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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Calla Wahlquist and Amy Remeikis

NSW refuses to accept diverted flights – as it happened

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So, where did we end up today?

We will leave our live coverage of the coronavirus situation in Australia there for today. You can follow our ongoing global coverage here and read an explainer on the Melbourne outbreak here.

Here’s where things stand:

  • Australia recorded 87 new Covid-19 cases, of which 73 were in Victoria and 14 were in NSW. The NSW cases all came from hotel quarantine; Victoria’s from local transmission. All but nine of the new Victorian cases have not yet been traced to known clusters.
  • About 300,000 people living in 36 suburbs across 10 “restricted postcodes” in Melbourne will go back into stage three lockdowns from midnight tonight. That means they cannot leave their home for any reason except exercise, essential shopping, work or school that cannot be done remotely, and caregiving.
  • Anyone from the hotspot suburbs who travels to NSW could face six months jail or an $11,000 fine.
  • For everyone else, NSW has eased restrictions. Funerals, weddings and church services can have as many people as the venue will allow, up to a limit of one person per four square metres.
  • No one from Victoria is allowed in Queensland, unless they’re travelling for an essential purpose, or for care and compassionate reasons and have paid for their own 14-day quarantine.
  • South Australia has volunteered 30 clinical staff and Queensland 40 nurses to help the Victorian testing effort, and contact tracing and pathology work will also be done remotely in those states as well as NSW, WA and Tasmania.
  • Australia has now conducted more than 2.5m coronavirus tests. Victoria completed 20,000 in the past 24 hours.
  • About 10% of those asked to take a test in door-to-door checking in Melbourne’s hotspot suburbs has refused. Often, the refusal is due to concern about making children take the test.
  • Masks could be recommended for people in hotspot suburbs, Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, has said. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says the mandatory wearing of masks “could be part of” the response to control the Melbourne outbreak “but that’s not the advice I’ve received to this point”.

Fellow Melburnians, particularly if you’re in one of the restricted postcodes: stay strong and please get tested if you feel even the slightest bit unwell, or if visited by a community health team. It’s really quick, and you’ll feel so smug afterward.

We’ll see you in the morning.

Updated

The last question is on masks. Asked if Victoria will recommend the wearing of masks in public, Andrews says: “It may well be we get to that point.”

But we’re not there yet. The public health advice around the mandatory use of masks remains unchanged.

Things do change. This is a very fluid and dynamic set of circumstances. It may get to the point where we have to close down additional suburbs. It may get to the point where we have to look at a range of other measures. Masks could be part of that but that’s not the advice I’ve received to this point.

Updated

Sales asks if Victoria felt pressured by the federal government to open up earlier than it was ready.

Andrews:

No. I wouldn’t say that at all.

Sales points out that Victoria’s lockdown restrictions were stricter and have been slower to lift than in other states. Is this outbreak the response of “blow back” because people have been asked to restrict their lives too much?

Andrews says he would not say that, either.

I think people are rightly alarmed and concerned ... What people want and have received from our government and public health team right throughout these recent months is a clear plan and the absolute determination to get the job done.

We’ve got to bring these cases under control. We have to firstly stabilise. We have seen the last three or four days numbers that are higher than we’d like but they’re not doubling every second day. There is some stability and there’s an enormous amount of testing going on in those hotspot suburbs. We have to bring stability and drive the numbers down. That’s what I’m determined to do.

This is not a popularity contest. I’m deeply grateful to every Victorian who are playing their part. If you’re not following the rules you’ll be caught and be punished. This is incredibly important that we put this back in the box that we bring some stability to these numbers, otherwise I won’t be locking down some postcodes ... I’ll have to lockdown all.

Updated

Sales asks if Victoria went with a private contractor to manage hotel quarantine security because it believed it was cheaper, or because it gave the state more control. What was the reasoning behind that decision, she asks?

Andrews does not quite answer. He says they can’t go back and make a different decision now.

He says:

Well, there’s been a whole different set of arrangements that have been put in place. What is best here is to deal with those things we can influence.

We can’t go back and can’t change beyond the very important reforms and the changes that have been made right across the journey. We’ve got more staff in there. They come from different places. We are confident today that challenges that occurred many weeks ago will not be repeated. But the pause for two weeks is very important.

Updated

Sales asks why Victoria has to wait for the full inquiry to get an answer to what went wrong in hotel quarantine. She makes the point that the military will often do a rapid assessment and then a full inquiry – what’s the rapid assessment here?

Andrews:

There’s been plenty of quick response. The infection control breaches as best we can tell are from some weeks ago, many weeks ago. There’s been a number of changes made in these settings over many weeks.

We’ve got Corrections Victoria staff, the people who run our jails, are playing a much more active role in this space right now.

He adds that he has asked for international flights to be suspended so Victoria can halt hotel quarantine for a few weeks, while it figures out the breach.

The point I’m making is the accountability sits with me. But in terms of the investigative process that should be done at arm’s length to give us complete clarity at what went on ... That’s the best and most appropriate way to go.

Sales asks why Victoria did not accept ADF assistance to run hotel quarantine, which has been done in some other states. Victoria relied on private contractors.

Andrews says there are “multiple sites around the country” that also use private companies to manage quarantine.

I think it would be wrong to say private companies have not been used anywhere other than Victoria. Again, I’m not in any way wanting to avoid the serious issue we now confront but those questions, that process should be done at arm’s length and that’s exactly why we’ve announced a really important inquiry.

He said the Victorian government already has “some very clear suspicions about what’s gone on here”.

There’s a number of staff who despite knowing about infection control protocols have decided to make a number of errors. I’ll give you one examine: we think one of the outbreaks may be attributable to people sharing a cigarette lighter. Something as innocent as that. It only takes one and if that person who is infected then goes and is part of a large family, that large family meets with other large families. All of a sudden you’ve got an outbreak and you get to the position we’re in now.

Updated

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 now.

Host Leigh Sales asked why this outbreak occurred in Victoria.

Andrews:

Well, I think the first point to make is there’s been some infection control breaches in Victoria that have not occurred in New South Wales. That’s led to some transmission and we know how widely infectious this disease is. It can get away from you really quickly. That’s what’s happened in some of the northern suburbs of Melbourne and that’s why we’ve moved to that targeted lockdown. It’s not an easy decision to make. There’s a lot of pain involved for families and businesses but it’s the most appropriate public health response.

Sales asks what went wrong, Andrews says that’s “not a matter for the premier of the day to answer”. He has promised an inquiry and that will return an answer in about six weeks.

Andrews:

I want that done at arm’s length from the government and it’s why I have announced a full inquiry, a former judge will look at that matter and get us the answers we need.

These breaches are unacceptable to me and unacceptable to all Victorians. That’s happened. I can’t change that. All I can do is respond to the problem that is at least in part caused by it and that’s by following health advice and moving to these suburban lockdowns and making sure people are following the rules and policing these rules so we can bring this spike in cases under control.

Updated

The foreign minister, Marise Payne, has released this statement about Israel’s plan to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

It reads:

The Australian government is a longstanding supporter of a two-state solution, in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders.

We urge all parties to refrain from actions that diminish the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution, including:

    • acts of violence and terrorism including rocket attacks on civilians, and
    • land appropriations, demolitions, and settlement activity.

In this context, we are following with concern possible moves towards the unilateral annexation or change in status of territory on the West Bank.

The focus needs to be on a return to direct and genuine negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for a durable and resilient peace arrangement, as soon as possible.

Australia has raised our concerns with Israel in relation to indications of annexations, and I have done so directly with my Israeli counterpart.

Updated

We are standing by waiting to hear Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on 7.30.

In the mean time, please enjoy Brisbane correspondent Ben Smee’s account of what it will be like for Queenslanders trying to party in nightclubs this weekend while obeying the requirement to remain seated to maintain social distancing.

According to the marketing manager of one Fortitude Valley club:

We’ll need to bring in extra chairs. Everyone will have to do the chair bop dance.

This is one of the pop-up coronavirus testing sites in Melbourne’s 36 hotspot suburbs.

About 300,000 people live in those suburbs and will return to lockdown at midnight tonight.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, who will be interviewed on 7.30 on ABC TV tonight, has repeatedly pleaded with Victorians to get a test if they experience any symptoms, and to agree to a test if they are offered one by people going door-to-door in the hotspot suburbs.

People wait in chairs and cars during testing for Covid-19 at a drive and walk through pop-up venue in Melbourne.
People wait in chairs and cars during testing for Covid-19 at a drive and walk through pop-up venue in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Two AFL players have been suspended for breaching coronavirus control protocols.

Collingwood midfielder Steele Sidebottom has been dealt a four-match ban and teammate Lynden Dunn has received a one match ban.

More details from AAP:

The pair broke protocols by catching an Uber late on Saturday night following a visit to the house of injured defender Jeremy Howe.

The pair were there to console Howe after his devastating knee injury, but Sidebottom’s alcohol consumption during that visit triggered a series of events.

While Dunn headed straight home, Sidebottom took an Uber to the house of Daniel Wells, which was another breach given that the Magpies staff member isn’t part of Collingwood’s Covid-compliant bubble.

