Coronavirus Australia live news: States failing returning Aussies: Berejiklian; Daniel Andrews pressed over failure to have QR check-in systems ready as Melbourne reopens
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed other states for failing to do their share as NSW quarantine hotels struggle to cope with the number of international arrivals with COVID-19.
- Sewage warning as NSW records one case
- Victoria records 2 new cases
- Morrison, Johnson talk trade, climate
- COVID-19 may age brain by 10 years
Welcome to our live coverage of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the state’s failure to have a QR code check-in system up and running ahead of retail and hospitality businesses reopening today.
Massive lockdown-inspired spending on home offices, furnishings and household equipment help inflation bounce back into positive territory in September quarter.
Victoria’s consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases have ended as the state reopens on Wednesday, with two new cases and two deaths today. NSW Health has issued a warning after sewage tests reveal virus fragments as the state records one case.
Matthew Denholm 9.30pm: Cold, hard facts for those frozen out of Covid
Returning Antarctic expeditioners with no experience of life under Covid have been sent videos of how to responsibly shop, drink at pubs and socialise, to soften their “culture shock”.
Australia’s Antarctic Program is going to extraordinary steps to ensure returning expeditioners are prepared psychologically and in practical knowledge to deal with the do’s and don’ts of the ‘new normal’ back home.
“When a number of these expeditioners went south, COVID-19 was not part of our vocabulary – this has happened while they’ve been in Antarctica,” said Maree Riley, organisation psychologist with the Australian Antarctic Division.
Tessa Akerman, Rachel Baxendale 9pm: You beauty — the Test is set for the MCG
It’s a six for Victorian cricket fans, with a crowd of up to 25,000 confirmed for the Boxing Day test at the MCG, a win for fans fittingly announced on Melbourne’s first day of freedom from the coronavirus lockdown.
Cricket at the MCG is just one of the many freedoms now available to Melburnians with the reopening of retail, hospitality and non-essential services on Wednesday.
After months of online shopping and click and collect, hundreds headed to the shops, with some Kmart and Spotlight stores open from midnight while previously mandated shut-ins sought out friends at restaurants and bars.
David Murray 8.30pm: Drug use soars
Capital city cocaine and cannabis use and regional “ice” and heroin use have soared to record levels, according to the first snapshot of the nation’s drug consumption since the start of COVID-19.
Border and business closures and restrictions on movement and gatherings disrupted but did not stop Australia’s illicit drug market, wastewater analysis for the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission shows.
The ACIC’s national wastewater drug monitoring program report, to be released on Thursday, shows NSW had the highest average cocaine use in the country, South Australia the highest average meth use and Victoria the highest average heroin use.
Rachel Baxendale 8pm: QR code won’t fit with IT platform
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the state’s failure to have a QR code check-in system up and running ahead of retail and hospitality businesses reopening on Wednesday, citing the issue of compatibility with the existing IT platform for contact tracing.
NSW and the ACT have had QR (or quick response) code technology up and running since last month, allowing users to scan their contact details using a smartphone app as they visit shops, restaurants and gyms.
But despite having had longer to get organised before reopening, Mr Andrews said on Wednesday he could not announce a date by which Victoria would have the system established.
Rachel Baxendale 7.30pm: Andrews silent on Jenny Mikakos
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to say whether former health minister Jenny Mikakos was the right person to lead Victoria‘s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he’s “not interested” in making reflections on “things that can’t be altered or changed”.
Mr Andrews has not spoken to Ms Mikakos since she resigned on September 26,
after 21 years in parliament.
At the time, Ms Mikakos said she was leaving her job “unfinished” in light of elements in the Premier’s evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry with which she strongly disagreed.
AFP 7pm: Heineken net profit down 76pc
Dutch brewing giant Heineken says net profit for the nine months to September plunged 76 per cent to €396m ($656m) and restructuring was needed to offset the “significant impact” of the coronavirus.
Heineken said the pandemic and lockdowns saw sales by volume fall 8 per cent.
Badly hit by the on-off restrictions on the hospitality sector, Heineken said it aimed to cut personnel costs by 20 per cent.
A company spokesman cited by Dutch news agency ANP said job losses could not be ruled out.
READ MORE: Andrews silent on Mikakos
AFP 6.20pm: Sony profit doubles amid gaming boom
Japan’s Sony has reported net profit doubled in the April-September period and revised up its full-year net profit forecast, citing growth in key sectors — including gaming — and financial factors.
The results beat analyst expectations on Wednesday, and came as the tech giant gearing up to launch its much-anticipated PlayStation 5 console next month, setting up a holiday season head-to-head with the new Xbox.
The gaming sector has been one of the few beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, with people around the world forced indoors by lockdowns increasingly turning to gaming, with title downloads and streaming soaring.
Sony said net profit soared 103.8 per cent to 692.89bn yen ($9.3bn) for the first half, and forecast annual net profits of 800bn yen, up from an earlier 510bn yen forecast.
The first-half results were due in part to financial factors, including positive tax benefits, but also reflected a strong performance in games and network services, music streaming and financial services.
But it was not all good news, with the firm’s movie unit continuing to struggle as the pandemic keeps theatres around the world shuttered and delays new releases.
READ MORE: Police to guard schools after second day of bomb threats in NSW
Angelica Snowden 5.50pm: Australian Museum to reopen after renovation
COVID-19 was not enough to delay a year-long renovation of the Australian Museum or blow out its $57.5m budget, but it has dashed hopes of reopening in Sydney with a blockbuster Tutankhamun exhibition.
Australian Museum chief executive Kim McKay said the exhibition — touted as the most significant Tutankhamun spectacle to leave Egypt — was “locked down” after a sellout season at London’s Saatchi Gallery.
“The Egyptians have de-installed the exhibition and it’s moved back to Egypt (where) it is sitting in storage,” Ms McKay said. “And so I still have a date for it in the future and we would love to still have it here of course because it would be incredible for Sydney.”
AFP 5.30pm: Berlin’s $10.7bn airport ready for take-off
Nine years late and eye-wateringly over budget, the Berlin region’s new international airport will finally open on Saturday — in the middle of a global pandemic that has crippled air travel.
“We are ready for take-off!” insists the management team at the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), set to replace the German capital’s ageing Tegel and Schoenefeld airports.
But the mood is one of relief rather than celebration.
Initially projected to cost €1.7bn, the airport is already past the €6.5bn ($10.7bn) mark.
The airport has been granted €300m in state aid to help safeguard the jobs of the 20,000 people who will eventually work there until the end of the year.
Ever since construction began on BER in 2006, the project has been dogged by one failure after another, becoming a financial black hole and a national laughing stock — not exactly an example of German efficiency.
The airport, in the southeast of the capital, was originally due to open in 2011.
Now it is opening its doors in the middle of the worst crisis the aviation industry has ever seen, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to suffocate air travel.
And as if that were not enough, there’s also the climate crisis: pressure group Extinction Rebellion is planning acts of “civil disobedience” on the opening day to protest against the impact of aviation on global warming.
Against that backdrop, “We will simply open, we will not have a party,” according to Engelbert Luetke Daldrup, president of the airport’s management company.
