Coronavirus Australia live news: PM welcomes end to Victoria’s ‘tough’ lockdown
Scott Morrison has sent a message to Victorians after Premier Daniel Andrews announced stay-at-home and hospitality restrictions would be lifted from Wednesday.
- What changes in Vic on November 8
- Qld border answers by Friday
- ‘Now is the time’: Melbourne to open
- One new local case for NSW
- Victoria records 0 new cases
- Cluster traced to hospital breach
- US ‘can’t control the virus’
- Isolation fuels WA ‘pandexit’ call
Welcome to The Australian’s coverage of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Scott Morrison has congratulated Melburnians after it was announced they will be released from stay-at-home restrictions from 11:59pm on Tuesday for the first time since July 7. Victoria today recorded zero new cases or deaths. It’s been revealed the Melbourne coronavirus outbreak delaying state’s reopening was caused by a hospital worker who contracted the virus in Box Hill Hospital’s COVID ward.
Charlie Peel, Domanii Cameron 10.30pm: Announcement on borders by Friday: Palaszczuk
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has promised voters will know by election eve if the border with NSW will be reopened next week.
Campaigning in north Queensland, Ms Palaszczuk said a decision would be announced by Friday on whether the state would go ahead with a “road map” proposal to reopen on November 1, which was dependent on the level of community transmissions in NSW.
The road map had initially proposed an October 22 deadline to reassess community transmission, but Ms Palaszczuk has delayed an announcement to wait for Queensland Health advice.
John Ferguson 10pm: The long road to abnormality
Daniel Andrews sounded like he needed a COVID-19 test.
Voice raspy, his tired possum eyes magnified behind his glasses as he read slowly through the daily list of fatalities and infections.
None dead, no new cases; but a whole lot to see.
“I don’t know whether I’ll be drinking a beer tonight, I might go a little higher up the shelf,” he said as the enormity of the day spread, virus-like, to millions.
There would barely have been a dry eye in the Victorian house.
Within minutes, the first text beeped, a business focused on fixing middle-class aches and pains in suburban Hawthorn will ¬reopen on Wednesday.
Rebecca Urban 9.30pm: Welcome relief, but road back is long
Small business owner Elle-May Michael has experienced the full gamut of emotions waiting to find out when her retail artsshop would be able to trade again.
There have been periods of anxiety, followed by misery — and now, finally, a welcome burst of excitement.
But on Tuesday, the owner of In.cube8r gallery and emporium in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran will be too busy to feel muchat all as she scrambles to get ready to reopen the following day. “I have a two-hour staff meeting on our COVIDSafe proceduresorganised, in between packing orders and changing window displays. And we’ll have lots of our artists visiting to preparetheir displays,” Ms Michael said.
“But it’s good. I feel pretty comfortable about reopening; we’re definitely ready.”
Melbourne’s extended lockdown has been tough on the business, which rents out space, called “cubes”, to emerging designersand artists. It also provides mentoring services to help them grow their brands. Located on fashionable Greville Street, theretail space has long been popular with international tourists drawn to its unique fashion, jewellery, homewares and artworks,meaning the pandemic took away a significant chunk of its market.
Stephen Lunn, John Lethlean 9pm: New pub and restaurant rules ‘too restrictive’
Pubs, cafes and restaurants could safely cater for more customers than the Andrews government’s new rules allow, giving them a better chance at financial survival after months of closure, they say.
From Wednesday, pubs and restaurants will be entitled to host a maximum of 50 customers outside and 20 customers inside, and provided COVID-19 daily case numbers stay low, from November 8 the maximum numbers increase to 70 outside and 40 inside.
These numbers are subject to “density limits”, which restrict customers in restaurants, cafes and pubs to a maximum of 10 a room.
Ewin Hannan 8.30pm: Quarantine inquiry to make extension call
Hotel quarantine inquiry chair Jennifer Coate will decide in days whether to request an extension of her November 6 reporting deadline as she examines new statements by key figures including Premier Daniel Andrews and the state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.
Ms Coate will announce this week whether the inquiry will seek an extension after receiving the new statements as well as copies of the phone records of key players, including staff in the Premier’s private office.
Mr Sutton and the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kym Peake have until Tuesday night to provide new statements to the inquiry. As well as Mr Andrews, the Police Minister Lisa Neville, former police chief commissioner, Graham Ashton and the former secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Chris Eccles are making new statements.
Ewin Hannan 7.50pm: Covid recession ‘to cost taxpayers $1.3bn’
Taxpayers will fork out $1.3 billion in wages and entitlements for almost 120,000 workers by 2023 if federal government forecasts about the increase in the number of collapsed employers due to the Covid recession are realised.
Officials from the Attorney-General’s Department detailed a big rise in the amount of money expected to be paid out under the government’s Fair Entitlement Guarantee Scheme, with the amount jumping from $162.3 million in 2019-20 to a forecast $468 million this financial year.
According to projections provided to a Senate estimates hearing on Monday, the amount to be paid out will further rise to $500 million next financial year, while the amount budgeted for 2022-23 is $374 million.
Under the scheme, the government covers certain unpaid employment entitlements to eligible employees who lose their job due to the liquidation or bankruptcy of their employer.
Officials told the hearing that the number of workers expected to be paid out this financial year would be 34,268, while 33,444 were forecast to be paid out in 2021-22, 24,357 in 2022-23 and 27,248 in 2023-24.
The estimates, prepared in April 2020, are based on demand being two and half times the current claim levels.
Labor senator Murray Watt said the figures showed there was a “tidal wave coming”.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the record stimulus spending announced in the federal budget would significantly cushion the impact of the pandemic on the economy and assist businesses.
The government announced in the budget that an extra $35.3 million would be spent to provide up to 150 additional staff within the Attorney-General’s Department to process FEG claims.
“The FEG acts as a safety net of last resort for workers, covering unpaid entitlements such as wages and annual leave that are left outstanding when a business goes into administration and there are insufficient assets to cover final entitlements,” he said.
“The additional staff will be brought on as necessary to meet demand and will ensure Australian workers can access entitlements quickly and accurately when eligible.”
Read more: Is your job at risk and which ones are gone for good?
Alice Workman 7.30pm: Top-shelf Dan scales his North Face …
North Face was trending on Monday.
Victorians were hoping, praying and tweeting that Daniel Andrews would strut into his 116th-straight press conference in casual weekend clothes to mark Double Doughnut Day (zero new cases, zero deaths). Some #IStandWithDan-ers say they can predict whether the Premier’s COVID updates will be good or bad based on his outfit and the time he picks to hold his briefing. 11am = not so bad news. Afternoon = bad news. Wearing a suit (sans tie) = really bad news. Wearing a suit at the weekend after midday = really, really bad news. Wearing a North Face jacket = time to get on the beers. Monday’s allocated time? 3:15pm. Yet as the day dragged on, Danistaners started to fret.
Rachel Baxendale 7pm: Victoria’s seven mystery cases
Victoria’s seven “mystery” cases with an unidentified source for the most recent fortnight for which statistics are available:
October 21: Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina (Postcode 3029)
October 21: Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina (3029)
October 16: Knox City Centre, Studfield, Wantirna, Wantirna South (3152)
October 15: Bellfield, Heidelberg Heights, Heidelberg West (3081)
October 14: Box Hill, Box HIll South, Wattle Park (3128)
October 13: Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana (3047)
October 12: Reservoir (3073)
READ MORE: Isolation fuels ‘pandexit’ calls
Rachel Baxendale 6.45pm: Testing blitz in Melbourne’s north
Victorian authorities have conducted 16,382 coronavirus tests in Melbourne’s northern suburbs since last Tuesday, including 3196 tests processed in the 24 hours to Monday with no positive results among them.
The testing blitz in the local government areas of Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik came as the northern suburbs cluster reached 39 cases on Sunday — 22 of which remained active on Monday.
That cluster was sparked after a worker at the Box Hill Hospital caught the virus from a COVID-positive patient, with the worker’s family and linked families ultimately generating a cluster, which includes at least nine households and two aged-care facilities, as well as the East Preston Islamic College and Croxton Special School.
The Box Hill Hospital cluster stands at 15 cases, five of which remain active on Monday.
