With that, I will leave you for the night. Thanks for reading – and we’ll see you tomorrow.
Today's developments
Let’s recap the events of the day.
- There was more good news in Victoria, where only 11 new cases were recorded. There were also two more deaths.
- The premier, Daniel Andrews, said it was a “great day”, though the government is sticking to its roadmap for now.
- There were four new cases in NSW and one new case in Queensland.
- Air New Zealand said there would not be trans-Tasman flights until March.
Updated
Two parents will be allowed to watch their children play community sport this weekend, the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, has said.
In another change, Hazzard said in an interview on Sydney radio station 2GB this afternoon the government would allow school formals a day earlier than allowed under previous guidelines.
On regulations that allowed only one parent to watch a child play sport, Hazzard said
We’ll certainly, in my view, be easing up that restriction in terms of parents.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that by the weekend, subject to one final check on Wednesday … I’d say mums and dads could look forward to … being able to get out and see their youngsters playing in their finals and grand finals.
On school formals, Hazzard said:
I’m very pleased to be on your program telling students all across the state and all schools that if they do have their formal booked for the 11th of November, no problem.
No dramas there, go and enjoy your formals.
Updated
Some good news out of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ daily update.
All of the state’s local government areas are now below 100 active cases.
The top five are:
- Brimbank: 96
- Wyndham: 76
- Melton: 64
- Casey: 55
- Moonee Valley: 49
Updated
The NRL will cut 25% of staff but has vowed further cuts to expenditure won’t come from referees as the governing body looks to save $50m.
The league’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo, announced the business restructure in a teleconference to staff, who will meet with their direct managers this week to learn of their future.
AAP reported that it was believed several staff were told on Monday they are no longer required.
Updated
Some big breaking news out of Israel:
An Israeli court has ordered that accused child sex abuser Malka Leifer can be extradited to Australia, the latest ruling in a saga which has dragged on for more than a decade.
The Jerusalem district court ruled on Monday afternoon (Monday morning, Israel time) that Leifer should be extradited to Australia, where Victorian police have charged her with 74 offences.
Leifer, 52, is accused of sexually assaulting female students during her time as principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel school in Melbourne’s south-east.
The full news report is here.
Updated
Personal information belonging to almost 20,000 University of Tasmania students was mistakenly made public for more than five months due to security settings being configured incorrectly.
Affected students were on Monday informed of the breach, which made their data available to anyone with a UTAS email address from late February to 11 August, reports AAP.
UTAS says analysis of the files has revealed a “number of users” with university emails have accessed the information.
The data, which contains personally identifiable information, is used to inform how the university supports students in their studies, UTAS says.
Bank account details were not part of the data breach.
The university said in a statement:
Security settings on shared files were unintentionally configured incorrectly, which made the information visible and accessible to unauthorised users.
The university says it became aware of the breach on August 11 and has engaged independent experts to assist.
University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black said:
I sincerely apologise to all students who have been affected by this incident.
We have undertaken a thorough review of how this information became accessible and took immediate steps to ensure it is secure.
UTAS is in the process of contacting people who accessed the data and has “sought assurance” that the files, or screenshots or shared copies of the files, have been permanently deleted.
Information belonging to the 19,900 students was made public through Microsoft Office365 platform SharePoint, which is used to store, share and access files.
Access privileges were incorrectly configured on an Office365 application, which displays content to users based on those privileges.
UTAS said:
There is no evidence this data breach was a result of malicious activity. The system has now been correctly configured.
UTAS has set up a hotline for students with questions or concerns.
Updated
In case you missed it earlier, state governments are preparing for what Daniel Andrews called “a summer like never before” during his press briefing today.
Updated
The robodebt saga is rolling on. Here is the latest.
Australian shares ended lower for a third straight day and only just managed to claw their way back from earlier three-month lows.
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index ended down 41.9 points, or 0.7%, to 5822,6 points on Monday, reports AAP.
It earlier touched a low of 5808.2, its lowest level since end June, on souring technical selling against the backdrop of weak US markets.
The All Ordinaries index fell 44.1 points, or 0.7%, to 6013.5.
The Aussie dollar was buying 73.14 US cents at 16:15 AEST, little changed from 73.15 US cents at the close on Friday.
Watch house officer suspended in Sherry Fisher-Tilberoo case
The Queensland police service has suspended a watch house officer and revealed that an Indigenous woman who died in police custody this month, Sherry Fisher-Tilberoo, was not checked for up to six hours before her body was discovered.
The death prompted two separate Black Lives Matter protests in Brisbane and calls for urgent action to address indigenous deaths in custody.
Assistant police commissioner Brian Codd told reporters this afternoon that an assistant watch house supervisor had been suspended for alleged failure of duty “in relation to the performance of physical checks” and “related record keeping”.
Codd said he understood Fisher-Tilberoo was discovered dead in her cell about 6am. Early indications from the police investigation indicate she was last checked on about midnight.
He said the suspended woman, who is not a sworn police officer, was stood down on full pay.
Updated
30,000 risk losing jobseeker payment when assets test returns
Anne Ruston has told the ABC about 30,000 people will lose access to the jobseeker payment when the government reapplies the income assets test on 25 September.
The return of the assets test was included as part of several changes announced in July, including the reduction of the coronavirus supplement and the expansion of earnings thresholds. The latter allows people to earn more money from work before their benefits are reduced.
Asked how many people would be affected by the return of the assets test, Ruston said:
We’re currently still in the process of contacting people. But my understanding is that there will be somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 people who currently have assets in excess of the threshold. Some of them ... have assets significantly higher than the thresholds that existed prior to us going into the pandemic.
There are currently about 1.5 million people receiving the payment.
Read more about the changes here.
Updated
Ruston also makes the point that the rate of jobseeker after 25 September (of $815 a fortnight) is still higher than the increases groups such as the Australian Council of Social Services had been calling for before the pandemic.
She says:
So what I would say is our commitment is elevated levels of support, as long as the pandemic – it’s impacting our economy, and decisions about anything post-that need to be made once we have a clear understanding of what the economy will look like.
Updated
Karvelas: How can people on jobseeker make decisions about their financial future if they don’t know what will happen with that payment past December?
Ruston says that “if elevated levels of temporary support are required post the end of this year”, the government will make them available.
Karvelas also presses Ruston on whether she believes it is acceptable for the payment to return to $40 a day.
Ruston starts by saying that in fact many people get supplementary payments, such as family payments and rental assistance. Karvelas interrupts to note that, while true, many still only get the base rate. (We’ve covered that here.)
Ruston doesn’t want to offer a view, saying:
I’m very focused on making sure the supports that all Australians need, that reflect the economic circumstances that are in place now, and constantly we’ll monitor into the future.
Updated
Patricia Karvelas has asked Anne Ruston why the government can’t add a booster payment to jobseeker, which on Friday will be cut by $300 a fortnight.
She notes that Victorians are not required to undertake welfare mutual obligations due to the current lockdown.
Ruston says:
One of the things we were very clear about what we went into this pandemic, both the jobseeker supplement and jobkeeper, was going to be a blanket for the whole of Australia. Clearly in the case of jobkeeper we now see that, you know, the majority of people who remain on jobkeeper are in Victoria. Which reflects the economic conditions that exist in Victoria at the moment because of the elevated levels of restrictions that are there.
We also have put in place a demand-driven program through our economic community support program, where we’ve made $200m available to the emergency support sector to make sure that people who find themselves in difficult conditions can access that a little bit of extra money if they have a bill that’s come due, which they haven’t accounted for, or they may need to pay rent.
We have provided an additional $5m just in the last few days into Victoria, and should further money be required, that will be made available to Victoria going on.
Updated
When will a post-31 December decision be made?
Decisions around what will happen post-Jan 1 will be informed by what happens in October and into November. I hope to be in a position, a number of weeks out, to make sure we give plenty of time to Australians who find themselves relying on this particular payment to know what is going forward.
The economic conditions at that time, particularly the jobs market, will be a very strong sort of input into our decision-making at that time.
Updated
The social services minister, Anne Ruston, is being interviewed on the ABC.
Asked why the government’s delayed a decision on the ultimate rate of jobseeker, she says:
What we are seeking to do is to wait until later in the year, when we’ve got a better understanding of what the impact of the changes this Friday are likely to have, and also getting a better understanding of the economic conditions later in the year, particularly as those relate to the jobs market.
Updated
Nick Coatsworth is asked about a recent recommendation from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) saying that airborne transmission is one of the ways the virus spreads.
He says:
What they have suggested is that the main mode of transmission is aerosol transmission – not quite airborne transmission in the purest sense of the word. What does that mean for Australian national guidance? Basically, it has always been the case that Australian guidance, US guidance, European guidance, has recognised that aerosols are produced by someone who has Covid-19, and that they can be inhaled by somebody in close proximity, and can be a form of transmission.