“That was probably the next bad decision. And obviously things have headed a little bit off the tracks at that point,” Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said.

Police took Sidebottom home on Sunday morning after finding him in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown just before 7.30am.

The Magpies were hopeful Sidebottom would only cop a two-match ban, and they were disappointed when the AFL handed down the four-game suspension.

“Collingwood and Sidebottom share the view that his four-match ban is excessive, inconsistent with recent protocol breaches and contestable,” the Magpies said in a statement. “However, club and player concluded that for the greater good of the game and the realities of our time it was necessary to end the matter.”

Buckley said Sidebottom’s alcohol consumption on Saturday night meant the star midfielder couldn’t quite recall all of the details of the night.

“Speaking with Steele, he’s quite embarrassed about the situation,” Buckley said. “He’s obviously remorseful about the decisions that were made but he’s also in some way confused about what has taken place.

The story continues:

Dunn has twice tested negative for Covid-19 since his protocol breach and was welcomed back to Collingwood’s headquarters on Wednesday.

Sidebottom has already returned one negative test, but has not yet been cleared for a return to the club.

Collingwood are due to enter a Perth hub later this month along with Geelong. Western Australia premier Mark McGowan didn’t mince his words when asked what a protocol breach would mean for any visiting players.

“If anyone breaches, obviously my view is they will be punted from Western Australia as soon as they do,” McGowan said. “Football players are not immune, they’re not exempt, they shouldn’t think they’re above the law.”

Updated

Up to 400 jobs could go at the University of Wollongong

Up to 400 jobs at the University of Wollongong could go after a stalemate between the university and unions over pay cuts and other proposed changes to the enterprise bargaining agreement.

Last month, the university presented three options for the agreement to cover an expected $90m shortfall in revenue in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first two options would have seen pay cut and hours reduced by up to 15% over the next 12 months, which the uni said would see 200 fewer jobs go (but still between 150 and 200 jobs going).

The third option was to keep to the existing agreement, and more jobs to go.

Staff never got the chance to vote on the preferred option. The university announced on Wednesday that management and unions “were unable to reach consensus on a viable option to reduce costs and minimise job losses by temporarily varying current employment agreements”.

The university has claimed it needed to make a decision quickly, but also said if the unions’ position changes, it is willing to discuss options to save more jobs.

Updated

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’d see we frequently draw on the great work of our colleagues at Australian Associated Press (AAP), who for 85 years have provided a fast, accurate newswire service.

The newswire was sold to new owners on Monday, and while it’s great that AAP will not be shut down, as was the original plan, it still has to slim down from 140 staff to 85 before the new wire launches on 1 August.

A number of really great journalists were tapped on the shoulder to leave today. You might not recognise their bylines, but I guarantee you’ve read their work.

Finbar asked Scott Morrison that question about pork-barrelling in Eden-Monaro, as featured in Laura Tingle’s column this week.

Updated

Shine Lawyers is canvassing interest in a potential class action against Anglicare for the coronavirus outbreak at Newmarch House nursing home in Sydney.

Nineteen people died after testing positive to Covid-19 as part of that outbreak.

Shine Lawyers national practice leader Lisa Flynn said the action will allege Anglicare was negligent in its handling of the crisis and breached its duty of care.

She said:

Anglicare was ill-equipped to handle the outbreak of coronavirus at the facility and we will be seeking compensation on behalf of the families of the deceased...

Grieving relatives want to know why their loved ones weren’t immediately taken to hospital after testing positive so they could receive the high-level clinical care they needed.

They also want to know why they were kept in the dark as coronavirus spread through the facility and why staff were either not qualified or not properly supported to make critical decisions.

This may or may not make people in the restricted postcodes feel better.

The Western Australian government has announced a $195,000 relief fund to support regional art galleries that had to cancel exhibitions and close their doors due to Covid-19.

The funding is intended to help galleries host virtual art exhibitions and activities.

It’s part of an $8m fund called the Regional Exhibition Touring Boost, which is intended to increase the number of exhibitions that tour regional galleries.

WA arts minister, David Templeman said:

This relief fund will provide immediate support for the galleries to bounce back in these difficult times – ensuring they are well-equipped to host RETB exhibitions and in rebuilding vital community activity and culture across the state.

Updated

A former Victorian police officer has been convicted and fined $7,500 after pleading guilty to the unauthorised access of information from a police database.

Former sergeant Robert Beckingham was sentenced at the Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday.

Beckingham pleaded guilty to accessing information on the Victoria police law enforcement assistance program database relating to nine different people. He was charged after an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission in 2018.

In a statement, Ibac said:

Independent oversight of Victoria Police is among IBAC’s most important functions. In 2018/19, 62 per cent of the allegations assessed by IBAC related to Victoria Police.

The Leap database, Victoria police says, “is fully relational and stores particulars of all crimes bought to the notice of police as well as family incidents and missing persons. It also includes details on locations, vehicles and persons involved. The database is online and updated constantly, 24 hours a day.”

You can report police misconduct here.

Updated

Let’s go back to those Victorian lockdown rules.

From midnight, if you live in one of the 10 restricted postcodes – 3038, 3021, 3012, 3042, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3032, 3046, 3055 – you will be under stage three stay-at-home orders from midnight tonight.

We’re all across the four things rule – you can only leave home for essential shopping, exercise, caregiving, or school or work – but the Victorian government has also stepped through some FAQs.

  • If you live in a restricted postcode and are on holidays, you don’t have to rush back. But if you are planning a holiday and haven’t yet left, you are going to have to cancel. It’s not one of the four reasons you’re allowed to leave your home.
  • You can attend a wedding or funeral outside your restricted postcode area but if you’re unwell you should stay home. Wedding and funerals held within the restricted postcode area will be restricted to five and 10 people respectively; elsewhere there are bigger limits.
  • Religious services within restricted postcodes will have to be streamed online. If you live in a restricted area and usually travel outside that area to attend a place of worship, you can’t do that until these restrictions lift.
  • You can leave, or go into, a restricted area to buy groceries or go to work.
  • You can exercise with one other person in a restricted area.
  • You can have a tradesperson in your house if you live in a restricted area.
  • You can’t play golf or go fishing.
  • If you do not live in a restricted postcode, you can’t travel into that area to see family or friends unless you’re providing essential caregiving circumstances. If you live in a restricted postcode, you can’t see friends and family unless it’s for caregiving purposes.
  • As previously reported, if you live separately from your partner and one or both of you lives in a restricted postcode, you can visit each other at home.

Updated

Meanwhile, the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is on ABC24 and arguing with Patricia Karvelas about a post made by the Queensland Labor party about Queensland being “flooded” by Victorians.

This is what we’re talking about, if you did happen to miss it.

Karvelas: “Is that an appropriate language use?”

Albanese: “Well, of course, the Queensland opposition, a bit like the Victorian opposition, have continued to try to play politics with this issue ... ”

Karvelas: “No, no, hang on a minute. I’ve got to stop you here. This is Labor playing politics, ‘flooding Victorians’ in Queensland. That’s not appropriate language, is it, about your fellow Australians?”

Albanese: “No, the Queensland LNP have throughout this period attacked the Palaszczuk government... [Queensland opposition leader] Deb Frecklington has played politics the whole way through.”

Karvelas: “Does that mean Labor should play politics, too?”

Albanese: “Well, I’m answerable for my own actions.”

Karvelas: “No, no, it is the Labor party. It is your brand?”

Albanese: “Well, I haven’t seen it, Patricia, and with respect, if you are going to raise something with me, I expect to be given some notice and to be able to check from it.”

I believe I speak for all of us when I say: UGH.

Updated

Kelly says that while the Victorian outbreak is not a good development, it is an expected occurrence as Australia chose a strategy of suppression and control, not an elimination strategy.

He says “any outbreak of this size is a backward step”. But he adds:

We said at the beginning, that part of our current strategy, the suppression strategy, is that we need to keep looking and we’ll find outbreaks from time to time. The crucial part is they don’t spread.

And so this one is bigger than we would have hoped would have happened. But there it is and we’re now very aware of how many people there are that are affected, and we are redoubling our efforts to find any further cases and to minimise that spread. And so that’s our focus right now.

He says that an elimination strategy – which is what New Zealand is pursuing – is a “fool’s errand”.

Elimination of this virus, so infectious, not only when people are sick, but when they’re asymptomatic, in my view, is a fool’s errand.

And that’s the national update.

Updated

There is ‘no evidence’ the Melbourne outbreak is linked to the Black Lives Matter protest, Kelly says.

I put that in big text because we seem to keep having this debate, despite health officials repeatedly refuting it.

Kelly says there is no evidence the protests contributed to the spread of the virus, but that does not mean that protests are safe.

There’s no evidence there has been any spread from the Black Lives Matter protests. That doesn’t preclude the important message, this is not a time to be having mass protests, particularly in Melbourne.

The fact we haven’t found any more cases from those protests doesn’t prove the protests are safe. And just to be clear, it’s not just protests, it’s any mass gathering. There’s very clear and strong restrictions on mass gatherings that are part of the process worked through.

