What happened today, Tuesday, 29 June 2021
We’ll leave it there for today.
Here are the main developments of the day:
- Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid says he does not endorse the prime minister’s announcement that anyone under 40 can receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from their GP, adding it took him by surprise. The comments followed a Monday night announcement from Scott Morrison that under 40-year-olds could access the AZ vaccine. The expanded vaccine access prompted younger Australians seeking the vaccine despite blood clot concerns to call GPs in droves, catching clinics off guard.
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Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a three-day lockdown for south-east Queensland, as well as Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island, after a hospital worker who travelled while infectious to the regions was diagnosed with the Delta strain of Covid-19. The state announced two cases on Tuesday.
- In Western Australia, Perth and Peel begun the first day of their four day lockdown, as the state recorded no new cases of Covid apart from a new case on Monday night that was a key factor behind the snap lockdown.
- New South Wales authorities announced 19 new cases of Covid-19 had been reported, as the Berejiklian government unveiled a business support scheme for the locked down areas of Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong.
- Meanwhile, the Northern Territory has recorded two more Delta variant coronavirus cases – the wife and daughter of a worker who left the Granites mine in the Tanami desert on Friday.
- Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak has derailed Ben Roberts-Smith’s war crimes defamation trial by at least a month – and possibly longer – with concerns raised for the safety of four Afghan witnesses waiting in Kabul to give evidence, amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
- The aged care industry and unions say a new staff vaccine mandate will do little to solve the long-standing problems caused by the government’s “completely failed” rollout, labelling Monday’s announcement an exercise in “blame-shifting”.
- Land clearing in New South Wales has continued to rise since the Berejiklian government relaxed vegetation laws, prompting the opposition, the crossbench and environment groups to call for an urgent overhaul of the legislation.
Updated
In case you missed this earlier today:
Barnaby Joyce has been fined $200 for not wearing a mask while paying for petrol at a service station in Armidale after he was dobbed in by a member of the public.
The newly reinstated deputy prime minister used the end of an interview with Sky News’s Alan Jones to tell the story, as he waved his disposable mask in the air, while Jones attempted to wrap up the segment.
“The other day, you’ll like this story, I went into the Caltex service station, I was going to the airport, I forgot to get fuel for Vikki, fuelled the car up with fuel, went in, 30 seconds later, 200 bucks it cost me, because I didn’t wear one of these.
“But that’s life.”
My colleagues Michael McGowan and Amy Remeikis have more on this:
Millions of Queenslanders have been plunged into another snap lockdown amid fears a hospital worker from Brisbane may have spread the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 to north Queensland, reports AAP.
Late on Tuesday, authorities confirmed she has the Delta variant, which is twice as contagious as the original virus and can be spread through fleeting contact that lasts just seconds.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has expressed disbelief after learning the young woman was not vaccinated but continued to work shifts as a concierge stationed just outside Prince Charles hospital’s coronavirus ward.
The 19-year-old tested positive on Monday after she and her family left their home at Sandgate in Brisbane and flew to Townsville, visiting the city’s Sunday markets, numerous dining venues, and Magnetic Island.
She was also out and about in Brisbane before heading north for the family holiday, with Brisbane airport and a Woolworths at Sandgate among the exposure venues.
One of the hospital worker’s close friends and two of her family members are also ill now and are awaiting test results. The concierge also had contact with three other hospital workers.
Updated
Tim Wilson, the Liberal MP for Goldstein, has defended the Morrison government’s controversial commuter car park program that delivered six car parks for his Melbourne electorate.
On Monday, the Australian National Audit Office released its report into the program, which found that not one of the 47 commuter car park sites promised by the Coalition at the 2019 election was selected by the infrastructure department, with projects worth $660m handpicked by the government on advice of its MPs and candidates.
In an interview with the ABC, Wilson insisted the six car parks built in his electorate were “meritorious projects”.
They were put forward to me by the council asking to upgrade the car park, encouraging the use of public transport.
I am a very, very effective local member in standing up for the community and making sure that we get the resources for our community.
The decision was not mine, as you know, it was for the minister and the department to make.
Asked if the decisions were “politically motivated” so he could win his seat, Wilson said:
Politely, no. I am very proud to fight for the community and I am very proud to fight for infrastructure for the community and anybody who thinks that was the basis in which I won the electorate, which I won at the previous election and has been won continuously by the Liberal party since federation, probably doesn’t understand the nature of the community and its issues.
I am absolutely proud to say that I fight very hard for the community inside the government to get infrastructure funding, to make sure that we have the resources that we need locally to support residents.
Updated
The inquest into the death in custody of Aboriginal man Raymond Noel Lindsay Thomas is still underway in Melbourne. The 30-year-old died in a police pursuit on a residential Melbourne street in 2017.
The crash occurred just 21 seconds after police formally called in the pursuit, but the inquest has previously heard that the police car got up to speeds of 134km/h before calling the pursuit, when it was following Thomas’s car because it was unregistered and looked “dodgy”.
It reached 156km/h once the pursuit formally began – and video footage showed Thomas’s car was going at similarly high speeds when he crashed.
The pursuit policy was updated in 2016, following recommendations made at previous inquests by coroner John Olle. It was updated again in 2019 following the inquest into the Bourke Street attacks.
Olle is also helming this inquest. In a combative exchange with the Victoria police assistant commissioner for road policing, Libby Murphy, who gave evidence on Wednesday, Olle said there was a need for prescriptive questions in the pursuit policy which would trigger frontline officers to do a risk assessment. The current policy calls for a “holistic risk assessment” and is subjective.
Olle suggested it would be helpful for the pursuit policy training to include two questions officers have to ask themselves in the first seconds of engaging in a pursuit: why am I pursuing this vehicle? And is there anything I am doing that may adversely affect the driver of the vehicle I’m pursuing?
He said that would take the pressure off officers who may not, in the heat of the moment, have time for a considered risk assessment.
“Most of the pursuits I’ve [held an inquest into] over the years are over very quickly,” he said. “Even before a pursuit controller can be involved and get the dispassionate risk assessment … they go from nothing to 150 to all over, often in under a minute.”
Murphy said those questions were “included in the risk assessment that’s in the pursuits policy now anyway … I think that’s part of a normal risk assessment.”
“We cannot be too prescriptive when there are too many variables,” she said.
The inquest continues.
Updated
Fly-in fly-out workers who are locked down at the Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory have reportedly threatened to revolt over their conditions while in isolation.
Miners have complained of going more than 18 hours between meals, while others have claimed they have not had any water delivered since Saturday, according to a report in the Courier Mail.
Updated
NSW Health has announced new Covid-19 exposure sites and expanded hours for existing ones.
Close contact venues: anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
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Pattison’s Patisserie at Westfield Bondi Junction on Monday 21 June between 2pm-2:30pm.
- 7 Eleven on the corner of Todman Ave and Anzac Pde in Kensington on Tuesday 22 June between 12:50pm-1:10pm.
- Bentley Restaurant Bar at 27 O’Connell St in Sydney on Wednesday 23 June between 6pm-9:40pm.
- Domino’s Pizza in Rose Bay on Saturday 26 June between 1:25pm-1:40pm (this is a corrected time listing).
- Crossways Hotel in South Strathfield on Saturday 26 June between 3:30pm-5pm (this is in addition to times previously reported for this venue).
Casual contact venues: anyone who attended the following venues at the listed times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received. Please continue to monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate and get tested if they develop:
- Oporto at Campbell Parade on Bondi Beach on Friday 25 June between 10:45am-10:55am.
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Westfield Eastgardens on Friday 25 June, specifically:
-Woolworths between 12pm-12:30pm
-Big W between 12:30pm-12:50pm
-Kmart between 12:55pm-1:15pm
-Reject Shop between 1:15pm-1:30pm
-Level 2 Food Court between 1:30pm-2:15pm
-Level 3 Children’s Play Area (next to Woolworths) between 1pm-2:25pm. -
Woolworths Double Bay on Saturday 26 June between 7pm-8:15pm.
- Supa IGA Blaxland on Sunday 27 June between 6am-4pm.
Updated
The peak body for Australia’s GPs says it was given “no warning” of last night’s AstraZeneca announcement by prime minister Scott Morrison.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Karen Price said GPs were now “scrambling to figure out what it means for our patients”.
Price said:
Phones are ringing off the hook at practices across the country, and some clinics are understandably not taking any bookings until they receive official government advice.
This is a significant change to the rollout, and it’s vital that general practice has adequate support from the government to implement these changes. That includes sufficient stock of the vaccine and guidance for GPs and general practice staff.”
She said she was pleased that new Medicare Benefits Schedule items for consults prior to vaccinations will be expanded to all patients, rather than just applying to those aged 50 and over.
This will go some way in supporting GPs in having these discussions with patients.”
Updated
Hakeem al-Araibi, the footballer wrongfully detained in a Thai prison, is suing the Australian government for negligence and breach of duty of care.
In a statement of claim lodged to the supreme court of Victoria, al-Araibi’s lawyers allege he suffered injury, loss and damage, including post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and lost income as a result of his 77-day incarceration.
The Bahraini, who was tortured in his native country and subsequently fled to Australia in 2014, was granted refugee status in 2017. He was granted Australian citizenship in March 2019, after his release following a prominent campaign led by the former Socceroo Craig Foster.
Al-Araibi was detained at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on 27 November 2018 en route to a honeymoon with his wife. Thai authorities had acted on an invalid Interpol red notice issued by Bahrain for his extradition.
Read more:
Updated
For all the political nerds out there, the Australian Electoral Commission has announced the outcome of its deliberations on the names and boundaries of federal electorates in Victoria.
It includes some interesting changes to which suburbs are included in which electorates, as there have been some redistributions.
No doubt the political parties are carefully analysing these changes as they formulate their campaigns ahead of the next federal election.
You can read about the changes in detail here:
Victorian federal redistribution: Final @AboutTheHouse names and boundaries have been decided.
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) June 29, 2021
Media release: https://t.co/Re0XDrXZyS pic.twitter.com/Zf4AsSWTHr
Updated
Today during the National Immunisation Conference held by the Public Health Association of Australia, chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly confirmed the introduction of a no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme that would cover patients with a vaccine injury.
The health minister Greg Hunt also gave some details of the scheme in his press conference earlier, saying more details would be released in coming days.
A no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme compensates individuals who have a vaccine injury following the correct administration of a registered vaccine. It is considered a vital component of a strong immunisation program by public health experts.
The Public Health Association of Australia CEO, Prof Terry Slevin, said it was “a very welcome announcement”:
It is well established that the majority of Australians are reasonable and supportive of Covid vaccination.