At least 16 testing centres remain open across the five affected LGAs.
Other than the Northern suburban and Box Hill Hospital clusters, the only other significant outbreak on the DHHS list on Monday is a south-eastern suburban outbreak with nine cases, three of which remain active.
Two previously notified cases have been reclassified on Monday, meaning Victoria’s total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began has actually fallen by two since Sunday, with no new cases on Monday bringing the aggregate to 20,341.
READ MORE: Apple Isle world is now tourists’ oyster
Rachel Baxendale 6.25pm: Small businesses in Victoria fear third lockdown
Small Business Australia Executive Director Bill Lang said he welcomed news of a Victorian reopening, but warned it would still not be viable for many businesses to reopen until restrictions are eased further.
Mr Lang said he also feared the possibility of a “third lockdown” if Victoria’s contact tracing capabilities were not up to scratch.
“It is without question a great sense of relief for those pubs, restaurants, café’s and retailers who can open this week and hopefully other services on November 8, despite the stress caused by the governments indecision over the past 24-hours,” Mr Lang said.
owners and today we finally have the news we have been pushing so hard for, but these are the first steps and we should not forget that many businesses still cannot open, despite the changes.
“Sadly, we have lost thousands of businesses during the extended closure and want to lessen that damage, which is why we are urging people to get out and shop, eat, drink and enjoy that freedom that has been taken from Melburnians for weeks.
“The lingering concern from small business is a third lockdown, hearing the Premier say that he prefers ‘old fashioned ways’ such as pen and paper to technology when it comes to contact and trace, would have sent a shiver down the spine of business owners.
“Why we continue to ignore the successful technology driven use of QR codes in NSW is very difficult to understand, the Premier talks of states copying our system, which is almost comical to hear out loud, and by not replicating the system in NSW, the Premier seems to be taking an unnecessary risk.
“One day of zero does not a COVID free state make.
“We have had days of zero before and with failures of policy saw the COVID rates spike, the small businesses of Victoria are praying that the government has learnt their lessons, which only time will tell us.”
READ MORE: Gottliebsen — WorkSafe can stop a Victorian third wave
Tom Howard 6.15pm: Copper price soars on China recovery
There have been some obvious winners in the markets during the pandemic. The need for video conferencing during lockdown meant a boom for Zoom’s share price; so, too, that of Netflix, as people sought things to watch at home; and Halfords’ stock rose as its bicycles began to fill up empty roads.
To that list you can add copper. The price of the metal has soared thanks to resurgent sales in China, which is cranking its industrial machine back into action, and plans in other countries to modernise their economies once recovery takes hold. Prices of copper, the use of which spans electric vehicles to telecoms to water pipes, passed $US7000 a tonne last Wednesday, its highest since June 2018, before falling back at the end of the week. Its value has risen by 12 per cent this year.
China, the world’s largest consumer of raw materials, has been key. It has been pouring vast sums of money into new infrastructure projects this year, including green energy projects and electrical grids. President Xi wants his country to be carbon-neutral by 2060, which analysts expect to lead to even more renewable energy projects - for which tonnes of copper will be required.
Rachel Baxendale 5.55pm: Victorians have ‘paid a massive price’: O’Brien
Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien said Victorians would “finally start to catch up to the rest of Australia next month, after almost half a year of lockdowns caused by the Andrews Labor Government’s botched hotel quarantine program.”
“There is much more to do to open up Victoria and today’s belated announcement must only be the start,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The hotel quarantine second wave appears to have been defeated but the cost to Victorians of Daniel Andrews’ failure is immense.
“Victorians have paid a massive price for the worst public policy failure in Australia’s history with around 220,000 jobs lost, thousands of businesses closed and almost 800 deaths.”
Mr O’Brien said the sacrifices Victorians had been forced to make constituted a “permanent scar on our state and its people.”
“The Andrews Labor Government caused Victoria’s second wave of COVID-19 by rejecting ADF assistance for hotel quarantine in favour of poorly trained private security,” he said.
“Labor then prolonged the harsh lockdowns by continual botching of contact tracing and testing.
“Too many small businesses have closed forever, too many small businesses were left out of state government financial assistance, too many jobs have been lost in Victoria and too much pain has been endured.
“Daniel Andrews has continually blamed Victorians for his incompetence and has failed to take responsibility. He is more interested in protecting his own job than in protecting the jobs of Victorians.
“Victoria needs a plan to keep our community safe from COVID-19, but also to turn our focus to getting Victorians back to work to repair the economic damage that’s been done by Labor’s lockdowns.”
READ MORE: Riot shutters stores, jobs lost
Richard Ferguson 5.28pm: PM congratulates Victorians, thanks them for patience
Scott Morrison has congratulated Victorians on defeating the second wave of coronavirus and that the state is on track to re-open fully by Christmas.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will lift the “stay-at-home” orders and re-open retail and hospitality from Wednesday midnight, with more restrictions to be lifted on November 8.
In a video to Victorians, the Prime Minister said the announcement was in line with national cabinet’s new post-pandemic roadmap.
“This is basically the first step on that three step plan to open Australia up by Christmas that we’re all committed to and I look forward to working with the Premier as we work through the additional steps that will be necessary in the months ahead,” Mr Morrison said on Monday.
“But for now I just want to say thank you and congratulations.
“You’ve done it really tough in Melbourne and across Victoria over recent months and I said right at the outset of going into this lockdown that Australia will only succeed if Victoria succeeds, and you are succeeding, and that is a result of your efforts.
“And so now Melbourne and Victoria can safely open and we need to ensure that Victoria stays safely open and that we would never have to go back under the sorts of measures that you’ve been put through over recent months.”
READ MORE: PM unveils map to Covid-normal Christmas
Rachel Baxendale 5.20pm: Hotels welcome news, but some pubs still unviable
The Victorian branch of the Australian Hotels Association has welcomed the partial reopening of pubs, but warned that the plan will still be unviable for some of its members.
From midnight on Tuesday hospitality venues will be able to open to up to 20 patrons indoors subject to a one person per four square metres limit and a maximum of 10 per space, as well as to up to 50 patrons outdoors, subject to density requirements of one per two square metres.
AHA Vic president David Canny called for greater “consistency, uniformity and trust” from the government in pubs’ COVIDSafe operating plans.
“The plans announced today are a step in the right direction, but they still do not meet the viability test to save our Pubs from the debts they are facing,” Mr Canny said.
“The current plans are disadvantaging pubs over some others in the retail sector which have remained open throughout the lockdown,” Mr Canny said.
“The government needs to have greater trust in us and our patrons in adhering to COVIDSafe operating plans.
“There are inconsistencies among other industry sectors whereby some retail stores do not have any caps on patron numbers or customer digital contact tracing.”
Retail liquor stores such as Dan Murphy’s, Liquorland and BWS have been allowed to remain open during the lockdown.
Mr Canny said the density quotas were a “sound and safe first step” for reopening the hotel industry and would see patrons at a rate of 25 per cent of the capacity on a pub’s liquor licence.
“This is a reasonable and responsible start for the government to allow our pubs to work towards breaking even,” he said.
Mr Canny called for those density requirements to be relaxed over ensuing weeks to one person per three square metres and then one person per two.
“The government has got to show faith in us and our patrons to implement our COVIDSafe Plans which are the best customer-health-and-safety plans in the retail/hospitality sector,” he said.
“No other business has our measures of contact tracing, along with staff training, the COVIDSafe plan, all staff wearing masks, 1.5 metre table spacing, cleaning standards and the requirements of customers to wear masks unless seated.”
READ MORE: Restricted pubs bring no cheer to Morris
Rosie Lewis 5.10pm: Only 45,000 of 450,000 JobMaker jobs ‘genuinely’ new
Treasury has confirmed just 45,000 of the 450,000 jobs it expects to be supported by the Morrison government’s JobMaker program will be “genuinely” new.
Appearing before a Senate estimates hearing on Monday, Treasury’s fiscal group deputy secretary Jenny Wilkinson said: “In costing this we’ve made a conservative assumption that about 10 per cent of employment in these firms is genuinely additional, (or) wouldn’t have happened were it not for the hiring credit.”
Opposition employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor seized on the revelation, claiming it meant the 45,000 jobs would cost $90,000 each in the $4bn scheme.
