Politics Now: ‘Open borders, even if some die’: Virgin boss
‘We can’t keep Covid out forever,’ Virgin CEO warns, saying international borders must reopen so Australia isn’t left behind.
- ‘Open borders, even if some die’: Virgin boss
- PM, Ardern, to meet in Queenstown
- PM outlines next steps on borders
- Voters back ‘Fortress Australia’
- Tick for Frydenberg’s budget
Welcome to PoliticsNow, our live coverage of the latest headlines from Canberra.
Virgin’s CEO says international borders need to reopen so Australia won’t get left behind, even though ‘some people may die’.
Scott Morrison says the next steps in reducing restrictions would be allowing fully vaccinated Australians to travel without being subject to state lockdowns. Exclusive Newspoll data shows that an overwhelming majority of voters want international borders to remain closed, even as business leaders push to reopen the country as soon as possible. Voters have also given a big tick to Josh Frydenberg’s federal budget, rating it the best since the Peter Costello era.
Carla Mascarenhas 10.24pm:Deadly cyclone hits India, disrupts Covid response
A major cyclone packing ferocious winds and threatening a destructive storm surge bore down on India on Monday, disrupting the country’s response to its devastating Covid-19 outbreak.
At least six people died over the weekend in torrential rains and winds as Cyclone Tauktae, swept over the Arabian Sea with Gujarat state in its sights.
The cyclone is the worst to hit western India in 30 years and exacerbated India’s embattled response to a huge coronavirus surge that is killing at least 4,000 people every day and pushing hospitals to breaking point.
In waterlogged and windswept Mumbai, the airport was closed for several hours and authorities shifted 580 Covid patients “to safer locations” from three field hospitals.
Around 150,000 people were evacuated in neighbouring Gujarat, where all Covid-19 patients in hospitals within five kilometres of the coast were also moved.
Authorities there were scrambling to ensure there would be no power cuts in the nearly 400 designated Covid hospitals and 41 oxygen plants in 12 coastal districts where the cyclone was expected to hit hardest.
The state also suspended vaccinations for two days. Mumbai did the same for one day.
“This cyclone is a terrible double blow for millions of people in India whose families have been struck down by record Covid infections and deaths,” said Udaya Regmi from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The organisation said it was helping authorities to evacuate people most at risk in coastal areas, providing first aid, masks “and encouraging other critical COVID-19 prevention measures”.
Carla Mascarenhas9.41pm:Singapore closes schools amid strain concerns
Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warn new coronavirus strains like the one first detected in India were affecting more children.
The government has been tightening restrictions following a recent rise in local transmissions after months of near-zero cases.
Primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges will shift to full home-based learning from Wednesday.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the strain “appears to affect children more”.
The strain was first detected in India.
The government is working out the plans to vaccinate students under the age of 16.
The financial hub joins Taiwan in shutting down schools to stem the surge in infections.
The rise in local transmissions in Singapore is likely to scupper a quarantine-free travel bubble with Hong Kong, due to begin on May 26 after an earlier failed attempt.
Singapore had to fight serious coronavirus outbreaks last year when the illness surged through crowded dormitories housing low-paid foreign workers, infecting tens of thousands.
But by global standards, its outbreak has been mild -- officials in the city of 5.7 million have reported more than 61,000 cases so far and 31 deaths.
With AFP
Greg Sheridan 9.20pm: ‘Blame Biden for return to pre-Trump Gaza’
The appalling suffering in the Gaza Strip, and the equally appalling rocket terror in Israel, are at least partly the fault of Joe Biden’s shockingly misguided approach to the Middle East.
Welcome back to the pre-Donald Trump Middle East, where Iran is empowered and its proxies, of which terror group Hamas that rules Gaza is one of the most deadly, are much more lethal. Welcome back to the dismal, failed paradigm of Barack Obama’s Middle East.
Read more from Greg Sheridan here.
Ewin Hannan8.30pm:FWC deputy president panned
A Coalition-appointed Fair Work deputy president, who attracted controversy for setting off firecrackers at a staff gathering and displaying “scantily clad” figurines in his chambers, has had two decisions quashed following a judgment by a tribunal full bench.
Gerard Boyce was criticised by the full bench after refusing an application by Regional Express for him to recuse himself from dealing with a stop-bullying action by an airline engineer, Stephen Hanson.
The airline acted after discovering that following Mr Boyce reserving his decision on the stop-bullying application, his associate privately telephoned Mr Hanson’s lawyer seeking information about the engineer’s employment status without informing the airline’s lawyers.
Natasha Robinson 7.50pm:‘Oldies’ hedging their Covid jab bets
The federal government’s hope of vaccinating the bulk of the population by the end of the year is being threatened by large numbers of people aged between 50 and 70 years old who are hedging their bets on vaccines, electing to delay vaccination with AstraZeneca in the hope they can receive a Pfizer or Moderna shot later.
