Rock in Melbourne’s south-east.
Those 27 active cases are spread across 14 separate households. 12 of the 27 cases were altogether on 21 December, at the dinner, at the Smile Buffalo Thai restaurant in Black Rock. It is positive to see that all the cases that we’ve identified in the Black Rock cluster have all been in the primary close contacts.
Updated
Mark McGowan went on to again engage in some argy bargy with NSW acting premier John Barilaro, who cracked the sads yesterday about other states criticising NSW despite not pulling their weight:
What the New South Wales acting premier yesterday said was grossly irresponsible.
The idea that we just bring people in and then put them on a domestic flight, rather than put them into hotel quarantine, is irresponsible. And so what he had to say yesterday was wrong, irresponsible, and silly, and quite selfish.
So all I’d say is – we’ll continue to do our bit as Australians to protect all Australians, and we’ll continue to do our bit as West Australians to keep borders in place as long as we need to to protect the people of Western Australia.
Updated
This from WA premier Mark McGowan a short time ago regarding that quite concerning development of three cases in hotel quarantine being found to have the new and far more infectious UK strain of Covid-19:
We’ve had one new case overnight – that’s a returned traveller who is in hotel quarantine. A West Australian resident returning from Poland via Doha.
So, one new case overnight. We’ve done testing of the most recent cases. Unfortunately, what we’ve found in our hotel quarantine system is three people have the new UK variant, so three people in our hotel quarantine have been diagnosed with the new UK variant, which is a more rapidly spreading variant of the virus, and obviously it’s causing havoc throughout England.
It turns out there’s now around 27,000 people in hospital with Covid in England, and the number is growing rapidly every day. So they’re having mass deaths across Britain, and that’s a terrible situation. But the fact now is we have three of these cases in our hotel quarantine.
We’re obviously managing those cases, and our hotel quarantine system has proven effective at preventing the spread of the virus.
Updated
WA confirms three cases of UK variant of Covid-19 in hotel quarantine
Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan has confirmed three cases of the UK variant of Covid-19 have been found in hotel quarantine in the state.
Updated
I’ll hand over to Nino Bucci now who will take you through the rest of the afternoon. First up is a press conference with Victoria’s coronavirus testing commander, Jeroen Weimar, in just a few minutes.
Stay well, and I’ll see you in the morning.
The member for Mackellar and a self-described northern beaches local, Jason Falinski, has called for the lockdown of the northern half of the northern beaches to be lifted.
I am hearing from many residents, not just of the northern zone, who have not seen family since before Christmas. They live only a few kilometres apart. (1/4) #auspol #COVID19nsw
— Jason Falinski MP (Stay positive, test negative) (@JasonFalinskiMP) January 5, 2021
The lockdown of the southern half of the northern beaches – Dee Why, Cromer, etc – was lifted last weekend but the peninsula, which includes Avalon beach, is under lockdown until Saturday. Acting premier John Barilaro has indicated it’s not likely to lift earlier.
Falinski said he will ask NSW health minister Brad Hazzard, himself a lifelong northern beaches resident, to review it.
Given the risk elsewhere in Sydney, and the response to that risk, they are asking me why they remain under lockdown and I do not have a good answer. We shouldn't just accept the date has been set and cannot be looked at, I will be asking Minister Hazzard to review it. (2/4)
— Jason Falinski MP (Stay positive, test negative) (@JasonFalinskiMP) January 5, 2021
I do not believe there is a good argument for inflicting further economic damage needlessly. These businesses should be allowed to open before the weekend as long as they can demonstrate they can operate under COVID safe conditions. (4/4)
— Jason Falinski MP (Stay positive, test negative) (@JasonFalinskiMP) January 5, 2021
Updated
South Australia’s domestic travel vouchers have all run out – after the site crashed due to demand.
The Great State Vouchers have sold out BUT the system crashed almost instantly once the vouchers went online. Many missing out due to a robot verification expire error. @9NewsAdel pic.twitter.com/ry2XXjWDJW
— Ollie Haig (@ollie_haig) January 5, 2021
Has anyone had success actually getting one or are we all stuck on the verification wheel of doom? https://t.co/dJZutwQsnX
— Sharna Bremner (@sharnatweets) January 5, 2021
Updated
I want to take a moment to divert you away from the news of the day to ponder the phrase “tooth-producing energy”.
Specifically, the tooth-producing energy of the narwhal, which they have put into growing a tusk, purpose unknown.
Here’s the full quote, from Martin Nweeia, a Harvard dentist at the Smithsonian.
It is striking when you think that this animal decided to take all of its tooth-producing energy and put it into one thing [a tusk] that sticks out nine feet into the ocean. With the amount of energy that it takes to produce that one tusk it could easily have 30 to 40 teeth in its mouth doing other things.
You’ll find this quote in this column by Helen Sullivan, of global coronavirus live blog fame, which discusses the weirdness of narwhals at length:
Updated
Scott Morrison this morning said it wasn’t for him to comment on state border closures and that was a matter for state governments.
His ministers do not feel so restrained. Sussan Ley, whose electorate of Farrer runs along the NSW side of the Murray River, said states should “think of the crippling impacts of border closures and accept that we need to manage outbreaks when they occur without slamming borders shut”.
New Year’s resolution for States:
— Sussan Ley (@sussanley) January 5, 2021
Think of the crippling impacts of border closures and accept that we need to manage outbreaks where they occur without slamming borders shut.