Updated

Kelly says 10% of people in hotspot areas refused tests through the door-to-door testing. About 11,000 people did agree to get the test.

Most of those refusals were refusing a test on behalf of children.

Kelly:

Explaining about the Covid-19 element and why it’s important is a really key component. This is a very multicultural area of Melbourne. Many different ethnic groups and language groups and so not only the translation but also the cultural sensitivity is a really important component and Victorians realise that.

We’ve been doing a lot of work in that area at the national level in all states, in fact, they’ve been very attuned to that from the beginning. You remember issues within the Chinese community early on. This is an even more complex situation.

He said the federal government would “redouble” its efforts to ensure health material was translated into as many languages as possible.

In terms of on the ground effort, we are aware of that, there’s the person-to-person close discussion which is also a key element of that. The Victorian government asked on Monday night for assistance from the commonwealth for 500 community engagement workers and we supplied those. They’re in the field.

Updated

There is some concern people living in the hotspot areas of Melbourne will leave their suburbs before the lockdown begins at 11.59pm tonight.

I will trust Australians to make that sensible choice. After midnight, of course, it has been announced, the stay-at-home orders will be enforced. I believe the premier said something like a booze bus ... will be mobile around and in those suburbs and people will be stopped and looking for cause for why they have left home if they do. That’s a component.

But let’s trust people to make the right decision as the first element.

Updated

Masks could be recommended for hotspot areas, Paul Kelly says

Kelly says the expert panel advising the government on coronavirus has been asked to look again at the question of whether masks should be worn.

But he says Victoria may make a decision recommending masks in hotspot areas.

They have reconfirmed what they said before, and I would reconfirm what I have said and the Australian health protection committee guidance has said for sometime. In general terms, masks are not needed in most circumstances for most people, most of the time.

There are sometimes when masks can be part of a solution. And one of those would be where there’s a large increase in community transmission and social distancing cannot be guaranteed.

He adds:

Victorian authorities I know are looking very closely at whether they need specific advice for people living in those hotspot areas. That would be consistent with the national approach. [In] hotspot areas, with increased risk of transmission, masks could be part of the solution.

Updated

We’re still not calling it a second wave.

Kelly says this debate is “a bit academic” but we’re very keen on having it. A second wave, he says, would be a more widespread outbreak. At the moment it’s localised.

The second wave is an interesting concept. This is localised in a particular outbreak. We can call it an outbreak ... a group of clusters. It’s a bit academic.

We’ve had an increase in cases but they’re almost all in a very defined geographic area. Most of the cases are continuing to be based on family clusters. As just mentioned, most of them have this single link back to quarantine failure in a particular couple of hotels in central Melbourne.

So that leads me to think this is not a widespread issue at the moment. And the reason why we’re taking it so seriously now is to prevent that happening. A second wave, my view of a second wave would be much more widespread and a much larger number.

Updated

Paul Kelly says there has clearly been a failure of the hotel quarantine system in Victoria, and “we absolutely need to learn the lessons of that”, but that will wait for the judicial review Daniel Andrews announced yesterday.

It does demonstrate how infectious this virus is and how easily it can spread when infection control is not adequate. That appears to be the issue. This will be a judicial inquiry announced yesterday by premier Andrews and I look forward to hearing what the results of that inquiry is.

Updated

Kelly repeats that he does not believe that state borders are the way to control the spread of the virus, but says he respects the decisions of premiers and state health departments.

My view has been that borders on a jurisdictional basis is not the way that we would like to see this happen. And certainly that’s the national government’s view.

Australia has conducted more than 2.5m coronavirus tests

Paul Kelly also gave us an update on the national numbers.

There were 87 new Covid-19 cases recorded yesterday. That’s 73 in Victoria, mainly local transmission, and 14 in NSW, all from hotel quarantine.

The current Australian total is 7,920.

We’ve also passed a testing milestone: more than 2.5m Covid-19 tests have now been performed in Australia.

Updated

Melbourne lockdown 'innovative and proporionate'

Australila’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly has praised the lockdown of 10 postcodes in northern Melbourne as an “innovative and proportionate solution” to control the outbreak.

I really like to stress that as premier Andrews did yesterday in his news conference, that this is being led by science. There was science in the laboratory, there is science in the epidemiology, and this is the way that Australia has always looked at this problem, from the beginning, and it continues to be the way we are addressing this problem right now.

He again compares it to the tactics used to control the Burnie hospital outbreak in Tasmania. That was slightly different, he says, because it was an isolated rural setting – it’s much easier to cut off north-west Tasmania than it is to cut off a handful of postcodes in metropolitan Melbourne.

But the same lessons apply:

We learned that going hard and going quickly was important. And we looked at the three main weapons that we have, really, to fight this virus, in the absence of a vaccine, in the absence of universally effective treatment.

Those three weapons are: test, trace, and isolate. Melbourne is doing all three, he says.

Updated

The Victorian health department has released more details about some of the 73 new cases of Covid-19 recorded overnight.

Nine of those cases are linked to known outbreaks but the remaining 64 are not:

  • Three new positive cases are linked to cases associated with Hugo Boss in Collins Street, Melbourne. The store has been cleaned and contact tracing is under way.
  • A healthcare worker at the Joan Kirner women’s and children’s hospital has tested positive. Cleaning and contact tracing are under way.
  • A healthcare worker at Epworth has tested positive. The department is working with Epworth to ensure all close contacts are identified.
  • A staff member at SBS Radio has tested positive. The staff member attended work while infectious. Contact tracing is under way and close contacts will be required to quarantine.
  • Students at three new schools have tested positive: Hoppers Crossing secondary school, Creekside college in Caroline Springs and Aitken Creek primary in Craigieburn. A staff member has tested positive at Westbreen primary school in Pascoe Vale. Cleaning of relevant classrooms and common areas at all schools will be undertaken and contact tracing is under way.
  • Two positive cases have been identified at the Maple Early Learning Centre in Mernda. The centre will close for cleaning and contact tracing is under way.

Updated

If you live apart from your partner, and one (or both!) of you live in a restricted postcode, you can still see each other and visit each other at home.

But while you’re in a restricted postcode, you can’t leave your home (or their home) unless it’s for one of the four listed reasons.

So: yes, you can hang out at home, go grocery shopping together, or exercise together.

No: you can’t have a picnic or go to a restaurant, because that’s not one of the four listed reasons (and restaurants within restricted postcodes will be closed).

Sadly for people living in these areas, you carry the restrictions with you. So if you live in Brunswick West, you can’t walk to Brunswick and suddenly cast off the shackles of stage three restrictions to have brunch.

No, I don’t really understand how this will be policed either. There is a heavy reliance on people doing the right thing.

Daniel Andrews has warned that if people do not do the right thing, the next step will be to lock down the whole city. No brunch for anyone.

Updated

The Victorian government has released a bit more detail about the restrictions which are in place for the 10 postcodes of concern, and also what that means for everyone else in Victoria.

If you do not live in one of the 10 postcodes rattled off by the premier yesterday (and listed here) you are being asked to use “common sense” when it comes to visiting friends and family, remembering that the five-person limit for houseguests remains in place until at least 12 July.

You can find more detail on the current rules for all Australian jurisdictions here:

Shopping centres and outdoor markets in Victoria are expected to keep crowds to one person for every 4 sq m.

You can visit a “restricted postcode” for four reasons only: shopping for food and supplies; care and caregiving; exercise; and study or work, if you can’t do it from home.

You can travel though those postcodes but are advised not to stop unless it’s for one of the four listed reasons.

Updated

Thanks to the wonderful Amy Remeikis. I’ve got some more details about the Victorian lockdown, which I’ll go through quickly before Prof Paul Kelly stands up in 20 minutes or so.

Updated

Calla Wahlquist will take you through the next few hours.

You have a national update coming from Prof Paul Kelly at 3.30pm and we are hoping to have more answers on the localised lockdowns.

You can catch me, as always, here and here – I do my best to get back to messages on the same day but it can take some time to find out all the information to answer your questions, so I apologise if there is a delay.

I’ll be back tomorrow morning. As always, please, take care of you.

Updated

For those who want to read the prime minister’s entire speech on the new defence plan, it will be posted here.

(Sidenote: they have changed the header photo on the PM’s media centre. That’s ... a lot of men.)

Updated

The ABC just ran part of the bushfire royal commission, where the commissioner, Dr Annabelle Bennett, absolutely gave it to Anthony Clark, the communications director for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, over the news a uniform alert system for the nation was not due to be implemented until 2022.

The lack of uniformity caused issues over the summer, when the bushfires crossed state lines. Not everyone has the same “watch and act” alerts, and while the fires crossed over into other jurisdictions, the maps sort of just ended.

Bennett was not happy:

You have had, you plural, everybody has had four years! To get this going! You are proposing another two or three years. I don’t care, I’m sure that there are things of much greater complexity that can be resolved in a shorter time period and thus, this is not with great respect, I understand there may be things about it, you know what the problems are, you know what the community concerns are, you know what the issues are, we are talking about three sets of words, we’re not talking about a major treaty two nations of multifactorial outcomes, we are talking about something that is really reasonably straightforward.