Lufthansa and EasyJet will be the first two airlines to touch down on the tarmac of what will be Germany’s third-largest airport, after Frankfurt and Munich.
A few days before the opening, around 200 staff were busy disinfecting the 360,000 sq m Terminal 1.
Some 100 alcoholic hand gel dispensers have been installed and robot vacuum cleaners hum over the floors.
The “Magic Carpet”, a huge, bright red artwork by American artist Pae White suspended from the ceiling, brings a touch of colour to the check-in hall.
The airport has been designed to welcome 27 million passengers a year, but in November it will see only 20 per cent of usual air traffic thanks to the pandemic.
Terminal 2 won’t open until the northern spring next year.
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Sarah Elks, Charlie Peel 5pm: Queensland election debate live
Follow and watch The Australian’s live coverage as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington face off at the People’s Forum.
Rachel Baxendale 4.55pm: Parliamentary probe into Andrews’ tracing failures
Victoria’s upper house has voted to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the Andrews government’s contact-tracing failures.
The Coalition motion passed the Legislative Council — where Labor holds 17 of 40 seats and the Coalition 11, with a crossbench of 12 — on Wednesday afternoon.
Former Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek was absent, but all other members of the crossbench voted in support of establishing the parliamentary Legal and Social Affairs Committee inquiry, which will be chaired by Reason Party leader Fiona Patten and begin hearings on December 14.
Coalition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said that while the government’s hotel quarantine program had started a second wave of coronavirus, which has now claimed the lives of 800 people, “Labor’s inept contact tracing system that led to widespread community transmission of COVID-19 and prolonged the second wave”.
“Contact tracing is how you put a ring around the coronavirus and stop it from spreading,” Ms Crozier said.
“Labor’s failure to implement an effective contact tracing system has contributed to 800 Victorians losing their lives.
“The families of those who have lost loved ones due to Labor’s incompetence deserve answers.
“The social and economic impacts have been widespread and devastating.
“Every Victorian has been affected by the failures of Daniel Andrews’ contact tracing system, and every Victorian deserves to know the truth.”
READ MORE: Here’s to a Melbourne that is healing
David Ross 4.45pm: Alert for Sydney’s southwest and east
NSW has issued an alert for several venues across Sydney’s southwest and east, including a major shopping centre, after a COVID-19 case confirmed today visited them.
Anyone who visited the following places for at least an hour is now considered a close contact and must get immediately tested for COVID-19 and isolate for 14 days from when they attended the venues.
● Flip Out Prestons Indoor Trampoline Park, Unit B/238 Hoxton Park Road, Prestons last Sunday, October 25, between 12pm and 1.50pm.
● Jasmins Lebanese Restaurant, 375 Macquarie Street, Liverpool, last Sunday between 2pm and 3.30pm.
Anyone who attended the following venues during these times is considered a casual contact of a COVID-19 infection and must monitor for symptoms and get tested if they emerge.
● Westfield Bondi Junction, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, last Saturday, October 24, between 1.30pm and 4.30pm.
● Watsup Brothers kebab shop, 149 Eldridge Road, Condell Park, last Saturday between 5.30pm and 6pm.
● Ali Baba Charcoal Chicken, 2 Civic Road, Auburn, on Monday October 26, between 1pm and 1.20pm.
● Carnes Hill Marketplace, Kurrajong Road, Carnes Hill, on Tuesday October 27, between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.
The new case will be included in Thursday’s numbers.
NSW Health is calling for more people to come forward for testing.
READ MORE: Is this America’s next crisis?
Will Glasgow 4.35pm: China sends Wuhan crisis diplomat to Sydney
China has sent a crisis expert to be its consul general in Sydney, filling a key diplomatic posting that was abruptly vacated in June during a period of extreme stress with Australia.
Thirty year diplomatic veteran Zhou Limin has come to the ambassadorial-ranked posting from Beijing, where he was deputy director of consular affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry.
In that role, he was sent by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to Wuhan in late January to run a consular crisis group at the height of the city’s coronavirus outbreak.
Beijing was impressed by the “loyalty, mission and dedication” of Mr Zhou and his team, which co-ordinated flights of foreigners, including two to Australia.
Ewin Hannan 4.20pm: Littleproud slams union over egg strikes
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has accused the CFMEU of “risking the availability of eggs across the nation” through rolling strikes against major egg carton maker Huhtamaki.
Mr Littleproud said the proposed industrial action from Friday at the company’s Preston plant in Melbourne’s north would affect the ability of producers to get eggs into supermarkets.
John Sartori, general manager of Huhtamaki Fiber Packaging Oceania, said the industrial action would cut the factory’s output by 70 per cent, impacting more than one-third of its customers.
“Huhtamaki is extremely concerned about the impact the industrial disruption will have on the supply of egg cartons to its customers and, in turn, on the supply of eggs to families and businesses around Australia,” Mr Sartori said.
The union’s manufacturing division president, Denise Campbell Burns, said the company sent a text message to workers threatening to lock them out and close down the plant for the duration of the industrial action.
During eight months of unsuccessful negotiations over a new enterprise agreement, the union’s manufacturing division has sought annual pay rises of 4 per cent for the next three years.
The company is offering a 2.6 per cent rise backdated to January and similar rises for the next two years. It said the 130 employees, who earn on average $120,000 a year, already received “generous benefits” including a 62.5 per cent leave loading.
Mr Littleproud said the union demand for a 4 per cent pay rise during a recession seemed outrageous and would only threaten the company’s viability.
“If major packaging manufacturers fold due to outrageous union demands, we’ll see even more reliance on overseas packaging meaning more Australian jobs heading off-shore.
“Huhtamaki manufactures more than 70 per cent of Australian egg cartons. It’s clear these targeted union disruptions are deliberately aimed at hurting Australian egg farmers and the families that buy Australian eggs.”
The dispute returns to the Fair Work Commission on Thursday.
READ MORE: Pay-rise strikes ‘will scramble egg supplies’
Max Maddison 4.05pm: States failing returning Aussies: Berejiklian
The NSW hotel quarantine system is struggling under the weight of international arrivals with COVID-19, and NSW Premier Glady Berejiklian has slammed other states for failing to do their share.
With coronavirus cases soaring overseas, the hotel quarantine system is processing 3000 people every week — 45 per cent of which came from outside.
Ms Berejiklian called on other states to take on more of the load. “We are noticing a noticeable spike from people who are coming back from overseas who are relying on our health system and have the disease,” she said on Wednesday.
“Enough is enough … the other states aren’t lifting their weight. Why can’t Queensland and WA take on more Aussies coming home? There’s no excuse.”
Ms Berejiklian said the state was taking a “compassionate approach”, with many of the arrivals from overseas in a “vulnerable state” having been sick or waiting a considerable time to return to Australia.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he was reviewing establishing more health hotels to manage the number of international arrivals who were infectious.
“We’re doing more than our fair share of work now in welcoming back people from overseas and unfortunately a far greater proportion of those are coming back with positive results so we’re having to use our health hotels,” Mr Hazzard said.