He gives the example that while speaking at this press conference, his speech is creating aerosols, “and that aerosol can contain Covid-19”.
Whether it is the main mode of transmission or not is one of the issues that is currently under debate, and we have seen a shift from the [CDC]...
It is the position of other major organisations – our own Australian health protection principle committee, the European CDC, Public Health England – [that] the main mode of transmission is contact in droplets and there is increasing recognition that aerosols have a role.
What has Australia done about that? During the Victorian second wave, the guidance on when to use N95 masks – the ones that protect you from transmission of airborne infectious disease – was expanded such that any patient within a hospital in Victoria at the moment, [or] suspected Covid-19 patients, [are] being treated by practitioners using a N95 mask – an important step recognising the role of aerosols.
Updated
Coatsworth is asked about the curfew that is still in place in Melbourne.
He says it was clearly designed with the intent to restrict movement. He adds:
As a public health measure, it was never debated or discussed within the AHPCC itself.
Updated
A few further points here from Coatsworth in response to journalists’ questions.
He says there is “no doubt” the low cases numbers “will be provoking some thought on behalf of the Victorian government, about the roadmap and when restrictions can be lifted.
But ... we do need to sound a note of caution here. That is simply to say, the effort that Victorians have gone to so far, the incredible effort, could easily be undone. And we don’t want that to happen.
Updated
Coatsworth is buoyed by the low case numbers in Victoria, but has a message for people there:
These are very pleasing results from Victoria overnight, just a testimony to the immense effort of Victorians both in rural and regional Victoria, especially in Melbourne ... those Australians who have been under a very restricted way of life for many weeks now. We would encourage Victorians to keep up the good work, there is still some way to go, as your government and health services plan the roadmap out.
Updated
The deputy chief medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, has just stepped up in Canberra.
Following deaths in Victoria, he says the nation’s death toll now stands at 851.
Updated
Community mental health is becoming a major factor for Victoria police as the state struggles with coronavirus lockdown fatigue.
The chief commissioner, Shane Patton, has also acknowledged that their reputation has taken a hit in the past few days, with one officer stood down after video of an arrest at Epping showed a man being hit by a police car and apparently stomped on the head.
Officers were dealing with mental health issues more frequently during the state’s second wave, Patton said, according to AAP.
He told 3AW:
Each day I check the reports from across the state ... it seems anecdotally our members are attending a lot more incidents where we do have mental health issues.
People are feeling the pressures a lot more and it stands to reason, when you think about the pressures that are being placed on people economically, and restrictions, and a whole range of different matters, as well as the fatigue in the community.
Updated
Just returning to the remarks of the social services minister, Anne Ruston, a little earlier.
Ruston made the important point that people who receive the jobkeeper wage subsidy can also apply to access a top-up jobseeker payment from 28 September.
That’s important because the jobkeeper subsidy is falling from $1,500 a fortnight to $1,200 for full-timers and $750 a fortnight for people considered part-time workers.
The jobseeker top-up will take a person’s income support to either $1,476 a fortnight or $1,295 a fortnight.
But here is an important point: anyone on jobkeeper who applies for jobseeker will be subject to mutual obligations from 28 September.
A spokesperson for the Department of Employment confirmed this to the Guardian last week, saying:
The same mutual obligation requirements apply to jobkeeper payment recipients as other people undertaking paid work while they are receiving jobseeker payment.
Requirements will be tailored taking into account existing employment and hours worked.
This means even if you have a job and are on jobkeeper, you will be required to search for up to eight jobs a month if you want to get the jobseeker top-up.
And if you are offered a job, you will need to take it or your jobseeker payments will be stopped.
Updated
Hello everyone, Luke Henriques-Gomes here taking over from Amy. I’ll be with you into the evening. You can get in touch via email luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com or on Twitter @lukehgomes.
There is a national Covid update coming up at 3.30pm – Luke Henriques-Gomes will take you through that and the rest of the afternoon.
I’ll be back tomorrow morning – take care of you Ax
Updated
Another outcome of the migration drop because of Covid:
Updated
Steven Marshall does not seem as positive when it comes to potentially opening the South Australian borders to NSW travellers, following the case of an infected taxi driver. The SA transition committee will meet tomorrow to discuss the NSW situation:
We’re not going to rush it. We’ve got to make sure we don’t have a second wave here in South Australia.
We don’t make political decisions, we don’t make ideological decisions.
We make decisions here in our state based upon the expert health advice.
Updated
Apprenticeships are at their lowest numbers in 20 years.
Labor’s Tanya Plibersek had a bit to say about that a little earlier:
The prime minister is not going to fix it the way he’s going. This isn’t going to be fixed by the prime minister dressing up like Bob the Builder in his tradie fluros. The prime minister needs to take responsibility to help young people get an apprenticeship. That’s a secure job for them and an investment in Australia’s future. This isn’t going to be fixed up by a fake tradie ad campaign. It needs real commitment from the prime minister.
We also need to give young people hope for the future. Young Australians have had a real kick in the guts in 2020; those who’ve been finishing school thinking about what comes next, getting a job, getting an apprenticeship, starting uni. All of them have had the year from hell. What we need to do to give young Australians hope for the future is be an economy that builds things, makes things, cares for people and provides good jobs with decent pay. We need to build things: by investing in infrastructure we can provide jobs for Australians and make our cities and our regional towns and our country areas better places to live. Investing in roads, in schools, in TAFEs, in parks.
Updated
Dnata was one of the firms ineligible for jobkeeper, as it was bought by a foreign owned company.
Now the TWU is saying more workers will lose their jobs:
The workers were denied jobkeeper after last minute changes in March to the scheme by the federal government which stopped Australian workers from receiving the payment whose companies are owned by foreign governments. Dnata is owned by the Emirates Group and employs 6,000 workers in Australia.
Dnata workers have had little income for seven months with many ineligible for full jobseeker. The majority of the redundancies will hit Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth airports.
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said he hoped the Prime Minister would address Dnata workers on the loss of their jobs.
It is up to Scott Morrison to stand up today and explain to these 1,000 Dnata workers why their jobs are gone. It is up to him to explain why he chose to shut them out of jobkeeper and why he didn’t refused to allow them to maintain a connection to their employer, like millions of Australian workers have been able to do through jobkeeper. What was done to Dnata workers is a disgrace and what is happening today is what we warned would happen but the prime minister refused to listen.
Updated
Queensland’s chief health officer wants to run an AFL grand final test run – but the LNP opposition is not happy:
Two hundred AFL fans have volunteered to act as guinea pigs and sit in close quarters during the Collingwood-Port Adelaide game at the Gabba on Monday night.
“Tonight, stadiums have agreed to trial increasing the density for a small number of people at the Gabba stadium,” chief health officer Jeannette Young said.
Currently, stadiums are at 50% but the plan is to increase capacity to 75%, or 30,000 people, for the grand final on 24 October.
“To suddenly go and increase from 50% to 75% without trialling all those processes doesn’t make sense,” Dr Young said.
She was not concerned about the risk of infection as outdoor areas were “much, much safer” than indoor venues.
But opposition leader Deb Frecklington accused the state government of putting the interests of AFL players over the health of ordinary Queenslanders.
“It is staggering double standards when people can’t have more than 10 people in their home but [premier] Annastacia Palaszczuk wants to trial jamming people into a footy stadium,” she said.
(via AAP)
Updated
Here’s New Zealand’s biggest political scandal – a selfie.
(via AAP)
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has apologised for a mass selfie taken on university grounds last week that broke her own Covid-fighting social distancing measures.
The euphoria-inducing Labour leader toured Massey University at Palmerston North on Thursday last week while campaigning for New Zealand’s 17 October election.
While security around prime ministerial visits is tight, Ardern was spotted through the windows of a laboratory, and soon enough, a crowd had grown outside the facility’s exit.
Upon leaving, the PM was flooded by students and fans as she made her way to the campaign van.
Ardern initially called for the crowd to back away but soon embraced the mob and produced the souvenir picture.
Ardern, in Auckland on Monday to announce the rollback of Covid-19 restrictions, said she should have known better.
“All the way through on the campaign trail and even before during alert level settings, I work really hard not to shake people’s hands,” she said.
“I sanitise. I wear my mask in Auckland, and I work hard to try and keep my social distance.
“In that particular photo I did make a mistake. I should have stepped further forward. I should have asked them to step apart from each other, and I acknowledge that.”
The Covid restrictions have been tough on the country’s politicians, who have been unable to reach voters in the means they’ve become accustomed to.
Politicians have scrapped door-knocking efforts, instead holding footpath meetings.