Local businesses are facing their second crushing shutdown in 6 mths with no warning and no roadmap out
There are still long queues for Covid-19 testing at some drive-through sites in Melbourne today.
Updated
A few more accounts of testing clinics.
We’ve had some praise for the pre-book respiratory clinic on the Mornington Peninsula.
I was not only able to book an appointment, I didn’t have to queue at all and when we were getting tested the Covid testing doctor ended up examining my baby and was able to diagnose glue ear and give me a prescription for much needed antibiotics. If she hadn’t done that we would have had to wait days for his results before even getting close to a GP surgery.
And for the DHHS staff at the drive-through clinic at the Melbourne showgrounds:
I just want to say thank you to all the medical workers as my experience was so great. I went to the Showgrounds on the morning of the 31st. Got there at 8.15am. Gates opened at 9. They started processing people at 9.30. I was all done by 9.50 and got my result at 7pm that evening... Amazing!
More praise for the experience of pre-booking at a respiratory clinic, which seems the best way to avoid a queue:
Had to have a Covid test in Melbourne on Saturday due to a sore throat. Booked an online appointment at the local respiratory clinic in Rowville and got an appointment 30 minutes after I made the booking. Ten minute wait at the clinic, test results back in about 22 hours. And this was while several drive in clinics in the area were closed due to wait times of more than five hours.
Speaking of long wait times, it was six hours at Chadstone yesterday:
Wait time at Chadstone drive through yesterday was about six hours. Staff were extremely courteous and friendly, however, and no-one was impatient or rude seemingly. Results back within 7 hours. Would recommend people try to go to a walk in if they can for wait times.
And a report that mix-ups on getting test results is also happening in Victoria:
My wife did her test around 12 hours ahead of mine (We went through different drive through testing sites on Saturday). My text came back Sunday night, a bit over 24 hours later. Her’s had still not arrived on Monday morning. She spent most of that morning on hold and getting disconnected from the DHHS testing hotline.
Eventually got through to the call centre and all they could do is take her details and look into it. She managed to find out which pathology her testing site was using from that person. After calling the pathology directly she found out that her text should have arrived on the Saturday night and she had been isolating for an additional day and half for no reason. She did receive a text to confirm on Monday evening, perhaps as a result of the DHHS follow up.
Updated
Victoria will hold another press conference on its coronavirus response at 1.30pm. Speaking will be coronavirus testing commander, Jeroen Weimar.
Rookwood, one of the suburbs named by NSW health minister Brad Hazzard as on the SCG’s ban list, is just a cemetery.
Brad Hazzard says anyone who lives at Rookwood will be fined $1000 if they go to the SCG. That would be pretty extraordinary considering Rookwood is a cemetery
— Shane Bazzi (@shanebazzi) January 5, 2021
Updated
Lisa Neville also spoke about the fire season. She is standing in the incident control centre, which many will be familiar with after last summer.
She said Victoria has already had more than 3,500 grass and scrub fires since 1 July:
There have been substantial numbers of grass and scrub fires and parts of the state remain dry. This rain we’re seeing, we haven’t seen much in the north in the last period of time. We’ve also seen 89 fires started by campfires. Again, you know, leaving a campfire unattended, not only can you be fined, you may be the cause of a significant fire through vegetation ... You don’t want that fine, you don’t want to be the cause of a significant bushfire in this state.
Updated
Victoria calls on other states to introduce mandatory quarantine and testing of flight crews
Lisa Neville called on all other states and territories to quarantine and test flight crews, saying testing of flight crews in Victoria have found the “odds are very high”.
Victoria has been quarantining and testing flight crews for the past two weeks. About eight of the 1,000 people who have flown in in the past two weeks have tested positive, she says.
This is over and above the averages that we are seeing in international returned travellers.This was an incredibly important decision to make sure that we are quarantining flight crew and we’re testing flight crew. Those odds are very high. In fact, I would be today saying to the other states, this is such a high risk for all of us, for the country, everyone needs to follow the lead around quarantining and testing of flight crew.
It is absolutely critical given the numbers that we’re seeing. Any risk of this getting out, that was a major issue and one of the issues I think that was identified through New South Wales a few weeks ago. So, again, I encourage nationally and all the states to look at this. I know the acting chief health officer, Allen Cheng, will be raising this issue and taking a paper to AHPPC about this issue. Given the significant numbers and therefore the significant risk, you know, we’re fine in Victoria, but flight crew are coming in right across the country, a significant risk to all Australia.
Some 5,354 people have gone into hotel quarantine in Victoria since 7 December, and 27 people have tested positive.
Neville said Victoria is also the only state to conduct daily tests of all staff working in the hotel quarantine system. More than 30,000 tests of staff have been conducted since the hotel quarantine system began operating again last month:
Whether you’re the bus driver, delivering the food, or whether you’re an PSO or a police officer, you’re being daily tested in our program. And no positives have been identified amongst those 30,000 tests.
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Neville says the average delays at drive or walk-through testing sites is 60 to 90 minutes.
New testing sites will be established today at Brighton Town Hall and in Moorabbin.
About 1,000 primary and secondary contacts are in quarantine.
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Victorian emergency management minister Lisa Neville gives Covid-19 update
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Lisa Neville has just begun speaking in Melbourne at the state control centre, flanked by emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp, deputy police commissioner Rick Nugent and corrections commissioner Emma Cassa, who oversees hotel quarantine.