There have been about 120 overseas-acquired cases reported in NSW this month — more than 60 per cent higher than September.
READ MORE: Cold, hard facts for those frozen out of Covid
Tessa Akerma 3.52pm: MCG to hold quarter capacity for Boxing Day Test
The MCG Boxing Day test will go ahead this year to a stadium where three out of every four seats will be empty as part of the ground’s COVIDSafe plan.
Tickets to the series against India will be capped at 25,000 and Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox said the division of tickets between members and the general public had not yet been finalised.
“They will be hard to get,” he said, and did not rule out a roster system limiting the number of days people could attend.
“With the demand on tickets, we would hope to see a day five.”
He said the MCG had undergone a lot of cleaning and preparations during lockdown to prepare for the return of crowds.
“She’s been pretty lonely,” Mr Fox said.
Sports minister Martin Pakula said it was unlikely at this stage that the crowd cap would be increased, however a final decision would be made closer to the date.
He said he was “always confident” the Victoria could manage case numbers to a point where the Boxing Day test could go ahead.
“I don’t think we’re going to need a back up plan,” he said.
Mr Pakula said if case numbers did increase, the test would go ahead but with an even smaller crowd.
“I’m quite certain we won’t need to send the Boxing Day Test anywhere but here,” he said.
He said the return of crowds to the MCG for one of the world’s greatest sporting events would be wonderful for Melbourne’s spirits.
Mr Pakula described the test as an “incredible reward” for Victorians following lockdown.
READ MORE: Boxing Day Test included in schedule
Rachel Baxendale 3.30pm: Andrews pressed over failure to have check-in system ready
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the state’s failure to have a QR code check-in system up and running ahead of retail and hospitality businesses reopening on Wednesday, citing the issue of compatibility with the existing IT platform for contact tracing.
NSW and the ACT have had QR (or quick response) code technology up and running since September, allowing users to scan their contact details using a smartphone app as they visit venues such as shops, restaurants and gyms.
But despite having had longer to get organised before reopening, Mr Andrews on Wednesday said he could not announce a date by which Victoria would have the system established.
“There are many different reasons,” Mr Andrews said when asked why not.
“We’ve moved to an entirely new IT platform. I see some speculation today about a system that operates in the Australian Capital Territory.
“That’s not a system that can be easily plugged into the best in class system that we are building, so we’ll have more to say about QR codes in the broadest range of settings soon, but you have to build one that works seamlessly with the new IT platform that we’ve built that has helped us deliver these sorts of (coronavirus case) numbers.
“I would make the point, New South Wales have, I’m advised they’ve moved to pretty much a universal QR system only quite recently, and I think that’s a function that they have, because they have been open for longer and if you like they’ve taken more steps than we have.
“We’ll get to where they are but it will take us a little while. Their numbers are now much, much bigger. It’s hundreds of people in venues, not smaller numbers. So we’ll have more to say about that soon.”
Asked when he was likely to have “more to say”, Mr Andrews said: “I can’t give you a date when I’ll make that announcement.”
“There is a lot of work going on and we’re close.”
The new IT system being used by Victoria has been developed by customer relationship management software company Salesforce.
Asked whether the new QR system had to be developed by Salesforce, Mr Andrews said he was not sure, but that it had to be compatible with the existing Salesforce system.
“There’s no good building a new system, building a new house, and not having a key to the front door,” he said.
“If we could buy a product off the shelf or we could purchase something from another state, then we would, but I think it would be more complicated and more complex and would potentially put at risk some of the really clear benefits we get from having built a best in class IT platform so that everyone can see what’s going on, everyone’s part of the same real-time response and it’s a digital from end-to-end.”
READ MORE: America’s next crisis
Richard Ferguson 3.24pm: ‘Why has no one spoken to Qataris about strip searches?’
Anthony Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison’s handling of allegations 13 Australian women were subjected to invasive physical procedures at Doha Airport after a baby was found in a bin.
The Prime Minister said on Wednesday he would not act further on the allegations until he received a report from Qatari authorities, who have apologised for any discomfort caused by their investigation into the alleged attempted killing of a baby at Doha Airport.
The Opposition Leader used question time to focus on why Mr Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne have not spoken to their direct Qatari counterparts about the alleged invasive procedures.
“Why hasn’t DFAT contacted any of the women involved in the incident in Qatar and left it solely to the AFP? Why has the Prime Minister not spoken to his counterpart in Qatar, why has the Foreign Minister not spoken to her counterpart in Qatar?” he asked.
“Why did this only come to light when the government knew about this from early October?”
Mr Morrison said the alleged treatment of Australian women made him “shudder” and he will act once he has seen the full Qatari report.
“The government has registered its strong disapproval and outrage at these events. We have done that directly with the Qatari government,” he said.
“I am appalled by these events, I cannot imagine, as I said today, I shudder at the invasive nature of what has occurred here, and the Australian government will continue to pursue these matters directly with the Qatari government..
“We have received the assurance that we will have the investigator’s report into this matter and that will be provided to us, we expect to receive that before the end of the week and will be taking further action, as we have the opportunity to review that report.”
READ MORE: Qatar sorry; PM backs Payne
Walter Russell Mead 2.54pm: What in the world if Trump wins?
The odds are against him again, but Donald Trump has every intention of winning four more years in office. In foreign policy at least, his second term would likely be even more transformative and unconventional than his first.
Most second-term presidents look to make a mark in foreign policy. This is partly because a president’s political clout at home diminishes as the definitive end of his mandate approaches, while overseas a president has a relatively free hand even at the end of a second term. So commanders in chief often go looking for diplomatic breakthroughs.
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both devoted great efforts to getting an Israeli-Palestinian agreement in their second terms. Barack Obama signed the Iran deal and the Paris Climate Accords. As unconventional a figure as Mr Trump is, he is likely to look for trophy achievements overseas too.
READ the full story here
Remy VArga 2.30pm: Melbourne Cup owners not allowed on course
Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula has confirmed the connections of horses running in the Melbourne Cup will not be allowed on course.
It comes after the attendance of around 500 race horse owners at the Cox Plate was cancelled in response to widespread public backlash.
Mr Pakula said on Wednesday that he’d advised the Victorian Racing Club that connections would not be permitted to attend the course.
“The government has determined that next week is not a suitable time for gatherings of that nature,” he said.
“It is the right decision and has been made in the interests of all Victorians.”
Restrictions on the retail and hospitality industries as well as the social lives of Victorians have eased over the past few days.
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David Rogers 2.26pm: ASX now in best seven months of year
The Australian share market has come out of what has historically been the worst few weeks of the year and is now well into what has historically been the best and most profitable time of year to be in the market, according to Bell Potter.
In the 26 years since 1995, the local market has a remarkable record of rising 24 years in the last 26 or 92 per cent of the time, says Bell Potter’s head of institutional sales and trading, Richard Coppleson.
The average seven-month gain in that period has been 5.88 per cent but if the two down years - the end of the bull market in 2007 and the GFC year of 2008 are removed, the average return over those 24 years was 7.7 per cent.
With the index currently up 4.3 per cent for the month to date, it would need to rise another 3.4 per cent to get back to the average of the 24 years when this period was positive.