I understand there might be some complex inputs, what I do not comprehend is how anybody nationally can say this can wait until 2022.

Updated

To be fair, it has been a little more difficult for the eastern states to close their borders, given the amount of travel between those states, and the fact that, for the most part, there isn’t a giant desert in the way of travellers.

Updated

Western Australia is staying closed to the world, and the rest of Australia, for the foreseeable future.

And Mark McGowan says any interstate footballers who play in the WA sport hub, who breach the rules – will be kicked out too.

I think our position the whole way along has been consistent, sensible, reasonable, and it’s protected the people of our state. And our border arrangements have meant that in order to get into Western Australia, you need to get an exemption.

There is a process via the police to do that. But it’s basically resulted in around 99% reduction in the number of people coming into Western Australia, and that’s protected our citizens.

You know, the rules over east and the chopping and changing has been a bit of a dog’s breakfast.

We’ve just had consistent, sensible, reasonable approach, and I think it’s paid dividends.

Our border arrangements are far harder and far stricter and far more easily understood than Queensland or South Australia or anywhere else, for that matter.

And I think it’s meant that we can better protect our citizens, and open up our economy far more within our borders than any other state, and I think that’s the right course.

I’d just say to the AFL – they need to crack down on this. This is bigger than football. This is a national health emergency and the AFL needs to do their bit.

Football players are not immune. They’re not exempt. They shouldn’t think that they’re above the law. And we need to make sure that the AFL and the clubs understand that.

Our border, our arrangements for a hub when the teams come here, will be very strict, and if anyone breaches it, obviously, my view would be that they’d be punting from Western Australia as soon as they do.

Updated

Brad Hazzard says any NSW resident who chooses to travel to a Melbourne hotspot (or Victoria, really, from how he was speaking) they will have to go into isolation for two weeks:

And if you breach that order, then, of course, you’ll be liable to a penalty, if you’re required by the police to go to court, it could be an $11,000 fine or a six-month jail sentence. So the message to New South Wales residents is – don’t go to Victorian hotspots. Just don’t go.

To the Victorians – look, normally we love having Victorians, and Queenslanders and everybody else coming to visit us. But Victorians right now, from those hotspots, are not welcome in New South Wales. We’re sorry. It’s not something that we want to do. But we must do for our own safety.

Updated

You can trace the daily Covid cases in Australia here. Nick Evershed updates it as the official case numbers come in.

Updated

We are still waiting on the detail on how the localised lockdowns in Victoria will work.

We know you have questions – we are doing what we can to find out as much as we can for you.

Updated

AAP has gathered the coverage from local mayors in Victorian hotspots:

Maribyrnong city council is among the hotspots and the mayor, Sarah Carter, said reports of people refusing to be tested are frustrating.

“It makes me feel incredibly angry,” she told the Channel Nine on Wednesday. “I just think it’s the height of entitlement, to be honest, not to take the test, and I would urge everyone in our community, when asked, to take that test.”

The mayor said she was hopeful people would come together to support one another. “This is our community, it is our local economy, they’re local mums and dads running these small businesses and they have done it so bloody tough.”

Carly Moore is the mayor of Hume, which covers some of the outer north-west suburbs that will be locked down again.

She said she was devastated, particularly for local businesses, when she learned that stage three restrictions were being applied again.

“It’s been a tough time for our community, we were starting to see some signs of hope, we were starting to get really optimistic about what the future might look like, and realistically, we’re right back to square one,” she told reporters.

Moore was also angered by people refusing tests. “Everybody needs to do their bit,” she said. “There’s no reason why everybody in our community can’t pull their weight and get the test.”

Updated

It has been pointed out by a few readers that Jetstar has resumed daily flights between Melbourne and Ballina, near Byron Bay in northern NSW, just over the Queensland border.

This, of course, has raised some eyebrows, given the travel directions – the lockdown will be in place in northern Melbourne suburbs from midnight, and NSW has directed tourism operators to reject anyone from a hotspot area. On top of that, there are fines of up to $11,000 or six months in jail for anyone caught flouting the rules.

Updated

Australian Border Force is in charge of working out where the flights land.

(as is normal)

Updated

I’ve just had a look at the rest of Brad Hazzard’s press conference – NSW is refusing to take the extra international flights being diverted from Melbourne:

New South Wales has done more than its fair share. So far, we’ve had lots of people coming back from the hotspots. Sadly one of the biggest hotspots now is the United States.

More broadly, it’s time for some of these other flights has to be shared around some of the smaller states.

So the ACT and Brisbane will be getting a few more flights.

Updated

Engineering construction was also down in the last quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says.

Updated

That’s one unexpected cut to the ABC (building):

Updated

Housing approvals are down, the ABS reports – but it is not all down to Covid-19.

In another sign the economy wasn’t tracking quite as well as the government says it was, this started pre-pandemic:

The number of dwellings approved fell 16.4% in May, in seasonally adjusted terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today.

“The decline was driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses, which fell 34.9%, in seasonally adjusted terms. The number of dwellings approved in apartment buildings fell sharply, to an 11-year low,” said Daniel Rossi, director of construction statistics at the ABS. “Meanwhile, private sector houses fell modestly in May, by 4.4%.”

“While minor effects of Covid-19 are apparent in the headline building approvals results, the fall in apartment approvals was broadly expected prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Dwelling approvals fell across all states, in seasonally adjusted terms. Double-digit falls were recorded in Tasmania (23.3%), Victoria (14.3%) and New South Wales (11.3%), while South Australia (9.3%), Western Australia (8.9%) and Queensland (7.4%) also declined.

Approvals for private sector houses fell in Queensland (9.9%), Western Australia (7.9%) and Victoria (3.9%), in seasonally adjusted terms. South Australia bucked the national movement in May, increasing 7.1%, while New South Wales rose slightly (1.0%).

The value of total building approved fell 13.5% in May, in seasonally adjusted terms. The value of residential building fell 17.3%, while non-residential building declined 7.1%.

Updated

It’s just as important we know what is happening with our neighbours in the Pacific as we do with our neighbours interstate. You can find regular updates here:

Updated

Stephen Jones will be holding a press conference on the ATO website crashing. He says it is because of the number of people trying to withdraw their superannuation.

Being the new financial year, the government’s early super withdrawal scheme kicks in for people who have been financially impacted by Covid-19 – they are able to access another $10,000 of their retirement savings from today.

Updated

The NSW treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, says when it comes to taxation reform, the nation’s treasurers are going to have to work together for the good of the federation:

What is important on the 20th anniversary of the GST, there is discussion about whether we should increase it, broaden it, is it a tax hike.

My principle: we should have a lower tax burden, fairer tax burden, and a smarter tax system that’s fit for the 21st century.

A lot of the taxes – particularly the state taxes we rely upon – are inefficient. They stifle economic and jobs growth. There is no more apt time for us as a nation to be having a mature discussion around what’s the best mix that lowers the burden, that drives economic and jobs growth for future prosperity of our country?

Reform is not an end to itself. It is ultimately about people. And providing a system that enables not just us, but as John [Anderson] has pointed out, our kids to have a better life. And to drive future prosperity.

There is a lot in this. Whether that’s tax changes, whether that’s the division of federal and state responsibilities that need to be addressed to improve service delivery. But in terms of how we move forward.

One great thing we set up recently between state treasurers has been a board of treasurers where across party lines, Labor and Liberals, we’ve become the best of frenemies. We have worked together in what we believe is in the best interests of the country.

NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

The Australian War Memorial is officially open to visitors again for the first time since closing in March. Visitors need to register online before turning up, with numbers still limited due to social distancing.

Updated

Labor wants the government to release the Productivity Commission report into mental health.

Chris Bowen says the government received the final report yesterday – and now has to act:

With mental health flagged as a priority by Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt during the Covid health emergency, it is critical that a response to the report be finalised by October in order to be funded by the budget.

Under the Productivity Commission Act 1998, the government is required to table the report in each house of the parliament within 25 sitting days of receipt.

There are only 16 sitting days in the house of the parliament before budget night. The report should be released as soon as possible so that the sector can be consulted on implementation without delay.

Updated

That is one of the issues facing Australia post-Covid-19 lockdown.

Prepare yourself for quite a bit of “reform” in all sectors, from industrial relations to tax to how the federation itself is handled.

Updated

David Thodey on why Australia needs to reform how it handles tax:

You know, our version of federalism has the commonwealth with significant financial control and in a way the states have developed a degree of what we call learned financial dependency. We don’t think this is healthy. We don’t think it’s sustainable. And the way our federation was designed was not that way.

So, we think without reform the states are going to find it very difficult to face an increasing challenge in funding for the essential services that they provide, namely health, education, and infrastructure.

So, we need to get this right. While the federation is definitely not broken, both the federation and the tax system that it supports can certainly be made to function more effectively. And we think more aligned. So, I hope that this review of the federation will lead to some reform and not what many reforms have lent to, which is more frustration.