However Treasury still estimates there will be 450,000 employees using the hiring credit but only 10 per cent of those jobs will be newly created. The rest of the supported jobs under the program will be existing ones, with a new employee hired to fill the position.
“The government claimed it would create nearly half a million jobs, but Treasury are forecasting only 45,000 additional jobs will be created,” Mr O’Connor said.
READ MORE: Pressure on Labor over jobs credits
Rachel Baxendale 5.00pm: ‘Vital day’: Employers greet reopening with ‘relief’
Peak employer group Ai Group welcomed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ announcement that Victoria will finally reopen after months of lockdown, saying “relief” was the best description of his response to the announcement, which was “particularly welcome after the weekend delay and disappointment.”
“Ai Group welcomes the easing of restrictions to allow retailers, restaurants, cafes, manufacturers, the construction industry and others to open up to a COVID-normal condition including allowing a dark opening period,” said Ai Group Victorian Head Tim Piper.
“Businesses will be celebrating being in a position to serve the public, manufacture the product and re-energise the economy.
“Making the state one again from November 9 is an important psychological step, as is allowing people to come together for a range of different gatherings.
“It’s a vital day for Metropolitan Melbourne, the state and even the rest of the nation as Melbourne returns to a semblance of normality.
“We encourage businesses and the community to recognise that the COVID virus is still with us and vigilance must be maintained to prevent its spread once again.
“We also urge the government to maintain public confidence in its testing and tracing regimes.
“With the tracking and tracing up to the task localised responses should be the norm in the future rather than widespread lockdowns.
“Ai Group acknowledges the resilience of Victorian employers who have borne up so well during the shutdown but the road to recovery will be a very long one,” Mr Piper said.
READ MORE: Trump’s given up on taming virus: Biden
Rachel Baxendale 4.40pm: What changes in Victoria on November 8
Here’s what we know about what will happen in Melbourne and wider Victoria on November 8:
- Melbourne’s 25km travel limit will be abolished;
- The “ring of steel” between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria will be abolished, enabling statewide travel;
- Masks will still be compulsory outside private homes;
- Gyms and fitness studios in Melbourne will open to a maximum of 20 people, including 10 per space and one person per eight square metres;
- Restaurants will move to an indoor maximum of 40 people with 10 per space, and an outdoor maximum of 70 with one person per two square metres;
- Religious gatherings will have an outdoor maximum 50 people plus one faith leader, or 20 people plus a leader;
- Funerals will be allowed indoors with a maximum of 20 mourners, with a maximum of 50 allowed outdoors;
- Indoor pools will open for up to 20 people and indoor, non-contact community sport will reopen;
Victorian Premier Daniel Mr Andrews said he would be able to explain on November 8 “what November looks like and what a COVID-19 Christmas looks like”.
“We know that longer term roadmap is very important,” he said.
“We will have more certainty and be able to provide more detail if we just wait these next 10 days and then produce the more complete picture for the rest of the year.
“We will have the benefit of having been open for those 10 days and we will be able to complete that picture of what the rest of 2020 looks like.”
“Fundamentally, this belongs to every single Victorian, every single Victorian who has followed the rules, stayed the course, worked with me and my team, to bring this second wave to an end.
“But it is not over. This virus is not going away. It is going to continue to be a feature of our lives, it is going to be a feature of our lives every day until a
vaccine turns up.”
The Premier warned Victorians to take the “responsibilities” not to spread the virus seriously as the state reopens.
“They cannot be bending the rules, people on an endless search for loopholes,” he said.
“Until a vaccine comes, there is no normal, there is only COVID-19 normal. So much has been given to build this precious thing, and all of us need to make sure that we honour it and value it and protect it in all the choices we make every single day.”
READ MORE: China health expert attacks testing ‘overkill’
Rachel Baxendale 4.25pm: Home visits ‘most dangerous’: wary Andrews
Premier Daniel Andrews said he would have more to say on Tuesday regarding home visits.
“We want to get this right. We do not want to do a bubble because we think that can be a particularly confusing set of arrangements for families, but we have not quite settled and we must understand, all of us, the most dangerous environment for the spread of this virus is in your home,” Mr Andrews said.
“When you have visitors you let your guard down and they go back to their house, they have visitors and all of a sudden there are chains of transmission that spread silently and very quickly.
“So getting this right and having it as simple, obviously, as inclusive, as fundamentally compassionate as possible, so people can connect with those they love the most, the people they miss the most, that is for tomorrow and we will speak to that in some detail, but it will come into effect at 11:59pm tomorrow night so there is no time lost, it is just a matter of settling the arrangements and having them as simple as they can possibly be.”
READ MORE: Resist Covid-fatalism, maintain hope
Domanii Cameron 4.01pm: Borders announcement by Friday, Palaszczuk says
Queenslanders will know whether the state‘s borders will reopen to New South Wales by Friday.
The State Government‘s road map indicates the border would open to its southern neighbour on November 1, depending on the level of community transmission.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said today everyone would know by the end of the week.
Asked whether that was enough time for people to prepare, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said, “Everybody will know by Friday.”
READ the full story here
John Stensholt 3.57pm: Not worthwhile to reopen some of state’s most famous pubs
Six million Victorians are looking forward to the eventual opening up of shops, restaurants and other retail outlets, but Chris Morris says state government restrictions mean it isn’t worthwhile to open some of the most famous pubs in the state.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 3.44pm: All tests from Melbourne hotspot returned negative
Daniel Andrews said 3196 test results from Melbourne’s COVID hotspot northern suburbs had been processed as of Monday morning, with another 1157 results received by lunchtime, all of which had come back negative.
Victoria now has 91 active cases of coronavirus, down from 100 on Sunday, with no new cases recorded on Monday for the first time since early June.
There are seven people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Monday – the same number as on Sunday – none of whom are in intensive care.
There have been 3,066,510 tests processed in Victoria since the pandemic began, including 14,024 processed in the 24 hours to Monday morning.
The additional 1157 processed from the northern suburbs by lunchtime on Monday will be included in Tuesday’s numbers.
There are six active cases in health workers, down from eight on Sunday, with four cases linked to aged care — the same number as on Sunday.
There are just two active cases in regional Victoria, both of which are in the northern Victorian town of Shepparton and linked to the Chadstone cluster in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs.
READ MORE: Virtual AGM resistance growing
Rachel Baxendale 3.24pm: Stay-home restrictions to lift tomorrow night
Melburnians will be released from stay-at-home restrictions from 11:59pm on Tuesday, for the first time since July 7.
However, the 25km travel limit will remain in place.
“The most important thing today is to acknowledge that with zero cases and so much testing over the weekend, not just in the north but across the whole state, we are able to say that now is the time to open up,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“Now is the time to congratulate every single Victorian for staying the course. Now is the time to thank every single Victorian family for being guided by the data, the science and the doctors, not letting our frustration get the better of us but, instead, proving equal to this wicked enemy, indeed, better than this wicked enemy.”
From 11:59pm on Tuesday, retail will reopen in Melbourne, as will restaurants, hotels, cafes and bars will reopen as well with limits of 20 people indoors, including 10 people per space, and 50 people outdoors with one person per two square metres.
Beauty, personal services and tattooing will reopen, provided masks are worn.
“There will be a dark opening, that is to say, staff required to make the business ready for trading and, importantly, not just good enough to be ready must be COVID as well, they are able to attend the work place immediately, forthwith they are able to do that work to be ready for midnight tomorrow night,” Mr Andrews said.
Outdoor community sport for under-18s and outdoor non-contact sport for adults will recommence.
The four reasons to leave home will be removed, although a 25 kilometre travel limit and “ring of steel” between regional Victoria and Melbourne will remain in place until at least November 8.
Outdoor gatherings will remain at a maximum of 10 people, infants under 12 months are not included in the calculation of 10, and gatherings will no longer be limited to just two households.
Weddings will increase to a maximum of 10 people. Funerals will increase to a maximum of 20 mourners.
Religious gatherings will now be able to have a maximum of 10 people indoors and 20 outdoors.
Rosie Lewis 3.11pm: Melbourne dining restrictions to ease from Wednesday
The hospitality industry has been told by the Andrews government restrictions will ease in Melbourne from Wednesday, with 20 people allowed to dine indoors and 50 people outside.