Mr Coppleson says a repeat of this pattern is likely and potentially more than the average assuming effective coronavirus vaccines are available by then.
“Maybe we’ll have a move like we saw in 2012, when it rallied 18 per cent over this period,” he says.
The S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.3pc at an intraday high of 6070.4 after falling 0.5pc to a three-week low of 6020.20 intraday.
FOLLOW live ASX updates at Trading Day
Emily Cosenza 2.22pm: Woman tests positive after flying into NT
A woman who recently returned to Australia from overseas on a repatriation flight has tested positive to COVID-19 after landing in the NT.
The woman, aged 31, tested positive in Australia despite returning negative tests in India before arriving in Darwin on Tuesday.
She was on-board flight QF112 from New Delhi — the second of eight special Qantas flights to repatriate Australians from South Africa, Europe and India.
Authorities say the woman — who was travelling with two children — is asymptomatic and remains well.
“She has been moved to an isolation room and remains under the care of the AUSMAT,” a NT government spokesman said.
Her case brings the territory’s total number of positive COVID-19 infections to 35.
All cases have been related to interstate or overseas travel and had no cases of community transmission.
Earlier this month, the Australian government announced more Australians stranded overseas would be prioritised to come home.
The capacity at Howard Springs facility was boosted to allow up to 5000 people to quarantine until the end of March, 2021.
Eight Qantas flights would allow 1315 people to get home.
Four of those services will operate from New Delhi, three from London and one from Johannesburg.
The woman returned on the second of those special flights.
The plane — which had 183 passengers on-board — landed in Darwin just before 10am on Tuesday.
All passengers were transferred to Howard Springs where they will complete 14-days of mandatory quarantine. — NCA Newswire
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Jack the Insider 1.49pm: Here’s to Melbourne, but lessons will be brutal
Let’s raise a glass to Melburnians and never forget
I have a vision of thirsty men and women banging on pub doors in Melbourne at two minutes to 11 this morning.
If I were still living in Melbourne no doubt, I would have joined them.
After a tough ride, Melburnians deserve a knees-up. Never forget this was not their screw up. This can never happen again.
READ Jack the Insider’s full commentary on Melbourne’s reopening here
Sarah Elks 1.42pm: ‘I have courage to keep state safe’: Palaszczuk
Annastacia Palaszczuk has hit out at Deb Frecklington after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian claimed the LNP leader would have opened the Queensland border “months ago”.
Just days out from the final polling day, the Premier seized on Ms Berejiklian’s comments to land a political attack on Ms Frecklington, saying she would have opened the borders without medical advice.
“I have the courage to stand up for what is right,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I have the courage to keep Queenslanders safe.
“And unfortunately, it’s disappointing to see the NSW premier try to be political at this time when she has enough of her own issues to deal with.
“This is simply a diversion from what is happening with herself down in NSW. And I have refrained from commenting on that and that is all I’m going to say about it.”
Ms Berejiklian told The Today Show earlier in the day that she knew Ms Frecklington would “definitely” open the border if she won the October 31 election.
“And she would’ve done it months ago because that’s the way Deb and the LNP are up there,” she said.
“In fact I was in touch with her yesterday and she feels very strongly about keeping jobs in her and state and getting tourism back up and running.”
Ms Palaszczuk confirmed there had been two new cases of coronavirus in Queensland overnight - but both were in hotel quarantine.
She said she expected to be given medical advice over the next couple of days that would inform her decision over whether to reopen the border.
Ms Palaszczuk has previously committed to telling Queenslanders by October 30 if the border to NSW will be reopening - just one day out from polling day.
The Premier spent the morning visiting a battery factory in her Inala electorate to meet with workers, but she did not make a specific announcement.
READ MORE: Labor ripping off taxpayers, Frecklington says
James Kirby 1.26pm: Melbourne ultimate test for house prices
The opening up of Victoria this week also opens up a delayed opportunity for the state’s property market to catch up with the rest of the nation.
As capital city property markets reported modestly improved residential prices over the month of September, Melbourne has been the sole city in decline, showing a drop of 0.2 per cent. The city is also the showing the worst numbers among capital cities for the year to date, with a drop of 3 per cent.
Moreover, any attempts at reading the city’s property temperature have been fraught with danger, since the real estate industry has been effectively suspended in recent months. On one weekend the total number of auctions (online only) across the city of 5 million came to the grand total of 11.
READ James Kirby’s full analysis here
Rachel Baxendale 1.02pm: Andrews ‘not interested’ in Mikakos
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to say whether he believes in hindsight that his former health minister Jenny Mikakos was the right person to lead Victoria’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, claiming he’s “not interested” in making reflections on “things that can’t be altered or changed”.
Mr Andrews has not spoken to Ms Mikakos since she resigned after 21 years in parliament just over five weeks ago, saying she was leaving her job “unfinished” in light of elements in the Premier’s evidence to the hotel quarantine inquiry with which she strongly disagreed.
Asked given his view on Ms Mikakos’s culpability whether he believed in hindsight that she had been the right person to serve as health minister, Mr Andrews said: “I’m not interested in making reflections on things that can’t be altered or changed. That’s in the past.”
Mr Andrew said he was pleased 80,000 people were going back to work today, saying: “That’s something we should be focused on, not these other matters that we can’t change, and I really do think asking me to unhelpfully speculate or be a commentator - I’m much more interested in getting on and getting things done, and today is a really positive day, one that every Victorian should have a real sense of ownership of and a sense of pride in. We have come a very long way, and that is all down to every single Victorian.”
Justice Jennifer Coate is due to hand down the findings of her hotel quarantine inquiry on November 6, although she has previously indicated she may request more time.
READ MORE: War of words as Mikakos lashes chief of staff
Rachel Baxendale 12.49pm: New cases linked as Melbourne cluster ‘still active’
Victoria’s Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar says the state’s northern suburbs cluster “remains active”, with the two new cases on Wednesday both linked to the outbreak through close contacts who have tested positive after being quarantined for some days.
Mr Weimar said 4689 tests from the northern suburbs had been processed in the 24 hours to Wednesday.
“We have seen over 23,000 tests in the northern suburbs since the start of this outbreak a week ago,” Mr Weimar said.
“We’re very encouraged by that. We continue to work hard to support the active cases.
“We now have 41 positive cases over 12 households, all of those isolating and being supported, and many hundreds of close primary and secondary contacts also quarantining, and we will continue to support them over the coming days.
“Day 11 testing will start in the next few days for the northern suburbs outbreak, so we still have a good week to 10 days of hard work ahead to make sure we support the community, and make sure we keep going out and getting people tested and finally run this completely to ground.”
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Richard Ferguson 12.44pm: People still hurting, recession or not: PM
Scott Morrison has refused to say the COVID-19 recession is over, warning Australians will still be hurting even if the economy stops contracting this year.
Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday a revival was under way and the impact of 111 days of lockdown in Victoria might not be a deep as feared.
The Prime Minister on Wednesday said he did not wait for the RBA to declare a recession when he unveiled the JobKeeper and JobSeeker support schemes, and would still help struggling Australians.
