Coronavirus Australia live news: It’s a beast: next days ‘critical’ as virus hits aged care, Victoria records 11 new cases
Victorian authorities can’t rule out extending lockdown as virus spikes with 11 more cases and acting premier warns ‘this may get worse’.
- It’s a beast: hint lockdown may be extended
- Porter discontinues defamation case
- Six new cases bring overnight tally to 11
- Aged care fears as virus spreads through staff
- Shared staff triggers aged care lockdown
- Victoria records five new cases
- Mystery case may extend lockdown
- Airline orders staff to be vaccinated
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest news in Australia’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic.
Victorian authorities can’t rule out extending lockdown with chief health officer Brett Sutton cautioning “we are neck-and-neck with this virus and it is an absolute beast”.
‘This may get worse,” is Victorian acting premier’s grim warning as Melbourne’s cluster grows by 11 to 52 locally-acquired cases.
Three Melbourne aged care staff and at least one resident have tested positive to Covid-19, cases yet to be linked to the city’s main cluster. Victoria has recorded 11 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to Monday. The mystery case of a Melbourne aged care employee who worked for two days while potentially infectious with Covid-19 has emerged as a priority for contact tracers and a risk to Victoria ending its seven-day lockdown.
AFP 11.05pm: Indian economy contracts by record 7.3pc
India’s economy contracted 7.3 per cent in 2020-21, official data showed on Monday, its worst recession since independence.
Asia’s third-largest economy grew by 1.6 per cent between January and March — the fourth quarter of its fiscal year — after exiting its first “technical recession” since 1947 following two successive quarters of contraction.
About 230 million Indians fell into poverty due to the pandemic last year, according to a study by Bangalore’s Azim Premji University, which defined the poor as those living on less than 375 rupees ($6.69) a day.
An easing of restrictions towards the end of last year helped propel a tentative recovery in activity but this may prove short-lived following an explosion in Covid-19 cases in April and May.
The vicious second wave, which has killed 160,000 people in eight weeks, prompted further lockdowns and saw 7.3 million people lose their jobs in April alone, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy.
That means more pain in a country where 90 per cent of the workforce is in the informal sector with no social safety net, and where millions do not qualify for emergency government rations.
Remy Varga 10.20pm:Loving couple’s courage takes the cake
Graeme and Florence Hansen celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on the same day their Melbourne aged care facility went into hard lockdown.
In their wedding photo, taken on May 29, 1954, Florence wears a long white dress and holds a bouquet of flowers in one hand and Graeme’s arm with the other. The couple, now aged 90 and 91, are both smiling.
On Saturday, a healthcare worker linked to Arcare, a woman in her 50s, tested positive, triggering the hard lockdown of the facility in the suburb of Maidstone in Melbourne’s inner northwest.
Stephen Lunn 9.35pm: Most vulnerable let down again
The Morrison government should have thrown the kitchen sink at protecting the 250,000 Australians living in nursing homes from Covid.
Especially after they bore the brunt of the virus last year. Of the 910 people who died of coronavirus in Australia, 685 were in aged care. Most of those deaths, 655, were in Victoria.
We now learn a problem most Australians believed had been fixed, that of casual carers working across multiple facilities during a pandemic and thereby risking higher spread, continues.
Paige Taylor 8.50pm: Garma Festival canned a second year
Australia’s best-known Indigenous culture event, the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land, has been cancelled for the second year running because of concerns over coronavirus.
The Yothu Yindi Foundation planned a smaller version of Garma in 2021 with about 1300 guests instead of the 2600 who attended in 2019. However, Northern Territory’s acting chief health officer Charles Pain told the foundation on Friday the risks were too challenging. This included the difficulty of evacuating people in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak.
The festival has helped fund education programs in Arnhem Land. Organisers said the event was a source of enormous pride and satisfaction to Yolngu people, and each year Garma injected up to $13 million into the Northern Territory economy, about $5 million of which landed in Nhulunbuy and surrounding communities. “The economic loss to local Territory businesses and Yolngu people will be significant again this year,” organisers said in a media release.
Nicholas Jensen8.05pm: Hunt defends support for Victoria
Health Minister Greg Hunt has defended the commonwealth government’s support of Victoria’s rollout, saying the state continues to receive “solid supplies” of vaccine.
Asked whether there was any confusion about supply to Victoria, Mr Hunt told Sky’s Bolt Report that Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley “seems very aware and very across the fact that there are regular supplies and we’ll (the commonwealth) hold on to any contingency and provide the second doses as an when they are required”.
“Victoria has solid supplies that have been distributing their vaccines and vaccinating at a good level, but we encourage them to act in such a way, so they don’t have to hold any contingency for second doses. That’s our job and that’s been clear from the outset,” he said on Monday night.
Mr Hunt also defended the commonwealth’s previous stance, which allowed healthcare workers to move across different private aged care facilities.
“These facilities are usually tied to a hospital in one way shape or form, and staff can move between there and the hospital … That’s to make sure that you can have people who come in and vaccinate people, who come in and test people, who come in and provide coverage in case workers are sick or additional workforce if there’s a shortage.
Mr Hunt said these staff accounted for roughly 4.7 per cent of the healthcare workforce and have operated across multiple facilities in the Greater Melbourne region since the beginning of the pandemic.
“It’s a very small part (of the workforce), but it has been deemed by the medical authorities to be a very necessary part, making sure there is always sufficient staff for the residents to be safe.”
READ MORE: Premier reneges on pay freeze vow
Penny Hunter, Robyn Ironside7.20pm:US, UK ‘travel bubbles’ appear on horizon
The Pacific Islands are firming as the site of Australia’s next travel bubble but flights to the US and Britain could follow because of the success of their Covid vaccination rollouts.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce made the prediction as he continued his campaign to incentivise Australians to get the jab against Covid-19.
Speaking at the Future of Travel Forum hosted by News Corp in Sydney on Monday, Mr Joyce said the vaccine was the key to resuming international travel by the end of the year.
He said while there was a need for greater certainty on domestic borders and what constituted a hotspot, the “elephant in the room” was international borders, which were predicted to remain shut well into 2022.
“We know the path to get international open is really the vaccine,” he said.
“It’s our passport to get international travel going again.”