Restaurant and Catering Australia chief executive Wes Lambert said that would move to 40 indoor diners from November 8 and 70 outdoor patrons.
READ MORE: Pause leaves sour taste for restaurateurs
Richard Ferguson 3.08pm: Albanese cites ASIC, AusPost in push for integrity body
Anthony Albanese has targeted Scott Morrison’s handling of the ASIC and Australia Post scandals in question time on Monday, calling on him to fast track the creation of a national integrity commission.
The Opposition Leader accused the Prime Minister of being weighed down by integrity issues in parliament, referencing the past sport rorts scandal and the Leppington Triangle sale in which a parcel of land was bought by the government for ten times the value.
“The House notes the Morrison government is weighed down by scandal and integrity issues,
including the corrupt sports rorts scene with colour-coded spreadsheets, airport reports in which the government paid $30 million for a piece of land worth $3 million,” Mr Albanese said.
“Stacking the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with Liberal mates … Australia Post
spending $20,000 on Cartier watches reports the Assistant Treasurer (Michael Sukkar) used taxpayer-funded staff to branch-stack, and the Minister for Energy (Angus Taylor) being involved in too many scandals to count.
“(The House) therefore condemns the Prime Minister for treating taxpayers’ money as though it is his own.”
Mr Sukkar was cleared of wrongdoing by the Finance Department after allegations he used taxpayer funds to branch stack.
Mr Morrison hit back at Mr Albanese’s accusations, saying he was desperate and questioning his grip on the Labor leadership.
“It is a desperate tactic from a very desperate man, Mr Speaker, that’s lost the confidence of those who sit behind him,” he said.
“And he comes in here, and just seeks to throw mud as some way of saving himself.”
Richard Ferguson 2.48pm: Frydenberg calls on Andrews to open up
Josh Frydenberg has called on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to open up his home state after no cases of coronavirus cases were recorded.
Mr Andrews is set to address Victoria at 3.15pm and may unveil a plan for reopening, after pausing on a promised Sunday announcement due to an outbreak in Preston.
The Treasurer said in question time on Monday that the latest zero-case report should give Mr Andrews the opportunity to re-open Melbourne.
“Three-quarters of the fall in employment over the last year for those aged 15 to 24 are in Victoria,” he told the House.
“And between July and September, the number of effectively unemployed people has increased by 127,000 people in Victoria, or more than 2000 a day, Mr Speaker.
“That tells a very painful picture about what has occurred. And that’s why it was with
real surprise that there wasn’t an announcement yesterday about the reopening in Victoria.
“It’s really important today that the Premier of Victoria seize this opportunity with the reduction in the number of cases to open businesses in a COVID-safe way and to allow Victorians to get back to work.”
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Rachel Baxendale 3.15pm: Andrews to deliver update at 3.15pm
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 3:15pm, alongside Health Minister Martin Foley.
The press conference comes as the Andrews government faces immense pressure to reopen Melbourne, which has been in stay-at-home lockdown since July 8.
On Monday Victoria recorded no new coronavirus cases for the first time since June 6 — days after infection control breaches in hotel quarantine sparked a deadly second wave of infections which peaked at 7880 active cases on August 11.
READ MORE: Qantas pushes masks as flights resume
Ben Packham 2.26pm: Iran pressed on imprisoned Aussie academic
The Australian government is seeking a briefing from Iranian authorities after a report that detained Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has been moved to a secret location.
The Iranian Association of Human Rights Activists said Dr Moore-Gilbert, who is serving a ten year sentence for espionage, was moved on Saturday from Qarchak prison to an undisclosed location.
Her belongings were also reportedly moved, but there was no word on where she was taken.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said Australia’s ambassador to Iran recently met with the Melbourne University academic, referring to a consular visit at the Qarchak facility.
“The reports that we have seen are ones which we are seeking further information on,” Senator Payne said.
Dr Moore-Gilbert’s friends and family, who have questioned the government’s low-key approach to lobbying on the academic’s behalf, expressed concern at her reported relocation.
“Thirty-six hours after reports emerged that Kylie was transferred from Qarchak prison to an
unknown location, Foreign Minister Marise Payne has acknowledged that the Australian
government is ‘seeking further information’,” the FreeKylieMG group said.
“In short, if the reports are true, then an Australian citizen has gone missing within the
Iranian prison system, despite the careful watch of ‘quiet diplomacy’.”
They urged the government to call in the Iranian ambassador “to express in the strongest terms Australia’s displeasure at the treatment of this innocent woman”.
“We also urge the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to immediately locate Kylie and check on her welfare, to provide greater transparency on her situation and condition, and to urgently reassess their plan for bringing her home,” the group said.
Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson said it was unclear whether Dr Moore-Gilbert’s apparent move was good or bad news.
“One hopes that the move from that prison is good news but we don’t know where she has been moved to and we don’t know why,” Ms Pearson said.
“We know from her letters that she has suffered and endured quite a lot in prison.
“We know that the conditions with COVID are very bad in Iran.”
Dr Moore-Gilbert was stopped from returning back to Melbourne, where she is a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne, after attending a conference in Qom in Iran in August 2018.
The country’s Revolutionary Guard alleged that a person she interviewed for a research project was suspicious and refused to let her leave Iran.
She has denied all charges against her.
READ MORE: Moore-Gilbert taken to mystery location
Staff writers 2.00pm: WATCH LIVE: Question time in the House of Reps
Rosie Lewis 1.57pm: AusPost execs face scrutiny of personal expenses
Australia Post executives will have their personal expenses scrutinised and the government-owned organisation’s use of gifts and rewards will be investigated, as part of the inquiry into the purchase of Cartier watches worth nearly $20,000.
The inquiry’s terms of reference, published by the Department of Communications, says a yet-to-be-announced law firm will support the government’s investigation into Australia Post’s governance arrangements and corporate culture.
It will look at: “The proper use and management of public resources, in relation to gifts, rewards and expenses, including personal expenses of executives. The investigation will determine whether Australia Post has expended money ethically and acted in a manner expected of a government business enterprise.”
The inquiry will establish facts around the gifting of the Cartier watches to four senior Australia Post employees for $19,950 and the role of then chair John Stanhope and stood aside chief executive Christine Holgate.
It will also consider whether there are other instances at the organisation “inconsistent with appropriate behaviour for a government business enterprise that require further investigation” and whether the use of public funds and resources has been “efficient, effective, economical and ethical”.
READ the terms of reference here
READ MORE: Cartier watches cost double
BEN PACKHAM 1.28pm: Doubt cast on Hunter-class frigate schedule
The government’s independent shipbuilding experts have cast doubt on the build schedule for the nation’s $45bn Hunter-class frigates, warning the design might not be sufficiently ready to start construction by 2022 as planned.
Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board chairman Don Winter, a retired US secretary of navy, said starting on schedule with an incomplete design could pose a significant risk to the project.
He told Senate estimates that Defence needed to ask, “how much risk is being taken by starting construction at that point?”.
“The risk has to do with the question of the extent to which the design has been completed,” Professor Winter said.
He said best international practice would require the design to be completed prior to the commencement of construction, but conceded that standard was rarely achieved in shipbuilding programs.
Senate estimates also heard that a prototyping phase of the program, to commence in 2020, would involve welding sections of the UK’s Type-26 Frigate, which the Hunter-class Frigate is based on, rather than sections of the Hunter-class itself.
READ MORE: Mitchell — Censoring Biden story helps Trump
Rachel Baxendale 1.14pm: Andrews update not before 2.30pm
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ office says he won’t be holding a press conference before 2.30pm, as Victorians wait with bated breath to find out whether the Andrews government will release them from more than three months of stay-at-home lockdown.
The pressure comes after a promised reopening announcement yesterday was postponed as the government awaited the results of thousands of coronavirus tests amid a cluster in Melbourne’s northern suburbs — all of which have so far come back negative — and as Victoria recorded its first day since June 6 with no new cases on Monday.
READ MORE: Kohler — Biden win to transform global energy policy
Robert Gottliebsen 12.52pm: WorkSafe must act before the third wave strikes
The basic systems breakdowns that caused Victoria’s hotel quarantine industrial disaster have not been rectified and have been repeated again in the latest northern suburbs outbreak.