“I won’t know that (the recession is over) until December when the national accounts figures for the September quarter will be released,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra.
“And until then, whether technically that’s the case or not, I know Australians are still hurting.
“I didn’t need (the RBA to declare a recession) to see Australians were hurting and we acted, and swiftly, and at a scale this country has never seen before
“So the national accounts will say what they say. But what I know is in the many months ahead, there are businesses that are still not open again, people we still need to get back into work, that’s the reality.”
READ MORE: Revival on as recession over, RBA says
Charlie Peel 12.37pm: Labor ‘ripping off’ taxpayers: Frecklington
Deb Frecklington has accused Labor of “ripping off” taxpayers after the party’s costings revealed only a fraction of required funding had been set aside to build a second motorway to the Gold Coast.
The duplication of the M1 has been a key election commitment of both major parties, but Labor’s costings, released on Monday, showed the party had not set aside enough money to complete the project.
Announcing the party’s commitment in September to building the Coomera Connector — the official name for the second M1 — Labor said the project would cost $755m.
But the costings flagged only $270m over four years.
Ms Frecklington said Treasurer Cameron Dick was “ripping off the people of the Gold Coast”.
“Labor has been exposed for their hoax and their phony announcement around the second M1,” she said.
READ the full story here
Richard Ferguson 12.32pm: Morrison resists call to commit to carbon target
Scott Morrison is resisting pressure to commit to a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 as Britain and Japan declare they will be carbon neutral in nearly two decades.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the Prime Minister overnight and the two discussed Australia’s carbon reduction measures and their commitment to work together on low emissions technology.
As Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sets a 2050 carbon neutral target, Mr Morrison said any decisions will be made by Australia on targets despite the views of Mr Suga and Mr Johnson.
“I’m very aware of the many views held around the world, but I tell you what, our policies will be set here in Australia,” he said.
“Nobody understands that in the British Prime Minister, given his recent election on the issue of Brexit.
“The commitment I gave to Australians was that the targets we set, the plans we make, I will explain, I will detail, as I did at the last election.
“And what other further commitments we would make I would only do where I can be very clear with the Australian people about how that would be cheap.”
READ MORE: Gas reserve push ‘to curb investment’
Richard Ferguson 12.25pm: Qatar ‘in no doubt of objections’ on strip search
Scott Morrison has defended Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s decision to wait for a report into the alleged invasive physical examination of 13 Australian women at Doha Airport.
Senator Payne revealed at senate estimates she has not called Qatar’s foreign minister about the invasive procedures as she has not yet seen the authorities’ investigation into the allegations.
The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that both Qatar Airlines and the Qatari government had been made fully aware of how “appalled” he was at the allegations.
“We have been given assurances by the Qatari government and we will be provided with the results of their investigation, it’s important we can look at that before making a further response,” he said.
“There is no doubt in the mind of whether its Qatari airlines or the government, about Australia’s strong objections and views about this and I think those views are shared, widely, so we will make a further response.
“We will continue to take a strident approach on this, and we are appalled by what occurred.”
READ MORE: Payne yet to speak to Qatari opposite
Richard Ferguson 12.18pm: PM announces two new high court judges
NSW judge Jacqueline Gleeson and Melbourne jurist Simon Steward will be the next justices to sit on Australia’s High Court.
Ms Gleeson — daughter of former chief justice Murray Gleeson — sits on the Federal Court, was appointed a QC in 2014, and has worked as a solicitor for the ABC and the Australian Government Solicitor.
Mr Steward, a tax expert with a reputed love for all things British, also sits currently on the Federal Court bench and has conservative credentials. He was appointed a QC in 2007.
Scott Morrison thanked retiring justices Virginia Bell and Geoffrey Nettle for their service and said Justices Steward and Gleeson would carry a “significant burden.”
“We have had exhaustive efforts to arrive at these decisions before their appointments,” he said.
“Every Justice appointed to the High Court carries a significant burden to uphold the laws of our land.”
Mr Steward will sit on the High Court from November 30, and Ms Gleeson will ascend to the bench next February.
READ MORE: Madigan behind Labor scare campaign
PATRICK COMMINS 11.54am: Work from home drives consumer spending
Consumer prices lifted by 1.6 per cent over the three months to September, as the end of free childcare and a bounce in petrol prices ended Australia’s brief flirtation with deflation.
Annual inflation came in at 0.7 per cent, seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, after falling by 0.3 per cent over the year to June – which was only the third time consumer price growth has been negative going back to 1949.
Over the June quarter, a 95 per cent fall in childcare costs, falling rents and plunging petrol prices through the three months drove the steepest fall in the consumer price basket on record at 1.9 per cent.
The Morrison government brought an end to its temporary childcare support on July 13, and this comprised 0.9 percentage points of the 1.6 per cent lift in CPI in the September quarter, the ABS said.
Massive spending on products to set up home offices and the like as more Australians worked out of the office drove an incredible 12 per cent jump in prices for furnishings, household equipment and services, the data showed.
Petrol prices climbed 9.4 per cent over the three months as global oil prices bounced, while preschool and primary education climbed 11 per cent.
The trimmed mean CPI measure, which excludes more volatile items such as energy and fruit and vegetables – and which the RBA prefers as an underlying measure of inflationary pressures – lifted to 0.4 per cent in the September quarter, bringing the annual figure to 1.2 per cent.
Reserve Bank deputy governor Guy Debelle yesterday said he expects Australia’s first recession in three decades is already over, but governor Philip Lowe has nonetheless committed to keep rates low for the coming three years as a way to instil confidence in borrowers that interest costs will stay low for an extended period.
Bank economists are pencilling in a rate cut to 0.1 per cent from 0.25 per cent when the RBA board meets next Tuesday, as monetary policymakers seek to juice what Dr Lowe has described as an uneven and bumpy recovery.
READ MORE: Australia, Japan, US to fund Pacific submarine cable
James Dean 11.47am: Pfizer in ‘last mile’ of creating vaccine
Pfizer has reached the “last mile” of developing a COVID-19 vaccine, but “patience” is required before the company releases crucial trial data, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Albert Bourla had hinted earlier that Pfizer could release some details from its late-stage trial by the end of October, but on Tuesday it indicated that this would not happen for at least another week.
Pfizer is competing with AstraZeneca, the British drugs group, and Johnson & Johnson and Moderna, its American rivals, to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to market. Mr Bourla said this month that Pfizer’s version, which it is developing alongside Biontech, of Germany, could be ready by late November. — The Times
READ the full story here
David Rogers 11.38am: Australia’s CPI data beat estimates
Australia’s third quarter CPI data have exceeded estimates for the headline and one of the underlying measures.
Headline CPI on quarter rose 0.7pc vs 0.6pc expected and 1.6pc vs 1.5pc expected on year.
Trimmed mean CPI on quarter rose 0.4pc vs 0.3pc expected and 1.2pc vs 1.1pc expected on year.
Weighted median met expectations of 0.3pc on quarter and 1.3pc on year.
The Australian dollar and bond yields are little changed.
Inflation is well below the RBA’s 2-3pc target band.