Neville says Victoria now has 38 active cases of Covid-19. That’s three new locally acquired cases overnight, and one new case in hotel quarantine. She says:
All three cases are directly linked to the Black Rock cluster, that can give us confidence we’re still managing the outbreaks and the contact tracing that is showing a direct link back to that particular cluster.
Victoria recorded 32,544 tests yesterday – the third day in a row over 30,000.
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Brad Hazzard finishes the press conference by thanking the Auslan interpreters.
We second those thanks. They are wonderful, and WA’s Auslan interpreter is a particular favourite, mainly for the kebab incident.
Says Hazzard:
We don’t normally remember to thank the Auslan interpreters. I got to say, this is now nearly a year of an Auslan interpreter being with us every single day, and I just want to say thank you to the Auslan interpreters for making sure our entire community can get the message that we put out each day. Thank you very much. Thank you, thank you.
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A question on what the government is doing to ensure it is reaching people around Berala whose primary language is not English. Brad Hazzard says:
There’s advice going to the local community radio stations in individual languages, from the multicultural community, there’s also written advice, social media going out in a number of different languages, and that’s why I ask for community leaders earlier to also make that call. A whole range of issues – a whole range of efforts are going out to try to make sure that we get to the local multicultural communities.
There are 26 testing sites in Berala, soon to be 27 with another pop-up service at Berala today:
Some of the local community were telling me and other public health officials that if you didn’t have a car, or you weren’t on public transport, it was difficult for them. We responded.
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Another question on whether the $5,000 fine for businesses that breach Covid-19 health orders will be increased. John Barilaro was asked this yesterday and said they were considering it. His answer today is basically the same:
We’re going to reconsider. We prefer to work with a carrot, not a stick, about you that venue out in western Sydney, the wedding venue, it was a deliberate grab for profit, it was deliberate, the fine in itself, $5,000, that’s been imposed, some would say isn’t sufficient. That in itself has triggered the government to consider fines going forward.
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Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant is asked about whether she would support a requirement for people to get tested before they get on a plane from the UK to Australia.
She says it’s her understanding this is already being done (Scott Morrison said this morning that the Australian government pre-tests on its evacuation flights and most commercial flights do so too) but she says that it should not be presented as a fail-safe against getting the new variant of the virus in Australia.
As Morrison argued this morning, Chant said a negative test before travel is a good precaution but it would not preclude that person from later becoming infectious on the plane, or during their 14-day quarantine. So basically: testing negative before you get on the plane doesn’t mean you are not incubating the virus, so continual testing and hotel quarantine remains the main line of defence.
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John Barilaro says another venue in Broken Hill is likely to be named as an exposure site later today, from the 18-year-old who tested positive overnight:
He was camping, so it gives us some hope. The individual has been very helpful.
But he again urges people to avoid non-essential travel:
I’m concerned about any travel movement into the regions. That’s why we’re asking people to limit mobility.
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Brad Hazzard is asked if the new public health order, banning people from the Berala area from travelling to the SCG, will be expanded to apply to other sporting events. He says:
At the moment, the public health advice is the high level of concern is focused on people coming from that area into the SCG. But look, it’s all under review every day. This is almost 12 months and every day it’s a review, public health looks at these issues. And public health gives the government advice on any of the other issues, we’ll take it.
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A reporter asks whether, given the low numbers reported over the past two days, the SCG capacity could be doubled back up to 50%. The Test starts on Wednesday.
Brad Hazzard says that’s pretty unlikely:
The advice that we take of course is the advice of public health. And I don’t think Dr Chant can be any clearer in the current context, I emphasise the current context, you heard about another case this morning, overnight, her preferred position is it be 25%. Like everything in health, we listen to the health advice, we continue to listen to the health advice.
As it stands at the moment, the SCG have worked extremely well with New South Wales public health and the number is 25%. So that’s the working number that we’re relying on at the present time.
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SCG bans entry to people from suburbs around Berala
Brad Hazzard says people from Berala, Auburn, Lidcombe North, Regents Park and Rookwood will not be allowed into the SCG to attend the Sydney Test:
New South Wales is absolutely delighted we can host this Test. It’s part of our tradition and part of our history. But it’s also crucial as the SCG has identified, working with New South Wales Health, that people from certain suburbs in that Berala area do not attend this test. You must not attend this test.
Now, ticket sales have gone in a way that is aimed at ensuring that people from particular suburbs around Berala do not acquire tickets and do not come to the Test. That’s for your sake and for our community’s sake. But, I want to alert the community in those suburbs, if any of you think it’s still OK to come in with someone else who has got a ticket, or tickets, it won’t be OK. Because there will be orders, health orders made, in the next 24 hours, that will enable New South Wales police to fine you $1,000 if you put foot inside the SCG. You must not, you must not come to the SCG. So, just be aware of that.
If you live in Auburn, Berala, Lidcombe North, Regents Park or Rookwood, we would love you at the Test in a non-Covid year, but we can’t. The SCG have asked you not to come, but it will be backed in. If an officer stops you and you happen to be at the SCG, then you will find yourself receiving a $1,000 fine.
Updated
Brad Hazzard then calls on community leaders in Berala to pass on the message from NSW Health about the need to get tested. He also stresses that the test is free, even for non-citizens:
As to the community around Berala, I want to say this to the community leaders, the community around Berala is a very vibrant, multicultural part of Sydney. It’s a community of many different peoples. What I would ask is that community leaders step forward and make sure your particular community hears the message. You know best how to reach out to each of these communities and I ask you do that. To stress the messages that New South Wales Health is sending.