As a result, this time, a major part of the blame for the business losses and personal tragedies resulting from the outbreak sits squarely on WorkSafe.
Victoria maybe lucky and be able to contain this outbreak but the systems breakdown means there is a grave danger of a third wave.
And, as I will explain, Worksafe’s failure to act is enabling the anarchist movement and professional protesters to start harnessing the protesters.
READ Robert Gottliebsen’s full story here
Didi Tang 12.31pm: China health expert attacks testing ‘overkill’
China’s top epidemiologist has said that his country has done too much testing and that it amounted to “overkill”.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said that attempting to test everyone as China has done was unnecessary, did not eliminate the risk of outbreaks and had vast “social costs”.
“It was overkill,” he said in an interview with China Newsweek. “From the scientific perspective of epidemiology, there is no need to test everyone.”
READ the full story here
Charlie Peel 12.09pm: ‘Scourge of ice’: Frecklington keeps crime focus
Deb Frecklington has again focused on north Queensland’s crime problem to woo voters and attack the Labor Party in a bid to win crucial seats in the region.
The Liberal National Party leader used her fourth visit to Townsville during the election campaign to announce $14m in funding to tackle drug crime and indigenous disadvantage in northern Queensland.
Of that, $8 million would be used to set up a dedicated Ice task force within the Queensland police and $2m to boost drug detective squads.
A further $2m will be used to set up an indigenous treatment team based in Cairns to provide fly-in support to remote communities in the north.
Ms Frecklington announced a $2m partnership with the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league team, through its Cowboys House outreach program, to tackle mental health and drug issues among disaffected youths from “high-risk communities”.
She said the problems wrought by ice had been exacerbated under the Palaszczuk government.
READ the full story here
PATRICK COMMINS 12.03pm: $30m land deal ‘reflects poorly on bureaucrats’
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has said he is “very disappointed” that the department he led before taking up his current position spent $30m on a $3m parcel of land for the new Western Sydney Airport, saying it reflected “poorly” on the public service.
The purchase of the so-called “Leppington triangle” was the subject of a scathing National Audit Office report and has since been referred to the Australian Federal Police to investigate possible corruption.
Dr Kennedy — who led the Infrastructure Department for two years to September 2019 – said he was aware “in broad terms” that land was being bought, but “wasn’t across the matter in detail”.
“I was surprised and concerned by the findings in the (audit) report, particularly the findings around unethical behaviour.”
He noted that the national audit report found that information was withheld from department executives, including himself.
“Whether I should have (known about the issues raised in the report) is something I will reflect on” following the conclusion of an inquiry into the land purchase, Dr Kennedy said.
READ MORE: Bureaucrats may have covered up airport deal
Rachel Baxendale 11.39am: Lift restrictions now, key crossbencher tells Andrews
Key Victorian crossbench MP Fiona Patten has urged the Andrews government to ease coronavirus restrictions now, after the state recorded no new cases on Monday for the first time since June 6 — days after the virus escaped hotel quarantine, launching Victoria’s deadly second wave.
Ms Patten issued a statement on Monday morning, calling on Premier Daniel Andrews to “finally take the opening steps he has promised every Victorian” as the state records zero new cases of COVID-19 and marks a seven-day period with no deaths from the virus.
“With a 14-day rolling average of now just (3.6), well below what we were told was needed to open our city back up, it’s now time that Victoria emerges from the darkness we have all endured and start our new state of ‘covid normal’,” Ms Patten said.
“People are ready, business is ready — Melbourne is ready.
“We know we need to open our economy back up safely, there is no doubt about that, but having come all this way, Victorians now rightly deserve to have their freedoms restored.
“The Premier must now take a huge step forward and remove the bulk of restrictions across Melbourne.”
Ms Patten said she had “generally supported” the Andrews government’s approach to the pandemic, “but now that targets have been achieved says that the time has come for Victoria to get back to business – get back to life – albeit somewhat differently,” she said.
“It isn’t over, we know that, and the pain is going to be felt for some time.
“Families, individuals, and businesses will need ongoing support. But we can’t keep living as we are.
“This is now about mutual trust. The community must trust that the government have the processes in place and I for one believe that they have.
“Most importantly the government must now trust that the community will continue to act safely and our businesses will follow strict COVID plans.”
“The time has come Premier. Let’s go!”
READ MORE: Irate fireys seek millions in compo
REBECCA URBAN 11.34am: Final cohort returns to Victoria’s schools
More than 160,000 Victorian students returned to class on Monday — the final cohort to transition back to school campuses — capping off a disrupted year in which most of their learning was done from home.
All students in Years 8 to 10 across metropolitan Melbourne were able to return to class under the state’s staggered timeline for schools reopening.
Only two schools — East Preston Islamic College and Croxton School in Northcote — remain closed while contact tracing work continues following a COVID-19 outbreak in the city’s northern suburbs. There are currently 39 cases linked to the outbreak.
The East Preston school in particular has been actively involved in tracing efforts, encouraging families to get tested after a Year 5 EPIC student who was supposed to be in quarantine attended school on Monday and Tuesday last week.
Schools are being provided with additional support via a COVIDSafe Assurance Program that includes visits from occupational health and safety professionals and infection prevention specialists.
The program will support measures already underway at schools through checklists of safety measures to review and apply the school’s COVIDSafe plan. It will ensure the display of signage for physical distancing when required, record keeping processes for on-site visitors and contractors, and promoting strategies for safety of the school community during school drop-offs and pick-ups.
The government has also provided clearance for graduation ceremonies to go ahead for commence for Year 6 and Year 12 students. However, they will be attended by students from the graduating year level and school staff only and will be broadcast to families.
READ MORE: Pause leaves restaurateurs with sour taste
PATRICK COMMINS 11.15am: ‘Victoria going backwards as rest of country goes forward’
Victoria’s restrictions are costing 1200 jobs and $100 million in lost activity every day they continue, the head of Treasury’s economic modelling team says.
Luke Yeaman made the comments during this morning’s Senate estimates meeting in Canberra.
“Clearly the Victorian situation is having a very significant impact on the economy,” Mr Yeaman said. “Victoria is going backwards while the rest of the country is going forwards.”
The second wave of COVID-19 cases in the state has left the labour force there worse than it was during the peak of the first wave in May, while the rest of the country over the past five months or so has recovered seven in 10 jobs lost during the initial national lockdown.
There is a “natural recovery happening through the rest of the country” that has been “stronger than anticipated”, Mr Yeaman said.
READ MORE: Super funds should embrace future
Imogen Reid 11.09am: ‘Lunatic Andrews should resign’: Victorian Lib MP
Liberal MP Tim Smith has again targeted Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in a tirade of criticism, calling him a “lunatic” and urging him to resign.
“The man [Daniel Andrews] is a habitual liar. Frankly, I think he has lost the capacity to govern. I think he’s gone mad. He’s a lunatic,” Mr Smith told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“He’s costing 1200 jobs a day by this lockdown. For the good of Victoria, for the good of the people of Australia, and indeed for his own sake, he’s got to resign today.
“I simply can’t see how Victoria can get out of this crisis with Daniel Andrews at the helm because he’s lost his nerve.”
Mr Smith said Mr Andrews knows he should reopen the state, but has held off because he has the deaths of “800 people on his conscience”.
“He knows his previous decisions have caused so much grief, so much angst and so many problems for the people of Victoria, the people of Australia,” Mr Smith said.
“So I call on Daniel Andrews to go. Please go now, close the door on your way out and may we never hear from you ever again.”
READ MORE: ABC chief demands answers on arts
Imogen Reid 11.04am: NSW records one new locally acquired case
NSW has reported one new case of locally transmitted COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 26, 2020
Three cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,197. pic.twitter.com/MW4ORszbFQ
There have been four new cases of COVID-19 recorded in New South Wales overnight, with just one being locally transmitted.
“The one new locally acquired case is a household contact of a previously reported case linked to the Oran Park community cluster. They have been in isolation,” NSW Health said in a statement.
“There are now 23 cases linked to this cluster.”