Debate crowds have been scaled right back, with voters encouraged to watch online rather than attend in person.
And rallies have been held back until the back end of the campaign,
As of Tuesday, candidates and parties are free to hold gatherings of any size outside of Auckland.
Updated
We got the unemployment figures last week – which came with a surprise drop in unemployment – from 7.5% to 6.8% – but in real terms, unemployment remains at between 13% and 14% (and don’t underestimate the impact the gig economy has had on unemployment – and you are counted as employed if you do one hour of work).
Tomorrow, we get the payroll data, which will help give us a broader idea of what is actually happening
Updated
So what happens to what is left of the Covid supplement past 31 December?
Anne Ruston:
We’ll continue to monitor the economic conditions and most particularly the state of the jobs market going forward, and we’ll make some decisions about what we may do post 31 December, closer to that date. But I want to assure all Australians if elevated supports are continued to be needed, they’ll be available.
Will that be in the budget?
Ruston:
The decisions – that changes we make at the end of this week aren’t come into force yet. We’ll wait to see what happens with those, and how the economic conditions improve, hopefully, as we move further forward. We’ll see Victoria come out of lockdown and restrictions soon. We want to wait a bit longer so we’ve got better economic statistics and information before we make further changes.
Updated
Given there is not a lot of work around, isn’t applying for eight jobs a bit of a burden for both job seekers and employers?
Anne Ruston:
What we sought to do, it’s a maximum of eight jobs. In economies and market places where there’s good employment, we’ll be seeking people to undertake the search for eight jobs. We understand there’s other parts of our economy that don’t have high levels of employment available. The job service providers will be allowed to make decisions in relation to the number of job searches someone has to do that reflect the market conditions in their area.
Updated
There are reports from the agricultural community that they can’t find fruit pickers.
This has been one of the government’s lines – but it is a complicated issue and not just as cut and dried as people turning down work.
Anne Ruston:
We are concerned about the concerns of the cherry growers and a number of other industry sectors are having difficulty in finding employees. That’s why part of the measures that will be coming in on Friday is the reintroduction of mutual obligations for people outside Victoria for them to start engaging with the jobs markets. We believe that no Australian who is unemployed should be turning down a job if they can do it. We have put that income free area of $300 in place to further incentivise people who are unemployed to take up the jobs.
Updated
Anne Ruston’s shadow minister, Linda Burney, had a bit to say about this issue a little earlier today:
With millions of Australians on JobSeeker about to have their payments cut, the Prime Minister is unable to answer whether he has sought advice on what impact it will have on the economy. pic.twitter.com/Bf15imod9v
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) September 21, 2020
Anne Ruston won’t say what happens to the Covid supplement beyond 31 December, or whether or not the pension will be increased (given there is no indexation increase this year) although on the latter point, Scott Morrison has basically said it will be happening.
Updated
On jobseeker changes, Anne Ruston, who very clearly has a tickle in her throat, says:
As of Friday, the jobseeker payments will be extended for a further period of three months to 31 December.
The supplement will be paid on an ongoing basis at $250 per fortnight, but in addition, we’ll be introducing an income free area of $300, which says to people who can get some work, we’ll allow them to earn the first $300 before they lose any payment. Recognising our job market is very shallow at the moment, but also to provide the right incentives for them to re-engage with the jobs market.
We’ll continue to monitor over the coming weeks and months the economic conditions that exist particularly in the job market, and we’ll be making further announcements about any further temporary measures after those – that information is available to us.
Updated
The social services minister, Anne Ruston, is talking about the coming changes to income support:
I want to assure all Australians their government is committed to providing ongoing temporary levels of support to support them through the coronavirus pandemic, and on the other side.
As we announced in the July economic fiscal update, we’ll be continuing both the jobseeker and the jobkeeper payments at elevated levels passed the end of this week.
As of Monday, the jobkeeper payments will be in two tranches, one for people who work more than 20 hours a week, will receive $1,200 a fortnight, and those who work less than 20 hours a week, will get $750 per fortnight.
You do not need to be unemployed to access jobseeker payment as well.
For someone on the full rate of jobkeeper of $1,200 a fortnight, who finds themselves in a situation where that’s their own income because their employer is not able to top up their payment, they’re likely if they’re a single person without children, to be eligible for $276 of jobseeker payment per fortnight as well.
That also means the additional supplements and allowances you get on a jobseeker or an income support payment will be able to them, where by, for instance, they may be eligible for rent assistance, a health care card, etc, and people with children, they’ll be able to get the maximum rate of family tax benefit. In the case of someone on $750 a fortnight, on the lower rate of jobkeeper, they’ll be likely to access $546 a fortnight, as well as getting the other supplements too.
Updated
Don’t put your cloth masks into the dryer.
I can not stress this enough. Particularly if your cloth mask has a filter in it. For example.
How to clean your cloth mask:
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 21, 2020
• Wash in warm water, with regular laundry detergent.
• Dry completely before being worn again. In the sun, if possible.
The use of dryers and flat irons not recommended.
More tips: https://t.co/PtoV3KmS6W#WashYourMaskWednesday #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/RXj97pr9D9
That ended with this exchange:
Norman Swan: Why haven’t you revealed what’s in the research funding package? ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt said on this program last week, the sector would be in real trouble unless the government revealed what was in that package. When will universities see what’s on the table for research? I mean, this is our research future we’re talking about here.
Dan Tehan: So, I’ve been working very cooperatively with the sector on what we need to do to put ballast into our research sector, as a result of the declining international students. We’ve got the Budget coming up in less than three weeks now. I think it’s two weeks. So, what we will be doing is we will be continuing to work with the sector, and we’ll have more to say in the Budget about it.
Updated
And it looks like there is some sort of program being put together to allow more international students to attend Australian universities.
Norman Swan: The ANU, University of New South Wales, RMIT, all announced very large cuts in jobs. The unions estimate the losses at around 12,000 since the pandemic first struck. This could be your legacy. It’s on your watch. How worried are you about the cumulative effect on our tertiary education system of these losses?
Dan Tehan: Look, it’s an incredibly difficult time for the higher education sector, no doubt about that …
Swan: … But, aren’t you making it worse with changes to, you know, how the universities are funded and research and so on?
Tehan:
Well, we’re putting more financial support in through the changes that we’re making, and which are before the Parliament at the moment. We obviously guaranteed $18 billion worth of funding on Easter Sunday to make sure that that certainty was there for the sector this year. We managed to get 80 per cent of our international students here this year, but, obviously, with the international student market now looking like it will be severely diminished next year, that’s going to have a very big impact on the sector. The international student market is a $40 billion national income earner for our nation. It provides 250,000 jobs. So, we’re working with the sector to see what we can do to help and support when it comes to research and research jobs. But, this is a huge impact that we’re seeing as a result of a lack of international students, and, similar to what our tourism industry is facing as a result of no international tourists being able to come to Australia.
Swan: But, we could, we could bring back these students, couldn’t we? It’s not beyond [inaudible]. We could do rapid testing, we could put them into quarantine facilities, on universities or elsewhere. Twenty universities in the UK are chartering their own flights to get thousands of Chinese students back. I mean, there’s lots of things happening, which could lock us out of this international market for a long time. Surely, we could be innovative.
Tehan:
So, that’s one of the things that we’re looking at. Obviously, we’ve been working with the South Australian government, the Northern Territory government, doing pilots, where we would be bringing international students in and quarantining. What’s being holding that up, though, is that we’ve got to make sure, first of all, that we’re getting Australian residents back into the country and getting them properly quarantined, so they can return home. And, also, we’ve got to make sure that when it comes to state borders, that we can get free movement of domestic students, so that they can go to university, whether it be in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne. We want to get that movement going, as well. So, we’re working through all these things. It’s obviously complicated, especially with what happened in Victoria with the quarantine system there. That’s put a huge hole in our ability to be able to bring people into Australia and quarantine them. So, if we can get the public health response right again in Victoria, that will help as well.
Updated
Dan Tehan spoke to Norman Swan on ABC radio this morning, where Dr Swan asked him about what was happening with childcare:
Swan: You announced yesterday more support for child care operators in Victoria, which will be in place for most of January. So, obviously, Victoria’s taken an economic hit, but we also hear that child care operators are finding it tough in tourist areas in Australia, so it’s not just Victoria. Why aren’t these provisions being made available in other states, even in a targeted fashion?
Tehan: Yeah, look, it’s a good question, and there are some measures which we are keeping in place for the rest of Australia, and we also have other support mechanisms for those child care centres that we can target on a case by case basis, and that’s what we will be doing. So, for all those providers who might be in areas hard hit, such as tourism areas, we can provide case by case support to those facilities as well. So, the package yesterday, predominantly for Victoria, obviously they’ve been very hard hit by this second Victorian wave, but, case by case, there are support mechanisms there for other providers around the nation.