Updated

This is happening right now, for those interested.

Updated

Assoc Prof Barbara Mintzes from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and school of pharmacy said if remdesivir does prove effective in treating Covid-19 the drug would be needed not only in the US but globally, including in Australia.

“The US arrangement to buy 500,000 doses of remdesivir from Gilead raises concerns not only about access in other countries but also how to prevent profiteering from the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring that patients who need treatment are able to access it,” she said.

“Gilead announced its global price for remdesivir on June 29 as US$390 per vial. The Guardian reports that the cost will be US$3,200 for a six-day treatment, or A$4,607. The cost of production of remdesivir has been estimated to be less than US$1 per day or US$6 (A$8.64) for a six-day course of treatment.

“Gilead has licensing agreements with manufacturers in Egypt, India and Pakistan to supply remdesivir to 127 low- to middle-income countries. The US deal with Gilead and limits on which countries can be supplied under this licensing agreement leave countries like Australia in the lurch: unable to access remdesivir from Gilead at a high price – as the US is doing – and unable to access it at a low price from generic manufacturers, as lower income countries can.”

As for a solution, Mintzes said under international trade agreements, in a public health emergency governments can issue compulsory licences to bypass patent protection and either produce a drug themselves or buy the drug from generic manufacturers. The Netherlands is considering an amendment to its patent law to allow compulsory licensing of remdesivir.

“Currently we don’t know for sure whether remdesivir will prove to be an important treatment for Covid-19,” she said. “If it does, given that the US is buying out Gilead’s supply, and also given the extremely high price as compared with costs of production, the obvious solution for Australia would be to also consider compulsory licensing.”

Updated

This man is in charge of the country when the prime minister goes on holidays.

Which might be one benefit of the closed international borders.

[Continued from previous post]

Assoc Prof Alice Motion from the school of chemistry at the University of Sydney, who works as part of open-source drug discovery projects including the Breaking Good citizen science projet, said the actions of the US were a “real concern”.

“We would want to make sure something like this isn’t possible for a vaccine,” Motion said. “A vaccine should be available to people all over the world rather than one country, or a group of countries having preferred access to a medicine.

“Remdesivir is a medicine that helps people to recover faster, but imagine if the same thing happened with a vaccine that emerges.

“That would be terrible. It’s also a bit of a risk, too, because lots of different medicines that we all need across the world are not made in the countries where the patients live. If you start to buy up all the supply of one medicine you could see other countries that then might not be as willing to distribute or to share medicines with the US.”

She said the actions of the US raised fundamental issues about fair and equitable access to medicine.

“The other issue is whether everyone in the US will now have equal access to remdesivir too,” she said. “Equal access is not just an issue on a global level, but within countries.”

Prof Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician at the Australian National University, said similar issues were seen early on in the pandemic regarding access to personal protective equipment, with countries holding on to their supply while other countries struggled to get protective gear.

“Many countries prioritise their own,” he said. “Of course, I don’t agree with it. It’s not good practice and we need the arts and behavioural experts to look into this and this attitude.”

Updated

News emerged overnight that the US has bought up all supply of the drug remdesivir for the next three months. The drug has shown some promise in helping Covid-19 patients recover faster from Covid-19, and is manufactured by the US pharmaceutical giant Gilead.

The Guardian’s UK health reporter Sarah Boseley wrote that: “Experts and campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available.

“The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.”

Guardian Australia has asked the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, about whether he is concerned about the US buying up supply, and whether Australia has enough of the drug in its national medical stockpile to manage in the meantime.

A spokesman said he would provide a response this afternoon.

Updated

Bronwyn Pike, the chair of UnitingCare, has told the Senate’s Covid-19 inquiry the prime minister’s claim that unemployed people were turning down work due to the boosted rate of jobseeker payment was wrong.

“There’s a complete mismatch between those kinds of comments and the actual reality of the work environment we find ourselves in,” Pike said.

She said over time the Australian psyche had changed so that “we have got into this posture where people who are seeking income support are somehow lazy or not willing to participate in the workforce”.

“I don’t meet people like that,” she said. “Even with the increased support it’s still a very low remuneration.”

Toby O’Connor, the chief executive of the St Vincent de Paul Society, said the charity was worried about plans to remove the $550-a-fortnight coronavirus supplement in September: “We continue to be concerned about the most vulnerable people in our community.”

The committee also heard from Foodbank Australia and the Red Cross.

Foodbank Australia’s Brianna Casey said the charity had seen a “dramatic increase” in the number of people asking for food relief, including “new cohorts”.

UnitingCare Australia also said that its members had noted an increase in domestic violence during the pandemic. Although the increase was difficult to quantify, the UnitingCare’s Claerwen Little said the issue had been “reported in our meeting with members all the time”.

Updated

It’s the third day in a row we are getting a national update on Covid-19.

The Australian government acting chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, will lay out the national situation at 3.30pm.

Updated

So the Melbourne positive test numbers this week were:

Monday: 75

Tuesday: 64

Wednesday: 73

The lockdowns in those northern Melbourne suburbs begin at midnight tonight.

We’re thinking of you, Victoria, and are so sorry this is happening.

Updated

Daniel Andrews continues:

Let me be really clear about this, there have been an unacceptable infection control breaches in hotel quarantine.

I am – that is unacceptable to me and to all Victorians. That’s why we have cancelled those flights that would have come here through an abundance of caution. It is why there has been changes made in the way hotel quarantine operates and while we will have an inquiry to determine exactly what has gone on here. I don’t think there is any dispute between what you are putting to me and the actions that I have taken.

Updated

Asked why the government took so long to look at hotel quarantine security in Victoria, given the number of media questions over the last few weeks, Daniel Andrews says:

I wouldn’t say that that was an accurate characterisation of the government’s response.

There has been a number of changes made in hotel quarantine over a lengthy period of time.

Yesterday I made it clear to you that some of the behaviour, we believe that we have remedied that and that was remedied some time ago.

I spoke to you on the weekend and spoken at many different occasions about – so has the chief health officer about different review and different changes to practices.

The key point yesterday was that for the first time we had the most comprehensive genomic sequencing report that I have certainly been briefed on throughout the entire pandemic.

That left me in no doubt that if not right now, but certainly back weeks and weeks ago, there was a significant infection control problem and on that basis the inquiry has been announced.

I will update you as soon as I can in terms of the terms of reference and the retired judge who will be performing that role.

And out of a complete abundance of caution I made a request to the prime minister to have flights that would have arrived here over the next two weeks be sent to other capital cities. I have thanked the premiers of the states where it is logical where those flights will go, principally New South Wales and Queensland, for them playing that role.

That is purely through an abundance of caution. In the meantime, the people who run our jails, the Corrections Vic staff, are playing a much bigger role in that space and I think that is appropriate. They have without any question the best experience to be able to do that.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says the lockdown lines were chosen by health authorities based on the data they had:

Let’s be very clear about this, the decisions about where these lockdowns would be applied is a matter of public health.

It’s not as if I sat down with a map and drew these boundaries. They have been drawn by our public health experts based on data.

The other thing here too – this is a legally enforceable lockdown and you need to have the most certain lines on the map.

People know which postcode they live in. There can be no confusion about that. What’s more, there are hard lines that are well known and well understood and, for the purposes of enforcement, the public health team made it very clear that doing it suburb to suburb would not necessarily deliver the outcome we want, that postcode boundary, however inconvenient – I fully accept the point you make – that that was the best way to go.

Whenever you drawn a line on a map there will always be people on either side of it and anomalies and issues that come from that. What I would say though, the alternative, is to say let’s take the broadest brush we can and lock down the entire north or west of the city or even further still, let’s lock down the entirety of metropolitan Melbourne.

We don’t think that is a proportionate response. This is where the problem is and the data doesn’t lie.

This is where the problem is and these are the steps that the public health team deem appropriate to pull this thing up.

Updated

Victoria's premier says there are the 'beginnings of some consistency'

Daniel Andrews says there is a sliver of good news in the numbers:

Every day presents its own challenges and no one can predict what tomorrow’s numbers will be, but it is pleasing that there is some sense of stability to these numbers.

We are looking in unprecedented ways. We are finding new cases but there is the beginnings of some consistency here and that is obviously better than other options where we might see doubling and doubling again.

It is exactly why we have taken this course of action. We have made these decisions. Taken these very difficult steps because it is in the judgment of our public health team exactly what is required to bring some stability back to these numbers and then steadily drive those numbers down.

Updated

Daniel Andrews:

There are literally thousands of people out there door knocking, taking tests, processing tests, thousands of people doing contact tracing day and night.

There is such a big team of people who are working as hard as they possibly can to try and pull this thing up, to try and again have control of this virus.

The key point though is that they alone won’t be enough to achieve that outcome unless communities work with us. Families, individuals, work with us.

There are rules, they’re there for no other reason than the safety of every Victorian and moving to that point where we can again resume opening up. That’s what we all want to achieve. I don’t want to have to shut down any more postcodes.

That is less likely if Victorians follow the rules, if Victorians who are sick get tested, if Victorians who are sick don’t go and visit friends, don’t go to work, don’t continue as if they weren’t ill. We all want this to be over.