Moreover the data won’t dissuade the RBA from cutting rates and increasing its assets buying.
READ MORE: Students stay the course despite uni fee hike
REBECCA URBAN 11.19am: Demand for childcare unmarred by pandemic
Demand for childcare services has increased nationally unmarred by the coronavirus pandemic, a senate estimates hearing has been told.
Charged childcare hours, which covers attendance as well as absences that still attract the child care subsidy, were at 107.2 per cent of pre-pandemic, excluding Victoria, education department officials have revealed.
Even in Victoria, where a second-wave outbreak led to childcare being tightly restricted to only essential workers, charged hours were at 93 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. However, in regional Victoria, which avoided metropolitan Melbourne’s tough lockdown measures, demand was at 110 per cent.
Department of Education, Skills and Employment deputy secretary Ros Baxter said demand had held up following relaxation of the rules for accessing childcare and the subsidy, including increasing the number of absences a child could record without forfeiting payments.
Dr Baxter said changes to the activity test, which requires parents to be in paid work or be studying, had also enabled families whose work hours had changed to continue to access child care.
As of October, 13,413 families had benefited, she said.
Department secretary Michelle Bruniges said the policy changes had ensured the sector had been able to remain “robust and viable” despite the significant challenges brought about by COVID-19.
Appearing before the senate education and employment legislation committee on Wednesday morning, officials were also forced to defend the government’s current funding of child care, which includes about $9 billion a year in child care subsidy payments to families, which they said closely mirrored the recommendations of the Productivity Commission.
READ MORE: Melania slams Biden’s ‘socialist agenda’
Staff writers 11.07am: NSW records one new locally transmitted case
NSW has recorded one new locally transmitted case of coronavirus which is linked to an existing cluster.
NSW has reported one new case of locally transmitted COVID-19, linked to a known source, in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 28, 2020
Seven cases were also reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,217. pic.twitter.com/nfyrrnRUKQ
The one new locally acquired case is a household contact of a previously reported case linked to the Lakemba GP cluster. They have been in isolation. There are now 17 cases linked to this cluster, NSW Health says.
COVID-19 virus fragments were identified in sewage at treatment plants in Glenfield yesterday and Quakers Hill today, prompting renewed calls for residents in these areas to get tested. The virus fragments were detected through the state’s ongoing sewage surveillance program.
People in Sydney’s west, south west and north west have been warned to be aware of any symptoms of illness, and immediately isolate and get tested should even the mildest symptoms appear that might appear to be a cold. After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative result is received.
It has been 14 days since a locally acquired case with no known source was identified in NSW.
Peter Lalor 10.58am: Crowds expected at MCG for Boxing Day Test
India has signed off and Cricket Australia has confirmed the schedule for the summer released in The Australian today, approving last minute change of plans created when problems with the Queensland government forced the tour arrangements to shift to NSW at the last moment.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 10.50am: Victoria’s new cases already in quarantine
Both of Victoria’s two new coronavirus cases are in close contacts of previously notified cases who are already in quarantine, Premier Daniel Andrews has said.
Victoria now has 80 active coronavirus cases, down from 87 on Tuesday.
One previously reported case has been reclassified as a false positive, meaning the state’s total number of cases since the pandemic began has risen by only one on Wednesday.
There have been two deaths reported in the 24 hours to Wednesday, although Mr Andrews said both had occurred “some weeks ago”.
The deaths are those of a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s, both of whom were aged care residents.
There have now been 652 coronavirus deaths linked to aged care facilities in Victoria, 800 deaths linked to Victoria’s second wave, and 819 deaths in total in the state.
There are now just three Victorians in hospital with coronavirus on Wednesday, none of whom are in intensive care, down from five on Tuesday.
There are six active cases in health workers, including those in the aged care and disability sector — down from seven on Tuesday.
Three active cases are linked to aged care, down from four on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s two positive cases come after 24,673 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours, resulting in a 0.01 per cent positive test rate, and bringing the total number of tests processed in Victoria since the pandemic began to 3,106,653.
READ MORE: Trading Day —open lower than expected
Ben Packham 10.20am: Payne yet to speak to Qatar over strip searches
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has revealed she has not yet sought to speak to her Qatari counterpart over invasive searches of 18 female passengers taken off a Sydney-bound plane in Doha on October 2 after a premature baby was found by authorities.
Senator Payne said Australian government officials in Doha and Australia were dealing with their Qatari counterparts, but she was awaiting an official report on the matter before raising it with the country’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong told a budget estimates hearing she found it hard to believe Senator Payne would not have registered Australia’s condemnation of the searches directly to her Qatari counterpart.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 10.14am: Andrews to provide update on Victoria at 10.30am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 10.30am.
The press conference comes as Victoria finally begins to reopen after 111 days in stay at home lockdown, and after the state recorded two new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the 24 hours to Wednesday.
READ MORE: Albrechtsen — PM monsters a patsy but indulges a villain
Paige Taylor 10.01am: Billionaire exemptions a sore point for WA families
Strict restrictions imposed by the Western Australian government since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic on people entering the state are causing undue hardship for families, Human Rights Watch’s Perth-based investigator Sophie McNeill has found. The former Four Corners reporter’s first report for the human rights organisation examined the plight of the mentally ill in WA jails but she has now turned her attention to the McGowan government’s hard border and its toll on families.
WA premier Mark McGowan has repeatedly refused to consider taking down the border citing health advice, but the state’s rules about who can be exempted have become a sore point. Essential workers and billionaires Kerry Stokes and Andrew Forrest have moved in and out of WA on business during the pandemic.
Human Rights Watch says the McGowan government should make more exceptions for compassionate cases, prioritise family reunions, provide greater transparency about the approval process, and provide clearer explanations to people who have been refused permission to return to their home state.
“Governments can restrict people’s movement for compelling public health purposes, but any restrictions on these rights should be strictly necessary and proportionate,” said McNeill, Australia researcher for Human Rights Watch. “The process in Western Australia is opaque, confusing, and arbitrary. Western Australians who want to return home for compassionate family reasons and who are willing to abide by quarantine restrictions should not be blocked from doing so.”
The report cites examples of family separation that have caused distress.
Human Rights Watch also acknowledges that efforts to contain Covid-19 have been particularly successful in WA where there has been no community transmission registered in the state since April.
READ MORE: Export surge tipped as Asia eyes coal
Erin Lyons 9.46am: Shredding: Berejiklian denies wrongdoing
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has shut down fresh calls for her to resign over a shredding scandal, saying her department did not breach any laws and any claims are “untrue”.
Her rebuttal comes after the state’s former auditor-general said shredding documents linked to $250 million in council grants was likely unlawful.
“The role that the Premier’s office had in the shredding of documents is good reason for her departure, she should resign,” Tony Harris said.
The opposition has also argued shredding documents breaches the State Records Act and have referred Ms Berejiklian to the NSW Police Commissioner to launch an investigation.
“With all due respect Mr Harris hasn’t been auditor-general for more than 30 years,” the Premier told the Today show.
“The claims he is making are untrue, and I just wish people would look at the facts and say what our government is doing is supporting communities across the state.”