Swan: But, what we’ve been told by the sector is that it can be eye wateringly complex, and some child care centres are just giving up on applications for funds. How can you simplify it?
Tehan: Look, so, one of the things that we’ve obviously been very successful at through this pandemic is keeping 99 per cent of our child care providers operational, and providing that important care to young children. Now, with these additional measures, we are looking to make sure, for those centres who need support and relief, that we will be simplifying those measures, and, obviously, we will continue to work with the sector and engage with them to make sure that those application processes are as seamless as possible and as quick as possible. But, one of the things that we have been able to do, unlike many other countries, is keep the sector up, operational and viable, and I take my hat off, in particular, to all those early childhood educators who, right through this pandemic, have provided that really important care to young Australians.
Swan: Do you think parents understand the activity test? I tried to read about it last and I thought, I just, I don’t understand that, if I was a parent.
Tehan: Look, what the activity test is, in simple terms, is what we want you to do is either, through work or volunteering, is to be contributing, and, in return, what the government does is provide you with subsidised child care. Now, the way it works is rather complex, but what, that’s why we’ve now extended the activity test, or exemptions from the activity test, for all families, right through till, to April. This is something that the sector asked for us to do nationally. It’s something that we’ve done nationally, because, most importantly, what it will enable is those families who have lost work or lost working hours to be able to get additional support.
Updated
Things appear to be getting interesting at the Victoria hotel quarantine inquiry.
Josh Taylor is listening to that for you and will have an update soon:
BREAKING: Text messages sent on 25 June released by @HotelInquiryVIC between @CommissionerEMV and @LisanevilleMP
— Simon Love (@SimoLove) September 21, 2020
In the texts Minister Neville says re ADF: “Not sure what they do at hotels given no one leaves!! And they have no powers”@10NewsFirstMelb #springst pic.twitter.com/IYGDP25YXV
AAP also has an update on New Zealand’s restrictions:
Covid-19 restrictions are again being ditched in New Zealand, apart from Auckland, after prime minister Jacinda Ardern said her country had the virus “under control”.
Ardern’s cabinet met on Monday and decided to move much of the country to “level one” alert settings as of midnight on Monday night.
The 1.6 million people living in Auckland, which was the centre of a fresh outbreak last month, will spend another two weeks at “level two” settings, including social distancing and gathering caps.
“Auckland needs more time,” Ardern said.
New Zealand health authorities announced no new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, paving the way for the easing of restrictions.
Updated
Worried about jobkeeper getting cut? Look at the dole, says social services minister Anne Ruston. One thing though – the jobseeker rate is also getting cut. But maybe those on jobkeeper could get a partial payment (it does not work the other way around).
AAP reports:
People anxious about having jobkeeper payments reduced or withdrawn are being urged to check their eligibility for the dole.
Jobkeeper wage subsidies are being extended for six months at reduced rates from 28 September.
Payments for full-time staff are being slashed from $1,500 to $1,200 per fortnight, while people who usually worked less than 20 hours a week before the coronavirus pandemic will receive $750 every two weeks.
Social services minister Anne Ruston encouraged anyone concerned about having their income reduced to investigate jobseeker unemployment benefits.
“We have temporarily put arrangements in place so that our social security safety net is not just for people who have lost their jobs,” Senator Ruston said on Monday.
“It is able to provide a cushion for people who have had or fear their hours or income will be reduced.”
Jobkeeper recipients on $1,200 per fortnight may be eligible for a partial dole payment, lifting their total income to $1,476.
People receiving Jobkeeper at the part-time rate of $750 per fortnight could receive another $546 in unemployment benefits, boosting their incomes to $1,295.
Families with children who receive jobseeker payments automatically qualify for the full family tax benefit rate and may be eligible for rent assistance and other supports.
More than 900,000 businesses have received jobkeeper payments worth about $55bn.
The money has been distributed to more than 3.5 million workers.
Updated
Meanwhile, the Queensland election date is ticking ever closer.
Updated
Anyone losing their mind over Eddie McGuire’s trip to a night spot on the Gold Coast over the weekend – Jeff Kennett, we’re looking at you – can take a deep breath.
The Collingwood president was at the Pink Flamingo on Saturday night in a business capacity and was merely on a reconnaissance mission to find out how similar venues in Victoria can reopen in a Covid-safe way.
“As you are well aware, I do a few different things in my life, including being on the board of Visit Victoria, and … speak extensively to people in the restaurant and hospitality industry about how we get Victoria going again,” McGuire said on Triple M this Monday. [That is] part of what I was looking at the other night and how that all works.
What I did was I booked a dinner on Saturday night – the last night that I’ve got, because the next four weeks I’m flat out doing Hot Seat and hosting and all sorts of different things. I went through the procedure on how you go about doing things if you are outside the hub.
Hawthorn president Kennett had taken a pop at his Collingwood counterpart, saying McGuire’s “jiving at the Pink Flamingo” was “a hell of a contradiction”, given AFL players and officials remain under effective lockdown in hubs. “It looks silly,” Kennett said.
But McGuire is not part of the Pies’ hub and did not break any biosecurity rules on his night out. Nor is he part of the AFL hub on the Gold Coast.
McGuire has called for tough sanctions to be meted out for players who breach Covid protocols, and he has been outspoken in his criticism of players from other clubs caught out. He said of Richmond pair Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones (who left their hub before getting into a drunken altercation outside a strip club – that “the idiot soup kicked in on them and they decided it was a good idea to break every rule they’ve been told for the last three months”.
But he was forced to hit back at claims of hypocrisy in July when Pies midfielder Steele Sidebottom was given a relatively lenient sanction and was not stripped of the vice-captaincy for multiple breaches.
Updated
The head of the Victorian premier’s department said he was “not aware” how a decision was made to use private security guards in the state’s bungled hotel quarantine program.
Department of premier and cabinet secretary Chris Eccles told the inquiry on Monday he was not aware of his department’s involvement in an alleged deal on 27 March to use private security instead of police at the hotels, as text messages produced from former police commissioner Graham Ashton had suggested.
He said it was also possible but “extremely unlikely” that his department could have made such an arrangement without his knowledge.
Minutes from a Victorian Secretaries board meeting later that afternoon record Ashton as expressing the view that having Victoria police as a “static presence” in hotels for a long period of time would be a challenge, and Ashton and Eccles assuming private contractors would be used.
Eccles, as with every witness before the inquiry so far, could not say who ultimately made the decision to use private security. Eccles indicated decision making was shared by groups of different expertise in government.
I have a strong view that the concept of collective governance where you’re bringing together the special skills of different actors to deal with complex problems is an important part of how we operate.
So you’ve asked for my response, as the head of the public service, I can see some legitimacy in the idea of there being collective governance around an area such as this.
Updated
Rental and accommodation scams have increased, because 2020 is just the worst.
From the ACCC:
Australians have lost over $300,000 to rental and accommodation scams this year, an increase of 76% compared to the same time last year.
Scamwatch has received 560 reports of rental scams so far this year, an increase of 56 per cent, with many using tactics related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
These scams target people seeking new rental accommodation by offering fake rental properties to convince people into handing over money or personal information.
“Scammers are offering reduced rents due to Covid-19 and using the government restrictions to trick people into transferring money without inspecting the property,” ACCC deputy commissioner Delia Rickard said.
The scammer will post advertisements on real estate or classified websites or target people who have posted on social media that they are looking for a room.
After the victim responds, the scammer will request an upfront deposit to secure the property or phish for personal information through a ‘tenant application form’, promising to provide the keys after the payment or information is provided.
The scammer may come up with excuses for further payments and the victim often only realises they have been scammed when the keys don’t arrive and the scammer cuts off contact.
Some scammers will even impersonate real estate agents and organise fake inspections, victims will then arrive to discover the property doesn’t exist or is currently occupied.
Updated
Here is the latest on how many people have accessed the early access super scheme.
Latest data on the COVID-19 Superannuation Early Release Scheme @APRAinfo #auspol pic.twitter.com/dcyMq27krj
— Political Alert (@political_alert) September 21, 2020
Victoria police have also released their latest fine information:
In the last 24 hours, Victorian police:
- Issued a total of 177 fines to individuals for breaching the Chief Health Officer directions, including:
- 13 for failing to wear a face covering when leaving home for one of the four approved reasons
- 6 at vehicle checkpoints
- 45 for curfew breaches
- 15,714 vehicles checked at the vehicle checkpoints
- Conducted 1,174 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and public places across the state (total of 450,361 spot checks conducted since 21 March).