While we know that instances of serious adverse events following Covid vaccines are extraordinarily rare, this doesn’t minimise the negative effects suffered by the very few unlucky individuals who do get them.
A no-fault vaccine injury compensation scheme will be one important way to ensure that those very few Australians who do unfortunately experience an adverse event which requires further health or medical attention can be given the extra support they need.”
Such a scheme has long been called for by experts. Australia has been in contrast to 25 other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, in that it has not had a longstanding vaccine injury compensation scheme of this kind.
Without a scheme, “individuals who experience a vaccine injury must bear the costs associated with their injury by themselves or access treatment via our publicly-funded health system, but they will not receive any compensation for their injury and suffering,” an expert paper published by the Royal Australian College of GPs last year said.
Updated
Dr Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, says GPs weren’t warned of last night’s vaccine announcements. She called for more government support:
Phones are ringing off the hook at GP clinics. We had no warning of last night's announcements and this isn't the first time this has happened to general practice. It's vital that government provides significant support to GPs to implement these changes to the vaccine rollout.
— RACGP President (@RACGPPresident) June 29, 2021
Updated
Exclusive: AMA refuses to endorse PM’s AstraZeneca announcement
The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, says he does not endorse the prime minister’s announcement that anyone under 40 can receive the AstraZeneca vaccine from their GP, adding that it took him by surprise.
The advice from the independent Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation – that Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for under-60s due to an increased risk of rare clotting events linked to the AstraZeneca jab – is unchanged. Despite this, Scott Morrison on Monday night encouraged under-60s “to go and have that discussion with your GP” if they wish to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Khorshid told Guardian Australia on Tuesday:
It took us by surprise, and it’s hard to know how to take that announcement because I think it’s going to be a limited number of people to take it up, given that they would be going against the expert Atagi recommendation.
Our recommendation is still really for patients to follow the Atagi advice. Be patient and have the Atagi-recommended vaccine when it’s available. I am certainly still backing the expert advice at this stage.”
Read more:
Updated
Well, that was quite the run of press conferences – reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic last year.
In case you missed it, I subbed in for Matilda Boseley in the middle of the action. Thanks for bringing us this morning’s developments Matilda.
You now have Elias Visontay with you bringing you the news for the rest of the afternoon. If you see something you think I should be aware of, you can contact me via email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com or via Twitter at @EliasVisontay.
Off we go.
Updated
Heath minister Greg Hunt is asked why, two weeks after Atagi advice raised the age bracket for AztraZeneca vaccine to over 60, he is now advising Australians to go against that advice if they want, and whether it has been a decision forced by his inability to secure enough vaccines to cover younger Australians.
It’s a very direct question, and Hunt says:
With great respect, what we’ve done is ensure that we have very significant supplies of domestically made vaccine, sovereign vaccine manufacturing here in Australia. The medical advice has not changed. There’s simply a recognition that the access for those who wish to make an informed consent decision can be broadened, consistent with the supply.
Hunt then proceeded to give a breakdown of the Pfizer supplies Australia had secured and is expecting, in a way that suggests these supplies are consistent with the demand and time frames “set out long ago”.
The press conference ends.
Updated
Hunt wants states to bring home as many Australians as possible
Queensland and Victoria may be pushing to lower their international arrival intakes, but Greg Hunt has urged states to continue bringing home as many Australians as they can.
Asked about states wanting to lower their intakes to ease pressure on their quarantine systems and the risks of Covid leaks, Hunt notes New South Wales has the highest quarantine intake despite its current outbreak.
Eleven months ago, Australia was having 700 cases a day on its highest day. Now, we’re in a very different situation, and it’s important to recognise that difference between a year ago and where we are now.
We have stronger controls at the borders. We have stronger testing, stronger tracing. We have 7.5 million vaccinations that have been delivered. In terms of international arrivals, we would encourage every state and territory to help bring home as many Australians as possible, to bring families back together, to allow people to come home. We recognise and respect their decisions, ultimately, but New South Wales has done the heavy lifting on behalf of the nation. They’re continuing to do that.
We know that we can bring home Australians, we should bring home Australians, and the critical workers – whether it’s in health or medical or engineering - are fundamental to helping save lives and protect lives around the country.
Updated
Hunt is asked about the indemnity for GPs administering AztraZeneca, and if this still means patients could sue their doctor over any issues related to the vaccine.
Hunt suggests that the regular claims process would occur, but that the commonwealth would fund the cost of the outcome for the doctor.
This is about claims against doctors and what that means is if there are claims by individuals against doctors – then those claims will ultimately be settled through this process. So it’s a claim settlement process to protect doctors, but by definition that means that the individuals who make those claims, if they are of course substantiated, will be addressed. The final details of that will be released within the coming week.
Updated
Greg Hunt is asked about solutions to resolve the issue of domestic border exemptions for compassionate reasons being denied and only resolved following media attention. A reference is also made to a compassionate exemption plea made to the Victoria government.
Hunt says:
We are and we will ensure that the AHPPC considers the exemptions process. These compassionate cases are immensely important. They in many ways define our humanity.
What we see is the people who perhaps at the end of life may be denied access to a returning family member. And the commencement and the end of life are the most fundamental of life events. And if compassion can be shown I would urge you, in this case the Victorian government, to provide that. We worked very closely with them. We have assisted them and they assisted us and I am very hopeful it can be resolved.
The exemptions process we are referring to, AHPPC but all ultimately individual judgements, have to be made and we have always led towards that compassionate position whether we can on arrivals back into Australia, but then the transfer then between states is obviously a matter for those individual states or territories.
Updated
Health minister Greg Hunt has said that Medicare-funded GP consultations to check if a patient should have an AstraZeneca vaccine will be extended to anyone aged under 50, following the announcement that Australians under 40 can now access the jab.
Hunt says this Medicare change should come into effect by the end of this week.
He also reiterates there has been no change to the medical advice regarding vaccines, and that Pfizer is still preferred for those under 60 due to blood clotting concerns.
However, Hunt clarifies the main changes announced yesterday were the professional indemnity scheme to GPs administering Covid vaccines, and that the access to AZ for under 60s has now been extended so they can access this vaccine at GPs.
(People aged between 40-60 are already eligible for Pfizer, so this mostly affects those under 40). Hunt said:
AstraZeneca remains the preferred vaccine for people 60 years and over. That has not changed. The advice of Atagi and Pfizer is the preferred for people under 60 and the clinical advice of Atagi. Again that has not changed.
However, as has always been the case – and I think it is very important to emphasise this on the basis of informed consent – individual patients and their doctors have been able to make a decision to take up the AstraZeneca on the basis of their individual circumstances and their own judgement. That consultation is something which has had continuous capacity to have been implemented.
The difference is that the access for those who are of all ages, for the AstraZeneca vaccine, will be available through general practices. It will be a matter for states and territories if they wish to implement that but the access has changed. And hence the update to the eligibility checker and hence the update to the GPs which is going out during the course of today and also the change to the Medicare item which will now allow over the coming days.
Later, he stressed “we know that there’s demand, we know there is supply”.
Updated
Greg Hunt says there were 25 locally acquired cases nationwide in the 24 hours to midnight last night. This includes 19 in New South Wales, two in Queensland, two in Western Australia and two in the Northern Territory.
There is now just one Australian in intensive care in the country, down from two yesterday.
Updated
The circus of press conferences continues.
Now, federal health minister Greg Hunt is speaking about vaccines.
Mark McGowan has called on the federal government to make the Pfizer vaccine available to people over 60 in Australia.
He said he wants to see this because people over 60 who have held out so far due to hesitancy of the AstraZeneca vaccine are more vulnerable to the virus compared to younger unvaccinated residents. McGowan said:
The point I make, and I make it regularly, is that we have hesitancy in people over the age of 60. We have hesitancy. And I think we now need to as quickly as we possibly can move towards Pfizer being available to people over the age of 60.
When you are over 60 you are in a more vulnerable age category. If we have community spread of the virus, people over 60 and 70 and 80 are more vulnerable to illness and death and we have to get those people vaccinated as quickly as possible.
I don’t control the rollout of Pfizer. I don’t control it. But I urge the commonwealth to as quickly as possible make Pfizer available to people over 60 and in particular those older age brackets above that.
McGowan’s comments follow an announcement from Scott Morrison yesterday that the commonwealth would introduce a no-fault indemnity to all GPs administering Covid vaccines, effectively opening the door for all Australians under 40 who have not yet been eligible for a vaccine to now get the AstraZeneca jab if they want it.
Updated
WA premier Mark McGowan has announced his government will unveil a business support package in coming days as the four-day Covid lockdown across Perth and Peel shutters the economy.
McGowan said he asked his state treasury to begin devising the support scheme last night, as the lockdown was announced.
Obviously it’s very regrettable and very sad that some businesses will suffer over the next four days at least ... So we are working on what the assistance package we can put in place will be and no doubt we will have further announcements over the course of the next week or so.
McGowan was asked if the package would be similar in size to the $5,000-$10,000 business support payments announced by the New South Wales government.
He appeared to suggest the WA would not match this figure as he noted the NSW lockdowns is longer. He noted the previous time the WA government introduced business support payments they were $2,000. He was not able to say if regional businesses would be eligible.
“We will work out what we can do over coming days”
Updated
WA premier Mark McGowan has issued a plea to his citizens to donate blood, even throughout the lockdown. He said:
Red Cross’s blood donation centres still need donations. It’s important to remember blood donor centres are still open. And blood and plasma donation is one of the reasons you are allowed to leave the home.
If you are healthy please consider donating. And if you have an appointment already do not cancel it. Please keep it. Just because we are in lockdown it doesn’t mean the need for blood goes away. To book your donation visit lifeblood.com.au.
Lockdowns can be frustrating. It often goes against our nature to sit at home and feel like you are not doing something. One of the best ways to fight that feeling and do something that feels tangible is to donate blood.
Updated
WA to bring back hard border with Queensland
Western Australia will reintroduce its hard border with Queensland.
From 3pm today, non-WA residents will not be able to fly into the state from Queensland without an exemption.
The premier Mark McGowan said:
This means they (Queensland) will be reclassified as a medium risk jurisdiction under WA’s controlled border. Like NSW, travellers from Queensland will require an exemption to come to WA. And self-quarantine at a suitable premise for 14 days and be tested.
Returning Western Australians are classified as exempt travellers under compassionate grounds who will need to complete 14 days of self-quarantine and appropriate Covid testing. These are challenging days for the country. The Delta variant is testing our systems and our community like never before.