Qantas was seeing strong demand for the trans-Tasman bubble, and expected the federal government would soon extend quarantine-free travel to the Pacific Islands, including Fiji, Noumea and Vanuatu.
Nicholas Jensen 6.45pm:Sisters ‘abseil out of quarantine to getaway car’
Two repatriated Australians have allegedly climbed a fence and escaped supervised quarantine in Alice Springs.
Northern Territory police are investigating two sisters, aged 19 and 22, who reportedly breached quarantine by climbing the facility’s fence and escaping in a “getaway car” that was waiting for the pair.
Both women have been instructed to return to the quarantine facility, with police saying the women had limited exposure to the Alice Springs community.
Commissioner James Chalker said the pair escaped from the Todd Facility by “abseiling from their room”.
“I can say they were up on the first floor and they managed to abseil down and work through that, and then up and over a fence to head off,” he said.
“That’s something that’s very deeply concerning … again noting this is not a prison.”
Mr Chalker said the women then got in a vehicle and drove to their mother’s house.
The sisters — alongside their mother and the boyfriend — have now been directed back into mandatory quarantine.
READ MORE:Business wants shot at vaccine rollout
Angelica Snowden6.25pm: Prison locked down
A maximum security prison in Melbourne has been forced into lockdown over fears a staff attended a tier one Covid-19 exposure site.
Prisoners at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall, in Melbourne’s outer west, were confined to their cells on Monday, but it was later revealed the site visited by the staff member was tier two.
Out of caution the staff member — who was not showing Covid-19 symptoms — will not return to work until they receive a negative result
READ MORE: Why Victoria is in lockdown trouble, again
Anthony Piovesan 5.55pm: Urgent virus alerts for 250 Victorian venues
Multiple bus routes, a DFO shopping outlet and Big W store have been added to a growing list of Victorian sites exposed to coronavirus.
Victorians are urged to regularly check the list on the Department of Health website to see if they have visited any of the locations at key times and to get tested immediately if they have.
New additions to the list included seven buses on the state’s public transport network – they have been listed as Tier 1 sites, meaning anyone who travelled on them at the listed times must immediately isolate, get a Covid test and quarantine for 14 days.
READ the full list here.
Nicholas Jensen 5.45pm: High school student tests positive, school closes
A secondary school in Melbourne’s northern suburbs has temporarily closed after confirming one of its students tested positive for Covid-19.
Mercy College in Coburg sent a letter to parents on Monday afternoon, saying the school would be immediately shut.
While the infectious student was absent from school last week, the college’s leadership team chose to close after urgent advice from both Victoria’s Department of Health and the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools.
Health officials said the closure will allow time for the Department of Health and college to work through any contact tracing
Precautionary cleaning has also commenced.
At Monday’s press conference, deputy secretary Jeroen Weimar confirmed a number of schools had been identified as exposure sites.
Mr Weimar said cases were also potentially linked to Methodist Ladies College in Kew and Craigieburn’s Willmott Park Primary School.
“We have three schools that we are currently working with at this point in time, out of an abundance of caution. If those cases are confirmed to be positive, pre-emptive contact work is under way,” he said.
“We’re doing repeat testing on those cases at the moment and they will come out during the course of today.”
READ MORE:Mum dobs in kids for fleeing quarantine
Melissa Iaria 5.30pm: ‘Ring of steel’ not out of the question: Sutton
A ring of steel in Victoria is “not out of the question”, as authorities grapple to stem the state’s latest Covid outbreak.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton was asked during Monday’s press conference whether he would again consider a boundary separating Melbourne from rural and regional Victoria in a bid to prevent the virus spread.
“It will be determined as we go through a review of the situation day by day, it is not out of the question,” Professor Sutton told reporters.
“We will see when we get there, we don’t know what will emerge tomorrow.
“There are a number of primary close contacts in regional Victoria, a number who have tested negative, but we don’t know what might be around the corner.”
The seven-day circuit-breaker lockdown is aimed to lift on Friday; however, Victoria has recorded a further 11 cases.
READ MORE:PM may not be able to dodge political bullet this time
Ellie Dudley 4.50pm: Porter deflects questions on independent inquiry
Industry Minister Christian Porter has deflected questions over the future of an independent inquiry into the historical rape allegation against him.
“People will call for an inquiry, or they won’t call for an inquiry,” he told reporters on Monday.
Mr Porter said the accusations against him would “never” be proven because “they are wrong.”
“If the ABC themselves say it could not be proven to the civil standard, a civil tribunal is not going be able to show that.”
Ellie Dudley 4.50pm: Settlement a ‘humiliating backdown for ABC’: Porter
Industry Minister Christian Porter has labelled the outcome of his defamation mediation with the ABC a “humiliating backdown” for the public broadcaster.
Mr Porter dropped his claims the ABC defamed him for printing a historical rape allegation against a then-unnamed minister on Monday, and the public broadcaster says it will pay no damages.
But, Mr Porter said the ABC “could not prove the accusations contained in the article.”
“The ABC again by these proceedings have been forced to acknowledge they could not prove to the criminal standard or even the civil standard the accusations that were contained in their article,” he said.
“They regret the outcome of the article. That is a humiliating back down for the ABC, no matter which way they want to spin it.”
Ellie Dudley 4.50pm: Porter slams ABC reporters for post-settlement tweets
Industry Minister Christian Porter has slammed ABC reporters for sending “not true” tweets about the outcome of today’s defamation mediation.
Mr Porter dropped his claims the ABC defamed him for printing a historical rape allegation against a then-unnamed minister on Monday, and the public broadcaster says it will pay no damages.
Shortly after proceedings had concluded, ABC reporter Sally Neighbour tweeted “BREAKING NOW! Christian Porter is dropping his defamation case against the ABC. No money was paid. We stand by our stories. #4 Corners #auspol.”
Mr Porter, speaking to reporters, said the tweet was “not true, not correct.”
“I understand a few tweets have already gone out,” he said. “They are actually wrong – not true, not correct.”
BREAKING! Christian Porter is dropping his defamation case against the ABC. No damages were paid. We stand by our stories. #4Corners#auspol
— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) May 31, 2021
Ms Neighbour’s tweet has since been deleted, and replaced with: “BREAKING! Christian Porter is dropping his defamation case against the ABC. No damages were paid. We stand by our stories. #4 Corners #auspol”
Mr Porter said today’s result saw the ABC decide “they are not defending the claim.”