The remaining three cases were detected in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Richard Ferguson 10.54am: Qatar searches ‘grossly disturbing’: Payne
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has expressed her concern at “grossly disturbing and offensive” alleged intrusive physical examinations of women, including Australians, at a Qatar airport.
Senator Payne said today the allegations had been reported to Australian Federal Police and she is awaiting a report from Qatari authorities before she takes any further actions.
Thirteen Australian women were allegedly subjected to invasive physical searches without their consent after airport terminal staff discovered a premature baby abandoned in a bathroom at Hamad International Airport in Doha.
Senator Payne said the women — now in quarantine in Australia — were receiving mental and physical health support.
“We have been liaising with both Qatari authorities here in Australia and in Doha. We are awaiting a report from the Qatari authorities and I understand that inquiries are still taking place with those people affected by this occurrence,” she said in Canberra.
“And we also understand that the matter has been reported to the AFP and that matter, anything further on that as a matter for the Federal Police.
“This is a grossly, grossly disturbing, offensive, concerning set of events. It is not something that I have ever heard of occurring in my life, in any context, we have made our views very clear to Qatari authorities on this matter.”
READ the full story here
Cameron Stewart 10.39am: Trump has given up on controlling virus, Biden says
Joe Biden has accused Donald Trump of surrendering to the coronavirus after the president’s chief of staff admitted that the US is ‘not going to control the pandemic.’
The stark admission by Mark Meadows came despite Mr Trump telling his supporters the US is ‘rounding the turn’ on the virus even as infections have hit record new highs.
“We’re not going to control the pandemic … because it’s a contagious virus,” Mr Meadows said. “What we need to do is make sure we have the proper mitigation factors to make sure people don’t die.’
Mr Trump’s Democrat opponent, Mr Biden hit out at the comments, saying it showed the Trump administration had given up on protecting Americans.
“(Mark Meadows’) “stunningly admitted this morning that the administration has given up on even trying to control this pandemic, that they’ve given up on their basic duty to protect the American people,’ Mr Biden said. “This wasn’t a slip by Meadows, it was a candid acknowledgment of what President Trump’s strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis: to wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away. It hasn’t, and it won’t,” Biden added.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 10.01am: Early test results offer hopes for easing
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’s office is now saying test results which were expected mid afternoon on Monday are likely to be finalised closer to midday, with the prospects of an announcement of an easing of restrictions looking “more promising” for Monday afternoon.
The Premier’s office had earlier said the announcement was likely to be postponed until Tuesday, despite Victoria recording no new cases on Monday for the first time since June 6, with more than 15,000 test results returned from Melbourne’s COVID hotspot northern suburbs since last Tuesday.
READ MORE: Second ABC anti-Lib tweet vanishes
PATRICK COMMINS 9.51am: ‘No set and forget on fiscal policy’: Treasury secretary
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy is in front of estimates this morning.
In his opening statement he said the cost of debt was so low that the massive spending and borrowing undertaken in the budget was “unprecedented” but affordable and “proportionate”.
Dr Kennedy went on to say “in the middle of a once in a century pandemic, there is no set and forget on fiscal policy”.
“Debt has risen significantly, (but) there is still ample room for the government to respond if the conditions deteriorate significantly,” he said.
But Dr Kennedy also said that “‘in the longer term balanced budgets serve governments well” as they reinforce to politicians that there are inevitably “trade-offs” involved with fiscal decision making.
He said Treasury’s advice to the government has been based around pursuing a “full employment objective”, which his department estimates at 4.75-5pc.
The department forecasts unemployment will peak at 8pc by the end of this year.
“No one is pleased to see the unemployment rate higher, but that would be a relatively successful outcome versus the 1980s and 1990s recessions,” Dr Kennedy said.
He noted that the budget estimated without government spending measures the unemployment rate would have peaked at 12pc and stayed that high for two years.
READ MORE: Triguboff rushes to build Sydney units
Imogen Reid 9.45am: Hunt: ‘Mental health cases up 31pc’
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has again pointed out the huge mental health impacts Melbourne’s lockdown is having on its residents, and has called on Premier Daniel Andrews to begin easing restrictions.
“I know it not only from my own community, but from the messages from around Melbourne, and people are seeing their businesses devastated, that they’re unable to recommence employment,” Mr Hunt told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“We’ve seen a 31 per cent increase in mental health presentations through Medicare year on year, 77 per cent higher increase in Beyond Blue use for Victoria as opposed to the rest of the country.
“So the mental health impacts are enormous and it’s time to give Victorians back their confidence to allow them to have the chance to recover to those that are suffering mental health issues.”
Mr Hunt said the Victorian government’s decision to remain in lockdown appears to stem from a lack of confidence in the state’s contact tracing ability.
“Victoria had very clear targets. The commonwealth definition of a coronavirus hotspot for the Chief Medical Officer of Australia is a rolling average of 10 cases,” Mr Hunt said.
“We are well below that. The Victorian definition was a 14-day rolling average of less than five cases. They met that, they passed it. And yet, for whatever reason, there was a decision to defer again.
“And the only reason we can identify is that they don’t have confidence in their own contact tracing system. And if that’s the case, then the Premier needs to be absolutely clear.”
Mr Hunt said if that was not the case, then the restrictions should be eased today.
“There can be no cause for further delay,” he said.
READ MORE: Editorial — ‘Cautious pause’ last straw for Andrews’ wasteland
Richard Gluyas 9.38am: ASIC in turmoil as deputy chairman quits
ASIC deputy chairman and head of enforcement Daniel Crennan QC has resigned with immediate effect, leaving the conduct regulator’s senior leadership in disarray.
Mr Crennan, who is embroiled in a row over $70,000 in relocation costs despite receiving advice from the watchdog that his expenses were “consistent with ASIC policy”, tendered his resignation to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Monday.
“I had been intending to retire from my position in July 2021,” he says in a statement. “However, in the current circumstances, I have decided that it is in the best interests of ASIC for me to resign now.
“I have therefore tendered my resignation to the Treasurer with immediate effect.”
Mr Crennan’s abrupt departure leaves ASIC’s key enforcement agenda in a state of limbo, with deputy chair Karen Chester parachuted into the role of acting chair after James Shipton stepped aside last Friday pending the outcome of an independent review of his expenses.
READ the full story here
Imogen Reid 9.35am: Qatar strip search ‘state sanctioned sexual assault’
Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said the alleged strip searching of women, including 13 Australians, by airport staff in Qatar was outrageous and unacceptable.
“What explanation can you give? It is outrageous to think that so many people, so many ladies went through that sort of humiliation,” he told Sunrise.
“By what authority did they think they had the capacity to do that? What on earth were they trying to achieve? It is completely and utterly unacceptable and no doubt at an international level, I hope there is an investigation that says so.”
Shadow Resources Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said he hoped the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had expressed their concerns over the disturbing event.
“We do have to be careful and wait for confirmation of the accuracy of the report, but if true, this effectively amounts to state sanctioned sexual assault … and the Australian government should be most robust in its response.”
READ MORE: Australian travellers stripped in Qatar
Imogen Reid 9.08am: ‘Business needs clarity, certainty’: Lord Mayor
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp has told ABC News that businesses in Victoria need “clarity and certainty” from Premier Daniel Andrews about a future where they can reopen in a COVID-safe way.
“Everyday counts. There are businesses that are accruing more and more debt. The more uncertainty means that they’re not preparing and planning,” Ms Capp said.
“What we are looking for from the Premier, what businesses need, is that clarity and certainty to build up that confidence, so that COVID-safe plans that have been put in place, that sense of anticipation, can be acted upon and that the business community can be trusted to do the right thing as they welcome customers back into their shops and restaurants.”
Ms Capp said she has asked Premier Daniel Andrews to “trust” in the community’s ability to respond to the state’s health restrictions and contact tracing operation.
“We want a cautious optimism on how we can continue to find ways for our business owners and their teams to feel confident about preparing for a reopening at an appropriate time,” she said.
READ MORE: John Ferguson — Over-promised and then underdelivered
Rachel Baxendale 8.56am: Andrews won’t announce easing of restrictions today
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is set to make an announcement regarding the easing of coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday rather than Monday, despite the state recording no new cases on Monday for the first time since June 6.