McGowan also said that overnight the eight police checkpoints set up to enforce the boundaries between Perth and Peel stopped 555 vehicles, with 38 being ordered to turn around.
Updated
Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan is now speaking about the lockdown in place for Perth and Peel, and the rationale behind declaring it late last night.
McGowan said that since the case discovered last night (case 1023, a driving reason behind the lockdown decision) there have been no new cases to 11am this morning. He said:
We received confirmation last night that we are indeed dealing with the Delta variant of Covid-19. The evidence of the transmission between the three cases known yesterday was highly concerning. As was the magnitude above what we have seen in prior outbreaks. We didn’t want to risk the virus getting out of control.
We want to crush this outbreak as quickly as possible. We do not want this deadly virus to linger undetected in the community. We want to be able to quickly and safely lift restrictions and get ourselves back to the quality of life we all enjoy, lifting the burden of businesses and the community.
Updated
With that, I shall hand you over to the amazing Elias Visontay and shall see you again tomorrow morning!
CHO Hugh Heggie is also hesitant to say that an 80% vaccination rate would prevent further lockdowns.
So we do know that in the Territory and around the country that there is degrees of vaccine hesitancy and vaccine resistance. And that’s true of certain groups in the Territory and some remote locations. This is also important because if we have somebody who has been vaccinated and then we allowed them not to undertake quarantine, that would actually allow them to potentially spread.
Now, if that led to the spread even amongst children ... that would then also increase the risk of spread let’s say to an aged care facility. Where at the moment we don’t have a vaccination program in place in Australia for children. Young children particularly.
Would a lockdown still occur? I think that for me the lockdown is actually the control to allow the contact tracing of those persons who are positive, which could be children as well.
Updated
Gunner is more hesitant than NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian when it comes to putting a percentage target on the vaccine rollout.
My concern in the past has been you may get what looks like a great top line figure. Let’s say 80%. You get 80% that’s great. Great figure, but when you break down into it, there might be communities that are not vaccinated. And when I say communities, I don’t mean a whole remote community ... it may mean a particular multicultural group or other type of group that isn’t necessarily vaccinated. I want to be very careful you don’t make the mistake of looking at a top line figure to say that’s a good result.
Updated
Gunner has now confirmed the address of the public toilet potential exposure site:
I can confirm the address for the casual contact public toilet site, 1 Chungwua Terrace.
If you visited there on Saturday, June 26 between 8:40 and 9am, you are considered a casual contact.
Jamie Chalker said they have not yet seen an increase in domestic or family violence incidents as a result of the lockdown.
We haven’t seen that in the greater Darwin area in the last 24 hours.
We did see six reports of unlawful entry at residential properties which is obviously an area of concern and given the large proportion of people should be home we would encourage hyper vigilance, in and around your neighbourhood.
Updated
Sorry to bounce around, but back to lockdown law enforcement with the NT police commissioner:
We haven’t issued any infringements at this point in time. There is a couple of people who have come close.
Again, thankfully through the engagement and the patience of our people, we have compliance, which is really what this is all about at the end of the day. That being said our patience will only last so long.
So if someone is going to be literally belligerent in respects of understanding the enormity of what this risk poses, and being non-compliant, we will take action and take that action in the best interests of the Northern Territory.
Territorians can be very assured of that.
Updated
Gunner is detailing why he believes the lockdown has prevented super spreading events:
If you take the Buff Club exposure site as a point in time, where someone may have developed the coronavirus, and then look, fast-forward to when we think they are probably entering their infectious phase, the advice is that probably will be around Sunday arvo, Sunday evening, and the lockdown came into effect at 1.
The lockdown is important as a result. I do recognise that because there was a period of people rushing the stores ... it might be fair to say the lockdown probably wasn’t effective until probably about maybe 3 or 4pm.
But having said that, large events that would otherwise have occurred that evening, markets, etc, didn’t happen.
Updated
Naked pair were fined for sunbathing: NSW police
NSW Police have seemingly changed their reasoning for issuing the fines to the two naked sunbathers chased into the bush after being startled by a deer.
In a statement yesterday, NSW Police initially indicated the fines were issued because the two men were outside the Greater Sydney region:
They were taken to St George Police Station and issued $1000 PINs for breaching the current public health order prohibiting those from Greater Sydney travelling outside the region.
But Otford, where the sunbathers were found, falls within the LGAs listed in the public health order issued by the NSW Government, meaning they were not outside the region.
A representative of NSW Police told me this morning that they were actually fined for sunbathing, which was “not considered a reasonable excuse to leave the house”.
But, again, the public health order provides that residents are able to leave the house for “outdoor recreation”, which could reasonably include sunbathing.
Pushed on their definition of “outdoor recreation”, NSW Police responded with four words:
There is nothing further.
It is still unclear what section of the public health order the two men were in breach of. They were still fined $1,000 each.
Updated
NT Police to crack down on lockdown rules
NT police commissioner Jamie Chalker says police will begin toughening up enforcement on those breaching lockdown orders.
We will now start enhancing our approach ... we will take action. I remind people that is a $5,000 fine for individuals, $25,000 for businesses.
To businesses that are trading and should not be, you should not be open, you probably know that you should not be open, so close that. Please immediately go home and do your best to protect the Northern Territory, it would be greatly appreciated.
Updated
NT chief health officer Dr Hugh Heggie has urged NT residents to help keep thier family and friends informed.
So the main thing is that this is complex, and it is evolving, and I appeal to everybody to keep an update on the Covid website for exposure sites.
For those people who do not have access to that, please assist them. Either by telling them what the controls are, telling them what the lockdown arrangements are, the people who have not a device or have not the ability to access that.
They may not watch mainstream media as well, so would the population please share this information widely. I think it is entirely appropriate also, with mask wearing, to remind people who are not wearing a mask, or not wearing a mask properly, to do that.
Updated
NT declares Queensland and areas of WA hotspots
The Northern Territory has now declared the Perth and Peel regions in WA and all areas of Queensland now in lockdown as hotspots, meaning the border will be closed to them from 5pm.
Updated
A number of people who visited high-risk locations in NT are itinerant, so Gunner says a special effort is being made to inform them about the situation and get them to a place where they can safely isolate themselves.
I want to make one brief point about what casual contact exposure site from yesterday, the Stuart Park corner store.
There is an itinerant population that spends a lot of time in that area. [Services] are continuing their excellent work engaging with rough sleepers. They are helping us identify anyone who may have visited the store so they can be tested and provided with accommodation.
Updated
Gunner says the Darwin lockdown likely prevented spreading events in the territory:
We have revised the number of close contacts to 171 ... the contact tracing ... was a superhuman effort ... All of these people out of the contacts will isolate for 14 days.
Remember, all of these people are high-risk close contacts, but they have also been in lockdown like the rest of us on Sunday afternoon.
Our health advice is that the positive case who spent time at the club was probably at his most infectious from Sunday afternoon after the lockdown had commenced.
So we’re not taking any chances. We are keeping a lot of people isolated, but it would appear that the timing of the lockdown, acting straightaway rather than waiting until the end of the day, has paid off massively fast, and substantially reduced the risk of a spreader event.
Updated
A number of stores in Darwin shopping centre not considered hotspots
Gunner:
OK, this is where it gets a bit confusing. This information applies to a lot of people in Palmerston. Please listen carefully.
The Gateway Shopping Centre is considered a low-risk shopping site. That means if you visited it on Saturday 26 June between 11:00am and 2:00pm, you are required to monitor for symptoms.
However, and this is important - there are several stores tinside Gateway. These stores are considered casual contact sites. That means if you visited these stores between certain times, you are required to isolate and get tested and stay isolated until you receive a negative test result.
We do not yet have the specific times for exposure in these stores on Saturday. We will have that information later today. Until that information is released, we are asking people who visited these stores at any time between 11:00am and 2:00pm to isolate until we have that specific information for you.
The stores inside gateway are - Big W, Woolworths Rockmans clothing store, Hoskings Jewellers, Pharmacy 4 Less and the underground carpark at the shopping centre. Again, this is important.
If you were in these stores or are in the underground carpark on Saturday morning, isolate now. Later today, we’ll advise you of the specific time periods so you’ll know if you need to stay isolated and get tested.
Updated
This means there are a number of new exposure sites across the Darwin area, including a Zumba class.
Gunner is laying them out now:
There is one close contact exposure site. This is a site. It is a Zumba class held between 9:00 and 9:30 on Saturday morning at the Rec Centre in Palmerston.
Everyone who attended this class is under a stay at home order and required to isolate for the first 14 days, regardless of the result of their Covid test. We had QR code information from this event. We think about 25 people were there. They’re all being contacted to isolate. Their household contact are also under a stay at home order.
There are several casual contact sites. I will list them now.
First, the Palmerston flea market, which they visited twice on Saturday morning. If you attended the flea market on Saturday between 7:45am and 8:45am, or between 9:30am and 9am, you are considered a casual contact.
You must immediately isolate and stay isolated until you return a negative result.
In addition there is a public toilet in that area. We will provide address and time range later today. Once we do, if you used this facility on Saturday morning, you must isolate and get tested and stay isolated until you receive a negative result.
Updated
NT records two local Covid-19 cases overnight
NT chief minister Michael Gunner says two people have acquired Covid-19 locally overnight.
The new cases are the wife and daughter of the fifth positive case from Sunday, the Palmerston man who was a close contact of the original case.
They tested positive while in the Centre for National Resilience. We are releasing a substantial list of new exposure sites today. This relates to their activity in the Palmerston area, on Saturday morning, 26 June. The health advice is that they probably were not infectious during this period, given they had only just been exposed, but given it is the Delta strain, we cannot take any chances.
Updated
OK, we are turning over to the Darwin press conference with Michael Gunner now.
Updated
QLD health chief says under 40s 'preferentially should not' get the AZ jab.
Just ducking back to something very interesting that was said in that press conference. Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young has thrown some serious doubt over Scott Morrison’s announcement last night that anyone under 40 could now have the AstraZeneca vaccine if they wanted:
For people under the age of 40, who the prime minister is saying, if their GP and they have a conversation and believe the risk is warranted, so they need to understand what the risks are, then the commonwealth has agreed to indemnify those GPs should that person get any of those side effects that can be quite catastrophic. So the clinical advice from Atagi is that people under the age of 60 should preferentially get Pfizer. The advice in the UK is that people under the age of 40 should get Pfizer.
That’s the clinical advice, but there are some people who have been asking to get AstraZeneca although the clinical advice is that they should not, preferentially should not.