We all know and understand that. But we can’t pretend that it is because it is not and the wildly infectious nature of this virus means we have to take these steps. It is challenging, heartbreaking, it is very, very difficult but these are the appropriate public health measures. That is the advice from the experts. That’s why we have made these very tough calls.

Updated

The Victorian health minister says authorities are making it as easy as they can for the 300,000 or so people who live in the hotspots to get tested for Covid:

In addition to the 22 existing testing sites that are available in or close to those restricted postcodes we are in the process of opening at least 12 additional testing locations in those communities and about 10 of them will be available from later today.

So they are:

The Wingate Avenue community centre.

The Maribyrnong community centre.

Fairburn Park pavilion in Ascot Vale.

Niddrie community hub.

Glenroy library.

AG Gillon oval.

So they will be open from this afternoon.

We are also putting in place a number of mobile testing locations into these restricted postcodes as well.

They will be available from later today at the global learning village in Broadmeadows at the Fawkner basketball courts in Fawkner.

At Albanvale community centre and at the Maidstone community centre.

We will have further locations opening later in this week and we will be publicising those and sharing them with you as they become available. We are also sending mobile testing unites very soon in the next few days to Reservoir and Sunshine, they were part of the original hotspot suburbs.

Updated

The Victorian premier says he has been speaking with Scott Morrison and makes a point to thank him for his support:

I’m also very grateful, as I explained yesterday to the prime minister, I had a few texts with him last night, he is very pleased with the announcements we made yesterday as the appropriate response and we will continue to work with him and his officials and his ministers to make sure that whatever we need we will get.

That’s been the record, that is the form in terms of the important partnership we have. I don’t see that changing and for that I am deeply grateful to the prime minister and will continue to deep you informed of different teams of people, different specialists and different capability that will be coming to Victoria to help us in this fight.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says if he didn’t shut down the northern Melbourne suburbs, he would have had to shut down the state:

I appeal to all of those families, follow the rules, do the right thing, if you need support we will get that support to you and we will have more to say about that in coming days as well.

Ultimately, if I didn’t shut down those postcodes I’d be shutting down all postcodes and I don’t think we want to get to that point.

We all want to work hard, literally day and night to try and avoid that sort of an outcome.

I’m confident because the public health team are confident, that this strategy of lockdown, just as it worked the last time we did it, albeit across the state, will again be successful in pulling this thing up.

That is the most important thing we have to all focus on and that is exactly what we are focused on.

Daniel Andrews says he understands that it is a very difficult situation:

Essentially we really just need to impress upon all Victorians that this is not over.

It won’t be over for a long time and the best and most important thing that we can all do, whether we are in one of these hotspot postcodes or not is to follow the rules. Again, they are very simple.

Keeping your distance, staying at home if you are sick, getting tested if you are sick, making sure that you cough into the crook of your arm, making sure you wash your hands regularly. These are simple things but they make a massive difference to the fight against this virus.

They make a massive difference to us putting out this public health bushfire. In terms of those lockdown suburbs I again make the point I know and understand that this will be deeply inconvenient.

It will be frustrating, it will be very challenging.

Updated

There will be 12 new testing sites rolled out in the locked down suburbs.

That is with help from federal and interstate staff.

Daniel Andrews:

I can report to you that as of last night we had knocked on some 54,000 doors in those high-risk suburbs and postcodes offering advice, testing information and in some cases the self-administering test kits where people can take the test and it can be collected at a later point.

There will be further door knocking, quite intensive door knocking and there will be an update to this end each and every day but just to give you a since of where the next priority areas are, in will be a further extensive door knocking in Maidstone, continued door knocking in Broadmeadows and Albanvale tomorrow and Brunswick – sorry, today, and Brunswick West on Thursday and that adds to that rolling program of door knocking that we have been engaged in and will continue to be engaged in for the weeks and months ahead.

Updated

The Queensland premier says she doesn’t want to say any more than she did yesterday about the border criticism.

Here is what she had to say yesterday:

She is then asked about the Queensland Labor attack ad posted on Twitter overnight (which is separate to the parliamentary team) and which has since been deleted.

Palaszczuk:

I haven’t seen that but you will have the parties putting out a lot of things. What I have seen from the LNP has been frankly disgusting …

What about the degrading, the degrading examples that have been put out by Andrew Laming. I didn’t see anyone come out and call that out.

(Everyone called that out – and he was made to apologise.)

Updated

Victoria records another 73 Covid cases

Daniel Andrews is updating the Victorian situation.

It’s the fifth-highest day for Covid cases recorded in one day since the pandemic began.

Three from hotel quarantine, nine that are associated with known and contained outbreaks, 19 as a result of routine testing and 42 that remain under investigation by our public health team. We did 20,682 tests yesterday so I’ll take this opportunity to thank every single one of those going on for 21,000 people who presented for a test.

Updated

Asked how long it will take Queensland’s hospitality and tourism industries to recover, Annastacia Palaszczuk says:

It is never going to be exactly the same. We are in this post-Covid world. So the post-Covid world means until there is a vaccine we have to keep up with the social distancing. We never know when there could be a new case.

We have contact tracing in place ready to go and as we have seen it can emerge very quickly, like it has in Victoria.

But in terms of getting Queenslanders back into work and the hospitality industry, well, Rob [case study] just told me that yesterday afternoon he took a booking for a conference here at the hotel. So it is working already.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is holding a press conference on tourism:

Already four out of 10 Queenslanders are saying they are going to be holidaying here locally in Queensland, which is fantastic, and of course with our July 10 opening to other states and territories, except Victoria, we are already seeing people take bookings.

So it is good for the economy. It is great for jobs. It’s absolutely great for businesses.

Updated

NSW confirms 14 new coronavirus cases – all return travellers

New South Wales health has confirmed the 14 new cases – all are returned travellers.

Fourteen new cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases to 3,203 – all new cases were in returned travellers now in hotel quarantine.

A total of 16,243 tests were notified in the reporting period, compared with 12,950 tests in the previous 24 hours. NSW has carried out more than 870,000 Covid-19 tests.

As we mentioned, NSW will receive most of the international flights which were meant to go to Victoria – after Victoria asked for a two-week reprieve while it reviews its quarantine situation (breaches of quarantine protocols from some security staff have been traced back as one of the origins of this latest outbreak) so expect to see NSW’s case numbers increase in the next couple of weeks. The problem will only be if the people who test positive are coming from within the community, not the number of positive tests themselves.

Updated

NSW further eases social distancing restrictions

NSW has also further eased its social distancing restrictions:

Limits on attendance have been relaxed from Wednesday for funerals, weddings, places of worship and community sport in NSW, as long as there is no more than one person for every 4 sq m of space.

Outdoor gatherings are still restricted to 20 people but community sport with a Covid-19 safety plan can have up to 500 participants.

Funerals, weddings and church services may have the maximum number of people allowed on the premises, with one person for every 4 sq m.

All businesses can now open and operate under the same principle.

Up to 20 people can visit another household at any one time and guests are permitted to stay overnight. Up to 20 people can also stay at a holiday home, with no restrictions on travelling within NSW.

(via AAP)

Updated

While Scott Morrison has been speaking, the defence department has published the two key documents – the defence strategic update and the force structure plan.

The strategic update says the Covid-19 pandemic “has altered the economic trajectory of the region and the world with implications for Australia’s prosperity and security”.

It says the trend towards a more competitive and contested region “will not be fundamentally altered by the effects of the pandemic, but it is sharpening some aspects of strategic competition between the United States and China”:

Some countries are using the situation to seek greater influence, while countries that were expected to become more prosperous and stable may experience economic hardship and instability. The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of secure supply chains for Defence and defence industry, including sovereign industrial capability in some areas.

The document says the pandemic’s impact on regional growth, trade and societies will have lasting consequences:

The enormous economic impact of measures to contain the spread of the virus will set back development. This economic shock could undermine political and social stability. Far-reaching measures introduced in some countries to fight the pandemic could be used to reduce political freedoms.

China is mentioned directly:

It is unlikely that the pandemic will fundamentally alter either the longer-term shift in relative global economic and strategic weight to the Indo-Pacific or China’s more active pursuit of greater influence in the Indo-Pacific. But it will have implications for how these trends develop. While collaboration and cooperation is expanding in response to the pandemic, some countries are using the situation to secure greater influence. Strategic competition between the United States and China is unlikely to abate, and the pandemic has sharpened aspects of this competition. Military modernisation could slow in some countries but will continue to be prioritised.

Those who are interested can read the full documents here.

Updated

Daniel Andrews has been doing the Melbourne media rounds this morning as he attempts to explain how a localised lockdown will work, while the rest of the state maintains eased restrictions.

Meanwhile, the ramifications of the virus spike are still being felt.

Updated

NSW to fine hotspot Victorians up to $11,000 if they enter the state

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, has announced penalties for any Victorian from one of the hotspot suburbs entering NSW.