I’m not sure what kind of outreach NSW Health is itself doing to ensure messages are available in a range of languages and that message is communicated directly. That was one of the issues that emerged in Melbourne’s second wave.
Updated
Health minister Brad Hazzard also thanks the man for getting tested, and urged anyone with any symptoms to do the same:
Knowing if you have any advice from New South Wales Health, that you have been in a venue that we have named, or you’re a close contact of someone who has been in those venues, or if you wake up and as we just heard, a very aware young man, an 18-year-old, listened to the message, and noted he the symptoms.
If you have any symptoms, any symptoms at all, of a cold or flu-like illness, or even just a bit of fatigue, you should actually get tested. Now, the deputy premier has highlighted the importance of regional persons to be on alert. We have this 18-year-old gentleman who came forward to tell us about his travels. This reinforces a message this is an issue for the whole of New South Wales. You can’t assume just because you’re in regional New South Wales you either don’t have the virus or you’re safe from the virus being transmitted to you. Any symptoms at all, go and get tested.
Updated
Kerry Chant says the case recorded overnight, of the 18-year-old man who travelled to western NSW, is being flagged today because it poses a potential public health risk outside of areas now under alert:
One further case reported since 8pm last night visited the Berala BWS on Christmas Eve. They travelled to western New South Wales and attended venues in Broken Hill, Orange and Nyngan.
Can I thank this individual. They got a text from us, saying you had been in that BWS on the 24th. Woke up, had a little bit of a runny nose just yesterday. And went out and got a test and did the right thing. This gentleman was totally unaware of the issues, acted promptly on our text message and thank you so much. That helps us to prevent further infections.
The man dined at the Birdie Noshery and Drinking Est at Summer Street in Orange on 3 January from 12.30pm to 2pm. Anyone who was there is asked to get tested and isolate.
The other potential exposure sites are the Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park from 2 January to 3 January.
People travelling with the man have already been tested.
Updated
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant is talking now. She says NSW recorded 26,391 tests yesterday. That’s up from 22,000 the day before but still below the target of at least 30,000, ideally 50,000 a day.
The four new locally acquired cases are a man in his 50s who visited the BWS at Berala on 24 December and a woman in her 40s who visited the Woolworths at Berala, but not the BWS. They’re the two people named yesterday. Chant says:
And that’s been one of the things that our teams has been looking at, CCTV footage, reinterviewing the case, her husband had visited the BWS, but she had not. So, that has influenced some of our decisions about broadening our area of concern to the Woolworths as well.
The new new cases are a household contact of an existing Berala case and a close contact of a case linked to the Croydon cluster. That fourth person was in isolation before testing positive.
Updated
John Barilaro then tells everyone going to the Sydney Test to wear masks on public transport, and says the rules around Covid safety at the SCG could change “right up to the first ball”:
As you would have seen yesterday, Cricket Australia and the SCG have reduced numbers to 25%. Tickets have gone on sale and we continue to work with the SCG in relation to hosting the event. We’ll be making decisions and possibly changes right up to the first ball. We are remaining flexible and looking to the advice we received from Dr Kerry Chant’s team.
What I want to update the public on, in relation to the public transport. We want you to wear masks ... We ask you to check in on the QR codes.
Most importantly, this is in a conversation that we’ve just had, the minister Hazzard and myself, have had with minister Constance, we’ll be putting in place enough transport for 50% capacity for the stadium. We are making sure there’s plenty of capacity for people to socially distance on public transport. And we’ll continue to work with the SCG to make whatever refinements we require, getting people safely to and home from the SCG.
Updated
People in Broken Hill, Orange and Nyngan urged to get tested for Covid-19
Acting NSW premier John Barilaro says NSW Health has also been notified of another case overnight – so that will be in tomorrow’s figures because it came through after 8pm – of a person who had travelled way out to Broken Hill:
An 18-year-old man from Berala, who travelled from Berala to Orange, Nyngan and then Broken Hill for a camping trip. We’re urging people in Orange, Nyngan and Broken Hill to be tested. Clinics will be set up in due course.
This is a reminder of what can occur for people who are moving out of Sydney. We said clearly in the past, if you have any symptoms, if you are concerned, you should limit your mobility.
Updated
NSW records four new locally acquired cases
NSW has recorded four new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19, including the two flagged yesterday.
There are four other cases in hotel quarantine, bringing the total to eight.
Updated
Deliveroo delivery riders have elected seven of their own to be health and safety representatives, the first such reps elected at any gig economy company in Australia, the Transport Workers’ Union has said.
It follows the deaths of five food delivery riders in September and October of last year, and involved months of negotiations with the company.
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said:
The election of health and safety representatives by their co-workers is a milestone for the gig economy in Australia. This is an important step towards holding these companies to account for ensuring a safe working environment. Deliveroo was dragged kicking and screaming into accepting that workplace place health and safety laws apply to them and that elected representatives should not be forced to cover vast geographical areas that would make the roles unworkable. We still have legal proceedings continuing over their refusal to implement these laws fully but now Deliveroo riders have representatives to turn to when they need assistance on keeping safe.
This is just the first step to making this job safe. A major component is addressing the risks associated with the pressure riders are under to speed and work long hours. To do this we need regulation in place to ensure riders have appropriate minimum rates, the right to challenge an arbitrary sacking if they are a few minutes late with a delivery, the right to training, insurance and protective gear. Riders across Australia need these rights which is why we are calling on the Federal Government to regulate and protect delivery riders.