Updated
We are still clarifying the medicolegal situation for GPs giving AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people if something goes wrong.
— Prof Kerryn Phelps AM (@drkerrynphelps) June 29, 2021
As I understand it, medical indemnity plan is not yet in place and will not be a blanket indemnity
New QLD cases summary
OK, just to clarify, there were only two local Covid-19 cases recorded in Queensland overnight. The other two were cases returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
So here is what we know about those two local cases.
1. The woman who worked just outside the Covid-19 ward at the Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside in Brisbane. She travelled to a number of places while potentially infectious, including Townsville and Magnetic Island. At least two of her close contacts are now unwell but have not yet tested positive.
2. A miner who returned from the NT hotspot coal mine. He returned home to the Ipswich area and was immediately tested. He originally had a very weak positive result, which became a legitimate positive upon his second test. Given it so early in his infection he is considered low risk, but he does have the Delta variant so is still of some concern.
Updated
Oh by the way we are just standing by for a presser conference from NT chief minister Michael Gunner
Yesterday Gunner confirmed the Darwin lockdown would extend until at least Friday, as cases connected to Newmont’s Granites mine continue to grow.
Updated
AMA still backs official ATAGI advice on AstraZeneca
The head of the Australian Medical Association [AMA] Dr Omar Khorshid said he was given no notice that the prime minister would encourage anyone under 60 to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, and that the AMA is still backing the official advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation [Atagi].
On Monday night Scott Morrison announced anyone under 40 who is not yet eligible for a Pfizer vaccine is now able to go to their GP and receive the AstraZeneca vaccine if their doctor gives medical approval.
It took us by surprise, and it’s hard to know how to take that announcement because I think it’s going to be a limited number of people to take it up, given that they would be going against the expert ATAGI recommendation.
We knew about the indemnity announcement but we didn’t expect the AstraZeneca announcement. Our recommendation is still really for patients to follow the Atagi advice. Be patient and have the Atagi-recommended vaccine when it’s available. I am certainly still backing the expert advice at this stage.
I asked Khorshid why he thinks the federal government made the announcement then, given the AMA wasn’t informed, and given the Atagi advice still stands. He said:
You’d have to ask the government but my guess is that they are wanting to provide nervous Australians who are going into lockdown this week with something that they can actually do to improve their chances of getting through this and to push the nation’s vaccination program forward.
We do have surplus doses that are currently not being used so there is some capacity to bump up the delivery. So I presume they’re just ... trying to take advantage of the crisis that’s now engulfing the nation with this delta outbreak. And of course if Delta really does ingrain itself in our community and the lockdowns aren’t successful or they’re too slow, then speeding up the vaccination program by using more options on the table is wise. The problem, of course, unfortunately, is that for the delta virus you need both doses to get reasonable protection and for AstraZeneca, that’s a minimum of eight weeks apart.
Khorshid said a priority for the AMA in light of last night’s announcement would be getting the new item number which covers consultations with a GP about the vaccine extended to include other age groups. At the moment, the item number only applies to those over 50.
I’ve spoken to the chief medical officer and I understand he’s going to get some advice out as soon as it is written to GPs.
The consultation item number was brand new anyway, it’s only a week old or something. So I don’t think the GPs have got their heads yet around how to use that. But certainly it’s not available for anyone under the age of 50 at this stage, so that consultation is just about the vaccines ... it is actually not currently funded by Medicare. We need to patch that little hole, fairly promptly.
Updated
Hmm, the Queensland CHO doesn’t seem to think the state can actually limit the number of arrivals.
Reporter:
Is there anything you can do under your powers as CHO to limit arrivals into Queensland?
Young:
No. That’s a commonwealth decision.
I wonder how Victoria did it twice then? If they did need federal approval it seems that was fairly forthcoming.
Updated
GPs react to updated AstraZeneca eligibility
I’ve been speaking with GPs this morning about the latest changes on AstraZeneca, announced by the prime minister, Scott Morrison, last night.
Most doctors told me they had no forewarning and are yet to receive any information from the federal government about the new policy or the changes to indemnity arrangements.
The federal health department’s eligibility checker also appears still to be telling younger Australians they are not eligible, unless they are a priority worker, have underlying health conditions, or require travel for essential work.
Dr Matthew Cardone, a GP in the Tweed, told me the announcement was yet another example of poor communication from the government.
All of our announcements we are learning in real-time with the patients, as they appear on the media. I have no formal documentation from the department of health at this stage regarding the changes in indemnity or the changes in policy. It’s frustrating, we just need clear, early messaging so we can be prepared to pivot with the program as it evolves. That’s not happening.
He said his clinic had seen a slight uptick in calls this morning from patients seeking AstraZeneca. But he said most of the extra demand was being driven by the spread of the Delta variant, rather than the announcement.
The failing here was that they should have had large amounts of Pfizer out to the general public sooner and they should have had AstraZeneca supply out to general practices three months ago, instead of trying to get rid of older stock now.
Dr Maria Boulton, a GP in Brisbane, said she was yet to see any increase in calls following the announcement.
But she said GPs were “very frustrated” that they continue to learn about important changes in the media.
It gives us no time to prepare ... We are waiting to receive more details.
Dr Nathan Pinskier, a GP in Melbourne, welcomed the government’s announcement, saying it was overdue but a “perfectly practical” way forward, given the large number of younger Australians who wanted the vaccine. He said it needed to be supported with a vaccine awareness campaign.
Pinskier was also given no forewarning of the announcement.
Updated
Why is the Gold Coast included in this lockdown, you ask?
Well, Young has the answers for you:
I’m worried about that flight that came in with that infected flight crew member from Sydney if you remember that flew from Sydney to the Gold Coast. So I am concerned. That’s why the Gold Coast is included in the LGAs of concern.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young says she is trying to avoid shutting down the whole of the Prince Charles hospital after it appears an administration worker was infected there.
So far we’ve contact traced that she had contact withed with two other concierges and one janitor.
This, please, is very, very early. We’ve been doing all of this work this morning, so we need to now go and confirm it ... She was in the part of the hospital that has been put aside only for Covid patients. It’s quite separate to the rest of the hospital.
I wanted to stop the risk of having whole hospitals shut down, like PA had to a while back.
Updated
Palaszczuk says she, and Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, raised wanted to reduce international arrivals at yesterday national cabinet.
I raised it at national cabinet. The Victorian premier raised it at national cabinet. There’s another meeting later this week of national cabinet. We’ve got to act now. That is a national issue.
The federal government has control of that. They can do that immediately so alleviate the pressure that you see the states are under at the moment and it’s a lot of pressure that states are under. The hotels or full or nearing maximum capacity and they are not meant to fight infectious diseases and we’re seeing now that even in Covid wards, it is so hard to contain this virus. This is highly infectious.
* It’s worth noting state can simply stop accepting any international arrivals unilaterally, as the Victorian government has done twice so far.
Updated
Palaszczuk has been asked what level of vaccination Queensland would have to reach before they can avoid lockdowns ... and she is talking about hotels again.
I think step one is that we need to look carefully about our overseas arrivals and until we have a large proportion of the Australian population vaccinated, we should be halting or reducing dramatically the number of people.
They should only be coming here for genuine reasons and should be quarantining out of – look, I’ve said this before – you should not be quarantining people in hotels along the eastern seaboard. You’ve also seen what’s happening in Perth and that that way you would avoid the lockdowns because you’ve got all the staff and everyone who’s involved with people and that’s where your dense populations are, so it’s a high risk.
Updated
So it seems this Covid-19 ward worker is exposing a hole in Queensland’s vaccination requirement laws.
Palaszczuk:
The directive said that they needed to be in the ward vaccinated. She was located outside the ward so, for some reason, she wasn’t vaccinated. There will be a full investigation into that. Let’s just say this virus is contagious. It is hard to contain it in hotels and it’s hard to contain it in hospitals. That’s the truth of the matter.
Reporter:
Was she immediately outside the ward or elsewhere in the hospital?
Palaszczuk:
My understanding is outside the ward. There’s a dedicated facility to looking after Covid people. If someone tests positive in a hotel, we take them to Prince Charles. That is one of the hospitals and there’s a dedicated area.
Updated
In the midst of this, Queensland has also tightened border restrictions on people coming from the Perth and Peel regions of WA and Darwin.
Palasczcuk:
If you are a Queensland resident, from any of those hotspots, and you will need to go into hotel quarantine, for anyone who is not a Queensland resident, you will need to apply for an exemption and if you are granted an exemption, you will need to go into hotel quarantine. That will take effect from 1am tomorrow morning and that will stay in place while those states have those declared hotspots.
Updated
Police in New South Wales have confirmed that the deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has been fined $200 for not wearing a mask at an Armidale service station.
A police spokesman has told me a 54-year-old man was issued the fine after receiving a crime stoppers report in relation to a “possible breach” of public health orders at about 8am yesterday. Their inquiries revealed Joyce was not wearing a mask while he was inside the service station, and he was fined shortly after.
It’s understood he was there filling his car up with petrol, and was only inside for a short time.
Here is Joyce on the situation:
I went into the Caltex service station, I was going to the airport, filled the car up with fuel, went in, 30 seconds later $200 it cost me – because I didn’t wear one of these [a mask].
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is beating the drum (again) about hotel quarantine, but the latest case of concern in Queensland is potentially the fourth separate transmission of coronavirus to staff in the state’s hospital system.
The last time Greater Brisbane went into lockdown, there were three separate infections of health workers at the Princess Alexandra’s Covid ward.
The case that prompted the latest lockdown is a 19-year-old woman who worked in a clerical role, sitting outside the Covid ward at Prince Charles hospital, in Brisbane’s north. She then travelled extensively in the community, before flying to Townsville and Magnetic Island.
It remains unclear – until the results of genomic sequencing – how the woman acquired coronavirus, and health authorities say it is possible she acquired the virus in the community. That should be known later today.
Updated
Here are all the details of this (most of) Queensland lockdown, from health minister Yvette D’Ath.
You can only leave your home for one of these four reasons: essential education and work that cannot be done at home or to obtain health care services, including getting your vaccination. Care or support of a vulnerable family member, essential shopping in your local community, or exercising with no more than one person, not from your household in your local community. Outdoors, obviously, because indoor gyms will be closed from 6pm.
Further restrictions, which will all go up on the website, 20 people can attend a funeral, 10 people can attend weddings*, no dancing or singing. A lot of these venues will be closed anyway.
Limit of two visitors in homes in addition to people already residing in the home. We make sure you do not have people visiting your home at this current time. Restaurants and cafes will only be allowed to provide take away for home delivery.