“The ABC and Ms Milligan are settling the claim under confidential terms and a statement in which they regret the outcome of the reporting,” he said.
He said it would be “very difficult” for the ABC to stand by their reporting, when in the same statement the public broadcaster expressed regret for publishing the article.
Mr Porter said the ABC were “forced by the proceedings” to “explicitly state” the accusations contained in the article outlining historical rape accusations against him could not be proven by civil or criminal standard.
“Had they not been challenged, and not been forced to acknowledge regret of the outcome of the article, had they not been forced to express publicly that the accusations could not be proved to any civil or criminal standard … then again, the way the article was written would leave people to presume guilt based only on accusation.”
Mr Porter said it “is a very difficult thing” to “ever get” the ABC to express regret.
When asked whether the ABC were required to pay Mr Porter’s legal fees, he said: “The terms of the settlement are confidential”
“I know you are basing that (question) on a tweet you have seen by Sally Neighbour put out not too long ago. That tweet is false.”
READ the full story here.
Angelica Snowden 4.20pm: Three Melbourne schools close amid Covid concerns
Three Melbourne schools have been shut down out of caution amid Victoria’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.
They include the Methodist Ladies College in the state’s east (Kew), Mercy College in the state’s east (Coburg North) and Willmott Park Primary School also in the state’s north (Craigieburn).
Victoria’s Covid-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said there were three “possible cases” linked with the schools who are household contacts of a confirmed case.
“We have three schools we are currently working with. If those cases are confirmed to be positive the pre-emptive contact tracing work is already underway,” he said.
“We are doing repeat testing on those cases at the moment.”
At least one of those cases has since been confirmed at the Methodist Ladies College, after the school released a statement which said a senior school staff member had tested positive but the school will reopen tomorrow.
“This afternoon, The Department of Health notified MLC that the staff member with a positive COVID-19 test was not infectious whilst at the College and confirmed that the Year 7-12 campus will open tomorrow, 1 June, in line with restricted operations during the current lockdown.” the statement read.
It followed the closure of Mount Ridley College last week in Craigieburn after a student tested positive.
Richard Ferguson 4.17pm: I’ll run at next election: Porter
Industry Minister Christian Porter says he will run at the next federal election and stay in cabinet after settling his defamation case with the ABC on Monday.
Mr Porter dropped his claims the ABC defamed him for printing a historical rape allegation against a then-unnamed Minister on Monday, and the public broadcaster says it will pay no damages.
The former Attorney-General said in Sydney that the ABC has now been forced to say it regrets the outcome of the article and conceded it cannot be substantiated to a criminal or civil standard.
“It was sensationalist, one-sided, unfair and it is the sort of reporting that any Australian can be subject to unless people stand up to it,” Mr Porter said.
“So I brought an action to stand up to that sort of reporting and the ABC say now they regret the article. That rarely ever happens in those matters.”
The ABC’s editor note on the original online story now says that the ABC regrets if the article was misinterpreted, but the ABC and Four Corners say they stand by the story.
Mr Porter said in Sydney he will not push for Scott Morrison to return him to the Attorney-Generalship – now held by senator Michaelia Cash – but will run again for the WA seat of Pearce.
“I have always thought that being in Cabinet is a great privilege,” he said.
“I am totally committed to my portfolio and to the Government which is totally committed to the Australian people. I just want to get on with the job.”
READ the full story here.
Nicholas Jensen 3.52pm: Hunt asks for review of mandatory aged-care worker jab
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says we need to have an “honest national conversation” about the emergence of new cases of community transmission,
Speaking at today’s press conference, Mr Hunt said “many of the questions indicate that it is inconceivable that Australia could have a case in a world of 500,000 cases a day. Sadly it is not.”
“While we have had 94 days and counting of zero cases of community transmission in Australia, we have always said that there will be — whilever we are engaged with the outside world — cases.”
“Whether it’s a touch, a breath, a surface, where there is a country that is engaging with another country, in the midst of a global pandemic, with the most contagious outbreak the world has seen in 100 years, we are not immune, but we are well prepared.”
Asked whether it should be mandatory for aged care workers to be vaccinated, Mr Hunt said he has requested the government’s medical expert panel to review its previous recommendation.
“The Prime Minister and myself have asked the medical expert panel to review that decision, which was not recommended at the time … they will review precisely this question.”
READ MORE: PM may not be able to dodge this bullet
Joseph Lam 3.45pm: Lockdown end date assessed ‘day by day’
Victorian authorities have warned the current outbreak is assessed as a “day-by-day” situation, with Acting Premier James Merlino not ruling out an extended lockdown.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton on Monday said the sheer spread of the virus was alarming.
“These are concerning numbers and concerning settings. We’ve gone from a single case of the beginning of the month to 4200 primary close contacts,” he said.
“It has been a rapidly moving virus and the transmission that has occurred in those high-risk settings has been very substantial.
“So we have to take (lockdown) as a day-by-day prospect.
“With more numbers today coming through and those really concerning settings, especially in aged care, we are neck-and-neck with this virus and it is an absolute beast.”
READ MORE: ‘It's not the world’s most liveable city, not by a long shot’
Nicola Berkovic 3.30pm:Porter discontinues defamation case
Former attorney general Christian Porter has dropped his defamation case against the ABC after reaching an agreement with the public broadcaster.
The Industry Minister is expected to speak shortly.
“All parties have agreed to not pursue the matter any further. No damages will be paid,” the ABC said in a statement.
Mr Porter launched the defamation action on March 15, claiming he had been subjected to a malicious trial by media and daring the ABC to try to prove the truth of allegations he had raped a 16-year-old girl when he was 17 in 1988.
He accused the broadcaster and journalist Louise Milligan of publishing false allegations and of being motivated by malice. The ABC, which had called for an independent inquiry into the allegations, had vowed to prove, in its defence, that the allegations there were reasonable grounds for suspecting Mr Porter of rape were true. The broadcaster had also argued its reporting was covered by qualified privilege because the report was in the public interest and it had acted reasonably — and said the article did not imply Mr Porter was guilty.
READ the full story here.