As vaccination for everyone aged 50 or above opened up at general practices, doctors are reporting a significant proportion of older people who are so concerned by blood clots associated with AstraZeneca that they are holding off in the hope of receiving a different vaccine.
“Basically every consultation there is some degree of vaccine hesitancy and discussion,” said Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price. “Some people are adamant they’re going to wait. Even though I bring out my infographics, they’re adamant they wait to wait. Unfortunately, they’ve got this idea there’s a superior vaccine.
AFP7.00pm: Israel digs in for long campaign in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained defiant in the face of international demands for a ceasefire as Israel hammered the Gaza Strip on Monday after the most deadly day in a week of violence.
Israeli strikes killed 42 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, as UN Security Council talks fizzled despite global alarm at the escalating conflict.
Israeli warplanes continued to pommel the Palestinian enclave well into the early hours of Monday, carrying out dozens of air strikes across the densely populated territory in just a few minutes and causing power cuts and damage to hundreds of buildings.
Geoff Chambers6.30pm:Mining sector delivers record $39bn windfall
Australian mining companies delivered the bounty to federal and state governments last year, with surging demand for iron ore offsetting a decline in the value of metallurgical and thermal coal exports. Read more here
Patrick Commins6.15pm:Staff shortage ‘no guarantee of wage growth’
Filling the massive excess job vacancies created in the wake of the COVID-19 recession would slash nearly half a percentage point off unemployment. Read more here
Amanda Hodge5.45pm:Singapore closes schools to fight variant
Singapore has closed its schools for at least two weeks amid a sharp rise in community transmission of COVID-19 and fears that a voracious new variant first discovered in India is more dangerous to younger children. Read more here
Carla Mascarenhas 5.20pm: Shorten slams slow jabs for people with disability
Opposition NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten has lambasted the federal government for the slow vaccination rollout for Australians with a disability.
Less than 1000 people in residential disability care have received a Covid-19 vaccine, despite the group being considered the highest priority in the rollout alongside aged care residents and hotel quarantine workers.
Mr Shorten told ABC TV the government is “making it up as it goes along”.
“There are people in group homes who by virtue of their conditions and impairment are exceedingly vulnerable,” he said.
“This argument that there are very healthy people with disabilities and they can afford to wait doesn’t make sense.
“They have forgotten about people with disabilities.”
Mr Shorten said the situation was critical with people afraid to leave their homes.
“I visit facilities and they say, ‘Bill, Covid is not over’,” he said.
READ MORE:Singapore closes schools to fight variant
Carla Mascarenhas 4.20pm: ‘More certainty needed’ on international borders: Scott
Former federal Liberal MP Fiona Scott said the federal government needs to provide more certainty around when Australia’s international border will reopen.
“Obviously NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is preparing his next budget and it is important to know when things will change in regards to skilled migrants, international students and so forth,” she told Sky News.
“There are definitely gateways that need to be addressed and I don’t think it is unreasonable for this conversation to be happening between the federal government and the states.”
While praising the Morrison government’s health response Ms Scott said there needed to be a greater focus on Australia’s international aid program.
“Until the world is vaccinated, and that includes the developing world, we are not going to get on top of this virus,” she said
Robyn Ironside 4.10pm: Virgin boss border push: ‘Some people may die’
Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has warned international borders need to reopen so Australia won’t get left behind the rest of the world even though some people may die.
Speaking at the QUT Business Leaders Forum in Brisbane on Thursday, Ms Hrdlicka said Australia risked being left behind the rest of the world, by not learning to live with COVID-19.
She said staying shut off from the rest of the world, was not in anyone’s interests, and likely to lead to worse problems.
“We can’t keep (COVID) out forever,” she said.
“We’re all going to be sicker than we ever have been in the past because we’re not exposed to the viruses and challenges that the rest of the world is dealing with so we need to get the borders open for our health and the economy.”
Once the most vulnerable people were vaccinated, expected by July, Ms Hrdlicka said the political narrative needed to change.
“It needs to change so that COVID will become part of the community,” she said.
“It will make us sick but won’t put us into hospital. Some people may die but it will be way smaller than the flu.
“We’re forgetting the fact we have learnt to live with lots of viruses and challenges over the years and the government has to learn to live with this and sooner than June 2022.”
READ the full story here.
Carla Mascarenhas 3.41pm: Bumped India passengers to rejoin testing queue
The Northern Territory’s acting chief health officer Dr Charles Pain has defended the decision not to allow Australians who have tested positive to Covid-19 on board flights from India.
Dr Pain described it as a “great surprise” to see the high numbers of positive cases and said DFAT and Qantas would need to “clearly identify people to stand in if it happens again”.