Cinemas, entertainment venues and recreational venues, beauty and personal care services, gyms and they will all be closed and places of worship. Please, if you are going and getting food, including take away, you must use your QR code.
* Wait, I’m confused, is a wedding an accepted reason to leave the house though?
Updated
Miles:
Regarding the commonwealth’s proposal of a quarantine facility at Pinkenba, I can confirm we have been invited to participate in a proposal to assess the feasibility of the suitability of that facility. We don’t even know yet whether it is feasible or suitable. We will do that work. We will work with the commonwealth to do that work but, in the meantime, we have to cut the number of travellers arriving until we have our community vaccinated and dedicated quarantine facilities.
Updated
Queensland to 'dramatically cut' international arrivals
Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles is laying down the hard word on the federal government following this lockdown annoucment.
In Sydney, in Perth, in Darwin, multiple outbreaks now here in the south-east and, for the first time in some time, potential exposure in regional Queensland. All of them can be traced back to international arrivals.
In fact, every day we have new cases in hotel quarantine from people who have travelled from overseas. Our international borders are supposed to be closed. Our international borders are supposed to be closed.
But every week, thousands of people are allowed to travel. 190 international travellers arrived in Queensland yesterday – sorry, 121 international travellers arrived in Queensland yesterday. 190 are expected to arrive today. These are putting our community at an unacceptable risk, especially with these new strains which cannot be contained, which have proven they cannot be contained by hotel quarantine.
We will now move to dramatically cut the number of international travellers permitted to return to Queensland. The nation only has one dedicated quarantine facility at the moment, that being Howard Springs and it is our view that that should be where international travellers return to until there are additional facilities.
Updated
Young:
Two of her family members who live in the same household are unwell.
We urgently are testing them and one of her close friends is unwell, so we’re urgently testing them. We will get all those results through the morning and make sure we get that information out there. That is critical.
It is a significant risk which is why, as of 6pm tonight, which I recognise is very little notice for people but at 6pm tonight, the 11 LGAs that we declared from 1am this morning to have those increased restrictions, will go into lock down, with only those four reasons that everyone knows so well, as to why you can leave your home. That will be in place until 6pm on Friday evening.
Updated
Movements of infected Covid-19 ward worker in Queensland
Here are all the details of the casual Covid-19 ward worker’s movements while potentially infectious.
Young:
I only found out about this when I got up this morning at 5.30 and we have been furiously trying to get more information.
Sandgate Woolworths, 9.30-10.30, Sunday a week ago, and the Bay Health Gym from 10-12 on that Sunday.
Then they worked a shift at the Prince Charles hospital from 3pm to 10pm on the Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
Then, on Thursday, they went with their family on VA369 from Brisbane to Townsville on Thursday 24th at 10am.
They were in the Brisbane airport for an hour prior and then when they landed at Townsville airport, they were at the cafe Brewery in the airport for an hour before travelling to Magnetic Island.
Then they spent from midday Thursday to midday Sunday the 27th at Magnetic Island. I am asking every single person – I understand there is about 2,500 people on that island – to come forward and get tested, whether or not they have got symptoms. That is really important and we have got a fever clinic on the island.
Then on Sunday, the 27th, they travelled from Magnetic Island back to Townsville. They went to the Sunday morning markets in Townsville City late morning, then caught VA374 from Townsville to Brisbane on that Sunday, the 27th, at 2.55pm and came into Brisbane airport.
Updated
Cheif health officer Dr Jeannette Young says they do not have the genomic sequencing for the Magnetic Island case yet:
Then two community acquired cases. One of them is one of those miners who returned from the mine in central Australia and returned home to Ipswich area and was immediately tested when they came. We did one test on that miner and at that stage it was equivocal. It was really early in their illness and we wouldn’t call that a positive. Then we repeated the test later and at that stage it was definitely positive which means the first test, when they first went into quarantine, was very early, which means I hope that that is low risk. But we do know it is the Delta variant so we will be contact tracing everyone on that plane, everyone that miner has been near.
Then the other case is a brand new community acquired case that, at this point in time, I can’t be definitive how they got it. I should get genome sequencing by the end of today, early tomorrow at the latest and then I will be able to work out where they have got it.
We do have that Alpha variant because of the Portuguese restaurant cluster evolving. Also, this particular individual worked as a casual and they sat outside the Covid ward at the Prince Charles Hospital. There might be a link there but genome sequencing will tell me what has occurred and where that risk is.
Updated
The message of this lockdown from the Queensland premier is very clear:
Hotel quarantine is just not the answer.*
We need a massive reduction in overseas arrivals because the overseas arrivals are bringing in these contagious strains. We need to get on top of this. We have seen what is happening in Sydney, in WA, in the NT and I am just urging the prime minister, reduce the caps.
We should be utilising Howard Springs. I notice Dan Andrews said something about this this morning. I absolutely back that in as well and Dan and I raised at national cabinet the real need to lower the caps to reduce the risk.
The reason why we are having lock downs in major cities because the overseas arrivals are bringing the virus here. They are going into hotels and all of our staff are having to deal with it. There are so many staff involved. The risk is real and we need to contain the virus. We need to protect Australia. We need to protect Queensland.
* Although this Magnetic Island case seems like it’s likely a Covid-19 ward breach, not strictly a hotel breach.
Updated
Palaszczuk:
We will be setting up clinics on Magnetic Island and in Townsville. I urge people in Townsville, especially if you were at the Sunday markets to get tested, and Dr Young will give you the date of that. We want to stop this virus in its tracks. The deputy premier will go into this in more detail but I am still concerned about the large volume of overseas travellers we have coming into our state. We are getting, on average, 150 a day. I think it is 190 that are coming in today.
Updated
OK, here are the details of that Queensland lockdown.
It will begin at 6pm tonight and last three days.
It covers the 11 LGAs in south-east Queensland that were placed under increased restrictions yesterday (including greater Brisbane) along with Townsville city, Palm Island and Magnetic Island.
Updated
Three-day lockdown for much of Queensland
Palaszczuk:
One of her close friends is sick. They are getting tested and two of her family members are sick and they are getting tested. Despite the health directives that she should have been vaccinated, she was not. The health minister will be addressing that issue in more detail. Let me say, I am absolutely furious about this. We need to make sure that we are getting our population vaccinated, right across the state.
This leaves us with no option. I foreshadowed yesterday that if we have got multiple issues happening across the south-east and some risk exposure in Townsville, regional Queensland, we have got that outbreak that risk linked to the Portuguese restaurant we mentioned the other day. We have got the flight attendant from Sydney who came up on multiple flights. There is a lot of contact tracing happening there, so the risk is real and we need to act quickly. We need to go hard and we need to go fast. From – and I want to say to everyone, I know we are in the middle of school holidays and I know people have made plans but we have just got to do this. We have got to do this for three days, there will be a lockdown for three days and I don’t want it to be 30 days. From 6pm tonight, until 6pm on Friday, south-east Queensland, Townsville city, Palm Island and Magnetic Island will go into lockdown. South-east Queensland includes all of the 11 local government areas listed yesterday.
Updated
Two new local Covid-19 cases in QLD
OK, the Queensland update is starting now.
Annastacia Palaszczuk:
We are now dealing with some multiple scenarios that it’s time for us to act quickly and to act fast. We have four new cases, two are overseas acquired and two are in the community.
One is a minor from Ipswich and they are one of the 170 from the NT detected in home quarantine. We considered this person to be of low risk, so that is good.
There is another case that we are very concerned about. I want to go through this in some detail but Dr Young will go through it in even more detail because it effects not just parts of south-east Queensland, it affects regional Queensland as well.
There is a young woman, a 19-year-old casual clerical worker from the Prince Charles Hospital. She livers at Sandgate and has visited Woolies and a gym. Dr Young will give more details there. She works at a receptionist outside the Covid ward.
She is a casual worker. She has travelled with her family between her home in Sandgate to magnetic Island in Townsville at the end of last week. She also attended the Sunday markets in Townsville. She was tested yesterday and the positive result has come through.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce fined for not wearing a mask
The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has revealed he was fined $200 for not wearing a mask while at a petrol station in Armidale.
“I went into the Caltex service station, I was going to the airport, filled the car up with fuel, went in, 30 seconds later $200 it cost me – because I didn’t wear one of these [a mask].”
More to come.
Updated
Here are Chant’s views on the 80% vaccination target:
We are not using vaccination to get rid of the disease, which is like what we’re doing with measles, where we know if we get 95% of the vaccinated population we can have minor incursions but then stomp it out.
Even at 80% of the population protected, we will still see Covid able to transmit in the population and that is what the premier is talking about, in terms of what living with Covid means.
Updated
Now it’s pretty rare for politicians to actually put vaccination percentage targets on when we can start “living with Covid-19”, but Berejiklian is bucking this trend this morning.
What we will be looking at is until our population is vaccinated and that is why we have a sense of urgency, until at least 80% of our adult population is vaccinated, we can’t have a conversation about what Covid normal looks like.
That is why I am so keen to do everything we can to advocate on behalf of our citizens to ensure not only that we get the supply of doses but also that there are sufficient points for people to get the vaccine.
What we want to do is prevent ever having to go into lockdown again. That is the first issue.
What does life look like when we come out of this lockdown until around 80% of our population is vaccinated? That is why the sooner our population is vaccinated, the sooner our population is vaccinated, the sooner we can get to Covid normal.
Updated
NSW deputy premier says his government has 'lost control' of the virus
There has been trouble in paradise (the NSW Coalition government) this morning, with deputy premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro saying his government “lost control” of the virus and could have locked down Sydney earlier.
Barilaro:
Hindsight is a beautiful thing, absolutely we could have gone a week earlier, three days earlier, four days earlier.
Berejiklian has maintained that she doesn’t regret anything about the way the government handled lockdown.
She has been asked about these treacherous comments by her right-hand man this morning:
I believe the chief health officer’s advice.
It is early days and I don’t want to regret what I am about to say but we anticipated potentially a surge in cases by today. That could very well happen in the next few days but it demonstrates to us that the health advice has been on the money.
We didn’t want to go into lockdown unless we absolutely had to. What is pleasing to note, and this was verified by the national chief medical officer yesterday at national cabinet, is our contact tracers in New South Wales have done an absolutely outstanding job in getting ahead of the virus.
Updated
Perrottet:
What you will see with our package today is we are not discriminating on whether or not your businesses are located in a hotspot area or elsewhere across the state because we know very well that there are many businesses, particularly during the holiday season, right across New South Wales who are doing it tough.