Please find below examples from the last 24 hours of breaches:
- A male was fined after being stopped at the checkpoint near Bacchus Marsh. He had travelled from Coburg, stating he wanted to go to a specific grocery store in the area.
- A male driver was intercepted at a vehicle checkpoint at Rosebud. He had travelled from Cranbourne, and stated he was in the area to get petrol.
- Police intercepted a male driver a vehicle checkpoint near Frankston. He had travelled from Doncaster, stating that there aren’t any nice parks in his area and he wanted to go to one because of the nice weather.
- Police attended an apartment in the city and found six people present, with only three being residents of the apartment. They were all issued with a fine.
- Two males were fined after they were located in a ride share service car in Melton just before 4am on Sunday. One male was from Deer Park while the other was from Tarneit. They stated they were going to visit family.
Updated
NRL proposes 25% staff cut
The NRL is proposing a “painful but necessary” 25% cut to its workforce in a reorganisation of its business in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff were advised on Monday of the planned changes, which will be implemented to ensure a sustainable long-term future for the game, according to the league.
The NRL CEO, Andrew Abdo, said the strategy moving forward was “to stabilise, renovate and grow”. As part of that, Abdo said the league would consider new ways to make its products “more entertaining and dynamic for our fans”, while looking at expansion into new markets and how to grow the game internationally:
We will lose some very good people during this process. Talented people with a genuine love and passion for our game who have all contributed in some way. This is painful but necessary process to ensure we survive. I have genuine empathy for all employees affected and we will listen to their feedback. Our game must remain strong for future generations. We all want to leave the game in a stronger position than we first joined the sport.
The NRL will consult with employees over the coming week about the restructure proposals.
Updated
Here is the official update from NSW Health on those cases:
Four new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,015. There have been no new COVID-related deaths, and the overall number in NSW remains at 55.
There were 7,765 tests reported in the 24-hour reporting period, compared with 13,635 in the previous 24 hours. While it is not unusual for testing numbers to drop off over the weekend, NSW Health would like to see testing levels above 20,000 as achieved last week, particularly in South Western Sydney, and ahead of school holidays.
Of the four new cases to 8pm last night:
- Three are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine
- One is locally acquired and linked to a known case or cluster
The new locally acquired case is a household contact of a previously reported case linked to Concord Hospital. This person had been identified as a close contact and was in isolation. Investigations and contact tracing are continuing.
A case reported yesterday drove a taxi for a number of days while potentially infectious. People who caught a taxi on September 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in the following suburbs must monitor for symptoms and if any develop immediately get tested: Moorebank, Bankstown, Chipping Norton, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Warwick Farm and Milperra.
NSW Health has identified passengers who booked the taxi in this period directly. These passengers are treated as close contacts and must get tested and isolate for a full 14 days since they were in the taxi even if the test is negative. They must get tested again if any symptoms develop. NSW Health is seeking to identify passengers who caught the Silver Service taxi on the following times and locations. These passengers should call the NSW Health Call Centre on 9391 9000 for further advice.
- Trip 8/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 13:03 – Drop off Hoxton Park Road Cartwright 13:14
- Trip 8/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 14:01 – Drop off Glenwari St Sadlier 14:11
- Trip 9/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 08:08 – Drop off Moorebank Shopping centre, Stockton Ave Moorebank 8:15
- Trip 10/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool 14:38 – Drop off Graham Ave Casula 14:44
- Trip 10/9/2020: Pickup Haddenham St Chipping Norton 19:15 – Drop off George St Burwood 19:48
- Trip 14/9/20: Pickup Riverside Road Chipping Norton 15:50 – Drop off The Mill Hotel, Beaconsfield St Milperra 16:04
- Trip 15/9/2020: Pickup Riverside Road Chipping Norton 08:31 – Drop off Birnie Ave Lidcombe 9:11
- Trip 15/9/2020: Pickup Milperra 10:14 – Drop off Riverside Rd Chipping Norton 10:25
- Trip 15/9/2020: Pickup Birnie Ave Lidcombe 15:22 – Drop off Riverside Rd Chipping Norton 16:07
Gladys Berejiklian is also worried about testing rates:
Yesterday there was only around 7,700 tests done. Ordinarily, back in March, we would have said that’s a good number, but given where we are at this stage of the pandemic, it’s really important for us to keep our testing rates high and, as I said yesterday, please don’t wait until Monday or Tuesday to get tested. As soon as you have any symptoms, please get tested. But Dr Chant and her initial advice to me today suggested there could be other reasons for that testing rate and I’ll allow her to explain that in her report. But we’re also pleased to be able to consider how all of us might enjoy the summer months, the warmer weather, in a Covid-safe way.
Updated
New South Wales reports four new Covid cases
NSW has reported four new cases. Three are in hotel quarantine and the fourth is from a known cluster and was isolating.
Updated
And that is where the Daniel Andrews press conference ends.
So should there be free movement, along the borders with regional Victoria?
Andrews:
Let me answer it this way: I think it’s important to acknowledge that the ring of steel, so-called, between Melbourne and regional Victoria is to allow still those who have a lawful reason to be in regional Victoria. It’s not like there’s no movement from Melbourne to regional Victoria. Nurses, compassionate grounds, animal welfare, work of other types – that physical movement, those patterns of movement are still happening and there is still underlying community transmission in metropolitan Melbourne.
There are still 600-odd – 657 active cases. So, you know, again I’ve not criticised New South Wales or South Australia for the decisions they have made or indeed Tassie for that matter. They have not been made lightly. They have been made with the best of intentions and that’s to keep their communities safe and, if it was the other way around, I dare say we would have made exactly the same judgment. But the time will come when they don’t serve that useful purpose, the risk is much lower and then we can get back as part of a Covid normal to be able to travel more freely within Victoria and indeed to go beyond our state.
That isn’t yet, but the surest thing we can do to deliver that outcome is to drive these cases low so that we can keep them low and then they can change those settings.
Those chats have not started happening yet.
Updated
Should NSW open its border to regional Victoria?
Daniel Andrews:
Well, we have been very pleased both with New South Wales and South Australia to have a bubble that has grown and so not only the physical, the actual geographic distance that you can move between both states, but also the purposes for which you can lawfully move that’s been added to over time as well. I’m certainly pleased that at the opening up to getting to step three for regional Victoria has not seen New South Wales or South Australia change any of those rules. So they don’t see it as a higher risk environment than it was a week ago.
The time will come when those border restrictions can be eased and, indeed, lifted. That will be great thing for border towns and a great thing for the whole of our state. The key point there, I think, is getting our statewide numbers down to a low enough level where people have got confidence that we don’t pose a risk.
Updated
How concerned is Daniel Andrews about opening up before the AFL grand final public holiday?
Andrews:
I say it’s not a matter of making a judgment about that particular day, but what we know – look at the Hallam example, look at hundreds of examples over the course of, you know, so much of this second wave is indeed that interplay between high-risk workplaces and large families and other large families meeting together.
Even sometimes small families, not just about the size. This thing spreads so fast, so silently, and this, the other challenging thing about, you know, many people who don’t have particularly noticeable symptoms, you might just – they might not even register.
If they did, you kind of just, “I’ll be fine.” And the next day you wake up and you feel better. That’s back to the central point which I must have made the point a thousand times, I know, and the numbers are good, we just want them to be as good as they possibly can be.
Any symptoms whatsoever, don’t put it off. Don’t put it off to this afternoon, don’t put it off to tomorrow, go and get tested and go and get tested now to keep your family safe and every family safe and to get these rules off to get us open and to find that Covid normal that we can lock in for months and months until a vaccine arrives.
Updated
Why are gyms still closed when NSW has not had any links to infections from a gym?
Daniel Andrews:
We’d always look to try to have the best examples from other states, but there’s been a bit of comparison with New South Wales and you got to be very careful, they have had nowhere near the level of community transmission that we have had. They had nowhere near this cycle of high-risk workplaces and large families and the interplay between those two. It’s very, very different the way the virus has presented there.
So it’s just – we got to be careful not to be drawing too much from what might seem a perfectly logical comparison, but the epidemiology of it, the science behind it, the narrative behind the numbers, doesn’t actually support that comparison being made.
Q: What is the science behind it? There’s been no transmission in any gym in Victoria.
Andrews:
Because they have been closed largely. That will be why. And in terms of the advice the health advice is very clear – indoors is 20 times more dangerous than outdoors.
These are environments and it’s not me making these decisions, the chief health officer was here just the other day and he talked about people exerting themselves, and the indoor nature of it, and the fact that it’s not for a short period of time, it can often be for much more than 15 or 20 minutes.
It’s not like a casual contact where you might drop in to the milk bar to buy milk and bread, you’re inside for a prolonged period of time. That is the advice.