Mr Andrews refused to make the promised announcement on Sunday, citing ongoing testing amid a cluster of at least 39 cases in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
But despite more than 15,000 tests having been processed from Melbourne’s north since last Tuesday, Mr Andrews’ office has told The Australian that the reopening announcement will not be made on Monday.
In an update on the northern suburban cluster released shortly after 8.30am on Monday, Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar said the 100 per cent negative test results were “one of the best outcomes we could hope to see”.
“But the only reason we’re able to see it is because such a large number of people across the northern suburbs have taken the time since this outbreak was first identified to get tested,” Mr Weimar said.
“We have results for the 2100 people who got tested yesterday and there are hundreds more samples going through the labs over the course of the day.
“Their commitment is a massive contribution to identifying what we hope are the very few remaining cases of COVID-19 in Melbourne.
“Testing continued into the evening last night and we expect to see those results come through today. Testing in these five communities will continue to be a focus.”
Anyone with symptoms or who is an identified close contact is being urged to get tested, with testing sites available across five affected northern Melbourne local government areas of Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland and Nillumbik including at schools, local parks, shopping precincts and in traditional health settings.
There are currently 39 cases linked to the outbreak, including cases associated with East Preston Islamic College and Croxton Special School.
The Department of Health and Human Services says it continues to investigate links between the outbreak and other positive cases within the area.
“Mystery” cases with no known source of infection have been detected over the past fortnight in postcodes covering Reservoir and Broadmeadows in Melbourne’s north, Heidelberg in the northeast, and Box Hill and Wantirna in the east, with established links between the northern suburban cluster and a cluster at the Box Hill hospital.
“The community have done everything we could have asked of them with regard to testing. They have owned this response and have empowered themselves to take action which has been the best outcome,” Mr Weimar said.
In addition to the testing, Mr Weimar said more than 380 people had been contacted over the weekend through an extensive community health program, underway to advise residents located in the five local government areas about the potential exposures, provide information about testing sites and how to access supports such as financial assistance.
“My thanks to the thousands of people who got tested over the holiday weekend – and the huge collective community effort with hundreds of skilled staff working at testing stations, knocking on doors to test people at home, analysing samples in the labs,” he said.
“There are literally thousands of public health professionals and support staff who are doing all they can to contain these last cases of community transmission.”
READ MORE: Cater — Science is tainted by its own prejudice
Rachel Baxendale 8.21am: Victoria records zero new cases or deaths
Victoria has recorded no new coronavirus cases for the first time since June 6.
ZERO DAY !!! https://t.co/rLk2jpHi5e
— Kathy Lord (@kathylord2) October 25, 2020
The number will amp up pressure on Premier Daniel Andrews to announce an easing of restrictions on Monday, after he refused to do so on Sunday, citing pending test results from a testing blitz in Melbourne’s northern suburbs amid a cluster of at least 39 cases.
That cluster was sparked after a worker at Box Hill hospital in Melbourne’s east moved between the COVID ward and a non-COVID ward and infected their family, who ultimately passed the virus on 11 families, including through students at East Preston Islamic College.
More than 2000 tests have been returned overnight from Melbourne’s north, with no positive cases among them.
Melbourne’s 14-day daily average is down to 3.6 cases — from 4.6 cases on Sunday and well below the threshold of five cases previously set by Mr Andrews for Melburnians to be released from their current stay-at-home restrictions by today.
Regional Victoria has a 14-day rolling average of 0.2 cases — the same as on Sunday — with just two active cases remaining in regional Victoria on Sunday, both of which were in Greater Shepparton in the state’s north.
The number of cases with an unknown source has dropped to seven from nine on Sunday for the most recent fortnight for which the figure is available, namely October 10 to October 23.
Regional Victoria has had no “mystery” cases over the same period.
There have been no coronavirus deaths reported in the past week, with Victoria’s coronavirus death toll steady at 817 — all but 19 of which have occurred as a result of a second wave of the virus unleashed by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
READ MORE: Australian travellers strip-searched in Qatar
Anthony Piovesan 8.15am: Mikakos: ‘You can’t delay opening forever’
Former health minister Jenny Mikakos has taken another swipe at Daniel Andrews over his controversial move to delay Melbourne’s break from lockdown, saying Australia is “not the US”.
The ousted minister took to Twitter late on Sunday night where she addressed her Labor colleagues, “Dear Red Team”.
“1. Critical thinking is allowed. We’re not the US,” she tweeted.
“2. I was an architect of the Road map. Public health won out. It’s worked.
“3. We’ve met the rolling average. There could be a new outbreak next week. You can’t delay opening up forever.”
Then in a dig to her Liberal rivals, Ms Mikakos finished the tweet: “Dear Blue Team, refer to #2.”
The state met the target of a rolling 14-day average below five on Sunday, with Melbourne’s average at 4.6 and regional Victoria just 0.2.
But Mr Andrews refused to lift restrictions as expected because health authorities were still waiting for a high number of test results related to the outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Dear Red Team,
— Jenny Mikakos #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) October 25, 2020
1 Critical thinking is allowed. We’re not the US.
2 I was an architect of the Roadmap. Public health won out. It’s worked.
3 We’ve met the rolling average. There could be a new outbreak next week. You can’t delay opening up forever.
Dear Blue Team, refer to #2.
Just moments after the Premier’s announcement on Sunday, Ms Mikakos again ripped into the government, saying “any delay was unnecessary”.
“Vic has met the under 5 threshold which some thought was unachievable,” she wrote.
“This was a very cautious target. 6/7 of new cases are related to a known outbreak so the risk is manageable.
“The set reopening is gradual & safe so any delay is unnecessary. It’s paralysis in decision-making.”
Ms Mikakos quit as health minister last month after Mr Andrews told the hotel quarantine inquiry she was “primarily responsible” for the bungled scheme, which caused the state’s second wave of COVID-19. — NCA Newswire
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Imogen Reid 8.05am: No new cases linked to northern Melbourne outbreak
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has announced there have been no new cases linked to the northern Melbourne outbreak, following a testing blitz at the weekend.
There are now 39 active cases and 11 households linked to the cluster.
Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar told Today he is confident in the state’s ability to carry out contact tracing quickly to allow further COVID restrictions to be eased.
“My job is to make sure we’ve got a robust testing system and contact tracing system in place,” he said.
“We had hundreds of people working over the weekend, going door to door, chasing 300 close contacts to make sure they got tested effectively as well as working with the wider community to make sure we have a good understanding of any other community transmission out there.
“The results are coming in this morning, we will be working on them throughout the day to make sure to identify any remote traces left out there.
“We are not taking off this plane until we are sure we have everything ready and we fully understand where that transmission is going.”
It follows a decision from the Andrews Government to press pause on easing Victoria’s coronavirus restrictions, despite the state meeting its 14 day rolling average target.
Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Sunday Melbourne was “not in a position” to reopen as there were “at least 1000 test results from that northern metropolitan outbreak that are in the labs”.
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Imogen Reid 7.45am: Family linked to cluster cleared by Vic Health
The family linked to the Melbourne northern suburbs clusters says the Department of Health and Human Services spread confusion and misinformation which led to the outbreak.
According to The Age, the family, who have asked not to be identified, were told by the DHHS they were cleared to leave isolation, and did not warn that the young boy, who attended school while infectious, should remain in isolation.
The Year 5 boy attended East Preston Islamic College for two days while infectious on October 19 and 20. The virus has now spread to at least 39 active coronavirus cases.
Health authorities claimed the family was “expressly told not to” send the boy to school, but the family have hit back, saying they are “100 per cent certain” officials did not say anything about the Year 5 boy needing to be isolated.
The family insists there was no mention of the boy’s situation during several discussions with the DHHS, leading them to assume the boy had not tested positive to the virus.
“Due to the phone call and email that did not mention [the boy, we] didn’t take him to get tested,” one family member told The Age.
“Considering they called on the 17th, and did not mention any day 11 test, and halted all communications with my [family] from that day on, [we] thought he was in the clear.”
READ MORE: Miracle needed for city in lockdown
Agencies 7.30am: Facebook prepares for US election unrest
Facebook teams have planned for the possibility of trying to calm election-related conflict in the US by deploying internal tools designed for what it calls “at-risk” countries, according to people familiar with the matter.