That financial support at the federal level is only provided for the hot spot areas. It is important that it be extended statewide and that is why we have based our package today on a reduction in turnover because there is no doubt that there are businesses across NSW who are doing it tough.
We believe this package today will help every business get through this and confidence has been crucial in driving our economy during this pandemic and businesses right across the state, individuals should have confidence today with the NSW government, they have got your back and we will come through this stronger than ever.
Updated
These supports are accompanied by the federal government (fairly stingy) support payments to individual workers who have lost shifts and gigs. But from my understanding, these only kick in during the second week of any lockdown.
But the NSW treasurer seems to think the federal government will provide them sooner:
I have raised that with the federal treasurer. We believe that there should be support available to casual workers and individuals from day one to day seven but, particularly, right across the state.*
* If he is right, that’s a heck of a lot more generous than what the federal government offered Victorians.
Updated
OK, here is the catch. This funding won’t be available until 19 July, three weeks away, and notionally after the lockdown has already ended, and presumably after a large chunk of people’s bills and rent are due.
Perrottet:
This package today is all about keeping businesses going, giving the cashflow that is required. The funds will be available from 19 July. You will need to provide evidence through an accountant in relation to that decline in turnover but this will provide rapid relief to support businesses recover from this difficult time.
Updated
Perrottet:
As the premier has said, we’re extending the dine and discover vouchers. We had extended it in the budget period to the end of July. We are going to extend that to the end of August. These vouchers are available for take away and for delivery as well. We make the point, when you are doing take away, use the QR codes as have been set out by the New South Wales government in relation to that.
Updated
Perrottet:
In addition to that, we will be deferring any payroll tax liabilities and gaming tax liabilities for hotels for the July period into August. This will provide those impacted businesses with cashflow they need at this difficult period of time.
I want to make the point to particularly landlords across the state, from a commercial and residential basis, make sure you’re working with your tenants. If they are struggling during this period of time, including on a residential nature, please work with them.
Updated
NSW announces business support package
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet is up now, announcing the financial support package for business across the state affected by lockdowns and tougher restrictions.
Importantly, the support package today covers the entire state. It is not simply limited to hotspot areas in metropolitan Sydney. We know that many businesses and individuals in regional New South Wales are also going through a difficult time.
The New South Wales government will be providing individual payments to small businesses with fulltime employees up to 20, full time employees or having payrolls up to $1.2m with turn over of $75,000 a year and that includes sole traders.
A payment of $10,000 if there is a turnover reduction of 75%. A turnover reduction of 50%, a $7,000 payment and a turnover reduction of 30% is a $5,000 payment.
This payment will be available to tourism, hospitality and the accommodation sector with payrolls of up to $10m who we know have been significantly disrupted during this period of time.
Updated
Chant:
In the last 14 days, we are particularly wanting to focus on workers or regular visitors to those local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney.
Clearly, during that period, there was the chance that you may have inadvertently come into contact with someone who is positive, or there may well have been missing links, missing cases in that area.
You may well have gone back to other suburbs in the greater metropolitan Sydney, or for that matter across the state. We are asking you to be very vigilant for symptoms. Check the websites but also get a test with the most minimal of symptoms so we don’t miss any further cases.
Updated
Chant:
I want to call out some particular venues just to update the community on some advice. In relation to the Christo’s Pizza at Paddington, the venue where there was an infectious person present on Monday 21 June from 5.55pm to 8.30pm.
There have been a number of transmissions at that venue. Please ensure you are following the health advice, everyone who was there at that time was defined as a close contact.The fact that cases are continuing to occur in that setting highlights the absolute importance of adhering to those guidelines.
We have had transmission confirmed at the Doncaster Hotel in Kensington on Wednesday 23 June. That time was 5.45pm to 8pm. The Crossways Hotel at Strathfield South, we have had transmission confirmed on Wednesday 23 June, the transmission confirmed was from 7pm to 10.30pm and the transmission occurred in someone outside their immediate social group that attended that hotel.
That gives us greater cause for concern when other patrons are impacted. We also know an infectious – subsequently one of the people who has tested positive also attended that venue on 26 June from 3.30pm-5pm. There is no transmission yet on that day but it is critical you will get those details out in the public health alert.
In relation to the Mascot Meriton Suites hotel on 200 Coward Street, Mascot, we are adding a number of other days that we want to have people get tested.
You are a casual contact if you have been anywhere in the proximity to the Mascot Meriton Suites Hotel, 200 Coward Street, Mascot on 19, 21, 24 and 25 of June. Please get a test and isolate until you have a negative test result.
Updated
Another school caught up in NSW outbreak
Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant says some of today’s cases were out in the community while potentially infectious, and include another school student.
We have had 19 locally acquired cases of Covid in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Seventeen of these cases are linked to previously confirmed cases and the two cases under investigation, one case lives within the eastern suburbs and one case works within the eastern suburbs.
Today’s cases include a Rose Bay secondary school student and the school site will be closed for cleaning today. All staff and student have been asked to self-isolate until they receive further advice. There is additional cases linked to the Great Ocean Foods wholesaler in Marrickville. Some additional cases through the West Hoxton Park birthday party.
Updated
The New South Wales premier starts the press conference by urging all eligible NSW residents to get vaccinated.
Just to reiterate the decision that was taken at national cabinet yesterday, is that people of all ages – after consulting their GP – will have access to AstraZeneca.
Can I please stress, if you’ve already had your first jab, please come forward and get your second jab. And obviously, everybody can consider the situation in relation to the AstraZeneca jab.
But I do also want to stress that until the vast majority of our population is vaccinated, we will have to live differently, given the strain of the virus. But I want to assure our citizens, that the New South Wales government is already thinking about what life will look like a post the lockdown, and until we get the vast majority of our citizens vaccinated.
It’s so important to get a vaccination rates up. I’ve been very vocal about this from day one. And I’m really encouraging our citizens to come forward and get vaccinated.
Updated
NSW records 19 local Covid-19 cases overnight.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has just stepped up.
She says 19 local Covid-19 cases were recorded overnight, with all but two already linked to known outbreaks.
We are just standing by now for the leaders of NSW and Queensland to stand up and give thier Covid-19 update in seperate but simultaneous press conferences.
But never fear, we will bring you all the updates from both here.
I have a lot of messages like this coming in – with GP clinics appearing to still be using the old advice.
And in fairness, it doesn’t seem it’s been updated on the official site (as of 10.55am) either
@matildaboseley tried booking online via Vic Dept of Health, to be told I'm not eligible (no medical conditions so the only reason could be age)https://t.co/m4DN8jgWcQ still lists older eligibility criteria
— Mitch Grinter (@MichGrinter) June 29, 2021
Updated
Under 60s AZ jabs at Victorian GPs only: Andrews
Premier Daniel Andrews has clarified young Victorians cannot get the AstraZeneca jab at state-run sites, despite changes to the national vaccine rollout, reports Callum Godde from AAP.
The federal government agreed to establish an indemnity scheme for Covid-19 vaccines after Monday night’s national cabinet meeting.
It will boost GPs confidence to administer the AstraZeneca jab to willing Australians under 60, given Pfizer remains the vaccine of choice for that group due to extremely rare instances of blood clots.
Andrews welcomed the rollout tweak but told ABC radio young Victorians still won’t be able to walk up for their long-awaited shot at mass vaccination hubs across the state.
It’s part of the commonwealth exclusive side of this.
But it could soon be expanded to Victorian-run centres, Andrews said, with the state offered extra AstraZeneca doses on Tuesday night to meet the expected rise in demand.
It’s not about ‘have we got enough nurses, have got enough physical space?’. They’re not limiting factors.
The only limiting factor at the moment is, do we have enough supply to get into as many arms as we can as fast as we can?
More than 18,000 Victorians received a vaccine dose at state-run hubs in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning.
Updated
Some mixed experiences from the young ones among us trying to book in for the AZ jab:
@MatildaBoseley Booking for Astra was seamless for me. 20yrs old just called up my GP and was asked am I aware Pfizer is the preferred choice for my age group. Confirmed I am willing to get Astra and boom all booked. Next Tuesday all set 👌
— Jack (@Jacko1775) June 29, 2021
@MatildaBoseley My GP said they actually weren't able to give me an AZ vaccine due to TGA rules :(
— William Yates (@yatesey1994) June 29, 2021
Tasmania closes border to Perth and Peel
Tasmania has closed its border to Perth and the WA region of Peel after new coronavirus cases sent the two areas into lockdown, reports Ethan James from AAP.
Premier Peter Gutwein announced the regions would be considered high risk from 10am on Tuesday.
It means no one from the areas can enter Tasmania unless they have special permission from the deputy state controller.
I would stress to Tasmanians, if you don’t need to travel interstate, don’t travel...
Right now we have a number of states scrambling to get on top of the Delta strain of the virus.”
Perth and Peel have been sent into a four-day lockdown overnight after a second local case was recorded, a man aged in his 30s who tested positive to the Delta variant.
Tasmania has already banned travel from 33 local government areas in NSW, including the city of Sydney.
Travellers from Darwin and two other LGAs are also banned, while Tasmania considers a host of premises in Queensland and Victoria high risk.
Gutwein said three workers who returned from the Northern Territory’s Granites mine, where a person tested positive last week, have returned negative results in their first round of testing.
Two are quarantining at home, the other is in hotel quarantine.
Are you under 40 and have decided you want to be first in line for the AstraZeneca vaccine now that you are eligible?
Let me know how you have gone with the booking process by tweeting me @MatildaBoseley and I’ll include some of your experiences in the blog!
If you are keen to check where the exposure sites and hotspots are around you here are Guardian Australia’s handy breakdowns.
New South Wales:
Queensland:
Western Australia:
It’s worth noting that this means the Queensland and New South Wales press conferences will be happening simultaneously.
I’ll likely focus on the live updates from NSW, but never fear we will have updates for both states here on the blog!
Updated
OK, so originally we were going to hear from the Queensland leaders at 9am, but this has been pushed back to 11am.
It’s unclear if this is because any big announcements are expected, but it’s worth noting the daily numbers for the state haven’t been published yet, which is a little unusual.
Updated
I brought you some quotes earlier from chief medical officer Paul Kelly’s interview with ABC.
Here is a clip if you are keen to hear the words straight from the source!
"AstraZeneca was always available for anyone, in terms of the regulation, from TGA, for anyone over the age of 18. There's a preference for Pfizer until the age of 60."
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) June 28, 2021
Chief Medical Officer @PKelly_CBR speaking to @lisamillar after another change to the vaccine rollout. pic.twitter.com/j3YZ3CAVPb
My girl Mel spitting some facts this morning!