“We provide direct funding to councils. I know councils always want more, but at the end of the day we have always done right by the community, and will continue to do that.”
She also denied Treasury breached the act by shredding paper and digital records.
“The best advice I received is laws have been adhered to and that’s how we will continue to do things in NSW,” Ms Berejiklian said.
But Mr Harris earlier confessed there had been no “persuasive reason” for her to step down – on the back of bombshell revelations about her relationship with disgraced MP Daryl Maguire – but “when you package everything up together, it’s time for her to go”.
— NCA Newswire
READ MORE: We have a problem with women, Liberals warn
Robert Gottliebsen 9.32am: Is now the right time to buy shares again?
Earlier this year large number of self managed funds and smaller investors were very fearful as the first COVID-19 wave ravaged the Australian and world economies.
They responded by “going liquid” and selling down their exposure to the sharemarket. Some got out near the top but others sold at levels that are lower than current markets.
But with the Victorian infection rate under control, at least for the moment, is now the time to move back into the market?
FIND out what Robert Gottliebsen believes here
Richard Ferguson 9.22am: PM pays tribute to fire-fighters ahead of report
Scott Morrison will pay tribute to fire-fighters and emergency personnel lost in the summer bushfire crisis on Wednesday, ahead of the release of the Royal Commission into the summer fire’s report.
The Prime Minister will attend a web service for the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services’s annual national memorial and will pay tribute to 14 first responders who have died in the past year.
Many of these men were lost during the Black Summer of fires. One of the most devastating in our nation’s history. A time when fire turned day into night and turned the sky into an angry red,” he will say.
“When tens of thousands of volunteers from all walks of life stood together to make a difference.
They came from our cities and our towns, even from across the seas.
“And we particularly remember our American friends whose names are now included amongst our most honoured.
“We remember them all. We also remember their families who are now making their own sacrifices without someone they love each and every day.”
READ MORE: Quarry approval ‘death’ for koalas
Rachel Baxendale 9.03am: Victoria records two new cases, two deaths
Victoria’s two consecutive days with no new coronavirus cases have ended as the state reopens on Wednesday, with two cases reported in the previous 24 hours.
Yesterday there were 2 new cases and 2 lost lives reported. Condolences to those affected. The 14 day rolling average is down in Melbourne and regional Vic. Unknown case numbers are down. More info: https://t.co/eTputEZdhs #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/1BI6T7stJX
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 27, 2020
There have also been two deaths reported in the same period — the first deaths reported in nine days —bringing the number of coronavirus deaths attributed to Victoria’s second wave, caused by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program, to 800.
Melbourne’s 14-day daily average is down to 2.7 cases, down from 2.8 on Tuesday, while regional Victoria’s is down to zero for the first time in months.
There have been three cases in Melbourne with an unknown source of infection in the most recent fortnight for which the statistic is available, spanning October 12 to 25, down from six on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Afterpay more than doubles sales
Richard Ferguson 8.40am: Morrison, Johnson tackle trade, climate in phone call
Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have progressed talks on a post-Brexit trade deal and working together to tackle climate change this week.
The Prime Minister has had a range of calls with world leaders this week including his first post-election phone call with victorious New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
The Australian understands Mr Morrison and Mr Johnson discussed the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on how to re-open economies safely, as parts of Britain head into hard second lockdowns.
Mr Johnson and Mr Morrison has agreed to work closely on research and development of low-emissions technologies ahead of the delated COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
The British Prime Minister is understood to have welcomed emissions reductions in Australia’s October Budget, and also discussed the need for an Australia-Britain trade deal.
In other calls, Mr Morrison congratulated Ms Ardern on her landslide October election victory — the first majority for a government since 1996 — and they discussed a trans-Tasman travel corridor.
Mr Morrison also spoke to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape about the upcoming Pacific Island Forum meeting and their work together in containing a COVID outbreak in PNG.
READ MORE: Revival on as recession over, RBA says
Jack Paynter 8.13am: Everything Melburnians can do from today
Melburnians can finally “get on the beers” with pubs and restaurants allowed to reopen after the city’s strict lockdown was lifted overnight.
Some venues were so eager to get back to trading after 112 days in lockdown that they reopened at midnight.
Retailers Kmart and Spotlight also opened for business at midnight with lines of customers stretching down hundreds of metres down the street.
Melbourne’s long-awaited reopening means residents can now do the following things.
Melbourne has moved from “stay home” to “stay safe”, meaning the four reasons to leave home no longer apply. However, the 25km travel limit and metropolitan and regional “ring of steel” border will remain in place until November 8.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants have reopened across the city with limits of up to 50 patrons outdoors and 20 indoors. Density limits, record keeping and COVID Safe plans will apply at venues.
Retail stores, beauty and personal care services can resume trading.
Friends and family can now visit your home but visits are limited to two adults and their dependants once per day.
Outdoor contact sport for those aged 18 and under can start again, as can non-contact sport for adults.
Personal training, fitness and dance classes can also be held outdoors with up to ten people and the number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50.
Libraries and community venues will be able to open for outdoor events and outdoor entertainment venues can also begin hosting visitors.
Religious ceremonies can host up to 20 people outdoors, in addition to those required for the service and indoor services can be held with up to 10 parishioners. Weddings can increase to ten people and funerals up to 20 mourners.
Workplaces will no longer need to be on the permitted work list to open and the ability to work will change to “if you can work from home you must work from home”.
And social gathering outdoors will remain at 10 people for now, but the restriction on the number of households has been removed.
Masks will still need to be worn and social distancing maintained.
Mr Andrews said he was “proud and deeply grateful” for every Victorian who played their part in helping to defeat the second wave and end the lockdown.
“What we, all of us as Victorians, have built is a precious thing, but it is fragile. These next steps that we’ll continue to take as we work towards a COVID normal will all be dependent upon people following the rules,” he said. — NCA Newswire
READ MORE: Benson — Morrison plays inept Albanese off a break
Agencies 7.40am: More than 1.1m dead as anger grows in Europe
The virus has claimed at least 1,160,768 lives worldwide since it first emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally on Tuesday based on official sources.
At least 43,516,874 cases have been registered across the globe. The United States is the worst-affected country with 225,739 deaths, followed by Brazil with 157,397, India with 119,502, Mexico with 89,171 and Britain with 44,998.
As anger continues at new restrictions in Italy, Germany too prepares to tighten curbs, with Chancellor Angela Merkel set to propose a “light” lockdown at crisis talks on Wednesday with the leaders of the country’s 16 states, media reports say.
Sweden has told residents in the south of the country to severely limit their social interactions after a surge in the number of cases last week.
European stocks suffered a second day of losses amid the move to tougher restrictions and even lockdowns.
And FIFA president Gianni Infantino has contracted coronavirus, the world’s governing body announced.
It said the 50-year-old has mild symptoms and will remain in isolation for a further 10 days.
AFP
Adrian McMurray 7.20am: UK records highest daily death toll since late May
The UK has recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths since late May, the DHS has announced.
A further 367 have died, the most since May 27 when 422 deaths were recorded.