Updated
In very exciting news (to me, and possibly to other Victorians), DHHS has changed the way it lists new exposure sites. There’s now a bit at the top telling you which sites are newly added. Very helpful.
These sites have been added:
- The Sikh Temple at Keysborough. A person who has since tested positive visited from 3pm to 5pm on 1 January.
- Bodriggy Brewing Company in Abbotsford. A person who has since tested positive dined at the venue from 2.50pm to 5.30pm on 28 December.
- Merrymen Cafe in Hampton. A person who has since tested positive dined in the cafe from 1.30pm to 2.30pm on 28 December.
- The cafe at Ikea Springvale. A person who has since tested positive ate at the cafe from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on 30 December.
Anyone who attended any of the above venues at the listed dates and times has been told to get tested immediately and self-isolate for the full 14 days, regardless of the test result.
Also added were:
- Ikea Springvale. A person who has since tested positive shopped at the store from 4pm to 6.30pm on 30 December.
- Springvale Shopping Centre. A person who has since tested positive shopped at the shopping centre from 11am to 12.30pm on 29 December.
Anyone at either of these stores at the above times has been asked to get tested immediately and self-isolate until they get a negative result.
A number of other entries have been updated over the past 14 days, and exposure sites now cover a large swathe of Melbourne. Check the list here regularly, make sure you haven’t attended any of the at-risk sites, and if you have double check to see your quarantine requirements.
Updated
People from Covid-19 hotspots 'encouraged' not to attend Sydney Test
Speculation around whether cricket fans from Covid-19 hotspots will be banned from attending the third Test at the SCG has been cleared up – sort of.
On Monday Cricket Australia and Venues NSW, which runs the SCG, announced it would reduce capacity at the ground from 50% to 25% – about 10,000 – for the first day of the Test on Thursday, meaning ticket holders will be refunded and must now attempt to buy new tickets from the smaller pool under a revised socially distanced seating plan.
Venues NSW chief executive Kerrie Mather was quoted as saying “patrons who reside in certain at-risk areas, as identified by NSW Health, are not able to attend”.
This morning a spokesperson for Venues NSW told Guardian Australia there is no hard-and-fast ban, rather that those from hotspots are encouraged not to attend. People based anywhere should theoretically be able to buy tickets online, but may be contacted if the transaction is linked to an address in a hotspot to ascertain that person’s circumstances.
Mather also said the crowd situation remained “fluid” and attendance numbers could be increased throughout the Test if the Covid situation improves.
Updated
There are 2,700 people in home quarantine in the ACT, chief police officer Neil Gaughan says.
Updated
ACT extends hotspot declaration for greater Sydney and parts of NSW for another week
ACT chief minister Andrew Barr has been speaking in Canberra this morning about the restrictions preventing people from Sydney and some hotspot areas in NSW from travelling into the ACT.
The rules have been extended to next Wednesday, 13 January. Anyone who has been in greater Sydney or Wollongong in the past 14 days and is not an ACT citizen will not be allowed to travel to the ACT. ACT residents have to sign an online declaration form before returning, then quarantine for 14 days.
Barr says:
In the ACT, enforcement of public health directions will continue to be proportionate as they have been throughout the pandemic. Pandemics last for years. Not weeks, not months, they last for years. So we are in this for the long haul.
He says police officers will be checking cars on roads in NSW going into the ACT and within the ACT, “similar to random breath testing”. About 10% of cars on ACT roads have a NSW number plate, Barr says, and those cars will be the target of police.
If you are here from Sydney or any of the Covid hotspots in breach of our public health directions you should not be here and you risk an $8,000 fine …
2021 will be no different to 2020 even as vaccines roll out ... we need to accept, unfortunately, and as inconvenient as it is, that if you travel out side the ACT there is a risk that the rules of another state or territory will change on you and the risk, the compliance activity in the ACT, may change to reflect that.
This could continue to be the case “potentially for years to come”, he says.
Updated
And another from Victoria:
Tested Sunday – less than two hour wait at St Vincent’s; lovely staff and negative result the next morning in under 20 hours. Brilliant work by dhhs on behalf of us all.
People should consider alternatives to the drive-through like standing in a line at a hospital or local clinic
Updated
Another report of testing wait times, this time from NSW.
I’ve just heard from a reader who says NSW Health lost the first Covid-19 test swabs taken of two people who were at BWS Berala:
Friends of mine who are at BSW Berala were tested at 8am on Saturday and have not received a result from that test. They have been chasing the result. It was determined yesterday that the test from her and her husband have both been lost. Another swab was taken yesterday and they received a negative result from the second swab first thing this morning. No one knows where the first test went.
Updated
Ex-tropical cyclone Imogen is tracking across northern Queensland and is expected to bring flash flooding and rainfalls of up to 300mm.
Severe weather warning for HEAVY TO INTENSE RAINFALL across northeast Qld, most likely between Tully & Townsville this morning, extending to Ayr & Babinda later today. DAMAGING TO DESTRUCTIVE WINDS possible with storms between Ingham & Ayr. Latest warnings https://t.co/CnetUohr19 pic.twitter.com/ucBBWW5m13
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 4, 2021
More from AAP:
The Bureau of Meteorology has advised Imogen was located 60 kilometres east-northeast of Georgetown at 4am AEST and is forecast to track slowly in an east-southeast direction.
A trough extends eastwards through the North Tropical Coast and Tablelands to the south of Innisfail and is forecast to slowly move south.