Something that confuses me about the gov's AZ announcement last night [and which I am looking into] - GPs are ALREADY indemnified against litigation if they provide informed consent. It's why some GPs are already giving out AZ more widely. Announcement is purely psychological.
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) June 29, 2021
Animal rights activists have launched a landmark high court bid to overturn laws suppressing secretly recorded vision of cruelty and abuse in slaughterhouses, arguing that they breach Australia’s implied right to freedom of political communication.
The case will champion openness and transparency in the agriculture sector and push back against so-called “ag-gag laws” stopping activists using hidden cameras to highlight mistreatment.
In New South Wales, the Surveillance Devices Act criminalises the use of footage or audio that was obtained using a listening device or hidden camera. Unlike other state and federal laws, NSW law gives no public-interest exemption to allow for such footage to be used.
The laws have been used to pursue animal rights activists on criminal charges and, more recently, have prevented outlets such as the Guardian from publishing secretly recorded footage of ex-racehorses being sent for slaughter at NSW pet food factories, against industry rules.
You can read the full report below:
Finally! A public policy idea I can get behind!
Young Australians who take the AZ bullet for the oldies should get rewarded by not having to pay stamp duty.
— Patrick Brown (@paddyvinnie) June 28, 2021
(Please note though, taking AZ 100% isn’t taking a bullet, it’s extremely safe.)
Updated
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, says he is worried about low vaccination rates in remote communities after a cluster of Covid-19 cases connected to a goldmine in the Northern Territory increased to seven on Monday.
Darwin and surrounding areas have been put into lockdown until 1pm on Friday amid concerns about the significant risk posed to Indigenous communities.
Wyatt told the ABC on Monday there was significant vaccine hesitancy in some communities. “I don’t want to see any deaths within our communities,” he said.
The minister pointed to a remote community near the Tanami mine, where only 18 people out of 400 had been vaccinated, with residents concerned about what they were reading on social media about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
You can read the full report from Katharine Murphy and Lorena Allam below:
Updated
Covid-19 alerts to be integrated into Facebook
Facebook will allow state and federal governments, police, and health departments in each state and territory to send local alerts about Covid-related issues to users from Tuesday.
Similar to the local alerts already in place for fire and emergency services last year, people who follow a state health department or police service’s page on Facebook will be alerted to Covid outbreaks and other Covid-related information through Facebook.
The agencies will be able to target followers based on location, so if there is a localised outbreak in a specific suburb, they will be able to drop a pin and alert followers who are located within a specified radius of that pin.
When they rolled out the feature in the US, pages that sent posts marked as local alerts received 250% more views on average than other posts.
Josh Machin, Facebook’s head of public policy in Australia, said:
We hope this feature will be another important communication tool for health, police and central government agencies to share updates to people about critical events happening in their local area. For example, with Covid-19 breakouts in different places around the country, Local Alerts could be used to advise communities about recent outbreaks, travel restrictions or lockdowns areas, and other requirements as situations develop and evolve.
Updated
As expected, we will be hearing from the NSW leaders at 11am Sydney time.
Yesterday premier Gladys Berejiklian said they were expecting numbers to get worse before they get better, so I’ll bring you all the updates and numbers when they stand up.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys will provide a COVID-19 update at 11:00am #COVID19nsw #nswcovid
— Political Alert (@political_alert) June 28, 2021
Updated
New NSW hotspots added
NSW Health has just tweeted out a list of new venues and times of concern.
These include Specsavers at Bondi Junction Eastgate between 3pm and 5.30pm on Saturday, and the Bondi Beach McDonald’s between 11.30am and 12pm on Friday.
Check out the full new list below.
⚠️PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERN⚠️
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 28, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of further new venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has expanded the times for a close contact venue. pic.twitter.com/ndykj9BchQ
Updated
An apparent dirty delete from former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey, after posting a fairly scathing tweet about the federal vaccine rollout.
Perhaps his opinions have changed in the cold light of morning.
Former treasurer Joe Hockey seems to have deleted this “says it all” tweet from last night about the pace of Australia’s vaccine rollout (at the very bottom of the list) pic.twitter.com/qcd1cv3y4H
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) June 28, 2021
Updated
Here is the full statement from the prime minister after national cabinet last night, in case you were curious.
National Cabinet Statement @ScottMorrisonMP #auspol pic.twitter.com/I9mw1x23HN
— Political Alert (@political_alert) June 28, 2021
Daniel Andrews calls for a 50 per cent cut to return travellers coming into Victoria for three months, saying it would help prevent further lockdowns. #springst #auspol
— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) June 28, 2021
The NSW premier has warned that Covid-19 case numbers may “go up considerably” after the state recorded 18 new local infections, reports Hannah Ryan and Maureen Dettre from AAP.
Some 130 people have now picked up the virus locally since 16 June, when the case of an unvaccinated limousine driver was reported at Bondi in Sydney’s east.
While the tally was significantly lower than the 30 cases in the previous 24-hour period, Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Monday, the NSW public needs to brace itself:
We have to be prepared for the numbers to bounce around and we have to be prepared for the numbers to go up considerably.
The numbers won’t decline for at least another five days, according to chief health officer Kerry Chant.
A city-wide lockdown was called on Saturday afternoon after cases started seeping out of Sydney’s east into other areas.
Of the 18 cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, six were in isolation for their entire infectious period and three were isolated for part of their infectious period.
But half of them were not in self-isolation at all and were moving around in the community.
More than 500 school students from South Coogee public school are also isolating after four of their classmates acquired the virus. Another student, at Emanuel school in Sydney’s east, attended school while infectious, Chant said.
Updated
On under 60s getting the AZ shot, Andrews said if you want to go to a hub, call the hotline.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) June 28, 2021
But: "I think in the first instance, what is clear is that having a chat with your GP would be the best thing to do. Now that advice may change and it may change quite quickly."
A friendly reminder that if you are confused by the jigsaw of travel restrictions across Australia we have broken it all down for you in one handy explainer.
You can check it out below:
Daniel Andrews says he wants to have “a conversation” about dramatically reducing the capacity in hotel quarantine, which would reduce even further the number of people able to return home.
Yes, there would be inconvenience, with less people being able to get home, and a lot of that would be heartbreaking ... but it’s about time and it would not be forever, it would be until we got a critical mass of Australians through the vaccine program.
He is not sure what that critical mass would be – at a press conference yesterday he said the science on that critical mass is not settled. But it is worth considering for argument’s sake that the UK has 60% of its population fully vaccinated and has almost 20,000 new cases a day. So, more than that.
Andrews said you have to weigh up the pain and inconvenience of “reducing that travel cap by 50%, 75% or 80%” versus having to do continual lockdowns, because the virus – particularly the delta variant – escapes hotel quarantine, which is not fit for purpose.
“There’s no comparison,” he said – lockdowns outweigh the travel cap.
It's always good to hear Daniel Andrews grilled one-on-one by a competent journalist. This interview by Virginia Trioli is worth a listen (and I think shows very clearly that Andrews always gives as good as he gets).
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) June 28, 2021
"Anyone who has done a kitchen reno knows —"
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) June 28, 2021
"Oh you can't use that comparison, premier!"
"Yes you can."
"No you can't, not with precious public funding."
"The alternative is to do what every other government has done and say it's too hard.."
"No, it's about costing it properly."
Updated
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is doing his first radio interview since returning to work yesterday, speaking to ABC Melbourne’s Virginia Trioli.
They start off by talking about last night’s national cabinet meeting – which Andrews says made for a very tiring first day back:
I was going all right and then the prime minister called a national cabinet meeting for five o’clock.
But on to the substance of the meeting. He said he welcomed the opening up of AstraZeneca shots for younger people prepared to accept the risk. But first he had a message to everyone who has had their first AZ shot and has become nervous about the second:
If I can get one message across today, other than that I’m happy to be back, it is this ... if you have had the first AstraZeneca shot and you did not have an adverse reaction [he later clarified to say specifically a blood clot], the advice says that you won’t have an adverse reaction from the second.
People under the age of 60 who want to sign the waiver to get their first AstraZeneca should go to their GP in the first instance, he says. It may be possible to go through the mass vaccines later, but at this stage it’s GP first.
Updated
Acting Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Andrew Giles, is in Melbourne today and will hold a doorstop on the Morrison Government’s commuter car park rorts, 11:15AM #auspol
— Political Alert (@political_alert) June 28, 2021
The private school sector in Australia is likely to have reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in extra government funding from jobkeeper and other schemes designed to support not-for-profits during the Covid-19 crisis, despite few recording any significant impact on their revenues.
A survey by Guardian Australia of the handful of schools that have reported their 2020 financial results early to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission finds that roughly half have claimed jobkeeper and/or the $100,000 cashflow boost, despite suffering little or no fall in their fee revenue.
The payments range from as little as $100,000 for schools, which claimed only the cashflow boost, to as much as $18m, with the size of jobkeeper payments directly related to the size of the school staff.
In some cases the schools’ surpluses increased by the same amount as the jobkeeper payment received.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
Fletcher:
We also looked at where there are commuter car parks committed by the state government, largely in the west and north of Melbourne. We make our infrastructure decisions on the basis of need ...
Millar:
You’re accepting the recommendations. Labor is calling this sports rorts on steroids. There’s been a pattern here with how these grants are being handed out. Why hasn’t the government learned from the past criticisms of how these grants have been handed out?
Fletcher:
Well, let me reject the claims made by the ambitious Labor spokesperson, Mr Giles, trying to get a political hit. The auditor general report makes it clear there’s authority for these ministerial decisions under the Land Transport Act. There’s no suggestion that decisions made by ministers were outside of authority. I reject the claims made by Mr Giles.
Updated
Infrastructure minister defends controversial car park project
Don’t think the car park news is over for the morning!
Infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher has just stepped up to speak with ABC about the auditor general reports that found that a $660m commonwealth cash splash on train station car parks was not based on need and recipients were instead handpicked by the government on the advice of its MPs and candidates.
But, unsurprisingly Fletcher seems reticent to agree with these conclusions and has maintained decsions were made on the basis of need.
The commuter car park fund is designed to get more people out of their cars and onto trains. So that we can reduce congestion around our big cities. And across the whole transport network.
And so that’s why we committed to this project, just as Labor had a similar program, the park and ride program. Mr Andrew Giles seems to have some problem with it.
Host Lisa Millar:
The auditor found they were based on need. How is the government making the decision? You’re saying that the auditor general’s got it wrong with the how they’re viewing this program.