At the moment we believe they’re safe, at the moment – the moment we can make a change there, we will, but I think making comparisons is sometimes very useful, but sometimes you just got to be careful not to be taking an example from another state that’s in a fundamentally different position to us and using that as a guide for us, that doesn’t always work.
We’re going to open as soon as we possibly can – I know it’s very, very frustrating for them, but that’s why there’s business support there and there’s a determination to get these numbers down so that they can be open and, indeed, everything can be opened.
Updated
There is no timeline on the national (ish) tracing system as yet.
On that, Daniel Andrews says:
Indeed, I am not the chair of the national cabinet. The key point here is, I am very grateful to Alan Finkel and my officials that went to Sydney, and grateful to Brad Hazzard and Gladys Berejiklian, sharing what we do and what they do and the outcome of national cabinet was that the data improvement we are putting in place are going to lead our nation and we are working closely with NSW so that NSW can replicate the data improvement, the technology improvement that we made.
They are into different forms. A CRM platform and an IBM product which comes out of the science.
A common form and the predictive stuff, patterns that may not be obvious. And as a result of Friday’s decision and the visit the Friday before up to Sydney, there has been an agreement that work be done across the nation but not necessarily every platform to be the same but you have all the different tech and different databases across the country to be able to speak to each other so we get to the point where borders are open and people are travelling again, we can have nation shed as quickly as possible and that is the notion of a system sitting above all the separate individual systems, to gather information and take it from whatever they need.
Q: In terms of tracing apps, where will they feed their information into that system?
Andrews:
Just as with the regional model, they will be live and be a service point or touch point of the central system that we are building. So they become a branch office of the centre. In real time, their data will be visible and actionable by everybody else who is in that loop.
Q: Everyone across the country?
Andrews:
Not at this stage. Everybody in Victoria will be because we have the customer relationship management platform and the AI platform, separate things, and one digital platform so all about component parts can see every thing that is there an interchange information. What last Friday talked about was the notion of that platform in common to both Victoria, where it is already being rolled out, NSW where they want to get to that point, and sitting above all that, a common platform where every state and territory can dash so someone is at a border checkpoint, you can reach in, find out when they last test was, the result and pick the information you need in pretty well real time from all the separate databases that exist from WA to Queensland.
Updated
The trip Victorian health authorities took to Sydney to study NSW’s tracing system will be kept secret, under national cabinet rules.
Q: On aged care, have you landed on a policy position about visits by family and friends in stage four?
Daniel Andrews:
I know there are rules in place now and I think those rules, they could be varied, but I think the notion of saying in a month or two months or even in early 2021, just getting rid of all those rules and allowing people to go and have lots of movement in and out of aged care, do not think that is possible. Note that is really tough but one case is counted as an outbreak for a reason because these environments can be highly contagious environments so there will be some rules, I do not think it will be identical to the rules we had in place when we had 720 cases per day but they will be rules.
Updated
I have to be honest, and I preface this by saying I am very uncomfortable with the fines and penalties we have seen emerge across Australia during the pandemic (it’s the eastern European in me) but I am quite confused by the argument some of the personal liberties or death people are taking – asking for more people to be fined, to make up for how unfair it is that some people have been fined.
Not the first time I have been confused during all of this, won’t be the last.
Moving on.
Updated
So will that same attitude be applied to school holiday families?
Daniel Andrews:
In terms of contact, if you are a positive case? Yes. I am not announcing any changes to the way that contact tracing works. The true value, the true riches, the fortune out of this comes from the information that people who have got this virus give us. We are not changing our stance on that because the last thing we want to do is to try and do contact tracing where people are not being truthful. That is almost impossible. It just means that people – not everyone perhaps – but I think a significant proportion of people will not give you the full story and if you haven’t got the full story you can contain this virus. Then we will all be locked down. We will all feel better because someone got a fine but we will be in this for longer than we should be. That doesn’t make sense.
Updated
Will families with kids on school holidays receive the same allowances as families in Hallam who were not fined for breaking social distancing rules?
(Andrew Bolt has been particularly Andrew Bolt about this this morning. You can guess the line he has taken. I’m not going to be repeating it, because I like to spend as little time as possible thinking of Andrew Bolt, despite the amount of time Andrew Bolt dedicates to thinking on people and issues who have offended his very privileged existence.)
Back to Andrews:
I have tried to be as clear as I can on this. If people want to try and do contact tracing, so we need the truth from people.
Where have you been?
Who have you spoken to?
Who have you spent time with?
By the way, if you answer me honestly, I am going to fine you.
You don’t I they need to be a Rhodes scholar to work out the people will not answer truthfully.
Even if they were prepared to pay the fine, they won’t want to get other people into trouble.
It is as simple as that.
Maybe we would all feel better if those people got a fine but I think we will feel better again, better still, when with control these outbreak. It is as simple as that. It is as simple as that. I have got three children – I will take responsibility, and so will Catherine for their whereabouts throughout the school holidays. Just as every parent should.
That is where we are at.
If you want to get to normal, if you want to get to normal, then we all have to follow the rules. As for the issue of fines over the school holidays, that is not a matter for me. Victoria police will make that judgment as they have all the way through this.
On the point of what is more valuable, a $1,652 fine for someone who went to visit someone or the truth from that comes from them telling us when they went there, who they spent time with, who we should be going and tracing, testing and locking down – this is not thousands of dollars.
That is billions of dollars.
Because that is the cost to getting us opened up. If you have a situation where any of those 43 people are not full, frank and independent, then you don’t stop it at 43. It becomes much, much bigger.
Updated
Q: Restaurant owners in the regions say the couple of day’s notice they were given when restrictions were lifted there wasn’t enough to get their businesses back up and running as quickly as possible. Will you make sure that won’t happen in Melbourne?
Daniel Andrews:
I am not here to have a quarrel with restaurant owners in regional Victoria. The alternative is to say, I am announcing today that you can open in a week. We said, I am announcing today that you can open at midnight the following night. It is not the same as when you put restrictions on and we give as much notice as we possibly can.
We hit those targets and, as we made clear when with got case numbers below five and we didn’t have a mystery case, that is when we will be moving.
I can’t provide to regional restaurateurs a sense of when we would get to under five cases. The alternative would be to say, oh, well, we have reached the target, but you can’t open for three or four days. We got them open as soon as we possibly could and all the way through we have tried to provide as much notice as they can and that won’t change.
Updated
Q: On rewards, do you need to give people a bit of a reward to ensure you maintain compliance?
Daniel Andrews:
I think compliance is at a very, very high level and I am very grateful for that. Again, I know we spend time most days, and it is not a bad thing, we spend time most days and with turn the TV on every night and the news covers stuff around people breaking the rules and that is not inappropriate. I would make the point let’s not detract from the vast majority of people who are doing the right thing.
You have small numbers of people who aren’t. You have a larger group of people who understand the only way to beat this is to stay the course and be as stubborn as this virus and not let your frustration get the better of you.
I think that we are poised to take seem significant steps, albeit they are safe and steady steps on Sunday. We are in that 30-50 band and it looks like we are going to stay there. That is really very, very important.
Then the weeks and months that – the days and weeks that follow after that will be informed by the plan, yes. But real data overtaking assumptions and it is too early for us to be able to say, where will we be in a fortnight? Where will we be in a month?
We are not opposed to doing revisions and updating, particularly when it is real numbers as opposed to even rigorous assumptions, but I go back to the central point – there is this lag issue.
You can – what you do today, the impacts of that, will not be clear for some weeks’ time. That is the real difficulty here. The real difficulty.
Updated
Q: On that point would you open up testing to people who are not showing symptoms, potentially from hotspot suburbs, industries, just so you get a better picture of what is really going on?
Daniel Andrews:
The key point is a lot of asymptomatic testing won’t give you a very good picture. I think it is a graduated approach. I am not opposed to doing more of. That we will have more to say about testing and what it looks like in the weeks and months ahead soon.
As it stands now, we ask people who have symptoms to come forward and a percentage of those come forward and we are grateful for that. Does every person with a symptom come forward for a test? No. Let’s encourage people to come forward with symptoms to get tested and let’s do innovative things at a local level to try to get more of those people to come forward.
On top of that, is high-risk workplaces, whether it be staff in aged care, health staff, meet works, all of the different examples that we have used. The notion of mass asymptomatic testing, that would be very much at the back end of that because you don’t get a great reward for it.
However there, is a place for what is called sentinel testing where you will test a cohort of people and that gives you a sense of whether there is an underlying presence. Again, even though the maths is not great, the kind of strike rate, even one case matters. We are going to get to a point, and we are very close now, where ones and twos absolutely matter. Ones and twos can become 43 as they did in Hallam very recently.
Updated
Will the date for opening up be brought forward?