Widespread heavy rainfall could affect areas between Tully and Townsville in the morning before it extends to about Ayr during the rest of Tuesday.
Several flood warnings are current throughout the area for locations including Townsville, Ingham, Cardwell, Ayr, Giru, Atherton, Ravenshoe, Greenvale and Charters Towers.
Tropical Cyclone Imogen crossed the coast north of Karumba shortly before 11pm on Sunday before slowly weakening to a tropical low on Monday.
About 1,400 houses were left without power, but there were no reports of injuries, police commissioner Katarina Carroll said.
The system dumped 262mm of rain in Normanton, with 186mm of that falling in six hours up until 3am on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Pieter Claassen said.
Updated
Thank you for continuing to send through your experiences at testing clinics and for test wait times.
I’ve just heard from someone who is still waiting for test results from Saturday. They were tested at the drive through-clinic at Frankston, and have been told the wait would be five days.
DHHS said yesterday:
Our pathology teams are processing more than three times the normal volume of tests and producing 86 per cent of results within 24 hours with 99.9 per cent receiving results within 48 hours.
You can share your experiences by emailing calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com
Scott Morrison has explained that Australia is not speeding up its vaccine approval or rollout because it is not in a “catastrophic” situation like the UK or Israel.
Speaking on 2GB Radio, Morrison accused Anthony Albanese of “quite an uninformed view” on vaccines:
Once you get the tick-off from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, you then – after that – you have to go and test the batches of vaccine that go throughout the country. You don’t take a wild guess ... [there is] further testing after TGA approval.
The Pfizer vaccine has to be transported at -70 degrees, so there are logistics and distribution issues. There is a lot of work being done. Australians want it to be safe and timely.
Updated
Australian MPs who support Julian Assange have welcomed the court’s decision and called for the WikiLeaks founder to be allowed to return home to Australia.
Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen, co-chairs of the Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group, have released a joint statement saying the decision not to extradite him to the US to face charges of espionage and hacking is the first step toward justice. The pair visited Assange in prison last year.
Wilkie said:
The Court’s finding confirms the terrible personal toll on Julian Assange and the grave risk to his life should he be extradited to the United States. But regrettably it fails to address central issues like freedom of speech, media freedom and the US claim to extraterritoriality.
Julian Assange must now be freed and allowed to return to Australia. And the Australian Government must rule out any possibility of his extradition from this country should he return home.
I also call on President Trump and President-Elect Biden, to let this be the end of the matter. Julian Assange should be lauded as a hero, not a villain.
Christensen said:
Now that we have a decision for no extradition, the UK Government must release Julian Assange immediately and have him returned to Australia. He is being held without any charge in the jurisdiction where he is being held, so there is no justification for him to stay in Belmarsh Prison for a moment longer.
Furthermore the Australian Government should ensure that when he is returned to Australia, there is no avenue for an extradition from his home country to the United States.
Updated
A quick note on the day’s press conferences.
NSW will release its daily Covid-19 figures – which we already know will be more than two – at a press conference at 11am.
The only Victorian press conference on the list so far is emergency services minister Lisa Neville, who will speak at the state control centre at 11.15am to give “an update on emergency services activity over summer”.
And the ACT will give its Covid-19 update at 10am.
Updated
A brief pause to look at this beautiful sunset rainbow, after the thunderstorms in Sydney yesterday.
Updated
And finally, Morrison was asked to comment on the decision of a UK court not to allow the extradition of Julian Assange.
He carefully does not give his view of that verdict:
I note the decision overnight and like any other Australian I understand that’s subject to appeal ... assuming that all turns out he’s like any other Australian, he’s free to return home to Australia if he wishes.
Consular support has been offered to Mr Assange ... it’s a matter for him [if he comes back to Australia] when proceedings and processes end.
Updated
Tony Jones asked Scott Morrison if Australians would be heading to the polls for a federal election in 2021. Morrison said:
Honestly it’s just Canberra speculation, the bubble likes to speculate about these things. I have only one priority this year and that is getting Australia continually through this pandemic and ensuring the economic recovery is achieved …
An election isn’t due until 2022 ... I’m not distracted by the question, an election isn’t due until 2022, I’ve got enough to do in 2021.
Updated
A bit more on that conversation between the PM and Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.
Scott Morrison has signalled that the commonwealth is assisting to help identify Covid-free locations in NSW to help ease the burden of 2,000 Victorians who have applied to return to their home state. He told 3AW:
[Andrews is] discussing with our chief medical officer about the situation in NSW. The wastewater testing had no positive results for Covid outside the greater Sydney metropolitan region and other hotspot areas like Wollongong. It’s the same situation as rural and regional Victoria and Melbourne. So there is an opportunity to work through those issues, and we will provide what support we can for a better pathway home for Victorians.
Morrison says state governments makes decisions on public health, including their borders, and the commonwealth respects their decisions – but will support them to make the effect of public health measures “painless as possible”.
He says there haven’t been any calls to recall national cabinet that he is aware of, and Andrews didn’t ask him to do that.
Morrison also attacks political opponents for what he says amount to calls to rush vaccine approval – a slight misrepresentation of Anthony Albanese’s position that once the TGA approves a vaccine it should be rolled out quicker. Labor has questioned why, if a vaccine is approved in January, Australians will have to wait until March for it to begin to be administered.