“I am sure they will be prepared for it next time”.
He acknowledged being blocked must be “desperately disappointing” but said health officials were working to get those who tested positive onto future charter flights.
“It’s expected that they will re-join the testing queue or the queue to get on those flights, as soon as possible,” he said.
Dr Pain said the Australian government had to “hold firm” on the position of not letting people who tested positive on flights.
“It’s not good for them and it’s clearly not a sensible thing to do in terms of the overall public health impact on Australia,” he said.
“We just have to manage this as well as we can. There are no easy answers to this - we’re having to make difficult decisions all the time.”
READ MORE:‘Disappointing’: Sutton slams Age
Adeshola Ore 2.30pm: PM, Ardern to meet in Queenstown May 30
Scott Morrison will meet New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Queenstown at the end of the month for face-to-face talks between the two leaders.
The Prime Minister will travel to Queenstown, alongside his wife Jenny, from May 30-31. The pair will meet with Ms Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.
“This will be my first overseas visit for 2021, and it is fitting that our first trip should be across the Tasman,” Mr Morrison said.
“Australia and New Zealand are family — and we share deep historical bonds of friendship, trust and the ANZAC spirit.”
Mr Morrison said the two leaders would discuss the two nation’s “many shared challenges” including distributing coronavirus vaccines to Pacific neighbours.
“We share common goals and values for the Indo-Pacific region, and we are major trading partners,” he said.
The meeting will be the leaders’ first face-to-face talks since Australia shuts its international border in response to the pandemic last March.
The trans-Tasman bubble opened last month, allowing Australians and New Zealanders to travel between the two countries without a two-week stint in hotel quarantine at either end.
“Both Australia and New Zealand have been world leaders in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this visit is a great illustration of the trans-Tasman Safe Travel Zone in action,” Mr Morrison said.
READ MORE: PM winning debate on borders, economy
Adeshola Ore2.15pm: Hunt: Domestic travel exemptions for vaccinated Aussies
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the federal government will strongly support domestic travel exemptions for vaccinated Australians.
Scott Morrison said the nation’s next steps in reducing restrictions would be allowing fully vaccinated Australians to travel without being subject to domestic restrictions such as state lockdowns.
Mr Hunt said reducing restrictions would be determined by National Cabinet and the states, but noted the federal government was in favour of it.
“That is the goal and we are seeing this in places such as the United States where they have had prodigiously difficult lockdown laws in some states and territories,” he said.
“We are beginning to see now a different regime for those that have been fully vaccinated and I’ve spoken with friends in America myself, as well as obviously studying very closely what is occurring there.”
READ MORE: Sharing vaccine secrets ‘not an answer’
Rhiannon Down 2.10pm: Tudge calls for return to on-campus learning
Education Minister Alan Tudge has called for universities to return to on-campus learning, after student experiences slipped during the pandemic.
“If we can have 50,000 plus people at the MCG then Australia should be able to have reasonable lecture theatres and tutorials going ahead,” he told Sky News.
“I just think we can do more to have more students back on campus. At the end of the day Australian students are the number one priority of our universities and last year Australian students didn’t get the best of experiences, and student experience survey results show that.
“I want to see the universities prioritise Aussie students, ultimately that’s what Aussie universities were set up for, to provide them with the best possible learning experience.
“And in many cases that means face-to-face learning.”
Mr Tudge said the return of international students was also a priority for the sector.
“We certainly want to see those students back and there are certainly good plans being developed by NSW, Victoria and South Australia and we’re working through those,” he said.
“My expectation is that we will have some smaller scale pilots later this year.”
READ MORE: Enjoy the sugar hit as we flirt with economic ruin
Adeshola OreR1.55pm:PM ‘bloody minded’ over Qld quarantine camp: Hanson
One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has backed calls to create a purpose build quarantine facilities near Toowoomba, describing Scott Morrison as “bloody minded”
“The vaccination that we have given they’re not really proven, they’re not really tested, we’ve got different strains of COVID coming through,” Senator Hanson told Sky News.
“So we’re going to have to counteract that as well, it’s still unknown waters we’re going in.
“Here you have the Wellcamp in Toowoomba, the Wagners, they want to open up the camp there and they want to open up a thousand bed facility.
“The Prime Minister is being bloody minded about it, now this exact camp has worked in the Northern Territory. They want to bring the same person to run it in Toowoomba, it won’t cost the taxpayers one cent, yet the government has said it’s not going to cost anything.”
Adeshola OreR1.50pm:Vaccinations top 3.1m, expand to over-50 at GPs
Health Minister Greg Hunt says more than 3.1 million vaccines have been administered across the country.