Daniel Andrews:
What I am saying is that the formal position is clear. The numbers or the date. However, however – and if I was unclear, let me be clear – if circumstances change, if we find ourselves ahead of schedule, not for one day, but in a manifest sense, common sense always guides us. We will look at what sits behind the numbers and then we will have to make a judgment. It won’t be an easy judgment. Has enough time passed for us to be confident that the numbers we are seeing are a true reflection of how much virus is out there. They are very difficult judgments to make.
Updated
Will Daniel Andrews announce further steps on Sunday than what is slated in the roadmap?
Andrews:
What I have said all the way along is that the modelling will be updated regularly to take account of the actual data.
We will have more to say about that process later in the week but, again, it is very tempting and I appreciate why everybody wakes up today, sees a low number, and everyone is hopeful and positive and that is a good thing but we have to stay the course on this.
Even at 14 days, a trend absolutely with us, that does not change the advice that, not only a case numbers important but the story behind it numbers and the passage of time, frustratingly, also is important and that is why this Sunday and all about dates, it has been case numbers or the date which is later.
To circumstances can change, advice can change, models will be rerun and we will have more to say about what we believe is safe but ultimately safety has to guide us and while we would all like to bring forward things a month, that is not the advice, not what the data and science says. But they are clear about is that, even with these low numbers and the great work we’re doing, it is too early for us to open up. We need to take these steps, safe and steady and if they are not steady, it will not be safe. If we rush this, it will not be safe and everything that has been given and done and sacrificed will not be worth much.
Updated
What is happening with the Casey cluster?
Do authorities note the cluster extends beyond households?
Daniel Andrews:
I believe it is contained to a number of households. Whether it is still five, I would get advice on. I think it may be six households. It is all the same transmission.
Q: Not someone at work?
Andrews:
No, I do not believe so and I stand to be corrected if there is any further information. Any update will probably deal with that but my advice is it remains people spending time with other families in a household environment which we are all very accustomed to that being the place where you are most safe but this virus can be counterintuitive. You can let your guard down, you do not keep your distance, you can very easily spread this virus and if you are then moving around, to multiple other households, that is our you finish up with 43 cases.
Can people in Melbourne start to think of coming out of restrictions soon?
Daniel Andrews:
Results and outcomes will not be known to us for some time and it is very, very frustrating that is just the virus we are up against. If I was to say, I will open up these 10 different settings because we are ahead of schedule, we would not see the results of that for two to three weeks and if it was the wrong call, you have a very significant problem. A very significant problem.
Updated
On the testing, is Daniel Andrews worried it is not high enough?
Andrews:
That is a little bit down on the recent weekend trend of about 8,000 but there is a range of different factors.
It was a pretty good day on Saturday, the weather was good, people may have had symptoms but did not come forward to get tested.
We know there is very little flu, cough and cold symptoms so if you have symptoms, even mild ones, there is a very good chance you have this virus and that is why you have to come forward and get tested. Do not put it off.
Q: You say 11 new cases is great but there were only 7,000 tested when the aim is 20,000.
Andrews:
The aim is not 20,000. If you compare this weekend last weekend, 8,000 been the number. Again, we want as many people who have symptoms as possible to come forward. The number and the percentage of positives within it does not cause us any concerns. We always want people to get tested if they have symptoms but it is difficult to put a hard and fast number on that. Best measure is of people who are positive as a percentage of the total number of tests taken and that number remains within a band that does not cause is great concern. It is a matter to prompt an appeal to people, if you have any symptoms, come forward.
Q: It was 20,000?
Andrews:
We are at a different place now. I don’t think anyone ever said 20,000 was the magic number. Or 15,000, 10,000.
In our conversation with the premier of NSW on Friday, they were getting down there weekend settling point was about 10 and they are doing more than us during the week and that makes sense because people are out and about and there is perhaps a link between freedom of movement and people, whether at a retail site or getting tested stop. The key point is this, we want to promote people getting tested because there are people with very mild symptoms and people may not choose to get tested but the thing to go here, any symptoms at all, go and get tested, do not put it off for a day or an hour.
The key point is everyone who is symptomatic to go and get tested and that number will vary from day to day. Have there been enough testing in the country? How are you confident there is little virus that if there is not enough testing? My advice is that it is adequate.
Weekly numbers are also looked at. We will have some more to say quite soon about different things we can do to try and promote more and more testing. Obviously testing becomes more important, or more important, once you open up.
Updated
Q: Are you nervous about having a lot of people out and about?
Daniel Andrews:
You would appreciate that I get many, many reports. All of them say in general terms people were taking the extra two hours and the ability to go for more than just running and the people larger numbers out people were keeping the distance.
Q: You are not nervous about that?
Andrews:
I would not say I am nervous about that. I am conscious that when you allow further activity and groups, whether formal or informal, there is a risk and we have seen cases because of people spending time in each other’s home and that is very risky.
Updated
OK, time for the questions.
Q: Can we just ask, the step at the end of October, the whole lot of things are due to happen on either the date or when you reach the marked cases. Is there any thought of separating out some of those things, like the curfew or the 5k? Is it possible beyond a different timetable?
Daniel Andrews:
If you look at the last couple of weeks, the time will come for us to import the actual data. Heavily researched assumptions that underpin the modelling. They will be replaced by actual experience.
There is a narrative behind the numbers we read out as well, some patterns and trends and we will have some say on that in due course.
If we do not stay the course, if we let our frustrations get the better of us, then there is an underlying fragility to this and that is just the nature of this virus.
There are so many things you cannot know in some respect until it is too late and therefore you have to have an abundance of caution and I know that is frustrating but that is what we are up against – silent, swift and uncertain.
All the way along we have said we will update health advice and actuals will take replacement of the assumptions underpinning the model and we will continue that process and we will have more to say at the appropriate points.
But the key point is you have to do what is same.
There is a conservatism to this because the stakes are so high. The notion that you’re doing something that might seem strongly supported in the community but not supported by the science then only a couple of weeks later you can find yourself where you have to claw back and that is different.
Updated
School camps are back for regional Victorian students.
The education minister, James Merlino, announces a bit more of normal life is returning for regional Victorian school students:
They’ll be single school camps and there will be Covid plans in place:
When schools resume in regional Victoria for term 4, so do our school camps and we want to see a return to face-to-face teaching, as soon as it is safe to do so, but we also want to see a run to all those other activities that make school life so rich.
So this is a significant step forward for regional Victoria, but it also gives families and schools in Melbourne hop about what the future could look like and this is all about staying the course. What we are doing is working.
We have got to keep driving those numbers down and then we will see what we are able to do now in regional Victoria, we will be able to do in metropolitan Melbourne.
We all know the benefits of school camps for the kids. It is all about fun, it is building resilience, self-confidence, team work. But it is also significant for regional economies. We have got around 190 school camps across the state.
The vast majority of those are based in regional Victoria – 5,500 staff. They deliver $134m of economic activity in regional communities right across our state.
So this is significant, not just for the kids and the schools, but also for many, many people working in regional communities around the state. So really great news. Of course, they will be conducted in a Covid-safe way.
Updated
Daniel Andrews:
This is not just a good day. This is a great day. We are seeing these numbers come down. This strategy is working. We – all of us – have to stay the course, though because if we were to open up right now, these numbers are still too high and ... if you open up today you won’t see the impacts of that for two to three weeks’ time. There is a lag with this.
That is one of the wicked elements of this enemy. If what you do today will not be apparent what the impact of that is for some weeks to come and that is frustrating, I know.
Everyone wants to be open yesterday, but if with do it too fast, then we simply run an unacceptable risk of losing control and all of the hard work that everyone has done, all of the sacrifice, the massive contribution that people have made and are making every day, won’t count for much at all.
So we just have to stay the course on this. Ultimately, these are very good numbers. This shows us the strategy is working and I want to thank and congratulate every single Victorian that is following the rules.
That is the vast majority of people right across our state. It is working. The dividends are here for us to see.
We will get to that Covid normal and the numbers will be at such a low level that we are able to, with some confidence, lock that in and not be bouncing in and out of lockdowns right throughout 2021.
Updated
There were only 7,164 tests processed in the last 24 hours.
That’s pretty low but acceptable, apparently:
It is critically important that we keep the test numbers up as high as they can be.
Anybody who has symptoms needs to come forward and get tested. Don’t put it off for a day or wait two days. Get tested today.
Daniel Andrews:
It is a massive contribution that you can make. I know I say this a lot but it is critical to us having the most complete picture and us having the confidence that we have got meaningful, a meaningful sense and we have got a proper surveillance of where this virus is, how it is presenting, change of transmission. That is not to stop us taking next steps. Coming forward and getting tested won’t mean where done take a next step, but if test numbers fall to levels, these are still at an acceptable – in the acceptable range – but it is a general message if you have got symptoms, you have got to go and get tested. If test numbers were not to be maintained at a robust level, at a level we thought was a good proxy for how much virus is out there, that is what will hold us back from taking the next steps.