Updated
Australia will not 'cut corners' on Covid-19 vaccine rollout, Morrison says
Scott Morrison is asked why Australia is slower to roll out the vaccine than countries like the UK and the US. He points out that the UK had more than 58,000 new cases today – they are in a different, more desperate situation:
We are moving this as swiftly as it safely can be done. But Australia is not in an emergency situation like the United Kingdom so we don’t have to cut corners … I don’t think Australians would want us sending out their vials of vaccines that have not had their batches tested, which is the normal course for any vaccine that is TGA approved.
Will Morrison go to the Sydney Test, Tony Jones asks? He says no:
I am in Canberra, I am still in Canberra working this week, and because of the rules that are in place if I go to Sydney I can’t come back to Canberra ... so I will be watching it on the TV in the corner of the room while poring over paperwork, like I suspect many people, particularly health officials.
Updated
Morrison is asked whether people travelling from the UK to Australia should be tested before getting on the plane to see if they have the new variant of the virus.
He says that is already happening in most cases – the government requires it on flights it has facilitated back to Australia, and many commercial airlines do too.
But he says it does not change the risk because people can be asymptomatic and get a false negative test. That can create a false sense of confidence which increases the risk, he says:
If they have been tested before they come then they may be complacent when they come back because they think that they haven’t got it. We want everyone who comes back to behave as if they have got it.
Everyone has to quarantine for 14 days anyway.
Updated
Scott Morrison phoned Daniel Andrews to discuss state border issues
Scott Morrison is on 3AW talking to host Tony Jones. He begins by thanking Victorians for the “tremendous spirit they displayed, especially in the second half of the year”.
Morrison says he spoke to premier Daniel Andrews last night and they discussed the NSW-Victorian border, “to see if we can get a better pathway home for Victorians as soon as possible”.
But he will not go into detail about the discussion, saying it is a matter for the Victorian government to announce if and when anything around the hard border closure will change:
One thing I’ve always tried to do throughout this pandemic is respect the decisions that are made by states and states in turn respect the decisions that are made by the commonwealth.
He says the federal cabinet has not discussed the issue:
It is for state governments to make their rules about public health. I should be really clear about that. The federal government has no authority over states with regard to their public health orders.
Jones asks Morrison, given the heat he copped for holidaying in Hawaii during the bushfires in 2019, whether Andrews should come back from holiday. Morrison says:
People need to take their breaks. And I spoke to Dan last night so it’s not like he’s not focusing on Victoria and he has always been available to discuss those issues, as I was.
Updated
Meanwhile, England will enter its toughest nationwide lockdown since March as the number of cases reported each day continues to climb. The UK reported 58,784 new cases today, of which 53,180 are in England.
The lockdown will last for at least six weeks, until at least 15 February. Schools will switch back to remote learning and people will only be allowed to leave home for work, if they can’t do that at home, and for essential food and medicine. Exercise is limited to once a day.
More details are here:
Updated
Victoria records three new locally acquired Covid-19 cases
Victoria has again recorded three new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 and one international case in hotel quarantine. There were 32,544 tests conducted yesterday.
Yesterday there were 3 new local and 1 international case reported. 32,544 results were received. Thanks to all who were tested – #EveryTestHelps us #StaySafeStayOpen.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 4, 2021
More information coming later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/1kSwk3bJNN
Updated
We are aware of reports that DHHS has letterboxed people who are in hotel quarantine in Victoria after returning from NSW, suggesting they may be reviewed to see if they can undergo the rest of their 14-day quarantine at home.
We have contacted DHHS seeking confirmation and are awaiting a response.
Prof Allen Cheng, the Victorian deputy chief health officer and chair of the national Advisory Committee for Vaccines, last night posted a very informative thread on Twitter explaining why Australia was not moving as quickly as some other nations in rolling out the vaccine.
I'm seeing commentary asking why Australia isn't just rolling out the vaccine prior to regulatory approval, or why the TGA just doesn't register the vaccine based on approvals in other countries.
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) January 4, 2021
It is worth reading the thread in full. In sum, Cheng, says because Covid-19 is largely under control in Australia – even given the outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne, which are largely fully contact-traced and extremely small beans on an international scale – then the barrier for ensuring the vaccine is safe is higher.
He said authorities in Australia are looking for a “safety signal” and that means not just looking at common side-effects but keeping an eye out for “serious but rare-side effects”, which may effect fewer than one in 10,000 people. Phase three trials with about 20,000 to 25,000 participants are large enough to exclude moderately uncommon side-effects, he says, but not those serious but rare side-effects.
That’s made more complicated by the difficulty of figuring out if a single case of a serious side-effect is actually caused by the vaccine or if it’s an underlying issue in the test subject.
He says:
For COVID vaccines, we have published papers that report that the vaccines appear to be effective and generally safe. Many people think that published papers are the gold standard in evidence, but they just scrape the surface of what we want to know.
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) January 4, 2021
Regulatory submissions contain much more information - they run to tens of thousands of pages (I've read ones in the past that were more than 100,000 pages).
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) January 4, 2021
In countries facing hundreds of thousands of deaths from Covid-19 every day, Cheng says, the question of whether the benefit of using the vaccine outweighs the known risk and uncertainties may have a different answer than it would in a country like Australia, where just 26 people are in hospital with Covid-19.
But we're in a different position in Australia - even with the current situation in NSW and VIC, we can afford to wait for the TGA to do its job and make sure we're getting a safe, effective and quality vaccine.
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) January 4, 2021
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NSW will report more than two locally acquired cases today, John Barilaro says
NSW acting premier John Barilaro has told the ABC News 24 that he is “comfortable with the numbers” that will be reported by health officials at 11am today:
Yeah, look, the official announcement will be at 11am. But overnight, I’m comfortable with the numbers that have come through.