This daily figure represents the highest daily increase in five months, and is also more than six times the daily death toll (54) when lockdown measures were first introduced across Britain on March 23.
Meanwhile a further 22,885 people have tested positive to COVID-19, taking the UK total to 917,575.
A further 1142 patients were admitted to hospital.
READ MORE: Fresh vaccine hope as elderly respond well
Agencies 6.30am: France poised for tougher restrictions as virus surges
French officials have warned that tougher restrictions are looming to counter an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases as doctors warned many hospitals were just days away from being overrun with patients.
President Emmanuel Macron is to address the nation tomorrow (AEDT) to present new measures that will be decided at back-to-back meetings of the defence council and cabinet.
OIL DEMAND: The coronavirus death toll climbed significantly across Europe (some nations reporting today highest since April/May). Notable increases: France (523); UK (367); Spain (267); Italy (221). More restrictions likely coming, set to impact on oil demand | #OOTT
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 27, 2020
“We have to prepare for difficult decisions,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France Inter radio.
“At some point we have to make hard choices ... as our neighbours have,” he said, referring to strict new measures announced for Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe.
The French government has been loath to impose a new lockdown that would pummel the economy even harder, and business chiefs have warned a total shutdown would force another wave of layoffs and bankruptcies.
Instead, the authorities imposed a curfew this month that now requires about 46 million people — two-thirds of the population — to be home from 9pm to 6am, as the number of daily virus cases has flared.
Media reports say Mr Macron, who met on the topic with senior ministers Tuesday, might extend the curfew hours, possibly with a full lockdown on weekends, or else order targeted lockdowns for the hardest-hit regions.
Another option could be to postpone the return of students from the autumn holiday that ends this weekend, in particular to high schools and universities. — AFP
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 25, 2020
READ MORE: How coronavirus lies spread worldwide
Agencies 5.40am: Trudeau: ‘Yes, Canada. The pandemic really sucks’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has empathised with Canadians fatigued over the surging coronavirus outbreak and the restrictions it has necessitated, saying the pandemic “really sucks.”
With fatigue setting in as the pandemic enters its tenth month, Canada has seen an uptick in people flouting public health rules on social distancing and mask-wearing.
“We’re in an unprecedented global pandemic. That really sucks,” Mr Trudeau told a news conference.
The prime minister acknowledged growing frustration, including over the lockdown of businesses once again as a second wave pushes the Canadian case count to more than 220,000 and the death toll close to 10,000.
“It’s going to be a tough winter ahead,” he added, noting that most Halloween trick-or-treating this weekend has been banned and “there may not be the kinds of family gatherings we want to have a Christmas.” “My six-year-old (Hadrien) asked me a few weeks ago, ‘Dad is COVID-19 forever?’
“I mean he’s in grade one, this was supposed to be his big year as a big boy.”.
But he concluded that the country would “get through this.” — AFP
"We are in an unprecedented global pandemic that really sucks," PM Trudeau tells reporters in Ottawa when asked re Canadians suffering #COVID19 fatigue. "Nobody wanted 2020 to be this way—but we do get to control how bad it gets by all us of doing our part," says the PM. #cndpoli pic.twitter.com/pQpg5MziDu
— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) October 27, 2020
READ MORE: Elderly respond well to COVID-19 vaccine
Geoff Chambers 5am: ’We must develop alternatives to lockdowns’
Scott Morrison has implored the states and territories to reopen their economies and scrap border closures, breaking with Anthony Albanese by arguing the Victorian shutdown represented a failure to control the virus during a “cataclysmic second wave”.
The Prime Minister delivered on Tuesday his most direct plea for the nation to unshackle itself from COVID lockdowns and restrictions, as business groups called for NSW and South Australia to open their borders to interstate travel and commerce with Victoria.
Seizing on a surprise motion moved by the Opposition Leader in question time celebrating Victoria’s reopening after defeating a second wave of infections, Mr Morrison warned that the country should not embrace a “future of lockdowns” to manage the virus.
“Borders and lockdowns are not demonstration or evidence of success,’’ he said, “… they are evidence of outbreaks that have got out of control. They are evidence of things that have not gone as they should.’’
His push to lift border restrictions was endorsed by the Business Council of Australia, Australian Industry Group, tourism chiefs and heads of the Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra airports.
Melbourne Airport chief executive Lyell Strambi, who has pushed for all state borders to reopen as soon as possible, said it was imperative to “develop alternatives to domestic border closures to manage future outbreaks”.
He said the second wave in Victoria had tested the spirits of residents, as well as being a “drag on the national economy”.
“That is particularly true in the case of aviation, since 40 per cent of Australia’s domestic fleet would normally pass through Melbourne before lunch,” he said.
Read the full story, by Geoff Chambers and Joe Kelly, here.
Rachel Baxendale 4.45am: Midnight Melburnians celebrate freedom
As the clock struck midnight on Tuesday night, Melburnians were finally released from 111 days of stay-at-home lockdown, with some bars, restaurants and major retailers opening at 11.59pm to make the most of Victorians’ keenness to embrace the novelty, and household visits finally allowed, subject to strict limits.
Major retailers such as Myer, Kmart and Spotlight threw open their doors in the middle of the night, as did numerous inner-city bars and restaurants, after Victoria marked two consecutive days with no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since March 6, when the state had recorded a total of just 10 cases since the pandemic began.
However, some small businesses in sectors such as hospitality and fitness were holding off on celebrations, saying it was still unviable to open until restrictions eased further.
Toorak French restaurant Bistro Thierry, in Melbourne’s inner southeast, told customers it would have to halt bookings, as a 10 person per space and 20-person maximum until at least November 8 meant they could accommodate only 10 patrons at a time. “This does not make it viable for us to open. Fingers crossed we may receive more positive news in the next few days,” it said.
Fitness industry body Vic Active said 80 per cent of gyms would be operating at an unsustainable loss even after November 8, when they will be permitted to have up to 10 patrons per space and 20 per venue, with a maximum of one person per 8sq m
Continue reading here.
The Times 4.30am: COVID-19 may age the brain by 10 years
Coronavirus survivors may be at risk of lasting cognitive damage, according to a study that found that in the worst cases the infection can cause mental decline equivalent to an 8.5-point fall in IQ or the brain ageing 10 years.
The “brain fog” reported by many people weeks and months after their recovering from the virus may be a symptom of more serious cognitive deficits, scientists have said.
Research involving 84,285 people who had recovered from confirmed or suspected COVID-19 found that damage to the brain had happened to varying extents, depending upon the severity of the infection. However, more work is needed to identify how long this lasts.
The worst-affected patients, those who were treated in intensive care or needed ventilation, suffered changes equivalent to an 8.5-point drop in IQ or the brain ageing 10 years.
Adam Hampshire, of the faculty of medicine, department of brain sciences at Imperial College London, who was lead author of the study, said the “shocking” results applied to more than only those patients who had been in hospital. Those who had had no breathing difficulties but had tested positive also exhibited cognitive decline. People who had recovered at home had an average deficit equivalent to ageing five years or dropping four IQ points.
Read the full story here.
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PM under pressure on social media ban
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