They can be fined up to $11,000 or jailed for six months if they attempt to enter NSW. New South Wales residents face the same penalties if they go to one of the named suburbs. Hazzard said:

Victorians living in virus hotspots have to take the Victorian and NSW health orders seriously and should be very aware that NSW will impose additional penalties if they seek to leave their suburbs to enter NSW.

New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard adjusts his glasses during a press conference on Wednesday.
New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard adjusts his glasses during a press conference on Wednesday. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Updated

Daniel Hurst has picked out some key messages from Scott Morrison’s speech:

Despite the many pressures on the commonwealth budget, I reaffirm today our government’s commitment to properly funding Defence with the certainty of a new 10-year funding model that goes beyond our achievement of reaching 2% of GDP this year.

The simple truth is this. Even as we stare down the Covid pandemic at home, we need to also prepare for a post-Covid world that is poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly.

We have been a favoured isle for many decades. The only time Australia has faced an existential threat was when the global and regional order collapsed in the 1930s and 1940s. That is a sobering thought ...

Now, we must face the reality that we have moved into a new and less benign strategic era – one in which the institutions and patterns of cooperation that have benefited our prosperity and security for decades are under increasing and I would suggest almost irreversible strain.

The Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of rising strategic competition.

Updated

Victorian police hunting for gunman in Broadmeadows

(via AAP)

A gunman is on the loose after entering a newly-built townhouse and threatening tradies in a coronavirus hotspot suburb in Melbourne’s north.

Police are looking for the man armed with a gun near Metelmen Court in Broadmeadows on Wednesday morning.

Two workmen entered the townhouse to complete some work about 7.15am when they heard some noises.

They saw a man coming down the stairs with a firearm, police said.

The man threatened the pair, who left the premises and contacted police.

Police have blocked off the area and are yet to confirm if the man is still inside the house.

Updated

Scott Morrison has begun his speech outlining Australia’s defence strategy for 2020.

Daniel Hurst is watching that for you.

Scott Morrison was asked about Annastacia Palaszczuk’s comments about singling out Queensland on the Nine network this morning:

Well, I haven’t. There’s an election in Queensland, so I’m not surprised that the political rhetoric is amping up. Look, we’re keeping all of the country together to focus on this. I made similar comments about the changes in borders in South Australia yesterday. So, look, I think you can file that under a Queensland election.

Morrison has been singling out Queensland to open its borders – and then added “all borders” to his comments.

Updated

Anthony Albanese was asked about Annastacia Palaszczuk’s comments yesterday, after she hit back against the border criticism (which included Scott Morrison) and said:

Well, look, I don’t believe that it’s appropriate, and I haven’t sought to politicise a response to the medical issues with regard to borders.

I’m not surprised that Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has shown tremendous leadership in Queensland, is frustrated at the comments of the prime minister given he has said time and time again it’s up to the states what happens.

Then he goes to criticise the actions only of the Queensland Labor government – not the WA Labor government, not the South Australian Liberal government, not the Tasmanian Liberal government, not the Victorian Labor government, not the New South Wales Liberal government, but just Queensland. Could be there’s an election coming up at the end of the year.

Updated

Victoria police have called a press conference for 10.45am.

Hopefully we will get some additional information on how the localised lockdowns will work.

Updated

The ATO site is having a few traffic problems today – being 1 July, there are a lot of people trying to log on to register for jobkeeper for the new financial year, as well as the additional tax traffic.

If you are having trouble, keep trying – it seems to be coping off and on.

Updated

With flights being diverted from Melbourne for the next two weeks, Sydney will see an uptick in returned travellers, and therefore it is expected to see case numbers increase.

Updated

There are reports of another 14 cases in NSW – we don’t have a breakdown of where these cases have come from.

Updated

On the borders and state responses, Anthony Albanese says:

It’s appropriate that state governments take advice from their state medical officers. That’s what is seeing us through this. This should not be the subject of political argy-bargy.

This is whether it be Steven Marshall’s government in South Australia, the Liberal government in Tasmania, the Labor government in WA, or the Labor government in Queensland, and I note government in Queensland, and I note here in New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian is saying to Victorians they’re not welcome here and New South Wales visitors shouldn’t go to Victoria.

So what I think is appropriate is that this not be two messages which is what for a while we got from this government including from the state government of Gladys Berejiklian who was critical of Queensland is now saying exactly the same message with regard to Victoria. I think that this needs to be based upon medical and health advice, not based upon politics.

Updated

Daniel Andrews and his health minister, Jenny Mikakos, will hold a press conference at 11.30am today.

Updated

For those wanting more information on the defence announcement, Daniel Hurst has you covered:

You get a little bit more control over your data from today:

Following the successful implementation by the four major banks of the IT infrastructure needed to enable the Consumer Data Right in banking, “Open Banking” will now commence in relation to deposits, transaction accounts, credit and debit cards.

Open Banking is a game-changing reform for Australians and will revolutionise the way that consumers and small businesses use their data to compare prices and switch between products and providers in the banking sector.

The government has been working closely with the four major banks, the FinTech industry, the ACCC and Data61 to design, build and test the rules and infrastructure that will allow consumers to securely direct their banking data to another major bank or accredited FinTech provider.

FinTechs that become accredited through the ACCC will be able to connect into the system and with a consumers express consent, be able to use the latest technology to analyse their data and help consumers determine whether their banking products are best-suited to their needs. As the technology evolves, so will the offerings that FinTechs will be able to provide to individuals and small businesses.

Updated

The Covid-19 Senate committee is on again today.

Updated

The international coronavirus blog is up and running:

Also, happy new financial year.

From July 1 2020, small and family businesses will be paying less tax as a result of legislated tax cuts passed by the Morrison government.

As the 2020-2021 financial year begins, incorporated small and family businesses with a turnover of less than $50m will see their company tax rate reduced from 27.5% to 26%.

Unincorporated businesses will also benefit as the rate of the small business income tax offset increases from 8% to 13%.

The changes mark the next stage of the Morrison government’s accelerated small business tax cuts, legislated in October 2018, which brought forward tax relief for small and medium businesses by five years.

Updated

For those asking, if you live around one of the locked-down postcodes in Victoria but are not locked down yourself, yes, you can travel through one of the locked-down suburbs to get to where you need to go.

But if you can avoid it, you should.

Basically, the guidelines are you can travel through the area but you shouldn’t be making plans to hang around in the area, if that makes sense.

And if there is another route available to you, maybe take that – at least until 29 July.

Updated

Marise Payne expresses 'deep concern' for Hong Kong over China's national security law

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has also released an official statement on China passing new security laws which will seriously curtail protest action in Hong Kong:

Australia joins many international partners in expressing our deep concern about Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong. This decision to impose the law undermines the “one country two systems” framework and the city’s high degree of autonomy guaranteed in the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.

Australia is troubled by the law’s implications for Hong Kong’s judicial independence, and on the rights and freedoms enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong, both of which underpin the city’s success.

That this decision was made without the direct participation of Hong Kong’s people, legislature or judiciary is a further cause for concern. The people of Hong Kong will make their own assessments of how this decision will affect their city’s future. The eyes of the world will remain on Hong Kong.

Australia has a substantial stake in Hong Kong’s success. The city is home to our largest commercial presence in Asia and one of our biggest expatriate communities globally.

We also continue to recognise the great contribution that people from Hong Kong have made, and continue to make, to Australia. Our people-to-people links are deep – stretching back 200 years – and continue to strengthen.

Australia has been a favoured destination for people from Hong Kong, and we will work to ensure it stays that way.

We will continue to work with international partners to fully assess the implications of the new laws.

Updated

There have been 55 applications made against those institutions. The redress scheme was established after the royal commission into institutional child sexual abuse.

The minister in charge, Anne Ruston, told ABC radio it was unacceptable that organisations had not signed up to the scheme:

Think about the reputational damage by you saying as an organisation that, despite having a history of working with children, despite having applications against your organisations for child sexual abuse, you still refuse to accept your moral obligation and responsibility to come forward and allow these people the small thing of a bit of redress and a small amount of money to acknowledge that they actually have wrongs righted against them.

I don’t understand how any organisation can take that kind of course of action.

Updated

The federal government has followed through with its threats to name institutions which have not signed up to redress scheme:

The institutions are

  • Australian Air League
  • Boys’ Brigade NSW
  • Fairbridge Restored Limited
  • Lakes Entrance pony club
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • Kenja Communications

These institutions will now be ineligible to apply for any future commonwealth funding and the government is investigating options to revoke tax concessions such as charitable status.

Updated

'Mask use may be part of the solution'

Paul Kelly says he has not changed his mind about the need for mass mask wearing in Australia.

But he concedes that Victoria may need a different solution right now and says Victorian health officials are working on a plan:

I haven’t changed my mind and we have very clear national guidance in relation to masks. I think we – we have been very clear that masks are not the 100% answer that some people want to make them, but they can, in certain circumstances, be part of the solution.

And one of those circumstances is a large community-based outbreak and so in certain circumstances in those hotspots in air, hotspot areas in Melbourne, it may be useful as part of the response to rethink mask use. And I know that the Victorian chief health officer, Brett Sutton, who I speak to daily, is working through that with his staff right now and we’ll back him in with that because that has always been part of our response, that in certain circumstances, mask use may be part of the solution.