Adeshola Ore 3.21pm:Hospitalised aged-care resident positive, but ‘asymptomatic’
Health Minister Greg Hunt says an elderly resident at the VIctoria’s Arcare aged care facility, who has been transferred to hospital, is asymptomatic.
Victoria recorded 11 new Covid-19 cases today, including three aged-care staff and one resident.
Mr Hunt said the 99-year-old woman who tested positive at the Maidstone facility was also vaccinated.
“We hope that will provide projection, but obviously with somebody of such an advanced age, it is a very concerning time,” he said.
Mr Hunt said a second resident, who has not tested positive, has been retested following medical advice. He said the 95-year-old is also vaccinated.
Mr Hunt also said that residents who had not received their first vaccinations, due to not having family consent or not giving it themselves, would be encouraged to reconsider their choice.
“We hope that as many of the staff and residents who had not previously taken up the opportunity will do so today,” he said.
Adeshola Ore 3.10pm: 4.24 million doses now administered Australia-wide
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australia has now administered more than 4.24 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.
“This week was a record week and we have doubled our vaccinations over the course of a four week period,’ he said.
Mr Hunt said the vaccine program was a partnership between the commonwealth, states and GPs.
Remy Varga 2.20pm: Aged care resident taken via ambulance
An elderly resident at the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone has been removed via ambulance.
Two workers wearing white hazmat suits removed the resident at around 2.10pm on Monday before loading them into a Royal Flying Doctor Service patient transport vehicle.
One drove the vehicle while the other tended to the resident in the back.
A blonde woman wearing a face shield was carried out on a stretcher by two healthcare workers in hazmat suits.
READ MORE: ‘May get worse' stark virus warning
Paige Taylor 2.07pm: Garma festival cancelled for second consecutive year
Australia’s best known Indigenous culture event, the annual Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land, has been cancelled for a second year in a row due to the global pandemic.
Festival organisers had planned testing on arrival for all guests at the 2021 Garma in August but said on Monday the Northern Territory’s chief health officer had determined there were too many challenges in the event of a Covid-19 case or outbreak.
Garma is a celebration of Indigenous culture as well as an exchange of ideas among some of the nation’s most prominent thinkers and Indigenous leaders.
“It is with enormous regret and sadness that we advise this year’s Garma Festival will not proceed. For the past six months, the Yothu Yindi Foundation has worked extremely hard in partnership with the relevant authorities to plan a Covid-safe event for our guests and our communities,” organisers said in a press release Monday.
“We have thrown all our energy into establishing an environment that would meet with the approval of the Northern Territory’s Chief Health Officer.
“This has included making arrangements for all interstate attendees to be tested upon arrival in Arnhem Land, and providing a 24-hour Covid clinic on site, staffed by the National Critical Care & Trauma Response Centre. Organisers were confident that these and other safety measures were rigorous enough to all but eliminate the public health risk associated with staging the event.
“Unfortunately, the NT’s Chief Health Officer has determined that Gulkula’s remote location poses too many logistical and safety challenges in the unlikely event of a Covid incident, such as the difficulty of evacuating people from the site, and the unsuitability of quarantine facilities in northeast Arnhem Land.”
READ MORE: Painting a picture of Indigenous pain and glory
Adeshola Or 2.03pm: Today’s events prove vaccine rollout is a race: Labor
Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler has urged the Morrison government to “pick up its act” with its vaccination rollout for aged-care residents and workers, after the state’s cluster grew by 11 on Monday.
Of the state’s 11 new cases reported on Monday, three are linked to the new Arcare Maidstone aged-care cluster.
Mr Butler seized on Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack’s words over the weekend, when he insisted the vaccine rollout was not a race.
“If today’s events don’t convince Scott Morrison and his ministers that a speedy effective rollout is a race, a race against this virus, a race against the variants of this virus in particular, I don’t know what will,” he said.
The commonwealth has also confirmed that federal support to ensure workers across greater Melbourne only work in one facility was not available until last Thursday.
Mr Butler said staff working across multiple aged-care facilities was a major risk factor.
“We learned this morning that the ban was in place last year, the government lifted that ban in about November. This latest outbreak in aged care is a direct result of Scott Morrison’s gross negligence and dangerous complacency,” he said.
READ MORE: Why Victoria is in lockdown trouble, again
Rosie Lewis 1.40pm: Colbeck responds on federal management of aged-care staff
The Morrison government is facing fresh questions over its management of aged care providers in Victoria following confirmation that commonwealth support to ensure workers across greater Melbourne only work in one facility was not available until last Thursday.
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck on Monday said “single site funding support” for Victorian areas affected by Covid-19 was “triggered” on May 27 – when the commonwealth declared greater Melbourne a hotspot – and would be available until at least June 10.
The funding is meant for out-of-pocket costs incurred by aged care providers, who are asked to direct their employees not to work in a second facility during a coronavirus outbreak.
“If the hotspot declaration is extended, these arrangements will also be extended,” Mr Colbeck said.
“Providers are asked to adjust their rosters and ensure staff are only working at one residential aged care facility during this time. A reminder that employers should ensure their workers are not financially disadvantaged during this period and that they continue to receive the income they may have received from other residential aged care providers.
“Where this results in additional out-of-pocket costs for the primary employer, reimbursement can be sought through the grant application process.”
The federal government is responsible for private aged care providers while the state government runs public facilities.
At least two more Melbourne aged care facilities have been forced into lockdown after staff members worked across multiple locations, including where there have been infections.
Workers at state-run facilities are not allowed to work at multiple sites.
The Morrison government introduced the “supporting aged care workers in COVID-19 grant” in August last year during Victoria’s second wave. The funding helps providers cover the costs of casual workers who are asked not to work in more than one facility.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said that round of grants, for providers in greater Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, finished on November 30.
The payments were temporarily reintroduced between January 11 and February 17 this year in specific Melbourne suburbs.
Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said it was not clear why the government decided the financial assistance was no longer necessary in November.
The Labor frontbencher said Scott Morrison knew he needed to fully vaccinate Australians living in residential aged care and their carers as a priority, as well as prevent “risk factors” like staff working across multiple facilities.