From today, Australians aged 50 and over will be eligible to receive the jab at their GP clinic. Mr Hunt said last week 436,000 vaccines were administered, setting a new national record, as the commonwealth increased doses to GP practices.
Commodore Eric Young, who is managing the logistics of distributing vaccines, said Australia was continuing to ramp up the pace of the rollout.
“It took 47 days to get to our first million doses of vaccine. It took a further 19 days to get our second million and 17 days to get to our third million doses of vaccine,” he said.
Australia reported zero community-transmitted COVID-19 cases in the past twenty-four hours.
Commodore Young said last week 351,00 doses of the Pfizer jab and 1.3 million of the AstraZeneca vaccine were cleared for distribution.
In the coming days, a further 352,170 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 1 million AstraZeneca jabs would be batch tested by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Last week, the commonwealth distributed more than 958,000 doses of the vaccine nation-wide.
Commodore Young said the commonwealth had visited 84 per cent of the nation’s aged-care facilities and 60 per cent have received a second dose for their residents.
Rhiannon Down12.50pm:NSW sets vaccination target for reopening borders
Gladys Berejiklian has set a target to vaccinate five million NSW residents, before considering steps towards reopening borders.
It comes as NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet renews his push for the government to make a road map out of ‘fortress Australia’, suggesting linking vaccination rates to reopening borders.
“Certainly in NSW we need to do around 10 million jabs to get the majority of our population to be vaccinated,” she said.
“You think about five million should be vaccinated before we can have those conversations. “We’re edging towards a million jabs. We’re working as hard as we can.
“Once New South Wales has managed to undertake around that number, we can start considering those policy issues and I’d like to see that happen sooner rather than the middle of next year.
“That depends on how many doses we have and how quickly we can vaccinate our population.
READ MORE:Most annoying COVID rule scrapped
Rhiannon Down12.35pm:Perrottet’s fresh plea on borders road map
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has reissued calls for the federal government to release a road map for reopening international borders,
It comes as the latest Newspoll revealed that an overwhelming majority of voters back Australia’s strict international border policy.
“If you asked every Australian if they’re happy with borders closed, sure they would be at the moment,” he told Sky News.
“Because unlike other places in the world we’ve been incredibly successful being an island continent where other countries are living alongside the virus, they’ve had significant hospitalisation rates, while we’re in this unique position.”
Mr Perrottet said vaccination was central to reopening borders and returning to normal life, despite a lack of urgency among the Australian public to receive the jab.
“If you’ve got Covid in the community then you’re going to be driven to get a vaccination,” he said.
“Whereas here in Australia that’s not the case because in the main, except for an outbreak here or there, there is really no Covid in the community.
“But we want to encourage people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible and have the means to do it.
“We clearly need a road map and that’s not just important for governments it’s important for businesses to plan as well.
READ MORE:Right politics, policy comes later
Adeshola Ore12.25pm:Qantas reviews India testing after false positives
Thousands of Australians remain in limbo in India, despite the lifting of a flight ban.
Qantas is reviewing its testing arrangements in India following concerns passengers who tested negative for the virus were inadvertently diagnosed as positive cases. Returning travellers from India are required to test negative to two tests administered on consecutive days before being allowed to board flights home.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was investigating if the diagnostic agency it had contracted was using another local laboratory for the pre-departure tests after several passengers who initially tested positive and were not allowed to board later tested negative to the coronavirus.
CRL, which is being used by Qantas, lost its accreditation with India’s National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories in April.
Rhiannon Down12.08pm:Traveller from India flight tests positive in Australia
A returned traveller on board a repatriation flight from India has tested positive for COVID-19.
NT Health said the passenger is currently isolating at the Howard Springs facility near Darwin.
The passengers on-board the charter flight were required to return two negative tests before boarding the flight, with half of the 150 people being unable to board the flight after they tested positive.
NT acting chief health officer Charles Pain said just one person among the more than 70 passengers who arrived on Saturday, had tested positive so far, but warned the number could rise.
“I have news this morning that probably only one, they’re still subject to further testing, but only one person has tested positive in that group,” Dr Pain said.
“So the testing that was done in India has clearly been effective and has had the effect that we intended, which was that people wouldn’t come on the flights if they were positive.”
Dr Pain said health authorities were working to get those who tested positive in line to board one of the next charter flights.
“There will be people who are disappointed, those people who have tested positive will be retested,” he said.
“It’s expected they’ll rejoin the testing queue to reboard those flights as soon as possible. It’s expected some of those who returned positive results will return negative, that’s the way it works I’m afraid.
“And we will welcome those people when they come on future flights.”
Adeshola Ore11.55am:PM: We can work with Vic quarantine facility
Scott Morrison says the Victorian government’s proposal for a purpose-built quarantine facility could supplement hotel quarantine and flagged “other alternatives” in the state.