Fletcher:
What I’m saying is the basis on which we committed to this program and the locations was based upon the evidence and the need. So Infrastructure Australia, the 2018 report, found that 38% of the population of Melbourne is not within walking distance of public transport compared to 25% of the population of Sydney. That’s one reason why there’s a weighting towards Melbourne in this program.
Updated
Speaking of car parks, here is the shadow treasurer’s reaction to this report:
Jim Chalmers:
I think this is emblematic of the waste and rorts that categorise much of the budget under the Coalition.
We have substantial issues uncovered here by the auditor general, sports rorts, dodgy land deals around western Sydney airport, all kinds of issues have come to light.
The generations of debt racked up by the government, a lot of that is from wasted money and rorted money, rorted taxpayer funds, so we need to clean that up.
Updated
Not one of the 47 commuter car park sites promised by the Coalition at the 2019 election was selected by the infrastructure department, with projects worth $660m handpicked by the government on advice of its MPs and candidates.
That is the conclusion of a scathing Australian National Audit Office report released on Monday, which found that the department’s administration of the program was “not effective” and identification of projects “was not demonstrably merit-based”.
The infrastructure department has rejected the conclusions, arguing it was entitled to give funding to projects selected by the government and promised as election commitments.
The ANAO found that the department had been involved in drawing up an “indicative” list of projects in November 2018, but then the office of the urban infrastructure minister, Alan Tudge, asked it to add potential projects to its spreadsheet and a column for the government to set its relative priority.
You can read the full report below:
Victoria records no local Covid-19 cases overnight
Well, at least there is some good news around Australia today.
The very recently embattled Victoria has now recorded its third day in a row of no local Covid-19 cases.
Reported yesterday: 0 new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 28, 2021
- 18,597 vaccine doses were administered
- 20,723 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/1BEGkFbvPz
Updated
Federal shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers is, unsurprisingly, pretty scathing this morning when it comes to the vaccine rollout.
He is speaking with ABC News Breakfast now:
Well, we certainly need to turbocharge the vaccine rollout for sure. A lot of Australians would’ve been scratching their head wondering why a lot of these things weren’t happening already.
We’ve got a prime minister spending all this time trying to avoid responsibility rather than take responsibility. That’s why Australia is hopelessly behind when it comes to the vaccine rollout.
We haven’t built the purpose-built quarantine facilities we need to contain the virus. In the absence of leadership from the prime minister we’ll have more lockdowns for longer and it’s why these lockdowns have Scott Morrison’s name on them.
I reckon it’s worth noting down “these lockdowns have Scott Morrison’s name on them”. It seems that will be the campaign slogan for the Labor party when the election is finally called.
Updated
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly:
So in terms of aged care, which is our absolutely most vulnerable group in Australia, I’m absolutely comfortable about the rollout through the aged care sector for patients.
They’re the ones who are vulnerable. This week we’ll have completed, absolutely completed, the second-dose visits to every single aged care facility in the country.
Host Lisa Millar:
That’s for residents.
Kelly:
We’ll have 100% coverage for residents.
Millar:
Which was supposed to happen months ago.
Kelly:
Yeah, well, let’s move forward and start with celebrating this week we’ll have completed that task. The aged care workforce is another layer of protection around that vulnerable group.
And we’ve seen in Melbourne with the recent outbreak, there were a number of aged care facilities that were either affected our potentially affected through primary close contacts. We had three residents were sick. None of them died. Two of them are back at home, I believe the other one still may be in hospital and recovering. That’s a very different situation to what we found last year and there’s with a variant of interest, the Kappa variant.
Updated
Paul Kelly has been asked on ABC News Breakfast why the federal deadline for aged care and quarantine workers to receive their first vaccine dose is all the way into September, and if this was a reflection of just how far behind the country is when it comes to the vaccination rollout.
Kelly:
So, the prime minister explained that last night at the press conference that – and I think this is the crucial point – mandating something like vaccination is not a decision to be taken lightly.
You need to weigh up all the issues that are involved to make sure we have used other ways of getting the vaccine out, making sure that access is clear, make sure there’s no barriers to that.
We’ve got to remember this is a very large workforce that’s spread right across the country, including in rural and remote areas. It has a very high proportion of people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups. We need to work through a range of issues to make sure the vaccine is available, that they can get both doses because of the time lag between the first and second dose and all of that has been taken into account.
The AHPPC was very clear in its advice to national cabinet and national cabinet was very clear in their decision.
If people are working in that sector, they should get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Not to wait until mid-September.
Updated
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has conceded that yesterday’s federal vaccine announcement did not represent any change to medical advice concerning which age groups AstraZeneca was recommended for:
The change really last night was the decreasing of the age down below 40. That was really the only change that was announced last night.
AstraZeneca was always available for anyone, in terms of the regulation, from TGA, for anyone over the age of 18. There’s a preference for Pfizer until the age of 60. That’s a preference.
It’s a discussion for doctors to have with their own patients and work through their own risk and benefit in relation to that. In terms of the indemnity issue, that’s something that GPs in particular but others that have been vaccinating as well have had many discussions with us about their concerns in relation to that.
Updated
Genuinely, this is a very difficult balance. In a pandemic, we need leaders and public health experts confident enough to change their minds when the facts change.
But while flexibility and dexterity is absolutely desirable, coherence is also important. Communication needs to be simple and clear. If people are to maintain confidence in the public health instructions formulated by experts and articulated by political leaders, Australians need to be assured that the high-level deliberations shaping their lives are methodical rather than panicked.
On 8 April Scott Morrison told Australians he had accepted expert advice that Pfizer be the preferred vaccine for under-50s and AstraZeneca the preferred Covid inoculation for Australians over 50. That announcement followed accumulating evidence that the AstraZeneca jab was associated with extremely rare but potentially deadly blood clots.
You can read the full analysis below:
Updated
Hey Tasmanians, it looks as though premier Peter Gutwein will be holding his press conference at 9am this morning.
Updated
A long queue at the RBWH, not for testing, but for the vaccine.
— Reece D'Alessandro (@R_DAlessandro9) June 28, 2021
It’s getting longer by the minute, most say they’re simply trying their luck.
Details live @TheTodayShow. pic.twitter.com/evb6oY55sQ
Extinct native mouse found on WA islands
You know what Australia really doesn’t need right now? More mice.
And yet, it seems scientists can’t help themselves and keep discovering more species of them. (To be clear: I’m kidding, I’m about to share so very exciting biodiversity news.)
Scientists have discovered that an extinct native mouse thought to have been wiped out more than 150 years ago is thriving on islands off Western Australia, reports Aaron Bunch from AAP.
Researchers compared DNA samples from eight extinct native rodents and 42 of their living relatives to study the decline of native species since the arrival of Europeans in Australia.
The results showed the extinct Gould’s mouse was indistinguishable from the Shark Bay mouse, which is found on several small islands off the coast of WA, said Australian National University evolutionary biologist Emily Roycroft:
The resurrection of this species brings good news in the face of the disproportionally high rate of native rodent extinction.
Roycroft said native mice accounted for 41% of all Australian mammals that had become extinct since European colonisation started in 1788:
It is exciting that Gould’s mouse is still around, but its disappearance from the mainland highlights how quickly this species went from being distributed across most of Australia, to only surviving on offshore islands in Western Australia. It’s a huge population collapse.
Gould’s mouse was common and widespread before European settlement in eastern inland Australia, according to the NSW environment department.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Updated
The spread of the more infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 throughout Australia can be contained with a combination of strong adherence to public health guidelines and good luck, infectious diseases and virology experts say.
On Monday the number of locally acquired cases in New South Wales grew to 130, with 124 of those linked to the Bondi cluster. In Queensland, premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the next 48 hours would prove crucial, as the number of local cases grew to 10. The Northern Territory health minister, Natasha Fyles, said authorities expected more cases, with the total there at six, while two cases have emerged in Western Australia since Sunday.
“A virus in the wild in winter is a hard one to get a handle on,” said Kirby Institute virologist at the University of NSW Stuart Turville.
Not only do people tend to congregate indoors together in colder months, giving the virus more chance to spread and survive, he said, but data was revealing additional challenges associated with Delta.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
I mentioned before that three Australian capitals were now in lockdown.
Sydney and surrounds, the newly locked down Perth and the neighbouring Peel region, and Darwin, where stay-at-home orders have been imposed after the territory’s first instance of community Covid-19 transmission.
In fact, the NT’s snap lockdown has been extended after a seventh case was reported from an outbreak linked to the Newmont’s Granites mine about 540km north-west of Alice Springs.
Health officials have confirmed the outbreak is of the Delta variant, the latest case is a man in his 50s, a fly-in fly-out worker who left the mine on Friday.
He returned to Darwin, where he travelled to multiple venues while infectious in the community for about 36 hours, NT chief minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Monday:
What greatly concerns us is the potential for exposure to others.
We are now in a critical period ... The coronavirus is here and we are dealing with it.
This is the sixth case linked to a Victorian man who travelled to the mine via a Brisbane quarantine hotel before testing positive on Saturday.
Authorities have tested all the mineworkers who remained in the NT, with 199 tests coming back negative. The remaining results were pending, Gunner said.
About 170 fly-in, fly-out workers from the mine travelled to Brisbane, 250 flew to Perth and 29 headed to South Australia, with 259 remaining in the Top End.
Updated
Hello everyone and welcome to a very weird Tuesday.
Let’s dive straight in with the news that came out of Scott Morrison’s late-night press conference, which is that the AstraZeneca vaccine is now available to anyone over 18 in Australia as long as they are willing to accept the extremely small risk of blood clotting.
The other news to come out of the post-national cabinet presser was that aged care and quarantine workers will now be compelled to get a Covid-19 jab to continue working, although Morrison has left it up to states and territories to set a deadline for this.
Speaking of states and territories, three Australian capital cities are now in lockdown, with Perth joining Sydney and Darwin after another confirmed virus case in the west.
A man in his 30s is believed to have contracted the Delta strain of the virus at the Indian Ocean Brewery in only extremely fleeting contact with the original infected woman.
This was extremely concerning to the Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan:
We’re hopeful a four-day lockdown and all of the measures we’re putting in place will be enough to crush and kill the virus in its tracks.
What is even more concerning is this most recent infection appears to have involved only fleeting contact with the original case.
We don’t know how many more people have acquired it via this technique. That’s why we’re engaging in the measures which are pretty strong.
Another woman, aged 32, also tested positive after coming into contact with the original case.
With that, why don’t we jump into all the twists and turns of the day.
If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
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