“We know again through bitter tragic experience that about 84 per cent of exposures in the Victorian aged care system last year, which resulted in 655 deaths, were a product of contact through aged care workers or aged care staff. So this is a very important issue,” Mr Butler said.
READ MORE: Why Victoria is in lockdown trouble, again
Joseph Lam 1.13pm: Ask the federal government: aged-care blame game
Victoria Acting Premier James Merlino says the recent aged-care outbreak was the responsibility of the federal government as the state only looks after public aged care.
Asked which government was in charge of the aged-care home where a resident, a staff member and their son have tested positive, Mr Merlino suggested those questions be put to the federal government.
“It’s a good question, it is not happening in the public system, in terms of the settings in place, and private aged care, you should raise those questions with the Federal Government,” he said.
“Public aged care is the responsibility of the state government. Private aged care is the responsibility of the Federal government.”
Health Minister Martin Foley said there were legal boundaries which restricted how the state government interacted with private aged-care homes, and it was an issue nationwide.
“Let’s be clear, this is not a particularly unique Victorian set of circumstances, this is a national system that applies across all of the Commonwealth,” Mr Foley said.
“It doesn’t really matter, to the families and communities and the workforce, which is why we have established the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre model so as to co-ordinate that effort.”
READ MORE: Berejiklian’s frustration at jab delays
Joseph Lam 1.05pm: Three cases linked to Arcare nursing home
Victoria Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar has confirmed that all 70 staff and 76 residents at Arcare Maidstone have been tested with one resident and one staff member testing positive for Covid-19.
The staff member’s son has also tested positive.
“Over the last seven days we have identified 4200 primary close contacts, we continue to see an encouraging set of negative results come back, 77 per cent of those identified have already returned a negative test result,” Mr Weimar added.
“If you have any symptoms, do not go to a vaccine centre, go to a testing centre and get tested,” Mr Weimar warned.
‘We can’t afford the risk of people potentially symptomatic going into vaccine centres.”
Mr Weimar urged Victorians to get tested, noting it is one reason that Victorians could leave their five kilometre home boundaries.
“If you need to cross the five kilometre boundary to get to the best testing centre for you then it is OK. Please make use of all of the capacity we have out there.”
Joseph Lam 12.30pm: Victoria ‘may get worse … it’s not over’: Merlino
Victoria total number of new cases has hit 11 overnight — with six new ones on top of the five reported by state health authorities early on Monday.
The new cases — detected after the late night cut-off — arrived as contact tracers discovered more than 4200 primary close contacts related to positive cases.
Victoria Acting Premier James Merlino gave a strong warning to residents about the spread of the virus.
“We’re seeing a small number of cases infecting a large number of contacts,” he said.
“I want to be clear with everyone that this outbreak may get worse before it gets better … This is not over.”
Victoria Health Minister Foley confirmed that three of the state’s new cases are linked to the new Arcare Maidstone aged-care cluster.
“One, is the son of the initial case, you recall the first case in Maidstone Arcare, doesn’t work at the facility but is linked,” Mr Foley said.
Mr Foley confirmed that another case is a staff member who worked at Arcare and Blue Cross ACG Sunshine facility.
The third aged-care linked case is a resident who has been transferred to a separate hospital, Mr Foley said.
“The fact this outbreak has crept into a number of private residential aged care facilities is obviously a very great concern to the Victorian government,” Mr Foley warned. “It’s a very great concern to all Victorians and the Commonwealth government.”
READ MORE: Qantas raises stakes for vaccination
Debbie Schipp 12.20pm: Six more cases bring overnight tally to 11
Acting Victorian premier James Merlino has announced six more locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 detected overnight, in addition to the five announced this morning.
“There are currently 54 active cases of coronavirus in Victoria, I can also advise, there are a further six locally acquired cases that came through after the late-night cut-off, and a public health teams are urgently investigating and interviewing these cases,” he said.
“Of the cases formally reported today, two relate to the city of Whittlesea outbreak, one is a contact of a previous case linked to the star car wash and one source of acquisition is under investigation.
“We are managing 4200 primary close contacts across all of our exposure sites.”
Rachel Baxendale 11.49am: Victorian officials to speak at 12.15pm
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino is due to address the media at 12.15pm alongside Health Minister Martin Foley and chief health officer Brett Sutton. You can watch the press conference live at the top of this blog.
Joseph Lam 11.44am: NSW not concerned by Victorian border: Premier
Gladys Berejiklian is not concerned that Victorian residents could travel to NSW and potentially spread Covid-19.
The NSW Premier on Monday said she was confident in her state’s border policies and that the Victorian lockdown would limit movement.
“No I’m not concerned, Victorians aren’t allowed to move within 5km of where they live anyway,” Miss Berejiklian said.
“I hope people in NSW take stock of what’s happening in other states in Australia and other parts of the world. I urge everybody to come forward and get vaccinated.”
READ MORE: Why Victoria is in lockdown trouble, again
Adeshola Ore 11.36am: NZ ties ‘far more than a partnership’: Morrison
Scott Morrison has thanked New Zealand for its partnership on “regional security issues” in his opening remarks at bilateral talks with the nation’s leader Jacinda Ardern.
It comes after Ms Ardern backed Australia in its trade dispute with China on barley tariffs, in a show of unity against Beijing during the Prime Minister’s two-day trip to New Zealand.
Mr Morrison said Australia and New Zealand had a “prominent” role in the Pacific.
“We have some very serious times that we’re dealing with, not just from the health point of view but obviously from a regional security point of view,” he said.
He pointed to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and vaccine dose delivery to neighbouring countries as key topics to be addressed.
Mr Morrison also noted his appreciation for the “direct personal relationship and dialogue” between Australia and New Zealand.
“People often ask us, is this a partnership, it’s far more than a partnership. It is a family relationship between Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“There are common threats, and that has always I think eclipsed everything when it comes to the strength of the working family relationship.”
New Zealand ministers had previously sought to distance the country from Australia’s harder stance on Beijing. But fears about a deepening rift were partially quelled when Ms Ardern delivered a speech this month criticising China’s human rights record.
READ MORE: ‘Family comes’ first in China row: Ardern
Remy Varga 11.30am: Aged care workers line up for testing
Workers are lining up in their cars at Western Gardens in Sunshine to undergo testing for the coronavirus after a positive case was confirmed at the aged care facility.