The federal government is currently reviewing a proposal by Victoria for a quarantine facility.
“Victoria’s put a very comprehensive proposal to us. Something we can actually work with. And we are,” he said.
“It’s a very constructive, positive process.”
Mr Morrison noted the proposal would not replace existing hotel quarantine arrangements in Victoria.
He also said there were “other alternatives” available in Victoria that “presented some good opportunities”, but did not provide further information.
READ MORE:Scare stories lower jab rates
Rhiannon Down11.40am: Berejiklian: no Covid positive can be Aussies repatriated
Gladys Berejiklian says she does not support allowing travellers who have tested positive for COVID-19 to board a plane to NSW.
“I think in relation to Covid-positive people, that is a whole different question,” the NSW Premier said.
“And we have to make those risk assessments. Already in our quarantine system, we know that whenever we welcome people from overseas back into Australia, whenever we welcome Aussies home, when there’s 3000 Aussies coming back home, there’s always a percentage of them that have Covid.
“We already accept that. Even if they test negative when they’re overseas by the time they get to Sydney, by the time they’re in hotel quarantine, many of them are positive.”
Ms Berejiklian said bringing positive Australians over on the plane knowingly posed too great of a risk to the state.
“When you’re saying yes to Covid-positive ones that are on the plane already, that’s a whole different kettle of fish,” she said.
“Because it creates additional risks of others on the plane, of aircrew and all those risks need to be assessed.”
READ MORE:Call made on Sydney restrictions
Adeshola Ore11.25am: PM outlines next steps in opening borders
Scott Morrison says most Australians understand the importance of a cautious approach for reopening the nation’s borders, as he suggested the next steps in opening borders.
As the Prime Minister stares down calls from business leaders and some Coalition MPs to abandon the ‘Fortress Australia’ mentality, Mr Morrison said there were practical challenges to reopening the country’s international borders.
He said the next steps in reducing restrictions would be allowing fully vaccinated Australians to travel without being subject to domestic restrictions such as state lockdowns. .
Mr Morrison said the return of international students was a priority and flagged sectors such as agriculture and hospitality where practical initiatives would be needed to tackle workforce shortages.
“But the key thing is the overall border arrangements, they remain in place until it’s safe to do anything different,” he said.
The latest Newspoll results revealed 73 per cent of voters support the Morrison government’s approach and believe the international borders should remain closed until at least the middle of next year.
“I welcome the fact that I think Australians by and large share the view that Australia has done incredibly well throughout the course of the pandemic,” he said.
“We have been able to not only save lives but save livelihoods as well. And Australians want to see that continue.”
The government had previously nominated Singapore as the next contender for a quarantine-free travel bubble. But Mr Morrison warned those plans were still “some way off”, as the country returned to lockdown restrictions amid a rise in mystery cases.
READ MORE:Sutton flags ‘letting Covid run’
Rhiannon Down11.05am:Berejiklian defends record on repatriating Aussies
Gladys Berejiklian has defended her track record of repatriating stranded Australians, following the arrival of 38 cricketers from India in addition to the arrivals cap.
The NSW Premier said NSW “put up their hands straight away” to take returned travellers from India, despite the risk.
“We always make sure 3000 Australians are returning every week and police and (the Department of) Health make an assessment if any requests are made over and above that cap we make those assessments,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We were asked to consider that request. The NSW government doesn’t control who comes in, but we can help where we can to bring Australians home.
“And that’s what we’ve done continuously, we’re the only state that has continually achieved our targets to bring Australians home. We’ve had challenges in NSW with outbreaks but notwithstanding that we’ve made sure we’ve worked hard to bring Australians home.”
READ MORE: Health advice essential to open borders
Rhiannon Down 10.50am: 110,000 NSW residents express interest in Pfizer
Gladys Berejiklian has commended NSW residents after 110,000 people expressed interest in receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
It comes a week after the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination facility opened. The NSW government also opened expressions of interest to 40 to 49-year-olds.
The NSW Premier said 16,000 over 40s had booked to receive their jabs under the scheme designed to ensure not a single dose of the cold-stored vaccine goes to waste.
Ms Berejiklian said it was essential health authorities made sure “we use those doses up”.
“Anytime there is an under capacity which means there is a dose left over we can draw on the list of 40-49 year olds that have registered, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” she said.
“From last Thursday afternoon I understand 16,000 people were contacted and 9000 have already received their bookings and some have received their jabs in just a few days.”
She added: “If you’re over 50 and you want to jab, go through your GPs for your jab.
“As the federal government has said, GPs have been given extra doses, they’re ready and willing to receive you as an over 50-year-old for the AstraZeneca vaccine. But if you don’t have a GP or for convenience you want to go through the NSW Health system, then we’ll be pleased to accept you from next Monday.”