Updated
Victorian press conference
Daniel Andrews is addressing the media. A woman in her 80s and a woman in her 100s died, both diagnosed with Covid, died in the last 24 hours.
There have been 763 deaths due to this global pandemic.
Of today’s 11 cases in Victoria, five are linked to known outbreaks and six remain under investigation.
Updated
Daniel Andrews is about to hold his 81st consecutive press conference.
Here’s how the first 77 days went down:
Updated
Today’s international Covid blog is up and running with Helen Sullivan:
Updated
Daniel Andrews will hold his press conference at 10am.
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Testing rates are also down in Queensland. The chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, says she expects that is a normal reaction to people breathing a sigh of relief after coming to the end of the latest cluster (west of Brisbane) but she would like more people to come forward to make sure there are no rogue cases.
Updated
Queensland’s deputy premier, Steven Miles, says talks are under way with the hotel industry to expand the hotel quarantine program and accept more returned travellers.
Updated
Queensland records one new case
Queensland has reported one new case of Covid – a teenager in hotel quarantine.
Updated
For more information on the impact of the supplement cut, you can head here:
Updated
Just a reminder that with almost a million people out of work, the Covid supplement for the jobseeker unemployment benefit will be cut from $550 a fortnight to $250 a fortnight from 24 September.
That takes the payment from just over $1,100 to $815 a fortnight.
Updated
No trans-Tasman flights until March, Air New Zealand says
Australians and New Zealanders have long pinned their hopes on an eventual trans-Tasman bubble that would allow travel between the two countries to resume without a fortnight in government-run quarantine at either end.
But the chief executive of Air New Zealand has told an Australian newspaper he doesn’t expect the “bubble” to be in place for at least six more months.
Greg Foran, who heads New Zealand’s flag carrier airline, made the comments to the Sydney Morning Herald, adding that: “It’s hard to believe it would be before March next year and could well be longer.”
The prime ministers of both countries have frequently been asked about the proposed “bubble” since the idea was floated, but neither would commit to a timeline before the coronavirus was brought under control.
There are 909 active cases of the virus in Australia and Melbourne remains in lockdown. New Zealand has 71 active cases.
Updated
Has Dr Nick Coatsworth seen any modelling on when borders may reopen across the country?
No. We are not using modelling specifically for that issue and it will be a matter for state and territory leaders. But of course it’s encouraging that the numbers are declining and of course that will come into decisionnmaking for our chief health officer colleagues about borders, and we look forward again to an open Australia over the summer months.
Updated
On the NSW taxi driver who was diagnosed with Covid, Dr Nick Coatsworth says:
I think any situation where there is large movement of someone who has got the infection across the geographic area and across several restaurants and bars and so on and so forth, that does present challenges to public health authorities. Fortunately that taxi driver had Covidsafe installed on their phone which will be assisting contact tracers at the moment.
They did exactly the right thing by getting themselves tested and now the public health authorities will be working overtime to make sure again that those particular cases do not turn into a larger outbreak.
Updated
Health authorities worry case numbers not true picture as testing rates drop across Australia
One of the problems though, is that testing rates are dropping across the nation, which makes it hard to accurately pinpoint how much virus there is in the community.
Dr Nick Coatsworth:
I’m worried that testing rates nationally might continue to decline so what I would say to all viewers is that, regardless of how mild your symptoms are, testing is the way that we find these early cases that we stop the chains of transmission from growing into clusters, from growing into outbreaks and it’s how we are going to maintain control over the summer months so make sure you get tested with the mildest of respiratory symptoms.
Updated
The federal deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth spoke about the Victorian case numbers while on the ABC this morning:
It’s great news to see the numbers continue to decline today. I think the openness of Victorian government and health service to review the restrictions as and when necessary, as they see the numbers heading further towards single digits, is welcome news for Victorians and to Australians. But we need to keep in mind that there’s still a way to go.
When Victorians come out of restrictions, particularly in Melbourne, the complacency has to be avoided. We know how to stop this virus, if we limit household gatherings, wash hands frequently and have the Covidsafe app download and maintain physical distance and of course mask-wearing being mandatory, these things will allow us to lift restrictions safely.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian will hold her press conference at 11am.
Updated
Queensland’s deputy premier, Steven Miles, will hold a press conference at 9am.
Updated
The last couple of days of low case numbers have also brought down the rolling average.
For the last 14 days (7-20 September):
Metropolitan Melbourne
Total cases: 482
Average a day: 34.4
Regional Victoria
Total cases: 23
Average a day: 1.6
Overseas, interstate or no fixed address
Total cases: two
Average a day: 0.1
Total cases overall: 507
Average a day: 36.2
Updated
Victoria records 11 new Covid cases and two deaths
These are coming out much earlier at the moment – as there is not as much data to collect.
The two deaths are undeniably tragic. The second day of low case numbers, however, will give some people hope that this second wave is close to being under control.
#COVID19VicData: Yesterday there were 11 new cases & the loss of 2 lives reported. Our thoughts are with all affected.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 20, 2020
The 14 day rolling average & number of cases with unknown source are down from yesterday as we move toward COVID Normal. Info https://t.co/eTputEZdhs #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/ZGICZrtHCo
Updated
Latest Newspoll shows rise for Morrison government
AAP has the latest on the Newspoll (usual poll caveats apply):
The federal Coalition has taken a two-party-preferred lead of 51 to 49 over Labor in the latest Newspoll.
The poll published in the Australian newspaper on Monday shows a two-point rise for the Liberal-Nationals’ primary vote, to 43%, compared with Labor’s 34%.
It separates the parties from their deadlocked 50 to 50 two-party-preferred standings at the end of August.
Major issues impacting voter sentiment over the past month have included Australia’s border closures and economic pressures linked to Covid-19 and, most recently, the government’s gas-led energy policy.
Prime minister Scott Morrison maintains a clear margin as “better PM” – 57% – and in the “leaders’ satisfaction” stakes.
The survey of 2000 people taken from Wednesday to Saturday found 65% were satisfied with Morrison’s performance, up one point since August. Dissatisfaction with the prime minister fell by a point to 31%.
More people were dissatisfied than satisfied with opposition leader Anthony Albanese, who recorded 40% and 39% respectively, with both levels moving in the wrong direction for Labor.
The poll shows Labor losing votes to both the Coalition and the Greens.
The minor party saw a one-point uptick to 12% since August.
The Coalition posted its greatest Newspoll lead over Labor in mid-July at 53 to 47.
Updated
Josh Frydenberg is putting the final touches on the budget – which you will be hearing a lot about in the next couple of weeks.
Among the expected announcements is the plan to bring forward at least part of the already legislated tax package.
The Australia Institute has launched a campaign against the move, which it says will not benefit the economy.
Updated
NSW Nationals MP Leslie Williams defects to Liberals over koala saga
The NSW Nationals leader, John Barilaro, has taken a month off. But the NSW Nationals MP Leslie Williams, who was not on board the “let’s blow up the Coalition” movement, is out of the Nats – the NSW Liberals have accepted her application to cross the joint party room.
NSW Nationals MP Leslie Williams has defected to the Liberal Party, citing John Barilaro's threat to move Nats MPs to the crossbench over the controversial koala policy.
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) September 20, 2020
"Holding the Government to ransom is really unnecessary and just unfathomable." pic.twitter.com/vRxhOHKOcv
Updated
Good morning
While Victorian authorities are allowing a little cautious optimism into their updates, after recording the lowest number of daily Covid cases since mid-June yesterday, New South Wales authorities are racing to track down people a taxi driver came into contact with earlier this week.
The driver, who travelled in the Sydney suburbs of Moorebank, Bankstown, Chipping Norton, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Warwick Farm and Milperra, may have been infectious when he worked across nine shifts from 7-10 and 14-18 September.
NSW Health authorities issued an alert last night – the man also visited Mama Wok’s Yum Cha in Macarthur Square at Campbelltown and Campbelltown golf club on 16 September.
He also went to the Milton Ulladulla Ex-Servicemen’s Club and Carlo’s Italian Restaurant on the NSW south coast on 12 September. There was also a trip to Bannister’s Rooftop Bar and Grill at Mollymook on 13 September.
We’ll be learning more about that today, when Gladys Berejiklian holds her press conference.
In political news, it is all about gas, and how it “chose itself”, as the prime minister continues pushing his new energy plan.
We’ll cover all the day’s events as they happen – you have Amy Remeikis with you.
Ready?
Updated