Security guards stopped one worker from talking to media, tapping on the man’s car and telling him he could go.
Joseph Lam 11.20am: NSW records two new cases in quarantine
NSW has recorded two new cases of Covid-19 among overseas returned travellers over the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Testing numbers were down about 13 per cent over the same period seeing 13,857 tests conducted, compared with 15,989 the previous day.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) May 31, 2021
Two new overseas-acquired cases were reported in the same period, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,398. pic.twitter.com/wrqIrZhBRb
Last week the state administered 73,603 Covid-19 vaccines, 40 per cent of which (31,778) were administered in the state’s mass vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park.
Anyone who has arrived in NSW since 4pm on May 27 is subject to Victoria’s lockdown and required to stay home.
Rachel Baxendale 11.17am: Aged care fears as virus spreads through staff
A second staff member at the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone, in Melbourne’s west, has tested positive for coronavirus.
The case follows confirmation earlier on Monday that a resident has also tested positive, meaning three cases have so far been linked to the facility after a female worker was confirmed as infected over the weekend.
A worker at another facility, BlueCross Western Gardens in the western Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, has also tested positive, meaning there are now three aged care workers with Covid.
The cases are yet to be linked to the wider Whittlesea cluster of at least 40 cases, with a total of 46 community-acquired cases in Victoria as of Monday.
In a statement released on Monday morning, Arcare CEO Colin Singh said the positive resident had received one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
#Breaking: Arcare confirms a second staff member and resident at Maidstone facility have tested positive to covid @SkyNewsAustpic.twitter.com/oxB6tdz9wc
— Julia Bradley (@_juliabradley) May 31, 2021
“However, the second team member did not receive the first dose of the vaccine on 12 May as she was on personal leave when the vaccinations took place on that day,” Mr Singh said.
“The resident is displaying mild symptoms however we are transferring them to hospital where their condition can be closely monitored.
“The team members also have mild symptoms and are recovering at home.”
Mr Singh confirmed 53 of 76 residents at Maidstone had consented to receive the vaccine and all 53 had received one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“The second dose was due to be administered on Tuesday but has been brought forward to today, Monday 31 May,” he said.
“All Arcare Maidstone team members are also being offered their first or second dose tomorrow.
“We are closely monitoring our residents and team members for signs and symptoms and a second round of testing will be carried out tomorrow, Tuesday 1 June.”
Mr Singh said contact tracing was “well underway”.
“We are doing everything possible to minimise any further exposure to residents and team members and have placed the Maidstone residence in lockdown,” he said.
“This means that clients need to self-isolate in their suites and team members are now wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE).”
Mr Singh did not explain why staff were not previously wearing full PPE.
“Arcare is well prepared for this outbreak and our infection control practices position us well to manage this effectively. We have sufficient personal protective equipment and all other supplies necessary to continue to provide support and services to our clients and team safely,” he said.
“We are working closely with both commonwealth and state agencies and outreach services to support our clients and team members.
“At this time, there are no other cases of Covid-19 in any of our other residences and we have actively limited the movement of team members between residences and visitation since the stage 3 lockdown came into effect.
“We would like to reassure all families and friends of Arcare Maidstone that our thoughts are with them during this difficult time and we will keep them informed with regular updates on the situation.
“We will be posting media statements on our website.”
READ MORE: Covid spreads to two aged care facilities
Joseph Lam 10.22am: No new cases in Queensland
Queensland has recorded no new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
The state recorded a total of 1591 tests, however Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said full testing numbers were delayed.
Monday 31 May – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) May 30, 2021
• 0 new cases
• 14 active cases
• 1,618 total cases
• 2,629,978* tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,591 patients have recovered.#covid19pic.twitter.com/aQkjAshwxu
Remy Varga 10.08am: Supplies for locked down aged care home
Workers in full PPE are taking supplies in to the locked down Arcare aged care home in Maidstone.
About five workers entered the facility at around 10am on Monday.
Rachel Baxendale 9.52am: Second Melbourne aged care worker tests positive
A second staff member at a second Victorian aged care facility has tested positive for coronavirus.
BlueCross Western Gardens in the western Melbourne suburb of Sunshine have confirmed a staff member tested negative on their last day of work, before returning a positive result on Sunday night.
The news comes after a staff member at the Arcare facility in Maidstone, also in Melbourne’s west, tested positive on Saturday, with at least one Arcare resident since infected.
Contact tracers are yet to link the Maidstone case to the Whittlesea cluster of at least 40 coronavirus cases.
At least two other aged care facilities have gone into lockdown after staff worked across multiple centres.
BlueCross has told 3AW that all residents are being quarantined in their rooms and all are symptom-free at this stage.
Additional testing is being organised, and 76 per cent of residents have had their first dose of vaccine.
The infected staff member is a close contact of the Arcare Maidstone worker who tested positive over the weekend.
READ MORE: Urgent virus alert for 250 venues
Adeshola Ore 9.47am: Coalition quick to pull support, slow on vaccines: Labor
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers says the federal government has a responsibility to provide income subsidies to Victorians in lockdown, as he accused the commonwealth of prematurely withdrawing economic support.
Josh Frydenberg has slapped down demands for the Victorian government for a wage subsidy for thousands of workers who will struggle through the state’s lockdown, warning that the commonwealth will no longer step in when Covid-19 lockdowns occur.
Mr Chalmers said the Morrison government should reinstate wage support similar to JobKeeper for Victorians impacted by the lockdown.
The cost of the Morrison Government's delays is being paid for by every worker who can't go to work, every business that has to shut, and every Australian who can't be with their loved ones.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 30, 2021
“We have said all along the economic support should be tailored to the economic conditions,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“We are worried that this government is very quick to pull economic support, but very slow to roll out the vaccines and take responsibility for quarantine,” he said.
The Victorian government on Sunday announced a $250 million support plan for businesses, and said the lockdown would cost the state’s budget $700 million. The package includes $2500 grants for small and medium-sized businesses in industries that cannot operate due to the restrictions.
READ MORE: Frydenberg slaps down state’s plea
Rachel Baxendale 9.28am: Shared staff triggers aged care lockdowns
At least two more Melbourne aged care facilities have gone into lockdown after staff members worked across multiple locations, including the Arcare facility in Maidstone in Melbourne’s west, where a worker and at least one resident have tested positive.