Ms Berejiklian said NSW’s vaccination tally was edging towards one million, suggesting a
public willingness to get vaccinated.
READ MORE: Scare stories lower jab rates
Rhiannon Down10.05am: Over 50s eligible for vax from GP
Australians aged 50 and over will be eligible to receive the jab at their GP clinic from today, as the vaccine rollout progresses to a new stage.
Some 4000 GP clinics will join the program with those in the eligible age bracket encouraged to contact their GP clinic.
From today, people 50 years and over can get a COVID-19 vaccine from GP's across Australia.
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) May 16, 2021
Our GP's have played an integral role in our rollout, with more than 1.7 million doses of vaccine provided through primary care settings.https://t.co/VQerk9Vat8
“There are over 4300 GPs delivering vaccines to people aged 50 years and over from May 17,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
“More than 1500 of those are in the regions, in regional, rural and remote Australia.”
It’s been two weeks since the rollout opened to over 50s at major vaccine hubs and clinics.
From today, Queenslanders aged 50 years and over can receive their first dose of the #COVID19vaccine at participating vaccination locations ðŸ“
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) May 16, 2021
📆 Born after 1971? You may also be eligible. Check eligibility and book via: https://t.co/cWg46uNdz2
Rhiannon Down 10.00am:Vic records no new local cases
Victoria has recorded no new local cases of COVID-19 and one new case in hotel quarantine.
It comes as 2004 vaccine doses were administered in the state on Sunday and 13,585 test results were received.
The results come more than a week after a Victorian man tested positive for COVID-19 after he left hotel quarantine in South Australia.
No new cases have emerged in relation to the case, despite several exposure sites being identified.
Reported yesterday: No new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 16, 2021
- 2,004 vaccine doses were administered
- 13,585 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco
#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/NIE9XjZ7z3
Rhiannon Down 9.50am:Coatsworth: Find safe plan to return stranded Aussies
Former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth says Australia needs a “safe plan” to return stranded travellers to the country while international borders remain closed.
“What we need to find is a system that’s safe but also brings stranded Aussies back home,” he told Channel 9’s Today.
“I think that’s what the government is doing right now.”
Over the weekend Dr Coatsworth warned that Australians would have to contend with a rise of cases after the borders reopen, calling eradication a “false idol”.
Dr Coatsworth said the community needed to prepare for what will happen once borders reopen, after the latest Newspoll revealed that an overwhelming majority of voters back a Fortress Australia international border policy.
“Look, I think it’s completely reasonable for three quarters of Aussies to not want the borders open right now,” he said.
“What we have to start a conversation with the community about is, what do we do in 2022? “What do we do when the majority of Australians are vaccinated and immune, safe from hospitalisation, safe from death from COVID-19 but there’s still critical events going on that people want to attend around the world.
“Do we still put them in hotel quarantine in 2022 at their own ex-pension. This is a conversation we need to get the community involved in.
“There will be COVID-19 circulating within the community in the future.”
READ MORE:Health advice crucial amid pressure to reopen borders
Matthew Denholm9.35am: Shane Broad to contest Tas Labor leadership
Tasmanian Labor MP Shane Broad has confirmed he will contest the party leadership, declaring he wants federal intervention to counter the rampant influence of hard left powerbrokers.
Dr Broad’s decision, forecast in The Australian today means fellow contender, left faction-backed David O’Byrne, will face a ballot of the party’s conference and broader membership.
READ MORE: O’Byrne chases Tas Labor leadership
Rhiannon Down9.20am:Rowland: Ramp up vax before open borders
Opposition communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland says the nation’s immunisation efforts need to ramp up in order to reopen borders.
“You can appreciate that people’s number one priority is to be safe, which is of course the first role of government, at the same time there’s that tension between economic necessity as we can’t be perpetually closed,” she told Sky News.
“We need to take the best health advice and also appreciate the very real links between immunisation levels and opening up our economy.”
Ms Rowland said the government needed to commit to “long term thinking” to keep the community safe while reopening the economy.
It comes as Scott Morrison hinted at the road map out of ‘Fortress Australia’, suggesting that interstate travel would eventually become unrestricted for vaccinated Australia and international travel agreements struck with low risk countries.
“I believe it will be cheating the Australian people not to be going into the next 12 months without a strategy around quarantine, with a strategy around immunisation,” she said.
“We were promised four million by March and we’ve barely hit three million. We had the Prime Minister talking about home quarantine only a short time ago, we haven’t really heard about it since. People want a coherent strategy.”
READ MORE:Most annoying Covid rule scrapped
Adeshola Ore9.15am:Carbon offset trading would reduce emissions: Taylor
Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government’s plan to allow farmers and businesses to trade carbon offsets would boost productivity and drive down emissions.