A French bulldog statue in Brisbane displays a homemade surgical mask
A French bulldog statue in Brisbane displays a homemade surgical mask. Photograph: Flo Rols/Pacific Press/Rex/Shutterstock


Updated

Was the acting chief medical officer shocked to discover some people, as Calla Wahlquist reported in the blog yesterday, were refusing to be tested, in the hotspot Victorian areas:

I believe Premier Andrews mentioned over 900 people have refused tests. I think let’s look at the positive – there’s been over 100,000 people who have accepted a test and I think it talks to (and Victorians are absolutely aware of this) Victorian authorities that explanations in multiple languages and getting people on the ground that can work with communities is, is absolutely crucial to this effort and they have reached out to us and the commonwealth government to assist in that area.

There’ll be 500 people from our commonwealth staff in Victoria will be put on the ground, talking through with people, they’re very experienced in community engagement. And I think that’s a crucial thing. And there is enforcement power there is available if required. So that’s the decision for the Victorian authorities.

Updated

Australia’s acting chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, was asked on ABC Breakfast this morning if localised lockdowns, like we will see in Victoria, actually work:

This is absolutely been part of our plan if we did have an outbreak exactly as we’re seeing now in the – certain parts of Melbourne that we would do a localised shutdown and that’s – we have had some experience with this in relation to north-west Tasmania, very different situation in a large urban area like Melbourne, but those principles are the ones we’re following and similar to health authorities all around the world. I saw today that Leicester, a large city in the middle part of England, is doing exactly the same thing.

And so it’s been in our plan all along. We hoped we wouldn’t have do it, but here we are and a very proportionate and appropriate response being made by the Victorian authorities as announced yesterday.

Updated

Meanwhile, Queensland will go into its stage three of easing restrictions a week earlier than planned, with gatherings of up to 100 people allowed at weddings, community contact sport restarting (with spectators) and clubs, pubs and restaurants allowed one person for every 2 sq m inside (social distancing required, so no dancing in nightclubs, just toe-tapping while seated – you may be able to pat your hand on your thigh if you’re feeling wild) from 3 July.

From 1o July, Queensland will open its borders to anyone not from Victoria, or who hasn’t been to Victoria (Victorians and Victorian visitors, including Queensland residents, will have to either go back south, or pay for two weeks’ quarantine in a hotel).

That state is also headed to an election in October.

Which means, now that stage three is in place, the gloves have seemingly come off. The Queensland Labor government has faced a lot of criticism for the border closure and has mostly stayed quiet. Yesterday, in the press conference, Annastacia Palaszczuk responded. Last night the party executive did too.

This was after the deputy premier, Steven Miles, said it was time to stop the blame game, and to come together for Victoria.

Updated

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, will join the state’s chief health minister, Dr Kerry Chant, for an update at 10.15am – it looks as though NSW will be lifting restrictions even further.

Updated

The education minister, Dan Tehan, has announced two panels of vice-chancellors he will consult over key planks of the universities reform package: the $900m “industry linkage fund”; and to develop a plan to reform research funding.

The linkage fund working group will be chaired by University of Technology Sydney vice-chancellor, Attila Brungs, while the research working group is led by the Universities Australia chair and Curtin University vice-chancellor, Prof Deborah Terry.

The linkage fund working group will be looking at boosting internships, practical work experience and science technology engineering and maths graduates going into relevant jobs.

The research aspect is still at a very early stage (and quite vague) – Tehan said they would consider “alternative models to university research funding and allocation that would operate in conjunction with the government’s job-ready graduates package”:

One of the key challenges in a post-Covid economy will be to provide a sustainable pipeline of funding for research. I want to work with the sector to achieve this. The working group will look at the research pipeline in the higher education system to frame the issue and take initial soundings of possible directions.

The Universities Australia chief executive, Catriona Jackson, welcomed the announcement:

More than 450,000 students participate annually in industry-led projects, fieldwork, practical simulations and work placements. We are keen to work with industry to provide more of these opportunities. Students value them highly and they lead to jobs. The sector looks forward to working with the minister to co-design the fund ...

Our challenge is to find ways of ensuring our world-leading researchers have the resources they need to contribute to Australia’s economic recovery.

Updated

Christopher Knaus and Ben Smee have looked at the 10m Covid-19 testing kids Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation bought from the Chinese firm Beijing Genomics Institute for $200m (it was on behalf of the government, meaning we pay the foundation back for the tests) and found they only have a shelf life of six months.

Australia has so far received 4.8m of the 10m Covid-19 tests that Minderoo, the philanthropic arm of the mining billionaire and philanthropist, secured for $200m from Chinese firm Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) on behalf of the government.

The volume already in Australia’s possession is huge.

Current stocks of the BGI tests – one brand among dozens supplied to Australia – are more than double the total 2.2m tests conducted nationwide since the pandemic began more than six months ago.

Uptake has been limited among public pathology providers, and the government has decided to send some BGI tests to the national medical stockpile to sit in reserve.

You might remember when that deal was announced – Forrest invited the Victorian Chinese consul-general to speak, without Greg Hunt’s knowledge, just as Beijing-Canberra relations were souring.

Updated

Labor will also be campaigning in Eden-Monaro on penalty rate cuts and the Fair Work Commission’s decision to make workers in the hardest-hit industries wait until 1 February for a pay rise.

Labor’s Tony Burke will cite a new analysis from the Parliamentary Library that pharmacy workers could be up to $4,800 worse off a year and retail workers up to $4,300 worse off due to cuts that were made by the FWC in February 2017.

The analysis finds the cost of delaying the $13-a-week minimum wage rise until February is at least $400 for these workers.

Before the 2019 election Labor committed to reverse penalty rate cuts. It has not recommitted to that policy (yet) – but it is written into Labor’s platform.

I’m not sure there is any proposal to fix delayed minimum wage rises, which was done because certain industries (accommodation, food services, arts, recreation, aviation, retail and tourism) will be suffering a big reduction in trade due to Covid-19 and associated restrictions.

Burke said:

Scott Morrison is leaving these workers behind. These are many of the same people who kept working through the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure Australians could continue to get the things they needed. They proved themselves to be essential, frontline workers in a time of crisis – and this is how we thank them?

We know this will hurt women and young people the most because they dominate the retail sector. These cuts never made sense but they make even less sense in a recession. This is not the time for cuts and austerity.

Updated

Meanwhile, in international Covid-19 news, the United States is once again causing waves:

The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world.

Experts and campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available. The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.

“They’ve got access to most of the drug supply [of remdesivir], so there’s nothing for Europe,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University.

Updated

Scott Morrison will launch the 2020 defence strategic update at 10am today.

Updated

Anthony Albanese will be in Eden-Monaro with Labor’s candidate Kristy McBain today announcing that Labor plans to reverse $83.7m of cuts to the ABC “to save regional jobs, protect critical emergency broadcasting and support local news and content”.

We knew Labor wasn’t a fan of the cuts – but a commitment that an “Albanese Labor government will” reverse them (if elected) adds pressure to the government.

The Nationals candidate, Trevor Hicks, as also pledged to fight to reverse the cuts, so only theLiberal candidate, Fiona Kotvojs, is left holding the government line.

In a statement, Albanese and McBain said:

ABC emergency coverage saved lives during the summer bushfires and staff came off leave to ensure Australians were kept informed. Now 250 dedicated ABC staff face the sack as a result of Scott Morrison’s cuts ... This Saturday the people of Eden-Monaro have the chance to send the government a message: don’t cut ABC jobs, regional news or emergency broadcasting.

Anthony Albanese holds a chicken, beside Kristy McBain.
Anthony Albanese campaigns in May in the Eden-Monaro electorate with Labor candidate Kristy McBain. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Good morning

Lockdowns for people in almost 40 suburbs in Melbourne begin from midnight, ushering in a new front in Australia’s response to Covid-19.

While localised lockdowns were always part of the plan developed by the national cabinet, it’s going to be hard for people living in those postcodes to watch everything stop while, one suburb over, things are still relaxed.

Still, with community transmission and two weeks of double-digit positive tests, it’s hard to see any other response working.

Meanwhile, Victorians are locked out of most of the rest of the country, even as domestic travel looks like resuming. South Australia and Queensland have officially said no, keeping border lockdowns in place for Victoria, while lifting them for other jurisdictions. NSW is keeping the border open but has issued a very clear “stay away” and “stay out” message for Victorians, while Western Australia remains closed to everyone.

We’ll keep you updated on the day’s events in relation to the Covid-19 response, as well as Australian politics.

Speaking of which, Scott Morrison will give a speech today outlining a $270bn spend on defence. Because even when $11bn-a-month on a wage subsidy which has kept 3 million people in connection with their employers is described as a “cash burn”, there is always money for defence.

You have Amy Remeikis with you, as usual, for the bulk of the day, and the entire Guardian brains trust keeping you updated. I hope you’ve had your coffee.

Ready?

Updated

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