The news has stunned Melburnians, after the vast majority of last year’s 801 coronavirus deaths occurred in aged care facilities, with work across multiple locations a key cause.
The Royal Freemasons wrote to families of residents this morning, telling them that two of its staff had worked at Maidstone Arcare, with one having since done a shift at the Royal Freemasons facility in Footscray, and the other at the Freemasons’ Coppin Centre in Moubray Street, Melbourne.
There are also reports that the BlueCross Western Gardens facility in Sunshine has gone into lockdown for the same reason.
READ MORE: Mystery case hits lockdown plan
Rachel Baxendale 9.12am: Victoria records five new Covid-19 cases
Victoria has recorded five new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to Monday, bringing the total number of locally acquired cases in the state to 46.
Reported yesterday: 5 new local cases.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 30, 2021
- 16,752 vaccine doses were administered
- 43,874 test results were received
Got symptoms? Get tested.
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco
#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/8J2xuCnyB4
As of Sunday, 40 cases had been linked to a cluster emanating from the Whittlesea local government area in Melbourne’s north, with another case in a staff member at the Arcare aged care facility in the western suburb of Maidstone yet to be linked.
The total number of active cases in the state is now 54, including eight cases in overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine.
There were 43,874 tests processed on Sunday, compared with 45,301 on Saturday and a record 56,624 on Friday.
On Sunday, 16,752 vaccinations were administered at state government-run facilities, compared with 17,702 on Saturday and a record 21,626 on Friday.
READ MORE: Blame game as Victoria demands taxpayer support
Adeshola Ore 9.01am: Don’t wait for outbreak for jab: Shorten
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten says speeding up Australia’s vaccine rollout is urgent, after Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack sparked a fresh row by claiming it was “not a race”.
Mr Shorten said Australians should not wait until a snap lockdown to get vaccinated.
“We have seen people in Melbourne who are switched on to these matters, the vaccination rates have increased and the queues have got longer because now there is an outbreak,” he told the ABC.
“I would suggest to my fellow Australians once there is an outbreak, queuing up to get the vaccination seems to be too slow, to me.”
READ MORE: Business wants shot at vaccine rollout
Rachel Baxendale 8.36am: Anxious wait for tests after almost 100 exposure sites added
At least one and possibly two residents at the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone, in Melbourne’s west, have tested positive for coronavirus, local federal MP Bill Shorten has told ABC TV.
The news comes as family members of other residents anxiously await the results of coronavirus tests, following news on Sunday that a staff member had returned a positive test result.
The female staff member’s case is yet to be linked to the cluster of 40 cases which originated in the Whittlesea local government area, sparking fears of further undetected community transmission.
The case in the woman, who had received her first dose of vaccine, comes as Victoria’s health department added almost 100 exposure sites to its list on Sunday, bringing the total number to 271.
Of particular interest among the sites, which are dotted all over Melbourne, is the Slades Beverages factory in Thomastown, in Melbourne’s outer north, where a shiftworker attended on multiple days between May 12 and May 28.
Previously the earliest known exposure date for members of the Whittlesea cluster was May 13, indicating contact tracers may have established an earlier case than the fifth case to be discovered in the outbreak, who was considered the index case for all other known cases.
Also of interest is Indiagate Spices & Groceries in Epping, also in Melbourne’s outer north, which was visited by a delivery driver known as Case 16 on May 19.
The same store was visited by the original Wollert case on May 8, after he caught the virus in an Adelaide quarantine hotel and returned to Melbourne on May 4.
READ MORE: Frydenberg slaps down state’s plea
Adeshola Ore 8.32am: Up to two aged care residents infected: Shorten
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten says he understands there up to two residents at the Arcare home aged-care centre have contracted coronavirus after a staff member worked for two days at the centre while infected.
Health authorities are now awaiting to receive test results for the elderly residents at the Maidstone centre.
Mr Shorten told the ABC that “possibly two, but one resident appears to have contracted COVID”.
“Both were vaccinated in the first round, so it just emphasises to me and I think to everyone listening that two vaccinations is what we need,” he said
“The people who are sick actually had had a vaccination, so you need two. One is not enough.”
The report has not been confirmed by Victorian health authorities. Mr Shorten said he had heard “second hand reports from the facility”.
READ MORE: Mystery case hits lockdown plan
Joseph Lam 8.24am: Ceremony before trans-Tasman talks
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lay a wreath at a New Zealand memorial on Monday ahead of their first formal talks since borders closed in 2020.
Mr Morrison arrived in Queenstown on Sunday and is set to sit down with Ms Ardern to discuss relations with China, the trans-Tasman bubble and the economic outcome of the pandemic in the pacific.
On Monday they drove 20km from Queenstown to the Arrowtown Memorial for a small ceremony.
The New Zealand government said it would act as a third party to Australia in trade disputes between Australia and China.
READ MORE: ‘Family’ comes first in China row: Ardern
Joseph Lam 7.55am: Qantas unveils vaccine incentives package
In a bid to get more passengers vaccinated Qantas has launched a number of prizes including a year’s worth of flights and hotel accommodation in an incentives package set to roll out in July.
Chief executive Alan Joyce on Monday told Sunrise Qantas had a “vested interest” in getting passengers vaccinated and therefore had rolled out the new perks and prizes.
“We are looking at giving 1000 points flight vouchers, credits, and we are going to offer 10 mega prizes, at least one for each state and territory, where you get for the year, for a family of four, unlimited travel on the Qantas and Jetstar network, anywhere in the network,” Mr Joyce said.
“It will be retrospective, it will include anybody that has already been vaccinated and will apply to anybody that is vaccinated until the end of 2021.”
“I think that’s what we all should be doing, is really encouraging it.”
READ MORE: Qantas looks at ‘incentives’ for vaccinated customers
Joseph Lam 7.35am: Andrew Peacock’s state memorial postponed due to lockdown
A state memorial for Andrew Peacock has been postponed in Melbourne due to the state’s snap seven-day lockdown.
While the lockdown is due to end on Thursday, Victoria acting Premier James Merlino has not ruled out the government extending the lockdown period.
Mr Peacock, a diplomat and politician who led the Liberal party twice, passed away in the US on April 16.