Nine newspapers reported the Coalition government is considering a plan to allow big business to buy carbon offsets from farmers, in a bid to encourage the sector to move towards carbon neutrality.
Asked about the report by the ABC, Mr Taylor said “we want to see every possible means of reducing emissions being deployed.”
“One of the areas where we see enormous potential is in storing more carbon in our soil. Soil is a big carbon sink and we can use it better than we have used it in the past.”
Mr Taylor said the initiative would increase agriculture productivity, absorb carbon and make farms more sustainable and profitable.
“That’s a great thing,” he said.
“We will allow industry to reduce its emissions either through finding industry efficiencies and operational efficiencies, but also by being able to offset soil carbon.”
READ MORE:Scare stories lower jab rates
Adeshola Ore8.50am: Taylor plays down concerns over Aus Open
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has played down concerns that The Australian Open could be forced to move offshore due to the government’s predictions that international borders will be closed until the middle of next year.
The ABC reported the event’s organisers were willing to move the tournament to Dubai or Doha if it could not reach an agreement on more relaxed quarantine could not be reached.
But the latest Newspoll results revealed 73 per cent of voters support the Morrison government’s approach and believe the international borders should remain closed until at least the middle of next year.
Mr Taylor said he would not speculate on a reopening timeline and said “January next year is still a fair way off.”
“Our first obligation to the Australian people is to keep them safe. We’ve done extremely well through this pandemic. We don’t want that to go off course. We’ve gotta go one step at a time,” he told the ABC.
“We need internal borders opening up and staying open here in Australia.”
Mr Taylor said getting the vast majority of people vaccinated was key for Australia’s reopening strategy.
Scott Morrison is staring down calls from business leaders and some inner-city Liberal MPs to forge ahead with reopening the country as soon as possible.
Over the weekend, former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth warned that Australia needed to prepare to reopen international borders and for the unavoidable reintroduction of COVID-19 in the community. At a speech at an event for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Dr Coatsworth urged doctors to challenge the false notion of eradicating coronavirus in the community.
Liberal MP Dave Sharma said Australia should take a proportionate medical response, but noted that even medical experts were in favour of a faster reopening of the international borders.
“We’ve rightly been told throughout this crisis that we should listen to the experts. These guys are public health experts,” he told Sky News.
“I, like many Australians, want to see us get back to normal life as soon as possible. That means that I’m keen to see our international borders open as soon as possible.”
READ MORE:Pfizer rejects calls to share vaccine secrets
Rhiannon Down8.25am:$2bn oil refinery package ‘will secure fuel supply’
Energy Minister Angus Taylor says a $2bn package to protect Australia’s two remaining oil refineries will secure the nation’s fuel supplies.
Mr Taylor said the plan was about “keeping our fuel supplies” and bolstering national security.
“Ultimately this is about saying, we will support the refineries to stay in the market in the worst possible circumstances. We won’t pay them anything if prices are solid, high,” he told ABC TV.
“And ultimately as part of a broader package, which ensures that we have the fuel we need when we absolutely need it.
“So, it means our truckies, our tradies, our commuters, our emergency service workers have access to that fuel when they really need it as they really need it, at an affordable price too, because an important part of this is making sure we’ve got competition and supply in the market as well as the reliable fuel we really need.”
Ampol says it plans to continue oil refining at Lytton in Brisbane until at least mid-2027, following a review and the federal government rescue package.
Ampol said the package would enable the continued employment of about 550 people in Australian manufacturing jobs and the indirect employment of hundreds more.
READ MORE:Oil refineries under threat
Rhiannon Down7.45am: Cricketers’ return ‘similar to action over Aus Open’
Liberal MP Katie Allen has backed the decision to allow 38 crickets to fly in Australia in addition to flight caps on new arrivals.
Ms Allen said the decision was similar to that made for the Australian Open and what will likely happen during the Tokyo Olympics, despite the players going over as contractors to the IPL rather than representing Australia, sparking criticism of special treatment.
“At the end of the day, I think special provisions sound like they’re being made,” she told Channel 9’s Today.
“The most important thing is whatever we do we need to do it very, very safely and make sure the quarantine facility is fit for purpose for the use of quarantine hotels.
“That has been a state-based process, which is what we should be sticking with because at the end of the day no one wants to have Australia go backwards with regards to the hard fought gains we’ve had with both health and the economy.”
The cricketers, who touched down at about 7.30am, will quarantine in Sydney hotels rather than Howard Springs like other returnees from India.
Scott Morrison confirmed on the weekend that the cricketers’ arrival was in addition to NSW caps.