We’ve identified the two that we announced yesterday. There will be more than the two. But it’s a reasonable number, which I’m very confident with. More importantly, it’s about the tracing of those particular cases. We’re confident about where that continues to be.
In one way, it’s just business as usual. There’s nothing that’s alarming us, except for the testing numbers. Again, overnight there’s been an increase in testing numbers, so I am appreciative. But it’s still far short from where it needs to be.
Barilaro repeat that there are “no plans for any lockdown, or even any further restrictions at this stage” in western Sydney.
He says whether a lockdown is required will be based not on the number of new cases reported daily, but on whether those cases are linked or not:
If we lose sight of that, if our contact tracers can’t do that, that’s when the pressure is on in relation to further restrictions. But we’re not there. Our contact tracers are doing the work that they’ve been tasked with. It’s very thorough. They leave nothing for chance. And I’m very confident that we’ve got the data that backs our current position when it comes to restrictions.
He dismisses a suggestion that NSW will take as long to mop up this outbreak as it did the Crossroads Hotel outbreak in July, which had a tail of about four months.
The lockdown in the southern half of the northern beaches was lifted last weekend, and on will be lifted in the northern half this weekend.
So, the reality is that we have been able to do that in a faster way, because we were able to find the source and we have been able to contact trace. And that’s why we’re confident. I don’t believe this is a four-month ordeal, as long as things don’t dramatically change. There is nothing telling us that that will dramatically change. But the best thing people can do for us is turn up and be tested ... We need to get that testing up to 30,000, 40,000 people.
And finally, on whether people will have to wear masks at the cricket and face fines if they don’t:
Our preference is that people wear masks. They’re gonna have to wear masks on transport on the way in, while seated in those zones, because of the social distancing that we’ve put in place, they may not need to wear their masks. But if they’re getting up to go, say, to the cafeteria, to get food, the bar, or to a bathroom, we believe they should be wearing masks. Now, we’ll look at that over the next day or so and we’ll make our final decisions before the first ball is bowled.
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Bushfires remain a threat in Western Australia
Here’s a bit more on those Western Australian bushfires, via AAP:
A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for communities in the Western Australian shires of Gingin and Dandaragan north of Perth, with residents warned their lives and homes are under threat.
The new warning follows an easing of fire danger on Monday after a string of fires threatened WA communities, one forcing the evacuation of a nursing home.
High temperatures and strong winds fanned the flames with blazes reported to the north and south of Perth, on the state’s southwest coast and in the Goldfields.
An emergency warning on Tuesday morning from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) covers parts of Regans Ford, Red Gully, Cowalla, Moore River national park, Nilgen, Mimegarra, Karakin, Yathroo, Orange Springs, Lancelin and Ledge Point.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes,” the warning said.
Residents have been told the quick-moving fire was out of control and unpredictable and if the way was clear they should leave for a safer place.
“If you cannot leave, you need to get ready to shelter in your home.”
DFES has also issued an emergency warning for residents of the Ocean Farms Estate.
They were told at 7am to leave now via Indian Ocean Drive, with the warning: “Your life will be in danger if you stay.”
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Alerts issued for Woolworths and BWS over 11 days in Sydney's west
Good morning,
NSW Health has expanded its warning over a supermarket and bottle shop in western Sydney. As of last night, anyone who attended the BWS or Woolworths supermarket at Berala at any time from 20 December to 31 December has been asked to get tested immediately and self-isolate until they return a negative result.
The order is expected to include thousands of people. People who attended at specific days and times, listed here, have already been asked to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
The Earlwood Bardwell Park RSL on 28 December has also been put on the exposure list.
People in western Sydney have been urged to get a test if they feel any symptoms, even if they have already been tested recently. NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant says the number of tests done over the past few days has been too low – she says they should see at least 30,000 tests a day, preferably about 50,000, to ensure they have a good surveillance of virus levels in the population.
In Victoria, health authorities say they are confident the Black Rock coronavirus cluster is on a “very positive trajectory”. All 24 active locally acquired cases in the state have been directly linked to the Thai restaurant outbreak. More than 1,106 primary and secondary contacts of those positive cases are in isolation.
But Victorian authorities have been criticised for not successfully contacting the owners of some businesses listed as Covid-19 exposure sites before they were named. The Australian has reported that a Melbourne cafe was not contacted by DHHS until 16 hours after their business was listed as an exposure site, but that the DHHS had earlier tried to contact the business by calling the business line after hours and sending an email to an incorrect address. This is, of course, not a problem that is exclusive to Victoria.
South Australian authorities will meet today to discuss border restrictions with NSW and Victoria, but they are not expected to announce any changes. At the moment SA has a hard border with NSW and an open border with Victoria but anyone who has been to a virus hotspot in Melbourne is asked to get tested.
Western Australia bushfires
In WA, an emergency warning has been issued for communities in the shires of Gingin and Dandaragan, north of Perth, which are under threat from an out-of-control bushfire. The WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services says residents must leave now to avoid a threat to their lives. I’ll bring you more details on that soon.
Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US
And you probably saw overnight that a British judge has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States, not on free speech grounds but because of concerns about his mental health. Assange’s lawyers are now preparing to make a fresh appeal to have him released from prison.
Let’s crack on. You can reach me on Twitter @callapilla. If I miss something, let me know at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com
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