His memorial was to be held at St Paul’s Cathedral in the Melbourne CBD at 11am on Friday.
“Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria and in the interests of keeping everyone safe, the State Memorial has been postponed to a date yet to be confirmed,” read a notice in The Australian newspaper on Monday.
READ MORE: Diary of a Melburnian in second winter of discontent
Joseph Lam 7.20am: ‘Federal government responsible for Victorian lockdown’
Joel Fitzgibbon says the federal government should take responsibility for Victoria’s recent lockdown.
“The fact that this virus came from across South Australia and before that overseas reminds us this is a commonwealth responsibility,” Mr Fitzgibbon said this morning during his regular Sunrise appearance alongside Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce.
“Victoria is densely populated, it’s always been a challenge for that state. If the Commonwealth had properly and quickly rolled out a vaccination program, we probably wouldn’t be having this crisis in Victoria at the moment, so no matter which way you cut it, it’s pretty obvious that Victoria and the people of Victoria had been let down by the federal government.”
Should the federal government be doing more to support struggling businesses impacted by Victoria's latest coronavirus lockdown? 🤔
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 30, 2021
Federal MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @FitzHunter joined @Natalie_Barr to discuss. pic.twitter.com/9CAqIT4Qbp
Mr Joyce shared a similar view but was more critical of the state’s handling of the virus, asking why Victoria “couldn’t manage it like other states could”.
Asked if the government should provide a subsidy to Victorians unable to work during the lockdown, he said Australia would “ultimately get to a point where we can’t keep putting things on the credit card”.
“If the solution to everything is more debt then you will come to the end then of that and there will be a problem as big as Covid.”
The federal government has insisted the vaccine rollout "is not a race" - but with Victoria in lockdown, the border closed and vulnerable people at risk, shouldn't it be one?
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 30, 2021
MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @FitzHunter share their thoughts. pic.twitter.com/F9uIBPtBD8
READ MORE: Business wants shot at vaccine rollout
Joseph Lam 6.20am: Victoria’s exposure sites list closes in on 300
Victoria’s Covid-19 exposure sites list has grown to almost 300 sites overnight, with more than 60 locations added since 6pm Sunday.
The full list includes 271 venues across the state, with the latest entries including an aged-care centre, an IGA, a DFO, a Big W, 7-Eleven and several bus routes.
Reported yesterday: 5 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 29, 2021
- 17,702 vaccine doses were administered
- 45,301 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/oY3nril3sL
READ MORE: John Carroll — Diary of a Melburnian in second winter of discontent
Rebecca Urban 5.10am: Mystery case may see Victorian lockdown extended
The mystery case of a Melbourne aged-care employee who worked for two days while potentially infectious with Covid-19 has emerged as a priority for contact tracers and a risk to Victoria ending its seven-day lockdown.
The healthcare worker, a woman aged in her 50s who tested positive on Saturday, has no known link to other cases in the state’s latest outbreak, which has spread to 40 after five new infections emerged on Sunday.
Victoria’s Covid-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said the aged care case was an “extreme concern” due to both the work setting and unknown acquisition source.
Acting Premier James Merlino described the case as a “very, very serious matter” and declined to be drawn on whether lockdown restrictions would be eased on Friday as initially scheduled.
It was a day-by-day proposition, he warned.
Mr Merlino said health officials were working at an “unbelievable rate” and a majority of more than 4000 primary close contacts across all exposure sites had been tested, with about 70 per cent returning negative tests so far.
More than 45,000 Victorians were tested on Saturday. A testing blitz was under way on Sunday at Arcare Aged Care Maidstone, which bills itself as a “five-star” private facility in Melbourne’s west, where residents have now been subjected to hard lockdown and confined to their rooms.
Staff were provided with upgraded “tier three” personal protection equipment and additional cleaners were also deployed to the centre, which has recorded seven positive cases throughout the pandemic – all of which were employees – but no deaths.
Read the full story, by Rebecca Urban and Remy Varga, here.
Robyn Ironside 5am: Airline orders staff to vaccinate or face action
A Brisbane-based airline is believed to be Australia’s first employer to order all of its workers to undergo vaccination for Covid-19 or face potential disciplinary action.
Alliance Aviation, which has contracts with major mining companies and operates numerous flights for Qantas and Virgin Australia, has issued the vaccination policy, stating “all employees will take part in the Alliance Group Immunisation Program”.
Contractors and their employees will also be required to be vaccinated to conduct work on Alliance Group worksites, the policy states. Alliance managing director Scott McMillan said management and the company’s board of directors took the view that they had a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for staff and customers.
In the first instance, workers who refuse to be vaccinated against either the flu or Covid-19 or both, will be subject to a risk assessment process, said the policy. Those who continue to refuse without a valid medical or other legal reason will be considered “a refusal to follow a lawful direction given to the employee by their employer and appropriate disciplinary action may be taken”.
Read the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 4.45am: Frydenberg slaps down Victoria’s wage subsidy plea
Josh Frydenberg has rejected demands from the Victorian government for a new wage subsidy for thousands of workers who will struggle through the state’s lockdown, warning that the commonwealth will no longer step in when Covid-19 lockdowns occur.
The Treasurer, responding to sharp criticism from Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino and Treasurer Tim Pallas, said the commonwealth had already contributed about three times more in direct economic support than the state government had.
“Since the end of JobKeeper (in March), Victoria is the third state to introduce a short lockdown,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“In both the Queensland and Western Australian lockdowns, further federal support was not required. In the case of Victoria, the Morrison government has provided and continues to provide an unprecedented level of direct economic support.”
Speaking from New Zealand, the Prime Minister said both the Queensland and WA governments “took on those responsibilities and I commend them for that”.
Read the full story, by Rosie Lewis and Angelica Snowden, here.
More Coverage
PM tipped to lose another minister
Anthony Albanese will lose another minister at this year’s federal election, with Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones tipped to retire from politics.
Home near Jewish school sprayed in anti-Semitic graffiti; Caravan plot ‘terrorist act’
A home neighbouring a Sydney Jewish school, and near a childcare centre firebombed in an anti-Semitic attack, has been smeared in graffiti overnight. Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, branded an explosive-packed caravan found in Dural 'a terrorist act'.