READ MORE: Stranded Aussie cricketers arrive home
Rhiannon Down7.35am:Aussie cricketers arrive home from Maldives
Australian cricketers stranded in India have touched down in Sydney, following the lifting of the India flight ban.
The group which includes players, coaches and commentators became trapped when the IPL tournament was called off after several COVID-19 cases were detected.
The cricketers reportedly touched down at Sydney airport at about 7.30am after a slight delay, and will be taken directly to hotel quarantine.
The plane carrying the 38 cricketers reportedly touched down at Perth on its way from the Maldives, where the group fled after case numbers in India soared.
They were later seen boarding a bus on the way to two weeks quarantine.
It comes just days after a controversial flight ban stopping arrivals from India was lifted from May 15, where some 9000 citizens and residents remain trapped.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down7am:Coronavirus restrictions finally lifted in Sydney
COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in Sydney from midnight, two weeks after a man and his wife tested positive for the virus in a mystery infection.
Health authorities were unable to uncover the source of infection after the couple became the state’s first locally-acquired cases in weeks.
The cases were genomically linked to a returned traveller in hotel quarantine but the “missing link” between the two cases was never established.
“As there has been no further transmission detected in relation to the two locally-acquired cases of COVID-19 in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the temporary COVID-safe measures in place for the Greater Sydney area will not be extended beyond 12.01am on Monday 17 May,” NSW Health said in a statement.
“This means limits will be removed on the number of guests allowed to visit private households. Drinking while standing at indoor venues, group singing indoors, and dancing at nightclubs will again be allowed.”
Despite the lifting of restrictions NSW Health urged Sydney residents to continue wearing masks in crowded settings.
“Masks will no longer be compulsory on public transport or for customer-facing staff in hospitality venues, however NSW Health continues to strongly encourage their use on public transport and in other settings where physical distancing is not possible,” the statement said.
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Rhiannon Down6.45am:Pfizer fears material shortages if patents waived
A Pfizer executive has criticised calls to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines to boost development in the sector, saying it could lead to material shortages.
Pfizer’s most senior UK executive, Ben Osborn, said waiving patents and allowing generic rivals to make their own vaccines would only make it more difficult for manufacturers to meet their current obligations.
“It could allow any organisation to start procuring some of these basic raw materials across multiple countries,” he told The Times.
The push to manufacture more vaccines — which has been backed by US President Joe Biden — comes amid global shortages, particularly in developing countries.
India and South Africa have filed a proposal for reform with the WHO, garnering support from more than 100 countries.
READ MORE:Victorian meat, emergency, disability workers aged under 50 now eligible for vaccine
Simon Benson5.10am:PM pulled both ways on borders: Newspoll
An overwhelming majority of voters back a Fortress Australia international border policy and want them to remain closed until the global pandemic is under control, as Scott Morrison faces calls from business leaders and a ginger group of his own inner-city Liberal MPs to reopen the country as soon as possible.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows 73 per cent of voters support the Morrison government’s approach and believe the international borders should remain closed until at least the middle of next year.
The government is facing growing calls from some quarters to shift the national discussion to how Australians can safely live with the coronavirus once the international borders are opened or risk the country falling behind the rest of the world.
In a speech to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials on Thursday, Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said Australia risked winning the health battle but losing “the economic war” if the borders remained sealed for another year.
Read the full story, by Simon Benson and Joe Kelly, here.
Simon Benson5am:Voters give big tick to Frydenberg’s budget
Josh Frydenberg has handed down the most well-received budget since John Howard and Peter Costello but has fallen short of delivering the government an electoral bounce, with a federal election looming within the next 12 months.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows widespread approval for last Tuesday’s big-spending budget, with 44 per cent of voters claiming it would be good for the economy as it continues toward a post-COVID-19 recovery.
With only 15 per cent of voters claiming it would be bad, the margin represents the greatest gap between the two measures since 2007, prior to the Howard government losing office.
But while popular in its perceived benefit for a stronger economy, the budget has yet to translate in a direct lift in support for the Coalition, with Labor holding on to its slim 51 to 49 two-party-preferred lead despite ceding territory to the far left.
Read the full story here.
Peter Lalor4.45am:Stranded Australian cricketers due back home today
Australian cricketers unable for weeks to return from India will finally arrive home on Monday — most from the Maldives.
More than 30 Australian players, coaches and support staff — including Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins — were expected to arrive in Sydney in the morning after travelling on private flights via Perth.
Mike Hussey, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ahmedabad and flew to Chennai for treatment, is also set to return on a commercial flight from Doha.
But thousands of Australians remain in limbo in India, despite the lifting of a flight ban, with Qantas reviewing its testing arrangements following concerns passengers who tested negative for the virus were inadvertently diagnosed as positive cases.
Read the full story, by Peter Lalor and Adeshola Ore, here.
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