The emergency measures include slowing the spread of viral content and lowering the bar for suppressing potentially inflammatory posts, the people said. Previously used in countries including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, they are part of a larger tool kit developed by Facebook to prepare for the US election.
Facebook executives have said they would only deploy the tools in dire circumstances, such as election-related violence, but that the company needs to be prepared for all possibilities, said the people familiar with the planning.
The potential moves include an across-the-board slowing of the spread of posts as they start to go viral and tweaking the news feed to change what types of content users see, the people said. The company could also lower the threshold for detecting the types of content its software views as dangerous.
Deployed together, the tools could alter what tens of millions of Americans see when they log onto the platform, diminishing their exposure to sensationalism, incitements to violence and misinformation, said the people familiar with the measures. But slowing down the spread of popular content could suppress some good-faith political discussion, a prospect that makes some Facebook employees uneasy, some of the people said.
— Dow Jones
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Matthew Denholm 7am: Tasmania lowers the drawbridge to tourists
Tasmania has flicked the switch from island fortress to tourist honey-pot, allowing quarantine-free entry from most Australian jurisdictions and New Zealand, and is planning a major tourism marketing push. Read more here
Imogen Reid 6.35am: Ominous record as cases continue to spike
Global cases of COVID-19 have reached a new record for the third day in a row as infections continue to soar worldwide, the World Health Organisation reports.
The organisation’s figures for Saturday showed that 465,319 infections were confirmed during the day, exceeding the 449,720 recorded on Friday and the 437,247 registered the day before.
Almost half of the new infections were recorded in Europe, which logged a new record of 221,898 cases.
“We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic, particularly in the northern hemisphere,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track.”
France registered more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, following a record 45,422 on Saturday.
The additional 52,010 infections were reported alongside 116 deaths, jumping from 137 on Saturday and taking the total to 34,761.
The rise in infections brought France’s total to 1,138,507, putting it ahead of Spain to become the country with the fifth highest number of cases in the world.
A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Spain in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the measure, which imposes curfews and restrictions on movement, will go into effect on Sunday.
It comes as Spain became the first European country to surpass 1 million COVID-19 cases.
Globally, there have been more than 42 million people infected with the virus, while the total number of COVID-19 deaths is 1,152,065.
READ MORE: Vaccine rollout may take a year
Agencies 6am: Trump chief of staff: ‘We can’t control virus’
Donald Trump’s re-election campaign was buffeted Sunday by another COVID-19 outbreak in his team, surging infections across the US, and an uncomfortable admission by his chief of staff, AFP reports.
Nine days before the vote — and with total US coronavirus deaths nearing the grim total of 225,000 — Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows conceded that “we are not going to control the pandemic.”
Instead, he said, “We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.”
But Democrat challenger Joe Biden’s campaign immediately seized on Meadows’ comments to hammer the administration over the virus, which has set records for new cases in recent days.
“They are admitting defeat,” Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris said during a campaign stop in Michigan, “and I’ve been saying that, and Joe Biden has been saying that since the beginning.”
READ MORE: Science tainted by its own prejudice
Agencies 5.30am: Case surge pushes Italy into new lockdowns
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened nationwide coronavirus restrictions on Sunday after the country registered a record number of new cases, despite opposition from regional heads and street protests, AFP reports.
Cinemas, theatres, gyms and swimming pools must all close under the new rules, which come into force on Monday and run until November 24. Restaurants and bars will stop serving at 6pm local time.
Italy, which was the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic and impose a nationwide lockdown, on Sunday registered 21,273 new cases.
The new measures were introduced just hours after dozens of far-right protesters in Rome clashed with riot police during a demonstration against the region’s curfew, setting off fireworks, burning bins and throwing projectiles.
Some 200 masked militants belonging to the neo-fascist group Forza Nuova lead the skirmish in a second night of street protests, after hundreds of demonstrators clashed with officers in Naples further south over the curfew there.
Italy has now registered over 525,000 cases and more than 37,000 deaths, according to health ministry figures.
READ MORE: Isolation fuels ‘pandexit’ fears
Rachel Baxendale 5am: Cluster linked to Box Hill hospital breach
The coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs that is delaying Victoria’s reopening was caused by a hospital worker who contracted the virus from a patient in Box Hill Hospital’s COVID ward, and was then allowed to work in a non-COVID ward.
The revelation came as the Andrews government cited ongoing testing relating to the northern suburbs cluster as its reason for delaying an easing of restrictions — with more than 1100 swabs returned by Sunday evening all testing negative.
The government confirmed late on Sunday that a cluster at the eastern Melbourne hospital had been sparked after a patient on the COVID ward infected two staff members, one of whom worked while infectious (but before the onset of symptoms) on a different ward, transmitting the virus to another staff member and patient.
On Sunday, the government confirmed the staff member who transferred the virus between the wards was also the index case for the northern suburbs cluster, releasing a map of the links between 11 affected households.
Among the households are 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 25 close contacts.
The revelation comes nine days after The Australian asked Health Minister Martin Foley at the Premier’s daily press conference on October 16 who the index case for the Box Hill Hospital outbreak had been, and how the virus had been transmitted from the COVID ward to the non-COVID ward.
At the time, Mr Foley said he had not been briefed on the issue. Later that day, the Chief Health Officer’s press release stated: “Following investigation, it is believed the index case for the Box Hill Hospital outbreak was a patient cared for on the COVID ward. Investigations continue into avenues of transmission from that ward to other areas of the hospital.”
UNSW epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre said the outbreak highlighted a lack of proper infection control policies and guidelines for health workers, including mandatory fit-tested N95 masks.
Read the full story, by Rachel Baxendale and Damon Johnston, here.
Simon Benson 4.45am: Victoria contributing to 1200 lost jobs a day
Melbourne’s lengthy coronavirus lockdown is costing Australian taxpayers $200m a day in direct economic support, with new analysis showing 1200 jobs are being lost daily.
The dire economic figures come a day after Daniel Andrews put a “cautious pause” on plans to ease restrictions, despite repeatedly suggesting a decision on reopening shops and restaurants would be announced on Sunday.
That led Scott Morrison to accuse the Victorian Premier of lacking confidence in his state’s public health system and said the decision not to proceed was a “profound disappointment”, while the Business Council said Melburnians were “at a financial and mental breaking point”.
Read the full story, by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis and Rachel Baxendale, here.
George Williams 4.30am: Isolation fuels ‘pandexit’ calls from Western Australia
ANALYSIS: Premier Mark McGowan has turned Western Australia into a fortress against infection. This has shielded his community from the worst of the pandemic but has increased its separation from the nation.
In the words of the Premier, the state’s hard border closure has turned it into “an island within an island”. Not surprisingly, this has rekindled talk of Western Australia seceding from the federation. The movement is gaining momentum because of the success of its isolation, and friction with the commonwealth and other states.
Western Australia was a reluctant entrant to the federation in 1901. It was the last colony to join and did so late in the process. The colony was concerned that its economic position would be weakened by joining the nation, and that the federation would be dominated by the eastern states. The west feared it would not receive its fair share of taxation revenue.
Geography also played a role. Almost 3300km separates Perth from the east coast, an unimaginable distance for many people at the end of the 19th century. By contrast, London is 2500km from Moscow. New Zealand is much closer to Sydney, and yet it declined to join the federation.
Continue reading here.
Peter van Onselen 4.15am: Pandemic a poor excuse for delaying integrity commission
ANALYSIS: The return of parliament for the first full week of sittings post the budget saw the Prime Minister batting away questions as to why he still hadn’t established a federal integrity commission. Despite having committed to doing so nearly two years ago, shortly after becoming PM.
Scott Morrison claims that he and his government haven’t had the time they need to make it happen, using the floor of parliament to cite the pandemic as the reason. Given that he spent the full previous week in Queensland campaigning for the state LNP ahead of the election due at the end of this month, the hollowness of the excuse was there for all to see.
It has been a frequently used excuse in 2020. The pandemic has meant parliament couldn’t sit, we were told, the virtual world seemingly escaping the PM’s attention. Ironically on Wednesday morning this week he gave a speech about the importance of business embracing the digital world in the wake of COVID-19.
Read Peter van Onselen’s full analysis here.
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